Read Zechariah 9: 9-13, John 12: 1-19
The journey to Jerusalem is now at an end. Jesus has arrived. What were the people thinking about when they see Jesus coming into the most important city for the Jews? The fame of Jesus preceded Him. The people of Jerusalem most likely heard stories about Him. For some 3 years Jesus had been preaching, teaching, and healing people up in Galilee and elsewhere. Jesus had encounters with Pharisees, Romans, people from King Herod’s household, and many others. These encounters must have circulated around the land and reached Jerusalem. But now He has come to the area of Jerusalem. John tells us that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the next day. The next day from what? The prior day was Saturday. Jesus was with friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. What an advertisement that must have been! At the Sabbath meal Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with oil. Jesus took this as Mary preparing Him for burial. I don’t believe anyone in the crowd is thinking about Jesus dying. On the next day, Sunday, Jesus is going into Jerusalem. Many extra people were in town for the Passover celebration. They knew that Jesus was arriving. He had been in Bethany one of the villages a few miles away from Jerusalem. It seems that many heard about Lazarus who was dead had been raised to life. So, the crowd also wanted to see Jesus as well as Lazarus. So when Jesus arrives the crowd is big, excited and thinking that something great could be happening. They may be seeing the next king of Israel. We all learned about Palm Sunday through church, Sunday school, and parochial schools even movies like the King of Kings. You may have even participated in the excitement of a procession of palms on this Sunday in the past. And this day is often seen as a day of celebration. Jesus the king is coming to us. Palm branches are waved as Jesus rides past. Palm branches are symbols of a benevolent and compassionate ruler. Jesus is being greeted as a king. They want a good king. He is not coming to Lord it over the people. And the crowd is also greeting Jesus with “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” They shout Hosanna which means please help or save. There is the anticipation that Jesus can save us. Look! He raised a dead man to life. The question is this. Did the crowd really know what it was asking? Or, is it more likely that the crowd just said the right thing? Now, we know why Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. We have the advantage of the Scriptures telling us what actually happened. We have the words of the Evangelists to tell us what was going on. Most of the people, who were there that day, didn't know what was really going to occur, even the disciples. Jesus had taught the disciples that the definition of the Christ is to suffer, die, and rise from the dead on the third day. But until they actually witnessed these things to their completion, the people and the disciples couldn't grasp His teaching. Did they know that Jesus had come to Jerusalem to be the lamb of God, the final Passover sacrifice? Probably not. Jesus had come to Jerusalem to be their king and to be the one final sacrifice for sin. Jesus is going to die in their place. Now Jesus entered the city riding on a donkey. The donkey was the symbol of the king and the messiah. That is what God through Zechariah promised. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The enthusiasm was heightened because throughout the crowd the report was circulating that Jesus had brought Lazarus back to life. The crowd that saw Lazarus raised at the cemetery was giving a witness to this miraculous event. This Jesus is the one who can overcome the overpowering stench of death. Jesus can give joy to people who had suffered the loss of family. Jesus can empty tombs and return the dead to life. Jesus is also bringing peace to the people of Israel. Zechariah continues with these words from the LORD. “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations;” Jesus is coming to be their king. No doubt about that. He is Son of David as well as the son of God. The fervor of the crowd is understandable. Here comes the one who has the power to raise Lazarus from the dead. He brings peace maybe even peace from the tyranny of Rome. Jesus also comes in a manner that shows His humility. Jesus is not coming as a conqueror but as a king who will lead with compassion, and peace. This could be confusing. He is a king but maybe not the kind who comes with a conquering army. But not just peace for the people of Judea and Jerusalem but to the whole world. Jesus is not coming to be a king to fight against nations and human armies. Jesus comes to do battle with far more dangerous enemies. Jesus is not fighting back against the Jewish leaders, or the crowds or even the Romans. These are not the real enemies. Jesus comes to Jerusalem to die for all of these. Jesus wants to save every sinner, every person from all lands and tribes. Jesus comes to bring peace between God and man by destroying death and forgiving our sins. Jesus does battle against Satan and forces of sin and evil that have captured all creation. Satan, death and the grave have brought terror and sorrow to the world. These enemies no human can fight. But Jesus the son of Man and the Son of God can fight these. However, not everyone was excited to see this humble king of life come to Jerusalem. Even some of those Jesus wants to save refuse His offer of peace and His call to return to the one true God. The priests are plotting to kill Jesus and for good measure Lazarus too. They are afraid of losing their power and position. They think that they will lose what they have gained on this earth. But we know that Jesus had said, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” The Pharisees are upset that the people are following after Jesus instead of following them. They don’t see any gain in that either. But the whole point of Jesus coming is that the crowd, the Pharisees, the priests and you do gain something. You can gain eternal life, forgiveness of your sins, hope and peace with God. The disciples did not understand all that was happening on that Palm Sunday. But later when Jesus was glorified, when He suffered and died for the all, they would understand what this was all about. Jesus did answer the prayers and cries of the crowd. Hosanna, save us. That is what Jesus did. They and we are saved from the sins we carry, the wrath we deserve and the unending separation from the Holy Lord. We know that the King who rode in on a donkey was a king who will serve His people. We know by the grace of God that Jesus is the King who will save His people by taking our sins, our punishment and our death to himself. One of the hymns says it very well. “Ride on, ride on in majesty in lowly pomp ride onto die. O Christ, thy triumphs now begin over captive death and conquered sin.” Jesus rides on in majesty to save you from the real enemy that is stalking you, sin and death. Jesus rides on to die. It is important because Jesus' death is going to do something that no other death could do. His death is going to reconcile God's love and His justice. God is perfect and cannot allow sin to go unpunished. That is His justice. He also loves us and does not want to punish us. That is His love. In order to satisfy His justice and His love, God placed the sin of the world on Jesus. Then He punished the sin of the world in His beloved Son Jesus Christ. Like the usual Lutheran question, what does this all mean for us today? Well, you are a part of the joyous celebration of Jesus coming to us. We know that Jesus did come to die. That is a fact. But we also know that Jesus is alive again. That is a fact too. And these facts give us peace with God and hope that we will live forever with the same Lord who did all this for us. Jesus came to answer the same prayer we offer with those on that first Palm Sunday. "Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Do those words sound familiar? They should. They are the words that we sing every time we prepare to partake of the Lord's Supper. These are the words of the Sanctus in our hymnal. In a way, we are having our very own Palm Sunday every time we celebrate that holy meal. We too celebrate the coming of the Lord as he comes to totally give Himself to us in His body and blood. We celebrate the eternal and all-powerful Lord Jesus who humbled himself to live and die for us. Pastor Dave Dukovan Read Mark 8:27-33: Mark 9:1-9
The novel “Lord of the Rings” is a story about a journey that must be taken in order to bring a terrible evil to an end. One of the heroes of the story is Frodo. He starts out in a very idyllic home, the Shire. It is the kind of place that one would not want to leave. But Frodo volunteers to take the very difficult and dangerous journey. He is to take a ring back to its origin and destroy it in the heart of a volcano. The journey that he goes on takes him through all sorts of terrors and hardships and suffering. He will be betrayed, injured and come near death. But when the journey is complete at the end of the story, he goes to a place that is again peaceful and desirable to remain. This story by JRR Tolkien may or may not have been based on Christianity. There are some who say yes and some who say no. But one similarity is the journey that one takes to find glory. Throughout the Epiphany season the question that is answered is ‘Who is this Jesus who was born in Bethlehem’? That is a question that people for years have been trying to answer and coming up with many different ideas. The best way for us to answer this question is to see what the Bible tells us about Jesus. The season of Epiphany starts with God declaring at the baptism of Jesus, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased”. And today at the close of Epiphany our Heavenly Father repeats that same declaration. “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” Throughout Epiphany we have started to see who Jesus is. Not only the beloved Son, but the One who has come with authority to teach with authority, to heal the sick, to expel and control the evil demons. Jesus has come to identify with us sinners in His baptism. We even heard about the demons who verify who Jesus is when they shout out that Jesus is the Holy One of God. And we heard about Jesus coming to preach that the kingdom of God is at hand. That the promised messiah from God has come and is standing among them in the person of Jesus. But why is Jesus here? What is the mission, what is the journey all about? After seeing that Jesus has the authority and power to do what He says, it would seem that He could just about anything. He looks like the most powerful of all people ever to walk this earth. Jesus is the one that we can follow because he has the power. Jesus can use His power to bring glory to himself and even to us. But Jesus does not let the disciples think that He has come to use his power in this manner. Just prior to our reading today Jesus has told the disciples that He would have to suffer many things and be rejected and killed and after three days rise again. Mark writes that Jesus said this plainly. (Mark 8:31,32) No mysterious code or hidden meanings just plainly spoken so it would not be misunderstood. The disciples could not have misinterpreted what Jesus was saying. Peter certainly understood. Peter goes up to Jesus and talks privately with Jesus rebuking him. Peter tells Jesus that He must be wrong, don’t say anything like that. This should not or could not happen. Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah. Peter just admitted this. Peter thought that the Messiah isn’t supposed to be humiliated and punished or die. Rather, the Messiah is supposed to be glorified and celebrated. That is the kind of Messiah that is appreciated. He is to be the strong one who will overpower and destroy and then set up His kingdom of power. Even the closest disciples to Jesus wanted glory by seeing Jesus use His power. Jesus corrects the thinking of Peter. Peter is thinking like Satan Jesus says. Peter is not thinking as God does. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Jesus tells his disciples that the way of earthly glory is not God’s way. Earthly glory is done for one’s own purposes. And when earthly glory, power and achievement are sought and gained they will not last but be lost along with one’s soul. No one can save their own life. Even if you conquered the whole world it is still not enough to give in exchange for a person’s soul. The world isn’t yours anyway, it is God’s alone, since He created it all. After this Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a mountain. There something remarkable occurs. Jesus starts to change. He metamorphosizes. He becomes bright as the sun, whiter than the whitest cloth. Luke tells us that His face even appears different than before. Adding to the scene, Moses and Elijah stand next to Jesus and are talking with Him. This conversation was about the passion that Jesus would soon suffer. Those three disciples are in the presence of the glory of Jesus. They are privileged to see this moment of glory. The three disciples even liked the idea of seeing Jesus in such a glorified way. It is the absolute best place to be. To stand in the presence of the glorified Lord and being a part of that is marvelous. But Jesus did not do this to stay in this glorious moment. This transfiguration event is just a foretaste of what will come. Glory will be in the future of the Lord Jesus and for the disciples. However, the work of suffering and going to the cross comes first. Like Frodo who had to travel a long terrible journey Jesus will have to travel to the darkest depths of suffering, evil and abandonment. This is the necessary way to go before glory is fully won. This is the way of God and not the way of man or Satan. Jesus is the one who will fulfill what the law and prophets tell. That is what Moses and Elijah were representing. Both of these men of the Old Testament had spoken about the suffering servant and the promised savior. They had spoken about the prophet who would tell the people God’s word and lead the people out of slavery into God’s kingdom. The novel “Lord of the Rings” is just a story. But Jesus is not. Jesus is on a mountain. He is gleaming bright white, showing that He is the Son of God. His heavenly Father declares that again, adding “Listen to Him”. The disciples needed to hear and understand that Jesus will descend this mountain and walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus will be on another mountain. There His glory will be seen while He was nailed to the cross. Jesus will be glorified by His Father when He submits totally to His Father’s will. The journey of Jesus is not to destroy a ring but to destroy the power of sin over you and me. Jesus would not use His power to glorify Himself. He would look anything but glorious. He was whipped, bleeding, and helpless hanging on that tree. He was being mocked and humiliated by the crowd. The men crucified with him berated him. Jesus was even abandoned by His own Father. But the transfiguration of Jesus looked past that terrible day. The glorification of Jesus on the mountain was looking forward to the glory of Easter and the resurrection. Just before Mark describes the transfiguration, Jesus said these words. “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” The coming of the kingdom of God is Jesus rising from the dead and the grave. Death and the grave no longer have any power over Jesus. Jesus has defeated sin and Satan by totally and completely obeying the word of the Lord even unto death on the cross. (Philippians 2) “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus is now glorified and sitting at the side of our Heavenly Father. We too shall partake in that glory where we can remain with our loving and merciful Lord forever. This coming season of Lent we will again travel down into and through that valley of the shadow of death with Jesus. But in reality, we are already in that valley. Jesus knows what we are going through. He already went through it all for us. Not only did go through the valley of the shadow of death but He came out of it. Jesus is alive and living at the right hand of the Father. He is glorified there gleaming white and brilliant because He has defeated sin and death. We too have nothing to fear from this valley anymore because the living Lord Jesus is always with us through the journey. He is preparing to welcome His people who have ‘Listened to Him’. You have listened to His call to repent and believe the Gospel that your sins are forgiven. You have listened to Jesus and trust His comforting Word that you will stand in the glory of Jesus. You have listened to Jesus and you will by God’s power and grace rise to live eternally in His glorious presence. Amen Pastor Dave Dukovan Read Mark 1: 21-34
When we read through the Gospel of Mark there is a sense that Jesus is on a very urgent mission. Mark uses the word ‘immediately’ often in the gospel that he wrote. Today’s gospel reading follows last week’s reading immediately. Mark tells us that after Jesus has gone to the synagogue to teach and after He expelled the unclean spirit, he immediately leaves the synagogue. It is as if Jesus is saying my work is done here what’s next. And immediately Jesus goes to the house of Peter and Andrew. What is there next to do? Well, Jesus is asked to heal Peter’s mother-n-law. She is very sick with a fever. She is bedridden and a severe fever could mean that she was in danger of dying. This is what Peter’s family and friends think is most important to do right now. Without any hesitation Jesus goes right in to her bedroom. Imagine what Peter’s wife must have been thinking. She has probably been caring for her mother and the household is likely in some disarray due to this. Jesus is going right into the house with a whole group of men following Him. There is no time for tiding up, no time to make oneself presentable. It wasn't really the place for a man of that culture to be so familiar with the women of the house. It was certainly inappropriate for a rabbi. But Jesus goes right in not concerned about the appearance of the house or the appearance of the woman lying in the bed. Here is the Holy one of God, the son of God in the flesh, and his concern is to comes to the side of the feverish woman. What is needed right now is Jesus and His touch. And that is what Jesus does. He takes Peter’s mother-n-law by the hand and that touch heals her. Jesus is not afraid of the fever. He is not afraid for himself. He goes to her and does what she needs. She needs Jesus and His healing touch. Not only did Jesus heal her but she was completely restored to health and strength. There is no recovery time needed. She is able to get back to living as if she was never sick. When Jesus healed, He did it 100%. And from this merciful touch of Jesus, Peter’s mother-in-law begins to serve the Lord who came to visit her. That is what Jesus did for all of us. He was born into this world the son of God and the son of Mary. He was not concerned with the appearance of the world. Jesus was not concerned whether we put out a red carpet for Him. He didn’t come here to be served treated royally. In fact, Jesus even says that he came to serve. He came to us because we are all sick with a fever that keeps us from serving and living as we ought. That fever is sin which drags us down. It makes us unable to serve others as we were meant to do. Sin turns and twists us so we only think about ourselves and our condition. But when we are healed by the touch of God through Jesus we can begin to think about others and serve them as Jesus serves us. This is what Peter’s mother-in-law was now able to do. She could get up and serve others again because of the touch of Jesus. And that is what Jesus has done for us too. But you might ask how and when did Jesus heal me? We have been healed from our sin sickness and made a new creation through the Word of God working in us and through our baptism. After healing Peter’s mother-in -law that evening, after sundown when the Sabbath was over, the townspeople started to come to Jesus. They had heard about Jesus and what he could do. The people came to have Jesus heal their family and friends who were sick or who had unclean spirits in them. This must have created quite a stir in the town. It would have been a long day for Jesus but Jesus did not deny those people in their need. What a temptation this could be. Jesus could have just stayed in that town. The people would come to Him. The word would get out. Come to Capernaum and be healed by this rabbi Jesus. Jesus could have stayed there and done his healing ministry. Jesus could have been the most popular person around. Maybe more popular than Oral Roberts even. He could make everyone healthy in their body. But that is not the mission that Jesus was sent to do. Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus were still in Capernaum? We could all go there and be healed immediately. He could take away all of our pain. No more cancer, no more back troubles, no more hospitals, no more big bills and what a way to fix the health insurance problem. But just because we take away the physical pain or disease doesn’t mean one’s spiritual disease is gone. This is the old temptation that the devil was always bringing before Jesus. Even Peter will say something like this. “Take the easy way - avoid the cross with its pain and death.” This was going to be the temptation that followed Jesus right up to the moment when His enemies taunted Him with the words, [Mark 15:30, 32] "Save yourself, and come down from the cross!" This would be the temptation throughout Jesus' ministry. Just stay in Capernaum be a big hero but don’t worry about the sin of those people. Just fix their body not their soul. “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Early in the morning Jesus went away to pray to His Father. What is to be done now? Stay here and continue to heal all the people or continue on with the main mission? We do know what that main mission is all about. (Mark 9:31) “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” And (Mark 10:45) “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This is the mission of Jesus. It is not to set up a wellness clinic. This mission is to preach and proclaim that “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus came to heal our souls from the sin sickness we all were dying from. His mission was not to become a miracle worker who would satisfy the desires of those who stood in line to see him, but to do his Father's will and bring eternal life to all people (John 3:16). His miracles were done to show everyone who He is. His miracles showed that He had the authority and power to destroy sin and death and then bring us safely back to His heavenly Father’s eternal kingdom. Well while Jesus was praying the disciples went looking for Jesus because he had gone away from the town. When they found him, they said “everyone is looking for you.” Everyone wants Jesus but is it for the right reason? The people wanted Jesus to be their healer or food provider, maybe their answer to the problem of the Romans. But this is not what the mission of salvation is all about. The main mission is to go to other towns to preach this Gospel message to everyone. The mission is for Jesus to take on our sin and weakness, to suffer pain and death himself. The mission is to be the one final perfect sacrifice for sin. The mission is to take our sins and our sin sickness and leave it at the cross. Jesus comes to us to fix both body and soul by His death and resurrection. Nobody likes to be sick. I don’t think anyone here wants to have the COVID-19 virus or cancer or pain of any type or a broken bone. Illness and physical trauma hurts. You can’t do what you like or need to do. These things separate us from each other. But when we are sick in any way it is a sign of the source of our problem. That root cause is sin. Now that doesn’t mean that the illness you have is caused by a particular sin. But the pain and suffering of this world is a sign that sin has corrupted everything. We might think why not heal and free us all right now Jesus? Why have you left us here in our various conditions of ill health? Jesus had a more important task to do for us. Jesus came to preach and to proclaim the freedom of God. Jesus preached freedom from our sin and freedom from the eternal death that looms before all of us. Sure, Jesus could have healed everyone in that town and made a name for himself there. He even could have settled down to be the best doctor, psychologist, and physical therapist of all time. But the mission for our salvation would not have occurred. Your illness or pain may contribute to your physical death but your sickness of the soul will be the reason that you die eternally. That is, you are separated from this life and from the eternal life that the Lord God desires to give to you. The Lord who created the heavens and the earth wants you to live with Him and receive from Him all the gifts and blessings He has to offer Jesus has not forgotten us. The Lord has come to us to visit us and deal with our greatest need, to be cleansed from our sin. He shows that he is the one who can do this by His power over the things that afflict us. You will be saved from all of your bodily weaknesses. You will have no worries about any diseases. Remember that Jesus has already saved you. The day is coming but the waiting is the hard part. We patiently wait for the return of our savior. What we are waiting for is the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all the world. Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” The end of sickness and sin and death and the beginning of a whole and complete life forever with our Savior and Great Physician Jesus. Amen Pastor Dave Dukovan Read Mark 1:21-27
For centuries people believed that Aristotle was the great scientific authority. One thing he said was that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong. Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle's death. In 1589 Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten- pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right. Who is the real authority on the subject of what falls faster? It is the one who really knows the truth, Galileo. Well at the time of the experiment it appears that Aristotle still was considered the authority even though he turned out to be wrong. This is similar to what was going on in the synagogue one Saturday when Jesus entered into religious discussion with the people, rabbi, and possibly Pharisees who were there that day. At that time the religious leaders where sort of the authorities. They were thought to know what God’s word meant. But they did not exude authority. Instead, if questions about the Scriptures or some religious issue were asked these authorities would refer to other teachers or rabbis. Over time personal opinions and ideas would accumulate and start to hide the true meaning of the Scriptures. They started to hide what the LORD God actually wanted them to know and believe. But on that Sabbath Saturday Jesus did something that the people there did not expect. He taught them “as one who had authority”. Jesus would not refer to prior teachers or rabbis adding on to their commentary. Rather Jesus would speak and teach as someone who actually wrote the book and knew all about the details. An example from the sermon on the mount might help explain the difference. Jesus said (Mathew 5) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” This is the voice of authority. Jesus’ word would also change things which does happen later in the text. Jesus was not going to tell the people anything but the truth. Jesus would tell the people what the OT scriptures were talking about. He would tell them what God meant when He told them that God created the heavens and the earth. That Adam and Eve trusted the words of Satan rather than the words of God. That the LORD God sent a flood that destroyed the whole world while saving the family of Noah. Jesus would teach from the Scriptures that the rebellion of mankind only leads to death and exile from the eternal and gracious presence of God. Jesus would point out the sin of the people and their need to repent as God always called for in the Scriptures. Jesus would also tell them that God has sent a messiah and the one that Moses foretold in Deuteronomy. That one is the one they should listen to. Jesus would always point out the Scriptures were talking about Him. And most importantly it was Jesus alone who would save the people from their sins and open eternal life for them. When the people in the synagogue heard this authoritative teaching, they were all amazed that here was one who taught with authority. He had the answers. He knew what He was talking about and He didn’t appeal to someone else’s commentary. However, the people did not believe or trust Jesus yet. They heard the words but like the story of Galileo proving Aristotle wrong, the people still didn’t believe. But there was one in attendance in the synagogue who did not want to allow this authoritative word be heard or told to the people there. In attendance is an unclean spirit who prefers to have human opinions discussed concerning the scriptures. That spirit is content that the real meaning of God’s words are not taught but kept hidden, buried under human speculation and opinion. In fact this one in attendance probably would like to hear “did God really say” asked about all of Scripture. Question everything don’t listen to the real author. Many people would rather wonder what the words of Scripture mean to me. That is more important than what they really mean which is what God really means by His words. The unclean spirit didn’t have any problem with what was being taught until the one who had authority arrived that Saturday. Where Jesus is, there is opposition to Him. The unclean spirits are not willing to have their power over mankind come to an end. They had power over man but they did not have the authority to rule over mankind. So when the One who has authority to rule comes along they are going to fight to maintain their control over mankind. “And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.” And this is when the excitement begins. Jesus is about to take on the enemy from the very beginning of the creation. The evil spirits that rebelled against the authority of God. Evil spirits are real. Jesus says so and He is the authority. So if we don’t believe this we defy the authority of Jesus and side with the unclean spirits who are saying “did God really say”? This is what the battle is over. Who is in authority in this world? Are you going to trust the words of Jesus or of the unclean spirits. Notice too where the unclean spirit attacks. It is in the synagogue, you could say in the church service. To this day the unclean spirits are still attacking and asking the same question “did God really say” in the churches. There are pastors that deny creation. There are pastors who deny that evil spirits exist and that hell is real. There are those who say Jesus did not rise from the dead but only rose in the minds and hearts of the disciples. There are those who teach that God did not send His Son to forgive sins and open eternal life but rather came to give us health and wealth and power over our lives now. The unclean spirits also lie to us. They like to tell us that we can appease God with our good works. They also like to have us believe that you are condemned already because you aren’t good enough and never will be. When we feel that we are too good to be punished or too bad to be forgiven Satan is lying to you. The lies of Satan and the unclean spirits are what keep us from hearing and trusting the authoritative words of Jesus. The unclean spirits including the leader Satan hate the Lord and His creation which includes you. As long as you doubt the authority of Jesus they are happy. As long as you don’t believe that the Scriptures are pointing to Jesus and His promise of salvation from sin and death they are content. But wherever the authority of Jesus is acknowledged they will be there to try and undermine His authority. Jesus does have the authority as the Son of God. Jesus tells us that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. (Matthew 28) The demons know who Jesus is and what he has come to do, and so they are shaking in their boots. The demon speaks through the afflicted man and cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God.” Notice that: The demon knows who Jesus is. He identifies him correctly as “the Holy One of God.” The demon may even be thinking because it knows the name of Jesus the demon has power over Jesus. But this will soon be shown to be false. Jesus has power and authority over the demon. Well, right now this demon is shuddering, trembling with fear. “Have you come to destroy us?” he cries out. So not only does this demon know who Jesus is, he also knows what Jesus has come to do. Jesus shows His authority by silencing and ejecting the unclean spirit from the man. Jesus has the authority to come and destroy the power of the evil spirits and our own sinful nature over us. Jesus is the seed of the woman who will stomp on