Text: Revelation 7:9-17 May 15, 2011
Theme: The Lord Is Our Shepherd
Dear friends in Christ.
If there is one picture that the Bible regularly uses to describe the relationship between us and our Savior, it would have to be the picture of a Shepherd and his sheep. This is the picture that King David used as he penned the well known, opening words of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd!” This is the picture that Jesus himself used again and again as regularly called himself the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. This is the picture that Peter used when spoke about how we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. And this is the description that the Apostle John records for us in our lesson for today. For this morning, our lesson comes to us from some of the most beautiful and most comforting words of the Scriptures. Our lesson comes to us from the Book of Revelation 7:9-17, which is John’s vision of Jesus Christ our Savior—the Lamb of God who will be our Shepherd!
Now, if you haven’t already done so, I invite you to open your Bibles to our Lesson from Revelation 7:9-17. I’ve always felt that Revelation is one of the easiest books to find in the Bible because it is the last book. In fact, I often tease my confirmation students by telling them that if they don’t know where Genesis and Revelation are in their Bibles, then they fail my class. But all silliness aside, the Book of Revelation, and indeed our lesson from chapter 7 bring us some of the most beautiful and comforting words of all Scripture. In fact, as we look at these words, just think about what an incredible picture the Holy Spirit paints for us through the pen of the Apostle John! What an incredible picture for us to see with John as it were; the picture of the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God our Savior serving as our Good Shepherd who will one day call us out of this troubled world so that he might forever shepherd us in his heavenly kingdom where we will finally have rest from all our labors! This is the incredible picture of the Lord our Shepherd that John reveals as he writes in our lesson, beginning with verse 9: “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!” Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17)
How incredible that the Lord recorded this vision for us today! How incredible that the Lord our God knew the comfort we would need and centuries before we were even born he recorded this vision of comfort and assurance for us in the pages of Scripture. How incredible that the Lord our Savior reveals himself as our Good Shepherd who will one day call us out of this sin-filled and troubled world to our life of rest by our Shepherd’s side forever! What greater words of comfort could there be for us today, especially as we look around at the world in which we are living. In fact, with your permission, I would like to take a little informal survey. How many of you have found yourselves cutting back and stretching every single dollar you have? How many of you are trying to drive less or trying to combine your schedules so that you are traveling with more than just 1 person in the car? How many of you have felt the rising costs of prescription drugs or even found yourselves having to decide which prescriptions you really needed to pick up because all of them were just too expensive? How many of you have worried about insurance costs or wondered how you would get along without it? How many of you have found yourselves hoping and praying that the thing that just doesn’t seem to be quite right with your vehicle will go away, because you just can’t afford the time or the expenses of a break down? How many of you have faced unexpected bills that have eaten up more of your paycheck than you expected and have found yourselves struggling to cover all the other expenses while you wait for your next check to come?
If you raised your hand for any one of these questions, you are not alone. You are not alone because my family and I have faced each and every one of these questions again and again over the past 10 years, though in the last three years we’ve faced them more frequently. You are not alone because each and every person in this congregation has faced one or more of these questions on any number of occasions since our economy went sour. You are not alone because Christians throughout the world and throughout the centuries have faced these same frustrations or frustrations like them. Yet, even in the midst of these troubles, hardships and unrest, the Lord our Savior, our Good Shepherd gives us the most beautiful comfort in our lesson today. As John writes: “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."…“Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” (Revelation 7:9-10,13-14).
