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THE NAME OF JESUS: Meditation by John Gerhard

12/31/2016

JOHN GERHARD’S SACRED MEDITATIONS.

Translated from the Latin
BY
REV. C. W. HEISLER, A. M.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.:
LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY.
Copyright, 1896, By the LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY.
MEDITATION IV. THE NAME OF JESUS.

What can be sweeter than the Name of Jesus!

O Blessed Jesus, be Thou indeed a Jesus to me; for Thy holy name’s sake have compassion upon me! My life condemns me, but the name of Jesus will save me. For Thy name’s sake deal with me according to Thy name; and since Thou art a true and great Saviour, Thou wilt surely regard with mercy those who are real and great sinners. Have mercy upon me, O blessed Jesus, in the day of mercy, so as not to condemn me in the day of judgment. If Thou wilt receive me within the bosom of Thy compassion Thou wilt not on my account be the more straitened; if Thou wilt bestow upon me some crumbs of Thy goodness Thou wilt not, on that account, be the poorer. For me Thou art born (Is. ix. 6), for me Thou art circumcised, to me also Thou art Jesus. How sweet and delightful is the name of Jesus! For what is Jesus but Saviour? And what real harm can befall the saved? What beyond salvation can we either seek or expect? Receive me, O Lord Jesus, into the number of Thy children, so that with them I may praise Thy holy and saving name. If through my sin I have lost my original innocence, have I deprived Thee of Thy mercy? If I have miserably destroyed and condemned myself, yet canst Thou not compassionately save me?

Do not so regard my sins, O Lord, as to forget Thine own mercy. Do not so weigh and measure my offences that they may out-weigh Thy merit. Do not so consider my evil as to overlook Thine own good. Remember not wrath against a culprit, but be mindful of Thy mercy towards a miserable sinner. Wilt not Thou, O Christ, who hast given me a desire for Thee, fulfill my longing desire? Wilt Thou, who hast shown me my unworthiness and just condemnation, conceal from me Thy merit and the promise of eternal life? Before a heavenly tribunal my cause must be tried, but it comforts me that in the heavenly court the name of Saviour has been given Thee; for that blessed name was brought from heaven by the angel (Luke ii. 21). O most merciful Jesus, to whom wilt Thou be a Jesus, if not to wretched sinners seeking grace and salvation?

Those who trust in their own righteousness and holiness seek salvation in themselves, but I, who find in me nothing worthy of eternal life, flee to Thee as my Saviour. Save me, for I am condemned; have mercy upon me, for I am a sinner; justify me, for I am unrighteous; acquit me, for I am under accusation of sin. Thou, 0 Lord, art the Truth (John xiv. 6); Thy name is holy and true; therefore let Thy name be true in respect to me; be Thou my Jesus and my Saviour! Be Thou my Jesus in the present life; be Thou my Jesus in death; be Thou my Jesus in the last judgment; be Thou my Jesus in eternal life. And assuredly Thou wilt be, 0 blessed Jesus; because as Thou art unchangeable in essence so wilt Thou be in mercy. Thy name will not be changed, O Lord Jesus, on account of one miserable sinner like me. Nay, but Thou wilt be a Saviour even to me, for Thou wilt not cast out any one that cometh unto Thee. Thou hast given me the desire to come to Thee, and surely Thou wilt receive me when I do come, for Thy words are truth and life (John vi. 63).

What if the propagation of original sin in me condemns me, yet Thou art my Jesus. What if my conception in sin condemns me, still Thou art my Jesus. What if my creation in sin and under the curse condemns me, nevertheless Thou art my Saviour. What if my corrupted birth condemns me, yet art Thou my Salvation. What if the sins of my youth condemn me, still art Thou my Jesus. What if the course of my whole life, defiled with most grevious sin, condemns me, yet Thou remainest still my Jesus! What if the penalty of death to be inflicted upon me for my sins and various transgressions condemns me, yet art Thou still my Saviour! What if the awful sentence of the last judgment rise up against me, yet will I trust Thee, and fly to Thee as my Jesus, my Saviour!

