In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
One of the things that any sermon is supposed to do is to make each and every one of us in here take a good hard look at ourselves. Part of each sermon deals with looking long and hard at sin – and not just sin out there, not what other people do, but sin in here, my sin. That’s part of preaching. And it is important that we look at our sin so we don't become prideful, and in our pride and self-righteousness learn to hate Christ, as the Pharisees so often do. This is what we see this day in our Gospel lesson. But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees they gathered together. The Pharisees are worried. Jesus has just silenced some of His critics – the Sadducees – and now the Pharisees are fearful that our Lord will show them to be sinners in need of repentance and destroy their self-righteous delusions. So they will try to trap Him, discredit him – a pre-emptive strike!
One of the things that any sermon is supposed to do is to make each and every one of us in here take a good hard look at ourselves. Part of each sermon deals with looking long and hard at sin – and not just sin out there, not what other people do, but sin in here, my sin. That’s part of preaching. And it is important that we look at our sin so we don't become prideful, and in our pride and self-righteousness learn to hate Christ, as the Pharisees so often do. This is what we see this day in our Gospel lesson. But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees they gathered together. The Pharisees are worried. Jesus has just silenced some of His critics – the Sadducees – and now the Pharisees are fearful that our Lord will show them to be sinners in need of repentance and destroy their self-righteous delusions. So they will try to trap Him, discredit him – a pre-emptive strike!
And
one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. “Teacher,
which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Which is the greatest? Seems simple enough. But it’s a set up
question. Depending on what Jesus chooses, people can complain.
Whatever Jesus says, whatever He picks, people can complain and say
that He doesn’t think some other commandment is important. We see
this same tactic in politics – oh, you want to support good thing
A, then you must hate good thing B!
But
Jesus doesn’t play the game. Rather, hear His answer. And
He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all
the Law and the Prophets. Jesus doesn’t
just answer with a commandment – He also explains the commandment.
What is the most important commandment – the First Commandment –
and here is what it means. You are to love God – but with all your
heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. But then Jesus
says another thing – oh yes, there is another command that is tied
into this, tied into the first – you are to love your neighbor as
yourself. That sums it all up. And so, Jesus leaves these Pharisees
with nothing to complain about in His answer. There is nothing that
this answer lacks.
Instead,
the answer ought to make us think. All too often people can look at
God’s Law, at His Commandments, and feel self-satisfied, as though
they have done what God wishes them to do. Me, I’ve never killed
anyone. I haven’t had an affair. Never been in court either to
bear testimony. My entire life I’ve been Lutheran – so no false
gods either. Right? Jesus says wrong. With all your heart.
My heart is often torn. There are times when my heart isn’t in it
– when I frankly don’t feel like singing the hymns – when I
have to drag myself out of bed [from my afternoon nap/on Sunday
morning]. And of course, there are times when my heart would like to
do things that I definitely shouldn’t. With all your soul.
There are times when I sit, and when I look, and I see that my soul
can be rather black and bleak and mean. With all your mind.
I’ve broken every commandment in my mind many-a-time; already this
day we all have.
And
then of course, Jesus keeps piling it on. Love your neighbor as
yourself. So what does that mean? Who is more important in your
life, you or the person next to you? Actually, not the person next
to you, that might be family, a spouse, a child, where we with
arrogant pride might say, “Oh yes, I love them so.” Who is more
important in your life, you or the person three pews away – the one
who never really talk to? Do you love them as you have loved
yourself? Or let’s turn the screws even more. The person you
don’t like – how have you loved them? What have you sacrificed
of yourself for them? Because that’s the standard God sets.
That’s what the Law demands – that you love, that you serve, that
you give all that you are for the sake of your neighbor. Even the
ones you don’t like.
Not
a one of us here does that – and neither did any of those
Pharisees. And so, they were left speechless. That’s what the Law
does to us when we don't water it down. The Law is not our friend –
it’s not our buddy that pats us on the back and tells us how
wonderful we are. The Law kills. The Law looks at what we’ve done
and shreds it – because it is harsh and strict and demanding.
These Pharisees thought that they could live by the Law – and Jesus
shows them that they can’t – that it is beyond their doing. And
that's the Law's job. Whenever we become self-righteous or proud,
whenever we look down on our neighbor instead of looking at them to
serve them, God's Law smacks us with a clue-by-four. Listen to what
God in His Law demands, and repent O sinner, for you too have fallen
short of the Glory which God’s Law calls for.