This is the comfort our Good Shepherd pours out on us today! Though here on earth we deal with all sorts of frustrations and hardships, as Christians, we are even now wearing the white robes of righteousness won for us by Jesus on the Cross. Though we constantly feel the effects of sin in our lives and find that our garments are stained by our sins, each time we turn to our Savior in forgiveness, we are, in effect, washing our robes in his blood and making them clean once again. Though this is our daily practice here on earth, when our Good Shepherd calls us out of this troubled world to our home in haven, we will pass though the river of his blood one last time, and our robes will be made white forever. When the Lord calls us home to his throne in heaven, we will stand before him in eternal righteousness, innocence and blessedness, because Jesus has delivered us from death by his death and resurrection from the dead. There, we will praise our Good Shepherd because he has delivered us from this world of tribulation and sin. There, as we stand around the throne and the Lamb, we will give praise and thanks to our Good Shepherd who will give us rest in his kingdom forever. This is the picture that John paints for us as he records the Elder’s explanation of the great multitude: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:15-17).
Here on earth, we have the exact opposite of rest. We feel the empty space between our ribs and hear the angry complaining our stomachs make when we don’t take time to feed them. We taste the clay of our cheeks and feel the crumbs of dirt that stick in our throats as our parched tongues cling to the roofs of our mouths. We are baked in the summer oven of this river valley as the flames of the sun descend upon us and the ever increasing humidity seeks to cook us from within. Though we seek the cooling shade of the trees where we might relax and find a cool glass of water, we know that that this rest will not last long. For before we know it, we will be forced back into the kiln of life where satan kindles the fires of temptations hoping that he might harden in our sins before he glazes us for eternal death and destruction in hell. But when our Good Shepherd delivers us to the rest he has promised us, we will know peace. When our Shepherd calls us home to his heavenly kingdom, never again will we hunger, never again will we thirst, the sun will not beat upon us nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our Shepherd, he will lead us to streams of living water, and God himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Though we cannot fathom the beauty that heaven affords, or even begin to comprehend the rest that heaven offers us from the trials, temptations, and hardships that we face each and every day of our lives, we continue to follow our Good Shepherd as he leads us on the path to eternal life. Though we may not know exactly what we will do in heaven, or exactly what is waiting for us there, we do know one thing for sure. We know that heaven is where our Shepherd is, and heaven is where we will live with him forever. We know that in heaven, we will no longer have to deal with all the trials, and hardships that this earth affords. We know that satan and his evil angels will no longer be able to tempt us or lead us astray. In heaven, we will be free from sin forever, and we will live with the Lord our God, our Savior and our Shepherd who will spread his tent over us.
What better picture could there be for us than the picture our Savior uses of himself as our Good Shepherd. For in the same way that shepherds care for their sheep, Jesus, our Good Shepherd cares for us. Though here on earth we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear any evil because our Shepherd is with us. He is the one who leads us to quiet waters, makes us to lay down in green pastures, and restores our souls. He is the one who gives us his comfort and his assurance in this life, and he is the one who will give us rest forever in his heavenly kingdom. What a day it will be when we join that multitude from every nation, tribe and people; a multitude that cannot be counted. What a day it will be when we stand before the Lamb, our Shepherd and serve him day and night in his temple. How amazing it will be when he spreads his tent over us, leads us to springs of living water, and wipes away every tear from our eyes!
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Jesus Is Our Servant Leader (Luke 22:19-24; John 13:2-5, 14)
April 21, 2011
Maundy Thursday
Dear friends in Christ.
The phrase, “Servant Leadership” is a phrase that was originally coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay that he published back in 1970. In that essay he said, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead” Since that essay was written there have been many people who have sought to practice principals of servant leadership in their homes, businesses, and industries.
