Sermon for Lent 1: "Paradise Lost ... and Found" (Genesis 3:1-21)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

God created paradise. Adam and Eve had everything. They lived in thankful and loving obedience to God. There was nothing hidden between God and man, and between Adam and Eve. Everything was perfect since Adam and Eve were created by God without sin. Being without sin, temptations to evil could not arise in their hearts.

 

But then came the agent of temptation. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1a). This serpent was very subtle, cunning, and crafty. Now, this was not some mere snake, for snakes and every other creature had no sense of right and wrong. So, what we have here is something more than a snake.

 

This serpent spoke. But snakes don’t talk! Yes, we know that. And Adam and Eve knew that! So, when this serpent began speaking to Eve, she would have known that she was dealing with something more than just a serpent.

 

The serpent said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1b) This is the temptation of all temptations. The first temptation was to doubt God’s Word. This is the main temptation to this day. You see, Eve was not having a conversation with any ordinary snake. She was conversing with Satan himself, who is using this serpent as his tool. Now, Satan did not come out with a flat charge against God from the start. All he did was pose the suggestion that God may be holding out on her. Satan wanted to plant doubt in Eve’s heart regarding God’s Word. 

 

But up to this point, Eve had a perfect love and trust toward her God of overwhelming love. Trusting Him, she also trusted His Word. She regarded His prohibition regarding that one tree as what it truly was: an opportunity for her and Adam to express their love with wholehearted obedience.

 

Satan’s intention was to sow in Eve a suspicion concerning God’s goodness. From sowing doubt in God’s Word, it would be an easy step to the thought: Then why did God utter any prohibition at all? IsGod really good? All Satan desired was to plant this suspicion.

But Eve rightly responds to Satan: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die’” (Genesis 3:2).

 

Here, Eve is clinging to her faith in God and His goodness. She understood very well that the serpent was trying to make God’s commandment doubtful in her mind. Eve used God’s own Word as her shield and weapon. You see, by pointing out that God’s commandment allowed them to eat of the many other trees, Eve was praising the bountiful goodness of her God. That one tree was not necessary for food. So, they did not find the prohibition of that tree as any problem. Yes, that tree was there, but there were all those other trees available for food. Essentially, Eve is saying: “God has told us to have nothing to do with that tree, and we shall gladly obey His loving warning.”

 

But at the same time, by Eve saying, “lest you die,” those words gave Satan an opening. And all Satan needs is just a smidgen of a crack to cast any doubt. He says: “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Here, Satan moves from sly insinuation to bold denial. 

 

Satan proceeded to darken the name of the good and gracious God by saying, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Satan is saying: “You know, you thought God was good and gracious. No, he’s not! He’s actually holding out on you! He is keeping you away from being like Him! He isn’t good and gracious at all. No, He is envious and jealous of you. You could rise to new heights, but He won’t let you. He’s holding you back, since He doesn’t want you to enjoy everything with Him.”

 

Here, Satan is seeding pride in Eve. He is saying that she and Adam deserved equality or near-equality with God, and Satan was charging God with denying them their rights. You deserve compensation. You deserve reparations. Oh, yes, I do! 

 

Satan promises to Eve that they “will be like God, knowing good and evil.” But knowing good and evil in what sense? Satan did not say. His promises to his intended victims are always vague. He holds out as the bait for disobedience some gain or pleasure or honor so great that it can only be imagined, but he never defines them. And this tempting method of Satan is only too effective.

 

Again, Eve was not helpless. God had made her and Adam in His image. Eve had a perfect relationship with God. But Eve made a decision. When she “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6). Paradise lost. Satan’s lie took over Eve’s heart. She sinned in thought and deed as she pushed away God’s Word.

 

Through Satan’s deceit, she found that tree to be good for food – a tree which God had said was notgood for food. Her reason was perverted. She should have been repelled by the tree, but now she is attracted to it. Eve’s emotions were all awry. Sin thoroughly corrupted her heart.

 

But what about Adam? The Apostle Paul tells us: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Timothy 2:14). So, Adam was not seduced into transgression the same way Eve was. She was seduced directly by Satan; Adam was persuaded by his wife in the face of better knowledge.

 

But Adam was not less guilty than Eve. Adam had the same knowledge of God’s goodness to cause him to reject Satan’s lie and to remain unmoved in his trust in his God.

