Sermon for Pentecost 17: "God Isn't Fair"

 + 17^th Sunday after Pentecost – September 24^th, 2023 +

Series A: Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30; Matthew 20:1-16

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Kids say it on the playground when someone cuts them off in line for the slide. Adults say it as a car zips by you on the shoulder instead of zipper merging onto the freeway. Three little words. That’s not fair. 

That’s how we think isn’t it. In terms of fairness. You wait your turn in line. You get what you earn. Equal pay for equal work. I want what I deserve. And so on. Those are the ways of man. and that’s not all bad. It’s how the kingdoms of this world are supposed to work.

But as Isaiah the prophet reminds today, the kingdom of heaven is far different. my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

Right before Jesus tells this parable (at the end of Mt. 19), and right after it in vs. 16, he says those famous words: “The last will be first, and the first last.”

That hardly sounds fair. That’s because it’s not. Jesus’ parable of the laborers in the vineyard isn’t about the ways of the world, but the kingdom of heaven. And the kingdom of heaven doesn’t operate by our sense of fairness, by what is earned, or deserved, but rather on God’s justice, righteousness, and grace. 

Let’s see how it all unfolds in Jesus’ parable. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. (Think something like 6 AM) Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,  and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.

Whatever is right, our English translations say. The word behind that word is the word for righteous, and justified, and justification. Remember that word for later. “whatever is right/just, I will pay you.”

Again, the landowner goes out and does the same thing at noon and 3 PM (the 6^th and the 9^th hour), and he did the same. Later on, say around 5 PM, the sun was setting, there was still work to do. And he finds some guys bumming around, just standing there because no one had hired them.  

He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard too.’ 6 PM finally arrives. Quitting time. Beer-thirty. But before that, time to get paid. The workers head to the foreman to receive their money. And here’s where the parable gets interesting. 

The vineyard owner lines them up in reverse order, from last to first, from the eleventh hour late-comers to the first hour workers who agreed to work for a denarius a day. When they eleventh hour workers opened they pay envelope…surprise! A shiny denarius! Wow! One hour’s work and a full day’s wage. 

Imagine what happens as the other workers start to hear the news. “He’s paying a denarius an hour!” The twelve hour workers at the end of the line are busy rubbing their hands together. Hmm…a denarius an hour. This is great! But as the workers are paid, reality kicks in. Everyone gets one denarius.

The workers are bumfuzzled at the Landowner’s behavior. But they’re also livid. “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. Imagine a youth soccer league where the last place team gets the same big trophy as the undefeated first place team, in that order. That’s crazy, ridiculous. It’s not fair!

“Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius a day? Take what belongs to you and go. It’s my money and I do with it what I please. If I choose to give these last ones a full day’s wage, what’s that to you? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

This parable is a story of Judgment and grace. Judgment for those who resent and reject God’s grace. And God’s grace given to all who least deserve it. Judgment for those who, like the pharisees, and even the disciples from time to time, get it in their head that the kingdom of heaven is somehow something they deserved, or earned, or had coming to them. But in the kingdom of heaven God doesn’t operate by our sense of fairness, but rather his justice and righteousness. If the kingdom of heaven 

Fairness means you get what you deserve. Grace is the exact opposite Good News of outrageous forgiveness for undeserving sinners – you get what you don’t deserve. And that’s the Kingdom of heaven. If fairness is what gets us into the kingdom of heaven, then it’s all on us. But if God’s grace is what gets us in, then that’s Good News. Salvation is God’s gift for you. The last are first. The guilty go free. Sinners are justified. 

Like the workers, we expect God to be fair. But here’s the rub. If we want God to be fair, to deal with us according to our works, our achievements, our accomplishments and all the things we do, then we will be condemned. That’s what’s fair. Those are the terms. The wages of sin is death. That’s what we deserve. That’s what we confess every Sunday. “I justly deserved you’re your temporal and eternal punishment.” 

Ever notice how our confession has that word in the past tense? Deserved. Death. condemnation. That’s what we deserve. That would be fair. 

Isn’t it comforting to know then, that God’s ways are not our ways. That in Jesus’ death and resurrection we get what we do not deserve.