I am sinful, reprobate, condemned; but in Thy holy name there is righteousness, election, salvation; but in Thy name was I baptized; in Thy name do I believe; in Thy name will I die; in Thy name will I rise again, and in Thy blessed name will I appear at the judgment. In Thy name every conceivable good is provided for my soul, and stored up in reserve as a sacred treasury. Alas! how much of this good have I lost by my own distrust; and blessed Jesus, I fervently pray that Thou wilt graciously remove this distrust far from me, so that I, whom Thou dost so mercifully desire to save by Thy precious merit and life-giving name, may not condemn myself through mine own fault and unbelief.

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Christmas Day Sermon 2016: We Have Seen His Glory

12/28/2016

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John 1:1-14
December 25, 2016

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth."

We have seen his glory? Who's we? Well St. John wrote this Gospel, so he certainly saw this glory, along with the great multitudes of people who witnessed the enfleshed Word as he dwelt among them. They witnessed Christ turn water into wine and calm storms, heal the sick and raise the dead, and feed multitudes from a small basket of bread. This divine glory was actually seen by people, both believers and scoffers. The man Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary truly walked upon the earth, dwelling among earthlings. And this man is also true God, whose divinity shined forth with every miracle he performed.

Yet this glory of which John speaks is different than the glory found here on earth. This is not the glory of an MVP quarterback or a ruler of a powerful empire. This glory doesn't land Christ in a castle or clothe him in soft clothes. This is not the glory sought by men or worshiped by the world. This is the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father.

The only begotten Son of the Father is the eternal Word. He was with God from the beginning. He is God. Through him all things were made and without him was not one thing made that was made. His glory is unique, because there is none like him. He alone is the only begotten of the Father. His glory is eternal. It doesn't need man's approval or desire to be glorious. Man's glory depends on what he can receive from other men, what he can do to impress them. Christ's glory is received from God from eternity.

And so this glory is strange and it is found in strange places. In a manger made to feed beasts lies an infant boy, wrapped in cloth to keep him warm. And a Virgin Mother looks down upon God's glory. Shepherds, who were just recently blinded by the splendor of the heavenly hosts gaze upon the Lord of glory asleep on the straw.

It's strange. It's what causes the hymnist to write, "O Jesus Christ, Thy Manger is My paradise at which my soul reclineth. For there, O Lord, Doth lie the Word Made flesh for us; herein Thy grace forth shineth." We find God's glory here in the manger, not in a kings palace, not on the battlefield or in the football stadium. God's glory shines forth from the manger, because there is where God's Word is. There is where God's truth is. God promised. He promised in the garden to that cursed snake that this seed of woman would come. He promised through the Prophet Isaiah that this virgin birth would bring God to be with us. And now after thousands of years of prophecies and anticipation God fulfills his Word. He glorifies himself before angels and men and sheep. He becomes a man.

And the glory of this only begotten Son of the Father would continue to perplex. In his baptism by John in the Jordan, as he sat with sinners and ate with them, even forgiving them. Yet with every act Christ performed he glorified God the Father and God the Father glorified him, because Christ fulfilled God's holy Word.

When the glory of God seemed farthest from anyone's eyes was the Word Made Flesh truly glorified. But what John saw was a weak man soaked in sweat and blood. What those miracle watchers beheld was the beating, scourging, and bloody execution of an unfortunate rabbi. Yet this bloody mess too shined forth the glory that could only be of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. Because this horrid death fulfilled God's holy Word spoken by the prophets and planned by God before the foundations of the earth. Christ's death glorified God not only because it fulfilled his holy Word and proved God to be true, but it earned salvation for all mankind.

The disciples blinded by grief did not recognize this glory until Christ returned to them from the grave, living, breathing, and victorious over the enemies that enslaved us since the fall of Adam. Christ's resurrection proved to them and to us that God's glory can only be found in the man Jesus.

We have seen his glory. Have we? The shepherds did when they saw God asleep on the hay. John saw it when he stood beneath the cross of Jesus and promised to care for his mother in her old age. All the disciples saw this glory when Christ showed them the holes in his hands and feet. But I didn't see any of this. Neither did you. So have we seen his glory? How could we?

Many people saw God in the flesh walk the earth. But not many believed in him. Many people heard the Apostles preach of Christ's death and resurrection. Many believed, but many did not. To truly see the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father requires faith. Faith in the grace God offers through Christ. Faith in the truth of his word.

