Sermon for Sexagesima - Isa 55:10-13

 

         Sexagesima

                                                                                                Isa 55:10-13

                                                                                                2/23/25

 

            The prophet Isaiah wrote in the eight century B.C. Yet in is prophecy, God uses him to address events that were going to occur in the sixth century B.C. In Isaiah’s time, you didn’t need divine foreknowledge to perceive what was most likely going to happen.  The southern kingdom of Judah had been unfaithful to Yahweh.  This had been the case for a long time, and there was nothing to lead a person to believe that anything was going to change.

            Judah worshipped false god’s.  Oh, they still went through the motions of worship and sacrifice at the temple, but their hearts were not truly directed towards the Lord.  Isaiah wrote in the first chapter, “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.”

            Judah did not have faith in Yahweh.  And so, not surprisingly, they were not living in the ways that were part of his covenant with them. They were not living in the ways that his Torah described. Isaiah wrote, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.”

            Isaiah told Judah that God’s judgment would come upon them. They would be taken into exile.  The experience of exile would be a call to repentance.  Yahweh described the nation as his wife. In the previous chapter Isaiah said, “For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer.”

            The nation would experience the punishment of exile.  But in love and compassion, God would not abandon the people.  It was in Yahweh alone that they could have hope.  He begins this chapter by saying, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

            Only God could provide them with what they really needed.  And he gave it freely and without cost – he gave it by grace.  What the people needed to do was to turn to Yahweh in repentance.   He says, “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”

            God called upon the people and said: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”  God promised that those who repented would meet the God who had compassion and who abundantly pardoned. As Yahweh had said in the first chapter, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

            God called the wicked to forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.  He called them to repentance because God would have compassion on them, and would abundantly pardon.  The way and thoughts of man were wicked and sinful.  But the way and thoughts of God were compassionate and forgiving.  So immediately before our text, Isaiah says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

            Now we often take this verse to mean that God’s thoughts and ways are beyond our comprehension.  This is certainly true, and there is much in Holy Scripture that teaches this fact.  But the immediate context of this statement leads us to recognize that it has one particular aspect of God in mind.  This is the fact that God has compassion and pardons the wicked and unrighteous who repent.

            This is not how by nature we operate.  When wronged, we want get payback.  This is not how the world works.  You need only look briefly on social media to see how people are eager to accuse and attack when they believe they have been wronged.

            But God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  God is the compassionate One who pardons sins.  Again and again - like a kind of creedal statement - the Old Testament tells us that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

            God is the One who acts in compassion to forgive. God does not keep this to himself. Instead in our text we learn that God speaks it through his word.  He says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

            Isaiah uses the metaphor of water, which was so crucial for life in Israel which existed just inside the zone where there was enough moisture to raise crops.  The rain and the snow came down from heaven and watered the earth. This water produced crops from which bread could be made. Along with this, additional seed was produced that would be sown to produce the next harvest.  In the same way the word that goes forth from God’s mouth does not return empty, but accomplishes what God intends.  And of course, here, the intention is to deliver compassion and pardon.

            Yahweh’s words to Judah are expressed in language that point beyond just return from exile.  He says in our text, “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.”

            God’s promise of David’s descendant, the Messiah, stood sure.  Because Joseph took Jesus to be his own, Jesus was the son of David.  He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words that we heard at Christmas, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”

            Yet as we learned at Jesus’ baptism – and were reminded again at his transfiguration – Jesus is also the Servant of the Lord.  Sin is sin committed against God, and the just and holy God punishes sin.  That is why the Lord laid the iniquity of us all on Jesus, as he was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities.  Jesus Christ received this as he died on the cross in our place.

            Sin brings death.  It has since Adam and Eve.  Jesus died as he received the judgment against our sin.  But sin and death did not get the final word.  God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day.  He began in Christ the resurrection life that will be ours as well.

            In our text we learn that God has compassion and pardons those who repent and turn to him for forgiveness.  He says that this forgiving word goes out of his mouth and does not return to him empty. Instead, it accomplishes what he purposed and succeeds in the thing for which he sent it.

