Lenten Vespers: 3-21-12

March 21, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
John 17:-1-5

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

 

1. The Passion and Death of Jesus is a story of unbelievable courage. History is filled with stories of courageous soldiers and ordinary men and women who risked their lives to save others but the battle Jesus fought was on a different kind of battlefield. Jesus lived, suffered, died, and rose again to save us from the power of sin death and hell. This was a work that only He could accomplish and it was the work His Father had sent Him to do. Our sermon text is taken from our Lord’s High Priestly prayer in the upper room the night He was betrayed, on Maundy Thursday, and it gives us insight into the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice with me what we learn from this beautiful prayer.

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2. Christ completed the work His Father gave Him to do. Jesus was sent to earth with a mission. The angel revealed the meaning of His birth to Joseph in a dream: And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Mt. 1:21). On the night Jesus was born the angels revealed to the shepherds who He was and what He had come to do:  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord (Lu. 2:11). Jesus was our Savior, the promised Messiah, and Lord, the Divine Son of God who came into the world to fulfill God’s great plan of salvation. Anyone familiar with the Old Testament knew about Jesus. The Prophet Isaiah revealed that a virgin would conceive and bear a son and be called Immanuel, God with us. He also revealed His mission: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn (Is. 61:1-2). The entire Old Testament revealed the life and ministry of Jesus. On the Road to Emmaus, after His resurrection, Jesus was walking with two of His disciples who were having difficulty understanding the cross. Our Lord said to them.

 

3. O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself (Lu. 24:25-27). Later He said to all the disciples: These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me (Lu. 24:44). All of the sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed to His birth and His death for Jesus was the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world, as John the Baptist had announced. His ministry on earth consisted of proclaiming the Gospel, healing the sick, and even raising the dead but the most important part of His ministry came at the end of His life. He told His disciples: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken (Lu. 18:31-34).

 

4. The disciples did not understand but Jesus saw everything clearly. When Jesus prayed to His Father saying: Glorify Thy Son it signaled His willingness to embrace the cross and all that it meant-the suffering, abuse, ridicule and death. On the cross He cried out: It is finished! (Jn. 19:30). These words reveal that all the suffering God had planned for His Son was complete; redemption was accomplished, our salvation was final. The death of Jesus did more than just make salvation possible. Christ accomplished our salvation! He completed it. He redeemed the world once for all time. In Hebrews we read: Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12). In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14). I’ve heard preachers say: God has done all He can for you and now it is up to you. Man does not cooperate with God to be saved. There is nothing we can add to His atonement, we cannot create faith in our own hearts; Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. The blood of Christ purchased us. On the cross a real transaction took place; a payment was made, offered, and accepted. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28). Christ’s resurrection three days later proved that His sacrifice was sufficient and acceptable to God.

 

5. Jesus had to die if we were going to be saved. We were born slaves of sin and death. This is what sin does. Sin enslaves the hearts and lives of men; sin brings physical and spiritual death. Sin is the transgression of God’s Law. Jesus said: Everyone who sins is a slave to sin (Jn. 8:34). Sin brings guilt and sorrow! Sin destroys lives families churches, and nations Sin corrupts, perverts, and destroys every facet of human existence. If you think you can play with sin and escape the consequences you are mistaken. Many people live secret lives of sin thinking no one will ever find out but they are always wrong. Sin will find you out. You cannot hide your sin forever. The world offers a few pleasures to help men escape the burden of their guilt, sexual immorality, selfish ambition, drunkenness, and a host of other things but pleasure cannot change man’s situation. Man works to make his life in this world a little more comfortable but in the end his guilt and death remain. But Jesus has set us free! He suffered for us on the cross and now by His perfect sacrifice we are forgiven. This was God’s plan from the beginning! What we could not do for ourselves, Christ did. We did not deserve these things; God gives them to us by grace through the cross of Christ. Jesus completed His mission! He came to preach the good news, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom and comfort to those who mourn and He finished the work the Father gave Him to do.

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6. The death of Christ brings eternal life! We see the results of sin every time a loved one dies, a funeral procession goes by, or we read an obituary. Death is a continual reminder that our lives are going to end. The Bible reveals the connection between sin and death. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Death is the one constant in life; we are born, we live, we die, no one can change it. Death in the Bible is more than physical death; it is eternal separation from God and heaven for eternity. But the cross of Christ has changed that forever. This is the good news of the Gospel. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (I Jn. 1:7). Because of what Christ accomplished God has justified us, declared us innocent and forgiven. Paul wrote: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God (Rom. 3:24-25). We have been acquitted before the court of God’s justice. Along with the forgiveness of sins comes new life. The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God gives us eternal life through His Word. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (Jn. 17:3).

 

7. The knowledge of God is revealed in His Word for there the Holy Spirit reveals the heart of God toward sinners. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16). The Word of God reveals our true condition before God and what He has done for us in Christ. In the Word of God we not only learn who Christ is and what He did for us, we also receive faith to believe the Gospel and receive what God offers us there. The Gospel prepares a man for death. A heart of faith in Christ prepares you to face the Lord in the Day of Judgment. A Christian is not afraid to die for He knows where He is going. Paul wrote: For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day (II Tim. 1:12b). God has appointed the day of our death; that’s an appointment you will keep. Yet even when we die the Christian will live and will one day arise from the grave with a glorified body no longer corrupted by sin. If every Christian realized this truth how much happier he would be. Jesus said to Martha: I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die (Jn.11:25-26). Jesus came to earth to give us eternal life.

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8. Jesus is the Lord of Glory from all eternity. In His prayer Jesus said: O Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. Before Adam and Eve, Jesus dwelled with His Father in eternal glory. Jesus is God. We confess in the Nicene Creed that Jesus is: God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God. Jesus taught us to honor Him in the same way as we honor God the Father (Jn. 5:23). We see glimpses of His eternal glory while He was on earth. His miracles reveal Jesus was more than a great teacher. On one occasion He took Peter, James, and John to the Mount of Transfiguration to meet Moses and Elijah and there His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light (Mt. 17:2). Christ hid His glory to accomplish what God sent Him to do. The eternal glory of Christ was also hidden when He was on the cross. He appeared to be a helpless victim of the Roman Soldiers yet even at His death one of the soldiers after seeing the darkness of Good Friday and feeling the earthquake, confessed: Truly this was the Son of God (Mt. 27:54). The glory of the cross is still hidden from the world. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God (I Cor. 1:18; 23-24).

9. The world wants joy, celebration, lights, and noise and a bloody cross just seems out of place. Even the modern church is often tempted to minimize the cross of Christ. They want the church to be more positive, prominent, and influential in the world and are uncomfortable when the world despises the church. If you follow Christ you will share in His ridicule and disgrace. Jesus said: If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also (Jn. 15:18-20). This is why during the Lenten season we take time once again to consider the cross of Jesus. Satan tries to take our eyes off of the cross just as He tried to do to Jesus when He promised to give Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor if He would bow down and worship Him (Mt 4:8). Jesus knew that all of the world’s kingdoms and their glory were already His. And He knew that all of the fame, power, and importance of the nations were going to disappear from the earth. Jesus the Son of God from all eternity came to claim you for His eternal kingdom. His cross is your hope for this life and for eternity.

 

10. Christ redeemed you so that you could live with Him eternally. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (I Pet. 1:18-19). Christ was there in the beginning when God the Father chose you to be His own and when the last page of world history is written He will still be here. He has promised to return again in glory on the clouds of heaven. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Mt. 26:63-64). When Jesus returns He will claim His people from their graves and from a world of sorrow and misery. Jesus said: For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. (Jn. 6:37-40). On that day we will sing His praises with all His saints in heaven. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, honor, and glory, and blessing. (Rev. 5:12-14). May God grant us a heart of praise in our lives for all He has done for us! Amen.

 

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 18, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
John 6:1-15

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior

After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

 

1. Can we trust God to provide our needs? Does God still perform miracles like He did in the past? Are there limits to His power? Another word for trust is faith or confidence and faith is what connects the sinner to God, without it we cannot be saved. Faith is simple trust in the promises of God revealed in His Word. By faith we receive all of the blessings God offers us in Christ. Because of what Christ did for us on the cross our sins are forgiven, we are reconciled to God, and we are His children by faith in Him. Most Christians are able to trust God for their salvation but what about when the doctor tells us there is something wrong with our health? Or when things in our life don’t go as planned, when there’s not enough money at the end of the month to pay the bills, or when business is slow, and we go through frustration and fear? Our Gospel lesson reveals we can trust God completely. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and is able to provide for His people in ways we could never imagine, exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think (Eph. 3:20). The Lord loves to provide the needs of His people. Luther wrote: Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness. Faith is a living daring confidence in God’s grace so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. Our Gospel lesson teaches us to depend upon Jesus for all things for Jesus is the Divine Son of God who provides all our needs.  