Thank God, he’s not fair. Because if there’s room in the kingdom of heaven for sinners, tax collectors; for Peter the denier and adulterous David, for doubting Moses and faithless Israel, the thief on a cross and 11^th hour workers – then there’s room in the kingdom of heaven for me and you.

Like the 11^th hour workers in the parable, we live off of the work of another. Jesus Landowner was crucified at the 3^rd hour, who from the 6^th hour was hanging on the cross under the heavy burden of our labors, as darkness covered the land, and at the 9^th hour he cried out “It is finished” as he died to save you. By the 11^th hour Jesus was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb for you, his work on the cross complete for you. Not to give you what is fair, but to give you what is just and right, his life for yours. Our wages of sin in exchange for his free gift of eternal life. 

With God we receive equal salvation for unequal work. A denarius just for being there, regardless of what you did. Everyone receives the same death and resurrection, the same Baptism, the same Body and Blood, the same forgiveness. All by grace through faith for Jesus’ sake.

So the last will be first, and the first last. With these words “The first shall be last” – Jesus takes away our pride, and then takes away our despair by promising “the last shall be first”.

We’re the 11^th hour workers, the last ones, the losers and failures, the broken sinners who make it into the kingdom by the skin of our teeth.

And this laborer, our savior Jesus, worked his hands to the bone and the nail for you. He worked himself to death for you. He rested from all the labors that he had done for you. 

We who are the last ones are made first because He who was first became last for us. In his mercy, Jesus does not give us what we deserved – the wages of sin is death. And in his grace, Jesus gives us what we don’t deserve, the denarius of his forgiveness, life, and salvation. The Scriptures repeat this promise:

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Is it fair? No. But all that Jesus gives you is good and righteous and just. In the kingdom of heaven you are not saved by fairness, but by the free grace of God in Christ Jesus. 

In Memoriam: Joy Longe - "The Lord is My Strength"

 + In Memoriam – Joy Longe +

Psalm 28; Exodus 15:1-13; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 20:1-10

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Athletes look to their training and physical health for strength. Anyone who drives a truck, tows a trailer, or enjoys a good sportscar looks under the hood for strength. So often in this world we’re told to look for strength within.

Where do Christians look for strength? The answer may surprise you. Not within. But outside of you. Not in the works of your hands, but in the hands of Jesus Christ who was lifted up on the cross and rose again from the dead three days later. Not in our words, but the words and promises of God in Jesus. Strength for the Christian is found, not in our life, but in the life of Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is what we heard earlier as we read Psalm 28:

The Lord is the strength of his people;
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

This was Joy’s confession and faith as well. In one of our conversations these past few years – I can’t recall if it was when she was ill or just having a tough day – I asked her how she was doing. Her answer: “God will give me strength. The Lord is my strength.” Joy’s words echo the words of Psalm 28

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

Joy knew that her strength – and the strength of all who are baptized and believe in Christ – isn’t found within ourselves, but in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 

For the Christian, strength comes from outside of you – from Christ crucified and risen for you. Like the old Sunday school song goes…I am weak but he is strong. God gives us strength to believe in Jesus. God gives us strength to confess his saving name. God gives us strength to love and serve others. If there is any strength within us, it is always God’s gift to us in Jesus.

On days when she was weak or tired Joy took comfort in God’s gifts which strengthened her. His promise to her in Holy Baptism, that by water and word – something that outwardly looks so weak and ordinary – God was pouring out his Holy Spirit upon her, washing away her sins, clothing her in Christ’s righteousness, and giving her eternal life in his name. No matter how weak or tired we may be or feel on any given day, the promises and grace of God in Christ are always stronger.

On days when Joy experienced loss in life – loss of family and friends, loss of health – she found strength in the victory that our Lord Jesus purchased and won for her on the cross and out of tomb. When we experience loss; when we grieve; when it appears as though the last enemy of death has triumphed yet again, we can sing like Israel did after they crossed the Red Sea, we rejoice with Joy that, The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. 

This was the source of Joy’s strength in life – even in the daily things from spending time with family, friends, and grandchildren to the countless ways she served our Lord and others here at Beautiful Savior – in all these things Joy’s strength came not from within, but from outside of her…from Christ our Lord. Joy believed and confessed the truth of God’s word that reminds us that whenever we look within for strength, comfort, or hope, all we find is sin and death. The answer, like our strength, lies outside of us…in Christ. 

