The Fourth Sunday in Advent,
2012
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10
AM Central Time
The Hymn #477 Lord Jesus Thou 3:90
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
The
Gospel
Glory be to
Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #90 Come, Your Hearts 3.83
Beyond
Jordan
The Hymn # 103 – Luther To
Shepherds 3.82
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 #95 Savior of the Nations 3.42
KJV
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be
careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus.
KJV
John 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and
denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What
then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an
answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as
said the prophet Esaias. 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not
that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I
baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He
it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet
I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond
Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Fourth Sunday In Advent
Lord God, heavenly Father,
it is meet and right that we should give thanks unto Thee, that Thou hast given
us a more glorious baptism than that of John the Baptist, and hast therein
promised us the remission of sins, the Holy Spirit, and everlasting life
through Thy Son, Jesus Christ: Preserve us, we beseech Thee, in such faith in
Thy grace and mercy, that we may never doubt Thy promise, but be comforted by
the same in all temptations: and grant us Thy Holy Spirit that we may renounce
sin, and ever continue in the righteousness bestowed upon us in baptism, until
by Thy grace we obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy beloved Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost,
one true God, world without end. Amen.
Beyond Jordan
Luther made an important
point in his explanation of this passage – about the words – beyond Jordan.
This is his point – in his
discussion of the spiritual meaning of the passage, “beyond Jordan” refers to
John the Baptist being on the opposite side of the river, that is, taking
another view of the Scriptures than those who were sent to grill him.
This is a major point,
because every single confession starts with the Word of God. The Scriptures are
the foundation for every heresy. The really abusive ones (WELS, Jehovah’s
Witnesses, the mainline denominations) offer the Bible, but the Bible in their
own words, because they cannot stretch the words enough to fit their dogmas.
Therefore, new words are added and traditional verses are removed. Most modern
“translations” fit this definition.
Inerrancy is one issue.
There is no reason to discuss the Christian faith with those apostates who view
the Bible as just another creation by man. There is no standard for them and
they have already departed from the historic view of the Christian Church.
The most important issue is
the Gospel itself. Justification by faith is the Chief Article of Christianity,
the Master and Prince of everything else. Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church,
ELCA, the SynCons (LCMS, ELS, WELS), and all mainline groups are on the wrong
side of the Jordan. They reject justification by faith, no matter how able
their theologians are in defining, side-stepping, explaining, and waffling.
Therefore the best way to
see this text, and all others, is to view it from the opposite side of the
Jordan, to see it as resting upon the righteousness of Christ and no other,
understanding that faith and forgiveness go together always, that lack of faith
is the foundation for all sin.
The only purpose of the Bible
is to teach us faith in Christ. The Bible brings Christ to us in the Word, so
we have the blessings of faith in Him as our Savior. Anything else is
subordinate to that singular purpose.
KJV John 1:19 And this is
the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to
ask him, Who art thou?
The leaders of the nation
sent a delegation to John to ask about his mission. This alone was quite
flattering. It showed how important he was at that time. His followers made the
leaders uneasy.
The Shiloh prophesy was
two-fold. First the kingship had to pass from the House of David. That happened
when Herod was put on the throne. But the Jews did not like that and fought
against him for 30 years. He finally subdued and subordinated them. The second
part was now true. The scepter departed and he had control of Israel.
Herod’s Temple was his peace offering to them.
Genesis 49:10 The
scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the
obedience of the people.
Knowing this prophecy, all the leaders were
anxious about John and what his great following meant for them.
John could have been tempted to confirm any of
those titles that were offered to him, but he did not cave in.
20 And he confessed, and
denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
First year Greek students
find this repetition strange, but it is an emphasis upon John’s mission both in
the positive (confessed) and the double-negative (denied not). Thus there can
be no doubt – he was not calling himself the Messiah (anointed king). The
answer is first described and then quoted.
This is best explained in
the context of his vast following at the time, the turmoil caused by it, and
the presence of Jesus – still unknown.
False religious leaders are
always afraid. They realize their security and luxuries come only from being in
complete control. They look for information and manage it to suit their needs.