Yet, throughout all of history, there is no greater servant leader than Jesus Christ, our Savior. For it was Jesus himself who told us that he did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) and that is exactly what Jesus did. He served the Israelites by traveling from town to town and proclaiming the message of salvation through faith in him, the Savior of the world. He served the people by meeting their needs with the condemnation of the law and the comfort of the gospel. He served his people, and indeed the whole world, as he prepared himself on this night to give up his own life so that we might live. In fact, as we meet Jesus in our lesson from John 13 we see him leading his disciples by serving them. For in John 13, Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room celebrating the Passover. But, as we find them, the disciples were all arguing about which one of them was the greatest. So Jesus showed them, through an act of servant leadership, what being the greatest was all about. Take a look at what John has to tell us in chapter 13, beginning with verse 2: “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:2-5, 14, NIV84)
How humbling it must have been for the disciples, and how embarrassing, to see Jesus, their Lord and Master displaying his love for them by humbly washing their feet, even as they had been so recently arguing about their greatness. Yet, how often don’t we act exactly like the disciples did? How often don’t we jockey among ourselves to see which one of us is the greatest in the church? Oh, we may not openly argue about our own greatness, but how often don’t we subtly or even overtly point out our own over all service record? How often don’t we like to review how long we’ve served in one position or another, or even how long we’ve been members of this congregation? How often haven’t we, as volunteers, voiced our anger and frustration against all those others who simply don’t do anything for the congregation? How often haven’t we complained about the running of a committee or organization within the church, speaking about its members or leaders behind their backs? How often haven’t we expressed our own ideas in the church and then been hurt when our ideas are not used or voted down? How often haven’t we seen something that needed to be changed, but kept quiet about it, until finally we couldn’t stand it anymore and burst forth in anger, exercising authority over a situation with anger and frustration? How often haven’t we been just like the disciples, self righteously stepping ever closer to our secret desire to be called greatest in the Kingdom of Christianity?
Jesus knows exactly how many times we have done these things and even more than that, just as he knew it about his disciples. Yet, Jesus never switched tracks. He never deviated from his course. In fact, Luke 22 tells us that Jesus continued traveling the path that would lead him to the cross in just a few short hours. Luke 22 tells us how Jesus revealed the identity of his betrayer, how Jesus was setting in motion all the events that were unfolding before him, even how he instituted a new meal of forgiveness for his disciples who were still struggling to understand what servant leadership was all about. Take a look at Luke 22 and well read verses 19-23: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. (Luke 22:19–23, NIV84)
In such an amazing way, as they partook of that holy supper, Jesus gave them to eat and drink the very events that would play out before them in roughly 12 hours time. He gave them his body together with the bread. He gave them his bold together with the wine. He gave it to them for the forgiveness of their sins. He gave it to them to help them understand what his mission was all about. He gave it to them to help them grow in their faith, be strengthened in their faith, and be moved to live in their faith in Jesus, their Servant Leader.
In the same what that Jesus gave this special meal to his disciples, he made sure that they passed it down from generation to generation so that we too could participate in the events of Good Friday. He made sure that through the Apostle’s preaching, we too would learn about this marvelous meal of Christ’s body and blood given and poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins. For tonight, as you approach this table to eat the bread and wine—in a special way I cannot understand but only believe because Jesus tell me that this is how it is—you will be eating the very body that was broken for us on the cross. You will be drinking the very blood that Jesus poured out for us for the forgiveness of all of our sins. In this meal, Jesus body together with the bread, and Jesus blood, together with the wine, come together to assure us that our sins have been completely and totally washed away. Those sins of jockeying for position with our words; those sins of voicing our anger against all those who don’t volunteer as often or as willingly as we do; those sins of complaining against others and speaking behind their backs; those sins of feeling unduly hurt when our own ideas are not accepted; those sins of bursting forth with rage and anger rather than working to fix a problem; all our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. All our sins are forgiven by Jesus’ body given for us. All our sins have been forgiven because the Son of Man came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
What greater attitude of servant leadership could there be than that of Jesus’ willing sacrifice for our sins! Though he knew what was to come, he willingly went forward to the cross in our place. Though the phrase “Servant Leadership” was only really coined some 40 years ago the concept has been around since even before the time of Christ. Yet as we have studied the People of the Passion, we can truly see how Christ our Savior stands out as our Servant Leader. So, as you leave here today with the taste of your Savior still on your tongues, live in the forgiveness that he has so lovingly bestowed upon you and seek to emulate him with your lives.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
Maundy Thursday
Dear friends in Christ.
