200126 Sermon on 2 Kings 5:1-15 Mat. 8:1-13 (read by elders) (Epiphany 3) January 26, 2020

200126 Sermon on 2 Kings 5:1-15 Mat. 8:1-13 (read by elders) (Epiphany 3) January 26, 2020

Something we can learn about with our readings today is faith. In the Old Testament reading we hear about a foreign general named Naaman. He did not believe at first. Eventually he came around to trying out the word of the prophet Elisha. He was healed of his disease. In the Gospel readings we hear about the faith of the leper and then of the Centurion. Both believed in Jesus. Both received healing—the leper, for himself; the Centurion, for his servant. Today we will learn more about faith.

First of all, faith is not something that is limited to Christians, or even to religious people, but all people employ faith everyday as they go about their business. Let’s use a car as an example. When we get into our cars and turn the key, we have faith that the ignition will engage and the engine will start. If we didn’t believe that, then we would not even turn the key. When we back the car out into the street we believe that the car will work properly. The brakes will stop us, the wheel will turn us. If we did not have faith in these things we would not dare to go out on the streets. Not all cars are worthy of our faith. Perhaps if the car is old, then we will not take it on long trips. We stay close to home just in case the car turns out to be unreliable. A car that has our faith is something that we use and rely upon in order to get us around so that we can live our lives. A car that does not have our faith is something we do not rely upon. We are aware of the possibility of being disappointed if we trust in it. So it goes. We have hopes and expectations in all sorts of things that make up our daily life. We trust in cars, in people, in institutions, and also in God.

Faith in God is something that is just as specific as the faith in our car. We believe that a trustworthy car will bring us good by operating properly. It is the same with our faith in God. Faith in God means that we believe he will do what he has said to us. Believers believe that God will do good to them. This is the faith that you see in the different stories that we have in our readings for today. Naaman, the leper whom Jesus met and cured, the Centurion whose servant was healed—all of them believed God would do good to them. Just as we trust in the various parts of our car working, so also these men believed that turning to God would help them in their troubles. We see in all three cases that their faith was proved true. They all got what they hoped for—the goodness of God. But also in all three of these examples, their faith in the goodness of God was tested in various ways. Their faith is remarkable, because it prevailed against this testing as they held on to the promise of goodness in God.

In our Old Testament lesson there is the example of Naaman. He was a Syrian who heard that the God of the Israelites was good. A captured Israelite girl told him. She said that the God of Israel was with the prophet Elisha. If Naaman would go to him, then he could be cured of his disease of leprosy. It was by faith that Naaman sent a letter to the king of Israel, telling him that he was going to come. It was by faith that Naaman went to the prophet Elisha. But his hopes and expectations were put to the test by the unexpected way Elisha acted. Naaman was expecting Elisha to come out and wave his hand over him, and examine him, and then figure out what to do. Elisha did no such thing. He didn’t come out to see him. He sent a message through a servant. This was very offensive to Naaman. It appeared that Elisha didn’t care about him, and Naaman was an important man.

Furthermore, the instructions that were given were offensive. He was supposed to go wash in the Jordan. The Jordan isn’t that impressive compared to the mountain streams that Naaman knew from his homeland. It would be a bit like you being told to wash in some drainage ditch. If there were any waters that could cure him, then surely it would have to be a mountain spring that is known for its purity, wouldn’t it? At this point Naaman loses his faith in God and in God’s prophet Elisha. His reason told him that the Word God spoke through Elisha was ridiculous. He could do better on his own.

Thankfully Naaman had some good friends. The best friends that anybody can have are the ones that help us believe God’s Word. These friends were his servants. They gently argued with Naaman until he finally overcame his unbelief. Reluctantly, he washed in the Jordan and was cured. He even got more than he bargained for. His skin was not just healed of the disease, but was made like the skin of a young person—no wrinkles or liver spots. His faith in the goodness of God was confirmed by his healing. He makes a good confession when he says, “Surely there is no God except the God of Israel.”

Something similar can happen today in Christ’s Church. Jesus has given us a similar washing as the washing in the Jordan river. This washing is the washing of Baptism. The promises attached to baptism are so glorious that they are hard to believe. Baptism forgives us all our sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this. But reason looks at baptism and finds it lacking in impressiveness. How can water do this? Shouldn’t salvation come from great striving after purity and righteousness? How can it be that this water and this word can bring about salvation? And so there are many today who are just like Naaman. They reject this word of God because it doesn’t not suit their fancy. They feel that this is not how people should become clean and holy before God. But it doesn’t matter what people think. What matters is what God promises. Therefore, whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned.