 

In fact, Adam is the one who is solely responsible for the Fall. You see, “Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Timothy 2:13). Adam and Eve stepped out of the roles given them by God at creation, since Eve was to follow the leadership of her head, Adam. Eve was created as Adam’s helper. But we see here that Eve usurped Adam as she took the lead while Adam gave up his role.

 

Their eyes were opened. They now knew good and evil. They knew good as something they had lost. They knew evil as something terrible and accursed, as something that filled them with an unbearable sense of guilt. 

 

Their eyes were opened to changed feelings. Before the Fall, it did not trouble them to see each other naked. Everything they did was innocent and in harmony with God’s will. But now all they felt was guilt as “they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (Genesis 3:7b).

 

In their guilt, they could no longer walk in the garden freely. Instead, they attempted to hide from God among the trees of the garden. They had never felt this way before. Fear was foreign to them. By their fear, they revealed their guilt.

Their attempt to hide from God reveals something else. Did they actually believe that they could hide from the all-knowing and omnipresent God and so escape His punishment? Yes, they did. They showed their stupidity and this foolish attempt has found imitators all through the ages. How often do you think you can hide your sins from God?

 

In His righteous anger, God could have destroyed them then and there. But He didn’t. Though man had proved to be unfaithful, He remained the God of faithful and unwavering love. He remained faithful to them.

 

Despite God knowing that Adam and Eve would attempt to play the blame game with Him, He announced a new dimension to His love, a love for sinners. But in order to prepare them for that announcement, He had to bring the guilt of their sin home to them. His Good News of salvation would have no meaning for them if they did not realize their sin.

 

God says to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam replies: “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). In one breath, Adam admits his sin. He admitted that he was afraid of God and showed that he knew that his sin was the cause of his fear.

 

But why didn’t Adam confess his sin openly? He didn’t because he was now a sinful man and sinful men hate to confess their guilt. Notice that Adam did not say what disturbed him by his nakedness. He knew it was the result of his fall into sin, but he tried to cover up the fact. 

 

But God never gave up on Adam. So, He asked Adam: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (Genesis 3:11). This is God saying: “You confessed your shame over being naked. But out with the rest of it! What caused the shame? Tell me, have you broken My commandment by eating of the forbidden fruit?”

 

Instead of making a straightforward confession, Adam placed the blame on God for giving him Eve. “It’s her fault! Why did You give me such a wife? If you had not done that, she could not have seduced me!”

 

How many of us have done the same? I didn’t mean to! If it wasn’t for my friend, I would have never done it! But you did it.

 

Then Eve says to God: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:13b). She admitted that she had transgressed God’s will, but she, too, would not take responsibility for her sin. Adam blamed Eve and God. Eve, in turn, blamed the serpent. But, passing on the blame to others does not absolve you from your sin. Adam and Eve may have been deceived, but they are responsible for sinning against God.

 

At this moment, Satan believed that he has won the victory over God and mankind that was created after His likeness. But unbeknownst to Satan, God says to him: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:14).

 

Satan is to be held responsible for the seduction, and he will experience humiliation and defeat as the just divine retribution. “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).

 

Now, Satan had to hear this announcement of his own judgment and defeat. But at the same time, Adam and Eve were to also hear and ponder this word revealing God’s grace, His undeserved love toward them.

 

In short, God foretells the constant enmity or conflict between the believing children of God and the unbelieving world – a conflict that will go on until the end of the world. The source of the hostility and hatred are the unbelievers, just as it was in the Garden. But it is also true that it is God who established the enmity between believers and unbelievers. God is the one who puts into our hearts the godly and childlike trust in Him to serve Him in loving obedience. Unbelievers, however, cling to their life under Satan as they resent and hate all those who trust in God as disturbers of their “so-called” peace.

 

In this struggle, there will be a champion who will represent all men, just as Adam was the representative of mankind in the first and fatal encounter with Satan. “He – the offspring of Eve – will crush [Satan’s] head, and [Satan] will strike His heel” (Genesis 3:15b).

 

Despite paradise being lost in the Garden, Paradise is found today in none other than Jesus Christ. Just as Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan, Jesus was tempted. But unlike Adam and Eve who were deceived, Jesus resisted every temptation for us and for our salvation! He resisted Satan all the way to His atoning death on the cross as He kept God’s Law and bore the Law’s just sentence: death. He died in Adam and Eve’s place. He died in your place! His death was like a torturous burn like the venom of a serpent’s bite, but in the process, He would “bruise the serpent’s head.”