As St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians… the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

There on the cross, Jesus piled up all our weakness, all our failure, all our sin, disease and death itself, and he endured it all for Joy and for you. Jesus was crucified in weakness so that your strength – now and forever – would be found in Him. 

That’s another thing that separates a Christian understanding of strength from the sinful world’s point of view. Physical strength fades. It’s temporary and fleeting. Not so with the strength of God’s promises and salvation in Jesus. 

God’s promises to Joy and to you are eternal. When Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, He rose in victory over sin, death, and the grave. When our Lord Jesus opened his tomb and walked out alive again he did that so that he would open the kingdom of heaven to Joy, to you, to all believers in Christ. Our strength, like Joy’s, is found in our Lord Jesus – in his cross and his resurrection. 

This good news and promise strengthens us not only in this life, but in the life of the world to come. Through Jesus’ resurrection we are promised our own resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Though this body is often afflicted with weakness and disease, Christ will raise our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body risen from the grave. Though our body is laid in the ground, through the strength and victory of Christ’s death and resurrection, he will raise us and Joy and all the faithful departed from our graves in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. In the flesh and blood of Jesus crucified and risen, we have the sure and certain promise that he will raise us from the dead, flesh and blood, to live with him forever.

And there, in the new creation, we will join Joy and all the saints in singing…

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people;
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard and keep you in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.

Sermon for Pentecost 16: "Sin and Forgiveness"

 +16^th Sunday after Pentecost – September 17^th, 2023 +

Series A: Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sometimes when Jesus tells a parable it can take a while to understand what it’s about. Not so with today’s Gospel reading. Jesus’ story is clear. It’s about sin and forgiveness.

Peter heard the same teaching on forgiveness from Jesus’ teaching that we heard last week. If your brother sins against you, go to him that there would be reconciliation.

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 

Peter remembered what the rabbis had taught him: three times you were obligated to forgive. And no more. Seven, seemed generous. It’s a biblical number. Surely that’s enough. 

Jesus replied, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. (or 70x7 depending on your translation). It’s not about the number. The point is this, if you’re counting and keeping book, you’re not forgiving. “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” Forgiveness, Jesus tells Peter, is not like a battery or a gas tank. It does not drain or run out. Forgiveness has no end. No cutoff line. No threshold. No limit. Jesus’ forgiveness is inexhaustible. 

To drive his point home, Jesus tells a parable about sin and forgiveness. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wants to settle accounts with his servants. There was a servant who owed an outrageous amount of money to the king. Ten thousand talents. 200,000 years’ worth of day’s wages. Today it would be billions of dollars of debt. The man owed a debt he could never possibly repay. 

The servant pleas for mercy, and the king is merciful. He wipes way the entire debt. Clears the books. The master wanted bring him into a new kind of kingdom. Not a kingdom where you pay your debts but a kingdom where your debts are paid. The master forgives the servant his debt and, the servant was to live in the kingdom ruled by mercy, where debts are paid by the deepfelt compassion of the master. 

He finds a fellow servant who owed him a couple hundred bucks, wraps his fingers around the man’s neck, and demands payment in full. When word gets back to the king, he’s not happy. And he summons the forgiven servant and condemns him to prison until his debt is paid in full. “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

If Jesus’ parable here is about sin and forgiveness what does that mean for us his disciples? Several things.

We’re meant to see ourselves in this servant’s sandals. Our sin is an unpayable debt. We’ve no chance of ever repaying it ever. You can never earn your freedom. All we can do, like the servant in the first part of the parable, is fall on our knees and beg the mercy of the King. And the King is merciful. He covers your debt by covering you in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus died for you. Debt paid in full. Sin cancelled by the cross and blood of Jesus. Every day, hour, and second we live in the abundant mercy and endless forgiveness in Jesus.

Think about it this way. If we were to take Peter’s question and ask it directly to Jesus, how would he answer? “Lord, how often will I sin against you and you forgive me, seven times? No. Not merely 7x, or 77x, or 490x. 