These leaders were under Herod’s power, so they were serving him as well as
their own needs.
21 And they asked him,
What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And
he answered, No.
Because they relied on
righteousness through the Law, they wanted to pin down John and place him in a
role. Elijah was a prophet of great importance at that time, because he
ascended to heaven in a chariot. For that reason he was expected to herald the
Messianic age.
John said, “I am not
Elijah.”
Another expected role was
The Prophet – similar to being Elijah, the forerunner of the Messianic Age. The
inter-testamental literature was full books about the Messianic age. They were
not Scripture but written as if they were, so they had an impact on the
thinking of Jewish leaders at that time. There are collections of the
literature of that time.
Lenski:
The question itself rests on Mal. 3:23 (in the English and
the German versions Mal. 4:5) as understood by the rabbis regarding the return
of Elijah in person to prepare the Messianic kingdom. Perhaps something in the
stern preaching of repentance by the Baptist, aided by his austere dress and
mode of life, may have prompted the surmise that this rabbinic expectation was
fulfilled and that the Baptist actually was Elijah returned to life. In this
sense the Baptist utters his denial: “I am not,” omitting any pointed ego (I), which would add the wrong implication: I
am not, but another is or will be. The Baptist’s denial, therefore, does
not clash with what was promised regarding him in Luke 1:17, and with what
Jesus afterward said of him in Matt. 11:14; 17:11, three statements which
correctly interpret Malachi.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The
Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing
House, 1961, S. 109.
KJV Matthew 11:14 And if ye
will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
KJV Luke 1:17 And he shall
go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord.
22 Then said they unto
him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest
thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
The questions were not
offered in a sincere spirit but in an effort to pin down and blame John in some
way. The delegation was sent in the wrong spirit and would only use whatever
answer they received in the wrong spirit. That John ended up executed is a good
sign of how much they wanted to learn from him. They knew the power of his
preaching, but they did not like it.
John identified his only
role as pointing to the Lord, preparing the way for him. The one who tells the
people to repent is not God, not the Savior. When the ancient monarchs visited,
heralds went before him, so that everyone knew he was coming. They gave the
news, but they were not the emperor, or monarch, or lord.
John said, “I am preparing
the way of the Lord.”
26 John answered them,
saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know
not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's
latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
John is teaching nothing
more than faith in Jesus. They are to look for the Lord. As great as they
imagine John to be (as reckoned by the crowds), he is nothing at all. He is not
worthy to take off the shoes of Jesus.
Although Jesus is after
John, He is before John in importance. (The Bible says so much in so few
words.)
John is now pointing to the
true Savior, the One who should have everyone’s allegiance, love, loyalty, and
faith.
This is why Luther said that
John was no longer a prophet. Prophesy ended with John, because all the Old
Testament prophets were fulfilled in Jesus. That made John more than a prophet,
because he had the most difficult job, to point to an ordinary looking man and
say, “There is your King. Not a man riding on a charger and leading us into
battle, but the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world.”
Application
I thought about this passage
during the week, about the LCA pastors complaining about being limited by the
historic lessons. That is why they, Missouri, and WELS all follow the Vatican
now – the three year series, invented by the Church of Rome.
John the Baptist keeps
coming up as the lesson in Advent. They could not cope with that. But John the
Baptist is not the main topic – faith in Christ is. “There’s the rub,” as
Shakespeare said. Someone lacking in faith does not want to talk about faith.
It is something to be avoided or slighted with faint praise.
Why did the ancient church
leaders find this so important in Advent? The season is aimed at repentance,
and John’s role was to encourage repentance in the people, before Jesus came.
And John clearly told his audience that Another was coming.
To repent means to lay aside
all our concepts of righteousness and despair of our own merit. The false
teachers want to turn repentance into self-torture. Join Opus Dei and they will
sell you some barbed wire to wear around your leg and a nice whip to use on
your own back. Roman Catholic orders with whips are called flagellant orders. A
Holy Cross priest said the flagellant orders also drink a lot. I looked at the
rosy nose of the priest who told me that and thought, “More than your bunch?”
But I did not say it out loud.