 

Out of His grace for us poor miserable sinners, God gives us the certain promise of paradise through His Son Jesus Christ as He has destroyed Satan’s power to accuse us of our sins. By grace through faith in Christ alone, we are set free from what our sins deserve: eternal death and hell. In turn, by clinging to Jesus, we are given what we don’t deserve: eternal life and salvation! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Ash Wednesday: "The First Commandment" (Exodus 20:1-6)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Martin Luther was steadfast to this point: We should daily exercise ourselves in the catechism, which is a short summary of the entire Holy Scriptures. Since we can never master the catechism, Luther says that Christians ought to daily read them and practice them through reading, repetition, and meditation. 

 

We ought to do this because catechism study is the most effective help against the devil, the world, the flesh, and all evil thoughts. We do this, because the devil cannot stand God’s Word because it is “the power of God” (Romans 1:16) that gives the devil burning pain while the Scriptures strengthen, comfort, and help Christians beyond all measure.

 

This Ash Wednesday evening we recall our need for salvation with the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him. Although man was created to live forever, we don’t because of man’s fall into sin as we return to the dust of the ground. So, those ashes upon our foreheads symbolize our mortality and need for a savior. Because of sin, we have a misplaced trust.

 

Tonight, we begin the first of our Lenten sermon series on the Ten Commandments as we focus upon the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).

 

To this commandment, from his Small Catechism, Luther says this means: “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” Tonight, we will look at what it means to have a god, and what it means to fear, love, and trust.

 

First, what does it mean to have a god? Well, a god is who or what we expect all good and in which we take refuge in all distress. In other words, whatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god. How would you answer these questions: “Who do I truly love? What am I really wanting? What am I really trusting? What are my true priorities in life? What is really shaping my thinking and behavior?” Jesus says: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). 

You see, your heart is the center of your personality. Included in the heart is the mind, emotions, and the will. Your heart will dwell on whatever you treasure most.

 

In America, we have come accustomed to the motto: “In God we trust.” The question is, who or what is this god that you trust in?

 

First of all, everyone has a god, including the atheists who say that they don’t. We all have a god, because as human creatures, we are dependent beings. We did not create ourselves, and we do not give life to ourselves. Thus, no human being can live without looking somewhere or to someone for those things that support and sustain life or that give life direction, meaning, and purpose. In other words, no human being can live without trust or faith.

 

What do you fear, love, and trust? That is always the key question. What is your false god? You see, idolatry is not merely a matter of statues and shrines. As Luther says in his Large Catechism: “[Idolatry] happens not merely by erecting an image and worshipping it, but rather it happens in the heart” (LC I:21).

 

So, what do you fear, love, and trust? Well, it could be almost anything. Ponder these examples. Perhaps you fear, love, and trust in what Luther calls “mammon,” this is, money and possessions. Luther calls “mammon” the most common idol on the earth, for he who has money and possessions feels secure. 

 

How will things be fine? How about having a large bank account? How many of us hope to strike it rich through the lottery? If I only won the lottery, then I would have joy and happiness. Or if you don’t have much money and possessions, you are full of doubts and despair. You fret. You worry. You complain as you try to get the money and possessions. Again, whatever you fear, love, and trust, that is truly your god.

 

Instead of being content with what the Lord has given us, we seek even more mammon, but when we get them, our need for mammon grows larger still, despite Christ giving us everything we need.

 

So, what do you fear, love, and trust? How often do we choose to please family and friends more than we please God? How often do we choose family or sports over the gifts God provides in the Divine Service? Now, family and sports are not evil in themselves, but how often do they become an idol? Remember it is all a matter if they become more important than God Himself.

 

How about this example: health. In recent times, health has become a chief false god in our age. So many of us put our fear, love, and trust in Big Pharma to save us from temporal ailments and diseases. We would rather take any doctor-prescribed drug, but when it comes to eternal salvation, we choose to keep ourselves away from the medicine of immortality, which is the Lord’s Body and Blood under the bread and the wine in the Lord’s Supper.