In our Gospel lesson we hear about two individuals who have faith in God. They both believe in Jesus. These two are remarkable examples of faith. They believe against the odds. They hold fast to the goodness of God despite expectations. The Leper who comes to Jesus is bold. Lepers were condemned by the Law of Moses to live outside of society as those who were unclean. Uncleanness meant that they were unable to participate in the temple. They had to stay at a great distance lest their uncleanness should infect other people. It’s kind of like how pastor does not want to infect all of you with his influenza.

But this Leper believed that Jesus was powerful. He believed that Jesus was not just any ordinary man who would catch his uncleanness and not be able to do anything about it. Jesus would help him. That is why he came and asked. He received what he believed. The Leper was cleansed.

This Leper is remarkable in his faith in a different way than Naaman. It was not just his reason that opposed his faith, but the very Law of God that opposed him. The Law of God condemned him. He didn’t belong among the good, holy people of Israel. Nevertheless, even though the Law condemned him, he believed in the goodness of God and the mercy of Jesus Christ. In this way he is a very good example of faith for us as well. According to God’s own Law, you have no right to come before God to be blessed by him. You deserve punishment according to the Law. Faith, however, looks to the fulfillment of the Law that is promised in Jesus Christ. He has come not to condemn sinners but to forgive them and reconcile them to God with his own righteousness.

Finally, there is the example of the Centurion. The Centurion was not a Jew. He was a Gentile. He worked for the Roman government. He was the commander of several hundred soldiers. Jesus says that his faith is greater than the faith of any Jew. So what made his faith great? We see what we see in the other two examples. He did not allow reason, nor the law, to stop him in his quest for the goodness of God. Naaman wanted Elisha to come out in person and deal with him. The Centurion says that there is no need for Jesus to deal with his servant personally. No examination or waving of his hands was necessary. If Jesus would just say the word, then the servant would be healed. By nature all people like to believe in show and ceremony. The more marvelous the show is, the better it seems stuff should work. The Centurion is satisfied with a simple word, contrary to what our reason thinks should work. That’s the one part of his great faith. The other part of his great faith is similar to the Leper’s faith. He does not let the Law stop him from his quest for grace. The Centurion was an uncircumcised Gentile. He didn’t belong with the people of God. The Law of Moses said he didn’t belong. But his faith was not in the Law. His faith was in Jesus. Nobody is saved through faith in the Law, for the Law only condemns us. Jesus is the Savior. Through faith in him we receive salvation.

In the Old Testament lesson and the Gospel lesson we have three examples of faith. Faith is important. All people use faith. Faith is very practical. What Jesus has sent out Christians to say is that we should believe in him. The Gospel, or good news, is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world. Believe in this promise and it is yours. With the Word of the Gospel, and in the Gospel-laden sacraments, Jesus does to us today what he did long ago to that Leper and Centurion. We are forgiven, rescued from death and the devil, and given eternal salvation. The faith that we have in his promise will not be put to shame. Jesus tells the Centurion, “Let it be done to you as you believe.” Since the Centurion expected good things, and not bad things, from Jesus, that is exactly what he received. All those who trust in Jesus Christ will not be disappointed. Their faith will be proven right. Believe in Jesus. His promises come true.

200119 Sermon on 6th Commandment (John 2) (Epiphany 2) January 19, 2020

200119 Sermon on 6th Commandment (John 2) (Epiphany 2) January 19, 2020

About 2,000 years ago there was some husband and wife whose wedding was greatly honored. Their wedding was the occasion for Jesus’s first miracle. He gave them a present that is almost ridiculous in its proportions. He gave them somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of the best wine they had ever tasted. Think of a 50 gallon barrel. They got about 3 of these. Jesus wanted this couple and all their guests to be merry and joyful. Obviously the marriage of a man and a woman is something that God approves of and is joyful over.

But we don’t need to rely on this text alone to show us that. This is abundantly clear elsewhere in the Scriptures. In the image of God, God created man. Male and female he created them. When he first spoke to Adam and Eve he told them that they should come together. They should be fruitful and multiply. They should have children. Man and woman, marriage, sex, children, family—these are beautiful things intimately tied up with God and his will towards us. In fact, Paul says in Ephesians 5, that the coming together of a husband with his wife is like the coming together of Christ, the groom, with the Church, his bride. As a husband loves and takes delight in his wife, so God loves his chosen people.

