The Fifth Sunday in Lent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 8:46-59
In Christ Jesus, the sinless Man, the Truth-teller, the Son of God, who was despised and rejected by the world of sinners, but who still went forward through suffering and death out of love for us to redeem our souls, dear fellow redeemed:
Do you ever think about what it would be like to be related to someone famous? Imagine if you were the child of someone whose name everyone knew. Is that something you would want or not want? On the one hand, it would mean you grew up having whatever you dreamed of, having doors open to you that most people don’t even know exist. On the other hand, you would constantly be in the shadow of that famous father or mother, and you might find it difficult to make your own way in life.
One thing we would all agree on is that it is annoying when someone plays a “name card.” This happens even in our small communities: “You should pay attention to me because I am connected to so-and-so. I deserve to have certain privileges because I am this person’s child or grandchild.” As much of a blessing as it is to be related to someone successful, this can become a crutch which keeps that person from taking responsibility for his own life and future.
The same principle applies in spiritual matters. We give thanks to God if we are part of a long line of faithful Christians who have been active in the Christian Church. Our cemeteries are full of faithful people and good names that still stand as an example for us all. But we are not right with God and destined for heaven simply because we belong to the right family or have our membership in the right church.
In Jesus’ exchange with the Jews in today’s Gospel account, He made it clear that lineage alone does not make anyone right with God. The conflict intensified when Jesus said this: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Joh. 8:31-32). How could that be controversial? We find these words to be very comforting! But the Jews responded, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (v. 33).
Never mind the fact that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for the better part of four hundred years, that they spent seventy years as captives in Babylon, and that they were now ruled by the Romans. They said they had never really been slaves because they were descendants of Abraham. No one could take away their glory, they thought, since they were connected by blood to that famous man. As long as they could trace their lineage to Abraham and lived according to God’s law, then God must be pleased with them.
But what made Abraham so great in the first place? He was not great because of what he did but because of what God did through him. Abraham did not build up a nation of people as many as the stars in the heavens by his own will and determination. God waited until he was ninety-nine years old and his wife Sarah was ninety before He gave them the son of promise. Abraham knew where His glory and success came from—it was all from the LORD. Genesis 15 says that “he believed the LORD, and [the LORD] counted it to him as righteousness” (v. 6).
That is Abraham’s legacy—not what He did for himself or for God, but what God did for him. By the grace of God, Abraham believed the promise God made. Anyone who claimed a connection to Abraham should be focused on the same thing, but that was not the case with those contending against Jesus. He said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did” (Joh. 8:39), that is, the works of faith built upon the promise. He told them, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.” Abraham looked in faith to the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior through his line. Jesus was that Savior.
But many of the Jews, descendants of Abraham, rejected Jesus. This showed that while they may have been physical descendants of Abraham, they were not his spiritual heirs. A rich inheritance had been handed down to them, but they were squandering it. They thought they still had it, but all they had was fool’s gold.
I recently heard that the vast wealth of a rich person is often gone by the third generation, wasted by their grandkids if it even makes it that far. We do not want the same to be said for the great treasure of faith that we have received. Our desire and aim as Christians is faithfully to pass along the holy teaching that has been handed down to us. Just as the management of wealth requires diligence and wisdom, so it is with the riches of God’s grace.
We cannot assume that the faith given at our Baptism will always be ours no matter what. We can lose this gift by intentional sinning and a proud attitude that minimizes repentance and the humble receiving of Christ’s Word and Sacrament. We can also send the message to our children and grandchildren that other things can take priority over the Word of God, that God and the Church will be there if they need them.
We must “count the cost” of what it means to follow Jesus. Following Jesus does not mean “family first” or “finances first” or “fun first.” He does not set the bar low. He says that nothing should come before Him and His Word. That’s His requirement. He says: “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luk. 14:33). He is certainly asking a lot! But He does not ask from us anything He is not prepared to give us.
Think of Abraham: God told him to move away from his family to a strange land and promised to make him into a great nation. But after Abraham moved to Canaan, God made him wait—five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years—until finally He gave him the son of promise. He did not make Abraham wait to torment him. He made Abraham wait to strengthen his faith. That is His plan for you too. He does not promise that trusting His Word will make everything easy for you. He does promise that His Word will not return to Him empty (Isa. 55:11), and that it will bring blessings that continue into eternity.
His Word knocks off the rough edges of your sin that harm yourself and others, it softens your heart to hear the truth, and it guides you from suffering to endurance to character to hope (Rom. 5:3-4). His Word works contrition and repentance in you over your sin, and it increases your desire to do better. His Word comforts you, encourages you, strengthens you. His Word brings you the gifts Jesus won for you—His forgiveness, righteousness, and life. As Jesus told the Jews, His Word of truth sets you free.
He said the same thing in today’s reading: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.” By doubling the word “truly,” He wants you to know that what He says is absolutely certain, beyond any doubt. Those who keep His Word—pay attention to it, hold onto it, treasure it above else—will never see death. But how can you know if you have “kept” it well enough? How can you know if your faith and devotion are pure enough?
The key is not to look at yourself or trust what you have done. The key is to trust what Jesus did in your place. He asked the Jews: “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?” No one could rightly accuse Him because He never sinned. He never disobeyed the will of His Father. He never used His status before God for selfish reasons. He never took His eye off the goal, which was the salvation of every soul by His atoning death and resurrection.
He came to do for you what you could not do. The Jews in our reading rejected Him because they thought they could do what God required. They thought they were good enough for God. They thought He was pleased with them because of who they were. By glorifying themselves, they failed to give honor and glory to the One sent by God to save them.
Abraham, whom they were so proud to be connected to, could not have saved them if God sent him back to earth. The same is true of our faithful forefathers. Only the eternal Son of God could save us. God the Father sent His Son to take on the flesh of man, so that He could redeem the world of sinners. He was a blood descendant of Abraham according to His human nature, but He was also infinitely before Abraham as the eternally-begotten Son of the Father. This is why He could declare without any hesitation or exaggeration: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
Jesus is the great “I AM,” the Lord of all creation, the Conqueror of sin, death, and devil. It was His plan from eternity to offer Himself for you, to save your soul. In the waters of Holy Baptism, He joined Himself to you and attached His name to you, so that you became an heir of His eternal riches. You are a dear child of God, not because you have the right human connections or belong to the right family tree. You are His dear child because Jesus died for you and rose again for you, and the Holy Spirit worked faith in you to believe in Him.
This faith comes through His powerful Word. Jesus says, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God.” Hearing and believing the promises of God is what makes you a spiritual descendant of Abraham. St. Paul writes, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham… [they] are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal. 3:7,9). You might not ever be connected by blood to someone famous or enjoy earthly wealth in this lifetime, but you already have something far better. You are connected to Jesus by faith, and Jesus Gives the Inheritance That Lasts Eternally.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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(picture from “The Tribute Money” by James Tissot, 1836-1902)
Midweek Lent 5 – Pr. Abraham Faugstad homily
Text: St. John 19:25-27
In Christ Jesus, who perfectly kept God’s law in your place, so that you could be regarded as saints, dear fellow redeemed!
Jesus summarizes the Ten Commandments when he says, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ (and) ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37, 39). Love God; love your neighbor. Oftentimes, we think of keeping God’s commandments as simply not doing things we shouldn’t—you shall have no other gods, you shall not misuse the name of the your God, you shall not murder or hate your neighbor, you shall not steal, and so on. But to keep God’s commands is more than just not doing something—it also means to fulfill his commands. Not only are you not to murder or hate your neighbor, you need to help and befriend him in every need. To keep the seventh commandment doesn’t mean just not to steal from your neighbor but also help him to improve and protect his goods and means of making a living. To keep the eighth commandment doesn’t just mean not lying or slandering your neighbor, but excusing him, speaking well of him, and interpreting everything in the best possible way. For every “you shall not,” there is a “you shall.”