 

How about this example: giving up the Creator and worshipping the creation. How often do we hear from our political leaders that the earth is in an existential crisis due to man-made climate change? What is their solution? Serve their interests and then we can save the earth. In doing so, we put our fear, love, and trust in them, rather than the one true God, who alone has the power to create and destroy the earth. For many, political parties have become our gods. How often do we trust a politician’s word as gospel? Or we worship ourselves as gods. “I know best. I know what I want. I can do whatever I want. I believe in myself. I look out for number one.” Remember, whatever you fear, love, and trust, that is truly your god.

 

When bad things happen, where do you turn? So often we think that we can fix our own problems. So, instead of calling out to the one true God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – we turn to another idol. Remember, whatever you fear, love, and trust, that is truly your God.

 

In the Garden of Eden, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created us to fear, love, and trust in Him, since He alone provided only good things and always good things for Adam and Eve. God was their true and only devotion. But along came Satan in the form of a serpent. Satan deceived our first parents as they turned away from God and His promises. They no longer loved God. They actually despised Him, since they thought He was holding out on them. They doubted Him. Instead, they feared Satan. They trusted the forbidden fruit. They prided in themselves. This has been the situation ever since.

 

So, what do you fear, love, and trust?

 

God tells us: “I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:5b-6).

 

Here, God is defining what it means to fear Him. To fear God means that we take Him seriously, that we know He means what He says. So, yes, we should fear His wrath. He can strike you down with hardly a flick of His little finger.

 

The opposite of fear is to despise. Therefore, we anger God by trusting in anything but Him. You see, God’s Commandments are no joke to Him. Those who hate Him are those who persist in their defiance and pride.

 

But as terrible as these threats are, so much more powerful is the consolation of God’s promise. For those who cling to Him alone are sure of His mercy. He will show them pure goodness and blessing not only for themselves but also to their children and their children’s children.

 

God shows His love in His promise. But who can keep His commandments? Only one Person. Only Jesus, the Savior of the world.

 

Adam and Eve fell into temptation and fell into sin. But when Jesus was tempted by the same deceiver who tripped up Adam and Eve, He did not fall into sin. Instead, Jesus did fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

 

Jesus knows that you cannot keep the First Commandment. That is why He kept it and still keeps it for you. That’s why He endured God’s wrath for you, in your place. That’s why He gives you His perfect fear, love, and trust in God. Yes, we are to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. And when God the Father looks at you through Christ, that’s exactly what He sees – a person who fears, loves, and trusts in Him above all things. Jesus is your trust. Because of Jesus, God the Father gives you every blessing and every protection in all times of need.

 

So, who do you fear, love, and trust? The God who created you to fear, love, and trust: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord: "A Glimpse of What is to Come" (Matthew 17:1-9)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

“And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1-2a).

 

In just mere minutes, Peter, James, and John saw a glimpse of what is to come. So, what did they see? What did they hear? What did this experience mean for Jesus, for the disciples, and for us?

 

First, let’s go back six days before this mountaintop experience. Six days earlier, Jesus was with His disciples as they came into the district of Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is? (Matthew 16:13) The disciples then responded with what they heard from the crowds about Jesus, saying: “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14).

 

Jesus then asks them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) Peter immediately answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

 

But that day did not end with Peter’s confession. That day continued, as Jesus talks about His going to Jerusalem. He talks about His upcoming suffering and death. He says that after three days, He would rise again. But Peter, who just confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the very Messiah, could not fathom His Lord dying. Peter spoke up rebuking Jesus saying: “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matthew 16:22). What Peter is saying is this: “I will never let you die!”

 

Then Jesus turned to Peter and said, “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” (Matthew 16:23).

 

Jesus continued saying that if anyone would follow Him, they must deny themselves, they must take up a cross and always be ready to lose their life. Here, Jesus is preparing His disciples for what is to come.

 

Fast forward to today’s lesson, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain by themselves. Now, many crucial things in God’s saving plan have taken place on mountains. This mountaintop experience would be no different.

 

Suddenly, Jesus’ appearance transformed before their eyes. Jesus became dazzling bright and radiant. His face was radiating like the sun. His clothing became intensely white as white as pure light as no one on earth could bleach them. Now, there was no spotlight beaming onto Him; this was pure light coming from Him. Jesus was the source of this light. Jesus’ human appearance was being overpowered by His divine glory. 