the devil’s head, dealing him a death blow and crushing his power forever. Ironically, this happened in the very act of Jesus being nailed to the cross, as the nails pierced his feet and hands. Jesus was destroying the works of the devil. Jesus has the authority to take our sins to Himself. He has the authority to be the perfect sacrifice. Christ our Savior took the death that we deserve. He bore our sins in his body. So now that the Holy One of God has done this for us, we are forgiven, we are clean, we are delivered from the devil’s accusations. This is for you. Jesus did this for you! Jesus makes it possible for you to see and believe in the truth that Jesus is the author or our life and our new life through His death and resurrection. So this is the mission Jesus is on, already early on in his ministry. Jesus knows it, and the demons know it too. And already now, early in his ministry, Jesus is going to do a little advance house cleaning. Jesus will deliver this poor man from the demon that was afflicting him. Jesus rebukes the demon: “Be silent, be muzzled, and come out of him!” Jesus is not going to allow an unclean spirit to hurt one of God’s people. The authoritative word of Christ does exactly what it says. The result? “And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.” Jesus calls us to hear His authoritative word. Jesus’ word created this world. He has the authority to forgive us and call us to be His own people. When Christ says, “I forgive you your sins,” you are forgiven. When Christ says, “I give you eternal life,” you have eternal life. His authority is seen when He says rise to a little girl and she lives and Lazarus dead for 4 days and he too lives. The word of Jesus has done the same for you. And on the last day the voice of Jesus will call your body from the grave to rise to eternal life. Remain in that authoritative word of Jesus and you will be amazed at the Love and mercy of Jesus. Pastor Dave Dukovan Read the Book of Jonah
Jesus was often being asked to give a reason or a sign to prove what He was saying about himself was true. The opponents of Jesus wanted their own private miracle in order to finally believe Jesus. But Jesus would not oblige those people. Instead, Jesus told them that the only sign they would have was the sign of Jonah. Now that probably caused some questions and discussion among the critics and enemies of Jesus. What does He mean by the sign of Jonah? Jonah was one of the prophets of the Kingdom of Israel. The book of Jonah is one of the small ones. Unlike Isaiah or Jeremiah you don’t read about Jonah speaking and prophesying much. He says very little and is often angry and grumbles to God about the task that God gave him. Jonah is the only prophet of God who tried to run away from the Lord. Jonah was asked to go and preach to the people in the city of Nineveh but this is not what Jonah wants to do. Jonah does not want to tell ‘those’ people what God wants them to know. The Lord is inviting ‘those’ people to repent before the Lord pours out His wrath them. Jonah did not want to do this. Instead of arising to the task as God says for him to do, (Jonah 1:3) “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah goes down to the sea and boards a ship to avoid the task. Jonah is separating himself from God. Jonah is running away from the presence of God. That is what we sometimes do. We run away from God’s gracious presence where His word is of love and grace and mercy is spoken. We run away from the forgiveness that is offered in the holy supper of Jesus’ body and blood. We turn our backs on His presence because we don’t want to do what God calls us to do. Most importantly the Lord calls us to be faithful to Him and his Word. So, like Jonah we try to run away from our responsibility to God. Jonah will try to run away but how can you run away from God? (Psalm 139 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”) What was Jonah thinking? What made Jonah want to run away? The Lord called on Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh, the Assyrian capitol. Now if you know what the Assyrians were like you would probably agree with Jonah. This is what the Assyrians were like. Listen to the words of the Assyrian king Ashru-nasirpal II. “I stormed the mountain peaks and took them. In the midst of the mighty mountains, I slaughtered them; with their blood I dyed the mountain red like wool. With the rest of them I darkened the gullies and precipices of the mountains. I carried off their spoil and their possessions. The heads of their warriors I cut off, and I formed them into a pillar over against their city; their young men and their maidens I burned in the fire. I built a pillar over against the city gates, and I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skins; some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes, and others I bound to stakes round about the pillar. What is more, in the Old Testament Assyria is compared to a swarm of killer bees, a razor that shaves and slits, and a rod that maims and mauls (Is. 7:18, 20; 10:5). Assyrians can be seen striding through the Old Testament, hands on their hips, taunting Israelites with words like, “I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to set riders on them” (Is. 36:8), and proclaiming that Israel is destined to “eat her own dung and drink her own urine” (Is. 36:12).” (LW Jan. 9, 2008) So, with this in mind Jonah does not want to do anything that might help them. He would rather have those people all suffer destruction at the hand of God, because they deserve it. Destroy them all people and cattle. Jonah would like to that same punishment for Nineveh as the Egyptians got destroying all the 1st born men and cattle or what the world got during the flood. Jonah is sure that if he preaches the people of Nineveh will listen and repent. He is not for that. Let them suffer they deserve it. So, he runs away. He goes on a boat to get away from God. But God knows where he is. The boat he is on runs into a severe storm. Not just any storm but one that the Lord throws at it. All of the sailors are afraid. But Jonah is sleeping. The men on the boat realize that the problem was Jonah. Jonah admits that he is running away from the Lord and that the storm is because of Jonah. Jonah sacrifices himself for the sailors. Jonah tells them to throw him into the sea. Then the storm ended. Jonah is buried in the sea and is going to die. But the Lord has mercy on Jonah and sends a great fish to take him into its mouth and save him from death. From this tomb Jonah prays praising God for saving him. And after 3 days the fish vomits Jonah out. One might think that Jonah’s punishment was being in the belly of a fish. Who wants to sit inside that? The punishment was being thrown into the sea. There is only certain death in a stormy sea without a life jacket or someone to take him into another boat. He will die. The fish is God’s mercy at work. Jonah is saved by God’s grace from death. When he is back on land the Lord calls to him again. Go and preach to the city of Nineveh. So, Jonah goes. “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.” This is probably the shortest sermon ever preached. But what a result. The result of the preaching and repentance is that “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” What is the Lord telling us about this unfaithful Jonah and the repentance of a whole city? Jonah even with all of his disobedient behavior is a sign that Jesus will use when Pharisees ask for a sign from Jesus. (Matt 12:39) “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And (Luke 11:30) “For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.” Jesus is telling us something about Himself with the sign of Jonah. When Jonah was thrown into the sea it was done because Jonah knew that if he died the sailors would be spared. In fact, not only were they spared but they ended up fearing the Lord God and worshipping Him with their sacrifices and vows. Jonah’s death brought those men life and a new life now in a relationship with the one true God. And even though Jonah seemed to die being thrown into a raging sea, he did not die. The Lord had mercy on Jonah. Jesus too was thrown in the raging sea of God’s wrath. He did it in order to save all mankind. Jesus went down from heaven and the presence of His heavenly Father. Jesus would take the sins of all mankind, you and me, and allow mankind to ‘throw’ him into the sea of death. Jesus takes our sin and suffers the wrath of God who hurled the storm of His wrath on Jesus. Jesus while hanging on the cross was being engulfed in the sea of death and separation from His heavenly Father. Yet, Jesus was not forgotten. His heavenly Father would remember his beloved Son. Jesus would be raised from the grave. Jesus was in the tomb for three days and then He was vomited out of the grave as it could no longer hold Him. Death had lost its power over Jesus. The tomb was powerless to keep Him locked inside. Through His suffering, death and resurrection many would be brought to repentance and salvation. All of this because of the mercy of God who sends His son to do this. And by Jesus’ death and resurrection many people have come to believe and have life. After Jonah’s ‘resurrection’ from the grip of death, Jonah’s preaching led to the repentance and forgiveness of the city of Nineveh. The events of Jonah look forward to what Jesus would do for all of you. And what does the Lord do? In the fullness of time, He sent the Perfect Missionary. His name is Jesus. And Jesus says in Matt. 12:41, “One greater than Jonah is here.” The sign of Jonah is for us too. The sign is that despite the sin and rebellion of Jonah, the Lord saved him from death. And that is what Jesus did for us. He comes from the Father in order to save us from death and eternal separation from the Lord. The sign of Jonah is also a sign of hope to the whole world. The Lord sent Jonah to call the worst enemies of Israel to repentance. The Lord is still calling to the world through His church, you and me. The Lord is calling the world to repent and believe that God seeks that all mankind live. The Lord wants all people to believe in Jesus and live. The Lord may not be calling any of us to go to a foreign city. But we do have family and neighbors we can call. They are invited to see the sign of Jonah that Jesus has sacrificed His life for them too. Pastor Dave Dukovan You have to see this! Look what I have found. Words of invitation from someone who has seen or experienced something that is wonderful to see. They want you to see it too. This is what the newly called disciple Philip said to his friend Nathanael. “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Jesus had just called Philip to be one of His disciples. Philip then wanted to have his friend know and be with the promised messiah. The messiah is what the people of Judea, and Galilee were waiting and looking for. Philip and Nathanael were waiting for him. He is here now. But Nathanael was a bit skeptical. Nathanael would have known that the messiah would be born in Bethlehem and this Jesus is from Nazareth. How can that be?
