The Text: Matthew 5:13-20
Some years ago the story was told of a 30-year-old man who spent most of his life
as an imposter: at the age of 16 he posed as an airline pilot; at 19 he posed as a
paediatrician. Later, he was an assistant district attorney. He was caught in the end.
But by that time he had passed cheques amounting to 2.5 million dollars. He was
not what he appeared to be.
Sometimes people tell us that they want nothing to do with the church. The reason?
Because, so they say, there are too many hypocrites there. The trouble is that
Christians don’t always know who they are, and they don’t act accordingly.
Christians need to be genuine. They dare not be a phony or a hypocrite. The world
is quite right in judging the truth of Jesus by the sort of people faith in Jesus is able to
produce.
So the question for us, as Christians, is this: what are we? The answer to that question
comes from Jesus. In the first two verses of today’s Gospel he says that we are salt
and light! Listen carefully! Jesus does not say you ought to be salt, or that should be
light, but rather “You are salt…You are light.” What a tremendous saying! After all,
what Jesus is saying is this: “You disciples standing here before me—you are the salt
of the earth and the light of the world.”
One wonders if anyone in that bunch of people, squatting in the dust of that
Galilean hillside, could take it all in. And what about us? The church was in its
numerical heyday fifty years ago when Christians felt as if they were the majority.
Numerical significance and cultural superiority was the self-understanding of most
churches in the Western world at that time. We were the majority faith. This was our
country, as we saw it, our world. Today, can you imagine that there ever was such
a time, when they closed the petrol stations on Sunday mornings and refused to
play football matches on Sundays? Were you endangered in the stampede leaving
your neighbourhood this morning on your way to church? I doubt it. Here, when we
go to church on Sundays even in a rural or middle-class neighbourhood, we are a
minority with just a bit of occasional hostility and derision.
It’s been said that it is a dubious sign if the world lives too peaceably with the
church. We’re all familiar with the saying about rubbing salt into a wound. Salt
always bites and stings at those points where we men and women have wounds,
where our sore-points are. So where there is salt in a church and it’s preaching there
is bound to be a negative reaction against it. But where there is no bitter reaction
to the message what then? Perhaps what is lacking is a biting salty truth that will
sting in some people’s pious wounds. To be salt and light, Christians must be
different from the world.
From the point of view of purely quantity, the proportion of practicing Christians to
the whole mass of people in the world is comparable to the few grains for salt in a
big pot of food. And when we Christians get discouraged as we think of how we
few stand alone in our family, the place where we work, or among our friends and
acquaintances; when we are afraid and confused, then we do well to take
comfort from this saying of Jesus. He did not say: “You are the great power-bloc of
the world”. No, he said: “You are the pinch of salt in the world!” And that, by its very
nature, is a very small quantity.
But actually, how often can the power of this one pinch of salt turn out to be
mightily effective? When one person does not join in the gossip around the dinner
table, then that pinch of salt seasons the negative group conversation. When one
teenager refuses to go along with the group’s plan for the night, then that can be a
change of direction. When one Christian practices forgiveness in a company that is
poisoned by hatred and the desire for revenge, then all of a sudden there can be a
healing factor in the situation. When one Christian is willing to stand up for his or her
faith where this is hard to do, then suddenly the whole atmosphere of a meeting
can be “salted” as ears that were closed before may now be opened. When one
person in any group paralysed by fear communicates something of the peace of
God to others simply by being who they are and where they are, then the salt is
doing its work in the midst of corrupting strife and disorder; then the light is shining in
the darkness of fear and distrust.
There is still this other important attribute of both salt and light. Both become useful
only when they give of themselves, when they are mixed with something else and
sacrificed, as it were. Light goes into darkness and salt loses itself in the food. Each
individual Christian is given a great promise: he or she is a grain of salt. But this one
Christian also has the responsibility to share this promise. And, of course, if we are to
fulfil this responsibility, then we must get out of the “salt-shaker” as it were. Salt
works, salt remains salt only as it gives of itself. Or a Christian puts his light under a
bowl simply because he is afraid that the winds that blow in the evil world, among
his unbelieving friends in the factory or office or school will blow out the light of his
faith. But when that light is kept under a bowl its light helps nobody, and what is
more, it exhausts the oxygen and nothing is left but a nasty, shapeless wick.
You don’t need to be super-confident to ask your neighbour to come with you to
worship. You can do it faithfully in weakness, and in fear and trembling. You don’t
need to be brimming with slick ideas of how to get through to seventh graders to
teach Sunday School. You don’t need to be comfortably sure of what to say in
order to visit a fellow member in the hospital. You don’t have to be financially
secure, guaranteed of a surplus for life, to be a steward who tithes. You don’t need
to feel sure of your faith to begin to pray regularly for others. You can stumble over
the words, praying in weakness.
And if you do—when you do—you will find not that you miraculously have done
everything perfectly, amazing people with your skills. But you will find that the Lord
keeps his promise, and that somehow the words you stumbled over—the awkward
condolence, the wavering word of love, the blurted invitation—found a home in
another human heart.
A Christian dentist moved into a new house. He soon found neighbourhood
teenagers littering his yard and riding their bicycles over his lawn. None of this
encouraged him to love his new neighbours as himself. One night the leader of the
teenage group had a bad toothache. The boy’s mother sent the boy to the dentist
for a check-up. The dentist found the tooth in need of expensive repair and offered
to take care of it. The boy refused. He said his family couldn’t pay the bill for a job
like that. In the end the dentist persuaded the lad to let him do the repairs. The
dentist did not send the boy a bill. Soon he forgot the incident. That summer the
dentist left town for an extended holiday. When he returned, he found that his lawn
had been well looked after during all that time by the teenager whose tooth he’d
fixed. The dentist tried to pay the boy. But he refused. Shyly he said: “A tooth for a
tooth”.
With day-by-day efforts like that, we make our light shine. We bring rich flavour to a
tasteless society, and so become the salt of the earth. God gave his only-begotten
Son for this world. Therefore we are called upon to be salt and light for this same
world. And certainly the world is worth saving by our sacrifice because this one man
Jesus Christ first sacrificed himself for all of us. We are to be the little grains of salt for
the little bit of earth that God has entrusted to us. We are to be the glimmer of light
for that little part of the world in which we live and move and have our being.
Amen.