One of the ways that you can tell what is important for us and for our salvation is when the devil and the demons rage against something. I don’t think there is anything that is fought against so strongly as an honorable marriage, where husband and wife have clean consciences, and are eagerly in love with one another so as to make a family together. Instead, I dare say we have all been corrupted. Snickering among children, children telling each other new and exotic tales, pornography and sexually suggestive television, movies, and music, masturbation, the social expectation for dating and the sexual experimentation that is supposed to go along with it—these temptations hit every one of us like a tidal wave (particularly when we are young)—and it seems nobody comes out unscathed. What all these things teach with an almost irresistible force is that sexual activity is entertainment. It is utterly disconnected from a husband or wife and the children God gives as a fruit of this union.

The alternative to this frenzied promotion of sex as entertainment is something that is truly romantic. It is the single-minded affection of a husband for his wife and a wife for her husband. They seek and win one another’s affection. I once heard someone use a good analogy that has stuck in my head ever since. He compared romance to the playing of a game. When you play a game you agree to certain rules. It is always possible to cheat. It is vastly easier to win when you cheat. But the thrill of victory for a cheater is altogether different than the thrill of victory for someone who plays according to the rules. So also, love and affection within marriage is harder than satisfying your cravings in other ways, but it is higher and better. It is tied up with our very human nature—the way that we were created to be. It even has something to do with our salvation and the relationship that exists between Christ and his bride, the Church. Being chaste and unadulterated, and yet at the same time, having a burning desire for your beloved, is so good that it cannot be gotten across by words. It is truly ideal.

In confirmation class, while the students and I are studying the 10 Commandments together, we sing Martin Luther’s hymn, “These Are the Holy Ten Commands.” After talking about each of the commandments in turn there are two verses at the end that speak about the Ten Commandments all together. Verse 11 says, “We have this Law to see therein / That we have not been free from sin, / But also that we clearly see / how pure towards God life should be. / Have mercy Lord!” Two things go together here. The Law shows us what is good. Today, the Law shows us what is good when it comes to the way that God has designed us in his image, male and female he has created us. Marital love is high and holy, good and exciting. At the same time we see therein that we have not been free from sin. We have all been hit by the tidal wave of sexual perversion and temptation. None of us have come out unscathed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each to his own way.

It is a very good thing that God has given to us his Law. No one is justified by the Law, as Luther points out in the next verse: “Our works cannot salvation gain. / They merit only endless pain. / Forgive us, Lord, to Christ we flee, / Who pleads for us endlessly. / Have mercy Lord.” The Law has not been given to pat us on the head and tell us what good boys and girls we have been. In order to do that, the Law would have to lie. The Law points out our perversions. Because it does this, not a single one of us is thrilled to hear the Law. It might be okay for us to hear the Law that deals with other people’s perversions, but not our own. But we all, together, must hear this Word from God for otherwise we will inevitably justify ourselves rather than finding justification in Jesus. Since the way that we have lived only merits endless pain, we flee to Jesus, who pleads for us and our forgiveness and salvation endlessly.

There is a lot of guilt, shame, and despair when it comes to the sixth commandment and its requirement of a sexually pure and decent life. This sin has a special power that perhaps Paul is alluding to when he says that all other sins are done outside of the body, but this one is done within it. The devil’s first strategy is to keep everybody in the dark so far as their sins go. He wants all people to think that they are good and noble, even though they are not. If that strategy fails and people come to know their sin, then he will change tactics utterly. He will say that someone who has done the kinds of things that you have done cannot possibly be forgiven. Plus, it’s impossible that you will ever be able to change. The lusts are too strong and there’s nothing that can be done about it, so you might as well accept it. To use Job’s wife’s words, “Curse God and die!” There’s no hope for you. Or perhaps, “Curse the God who condemns sin and make up a new one for yourself.” Either way the devil is quite pleased, because you are kept from faith in Christ.

