Sermon - From the Jewish Perspective

KJV 2 Peter 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

KJV Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

Transfiguration

The Hymn #246
The Invocation p. 15
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 2 Peter 1:16-21
The Gospel Matthew 17:1-9
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #657
The Sermon
From a Jewish Perspective

The Offertory p. 22
The Hymn #134
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #52

The Christian Faith from a Jewish Perspective

KJV John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

My wife and I went to the Arizona Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. We talked about how we have always been interested in Judaism. She knew a circle of Jewish friends in South Bend. My family did in the Quad Cities.

In seminary and in graduate school I took as many courses in Hebrew and Judaism as I could. My seminary president was puzzled that I wanted to take Hebrew. He warned me that I would not get academic credit toward graduation. At Yale I took Genesis in Hebrew with Robert Wilson. A rabbinic student joined us, but he dropped out because the course was too elementary for him. At Notre Dame I took a course in Talmudic Judaism from a rabbinic scholar.

Christians and Lutherans have lost the Jewish perspective about the Word of God and the will of God.

Simply put, nothing can resist the Word of God. When someone doubted whether an event could happen, in an Isaac B. Singer story, the character said, “If God wants to make vinegar burn, it will burn.”

What God decrees, happens. Man’s role is not to boss God around but to listen to God’s Word and learn from it, even if he does not understand God’s will.

Christianity continues to deteriorate. The faith does not change, but the visible examples of the faith do go downhill. For example, Calvinists have been known for connecting prosperity with having a God-fearing attitude. There is a connection.

The next step was to tell people that they could have anything they wanted if they told God their desires in prayers. This was called “Name It and Claim It.” That expression has been used so much that their own followers call it, “Blab It and Grab It.” Christianity has been turned from a God-centered religion into a man-centered religion. That is evidenced in Junior Schuller, Junior Osteen, and Junior Roberts – three sons who took a corrupted version of Christianity and made it even worse.

Luther’s contention against Zwingli (later Calvin) was his Biblical assertion that God can command anything He wishes, whether man understands it or not. This is the whole point about the Real Presence in Holy Communion. We cannot comprehend the miraculous, but that does not mean we should reject it.

Calvinists say, “The finite cannot contain the infinite.” That is an excellent example of propositional theology. Someone starts with a proposition and defends it at all costs, in spite of Biblical passages that destroy the argument.

Let’s start with “The finite cannot contain the infinite.” Lutherans call this the Extra Calvinisticum. Recent graduates of seminary like to toss around terms they barely understand, especially Latin terms.

If the finite (bread and wine) cannot contain the Infinite (the Body and Blood of Christ), then how is it that the human nature of Christ also contained (and contains) the Godhead? The fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Him.

KJV Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

The Incarnation is the ultimate mystery, something far beyond Creation itself. Every religion believes in Creation, no matter how crude the story might be. Until recently, no one imagined that everything came about by chance.

Only Christianity teaches that God became man. It is not possible, according to our human reason, but if God wants vinegar to burn, it burns.

A mystery in the Bible is a truth revealed by God. The Trinity is a mystery. The Lord’s Supper is a mystery. The greatest mystery of all is God in the flesh, Jesus, both God and man.

For that reason, Christianity is the only religion where God gives to man, instead of man giving to God. All the world religions have many things in common, such as Creation and the global flood. So jaded scholars think, “Christianity must be the same, too. Christianity has the Creation and the Flood. Many paths lead to one God.”

The true Christian faith is not a path. Jesus is The Path (literally in Greek). “I am the only Path, the only Truth, the only Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (My paraphrase).

It is not difficult to move from God’s Word = God’s will to faith in Christ. The Old Testament might be compared to 99% of Christianity without naming the actual events and persons to be involved. The hints are all over the Old Testament. The crucifixion is described in Genesis 3:15. The Angel of the Lord is Christ before the Incarnation. The Psalms and Prophets outline the ministry of Christ. We could even say Jesus is named because the Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua. Jesus is the Greek form. In many verses of the Old Testament, the words salvation and Jesus can be interchanged.

KJV Psalm 14:7 Oh that the salvation [Jesus] of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

The entire Old Testament is sacramental and liturgical, so the fulfillment of all promises in Christ is not a big transition in the apostolic age. They did not have a problem with the Real Presence because God had always connected His Word to earthly tokens:

1. The rainbow and the Promise.
2. The Passover Lamb.
3. The sacrificial blood on the door posts.
4. The water from the rock (Exodus).
5. The manna from heaven.
6. The pillar of fire, Burning Bush (Incarnation).

That is why Lutherans say their salvation rests on the objective truth of God’s Word, not man’s emotions (feeling saved) or man’s works (praying hard enough or in the right fashion to receive God’s grace). God’s grace and forgiveness come to us through the instruments of His love, His Word and Sacraments, His invisible and visible Word).

When God says, “This is My Body,” the bread is also His body. When He says, “Given for the forgiveness of your sin,” the elements received in faith are accompanied by His Promise and declaration of forgiveness.