Sunday 2 February 2020

Epiphany III (Year A) [Matthew 4:12-25] (26-Jan-2020)




This sermon was preached at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Semaphore, 8.45am, and Good News Lutheran Church, Albert Park, 10.30am.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”


Prayer: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.


Today our reading is taken from the second half of Matthew chapter 4, and tells us about what Jesus was doing early on in his ministry. But before we look at our text today, let’s go back and have a look at what comes just before. A couple of weeks ago, our reading was about Jesus being baptised. We read about how Jesus came to John at the River Jordan and the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This is an incredible event in the life of Jesus, where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are so clearly presented to us.

Immediately after the baptism of Jesus, we read at the beginning of Matthew chapter 4, how Jesus went was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. We read about how Jesus was fasting for 40 days and nights our in the wilderness, and how the devil came and tempted Jesus to prove that he was the Son of God, by turning stones into bread, and jumping off the pinnacle of the temple. Also, the devil tempted Jesus to worship him, in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. However, in each case, Jesus overcomes the temptations with a simple word of the Scripture, where Jesus says, “It is written…”, “it is written…”, “it is written…” And at the end of this passage, we read: Then the devil left [Jesus], and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

You can see, then, that there were many incredible things happening before the events in our reading today. Especially, we see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit revealed clearly and powerfully at the baptism of Jesus. And we see Jesus, the powerful Son of God, in all his weakness, overcoming the devil, and being ministered to by the angels.

Now, we come to our reading for today, which says: Now when [Jesus] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. We read here that John the Baptist was arrested. John had been preaching and baptising there at the River Jordan—but it seems as though, when Jesus comes along, that he is immediately taken out of the picture. In John’s Gospel we read that John the Baptist said: He must increase, but I must decrease. John had baptised Jesus, and in a sense, John’s earthly work was now done. He is arrested by King Herod, and kept in prison until that time when he is executed at the time of the king’s birthday party.

When Jesus hears about John’s arrest, Jesus decides to move to Galilee. Now, this is a very interesting thing. Why does Jesus move? Is he scared of what might happen to him? No--there’s no indication in our reading that he does anything out of fear or because he was frightened or scared or frightened. It’s simply that it is not the time for Jesus to be arrested too. That will happen later. It also shows us that Jesus does not purposely put himself in harm’s way. This is important for us too. Sometimes Christians find themselves attacked or persecuted or arrested or even killed for their faith, depending on which part of the world they live in. Jesus speaks many encouraging words to his people for situations like this. But at the same time, we shouldn’t go looking for persecution, or putting ourselves purposely in harm’s way, but instead should quietly go about doing the work which God has given us to do. So let’s say, that you have someone you work with, or in your family, who attacks you because of your Christian faith. That doesn’t mean that every time you see them, you should provoke them, or tease them, so that they make some anti-Christian remark. Just quietly do what you need to do, and let them find you out. That’s the kind of attitude which we see in Jesus in our reading—he is not aggressive or confrontational. He simply has work to do, he simply goes about and does it, and when the time for attack or persecution and even his death comes, then he deals with it at the proper time.

So we read: When [Jesus] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.’

We read in the Gospels that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but most of his childhood and early adult life, he lived and grew up in Nazareth. You might remember that after Jesus was born, his family had to flee to Egypt to escape King Herod’s ruling that all the baby boys in Bethlehem should be killed. After they returned home from Egypt, they settled in Nazareth. And Nazareth was such a significant place, that Jesus came to be associated with Nazareth, and identified with this place. Even on the cross, Pontius Pilate put a note above his head which said, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Now, in our reading, we read that Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum, which was a fishing village near the Sea of Galilee.

Now, we read here about Zebulun and Naphtali… If we go right back to the Old Testament, we read in the book of Genesis about the patriarch Jacob. Jacob was the one who received a blessing from his old father Isaac in place of his brother Esau. He was also given a new name by God—Israel, and had twelve sons, including his favourite son, Joseph, to whom he gave a special coat. Jacob, together with his twelve sons, all moved to Egypt, and then after Jacob died, his sons and their families were the people who were rescued out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and eventually these families entered into the promised land. Two of Jacob’s sons were Zebulun and Naphtali—we don’t read much about them, and they don’t show up as very prominent characters in the book of Genesis. But when the Israelites came to the promised land, the families of Zebulun and Naphtali were given as their land this particular area near north of Jerusalem called Galilee.