Epiphany 4

Text: Matthew 5:1-12

More and more people were hearing about Jesus, more and more people were coming to look for Jesus. They had heard what Jesus was doing, as he healed the sick and helped people in their needs. Now they wanted to find out what Jesus was all about.

Jesus had been telling them that the Kingdom of heaven was coming, the Kingdom of heaven was coming to earth. Jesus was bringing the Kingdom of heaven to earth.

So what was this kingdom like? What did it mean to live in this kingdom?

Where is the kingdom of heaven today? Is it up there? Is it also down here? What does it look like?

Are you citizens of the kingdom of heaven?

Hey, come and follow me.

Matthew tells the story of Jesus going up a mountainside, calling his disciples to himself, and teaching them. His teaching is what we now call the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew does not tell us where this mount is but the traditional belief is that the Sermon on the Mount was given on the slopes leading up from the lake.

If you go to Israel, to Galilee, this is the place that they will show you as the site of the Sermon on the Mount. There is a church built there, a rather beautiful church in a lovely garden, called the Church of the Beatitudes.

It’s a beautiful, peaceful setting. And the Sermon on the Mount gives us some of the best known and most loved words that Jesus ever spoke. Among them are the opening words that we heard as our Gospel today. We know these words as the Beatitudes, which means the Blessings.

Jesus talks about being blessed. Blessing means sharing in the goodness of God, receiving the gifts of God.

Yet, when we listen to what Jesus says about being blessed, it is hugely challenging. That’s because Jesus’ idea of what being blessed means and our idea of what being blessed means are hugely different from each other.

You have probably been told to count your blessings. Maybe you have told others to count their blessings. OK – count your blessings. What are the blessings you have, that you really appreciate…?

Now let’s see what blessings Jesus talks about when he talks about your blessings.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Are you blessed when you are poor?

We like to think that the things we have make us rich. Or we don’t expect to be rich, but we do like to be comfortable. The opportunity to live a comfortable life; that is a blessing.

We don’t want to be poor. Sometimes people have to put up with being poor, but it is not a blessing. Yet Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor.”

OK…he says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” So he is talking about spiritual things, not material things.

Do you want to be spiritually poor? I think we want even more to be spiritually rich, to have a spiritual life where we feel wonderfully exalted.

Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” You are blessed when you have nothing, when you come with nothing, because then you are ready to receive everything that God wants to give you. You are blessed when you let go of all your own spirituality, and you live in the grace of God.

You are blessed when you have nothing, nothing of your own and when you rely on God for everything; when you rely on God for every spiritual gift.

And what does God give you?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

God gives you a place in the kingdom of heaven. This means that you receive life from God, life that is full and free, life that is lived with God.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Count your blessings. Surely the greatest blessings are the people in your life, people who belong to you and you belong to them, people whom you love, people who love you.

How can you be blessed when you lose someone who is a blessing? How can you be blessed, when you mourn such a loss?