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2. Jesus is the Son of God! The context of our Gospel lesson is a confrontation in the previous chapter between Jesus and the Jewish leaders when He healed the lame man by the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath Day. The miracles of Jesus reveal His divinity. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you (Jn. 10:23-26). When the Jews objected to Jesus healing on the Sabbath He replied: My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. This made them even more furious. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. For the rest of the chapter Jesus claimed powers that only God possesses. For example, Jesus claimed the power of life and death (Vs. 21). He claimed to be the judge of the entire world (Vs. 22, 27), and that all men ought to honor and worship Him just as they do the Father; that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent Him (Vs. 23). Jesus told these men that His Word had divine power to give eternal life to men. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (Vs. 24).

 

3. Finally, He said they were ignorant of the Bible. If they understood the Scriptures they would recognize Him for who He was. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (Vs.39). These men claimed to love and honor Moses, but Jesus said they had failed to understand Moses, for Moses wrote about Jesus. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (Jn. 5:45-47). After this took place Jesus and His disciples sailed over the Sea of Galilee and the people followed Him on foot, which was no small journey, about a four or five day trip. The people heard His Word and saw Him healing the sick and they wanted to hear more. The crowd was huge, about 5,000 people and the Apostle John tells us that it was the Passover Season. The Gospel of John was written with a theological purpose, nothing appears in John’s Gospel by accident. What is the significance of the Passover? The Passover was established to remember how God had preserved Israel from the last plague the death of the first born, and to celebrate their freedom from slavery. God delivered Israel from Egypt and adopted them as a Holy Nation, consecrated to Him. This consecration was imparted to the people at the Passover, which included a life of grace and fellowship with God.

 

4. The Lord delivered His people from Egypt with miracles, signs and wonders and then provided for their physical needs for forty years in the wilderness. God fed His people in the desert with manna, miraculous bread from heaven, to show that He was their God, and that they could trust Him for everything. It was at the Passover that Jesus miraculously feeds the multitude to show them that God provides every need in this life. Just as God had done in the days of Moses Jesus the Son of God fed the multitude, with bread and fish from nowhere. He gave thanks to God and then distributed the bread and fish to His disciples who in turn gave it to the people until every person had eaten as much as they wanted. Then Jesus instructed His disciples to gather up the leftovers and they collected twelve baskets full of food. After everyone in the crowd had eaten they had more food than when they started. When the people realized that a miracle had taken place they decided to make Jesus their new king. After all, here was real Hope and Change! Here was a King with the power to feed them and to heal their diseases with Jesus as their king they wouldn’t have to worry about anything for He could fix anything that was wrong. Even though these people had a limited and self centered view of Jesus, they were right in one respect. No matter what happens in our life, in every circumstance Jesus can provide more than you will ever need.

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5. Jesus provides all of our needs! What do we really need in life? And can we trust God to meet our needs? The answer is yes. God proved this by sending His Son into the world to care for our greatest need on the cross. We are sinners born under the condemnation of the Law and unable to save ourselves. Like the people Jesus fed that day we use God’s gifts for ourselves. They wanted Jesus to be their King for what He could give them, because their bellies were full. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.  Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (Jn. 6:26-27). Man uses God’s gifts for his own selfish desires. We are sinners and sin brings physical and eternal death. God knew that man’s greatest need was spiritual life so He set a plan in motion to redeem and rescue man from sin by sending His Son to die and take our guilt upon Him that we might have life. Our sins have been forgiven and along with our salvation, God promises to bless our lives and give us all of the things we will ever need in this life. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Rom. 8:31-32).

 

6. What is your greatest need in life? What troubles are you facing? Jesus promises to provide more than you need, more food, more money, more health, and more good things than you can imagine. Some people can’t tell the difference between what they want vs. what they need. God has not promised to give you everything your heart desires, but He has promised to always provide your needs. You may not have a dollar extra or you may receive it an hour before you need it, but God always provides for His children. He has promised to do so and He cannot lie. The Feeding of the 5,000 teaches us to live by faith, to trust God, free of worry or fear for no matter where you are in the world, whether the city, the suburbs, or the back side of the desert, God can provide for you abundantly. History is filled with stories of God providing for His saints. David wrote: O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing (Ps. 34:9-10). I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread (Ps. 37:25). It was out of the reality of God’s goodness and faithfulness that Solomon wrote: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Prov. 3:5-6). God’s provision is real!

 

7. The Lord does not always provide things the way we expected. The people in the desert that day did not expect Jesus to provide a meal in the middle of nowhere, but He provided what they needed and more. God does the same for us that we may live in this world to his glory. It is during difficult times that our faith, or lack of it, is revealed. This is why we need to read and hear God’s Word faithfully, for faith comes from the Word (Rom. 10:17). Trusting in God is the essence of the Christian faith; faith in God is the foundation of our relationship to Him, but sadly, many Christians have stopped trusting God’s Word. They worry about the future and doubt God’s Word and are no longer satisfied with the simple manna of God’s Word, or content with what God has given them. The real meaning of the feeding of the 5,000 is that Jesus is the Bread of Life. God’s greatest gift to His people is the gift of Himself. Everything we need for life and eternity is found in Him. He feeds us that bread of life in Holy Communion, the bread that satisfies our deepest needs and desires. Jesus revealed the real meaning of the Manna God had provided in the wilderness. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst (Jn. 6:35). In Holy Communion we receive Christ, His righteousness and the forgiveness of our sins by faith which gives us eternal life.

 

8. Can we trust God to provide our needs? Can Jesus do more than make bread and fish? Why things happen the way they do in your life only God knows, but rest assured He has an answer. You don’t need to understand everything and sometimes its better if you don’t. One man wrote: Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time. (Chambers). Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It’s simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step (Tada). God wants you to trust in Him with the full assurance that He is in control. He will go with you through any need, see you through any danger or any crisis and walk with you in this life and He will take you through death and into everlasting glory. God knows exactly what you need and has promised to provide for you. In light of God’s care for us Peter writes: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you (I Pet. 5:6-7). Jesus said: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Mt. 6:31, 33). May the Lord grant us the strength to trust in Him knowing He will provide everything we need and more for His glory; Amen!

Lenten Vespers, 3-14-12

March 14, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Luke 23:26-31

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior.

And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never nursed. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

 

1. Our theme during this Lenten Season has been the cross of Christ. Crucifixion was one of the most brutal methods of execution ever devised. If there is one thing men have learned to do over the centuries it is how to kill one another. Christ was born to die on the cross for it was at the cross that salvation was achieved and the devil’s fate sealed.  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (I Pet. 2:24). The preaching of the cross of Christ is the power of God to save. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I Cor. 1:18). You may be familiar with the Bible but if you don’t understand the significance of the cross of Christ and what His death meant for your salvation, you are outside of Christ. The death of Christ was the means of our salvation but it was also a terrible tragedy. Jesus suffered at the hands of wicked and powerful religious leaders in league with corrupt government officials. It was also a tragedy for the Jewish people. The common people of Israel were the victims of their own religious leaders who led them down the path of destruction. As Jesus left Jerusalem on the way to His crucifixion, a large number of people, including a group of women, mourned and wailed for Him. Jesus told them not to weep for Him but to weep for themselves. Let’s examine the meaning of these words for us.

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2. Don’t weep for Jesus. Tragedy often brings tears to our eyes; we hate to see suffering, we don’t even like to see animals suffer. The death of Jesus was a tragic event in history. Jesus had been arrested in the dead of night, away from the public eye and tried and convicted in secret, until his public trial on the morning of Good Friday. The charge was blasphemy, for claiming to be the Messiah, and the penalty was death. His appearance before Pilate was no better. After Pilate spoke with Jesus and was convinced of His innocence he had Him scourged and humiliated before the crowd of angry Jews. The Roman soldiers did not hold back; they beat Him mercilessly. When Pilate issued the order for His crucifixion the soldiers fashioned a crown of thorns and placed it on his head and beat Him with a reed, bowing before Him and mocking this Jewish King. After this the soldiers then led Jesus out of Jerusalem to be crucified with two others. But the beating had taken its toll on Jesus’ body. He had not slept the previous night and had been abused by the Jewish leaders and the brutal scourging and crown of thorns had weakened Him further. He was bleeding from His wounds and too weak to carry his cross, so the soldiers forced Simon the Cyrene to carry it for Him. This brutal spectacle attracted a crowd and no wonder. Everyone who knew Jesus understood He had done nothing wrong. Pilate knew it and so did the Jewish leaders.