The phrase, “Servant Leadership” is a phrase that was originally coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay that he published back in 1970. In that essay he said, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead” Since that essay was written there have been many people who have sought to practice principals of servant leadership in their homes, businesses, and industries.
Yet, throughout all of history, there is no greater servant leader than Jesus Christ, our Savior. For it was Jesus himself who told us that he did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) and that is exactly what Jesus did. He served the Israelites by traveling from town to town and proclaiming the message of salvation through faith in him, the Savior of the world. He served the people by meeting their needs with the condemnation of the law and the comfort of the gospel. He served his people, and indeed the whole world, as he prepared himself on this night to give up his own life so that we might live. In fact, as we meet Jesus in our lesson from John 13 we see him leading his disciples by serving them. For in John 13, Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room celebrating the Passover. But, as we find them, the disciples were all arguing about which one of them was the greatest. So Jesus showed them, through an act of servant leadership, what being the greatest was all about. Take a look at what John has to tell us in chapter 13, beginning with verse 2: “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:2-5, 14, NIV84)
How humbling it must have been for the disciples, and how embarrassing, to see Jesus, their Lord and Master displaying his love for them by humbly washing their feet, even as they had been so recently arguing about their greatness. Yet, how often don’t we act exactly like the disciples did? How often don’t we jockey among ourselves to see which one of us is the greatest in the church? Oh, we may not openly argue about our own greatness, but how often don’t we subtly or even overtly point out our own over all service record? How often don’t we like to review how long we’ve served in one position or another, or even how long we’ve been members of this congregation? How often haven’t we, as volunteers, voiced our anger and frustration against all those others who simply don’t do anything for the congregation? How often haven’t we complained about the running of a committee or organization within the church, speaking about its members or leaders behind their backs? How often haven’t we expressed our own ideas in the church and then been hurt when our ideas are not used or voted down? How often haven’t we seen something that needed to be changed, but kept quiet about it, until finally we couldn’t stand it anymore and burst forth in anger, exercising authority over a situation with anger and frustration? How often haven’t we been just like the disciples, self righteously stepping ever closer to our secret desire to be called greatest in the Kingdom of Christianity?
Jesus knows exactly how many times we have done these things and even more than that, just as he knew it about his disciples. Yet, Jesus never switched tracks. He never deviated from his course. In fact, Luke 22 tells us that Jesus continued traveling the path that would lead him to the cross in just a few short hours. Luke 22 tells us how Jesus revealed the identity of his betrayer, how Jesus was setting in motion all the events that were unfolding before him, even how he instituted a new meal of forgiveness for his disciples who were still struggling to understand what servant leadership was all about. Take a look at Luke 22 and well read verses 19-23: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. (Luke 22:19–23, NIV84)
In such an amazing way, as they partook of that holy supper, Jesus gave them to eat and drink the very events that would play out before them in roughly 12 hours time. He gave them his body together with the bread. He gave them his bold together with the wine. He gave it to them for the forgiveness of their sins. He gave it to them to help them understand what his mission was all about. He gave it to them to help them grow in their faith, be strengthened in their faith, and be moved to live in their faith in Jesus, their Servant Leader.