While we must continue to insist on what is right and good when it comes to our sexuality, so also we must continue to insist that God forgives the sins of all who repent. There are no sins for which Jesus did not die. The reason why Jesus suffered the way that he did is because the guilt and shame of the worst sins you can possibly think of crushed him in his conscience. As Paul says, “You have died with Christ and your life is hidden in him.” Have you committed adultery? Christ was branded with that sin of yours and died as a result of it. When he died with your sin, you died too. Have you engaged in sexual perversions that are so bad that they cannot be mentioned? That person, who used to be you, has died. Christ died. Your old self, with all its evil desires, has been crucified with Christ, so that it is no longer you who live, but Christ lives within you. The life that you now live is lived by faith in Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

There is an incredibly widespread belief that Christians who say that homosexuality (or any other sexual perversion) is wrong, must hate those people. This is the common view in society. It is what might get us labeled as a hate group one day. Also, within, with our own members, there are people who think that there are certain sins that cannot be forgiven. This is wrong. If homosexuals can’t be forgiven, then you can’t be forgiven either.

There are a lot of people in the Christian Church who struggle mightily against their lusts. Almost always, they are victims of their own history. Past perversions take their toll even when a person is forgiven and righteous through faith in Christ. This is why we should fear sin. Innocence once spoiled cannot be gotten back. Once a person starts down a road of sin, it is ten times harder to stand against temptation than if they had just curbed themselves at the start. Sin is punished with more sin.

Nevertheless, when anybody hates the evil life that he or she has lived and asks for mercy for Jesus’s sake, then that person is forgiven. Furthermore, that Christian has the promise of cleansing. The corrupt and evil heart is worked upon by the Holy Spirit in this life. The old Adam is drowned and dies more and more. This is far from complete, though. Complete healing of all wickedness is promised to those who believe in Christ in the next life. We have to be patient. The resurrection is coming. This is our hope.

The world’s hope is that our problems will be fixed if we ignore sin. This can be very similar to something I’ve talked to you about many times before. People do the same thing with death. Prevailing wisdom says that nothing can be done about such things. If nothing can be done, then you might as well get used to it. No! Not only can something be done about sin and death, something has been done about sin and death. Jesus has defeated them both. We do not have to excuse sin away. We do not have to philosophize death away. We can see them both for the ugly things that they are. Seeing them as ugly and ghastly will help you appreciate what Jesus went through on your behalf.

What a peculiar God we have! He is more generous and gracious than any human being ever could be. He most certainly did not just die for good people. He died for murderers and pedophiles, drunkards and gluttons, misers and gossips, thieves and blasphemers. That is to say, he died for you. Believe it! Those who are fighting so valiantly to pretend that sin isn’t actually sin are enemies of the message of Christ the crucified. If sin is not sin, then Christ died for no purpose. The truth, however, is that Christ died to reconcile foul sinners to a righteous and holy God.

We do not need to make the Bible more gracious than it already is. It can’t be any more gracious. Christ turns away no one who looks to him for mercy. It doesn’t matter who they might be. And so all the reinterpreting of the Bible to make all manner of perversions acceptable is a false move. These people would have you believe in something other than Christ the crucified Savior of sinners. Perhaps this is what they want us to believe: Perhaps they want us to believe in them—that they are such wise and insightful people who have discovered that something no longer is wrong. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to appear before God with such flimsy stuff. Sounds like fig leaves to me.

Instead, let us urge repentance and faith in Christ. This is the repentance and faith that we need for ourselves. It is the hope we offer to the world.  Do not be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of salvation to everyone who believes.

200112 Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 (Baptism of our Lord) January 12, 2020

200112 Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 (Baptism of our Lord) January 12, 2020

A couple weeks ago I spoke about how there is a long period of time during Jesus’s earthly life where we do not know much about him. From the age of about 2 until about 30 the Gospels only record one incident, when he was about 12. He went to Jerusalem with his family and accidently got left behind. Today we are considering the Baptism of our Lord. This is the next thing we hear about after Jesus’s childhood. Mark’s Gospel begins with Jesus and his baptism. John’s Gospel begins with John the Baptist testifying about Jesus’s baptism. Matthew and Luke both deal with Jesus’s nativity in the first couple chapters, then they speak about Jesus’s baptism. Jesus’s childhood is not unimportant, but all four of the Gospels begin more thoroughly to relate the events of Jesus’s life after his baptism in the Jordan River.

Asking the question, “why?” when the Bible doesn’t explicitly give you the answer, can be treacherous. The Bible doesn’t tell us explicitly why Jesus’s baptism is so important and why, in a sense, his baptism is the beginning of the Gospel. But I think this is a worthwhile thing to think about in order to better understand the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. So that is what we are going to look at today.

