A, Post-Pentecost 23 All Saints - Revelation 7:9-17 "The Eternal Goodness of Giving God His Glory"

This side of death, it’s hard to imagine what heaven is like.  We are beings in time, and being in time, we use it to focus on ourselves.  But as we go through these days as God’s people, the Holy Spirit works within to move the focus from ourselves to God.  But because we are human in our being, our desire to focus on ourselves never quite disappears regardless of how self-giving we might become.

John is taken from himself and given a revelation of heaven, recorded in the book of Revelation at the end of God’s Word.  He is given a look at the last things of human existence when Christ the King returns to fully reveal the resurrection of His saints, and to finally remove our self-centredness forever.

Notice in our reading today that John is asked by one of the elders, “Who are those clothed in white robes?”  Why is he asked the question?  He cannot answer it! He does not have the eternal knowledge to know!  So John replies and says, “Sir, you know!”

We do not know heaven! John is given insight into a privileged place before his death that is hidden from the sight of humanity.  John does not know.  These strange events need to be made known by God, and they give us a glimpse of what heaven is.  What is hidden from our eyes is only revealed and given by God and His Word.

John answers the elder rightly.  Imagine if, in his self-centredness, he answered the elder, “Well, I reckon that these in white robes are those who have found their way to God!”  But no!  John does not know and doesn’t guess.  The revelation of God was not about what he thought or reckoned; it was given to him. Heaven is a place of giving, and John is given God’s revelation of heaven, and in the revelation, those in white robes are giving glory to God, having been given the blood of the Lamb.

Because we are humans, we primarily concern ourselves with getting as we live in these times before eternal life is realised.  And there comes a time in our lives when we realise that we can never get enough to satisfy our human desires.  In fact, all our getting hopefully drains our desire to get.  As we grow in the Lord, God allows us to tire of getting goods.  We learn that our goods are not good enough for eternity, because acquiring these goods wearies us and kills us.

When John received God’s revelation of the everlasting hidden things, John presents himself as the faithful witness or seer.  John saw and reported what God allowed him to see and hear.  He tells us, “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches…” (Revelation 1:9–11a ESV)

This book is the book of Revelation, and all that he sees and reports comes from when he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.  He was imprisoned in a place because of God’s Word, yet paradoxically, God allowed him to see the eternal expanse of heaven unhidden.

In this part of the revelation, John saw the saints dressed in white robes bearing palm branches, branches from trees of life, date palms that give life at oases in the Middle Eastern desert.  These are the same branches with which people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  He sees Jesus Christ in all His resurrection glory, “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” (Revelation 1:5 ESV) But he sees not just Him, but also the whole throng of heaven with Him, worshipping Him eternally and arriving with Him, led by Him, into the eternal realm of the heavenly Jerusalem!

John sees the blessed, the saints of God, with Jesus who gives blessing, “…they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence.” (Revelation 7:15 ESV)

Just as John could not answer who those were wearing the white robes, having made them white in the blood of Jesus, we have a hard time comprehending giving glory to God forever.  We think, “That’s a mighty long time,” and wonder how this eternal giving won’t get the better of us!  Such is the struggle we have comprehending the eternal glory of God and His kingdom.  This is why John could not answer the elder and why we struggle with the reality of “forever.”  As beings in time, pondering “forever” just makes us even more tired than we already are.

Yet as our getting wearies us and our tribulations drain us of life unto death, you and I yearn for rest, a sabbath from works that make us weary and break our bodies back down into the dust from which we were created. 

It might be easy for us to wallow in this reality, and many do!  But the blessing of our being broken and the breaking down of our bodies is that the Holy Spirit seeks to turn us from the death within to life from without. 

This is what Jesus was doing when He sat down to teach the Beatitudes.  Our poverty, mourning, humility, hunger, mercy, purity, peace-making, persecution, and reception of tribulation are not there for us to justify our wallowing and woes to get pity!  Rather, these occur to lead us out of ourselves and to hope for rescue and rest in God, into a holy environment of giving – giving glory to God, having been given eternal life.

As beings in time, we struggle to understand eternity.  Like John, who needed the elder to tell him what he had witnessed, we need God’s Word to see what it means to be with Him eternally.  Every human being will continue to be. It’s just a matter of faith with whom that reality will continue: with God or without Him, glorifying Him in His eternal protection, or, without Him, eternally getting grief from never getting the good we want, eternally dying without God’s protective glory.

On the seventh day, God rested. Jesus, too, rested in the tomb on the seventh day—the Sabbath. But on the eighth day, He rose to reign and rest in eternal glory. Those whom we love have washed their robes in the blood of Jesus. May we, too, let the Holy Spirit bring us through tribulation into the rest of the resurrection, with Jesus Christ and the whole company of heaven. Having laid down our deeds in death, may we rest with them in the living waters of eternal life, with our Lamb and Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, our Lamb and Shepherd, thank You for the life You give through Your blood. When our getting leaves us weary, turn us towards Your mercy. Holy Spirit, sustain us through tribulation and teach us to receive God’s gifts with faith and thanksgiving. Bring us into resurrection rest with the whole company of heaven, where we may give You glory forever. Amen.

 Sermon Summary

Through John’s vision in Revelation, the sermon invites you to look beyond your limited understanding of heaven and trust what God reveals in His Word. John does not guess who the white-robed multitude are; he receives the answer. Likewise, eternal life is not something we acquire by finding our own way to God. It is His gift through the blood of the Lamb.

The sermon contrasts our restless desire to get more with heaven’s life of giving glory to God. Our possessions cannot satisfy us or secure eternity. Amid weariness and tribulation, the Holy Spirit turns our attention away from ourselves and towards God’s rescue and rest. The sermon connects the Beatitudes with this movement towards dependence on Him.

The conclusion brings together God’s rest on the seventh day, Jesus’ Sabbath rest in the tomb, and His resurrection on the eighth day. Our hope is to be brought through tribulation into resurrection rest with Jesus Christ and the whole company of heaven, sharing eternal life with our Lamb and Shepherd.

Reflection

We often approach life by asking, “What can I get?” This sermon invites a different question: “What has God already given me?” The white robes point us away from our achievements and towards the Lamb. Giving glory to God begins with receiving His mercy, rather than trying to make ourselves worthy of it.

Our weariness can expose the limits of self-reliance. Yet we need not pretend that suffering is easy or hide our mourning. In our weakness, we can ask the Holy Spirit to turn us towards the life and hope God gives. The promise of resurrection rest invites us to trust our Lamb and Shepherd when we cannot see the way ahead.