That same type of skepticism is still typical today. But this skepticism is not based on the reading of the scriptures. It is more likely based on our individual ideas about what kind of a messiah we want. What kind of a messiah saves someone from their sins? How is that saving me? Messiahs are supposed to be like a superhero or a strong charismatic person. In the days of Jesus there had been and would be many men who would make the claim of being the messiah. These mostly claimed to be the one who would lead the people and be their earthly king. No wonder Nathanael was skeptical. Messiahs continue to come and go. Did you ever think about the superhero messiah called Superman? He was a messiah created in the 1930’s and made into a cartoon and then TV and movies. If you look up messiahs on the internet you will find many people claiming to be messiah, God or Jesus. Hitler was a messiah for many of the German people after WW1. They believed that He would save them from shame and poverty. He told them that they would be rulers of Europe. That they were the superior race. He would lead them into a time of glory. To this day people are looking for a messiah. But what kind of messiah? So, what did Philip see in Jesus that made him so sure that Jesus of Nazareth was the one true messiah? He was sure and trusted that Jesus was the messiah because that is what the Old Testament scriptures foretold. Philip knew what Moses and the prophets had written years ago. No other messiah fit any of the writings. When Jesus comes, they see that Jesus is fulfilling all that the scriptures say about what the messiah would do and speak. But Nathanael wonders about Nazareth being the place where the messiah will come. He knows his Scripture too and Bethlehem is the home of the messiah. So how can I be sure that this Jesus is the messiah? Instead, Philip calmly and pleasantly makes a simple suggestion to his friend: “Come and see.” No pressure; no chastisement; no guilt. Just: “Come and see.” When Jesus told Nathaniel that He had seen him sitting under the fig tree, this had significant meaning! The prophets of ancient Israel had used the image of the fig tree to convey a picture of God’s end-time kingdom. In Zachariah 3:10, the prophet wrote, “In that day, (when God’s Kingdom would come) each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree, declares the Lord Almighty.” The prophet Micah used the image in the same way (Micah 4:5). The new kingdom to come will be brought about by the messiah who will have a kingdom of peace where all will sit under their own fig tree and not be afraid. In effect, Jesus was saying to Nathaniel, “I know what’s on your heart. I know you’ve been praying for the Messiah. I know you want God’s kingdom to be restored.” Jesus greeted Nathaniel unexpectedly by speaking directly to what was most on his heart. And Nathaniel responded with simple faith and amazing joy. He told Christ, “You are the Son of God, the King of Israel.” His quick switch from cynicism to earnestness indicates the depth to which Christ had touched him. Now what about you? Are you sometimes skeptical? Do you sometimes have your own doubts? Do you wonder if Jesus really is who he said he is? Do you question if he really is alive? Do you wonder about the inerrancy or the accuracy of the Bible? Or maybe you just doubt that he really cares for you, that he'll really keep his promises as you face the trials, and fears, and pains that this broken world heaps on its residents. There are many who are skeptical and there are times when all of us have some sort of doubts. That is the world, our flesh and Satan at work in us to pull us away from the savior, Jesus. Well, I won't argue with you. I won't try to persuade you. I won't brush off my apologetics textbook and start firing logical arguments your way. No. I'll simply do as Philip did and invite you to come and see. Come, see Jesus in a Bible Class. Open up your Bible and see Jesus in the pages of your Bible. See how much he cares for you! Come and see him in worship, in the liturgy and in the Lord’s Supper. See him each day as you meet him in a devotion. There are places on the internet, which have a lot of junk and evil but also good. There is the podcast ‘The Word of the Lord Endures Forever’. This is one where you can have a verse-by-verse explanation of God’s word. And as you dig deeper into His word, you will see much greater things than Nathanael saw that day. You'll see the much greater things that Jesus accomplished for you. Nathanael did confess that Jesus was the Son of God and King of Israel. Jesus said that Nathanael will see even greater things. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said. That was his way of saying, "Listen up! This is important! Note it and note it well!" "You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." What in the world was Jesus talking about? Angels going up and down on his back? Well, for Nathanael, a true Israelite who knew his Scriptures well, he would have picked up on the illustration. It goes back to the time Jacob was running away from home when his brother Esau was trying to kill him for stealing the inheritance from him. He was scared, and tired, and lonely, and had nothing but a rock for a pillow that first night. And God appeared to him in a dream and showed him a ladder or staircase to heaven as a symbol that there was a way to go be with God. It's Jesus himself. He said he is Jacob's ladder. He is the stairway to heaven. Or, really, he's more like the escalator because we don't have to do anything. Jesus came down from heaven. He is the Son of God that Nathanael confessed. And Jesus is how we are able to go up to heaven. As the Son of Man, he lived under the law in our place. As the Son of God, he kept it perfectly always following his Father's commands flawlessly. As the Son of Man, he took the punishment we deserved. He died on a cross, he was forsaken by the Father, which is the penalty for sin. For 3 dark hours Jesus suffered the torments of hell which we deserved. As the Son of God His death paid for all the sins of all mankind. In return he gave his perfection to each of us. Jesus wasn't kidding when he said, "You shall see greater things than that." We've seen the salvation that Jesus accomplished for us! And seeing is believing! Now like Philip and Nathanael, cast your doubts aside! And having seen him in His Word follow him! Follow him by mimicking him and doing what we see him do! So, whenever you have doubts or when someone asks why do you attend church and believe all this stuff, remember the words of Philip. Come and see. “Come and see” the love of God in Christ Jesus through water and the Word in your baptism. Come and see and hear the words of Jesus speaking to us. Come and see Christ blessing us through bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Come and see for yourself. And you can be a Philip too. Invite your family, friends, neighbors--you don’t have to change their hearts or cause them to believe. Leave that up to the Lord to invite them to come and see for themselves. And Jesus will open up heaven for them. Read Matthew 3:13-17
Do you celebrate your baptismal birthday? Do you know the day you were baptized? Possibly not. I cannot even say that I do. I have to look mine up. Our Baptism is too often thought of as a tradition or ritual we should do. Oh yes Christians want to have their children baptized. But for what reason? We sometimes treat Baptism as a nice tradition for our family to get together. But after it is over, we tend to forget all about our baptism until confirmation. When confirmation is completed our baptismal day will again be relegated to the closet of our life. We know it happened but the reason we are baptized is forgotten. We should treat baptism for what is really is. It is a great gift from our Lord Jesus. Baptism is not one of our traditions but it is the work of God. It is God’s work done for us. We should therefore treat it with respect and thankfulness. It is the water of life. It is for the salvation of our souls. It is a new life freely given to us by the Lord God. Baptism works forgiveness of sins. Baptism is the answer to our problem of sin. And sin is a terrible problem. We are born with it. Sin keeps us from ever knowing the true God. Sin blinds us to God’s love and mercy. Sin turns us into enemies of God afraid of God, running and hiding from God like Adam and Eve did. Sin enslaves us and its only goal is to keep us separated from the living God. Sin and Satan only want to deny you the eternal life that the Lord desires to give you. But in your baptism, all of this was changed. Jesus told His disciples. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” God calls on His church to baptize because baptism saves people. That is, baptism gives forgiveness of sins and delivers us from death and the devil. And it places us into Jesus and his death and resurrection. This is similar to the Israelites when they left Egypt. Moses by the power of God led them through the waters of the Red Sea. They were protected going through the water. Pharaoh’s power and control was removed from the people. No longer where the people going to die by the hand of Pharaoh. Now they were living under the care of God. But what happens after you are baptized? Paul had to deal with this question in the letter to the Romans. There was the false understanding that since God was so gracious and forgiving and that Jesus suffered and died for all sins, we can go on living anyway we see fit. If we sin God will just pour out more grace and mercy. Like an over indulgent parent no matter what the child does the only response is toleration or more gifts. That is a very common opinion today in the church. We should tolerate whatever sinful behavior is present. Here is one experience from a pastor. He wrote this. “So, I brought an unchurched friend with me to church on Friendship Sunday. But, instead of a friendly witness, it ended up in a heated argument. During the service, we confessed our sins. When we did that, I heard my friend gasp. It happened right after I said I deserved God’s, “…temporal and eternal punishment.” Though my eyes were closed, I know my friend’s eyes were wide-open, staring in shock at what she was seeing and hearing. After church, she looked at me and asked why I went there… to that church. Why would I go to a church which asked me to say such horrible things… about God and about myself? One thing that was offensive to her (and there were many!) was the idea God would punish sin. After all, are we not just all doing the best we can? Should God not be supporting and encouraging us rather than punishing us? For her, it was precisely this vision of a hateful God which fueled the hateful religious conflicts of the world. Suddenly, I was somehow implicated in 9/11. Who knew going to church could be so bad? As we talked, I discovered something about my friend. She was comfortable with the idea that, “God is love,” but she was not comfortable with the reality. She could not see what that love looked like in the world. We both agreed God was all-loving. But when it came time for that love to be put into action, we were worlds apart. For her, love was equated with toleration and acceptance. For God to be all-loving meant God tolerates our sinful moments, that He accepts us in our weaknesses, and does whatever He can to help us get better. God was eternally on our side, working through toleration and acceptance to help us improve.” (1) Is this how we view our baptismal life? God will tolerate our continuing sinful behavior just so we can receive more grace from God? Paul says “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” You and I died in our baptism. We died to sin, that is we were separated from sin. We also rose with Jesus in His resurrection from the dead. The baptism by immersion gives a good picture of this. Buried under the water and then raised up signifying the reality of being brought back to life. This new life is not meant to be the same as before. You have died to sin why continue in it? Paul continues, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” That friend of the pastor I mentioned thought that God will tolerate our continuing sinful behavior. After all God is love. But remember what happened to the Israelites after the exodus. They did not live as new creations. They forgot what that water crossing was all about. They were freed from slavery and death yet they remained unbelieving. They were thinking that they could do whatever they wanted. And they ended up not reaching the promised land. We must be careful not to think that once baptized we are set for life. We cannot live any way we choose thinking that God will shower more grace and forgiveness to cover whatever we do or don’t do. Baptism is also about believing that in it we do die with Christ, die to our sin and rise with Christ to be a new creation. At the funerals of some people, one hears. “well at least they were baptized”. But they did not attend church, seek to receive holy communion or appear to have any much interest in the church. No one even knew what the person actually believed. These people did not believe that their baptism was anything more than a ritual or a tradition. They didn’t see or believe that Jesus did anything for them in baptism or in their life. This is what Paul is talking about. We cannot take our baptism lightly. It is not a lucky charm but a gift that we receive from Jesus. In it, Jesus calls us into a lifelong relationship with Him. We are called to daily repent and be sorrowful over our sins. We should daily drown the old Adam in us and remember our baptism that has given us freedom from sin and a new life in Jesus. In baptism we were united to Jesus Christ. We were crucified, died, buried, and raised with Jesus. All that He did is now ours. So why continue in sin? Our baptismal life is a struggle against sin. In this new relationship we can resist sin with the help of the Holy Spirit. As the small catechism reminds us from Titus chapter 3, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy,” Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River in order to identify with us sinners. John had been calling all of Jerusalem and Judea to repent and return to the Lord God. Thousands where doing this. Jesus joined in with the crowds and went to the Jordan to be baptized by John. This would have been a very big surprise, especially to John. Why should Jesus be baptized in order to repent and return to the Lord? Jesus is the holy son of God. He is sinless why should he want to be baptized. Jesus being baptized says in essence that Jesus will do for us what we are unable to do. I will take your sins and free you from them. I will take your place of guilt and punishment. In our baptism, we take the place of Jesus. Jesus goes out into the river. The Jordan River which is now filthy with the sins of all the people who have already been washed by John. Jesus goes to where sin is so He can take our sins onto himself. Jesus identifies with us, the sinners. Jesus becomes one of us. Jesus takes our sins in His baptism and in our place, He will take our sins to the cross, dying in our place. When Jesus came up from the water the heavens were torn open. The Spirit descends on Him. And the Father says “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This is what baptism does for us too. The Holy Spirit has made you a new creation. You are united in Jesus his death and resurrection. You are now a beloved son or daughter of God and with you God is well pleased. You are the one in whom God delights. He blesses you and keeps you. His face shines upon you and He gives you peace in His Son. Pastor Dave Dukovan
Read Luke 1:1-4; 2:41-52
Have you ever been out in public with your child like a store, fair or museum? You think everything is OK and the child is with you. Then you turn around and they are no longer there. You will probably appreciate what Mary and Joseph must have felt one day long ago in Judea. Luke tells us of this event in the life of Jesus. Luke didn’t make up this story either. He probably got the story from Mary, Jesus’ mother. That is what Luke tells us at the beginning of his gospel. Luke investigated all that he wrote. He checked with eye witnesses and Mary would have been one. (Luke 1:1-4) But why is this story included? It is not just for dramatic effect. Luke wants us to know something about ourselves and about Jesus. Remember the movie Home Alone. The family is all mingled together going on a trip. The parents assume that Kevin is with them but they later realize that he is not with them. This could be similar to what happened to Mary and Joseph. Imagine heading home with a group of family and friends from the festival in Jerusalem. Everyone is traveling together. The group is all mingled together. Parents with their small children while the older children and teens are together. Mary and Joseph are probably watching out for their other children as they travel thinking that Jesus is with the other young people. When they do realize that no one has seen Jesus in their traveling group they probably panic a little. Any parent would. After all they have been charged with taking care of the Messiah, God’s own son. So, they hurry back to Jerusalem and start to search for Him. They most likely start to look in all the places they think a 12-year-old boy might be. And where is Jesus? Is he lost? Is he in trouble? No. He is in the temple sitting among the teachers of the law discussing and debating the Law. Now that Jesus is twelve, He has probably been through his Bar Mitzvah. At this time of life, the young man Jesus is expected to begin to take control over His own religious training. Jesus desires to be in the place where he can learn, discuss, and debate the scriptures. He is young but as a human He, like all of us, still needs to learn and grow in the wisdom of the scriptures. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of us and all of our young people would desire to learn and understand the Scriptures this zealously? Confirmation would be just the beginning rather than the end of growing in wisdom of God. So, for Jesus the temple is the place to be for these activities. And this is where Mary and Joseph finally locate Jesus. Like any parent they are feeling relief, and anger. We finally found you. Why are you here and not with us heading home? Why didn’t you say anything? Do you realize all the distress you caused us? Mary was right in worrying about Jesus but Jesus is also her Lord and God. She needs to learn this. So, Jesus says to her, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” As God’s true son the temple is where He must be. If we think about it a little bit, Jesus must have been very interested in the Scriptures and theology. The Gospel says, "After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers." The fact that Jesus was sitting among them suggests that they had accepted Him as a peer! He was engaged in the discussion as one among equals! Jesus must have grasped these discussions well. Wouldn’t that be a great Bible class to sit in! Now we might be tempted to think that Jesus was good at theology. He's God. Jesus, the second person of the trinity, talked to Moses and the prophets in the first place. Jesus wrote the Scriptures so it is not too hard to know the book. That would be a