Let’s begin by talking about the word “Christ.” We so often hear and so often speak about “Jesus Christ” that it is almost like Jesus is his first name and Christ is his last name. But that is not why we speak of “Jesus Christ.” Christ is from a Greek word that means “anointed.” Anointed means to have a liquid poured on top. The New Testament is written in the Greek language. The word “Christ” got carried over into English without translating it. If you wanted to translate it you could say, “Jesus the anointed,” rather than, “Jesus Christ.” The New Testament is written in Greek, the Old Testament is written in the Hebrew language. The word for “anointed” in Hebrew is “Messiah.” I’m sure you’ve heard that word a time or two, although we do not use it nearly so often as the Greek “Christ.” But it means the same thing as Christ: “Jesus the anointed.”

Aside from the way that we baptize people who desire to be Christians, we do not anoint very much in our times. This puts us at a bit of a disadvantage, because we don’t see the connections that Old Testament people would immediately associate with being anointed. The way that people were put into office in the Old Testament was by anointing. You could almost say, by being baptized. The kings of Israel and Judah were anointed with oil when they were given the right and responsibility to rule. The priests, who served in the tabernacle and temple before the presence of God, were anointed. The way that we put people into office today is a bit different. We might have them put their hand on a Bible and make solemn pledges to defend the constitution and so on. Something of this solemnity and dignity and importance is tied up with Jesus being anointed, or baptized, in the Jordan River. It is not just a matter of having water poured on his head.

But of course Jesus was not anointed just with water; he was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Matthew says that when Jesus came out of the water he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and landing on him. John records John the Baptist’s testimony that he also saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus. That was how John the Baptist knew that Jesus was the Christ. And so Jesus is not anointed just with water or with oil—like the kings and priests were. The third person of the Trinity descends upon him. The first person of the Trinity speaks from heaven. He says, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.”

And so at the baptism of Jesus we have a tremendous revelation—we see something that we otherwise wouldn’t see so well. The Trinity is there—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And for what occasion? That this man Jesus should be anointed—that he should be put in office. And what is his office? He is the Savior of sinners.

Jesus has been the Christ from the moment of his conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary, but he is publicly revealed to be the Christ at his baptism. Now that he is publicly in the office of Christ, he immediately gets to work as our Savior. The first thing that happens after Jesus is baptized is that he is kicked out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. There he is tempted by the devil. We hear about this temptation on the first Sunday in Lent. Although he is tempted in all ways, just like we are, he does not fall. He succeeds where we fail so that his perfect life could be credited to us.

After Jesus returns from the wilderness he beings to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, mobility to the lame, life to the dead, and good news to the poor. This is not mere do-goodism, like a civil service organization might do. This is the beginning of the reversal of the fall into sin. Jesus is not just putting band-aids on stuff, which is the best that we can ever do with all our technology and power. He’s getting down to the root and source of all our troubles.

Jesus is able to do things previously unheard of. There are many unusual miracles of healing in the Old Testament, but no one was able to give sight to those born blind. Nobody had been able to give hearing to those born deaf. These are things that Jesus did.

He also preached good news to the poor. I think we are predisposed to think that compared to miracles of healing and even resurrection, this one is not so significant. That is not true. The greatest is left for last. The good news that Jesus preached to poor sinners is that there is reconciliation between God and sinners. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, the worst thing that happened to them was that they were no longer able to look God in the eye. They were frightened of him, instead of how it was previously. They used to love to be together with God—they loved being together with him much more than we love being with the people that we love—our family and friends. But sin did such a number on them that they preferred not to think about God at all. They preferred to just eek out their existence, and so it is with us to this day.

Adam and Eve’s loss of confidence in the loving kindness of God was a much, much greater loss than the other curses that they now had to endure because of their sin. It was worse than the thorns and thistles that Adam now had to contend with. It was worse than the difficulty and danger of childbirth and the dissatisfaction with her station that Eve had to endure.

Preaching the good news to the poor is greater than miracles of healing, and that’s easy to see if only we have the right perspective. When Christ comes in power and great glory to judge the living and the dead, which would you rather have? Would you rather have working eyes and ears, or would you rather have a heart that is bursting with love and longing and joy—like a bride who waits for her husband? What good will it do you to have two hands or two feet or two eyes only to be cast into hell? No, the preaching of the Gospel is by no means the least of the works that the Christ does in his office of Savior. The giving of a good conscience through the forgiveness of sins is at the very heart of God’s mercy and blessing toward us, and it is prerequisite to fully enjoy any other blessing he might give us.