As we remember those we love who rest in Christ, the sermon draws our attention to the whole company of heaven. Its final hope is not endless striving, but life with Jesus: receiving His gifts and giving Him glory.

1. Where am I seeking lasting satisfaction from things that cannot give eternal life?
2. What changes when I see giving glory to God as a response to His gifts rather than another demand?
3. What weariness or grief can I bring to Jesus, trusting Him as my Lamb and Shepherd?
4. How might the hope of resurrection rest shape the way I live today?

A, Post-Pentecost 22 Celebration of the Reformation - John 8:31–32, 36 "Truly Free Indeed"

John 8:31–32, 36 (ESV) So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

At election time there is much talk from political candidates seeking to prove their righteousness and win the seat they’re contesting. We, the voting public, are wooed with promises of justice, funding, infrastructure repairs, tax benefits and savings. It seems that those vying for our votes cannot do enough for us during the campaign. Can you blame us for our cynicism the rest of the time when our elected politicians, premiers, and prime ministers swill and sloop abundantly from the public purse while failing to follow through on the promises made? They make us all sceptics; their bellies are full while debt and potholes only seem to grow larger.

In the next month, as the state election looms, the noise will grow to a crescendo and then fall to a lull until the federal term ends and the campaigning for votes starts up once again.

Amongst the noise of human words and promises is God’s Word of promise.  Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32 ESV)

We who believe are sanctified in God’s Word, made holy in it, because it is the divine, transcendent truth—second to none! Despite what the politician Pontius Pilate said to Jesus as Jesus was tried before His crucifixion, Jesus bears witness to “the truth”. Because the Word of God is the one transcendent, objective truth, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, in His very nature must be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!

Politicians promise us that they are telling the truth. The Roman politician Pilate said to Jesus, “What is truth?” The New Testament Greek word for truth is derived from the Greek word—lanthano—meaning “to hide”. To turn this word into a word meaning truth, a negative prefix is added. Therefore, the New Testament word for “truth” is something that’s not hidden! So, when Jesus said to Pilate that He bore witness to the truth, Pilate’s response, “What is truth?”, was political doublespeak. In the noise of political speech, Pilate scoffed back at Jesus, “What is not hidden?” when he said, “What is truth?”

As a politician, Pilate knew that everyone had something to hide! But with Jesus, nothing is hidden. All things were uncovered in His presence as He walked to the cross. All things continue to be uncovered now that He has borne the satisfaction required by God on the cross. He continues to uncover all things hidden by the darkness of our humanity now that He is at the right hand of the Father, having won the eternal victory at the cross over the darkness that leads to death!

Paul points out the great paradox between our sin and God’s grace, which is distinguished as the truth. This paradox cannot be understood. Instead, it is comprehended by faith, borne not of ourselves, but given by the Holy Spirit, Who powerfully enables you to believe despite the myriads of sinful things you and I have hidden in our fleshy selves. Therefore, to receive and believe the paradox of our sinfulness and God’s gracious gift of salvation, faith must come from God’s faithfulness and knowledge and be worked within us by the Holy Spirit.

Paul informs us, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:22c–26 ESV)

God’s Word is the great leveller. No one can slip around the side of His truth, now or on Judgement Day. What is hidden now will be uncovered on Judgement Day. It is best for us to uncover that sin now in confession rather than to hide it and try to explain it away when our time here is ended. Those of you who are uncertain about the forgiveness you are given through the cross would do well to come and speak to me or another pastoral servant of Jesus Christ about your struggle to receive and believe that you are a sinner; that you are forgiven through the propitiation, the atoning work of Jesus at the cross to take away your sins; and that, despite your human nature with all its hidden darkness, God the Father’s work through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is enough for eternal life and peace with God forever!

Earlier, Paul said that God’s justice given through the Law is final: “so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”  (Romans 3:19 ESV)

Pilate said, “What is truth, what is not hidden, there’s hiddenness everywhere?” But every voice will be silenced! The truth about who and what you are, and who and what you trust, will be unhidden before God in His righteousness and justice. To some, this is too much to bear! Some cannot handle the truth! But it is my prayer for you that, by the Holy Spirit, you believe His truth, His Word! God is a God of justice, but through His love, He is also your justifier in Christ’s righteousness. Jesus has done the precise single thing that not only informs and saves us, but also constantly reforms us, makes us God’s holy people, and sanctifies us in the truth because God’s Word is truth!

So, Jesus promises, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36 ESV) This is a freedom that no one can silence. No politician or person, no spiritual force of darkness, no internal monologue or internal mutterings of the self can prevail when the Holy Spirit is allowed to fill God’s true unhidden confessors with faith.

We, as God’s holy church of Christ’s body, are constantly called to be reformed in submission to being informed by the truth of God’s Holy Word of Law and Gospel. You and I have departed from an institution and its teaching, that seems to hide behind the political doublespeak of human words. While it claims to be a church of God’s Word it appears to be dismissing the truth of God’s Word in favour of hiding behind words that are popular in our society today.

We must avoid becoming an institution that no longer binds sin to the cross of Christ, but wittingly and unwittingly binds sinners in the hiddenness of human feelings, legalities and frustrations; in a society of noise where no one listens to or loves the person as God does while remaining accountable to Him. We need to constantly look to the cross to carry our debt and be led by the Holy Spirit to avoid falling into the potholes of human institutions, words, and ideologies as we travel on the way towards our eternal reality.

Therefore, let us be constantly reformed in Christ. As Fred Pratt Green penned: The Church of Christ, in every age, beset by change, but Spirit-led, must claim and test its heritage and keep on rising from the dead. (LHS 804)

Our church fathers fought and suffered for God’s justice and justification in the work of Jesus at the cross.  And they also suffered in upholding the work of the Holy Spirit to create faith within us through the justice and righteousness of God and his Word.

God, his work, and his Word truly gives freedom—the only path to eternal peace with God.

Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, in the noise and clamour of these days, fill our hearts with the peace that comes from hearing the truth of Your Word. Continue to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we believe and are saved from our unbelief. In our belief, give us the willing freedom to daily die to sin, to be raised to life in Your Word, and to silence the devil, the world, and the words within that keep us from our eternal peace with You. Amen.