When a child is born there are many momentous firsts. There is one first that parents don't think about before it happens, but every parent is overjoyed when it does happen. With each of our children Theresa held our child in her arms and looked at the baby's face and waited for the eyes to open. That's the moment, isn't it? You parents know what I'm talking about. When your child opens his eyes and looks into yours. It's an intimate moment. It's almost like a second birth, the first formal introduction between parent and child. There is something about looking into your child's eyes that says, "Yes, I know you. I can see you and you can see me." The doctors and nurses in the delivery room all saw the baby, naked and vulnerable. But it is that gaze into the eyes, where the mother says, "I know you" and the child responds, "I know you too."
Many people saw Christ on earth. They even beheld his glory as it was revealed in his miracles. But they did not really see him, did not truly behold his glory as that of the only begotten Son of the Father until they believed in his grace and truth. Martha saw this glory when she confessed, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." (John 11:27) St. Peter beheld this glory when he said to Jesus, "Lord, to whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69) Mary too beheld this glory as she looked into her son's eyes and pondered all these things in her heart.

God wants you to look him into his eyes. This doesn't involve simply seeing the miracles and believing that they happened. This involves believing that Christ is whom Scripture says he is, the Word made flesh, the only begotten of the Father. Looking Christ in the eyes is believing that he is true, that God did not lie; that God really became man, man to deliver; that the only begotten Son of the Father lies in the manger in order that he might save you from your sins. I'm talking about faith! And with faith in God's grace, faith in the truth of God's incarnation for your salvation, you have an advantage greater than even those who saw with their naked eyes the Word Made Flesh as the roamed Israel nearly two thousand years ago.

We have beheld his glory, because we have believed his word. We have received his grace. We know that he is true. We behold his glory when we believe in the forgiveness of sins spoken to us for Christ's sake. We behold his glory when we fend of Satan with the proclamation, "I am baptized into Christ!" We behold this glory when we eat and drink, not to our own judgment, but for the forgiveness of sins won on the cross for us. And with this faith, not only do we look into the eyes of our dear Savior, but God looks into our eyes. And he sees his children, born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And by his grace we will continue to behold this glory of the only begotten Son of the Father by faith until with eyes made new we behold the Word Made Flesh in eternity.

Merry Christmas dear children of God. Amen.

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Christmas Eve Sermon: Fear Not. Unto You is Born a Savior

12/28/2016

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Christmas Eve Sermon
Luke 2:1-20
December 24, 2016