            This is word is the word of the Gospel.  It is the good news that through faith in the crucified and risen Lord we have forgiveness before God.  God has already acted to give us pardon and forgiveness.  He has already revealed his love through Jesus Christ.  This is a word that calls forth faith.  Paul told the Romans, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

            God gives you this word through the reading and preaching of Scripture.  And he also gives you the “visible word.” He adds his Gospel word to water, and to bread and wind, and these become means by which God gives forgiveness to us.  He gives us his word in ways that embrace us in a physical, bodily manner. For it is not only our soul that he has redeemed.  The incarnate Lord lived a human bodily existence and he rose from the dead with a resurrection body that can never die again.  This is what he will give us on the Last Day when he raises us from the dead.

In our text, God says that his word of forgiveness will not fail to accomplish his purpose.  It delivers what Jesus Christ has won for us by his death and resurrection. The result of this is joy – joy that will encompass all creation.  We hear at the end of our text: “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Because of God’s forgiving word in Christ, we look forward to live with him in the new creation.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon for Septuagesima - Mt 20:1-16

 

         Septuagesima

                                                                                                Mt 20:1-16

                                                                                                2/16/25

 

            “What in it for us?” That’s what Peter has just asked immediately before our text.  He said, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”  There was some truth to Peter’s question. The apostles had left everything in order to follow Jesus.  They had left behind their previous life as they traveled with Jesus during his ministry.

            In his reply, Jesus acknowledged the unique status that the apostles had.  After all, our Lord had chosen these twelve men to be his apostles – his authorized representatives. He said, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

            Jesus pointed to the new creation of the Last Day.  Christ will sit on the throne pronouncing the final judgment.  He tells the apostles that they will join him in doing so. They will have a role beside him in the judgment.  They will have this exalted status that will be shared by no one else.

            Our Lord’s statement certainly set apart the apostles.  But right after this, he goes on to say something that indicates all believers will be equally blessed.  He states: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” 

All will receive this blessing, not just the apostles.  Even those who seem to be nothing in the world and in the Church will receive it. For as Jesus says in the verse just before our text, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

            Jesus had just said that all Christians – even those who seem to be last – will receive blessings on the Last Day.  And in our text he tells a parable to expound on this.  He teaches us about the grace of God – the unmerited gift of salvation that he gives to us.

            Christ says in our text: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.”  As you know, when Jesus refers to the kingdom of heaven, he is not talking about a place.  Instead, he is talking about the reign of God that was present in Jesus.  What is God’s reign like? What should be understand about it? Well, it’s like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

            The owner of the vineyard did not have employees.  Instead, he hired people from the area when he had work that needed to be done.  He went out early in the morning – around 6:00 a.m.- and hired those who were looking for work.  We learn in our text, “After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” A denarius was the standard day’s wage. The master and the laborer agreed on a fair amount, and so they headed to the vineyard to begin work.

            Next Jesus said, “And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.” The master went out at 9:00 a.m.  He saw others in the marketplace who had not been hired.  He told them to go work in his vineyard, and said he would give a wage that was fair. 

            The workers didn’t know how much they would receive at the end of the work day. Apparently, they trusted that the master was a fair man who would not cheat them.  So they headed off to the vineyard.

            The master went out and did the same thing at noon.  He did it again at 3:00 p.m.  He continued to hire people to work in his vineyard, and promised to pay them what was right.

            Finally, we learn that at the eleventh hour – at 5:00 p.m., one hour before the end of the work day - he went out and found others standing. He said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?”  The workers had been standing around all day long doing nothing. They explained, “Because no one has hired us.” So the master said, “You go into the vineyard too.”

            When evening came – when it was 6:00 p.m. – the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.”  Those who had been hired at the eleventh hour – at 5:00 p.m.- came forward first. Each of them received a denarius. They had worked only one hour, yet the master paid them a full day’s wage.

            Those who had been hired first, at the beginning of the day were excited. If the laborers who had only been there for an hour received a denarius, think about much they were going to receive who had worked twelve hours!  Yet their expectations were dashed, as each of them also received a denarius.

            These laborers were not just disappointed.  We learn that when they received the denarius they grumbled at the master of the house saying, “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.”  It was not fair.  They had worked for the whole day.  They had done the most work and endured the heat of the day.  And yet, the master had paid them the exact same amount as those who had worked for one hour.

            However, the master replied to them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?” The master had been true to his word.  He had given these laborers exactly what they had agreed upon.