The work of Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of sinners, culminates in the mystery of the cross. The cross is where the Son of God works reconciliation between sinners and God so that through him we might have this good conscience toward God. Later on, in the book of Luke, Jesus speaks about his upcoming death as a baptism. He says that he has a baptism with which he has to be baptized, and he is not at peace until it is completed. And so we see that Jesus’s baptism anticipates and is the beginning of all the work that Jesus does as the Christ, as the Savior.

In our reading we have very beautiful words spoken by the Father. He says, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.” Sometimes people falsely think that God the Father is kind of the bad, mean guy, who insists upon justice, and Jesus is the nice one who does not hold our sin against us. This is totally false. The Father is pleased with his Son, Jesus, because Jesus is going to work our salvation. It was his eternal love that set in motion our salvation even from eternity. The Father is pleased with the Son even when the Son is abused by the devil, unpopular with the people, mocked and spit upon by the soldiers, and when he is gasping for breath on the cross. Through tear filled eyes the Father loves and is proud of his Son because he loves you. He wants you together with him in perfect harmony and fellowship. That is why he is pleased with his Son as his Son carries out the heavy labor of being the Savior of the world.

And so we see that Jesus’s baptism is the beginning of his heroic work. It has vast significance. There is much more that we could talk about. Luther says we could contemplate this baptism for the rest of our lives. But I want to get to one more thing. I also want to speak about your baptism.

After Jesus was resurrected and before he ascended into heaven, he told his disciples, “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is not some human plaything—cooked up by the apostles. Baptism is God’s thing. It is not a mere coincidence that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were manifested at Jesus’s baptism, and are now present also in your baptism. As we’ve seen today, it was not the case with Jesus’s baptism that he was just splashed with some water and that was that. So also, your baptism was not just plain water and that was that. Your baptism was the beginning of your life as God’s own child. It was the beginning of your eternal life as a blessed creature, so long as you continue in faith until you die. For Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Baptism is an extraordinary gift. It is not recognized as such. People foolishly regard it as a rite of passage for a baby—an opportunity to take pictures—and nothing more. An amazing number of Christian churches seem to fight against it with all their might—they say that it is nothing, that it does nothing. It is just water. It is just an empty symbol. To be frank, this is just plain devilish. Baptism is God saying to the one who is baptized: “I am yours and you are mind. Where I am you may remain. The foe shall not divide us.” And then you have all these evil spirits who are saying, “That’s not true. That couldn’t possibly be true. Baptism is just plain water.” There is nothing more that the devil wants than for you to believe that Jesus is nothing. His cross is nothing. His forgiveness won’t work. This baptism, the way that this work of Jesus is communicated to you, is nothing. It’s just an old custom and ordinance. These are all miserable lies, tricks from the devil himself, trying to prevent you from blessedness, and drag you down into hell with him. If he’s able to get away with these lies in a church, then it is all the better for him, for it catches poor Christians unawares.

If you want to know the truth about your baptism and its power, then I suggest that you study our opening hymn today, “God’s Own Child I Gladly Say It,” as well as Luther’s baptismal hymn, the chief hymn, sung just before the sermon, “To Jordan Came the Christ, our Lord.” If you don’t have a hymnal at home, then take one of ours. Just bring it back with you next Sunday. These hymnals are not here for decoration, nor are we to sing them mindlessly while we sit in the pew and never think of them again. The hymnal is here for us to study and to learn from.

These baptismal hymns are very practical. These hymns prepare you to die. They prepare you to meet your Maker. They do not do this by telling you to do this or that, but by teaching you about the salvation God worked and give to you in your baptism. This is not high falutin’ theology, but the most imminently practical knowledge we can possibly learn. You are all going to die, unless Christ comes back first, why on earth would you not be thoroughly informed of the way that you are prepared to overcome death—by the baptism that we so easily forget about even though we are Christians and come to church week after week? Do yourself a favor, and consider these hymns.

200105 Sermon on Genesis 46:1-7 (Christmas 2) January 5, 2020

200105 Sermon on Genesis 46:1-7 (Christmas 2) January 5, 2020

I think one of the attributes of the Scriptures that indicate its truthfulness is the way that the history of God’s people has not been edited to “clean it up.” There is a natural compulsion in all of us to want to be liked and highly esteemed. Toward that end, we put our best foot forward. If company is coming, then we clean the house. The posts that we put on Facebook are not about our failures. We only put the good and respectable stuff on there—the stuff that will make people think highly of us.