 

As Peter, James, and John were astounded by the light radiating from Jesus, there appeared in front of them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Now, Moses and Elijah were also known for their own mountaintop experiences. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments upon Mount Sinai. God spoke to Elijah upon Mount Horeb. But this mountaintop experience was like no other.

 

As there was confusion on who Jesus was six days earlier. Upon this mountain, there was no confusion. At this moment, Moses and Elijah – who represent the Law and the Prophets – are bearing witness that Jesus is the Savior of the world, who has come to suffer, die, and rise to restore humanity to God the Father.

 

As the disciples are overhearing this conversation between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, Peter, not knowing what to say and being a man of action cries out, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17:4).

 

Sometimes, we are like Peter. We like the glory of God, the power of God, the strength of God. We like the shining Jesus. But what we need is the bleeding Jesus to be saved. Suffering must come first, and then glory. If we had it our way, we would like to skip suffering and death, altogether. But we need the forgiveness of sins before we are ready to live in God’s glory.

The way we receive forgiveness is only through the suffering and death of Jesus. He would come down from that mountain and once again hide His glorious appearance. He would walk through the valley of the shadow of death for all people. He would be falsely tried and unjustly convicted. He would carry His own cross to Golgotha. He would feel the heavy nails piercing His wrists and ankles. He would experience the lifting of the cross into its place in the stone. He would die.

 

Knowing all that was ahead of Him, Jesus gives a glimpse of His glory. Jesus revealed His glory for His disciples and for us. But why did Jesus do this? Why did Jesus manifest His glory?

 

First, Jesus knew His time on earth was coming to a close and He knew His departure would cause fear and doubt in the minds of His disciples. Although, Christ’s disciples have seen many miracles and signs, they still had faith that needed strengthening, just as we do.

 

We, like the disciples, tend to worry about tomorrow. We can get ourselves caught up in being world-weary. “Will I have enough money to pay my bills?” After watching any news cast, many of us ask, “Where do we go from here?” “Will things ever get better?”

 

Like us, the disciples were world-weary. Like us, they needed hope. This is why Jesus displayed His real glory on the mountaintop. You see, Jesus knew that His upcoming suffering and death may cause His disciples to lose heart. This is why He displayed His divine glory to give them hope and to remind them that He is in fact still in control. Despite being nailed to the cross, Jesus is still in control. All we have to do is trust in Him.

 

So, even in what seems like the worst of times, God is there to turn that bad into good. Through His Transfiguration, He is teaching His disciples that it is only through His suffering and death that He will show His true glory.

 

A second thing to note here is that Jesus gave His disciples and us a glimpse of heaven. You see, a little glimpse of heaven was displayed upon that mountaintop.

 

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus never introduced Moses and Elijah to Peter, James, and John. And there were not any quality pictures of Moses and Elijah. Yet, these three disciples instinctively knew they were in the presence of Moses and Elijah. How would they recognize them?

 

Many of us may wonder if we would, in fact, recognize our loved ones in heaven.

This moment at the Transfiguration proves that we will recognize our loved ones in heaven. This includes even those we have never seen with our own eyes. For anyone who has experienced the death of a child, or you never met a grandparent, you will recognize everyone you see in heaven. This is how Peter, James, and John recognized Moses and Elijah as this glimpse of heaven on earth was revealed to them. You see, when we are in heaven, we will recognize everyone, those we knew in our earthly life and those we never met.

 

But despite receiving this glimpse of heaven, the disciples are soon frightened as they hear the voice from heaven proclaim: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). These words caused the disciples to fall on their faces terrified. Peter and the other disciples had their idea on how everything should be, but the voice says: “Listen to Jesus!” The Transfiguration was a wonderful moment – but this moment of divine glory would have to end, because Jesus must suffer, He must die, and He must be resurrected on the third day.

 

Jesus says to His terrified disciples: “Rise, and have no fear” (Matthew 17:7). Jesus touches them and commands them to stand and not be afraid. In a moment, all the glory is gone. Moses and Elijah are gone. The cloud is gone. The brightness shining from the face of Jesus is gone. And this is for their comfort. It is only Jesus in His humility that saves us and comforts us. Today, on this Transfiguration of Our Lord Sunday, Christ prepares us for what is to come. He alone gives us the sure and certain hope in all circumstances.

 

As we soon will begin the season of Lent, Jesus will leave the Mount of Transfiguration and turn His face to Mount Calvary. Even through the darkness of Mount Calvary, His light shines through that darkness and bursts forth on Easter.