Then he told them, “Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”  The master reproved the laborers. He had given them what was right.  And he was free to do with his money what he wanted.  He was being good to these other workers. Why should that cause them to be indignant?  Then Jesus concluded the parable with words that link it to what he had just said to Peter: “So the last will be first, and the first last.”

So what is the kingdom of heaven – the reign of God - like?  It is like a master who gives his laborers what they have not earned and don’t deserve.  It is God acting by grace.  And because all receive what they don’t deserve, all are equal before God. There is no distinction.

This is true because of God’s action in Christ to save us. God has given us what we don’t deserve.  Apart from Christ, all are equal before God in a very different way.  Paul told the Romans, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  We are all equal in that we are all equally deserving of God’s judgment. 

With David we must confess, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” This sin which is present in us from the moment of conception demonstrates itself as we create false gods. We give more time, thought, and attention to our hobbies and sports than we do to God.  It is seen as we act in selfish ways towards those around us; as we speak angry words; as we say things that harm the reputation of others.

As sinners, we were equally deserving of God’s judgment.  But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was the presence of God’s reign in this world bringing God’s salvation to us.  Immediately after our text we learn: “And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.’”

God the Father sent his Son into the world to be the sacrifice for our sin.  Conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary, Jesus Christ was present to bear our sin and die on the cross.  Later in this chapter Jesus says, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  He, the holy One, received the judgment against our sin.

But God’s saving reign in Christ did not end in death.  Instead, Jesus passed through death in order to defeat it. God raised Jesus from the dead on Easter.  Jesus Christ is the risen and ascended Lord.  To die is to be with Christ.  And because Jesus has been raised, you will be too.  Christ will return in glory on the Last Day to give you a share in his resurrection.

It was God who acted in Jesus Christ in order to rescue you from sin by his death and resurrection. And it is the Holy Spirit who has called you to faith.  In Holy Baptism you were born again of water and the Spirit.  You are sons and daughters of God in Christ Jesus.

There is nothing “fair” about this. And thank God this is so! It is a matter of God’s grace – his completely undeserved love and favor.  God has given you the status of being a saint – a holy one in his eyes.  You live knowing that you have peace with God.

This grace received is now grace that is shared with others.  Jesus says in this chapter, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Lord has called you to provide service and help to others – service and help even when they don’t deserve it.  He has called you to view and treat every other Christian as having equal worth and value – to make no distinctions no matter how others view them.

This is not how the world works. But it is how things work for those who have received the kingdom of heaven – the reign of God – in Jesus Christ. We have received God’s grace – his undeserved love and forgiveness. And so we share this love and forgiveness with others. For in God’s reign, the last will be first, and the first last.

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord - 2 Pet 1:16-21

 

         Transfiguration

                                                                                                2 Pet 1:16-21

                                                                                                2/9/25

 

            St Peter knew that his life would end soon. He says immediately before our text: “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”

            We don’t know how Christ had revealed this to Peter, but the apostle clearly was very certain about what was going to happen.  Because this was so, Peter wanted to provide a reminder about his teaching – something that would help the believers to recall it after he was gone.   

Peter has just been speaking in the beginning of the letter about how Christians are to live because of the knowledge of Jesus Christ – because of the forgiveness of sins that they have received.  After describing his situation and desire to remind them about the teaching, Peter turns in our text to explaining the basis for what he has to say.

He begins our text by stating, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”  It is clear from elsewhere in the letter that when Peter refers to the “power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he is talking about the return of Jesus on the Last Day.  The apostles had declared that the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord would return in glory.

Peter says that they did not follow “cleverly devised myths” when they proclaimed the Gospel. It is not only in the modern period that people have had skepticism about religious accounts.  Many in the ancient world did not believe that every story about the gods was true.  There were Greek writers who treated the accounts about gods like Zeus in non-literal ways. They did so because they did not believe they were factual descriptions of what had happened.

Religious myths have no basis in our time and history.  You can’t say when they had happened. Peter declares that the apostles did not operate on the basis of myths.  Instead, they bore witness to events for which they had been eyewitnesses.  They proclaimed Jesus who had “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” These were things that had really happened in the Roman province of Judea during the early 30’s A.D.  They had seen Jesus die on the cross.  He had been buried.  And then they had seen and heard the risen Lord – they had talked with him - as he was with them in both Judea and Galilee.