Jesus says you are blessed even in the face of loss and tragedy. You are blessed by his presence and by his promise. He has promised to be with you—when your need is greatest, his gift is even greater.

You will be blessed, even when you mourn great loss. You will be comforted, covered with the grace of your loving Father.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

We are taught that we have to be strong, that we have to be assertive, that we have to stand up for ourselves. We like to believe that we are blessed when we can make our own way in the world, when we can stand up for our rights, when we can get what we deserve.

Jesus says: “Blessed are the meek.” Meek is not weak. But meekness is a different sort of strength.

Being meek is being strong enough that you do not have to prove how strong and tough you are. Being meek is being strong enough to forget about yourself, and give of yourself for the sake of others. Being meek is being more concerned about caring about the rights and the needs of others, than your own rights and your own needs.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Blessed are you when you are meek, when you are prepared to give up what you think is yours, because God will give you much more. You will inherit the earth. Your life on earth will be rich and fulfilling, because you will be living as citizens of heaven even while you are living on earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

None of us like to be hungry. None of us like to be thirsty. Hunger tells us that we need food. Thirst tells us that we need something to drink. Hunger and thirst are fine, as long as we can eat and drink when we need to eat and drink.

And most of us eat and drink much more than we need. We eat and drink to savor the richness of taste, to enjoy food and drink to the fullest.

There is another kind of hunger and another kind of thirst. It is spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst. It is feeling that deep need for spiritual nourishment and spiritual fulfilment.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

We might try to convince ourselves that we have enough righteousness, that we are good enough to satisfy ourselves and to satisfy others, and to satisfy God. But then we are living a lie, and our blessing is an illusion.

You are blessed when you come to God with complete honesty, knowing that you need righteousness from God, knowing that you need God to forgive your sins and make you whole and healthy and strong. When you come to God with that need, and when you come to God with that faith, then you will be filled, and you will be blessed.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

We like to think that blessings are all the things that make life good for ourselves. And we are pretty good at complaining when we think life is not fair. We are quick to blame someone, anyone, and maybe we blame God if life does not give us what we think we deserve.

Mercy is knowing and understanding the needs of others, and forgetting about our own needs and wants. Mercy is being prepared to give of ourselves for the sake of others. Mercy is sacrificing ourselves, and what is ours, rather than being worried about getting for ourselves.

Blessed are you when you are merciful. Blessed are you when your heart and mind are tuned to other people, people who are close to you and people who might be far away, but people who have great needs, physical needs, are politically oppressed and in danger, and suffer from spiritual emptiness.

When you see those needs, when you feel those needs, when you respond to those needs—that is mercy. And when your heart and mind are tuned into the needs of others, somehow your needs don’t seem so urgent at all.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive God’s own mercy, the mercy of forgiveness and the mercy of pain and anguish relieved, the mercy of being loved and supported. When you are merciful you are committing yourself to the mercy of God, and God gives mercy richly and fully.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”

We like to think that we are smart and sophisticated, and being smart and sophisticated means that we can see and do whatever we like. We think that we can play with all sorts of things that are evil, because that is what is flaunted in our world. We like to think that makes us clever and wise, and that if we are smart enough these things won’t do us any damage.

Jesus says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

When we fill our minds with all sorts of experiences to prove that we are mature and that we can handle them, we lose sight of what is really precious and enriching. We lose sight of God.

When we hear the word of God and focus on what is good and holy, even in the middle of the most demanding and degrading sights, then we learn to see God in every situation, and we are blessed as we seek the will of God everywhere, always.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

We all want peace. But we also want things to be done our way.

We want to hold control. We want others to serve our purposes.

We generate conflict, in our own personal life and at every level right up to international power-plays and wars.

It takes great wisdom but also great will power to become a peace maker, to overcome the conflicts in your own life, and to work with others to overcome conflicts in their life. It means sacrifice. It means forgiveness. It means understanding life is more than getting your own way.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

God is the great peacemaker, breaking down the hatred and rebellion that people throw against him, and leading people to reconciliation and restored relationships. Peacemakers are children of God, for they are learning from God, and following in the footsteps of their heavenly Father.

Making peace is a vital part of Christian life. Learn how to be a Christian peacemaker.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I don’t like pain. I don’t like to be rejected. How can you be blessed when you are being persecuted?

Being persecuted is not a blessing. But being persecuted can show that you have a blessing which is much greater, a blessing that no one can take from you, no matter how much they try.

Christians have been persecuted, and Christians are still being persecuted, when they stand up for their faith. Persecutors think that they can enforce their will, and destroy Christian faith by using ridicule, threats, pain, violence, and even death.

Jesus says that you are blessed even when you are persecuted. That’s because righteousness, the gift from the righteous God, is stronger and more precious than any persecution.