What are you scared of? Everyone's afraid of something, right? From itsy bitsy spiders to painful divorce, everyone has something they are terrified of. I had a moment of panic recently when I saw on the news that a terrorist drove a semi-truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany killing a dozen people and injuring dozens more. My brother lives in Berlin with his wife and baby son. Just the off chance of them shopping at that particular market when the truck came barreling through the crowd of holiday shoppers dug a pit in my stomach. (God be thanked my brother and family are safe. Lord have mercy on those unfortunate ones).
So what are you afraid of? Terrorism? Death? Financial ruin? Failure? Embarrassment? Spiders? I'm sure our shepherds had their own fears. Perhaps different from our 21st century anxieties, but these first century herdsmen had fears nonetheless. From lions and bears eating the sheep to the political uncertainty of living in a Roman occupied province buzzing with zealots thirsty for Jewish independence, they had their fears. But I bet all those earthly fears flew out the window when the angel of the Lord shattered the night's darkness before their eyes and God's glory blinded them. The fear that filled them then transcended dinner tables, bank accounts, even earthly kingdoms. They were afraid. St. Luke tells us plainly. But of what were they afraid?
The fear these shepherds experienced is the fear of a sinner struck by the glory of God's holiness. It's the fear of unworthiness before God. This fear rises in the heart when a person is confronted with his own sins, is condemned by God's Law, and threatened with God's wrath and punishment. Yet here no word of Law is even needed. Simply the reflecting glow of God's holiness from the angel so recently in the Divine presence conveys this message and ushers in complete terror.
Scripture records similar instances of this. Moses covered his face in fear when God revealed himself in the Flaming Bush. Isaiah cried, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!," (Isaiah 6:5) when he witnessed the LORD sitting upon his throne adored by flying seraphim. And St. Peter knelt before Christ after Jesus caused the Miracle of the Great Catch of Fish and said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8) The realization of God's present holiness is enough to bring a sinner to his knees in consciousness of his own miserable condition.
Of course this fear is not detached from the common fears of man. All wars, betrayal, and fear are mere symptoms of the deep darkness of sin. Inherited sin has plunged us into the dark. It is sin's fault that wars kill, that marriages fail, that money and food run out, that you fear the common elements of this earth. We fear death and destruction, because sin has made it our reality. And this fear points to the fact that God is displeased with our sin, our hurtful and careless words, our wicked thoughts, and the harm we do to our neighbor.
But the angels come not to frighten, but to bring good news for all people. They come to replace the shepherds fear with joy. "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." God has become a man! This is certainly reason to rejoice. Just look at the angel, how ecstatic he is to announce this news! The holy army of angels cannot help but burst into song praising God for this great news. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men." Why are the angels so happy? God didn't become an angel? What do they have to gain from this night?
The angels constantly serve God. It is their one and only pleasure to be of service to God at all times. What pleases God pleases them. They've heard the prophecies; of the virgin bearing Immanuel, of a Child being born, who will be called "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." They are joyful because what God was pleased to do has come to pass.
They sing, "Glory to God in the highest," because God has glorified his name by being true to his word. Now the earth will worship God in the highest through Jesus Christ, the one true Mediator between God and man. "Peace on earth," Christ brings the greatest peace the earth will know. Although wars and bloodshed will continue through the millennia, God forgives his people. His sword of punishment has been sheathed. And this peace will spread throughout the earth until it is completed in Christ's return and God's new creation will live in eternal peace. "Goodwill to men," previously God's displeasure was upon humanity, because of their sin. Now God sends his good pleasure, his very own Son to take away our reproach. It pleases God to accomplish these things and the angels are overjoyed to sing this success into the ears of God and the shepherds.
And if this message brings such joy to the angels, how much more joy should it bring the shepherds, and you and me? As I said before, Christ was not born an angel. Except for their noble desire for God to be pleased, the angels have nothing to gain from Christ's birth. But you do. This is good news of great joy for all people!
Christ's birth as a human being changes your perspective of God. If you were to understand even remotely how severe your sins are, you would be convinced that God hates you. You'd fear his condemnation. But the fact that God has joined our race must put to an end such a notion. The Hymnist Paul Gerhardt writes,
"If our blessed Lord and Maker
Hated men, Would He then Be of flesh partaker?
If He in our woe delighted,
Would He bear All the care Of our race benighted?" (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, 115. Stz. 5)
Of course he wouldn't! That the eternal Word became flesh demonstrates God's good pleasure toward all mankind. God loves you! He takes on your very flesh and blood. Why on earth would God's Son come to earth to join our family if he hated us?