 

Even today, we continue to receive a glimpse of Christ’s glory as He continues to transform us through His Word and Sacrament. Through His Word, we hear His life-giving voice as He leads us in His Law and Gospel. Through His Sacrament, Jesus comes to us transformed in the form of bread and wine to forgive our sins and strengthen our weak faith.

 

In this blessed moment upon the Mount of Transfiguration, we receive a glimpse of the blessings to come that are ours by grace through faith in Jesus Christ! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Epiphany 6: "Jesus Reveals the True Meaning of the Law" (Matthew 5:21-37)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

It is possible to twist the good news of God’s love into something perverse. Have you heard it said: “I can do whatever I want because Jesus died for me”?

 

This is what Jesus is warning us against in today’s Gospel lesson. Today, we are continuing Jesus’ most-famous sermon, The Sermon on the Mount. He is continuing where He left off last week as He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17) and “Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19).

 

You see, God’s Law is not evil or arbitrary. God’s Law is good. His Law embodies and expresses God’s good and gracious will. His Law is for our instruction. The Law teaches us about God and about us. Despite our fallen nature thinking the Law is harsh, it is still very good. God’s Law has not been abolished and it cannot be abolished. It can only be fulfilled. Due to our sin, we are unable to fulfill the Law, but we have the Savior who has fulfilled it for us. However, this doesn’t mean that we can ignore the Law.

 

Jesus alone has fulfilled the Law by His active and passive obedience. His active obedience is that He did not sin. He lived according to the Law. He did not engage in any sins of thought, word, and deed. He loved His neighbor as Himself.

 

Even though Jesus was without sin, He suffered the full punishment for the sin of the world. Passively, He accepted the punishment meant for us. He fulfilled all of what is demanded of us. He fulfilled the Law by doing everything it said to do and refraining from all that it forbid. He also fulfilled the Law by allowing it to do to Him all that it should have done to us. So through Christ’s passive obedience, He ended the Law’s accusations against us and won our salvation to give to us grace without any merit or worthiness in us.

 

However, Christ fulfilling the Law did not end the Law or make the Law meaningless. The Law never passes away, because the Law is good. Through Christ, we learn how Christians are to live, according to the Law.

 

This morning, Jesus teaches us, His blessed disciples, the true meaning of the Law, because if you think you have done them, you are in for a revelation as He focuses on four of the Ten Commandments.

 

Now, Christ’s disciples have heard these teachings. The teachers of the Law, the Pharisees and scribes, asserted that “it was said” by Moses, the lawgiver, “to the people long ago” at Mount Sinai.

 

By saying “it was said,” these teachers of the Law claimed that they were in full agreement to what God inspired Moses to teach God’s people. But was it?

 

To each statement, “it was said,” Jesus responds saying, “But I say to you.” So, is Jesus introducing a new way on interpreting the Law? Is Jesus introducing a new Law? No and no! Rather, Jesus is leading His disciples back to the true meaning of the Law.

 

So, what was the problem? Well, through the influence of the Pharisees and the scribes, God’s people had actually perverted God’s Law by giving each Commandment a watered-down meaning in order that we could possibly obey each command.

 

Jesus says: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:21-22a).

 

According to the Pharisees and scribes, all a person needed to do to fulfill this commandment was to refrain from the taking the life of another. I never murdered anyone. Check. Easy and done! However, that is only one aspect of the Fifth Commandment as Jesus points out. “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:22).

 

So, murder is more than the taking of someone’s life. We can murder someone in our own heart with our thoughts, words, and deeds.

From the very beginning, God’s intention in the Fifth Commandment was to prohibit not only the outward, fully grown sin of murder, but also the malice in the heart against one’s neighbor, and especially one’s fellow believers. Christ speaks of reconciliation, because that is the sign that we belong to Jesus, and the refusal to be reconciled is the sign that you no longer belong to Jesus.

 

Jesus continues: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

 

The Pharisees and scribes condemned the act of adultery, but they did not teach that sexual lust – the intense sexual craving for anyone other than one’s wife or husband – was included.

 

This is the temptation that continues on to today. I’ve heard it said, “That’s only normal and natural. I can’t help it if my desires are aroused in my heart at the sight of a beautiful woman.” This may be true, but this also does not make it right. Men and women are naturally attracted to each other. We are attracted to each other because men and women complement each other. But the issue is lust – that longing for anyone other than your wife or husband.