Peter and the apostles had proclaimed that the risen and ascended Lord would return in glory.  In our text Peter points to a time when they had already witnessed Jesus’ divine glory. He writes, “but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.”

Peter refers to the event that we are celebrating today – the Transfiguration of Our Lord.  As we learn in our Gospel lesson, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain.  Matthew tells us, “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”

At Christmas we learned that the Word – the Son of God – became flesh.  God sent forth his Son into the world as Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  Jesus was – and still is – true God and true man.  At that moment on the mountain, our Lord allowed his divine glory to be revealed directly as his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

Peter tells us that Jesus received honor from God as the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  This statement repeated the same words that the Father had spoken at Jesus’ baptism.  They are words that identify Jesus as the Servant of the Lord prophesied by Isaiah.

Though he had no sin, Jesus submitted to John’s baptism of repentance.  He identified himself with sinners.  He took our sins as his own, for the Servant in Isaiah is also the suffering Servant upon whom the Lord placed the iniquity of us all.  From the moment of his baptism, Jesus’ ministry was directed toward the cross where he would drink the cup of God’s wrath in our place.

The death of a mere man could never accomplish forgiveness before God.  In the transfiguration we see that Jesus is more than just a man.  He is the Son of God who carries out the Father’s saving will for us.  Jesus died on the cross so that we can have peace with God.  Peter says in his first letter, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”

In the Gospel lesson Jesus says to the disciples as they descend the mountain, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” The glory of Jesus’ transfiguration points forward to what awaits on the other side of the cross.  The Lord Jesus suffered and died for us.  And then on Easter God raised Jesus from the dead. 

Peter says in his first letter, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” In Jesus’ resurrection, God has defeated death.  Christ is the beginning of our resurrection, for the risen and ascended Lord will return in glory and raise us from the dead.  In Jesus we have the living hope.  Our life in Christ has no end, even if we die.  And bodily death is not the end, for the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will mean that he will raise and transform our bodies so that they can never die again.

In our text, Peter talks about the experience that he and the other two apostles had at Jesus’ transfiguration.  He does so as he makes the point that the proclamation about Jesus is based on what actually happened.  The apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ divine glory at the transfiguration.  They saw Christ die.  They were with the risen Lord.

And then he goes on to say, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  We have not had the experiences of the apostles.  But Peter says that we have something more sure.  We have God’s prophetic word that has been fulfilled by Jesus.  We have God’s promises in his word – promises that he has kept in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This word of God is his revelation to us.  Peter says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  The apostle tells us that Scripture has been inspired by God. He speaks of the Old Testament, but the same thing is true of the New Testament as well for the Spirit of Christ is the One who gave us the apostolic word.

Scripture was written by men. But it is Holy Scripture because the Spirit used those men as His instruments.  The Holy Spirit guided men so that what was written is what God wanted to give us. It is God’s authoritative revelation.  In Scripture God has revealed his ordering and will for life.  There he has revealed his love and salvation that we have through faith in Jesus Christ.

Because this is so, Peter says that God’s word needs to be our focus.  He says, “you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  We live in a world of darkness.  It is a world of sin and death.  We know the sin which continues to be present in our lives. We see the ways that our fallen existence experiences sickness and suffering, as it leads to the inevitable outcome of death.

Peter says Scripture is like a lamp shining in this dark place.  It is because through Scripture the Holy Spirit reveals who Jesus Christ is for us.  The Lord Jesus comes to us through the word of God.  His Spirit who has called us to faith, sustains and strengthens us in faith.  Not only this, but the Spirit shows us how we are to live in faith.  In Scripture we learn how to live in ways that are true to God’s will.  As the Psalmist wrote, “You word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

This means that you need to make Holy Scripture a daily part of your life.  It needs to be something that you read and ponder each day.  A little bit is good … and more is better.  Consider using the readings that are present in the Treasury of Daily Prayer – a resource which as Frank Glaub mentions in this month’s newsletter is also available as an app on your phone.  Start the project of reading through a book of the Bible. Come to Bible class on Sunday or Wednesday morning in order to learn more deeply about what God says in his word.

Through daily use of God’s word we are nourished in faith.  The Holy Spirit does not only provide the comfort of forgiveness and salvation that we have in Jesus Christ.  He also leads the new man in us to live in ways that show forth faith in Christ.  We follow the Spirit’s leading as we walk in the ways that Scripture makes known.

