Sermon for Pentecost 21: "Not By Doing, But By Dying"

 + 21^st Sunday after Pentecost – October 13^th, 2024 +

Series B: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15; Hebrews 7:12-19; Mark 10:17-22

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

When God called Abram to leave his home country and go to a new land where the Lord was leading him, was it because he was so rich, famous, and powerful that God called him? No. It was all by God’s grace. 

 

When God promised Abraham to give him land, blessings, and the promise that through his offspring, the promised Seed of the Messiah, would come, was this a reward for good behavior, or a bonus package God gave him for a job well done? No, it was an inheritance. A gift. 

 

When God gave his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to bless their families and through their offspring to bring about a blessing for all nations, was it because of something they had done or were going to do? No. It was an inheritance. A gift. As Paul says in Galatians, For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

 

When God gave his people Israel the land he promised to lead them into was it because of their strength, might, and upright moral behavior? No. The land, the promises. It was all an inheritance. It was all gift. 

 

In the story of the Scriptures, there’s nothing you can do to win your inheritance; inheritance is something God does for you. Inheritance comes not by doing, but by ultimately, by dying. 

 

Shocking as that may sound. That’s where Jesus – in his love – was leading this rich young man. Leading him to the death of his pride. The death of his self-worth and self-righteousness. The death of his grip on wealth and possessions. The death all his sin that stood in the way of believing in Jesus so that Jesus could give him the one thing he lacked, himself. 

 

And it’s a question about inheritance is what kicks off the whole conversation. A man who had it all – youth, wealth, and power – falls down at Jesus’ feet – a posture of worship - and says, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

 

Remember, how do you get an inheritance? In the biblical view of things it happens not by doing, but by dying. Someone dies and leaves you the inheritance. It’s entirely up to the gracious will of the one who put you into their will. You may think you deserve it or you may not, but in the end it’s not up to you. It’s the will of the one who dies who gives you the inheritance. 

 

The rich young man is stuck on doing, not dying, though. And since doing is a question of the Law, Jesus answers his Law question with a Law answer. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”

 

Notice how Jesus starts with what we call the second table of the Law. The commandments that deal with others around us – our neighbor. 

 

And this is all part of Jesus’ plan to lead this man to lead him to the heart of the issue, to what he really lacked, and ultimately, Jesus is leading this man to his death – the death of his idols.

 

Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. Jesus doesn’t argue the point or fact check his commandment keeping. Sure, outwardly he probably has done many of the things these commandments require. But Jesus wants to take a deeper dive into the man’s heart and the heart of all the commandments, which is always the first commandment.

 

So Jesus, looking at him, loved him. Don’t skip over that little verse. It’s key to the whole conversation. Jesus loves the man enough to not want him die in his sin, but rather that he would die to sin and live in faith and trust in Jesus.

 

So Jesus, looking at him says this in love and out of love for the rich young man: You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 

 

Jesus loved this young man. He wanted to give him the one thing he lacked. What he lacked was not poverty or humility. What he lacked was Jesus. What got in the way was his wealth and his power. He thought inheritance with God worked the way it sometimes does in the world – by doing. Not so, says Jesus. Inheritance comes by dying. 

 

Come. Follow me through death and resurrection, trust in Me and what I am doing for you, join me in my death and I will give you eternal life.

 

Jesus goes to the heart of this man’s sin because it’s from out of the heart that all our sinfulness flows. This is why all the commandments lead us back – like Jesus lead this man back – to the first commandment. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Luther saw this so clearly in his catechism. All commandments begin in the heart. All sin is at its heart idolatry. And idolatry is diagnosed by what we fear the most, love the most, trust the most. Who or what do we turn to in times of trouble? Where are treasure is, there our hearts are also. And all of this – all of our sin, our trusting in ourselves, all the looking at our doing, all our lust and greed and selfishness and striving to do it all on our own – it all has to die. 

 

Remember, that’s how inheritance comes. Not by doing. But by dying. 

 

“What must you do?” You must do nothing. You must become nothing. You must let go of all that you have, your efforts and striving, your pride and self-sufficiency, and rely on Christ alone.

Like the rich young man, we must die. Die to sin. Die to our pride. Die to whatever it is that we fear, love, and trust in above God. 

 

And there, in our death of sin – where all we have to hold onto is the death of Jesus – in his dying and rising for you – there’s your inheritance. There’s the promise. There’s God’s grace for outrageous sinners like us. There’s God’s gift of mercy and love and compassion for all the times we think we’ve kept the commandments, but really haven’t. There is our Good and gracious God in the flesh, taking our heart of idols and replacing it with an eternal inheritance. There is the Good Teacher who is also our Gracious Redeemer, who though he was rich but for our sakes became poor. Who gave up all that He had as the Son of the Father. Who divested Himself of His honor, His glory, His power and became a servant who suffered, and in humility became obedient to His own Law and died in poverty on a cross so that by His poverty and death we might become rich, heirs of eternal life.

 

And that’s who you are. You are heirs, not by doing, but by Jesus’ dying for you. Not as a reward, but a righteous, gracious gift when you were washed and baptized into God’s family and adopted by his grace, and joined to Jesus in baptismal faith in his dying and rising for you. That’s how your inheritance comes, by Jesus’ doing, and his dying for you. 

 

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