perfectly valid thing to say if Jesus were to call on His divine nature. However, that is not what He did. Remember that Jesus was in a state of humility from His conception in the womb until His friends laid Him in the tomb. Jesus sets aside His divine powers and lives as any human would live. This means that, throughout his whole life He did not use His divine powers for His own advantage. This includes His schooling. That means He learned His Scriptures and His theology that same way everyone else did. He studied. He kept the command that says, [Deuteronomy 6:6-9] "These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Jesus as we see in this story took these words seriously. If you have a child whose mind is focused on Holy Scripture and then you set such a child loose in Jerusalem, He will find His way to the teachers of the Scriptures. That is the first place you should look for Him. But Mary and Joseph didn’t think like this immediately. They needed to realize the very basic difference this child had from other children. He is God’s son. And as God’s son he will do what is expected by His Heavenly Father. And at this Passover Jesus is possibly talking with the teachers about the great feast of Passover. This is when God saved His people of Israel from slavery to Pharaoh and death. All firstborn would die unless the angel of death saw the blood of the lamb painted on the doorposts and lintel. Luke is emphasizing for his readers that this is what Jesus would ultimately do for all people. Instead of being just an earthly king Jesus would conquer sin and death by humbling himself to die on a cursed cross. In this way Jesus would free us from Satan’s lies, our sin and death that follows from them. So, who really was the lost one here? Jesus knows where he is and why. But Mary and Joseph don’t seem to know. They seem to have lost sight of who their boy is. That can be our problem too. We can forget who Jesus really is. We can misunderstand what Jesus says just as Mary and Joseph did when Jesus says, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” Many think Jesus is just a healer. He is just a moral teacher. Some only want Jesus to make this life wonderful. Jesus can help you find the right steps to wealth, security, happiness and self-fulfillment. But He is not those things. This was the great misunderstanding of the people in Jesus’ day and still in ours. He is God incarnate who has come to save you from your sin. That is what you need more than anything else. He came to die and be buried. And on the third day he rose from the grave. The three days of searching for Jesus by his parents foreshadows the three days he is in the grave. The disciples can’t see Jesus but He is about His Father’s business completing the work of our salvation. Unlike Mary and Joseph, we don’t need to search all over for God’s help, hope, and salvation for our life. The answer is found in same place where Jesus is found in His Father’s house. You should know right where to look for Him, just as His parents should also have known. Some are searching for Him in their moods and "feelings". Some look for Jesus in nature. You will not find Jesus in the still of the morning or on a mountain top. We might see the power of God there but his love and mercy we see only Jesus and in his sacrificial life offered on your behalf. In today's Gospel, we might be tempted to say that Jesus was lost. In fact, Jesus was exactly where He was supposed to be. It was really Mary and Joseph who were lost. In a similar way, we are also lost - lost in our trespasses and sins. So, as we start a new year keep in mind where the real Jesus is found. In His word in the sacraments. This is where Jesus tells us we will find Him. Don’t lose track of Jesus this year. He is always here about His Father’s business which is saving you from sin and bringing you into His eternal kingdom. Pastor Dave Dukovan Read John 1:19-28
Some of you might remember an old TV show called “What’s My Line”. A panel of celebrities would try to guess the profession or the special activity of a person. At times they would be blindfolded because they had to guess the name of a mystery celebrity. They had to ask questions of the person or persons and eventually decide what the profession or special pursuit was. Well, we are not watching a game show today but, in a way, this is what happened to a young man named John. He would come to be known as the Baptist. Now the panel of people that came to question him were not celebrities. They were the priests and Levites from the city of Jerusalem. They didn’t come to participate in a game show where John might win a prize by stumping them. They did come to see who this man was all about. They were doing what we all should do if there is a man who claims to be speaking for God. They were checking up on John in order to make sure that he was not misleading the people. They may have been wondering what this young man was doing that attracted so much attention from the people. He probably wasn’t more than 30 years old. So, they wanted to know what he is all about. These delegates were not necessarily out to trap John in his words. Instead, they are asking legitimate questions. When they asked him questions about who he was John did not try to impress the priests and Levites. They asked are you the Messiah? There were some in Jerusalem who thought this. (Luke 3:15) John had the appropriate family line because his father was a son of a priest. He lived an austere life in the desert. He would be a good candidate for messiah. But John denied that he was the Messiah. John would not take any credit for being anything but what he was called by God to be and to do. When they asked “are you Elijah,” he could have said yes, that he was the great prophet. That would have been a very impressive claim. Elijah was the great prophet of Israel’s past. John could have been the toast of Jerusalem. He might have been able to claim a special relationship with God and gain importance with the rulers. That is happening today with some TV and internet religious people. Some so-called pastors and teachers claim that they are prophets speaking on behalf of God. But all they are doing is getting wealthy at the spiritual cost to those who listen to them. John did not claim anything like this at all. Instead, John said the opposite. The priests and Levites from Jerusalem asked, “Are you the prophet that Moses promised?” Answering yes to this could have given John a great deal of power. The prophet would have been considered even greater than Moses. And Moses was the greatest of Israel’s heroes because Moses gave them the Law. This could mean that John would be the one like Moses to initiate a new exodus for the Jews. Instead of freeing the people from Egypt now it would be freeing them from Rome. That would have made him very popular. But again, John denies being a prophet. Well so much for gaining any power or influence among the powerful of Jerusalem. So, they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John told them that he was only a voice that the prophet Isaiah wrote about. John is the fulfillment of these words. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. " And what is this voice saying? The Lord God is the voice appealing for an obedient people. That is what John was to do. He would be the voice calling for the people to come out to the wilderness. Be baptized as a sign of their repentance and desire to be the obedient people of God. It is time for the people to repent and make the way to God straight and direct. This is what John’s task was. He was to call the people to prepare their hearts and minds to receive the arrival of the Messiah. John’s message has the idea of a new exodus that will soon occur. John speaks about the wilderness and across the Jordan River. The wilderness is where the Lord led His people through but their way was not so straight. And now the Lord was coming to lead them in person. The true Messiah was coming to them. That is the same message for us today. It is time to repent. We hear this week after week in church. It seems that we pastors are repeating ourselves over and over. But that is the message. The only way for our hearts to receive the Lord is to acknowledge our need for the Lord to bring us out of this wilderness that we are walking through. Otherwise, we are walking in circles trying to find our own way out. That will not work. We need a leader who will take us out. The wilderness is sin and all of its problems we face every day. Remember the Old Testament lesson for today. "The Lord has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to proclaim release to those who are bound [sight to the blind], to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the single day of His wrath; to comfort all who mourn." Jesus would apply these words to Himself. Jesus would do all these things for us. Jesus shines the light of God’s mercy and help onto people who are trapped in a world of darkness and fear due to sin. Jesus says this because that is what He came to do for us. Jesus came to lead us in an exodus out of the darkness of sin into the light of God’s kingdom of life. John did not come to proclaim his own words or promote his own life. John knew that he was sent to bear witness to the light that is Jesus the Messiah. One of the beautiful characteristics of this season are the lights that brighten up our homes, trees, streets and towns. At the end of the day when the long dark night begins, we tend to feel more tired and less energetic. However, when we see the delightful lights of Christmas joy and excitement for the holiday increases. The lights bring a sense of comfort, safety and joy. And this is what John points out to the world. We have a light that has come into our dark world. The light we have is brighter than any Christmas light and will last forever. Jesus is the light that John pointed the people of Jerusalem towards. He still points to Jesus for us too. In this season of Advent and Christmas we can do the same thing as St. John. We can bear witness to the light. We can bring the light of Christ into someone else’s life. There are the brokenhearted. There is someone who has lost someone to death. There is someone who is imprisoned by a physical issue or maybe fear of getting sick. There is someone out there who is feeling guilty about something that they did wrong. There is someone who hasn’t heard that life can be better with the Lord leading them. You can be like John and bear witness to the light of Christ for these people. Invite them, befriend them, make it possible for them to be a part of the body of Christ. Remember that song “this little gospel light of mine I’m going to let it shine”. This time of the year let’s not just point out the Christmas lights we see in our town. Point out the light that is our Lord Jesus that John bore witness. Read Isaiah 40
