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What Makes Jesus Weep?

8/9/2021

The Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem, James Tissot, 1886-94. No Known Copyright Restriction. Brooklymuseum.org

Trinity 10
Luke 19:41-48
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
August 8, 2021

What makes Jesus weep? Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, because he knows that the city will be destroyed in the most brutal way. About forty years later in the year 70 AD, the Roman general Titus besieged Jerusalem when it was filled with people, who had gathered to celebrate the Passover. No one was able to leave or enter. There was mass starvation, plague, disease, murder, and all sorts of cruelty. Thousands upon thousands of people, many historians number it in the hundreds of thousands, were killed. The buildings were destroyed and burned, including the great temple. And those Jews who did survive were sold into slavery to do hard labor or were fed to wild beasts as entertainment. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was one of the most horrific events in human history. Yet, that alone is not why Jesus weeps.

Jesus weeps because of the reason such a terrible destruction would befall them. Because they did not know the things that made for their peace. Because they did not know the time of their visitation. Now, what does Jesus mean by “the time of their visitation”? Who has come to visit them? God has come to visit them. Now, how can this be? God is present everywhere. Scripture says, “In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) God cannot get any closer to us than that! Then, how can Jesus say that God visited Jerusalem? Isn’t he always in Jerusalem as he is everywhere else?

God is indeed everywhere. But he is not everywhere in the same way. God’s presence in hell is much different from his presence in heaven. God’s presence in a brothel or opium den is much different from his presence in a church, where the Gospel is preached. By visitation, our Lord Jesus means that God visited Jerusalem with his grace. Yet, Jerusalem rejected God’s visitation of grace. This is what makes Jesus weep. And Jesus is God. This is what makes God weep. Jerusalem rejected the Gospel. Jerusalem rejected her Lord, who came to her with forgiveness and salvation. Jesus is God in human flesh. He is the long-time prophesied Son of David, whom the people of Israel had been waiting for. And he came first to proclaim the good news of redemption to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but he was rejected. He desired to save them. But they would not be saved. And for this, Jesus weeps.

The destruction of Jerusalem is a warning concerning the coming judgment. Jerusalem’s demise is a type of the demise that the world will experience when Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead. And if God did not spare Jerusalem and her people, whom he chose out of all the nations of the world, to whom he sent the prophets, with whom he made the covenants, to whom he promised the Messiah from among their brothers, then we should not think that we will be spared if we reject our visitation. St. Paul speaks of this very thing in Romans 11 saying, “For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.”

So, what is the time of our visitation? How does God visit us with his grace today? The time of our visitation is now. And the way God visits us with his grace is through the Gospel. God visited you when you were Baptized and he placed his name on you, washed you of all your sins in Jesus’ blood, and poured his Holy Spirit into your heart to give you a new spiritual birth. God visits us whenever the Gospel is preached. When Jesus is proclaimed as crucified for sinners; when Christ’s resurrection is preached; when your sins are declared forgiven for the sake of Jesus’ innocent, suffering and death, then God is visiting you with his grace. When the body and blood of Christ, our God and brother, is fed to you in the Sacrament of the Altar, that is God’s visitation of grace.

So, how do we reject this visitation as the Jewish people of Jerusalem did? We must know, so that we can avoid this evil and escape judgment. We reject this visitation when we reject Baptism. This is done either by refusing to be baptized against Christ’s command and promise or by rejecting the Baptism Christ has given you through impenitence and unbelief. We reject this visitation when we refuse to listen to the Gospel and when we refuse to believe it; when we find no value in the Sacrament where Christ supernaturally feeds us his body and blood, which he sacrificed on the cross for us, and so refuse to partake of it. We reject this visitation when we persist in our sins and refuse correction; when we refuse to repent of our sins and ask God for forgiveness for Christ’s sake. In short, we reject our visitation when we refuse to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This also means that we receive God’s visitation when we believe the Gospel. When we believe that our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, then we receive God’s visitation for our eternal benefit.

The other day I heard a guy on the radio talk about how he believed in heaven and hell. The reason he gave for the existence of hell was that there had to be a place of punishment for murderers and rapists and child abusers and wicked men like Hitler and Stalin. And this is how many people think. If hell exists, it exists for those really bad people, but not us. But Christ comes to visit us with God’s grace to rescue us from hell. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God does not want us to go to hell. That is why he sent Jesus to die for our sins on the cross and make atonement for us. And that is why he weeps when we reject him. Without faith in Jesus, we cannot be saved. Hell is real. And it is for all who reject Christ, clinging to their sin and unbelief.

The fact that Jesus wept over Jerusalem shows that God desires all people to be saved. There are some who teach that since those who are saved are chosen by God before the foundation of the world, that God also chooses others before the foundation of the world to go to hell. In other words, they teach that God does not really desire to save all people, but he only desires to save those whom he ultimately saves. Jesus proves that this is wrong by weeping over Jerusalem. He wants them to be saved. He wants them to receive their visitation. He wants them to know what makes for peace, that is, faith in Christ. But they would not. They have refused to accept the Gospel.