We might do the same thing about our family history. We, understandably, might be embarrassed about someone in our family being shamefully exposed. We might not want to admit that our family has been poor or poorly educated. This is a matter of self-interest. There is truth in the saying, “The apple does not fall far from the tree.” If our family is a bunch of losers, then there’s a good chance that we are too. This is something that everybody naturally hides, and so we might leave out certain details about our lineage.

The vast majority of the Bible is the history of one family that eventually grew to be a nation. From Genesis 12 onward the Bible is the story of Abraham and his descendants. Abraham’s grandson was originally named Jacob. God would eventually give him a new name—Israel—and that would be the name of the nation. Jacob’s twelve sons would be the founding fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Bible chronicles the history of this people.

If the Israelites saw the Scriptures merely as their own family record—if they looked at it like their own genealogy book—then I can’t imagine how the embarrassing things that we find in the Scriptures could remain. The sins and foibles of even their most important people are right there, black on white. There was that one time, for example, where Noah got drunk and was passed out, naked. His son Ham laughed at him, but Japheth and Shem covered him with a blanket, walking backwards so that they would not see his nakedness. Or have a look at what the Bible says about Jacob’s four oldest sons. You will find sexual sins. You will see wrath and cruelty. These are not the kinds of things that normally go into the family album.

In fact, even though we are not blood relatives of the Israelites, our Christian publishing houses tend to be embarrassed about what is in the Bible. A lot of Christians don’t know what is in the Bible because all that they know about the Bible is what they learned in Sunday School. They’ve never read it themselves. The materials that are used in Sunday School are almost always edited to take out anything that is distasteful. If there is too much violence or seediness or if anything is too frightening, then it gets cut by the publishers. This is no good! The Israelites managed to pass down what God gave them without editing it for thousands of years and those were stories about their very own people. Why are we so embarrassed that we cannot own and embrace the Scriptures that God has given to us?

The Scriptures speak the way they do because it is the truth. The Scriptures also speak the way they do so that we could know what’s what. The Bible tells the story of God’s people. It is the story of the relationship between God and those people. God’s people are sinners—real, bona fide sinners—not fake ones. The Bible, over and over again, shows that the sinner’s fantasy—that they will get away with all their sins without being punished—cannot come true. Over and over again the Bible shows that God is angered by our sin and punishes sinners. The Bible also shows that God has mercy on those who have been humbled and who ask him to have mercy.

So what happens when the Bible is falsified by our publishing houses? A great deal of what I have just told you is left out. The people in the Bible are not thought of as sinners—or at least not as poor, miserable sinners who have done appalling things. God’s anger against sinners for their sin is never talked about it. Such things might frighten the children and embarrass the adults. Therefore, we have not taught our people to fear God. God’s forgiveness has, generally speaking, been talked about, but God’s forgiveness is altogether different when the person asking for it actually needs it versus not really needing it. What I mean is that forgiveness is something different for the person caught red-handed, soiled in sin, under God’s wrath, afraid of going to hell because he knows that is where he belongs. Because of the editing of the Bible—really the falsification of the Bible—that we have done, forgiveness is turned into a principle that puts people’s minds at ease who don’t really want to have anything to do with God. Forgiveness is taken for granted as though God has to forgive us. The exception to this principle, of course, is if we do something really disgusting or appalling. These poor, miserable sinners are never known as ones who get forgiven, because the editors have edited them out of the Bible!

This kind of thing might be done by well-meaning, ever-so-pious people, but it is wrong. They know not what they do. If people are embarrassed or appalled by the bible, then let them be embarrassed and appalled by it, but don’t change it! We live in a free country. So if people want to make up some god in their own head that they think is better than the one that’s in the Bible, then they are free to do that. But that’s not the God that I learn of in the Scriptures and the God whom I want to fear, love, and trust. God does not want us to be embarrassed of him or his actions. He also doesn’t need us to defend him and put cosmetics on him. God is quite capable of defending himself. But if we want to learn of him, then he directs us to the writings of Moses, the chroniclers, the prophets, and the apostles. The Israelites managed to control their impulses to edit so as to clean up the family history. We should too.

The thing that I’d like to consider today, in light of what we have talked about, is our Old Testament reading. Moses tells us about Jacob when Jacob is quite old. His twelve sons are all grown. Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, has risen in the ranks of the Egyptian government. Because Joseph was told by God that Egypt would have seven good years of crops followed by seven bad years, he was placed in charge of storing up the grain during the good years. Now that a severe famine had struck the land, Egypt was the only place that had any food.