Sermon Summary

Jesus promises that those who abide in His Word will know the truth and be set free by the Son. Unlike political promises and human doublespeak, God’s Word reveals what is hidden: our sin, God’s justice and His gracious justification of sinners through Christ’s atoning death. This freedom is received by faith, which the Holy Spirit creates and sustains within us. The Church must therefore remain under God’s Word of Law and Gospel, continually confessing its sin, looking to the cross and being reformed by the truth rather than conforming to popular human words and ideologies.

Reflection Questions

1. What does it mean for you to abide in Jesus’ Word in daily life?
2. Where are you tempted to trust human promises, popular opinions or your own inner voice more than God’s truth?
3. What sin or hidden burden do you need to bring into the light through confession?
4. How does Christ’s atoning work assure you that God is both just and the One Who justifies sinners?
5. Where do you need the Holy Spirit to strengthen your faith in the freedom Christ has already won for you?
6. How can the Church remain accountable to God’s Word of Law and Gospel while speaking faithfully within society?
7. What teaching, habit or assumption in your life needs to be tested and reformed by God’s Word?

A, Post-Pentecost 21 Proper 24 - Matthew 22:15-22 "In the Image of God"

Matthew 22:15–22 (ESV) Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone’s opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put Me to the test, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away.

The extraordinary simple desires of God versus the absurd desires of man are brought to light in the question the Pharisees and the Herodians pose to Jesus after taking counsel to trap Him.  Jesus continues to be tested spiritually and theologically in a bid to trap Him in an ethical or moral dilemma.  The Jews have no care for what is lawful in the Law of God in adhering to Roman laws concerning tax.  Rather, the Jews care only about discrediting and destroying Jesus, and in doing so seek to trick Jesus into condemning Himself.  But Jesus does not fall for their nonsense which is bound up in their cares, desires, and will for themselves.

We are told in the text that Jesus is acutely aware of their malice, their evil intent, and is not fooled by their nonsense for a moment. He calls them hypocrites, underhanded judges, using God and His Word as a front, to justify their evil desires and actions.  The question of whether they should pay taxes to Caesar is never answered.  Instead, Jesus asks for a coin with which they used to pay tax under Rome’s rule.

Having received the denarius, Jesus asks, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” (Matthew 22:20 ESV) Jesus asks them whose image and inscription it bears, knowing full well what they had to answer.  In seeking to catch Jesus out with a question under false pretences appealing to God’s Law, Jesus catches them out in their trick, in their nonsense, in their desire, with a call to “…render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21 ESV)

What is Jesus telling the Pharisees and the Herodians to do?  What is He calling you and me to do? To give to God what is God’s!  What were these two groups of Jews giving to God, and what has it to do with Caesar’s likeness and inscription on a denarius?

For you, me, and those whom Jesus was confronting, Jesus was not really speaking about Caesar or our money, yet He uses these very things to expose idolatry in the self.  Jesus confronts the idols we make of our human image and our human words­—written, spoken, and thought.  Jesus didn’t buy into the nonsense of humanity’s corrupted image, deeds, and desires but confronted these idols on the way to the cross where He bore our corruption without being corrupt in any way, shape, or form.  Jesus bore the likeness of humanity without idolising the flesh of His humanity, the things the flesh desires, and the inscription written in His flesh is the very Word of God.  He is the Word made flesh and His desire and will was and still is to fulfil the will of God.

Jesus and His Word are still amongst us, exposing our hypocrisy, our nonsense, and self-righteousness in the face of His fulfilling all righteousness in His death and resurrection.  His call still remains, “Are you rendering to God the things that are God’s?”    

God has covered you with His righteousness in baptism and as life rubs away at you what image appears?  What likeness and inscription shows through?  God’s, Caesar’s, or your own, like the Pharisees and the Herodians?  Like stencilling and rubbing a coin under paper, what image appears to others as life wears away at you?  Like a mould being cast, what or whose mark are you leaving in this world?

Jesus knows the hidden motives humanity has for itself.  He knew it before His crucifixion, and knew it would lead to His being crucified.  It’s no different today either, Jesus still knows the nonsense with which we like to cloak ourselves having turned away from being constantly created in the image of God by His Word to glorify Him.  This is true even of you and me, who have been re-clothed with Christ in the baptismal garb of His death and resurrection!  Such is our desire to sin!  Therefore, His question still cuts to the core of our deeds and desires.

Some biblical scholars have considered the Pharisees and the Herodians as being on opposite sides of the “rendering to Caesar” debate, where the Pharisees considered it a violation of Jewish Law to pay tax to Caesar whereas the Herodians were politically aligned with Rome and thought it a crime to not pay the tax to Caesar.  You can see how loaded their question is, why Jesus didn’t answer it, and His need to turn the tables back on their motives for asking the question if it is lawful to pay tax to Caesar or not!

In the days of Covid, there was much debate within the church whether one should vaccinate or not.  Similar to the Pharisees and Herodians there were opposing views.  Jesus’ command to give to God the things that are God’s also cuts through the motives of these opposing views.  Even the ordination debate with those who have progressive motives and desires and those who have conservative motives and desires both are called through repentance to give to God the things of God.

All are called to lay down their idols.  As we’re told, “For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” (Psalm 96:5 ESV)  And as Paul reports about the Thessalonians, “…you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9b–10 (ESV)

 So, what are the things of God that we’re called to give to God? 

The other day I bought a new hard drive for my computer to store videos and photos.  It’s a twenty-four-terabyte drive.  When I first had a computer built while at seminary it was the biggest thing around at six gigabytes.  The drive I just bought is over four thousand times larger.  Digital watches today have more processing power than the computers that put man on the moon.  The point is, we tend to hang onto images and documents long after we’ve used them and they become baggage we desire to keep on carrying around with us.  I still have pictures and documents on my computer that I had on that first hard drive at seminary.

But the things we’re called to give to God do not compound at an exponential rate that temps us away from the focus God wants us to have. 

God’s will and desire for you and me is to pass through this existence without carrying that baggage, trying to take it with us.  He wants you to use the things of this world to daily sustain you, rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s, so you give to God the things of God.  God’s will for you on earth is His will for you in heaven.  To see, “that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:9–10 ESV)

Jesus gave to God the things of God.  He exposes the nonsense of all things that see us seeking to carry our goods and chattels throughout life, like Santa Claus carrying his Christmas sack.  However, like Santa, we might see our bag of goodies as gifts to give to our neighbours to win them for the kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus does expose the inability to clear the “hard drive” of your heart and its desires.  But He has taken the hard road to save you, to “save all”, from the nonsense of humanity.  Jesus gave to God everything including His life so that you can have life.  He gave Himself so you and I can repent of our good and evil and wait on Him.  He now sends His Holy Spirit to continually cleanse you and present you to our Father conformed to His perfect and glorious image.  Amen.  