People might turn against you, and take away your property and your comfort, your reputation, your freedom, even your life. What have you got left?

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

Those persecuted because of righteousness have the kingdom of heaven. That is God’s gift, and no one can take that away. That is the greatest blessing.

So Jesus teaches us about being blessed, about being really blessed.

He strips away so many things that we think are blessings. He shows us the blessings that go much deeper, blessings that are much more precious, the blessings of living with God in the kingdom of heaven.

Do you still want to protest: “But I don’t want to let go of all the blessings that I want”?

Look at Jesus, look at the way he lived. He was poor in spirit, dependent on his heavenly Father. He suffered great loss, and great deprivation. He was pure in heart, and merciful, and meek. He was persecuted, to the point of the cross. He gave it all away for the sake of bringing peace.

When are you blessed? You are blessed when you are with Jesus. May you share his blessings in the kingdom of heaven, now and forever. Amen.

 

 

 

The Text: Matthew 4:12-23

 

^{MATTHEW 4:12}
Jesus, having heard that John had been imprisoned, withdrew into Galilee. ¹³And having left Nazareth He went and lived in Capernaum by the seaside in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴in order that it may be fulfilled what had been said through Isaiah the prophet:

          ¹⁵Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

          way of the sea across from the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

          ¹⁶The people dwelling in darkness and gloom have seen a great light

          And among those dwelling in the field of the shadow of death

          A light has risen for them

¹⁷From then Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” ¹⁸Then walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew, his brother, casting a large fish net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And Jesus said to them ‘Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of people.’ ²⁰And they immediately left their nets and followed Him. ²¹And moving on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with their father Zebedee, repairing their nets, and Jesus called them. ²²And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him. ²³And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people.

Apparently, as seen from space, Las Vegas is the brightest city in the world. In New York City, Times Square is home to the ABC ‘SuperSign’ a whopping 3,685-square foot screen with wavy LED ribbons. The Eiffel Tower in France is illuminated by 20,000 bulbs. Closer to home the light towers of the MCG have a total of 844 2000 Watt lamps. Each have an individual angle that is computer generated to provide maximum coverage of the arena without any shadowed areas or dark spots. A few years ago, Sydney’s cloudy night sky was seemingly turned into bright day when the city ushered in the New Year with 7 tonnes of fireworks including 1000 that were launched from the Opera House sails, as well as glittering waterfalls of fire that cascaded over the harbour. This paled into insignificance when compared to Dubai’s Guinness World Record effort in which over half a million fireworks were used spanning 94 kilometres of the Dubai Coast, costing nearly $7 million.

All this light in the world – it is not true light. The world is still in darkness—the darkness of greed, selfishness, broken homes, violence, theft, destruction, substance abuse, injustice and exploitation…and everything else that comes with worshipping the self as number 1. And so these man-made lights are a symbol of the extravagance and decadence that place the self on a pedestal to be served with whatever society wants to be served with.

A few years ago it was questioned by one mainstream newspaper why millions habitually flock to parties and what they actually celebrate when the same selfishness characterised by injustice and violence and family and social breakdown continues and calamity and strife surround us on a daily basis. Really isn’t this the picture we hear of from the prophet Isaiah cited by Matthew today?

The people of the Land of Zebulun and Naphtali are dwelling in darkness and gloom—God’s chosen people, the Jews, as well as Gentiles, were in darkness, error, unrighteousness—that 3 letter ‘s’ word that dare not be mentioned: sin. The people are ‘living’—that is, barely existing—in the state of sin, and therefore dwelling in the field of the shadow of death. That was the situation of the human race during the time of Isaiah’s prophecy. It was the situation when Matthew wrote…we see that with the opening verse of our text: John the Baptist had been imprisoned by Herod because John was faithful to God’s Word and reproved Herod for unlawfully taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip I. On Herod’s birthday, Herodias’s daughter Salome danced before the king and his guests. Her dancing pleased Herod so much that in his drunkenness he promised to give her anything she desired. Prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Although Herod was appalled by the request, he reluctantly agreed and had John beheaded in prison. What had John the Baptist done? Faithfully proclaimed God’s Word.

As our nation celebrates its greatness and the achievements of its people today, how much room will be made for public thanksgiving to God for His blessings? For all our greatness as a nation, the Australia I see is the land and the people Isaiah and Matthew spoke of centuries ago—a country that is desperately in need of the light of Christ. A country that rejects God’s Word—lost, stumbling, consumed with the decadence and self-worship of the Western world that will do away with anything that stands in the way—even God Himself.