But even after they refuse the Gospel and Jesus has predicted their destruction, he shows his desire to save them by going into the temple to preach the Gospel. And in so doing, he does save some. Even from the cross, Jesus prays to his Father that he would forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. How is God to forgive them, but by bringing them to faith? And it is in Jerusalem, that city whose destruction Jesus has proclaimed, where Jesus sends his Holy Spirit on that first Christian Pentecost, so that three thousand are added to the saved on that day. Yes, Jesus’ tears tell us that he does not delight in the destruction of Jerusalem. He desires to save them all.

And it is not only the Jewish people he desires to save. St. Paul declares that God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). No one goes to hell, because God doesn’t want him in heaven. No one goes to hell, because God has destined that person to hell. People only go to hell, because of their own stubborn unbelief. People only go to hell, because they refuse God’s visitation of grace.

So, what should make us weep? It should be the same thing as that which makes our Lord Jesus weep; that people reject Christ’s visitation, persist in unbelief, and are damned to hell. When King Agrippa asked the prisoner St. Paul if he would persuade him to be a Christian, St. Paul answered, “I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.” (Acts 26:29) And that is exactly how we should be. We should desire that everyone be as we are, to confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, to receive his visitation and have confidence in our forgiveness and salvation.

In Romans chapter 9, St. Paul makes a disturbing declaration that he could wish that he were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of his kinsmen, if it meant that they would be saved. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenant, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises, the patriarchs; from their race came Christ our God in the flesh! How awful is it that they would reject Christ’s visitation! And so, we too should pray for the conversion of all Jewish people to the faith God intends for them, that they would accept the Messiah whom the prophets promised to them, who indeed came to save them.

Likewise, we should pray for the conversion of our brothers and sisters, children, parents, spouses, friends, and neighbors, who still will not believe in the Gospel. To them has been given saving Baptism! To them the Gospel has been proclaimed! To them God has been offered as their Friend and Savior! We should weep for them. We should proclaim Christ to them. We should invite them to church. We should pray for them. God desires that they be saved. He sent Christ Jesus to die for them. God does not want anyone to die in his sins. And neither do we.

Finally, we know what makes Jesus weep, but what makes Jesus rejoice? Jesus tells us that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. That is to say, God and all his angels and saints rejoice when one sinner receives his visitation. God’s grace did not fail because Jerusalem rejected Christ. God’s grace does not fail today, because so many still reject him. God has preserved his people. He has given them true faith and made them his children. God’s children are sinners, who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior. God’s people are those who have received God’s visitation of grace through faith in the Gospel of Christ. God’s people do not come from a particular city. They are not limited to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. God’s people come from every nation and language on earth. God’s people are sinners, who have been forgiven, who have received Christ’s visitation through faith.

And so, you should rejoice today, not only that you have repented of your sins and received Jesus’ visitation of grace through faith in the forgiveness of sins, but also rejoice at these your brothers and sisters in Christ, who have received their visitation in faith.

May God keep us as his people and may we continue to receive his visitation of grace, so that we may stand without shame when our God visits us in glory to judge the living and the dead. Amen.

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Who is your God?

8/2/2021

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Parable of the Unjust Steward, Marinus van Reymerswaele, circa 1540. Public Domain.

Trinity 9
Luke 16:1-9
Pastor James Preus

Trinity Lutheran Church
August 1, 2021

What is the unjust steward’s god? It’s obvious; isn’t it? Mammon. Earthly wealth. Whatever you fear, love, and trust in most is your god. And this unjust steward fears money. He revere’s its power to feed one’s belly and he is terrified of running out of it. He loves wealth. He desires to have it more than anything else. And he trusts in it. He trusts that if he can get money, he will be provided for. The next question is: Does he serve his god well? And we must answer, yes. He serves his god very well. This is why the master commends the unjust steward for his shrewdness.

Now, who is your God? If you are to call yourself a Christian, it must be the one true God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt; the God, who sent his Son to die for our sins and who sends his Holy Spirit into our hearts through the Gospel. Now, we must ask. Do you serve your God well? Do you love him with all your heart, soul, and mind? Do you fear him and trust in him? Here we get a sharp rebuke from our God, Jesus Christ, “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their generation than the sons of light.” This infidel steward, this dishonest thief is more shrewd than we are. He serves his false god with greater diligence than we serve the one true God.

So, what does Jesus exhort us to do in light of this revelation? Our true Master Jesus says, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Jesus tells us to make use of unrighteous wealth, that is, unrighteous mammon. Why is it called unrighteous mammon?  Because it will fail. It gets destroyed by rust and eaten by moths and stolen by thieves. And even if you can protect it from the rust, moths, and thieves, you will lose it when you die. God said to the rich fool, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20) And even if you have a slightly more noble goal for your wealth, to leave it to your children, it will remain unrighteous mammon for them. It will most certainly fail them too.

Yet, Jesus does not say that we should then throw away all earthly wealth and live as hermits as we pilgrim here on earth. The unrighteous, destined to fail wealth is given to us by our most generous heavenly Father. And he intends for us to use it for the good of his kingdom. Now, you might ask, what is the difference between a Christian using unrighteous wealth and an unbeliever using unrighteous wealth? It is the difference between being a master and being a slave. If mammon is your god, you are its bondservant. And you will serve earthly wealth until the day you die, when it will leave you to go to hell, so that it can enslave another victim. But if God is your God, that is, if you have faith in Christ Jesus who purchased you with his own blood, then mammon is your servant. And you must never be its slave.