Jesus said: ‘Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.’ All we have and all we are have come from God; let us worship Him with our offerings.

Sermon Summary

In Matthew 22:15–22, the Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus sees through their malice and redirects the issue from politics and money to worship, identity, and allegiance: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” A coin bears Caesar’s image, but human beings bear the image of God. Therefore, our lives—our bodies, minds, words, possessions, motives, and desires—belong to God. Jesus exposes the idols and self-righteousness we carry, yet He also bears our corruption to the cross and clothes us with His righteousness in baptism. Through repentance and the work of the Holy Spirit, God continually reshapes us into the image of Christ. Freed from clinging to worldly baggage, we are called to use earthly things faithfully, serve our neighbours, and offer our whole selves to God.

Reflection Questions

1. What does Jesus’ command “to give to God what belongs to God” reveal about who we are and whose image we bear?
2. Where might pride, self-righteousness, fear, possessions, politics, or personal desires have become idols in your life?
3. When life “rubs away” at you, whose likeness and inscription become visible through your words, choices, and relationships?
4. How does your baptismal identity in Christ challenge the way you understand yourself and your purpose?
5. What worldly baggage are you carrying that God may be calling you to release through repentance?
6. How can you use your money, time, abilities, and possessions faithfully without allowing them to define or control you?
7. In a disagreement, how can you examine your own motives before judging the motives of others?
8. What would it look like this week to offer your whole self to God and serve your neighbour as someone being renewed in the image of Christ?

A, Post-Pentecost 19 Proper 22 - Philippians 3:4b-11 "Effluence to Exhaltation"

In Philippians chapter two, Paul tells the church in Philippi that Jesus allowed Himself to be made nothing, emptying Himself by taking the form of a servant. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

In the Old Testament, we are told, “If a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.” (Deuteronomy 21:22–23a ESV)

On that cross, Jesus served by becoming cursed by God for our sin. Jesus never went into the Holy of Holies or the Holy Place in the temple. In fact, He was the only One who could have gone in there without fulfilling all the cleansing rituals needed to survive standing before the face of God in the holiest of places on earth.

Instead, Jesus only ever ventured into the outer courts of the temple where the Gentiles could go, and outside Jerusalem, teaching all who were interested and confronting the scorn of the priestly leaders and Pharisees for doing so. In His service to humanity, Jesus was eventually humiliated on the cross outside Jerusalem, the earthly city of God. We hear in Hebrews chapter thirteen, “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” (Hebrews 13:12 ESV)

We have been made holy not by Jesus going into the Holy of Holies, but by His being the servant sacrifice for us, cursed outside the camp, so that we are made holy and welcome before God.

Because Jesus did this for us without sin, Paul tells us in Philippians chapter two, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9–11 ESV)

After relating the heights of God’s exaltation of His Son, Jesus Christ, in Philippians chapter two, Paul now calls the church in Philippi to avoid the dogs, the mutilators of the flesh. These are those who seek to destroy the holiness that God has won for us through the blood of Jesus. He also calls the church not to mutilate their own flesh by describing the reality of his own perceived lofty status in chapter three of his letter to the Philippians.

Paul explains to the Philippians that he could regard himself with the same grandeur as the dogs who seek to mutilate the flesh. Yet, where God has exalted Jesus Christ, Paul regards himself and his greatness in the extreme opposite, remaining humble by bowing to Jesus Christ as his Lord.

To the church in Rome, he says, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:3 ESV)

What he says to the church in Rome is rather low-key compared with what he says to the Philippians. Although he says the same thing, here Paul’s measure of faith allows him to go all out in his sober judgement of himself before the Philippians.

He says, “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:4b–11 ESV)

Paul seemingly builds himself up to demonstrate the futility of doing so: circumcised, a Benjamite, a Hebrew, a Pharisee under the law and zealous beyond compare. But then hear him strip it all down! Three times, he calls it all loss. His gain is loss for the sake of Christ! Yes, indeed, Paul counts not just some of it, but everything as loss! To burn the point into the hearers’ minds, he says a third time that, for the sake of Jesus, whom God has exalted, Paul suffers the loss of all things and counts them as rubbish.

In English, it all sounds rather sanitised, but this is anything but wholesome language. Paul relates to the Philippians the pathetic reality of his person and deeds compared with Jesus, who was treated as the excrement of Israel and is now exalted above all at the right hand of God the Father.

Paul sees himself and his works as a Pharisee as even less than the dogs, the mutilators of the flesh. He warms the hearers up with his threefold loss of prestige, person and passion, then shocks their ears by saying that he counts it all as dog poo or excrement and rejects it as filth. Our translations say rubbish, but in reality, in all its vulgarity, Paul says what he regarded as his greatness is really “dog shit!” (My apology for using this word but this is the vulgarity of regarding the self, higher than one ought.) Dogs are unclean animals under Jewish law. How much more unclean is their dung? 

Paul makes his point, and it reminds me of a few times on the farm when chaos abounded! It had nothing to do with dogs or their dung. Rather, these are a couple of stories about pigs and their poo. I can tell you that intensively farmed pigs make a lot of poo.

The first story is about one of our stud Angora goats getting out of her pen and trying to escape across the piggery effluent pond. The pond looked like solid ground but looks can be deceiving! The doe rushed out onto the crust of poo, only to crash through it into the epitome of filth. Her white locks of mohair were stained and stinking after she was pulled out with a crook, saving her from drowning in a mire of mess, pig piddle and poo.

The next incident happened some years later, when the slats in the grower shed rotted over time and a half-grown pig fell through them into the waste pit below. Thankfully, the pit was not full and the porker was alive. But how could we rescue it from the stench and filth of ten centimetres of pig pee and poo?

Let me say that the pig was not a willing participant in its rescue as Dad descended into the darkness to grab the greasy grunter from the poo. Kicking and squealing, it was raised back into the pen above. Dad and the pig both emerged covered in poo and wee. Pigs and dogs are considered unclean animals by the Jews; after Dad emerged from the pit covered in pig poo, we did not consider him all that clean either!

On reflection, what happened to the white doe in the pig pond and the porker in the poo pit stimulates our imagination and our senses, helping us understand what Paul is getting at when he compares his pride to poo. By contrast, Jesus, who was cursed on the cross and found outside Jerusalem like vile rubbish, then was highly exalted by God.