As we think about our life it’s easy for the many good things we have left undone to weigh on our conscience. As we look back upon our life and our day, it’s easy to find times where we could have been a better spouse or parent, child or friend. I should have said or done that! It’s easy for us to feel remorse and guilt for failing to fulfill God’s command to love him and our neighbor. Because it’s true. Not only have we broken God’s law and sinned, but we have also many times not done what we could have or should have done. We let opportunities that God place in front us go to waste.
That’s why tonight, as we focus on Jesus’ great love and mercy from the cross, taking care of his own mother, I want us to focus on the great comfort of Jesus’ active obedience for us.
When we speak about the saving work of Christ and his obedience, we distinguish between his active and passive obedience. By his innocent sufferings and death, Jesus suffered, in our stead and for our benefit, the punishment which we deserved according to the law of God. We call this his passive obedience. Though he was completely innocent, he suffered for the sins of the world so that we could be forgiven. He took our sentence of death so that we could go free. “Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me.” The other part of Christ’s obedience was his active obedience. By his holy life, Jesus has perfectly fulfilled the law in our stead and for our benefit. Jesus loved God above all things and his neighbor as himself. He did this throughout his life, so that we who were unable to obey God’s law perfectly, might be credited a righteous life on his account. And we have a wonderful example of how Christ perfectly fulfilled the Lord’s command to love in our lesson tonight.
These were the last few hours of Jesus’ life. As the only innocent man to ever live, he was scourged and beaten, lied about and betrayed, and sentenced to crucifixion. The Roman’s didn’t invent crucifixion, but they did perfect it—ensuring it to be the most painful form of death at the time. Jesus now hung from the cross. We know from Scripture that a few women and a disciple watched this all take place from a distance, but now we are told they stood by the cross. Mary the mother of Jesus, his aunt, Mary Magdalene, and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. They would have seen first-hand Jesus’ aching body, the sweat, the wounds, the blood, and the tears. They had come to grieve and mourn and offer what support they could to Jesus who was not only in extreme physical pain, but in spiritual affliction as he bore the weight of the world’s sins.
Yet instead of them offering him what little comfort they could, Jesus offered it to them, specifically, to his mother. He knew he would no longer be able to fulfill his obligation as a son. But as her Lord and Savior, he ensures that his mother, likely a widow, was cared for by his beloved disciple. John would later write of Jesus, “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). He loved them to the end. Surely, the Psalmist is right when he writes that God is “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalm 68:5). God does not forget his people. Jesus shows us this.
When we are in pain, it is normal for us not to think about anyone else. It’s natural for us to be selfish and want others to care for us. A couple weeks ago I was rinsing out a tin can and sliced my finger as I was washing it. I stomped my foot in pain. But it made me think, “how would I have responded if my wife in that moment would have asked for me to change our daughter’s diaper?” I am not too optimistic about how I would have responded. Of course, she didn’t ask for help but offered to help me.
Here hangs Jesus, at a time when anyone would understand not thinking about others—but still he loves. He perfectly cares for his neighbor, fulfilling the law of God for us. We are told that John took Mary to his home that hour, he made her part of his family. John took care of Mary until the end of her life.
John, perhaps better than anyone else, understood what it means to love our neighbor. Here, Jesus laid before John his own opportunity to show love—by caring for Mary as his own mother. To help her in her grief and support her in old age. We often call the apostles saints. Like St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John. Why do we do that? Is it because they lived a holier life than most? Or performed certain miracles? While they lived fine Christian lives and did amazing things through God, that is not why we call them saints. They are regarded saints because they believed in Jesus. As Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3).
Even John as he cared for Mary couldn’t have done it perfectly. John himself writes by inspiration, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But John believed in Christ. He confessed his sins and trusted in Jesus. And he says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8,9).
You and I have sinned. We have broken God’s law. What’s more, we have often failed to live up to the life that God demands of us. Yet we know that Jesus has not only paid for all our sins and failures on the cross, but that he also lived the life that God demands in our place. Jesus left no good deed undone. Our Savior did all things well for you.
Maybe you’re feeling guilty for your failure to love your children, your spouse, your parents, or your coworker the way you could or should have. Maybe you missed opportunities to show love. Don’t let the devil cause you to despair. Look to Jesus. See how in his agony he still loved. He perfectly fulfilled God’s law. And he did it for you and for your benefit—so that his perfect life could be credited to you.
In willing and loving obedience to his Father, Jesus laid down his life and freely offered himself as the spotless Lamb of God for you. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). By his willing obedience, active as well as passive, Jesus has fully atoned for our sins, reconciled us to the Father, and made us children of God and heirs of eternal glory.
Could anyone accuse Jesus of failing to live up to God’s command to love? No. Here’s the amazing thing: through faith in Jesus, neither can anyone accuse you. Because his life is your life, his death is your death, and his victory over death is your future. Yes, you are a sinner, but by God’s grace through faith, you are a saint fit for heaven. God has declared it. Behold your Savior! Amen.
(picture from “Crucifixion, Seen from the Cross,” by James Tissot, c. 1890)
The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 6:1-15
In Christ Jesus, who came to give life to the world through His flesh and blood, dear fellow redeemed:
They had been free for one month. No longer were they under the harsh rule of the Egyptians. The LORD had led them out of Egypt by His servant Moses. He even opened up a path for them to walk through the Red Sea. But the people of Israel were dissatisfied. Their bellies growled with hunger, and they began to wish they were back in Egypt where at least they had something to eat. The LORD heard their cry; He had not forgotten His people. He said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (Exo. 16:4).
Every morning, there was dew around the camp. “And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground” (v. 14). The people were encouraged to gather as much of this as they could eat, but they were not to keep any until the next day. The exception to this was on Friday when they must gather twice as much, so that no collecting would be needed on the Sabbath day, the day of rest.
Whoever did not listen to the LORD and kept bread overnight any day but Friday, found that in the morning it had worms and stunk. This was to teach the people to rely on the LORD for food day after day. The people called the bread “manna,” which means, “what is it?” because they had never seen anything like it before. God gave them this bread for forty years until they came into the Promised Land of Canaan.
Nearly 1500 years later, the people of Israel followed Jesus into the wilderness by the Sea of Galilee. No one had ever done the signs He was doing; He healed the sick. No one had ever taught like He had; His teaching cut to the heart, but it also comforted. They were so focused on the things Jesus was doing that they had brought no provisions with them.
As the shadows lengthened, the twelve disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves” (Mat. 14:15). Jesus had another solution. A boy shared with Him five barley loaves and two fish. He gave thanks for this gift and proceeded to distribute bread and fish to all who were gathered there—five thousand men with women and children besides.
They had never seen a miracle like this! And then the wheels started turning. This abundant food in the wilderness reminded them of something. They thought of Moses’ words: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deu. 18:15). The people said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” They wanted to make Him their king, but Jesus quietly left them and went up the mountain by Himself to pray.
The next day, the resolve of the people had not changed. Full of anticipation, they located Jesus. But their conversation with Him did not go as they had hoped. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (Joh. 6:26-27).
Jesus exposed the plans of the people that they were looking not for a Savior from sin but for a savior from hunger. If they wanted a Savior from sin, they should expect to find this in the One who performed all these wonderful miracles. But the people just wanted their physical needs satisfied, and following Jesus seemed like the way to accomplish this. They focused on the gift when they should have been focusing on the Giver.