Now, later in the reading today, we read about Peter and Andrew, James and John, who would have come from these tribes. Also, this region had a lot of Gentiles living there. And the people in Jerusalem, then, looked down and were a bit snobbish towards people from Galilee, because they had a lot more to do with Gentiles, people outside the Jewish faith.

And so we read: And leaving Nazareth, [Jesus] went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”

You can see here that God doesn’t reject the people from Galilee, but it is a very special thing that Jesus goes and lives there and spends time there. Even though they live in darkness, Jesus is the light of the world, and he comes and brings us light.

And this a great comfort for us too… we are also a people who live in darkness. Many people all throughout the world are not open to the Christian faith, or listening to the words of Jesus. They only listen to their own sinful hearts, and do whatever they like. They think they know everything, but in actual fact, they don’t know anything. When they come across something in the Christian faith or in the words of Jesus that upset them or annoy them, they want to silence Christians and the bible. Maybe you think that over your lifetime, Australia has become more of a godless nation than it once was—that’s an interesting thing to consider on Australia Day! However, we also need to realise that this attitude that we see in people like this is the same attitude that is at work in us, because we have the same sinful hearts as they do. How often Jesus shines his light into our lives, and we so often want to cling to the darkness!

However, Jesus does not reject people just because they live in darkness. Instead, he comes and lives right in the middle of it all. He went and lived among the Galileans, and he also comes and visits his church all throughout the world today, wherever there are two or three people gathered in his name. He even meets us today in his word and sacrament—we hear the living and active word of God, and we come here to receive the body and blood of Christ. And even in the midst of our dark world, in the region of shadow of death, Christ comes and shines his light on us. The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.

So, what does Jesus do that shines such a great light in the region of Galilee? We read: From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

First of all, let’s take notice of the fact that Jesus is preaching. Jesus actually says stuff, and speaks, and talks. He’s not a dumb puppet who says nothing, he’s not a cardboard cut-out, and he’s not a stone brick. He’s a real living person, with a mouth, and he talks. The reason why I say this is that many want to have Jesus, but they want to hold onto the darkness. They do this when they have a silent Jesus. They say things like: I respect Jesus as a great teacher, but they have no interest in what he actually says. Or people might have a picture of Jesus in their own minds, but they don’t actually read about how the bible describes him, or how Jesus even talks about himself. Or they might say—and this is a really fuzzy one--“The Words of Jesus are not important, because Jesus is the Word. It’s not important to listen to what he says, but only to have a relationship with him.” Can you imagine a student going to school and saying to their teacher, “Teacher, I’m not interested in learning any maths or English from you; I just want to have a relationship with you.” To the Principal’s Office! Or can you imagine if a husband says to his wife, “Darling, I don’t want to listen to you. I just want to have a relationship with you!” Slap! You can’t have a relationship with Jesus without listening to his preaching and his teaching. If we fashion our own silent pretend Jesus in our own hearts, then all we do is create an idol, a dead god, a golden calf. Then, we end up staying in the darkness, and the light doesn’t shine on us.

Bus also, let’s look at what Jesus actually says. He says: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Let’s take those words especially to heart: Repent! Repent means to change your mind, to turn your heart around. It means: You’re walking in the wrong direction. Walk in the right direction. One of the main differences between Christianity and other religions is this whole teaching about repentance. For example, in many Buddhist countries, you see all kinds of local customs and spiritual practices that have nothing to do with Buddhism. Even here in Australia—let’s say you meet a Buddhist from Malaysia. What’s something that you’ll probably see in their home? They’ll usually have a photograph of their dead relatives on a shelf with offerings in front of it. Now worshipping ancestors—as far as I can tell—doesn’t really have much to do with the central teachings of Buddhism. I suspect too, that before Buddhism came, people probably already worshipped their ancestors. But when Buddhism came, it simply took this practice under their wing, and made it their own thing. However, when Christianity comes to a place, new Christians turn away from their old practices. They can keep their family and cultural traditions, as long as they don’t conflict with Jesus’ words and teaching.