You and I are not all that different from that white doe when we try to elevate ourselves to glory at the expense of God’s glory in His Son, Jesus Christ. The holiness freely given to us through the death and resurrection of Christ becomes stinking and stained like the goat’s white fleece. Our elevation and affluence in our own eyes might seem to be an ascent, but really, it is a descent and a return to the poverty and effluence of our humanity. Without God’s help, we would drown in our filth like the goat in the pig pond.

Secondly, how much are we like immature pigs, not wanting to be rescued from the poo pit of our effluent lives, as God continually sends us the Holy Spirit to rescue us from ourselves and our darkness? Like my father, Jesus descended into humanity and became the lowest of the low to serve us and save us from the stench of our sin. Jesus became covered in the effluent of our sin to save us from sin.  Now He sends the Holy Spirit to remind us of this in His Word, so we put off our effluent affluence and allow ourselves to be covered with his robes of righteous exaltation.

Like Paul, the Holy Spirit now gives us faith to know ourselves and also to know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection, so that, like Paul, we might count all as loss—even dog dung—and become like Him in His death. What is that? It is innocent and blameless!

So let us press on through the poo that life flings at us! Let us press on to make it our own because, despite our effluence, Christ wore our crap to make us His own.

Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, You sent Jesus to wear the stain of our humanity, and He was cast out onto the cross to bear the curse and filth of our humanity. Help us, like Paul, to go to Christ outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured, trusting that, in His exaltation, we too will be raised out of ourselves, our effluence, into the holiness He won for us on the cross. Amen.

Sermon Summary

Drawing on Philippians 3:4b–11, the sermon contrasts human pride and self-made righteousness with the humility, suffering and exaltation of Jesus Christ. Paul lists every reason he might have trusted in his religious pedigree and achievements, then counts them all as loss—even as refuse—because knowing Christ is worth infinitely more. The farm stories of the goat in the effluent pond and the pig in the waste pit picture how self-exaltation traps and stains us, while Christ descends into the depth of human sin to rescue us. Through His cross and resurrection, Jesus gives us a righteousness that is received by faith rather than earned by status or works. The Holy Spirit therefore calls us to relinquish pride, share in Christ’s death and resurrection, and press on in the holiness Christ has won for us.

Reflection Questions

1. What achievements, identities or forms of status are you most tempted to rely on for your worth before God and others as a Christian?
2. Why does Paul count his impressive religious credentials as loss compared with knowing Christ?
3. How do the images of the goat in the effluent pond and the pig in the waste pit deepen your understanding of pride, sin and rescue?
4. What does it mean to receive righteousness through faith in Christ rather than through your own effort?
5. Where might self-exaltation currently be drawing you away from giving glory to Christ?
6. In what ways may the Holy Spirit be calling you to let go of something that keeps you trapped in pride or self-reliance?
7. What might sharing in Christ’s sufferings and becoming like Him in His death look like in your daily life?
8. How does the power of Christ’s resurrection give you hope when life feels stained, humiliating or overwhelming?
9. What practical step can you take this week to “press on” toward knowing Christ more deeply?

A, Post-Pentecost 18 Proper 21 - Matthew 21:23-32 Philippians 2:4 "Authority to Repent"

Philippians 2:4 (ESV) “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Matthew 21:23–27, 32 (ESV) “And when He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?’ Jesus answered them, ‘I also will ask you one question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?’ And they discussed it among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” He will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “From man,” we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And He said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’ ‘For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.’”

Authority is nearly a dirty word these days! It seems that those invested in retaining authority can be labelled authoritarian. Some may be wrongly accused of this when honestly seeking to fulfil their office of authority. But these accusations usually arise because of the few who abuse their office and rule in favour of their own interests.

The chief priests and elders were angry about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and His overturning of the tables in the temple shortly thereafter. The next day, they interrogated Jesus about whose authority He was teaching under and by what authority He taught. Seeing the crowds venerate Jesus as He entered Jerusalem on a donkey, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:15 ESV), had made them indignant.

King David was a man under God’s authority. This is what makes David arguably the greatest human king, despite his terrible sins of coveting, adultery, deception and murder. Instead of defending himself when challenged by God’s prophet Nathan, King David repented. Thereafter, King David repentantly wrestled with his sinful nature openly before God. This is well recorded throughout the Psalms.

The Psalms, however, were not merely written and commissioned by David. They were given to him by the Holy Spirit in his faithfulness as he struggled with his human nature. The Psalms are the Word of God, given to David to voice his reality before God.

Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was the Author of these words before He was incarnate in the flesh to be the “Word made flesh”. Together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ Word is the Word of God. Therefore, in the Psalms, we not only get a window into David’s heart, but we also gain a full sense of Jesus’ faithfulness, servanthood and authority in His incarnation, ministry and faithful struggle to be the Son of Man on behalf of humanity as He walked to the cross and death.

Jesus’ struggle was ultimately for the priests and elders too. God had long struggled with Israel, sending prophets such as Ezekiel and others to call His chosen people to repent of their sins and live. Jesus wanted that for all in Israel—the people, as well as the priests and elders who led them. They did not understand that He had the authority to take the place of all Israel and, through repentance, to give them life through His death and resurrection, which were only days away.

When they asked Jesus by whose authority He taught and what authority He possessed, Jesus understood that they were asking whether He worked on God’s behalf or on man’s behalf. Authority is the freedom, ability or power to act. They sought to test Jesus, but He turned the test back on them, showing that they had the freedom and ability to repent but were choosing not to do so.

Considering not His own interests but theirs, He directed them back to John the Baptist’s baptism of repentance and asked whether it came from God or man. They did not believe that John spoke with God’s authority, yet they were unwilling to say that he spoke merely with human authority. By answering that they did not know, the priests and elders exposed the uncertainty of their own position and their refusal to acknowledge the authority behind John’s baptism.

In refusing to tell them by what authority He taught, Jesus asked what they thought about a man whose two sons responded differently to their father’s command to work in his vineyard. The first refused but then changed his mind—or repented—and went to work. The second agreed to go but never did. Although neither son responded perfectly, only the first ultimately obeyed his father.

Jesus then says, “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.” (Matthew 21:32 ESV)

Unlike either of the sons, Jesus pointed out that there was neither acceptance of John’s message nor subsequent repentance. Unlike the two sons, who were partially disobedient with a yes/no and a no/yes willingness to work for their father, the priests and elders gave a no/no rejection of belief and repentance in response to John’s baptism.