This was true of the Old Testament Israelites also, but forty years of continuous manna from heaven taught them something. Before they entered the land of Canaan, Moses recounted the people’s journey through the wilderness. He said: “And [the LORD] humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deu. 8:3).
Our bodies certainly need food. That is how the LORD designed them even before the fall into sin. But we are not to live “by bread alone.” This means that our days and our lives should be occupied with more than the pursuit of daily bread. We learn in the Catechism that “daily bread includes everything needed for this life.” We also learn that it is God who gives daily bread, and we know by experience this is true. Each of us can say that God has given us earthly blessings far beyond our basic needs, just like the large amount of leftovers gathered up after Jesus fed the multitude.
But these earthly gifts can only do so much for us. They only go so far. Their usefulness is limited to our short life on earth. Jesus pointed out to the people that “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died” (Joh. 6:49). It was bread from heaven, but it did not bring with it the promise of eternal life. In the same way, Jesus could continue to produce for the people vast amounts of food from very little or even out of nothing, but what good would this do for their souls?
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst…. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (vv. 35,51). And how did the people react to this? They “disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” (v. 52).
Well, how could He? He had already told them: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life” (v. 40). Jesus, the Bread of Life, is consumed by all who believe the Gospel message. God’s gracious Word is the platter that serves up Jesus. His flesh and blood are the main course which satisfies the hungry soul.
But does your soul feel hunger pangs for Jesus? Are you more concerned about “the food that perishes,” or “the food that endures to eternal life”? This is a real struggle. You know very well when your stomach is empty. And you can see when your earthly goods need to be fixed or replaced. But it is not as obvious when faith is running near empty, or when your understanding about God and your perspective on life in the world needs to be fixed or replaced. If you go without food for twenty-four hours, your body lets you know; there is discomfort and pain. But you can go twenty-four or forty-eight hours, or seven days, a few weeks, or even a number of months without realizing that your faith is starving.
Faith is not some goal to reach, that once you have gotten there and know the facts—once you have faith—you don’t need to be concerned about keeping it. Faith needs to keep being fed. It hungers for the Bread of Life, for Jesus. If faith does not hear Jesus and receive Jesus and get filled up with Jesus, then it cannot last. But if faith is given a steady diet of Jesus through home devotions and the dispensing of the Word and Sacraments at church, the Lord promises that it will not expire. Your faith will be rejuvenated and strengthened just as your body is whenever you eat.
There is no better food for your soul than the food of Jesus. Your soul hungers for forgiveness and life because by nature you have sin and death. This sin is what tricks you into thinking that you have no pressing spiritual need, and that your pursuit of earthly riches is more important than anything else. But the world’s goods go the same way as the manna the Israelites sinfully tried to stockpile overnight. The world’s goods leave a bad taste in the mouth, and in the end they are worthless. The food, clothing, and home that you have are gifts from God. But they must never take the place of Jesus and His Word.
When Jesus comes to you through the Gospel, He counteracts the sin and death in you. He chokes the old Adam which is trying to choke you. He starves the death that wants to devour you. He has the power to do that because sin already did its worst against Him, and death already swallowed Him up in the grave. Neither was able to destroy Him, and He emerged victorious over sin, death, and hell. Whenever you consume Jesus by faith, whether by hearing His Word or by eating and drinking His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, you are partaking of His victory and filling yourself with His life.
For all who hunger and thirst for righteousness believing in His name, Jesus Gives the Food That Endures to Eternal Life. He gives you the food of Himself which never grows old, never spoils, and never runs out. This Bread of Life is the rich nourishment your soul needs—a holy food offered to you for this life and for the life to come.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Last Supper” by Juan de Juanes, 1503-1579)
Midweek Lent 4 – Pr. Faugstad homily
Text: St. Luke 23:39-43
In Christ Jesus, who “was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12), dear fellow redeemed:
At the time of the Passover in Jerusalem, it had become the custom that the Roman governor would release one prisoner of the people’s choosing. In an attempt to get Jesus released, Pontius Pilate chose to put opposite Him a notorious prisoner named Barabbas (Mat. 27:16). Barabbas had taken part in some sort of insurrection in the city and had murdered someone (Mar. 15:7). The choice should have been obvious: Jesus who had healed people of sicknesses, fed the multitudes, and raised people from the dead, or the rebel Barabbas, a murderer.
But the chief priests and elders stirred up the crowd and persuaded the people to ask for Barabbas to be freed and Jesus to be condemned (Mat. 27:20, Mar. 15:11). So that’s what happened. Jesus was sentenced to die on the cross, and Barabbas went free. There were other rebels in prison who weren’t as fortunate as Barabbas. Two of these, whom the Gospels call “robbers” and “criminals,” were led away with Jesus to be crucified. We don’t know exactly what their crimes were, but they could have taken part in the insurrection along with Barabbas.
In today’s reading, one of the criminals hanging next to Jesus did not dispute the sentence he had received. When the other criminal hurled vile insults and blasphemies at Jesus, the first one rebuked his associate, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds.” That is a surprising statement. It is not often that someone admits his wrong.
We know how crucial it is that people tell the truth. And yet our natural inclination is to avoid punishment by lying to get out of trouble or by passing the blame on to someone else. We have done this since we first started to form words and maybe even before. “Did you do what you weren’t supposed to? Did you take that? Did you break that?” We shook our head “no,” even though the truth was “yes.” We also learned that the punishment for lying is worse than for telling the truth.
The more we practice deceit or pointing our fingers at others, the more hardened our conscience becomes. We begin to see everything we do as justifiable and right, and everything others do as wrong. This is the height of pride and self-centeredness. The second criminal is a picture of this. He railed at Jesus, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” There was no remorse, no self-reflection. Jesus had come to save him, too; He was hanging on the cross for that man’s sins, but he would not see it. Since he would not own up to his sins, he could not see his Savior.
The first criminal saw things differently. The rapid approach of his death had clarified his thinking. Perhaps he thought about how he had forsaken the Scriptural instruction of his youth, how he had pursued a course of wrongdoing, how he had grieved his parents, family members, and friends, how he had thrown it all away because of his selfishness.
He also saw Jesus, how “He was despised and rejected by men,” how “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isa. 53:3,7). He saw how “[w]hen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1Pe. 2:23). He saw how Jesus did not struggle against those who nailed Him to the cross, but said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luk. 23:34).
How could this be? How could a Man suffer like this? The mockers and revilers in the crowd derisively called Him the Christ. “He saved others; he cannot save himself,” they said. “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe” (Mar. 15:31-32). These were temptations straight from the devil. At the beginning of Jesus’ public work, the devil tempted Him to forego suffering: “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread…. If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down” (Mat. 4:3,6). But Jesus stayed the course.
Because He was the Christ, He would not come down from the cross. He had to be there. He had to bear the sins of the whole world and pay the eternal penalty for them, or no one could be saved. And by the grace of God, the first criminal believed. He believed that as He looked at the bruised and swollen face of Jesus, with thorns driven into His head, blood dripping from His wounds, breath coming with great difficulty and pain—that He was looking at the face of God incarnate.
Could he dare to hope that the Lord would be merciful, that even in these last moments, He would look upon this poor sinner and forgive his sins? With anguished, heartfelt cries, he said and kept saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Now I want you to picture this man as one of the most wicked people in history. Could that person’s sins be forgiven? Or imagine that it is someone who has wronged you, that frankly you cannot stand, whom you might even think of as your enemy. Could God forgive him or her?