Mammon can be used for good or evil. Gold can adorn the ears and arms of a harlot. Or it can be formed into a chalice to carry the very blood of Christ Jesus and to feed it to his Christians for forgiveness and salvation. A website can be used to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the forms of sermons, Bible studies, and other writings. Or it can be used to share the most perverse filth intended to draw victims to the slaughter. Money can be spent on excessive luxury, drinking, partying, and vacationing, and it can be spent to take care of the poor, support the preaching of the Gospel, to build churches, fund missions, and establish Lutheran Schools, so that future generations can be encouraged in the saving faith.

The Christian is in possession of greater wisdom than that of the shrewd steward. The Christian has the knowledge of an eternal dwelling stored up in heaven for all who believe in Christ Jesus, bought and paid for by the priceless blood of Jesus and his innocent suffering and death. Yet, Jesus warns that one cannot serve two masters; one cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). This means that the Christian must make everything in his life, including all his earthly wealth serve the aim of that final goal of obtaining that eternal heavenly dwelling. This is not to suggest that anyone can purchase the kingdom of heaven with unrighteous mammon, but rather, to warn that becoming a slave to unrighteous mammon can cause you to forfeit your eternal heavenly dwelling.

This is why Jesus instructs us not to use unrighteous mammon for our own pleasure, but rather, being content with what we need, to make friends with it, who will welcome us into our eternal dwelling. Now, who are these friends? This lesson is from Luke chapter sixteen. At the end of this same chapter, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. As you know, Lazarus was poor, died and went to heaven. Did Lazarus welcome the rich man into his eternal dwelling? No. The rich man died and went to hell. He didn’t make Lazarus his friend with his mammon. Rather, he only pleasured himself in obedient servitude to his unrighteous god. Had he had faith in Christ, he would have made his mammon serve him. He would have helped his brother in Christ, Lazarus. Lazarus would have welcomed him to Abraham’s side.

To make friends with unrighteous mammon who will welcome you into your eternal dwelling when the mammon fails means to use your unrighteous wealth to help Christians here on earth, who will be your friends forever in heaven. This means that you should be generous to the poor and use your unrighteous wealth to do God’s work to provide for every living thing. This especially applies to those of the household of God. St. John writes, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17) Whatever you have, you have received from the Lord. It is not right for Christians to go hungry while their brothers and sisters in Christ get fat.

To make eternal friends with unrighteous wealth also means to support the mission of the church. Under the Law of Moses, the children of Israel were required to give ten percent of their earnings to the Lord (Numbers 18:21ff). Christ Jesus has set us free from the requirements of Moses’ Law. Yet, both Abraham and Jacob freely gave one tenth of their wealth to God before Moses ever gave such a command (Genesis 14:20b; 28:22). And we Christians, who live by the Law of the Spirit of Life and not under the Law of Death certainly should be as generous with our first-fruits.

But in fact, not a tenth of what we have belongs to the Lord, but all of it. And we owe it all to him. If we truly recognized that all our earthly wealth will fail us, and that our faithful God promises to provide our daily bread each and every day, and even more, that he promises to give us an eternal dwelling as a free inheritance, we would seek to use our unrighteous wealth for the greatest good of furthering Christ’s kingdom by supporting Lutheran churches and schools, so that friends may testify of us on that final day that when they were hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, and in prison, we helped them (Matthew 25:31ff). Christ tells us that we can actually use our worthless money and vanishing time and talents to do something that will last for eternity! We can make friends in future generations, who will thank us, just as we will give thanks for those before us who built this church and sweat and bled, so that we could have the Gospel today.

Our English Standard Version Bible translates it, “dishonest manager.” I like the translation, “unjust steward” better. A steward is one who manages that which does not belong to him. We are all stewards. Everything we have doesn’t actually belong to us. We have it for a time, on loan from God. And, just as with the steward in Jesus’ parable, our stewardship will be taken away from us. When we die, we will no longer be able to be managers of what God has entrusted to us. And also, like the steward in our parable, we will have to turn in the account of our management, as St. Paul also says in Romans 14, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” And as Jesus’ parable about the talents also teaches us (Matthew 25:14-30), our Master will ask for an account of what we’ve done with the little that was entrusted to us; how we spent the unrighteous wealth God gave us; what we did with the talent and time God gave us.

Yet, unlike that unjust steward in Jesus’ parable, we will not need to weasel ourselves into someone else’s home. And indeed, we cannot trick, cheat, or steal our way into heaven. Rather, the debt we have incurred against our Master has been paid in full by the innocent suffering and death and precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has taken all our sins away. Our Lord Jesus intercedes for us now in heaven, showing our heavenly Father the marks of the nails in his hands and feet and the scar of the spear in his side. We do not need to cheat our way into our eternal dwellings. Our way has been rightfully bought and paid for. Christ Jesus holds in his hands the receipts. And in the Book of Life, written in Jesus’ blood, are the names of all who repent of their sins and trust in Christ Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.