You and I are still confronted with the question of authority today. Do you work under your own authority, which “does not know”, as did the Jewish elders and priests, or do you abide under the authority of Jesus Christ, trusting that He looks not to His own interests but to those of others—namely, yours and mine, our eternal interests?

There is a saying that pride comes before a fall. It is God’s will that the fall should lead to repentance. This was first taught by John as he baptised at the Jordan, continued in Jesus’ teaching throughout His ministry, authorised in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and empowered when the Holy Spirit comes to us in Holy Baptism, giving us the authority to repent with an Amen and Amen, a yes/yes: to confess that we are sinners, but also to believe that we are sinners who are being forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

God does not want your pride to be your eternal downfall. He wants each of us to take ownership of our sinful nature, hand it over to Him and allow Him to dispose of it at the cross. He does not look kindly on anyone who seeks to justify themselves by laying blame elsewhere—to say that our teeth are set on edge because our fathers ate sour grapes!

No more blaming or sour grapes! Rather, God says, “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ezekiel 18:30–32 ESV)

God has made you a new heart and a new spirit. In baptism, you have the new heart of Jesus and the new heart of the Holy Spirit. The house of Israel is now governed by Jesus Christ, and judgement has fallen on Him for those who allow Him the authority to deal with their sin.

Rather than saying no/no like the elders and priests, and rather than living a no/no life as the elder and priest of your own heart, you are authorised to say yes/yes in repentance and forgiveness. This is a God-willed authority, power, freedom and ability to repent through the work of Jesus Christ at the cross. The sour grapes stopped with Jesus! The sponge of sour wine was lifted to Jesus’ lips. First refusing wine mixed with gall to deaden the pain of crucifixion, Jesus went on to drink the sour wine and give up His spirit on the cross for you and me.  At the cross, there are no more sour grapes! Jesus now sponges up all sour grapes of sin in His death.

Jesus’ authority was, and continues to be, an authority that did not look to His own interests but to the interests of others—namely, you and me!

The proof is in the pudding! Jesus passed through death and hell and has been raised in righteousness, victorious over sin and death. You therefore have the authority to believe and repent, to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13 ESV)

Let us pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, continue to send me the Holy Spirit to show me that I have been given the authority to say yes/yes: yes, I am a sinner, and yes, I repent of my sin. When I say no to You through my desires, words and deeds—in what I have done or failed to do—soften my heart with Your Holy Word of Law and Gospel so that I turn back to You, repent and believe in Your forgiveness. Through Jesus’ yes/yes—His willingness to live as the servant Son of Man and to die bearing the ugliness of my sin—bind my spirit to Your Spirit through the Holy Spirit and raise me with Jesus Christ to eternal life with You, now and forever. Yes and yes! Amen and amen!

Sermon Summary

Jesus’ confrontation with the chief priests and elders reveals that true authority belongs to God and is exercised for the good of others. Although the religious leaders refused to recognise the authority behind John the Baptist’s call to repentance, Jesus exposed their unwillingness to turn and believe. Through the parable of the two sons, He showed that genuine obedience is not found merely in saying the right words, but in repentance that leads to faithfulness. Jesus, the faithful Son, placed Himself under the Father’s authority and took the place of sinners through His death and resurrection. In Holy Baptism, the Holy Spirit gives us a new heart and the freedom to say yes to God: to confess our sin, receive Christ’s forgiveness and live under His gracious authority. Because Jesus used His authority not for His own interests but for ours, we can repent, believe and live in the hope of eternal life.

Reflection Questions

1. Where are you most tempted to rely on your own authority rather than trusting the authority of Jesus Christ?
2. What does the response of the two sons teach you about the difference between words, repentance and obedience?
3. Why do you think the chief priests and elders found it difficult to acknowledge the authority behind John the Baptist’s message?
4. How does Jesus use His authority for your good through His death and resurrection?
5. What might saying “yes/yes” to God look like in your life this week?
6. How does Holy Baptism assure you that the Holy Spirit is at work, giving you a new heart and leading you to repentance?
7. Is there any sin, pride or blame that you need to hand over to God and receive His forgiveness for today?
8. How can you use the authority, freedom or responsibility entrusted to you for the interests of others? 

A, Post-Pentecost 17 Proper 20 - Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30 Acts 16:11-40 "To Live Is Christ"

Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30  (ESV) I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.   …for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul writes to the church in Philippi.  This town was a Roman colony populated by Roman soldiers, and it ranked above all the other towns in the region and was given privileges equal to Rome.  It was a likely place of retired soldiers who had faithfully served Caesar. The area was abundant with wealth due to gold mines located nearby.

Philippi is a town of ruins that today is in modern-day Greece. In Paul’s day it was in Macedonia, so Philippi is the first European location in which Paul preached the gospel.

When Paul first went to Philippi, there was no Jewish synagogue in the town, so he sought out a likely place of prayer outside the town at the local river where Jews might meet. There he met Lydia. She was a trader in purple fabric, which, because of the dye used, was an expensive fabric. Lydia was not a local, but was from a town in Asia Minor, Thyatira. We can assume that she travelled there along the Egnatian Way, the major road that connected the east to the west, Asia to Europe, around the top of the Aegean Sea between Constantinople and Rome.

The Holy Spirit opened the heart of Lydia, a worshipper of God. She was baptised with her family and encouraged Paul and his fellow workers to stay with her and her family.

Each day Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke went to the river, the place of prayer, but Paul and Silas were arrested after Paul became tired of a fortune-teller proclaiming Paul and his companions as servants of the Most High God.

What she proclaimed was true, but this was not of the Holy Spirit, but rather another spirit, which Paul cast out. We might assume that he did this because this fortune-teller was grandstanding and using the truth of what Paul, Silas, and the others were doing for God to make a profit for her owner. Because Paul ended her fortune-telling ability when he cast out the spirit, her owner had him and Silas arrested, and they were subsequently jailed overnight.

It was at midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, that the Holy Spirit shook the place with an earthquake, opening the gates of the prison and releasing their shackles. It is through this event that Paul baptised the jailer and his family after saving him from killing himself, assuming that the prisoners had escaped.

The jailer knew it was his life for the life of any escaped prisoners, but the extraordinary event and the lack of escapees led him to fall at Silas and Paul’s feet and plead, “‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptised at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” (Acts 16:30–34 ESV)

When the magistrates of the town called for their release, they found out that Paul and his companions were Roman citizens. The authorities feared that they had unlawfully held them captive and politely asked Paul and his companions to leave Philippi.