Luther was raised with the wrong
kind of repentance, and he realized that as he was guided by Staupitz and the
Word into the true concept of the Gospel. Repentance certainly means sorrow for
sin, or godly contrition, but it does not mean self-torture to earn forgiveness.
That easily becomes a work of atonement or appeasement, the old Roman system.
Extreme versions are practiced in many countries today. They make a small whip
seem mild in comparison.
To be on the other side of Jordan
with John means to place all our trust in Christ Jesus alone. That means that
we see the Gospel of forgiveness in all the texts, and the Gospel of
forgiveness is the Gospel of faith.
Luther repeatedly said there
were two doctrines – one of faith and one of the Law. We are justified by faith
or by the Law. The Law may be from the Old Testament or from man’s own human
reason. But that does not matter. All justification apart from faith is justification
by the law and therefore false.
All justification apart from
faith is man-centered and works centered. It can only lead to doubt and despair.
Universal forgiveness without faith (UOJ) may seem to be all grace, but it really
means that nothing matters. It is the spirit of atheism. First one says, “God
loves so much that everyone is forgiven.” The old Unitarians were quite moralistic
and at least confessed God the Father. But this great expression of grace
(so-called) gives way to an antagonism toward God and all religion, because
universal forgiveness teaches that nothing matters ultimately – only the self.
In contrast we have the truth
of God’s Word. This Word shows us in an instant that we do not believe. If we
did believe utterly in Him, we would not fear. We would not be anxious. We would
rejoice in the forgiveness given to us through the Gospel promises. But we rest
our confidence in ourselves and our abilities, our sanctity rather than the
holiness of Christ.
When the Word shows us this
truth, it also teaches us Christ, the Lamb of God, who appeared in the crowd as
meek and mild, non-threatening except to the religion of works. He taught with
divine authority, not like the Pharisees, and the people knew, long promised Good
Shepherd was as anxious for each one of them as they were for Him. So the
believers longed to hear His voice and come to Him.
Even so today He guides us to
the green pastures and quiet waters of eternal life.
Advent IV
"Melanchthon, the Hamlet of the Reformation, shrinking from
action into contemplation, with a dangerous yearning for a peace which must
have been hollow and transient, had become more and more entangled in the
complications of a specious but miserable policy which he felt made him justly
suspected by those whose confidence in him had once been unlimited."
Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and
Its Theology, Philadelphia: 1913 (1871), p.
85.
"If we would be Christians, therefore, we must surely expect
and reckon upon having the devil with all his angels and the world as our
enemies, who will bring every possible misfortune and grief upon us. For where
the Word of God is preached, accepted, or believed, and produces fruit, there
the holy cross cannot be wanting. And let no one think that he shall have
peace; but he must risk whatever he has upon earth--possessions, honor, house
and estate, wife and children, body and life. Now, this hurts our flesh and the
old Adam; for the test is to be steadfast and to suffer with patience in
whatever way we are assailed, and to let go whatever is taken from us."
Large Catechism, The Lord's Prayer,
Third Petition, #65, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p.
715.
"That forbearance which is a fruit of the Spirit retains its
characteristic kindness whether directed toward friend or enemy, toward rich or
poor."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8
vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p.
103.
"Prayer is made vigorous by petitioning; urgent, by
supplication; by thanksgiving, pleasing and acceptable. Strength and
acceptability combine to prevail and secure the petition."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 107.
"The Lord's Prayer opens with praise and thanksgiving and the
acknowledgement of God as a Father; it earnestly presses toward Him through
filial love and a recognition of fatherly tenderness. For supplication, this
prayer is unequaled. Hence it is the sublimest and the noblest prayer ever
uttered."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 107.
"This, mark you, is the peace of the cross, the peace of God,
peace of conscience, Christian peace, which gives us even external calm, which
makes us satisfied with all men and unwilling to disturb any. Reason cannot
understand how there can be pleasure in crosses, and peace in disquietude; it
cannot find these. Such peace is the work of God, and none can understand it
until it has been experienced."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 111.