And out of mercy, the Master releases you and forgives your debt. Endless. Limitless. Abundant forgiveness.

Another thing Jesus teaches us in this parable is that we, his servants, are to be like him, the Master. To live in his unending forgiveness, and to forgive others as Christ forgives us. The way Jesus tells this parable is intentionally absurd. The unpayable debt vs. the smaller debt. Again, we’re meant to see ourselves in the servant of the parable. Although the sins against us by our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are painful, hurtful, and real, what are they when compared to our own sinful debt before God? A fraction. A few denarius 

I don’t know about you, but that question always brings me back to the first part of the parable…to the Master’s mercy, to Jesus’ forgiveness. We know we should forgive. That it’s right. That Jesus commands us to forgive. The hard part usually is, how can I possibly do that? What do I do when forgiveness is hard, feels impossible even? The answer to that is in Jesus’ parable. Don’t look to the servant (don’t look at yourself), but the merciful, forgiving master. Jesus’ parable is meant to draw us back to him and his forgiveness, time and time again. To confess that we are poor, miserable sinners. To receive his forgiveness again and again and again. 

Whenever we’re dealing with sin and forgiveness…go back to the merciful, forgiving master, Jesus. When you’re struggling to forgive someone, go back to Jesus’ abundant, limitless forgiveness. When you don’t know how to forgive don’t look at the person’s sin, but look at your sin and see it forgiven and your debt paid in the blood of Jesus. 

This is what Jesus is getting at in verse 35

“…if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” It’s about the heart, which is not the seat of emotions, it’s not about your feelings but about your will. Forgiveness is an intentional act. From the heart. The heart is the place where Sin has had its way. From the Sin-infected heart proceed all sorts of sins – murder, theft, adultery, gossip, slander, you name it. If we are going to forgive from the heart, then our hearts must be changed, and we can’t do that. God does.

Forgiveness begins not in our hearts but in the merciful heart of God. In the heart that seeks and saves the sinner. In the heart that beats with compassion for the least and the lost, the heart that reaches out to the ungodly and the enemy. The heart of God is patient, not wanting anyone to perish in Sin, desiring everyone to turn and live. It’s the heart of Jesus who prays, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing,” as Roman soldiers drive nails through His hands and feet to crucify Him. “You mean this for evil, but God meant it for good.” 

The source of forgiveness is the cross of Jesus, pouring out forgiveness on the entire world. As St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 

Our forgiveness is nothing else than His forgiveness, the overflow flowing over to the neighbor. The King has wiped away your debt. More than you could ever repay. The Law with all of demands and threats and punishments has been fulfilled, paid in full by Jesus your brother. You are forgiven. 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sermon for Pentecost 15: "Least is Greatest"

 + 15^th Sunday after Pentecost – September 10^th, 2023 +

Series A: Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:1-10; Matthew 18:1-20

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Movie goers will give you a list of the greatest movies of all time. Food critics love to tell you who has the best clam chowder or fish and chips. Sports fans debate who is the greatest player or team (in hockey it’s the Detroit Red Wings, by the way). No matter what your interest is or hobby is, we want to know, who’s the greatest?

The disciples were no different. “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 

This question – who’s the greatest? - runs throughout today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 18. At first, it might seem like a loose collection of stories and teachings, but the theme of greatness in the kingdom of heaven ties all of them together. As the disciples quickly learn, greatness in the kingdom of heaven is completely different from their picture of greatness.

How did Jesus answer his disciples’ question, Who is the greatest? He took the last person someone in the first century would think of as the greatest, a child. In Jesus’ day children weren’t idealized like today. Children had no rights, were helpless and weak on their own; the most in need, and utterly dependent. Jesus says to his disciples, “Ok, guys, you want to know what greatness looks like…this is it right here. An utterly needy and dependent child.” That’s greatness. Not strength, success, or power. But littleness. Neediness. Having nothing on our own to claim. 

It’s really another way of saying that we live by grace, totally dependent upon our Heavenly Father, as children are upon their earthy parents. 

Greatness in the kingdom of heaven isn’t found by looking on your own greatness, but the greatness of God’s grace in Christ; And then, from Christ, to the greatness of other’s needs.