It’s a chilling thought, but we too have inherited that condition—the condition that has the potential for us to be the next tyrant who we are sickened by. The condition that makes us all enemies of God because it shows itself in all the ways we know of or deny that are contrary to God’s will expressed in His Word. We were among the people of Zebulun and Naphtali who sat in gloom and darkness, even in the very shadow of death, needing rescue. So behold, the gospel, for you this day:

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

          way of the sea across from the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

          The people dwelling in darkness and gloom have seen a great light

          And among those dwelling in the field of the shadow of death

          A light has risen for them

That light is Jesus and His Gospel. The first words Jesus proclaims in our text is: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus is talking in a geographical sense. In the person of Christ, heaven has come to earth. Wherever Jesus is, God’s kingdom is present and at work. Every other religion requires us to ascend to God through our good works. God shows his grace in that even though the world is darkened by sin and in bondage to it, blind to the true God and unable to free itself, God came down with love in the person of Christ, to bring freedom from the bondage of sin and dare I say it—ourselves. He came to trample over death with His own and make a mockery of the demonic realm of darkness with His redeeming work on the Cross.

Matthew tells us today that this Christ went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people. This is the light that has risen for the people. These healings are a witness that Jesus is indeed the Son of God with all authority over the created order, over sin, death and Satan, and the authority to forgive sins. The forgiveness of sins which is the greatest of blessings even in the depths of our brokenness and despair because it is only through forgiveness that we enter into God’s presence as His holy children and have peace and life with Him forever.

All of this is an undeserved gift to a people helpless to help themselves. So repentance is the only appropriate response to such lavish love; a love that none of us deserve but a love that is given without condition, a love that does not count our wrongs against us but counts them against the Christ who was crucified in our place to take our sin from us and exchange it with His holiness and righteousness. A love that welcomes the least into the family of God through His Son to be co-heirs with Him. Entry is through faith alone in the promise that there is a righteousness apart from the Law; the righteousness that comes through faith in this Messiah, Christ the light of the world.

Jesus says to us today: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Where is the Kingdom of Heaven? Wherever Jesus is, the Kingdom of Heaven is present—God’s gracious rule. Where is Jesus? In His holy word and sacraments. Just as He taught in the synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, Jesus is truly present again today, preaching and enacting the gospel through the readings, the liturgy, this sermon. Preaching the Gospel to you that will not return to Him empty but accomplish everything He desires it to do. He is the host of the holy meal we are about to receive, speaking His word that does what it says, making ordinary wafers and wine His true body and blood that He places in your hands, so that as you eat and drink there is no mistaking that the forgiveness and redemption that He won for the world He gives to you and you receive personally through faith in His promise: given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.

You too have seen this great light shining in the darkness. It is not spectacular in the way the world understands spectacular, but it is far more powerful for this light has freed you so that you are no longer captive to your sinful nature but captive to Christ, who made you His very own in the waters of holy baptism. What a gracious God we have to come into our world and give us these holy gifts to bring us into personal relationship with Him! And in these waters, you too were called by our Lord to be His followers in your daily life and work. Just as Jesus called Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John who immediately follow Jesus, not because they have a better faith or greater willpower or have sinned less than others, or for any quality within themselves. They are able to follow Jesus because He calls them to do so. The words that Jesus, God Himself utters: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people” are not just words, but words that do what they say they will do…because what Jesus says, happens. We are reminded of God’s words in the creation of the universe: “Let there be light…and it was so; let there be…and it was so; let there be…and it was so.” Here in our text the Lord of creation brings about a re-creation in these fishermen through His speech: “Come, follow me”—the same re-creation He works in your life.

Not only has Jesus won forgiveness and salvation for undeserving sinners, but in His task of building His church, chooses to use them in this work, leading and guiding them in the harvest of souls. And so the people you live and work with see a great light when they see how you live God’s word in your life. Just before our text today was Matthew’s account of the devil’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Without food for forty days Jesus is hungry. The devil knows Jesus has the power to turn the stones around Him into loaves of bread and tempts Him to do it. But Jesus answers: ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Jesus isn’t talking about simply existing. He doesn’t say ‘Man does not exist on bread alone, but live on bread alone; real living. And so when you live—really live—meeting with Jesus Himself through His word, receiving the Holy Spirit He sends through the Scriptures, you have peace and contentment and strength no matter what your situation is because the Spirit is at work bearing His fruit. People see that in your life and they know there’s something different about these ‘churchy people’ as we’re often referred to. They see the light of Christ at work because you are a little Christ, to borrow Luther’s terms, in the darkness of the world around. When others see how you say grace at Maccas because you want Christ to be present and bless the food for you, when others see you come to church on a Sunday instead of sport or sitting on the header or sleeping in, when others see how you interact in a patient and forgiving way to those who have wronged you, when others see how you care for others, when others see how you respect authority, when others see how you cherish God’s name rather than using it habitually, when others see how you handle a crisis or live in integrity, when others see you feasting on the Word of God to really live, they see Christ the light of the world, living in and building His church among you.