Only an unbelieving scoundrel would then conclude that we need not care then how we spend our earthly wealth, time, and talents. Having been set free from slavery to sin and from hell, we cannot then turn in servitude to the false god Mammon. We must not obey it. Rather, being confident of both our eternal dwelling and our daily bread by the generosity of our God, we seek to put our mammon to work in the service of Christ’s kingdom. We ought to work as if it depends on us, but thank God that it doesn’t. Unbelief causes one to neglect making eternal friends with the mammon God gives him. It comes from not trusting that God will provide for you today and tomorrow. It comes from doubting that God has an eternal dwelling prepared for you (John 14:1-3). So, in order to have a generous heart and to seek to use our mammon to God’s glory, we must believe that Christ has won an eternal dwelling for us. Then God will be your God. And you will be his servant. And He will store up eternal friends for you. Amen.

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The Necessity of Pure Doctrine

7/25/2021

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The Sermon on the Mount, James Tissot, 1986-96, Public Domain.

Trinity 8
Matthew 7:15-23

Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
July 25, 2021

Is pure doctrine important? Our Lord Jesus sure thinks it is. He tells us to beware of false prophets. What is a false prophet? A prophet is someone who speaks for God. A false prophet is someone who claims to speak for God, but rather tells lies. The Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah saying that the prophets have prophesied lies in his name (Jeremiah 23). This is why Jesus says that they come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. That is to say, they come to you with the appearance of someone you can trust, but that is only a disguise. Rather, their intent is to destroy you. They come to you looking like a trusted pastor, calling themselves Christian, and minister. They prophesy in Jesus’ name, cast out demons and do many mighty works in Jesus’ name, but they do not do the will of God. They are liars, which means they do the will of the devil, who is the father of lies.

The word doctrine means teaching. Pure means unpolluted. Pure water does not have any dirt or harmful chemicals in it. Pure gold does not have dross. It shouldn’t be difficult to understand that you should desire to learn pure doctrine and to mark and avoid false doctrine. Pure doctrine comes from Jesus Christ, who is the only way to heaven. False doctrine comes from Satan, who lies to you in order to murder your soul and send you to hell. You would be horrified if you paid a contractor to build your house, and when he laid its foundation, he mixed dirt with the concrete to save money. That would weaken the foundation of your house! That would be dangerous. It would be evil to mix sawdust into your child’s food. We want healthy food, stable materials, pure medicine. How much more should we desire the pure word of God?!

Before our Gospel lesson begins, Jesus warns us, “Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” The way to destruction is wide, because it is the way of the lies of Satan. Satan’s lies are more numerous than the sand of the seashore. And you’re sure to find one that will fit your fancy. But the way to life is narrow, because there is only one way. And that is Jesus Christ. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. So, if you want to be certain that you are on the way to eternal life, you should pay careful attention to the pure doctrine. You don’t want to mix the lies of Satan into the teaching of Jesus. If you discovered a cyanide capsule in your bottle of vitamins, you would certainly take it out. How much more should we remove the false teachings that try to pollute our hearts? Jesus describes the way of false teaching as the way of destruction, that is, the way to hell. He describes false teachers as ravenous wolves dressed like sheep. What do ravenous wolves do when they get into a sheep fold? How do the sheep fare? Are we not sheep? Should we not take heed of this warning from our Good Shepherd?

People get uncomfortable with this lesson from Jesus, because he warns us against those within the Christian Church, who teach falsely. He’s not warning us here against the militant atheist, who will teach your teenager that we evolved from random chance. He’s not warning us here against the pornographer, who seeks to steel the soul of your children and spouse. He’s not warning against the Muslim cleric or the Buddhist monk. It should be obvious to every Christian that you should avoid these influencers at all costs. He’s here warning against those who bear the name Christian, who may say things you like, who make you feel comfortable.

Many say, “Why make a big deal about pure doctrine? Isn’t all that matters is that you’re a Christians and believe in Jesus? Won’t people in other Christians churches also go to heaven?” It is most certainly true that all who believe in Jesus with their hearts and confess him as Lord with their mouths will be saved.” (Romans 10:10) And there are many within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Reformed, Baptist, and many other Christian denominations, who trust in the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and salvation and they truly will be saved just as we will be. It is possible to believe some false doctrine and still be saved. But it is also possible to live with only one lung or one kidney. It’s possible to survive with your legs, arms, and eyes amputated. But it certainly isn’t desirable. In fact, it can be quite harmful!

There are Christian ministers that say that it is okay to believe that the creation account as recorded in Genesis is a myth and that God did not really create Adam out of the dust of the ground. But if you are unwilling to believe that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, how can you believe that God will raise your mortal body from the dust of the earth? How can God give new life to all those who have perished and whose bodies have rotted away and turned to dust? How could God have raised Christ? And it is no surprise that those who accept the theory of macro-evolution and who dismiss Genesis as a myth soon dismiss other or all miracles of the Bible and many reject the chief article of the Christian faith.