Or imagine that the criminal hanging next to Jesus is you. Would you admit that you had sinned, that you were hanging there justly, receiving the due reward of your deeds? Would you dare to think that Jesus would have mercy on you, since it was your sins that put Him on the cross, a Man who had done nothing wrong? The statement of the thief is a great test case. Would Jesus just ignore him? Would He throw the man’s words back in his face with the condemnation he deserved?
Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” “Truly—Amen—I say to you—this is certain; the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mat. 16:18)—, today—even this day of torment and suffering, this day of darkness and dread, even this day—you will be with Me in paradise. You will see Me, not with a crown of thorns but with a crown of glory. You will be with Me where death is no more, where there is neither mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Rev. 21:4).
That is His answer for your troubled conscience, for your doubt about whether He loves you and forgives the wrongs that you have done. Will He remember you and bring you into His kingdom? “Amen, Amen” He says, “Yes, yes, it shall be so.” Jesus died for you too. Jesus paid for your sins, including your pride and self-centeredness, the times you were deceitful and put the blame on others.
There is no need for self-righteousness because He is your righteousness. He lived the perfect life that counts before God. Your righteousness is in Him, by faith in Him. Covered in that righteousness and cleansed by His blood, none of your wrongdoing or crimes stick to you. You are forgiven. And that is why, when your earthly end is near and your breath becomes shallow, Jesus’ beautiful words will apply to you as well, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Crucifixion” by Giambattista Tiepolo [1696-1770] at the Saint Louis Art Museum)
The Third Sunday in Lent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Luke 11:14-28
In Christ Jesus, who guards us His prized possessions so closely, that He declares, “no one will snatch them out of my hand” (Joh. 10:28), dear fellow redeemed:
The “strong man” that Jesus refers to who is fully armed, guarding his own palace, and keeping his goods safe is the devil. He rules over the kingdom of darkness and death. Jesus called him “the ruler of this world” (Joh. 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). That means no earthly power, no human authority is stronger than Satan. Ephesians 6 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (v. 12).
The devil and his fellow demons are our primary enemy. Their aim is to keep us from Jesus, and in so doing to keep us from life. They want to drag us into eternal death with them. It started with the devil’s temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God told Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die (Gen. 2:17). The devil said the opposite, “You will not surely die…. [Y]ou will be like God” (3:4,5).
The devil lied. Adam and Eve were already “like God.” They were made in His image. Now they knew sin and fear. They went into hiding as soon as they heard God in the Garden. They acted like God was their enemy. He proved to be their Savior. The LORD told the devil that he could not have mankind. He had not created them; they were not his. So God would be taking them back. He said to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (3:15).
This was a prophecy of the coming Messiah. This One would be born of woman, so that He could storm the devil’s palace and take his spoils. It was a perilous mission. Jesus was not welcome on earth. The book of Revelation describes the devil’s response to the incarnation of the Christ: “the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it” (12:4). But the devil did not succeed.
That doesn’t mean he stopped trying. We heard two weeks ago how he tempted Jesus in the wilderness to give up His mission (Mat. 4:1-11). There were more attempts like these. But Jesus did not fall for his temptations. He kept on marching right through the devil’s territory, as though it were His and not the devil’s. And as He went, He took away the armor in which the devil trusted and divided his spoils.
The armor the devil wore was the power of sin and death. Seeing how successful he had been with Adam and Eve, he kept on tempting man to sin. And as soon as he catches them in his trap, he points the flamethrower of accusation against them. In the Garden, he said, “Did God actually say?” Now he says to you and me, “Does God actually love you? How could He, since you have broken all His laws?”
The incarnate Son of God is the answer to that horrible question. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son” (Joh. 3:16). God had the devil in His sights. 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” The devil’s works include the power of death. If the devil can no longer successfully accuse us for our sins, then he can’t torment us with death either. Hebrews 2 says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, [Jesus] himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (vv. 14-15).
Jesus came on a rescue mission. He stood alone against the devil’s kingdom, and the devil was forced to give ground. We see this at the beginning of today’s account. Jesus cast out a demon from a man who was mute, and the man started speaking. He did this everywhere He went. He applied the power of His Word, and the demons retreated.
Jesus’ opponents accused Him of casting out demons by the power of the devil, whom they called “Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” Jesus explained how utterly foolish this would be. He said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” He was not working with the devil; He was clearly working against him. A stronger Man had come to challenge the strong man, which meant that the devil’s goods were not safe.
The devil’s goods consist of sinful human beings. You and I were once in his prison, but Jesus freed us from it by the light of His truth. That’s how He fights against the devil’s kingdom on earth. He does it by wielding “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17). It is by the Word that God “called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1Pe. 2:9). And it is by the Word that He keeps you in the light.
That means the last thing you would ever want to do is to step away from His Word. To do that would be to take your life into your own hands, and you already heard how you measure up to the devil—like a predator and his prey. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We step away from the powerful and protective Word of God every time we willfully sin against God. We know we shouldn’t do something, and we do it anyway. We listen to our heart instead of to Him who loves us and redeemed us.
Jesus gives an example in today’s account of someone who thinks he is safe but isn’t. He spoke of “the unclean spirit [who] has gone out of a person.” The only reason the demons leave is by the power of God. So the Lord had delivered this person, just like He delivered all of us by the power of Holy Baptism.
But the person who had the demon expelled took his new spiritual freedom for granted. He had his house—or rather his body and heart—“swept and put in order.” Life was going well for him. He was enjoying the pleasures and treasures and human measures of the world. He was not filling his heart and mind with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. So the unclean spirit returned and brought “seven other spirits more evil than itself” to enter and dwell in that person.
This is not a figure of speech or old-fashioned superstition. The demons exist, and they are constantly working to destroy your faith. A heart that is not filled with the Holy Spirit is a heart that is exposed and open to other spirits. Our modern culture may think this is foolishness, but the devil and demons are just as active today as they were in the past. And baptized believers are their special target.
This is why Jesus says, “Blessed… are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” It is not enough to hear the Word of God. We could hear it but then reject it with our mind or reject it by our intentional sinning. Jesus says we are blessed when we hear His Word “and keep it.” The word for “keep” does not mean “obey.” It means to “watch over” the Word, “guard it,” “keep it close.” It is the same word as the one used earlier in the reading for the strong man guarding his own palace and goods. We want to hold on to the Word with all that we have, guard it, and keep it close because God’s Word is the source of our faith and life.
It is by His holy Word that Jesus holds on to us. He says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Mat. 18:20). We need His presence every passing hour because only His grace can foil the tempter’s power (ELH #561, v. 6). Alone, we cannot withstand the devil’s attacks, but by the Lord’s power, we can stand. We would fall, but Jesus did not. He stayed faithful to His Father’s will all the way to His death on the cross to redeem us.
His death and resurrection are how He destroyed the work of the devil and wrenched the power of death out of his hands. The devil threw everything he could at Jesus, and everything failed. There was nothing he could do. The LORD told the devil what He would do after the fall into sin. He would send the woman’s Offspring to crush Satan’s head, and that is just what He did. Jesus defeated Satan. He booted him right off his dungy throne.
The devil knows now that he cannot overcome Jesus, so he focuses his destructive powers on the followers of Jesus. But our Lord does not leave us to fend for ourselves, just as He did not give up Adam and Eve. We are His prized possessions purchased by His holy blood. He guards us and keeps us close. He fights for us. He does not get tired of defending us, no matter how weak we are or how often we slip up. He continuously forgives our sins and places His protective armor on us through His Word and Sacraments.