"The reference [the Votum] is simply to a disposition to
trust and love God sincerely, and a willingness of heart and mind to serve God
and man to the utmost. The devil seeks to prevent this state by terror, by
revealing death and by every sort of misfortune; and by setting up human
devices to induce the heart to seek comfort and help in its own counsels and in
man. Thus led astray, the heart falls from trust in God to a dependence upon
itself."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 111.
"Thus we have two parts, preaching and believing. His coming
to us is preaching; His standing in our hearts is faith. For it is not
sufficient that He stand before our eyes and ears; He must stand in the midst
of us in our hearts, and offer and impart to us peace."
Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., xd., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 355. John 20:19-31.
"For the devil will not allow a Christian to have peace;
therefore Christ must bestow it in a manner different from that in which the
world has and gives, in that he quiets the heart and removes from within fear
and terror, although without there remain contention and misfortune."
Sermons of Martin Luther, II,
p. 380.
"Joy is the natural fruit of faith. The apostle says
elsewhere (Galatians 5:22-23): 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control.' Until
the heart believes in God, it is impossible for it to rejoice in Him. When
faith is lacking, man is filled with fear and gloom and is disposed to flee at
the very mention, the mere thought, of God. Indeed, the unbelieving heart is
filled with enmity and hatred against God. Conscious of its own guilt, it has
no confidence in His gracious mercy; it knows God is an enemy to sin and will
terribly punish the same."
Sermons of Martin LutherVI, p.
93.
"To rejoice in the Lord--to trust, confide, glory and have
pride in the Lord as in a gracious Father--this is a joy which rejects all else
but the Lord, including that self-righteousness whereof Jeremiah speaks
(9:23-24): 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty
man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him
that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth Me.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 95.
"Now, suppose some blind, capricious individual intrudes,
demanding as necessary the omission of this thing and the observance of that,
as did certain Jews, and insisting that all men follow him and he none--this
would be to destroy equality; indeed, even to exterminate Christian liberty and
faith. Like Paul, in the effort to maintain liberty and truth, everyone should
refuse to yield to any such demand."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 98.
"Christ's kingdom grows through tribulations and declines in
times of peace, ease and luxury, as St. Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:9 'My power is
made perfect in weakness, etc.' To this end help us God! Amen."
Sermons of Martin Luther, II,
p. 99.
"The ultimate purpose of afflictions is the mortification of
the flesh, the expulsion of sins, and the checking of that original evil which
is embedded in our nature. And the more you are cleansed, the more you are
blessed in the future life. For without a doubt glory will follow upon the
calamities and vexations which we endure in this life. But the prime purpose of
all these afflictions is the purification, which is extremely necessary and
useful, lest we snore and become torpid and lazy because of the lethargy of our
flesh. For when we enjoy peace and rest, we do not pray, we do not meditate on
the Word but deal coldly with the Scriptures and everything that pertains to
God or finally lapse into a shameful and ruinous security."
What Luther Says, An Anthology,
3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p.
18.
"The church is recognized, not by external peace but by the
Word and the Sacraments. For wherever you see a small group that has the true
Word and the Sacraments, there the church is if only the pulpit and the
baptismal font are pure. The church does not stand on the holiness of any one
person but solely on the holiness and righteousness of the Lord Christ, for He
has sanctified her by Word and Sacrament."
Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An
Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1959, I, p. 263. Matthew 24:4-7.
"When you preach or confess the Word, you will experience
both without, among enemies, and also within, in yourself (where the devil
himself will speak to you and prove how hostile he is to you), that he brings
you into sadness, impatience, and depression, and that he torments you in all
sorts of ways. Who does all this? Certainly not Christ or any good spirit, but
the miserable, loathsome enemy...The devil will not bear to have you called a
Christian and to cling to Christ or to speak or think a good word about Him.
Rather he would gladly poison and permeate your heart with venom and gall, so
that you would blaspheme: Why did He make me a Christian? Why do I not let Him
go? Then I would at last have peace."
Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An
Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1959, II, p. 928.
"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal,
immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity
(which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity,
since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any
permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the
pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt
pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to
advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains
to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is
surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to
true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and
thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of
Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Triglotta. p. 1095)