Christians are under increased pressure to accept homosexual and transgender ideologies, so many Christian ministers are now saying that homosexuality and transgenderism are not sins. Yet, the acceptance of these ideologies makes it impossible to understand what God intends for how men and women should behave, for marriage, for children, for chastity, for the relationship between Christ and his Church. Indeed, if sociologists spent a thousand lifetimes observing men, women, and children, and the affect marriage has on them, they would still not understand a fraction of what God knew when he created them male and female. And if we cannot fully grasp with our intellect the profound good in the distinction between men and women, and marriage between one man and one woman, we certainly cannot grasp the evil done by destroying these things instituted by God.

Many Christians reject Baptism. Some Lutherans will dismiss this as just a minor error, but it is very serious. People reject Baptism, because they think that they must choose God instead of God choosing them. And because they refuse to simply take Jesus at his word, they deprive children of the saving washing. Many deny that Jesus can be present bodily in the Lord’s Supper, because a man cannot be present in more than one place at one time. But if Christ cannot be present in the Supper, then he cannot be true God and man. And if he were only present here as God, then he would not be with us as the one who was crucified for our sins, that is, as the one who saved us. So, you see that all of these false teachings lead to even worse errors. Pure doctrine is one united body. No amount of false doctrine is safe.

It is true that some who believe some false doctrine will nevertheless be saved. Yet, there is false doctrine that makes one not a Christian, and therefore, outside of salvation. Those who deny that Jesus is God and man cannot be saved. Those who deny that God is the Holy Trinity cannot be saved. Those who deny that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world and rose again from the dead, so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life, cannot be saved. Those who refuse to repent of their sins, but rather persist in them without repenting, cannot be saved.

The most damaging false teaching, which takes many forms, is that we can be saved by our own good works. But if we can be saved by our own works, by being good people, then we are not saved by the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The teaching that good works save replaces Christ Jesus as our true Savior. This false teaching must be rejected at all costs. It blasphemes Christ by saying that his precious blood is not enough to pay for the sins of the world. This is to deny that Jesus is God and Lord. The teaching that good works save robs us of our salvation and confidence. This is why we must avoid all false teaching. All false teaching comes from Satan. So, the goal of all false teaching is to rob you of Christ Jesus as your true treasure.

Perhaps the most terrifying passage in all of Scripture is where Jesus says that there will be many who will claim to prophesy, exorcise demons, and do mighty works in Jesus’ name, who will cry out to Jesus, “Lord, Lord!”, yet to whom Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Will Jesus say that to me? I cry out to Jesus today. I call him Lord. Will I call him my Lord on the Last Day only to hear him respond, “I never knew you.”, before casting me into hell? How can I be certain that Jesus will not say those horrid words, but will instead say, “Enter into the joy of your Master.”?

Only the pure doctrine of Christ can give you that confidence. Jesus says at the end of his Sermon on the Mount that he who hears his words and does them will be like a man who builds his house on the rock, and that house will survive the rain, and the wind, and the floods. Jesus here is saying the same as St. Paul in Romans chapter eight where he says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Pure doctrine gives you confidence that you have built your faith on solid rock, because it teaches that Jesus Christ has fully paid for your sins by his innocent suffering and death. Pure doctrine teaches that Jesus is true man, so he could take your place. Pure doctrine teaches that Jesus is true God, so that his death on the cross fully pays for the sins of the whole world. Pure doctrine teaches that Jesus is risen from the dead and truly intercedes for you in heaven, even as he showers you with his grace on earth through his holy Word and Sacraments. Pure doctrine assures you that since Jesus has done everything necessary to save you, that only faith can receive this salvation as a gift. Your good works cannot save you, just as your sins cannot damn you. Pure doctrine gives you confidence in your salvation, because pure doctrine comes straight from Jesus.

But can you truly know pure doctrine? Indeed, you can. God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Learn your Catechism by heart. It clearly articulates the teaching of the Bible. Come to church and listen to the sermon and judge it according to Holy Scripture. Read the Bible. Come to Bible class and ask questions. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures. Be a student of the Holy Spirit, a disciple of Christ. Lean not on your own understanding, but believe God’s Word, all of it, even if it seems impossible. This is what it means to have Christ as your true teacher. And if you store up Christ’s words in your heart, you will never be put to shame. Amen.

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The Sacraments Prove that Christ is Compassionate and Generous

7/19/2021

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Giovanni Lanfranco, Miracle of the Loaves and the Fish, 1620-1623, Public Domain.

Trinity 7
Mark 8:1-9
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
July 18, 2021

Let us pray, “The eyes of all look to you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” Amen.

What is a Sacrament? A Sacrament is a means of grace, which includes a visible element joined to God’s Word. A Sacrament delivers God’s grace and forgiveness for Christ’s sake. This grace and forgiveness given in a Sacrament is received through faith alone. So, Baptism is a Sacrament. The visible element is the water. Yet, not all water in the world is a Baptism. You are not baptized every time you take a bath or go out in the rain. Added to the water must be the word of God, that is, the command and promise of Christ. Then the water becomes a Baptism, that is, a washing of regeneration and a renewal by the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is also a Sacrament. The visible elements are the bread and the wine. Yet, not every time you eat bread are you eating the body of Christ, nor every time that you drink wine are you consuming Christ’s blood. The words of Christ must be added. Then, the meal is not simply bread and wine, but the very body that was nailed to the cross and the blood poured for the forgiveness of all sins, consumed in a supernatural way with the bread and wine, giving forgiveness and salvation to all who believe.