It is folk like the jailer and his family that Paul fondly held dear to his heart and now wrote to in Philippi. His letter to the Philippians was a letter to his fellow Romans, and he addressed suffering, citizenship, imprisonment as an ambassador in chains, and referred to Epaphroditus as a fellow soldier in Christ. Paul, who once was imprisoned in Philippi, wrote from prison in Rome to the church in Philippi. He signed off his letter to the congregation of expat Romans at Philippi, saying, “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:22 ESV)

Paul and Silas’ singing of hymns and seismic release from their chains likely left an indelible mark on the memories of those in Philippi, especially the household of the jailer who became Paul’s first Roman converts after his near-suicidal death. Since Philippi was a Roman town held in high esteem by Rome and a place of privilege for retired soldiers from Caesar’s guard, it’s possible that Roman converts like the jailer had connections with some in the imperial guard or with some who had retired to Philippi. Through the jailer and his contemporaries, it is possible that those of the imperial guard in Rome would have heard favourable news about Paul from those at Philippi.

This is what the greeting from Caesar’s house seems to imply, but more so the sense of duty to which Paul appealed as he suffered for Christ in the advancement of the gospel. This sense of duty was not lost on at least one at Philippi: the jailer, who was within a whisker of taking his own life through his sense of failed duty if prisoners had indeed escaped after the Holy Spirit-induced earthquake.

Paul’s call for the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ is encouragement for these Romans and others, like Lydia from Thyatira in Asia Minor, to focus not so much on whether they have Roman citizenship or not, but on the citizenship they have in heaven through Jesus Christ’s suffering and death, who makes them one to suffer for the gospel, as they saw Paul suffer when jailed in Philippi and are encouraged as he is once again imprisoned in Rome for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel.

This is also encouragement for you, as many of you too have been through suffering, and you have witnessed your pastors go through various trials in recent times, especially those who have taken their stand and have been dishonoured for the sake of the gospel.

Like Paul and the apostles, we do not know if we will be placed in a situation where we will be called to die for the sake of the gospel, or whether we will be called to carry on living as suffering servants, to carry on the duty of, calling some to Christ, or calling some to return to Christ, at the eleventh hour.

What we see is not as God sees.  Where we see suffering, ruins, and an end, through the history of salvation He constantly shows that things are allowed to die beyond human repair so He alone might breathe new life into them, not by the will of man, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rather than seeing the writing on the wall, so to speak, we’re called to hear the Word of God, His writing on the page! We’re called to see His power despite the weakness within in which we live and the power without in which we live.

Rather than focusing on the fracturing of Christianity that seems to be occurring around us today, through the humiliation of the church and the growth of human ideologies and idolatries that are increasingly forced on us and which we’re deceived into accepting, we’re called to a sense of duty that sees our citizenship in heaven and that to live is Christ and to die is gain. This especially means putting to death within us the idolatries and ideologies that make us deaf to what Jesus forewarns about the increased persecution of the true one hidden church, now and continuing till eternity is finally revealed.

We’re called to be emboldened like the apostles who after being flogged and told not to preach in the name of Jesus Christ, left “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name.” (Acts 5:41 ESV)

Today we hear the first of four readings from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It would be fruitful labour for you to read Paul’s brief letter to the Philippians and its context from Acts 16:11-40, and ponder your citizenship in heaven: what you are called to suffer for the sake of the gospel!  Be it what you’re called to endure from others or what you’re called to suffer by sacrificing things within that might be tempting you away from the duty and works that God has set for you in advance.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, renew me with Your Holy Spirit so I believe that I shall look upon Your goodness in the land of the living, to dwell with You, both now and eternally. In my weakness, help me wait on You as Jesus waited on You; to be strong only in Your strength, and to let my heart take courage as I wait for Your kingdom to come, as You dismantle my kingdoms of death. Amen.

Sermon Summary
Paul’s letter to the Philippians speaks from prison into a congregation shaped by suffering, duty, citizenship, and the power of the gospel. Philippi, a proud Roman colony, was also the place where the Holy Spirit opened Lydia’s heart, shook open the prison doors, and brought the jailer and his household to faith in Jesus Christ. These beginnings help us hear Paul’s encouragement: the gospel advances even through suffering, imprisonment, humiliation, and apparent weakness.

Paul calls the Philippians, and us, to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Our highest citizenship is not earthly but heavenly, won through Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. Therefore, Christians are called not to fear opposition or be distracted by the fracturing and humiliation of the church, but to stand firm in one spirit, trusting that God brings life where human eyes see only decline, ruins, and death.

You are invited to take courage in suffering, to put to death the idolatries and ideologies that draw you away from Christ, and to be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to confess the gospel. For to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Reflection Questions

1. Where do I see weakness, ruin, or decline in the church or in my own life, and how might God be calling me to trust His power there?
2. What does it mean for me to live as a citizen of heaven rather than being defined primarily by earthly identity, status, or security?
3. How does Paul’s imprisonment help me understand suffering not as failure, but as a place where the gospel may still advance?
4. What idolatries or ideologies might be making me deaf to the Word of God and hesitant to confess Christ?
5. In what ways am I being called to stand firm with other Christians in one spirit and one mind for the faith of the gospel?
6. How does the witness of Lydia, the jailer, Paul, and Silas encourage me to pray, suffer, serve, and speak without fear? 

A, Post-Pentecost 16 Proper 19 - Matthew 18:21-35 "What Lies Between"

These days we hear a lot about interest rates. There is much interest in them because of the debt a person has to repay. Have you ever wondered why they are called “interest rates”? It is not simply because we are interested in or concerned about the rates and how much one might owe.

In Latin interest means “what lies between”.  Perhaps we are interested in what lies between us and someone else when we owe a debt or if a debt is owed to us.

Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone. He uses seven times as the lowest common denominator. Was Peter looking for a figure at which the straw might break the camel’s back, allowing him to avenge the debt lying between him and his debtor? It is as if he wants to get forgiveness out of the way quickly: I forgive you, I forgive you, forgive you, forgive you, forgive you, forgive you, forgive you … Now that you haven’t changed, you’re going to get what’s coming!

