The Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2021
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
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| The video of the Bethany service can be found here. |
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Lord is the Strength of His people: He is the saving Strength of His anointed.
Save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance: feed them also and lift them up forever.
Psalm. Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord, my Rock; be not silent unto me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Lord of all power and might, who art the Author and Giver of all good things, mun in our hearts the love of Thy name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of Thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
He shall call to the heavens from above:
and to the earth that He may judge His people.
V. The heavens shall declare His righteousness:
for God is Judge Himself. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. The ransomed of the Lord shall come to Zion with everlasting joy upon their lands:
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and weeping shall fly away.
Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #294 O Word of God Incarnate (How - 7 Hymns)
Exceeding the Righteousness of the Pharisees
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 #435 My Spirit on Thy Care
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 #435 My Spirit on Thy Care
In Our Prayers
- Christina Jackson has improved greatly in the last 10 days.
- Maria Ellenberger Way and Kermit Way.
- Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader.
- Trent Hostetler and John Miller died in a plane crash, Haiti missionaries.
- The blog page views reached 9 million yesterday.
- The Bible Book will be edited and enlarged fairly soon.
Sixth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we confess that we are poor, wretched sinners, and that there is no good in us, our hearts, flesh and blood being so corrupted by sin, that we never in this life can be without sinful lust and concupiscence; therefore we beseech Thee, dear Father, forgive us these sins, and let Thy Holy Spirit so cleanse our hearts that we may desire and love Thy word, abide by it, and thus by Thy grace be forever saved; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
KJV Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
KJV Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Exceeding the Righteousness of the Pharisees
Background, Gospel Matthew 5:20ff
Righteousness is the key to this Gospel passage - and to the entire Bible, which often uses this term. There are two major forms of righteousness - the righteousness of works and the righteousness of faith in Jesus Christ. Our population today in America depends on the righteousness of works, and that affects everyone, often the church leaders themselves - not just pastors, but officials and professors as well. When they talk about what is good, they express their pride in the works of man - "Look at our parking lot, our gym, our beautiful building."
And we should note that the Pharisees were true saints of works. They were quite demanding in performing all the works of righteousness. They were upstanding citizens and devout in their studies and following the Law.
But we have to rely on Jesus the Son of God to know what true righteousness is. He defined it in such a simple way that few people grasp it. Someone writing to me about John 16:8ff said the explanation in the book was so clear. That took many efforts at seeing and applying this essential passage from Jesus Himself.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin, because "they do not believe on Me."
KJV Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
We were at Willow Creek when we heard the former pastor, Bill Hybels, start on this topic. They had about 16,000 in attendance (counting WELS pastors and officials) on a typical Sunday, but no crosses visible outside or inside the church.
I was waiting for tips on how to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, but he stayed on that topic, as if to say, "Yes we are more righteous, because of our works."
One example was the named pro football player, who in the name of servanthood humility, vacuumed the rugs at the church. Condemned were those few who came to the communion service on Wednesdays, which came across in that sermon as not doing the right thing. And it made him angry.
Jesus' simple message is too plain for many to hear, grasp, and apply. The only way to go beyond the righteousness of works is to have complete trust in the Savior Jesus, God Incarnate. Without that foundation, everything is works in order to please ourselves and impress our neighbors.
We have many examples of that in the Scriptures, because Jesus began with the foundational sin, "O ye of little faith!" Repeating the works of righteousness means staying level with the Scribes and Pharisees. The old leaven is works, the new leaven is faith in Christ. "Sweep out the old leaven" which is a Jewish custom to mark the Passover. God gave us many physical symbols to call up in us their meaning, to stir up our faith in Him, reflecting on what He has done.
Lenski, Matthew, p. 213.
While it is true that the former were the acknowledged expounders and teachers of the Old Testament, and the latter the great Jewish party which professed to live up to the legal regulations of the Torah in the most scrupulous manner, here this distinction is not stressed. The two are regarded as one body, for the vital point in which they utterly failed was the attainment of the righteousness which in God’s judgment admits to the kingdom.
Nicodemus was a leader of the Pharisees and yet he came to Jesus. Was he satisfied with his own holiness? No, or he would not have risked his reputation and perhaps his life.
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Lenski's point about this section is that the Pharisees prided themselves on not engaging in this sin of murder. So this is a satire on their scrupulous levels of crime and punishment in the Jewish court, showing the absurdity of the opposition.
1 John 3:15 says, "Whoever hates his brother is guilty of murder." This is really the core meaning of this passage. Someone can be innocent of murder in the court system yet daily participate in murder by hating his brother, since such hatred develops into all kinds of sinful words and actions. James 1:15 writes about the thought developing and turning into evil.
We truly live in evil times, where the thought police are ready to pile onto anyone who offends them by criticizing their radical ideas and their lawless deeds. I believe this attitude has developed from the basic Pietism (in a bad sense) in our country. Pietism emphasized what people did (cell groups) and what they did not do (cards of any kind, liquor, gambling, the sins of the flesh). Rauschenbusch captured this spirit by having a different set of demands, secular activism. Pietism was opposed to doctrinal distinctions, so the outward deeds became most important. Church worship was nothing if they did not attend their cell group meetings. Oddly, WELS and LCMS decided they needed cell groups to grow and naturally worship became secondary and often non-Lutheran as well.
