Epiphany / Farewell Sermon [Matthew 2:1-11] (6-Jan-2019)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am, and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 10.30am.

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

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.

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 we are celebrating a wonderful festival on the church calendar called “Epiphany”. Epiphany is exactly 12 days after Christmas, and it marks the occasion where the wise men—or sometimes we call them, the “Magi”—came from the east to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus.

There are a number of things that happen in this reading. Firstly, we read about the wise men coming to Jerusalem, and they ask Herod about the king of the Jews, who has been born. We don’t really know much about these men, or exactly where they were from. Secondly, they tell Herod how it happened that they came to Jerusalem. They said, We saw his star. And thirdly, they tell Herod why they have come: we have come to worship him.

Next, we read that Herod and the whole city of Jerusalem became troubled when they heard the news. The reason for this, of course, is that they didn’t know about the birth—it wasn’t public news. But Herod then summons the Jewish priests, and they consult the Scripture, as to where such a king would be born. The answer they find is: Bethlehem. This is a very important point. The wise men weren’t simply lead by a star to Bethlehem—somewhere along their journey, not far from where Jesus was actually born, they had to consult the Scripture. The star only led them as far as Jerusalem, but the Scripture pointed them to Bethlehem.

Next, we read about Herod’s jealousy—he didn’t want another Jewish king around the place. So he asked the wise men all about it, and tricked them by giving them the false impression that he wanted to worship Jesus too—in actual fact, he wanted to kill him. This is almost a bit like Judas—Judas gives the impression that he is a friend of Jesus by greeting him with a kiss, as men used to do in those days. But in actual fact, he meant to give Jesus away to the soldiers, so that they would know which one Jesus was and arrest him.

Then, we read about how the wise men leave Herod and continue to follow the star which miraculously rests right above the place where Jesus was. We get the impression that the star pointed the wise men not just to the town, but to the exact address. We read that the wise men rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. They didn’t just rejoice, and they didn’t just rejoice exceedingly, but they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy! And we also read about how they bowed down before the baby Jesus and worshipped him.

And then of course, we read about the wonderful gifts that the wise men brought: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Now, many of our Christmas carols mention the meaning of these gifts. Gold was given to Jesus in recognition of the fact that he was a king. Frankincense seems like a very strange thing to us—frankincense is a product which comes from resin in trees, and was famously grown in the south part of Arabia, which is modern-day Yemen. Frankincense was burned on coals and made a sweet-smelling perfume—the Jews also used it in worship, as a reminder of the people’s prayers ascending to heaven. So this frankincense was given to Jesus in recognition of the fact that he was God. And lastly, myrrh was given to Jesus. Myrrh was another resin, but was often made into an oil. It was also used as a burial spice. Even today, people can by myrrh from a health-shop as a mouth-wash, because it hinders decay. So also people used myrrh for embalming a dead body, because it hinders decay. So this gift was given to Jesus in recognition of the fact that one day Jesus would die.

At the end of our reading, we read about how an angel of God came and communicated with the wise men in a dream and warned them about Herod’s evil motives, so instead of going back and reporting to him, they went back home on a different route, without Herod’s knowledge.

So we can see that this reading, and this occasion, so many years ago, when the wise men came to visit Jesus was a quite an amazing event—we have these exotic people from foreign countries, with their exotic gifts—we read about stars, and prophecies, and dreams. All of these things come together and demonstrate to us the great richness of God’s kingdom, and just what an unexpected and glorious and wonderful thing it is to be in this kingdom. When we consider all the times we’ve come to this place, or in other places throughout our lives, and bowed our knees and our hearts in worship before our Lord Jesus, we should remember all the other weird and wonderful people who have done the same thing over many centuries, and also the amazing way in which God orchestrated everything and brought everything together in such a way that they got to that point. Just imagine if we’d all shown up at the house of Mary and Joseph 2000 years ago with our Queensland rubber thongs and shorts, and bright shirts and sun-glasses. Who would have seemed more exotic? The wise men from the East or us?!

And yet, if we think about how each of us got here this morning—and where we were born, there are many stories to be told—not necessarily involving stars and dreams and prophecies, but still amazing nevertheless. Maybe your ancestors migrated to this region on a ship over a hundred years ago. Maybe you’re a lady who came from a foreign country to marry some local fellow. Maybe you came on holiday from another state, and bought a house here on a whim, and the rest is history. Maybe you don’t really know how you ended up here. But if we stand back and look at everything, we realise that none of us would have ever planned to have these particular people in any Christian congregation. The Holy Spirit is the one who has gathered us together. The book of Proverbs says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Listen to those words: In all your ways acknowledge him. We look back on our lives, and it’s often only in hindsight that we can see the steady hand of the Lord guiding us through everything, even though sometimes at a particular time, we had no idea what was going on. In all your ways acknowledge him.

There’s a wonderful verse in Psalm 119, that is also very well-known. Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. I remember a couple of years ago, when we drove up here to Maryborough, I was driving on the “Hay Plain” in New South Wales at night. I don’t know if many of you know that road but it’s a very long and boring road. Something that I did to pass the time was that I would take notice on my speed-o how many kilometres it was from when I would first see the lights of truck on the horizon to when they passed me. I remember seeing one truck from over 10kms away. But often in our life, we don’t have the benefit of seeing things from that kind of distance. Often the reality is that God only lights our path with his word one step in front of us at a time. On one hand, we see heaven in the distance like a shining light, but often, we don’t know what God’s doing in the next 100 metres, 10 metres, or even one step ahead. The wise men would have had a journey like this—they get to Jerusalem. No-one knows where to send them. The priests tell them about Jerusalem. The star leads them directly to Bethlehem. They are warned in a dream—only one step at a time. And it was not simply a star that led them, but God’s word which led them to Bethlehem, since it was prophesied many years beforehand. It was God’s word which was a lamp to their feet and a light to their path.

Now today also marks another occasion, which is much less significant than the visit of the wise men to Bethlehem—which is that today is my final service among you as your pastor. It is often said that the wise men came from Persia—it’s strange that the distance from Persia to Jerusalem, is about the same distance as Maryborough to Adelaide!

At the beginning of December, I celebrated my 10^th anniversary of my ordination as a pastor. It was a strange occasion, because I was on sick-leave at the time. I always wanted to be a pastor from about the time I was 14-years-old. Over the last 20 years, I’ve grown up a lot, I’ve met many people, and done many different things. I also remember when I was about 17, there was a Catholic priest that I knew in Adelaide that I liked a lot. But he died suddenly, and it turned out that on his way to a medical appointment he had doused himself in petrol and set himself alight. This event had a profound effect on me, because it hit me: how is it that a priest, and such a jovial, happy one at that, could be plagued by such darkness?

I remember when I was at the end of my first year of seminary, there was an old pastor, Pastor Noel Weiss, who came up to me, and said: So, Stephen, did you have a good first year in seminary? I said, “Yes, I did”. He said, “Did you meet the devil?” I thought about it, and I said, “Yes”. He said, “Then it was a good year!”

I want to tell you that being a pastor is a wonderful thing—it is a great joy. But it has its darkness—but the darkness is not a punishment, or some victory of the evil one—but it is a training. It’s the same for every Christian—being a Christian is the best thing in the world, but we also have sufferings as Christians. St Paul says in Acts that it is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.

Now, I’ve spoken a bit about myself just now, and I don’t often like to do that. Sometimes we pastors can end up talking too much about ourselves if we don’t watch out, instead of talking about Jesus who has saved us. But I want to tell you something: I always talk about myself in sermons. I don’t often tell you that I’m doing it. But there is a wonderful passage about the ministry in 1 Timothy 4, where St Paul writes: Keep watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers. When I first became a pastor, I realised that I wasn’t hearing anyone else’s sermons anymore. All the sermons I heard were mine! Paul says to Timothy that he doesn’t just give sermons for other people’s benefit, but also for his own. Keep watch on yourself, says Paul, and on the teaching. Because you will save both yourself and your hearers.

So often as a pastor, I have often tried to preach to myself, because actually, I’m the sinner that I actually know the best. So when I preach, I’ve always tried to apply the texts to myself. But over the years, I’ve noticed something very strange. When I preach to myself most strongly, it’s often those weeks when someone comes to me at the door and says, “Pastor, you hit the nail on the head today. It was as if you were speaking just to me.” And here I am thinking, “I wasn’t talking about you, I was talking about me!”

But then this shows to us that the sufferings that we pastors go through aren’t for us pastors. They’re for you, and for your benefit. The Holy Spirit shapes and forms us so that we can bring the exact message that he wants to be preached into your ears at a particular time, just when you need it. You might not have noticed the stars, the prophesies, the dreams, the frankincense, the myrrh, but there were all kinds of things that the Holy Spirit orchestrated so that this church, this service, this sermon, and whatever, would be just as it is. St Paul wrote about this as an apostle: We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

As I’ve been preparing for today, one thing that has hit me is an overwhelming sense of failure. But whatever sense of failure has been at work in me, I pray that it would serve to your encouragement, just as Paul say: Death is at work in us, but life in you. I remember when I was in confirmation, and my pastor told me about how he had failed Greek at the seminary, and he thought, “Oh no! I’m never going to be a pastor now!” But his old grandmother said to him, “Don’t worry. Failure isn’t always what it seems. Look at Jesus on the cross.”

There’s a very interesting passage in 2 Corinthians 2, where Paul writes: When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even through a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. It’s a strange thing. St Paul says that the Lord opened the door for him to go to Troas, but because his spirit was not at rest, he left and went to Macedonia instead. It’s strange—I would think that maybe Paul would feel quite some sense of failure too, since he says that he turned his back on a door which the Lord opened for him.

But in actual fact, he says in the next verse: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. Doesn’t this take you by surprise? St Paul says, that even though he turned his back on a door which the Lord had opened for him, he didn’t fail Jesus at all, but instead Christ continues to lead him in triumphal procession. It isn’t a failure at all, but we are clothed in gold, and frankincense and myrrh, and led in a procession with music and camels to worship the baby Jesus on bended knee, not only in Maryborough or Childers, but wherever we happen to be in life. It’s just as that pastor’s old grandmother said: “Failure isn’t always what it seems. Look to Jesus on the cross.” When Jesus gave up his spirit and said, “It is finished”, it wasn’t his failure, but it was his glorious atonement, his wonderful payment, where he lay down his life for the sin of the world, and he burst from the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. And for us, even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for Jesus is with us, his rod and his staff, they comfort us.

And so, as Jesus comforts us, and brings us into his presence to worship him on bended knee, he shapes us and forms us through whatever experiences he led us through to get us there, so that when he sends us back home, we can also help and strengthen those we meet who need it. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in his comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

And so, as we come here today to celebrate Epiphany, we remember the wonderful and miraculous way in which God brought all of us unlikely people here together to worship the Lord Jesus. You might remember the story of Jacob, when he woke up from his dream about the angels and the ladder, he said: Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it! It’s just like the wise men must have said when they saw the humble home that Mary and Joseph lived in! Jesus didn’t live in Herod’s palace, but in a humble house in Bethlehem, even having been born in a humble stable.

We have a humble Saviour, who is pleased to meet unlikely sinners like us, and is pleased to forgive us, to meet us, to baptise us, to encourage us, and even to feed us with his body and blood! And so, as we remember these things today, let’s also remember what it was said of the wise men all those many years ago: When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.

Amen.

Dear Jesus, you have drawn us too to meet you today, and what a great joy it is to be with you here in your house. Bless us and our congregation both now and into the future, and lead and guide us through the light of your holy and pure word. Amen.

Mid-week Lent Service V [Luke 23:26-31] (21-Mar-2018)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 5.30pm.

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

And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, bless all of us with your Holy Spirit, to me that I may preach well, and to all of us that we may hear well. Amen.

Tonight in our last midweek Lent sermon for this year, we reflect on the event where Jesus was led to place of his death. In our sermon tonight we are going to reflect on three things.

I.                   The fact that Jesus was led out to be crucified, carrying his cross.

II.                 The fact that Simon of Cyrene was called upon to help him.

III.              Jesus addresses a group of women who were following him.

So let’s look at the first part, where:

I.                   Jesus was led out to be crucified, carrying his own cross.

In Matthew and Mark, we are told: When they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Throughout the events of the last day, Jesus had been clothed three times: once by Herod, once by the soldiers when they mocked him, and then before he was led away. Herod clothed him in “splendid clothing”, possibly a white garment, or something brightly coloured. The soldiers clothed him in a purple robe, and now they clothe him with his own clothes.

In some sense, these three different clothes remind us of different things: the white garment from Herod reminds us of the white clothing that priests would wear in the temple, and their splendid clothing, with jewels and gold thread. This reminds us that Jesus is our priest, in fact our high priest, who constantly prays for us before God the Father. He is a priest who is able to sympathise with us in our weakness, and was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. The purple robe reminds us that Jesus is a king, since purple is the colour that kings wear. He is the King of glory; the King of kings and Lord of lords. But then lastly, before he is led out, they put his own clothes back on him. These are his simply humble clothes that he normally wore. This reminds us of the fact that Jesus is a prophet, and just like all the prophets, he wore no fancy clothes, but was poor and lowly. Remember the encouragement that Jesus gives to his disciples about their persecution. He says: So they did to the prophets who were before you.

These three things, that Jesus is priest, king and prophet, is what it means that he is the Messiah, or the Christ. Messiah (in Hebrew) or Christ (in Greek) mean that he is anointed. The people who were anointed with oil in the Old Testament were prophets, priests or kings. Jesus is all three, and he is not simply anointed with oil, but with the Holy Spirit at his baptism, and declared by God to be his beloved Son, with whom he is well pleased. This is the same Jesus who is going to the cross.

In John’s Gospel we are told that Jesus carried his own cross. This was to add to the shaming of Jesus as he walked to place of his execution. This was a piece of wood that was going to sustain the weight of a grown man: it was no twig.

And we are reminded in this picture of Jesus carrying his own cross that he is the Lamb of God who carries the sins of the world. He is carrying a heavy load, and he carries it for us. In Isaiah 53 we read that the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

On one hand, we see the fact that it is us and our sin that has laid this on him. On the other hand, we also see that we have a wonderful Saviour, Jesus, who carries it, and takes it off our shoulders and takes it upon his own.

In Deuteronomy, we also read that the wood of the cross was a curse from God. It says: Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree. St Paul says about this in Galatians: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”. Jesus removes all curses from us, by taking this curse upon his own shoulders, which we see here as he carries his own cross. He takes the curse, but he gives us all the blessings of his kingdom.

This brings us now to the second part of our reading, where:

II.                 Simon of Cyrene was called upon to help Jesus carry the cross.

In John’s Gospel we are told that Jesus carries his own cross. In Matthew, Mark and Luke we are told that Simon carried it. Of course, there’s no reason to believe that both didn’t happen. Also, it is also quite likely that Jesus began to carry his own cross, but because he had been so weakened by his scourging, he needed some help.

Now, we don’t know much about this man Simon, except that he was Cyrene, and Mark tells us that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. In Romans 16, we read at the end of the letter where Paul is passing on various greetings to various people. He says: Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. If Mark mentioned Alexander and Rufus, it is probably likely that many people knew who these people were, and it seems that in Romans here, there was a man called Rufus and his mother who were particularly close to Paul, and had looked after him. Simon of Cyrene probably became a Christian himself and raised his family as Christians too.

We read that he was from Cyrene. Cyrene was a city, founded by the Ancient Greeks, on the North African coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Today, this region is part of modern day Libya. Simon is a long way from his home. On the day of Pentecost, we read that there were people from Cyrene there, amongst all kinds of other people. We read where the people say: Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappodocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Romes, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our tongues the mighty works of God.

Simon was not the only person from this part of the world who was in Jerusalem, and yet he was most certainly a foreigner. We read in Luke: And as they led [Jesus] away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.

We have here a wonderful picture here of the words which Jesus had said to his disciples earlier: Take up your cross and follow me. It’s strange: on one hand, Simon doesn’t have any choice about the matter. He is forced to carry it. And also, it is not his cross—it belongs to Jesus, and Jesus is the one who is going to die on it.

This gives us a wonderful picture of our own Christian lives. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow me. He lets us carry his cross for a little while, so that something sinful in us can be put to death. But Jesus doesn’t make us pay for our sins, and atone for them—that is his job. Sometimes we feel in our lives that we have been carrying an incredible burden, which has been laid on us for a time. Often we carry things around with us that are actually not for us to carry—we have decided to carry them, whereas Jesus is the one who carries them. For example, sometimes people that we love might not act and behave in a way that we would like. And we take upon ourselves the task of changing them, or even converting them to the faith. Now, we can talk to people, encourage them, warn them, teach them, but we can’t change their hearts—that is Jesus’ job, and the Holy Spirit’s job. What a wonderful thing it is when we realise this, and we can say to Jesus: “Jesus, I realise now that I cannot carry this burden. I ask that you would take this burden away from me, and take it upon yourself.”