He keeps speaking His powerful Word into our ears and hearts. He tells us: “I kept the holy Law of God for you. I died for you and rose again to free you from sin and death. I have called you by name. You are mine (Isa. 43:1). I will not let you go.” And we trust Him; we find refuge in Him. We see the great powers of darkness arrayed against us, but we know they are no match for our Lord Jesus. His Word will prevail. His Word stands forever (Isa. 40:8).
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “Exorcism” woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872)
Midweek Lent 3 – Pr. Abraham Faugstad homily
Text: St. Mark 15:20-23
In Christ Jesus, who has removed the heavy load of our sin through his suffering and death, so that our yoke would be easy and our burden light, dear fellow redeemed!
In less than a day’s time, Jesus had been betrayed by one of his disciples, deserted by the rest, and brought before the religious authorities. There he was accused by false witness after false witness, but nothing would stick until they were able to charge him for blasphemy for acknowledging that he was the Son of God. Since the Jews could not sentence someone to death, they brought him before Pontius Pilate. However, Pilate could find no actual fault in him. Perhaps, hopeful that the Jews would cease their demands after seeing him being beaten, Pilate had Jesus scourged. The soldiers gladly inflicted their harsh blows to Christ, putting on a crown of thorns and purple robe, mocking him as the “King of the Jews,” even spitting on him. Yet, Pilate’s cruel punishment did not satisfy the bloodthirsty crowds. They wanted death. Pilate, worried about his own position and keeping peace among the Jews, eventually yielded to the demands of the crowd and sentenced Jesus to crucifixion, a death saved for the worst of criminals.
“And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.” Jesus now began his journey to the cross, traditionally known as the Via Dolorosa, meaning, the Way of Sorrows. They had Jesus carry the very cross upon which he would be crucified. He likely would have been carrying the crossbeam, which could weigh up to 100 pounds. Since Jesus was either too exhausted to carry the cross any further after the beatings he had received or the soldiers were worried he would die in the process, the soldiers compelled or seized a man, Simon, to carry Christ’s cross.
Mark only gives one verse on Simon, but this is still more than the other Gospel writers. He notes that Simon was from Cyrene which was a Roman colony on the coast of Libya in North Africa. He was a foreigner. We don’t know whether he was making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem or there on business, but what we do know was that he had nothing to do with what was happening that day. He was coming out of the country and simply “passing by.” The soldiers likely saw that he was not from there and picked him out for convenience.
When Simon got up that morning, he would have had no idea that his role that day would be spoken of throughout the rest of history. Did he even know who Jesus was? What did he think about everything going on? What did he do after carrying the cross?
It’s hard for us to imagine Good Friday. Every year we learn about it and commemorate it, but it’s hard to imagine what it would have been like to be there, as someone in the crowds that day. It was a day of extremes—love and hate, compassion and anger, mercy and cruelty. Here was a King, but he was crowned with thorns. God is there, but as the murder victim. Simon carries the cross past mockers, crying women, Roman soldiers, confused foreigners, and a few disciples who remained. He bears not only the cross, but the jeers, the sorrow, the pain, and the blood.
Imagine being Simon. What were the thoughts going through his head as the soldiers forced him to carry Christ’s cross? He was likely embarrassed and scared, to be associated with a Man who was condemned to such cruel suffering and death. He was probably confused. Of all the people, why him? He was just passing by. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He was probably trying to avoid the soldiers’ attention, just like students when a teacher asks a question.
Nonetheless, for whatever reason, Simon was chosen. But Mark does add one important detail for us about Simon, he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The Bible doesn’t tell us if Simon became a Christian, but we do know that Alexander and Rufus were. They became associated with the other apostles as we hear in both Acts 19 and Romans 16. No doubt, this event had made an impression on Simon and his family. He saw our Lord’s terrible suffering, but how he handled it all with meekness. He witnessed how through all the pain and ridicule, Jesus still cared for the wailing women, his mother, prayed for his enemies, and promised a thief eternal life in heaven. How could this not make an impression on Simon?
By bearing our Lord’s cross, Simon serves as a picture of all true disciples of Jesus, who must bear his cross after him. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Every Christian must bear the cross of Christ. Our crosses, like the one Simon bore, are often unexpected. A cross is a challenge or trial you face as a Christian. Of course, we all would prefer Styrofoam crosses. But we can’t choose our crosses. Simon needed to understand why Jesus, a King, had to receive such punishment. All Christians face similar struggles—trying to understand evil, making sense of hardship, public rebuke for remaining faithful to the scriptures and its teachings such as creation in six 24-hour days, a biblical flood, biblical morality, admitting your sin and need for another’s help, you name it. But Jesus says, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” What Jesus means is that he who is willing to lose all for Christ—pride, social standing, riches, and more—he will be given life. He will find life—because he will have Christ. What’s more, how we bear our crosses often serves as the best sermons, like Simon’s did to his own sons.
But we are to remember that whatever cross we might bear in this life pales in comparison to the cross Christ bore for us. Ours are but a splinter of the cross Jesus bore for you and for me. While Simon literally carried Jesus’ cross for a distance, that was nothing compared to the weight of the world’s sin that Jesus carried on his back. As the prophet Isaiah foretold, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5,6).
This is why Jesus had come to Golgotha. It wasn’t Pilate’s doing, he was just God’s instrument along with the religious leaders, who unknowingly played a part in completing God’s plan for our salvation. Because of our sin, we had been thrown out of God’s holy city, his paradise. Our punishment was death in hell. But God intervened. He promised a Savior, born of a virgin, who would crush Satan’s head. Only Jesus, as true God and true man, could perfectly fulfill God’s law in our place by his holy life. Only Jesus could lay down his life to make full satisfaction for the sins of the world. By Simon carrying Jesus’ cross, we also see that Jesus did not just come for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles—for all people.
What sins troubled Simon? What sins trouble you? Just as Simon saw Jesus bear them all, we have the Scriptures recorded for us so that we might know that Christ has paid for them all. Through faith in Jesus, that forgiveness is ours. Why does this forgiveness matter so much? Because then Christ’s promise is also ours—“You will be with me in Paradise.” Death had no power over Jesus, and it now has no power over you.
Simon’s name means, “hearer” or “listener.” We all become Simons when we listen to God’s Word. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish” (John 10:27,28). Though it is true we are tasked to bear our cross, it is an easy burden because Christ has taken our heavy burden of sin away. Jesus invites us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). Amen.
(picture from “Simon the Cyrenian Compelled to Carry the Cross with Jesus” by James Tissot, 1836-1902)
The Second Sunday in Lent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Matthew 15:21-28
In Christ Jesus, who promises that whoever comes to Him, He will never cast out (Joh. 6:37), dear fellow redeemed:
Jesus had not entered the Gentile district of Tyre and Sidon to interact with the locals or to gather a crowd. On the contrary, the evangelist Mark reported that “he entered a house and did not want anyone to know” (7:24). The Canaanite woman who came looking for Him would have noticed that He was not looking to be seen or talked to. So what made her pursue Him so relentlessly?
There were two reasons: her daughter was severely oppressed by a demon, and she believed that Jesus could heal her. We don’t know how long the demon had afflicted her daughter or how it affected her. But obviously no one else had been able to help. What made her think that Jesus could succeed when all others had failed?
The answer is in the way she addressed Him: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David,” she said. She was confessing that Jesus was the promised Messiah descended from David’s line. She had obviously heard about Jesus, what He had taught and the miracles He had done. On the basis of these reports, she believed that He was the true God in the flesh. That’s why she knew He could help her daughter, just as He had helped many others throughout Judea and Galilee.