Genesis chapter two gives us a helpful illustration to how this works. God planted the Garden of Eden and placed Adam in the midst of it, telling him that he could eat the fruit of all the trees in the garden. Yet, two trees were different. There was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. Not every tree in the garden gave the knowledge of good and evil and not every tree in the garden made one live forever. Yet, to these two trees God added his word. This is why God forbade Adam to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and why he banished Adam and Eve from the garden after they did, so that they would not eat of the tree of life.

Why does Christ Jesus give us Sacraments? Why doesn’t he simply speak to us? Our Gospel lesson tells us why. Jesus has compassion on us. Compassion is an attribute of God. He pities us in our distress. Even before we realize the trouble we are in, God sees it and makes a plan to help us. That is why Jesus instituted the Sacraments.

When God created Adam, he did not simply make another animal of flesh. Nor did he make another angel without a body. God made a unique creature, a person with a physical body and an immortal soul. That is what Scripture teaches us when it says that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

And so, when mankind fell into sin and God desired to send a Savior, his Son did not become an angel, but a human being, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus Christ, who is true God from eternity, is also true man. He has a physical body like we do. He also has a human soul. He loved the Lord God with all his human heart, soul, and mind so to fulfill the Law for us. And when he suffered for us on the cross, he not only bore the scourge on his human body, but his human soul endured the punishment of hell for the souls of all mankind. This makes Jesus a true Savior for all people.

And this also helps us understand God’s purpose in the sacraments. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) Jesus is the bread of life, of which whoever eats will live forever. And this eating is done through faith alone. Faith is an activity of the heart. Why then does Jesus give us something to eat and drink? Why does he say, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved?” (Mark 16:16) It is for the sake of our faith. It is because he has compassion on us and wants us to be thoroughly comforted in his mercy.

When God baptized you and the water was poured on your skin, God was telling you that he desires to save not only your soul, but your body. Just as Jesus’ body was made wet by the waters of the Jordan when he was baptized by John and then rose from the dead imperishable after his crucifixion, so we who are baptized are buried with Christ, so that we might rise with him. The water touching our bodies tells us that this is a promise of a real resurrection. Our bodies will be raised imperishable, just as Jesus’ body is. As our souls live forever, so will our bodies with Christ our Savior.

Likewise, when the body of Christ is put in your mouth and you drink his blood, you receive in your body him, who rose bodily from the dead and is ascended in glory to the Father’s right hand. So too will our bodies rise and ascend to be with him. Unlike what some accuse us Lutherans of teaching, we do not believe that Jesus’ body and blood are torn apart when we eat the Sacrament, but that we receive Christ’s body and blood in a supernatural way without harming him. And so, as our bodies have received the supernatural, they shall be like him who rules over nature forever.

Jesus gives us the Sacraments, because he is generous. When Jesus waited three days before he fed the crowd, he taught them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. The multitude sought first the kingdom of God and its righteousness by hanging on to the words of Jesus. And all the rest was added unto them. Their bellies were filled and their strength revived for their journey home. By using what was available, seven loaves and a few small fish, instead of raining bread down from heaven or turning rocks into bread, Jesus showed that while the mouths of all are satisfied from God’s most gracious hand, God expects them to work to earn their bread. Yet, despite these two lessons, Jesus proved himself to be generous, and so proved himself to be God.

People worry a lot about food. That makes sense. Food is one of our most immediate needs. We can’t live long without food. Toward the end of the 18th century, Thomas Malthus postulated that the human population would always grow faster than the ability to grow food to feed that population, and so he advocated for population control. This of course was contrary to God’s word. The human population when Malthus lived was under one billion people. The population today is closing in on eight billion, yet there is a smaller percentage of the population going hungry today than at any time in human history. Malthus was wrong. God opened his hands and satisfied the desires of every living thing.

Only a month ago, our farmers were looking at their dry fields with wrinkled foreheads, praying that God would send rain. And did he send rain? He sure did. And as God provides for the physical needs of our human race and causes the food to grow in more and more abundance, even more does he provide for our salvation. Jesus had the crowd wait three days before he filled their bellies, because he had something more important to give them. Was he stingy in that which is more important? By no means. The Gospel is our most important bread. And the Gospel shows that God loves us abundantly. If God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Water covers most of the earth’s surface. People do not live where there is no water. So, God joined his promise to water, so that we would know that he generously pours the Holy Spirit upon us and washes away our sins. Bread is the most common food on earth. Wine is plentiful. So, Jesus joined his word and promise to bread and wine, so that we would know that his body and blood would never run out to forgive our sins.