Well,
this would be a really depressing sermon if it ended here. Life
under the Law is either delusional or depressing. But Jesus doesn’t
simply leave things here. Now, think about this. For how long have
the Pharisees been giving Jesus a hard time? Years. And at this
very moment, they are testing Jesus, trying to toy with Him. How
easy would it be for Jesus who has just demolished the Pharisees to
just leave them – let them sit and stew for a while? But Jesus
doesn’t. Here is what He does.
Now
while the Pharisees were gathered together Jesus asked them a
question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son
is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to
them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls Him LORD
saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put
your enemies under your feet’?” If David calls Him Lord, how is
He His Son? Now. Now while the
Pharisees were gathered. Jesus doesn’t leave them stewing on the
Law. What does He do? Jesus changes the focus of the discussion.
The Law has done it’s work, now let’s get to the good stuff.
Let’s talk about the Christ. And the Pharisees had a slight
misunderstanding – or maybe not the full picture when it came to
the Christ. They knew that the Christ would be the Son of David. In
fact, they were looking for someone like David, who would rise up and
be King, who would lead Israel to glory here on Earth. But the
Christ would be more than some mere mortal. Even David knew that –
see, David calls the Christ “my Lord”. If the Christ is just a
man, David wouldn’t call the Christ my Lord.
Do
you see what Jesus does? He is changing the way that these Pharisees
are to think – He is redirecting, repenting their thoughts. You
missed the point– not only about the Law, but about the Christ.
You thought you would just get a man – but you will get One who is
Man and Lord. You will get one who is both Man, son of David, and
also True God, Emmanuel, God with us. And this leaves the Pharisees
speechless. And it isn’t that they don’t know what He is saying,
what Jesus is claiming. When Scripture says, “And
no one was able to answer Him a word”
it means they couldn’t talk back anymore. That they had no snappy,
smart-alec answer. They couldn’t twist His words – rather they
were forced to sit and think and ponder the Word of God.
Christ
showed them Himself. This is who I am, oh Pharisees. I am true God
and true Man – and do you know what? That Law that you love but
that you can’t fulfill, I do. Christ fulfills the Law. Does Jesus
love God with His whole heart and mind and soul? Yes! And does
Jesus love His neighbor as Himself? What do we say in the Creed?
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven and was
incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. How’s that for
loving your neighbor? How much does Jesus love His neighbor – He
leaves heaven and becomes one of us. Look at these poor humans – I
love them, in fact, I will take human flesh to Myself and become Man
Myself. And when Jesus becomes Man, it is to go to the Cross – to
suffer and die, to give all that He has for your sake – to
literally value your life above His own. What we fail to do for our
neighbor is precisely what Christ does for us. What we lack, Christ
gives to us. You’ve heard the adage of someone jumping on a
grenade – Jesus jumps on the Cross. When you see Christ on the
Cross you see Jesus jumping in front of Satan, His arms out wide
shouting, “You shall not have them, Satan.” That’s what Christ
on the Cross means. That’s His love for you. That’s Him taking
your punishment for your breaking the Law, and pleading to the Father
to give you forgiveness and eternal life. That is His love for you.
And that is what Jesus’ focus is on – making people
know and recognize His love for them. And He still does this for you
today. As your sinful flesh loves to stray – He speaks His Word of
Law to bring you humility. But He will not let your sinful attitudes
get in the way of your knowing His love. Having spoken His Law, He
speaks His Word of Life. Jesus turns our attention to Him; He makes
us to repent, for Christ Jesus Himself comes here to us to show us
His love. He is here in His Word – Jesus has seen to it that you
hear His Word NOW, at this very Hour. And Jesus comes to you today
in His own Body and Blood. Come, see the miracle that Christ indeed
did come down from heaven to take on flesh, to suffer and die. Take
and eat, take and drink, taste and see that the Lord is good. This
is why Paul says, “For as often as you
eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until
he comes.” Here it is, and in His
Supper nothing in lacking, and receiving the forgiveness and life He
gives in His own Body and Blood you lack nothing. You are covered
completely. This is what Christ does for you, this is His focus.
Just
as our Lord went to these Pharisees, He comes to us today in His
Church. And just like the Pharisees, when we fall into tomfoolery,
when we shift our eyes off of Him and rather onto how “good” we
think we are, He speaks His Law. And having spoken His Law, He
speaks His Word of life to us; He in fact gives us His own life –
and we are forgiven, we are redeemed. All praise to Christ for His
steadfast love and mercy for us! In the Name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
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