It is not because of any effort on our part, but this only happens because Jesus has first preached the good news to you, and as he continues to preach to you and teach you through the scriptures, he continues to inspire and enable you to serve others and witness to him. Again today, He is in this church right here and He sends forth His gospel to make you everything He wants you to be, so that even as we live in the shadow of the valley of death of this life, His eternal light lights our way and—by his work in us and through us—shows the world a glimpse of the incredible love of its Saviour. Amen.

 

The Text: John 1:29-42

If you were told there is a treasure chest buried in the sand of a beach on the west side of an island, and if you find it you can have it, would you sign up? 

It is the same with God. We can search for God in a hundred different ways, and go through all kinds of odd and even dangerous experiences and never find Him. In fact, those who search for God, not knowing who He is, usually never find Him. They endlessly chase after false gods. What those searching for God need is someone who knows God to bring them to Him.

The reality is that we find God when He finds us. We find God when He speaks to us. His voice usually comes from a family member or friend who tells us about Jesus. Someone who knows the love of God, who has been changed by His compassion and grace. One whom God has made His very own, and they want others to know Him also. In most cases it is believers who bring their children, their family, and their friends to Jesus to hear Him speak with truth and with power.

That’s the pattern we see in the Bible. A Jewish servant girl tells Naaman about the prophet of the Lord who could heal him, and he was cleansed of his skin disease (2 Kings 5). Four friends carry their crippled mate on a mattress to Jesus, and he was cured and made whole (Mk 2:1-12). Philip speaks with the Ethiopian about Jesus, and he was baptised (Acts 8:26-39). Believers bring those needing God’s grace to Jesus, and He heals, and raises up and gives life.

The Gospel reading for today tells a similar story. One day John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples and Jesus walks by. John points out the Messiah to them saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” John brought them to Jesus by showing them who Jesus is and immediately they left John and became disciples of Christ.

This was not the first time they had heard of Jesus. John’s ministry was to reveal Christ to the nation of Israel. The willingness of John’s disciples to leave him and follow Jesus shows how well he did his work. Having heard of Christ’s coming they believed in Him who they had not seen, and at the first opportunity they leave everything to follow Him.

Christ turned to His new disciples and asked them what they were seeking. What they were searching for was the Messiah, and the opportunity to sit at the great Teacher’s feet, and learn more about the kingdom of God. They didn’t just want to know who Jesus is, they want to know all about Him, and how He was going to fulfil the Scriptures and bring God’s promises to fulfilment. They were hungry to hear His words. If He is the Son of God and Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, then they want Him to take away their sins and give them His life.

Jesus invites them saying, “Come and you will see.” Has a greater invitation ever been given? Jesus grants an open invitation to join Him, to stay with Him and learn from Him. This is the best “access all areas” invitation ever issued. And so, the two disciples left John and followed Jesus.

The day was late, about 4pm, and the two men should have gone home, but they cannot stop listening to Jesus. They soak up His every word, until late in the evening and probably stayed the night with Him. After hearing Christ’s words of life and grace, one of the disciples, Andrew, raced out early the next morning to tell his brother about Jesus. Andrew wants his brother to know that the One they had been searching for, has come to them and invited them to stay with Him. He says to his brother, “We have found the Messiah”… and He brought [his brother] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

An encounter with Jesus is life changing. For John the Baptist it meant the Son of God had descended and taken on human flesh to be the sacrifice for all sins. For Andrew, meeting Christ meant the long-promised Messiah had come. For Simon it meant a change of name and a change of life direction.

Jesus’ three new disciples – Andrew, Peter and the third is probably John the Gospel writer – did not find God by their own efforts, they were brought to Him by those who knew Him. Before they met Jesus, they had heard His words from the lips of a close friend that prepared their hearts to meet Him, and trust in Him as their Lord and Saviour.

Many of us come to know Jesus through our parents. We hear the words of the Bible and their prayers, even in the womb. Then they bring us to the place where He is found, where His Word works with power. They bring us to Baptism to meet with Jesus and hear His gracious words.

Children are brought to Jesus because Christian parents know that no matter how cute their baby is, every child is born a sinner. They know that without bringing their child to God they will never find Him on their own. The sinful nature we are born with, sometimes called the Old Adam, leads us away from God. The Old Adam rejects God and leads us away from His love and into sin and on to death.