 

3. Earlier Jesus had challenged His enemies to prove He had done anything wrong but they could not. He was innocent and pure. During His ministry He had demonstrated kindness and compassion. Jesus was always compassionate to those who came to Him seeking help. His message was not one of rebellion or revolution; He wasn’t intent on overthrowing the Roman Government and establishing an earthly kingdom. He spoke of God’s love for sinners, of the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life for all who believe. He had healed many people during His ministry and just a few days earlier a large crowd had welcomed Him into Jerusalem shouting: Hosanna to the Son of David. Of course those cries had turned to: Crucify Him, Crucify Him, on Good Friday, but now all those shouts of joy and then anger had turned to mourning and wailing. The scene brought tears to the eyes of the women. This was indeed a human tragedy, a story of betrayal, suffering, and injustice, yet Jesus spoke to the women saying: Don’t weep for Me (Lu.23:28). Why shouldn’t they weep? Jesus was a human being just like them and like all of us. He appeared to be a helpless victim in the grip of powerful political and religious forces. Yes He is like us. He is our substitute, a man of flesh and blood with a body no different than ours. Jesus was fully human therefore He could be our substitute before God and His cross the payment for our sins.

 

4. He became human so that He could take our place and become sin for us-for your sin and my sin-so that we might be declared free of sin and acquitted before the bar of God’s justice. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (II Cor. 5:21). God the Father poured out His wrath upon His Son, the punishment we deserved, so that He could show grace and mercy to undeserving sinners. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (Jn. 3:36). Even though we do not weep for Jesus we cannot help but be moved when we see Jesus suffering in our place. He was beaten, scourged, humiliated, and mocked for us; it was our punishment He endured and by His perfect death we are justified before God. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life (Rom. 5:9-10). But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:5-6). The suffering and Death of Christ fills our hearts with reverence and gratitude for a Savior who loves unworthy sinners this much.

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5. Weep for yourselves. The tears of these women were understandable but they did not realize the significance of what was unfolding before their eyes. God was indeed pouring out His wrath upon Jesus for the sins of the world but in a few years He would pour out His wrath upon the Jewish people for rejecting their Messiah, a punishment that would begin in this life and continue for eternity. The sin of that generation would be visited upon their children in every succeeding generation. God heard the Jewish mob on Good Friday when they cried: Let His blood be on us and our children (Mt. 27:25). Even though Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the Roman soldiers were involved in the death of Christ, the Bible stresses the unique and aggravated guilt of the Jews. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost (I Thess. 2:14-16). The children of these women and all the women of Israel were going to suffer because of the sins of that generation just as the Bible says in the Old Testament.
6. I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments (Ex. 20:5-6). God threatens to punish all who transgress His Commandments. To visit iniquity upon someone means to punish him according to his sins. God pronounces His curse upon all transgressors of His Law, a curse that includes punishment in this life and eternal damnation. Unbelievers curse their children by leading them to live in unbelief and sin. If the children hate God and follow in the ways of their parents, God, during their earthly lives, will punish them for the sins of their parents. God does not hold a son accountable for the sins of his father but a son or daughter often live just as their parents lived, in unbelief (Ezek. 18:20). It is a fact that sinful behavior is often passed down from generation to generation just as we benefit from the faith and obedience of our forefathers. Most of us are here tonight because our parents and grandparents walked with God and led us to Christ. Moses instructed the parents of Israel to teach their children: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deut. 6:6-9).

 

7. But Jesus was also referring to something else in the future. In about 40 years God was going to utterly destroy the city of Jerusalem and scatter the Jewish people all over the world. Historians consider the siege of Jerusalem to be the worst of its kind in the history of the world. Because the Jews rejected Jesus, God rejected them and utterly destroyed the Jewish religion of that day. Before His crucifixion Jesus was in Jerusalem and His disciples were pointing out the beauty of the Temple and Jesus replied: As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down Lu. 21:6). He warned them of God’s wrath. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.  Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter therein to. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that nurse infants in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (Lu. 21:20-24). In 70 AD the Roman Army surrounded the city of Jerusalem in response to a Jewish rebellion there.

 

8. The Roman soldiers eventually sacked and burned the city and leveled the Temple just as Jesus had predicted, and when it was over a million Jews had died of either starvation or the sword. That event was truly the days of vengeance Jesus had predicted when God poured out His wrath upon a stubborn and disobedient people. Jesus said those days were going to be so horrendous that women without children would be considered blessed. For this reason Jesus told these women to weep for what was coming upon their children and upon every person that does not see the cross of Christ and embrace it by faith. Sadly the Jewish people are still in spiritual darkness to this day. Paul said there is a veil upon the heart of a Jew whenever the Gospel is preached, a veil that is taken away when he believes on Christ (II Cor. 3:12-16). But perhaps we need to weep for our own people. In many ways our nation is similar to Israel. God has also blessed us with countless spiritual and material blessings. And like Israel many of our people think they can live as they please; they can reject God’s Word, despise His Church, live an immoral life, embrace false doctrine and never suffer the consequences. We are sinners and the wages of sin is death. That’s the reality of this world, a fact we cannot change no matter what good works we might do. Our children inherit our sinful nature and we are all helpless victims trapped in a prison of sin and death.

 

9. But our human condition is not without hope. That hope is found in the cross of Jesus. He took our place as a real human substitute and satisfied God’s justice. He delivered us from wrath by suffering the wrath we deserved and because of what Christ accomplished on the cross you are forgiven-declared righteous and justified before God by His perfect blood. Your life, no matter how many dark valleys you may experience, is now prepared for the Day of Judgment. The child of God will stand on that day with confidence. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (Ps. 130:3-4). God has appointed the day of our death, but we are not afraid to die for Christ was victorious over sin, death, and hell (Heb. 9:27). O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:55-57). We are children of God by faith in Christ and heirs of eternal life. Therefore during this Lenten Season let us see the cross for what it is-the full payment for your sins and the sins of the whole world (I Jn. 2:2). Just as the wages of sin is death, so the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). Do not weep for Jesus, weep for your own sins and failings and then repent and cling to Jesus as your Savior and Redeemer; Amen!

 

Reminiscere, the Second Sunday in Lent

March 4, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Matt. 15:21-28; I Thess 4:1-7; Is. 45:20-25

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior.

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

 

1. In our Gospel lesson Jesus had just shown the Pharisees that their doctrine and morality was false. They had made the mistake of elevating Jewish traditions above the clear Word of God. Jesus illustrated their error with the 4^th Commandment where the Lord commands us to honor our father and mother. The Pharisees had devised a scheme where people could deposit their money in the Temple Treasury and then tell their parents that they couldn’t help them because they had given all their money to God. Paul wrote: But if any provide not for his own; and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (I Tim. 5:8). Being part of a family has privileges. My family is that group of people who open the door when I knock, not because they have to, but because they want to. You see, we can’t love the whole world. We are finite. You can’t love someone you don’t know. So the Lord divided the world into smaller groups, into families, churches, neighbors, and even nations to teach us how to love on a smaller scale. I love my children more than I love yours, for the simple reason that they belong to me. I love my own people, culture, and nation more than I love other nations and cultures for the same reason. This is my nation, my people, and my culture. Parents must care for their own children first. If a parent refused to feed and care for his own children in order to provide for his neighbor’s children Child Protective Services would take his children away from him.

2. Families, nations, and cultures define our lives in this world, and the Christian faith does not do away with them. God also has a family. His children are born into His family by the new birth of Holy Baptism. When they told Jesus the Pharisee were angry at Him He dismissed them. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch (Mt. 15:12-14). The Pharisees were confused about sin. Sin is the transgression of God’s Law NOT breaking Jewish tradition. And sin originates in the heart of man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man (Mt. 15:19-20). Man’s greatest need is the forgiveness of sins and new spiritual life. After this Jesus and His disciples departed to Tyre and Sidon, Gentile country, knowing the Pharisees would not follow Him. The story of the Canaanite woman in our Gospel lesson is an illustration of what it means to be a member of God’s family. We are connected to God by faith in His Covenant promises. Because we are part of His Covenant by grace we freely receive His promises and blessings. What does our Gospel teach us about God’s Covenant?

I.

3. God’s Covenant in Christ is Exclusive! Liberals often talk about God being the father of all men or the Brotherhood of man but these are myths. Every person on earth can claim God as his Creator but not everyone can claim Him as a father. A Christian has a special relationship with God as a Father, a relationship reserved for those who believe on Christ as their Savior. Matthew tells us when Jesus and the disciples arrived in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. Who was this woman? She obviously knew Jesus could help her daughter. She called Him Son of David, which suggests she knew something about the Old Testament and the hope of the Messiah. She also pleaded for mercy which is the cry of the sinner before God, but she had a bigger problem. She was outside of God’s Covenant. The promises given to God’s Covenant children did not belong to her. She was a Gentile and a stranger to God. Paul described her condition: Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world (Eph. 2:11-12). There are two kinds of people in this world; children of God and children of the Devil, the saved and lost.