In general, we have a generation or two of scowling Pharisees. We have not fulfilled all the new and imaginary laws, so the stink-eye is used as a warning before total shunning is initiated. The more this is done, the more righteous they feel.
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Luther properly calls the sins in this passage "fine sins," because they are not open and obvious, like robbing a bank or burning down a building. They are parades as pure virtue, and are intended to hurt because the person deserves the hurt. When I made some suggestions to the high school 50th reunion, they did not send me an invitation. I thought that was as silly and petty as it could be. Others asked and found out and an invitation suddenly appeared several weeks late.
Such actions divide people and families, such as get-togethers where everyone is invited except for one person or family. In church activities, it is used to assert power and turn some people into lepers so they are automatically silenced, shunned, and given the stink-eye (no reasons given, of course).
This permeates our society. I have seen it at work and heard many retired people speak of it. The idea of being a church leader and exhibiting such conduct is a severe mark against the perpetrators, though they see it as pure, noble, and saintly.
Luther:
And it is not one of the gross, public vices punished also by the world, but one of those fine sins of the devil that do not want to pass for sin. For they sail under false colors, so that no one can rebuke and punish them. For instance, pride will not be called pride, but truth and justice; envy and hatred do not want to be reprimanded, but rather extolled as being true earnestness and godly zeal against wickedness. These are really the two colors the devil carries in his realm, namely, lying and murder, which in the eyes of the world claim the honor and praise of being holiness and righteousness in the highest degree.
2. For this reason our Lord and Savior singles out the Pharisees, who fain would be the holiest and most pious, and be so considered by everybody; he even calls their doings by the beautiful name of righteousness, but he pictures and judges it as one not leading to heaven but into the abyss of perdition, a veritable fruit of satan. And this he does for the reason that they wanted to be called righteous and pious, defying the whole world to prove the contrary, and at the same time were filled with venomous wrath, envy and hate. The world cannot see nor judge in such matters, therefore Christ alone is the judge here who dare and can pass such a sentence of judgment. Even if this righteousness of the Pharisees be ever so beautiful and holy, yet, they shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; for I do not desire nor will have a righteousness that stamps itself as such, and will not be called sin, but struts about in the fine coat of divine righteousness, so that we must call them Christian, pious people, holy spiritual fathers, etc.
2. For this reason our Lord and Savior singles out the Pharisees, who fain would be the holiest and most pious, and be so considered by everybody; he even calls their doings by the beautiful name of righteousness, but he pictures and judges it as one not leading to heaven but into the abyss of perdition, a veritable fruit of satan. And this he does for the reason that they wanted to be called righteous and pious, defying the whole world to prove the contrary, and at the same time were filled with venomous wrath, envy and hate. The world cannot see nor judge in such matters, therefore Christ alone is the judge here who dare and can pass such a sentence of judgment. Even if this righteousness of the Pharisees be ever so beautiful and holy, yet, they shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; for I do not desire nor will have a righteousness that stamps itself as such, and will not be called sin, but struts about in the fine coat of divine righteousness, so that we must call them Christian, pious people, holy spiritual fathers, etc.
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Harboring revenge is very bad for the individual who practices it, and the opposite is the best kind of peace and love, always bearing good fruit. This has to be done first between husband and wife, so there is no background grudges, resentments, and bitterness. Forgiveness follows contrition or confession of sin, and that means the past is buried, lost, forgotten, drowned in the ocean of God's grace. If that cannot be done, then Christian Faith is lacking and only a charade. But when both sides acknowledge sin and embrace forgiveness, it creates a new life, a new relationship. I have seen this at work many times. It is the difference between Heaven and Hell.
I have also seen people eaten up by staying in the Hell of anger, bitterness, and rejection of others. Alcohol brings them no peace and only unleashes the anger, much of it distorted by rage.
If church leaders want to know why their denominations and seminaries are dying, they only need to look at their revengeful treatment of others, showing they have no faith. The backyard bullies grew up into tonsured tyrants who must have their way or they will get really angry. They not only get even with their imagined enemies, but also with the families of those they target. Clergy and teachers know that their children and spouses will be deliberately hurt by those who want to be #1 all the time.
An LCA pastor told me how an official's son, in a feedback session, said the new materials stunk, just like the LCA. His father paid for that, even though they were asking for his "open and honest opinion about the materials."
10. Now the aim and contents of this sermon by Christ are as follows: You fancy that whoever does not inflict a blow with his arm has not acted contrary to God’s command; but he is at liberty to be angry at his neighbor and to avenge himself; and to take vengeance is so far right, and no sin at all. This would nullify the commandment, leaving it without any force whatever. For it does not ask merely that you refrain from killing with your fist, but also from doing harm or injury with your tongue or your heart. If not, how about the command that we are to do good to our enemy? If that is to hold good, we most certainly must not work against our neighbor. Otherwise in what respect would we be better than publicans and public sinners, as Christ himself says, Luke 6:32, who are friends to each other, the one not inflicting any harm on the other?
If people want to live a peaceful life, where all the blessings are experienced daily, they only need to consider how few years we have - and those racing by. Just as anger begets anger, forgiveness and love multiply the highest divine virtues. There is a profound difference, of course. Anger is something we manufacture, store, and dispense. The fruits of the Spirit come from God, through the Gospel that brings Jesus Christ to a meeting place with use (Romans 5:1-2)
We harbor anger and resentment - faith receives God's grace.