Just before our text, Peter states that this needs to be our goal as Christians.  He says, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”  These are the things that are to characterize our life in relation to God and our neighbor.  As Peter says, “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord.  Peter reminds us that our faith is not based on myths.  Instead, we rejoice in what God has really done in our world.  Peter and the apostles were eyewitnesses of what God did in Jesus Christ. The apostle was with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration as Jesus shone in divine glory and God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Father’s words direct us to Jesus’ death on the cross by which he has freed us from sin.  The Lord Jesus’ glorious appearance leads us to recognize that death was not the end for Christ.  Instead, Jesus is the risen and ascended Lord.  We live in the forgiveness that Christ has won for us.  And we have a living hope as we eagerly look for the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Last Day.  

 

 

  

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord - Lk 2:22-32

 

Purification of Mary and Presentation of Our Lord

                                                                            Lk 2:22-32

                                                                            2/2/25

 

            The prophet Isaiah wrote in the eighth century B.C.: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”  Isaiah spoke about the line of King David.  Yahweh had told David, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” 

            However, in Isaiah’s time the kings who reigned on the throne of David were more often men like Ahaz – people who didn’t trust the Lord and were not faithful to him.  The king descended from David only ruled the land of Judah, while the northern lands were the separate kingdom of Israel.  Judah, and Jerusalem itself, were threatened by invasion from the Assyrian Empire.

            However, Isaiah pointed forward to the day when a descendant of David – the Messiah - would arise. He said that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon him.  He would judge the poor with righteousness.  He would strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he would kill the wicked.

            Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C. and took them away into exile.  Judah remained unfaithful to the Lord and in 587 B.C. the Babylonians destroyed the temple and took the people into exile in Babylon.  Yet in fulfillment of God’s word through Isaiah and Jeremiah, the people were allowed to return to Judah in 538 B.C.  Spurred on by the prophets Zechariah and Haggai, the temple was rebuilt and dedicated in 516 B.C.

            God had brought his people back to Judah, but now they did not rule themselves.  They were a province of the Persian empire.  They had no king, and God had not sent the Messiah – the Christ as he was called in Greek.  For five hundred years this continued to be their situation as one empire after another ruled over the land of Israel.

            God’s people were waiting for him to fulfill his promise.  They were waiting for God to send the Christ and to bring rescue to his people.  We learn about one such individual in our text. Luke tells us, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” 

            Simeon was a faithful man of God.  Like others, he was waiting for God’s end time salvation.  But Simeon was unique because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Not only was he uniquely endowed with the Spirit, but we learn, “And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.”  Simeon was waiting, and the Spirit of God had revealed to him that he would see the Christ before he died.

            Simeon’s wait ended when Joseph and Mary came to the temple with the baby Jesus.  They had come for two reasons.  First, they were there to redeem Jesus as their firstborn son.  God had rescued Israel from slavery in the exodus. He had done so in the Passover as he killed the firstborn among the Egyptians, but had spared the Israelites. Because of this God commanded Israel to redeem their firstborn sons.  And they were also there to offer the sacrifices commanded by Leviticus to make purification for Mary after giving birth.

            When Joseph and Mary were at the temple to have these sacrifices offered, Simeon came in the Spirit into the temple. Through his Spirit, God revealed to Simeon that this child was the One.  He took the baby Jesus into his arms and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

            Simeon declared that he was now ready to die.  Yet he could do so in peace because God had kept his word.  He held in his arms the Christ sent by God – the Messiah.  His eyes had seen the salvation that God had sent.  This One was a light for revelation to the Gentiles.  He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words about the Servant, “I will also make you a light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”  He was the One who brought God’s saving glory to Israel.

            Simeon spoke of God’s salvation.  Yet this salvation was not just rescue for Israel.  It was light for revelation to the Gentiles as God’s salvation reached to the end of the earth.    This was God providing rescue from the cause of all that is wrong in our lives and this world.  God was working through this One to win the forgiveness of sins.  And he was working through this baby to overcome the result of sin – death itself.

            Simeon speaks lofty words in our text.  Yet all he holds is a baby.  He speaks words guided by the Holy Spirit because he holds in his arms the One who is more than just man. He holds in his arms the Son of God.  The angel Gabriel had told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God.”  Simeon holds in his arms the One who is true God and true man.  Jesus is the incarnate Son of God whose birth we celebrated at Christmas.