 

The fallen world promotes lust. It teaches us that lust is good. Just look at what is promoted on TV shows, movies, commercials, and magazine covers. We see women scantily dressed. We see social media influencers encouraging lust, and pornography is just a click away. Today, there are barely any safeguards to pornography. Those adult bookstores on the side of the interstate have now taken the form of computers and smartphones. The fallen world surely promotes lust to the fullest.

 

Lust is powerful. This is why Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29) and “If your right hand causes to you sin, cut it off and throw it away” (Matthew 5:30). Now, it’s been said that Jesus is being figurative here. Does He really mean this? Would you not hesitate to have a cancerous tumor removed before that cancer destroys your whole body? So, wouldn’t removing a treacherous member of your body be a small enough price to pay to save your soul from the eternal torments of hell?

 

The point Jesus is making is that maiming the body would not be the real solution. If your right eye and right-hand cause you to sin and you get rid of them, would not the left eye and left hand cause the same problem? The issue is not with our eyes or our hands. The solution is the cleansing of the heart. We need to pray for clean hearts and a right spirit, just as David did. You see, Jesus reveals that it is God’s intention that His people lead a life of purity that begins in the heart and extends out to relationships with others.

 

Jesus continues: “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32a).

 

I believe this commandment hits closest to home, since we all know people who have divorced, maybe even you. Married couples often quarrel and fight, arguing about money, or their own clashing personalities. They argue about how to best raise their kids. Let’s face it, Christians have the same challenges in our families as unbelievers do. 

 

The subject of divorce used to be taboo. It was never talked about and rarely done. But Christian marriages often come apart and end in divorce. Today, nearly half of all marriages in America end in divorce. Before the introduction of no-fault divorce in the 1970s this wasn’t the case. The world has certainly changed. 

 

Divorce is a difficult situation to address today since it is so prevalent. As difficult as it is, Jesus settles this dispute. He simply teaches: “Do not divorce.” Jesus, too, acknowledges that divorce may be allowed where sexual unfaithfulness has occurred, but He never commands divorce, since divorce was never God’s will or intention.

 

Instead, God created marriage to be a holy union of a man and a woman who declare their lifelong commitment to God and to one another and for the procreation and raising up of children in the Christian faith. Divorce destroys this holy union.

 

In the First Century, the common presumption was that divorce was not a big deal. Yes, divorce was frowned upon, but divorces were easy. A Jew could divorce his wife for almost any reason at all. All it took was a certificate of divorce and an official testimony that the divorce had taken place. But none of this was ever God-pleasing. 

 

Lax laws and popular immorality do not make divorce and sexual sins God pleasing. The laws of the state may express the will of the people, but as Christians we submit to God’s Law, and when we fail, we repent and ask God for forgiveness.

 

Jesus concludes our text with the Eighth Commandment. “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all” (Matthew 5:33-34a).

 

In recent years, taking oaths for political office have become a show. I remember one congressman swearing to uphold the Constitution of the United States upon a comic book. Well, nothing is new under the sun. Back in the First Century, Jewish teachers were going around saying: “Be sure to honor the oaths that are sworn directly to the Lord, for these oaths actually have a binding force than oaths that are sworn by something else.”

 

The “something else” here meant that it was fine to break oaths if they were not sworn to God. “I swear on my mother’s grave” is an example of this. But Jesus says here that any oath is a promise to God, because all things in creation belong to Him, so let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’ Even if we would swear an oath without a Bible, that oath has the same weight as if it were sworn on the Bible.

 

Jesus’ words this morning appear to be penetrating and disturbing Law. External conformity is not enough. God demands internal purity as well. But remember how today’s sermon began? God’s Law is good. God’s Law is for our instruction.

 

But despite God’s Law being good, we come to the danger of despair knowing that we have not lived up to God’s Law. But don’t despair! You see, through repentance and faith, Jesus has offered us a refuge of pardon. He says, “Come to Me!” as He is quick and glad to forgive. The Law has been fulfilled in Him for you. But we should not take His mercy for granted. Instead, set your hearts and minds to be free of sin and bear fruits of repentance. But rest in the pardon bestowed constantly through the crucified and risen Lord, who is every bit as serious in His promises of grace as He is in His holy Law. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +