Lent IV (Laetare) [John 6:1-15] (27-Mar-2022)

  

This sermon was preached at St Peter’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Public Schools Club, Adelaide, 9am

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

There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?

Prayer: Let 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 we read in our Gospel reading about the wonderful miracle that Jesus performed, where he fed 5000 people.

At the beginning of our reading today we read where it says: After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. This event of the feeding of the 5000 is mentioned in all four Gospels, and in each of these Gospels we gain some information about the background and how this all happened.

In Matthew and Mark particularly, we read that there this event followed just after Jesus and the disciples had all heard that John the Baptist had been killed. In the Gospels, we read that John the Baptist had been arrested by King Herod, and that when he was celebrating his birthday, he promised to his step-daughter anything she wanted. She went asked her mother Herodias what she should ask, and she told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. And so, this is what happened. And so you can imagine that this news would have come as a terrible sadness to Jesus and the disciples and everyone who knew John.

Also, around this time, Jesus had sent the apostles out on a special mission trip, if you like, where they were healing people and casting out demons, and all kinds of things like this. King Herod became worried that maybe John the Baptist had been raised from the dead, and was going to unleash some revenge on him, or something. So around this time, the apostles returned to Jesus, and gave him a report of what they had done.

And these two things—the fact that the disciples had been busy having a very fruitful and productive time in the work that Jesus gave them to do, and also that Jesus had heard the news of John the Baptist’s death—gave the occasion for Jesus to call his disciples together and have some time out, a retreat, if you like, some quite time away from all the business. In Marks’ Gospel, we read where Jesus says to his disciples: Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest for a while.

So, we can see a few things here: first of all, the apostles here don’t have their own mission, but Jesus gives them their mission, he gives them the work. And also, he gives them rest at the right time too. Sometimes, many times in our lives, we often think that the work that we do is ours, but it is actually given to us by Jesus. For example, even as a pastor, I sometimes fall into the temptation that all the things I need to do, or that I think that I need to do, is all my work. But it’s not—it’s Jesus’ work, and his work to build up and grow the church. In our homes, too, and workplaces, wherever we find ourselves, it is Jesus who gives us the work and the tasks. And so, when we find ourselves in a situation where we don’t know what to do, or we don’t have the strength to do what we think we need to do, then we need to turn to him, and consult him, and ask for his advice. We need to remain very close to him in prayer in all things. In Psalm 27, it says: You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” In Mark’s Gospel we read that the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. In the same way, we also should return to Jesus after we have done this or that, and commend what we have done to him. In what we have done well, we ask him to make our work and efforts fruitful. In what we have done wrong, we ask him to forgive. 

In everything in our lives, we need to stay close to our Good Shepherd, Jesus. He leads us in all things, he guides us in all things, he has prepared for us our good works that we should walk in them. He gives us each day as a gift, and so often we don’t even notice. But as we learn from Psalm 23, it says: The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake

So, at the beginning of our reading from John today, we read: After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. The disciples and Jesus were going over to other side of the lake, for a rest, for some quiet time. However, we then read: And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

It’s strange: Jesus takes his disciples to the other side of the lake for a rest, but the little trip on the boat seems to be the only real rest that they receive! Once they come to the other side, there is already a crowd waiting. Mark says, that the crowd got there ahead of them. And just as the disciples had spent so much time healing people on their little mission trip, Jesus now does the same. We read in Matthew: When [Jesus] went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. Also, in Mark, we read: When Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Just before, I mentioned Psalm 23, the famous psalm that speaks about Jesus as our shepherd. And in this passage about the feeding of the 5000, there are many things that point to the fact that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. In Mark, it says that the people were like sheep without a shepherd. And so, Jesus becomes their shepherd. And what does he do? He began to teach them many things. We should not glance over the fact that Jesus was teaching them on this occasion. We don’t know what he was teaching them, but at the same time, it doesn’t matter, because anything that Jesus has to teach them would have been wonderful. Whatever Jesus has to teach us in his Word, and everything that he has to teach us, is wonderful, and when we listen to His words, we are connected to him as his sheep, listening to him as our Good Shepherd.

We also see that Jesus healed their sick. He laid his hands on people individually and gave to them each according to their needs. We see this also in the Divine Service, in the church service, each Sunday. Jesus teaches us: we read his Word, from different parts of the bible, we preach the Word and hear the Word. As it says in Mark: [Jesus] began to teach them many things. And also, we come to receive the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus feeds us and deals with us each individually, laying his hand on us, healing us each according to our needs. And so, when we come to church, we should keep these things in mind. Many Christians forget these things. We don’t come to church to just go through some empty ritual that doesn’t mean anything. No, not at all. Rather, we enter into the holy presence of our Good Shepherd, we join in worshipping him together with all his apostles, and angels, and saints throughout all time, in reverence and awe. And we listen to our Good Shepherd in his holy word, and feed on it as sheep in his pasture. And we confess our sins to him. We tell him all that we have done, and we ask for the covering over us of his righteousness, we ask him to wash us clean, just as he did in the waters of baptism. And we present to him all our needs in life: our worries, our struggles, our problems, our temptations, our sins, our sicknesses, and we come to him in the Lord’s Supper, to receive his body and blood, and to have him deal with us according to his mercy, and his kindness, and his grace, and also according to his will. He knows exactly what we need for this particular time in our life, and he will give us no less. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

So in our reading today, we read: Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”

Now, there’s a couple of small details here. First of all, Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. In the feeding of the 5000, as we will read soon, there is a real structure to all this. Everything happens in a certain and definite order. So first of all, Jesus goes up this mountain. It reminds us of the Sermon on the Mount, where it says Jesus went up on the side of the mountain. You remember, also Moses, went up Mount Sinai by himself to meet God. But here, Jesus is sitting himself there, because he wants to demonstrate to all the people that are there that it is he, who is going to do something, and it is going to be done by his organising, and by his power, and by his authority. It’s a bit like the way in which Jesus heals a deaf man, and takes him away from the crowd, and puts his fingers in his ears, and all that kind of thing. He wants this man to be certain in his own mind that it is Jesus who is doing this, and it didn’t happen by accident.

And, you remember, also that Jesus had just sent his apostles out on a mission trip. Now, he gathers them together to sit with him. Jesus also shows to the crowd here how he will work through them, and use them. What we have in the Bible, for example, and in the New Testament, is the writings of these apostles, the sermons, the eyewitness accounts, the letters, of these men, whom Jesus called to sit with him. And, all of these writings point to Jesus, and preach him, and bring him to the world, just as Jesus after his resurrection sent the apostles into all the ends of the world. And so, we see here a little foretaste of the fact that it is not the apostles who do this work, but it is Jesus who works through them and guides them and leads them, and who is the one who builds and establishes the church. Even at the end of the Gospel of Mark, we read: And they [the apostles] went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Do you see that? Even though Jesus ascended into heaven, he does not abandon his church and his people. Rather, he works with them.

And so, in our Gospel today, we see that Jesus separates himself a little bit from the crowd by going up this mountain with his disciples. But he does this as a little precursor to that time when he will ascend to heaven, and yet is not distant from us, but still feeds us, and works in our midst, doing amazing and marvellous things, through his holy word and sacraments.

Now, also, John writes: Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Why does John mention this? Well, there are all kinds of things that happen at the Passover. In the Book of Exodus, we read about how the Israelites painted their door frames with blood, ate unleavened bread, escaped from Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and also how God fed them with manna and quail in the wilderness.

In our reading, we also see something similar. First of all, just like at the Passover, we have the Lamb of God there, sitting above them, covering their sins with his righteousness, just like the blood on the doorposts.

But then, we read: Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing the large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” Just as at the Passover, we see that there is a large crowd who are in an impossible situation. In the Old Testament, we read that the Israelites were all being hemmed in and chased by Pharoah and his army on the banks of the Red Sea. What were they to do, and where were they to go? Also, when they reached the other side, and Moses parted the Red Sea, this huge crowd of people found themselves with no food. What were they to do?

And so, in a similar way, we see this crowd, who have come out into a desolate place, following Jesus. They’ve had a wonderful day, listening to him, receiving healing for the sick people, but now, it’s late, and they’re far from home, they don’t have any food, it’s too far for them to walk without getting faint. So what are they to do? It’s an impossible situation. Well, of course, it’s only a humanly impossible situation. The situation is only impossible for us sinners, it is only impossible for the 5000 people. The situation is not impossible for Jesus, and actually, this is whole point of our reading.

So Jesus says to Philip: Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

Jesus points us to the fact that normally we try to solve these problems by looking to money. Where are we to buy bread? We need money, and we a shop. But of course, here they are, where there is no shop, and so their money, if they have any, is useless. Jesus said this to test him, it says. Sometimes, we also find ourselves in a situation, where we realise that we are in a desperate and maybe impossible situation. But it is not that Jesus is punishing us, or abandoning us. It is just that he is testing us, he is showing to us our need, our desperation, our human helplessness, our uselessness, our weakness, so that he can show us what he is going to do, and so that when he does something, we recognise that it is him who has done it. This is what Jesus is doing here. He shows to Philip, and to everyone there: you have nothing, so what are you going to do?

Philip answered him: Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little. Philip says: even if we did have money, and even if we did have a local shop, which we don’t, we still wouldn’t be able to feed all these people. Even if we did have enough money, we would have to clean out 50 or 100 bakeries of their entire stock!

We read: One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” We do have a very small amount, but even so, this is not enough. So, we see here, from all these conversations: do we have money? Maybe, but not enough. Do we have a shop? No, and even if we did, they would not have enough. Do we have any food at all? Yes, but it is still not enough. Not enough, not enough, not enough.

And so, we read: Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. [See how our Good Shepherd makes them lie down in green pastures.] So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

Now, here we see what amazing thing Jesus did here, which kind of speaks for itself. But I’d like to highlight a couple of things.

First of all, in all of the Gospels, it mentions that 5000 men sat down. Why does it mention the men? Even in Matthew, it says there were 5000 men, besides women and children. Let’s remember the Passover again. At that time, it says that every man shall take a lamb according to their father’s houses, a lamb for a household. Here, it mentions that each man had do this thing, because there was one man in each family, in each household. Similarly, when the writers here count the men, what they are doing is counting the families. This shows us that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and cares for us, not just individually, but he cares for our families too, and for those we are responsible for. So often, when we realise we don’t have enough of something, or are in some kind of need or want, we often feel it most painfully because we are trying to look after other people. And so, really, we should call this miracle: the feeding of the 5000 families.

But another thing about the Passover: As Christians, we don’t celebrate the Passover, because just before Jesus died on Good Friday, he transformed the Passover into something new: the Lord’s Supper, which we celebrate every Sunday and church festival. In 1 Corinthians 5 it says: Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. You can see how St Paul here talks about the Passover and the Lord’s Supper together. And there’s something very special about the way in which this event connects with the Lord’s Supper.

We see the wonderful way in which Jesus is the one who blesses these loaves and fishes and then feeds the large crowd. In the same way, in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus blesses a small amount of bread and wine, but then through these simple everyday things, he feeds us with his body and blood. He gives us not just bread and wine, but life-giving, sustaining food which feeds us in body and soul into eternity. He says: This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Even in the Lord’s Supper, there is much more that is given to us, than simply the feeding of a large crowd with bread and fish.

But we also see the way in which Jesus is the one who does the work, but he sends his disciples out to distribute it. So also, in the church, after Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples continued to carry out the Lord’s Supper. And even today, we pastors also consecrate the Lord’s Supper with Christ’s words, and also distribute it, and you come and receive it. But it is not our miracle: it is Jesus who does this. It is he who works through us, it is his ministry, it is his Supper, and it is his church, just as we are his people. 

So, let’s come to our Good Shepherd today, repenting of our sin, seeking his forgiveness which he promises to us, bringing to him all our needs in body and soul, and seeking his guidance and leading in our lives. He knows what to do, even when he tests us and shows before our eyes, just so much of what we really don’t have. But of course, we have Jesus, and when we have Jesus we have everything. May the Holy Spirit come to us and fill us and enlighten us with his gifts, and strengthen our faith, that we may turn to Jesus every day, in every need, and seek his face and his guidance in everything and in every situation. Amen.

  

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen. 

Lent III (Oculi) [Luke 11:14-28] (20-Mar-2022)

 

This sermon was preached at St Peter’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Public Schools Club, Adelaide, 9am

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

If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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

 

In these first three Sundays in Lent, there is a particular mention in our readings of the devil and Satan. In the readings for the First Sunday in Lent, we read about Jesus’ fasting and temptation in the wilderness, in Matthew chapter 4. We read there about the way in which the devil tempted Jesus with different temptations, and how Jesus won the victory over him, and sent him away, using the Word of God.

In the Second Sunday in Lent, we read particularly about a woman who goes to Jesus and prays to him, asking for him to heal her daughter who was oppressed by a demon.

In our reading today, we read about some wonderful teaching that Jesus gives about his victory as the Son of God over the evil one.

Now, if we go to our Gospel reading today, we see that just before our passage, we read about how Jesus was teaching his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, and also teaching them many things about prayer. And this gives us a good background to our reading today, because prayer is the wonderful gift that Jesus gives to us, which connects us with him in his mission, and in his work.

So for example, when Jesus was with the devil in the wilderness, we see that he won them victory over the devil. The temptations were very strong and even quite subtle. Many of us fall into all kinds of temptations, and we are often very weak. But Jesus is the strong one, and he is the only one who wins the victory over the devil. Now, for us Christians, for us disciples of Jesus, followers of Jesus, believers in Jesus, Jesus actually shares his victory with us. The victory over the evil one has already been won, and already belongs to us. We should always have it in our mind when we are struggling in life, or find ourselves with all kinds of troubles, that the battle has already been won, the victory is already ours. Our starting point is always one of victory, not of defeat.

And so, many times in our lives, Jesus calls us to turn to him in prayer, and to train us in prayer, just like he did in the reading last week with the Canaanite woman. The reason for the training is not because Jesus is stingy or snobbish, or reluctant to help us, but he wants to lead us and train us and strengthen us and bless us. And so, before our reading begins today, we read how Jesus also teaches his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, and teaches them many things about prayer. For example, he says: ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Now, at the beginning of our reading today, it says: Now [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marvelled. Here we see that Jesus performs an exorcism. In this case, it was a situation where an evil spirit, or as it is called here, a demon, causes a person to be mute. They were not able to speak and they weren’t able to hear.

Now, as Christians today, we should realise that sometimes the devil and his demons cause all kinds of trouble and mischief for people. In this case, it caused a person to be deaf and unable to speak. But this doesn’t mean that every situation we come across today where a person is deaf or mute means that they have an evil spirit, and need to be exorcised. In another passage, in Mark chapter 7, we read about how Jesus heals another man who is mute, but in that situation, there is no mention of evil spirits or demons. In that case, Jesus simply heals the person.

Now, it is true, that if it weren’t for the fall into sin, and the way in which the devil tricked and seduced and tempted our first parents in the Garden of Eden into sin, we wouldn’t have all these kinds of sicknesses, and troubles, and illnesses, and disabilities. We wouldn’t even have death. And so, when Jesus comes, he actually heals sicknesses and illnesses, he casts out demons, he gives a remedy for people’s troubles, and he restores people who are disabled in their bodies in various ways. In the first letter of John, he writes: The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus is destroying the works of the devil when he restores people and heals them and casts out the demons.

Now, in John chapter 14, we read where Jesus says: Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. On one hand, Jesus says that his disciples will also join him in these kinds of works. On the other hand, Jesus says that on the Last Day, there will be various false prophets. And Jesus says: On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast our demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

So, first of all, when it comes to the church today, Jesus says that who believe in Him will also do the works that he does; and greater works that these will he do. In the Book of Acts, we see some incredible miracles that the Apostles perform. It says: They even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. These wonderful miracles that the Apostles performed was the way in which God established the authority of the Apostles. Paul says about his own ministry: The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

Now, the reason why the Apostles were given these wonderful signs and miracles was not simply so that we would always be performing these signs and miracles too. Sometimes, miraculous things happen, and they can even happen through us. But sometimes, they don’t, and that’s okay. The reason why Moses performed miracles was so that we would listen to Moses. The reason why the Apostles performed miracles was so that we would listen to the Apostles. 

However, in the case of Jesus, we know that he is true God and true man in one person. On the last day, he will actually raise our mortal bodies to be like his. Even in this life, we read in Romans, If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. If we are deaf, we know that when we are raised from the dead, we will hear better and clearer than we have ever heard before. If we are blind, we know that when we are raised from the dead, we will see better and clearer than we have ever seen before. We will have no sin, no weakness, no sadness. As St John writes in Revelation: He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

So, when we preach these things, and hear these things, and speak these things, and learn these things, even on this earth, in the church, we are actually doing greater works than what Jesus did. He cast out demons, he made the deaf here, he made the blind see, but here in his church, when we preach his Word, and speak the forgiveness of sins, we actually give to people the full resurrection of their bodies from the dead. That’s what happens in Baptism too: we are not simply washed with water, but we are raised from the dead, through the Word of God, so that we have eternal life with Jesus. Even in the Lord’s Supper, we are given the body and blood of Christ, for the forgiveness of sins, and also as a guarantee and down-payment of the resurrection from the dead which is to come. So these are wonderful things that we do in the church.

And so, also, many times, we are dealing with people who are troubled, and who need supernatural help, the kind of help that only Jesus gives. In the case of helping people who are troubled by evil spirits, it is only Jesus who has the power to help them. Particularly, we are seeing many people today in our country who are troubled by the evil one, because in their naivete, many people kind of experiment with dark things, or occult things, like Ouija boards, or strange cards, or spells, or seek mediums and clairvoyants, and things like that. What they don’t realise that is that for them, these things don’t come for free, but always come at a price for the person who does them, and many times they find themselves in trouble, in a kind of spiritual bondage, and don’t know how to free themselves. Sometimes, they don’t even want to be free, and don’t know that they are enslaved, and can’t see it themselves, but people around them can see it.

In these cases, we ask for Jesus to help them in prayer, we commend people to him, and we ask for him to work with all of his power, according to his will, and in his time. The glory belongs to Him alone, and not to us. As it says in Psalm 115: Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory. Sometimes, these things are resolved quickly, and sometimes these things are resolved slowly, depending on the will of Jesus. We are not the experts in these things, but he is the expert, and he leads us and trains us and makes us of us how he wills, not for our glory, not to bolster our pride, and to do something special that makes us look powerful, or whatever. We ask Jesus in prayer to bless a person, or to bless a house, or to bless a particular place, and we leave it to him to cast out the evil one, as he has promised. In the meantime, Jesus has placed into his church’s hands the wonderful gifts of His holy Word, the absolution—the forgiveness of sins spoken by the pastor for the benefit of sinners, and the sacraments of Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. These are the wonderful medicines that Jesus has given to us for the healing of his people in body and soul. These are the gifts we turn to regularly and as often we can, which receive from the hands of Jesus himself.

So what happens in our reading today is that when Jesus casts out a spirit from this man, some people say: He cast out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. All the way throughout the life of Jesus, we often see those who receive his Word gladly, and those who grumble. Even on the Day of Pentecost, the same happens: there are those that listen to the Apostles, and those who think that they are drunk. Here, there are people that think that Jesus is using demonic power to cast out the demons.

Jesus explains: Every kingdom divided against itself it laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Here, Jesus, is saying that it is a completely crazy idea that the devil, or demons, or Beelzebul, would want to be going around casting out their own spirits from people. They are trying to build up and establish a kingdom of darkness. Why would they want to be going around destroying their own work?

Even Jesus mentions the exorcisms that the Jews themselves carried out, and that there is some effectiveness in what they were doing. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. With the Jews, there was an acknowledgement that there were evil spirits, and that they needed to be cast out. But with Jesus, he is not simply using a formula, or trying to solve a problem. He is the Lord of heaven and earth—he is not subject to a particular formula, or anything. He doesn’t come to them, trying to work out how to solve a problem. He knows the problem before they have even thought about it, and he casts them out because he has the power in Himself.

So Jesus says: If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Jesus is saying that his work comes about by the finger of God. In Matthew, it says: the Spirit of God. It is amazing to think just how much God can achieve and work with his finger, and we know that the Holy Spirit is the powerful Spirit of the living God. And so, Jesus is encouraging these people, and all of us too, to think about what’s going on, and to ponder it over in our own mind. If Jesus is destroying the works of the evil one, does he then come from the evil one? No—He is from God, He is God, He is the Son of God, and He works with the finger of God, and with the Spirit of God. And when he works in their midst, and even in our midst, where He promises to be with two or three who are gathered, where he promises to be with his Word and Sacrament, the kingdom of God has come upon you. Jesus is not building up the kingdom of the evil one, but the kingdom of God.

And so, Jesus teaches a few more things about how all these things work, for our benefit. He says: When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Here, Jesus calls the devil a strong man, who is fully armed, guarding his own palace, so that his goods are safe. The devil is strong, because of his lies, because of his deceit, because of his deceptions. But Jesus is stronger, because his kingdom is built on truth and is a kingdom of light. And so, Jesus has a greater power than the evil one. He is a stronger one who attacks the devil and overcomes him, and he takes away his armour in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Jesus rescues people, bringing them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, as St Paul says in Acts 26. Jesus is building a kingdom which is completely the opposite of Satan’s kingdom. This is why Jesus then says: Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Jesus then gives a warning. He says: When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes though waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

What Jesus is saying here is that a person should never be empty. If the devil is kicked out, Jesus must come in. We must be filled with the Word of God as Christians, and continually learn it, and be fed by it. We should continually receive the absolution, and the forgiveness of sins, and return constantly to the wonderful gift of our baptism, and draw great comfort and strength from it. We should continually be fed by the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. These gifts Jesus gives to us to fill us, and to build us up into his kingdom.

But if we remain empty, even though the devil has been driven out, there is a great danger for us to be filled by darkness once again, and in an even worse state than before. So, if a person is rescued from a great darkness, they can’t just go back to way things always were with them, and just get filled with the darkness. The life that Jesus gives to a person is a new life, it is a wonderful life, it is a life that comes from the Word of God.

And so, right at the end of our reading, we have a little incident which is almost a bit random. A lady in the crowd calls out: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed! In other words, she says: Your mother would be proud of you! What a wonderful woman she must be. Jesus says: Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!

Here, we see the whole point that Jesus has been saying the whole time. Our great weapon against the evil one is the Word of God! The weapon against the devil isn’t Mary, the mother of Jesus. She also heard the word of God, and said, Let me be to me according to your Word. She also pondered all these things and treasured them in her heart. She filled her heart with the Word of God. She heard the word of God and kept it.

And so, for us too, we have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and have been brought into the kingdom of light. We have been transferred from the power of Satan to God. We are baptised into Christ, and with Jesus Christ, we are being built into a wonderful kingdom. We have his Word and his Sacraments. And we commend our bodies and souls, our loved ones, and all those who are troubled in all kinds of ways, into his loving hands. The kingdom, the power and the glory all belong to Him. Amen. 

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen. 

Lent II (Reminiscere) [Matthew 15:21-28] (13-Mar-2022)

This sermon was preached at St Peter’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Public Schools Club, Adelaide, 9am

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

Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.

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

 

Our reading today is an amazing reading about a Canaanite woman who has an amazing conversation with an amazing person, Jesus Christ.

Let’s look at the first part of our reading. We read: And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus, just previously, had been in the area around the Sea of Galilee. He had crossed over to the other side and fed five thousand people, but then also when they crossed back over the lake, Jesus miraculously walked on the water. And then when they were all on the other side of the lake, we read that there were many people who were healed by Jesus there, and some were healed simply by touching the fringe of Jesus garment. There were many things that happened in those days that wonderfully demonstrated Jesus’ power and also the fact that he was true God.

Now, after a conversation with the scribes and Pharisees, near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus keeps travelling north. The Sea of Galilee is right up the north of the territory of Israel. Our reading says that Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. It says that Jesus withdrew, as if he was going there for a rest. Just before Jesus fed the 5000, it says that he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place. Jesus does not continually put himself in the firing line, but he takes a rest when he needs it as well. He takes himself away from the busyness, and spends some time by himself, in prayer, in solitude. Here in our reading today, Jesus is doing the same thing. He goes to region of Tyre and Sidon, which today is in modern-day Lebanon. He goes quite a long way north. Now, Tyre and Sidon are mentioned many times in the bible. They were very important cities. Tyre, for example, was a fortified city, with walls. The King of Tyre had helped King David build his palace, and also helped King Solomon build the temple.

But this region, here, is outside the region of the Jews, and Jesus is going into the region where the Gentiles live. And so, the woman who comes and meets Jesus is a Gentile woman, or as the reading says: a Canaanite woman. When the people of Israel originally arrived in the promised land, they were commanded to take over and conquer the land that was inhabited by the Canaanites. We read about all this in the book of Joshua. But in those times, there were many situations, where the Canaanite people were not completely wiped out, but continued to live. And all throughout the history of Israel, we see how the people were tempted to worship the gods of the Canaanites, like Baal or Molech, and such like. So this region near the city of Tyre and Sidon is where Jesus finds himself, and the woman who comes to speak to Jesus is a Canaanite woman.

So what does this woman say to Jesus? We read that she says: Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. But he did not answer her a word.

This reading is such an amazing reading, actually. We often focus on the fact that this woman was persistent in asking Jesus for what she wanted. But at the same time, we often forget to look at what the woman was actually asking, what her prayer actually was. She says: Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.

So, we see here that she had a daughter that was oppressed by a demon. Her daughter is suffering, but she tells Jesus what kind of suffering it is: it is a demonic suffering, a suffering caused by the evil one, by a spirit, by a messenger from Satan. Today, many people, even Christians too, don’t believe in this kind of thing. There are all kinds of situations where Jesus casts out a demon from someone, and actually, if we read the Gospels carefully, Jesus is constantly doing this, it is a tremendously important part of his ministry. In fact, in the Old Testament, we read very little about demons at all. When Jesus begins his ministry following his baptism, it is almost as if he is casting out demons everywhere.

Now, at the end of Matthew 4, we read: And [Jesus] went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.

We see that Jesus was healing all kinds of people, and some of those he healed were oppressed by demons. Not everyone was oppressed by a demon, though. There were other kinds of things going on too: diseases, paralysis, etc. Now, sometimes, today, there are two tendencies when we think about these things. Firstly, some people deny completely that there are demons and that there is anything that has to do with demons. This is one extreme. But the other is extreme is that some people think that everything wrong with people is from demons. So, when someone is struggling with sin, or is sick, or dying, there are some people who always want to perform some kind of exorcism. But the Scripture doesn’t speak like this.

But in our reading today, the woman who comes to Jesus recognises that that there is a great trouble with her daughter. She recognises that there is something else at work in her daughter that is not her daughter, another being at work. She says that her daughter is oppressed by a demon, and severely, seriously. In the mother’s eyes, her daughter has been getting worse and worse.

But also, there’s something else in these words that the mother says to Jesus. She says: Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. First of all, it’s amazing that she recognises Jesus as the Son of David, but also she calls him her Lord. And it’s true: Jesus is the Son of David, he has descended from the family and lineage of David according to the flesh. But he is also the Lord, he is true God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But she also says: Have mercy on me.

Now, this shows us something very important about the relationship between parents and children. Sometimes, something happens to someone’s child or children that is very worrying. Sometimes, Christian children, or any children, walk away from a good path in life, fall in with strange people, practise strange things, and sometimes their personality begins to change. There are many young people today, for example, who instead of turning to God, look to other spiritual things, by practising occult, or experimenting in things that are spiritually dangerous. And as a result, they can become spiritually troubled, and spiritually oppressed. Now, we don’t know what happened to the woman’s daughter in the reading. We don’t know if she did something, or involved herself in something, that brought about her oppression. We don’t know and we don’t need to know. What we do know is that this is the situation that is before us.

But the woman says: Have mercy—not on my daughter, but—on me. And this shows us something very special about the woman and her daughter, and in fact, any parents and their children. Because when a person’s children are troubled or oppressed, or in spiritual harm, or spiritual danger, it is not just a trouble that the child has to bear, but it is also a cross that the parent bears too. Have mercy on me, says the woman. It’s as if she says: this is not just her problem, but it is my problem. I am worried about her, I am helpless, I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to help her. Please, Jesus, help me.

So this is the prayer that the woman brings to Jesus. This is her situation.

Now, let’s look at how things go from here. First of all, we read: But [Jesus] did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

Now, what’s strange about this reading is that Jesus seems to us to be acting a little out of his normal character. First of all, he doesn’t answer her all. It’s like he’s aloof, or distant, or not interested. But actually, this is not the case, right at the end of our reading, Jesus says to her: O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.

We can see that, finally, in the end, Jesus answers her prayer, and is very glad and happy to do it. He commends her for her faith, he congratulates her. Now, if Jesus had simply given to the woman exactly what she asked for in the first place, then the people who were there, and us who are reading about it years later, would actually have no idea about the great faith of this woman. We would just read it as a woman who had a problem, and that was it. But Jesus holds her at arms’ length, not to punish her, or to be unfriendly, even though he appears quite unfriendly and harsh, but to draw out from her this wonderful, strong, courageous faith that she had. Jesus knows what’s in her heart, and he draws it out from her bit by bit, so that she speaks her heart in the open, and then all of us can be blessed by it.

So, first of all, even though Jesus appears unfriendly and harsh and aloof, we can see that there’s a purpose in it all. Jesus actually uses this woman’s example to teach us about prayer, and to teach thousands and thousands of Christian people throughout the centuries how to pray. And this too, should give us some encouragement, because sometimes we have something on our mind that we should pray for, or pray about, and we pray to Jesus about it for weeks, or months, or even years. And it feels to us like Jesus doesn’t care, or he isn’t interested. Or if we are a parent like this woman, it feels like Jesus doesn’t care about our child. But in actual fact, this isn’t the case. There’s a purpose in it, there’s a reason why in our prayers Jesus wants to teach us patience. And when we pray, then, we should always leave everything to the wonderful, good and gracious will of Jesus, knowing that his time is best, his way is best, his solution is best. Actually, sometimes, we often come to Jesus as if he is just some kind of solution. He is not a solution, but he is a real person, our living Good Shepherd. And sometimes, it takes us a while to learn the lesson in prayer, that we are not coming to Jesus, as if he is a solution, or a system, or a button that we just press, but that he is a real person, our real God, our real resurrection Lord and Saviour.

So first of all, it says: But he did not answer her a word. What does the woman do next? It says: And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” As the woman’s energy and desperation increases, she asks the other people who are close to Jesus to ask him too. This often happens with us too: when we feel as though our prayers are unanswered, we speak to other Christians about it, and ask them to pray too. And sometimes, a person’s burden, then becomes other people’s burdens. In the case of the disciples who come to Jesus and beg him, it says, this is not their daughter, and they don’t care about her in quite the same way and with quite the same intensity as the mother. So they say to Jesus: Send her away, for she is crying out after us. It’s almost as if they say: Do something, will you! She’s driving us nuts!

But Jesus says: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, this is a very strange thing. First of all, we see that Jesus has withdrawn into the region of Tyre and Sidon, as we said earlier, which was outside the promised land, where the people of Israel lived. What lost sheep was Jesus trying to find up there? We know that Jesus was sent to live his life, the days of his flesh, as it is called, among the Jewish people, in the Jewish land. And it’s not really until after Jesus’ resurrection, that he sends his disciples out into all the corners of the world.

But there are many situations where people who are not Jews receive help from Jesus, like the Samaritan woman, the Roman centurions, and all kinds of people. It’s true, that the Gospel first went to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles second. All the apostles were Jews, and then the Gospel went out into all the world through them.

Sometimes, we feel in our prayer, that we bring our need to Jesus, and we know that only he can help us, but we think that maybe we’re just the kind of person that should be helped. Other people may be worthy of it, other people might be more privileged or significant than us, other people might have a direct hotline to Jesus, but not us.

And so, what does the woman do at this point? Does she simply walk off? Does she give up? Does she throw in the towel?

We read: But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” Here we see, that she just throws herself at Jesus’ mercy, in all of her desperation, in all of her need, and lays it all there.

What does Jesus say? He says: It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.

Now, this is a very harsh word from Jesus. And many of us today even might be offended by it, and quite disturbed by it. Why does Jesus call her a “dog”?

Well, first of all, it is not because she is a woman. Jesus doesn’t look down on women, or treat them as second-class people. There are many situations all throughout the Gospels where Jesus treats many woman with the utmost seriousness and respect, and sometimes people are quite surprised by it, especially at a time in history when men and women didn’t talk to teach other so openly and freely.

But I’ve often wanted to ask this question, why does Jesus say this? Well, I think the best explanation for it, is that we read that the woman was a Canaanite. And we read all throughout the Old Testament about all kinds of situations with the Canaanites, the Philistines, or whoever, who worshipped other gods, who sacrificed their children, who consulted witches and mediums and clairvoyants. In short, the Canaanites were constantly involved in all kinds of evil practices, and were constantly giving themselves into the hands of Satan and his demons. And also, they were constantly tempting and alluring God’s people, the Jewish people, into idolatry. In the book of Deuteronomy, especially, there are all kinds of warnings to God’s people not to worship the gods of Canaanites, not to follow their practises, and not to worship God in the way that they worship their gods.

Even if we study today the paganism and pagan religions of the world, whether it is the traditional religions from Africa, or South America, or even Hinduism in India, or even the New Age movement in western countries, what we find there is incredible superstition and darkness. And this is the kind of people that this Canaanite woman was from. Perhaps, the demonic oppression of her daughter had something to do with the practices of these people.

In the Middle East then, back then in the time of Jesus, and even now in Arab countries, a “dog” is considered a dirty animal. It’s not like us, where we keep pet dogs. In those days, people saw dogs as dirty, filthy, they rummaged through the rubbish and the trash. And in a similar way, there is a spiritual dirtiness when people go to idolatry and worship other gods, and follow strange practices. People are simply rummaging through spiritual garbage, at a spiritual rubbish dump.

And so this woman, who comes to Jesus, acknowledging him as her Lord, as the Son of David, she knows full well who her people are. She knows they are of no help to her. She knows that there is nothing to be recycled out of their spiritual garbage dumps. She knows that their practices are filthy, and she see in Jesus complete and total holiness, and authority, and graciousness, and mercy.

And so she says to him: Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table. She says: Yes, I know that I am a dog, I know that I am from the wrong kind of people, I know who we are, and I know what we have done, and I know that there will be a judgment for us. But, even dogs need to be fed, she says. Even dogs need the crumbs. I am happy to be called a dog, but I still need to be fed by you.

And this is the wonderful example that Jesus wants to draw out of her for the benefit of everyone. This is the what Jesus commends when he says: O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. We are all completely helpless, rotten sinners, wretches, dogs scavenging on the rubbish heap. And yet, we have a Saviour who feeds us, and not just with crumbs, but who prepares a wonderful banquet for us. He forgives us our sins, he helps us in our need. He washes us clean in the waters of baptism, and gives us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet by feeding us with his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

So, let’s commend our prayers to Jesus, and persist in prayer, and yet at the same time, we should prepared to learn whatever wonderful lesson he will gracious teach us along the way. Because when we think we are not being listened to or heard when we pray, when we think Jesus is being aloof or distant, it is not the case. He is in actual fact our Good Shepherd who is leading us closer and closer to himself, and who is shaping us and forming us according to his will and his heart. Wait for the Lord! He will make his reasons and his purposes clear in good time. In the meantime, let’s trust in him for everything, for our salvation, our spiritual health, for our physical health, and strength, and energy, and encouragement, and even when we see people in need who are troubled, let’s also trust in Jesus to provide for those whom we love, our family, our children and friends. And so, we commend ourselves, our needs, and the needs of others, into his hands, and to his mercy. Amen.

 

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Lent I (Invocavit) [Matthew 4:1-11] (6-Mar-2022)

                   

This sermon was preached at St Peter’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Public Schools Club, Adelaide, 9am

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

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 

Prayer: Let 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’s Gospel reading is about Jesus’ fasting and temptation in the wilderness, and this reading has always been the focus for the first Sunday in Lent, which we are celebrating today.

Actually, the season of Lent in the church year, is based very much on this event in Jesus’ life. First of all, like Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness, Lent goes for 40 days, and also it is a time when Christians traditionally dedicated themselves to fasting. These things are purely a matter of custom and tradition, and are completely free for Christians, whether they fast at this particular time or not. But you can see that our reading today has made a strong mark on the church’s life throughout the centuries.

But let’s look out at our reading. First of all, let’s have a look first of all at the Jesus and what’s going on with him. This whole event in our reading today takes place immediately after Jesus’ baptism. The Baptism of Jesus was a wonderful event where each of the three persons of the Holy Trinity appears openly, and is manifested publicly. So, we have the Father speak a word from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Then, of course, we have Jesus, the Son of God, in the water, praying. Then, also at the baptism of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit, descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

So, then, we come to our reading, where we also see the Holy Trinity, and we don’t often consider this and think of this. There are three separate, individual temptations, if you like, that the devil throws at Jesus, and we’ll come to each of them in a minute. The devil, on each occasion, says: If you are the Son of God, then do this or do that. And Jesus responds to him on each occasion, by quoting the Scripture, but also by pointing to God the Father. He says: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus points to the words which come from the mouth of God. At the baptism of Jesus, the mouth of God speaks directly from heaven: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. But here, Jesus points to the mouth of God, and every word which comes from his mouth, as the very source of our life and our energy and our being and everything.

Then, in the second temptation, Jesus says: You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Jesus points to God the Father again, as the one whom the devil wants to put to the test.

Then, again, in the third temptation, Jesus says: You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Here Jesus points once again to God the Father, as the object of our worship.

So, in the Gospel about Jesus’ baptism, we see God the Father speak clearly and distinctively out of heaven. But here, in the temptation of Jesus, God the Father is almost unnoticeable, and very much in the background, but at the same time, Jesus reveals that each of the devil’s temptations has to do with God the Father. Actually, in the 10 Commandments, we read in the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods. And Luther gives a wonderful explanation of this in his catechism. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Every temptation of the devil is always directed against God, and having him as our only God. And so, when Jesus speaks against the devil, he points to God the Father, as the centre, as the beginning and the end, and as our everything and our all, in each situation. Jesus removes the devil from the situation, by giving God the Father his rightful place, and his rightful honour.

So, we see God the Father throughout our reading, just as we see him in the reading about Jesus’ baptism. But then, also, let’s look at Jesus, the Son of God, in our reading. Jesus, of course, is the second person of the Trinity, the holy Son of God, who is also true God, who took on human flesh for us. In the baptism of Jesus, we see a glorious, wonderful, happy event, where we see God the Father speak to Him in the hearing of everybody present, and the Holy Spirit rest upon Jesus in the form of a dove.

But in our reading today, we see Jesus very weak. We read that he was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Sometimes, the word “fasting” can mean different things. Sometimes, for example, if we need to take a blood test, we are told whether it is “fasting” or “not fasting”. Here, fasting means that we don’t eat any food at all. Sometimes, fasting can mean a bit like what we would call “going on a diet”. Instead of eating the normal amount of food that we would normally eat, we eat less, or we avoid eating something particular. So sometimes, people might eat smaller portions of food, or give some particular kind of food up for a while, like coffee or desserts or sweets, or something like that. All of these things would also be called fasting.

In Luke’s Gospel, we read exactly what is meant, when it says Jesus was fasting. It says: He ate nothing during those days. Now, this is an amazing thing, that Jesus should dedicate himself to such an incredible discipline not to eat for 40 days. But then we read, that Jesus was hungry. How is it, that Jesus, the Son of God, who needs nothing, can be hungry?

This is a serious question. If Jesus is truly God, how can he be hungry? Well, we might also ask the question: how is it that he became a tiny baby? How is it that he needed to learn how to talk from his mother? How is it, if Jesus is truly God, that he actually allowed himself to suffer and bleed at the hands of his enemies? How is it that he died, if he is truly God?

And so, we need to understand here exactly who Jesus is. He is not just a man, and he is not only God. But he is both truly God and truly man, 100% God and 100% man, 100% of the time. He is both God and man in such a way that everything he thinks is the thoughts of both God and man. Everything he says and does are the words and actions of both God and man. He doesn’t have a switch which he turns off, so that this is the God-version, and this is the man-version. No—not at all. He is not like two separate persons who are glued together like cardboard.

In the early centuries of the church, the best way to describe Jesus that many people used was the picture of a piece of iron which was heated up by fire. So, if you want to make a picture or a graphic on a piece of leather, or something, and you just poke at it with a cold piece of metal, you would just put a scratch or a hole in it. If you use a blow-torch, you would just turn it all black, and burn it. So what you need is to have a piece of metal which has been heated up, which has been put in the fire, so that it can make a mark and burn at the same time.

So, with Jesus, he is both God and man in the one person. Everything he touches, is touched by fire, if you like. But also, in our reading today, where we see Jesus in his physical weakness and hunger, this is our true God, Jesus Christ, who experiences hunger. And this is not because he would normally experience hunger as God, but because he has taken on human flesh, with all of its weakness and troubles.

And so, in the baptism of Jesus, we see Jesus in a wonderful, splendid, glorious, happy occasion. Here in the temptation of Jesus, we see him immediately in great physical weakness and hunger.

Also, in our reading, at the end, we read: Behold, angels came and were ministering to him. When Jesus wins the victory in these temptations, we see that all of God’s armies and heavenly hosts were also impacted and involved in some way. And this is very important for us to keep in mind. For example, in 2 Kings 6, we read that Elisha and his servant went out and found themselves completely surrounded by an army with horses and chariots from the king of Syria. We read: The servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

It is so easy to be overcome with what looks like the overwhelming power of the enemy. Even here in the reading, the devil looks like the powerful one much of the time, and Jesus looks like the weak one. But, in actual fact, those that are with Jesus are much more than those who are with the devil. And so, it is a great comfort to us, that the angels come to be with Jesus at the this time, and rejoice with him in the great victory that he wins against the devil.

Now, in our reading so far, we’ve looked at the person of God the Father, and of God the Son, but we also see the Holy Spirit with a very special mention in our reading. In the baptism of Jesus, we read that he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and coming to rest on him. And at the beginning of our reading today, we read: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Did you hear that? Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness. Even in Luke’s Gospel, it mentions the Holy Spirit twice. It says: And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

This is such an amazing thing for us to consider. Often, when we think of the Holy Spirit, we think of great power and wonders, for example, on the day of Pentecost, where there was wind and fire and miracles, and 3000 people being baptised, and all that kind of thing. However, here in the life of Jesus, it says specifically that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and that he was led by the Spirit. But where? In the wilderness. And this is something that gives us great comfort and strength in our own life. Sometimes, we find ourselves in a time in our life when it really feels like we’re in a kind of wilderness—everything is hard, everything is difficult, everything is a trial, and nothing is easy, nothing is straight-forward. We can get tired of life, and run-down, and depressed about things, and we think, “Where is God? What is he doing? How long does he want me to go on in this way? Why doesn’t he help me? Why doesn’t he give me some light at the end of the tunnel?” Jesus went through something very similar in our reading—this was a hard time, a weary time, physically and spiritually. But the great mystery of the whole thing is that he was full of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led him there.

So, also, for us, we might ask for God to send us the Holy Spirit, and to fill us with the Holy Spirit. Actually, when we were baptised, this was the baptism of water with the word, of water and the Spirit, where God promises to give us the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And sometimes, we start to think that then everything will go well with us in life—and actually it does. We are always with God, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. But, it doesn’t always mean that our life will be easy. Sometimes we find ourselves in the wilderness for a while, and we go through hard times. But this does not mean at all that we are abandoned by God, or emptied of his Holy Spirit. Actually, our feelings are completely unreliable in giving us a sense of how things are going with us spiritually.       That’s why we look to the Word of God, and the sacraments. God’s Word speaks the Gospel to us, that we are adopted as his children in baptism, that we are forgiven all our sins through the blood of Christ, that we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit—and these words are spoken to us, completely outside of us, and completely apart from our feelings. We trust that God has planted and established us in his kingdom, not because of our feelings, but because he has baptised us. And God continually feeds us in the Lord’s Supper, through the body and blood of Christ. These things are completely outside of us, and are completely separate from our feelings. So when we go through hard times, when we find ourselves in the wilderness, we should remember that at the baptism of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit came down upon him, and then led him immediately into the wilderness. The wilderness will not last forever, but only for a time.

So in our reading so far, we’ve looked at the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Let’s quickly now, have a look at the tempter and the temptations themselves. A lot of people today are talking about the evil one, perhaps because they think there is so much evil going on in the world today. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in this reading, he is called Satan, the tempter, and the devil.

In our reading, we see the devil tempt Jesus. We see him even physically take him to the pinnacle of the temple. We see him even take him to a high mountain to show him all the kingdoms of the world. If the devil can have such power even over the Son of God, why are we so surprised if the devil bothers us? However, we must always realise that with Jesus, we see nothing but victory over the devil. And we are with Jesus, and so our starting point is always that we have been given the victory into our hands.

In his first letter, St John writes: the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. But then also in the same letter, he writes: This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believe that Jesus is the Son of God? So we should always be encouraged by this.

In our reading, the devil first tempts Jesus to break his fast, by eating a whole lot of bread. And not just one loaf of bread, but a whole lot. He plays on the fact that Jesus is weak and hungry, and wants him to “pig out” and then to rub his face in it. The devil also wants Jesus to use his divine powers to turn stones into bread.

In the second temptation, the devil takes Jesus up on the roof of the temple, and wants Jesus to throw himself down. He even quotes to Jesus the Scripture, that God will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. He tempts Jesus to demonstrate his power for all to see, but also he tempts him to suicide, by jumping off the temple. Actually, the devil here also alters the Scripture that he quotes. He says: He will command his angels concerning you, but the psalm actually says, He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Even afterwards in the psalm, it says: You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. You can see that this prayer is a wonderful prayer against the devil. The angels actually do come at the end of the reading, to support and encourage Jesus. But the devil twists everything around, to make it sound like the angels should come and help Jesus is a kind of dangerous circus show.

In the third temptation, the devil takes Jesus on a high mountain and tempts him with the kingdoms of the world and all their glory, in exchange for Jesus falling down and worshipping him. We see here that with the devil nothing ever comes for free, it is always at the expense of our very selves, and of our souls. This is what happens when people involve themselves in devilish or demonic things: it always comes at the expense of their soul. That’s why when it comes to occult things, we should always avoid them like the plague and run a hundred miles.

In each of the three temptations, Jesus wins the victory, not with any outward display of power, not with any special tricks. He simply speaks the Word of God. Each time he says: It is written, it is written, it is written. He says: It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” He says: Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” He says: Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

Now, before, we asked the question: if the devil can have such physical power over Jesus, by taking him up to the temple, by taking him up a high mountain, etc. what hope do we have? But then, if Jesus can get rid of the devil simply by speaking the Word of God, and just a few sentences of the Word of God, and we have that same Word in our own hands, accessible to us, then what hope does the devil have? The power and the victory and the glory is all in the simple, clear, pure Word of God. The devil uses the Word of God, but only by corrupting it. And even though he corrupts it, the angels still come and minister to Jesus anyway, just as that Word promises. We know that the Word of God in the Holy Scripture is the living voice of the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that came upon Jesus in his baptism, that filled him and led him into the wilderness. This is the same Holy Spirit that fills us, that was poured out on us in our baptism, and that leads us through our lives. And so, we go to the Scripture, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us learn it and understand it, we listen to it, we think about it, and when we have the Word of God, we have every weapon against the evil one that we need. If it’s good enough even for Jesus, then it’s good enough for us!

So, we commend ourselves to Jesus, to the Father, and the Holy Spirit. May the Holy Spirit lead us throughout our lives, and help us in every trouble. May Jesus be with us and stand with us with his victory over the evil one in his hand. And May God the Father sustain us by the Words which comes from his mouth, and let’s commend ourselves to his care and our lives to worship and serve him. Amen.

 

And the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.