When the Canaanite woman followed after Jesus crying for His mercy, at first He said nothing to her, absolutely nothing. He certainly gave the impression that He wasn’t interested in hearing her troubles. But He didn’t say “no.” The woman kept asking. She begged for His help again and again, so much so, that the disciples grew tired of her cries. Now they begged Jesus to send her away, so they could have some peace. Jesus’ reply? “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” meaning the Jews and not the Gentiles. That still wasn’t a “no.”
Now she fell down on her knees right in front of Jesus and said, “Lord, help me.” She would not be ignored, and she was not going to leave until Jesus ordered her to. He did not do this. Instead, He used an analogy for what He said before, that He was sent for the Jews: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” The “children’s bread” is the salvation God had chosen His people Israel to taste and see. The Israelites had the Holy Scriptures. They knew the promise of a Savior. They had been waiting for its fulfillment. Why should the Gentiles have the same gift when they had rejected the true God for so long?
Jesus said it was neither good nor right to take bread from the children—the Jews—and throw it to the dogs—the Gentiles. It sounded kind of harsh, but even that wasn’t a hard “no.” Far from being put off by what Jesus said, the woman seized on His words as an invitation: “Yes, Lord, what You say is true. We Gentiles don’t deserve to have what the Jews have. I know I don’t deserve Your mercy, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” “I’m not asking to be treated like the children,” she said. “I’m just happy to have the crumbs that fall on the floor, because even the crumbs from You, O Lord, Son of David, are more than enough!”
What an expression of faith! What dogged confidence in Jesus! What kept her coming? Why didn’t she give up when Jesus acted so disinterested? Well if she walked away, her daughter would still be severely oppressed by a demon. Besides that, she knew who Jesus was, the promised Messiah. She wasn’t going to leave the only One who could help. This is what Peter said when other disciples of Jesus were leaving because His teaching offended them. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” (Joh. 6:67). Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (vv. 68-69).
Those “words of eternal life” from our Lord are what strengthen our faith and give us hope in the difficult times. God also uses the trials themselves to test our faith, refine it, and exercise it, so that our focus on Him is sharpened. That’s what happened with the Canaanite woman. Her tremendous difficulties with her daughter did not crush her faith; these challenges made her faith stronger. She wouldn’t have gone looking for Jesus if everything in her life was going well. But she did when she was suffering. Then when she found Jesus, His behavior toward her might have seemed uncaring, but it caused her to be even more persistent and cling more tightly to Him.
Why does a parent take an extra step away from the wall of the pool when a little child is getting ready to jump in? It is to increase the child’s trust: “Don’t worry, I will catch you. I will keep you safe.” That’s what Jesus says to us when the distance from here to there looks too far, when we can’t imagine surviving another health setback, when giving up a particular sin requires too much sacrifice, when the consequences for saying “no” to the crowd are too painful. “Don’t worry,” says Jesus, “I will catch you. I will keep you safe.”
But is it true? Has the Lord caught you when you had to take a leap of faith? Did He bless you and keep you and give you peace in your times of greatest difficulty? Have you emerged from those trials stronger or weaker? Perhaps you’re not sure. Our perception about these things is often affected by our expectation. If our expectation is that we should never have to suffer or experience hardships, but that life should go about how we plan, then our perception will almost certainly be that God has failed us. He didn’t keep us from pain.
But if we accept what Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation” (Joh. 16:33), then we will not go looking for trials, but we also won’t be taken by surprise when they come. And when troubles do come, God promises to work through them for our good. That’s what Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” He says He will turn every trial, every heartache, pain, and sorrow into blessings for us somehow. We don’t always figure out just what those blessings are, but we trust that this is true.
The woman might not have perceived a blessing in the way Jesus seemed to avoid her and put her off. But that all changed when Jesus said, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire,” and she returned home to a daughter healed. This woman is a tremendous example for us. We learn from her what to do when our suffering is intense, when the Lord seems to be ignoring us or seems to be punishing us, when we feel no better than a despised dog. She kept her eyes on Jesus. No matter how He responded (or didn’t respond) to her cries, no matter what she experienced, she kept crying out for His mercy and help. Like Jacob wrestling with God, she would not let her Lord go unless He blessed her (Gen. 32:26).
Her faith in Him was not disappointed. Faith in Jesus never is. Faith ties you to Him. It connects you to Him who is Love incarnate, who took on your flesh to redeem you from sin and death, who covers you in His righteousness. The woman was right that the crumbs of His grace are more than enough. But Jesus gives you more than crumbs. He gives His grace in abundance through His holy Word and Sacraments, so that every sin of weakness and doubt is forgiven, and you are given the strength you need to go forward and endure.
So we come here like dogs who expect good things from their good Master. We keep our eyes trained on Him, we listen to what He says, and we want to please Him by what we do. Sometimes He will make us wait for something in order to teach us patience and trust. But then He opens His hand and gives us everything we need. He feeds us with His body and blood as we kneel before Him at the Communion rail. He assures us that He forgives all of our sins, and that He is well pleased with us.
Though it didn’t seem like it at first, Jesus loved that Canaanite woman. If He wanted to get rid of her, He could have. But He wanted her to keep crying out, keep pursuing, keep begging, until the time was right to grant her request. Jesus loves you in the same way. He wants you to follow Him and not get discouraged when your troubles don’t go away as quickly as you would like. He hears all your cries, and He promises that at the right time, He will grant your request, or He will continue to strengthen you in the struggle.
The faithful woman gladly embraced Jesus’ reference to the family dog waiting at the side of the table. We can do the same. Not only are we Gentiles like she was, but we know that Jesus came to save us, too, and has abundant grace to help in our times of need. We don’t have to have all the answers. We don’t have to get ourselves out of all our troubles. Like a pet that is well-cared for by its master, we know our merciful Lord will care for us.
So we keep our eyes fixed on Him. We do not give up, even when it seems like He isn’t listening. We hold Him to His promise that He will have mercy upon us. Because He does, and He will.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from 15 century French Gothic manuscript painting)
Midweek Lent 2 – Pr. Faugstad homily
Text: St. John 18:33-38
In Christ Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, dear fellow redeemed:
As the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate had authority to administer justice on behalf of the Roman Caesar, or king. He typically did not live in Jerusalem, but he went there at the time of the Passover when many more people would be in the city than usual. Now early on Friday morning, the Jewish leaders brought him a so-called criminal, someone named “Jesus of Nazareth.” They would have preferred to execute Jesus on their own, but this was something the Roman officials did not allow. Any cases involving the death penalty had to come before the governor.
Pilate asked them a reasonable opening question: “What accusation do you bring against this man?” (Joh. 18:29). That was a difficult question because Jesus had done nothing deserving of death. The religious leaders initially refused to give Pilate a straight answer. But then they made their case: “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king” (Luk. 23:2).
The first part of their accusation was false. Jesus did not mislead the nation in any way, as if He were trying to overthrow the Roman authorities. That very week He had underscored their responsibility toward both God and government officials when He said, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Luk. 20:25). The second part of their accusation was true. Jesus was the Christ, the King over all. But they wanted Pilate to think that Jesus was setting Himself up as an earthly king who would cause problems for both Governor Pilate and Caesar. Better, they said, to have Him eliminated.
Pilate must have heard something about Jesus before this. He was the governor in Judea the entire time that Jesus carried out His three-year public ministry. Jesus traveled all over the region teaching and performing miracles, even raising some people from the dead. King Herod was certainly aware of His activities, and “he sought to see him” (Luk. 9:9). Pilate must have known something about His work, too, though he made no reference to it when he questioned Jesus.