Payback seems sweet until Jesus turns everything on its head by telling a simple parable about a king who mercifully forgives a debtor. But the debtor, unable to pay forward the mercy shown to him when he was freed from his debt, goes and chokes his fellow servant, demanding that the much smaller debt lying between them be repaid. As Jesus shows in the parable, payback is not so great when we consider our eternal debt towards God, our heavenly Father!

Anyone who hears this parable joins in with the fellow servants at the injustice of the forgiven servant who’s unwilling to do likewise and forgive his fellow servant.  Jesus tells this parable in response to Peter’s query, how many times one should forgive.  It shows Peter and us all, that “what lies between” God and us is far greater than any debt owed to us by our earthly neighbours.

Jesus had just spoken to the disciples about who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3–4 ESV)

Peter’s question, “How often should I forgive?” is a “how long?” question. This is not a question born of humility in Peter’s secret heart. Yet it captures the essence of our deepest human frustration when debt lies between two people and a relationship is put under the strain of an unjust balance, whether the imbalance is perceived or genuine.

However, what lies at the root of Peter’s question and our frustration with other people’s sin is brought to light in the fear within the hearts of Joseph’s brothers when their father, Jacob, dies. They thought Joseph was going to play God in what lay between them, since they had sinned grievously by playing God when they sold Joseph into slavery and pretended to Jacob that a wild beast had killed him.

We learn from the parable that our hearts and the justice we seek are somewhat different from God’s heart and the way He mercifully seeks the justice He deserves. Our justice is governed by what we deem good, but it is usually a good for us that has consequences for others. Jesus understands Peter’s heart and our hearts better than any of us understands ourselves. Just like Peter, we might forgive seven times or for the period we prescribe, then mete out our justice to our fellow human beings, as did the servant in Jesus’ parable.

But Joseph’s actions towards his brothers after the death of his father, Jacob, point forward to the saving acts of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Joseph said to his brothers, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” (Genesis 50:19–21a ESV)

Jesus humbled Himself like a child and is now the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. His terms of forgiveness are God’s terms of forgiveness. He therefore put aside the power of being the Son of God and took on the humility and weakness of humanity to be the Son of Man, bearing the evil of humanity in His death and bringing about the good of God by giving life through His resurrection from the dead.

In our human weakness, we want to forgive on our terms and then, at our appointed time, become gods of the situation and mete out acts of justice. We forget what lies between us and God and make ourselves gods over each other. But this is not godliness like that of God; it is the same “godliness”, or rather “godlessness”, that caused Adam and Eve to be thrown out of the Garden of Eden.

Just as Joseph’s brothers were weak and failed in their responsibility to look after Joseph, we too are weak in our ability to do the good that God requires. We fail to see the big picture as He sees it. We need to recognise our base humanity as inherent ungodliness: if God, in His justice, gave us what we deserved, we would be condemned for not being merciful as God is to us.

Yet we hear, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6 ESV)

Our self-appointed godliness and the timing we assign to it amount to ungodliness, weakness and sinfully bad timing. But at the right time—God’s time—He made atonement for our debt. Like the king in Jesus’ parable, God passes over our debt, and at the right time He had that debt placed on His Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, now is the right time to forgive.  While we live this side of the grave, now is always the right time to forgive. Despite the old Adam within wanting to terminate forgiveness and serve up its sinful impatient justice, now is always the right time to forgive!

St Paul tells us, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8 ESV)

But how do we love someone with whom we are in conflict when emotions are high and our rights seem to have been violated? Within us, there is a timer ticking down to a point where frustration wants to burst forth and choke the neighbour with whom we are in conflict; such is our weakness!

God calls us to remember our ungodliness and weakness, which have been corrected by the cross. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us see our neighbour as God sees us, so that rather than seeking revenge and retribution, we love them as Christ loved us.

The Holy Spirit helps us to bear our cross for Christ’s sake. He wills you daily to drown the old Adam in your baptism because your old Adam is always working to resurrect himself in you. Otherwise, you seek justice according to your knowledge of good and evil instead of Jesus’ knowledge of good and evil. In his humanity, Jesus always set the will of our heavenly Father first, which led Him to take on our human weakness, live the perfect human life despite bearing human flesh, and then endure the cross and scorn its shame for the joy set before Him, despite being without sin.

Jesus’ exchange of our sin for His perfection at the cross should awaken “a rate of interest” in those who truly understand the depths of their human nature and the sinful deeds that continually ooze from it! If not, perhaps you should revisit the Ten Commandments in the Small Catechism and relearn who you are in God’s eyes.

However, it’s God’s will in heaven to forgive you your sin; it’s also His will for you on earth to forgive each other for the sins you commit against each other.  You and I will have to give an account of ourselves before God on His judgement seat.  It’s in everyone’s best interest for mercy to lie between God and us, and therefore that same mercy to lie between us and our neighbours as we wait for our resurrection into God’s eternal presence. 

Let us pray. Dear heavenly Father, You have forgiven me my sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You have sent the Holy Spirit into my heart through my baptism. Therefore, work Your will in me so that I forgive as You have forgiven and love as You patiently love me. Help me not to seek payback but to pass over the sins of others, so that what they intended for evil against me might be passed onto Jesus’ death and made good in his victory over sin, so we forgive as we are forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Sermon Summary

Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant exposes the sharp contrast between God’s immeasurable mercy and our instinct to limit forgiveness. The debt that lies between us and God is greater than any debt our neighbour could owe us, yet through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has forgiven what we could never repay. Joseph’s mercy towards his brothers points forward to this saving work: rather than take God’s place in judgement, he trusted God to bring good from evil and responded with reassurance and provision. Because Christ died for us while we were weak and ungodly, now is always the right time to forgive. The Holy Spirit turns our hearts away from revenge, renews us in our baptism and enables us to love our neighbours as Christ has loved us. Forgiveness is therefore not a limited transaction but the merciful fruit of living under the grace of God.

Reflection Questions

1. What does Peter’s question about forgiving seven times reveal about the human desire to place limits on mercy?
2. How does the enormous debt forgiven by the king reshape the way you view the wrongs others have committed against you?
3. Where are you tempted to take God’s place by judging, controlling or seeking payback?
4. What can Joseph’s response to his brothers teach you about entrusting justice to God and responding with practical mercy?
5. How does Christ’s death for the weak and ungodly change both your understanding of forgiveness and your willingness to forgive?
6. Is there a relationship in which “now is the right time to forgive”? What faithful first step could you take?
7. How can remembering your baptism and relying on the Holy Spirit help you resist resentment and love your neighbour?
8. What would it look like for God’s mercy to lie between you and another person this week?