The famine did not just strike Egypt, but also struck Canaan, where Jacob and his family lived. They were starting to go hungry and so he sent his sons down to Egypt to buy food. While they were there they eventually learned that their brother Joseph was in charge of distributing the grain. Joseph would now take care of the family. He told them that they should all move down to Egypt where food and pasture were plentiful.

This brings us to today’s Old Testament reading. Jacob is an old man. He doesn’t want to leave his home. Furthermore, even his religion was tied up with this decision, because God had promised this land to him and his descendants. How could he leave it? It seems that the hesitancy of leaving is so great, that God has to step in and speak to him directly. God assures Jacob that it will be okay for him to go to Egypt. His descendants will not melt into the Egyptian population. They will remain distinct. God will keep his covenant. A mighty nation would come from his descendants and they would come back to Canaan.

Even though God assured Jacob that things would turn out alright, it still was very difficult for Jacob to leave. He would never again see his homeland. He would die in Egypt. But he was so homesick that he made his sons promise to bring his body back to Canaan, so that he could be buried next to his forefathers.

So what does this have to do with what we’ve talked about today? It is this: Jacob, also called Israel, is the great founding father of all the Israelites. He is more than George Washington. But the Israelites did not make up grand stories about Jacob, to make him seem more than he really was. They did not invent stories about cherry trees or never lying. Instead, they told the truth. The truth is that Jacob died a poor man in a strange land. He did not have his own territory. He was renting from the Egyptians. He was almost a charity case of Pharaoh’s. This is not some grand story about a great man in the sense that we are used to.

And yet, the truth is that Jacob is a great man. His is a grand story. His is a story of faith. It is a story of dependence upon God and believing his promises. Jacob was a sinner whom God chastised like a good father chastises his child—not because the father hates his child, but precisely because he loves the child. God chastened and also forgave. He spoke tenderly to Jacob, precisely when he was brought low. He reassured Jacob so that his faith did not fail.

One of the important reasons why we should not edit and revise the Bible is because we are supposed to learn from it. The way that God dealt with Jacob is the same way that he deals with you. The circumstances of your life compared to his life are somewhat different—although I think we often overstate that difference. But the way that God deals with you is exactly the same.

God made himself known to Jacob. God has made himself known to you. God promised an inheritance to Jacob. God has promised an inheritance for you. God chastised Jacob. God chastises you. God spoke to Jacob. God has spoken to you by causing you to hear the true preaching of his Word and by giving you his sacraments. When God spoke to Jacob he was reassured and his faith was buoyed up anew. So also, when God forgives you by telling you that you are forgiven, you are to take this to heart, and gladly look to God as your dear father and regard yourself as his dear child.

This relationship that God has initiated and sustained with you is the most important thing in your life. Even if you lose absolutely everything else, but you retain the good graces of your God, then you are blessed more than the richest person on this earth. Think of how distressed you would be if you lost your savings and your home. Think of what it would be like to live hand to mouth after selling all your assets. Is this the retirement that you dream of? I guarantee you it wasn’t Jacob’s dream either. But he let these things go because he believed that God was his God, that God loved him, that God would set things right in the end, and when he does, then they will be better than they ever can be in this present life.

And so we shouldn’t be afraid of anything except God. If God is for you, then who can be against you? We also shouldn’t be ashamed of our Scriptures or of Jacob, an example of faith for us. There are a lot of historians who despise little Jacob and his descendants. They say that Israel never amounted to much. They never got much territory. They were nothing compared to the nations around them. In like manner people look down on Jacob as a failure for dying in poverty as a stranger in a strange land.

But we have a different way of looking at the course of this world. The story of this world is not the story of technology or progress or money or art or conquering or dominance. The story of this world is about a God who has loved us, his creatures, from before the foundation of the world. In order to save them all, he sent his Son to be born of a woman, to be sacrificed on the cross. The God who has created all things and sustains all things still speaks to us in his word so that we are not led astray into myths, but know what the true God is like and how he regards us. Jesus is the greatest treasure this world has ever had, but what did this world do to him? They couldn’t stand him and the light that he brought. They crucified him.

Let’s not be embarrassed of him or of the Scriptures that reveal him. If people want to mock them, fine. As for you, let that crucified Christ be your life, your hope’s foundation, your glory, and your salvation.