He cut right to the chase: “Are You the King of the Jews?” Pilate’s main interest was to find out if Jesus was someone who was a threat to Roman rule and the peace of the region. He hardly regarded Jesus as a king. Jesus hardly looked like one. What Pilate did not realize is that he was in the presence of the King of the universe from whom all earthly authority came. It was something like “Undercover Boss,” when a store manager has no idea he is talking to the one who has all the power.
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But My kingdom is not from the world.” So yes, He was a King, but not the kind that the Jews accused Him of being. Pilate agreed. “For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up” (Mar. 15:10).
Then Jesus stated His purpose for coming into the world, that He came “to bear witness to the truth.” He said, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” Pilate must have felt uncomfortable at these words of Jesus. The whole conversation had not gone as Pilate expected. We imagine how Jesus looked at him, like He could see right through him (because He could). Pilate may have thought to himself: “Does this Jesus think that I, Pilate, would want to listen to Him, to care what He had to say?” Pilate brushed it all aside: “What is truth?” he said.
But there is one thing about Jesus that Pilate was convinced was true. He was convinced that Jesus was innocent of any crime that would justify the death penalty. So he told the Jews, “I find no guilt in Him.” He had seen and heard enough to know that Jesus was not what the Jews made Him out to be. What Pilate did not know was that he was an unwitting part of God’s plan for the salvation of the world. Jesus had to die, and it had to be on a tree, a cross, cursed for the whole world’s sins (Gal. 3:13).
God had used a decree of Caesar Augustus to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem where the Christ had to be born. And now God utilized the authority of a pagan governor to have His Son, the Lamb of God, sacrificed for all people. This reminds us who is really in control. It is not the ruler-of-the-moment in local, state, or national government, no matter how powerful or influential they may seem. Everyone in these positions must answer to a power much higher than their own.
Jesus said as much to Pilate when Pilate wasn’t getting the answers from Jesus that he wanted. Pilate said, “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” (Joh. 19:10). Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (v. 11). That applies not only to the authority of government, but also to authority in society, church, and home.
Whatever authority God gives you in any sphere of life, He wants it to be used in service to your neighbor. Husbands and fathers are to use their authority in the home not to manipulate or harm, but to give and guide. Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [by misusing your authority], but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Regarding earthly masters, like employers and managers, God says that they should not mistreat those under them, knowing that they have a Master in heaven, and “there is no partiality with him” (Eph. 6:9).
God could have used His authority as the Creator of the world to punish Adam and Eve and we their descendants for all our sins. Instead, the Father used His authority to send His only-begotten Son to suffer and die for everyone. Jesus willingly and perfectly obeyed His Father’s will, never deviating from the path that led Him to the agony and torment of God’s eternal punishment.
As Jesus stood before Pilate, remaining silent while accusations and lies were hurled at Him, neither the Gentile Pilate nor the religious leaders of the Jews understood that Jesus was suffering for them, out of love for them. He was suffering for you, too, for your failure to acknowledge the authorities He has placed over you, and for the times that you used your authority to harm instead of help. His holy blood, the blood of the King of kings and Lord of lords, cleanses you from all those sins. This is most certainly true.
What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;
The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.
The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;
The sinful child of man may live in gladness;
Man forfeited his life and is acquitted—
God is committed. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #292, vv. 4-5)
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “Christ before Pilate” by Mihály Munkácsy, 1881)
The First Sunday in Lent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Matthew 4:1-11
In Christ Jesus, who promises to protect you and everyone who trusts in Him from “all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16), dear fellow redeemed:
The devil started with a temptation about food. He followed that up with a temptation about making God prove Himself. He concluded with a temptation to seek glory, instead of faithfulness to God’s will. This describes his temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, and it also describes his temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden.
What was the first thing he said to Eve? “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). He started with food, with the stomach. We have to admit that the stomach is a difficult thing to manage. We are often torn between what we enjoy eating, and eating what we know is good for us. We do not live in a time of lack or of rationing, when certain goods are not available to us. Sometimes the price of something skyrockets, like eggs and beef in recent months, but they are still available. If we have money to spend, we can buy whatever we like.
When something is not limited or moderated by factors outside of us, we need to exercise self-control. Part of the reason for this self-control is what St. Paul talks about: “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1Co. 9:27). He did not want to let the devil tempt him through the weakness of his flesh, so he practiced self-discipline.
One way to do this is by periodic fasting. Fasting is telling the stomach that it does not have all the power over us. It shows us that there is something more important than food. Our physical hunger reminds us of our need for spiritual nourishment. Fasting is one of the old spiritual disciplines of Lent, along with prayer and almsgiving, or charitable giving. If we limit our food intake or withhold for a time certain foods that we like, we have more time for prayer, and we have extra money that we can share with others in need.
Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. We might think that was easy for Him since He is God. But remember that in His state of humiliation, He was not making full use of His divine powers. The Holy Gospel for today tells us plainly that “He was hungry.” As a true human being, He felt true hunger. That made it a real temptation by the devil.
But what made the devil think he could possibly overcome the Son of God in the flesh? Well, he had done it before with the perfect crown of God’s creation, man and woman. If he could defeat them in a perfect world, why couldn’t he succeed against Jesus in a sinful world? “Humankind is weak,” thought the devil. “Why should Jesus be any different?”
The devil tempted Eve to eat whatever she wanted, particularly from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It looked good, didn’t it? It would not harm her; it would make her even better, like God. So he said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. You’re hungry, aren’t You? If You are God, why should You have to feel pain? Why suffer? You can have it. Take it!” The temptation worked on Eve, but not on Jesus. He answered the devil by quoting from Deuteronomy, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
The devil did not stop at the stomach. He continued his temptation of Eve by urging her to make God prove Himself. “Eat this fruit,” he said, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened” (Gen. 3:5). “God knows it, so why shouldn’t you know it? Why should you be left in the dark? Make God show you.” We feel the same temptation when we can’t see a clear way forward. Maybe we are struggling with a health issue, or we have gotten caught up in a sin that we can’t get free from. And we tell God that He needs to give us a special sign or take away our pain. If He doesn’t, then we might conclude that He does not love us, that He does not care.
With this temptation in mind, the devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and told Him to throw Himself down. “If God loves You, if He cares, won’t He send His angels to catch You? Isn’t that what the Scriptures say He will do? And just imagine the impact it will have on the people of Jerusalem, when they see how God saved You from any harm!” But Jesus said again quoting the Scriptures, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
The devil had one more. He said to Eve, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil. You can have what God has! You can experience His glory!” We are surrounded by people who promise they can make our life better. If we take this supplement, exercise in this way, invest like this, follow these five easy steps, our life will completely change. We can have what we’ve always wanted!
As we have already heard, it is good to practice discipline for our health, just as it is good to practice discipline in the stewardship of our money and possessions. But to what end? If this is for selfish reasons, to gain power and glory on earth, then we haven’t made any progress at all. Then things might get better for us in the world, but they will be getting worse with God. In Romans 12:1-2, St. Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The devil tempted Jesus to bypass His suffering and His death on the cross to save sinners. “You can have all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,” he said. “All You have to do is fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus, whom the devil thought was so weak, told him to take a hike. “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’”
This is where Adam and Eve failed. Eve was the first to eat of the fruit, but she “gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6). Adam had heard the command directly from God’s mouth: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (2:16-17). Adam knew what God said, he heard what the devil was saying to his wife, and he did not put a stop to it. That is why the first sin is pinned on Adam.
Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Adam was perfect. So was Eve. They already were “like God,” since they had been made in His image. But they threw away these tremendous gifts of God because they wanted to have more.