However, today, many people even in the church don’t want to listen to the message of repentance. And when this happens, the church stops being the beacon of light, and instead, it just collapses into the darkness around them. Every time there has ever been a great movement in the church of life and vitality, it has always had at its heart the message of repentance. Just think, for example, of the Reformation. What was the thing that started off the Reformation? We often think about it as Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg in 1517. But what was the first of those 95 Theses? It was about our reading today. “When our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Repent”, he meant that the whole of our life should be one of repentance.” The Reformation was a call to repentance. Our whole life should be one of repentance. Of course, our whole life should be, because every time we look to Jesus we should see how perfect he is, and how imperfect we are! He is the true vine, and we are the cheap plonk. His holiness shines light, our hearts are full of darkness. And so, every day should be a day of searching our hearts, and bringing our sin to Jesus, and placing it on his shoulders.

But also, there is another word that Jesus says. He says: Repent. But he also says, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is here, because the king is here! The king enters his palace, and let’s the citizens of his kingdom come and meet him! But sometimes when we hear the message of repentance, we think: because my heart is sinful, I can’t enter that kingdom. Yes, you’re right, you are sinful, and you can’t enter it because of anything you have done or whatever. But you can enter it, because of Jesus and because of what he has done. He is the Saviour of the World, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He has won for you the forgiveness of sins, and that forgiveness is the door which lets you enter into this kingdom. So when Jesus says: The kingdom of heaven is at hand, he is saying, “I am the door for the sheep! I am the way, the truth and the life! I am opening this door for you right now. I will let you in through the forgiveness of sins.”

Sometimes, we might think—but hang on, doesn’t Jesus forgive us without conditions? Why do we need to repent? Isn’t that earning salvation by our works? Well, no it’s not. Just think about how Jesus raises people from the dead—he does this apart from anything that they have done. Nobody contributes to their own rising from the dead—Jesus does it completely by himself. But if you are going to be risen, there is a prerequisite—you need to be dead! And yet, it’s not as if being dead makes you risen or contributes to it. The same with repentance… Repentance is simply the acknowledgement that spiritually you are dead. Sometimes, people think that repentance is cleaning up your act. No—repentance is when you want to clean up your act, but you realise that you don’t even know where to start! It is the killing off of your prideful sinful self. And so, the fact that Jesus forgives you has nothing to do with you, it has everything to do with him. And yet, there’s no forgiveness of sin for you, if you don’t believe you have any sin. If you’re not a sinner, why would you even want forgiveness? So Jesus says: Repent, because he wants you to wake up to yourself and despair of yourself and your own abilities and your own heart. But then he says: For the kingdom of heaven is at hand, because he wants to comfort you and point you to himself, the Lamb of God, who has died for you and forgives you, and bring you into the wonderful kingdom.

Now, we look at our reading again, and we see Jesus doing just that. He brings people into his kingdom. First, he brings in Peter, Andrew, James and John, as his apostles, and calls them to fish for people. Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And after this, we see Jesus going around the whole of Galilee and preaching, and teaching, and healing people from all their diseases, afflictions and problems.

But there’s something very interesting about Jesus’ words: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Let’s come back to John the Baptist, who we were thinking about earlier, because we read that he was arrested. What do you think he was arrested for? Actually, we read that he was also preaching: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He even told the King that he should repent too, because he was living with his brother’s wife. And so they arrested him to silence him. And then, we read that once John is arrested, Jesus goes around saying the same thing. If John has been arrested, what do you think will happen to Jesus? Yes, he’s going to be arrested too, and he was arrested when Judas betrayed him with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. If John has been killed, what do you think will happen to Jesus? Yes, he will be killed too, he will be crucified, and die for the sins of the world.

How do you think the first apostles are going to fish for people, how do you think they are going be fishers of men? Jesus told them after he rose from the dead, that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations. And many people are not going to like it—and will kill these apostles too. But instead of the church dying, the church grows and grows over the centuries, because we have a living Jesus, who is risen from the dead.

So let’s commend ourselves with all our troubles and sins, our weakness, our failings to our Lord Jesus. He has called us to repent, to change our minds and to turn around from wherever we were walking and follow him. He calls you even by your name, even today. And yet, he also comes and opens the door of his kingdom for us today, and forgives us all our sins, and shines his light into our darkness. Let’s leave all of our nets, and follow him, because nobody in the whole world shines brighter than him, no kingdom is more glorious than his, and there is no Saviour who is as trustworthy, loving and faithful than him.

Amen.

Dear Lord Jesus, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light! We thank you for calling us to repentance, and calling us to live in your kingdom. Send us your Holy Spirit, so that we may repent and turn to you each day, and rejoice in your living words of forgiveness and peace. Amen.