 

4. There are believers and unbelievers, people on the broad road to destruction and those on the narrow road leading to life. This is what divides the people of this world regardless of race, nation, or culture. When this woman first started crying out to Jesus to help her He ignored her. When she continued following Him and crying for mercy He finally said to her: I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. God had sent Jesus exclusively to the house of Israel, to His Covenant people, which did not include her. The disciples were getting irritated and asked Jesus to send her to away. They couldn’t imagine He would take time for a Gentile woman, but she wouldn’t give up. When she finally got His attention she came and worshiped Him saying: Lord, help me. Jesus replied: It is not meet (right or proper) to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. In other words, it is not right to take bread from the mouths of my children the members of my family and give it to a stranger, to someone outside of my family. The children’s bread is the Bread of Life; the forgiveness of sins, the bread Jesus described elsewhere: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (Jn. 6:35; 51). The Bread of Life is the Word of the Gospel that feeds the soul of a believer.

 

5. Jesus said: Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Mt. 4:4). The children’s bread includes the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, deliverance from sin, death, and Satan, and acceptance with God who invites us to bring our petitions to Him and He promises to answer. But God’s promises belong exclusively to His people. God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers, those who rebel against His Law. I think we forget how fortunate we are to enjoy the blessings God gives us. We are citizens of heaven yet how often do we take spiritual privileges for granted. It’s obvious that many Americans do not value the privilege of their citizenship in this country when you see how few people bother to vote or even care who gets elected. But the blessings we enjoy as citizens of this nation pale by comparison to what God has given us as citizens of His Kingdom. The Canaanite woman had no right to ask God for anything; she was not part of His Covenant but this did not discourage her in the least. She was on a mission and was not going to give up. She brushed aside being called a dog (a name the Jews called the Gentiles), and then used it as her plea. Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. When He heard these words, Jesus gave her what she wanted. O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

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6. God’s Covenant in Christ is also inclusive. God’s Covenant is exclusive but also inclusive. Jesus knew what He was going to accomplish on the cross. He would redeem the world from sin, death, and hell and establish a New Covenant which would include this woman and every other person who ever lived in the world. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (I Jn. 2:1-2). The New Covenant would be better than the old; it would include the new birth of the Spirit, the Law written on our hearts and the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, convict, and apply the Gospel to our hearts. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:31; 33-34).

 

7. The Christian faith was destined to become a worldwide religion. The old Wineskins of Judaism could never contain this vibrant faith. The Gospel would soon break free from Jerusalem and Judea and expand first into Europe and then the world. The message of the Gospel is the universal grace of God in Christ, of reconciliation, of forgiveness of sins, and of peace and fellowship with God. We saw this truth in our Old Testament reading from Isaiah:  There is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. God invites people everywhere to look to Him in the Gospel and be saved. Jesus said: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Mt. 11:28-30). The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Rev. 22:17). The Canaanite woman is a reminder that when a person truly seeks after God they will find Him, even if their knowledge is incomplete. God is not very far from anyone in the world (Acts 17:27). The Lord invites all men to seek Him where He has promised to be found, in the person of His Son revealed in His written Word.

 

8. What did this Canaanite woman believe? She made a good confession about Jesus and her faith in Christ was tenacious; she didn’t give up. She stands in stark contrast to the Pharisees who refused to believe on Jesus. And though she was probably ignorant of the Old Testament she was convinced that Jesus had the power to help her daughter so no matter what He said to her she knew His goodness would finally outweigh everything else and he would answer her prayer. She was determined to get what she wanted from Jesus. Did this woman find salvation that day? Not necessarily on that day, but I have no doubt that in the future she heard who Jesus was and what He had done for sinners and believed on the One who had answered her prayers that day for her daughter. The Gospel is exclusive! No one comes to God apart from faith in Jesus Christ; He is the only Savior and Mediator with God. He is the door of the sheepfold. Jesus said: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep (Jn. 10:1-2). But the Gospel is also inclusive! The Lord welcomes anyone who comes to Him with a heart of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The Church’s task is to clearly proclaim Christ to the world and to live in such a way that men would recognize the truth of the Gospel by our love and obedience.

 

9. Jesus prayed in the upper room: Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (Jn. 17:20-24). A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (Jn. 13:34-35). Jesus said our love for one another and unity of doctrine would be living proof that Jesus was the Son of God, sent by the Father to redeem us from sin and that we are His children by grace through faith. The Church is called to demonstrate the beauty and wonder of Christ in the world. Jesus said: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Mt. 5:16). The church is a family of families and just as we are to love the members of earthly family we are also to love our Christian brethren and value our fellowship. It was in the upper room that Jesus established the Covenant Meal called the Lord’s Supper. Holy Communion renews our Covenant with God in Christ. Communion is also exclusive. You must come in faith and repentance in unity around the doctrines of God’s Word. But this Sacrament is also inclusive for God invites all of His Covenant children to eat and drink of His body and blood under the bread and wine for the remission of sins. May God grant us understanding of these blessed truths for Christ’s sake; Amen!

Thoughts on Sanctification

What are your thoughts on sanctification? Do you believe that we can commit less “sinful” actions, still tainted by original sin, and still not purely motivated, but better so to speak than other actions. 

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To understand justification or sanctification you must first answer from Scripture the question: What is man’s true spiritual condition from birth? It is a misunderstanding of this question that is at the core of every error about salvation. In other words, is man dead in sin as the bible teaches? (Eph. 2:1) or merely sick or wounded?
Is there a spark of goodness in man’s heart which allows him to cooperate with God in his own salvation? Or do we agree with the Apostle Paul who wrote: “For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18).

Do we agree with the Prophet Jeremiah who wrote: “The heart (of man) is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer.17:9). And does our sinful flesh get better with time, or do we confess with Paul who wrote at the end of his life these words: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;of whom I am chief (I Tim. 1:15b).

Also, when God saves us by grace through faith in Holy Baptism what takes place in our heart and life? Paul tells us that in our Baptism we died with Christ and were raised to newness of life (Rom. 6:3-6). In other words, the only thing God can do with our old Adam, our sinful flesh, is to put it to death and give us an entirely new spiritual life through His Spirit.

That means that God cannot discipline our old nature; He cannot train it, make it better, or improve it in any way; the only answer to our old Adam is to put it to death each day and walk in the Spirit by faith in Christ.

So the first answer to your question is no, our old Adam doesn’t get any better with time, it stays the same and must be dealt with each day through the means of grace.

Lenten Vespers

Jesus before the High Priest

February 29, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor

John 18:19-24

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior.

The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.

 

1. The things Jesus taught were not spoken in secret; everything was in plain sight, no conspiracy, no secrets, nothing hidden. God has also clearly revealed Himself in Creation for all to see. The knowledge of God is so clear, that God calls the athiest a fool (Ps. 14:1). David wrote: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge (Ps. 19:1-2). God has revealed Himself so clearly that mankind has no excuse. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Rom. 1:19-20). God is not far from anyone. When Paul spoke to the Greeks on Mars Hill he revealed why God had created the various nations and races of the world. Everything in this world is part of God’s sovereign plan and is holy just and good. God created and separated the nations for a purpose. He wanted people all over the world ito seek after Him and be saved. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us (Acts 17:27). God continues to reveal Himself to people around the world but His greatest revelation was through His Son who pointed men to His cross. The cross of Christ was never a secret.

I.

2. God has clearly revealed the truth about Jesus Christ! The ministry of Jesus took place in public. Everything He said and did was in plain sight, often in front of large crowds. In those days it was not uncommon for hundreds and thousands of people to travel long distances to hear Jesus preach. On one occasion Jesus fed 4,000 people and later another, 5,000 people that had spent several days listening to Him. When Jesus first met Peter, James, and John on the shores of Galilee He asked to borrow Peter’s boat and taught the people on the shore from the ship because the crowd was so large. Jesus was no stranger to the people of Galilee. He attended services at synagogue each week in Nazareth where He grew up. One Sabbath Day the elders asked Him to read from the Scriptures. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Lu. 4:17-19). At first the people spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips but then Jesus told them something they didn’t want to hear they grew furious and tried to kill Him.