In the same what that Jesus gave this special meal to his disciples, he made sure that they passed it down from generation to generation so that we too could participate in the events of Good Friday. He made sure that through the Apostle’s preaching, we too would learn about this marvelous meal of Christ’s body and blood given and poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins. For tonight, as you approach this table to eat the bread and wine—in a special way I cannot understand but only believe because Jesus tell me that this is how it is—you will be eating the very body that was broken for us on the cross. You will be drinking the very blood that Jesus poured out for us for the forgiveness of all of our sins. In this meal, Jesus body together with the bread, and Jesus blood, together with the wine, come together to assure us that our sins have been completely and totally washed away. Those sins of jockeying for position with our words; those sins of voicing our anger against all those who don’t volunteer as often or as willingly as we do; those sins of complaining against others and speaking behind their backs; those sins of feeling unduly hurt when our own ideas are not accepted; those sins of bursting forth with rage and anger rather than working to fix a problem; all our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. All our sins are forgiven by Jesus’ body given for us. All our sins have been forgiven because the Son of Man came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
What greater attitude of servant leadership could there be than that of Jesus’ willing sacrifice for our sins! Though he knew what was to come, he willingly went forward to the cross in our place. Though the phrase “Servant Leadership” was only really coined some 40 years ago the concept has been around since even before the time of Christ. Yet as we have studied the People of the Passion, we can truly see how Christ our Savior stands out as our Servant Leader. So, as you leave here today with the taste of your Savior still on your tongues, live in the forgiveness that he has so lovingly bestowed upon you and seek to emulate him with your lives.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Prepare the Way of the Lord (Luke 3:1-6)
December 5, 2010
Dear friends in Christ.
Before the days of Interstate Highways, US Highways, even before paved country roads; back even before the days of the prophets, there was custom practiced by the Kings of the Orient. Whenever a king wished to make a journey he would first send out his officials to prepare the area through which he intended to travel. The officials would go to the people living in the region and order them, in the name of the King, to prepare the highway for their lord. The people would then have the task of making sure the roadway was ready for their king. They would clear away any brush or dead branches, they would fill in any ruts or potholes, and they would even level the surface so that everything would be ready for their king; so that he would have the smoothest journey on the flattest road possible. This is the very picture that Luke is painting for us through the ministry of John the Baptist. In essence, the Lord is pictured as coming through the vast and impassable Arabian desert which lay between Babylon and the land of Judea. Thus, the preaching voice of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Savior and the official of the Lord, came to the Judean wilderness. He came summoning the people to clear the way of all obstacles so that Israel’s Lord and Savior could have a smooth road to their hearts as he came to set his people free from their sins.
This mission, to prepare the way for the Lord, was the very mission that John had been given even before he had been born. For when the Angel Gabriel visited Zechariah in the temple as Zechariah was burning incense, Gabriel told Zechariah that the child that would be born would be great in the sight of the Lord. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from birth. By his preaching he would bring many in Israel back to the Lord their God, and in the spirit of the Prophet Elijah he would make ready a people prepared for the Lord, which is exactly what John was doing when we meet him in our lesson today. Luke writes: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”(Luke 3:1–6, NIV)
Though John may had gone out to live in the dessert at an early age, he did not begin his ministry until the Lord came to him and authorized it. But when that day finally came, he began with a fury. He went around the area of the Jordan preparing the way of the Lord by calling the people to repentance through the Law of God. He baptized the repentant in the waters of the Jordan, assuring them of the forgiveness of sins, and he pointed people ever forward, to look for the Lamb of God, the Messiah who would soon be coming into the world. In fact, he did this so effectively that people began to flock to him from Jerusalem, the region surrounding Judea, and even from places as far away as Capernaum in Galilee. Many people who would never have considered going to the dusty desolate region of the Jordan where John was now left their comfortable homes just so they could come out and hear what he had to say.
Well, in the same way that John prepared the way of the Lord in his day, he is doing the same thing for you and me today! Though we don’t have him standing in front of us preaching against our sins, through Luke’s account we have the next best thing. For as we look back at the account of John’s preaching, we hear just how forceful of a speaker he must have been. We hear him preparing the Messiah’s Highway into the hearts of his people by calling them to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We hear him going up against the Pharisees and other religious leader telling them flat out that their self-righteous ways will get them nowhere near their eternal goal. And we hear him, as he turns to us and condemns us for our sins. For we too have been right there with the Pharisees, thinking that we can get into heaven with our good looks and good works. We too have been right there with the tax collectors taking more than our fair share. We too have been right there with the soldiers accusing people falsely and slandering their names to our friends. We too have let the fire of our anger rise against those who have wronged us and sworn that we would get even with them. We too have let our tongues run wild, gossiping about anyone and anything in any place at any time of day. We too have let the rage of our jealousy cloud our minds so that we have resented even our closest friends.