In 1 Corinthians 10, we read something about bearing temptations. St Paul writes: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. It’s strange—even Jesus is given the help that he needs to bear the weight of the cross. Simon only carries the cross for a time, and then it is no longer his any more. But Paul writes that God provides the way of escape. When we are burdened by some sin or troubles, we should be encouraged by the fact that God will provide the way of escape. But we often think that escaping means that we don’t have to bear it any more. Actually, it says: He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. He provided the way of escape, not so that we don’t need to endure it, but so that we can endure it. He provides the way of escape through the temptation. He leads us through it, not around it. And the wonderful thing about this is that God lays these things on us as long as they are of some benefit to our soul. And when we realise this, there is then a great joy in being able to bear the cross for as long as God would have us bear it. We know that in just a little while that Jesus will demonstrate his power and glory by showing us how he died on that same cross. St Peter writes: Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. But now listen to what he says: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Also, there is that wonderful passage in Matthew where Jesus says: Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He doesn’t say that he will remove the load immediately, or straight-away, or when we think that we need it. But he does promise us rest. And he promises us rest in a very strange way. He says: Take my yoke upon you. You have carried your burden for long enough. Now carry mine for a while, follow me, and I will show you where this road ends up. It ends at Golgotha, at Calvary, where I die for your sins, and make full payment for them, and where I win you for myself. He says: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. We find rest for our souls, knowing that the cross we bear belongs to him, and he is just lending it to us for a while for our training and our blessing. The loads we carry are heavy and burdensome, but to follow Jesus and carry his cross is a much easier weight. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. What a wonderful privilege it is to walk with Jesus and carry his cross!

The other important thing about Simon carrying Jesus’ cross, is that he was forced to carry his cross. Sometimes in our Christian lives, the people outside of the church force Christians to suffer for some part of the Christian faith that we would rather not have to. At first, it is painful. We might have preferred to suffer for some other reason, but Jesus chooses the issues for us that we have to wrestle with. And as he trains us, and as we endure with him, we realise that Jesus was even more gracious and merciful than we could have ever have imagined. He draws us further away from the corrupt and sinful world, and closer to him and his way of thinking. He trains us to think like him, as St Paul writes to the Philippians: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. This is what is says in Hebrews 13: Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. A chapter earlier we also read: For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

The last part of our sermon has to do with where:

III.              Jesus addresses a group of women who were following him.

This is what we read: And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

We read that there was a large group of people, mostly women—and Jesus addresses the women—who were mourning and grieving over Jesus. They felt sorry for him for what was about to happen to him.

But Jesus says to them: Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Jesus is saying: Don’t feel sorry for me, because I am going to do a wonderful thing now that is going to change everything as we know it. I am going to go and win the forgiveness of sins.

Previously, the Jewish people had divided the world up into two categories: themselves, and the Gentiles. But they had seen it all as an external kingdom. They were looking forward for a Messiah who was going to be a political figure, a great world leader who was going to suppress all their enemies. But now, Jesus is telling them: No—my kingdom is not of this world. The true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. I am going to establish a new kingdom now, I am going to be enthroned. The old older of things is finished, now there will be a new kingdom with a new kind of worship. This will be a kingdom of word and sacrament—of preaching, baptism and the Lord’s Supper—it will be a kingdom of the forgiveness of sins.

The world will now be divided into the sheep and the goats. There are those who trust and follow Jesus, and there are those who reject him. Anyone can weep for Jesus, but Jesus tells these women to weep for themselves and their own children. Weep over your own sins. And weep over the fact that your children will be sinners with you. But rejoice in what I am now accomplishing.

Jesus says: For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ What Jesus is saying here is that there is going to be a judgment over the world, and even in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will end, and the world will end. And it will be preferable to wish that their children had not been brought into the world than to see them have to endure it. It will be preferable to want to be swallowed up by hills and mountains than to be face to face with that judgment of God.

Jesus says: For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? What does this mean? Jesus has been walking around and teaching and healing, and it has been a wonderful time, where many people have been called to follow him. It has been a day of salvation. It is a time when the wood is green, and leaves and fruits can grow. When Jesus calls us to repentance and faith, we should not put it off until later. We should take his hand when he reaches it out to us. But Jesus speaks of a time later when it will be too late, when the wood is dry. It is like the parable of the 10 virgins, where the five foolish virgins have missed their chance, and the doors are shut, and the bridegroom says: Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.

And if Jesus, the Saviour of the world, who has no sin, receives this kind of treatment, what kind of treatment do you think people deserve, like us who do have sin? Jesus turns the women’s eyes away from the glory of the city, away from the glory of Jerusalem, and towards him, who is the light of the world. It is not the world and people and politics and society and culture that saves us, but Christ alone. He is the green wood, everything else is dry. And when nations fall, cities are overthrown, cultures are eaten away, societies crumble, Jesus shows to us his victory over all of it—his cross, his death, his blood, his sacrifice.

Hebrews 13 says: Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world – grant us your peace. Amen.