There were four thousand men (Matthew tells us not including the women and children). Four is the number of the earth, with its four winds. One thousand is the number for completeness. Jesus truly fed this great multitude, but the number teaches us that Christ provides for all people everywhere. Although they only started with seven loaves of bread, they had seven large baskets full of bread when they were done. Seven is the number of the Church. This shows that Christ has given his Church an inexhaustible supply of himself, the Bread of Life. As the earth must not worry about becoming over populated, because God has promised that he will continue feeding us, so Christ promises to continue to pour his grace upon us as long as the sun and moon exist. As the fields continue to surpass the need to supply bread for the mouths of the growing population, so much more will Christ meet the demand to satisfy our hunger.

When I was a child, we would ask our mother what’s for dinner. We’d get annoyed when our father would say, “Dinner? We fed you yesterday. Do you mean we have to feed you every day?” Of course, they had to feed us every day. We get hungry every day! If we don’t keep eating, we will die. And so, it is for our eternal life. We went to church last week. We heard the Gospel then. We received the Sacrament then. But what have we done in between? We’ve sinned. We neglected our prayers. We trusted in earthly things, rather than him in heaven who blesses the earth. We’ve lusted, coveted, hated, slandered, gotten drunk, cursed, sworn, been lazy, fought, been impatient and selfish, and whatever other breaking of a commandment you can add. Although we’ve been washed clean, we soil ourselves. Although we’ve eaten and drunk, we’ve exhausted ourselves in the fray. Although we were set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness, we have turned to obey our former master and gotten ensnared again. We need to be washed. We need to be forgiven. We need to be fed and strengthened.

So, we come to church and hear God’s servant forgive our sins in the stead and by the command of Christ. We hear the Gospel, which is food for our souls. And, because Christ Jesus is compassionate, and because our Jesus is especially generous, he feeds us his very body for bread and his blood for wine. He lets you know that he does not intend to leave your body dead and rotten in the grave, but that he will raise you up to new life. He tells you that your sins are personally forgiven. He strengthens you for your pilgrimage ahead. And he lets you know that this source of heavenly food will never run out.

Let us pray,

  Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou are mighty; Hold me with Thy pow’rful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.” Amen.

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Be Merciful as Your Father is Merciful

6/27/2021

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Gnadenstuhl mit zwei Märtyrern, Anton von Worms Woensam, 16c. Public Domain.

Trinity 4
Luke 6:36-42
Pastor James Preus
June 27, 2021

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” With these words, our Lord Jesus simply teaches us to behave like Christians. Christians are children of their heavenly Father. Children imitate their fathers. Christians are disciples of their teacher, Jesus Christ. If a disciple is like his teacher, he is perfect. And so, we should recognize that in order for us to be merciful, as Jesus here commands us, we ought to first know how our Father in heaven is merciful.

People commonly think that in order for God to show mercy to us, we must become worthy of his mercy (quite a strange concept of mercy, indeed). But if that were the case, if God waited until we showed ourselves worthy of his mercy, then what would it mean to be merciful as our Father is merciful? We would wait around for other people to show themselves worthy of our mercy! We would judge them to determine whether they deserved our mercy. We would condemn them for their failings. We would withhold our compassion and love. In short, we would be a miserable lot of judgmental, self-righteous hypocrites!

But how is our Father merciful? While we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8) When we were still enemies with God, the Father sent his Son to make satisfaction for our sins with his blood. Before we believed, Christ died for us. Before we were sorry for our sins, God forgave us for Christ’s sake. While we hated him, God loved us. This means that when Jesus tells you to be merciful as your Father is merciful, he is telling you not only to love your neighbor, but to love your enemies and pray for those who hate you. Forgive in your heart those who have sinned against you and have not said sorry. Do not judge them. Do not condemn them. Rather, give without expecting anything in return. You can only do this if you have faith in the mercy your heavenly Father has shown to you.

This helps us understand Jesus’ words, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” We do not judge, because God has not judged us. Rather, he laid all our sins upon Jesus and passed judgment on him in our stead. God did not condemn us, but rather condemned Jesus on the cross. When we do not judge, we always do so in light of Jesus.

But Jesus’ words, “Judge not” have been greatly abused. Satan has purposefully twisted these words to promote sin, and so the true meaning of these words is ignored. People use the commandment, “Judge not” to defend their own sinful desires. “Don’t judge me! I have the right to live this way. Jesus said, not to judge.” Or people will use these words to defend being silent against false teaching and damaging sins. “I’m not going to say that that religion is wrong, because Jesus said not to judge.” Or “I’m not going to confront my brother or sister in Christ with his sin, because Jesus said not to judge.” But this is not what our Lord is teaching us. And those who use Jesus’ words to avoid confessing the truth become increasingly intolerant to correct teaching, so that they pass judgment in the exact way Jesus forbids us.

When Jesus tells us not to judge, he is not saying that we should not speak the truth or confront sin. In John 7, Jesus tells us to judge with right judgment. Rather, when Jesus tells us not to judge, he is telling us to be merciful, to seek to forgive, to seek to restore your brother to Christ. When your neighbor annoys you, don’t judge him for it. We all have annoying traits. We all sin every day, sins of weakness. You certainly would hope that others wouldn’t nit-pick you for every mistake you make. So don’t nit-pick others for their failings. However, when sin becomes more brazen and persistent, so that it cannot be ignored, such as when people openly fornicate or commit adultery, lie, cheat, and steal, it is required of a Christian to confront these sins. St. Paul writes, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” So, we learn that we can confront sin without breaking Jesus’ command not to judge. Indeed, we must confront sin.