Godly parents know the little ones God has blessed them with will one day die and have to stand before the judgement seat of God, and no matter how good they have lived their life, they will never have God’s approval without the forgiveness and pardon of Jesus upon them.

The psalm for today describes the life of the sinner without God as, a miry bog, a pit of destruction, from which we cannot escape (Ps 40:2). But we have a rescuer who has drawn us up from the pit of sin, death and hell, and set out feet upon a rock (Ps 40:2). Our rescuer is Jesus. He bled to save us. The forgiveness He won on the cross is what God gives in Baptism. Christ’s perfect righteousness is placed on us as a gift. This is why Christ commands us all, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:14). 

We encounter Jesus in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism through water and His Word. Christ speaks to forgive sins, to cleanse sinners, to grant His Holy Spirit, to make us holy and alive in Him, to adopt us into God’s family and grant us the certain promise of salvation.

In Baptism, you were born again a child of God. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). Your identity and your life is found in Christ. You are now disciples of Jesus, followers of Him who has overcome sin by His dying and defeated death by rising on the third day. You confess the name of the true God in whose name you were baptised into: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Our Triune God gives us peace that lasts even in the hardest of times. Only Christ on the cross takes away your sin and guilt. Only Christ raised from the dead to never die again gives us hope for the future. Real joy is found in knowing that Christ went through death to win salvation for you, and He gives it to us as a free gift. No charge or payment required. Simply trust in Him who you have been brought to and who has shown Himself to be our Rock, your life and our salvation.

John the Baptist came to reveal Christ and His salvation to Israel. John told two of his disciples about Jesus and they became His disciples. One of those disciples was Andrew, who brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. And so, through human history we see the Church grow by believers bringing others to Jesus, by inviting them to come and meet the Saviour. The best evangelism happens one on one when a child of God shares the joy they have from knowing God’s grace and compassion in Christ, with those who seek His blessings.

I want to leave you with a couple of question to ponder. 1) Who, among those you have brought to Jesus can you encourage in their faith walk this week? And who can you bring to Jesus in prayer, as well as in your loving words and actions, so they can one day meet their Saviour and Lord? 

Even before saying a word about the love God has for all people, we can bring others to Jesus in prayer. This prepares us to speak the Gospel to them and prepares their heart to trust in Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Amen

Let’s pray. Gracious Father, You have poured into our hearts the true Light of the World. Grant that the light of Christ would shine forth from our lives into the lives of those around us, that they too may know Your saving love. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

 

The Texts: Isaiah 42:1-9, Acts 10:34-43, Matthew 3:13-17

 John the Baptist is known as a preacher of repentance. Proclaiming the Law of God he accused the people and convicted them of being sinners. Then, John’s cousin Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan and asked John to baptise him. In the presence of perfection, John felt the accusation of the Law. He needed cleansing from his sins and tells Jesus, “I need to be baptised by You, and do you come to me?”

John not only knew Jesus was holy and righteous, but that He come to remove sins. Early, John saw Christ on the banks of the river and confessed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29). John is the sinner needing forgiveness, and yet Christ asks a sinner to baptise Him, the Holy One of God.

What a surprise this was for John. What a surprise this is for us! What is going on here? Why did Jesus seek John’s baptism? Our Lord answers John’s protests, saying, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Only the God/man Jesus could fulfil God’s requirements to be our Saviour. That is why He was sent. Christ alone is holy and sinless and only He can keep God’s Law to perfection. Not you or me or anyone else.

We miserably fail God’s test for righteousness. First of all, we are born a sinner. Before we have had the chance to act in sinful ways we are marked as a transgressor of the Law. The older we get the more we sin. Despite our best efforts to improve we cannot save ourselves. Our words and actions do not recommend us; they condemn us. Eternal death is what we all deserve from birth.

Not Jesus. He is righteous from eternity. He is the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14). The only Son of God (Jn 3:16). Everything Jesus did and everything He went through was done for our salvation. At His circumcision He first bled to fulfil the Law for us. In the temple as a boy Jesus worshipped the heavenly Father, showing us what true devotion to God’s preached Word looks like, a Word He would one day fulfil in His cross and rising again.

According to the requirements of the Law Jesus was without sin. He had no need of a baptism of repentance. Yet He chose to identify Himself with the sinners He came to save. He didn’t put Himself above us, although He could have. He entered the Jordan in the place of you and me. Christ repented on behalf of us all, that we might turn to the Father, seek His mercy and be saved.

Standing with us in the Jordan, Christ placed Himself under the Father’s judgment. He is baptised by John and the Father’s verdict is clear, “This is My beloved Son, with who I am well pleased.”

The Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. Not that Christ was ever without the Spirit. He is eternally one with the Spirit and the Father. But the Spirit’s descent reveals to the world Jesus is anointed by God to be the Messiah, because He is from God. Christ is an Epiphany. He is God among us to save us.

At Jesus’ baptism, the Father’s approving words and the Spirit’s descent upon Him marked the beginning of His earthly ministry. He preached and taught about the kingdom of God, called all people to repentance, and performed many miracles, showing Himself again to be the Saviour He was born and anointed to be. 

Jesus was not transformed by His baptism; it only revealed Him to be the long-promised Messiah. By His baptism He transformed the waters of Baptism, so that everyone baptised in His name is washed clean of their sins and born again a child of God with the hope of heaven. Jesus didn’t need His sins washed away. He made the waters of Baptism a washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Ti 3:5).

Baptism transforms us. It makes us a new creation, the old has passed away, behold the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). Baptism takes away the old Adam, drowning him and all sins that lead us away from God and into death. Then by the grace of God we are made alive, re-born a new creature, a child of God. We are born again as saints, with the Spirit of God living in us to lead us to keep the Law, to do good works and finally to bring us to life everlasting.

Baptism is the Gospel. It is a physical acting out of the Good News. It is a means of grace so that we would not rely on our faith or our decision to know that we are saved. Rather, we are to trust in God’s Word spoken and poured over us to know that we are the beloved children of God.

As Jesus stood in the waters of the River Jordan in the place of all people, so He is present in the waters of Baptism to transform us from objects of wrath to the holy ones of God. He is there by the power of His Word that commands Baptism and grants the gifts of forgiveness, adoption and life.

At Jesus’ baptism the three persons of the Holy Trinity are present: Father, Son and Spirit. God is present in all His holiness at your Baptism too. He is not there as a bystander to watch the proceedings, but to work through water and Word to give you new birth. Christ pours the benefits of His death and resurrection over you, the Spirit opens your ears to hear the Word of the Gospel, and the Father declares for heaven and earth to hear “You are now My beloved child; with you I am well pleased.”

The water of Baptism has power to do all this because God Himself enters that water by His Word, making it a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit (Small Catechism, Baptism, Third Part). This is why Baptism takes away sin, destroys death and every evil and opens the gates of heaven for us.

Jesus gives us His identity in Baptism so that we are re-made like Him: blessed, righteous and innocent. Baptism sanctifies us; it makes us holy and pleasing to the Father as if we had always been His first born. The opening of heaven at Jesus’ baptism means that it will forever be open to all those who enter the healing waters and trust in the power of God’s Word to cleanse and save, to make us holy and give us a future with Him.

Later in His life Jesus would face a baptism of a different kind. He said to His disciples, “I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished” (Lk 12:50). The baptism He refers to is the baptism of suffering and death on the cross of Golgotha.

Like His circumcision and baptism, Christ didn’t die for His own sins. He died for ours. By the wood of the cross Jesus bought our salvation. His Holy blood transformed a symbol of torture for the Roman Empire, into the symbol of grace and peace in the kingdom of God. The nails of crucifixion become the keys by which the gates of heaven are opened. His wounds the price of forgiveness; His cries to the Father were His intercessions for us; His dying the death we deserve; His resurrection our assurance for life after death. 

The forgiveness, the life, the peace and the grace Christ earned on the cross and by His resurrection are given to you in Baptism. God transforms you in Baptism through the power of His Word and Spirit. Jesus’ words spoken in Baptism transform ordinary water that could be used in the garden or kitchen, into a cleansing water that takes away sins and gives life and salvation. God’s grace is given in full to all who are touched by those healing waters, but it is only of benefit to those trust God’s Word.

Jesus’ baptism announced the beginning of His earthly ministry. Your Baptism has begun your journey of faith in Christ from the font of salvation to your heavenly home. Your Baptism transformed you from nobody to a child of God. Never despise it, but look on it as the new beginning, as the most wonderful day in your life. The day you were saved. The day you were born again to eternal life. The day when you were made part of God’s holy family.

Go and live out your Baptism and the grace you were given that day. Let the words of God spoken over you that day never leave your heart. Never forget who God has transformed you to be and give Him thanks and praise Him for the gift of forgiveness and salvation made yours in Baptism. Praise Him by doing good works in His name that the world may know God’s saving grace: earned by Christ on the cross and granted to sinners in the waters of Baptism. Amen.

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, as You revealed Jesus to be Your Son at His baptism, so You have made us Your children in our Baptism. Keep us trusting in Your Word that we may daily turn to our Baptism, see the grace You have poured into our lives and praise You for saving us. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.