We have inherited their sin, all of us have. No matter what excellent gifts God gives us, we also want to have more. And that is how the devil so often succeeds at tempting us. “Don’t hold back,” he says. “Take what you deserve. Eat that fruit. You won’t be disappointed. Stop worrying about what you think God wants, and do what you want.” How many times have we given in? How often did it make our life better?
There is a reason that the Son of God took on human flesh. There is a reason He was anointed by the Spirit at His Baptism. There is a reason He was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” It was for Adam and Eve and you and me and all sinners. He came to succeed where we had all failed. He came to win the victory over sin, death, and devil by perfectly following His Father’s will all the way to His death on the cross.
Where you succumbed to the devil’s temptations by putting your stomach first, by insisting that God prove His love for you on your terms, by seeking the world’s glory instead of God’s will, Jesus did not give in. He was certainly tempted just like Adam and Eve were and like we are. “[I]n every respect [He] has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). That perfect life of following the Father’s will counts for you and me. God does not see your sins and failings. Jesus’ blood has washed them all away, and His righteousness covers you in a much better garment than Adam and Eve’s fig leaves.
Romans 5 states the beautiful truth: “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (vv. 18-19). The Bible refers to Jesus as the “second man” or “second Adam” (1Co. 15:45,47). He came to undo and deliver all that the first Adam destroyed.
The devil thought Jesus was an easy mark. He thought he could do to Him what he did to the first Adam. He learned otherwise. Jesus, the second Adam, stayed strong for you. He did not eat from the forbidden tree. He did not turn stones into bread. He did not throw Himself off the temple. He did not bow down to the devil. Instead, He suffered willingly. He took up His cross. He died in your place, so that His perfect life would be accepted by the Father as the sufficient sacrifice for your sins.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872)
Midweek Lent 1 (Ash Wednesday) – Pr. Faugstad homily
Text: St. Matthew 26:69-75
In Christ Jesus, who was “despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3), dear fellow redeemed:
The cursing and swearing that came out of Peter’s mouth were not characteristic of him—at least not since Jesus called him away from his fishing nets. We don’t know how he was before, except that when Jesus provided a great catch of fish on the Sea of Galilee shortly after Peter met Him, he fell down at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luk. 5:8). Now whatever foul language he had learned in the past came rushing back to him as he stated with an oath before God that he did not know the Man Jesus. Peter was afraid, afraid that he would be arrested and beaten up like Jesus was and maybe even killed.
It was only a few hours before this that Peter had confidently told Jesus, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away” (Mat. 26:33). Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed twice (Mar. 14:30), Peter would deny Him three times. Peter would not hear it: “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” (Mat. 26:35). He was so sure of himself, so sure that he could not fall like that.
And that’s exactly the kind of self-assurance that the devil looks to exploit. History is full of Christians—good and faithful Christians—who fell into sins they thought they would never succumb to. They heard the stories about how others had fallen, and they thought to themselves, “That would never happen to me. I would never do that!” An attitude of judgment and pride are mixed into those thoughts. We are warned about this arrogance in 1 Corinthians 10: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (v. 12).
The devil, like a roaring lion, is watching and waiting for the opportunity to attack us when we think we are standing strong. Jesus spoke these ominous words to Peter when he boasted about his faithfulness: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luk. 22:31). In other words, “You are not as strong as you think you are, and the devil knows it.” Then Jesus added these hopeful words, “but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (v. 32). Peter would fall, but he would not be lost forever. The Lord’s mercy and grace would cover even his horrible curses and denial.
This is a great comfort to us. We can also think of times that we cursed and swore and indicated by our words and actions that we “do not know the Man.” We did it because we wanted to fit in. We did not want to be made fun of for our faith. The devil was right there, tempting us, ready to sift us like wheat, and we gave in. Don’t you wish you could go back and unsay the terrible things you’ve said, and undo the wicked things you’ve done?
But there is no going back. There is no fixing what you broke. As much as Peter wanted to forget what he did in that Jerusalem courtyard, it happened. He did it. When faced with the reality of our sin, our natural reaction is to try to downplay it: “I was young and made some mistakes—everyone makes mistakes. It didn’t really hurt anyone. It wasn’t that big of a deal.” Or we try to assign the blame to someone else: “If I hadn’t been put in that situation by that person, I would have been fine.”
We think we can escape our sins by trying to wiggle out from under them or by keeping them buried in the past. But as much as we might want to detach ourselves from our sins, they will not detach themselves from us. We can’t try to balance out the bad by doing good. We can’t pay the debt of past sins by paying it forward in kindness. There is nothing we can do to make our sins go away and make things right with God. We sinned against Him. We did it.
Peter felt his sin to the depths of his soul. Jesus told him what would happen, told him what he would do. Peter denied his Lord’s words. And then he denied his Lord. Jesus was aware of all of it when it happened. Right after the rooster crowed the second time, the evangelist Luke records that “the Lord turned and looked at Peter” (Luk. 22:61), either as He was being led through the courtyard or from a window or doorway nearby.
Peter saw Jesus look at him, and he remembered what Jesus had said about denying Him. When the reality of what he had just done hit him, there was nothing he could do but weep, bitterly. Was he sorry for his sin? Every tear said that he was. There was no more posturing from him, no more proving his faithfulness. He was crushed by his sins, and he repented.
This is what we do with sin—we repent of it. Repentance is not about saying the right words, and you are good to go. It is not a work you do that God rewards. Repentance is acknowledging sin from the heart, without selling it short or making any excuses for it. It is admitting what you thought or said or did that God said you should not think or say or do. Repentance is painful; we don’t like to own up to our sins. But repentance prepares us to receive grace from God.
Jesus came for sinners. He suffered and died for all of them, including his dear disciple Peter who denied that he even knew Him. The first thing Jesus said when He was nailed to the cross was not, “How could they all desert Me and leave Me to suffer alone?” He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luk. 23:34). Those words are for you, too. Even though you have denied Jesus by your sin, He went to the cross willingly for you.
As the spotless sacrificial Lamb, He offered up His perfect life as the sacrifice for all sin, for your sins and mine, sins of arrogance and pride, of stubbornness, of trying to pass the blame for the wrongs you have done. He suffered “once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring [you] to God” (1Pe. 3:18). You sinned against God in countless ways, and Jesus reconciled you with the Father by pouring out His holy, precious blood to wash your sins away.
His blood also paid for Peter’s sin, even that horrible denial of Jesus in His darkest time of suffering. Jesus had told him, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” This was Peter’s hope in his gut-wrenching grief. Jesus had not forsaken him—He would not forsake him—because He had promised to be faithful. Jesus made sure that Peter knew His love and forgiveness by appearing personally to Peter after His resurrection (1Co. 15:5) and then reinstating him to feed His lambs and sheep (Joh. 21:15-19).
He assures you of the same love and forgiveness each time you hear His Word of absolution and receive His body and blood for the remission of your sins. You do not come before Him with boasting, presenting all your good works to Him. You come in humble repentance, laying bare your soul to Him, begging for His mercy and grace.
That is the message that Martin Luther wrote on his deathbed. 480 years ago today (2/18/1546), He left a note ending with these words: “We are beggars, this is true.” Luther did not enter death empty-handed, but he took along nothing of his own. He knew that the Lord supplied the forgiveness and righteousness that he needed for eternal life in heaven.
The same is true for you. Jesus suffered and died for you, so that all your transgressions would be forgiven, removed from you “as far as the east is from the west” (Psa. 103:12). His ear is always open to your cry, and His Word is always ready to bring you His healing and life. So you can confidently and gratefully say along with penitent David and Peter: “A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise” (Psa. 51:17, NKJV).
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Second Denial of Saint Peter” by James Tissot, 1836-1902)