The Lord God moved the prophet Isaiah to write these words in chapter 40. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” In our lifetime we have seen far too many wars. Some of you more than others. You may even have been involved in them in some way. Some wars are small. Some are long and cover vast areas. But they are all terrible for those caught up in them. I have always been interested in the 2nd World war. I wasn’t around for that one but I have learned that it must have been a terrible time. There was so much worldwide distress, agony, hatred, and death. Nearly everyone in the world suffered in some way. Soldiers suffered the terror and stress of battle and many carried it with them the rest of their lives. Prisoners of war worked nearly to death in terrible camps. Families lost sons and daughters, the futures of whole families coming to an end. Homes were destroyed. Whole populations left their property behind never to come back. People that were considered non or subhuman exterminated without any remorse. To hear that the war was over must have brought great relief and comfort to millions and millions of people. The comfort of a war coming to an end is what the Lord God was saying to the people living in the land of Judah 700 years before Jesus was born. However, these words were spoken at a time when the nation of Judah was living comfortably. They had 50 years of a good king with a good economy. Life was good and comfortable. But their lives would not remain comfortable. The pagan Assyrians were coming. They were ruthless conquerors. War was coming. Judah would initially survive but their brothers in Israel would soon be destroyed. God speaks to the nation of Judah and tells them to trust only in God’s care and not in the alliances of other nations. But they don’t. Eventually Judah will fall into idolatry and false worship due to their unfaithfulness to the LORD God and His words. What happened during the WWII was nothing new. The same things happened to the people of Judah and Israel. Isaiah by the Spirit of God saw it coming. But Isaiah also saw the comfort that the Lord would bring to His people. The Lord would punish the people of Judah for their faithlessness and their sins. They were in a war against the LORD. But the LORD, as is His nature, would show mercy to the nation. After 70 years in exile the Lord would bring comfort to those people and return them to the land of their forefathers. That happened so long ago. What does this have to do with us today? Well, we are still in need of comfort. We are no different from the people of Isaiah’s day. We still want to be comforted as we deal with all the distress and fear we experience right now. It is as if we are in still in the midst of a war. Not a war against another nation but one that is against the powers of evil, Satan, sin and death. Because of our daily battles we can’t find lasting comfort in this life. For the person undergoing cancer treatment finding comfort is nearly impossible while they are feeling nauseous and miserable. A parent cannot find comfort or rest while dealing with a child who has health problems that requires 24-hour care. If they don’t keep up with the care that child could die at any time. A child cannot find comfort sitting alone in a home where the parents are always fighting. Or how comfortable can parents be with a child that is always disobedient or in trouble with the school or police. Where is the comfort or rest for society when people cannot be civil to each other or forgive small wrongs much less a greater wrong done to each other? And where does one find comfort when a spouse or child dies. Humanity all of us are still suffering to one degree or another. There seems to be no end in sight of this war and no lasting comfort to be found. The LORD’s word describes how fragile our human life is. A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” All flesh is grass. That’s us. Think of how the grass looked back in May. It was all green and lush and alive. Now think of how the grass looks today in December. It’s all brown and withered and dead. That’s a picture of us and our lives, what is happening and will happen to us. We all wither and fade and die. We wither because of our sins. All of the problems and trials we fight are caused by sin. We are like the grass that is here one day and gone the next. You must feel this way too. Sin keeps us fighting against the LORD and His word. Like the people of Israel and Judah instead of listening to the word of God and trusting Him we go it alone and trust the words of others. And that’s a recipe for disaster. But Isaiah reminds us that even though we wither like the grass the word of the Lord stands forever. Our sin will fall but the word of God will stand forever. In God’s eternal word we hear that the LORD will bring to us His comfort. The Lord brings comfort and relief to His people suffering in the battle with sin. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” The LORD has pardoned your sin and mine. Jesus took our sins and nailed them to the cross. They are no longer your sins. Jesus took them all. They became His sins. And in place of your sins He declared you holy and perfect. You will not suffer the punishment for your sins because Jesus suffered for you. The war between mankind and God which began in the garden of Eden has now been ended. Jesus defeated the enemy, Satan, by crushing his head. Jesus through his death freed you from the power of Satan. Death and the grave have been defeated when Jesus burst from the tomb. The war is over between you and the LORD. You are no longer an enemy of God but one of His people. The Lord does love and care for you. In the midst of the struggles of this life, how do we receive this comfort? Isaiah continues with these words of God. “Behold your God!” Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” God himself comes to us! Jesus brings to us His comfort. This Advent season Jesus comes to us. He comes with might and strength. But this might and power is wrapped in gentleness. He comes as a shepherd, a good shepherd. The powerful and holy God humbles himself and lives just as we do in the world. Jesus comes as a gentle and strong Good Shepherd. Jesus does not give in to temptation. Jesus does not seek to be comfortable in this life. He knows that our life will not be comfortable despite how much we are told we deserve comfort and that we can find it in the things that we can buy. Jesus is our comfort. We don’t have to buy His comfort. Jesus gives it to us for free by simply believing in Jesus as our Savior and Lord. The comfort that we have is the sure knowledge that the war we fight against sin and suffering in this world is already won. We are the recipients of the victory that Jesus has had over all our enemies that make our life uncomfortable. Jesus has made it possible that our war and suffering will come to an end. Jesus suffered all and died. And on Easter morning He rose from the dead. No longer would death afflict Jesus because He defeated death. Jesus is now ruling as our king preparing an eternal home where the effects of sin and death will all be gone. Now you have the comfort of knowing that your sin is forgiven. That your death is not the end but only the door to eternal life. We can find rest even in the darkest days of our life that Jesus has done this all for us. You know, tomorrow, December 7, is the anniversary of that day of infamy in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States was brought into the war. That was a grim and awful day. The nations warfare was just beginning. But then fast-forward to V-E Day in 1945, and a little after that, to V-J Day. Victory in Europe, Victory in Japan. I wasn’t there, of course, but I’ve seen the pictures. Joy and cheering. Strangers kissing strangers on the street. That’s what it’s like when your warfare is ended and you come out victorious. That is what is awaiting all who look to Jesus. His words of hope and promise give us comfort. His perfect life, his sacrificial death and His victorious resurrection assure us that His comfort is true and not just wishful thinking. With Jesus as our savior our war with sin and death is over. The victory has been won by Jesus we are at peace with God. We have the comfort of knowing we are forgiven. God holds nothing against us. And we have eternal life which Jesus will share with us with all of its grace and joy and comfort. Pastor Dave Dukovan |
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