 

3. Jesus told the people that day that God’s plan salvation included all men, Jew and Gentile alike and they didn’t want to hear it. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way (Lu. 4:28-30). As I read this story again I was reminded that religious violence has been going on in that part of the world for centuries. Jesus ministered from Capernaum and the people loved Him. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power (Lu. 4:32). The central message of Christ’s preaching was not hidden; from the beginning it was the message of the cross. John the Baptist spoke of the cross of Christ when he pointed to Jesus and said: Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). At His baptism in the Jordan River God had identified Jesus as His Son with a dove and a voice from heaven. This was not done in secret; many people saw and heard it. Early in His ministry Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish council, came to visit Him and our Lord revealed to him why He had come. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (Jn. 3:14-15).

 

4. If Nicodemus still had questions Jesus clarified it for Him. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16). The meaning of Christ’s incarnation was not hidden then or today. The purpose of His life has always been clear for God has revealed it in His written Word which He has preserved over the centuries in the face of countless attempts to destroy it. The centerpiece of the Christian message is the cross of Christ. Christ crucified is the heart of our faith. The cross is a part of every worship service not just during Lent but every week. The reason is simple. The message of Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God! It is the message that saved you. The Holy Spirit planted the message of the cross into your heart to create saving faith within you. The church has always treasured the cross for it was there that Jesus shed His blood as the payment in full for all your sins. We don’t hide the cross of Christ. It is the center of our worship and there is no substitute for the cross. You didn’t come here tonight to hear about overcoming depression, losing weight, how to have better relationships with others or a happier family. The primary message of Faith Lutheran is that Jesus suffered and died for us. He was nailed to a cross to pay for our sins. The message of the cross is in plain sight here, as it has always been in the Christian Church.

II.

5. Man refuses to see what is right in front of him!  The Jewish leaders knew what was going on. They heard John the Baptist urging the people of Israel to repent and prepare for the coming Messiah, and they also heard what he had said to them. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham (Mt. 3:7-9). Judea was a volatile place; the one area in the Roman Empire that was always on the verge of violence and unrest. This was something Pontius Pilate understood well for his soldiers had quelled a few uprisings during his rule. This is why he worked with the Sanhedrin. They were his eyes and ears in helping keep the peace. Wherever Jesus was preaching the Pharisees and Sadducees were always there, on the edge of the crowd, listening and watching for anything that could cause trouble for them. They kept an eye on Jesus to protect themselves and their own power and position. Pilate had an arrangement with the Jewish leaders; if they would keep their fellow Jews in line, he would make sure they were rewarded. So when Jesus came to Jerusalem for the last time, the Jewish leaders were there as He taught in the Temple, always trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him.

 

6. The religious leaders were always accusing Jesus of sin. At one point they told the people that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of the devil and that Jesus and His disciples had violated the Sabbath. They demanded a sign to prove He was the Messiah even after Jesus had performed countless miracles and signs. Their problem was not a lack of understanding; these men knew exactly what Jesus was saying and they had seen His miracles. They simply refused to see what was right in front of their eyes. Jesus described their condition: Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (Mt. 13:13-16). The Jewish leaders would not listen; they refused to see, and Jesus called them sons of the devil (Jn. 8:44). They tried their best to discredit and destroy Jesus and now Jesus is standing before the Sanhedrin, being cross examined. The sentence of death had already been decided. Jesus was going to be convicted no matter what He said. These men had rejected the truth of God’s Word for so long they could no longer hear or understand it.

 

7. But Jesus wanted these men to be saved. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! (Lu. 13:34). Here is the real reason men are lost and go to hell, because they reject the forgiveness God offers them in Christ. The Sanhedrin would not believe what Jesus had come to accomplish. At this point in the trial the High Priest asked Him about His doctrine and Jesus replied: I spake openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. One of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus in the face for speaking so boldly to the High Priest. These men were blind; they would not listen and they would not see. This is the condition of countless people today whose eyes are blinded by sin, their hearts are in rebellion to God’s Word, and who refuse to listen to His Word. The truth of God’s Word is still in plain sight. The Bible is still the most purchased book in the world; almost everyone in this country has a Bible, but the real problem is not a lack of truth, or a lack of Bibles; the real problem is in the hearts of men; it is the fact that men are blind and cannot see the light of God’s Word.

 

8. Like a blind man sitting in the noon day sun unable to see the light all around him, so the unbeliever cannot see the Gospel. Before a sinner can see the Kingdom of God and believe on Christ he needs a new birth (Jn. 3:3). God has to open his eyes to see his sins and his Savior. Paul described man’s true condition in sin: This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart (Eph. 4:17-18). But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.(II Cor. 4:3-4). If the Spirit of God has opened your eyes to His Word and given you ears to hear, and a heart to believe on Christ, rejoice, for not everyone can see what you see. Jesus said: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Why do we believe the Gospel? Why do we see Christ for who He is? You believe on Christ this evening because God has worked His grace within your heart and has revealed these things to you. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (II Cor. 4:5-6).

 

9. When people describe who Jesus was and what His message was about they don’t like to talk about the cross. That’s too negative. They like to describe Jesus as a kind, gentle teacher of love and tolerance yet the greatest measure of His love was His bloody sacrifice on the cross for unworthy sinners like you and me. It is on the cross that God proves His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). It is our task to share His love with others that they might see, believe, and be saved. Sinful man hates the message of the cross and often persecutes those who believe and proclaim it. People may reject you because of your faith but don’t give up. Continue sharing the message of the cross with friends, neighbors, and coworkers and walk before God in repentance and faith. The Holy Spirit leads the child of God back to the cross every day in confession and repentance to receive by faith the forgiveness Jesus earned for us there. Forgiveness in Christ is the answer to guilt. Do not try to run and hide from God in false doctrine or feel good worship; instead run to Christ believing His promises. This is what the Lenten season is all about. Lent is a time for serious dealings with God, a time to search your heart and to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your sins and lead you to Christ your Savior. The Gospel is man’s greatest need and the only cure for sin, death and hell. May God grant us these things to us for Christ’s sake; Amen!

Discussing theology with friends

A young member of our church recently asked me how she could respond to a friend confused about theology. I thought I’d share our exchange for anyone looking to do the same:

Dear Pastor,

I’ve been discussing theology with one of my friends from college. He’s Calvinist, but comes from a Presbyterian/Free Methodist background. We’ve been talking about Lutheran doctrine and he says he agrees with everything I’ve said and shown him in Luther’s catechism. But just recently he told me he would never want to join a Lutheran church because it’s too “dry”. He feels like he would lose enthusiasm. He believes doctrine goes in one hand and presentation goes in the other and each are important. I was wondering if you had any recommendations of how I could respond to him? Thanks so much.”

-K

Dear K,

Thanks for the question, and I’m glad you are discussing the Word of God with friends at College. The first thing I would say to your friend is that the life of the church comes from the Spirit of God in the hearts of His people by faith in Christ. And the Spirit of God is a Spirit of truth who works through His pure Word, therefore the most important ingredient of any church you choose to attend is what they believe.
But are there churches that profess sound doctrine that are dry, boring, and without zeal for the truth? Certainly, and I have little use for those kinds of churches. But the problem is not the sound doctrine these churches profess, but the lack of repentance and faith in the hearts of their people. Dry formalism is dead, without life or faith, and one of the devil’s greatest deceptions.

Should we be enthusiastic and zealous in our faith? Absolutely. But we must beware of another error into which many sincere Christians have fallen, and that is the phony enthusiasm, excitement, and feel good emotionalism so prevalent today in the modern church. There is an attempt in many religious circles to create enthusiasm and passion in the worship service and preaching to make people think that this is the presence of the Holy Spirit, when it is nothing but emotion often without regard for the truth of God’s Word.

If your friend agrees with what the Catechism teaches, (which simply reflects the Word of God), my question for them would be, “If you agree that what I’ve shown you from the Catechism is what the Word of God teaches, then how can you in good conscience worship at a church that denies these same doctrines?” That would be taking the Name of the Lord in Vain to deliberately worship in a church that denies what you know the Word of God teaches.

Concerning presentation, pastors try to be as interesting as possible, but clever sermons, interesting anecdotes, or ear tickling stories must never replace sound doctrine. Tell your friend that no church can give them enthusiasm, that is something he or she must find in the Word alone with God. The most important thing about any church is the ministry of Word and Sacrament, Law and Gospel, and if a pastor is preaching the pure Word of God and administering the Sacraments according to Christ’s institution, those are the marks of the true church.

And so in the final analysis, my question for them would be simple. Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ and His truth? Or are you looking for spiritual nourishment and excitement somewhere else? Realize that often weariness with the Word of God and sound doctrine is weariness with Christ Himself. And when men and women grow weary with Christ and the simple manna of His Word, longing for something different, it is a sign of spiritual declension, a decline in their affections for the Lord, and an attempt to make an idol out of emotion.