There are two sides of the horse we should be careful not to fall off of in regard to this commandment, both of which result in judging and condemning our neighbor. The first is to pass judgment on your neighbor for his sin and condemn him to hell, to not try to restore him to repentance and faith, but to call him a lost cause and to decide that he can’t be saved, or even, that you don’t want him to be saved. This certainly is the judgment Jesus forbids. We have no right to judge or condemn others. Only God does. And God desires all sinners to repent and be saved. By judging and condemning others, we do not help them. Yet, the other side is to refuse to judge what is right and wrong and so to refuse to speak the truth. This side usually thinks they are following Jesus’ commandment not to judge, but they are doing the opposite. Because, if you do not repent of your sins, then you will go to hell. So, to ignore sin is actually to condemn your neighbor! It is not loving if you know that your brother is in great danger of damnation, because he’s trapped in a sin and to not warn him. That is to pass judgment upon him, by neglecting to warn him and tell him how to escape judgment through faith in Christ, who forgives all sins.

You are not sinning against Jesus’ command not to judge when you confess the truth from God’s Word, even if the word you speak itself passes judgment. Jesus says in John chapter 12, “If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.” (vss. 47-48) So, Jesus, who will in fact return to judge the living and the dead, even says that he does not judge, but rather the word he speaks will judge them. What this means is that when you speak God’s word with the intention of your sinning brother or sister returning to Christ for forgiveness, you are not passing judgment. A sinner may receive judgment from those words, but it is God judging them for rejecting his word.

Jesus says a blind man can’t lead a blind man. Who are the blind? They are those who do not know God’s mercy. Last week we heard about how the Pharisees grumbled that Jesus received sinners. They should have rejoiced. But they were blind. They did not know God’s mercy for sinners. They did not recognize their own sin. They were hypocrites with logs in their eyes, criticizing those who were getting their eyes healed. A person who does not know God’s mercy cannot show mercy. Unless the light of God’s grace has shone on you, you cannot see. Unless your cup runs over, then you won’t be able to pour into your brother’s cup.

So, the question is, how can you not be blind? How can you remove the log out of your eye? Through repentance and faith in Christ, that is, by turning from your sin and asking God for forgiveness. Then the log is removed. Then you can see clearly God’s mercy. Then your aim for your brother or sister trapped in sin is not to lord it over them, but to lead them to Christ who heals the blind. You recognize the log is there when you recognize that you are a sinner. You remove the log by turning to Christ, who forgives. Then your desire for all people is for them also to receive this same forgiveness.

People often say, “I don’t want to go to church, because it is filled with hypocrites.” So, a common response is, “Well, there’s always room for one more.” But Christians shouldn’t call themselves hypocrites. Jesus doesn’t call his disciples hypocrites. He calls hypocrites those, who refuse to repent of their own sins, while condemning others for their sins. But Christians are not hypocrites. Christians recognize their own sin. They are sorry for their sins. And they go to church to receive forgiveness from him who receives sinners. Sure, there are going to be hypocrites and false Christians, who go to church. But true Christians are not hypocrites. True Christians are sorry for the sins they have committed against their God, and they gladly receive his forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

You won’t find a less judgmental church than a confessional Lutheran Church. You won’t find a less judgmental church than Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. Now, how can that be? We teach that there are no other gods, but the Lord God, and that it is a sin to worship any other god. We teach that it is a sin to teach falsely and to neglect hearing God’s word. We teach that it is a sin to disobey your parents and other authorities. We teach that it is a sin to have an abortion, because it is killing a child made in God’s image. We teach that it is a sin not only to murder, but to hate someone in your heart. We teach that all sexual relations outside of that between a husband and wife within marriage is a sin, and even to lust after another person in your heart is a sin. We teach that stealing and cheating is a sin, along with gossiping. We even teach that it is a sin to covet your neighbor’s stuff. If we teach that all these are sins that cause a sinner to deserve damnation to hell, how can I tell you that you won’t find a less judgmental church?

Because we preach Christ crucified for sinners. The purpose of calling sin, sin is not to condemn, but to save. We preach the law, so that sinners know their need for a Savior; so that they know that without Jesus there is judgment for sin. And we preach the Gospel that Jesus saves sinners from judgment through his death and resurrection. And we want everyone to believe the Gospel and be saved. We want everyone to escape judgment and condemnation and to be given all that we have been given by our merciful Father.

You can’t get less judgmental than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus rescues sinners from judgment. When Jesus tells us to be merciful as our Father is merciful, he is telling us to confess him as our Savior by showing with our words and actions the mercy God has shown us through Jesus Christ; to forgive those who sin against us; to be patient and humble; and to confess the truth. Our hope is for everyone we meet to escape judgment through Christ. Our hope is for others to receive our Father’s mercy, just as we have received it.
Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

What Makes Jesus Weep?

Who is your God?

The Necessity of Pure Doctrine

The Sacraments Prove that Christ is Compassionate and Generous

Be Merciful as Your Father is Merciful

Rev. James Preus

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