Christ's birth forces you to look at God in different light. When the Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary he didn't temporarily take up residence in a human body as an evil spirit, who possesses a body for a while. No, God became man to remain man forever. He is our brother. He's on our team. He joins our ranks to feel our pain, to face our terrors, to conquer sin and death. You can't look to the child in Bethlehem and believe what the angel spoke of him, that he is your Savior, that he is God most High, and still believe that God wishes evil against you. Christ's birth in Bethlehem expresses God's deep love for you.
St. John writes, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us." The angel banished the shepherds' fear by proclaiming God's love for them through the child of Bethlehem. And so he seeks to banish your fears. God loves you. It is clear to see!
That God became man also changes your perspective of your neighbor. Are you angry with someone, even hate someone? Know this, God shares that person's flesh and blood. The blood that flows through that person's veins flows too through the veins of your God. Your God has a human body and soul just like that object of your hate. How can we hate our neighbor, whom God loves so much to join himself to so intimately?
Indeed Christ's incarnation should spread peace among all members of our race. That it doesn't, that people still hate and slander, that they even kill, that babies (a group of people Christ joined without shame) are slaughtered in the name of progress demonstrates how desperately we need this baby Jesus. But you Christians, who love this Christ Child, who know that God shows his love to you through him, should also love your fellow man. You know that this message of joy is for all people. You know that we are one family. You know that Christ has joined our one family to be with us forever.
Christ became man to save us from sin, death, and hell and give us peace with God. Yet the fruit of such peace with God through faith in Christ is peace with all people. And though we don't achieve this peace of ourselves, we know God does. And he will. So even in our imperfect lives we strive to live in peace by forgiving those who sin against us, repenting of our sins, and putting the best construction on those for whom God became man.
The angel said, "Fear not, for behold I bring you a Gospel of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Joseph and Mary could have had a much quieter night had the angel not made this announcement. Christ the Savior of those shepherds could have lay sleeping in his manger just a couple miles from them and they could have been none the wiser. But when the angel announced it to them, everything changed. Then the shepherds knew of the great treasure that had come to them that night. It's like if you had a billion dollars in some hidden bank account somewhere, but you had no idea it existed. Would it do you any good? Of course not. Not until that great treasure were revealed to you.
And so it is with you today. You have a great treasure. In fact this treasure is for everyone, even those sad souls who won't come to hear this good news this Christmastide. But if you don't hear that Christ is born in Bethlehem it doesn't do you any good, does it? If you don't hear that God has made peace with you, that he has expressed his love in the most amazing way for you, it doesn't matter to you. You're still lost! God's love is hidden from you.
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shined." But to those who have not or will not hear the message of the angel, the darkness remains black. Without the Gospel being preached to you, you who sat in darkness will remain in the dark. And in the darkness fear, of the common things of this life and of the judgment of God, will reign.
Everyone needs to hear this news! God became man for all humans. He died for you personally. God accepts Christ's death in exchange for yours. Yet the eternal life earned for you by Jesus can only be received by faith. And faith can only come by hearing the Gospel. There is no other way. The Shepherds glorified and praised God for what they had heard and seen. But had they not heard and seen, they would not have glorified and praised God.
"And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger." The Shepherds believed the angel, sought the sign, and found their Savior. We can't just run over to Bethlehem. And if we could we wouldn't find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths. That sign was for the Shepherds to seek, but for us to believe. But God has given you a sign, for you to see and feel and glorify and praise God for having seen it. Christ gave his Church Baptism. Through this washing we are joined to God in a spiritual way, which washes away our sins and makes us God's children. Christ has given us a Supper in which we find our Lord. As that young child was wrapped in swaddling cloths, so too Christ is hidden in this sign. We see plain bread and wine. But Christ says, "This is my body and blood." It is our sign. Our sign that God became man and was born in Bethlehem. That that man gave his body to be pierced and his blood to be shed to take away your sins. It is a sign of God's love for you.
So as the Shepherds dispelled of their fear at the angel's voice and ran to see this sign, which had been made known to them, so you are invited to cast off your terrors. God puts an end to them. And you are invited to come and see the sign of God's love for you, Christ's very body and blood, come, eat and drink and have your sins forgiven. Glorify and praise God for what you have heard, seen and tasted. Christ is born for you. He gives his life for you. He gives you his body and blood as a foretaste of the eternal life he has won for you.
Merry Christmas my brothers and sisters in Christ. Now let us go and see this thing, which the Lord has made known to us. Amen.