Having said the preceding, I understand the feeling your friend is expressing. I would have said the same thing at your age. I suppose part of my theological growth was simply growing up to be an adult and putting away childish things. Unfortunately the churches today are raising an entire generation of people that are unfit for an Orthodox church having grown up with entertainment worship. Perhaps sometime it would be helpful to discuss the theology of worship. What does the Bible say is the essential part of any worship service? That is often the misunderstanding in people’s hearts as they evaluate any church.

I hope this answers your question somewhat. I will pray for your friend to understand these things, and to continue being zealous for Christ, but to be zealous for the right things.

Thanks again for the question, and please write back with any other questions.

Pastor

Ash Wednesday

February 22, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
John 18:4-11

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

 

1. Tonight we enter another Lenten Season, a time set aside to worship Jesus and to think again about His suffering and death. We turn our attention this evening to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. After they left the upper room on Maundy Thursday Jesus and His disciples went to Gethsemane where Jesus prayed as His death drew near. Late that night a mob came looking for Jesus. They did not come to worship Him but to arrest Him. Judas had betrayed Him to the Sanhedrin and arranged for the soldiers to take Him quietly away from the crowds. The disciples were in a panic; what they had feared most was happening, the religious leaders were finally striking back. Our Lord’s popularity among the common people had angered the Jewish leaders. They were angry at Jesus for exposing their sins, false doctrine, and hypocrisy, but they didn’t dare arrest him for fear of the multitude. But on this night in Gethsemane they had their chance. Everything was ready. The Sanhedrin had been summoned and was ready to put Him on trial, a legal formality, after which the High Priest would pressure Pontius Pilate to go along with their wicked plans to crucify Him. If everything went as planned they would be rid of Jesus before the people in Jerusalem knew what had happened. They were expecting trouble with His disciples so they brought enough soldiers to quell any resistance. Peter drew his sword in a vain attempt to defend Jesus but our Lord rebuked him. Peter needed to see the bigger picture and that is our task during this Lenten season.

I.

2. Jesus clearly saw His path to the cross. The mob that came to arrest Jesus that night included a detachment of soldiers, some officials from the Pharisees and Chief Priests, and of course Judas who came along to help identify Jesus to the soldiers. Jesus had often come to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples and that is where Judas led the soldiers. The men that came with Judas were not friendly but were armed with weapons, torches, and lanterns. Every corrupt political power structure in history such as Communist Russia, the Taliban, or the Mafia needs muscle to enforce their will upon the people. This gang of thugs obviously worked for the Sanhedrin. When the Jewish leaders wanted to send a message to a member of the opposition or take out an opponent they called upon men like this so they didn’t have to get their hands dirty. The soldiers didn’t come to the Garden to discuss theology or even to carry out a court order to arrest Jesus, they came for a fight. If the disciples wanted to fight them they were ready to do whatever was necessary. Jesus would be arrested no matter what it took. They came in the dead of night to avoid the crowds but when they arrived, Jesus did the unexpected. He did not hide or run away, but walked toward them. No doubt from Gethsemane the Mob was visible as it came out of the city with torches and lanterns. Jesus knew they were coming and what they wanted which was exactly what He had told the disciples would happen.

3. And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,  Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again (Mt. 20:17-19). Our Lord knew why He had come to earth and what He was going to accomplish. He saw the cross clearly and willingly submitted to the mob, not as a helpless victim for everything that happened to our Lord was part of God’s sovereign plan prophesied hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament. Jesus would accomplish exactly what God had foreordained would happen. In the book of Acts the Sanhedrin threatened Peter and John for preaching the Gospel. After the disciples returned to the church they prayed these words: The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done (Acts. 4:26-28). The disciples finally understood what Jesus had tried to tell them so many times. Jesus asked the mob: Whom seek ye? When they responded Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus announced I am He, they drew back and fell to the ground.

 

4. These soldiers were standing before the Incarnate Son of God, the Creator of the universe; their torches and swords were useless but He went with them to complete the work His Father had given Him. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day (Jn. 6:39-40). Jesus fulfilled the work His Father sent Him to do, a work that would resurrect His elect people unto eternal life. Jesus voluntarily went with the mob that night that we might be saved. We have also come here this evening to seek Jesus of Nazareth; we come here to see the cross of Christ through His Word with eyes of faith, for without the cross of Jesus we have no hope, forgiveness and life. What is our situation without the cross? Paul summarized our true condition: All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 2:23). This verse applies to every natural human being. There is none righteous, no not one (Rom.3:10). The Prophet Isaiah who lived 700 years before the events that night in Gethsemane understood our condition: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6). The Lord knew we had no way of escaping our situation. We had no solution to avoid sin, death and judgment.

 

5. Our good works, our zeal, our intentions, even a lifetime of service cannot save us. We needed someone to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, a substitute, a Mediator, a Savior, someone to die on the cross for our sins. Paul wrote: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (II Cor. 5:21).  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). Jesus knew what He came to do and that it had to happen this way, there were no other options. The sacrificial Lamb had to be put to death and His blood applied to sinners according to the Law. Jesus is the Lamb of God the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb that saved Israel from death in the land of Egypt hundreds of years earlier. Jesus came to the Garden of Gethsemane that night to wait for the mob who would take Him to the Sanhedrin, to Pilate, and then to the cross. We could not appease God’s wrath, we could not gain peace and forgiveness on our own, only the death of Christ on the cross could reconcile sinners to God. Jesus saw all of this clearly. Nothing was going to turn Him away from the way of the cross for without His death we would have no forgiveness and no hope. The disciples were slow in grasping the importance of Christ’s death. Perhaps like many today they thought they didn’t need it. That is why we must see His cross once again and understand what it means.

II.

6. We need to see the cross clearly. Peter and the other disciples were confused and terrified that night. This wasn’t the first time Peter was confused, when Jesus told His disciples about what was waiting for Him in Jerusalem, Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men (Mt. 16:22-23). They did not understand. The cross did not fit into their plans. Peter had already boasted of his devotion to Jesus, he would rather die with Jesus than deny Him. In the garden that night face to face with armed soldiers Peter tried to defend Jesus. He did the only thing he could think to do at the time. He drew his sword and struck one of the thugs standing nearby, certainly an act of courage against great odds that drew blood from the ear of Malchus the servant of the High Priest, but Peter had it all wrong. Jesus turned to him and said: Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Salvation would never be accomplished by human effort, even great courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Peter could not save Jesus, he couldn’t even save himself. When Jesus said: Put up thy sword into the sheath He made it clear that salvation would come only by the cross.

 

7. Peter needed to understand the significance of the cross and what Jesus was accomplishing. Jesus did not need force. He did not need one sword or a thousand swords or any human effort to save mankind, and He certainly did not need anything Peter might do. He doesn’t need anything we might do either. It is His cross and only His cross that saves us. Our salvation does not come by any human efforts, no matter how noble and brave. The world hates the cross of Christ. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I Cor. 1:18). But sadly, even some Christians have lost their love for the cross of Christ and are as blind as Peter. The preaching of the cross, the message of Law and Gospel, is the real secret to the life and growth of the church. A church does not really grow spiritually through feel good preaching and worship or hypnotic praise choruses. Paul knew the secret to real success: For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (I Cor. 2:2-5). Some men are seeking to improve the church’s image in the world by proclaiming another message besides the cross of Christ, one they think will be more appealing to people and draw them in.

 

8. They think, perhaps people will come to church if we change the message and give them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. After all, the Law is so negative what we really need is a more positive message. But trying to make the church more user-friendly by making the message more upbeat ends up robbing the church of her essential message. God causes the church to grow through His Word and Spirit. Men also lose sight of the cross when they imagine that their standing with God depends on what they do, their prayers, their decisions, or their good intentions. We might not fight with a sword like Peter, but we take pride in our godly lives and like the Pharisee in the Temple we think to ourselves: Thank God I’m not like others. The Lenten Season reminds us that no one can be saved by what they do. You stand before God by grace alone, because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. See His cross clearly and realize you can’t save yourself, in other words, put away your sword and see His cross. Perhaps the first question Jesus asked the mob when it arrived at the Garden that night is important for us too: Whom seek ye? Or who is it you want? Did you come here tonight seeking something other than the crucified Christ? The message of the cross is foolishness to some, offensive to others, but it is God’s wisdom to those who are saved. See His cross! Seek the blessing of that cross through His Word, and put away all human effort to be saved. Put away your sword! See His Cross! Amen!

 

Quinquagesima Sunday

February 19, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Luke 18:31-43

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior.

Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, Glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

 

1. The theme of our Gospel lesson is spiritual and physical blindness. I can think of few things worse than being blind, cut off from the beauty of the world, forced to live in darkness, and helpless to do the things we take for granted. Just think how much we use our eyes every day. They keep us from danger and make it possible for us to earn a living. Our eyes allow us to enjoy the beauty of a sunset, the Grand Canyon, the moon and stars, or simply the faces of our children. One of the most tragic results of the Iraq war has been hundreds of young men and women coming home blinded from bombs or bullets who must now spend the rest of their lives in l darkness, forced to live in a world of light and beauty unable to enjoy it. But the Bible describes another kind of blindness, the blindness of the soul that separates a man from God and prevents him from seeing the Kingdom of God. A man that is spiritually blind knows nothing about the joy of the Christian faith and is a stranger to the forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life. Our Gospel lesson connects two events in the life of our Lord, the first was Jesus telling His disciples about His crucifixion, death and resurrection and the second was the healing of the blind man at Jericho. The disciples are a picture of spiritual blindness and the healing of Blind Bartimaeus reveals the power of Christ to give sight to the blind. Let’s examine what God reveals in our Gospel.

I.

2. Only Jesus can heal spiritual blindness: Jesus wanted to prepare His disciples for what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem but they couldn’t understand Him. His words were clear and unmistakable but Luke tells us: they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. There was nothing mysterious or obscure about what He said: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. They could not understand because God had hidden the truth from them; why, we can only speculate. Perhaps God knew that if they understood what was going to happen they might stand in the way, as Peter did when Jesus rebuked him for trying to turn Him away from the cross. After the Day of Pentecost they would understand all things, but for now they were clueless. Only Christ can give sight to the soul; He alone gives faith, grace, and salvation to sinners through His Word. None of us can understand the things of Spirit of God on our own; apart from Christ and the new birth we would all be just as blind.

3. We cannot choose to believe or decide to be good, we are sinners, born under the condemnation of the Law and apart from the redemption of Christ we could not be saved. We are still sinners after we are saved, therefore the Spirit of God must continue opening our eyes through the Light of His Word to preserve our faith. Paul described our condition from birth: This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ (Eph. 4:17-20). In contrast to the disciples our Lord had perfect vision and understanding and knew exactly where and how His journey would end. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day (Mt. 16:21). Shortly after this occasion He said to them again: The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:  And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry (Mt. 17:22-23). Jesus was the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). This was why He was born.

 

4. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mt. 20:28).From the beginning Jesus knew He would suffer the penalty for man’s sin and what the penalty would be. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). The Passion and Death of Christ were all part of God’s sovereign plan prophesied hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament. Jesus knew the Scriptures for He had inspired the Prophets to write them and now His mind was clear His soul uncorrupted by sin and He understood the significance of what He was about to accomplish. Jesus had perfect knowledge of everything that was going to happen to Him, nothing took Him by surprise, yet He did not lose courage or turn aside from His suffering and death. His eyes were wide open to everything that awaited Him in Jerusalem yet He deliberately and voluntarily chose to go to the cross He said to His disciples: Behold we go to Jerusalem. God’s glory is revealed by His great love for sinners, a love that caused His Son to lay down His life to save us from the curse and power of sin. Think of the patience of Jesus toward His dimwitted disciples who couldn’t comprehend what He was saying to them. When all of the things Jesus predicted began to come to pass the disciples were amazed, shocked, and in despair, totally unprepared for the events of Good Friday. They had not listened to what He told them about His Resurrection.

 

5. No one was more surprised than the disciples when the women returned from the tomb on Easter morning announcing that He is Risen! The blindness of these early disciples is not unique; since the beginning of time every person on earth has been born spiritually blind. Man by nature is blind to spiritual things because he refuses to believe the clear statements of Scripture. God has left an infallible record of all that Christ accomplished for us. He has clearly revealed the way of salvation, but sinful man refuses to believe. Luther taught us that all doctrines must be based on the clear Word of God. For example, how clear are the words: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16). But men are blind to the truth because sin has darkened their hearts; they need a new birth. Jesus said to Nicodemus: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (Jn. 3:3). But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (I Cor. 2:14). Only the Spirit of God can open the eyes of a sinner to see his sinful condition and need of a Savior. David was a believer who recognized His need for spiritual illumination. He prayed: Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy Law.

II.

6. Only Jesus can heal physical Blindness: As Jesus and His disciples came near to the city of Jericho there was a blind man named Bartimaeus sitting on the side of the road begging. Hearing the sound of a crowd passing by he asked people nearby what was happening. What’s the occasion? And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. We don’t know how he had heard about Jesus and His power to heal. Perhaps someone had told him about a preacher from Nazareth who could heal the sick; open the ears of the deaf, raise the dead, and even heal the eyes of the blind or perhaps God revealed this to him directly, whatever the reason, he began to cry out saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. These were words of faith for the title Son of David was a Messianic title reserved for the Kings of Israel descended from David, but there hadn’t been a descendent of David on the throne for hundreds of years. In the days of Jesus this title was reserved for the coming Messiah, the Savior and King who would one day sit on the Throne of David forever to save and reign over God’s Covenant people. The words have mercy on me is the cry of a sinner who is face to face with God; it is a cry for deliverance from the misery of sin. When the blind man began to cry out to Jesus the people standing nearby tried to shut him up. Some of the people rebuked him and told him to be quiet and hold his peace, but he refused to stop.

 

7. But to everyone’s surprise Jesus suddenly stopped and commanded that the man to be brought to him. Jesus asked the man a question: What can I do for you? The blind man asked Jesus to do something that only God could do: Lord I want to receive my sight. Our Lord answered: Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee. His faith that day had done more than heal his eyes it had also saved him his sins were now forgiven. The blind man of Jericho realized he was blind; he believed Jesus was able to heal him, and he called upon Jesus with all his heart and the Lord heard his prayer and healed him. Spiritual and physical healing are gifts of God’s grace. Bartimaeus demonstrated how we find spiritual vision and insight. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. (Ja. 1:5-7). The Word of God was not invented by man nor it did not come from man’s wisdom or cleverness God revealed His Word to us in the Scriptures. Our faith, understanding, and obedience do not come from our own merits, abilities, and worthiness these are all gifts of God’s grace. This is why the Christian lives is a life of gratitude each day thanking God for the gifts of faith and salvation.

 

8. Bartimaeus reminds us that our health, wealth, and even our ability to enjoy what God has given us are gifts from God (Ja. 1:17). We do not deserve what He has given us or what His grace has made us these are gifts. I mention these things to remind us that true faith always includes humility, the realization that we are not all that important in and of ourselves; we are not anyone special because we can do what others cannot, everything we have in our life was given to us for God’s purposes and for the benefit of our neighbor and not just ourselves. God is the one who saves and grants us faith to be saved. He is the One that placed us in this great country and joined us to the Church through our Baptism and to this congregation where His Word is taught in its truth and purity. He has promised to take even the bad things that happen to us and use them for our good (Rom. 8:28), therefore why should we worry? What should frighten us? Nothing. We know that God will take care of us because He promises to do so and has always done so in the past. He has revealed His perfect will to us in His word, so that we can be saved and one day He promises that His people will dwell with Him in Heaven. The disciples thought they knew what was happening but they did not; they were blind to the things of God. But God reminds us this morning that He is in charge of our lives; nothing happens apart from His perfect will. All our trouble, sorrow, affliction and trials are all part of our lives as we live under the cross of Christ.

9. Like the disciples we are often clueless why God is allowing us to go through h difficult times in our lives. This is why we must learn to do as Bartimaeus did and call upon God trusting in His good and gracious will. There was nothing uncertain about the prayer of the Blind Man It was direct, specific, and offered in faith and God answered his prayer and healed his blindness. For you were once in darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8). God hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Col. 1:14). You are no longer in spiritual darkness therefore live as those who can see, as those who have been forgiven by the blood of Christ.  If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (I Jn. 1:7). If you are walking with God in the Light of His Word then stop fearing the future. If your sins have been forgiven for Christ’s grace then show it by forgiving others. And if you are justified by faith the Holy Spirit has filled your heart with the love of God, love the people God has placed in your life. And if God has placed His Name upon you in Holy Baptism then live in holiness, truth, and faithfulness. As you live by faith in the light of God’s Word the Holy Spirit will give you eyes to see and a heart to walk with Him. May God grant this to you for Christ’s sake; Amen! 

Preparing for Lent

February 15, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Psalm 119:33-40

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our blessed Savior.

Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

 

1. This evening we prepare for the Lenten Season by asking God to give us spiritual understanding. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Sin is a moral evil that perverts the soul of man and destroys his relationship to God. The origin of sin is Satan himself, the father of sin. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (Jn. 8:44). Sin is the transgression of God’s Law, an offense against a Holy Loving God. Sin is the wisdom of this world. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (Ja. 3:15). Whenever you sin you do the lusts of the devil. Sin brought a curse upon the whole of creation. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:2-23).

1. Your sin, (until it is repented of and pardoned) makes you hateful to God for sin separates you from God causing Him to withhold good things from you. But God does not desire your death but that you would humble yourself, repent, and live. He gave His only begotten Son unto death to ransom you from sin. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6). The death of Christ satisfied divine justice and now the Lord invites you to be reconciled to Him. But if you refuse to enter into His rest He warns that you will suffer His wrath in hell for eternity. God is revealed in Scripture as a consuming fire with the power to destroy both body and soul in hell. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mt. 10:28). So how do we prepare for Lent? By turning to the Scriptures, the Word of God. Paul wrote: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (II Tim. 3:16-17). God did not give us the Scriptures for intellectual knowledge alone, but to teach, reprove, correct, and equip us for good works. The Holy Spirit prepares us for Lent by The written Word of God, which alone is able to deal with our sins.

1. The Word of God convicts us of sin. The Law shows us our true spiritual condition. Isaiah saw his true condition in God’s presence and said: Woe is me for I am undone. Until we realize we are sinners that deserve death we cannot be saved. They that are whole need not a physician but they that are sick (Lu. 5:31). Before anyone will go to the doctor for treatment he must realize he is sick, but man by nature is blind to his sinful condition. He rationalizes sinful behavior because he is blind and cannot hear the reproofs of God’s Word. I’ve met people in all walks of life who have stopped going to church for years and are perfectly comfortable and happy with their lives. Most of them claim to love God and even believe on Christ yet they ignore His Law. So much of the modern Christian faith has no content. It has morphed into a strange mixture of tolerance and love with no Law, no sin, and no consequences. But when the Spirit of God works His grace in our hearts we begin to understand the seriousness of our sins. Jesus invites sinners to come to Him that are weary with their sins for they are only ones who will repent and come to Christ (Mt 11:28-30). No one will believe on Christ until he understands his desperate need of forgiveness. The conviction of sin is not something that just takes place before we are saved it is an ongoing reality throughout our lives. It is the daily work of the Spirit to reveal God’s perfect standard and our need of Christ.

1. 4.      The Word of God grants us godly sorrow. Godly sorrow leads us to repentance, faith, and salvation. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death (II Cor. 7:10). Godly sorrow is also the work of the Spirit through the Law. When the Law is not preached there will be no conviction of sin, no one will be humbled before God, and no one will be converted. The Law of God exposes the failures of even the best Christians. None of us are above sin we all need the work of the Spirit to make us feel our sins. Some people get angry when you tell them they are a sinner, which proves they are unconverted. The unbeliever hates it when the light of God’s Word exposes their sins. This is the main difference between a Child of God and a man outside of Christ. The Christian rejoices when he hears the Law for even though it shows him his sins for he loves the Law. He understands the Law as the will of His Heavenly Father and listens to it with a heart of humility allowing it to instruct him. A Christian also mourns over his sins. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (Ja. 4;8-10). Does this attitude toward sin lead to a life of melancholy? What about the joy of the Spirit? You will never know true joy until you understand godly sorrow, confession and repentance.

 

1. 5.      The Word of God leads us to confess our sin. You are familiar with the word confession, homologeo in Greek: to say the same thing. We confess our faith every Sunday in the Nicene Creed; we all say the same thing together. Confessing our sins means we say what God’s Word says about them. God says that lying is a sin so when we don’t tell the truth, we agree with God about it and when we do, the Lord promises to forgive. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (I Jn. 1:8-10). The one thing that is true of every Christian is that a child of God will acknowledge his sins before God, an unbeliever will not. The prayer of the publican: God be merciful to me a sinner is the prayer of a renewed heart. The Holy Spirit continues to provide grace to preserve our relationship to the true God for He knows that sin destroys saving faith. This is why God is always showing us our sins through His Word. There is a wonderful promise in the Old Testament:  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Pr. 28:13). There is no peace of conscience, no rest for the soul, and no forgiveness as long as we refuse to confess and forsake our sins.

 

1. 6.      The Word of God gives us a deeper hatred for sin. The new birth of the Spirit causes us to hate sin. We cannot say we love God unless we hate the things he hates. Ye that love the Lord, hate evil (Ps. 97:10a). Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies (Ps. 139:21,22). The same is true in life. We cannot say we love our family unless we hate everything in this world that would harm them. We cannot say we love our country unless we hate and oppose every enemy of our nation. We cannot claim to love God’s Word unless we hate error and every false way that would destroy the Gospel and damn the souls of men. Hatred is the other side of love. If you don’t hate anything you don’t really love anything either. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate. Edmund Burke. I can tell more about a man by his enemies than I can his friends. What he hates tells me more about his character than what he claims to love. If he does not hate sin, false doctrine, and evil he is not my brother. The Spirit of God produces within us a distaste and hatred of all that is unholy. David wrote: Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way (Ps. 119:128). The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way (Prov. 8:13). Not every religion, doctrine and lifestyle is equal! If they are contrary to God’s Word they are false, perverted, and destructive.

 

1. 7.      The church has enemies!  There is a full scale attack being waged against the Word of God. Those who claim that all religions in the world are equal are liars. Jesus said: I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by Me (Jn. 14:6). You can’t be a Christian and believe such nonsense yet most modern churches believe just that. The true church will never surrender the truth of God’s Word. In the past week Obama attacked the First Amendment by trying to force Christian organizations, churches, hospitals, and charities to provide contraception and abortion services under his universal health coverage. The church lacks moral authority in this fight because it has been in league with the devil since the 1930’s. In that day the church equated government social programs under FDR with Christian charity. Most of the churches supported the New Deal; the government stealing money from one group of citizens to redistribute it to the poor and the thievery has only gotten worse. The large religious institutions were more than willing to take money from the government and to turn a blind eye to Catholic liberals who support abortion, well, the devil has returned for his due. Now it doesn’t matter what you believe you will do what the government says or face millions of dollars in fines and possibly prison. This is exactly what these liars promised they wouldn’t do. Remember Bart Stupack from the Upper Peninsula who held out against government health care until they promised it would never mandate abortions? Well, guess what? They lied.

 

1. 8.      The Word of God causes us to forsake sin. Paul wrote:  Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity (II Tim. 2:19b). The more we hear, read, and study the Word of God we will discover what is pleasing and displeasing to the Lord and we seek to be conformed to His Will. We cannot participate in sin or pretend it doesn’t matter how people live or how our own government behaves. How can Christians vote for politicians that support abortion? How can we vote for the bankrupting of our nation through a welfare system that is destroying the souls of millions of people? How can we cheer when our nation engages in perpetual warfare, involving itself in the internal affairs of sovereign nations contrary to our own Constitution? These are national sins the church must stand against. The Law of God applies to every individual and every nation and government leader in the world; the Law is sovereign over our lives, over the church, over our businesses, and over the government. Just because you get a job as a government bureaucrat does not mean you are exempt from God’s authority and can do as you please. The church’s task is to preach the Law, exposing sin, and calling people to repentance and faith in Christ. God’s grace causes faith and obedience to grow in the hearts and lives of the children of God and in the hearts of our leaders. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word (Ps.119:9). The presence of the Holy Spirit will always bring a separation from sin and new obedience in the life of the Christian.

 

1. 9.      The Word of God strengthens us against sin. God sanctifies the Christian through His Word by showing us our sins, revealing our Savior and showing us how we should live. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Ps. 119:10).Therefore we should read and meditate upon His Word,  His commandments, warnings, exhortations, and promises for the more the Word of God dwells in our hearts (Col. 3:16) the less sin will be able to rule over us. When we are justified by faith the Holy Spirit plants a new love for Christ and His Word within our hearts, a new principle of obedience to His commandments. The Word teaches us how to live a God pleasing life by making us doers of the Word and not merely hearers (Ja. 1:22). A Christian gladly obeys his Father in Heaven out of a heart of gratitude for all that He has done for us. He gives us strength and motivation to obey Him with a heart of love and devotion. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. And Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Ps. 119:105). The Lenten Season is a time for self examination, repentance, and growth in faith and grace. It is a special season set aside in the church to contemplate the Passion of Christ, who laid down His life for us on the cross that He might sanctify and cleanse us from sin (Eph. 5:25-27). The Holy Spirit through the light of His Word reveals the path He desires for our life and He also gives us a heart to walk in it. May the Lord prepare us for our Lenten journey this year by granting us hearts of faith and repentance and obedience for Christ’s sake; Amen.