This is why Jesus speak a word of warning. Whoever causes one of these little ones – that is all who are dependent upon him, who believe and trust in him – whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Jesus’ warning is stern. A calling for reflection and repentance. He’s correcting their error, their thinking that greatness is measured in the kingdom of heaven the same way it is in the world, by comparison and competition. Jesus teaches us that there is no room for pride and self-righteousness in the kingdom of heaven, that is the way that will cause others to sin, to stumble, and eventually would cause the ruin of his disciples. Instead, Jesus is teaching us to live, as Paul writes in Philippians, with humility, considering others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).

Greatness, according to Jesus, is found in compassion and ultimately in his cross. 

To be great in the kingdom of heaven is also to see ourselves as the little ones Jesus is concerned about. To see ourselves in the most need, utterly dependent upon Him. To see ourselves in the mirror of God’s Law completely ruined by sin. That’s the point of Jesus’ words when he says…

if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

With these words, Jesus directs his disciples, and us, as we heard last week, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. 

His words here about sin and our hands, feet, and eyes, isn’t about doing but trust. It’s not about chopping of hands and feet and gouging out eyes in order to become pleasing to God, it’s about how there is nothing you can do to become pleasing to God but you don’t have to. God has done what it takes for Him to be pleased with you. Jesus is teaching us not to look at our own greatness, but the greatness of his rescue and redemption on the cross.

To illustrate his point, Jesus tells a mini parable. If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? ¹³ And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray.

 

it is the joy of the Good Shepherd to seek and to save. It is precisely the sheep in its lostness that draws the seeking and saving attention of the Lord’s shepherding, and He is restless until we are found safe and sound, not wanting one of these little ones to perish.

Jesus, your Good shepherd was willing to lose all in order to save one who doesn’t deserve to be saved. You’re that sheep. He came to save you. Yes, the world, that’s nice. You. Specifically. You in your helplessness, your lostness, your death. For the joy set before Him, for the joy of returning you to the Father’s fold, for the joy of forgiving you, for the joy of your salvation, Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame. He became Sin for you, He entered our wilderness of Sin and Death. He died the cursed death so that you, baptized and believing as one of His little ones, might enter the kingdom of heaven through the small and narrow door of His death and resurrection.

He sought you in His death and He found you. He baptized you. He absolved you. He feeds you. He sustains you. He carries you to the flock of His Father’s kingdom with the joy of a shepherd who has just found His favored, lost sheep. 

What is greatness in the kingdom of heaven? Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for you. Jesus’ compassion for you. God’s outrageous forgiveness for undeserving sinners.

God’s great and gracious forgiveness is the center of the kingdom of heaven, the work of God in Christ for us…and forgiveness is also at the heart of our lives together as his people, as a congregation. Forgiveness, not our own greatness, is to mark our lives together. If your brother or sister sins against you, go to him. The world would have you go to get even. Christ would have you go to forgive as you have been forgiven. Go to him. Tell him with the intent and purpose of forgiving. If he refuses, bring a couple of others. The whole church, if necessary. In the kingdom of heaven, greatness is seen in forgiveness and in reconciliation when we have sinned against one another. There, in the midst of forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven us, that’s where Jesus promises to be present.

Who’s the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus has shown us that greatness is seen in a little child, lost sheep, two or three Christians gathered around forgiveness, and in the crucified Savior who gives his great and gracious forgiveness in humble water, word, bread and wine.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard and keep you in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen. 

Sermon for Pentecost 14: "The Turning Point"

 + 14^th Sunday after Pentecost – September 3^rd, 2023 +

Series A: Jeremiah 15:15-21; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

One of the enjoyable parts of learning history is when you find important ideas, inventions, people, or places that mark a turning point. George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas Eve of 1776; a turning point in the American Revolution. Luther re-discovering the righteousness of Christ given by God’s grace through faith, not man’s work; a turning point in church history.

Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 16 is a major turning point in the life and ministry of Jesus. It comes on the heels of last week’s reading, where Peter made the good and God-given confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now we hear Jesus teaching what it means that he is the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus teaches Peter, his disciples, and us all, that everything in His life and ours is marked by the great turning point of his suffering, dying, and rising.