            Our text ends with beautiful words that we know well.  But immediately after our text Simeon goes on to say things that begin to reveal the way in which Jesus will win this salvation.  Luke tells us, “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed

(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’”

            Simeon says that Jesus will be a sign opposed.  He will cause the fall and rising of many in Israel – and note that “fall” is mentioned first.  Jesus will be rejected because he had not come to bring salvation in might and power.  Instead, he had come to bring salvation through his suffering and death.

            Jesus was the Christ sent by God.  As Isaiah had said, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon him.  But when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism, it meant that Jesus was the fulfillment of more than just the Messiah.  He was also the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah’s prophecy.  And while the Messiah was described as a figure of power and victory, the Servant was also the suffering Servant.

            At the Last Supper, as Jesus was about to undergo his passion he said to the disciples, “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”  Jesus quoted words from Isaiah chapter 53 about the suffering Servant and applied them to himself. 

Though he was without sin, Jesus was numbered with the transgressors because you are sinful.  Your life lived in relation to God and your neighbor is marked by selfishness as you put your wants and desires before both.  As Isaiah said about the Servant, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Jesus Christ died on the cross as he received God’s judgment against our sin.

When Jesus died on Good Friday there seemed to be no way that he could be the Christ.  But God was working through Jesus to provide salvation from death itself.  On the third day God raised Jesus from the dead.  By the resurrection he demonstrated to the disciples Jesus is the Christ.  And in that resurrection he defeated death as he began in Christ the resurrection that will be ours on the Last Day.

God had told King David that he would establish his throne and kingdom forever.  For forty days, Jesus was with his disciples.  He demonstrated beyond any doubt that he had risen from the dead as he ate and drank with them, and taught them. And then he ascended into heaven.

Ten days later, on Pentecost, God poured forth the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.  On that occasion Peter declared, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” God has fulfilled his promise to David.  Enthroned at God’s right hand, Jesus the Christ’s reign will have no end.

            In our text Simeon says, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.”  Jesus is salvation for us.  After his resurrection Jesus said to the disciples, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”  As our lives are marked by sin, we repent.  We confess this sin to God. And we turn in faith toward Jesus the crucified and risen Lord. 

            Through Jesus we have forgiveness before God.  And our Lord is the gracious God who has surrounded us with ways by which he delivers the forgiveness that he was won for us.  After his resurrection, he instituted Holy Baptism. Through this gift we were baptized for the forgiveness of sins. This action by God – this baptism into Christ – is the continuing source of forgiveness.  As we believe God’s promises about the forgiveness given in baptism, we continue to receive this blessing.

            And at the Last Supper our Lord instituted the Sacrament of the Altar.  Here he uses bread and wine to give us his true body and blood. Christ works a miracle in our midst as he gives us the very price that he paid for our salvation – his body and blood given and shed for us.

            As Lutherans, it is almost impossible to hear the end of our text this morning and not think about the Sacrament of the Altar.  This is because we sing these words so often in the Nunc Dimittis as the canticle after receiving communion.  These words of Simeon so perfectly capture our experience as we have received the Sacrament and prepare to leave the Divine Service.

            Like Simeon, we are able to depart in peace. We leave knowing that in the reception of Jesus’ body and blood we have the assurance of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.  Because of this we know that we have peace with God and that death cannot separate us from him.

We do so according to God’s Word.  It is the word of the Son of God that continues to cause his saving body and blood to be present for us.  It is the word of God that declares we have communion in the body and blood of Christ through the Sacrament.

Simeon said that his eyes had seen God’s salvation. All that he saw was a tiny baby, yet that baby was the incarnate Son of God – the Christ sent by God.  All that we see is bread and wine, yet that bread and wine is the true body and blood of the incarnate Lord by which he gives us forgiveness and salvation. 

Jesus Christ who comes to us in this way now is the One who is the ascended and exalted Lord.  But at his ascension the angels told the disciples, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”  Christ will return in glory on the Last Day.  All will have to confess that Jesus is Lord as he judges the living and the dead.  He will raise up our bodies to be like his own. No longer will we have to walk by faith.  Instead we will see our Lord by sight as we live forever with him.