In truth, we are no different than the Israelites who came out to hear John in the wilderness. We, too, need John to prepare the way for our Lord, because the road to our hearts is also covered with many obstacles of sin, and doubt, and disbelief. But when we hear John speaking to us with the full measure of God’s Law we find ourselves looking directly into the mirror of that Law. We see our reflections covered with the debris of our sins. We feel the weight of our sins pressing down upon our shoulders. We see the shame and the guilt of those sins reflected in our eyes, and before we know it, we are down on our knees in sorrow over our sins, repenting, and praying to the Lord our Savior for forgiveness. It is in this way that our hearts are prepared for the coming of the Lord and the way to our hearts made smooth and ready for him! For it is the crushing blow of the hammer of God’s Law that leads us to repentance, and it is through that repentance that the way is prepared for Jesus to enter into our hearts and lives.
When Jesus enters into our hearts and lives, he enters in with the soothing Gospel, filling in those trenches of heartache and despair. Though the Law shows our reflections covered with sins, Jesus uses his gospel to remove each and every spot and satin of our sins. He uses the gospel to cover over every one of our iniquities so that all that is reflected is the Salvation of our God. He shows us that the true and only way to our homes in heaven is through faith in him. He assures us that though we may have taken more than our fair share, let our anger rise and worked to get even, let our tongues run wild, and even let rage and jealousy cloud our minds, these things have all been forgiven. But not only have they been forgiven, by the way that was prepared in our hearts through the law, our Savior now brings the healing of the gospel which not only assures us that we have been completely forgiven, but it also moves us to live our lives according to God’s will out of love for our Savior.
This is why John’s work as forerunner to the Messiah was such important work. For as forerunner, it was his mission to prepare the way of the Lord. Though John may not have gone out and commanded the people of the region to prepare the roads so that their king could travel on them, he did prepare the hearts of the people for the coming of their Savior. Through his use of Law and Gospel, John was able to prepare the way of the Lord, so that the nations would be ready for the coming of their Savior. Thus we can be sure that John came in fulfillment of the prophecy that Isaiah had uttered so many years before, for through his proclamation of Law and Gospel John has prepared the way for the Lord for countless generations of believers who have come to faith through the work that he did.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
Dear friends in Christ.
Before the days of Interstate Highways, US Highways, even before paved country roads; back even before the days of the prophets, there was custom practiced by the Kings of the Orient. Whenever a king wished to make a journey he would first send out his officials to prepare the area through which he intended to travel. The officials would go to the people living in the region and order them, in the name of the King, to prepare the highway for their lord. The people would then have the task of making sure the roadway was ready for their king. They would clear away any brush or dead branches, they would fill in any ruts or potholes, and they would even level the surface so that everything would be ready for their king; so that he would have the smoothest journey on the flattest road possible. This is the very picture that Luke is painting for us through the ministry of John the Baptist. In essence, the Lord is pictured as coming through the vast and impassable Arabian desert which lay between Babylon and the land of Judea. Thus, the preaching voice of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Savior and the official of the Lord, came to the Judean wilderness. He came summoning the people to clear the way of all obstacles so that Israel’s Lord and Savior could have a smooth road to their hearts as he came to set his people free from their sins.