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God Rains Down Righteousness and the Earth Gives Birth to Salvation

12/19/2016

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Advent 4
John 1:19-28

The people of Israel are scared. And you all know how much these people complained; about the Egyptians, about water, about food, about being tired of the food they got, etc. So they complain to Moses and say, "Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire anymore, lest I die." When God descended upon the mountain to give the Ten Commandments to Moses it was too much for them; the fire and shaking mountain, the great smoke. So they said, "Moses, you speak to him! We're too scared."

And you know what God said? "You're right. You will die if I speak to you. It is too much for you. So here's what I'll do. I'll raise up from among you a prophet, an unintimidating man sharing your own flesh and blood, and he will speak to you."

God is merciful. The people had reason to be frightened. They were in the presence of a holy God, of whom the Psalmist writes, "he utters his voice, the earth melts." (Psalm 46:6) God of course knew this. And this problem isn't unique to Israel. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." No one can stand before God without some sort of shield, some sort of protection from his consuming fire of holiness. So God says, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers." One they won't need to be scared of, one they can listen to.

Fast forward to our Gospel lesson we meet John. He dresses funny. He preaches a lot. He baptizes. And he's gathered quite the following. So messengers from the Pharisees come. "Are you the Christ?," they ask. "I am not the Christ," John replies. Christ means anointed. The Old Testament prophesies that God's anointed will save Israel and rule the world. John honestly answers that he is not God's anointed. "Are you Elijah?," they ask.  The Jews believed that the prophet Elijah, who ascended into heaven on a fiery chariot would return, because the prophet Malachi records, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes." (Mal. 4:5) Now John certainly fulfills this prophecy and even Jesus says that John is Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14). But the Pharisees do not understand what the prophecy means. John is not physically Elijah, who ascended into heaven. Rather he takes Elijah's office as the mouthpiece of God. So John says, "I am not."
Finally they ask, "Are you the prophet?" Jesus says that John is a prophet, yes, and more than a prophet. "He is he of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'" (Matthew 11:10) Yet, John says, "No." Well, John certainly isn't like the prophets of old like Isaiah, who prophesied the virgin birth and Christ's death, yet it didn't happen for seven hundred years. No, John is not a prophet like that. Rather, he is the one who points and says, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" And when you follow his finger you actually see Christ Jesus the Lord!

Yet John means even more when he says he isn't the prophet. He says, "But among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the straps of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." John speaks of another prophet, the Prophet; the Prophet God spoke of to Moses when he said, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers." (Deut. 18:18). Well, here is the Prophet, Jesus Christ. He comes from among his brothers, born of the Virgin Mary, he shares our flesh and blood. He comes after John, yet John is not worthy to do the task of a slave for him and loosen his sandals. It is as John said, "This is he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'" (John 1:15) John was born 6 months before Jesus. He began his ministry and gathered a great following before Christ began his ministry. Yet John acknowledges that Jesus is before him. How? Because this Prophet Jesus was with God the Father from the beginning. Through him the earth was made and without him not one thing was made that was made. While Jesus shares our human nature, so that it may be said of him that he is arisen from among the brothers, he also shares in the Divine nature, being true God from eternity.

And this answers our question, why John is so disinterested in himself. "I am not," is his reply. "Who are you?" "That's not important. I'm a voice, that is all. I'm a voice, who wants to tell you about someone else." Surely John is an extraordinary man. We would love to learn more about him. But John isn't interested in telling us about himself. He's wants to tell us about Jesus. That is his job. To tell people about Jesus.

So John gives a great example of how pastors should do their job. Pastors aren't supposed to be celebrities. People shouldn't follow them, because they like their personalities or think they're special. But they should listen to hear if the pastor talks about Jesus. John does this well.

Yet, in preparing this way, John also must preach the Law. He must declare the necessity for repentance. Because, although we like to poke fun at people of Israel, because they complained, and because they were so scared of God, they had something right that we get wrong. The holiness of God is a scary thing. We can't long endure the fire and shaking mountain, the smoke and lightning. God is too holy for us. The people of Israel knew this. We often forget it. We grow comfortable in our sin. We become ignorant of the fact that we cannot stand before a holy God. And so we grow ignorant of our need for Jesus.

God promised a prophet to come from among us, because Israel shook with fear at the presence of God. God sent Christ as a little baby in Bethlehem, because if he sent him in clouds and smoke in his bare righteousness, we would die of terror.

So John's job is to convince people that they need Jesus. That if God were to come to them without Jesus, they would die. But because God has become our brother, we have a Savior to whom we can draw near. John tells us to repent; turn from our sins. He preaches that even this Jesus, who comes as our brother has "his winnowing fork in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:12) This means that although Christ is truly our brother in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary, he still condemns those who refuse to repent and believe in him, yet he will gather all those who have faith to live with him for eternity. So John warns. He calls to repentance. And he points to the only Savior we have, Jesus Christ.

Next Saturday we will hear the angel say to the shepherds, "Fear not! For behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11) It is a blessing that God came to us as a baby in a manger. It is a blessing that Jesus Christ shares our flesh and blood? Why? First, because it proves that God keeps his promise. He sent us our Prophet and rose him up from among us. It proves what the prophet Isaiah spoke, "Rain down, you heavens, | from above,* and let the skies pour down the | Righteous One. Let the earth o- | pen her womb,* and bring forth Sal- | vation." (Isaiah 45:8) So God rained down the righteous one by sending Christ Jesus. And the daughter of Adam, the man of the earth, gave birth to our Savior.

Second, that Christ shares our flesh and blood proves that God loves us. He does not want us to shake in fear as Israel did at the foot of that mountain. He wants to forgive us. He went to great lengths to dispel our fears, to save us from our sins and to make us his very own people. Christ Jesus in flesh and blood demonstrates the greatest effort given to save. And it was a successful effort. The man Jesus takes away your sins. He is your God and Savior. There is good reason John wants to talk of him and not of himself. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. And there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, than Jesus, our Prophet, our God, our Savior (Acts 4:12). Amen.

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Comforted by the Word of God

12/19/2016

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Matthew 11:2-11
Have you heard the news? Our very own Governor Terry Branstad has been chosen to be the US Ambassador to China. I was listening to the radio as they were discussing this and they pulled up a soundbite from a former ambassador giving advice to our governor. She said, "One thing I learned is when the president calls, you say, 'Yes, Mr. President.'" She was hinting that you don't argue with the man in charge when you're an ambassador. I chuckled to myself when I heard that. Of course you say, "Yes, Mr. President." You're an ambassador. You see, an ambassador doesn't represent himself. He communicates the will of another. You're not an ambassador to give your own personal opinions.

In our Epistle lesson St. Paul says, "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." Paul is placing himself (and all ministers of the word) in the office of ambassador. He doesn't do his own will. He does what he is told to do, he manages the mysteries God has placed into his care. In his letter to the Ephesians St. Paul requests prayers that he would be given words to proclaim the mysteries of the gospel, for which he is, "an ambassador in chains." (Eph. 6:20) An ambassador, like a steward, is not concerned with his own opinion or feelings. An ambassador desires to communicate the message of the one who sent him. A steward desires to preserve and protect his master's property and assets.

And this is why our Lord Jesus speaks the way he does of John the Baptist. This greatest of those born of women was more than a prophet. He was the one prophesied to be Christ's forerunner, the messenger sent before him to prepare his way. John didn't go into the wilderness to collect a social following or initiate people into his own fan club. He went to proclaim the Word of God to whomever would listen.

"What did you go out into the wilderness to see?" Jesus asks. "A reed shaken by the wind?" That's laughable. Anyone who has heard John preach knows that he is no reed that bends wherever the wind blows him. He is not swayed by popular opinion or the pressure of the social elite. Not even to kings does his nose turn brown. John spoke God's pure word to prostitues and tax collectors as he did to Pharisees and scribes, even King Herod. He was not concerned about being judged by men. He was concerned about being judged by the God, who sent him.

This is why St. Paul writes, "But to me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. … It is the Lord who judges me." Paul is not concerned about the judgment of people, whose opinions rock like a boat upon rough waters. He with John the Baptist desires to be found  faithful to God. Concerning this St. Paul writes to Pastor Timothy, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

An ambassador of God is found faithful when he rightly divides the word of truth. He rightly divides the word of truth by preaching the Law and the Gospel. The Law is the love God commands of us. The Law condemns to hell all who fail to love as it prescribes. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus bore the sins of the whole world, saving all those would-be-condemned souls through faith in his blood. John the Baptist preached the Law and the Gospel in perfect form regardless of the judgments of man, and for it he was condemned by men and exalted by God.

John preached the Law. He told tax collectors not to collect more than they were authorized. He told soldiers not to extort money and to be content with their wages. He told the crowds to share with those in need. He earned the ire of the Pharisees and Sadducees by preaching to them, "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. … Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:8, 10) And yet this preacher of fire and brimstone proclaimed the sweetest gospel, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" (John 1:29) with his finger directing the crowd to Christ Jesus.

John did not change his message with his audience. Even to King Herod he preached against his adultery when he took his brother's wife. This of course you know landed him in prison and eventually cost him his head. But even such a condemnation was beneath John, because he could not be bothered with the judgments of men. He must be found faithful to God, who sent him.

John is the greatest example for every pastor. A pastor must be found faithful. To whom? To God. How? By preaching the Law and the Gospel. Why is it so important to preach the Law and the Gospel as John did? Because when the Law and Gospel are not preached correctly souls are lost and die. Yet when the Law and Gospel are preached rightly, souls are comforted and saved.

The Law and Gospel must be preached, but people don't like to hear the Law and the Gospel. Jesus says, "But what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'" (Matt. 11:16-17) John preached the Law and called all to repentance. They did not mourn their sinful condition and turn to God for aid. Jesus played the sweet melody of the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins and peace with God, yet they did not rejoice. And we will find that this generation lives on even today. People cannot stand hearing either the Law or the Gospel. It's not simply boring, it's loathsome.

People don't want to hear God's word preached. If the pastor tells them what they are doing is a sin, they get offended instead of repenting. But getting angry at the pastor is silly. He's not giving his opinion, but proclaiming God's Word. As with the Israelites who grumbled at Moses, they will find that their complaint is not against a man, but against God. No, Christians should pray for their pastors, that they would not be reeds shaken by every wind, but that they would stand firm and confess the pure word of God. This is important, because pastors are men. They're weak. Sometimes fear prevents them from preaching God's Law to it's full use. But pastors must repent of such cowardice and with John the Baptist proclaim God's Law to both kings and peasants.

Why is it so important to preach the Law? Doesn't it just get people into trouble and cause unnecessary grief? Can't we simply preach the love of Jesus without getting into that dirty sin stuff? Well, it's like this. What if I were to go up to you and say, "Listen, I'm going to put an IV in you that will inject poison into your veins. You'll lose your appetite and get weak. You'll feel nauseous all the time and when you do eat your food will taste like metal and all your hair will fall out. And after that, you'll be perfectly healthy!" Or if I were to say, "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to cut open your chest and remove this valve on your heart and replace it with a new synthetic valve and then sew you back up and after months of physical therapy you'll be good as new!" What would you say to me? Well, you'd tell me to get lost, wouldn't you?! But if I were your doctor and I told you that you have cancer and will certainly die a painful death unless you take the IV and after you suffer for a while your life will be saved, then you'd think differently, wouldn't you? And if I said, your heart has a faulty valve. Your going to die unless we do something! Well, then you'd look at open heart surgery in a different light!

So it is with the Law and Gospel. If I say, "Take heart! Your sins are forgiven. God isn't angry with you. You have peace with God!" That song of the flute won't make you dance unless you've first heard that your sin is a big problem. Moreover you won't repent if you don't believe you need to repent. The Church must preach against sexual immorality, chiefly, so that poor souls caught in such vices can turn from their wicked ways and be saved. Despisers of God's Word and Sacraments need to hear that God hates their false gods and he will condemn you with your idol if you do not repent. Slander and all forms of hatred, laziness, violence, all sins must be condemned. You must hear the dirge and mourn, before the Gospel will find a place in your ears and heart.

The chief purpose for preaching the Law is to make way for the Gospel. A sinner broken and sorrowful for what he has done against God and his neighbor wants to hear the Gospel. He wants to hear of God's mercy and love. God's chief objective in sending his ambassador is to proclaim the Gospel. To comfort the sorrowful and strengthen the weak.

This Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means rejoice in Latin. It comes from the first word from our Introit, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!" This is why we light a pink candle this week in our Advent wreath, while every other week is purple. While the purple symbolizes getting prepared, the pink symbolizes rejoicing. Yet in our Gospel lesson John languishes in prison. It seems like there is a mistake here until you realize that St. Paul calls for this rejoicing while he himself sits in prison.

The Gospel comforts those in distress! It causes rejoicing for those in anguish. It strengthens those who bend like a reed in the wind. John, the greatest born of woman, the antithesis of a shaky reed, who called King Herod to repentance has hit rock bottom. He's in prison. And he sends a message to the one he had just weeks earlier proclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the word! This is he of whom I said, he who comes after me is greater than me, because he is before me." And John asks, "Are you the one, or should we wait for another?"

John is weak! He has been brought low! What does he need? He needs the Gospel! Jesus says, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." In other words, Jesus is saying the prophecies of Isaiah 61 and 35 are fulfilled, which say, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted..." (61:1) And "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute man sing for joy." (35:5)
John is strengthened by the good news that God fulfills his promises! Just as Paul rejoices in prison, because he has freedom in Christ. So also God can comfort any languishing soul through the message of his ambassador.

This is why God sent John. This is why God gives you a pastor. Yes to preach the Law. To call you to repent of your sin. But this is always toward the goal of comforting you. Is your faith weak, the Gospel will strengthen you. Whatever sickness you have, God will heal it. Whatever sin you've committed, God forgives it for Christ's sake. Even as John was comforted and even rejoiced in his heart as he bowed his head before the sword, so God gives you comfort and reason to rejoice even in the face of death. This isn't the unreliable word of a man spouting off his own opinions. This is the message from God himself to you. "Comfort, Comfort, my people! I've covered your sins. I've pardoned your iniquities. I do not want to fight with you. I want to love you! So rejoice you, who are loved by the Lord!" Amen.

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