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Notice that Matthew says, Jesus “began to show his disciples.” This is not the last time Jesus will foretell his passion and resurrection. Only after Jesus’ resurrection will his disciples begin to grasp what he’s saying and doing. And what Jesus says here is loaded with meaning. Jesus’ words mark a turning point in His life and ministry. His miracles. Healing. Feeding of the of the crowds. Walking on water. Calming storms. These are all signposts marking the way to the cross and his empty tomb. Jesus begins to connect the dots for the disciples about everything he has said and done so far, and the picture he reveals is the picture of his suffering, death, and resurrection.

Jesus must go to Jerusalem. There is no other way than the cross. No other place than Jerusalem. No other Messiah than Jesus the Son of the Living God. His sacrifice for our sin. His death for our death. His life for our life. There is no backup. No plan B. This is the way. This is why He came virgin-born. This is why He was baptized in the Jordan. This is why He performed all the miracles He did. He didn’t come to be a wise teacher. A divine boy scout. Or a new Moses. But to suffer. To be the sin-bearer. And to be killed – not accidentally, but intentionally, to save you. The entire history of the world turns on the word and work of Jesus the Son of the living God who suffer, dies, and rises. 

Don’t forget that last part. and on the third day be raised. It’s one thing to claim to be the Son of God,; it’s another thing entirely to back it up by doing it. And yet, that’s exactly what Jesus did.

 

Peter’s response is a complete contrast to his confession we heard last week. Peter, the disciple, pulls Jesus, the Master, aside and rebukes Jesus. It’s the same word Jesus uses when he rebukes demons and disease, only now it’s from his own disciple. “Far be it from you, Lord.” He calls on the Lord to have mercy on Jesus for saying such a thing. Like how we’d say, God forbit it.” Whatever Peter’s understanding of the Messiah was, suffering, dying and rising were not what he had in mind.

It is, however, precisely what God had in mind. And anything that stands in the way of the Messiah’s suffering and dying is Satan, an adversary. Which is why Jesus replies the way he does. Strongly. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 

It is the things of man to be self-serving, self-loving, self-absorbed. Not so with the things of God. To think the things of God is to think on, rejoice in, and give thanks for the crucified and risen Christ. To think the thoughts of God is to think on the Christ who suffers, dies, and rises for you. To see that in the suffering and dying and rising of Jesus, the great turning point not only of the whole world, but also your life. His suffering for your sin brings you peace with God. His death brings destroys your death. His resurrection gives you life forever.

Christ’s suffering, dying, and rising are not only the great turning point in his life for you, but also for your daily life in Him. A disciple is a follower. Jesus followed where the Father sent and lead him. We, by his saving work, follow where he leads us. And it’s always to and from his cross.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

This is not a list of prerequisites to become Jesus’ disciple, but what it looks like to follow Jesus. It looks like the cross. And the cross has one purpose. To kill. To put to death. Being a disciple of Jesus is not about attending Jesus school. It’s about suffering, dying and rising. It’s about denying one’s self and confessing Christ. It’s about losing in order to win, dying in order to live. It’s about holding everything in this life with the open, dead hand of faith, to be dead to Sin about alive to God in Christ. This is what’s happening when we confess our sin. Jesus’ cross is killing our sin and forgiving our sin.

Baptism does something similar, Paul says. It’s a miraculous turning point. By water and word, God joins us to Jesus’ suffering and death and resurrection. His wounds are now your wounds for your healing. In Baptism you were joined to Jesus’ death. His death atones for your sins. In Baptism you were joined to Jesus’ resurrection and life. In Baptism you were given a new mind, the mind of Christ, set on the things of God not on the things of man. 

It’s like that old country song, live like you were dying. Only in the Christian faith, you live like you are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. What does that look like? How do we take up our cross and follow Jesus? Paul says it well in today’s epistle reading. 

⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,^[g] serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^[h] Never be wise in your own sight.¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

And when we fail to live this way, or fall short of our Lord’s words, like Peter, remember that all of this – your salvation, your following Jesus, your eternal life and forgiveness – it all turns and rests, not on you, but on Jesus who suffered, died, and rose again on the third day for you.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.