This mission, to prepare the way for the Lord, was the very mission that John had been given even before he had been born. For when the Angel Gabriel visited Zechariah in the temple as Zechariah was burning incense, Gabriel told Zechariah that the child that would be born would be great in the sight of the Lord. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from birth. By his preaching he would bring many in Israel back to the Lord their God, and in the spirit of the Prophet Elijah he would make ready a people prepared for the Lord, which is exactly what John was doing when we meet him in our lesson today. Luke writes: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”(Luke 3:1–6, NIV)
Though John may had gone out to live in the dessert at an early age, he did not begin his ministry until the Lord came to him and authorized it. But when that day finally came, he began with a fury. He went around the area of the Jordan preparing the way of the Lord by calling the people to repentance through the Law of God. He baptized the repentant in the waters of the Jordan, assuring them of the forgiveness of sins, and he pointed people ever forward, to look for the Lamb of God, the Messiah who would soon be coming into the world. In fact, he did this so effectively that people began to flock to him from Jerusalem, the region surrounding Judea, and even from places as far away as Capernaum in Galilee. Many people who would never have considered going to the dusty desolate region of the Jordan where John was now left their comfortable homes just so they could come out and hear what he had to say.
Well, in the same way that John prepared the way of the Lord in his day, he is doing the same thing for you and me today! Though we don’t have him standing in front of us preaching against our sins, through Luke’s account we have the next best thing. For as we look back at the account of John’s preaching, we hear just how forceful of a speaker he must have been. We hear him preparing the Messiah’s Highway into the hearts of his people by calling them to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We hear him going up against the Pharisees and other religious leader telling them flat out that their self-righteous ways will get them nowhere near their eternal goal. And we hear him, as he turns to us and condemns us for our sins. For we too have been right there with the Pharisees, thinking that we can get into heaven with our good looks and good works. We too have been right there with the tax collectors taking more than our fair share. We too have been right there with the soldiers accusing people falsely and slandering their names to our friends. We too have let the fire of our anger rise against those who have wronged us and sworn that we would get even with them. We too have let our tongues run wild, gossiping about anyone and anything in any place at any time of day. We too have let the rage of our jealousy cloud our minds so that we have resented even our closest friends.
In truth, we are no different than the Israelites who came out to hear John in the wilderness. We, too, need John to prepare the way for our Lord, because the road to our hearts is also covered with many obstacles of sin, and doubt, and disbelief. But when we hear John speaking to us with the full measure of God’s Law we find ourselves looking directly into the mirror of that Law. We see our reflections covered with the debris of our sins. We feel the weight of our sins pressing down upon our shoulders. We see the shame and the guilt of those sins reflected in our eyes, and before we know it, we are down on our knees in sorrow over our sins, repenting, and praying to the Lord our Savior for forgiveness. It is in this way that our hearts are prepared for the coming of the Lord and the way to our hearts made smooth and ready for him! For it is the crushing blow of the hammer of God’s Law that leads us to repentance, and it is through that repentance that the way is prepared for Jesus to enter into our hearts and lives.
When Jesus enters into our hearts and lives, he enters in with the soothing Gospel, filling in those trenches of heartache and despair. Though the Law shows our reflections covered with sins, Jesus uses his gospel to remove each and every spot and satin of our sins. He uses the gospel to cover over every one of our iniquities so that all that is reflected is the Salvation of our God. He shows us that the true and only way to our homes in heaven is through faith in him. He assures us that though we may have taken more than our fair share, let our anger rise and worked to get even, let our tongues run wild, and even let rage and jealousy cloud our minds, these things have all been forgiven. But not only have they been forgiven, by the way that was prepared in our hearts through the law, our Savior now brings the healing of the gospel which not only assures us that we have been completely forgiven, but it also moves us to live our lives according to God’s will out of love for our Savior.
This is why John’s work as forerunner to the Messiah was such important work. For as forerunner, it was his mission to prepare the way of the Lord. Though John may not have gone out and commanded the people of the region to prepare the roads so that their king could travel on them, he did prepare the hearts of the people for the coming of their Savior. Through his use of Law and Gospel, John was able to prepare the way of the Lord, so that the nations would be ready for the coming of their Savior. Thus we can be sure that John came in fulfillment of the prophecy that Isaiah had uttered so many years before, for through his proclamation of Law and Gospel John has prepared the way for the Lord for countless generations of believers who have come to faith through the work that he did.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
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