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 Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Matthew 22:15-22
In Christ Jesus, who reigns in power over all things in heaven and on earth, and who shares His righteousness and glory with us sinners, dear fellow redeemed:
Jesus called the people who tried to trick Him “hypocrites.” Our English word comes right from the Greek word: hypocritai. The word literally means “play-actors,” people who play the part of someone else, who pretend to be something they are not. These people pretended to be friendly toward Jesus, admirers of His. They pretended to be on His side, but they were actually opposed to Him. They didn’t really care about truth. They cared about maintaining the influence they had in society.
That sounds like the way some government officials operate today. They pretend to care about their community. They claim to stand for higher principles. They use flattery to win people over to their side. It doesn’t matter where you stand politically. Each of us can think of politicians who fit this description. They are hypocritai—play-actors, pretenders—people who pursue their own interests above all else.
We certainly wouldn’t expect God to tell us to respect people like these. By their selfish actions, they should be disqualified. We shouldn’t have to give them any obedience or honor. But that is not what Jesus teaches in today’s reading. Without saying anything about Caesar’s worthiness to demand or receive tax money, Jesus said, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” In other words, “Honor the ruler. Follow the law. Pay your taxes.”
Jesus is teaching us about authority. We need this lesson, because all of us are inclined to want things our own way. That is the old Adam in us: “I don’t care if God told me to stay away from this fruit. I’m going to eat it!” Each of us can think of examples from our childhood when we disobeyed our parents, because we didn’t want to do what they said. Or maybe when we were older we talked back to a teacher, a boss, or a police officer. We might have felt strong in our defiance, but we learned that the consequences for actions like these are often unpleasant.
The apostles sent out by Jesus taught this same respect for authority. The apostle Paul wrote: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God…. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor” (Rom. 13:1,7, NKJV). The apostle Peter said much the same thing: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors” (1Pe. 2:13-14a, NKJV).
What is remarkable about these statements is that they were made at a time when the Roman officials were not friendly toward Christianity. Christians were persecuted, not because they refused to pay their taxes or obey civil laws, but because they would not regard the emperor as divine, as a god. Even at this time of unjust persecution, the apostles said, “Respect the authorities.” But why? Why is it so important to respect those who are not respectable, to honor those who are not honorable?
If you only respected the people you thought deserved it, what would your relationship with your parents have been like when you were younger? Did you always feel like your parents deserved your respect? Of course not! A lot of the time, you probably thought their perspective on things was unreasonable, mean, or just plain dumb. Why couldn’t they just trust you to make your own choices? It’s not like you were going to go commit crimes or anything!
But as you got older, you realized that your parents maybe weren’t so crazy after all. It’s like the son who as a teenager thought his dad was not too bright, but then couldn’t believe how much smarter his dad had gotten just a decade later! As we get older and wiser, we can see why our parents didn’t let us do everything we wanted. They were trying to protect us from bad choices, from situations that we weren’t mature enough to handle. Far from being unable to understand, they understood well the challenges we were up against.
This is why God gives us governing authorities in the home, the church, and society. It is to maintain order, so that everyone does not do whatever he feels like doing. And it is to protect us from harm, so that we are free to pursue what is good. Paul writes that this is why we pray for the authorities, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1Ti. 2:2, NKJV).
But what if the authorities want to take away our peace? What if they frown on our godliness and reverence toward God and act like our enemies? This happens when government officials forget who gave them their authority, when they act like there is no authority higher than their own. Jesus reminded Pilate about this when Pilate wasn’t getting the answers he wanted. Pilate said to Jesus, “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” And Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (Joh. 19:10,11).
All authority comes from God who is the ultimate authority. That is why we honor our earthly authorities. We honor them because “there is no authority except from God.” We honor them “for the Lord’s sake.” We honor them because God put them in their position for His purposes—purposes that may or may not ever become clear to us.
Now that does not mean we have no recourse if the authorities act wickedly or unjustly. In our country, we have the freedom to vote against any current office holders and to vote for other candidates. We can also challenge the decisions of the officials through our freedom of speech or through the court system. These are rights we are granted by the constitution as citizens of this nation.
At the same time, the Word of God cautions us against putting too much hope in government officials. Psalm 146 says, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish” (vv. 3-4). The elected officials we have are all the same in this respect: they are all sinners. None of them will rule perfectly. None of them can save us from the problems we face. They can help point us in a better direction by their adherence to the moral law of God. But we will not have and we cannot make a perfect society on earth.
That is clear enough by the reception Jesus received—the only perfect person to walk this earth. His disciple Peter wrote: “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When 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. 2:22-23). This is how Jesus was treated by the civil and religious authorities. He was reviled. He was abused. He was nailed to a cross to die. And through all of this, He continuously entrusted Himself to His Father in heaven, “to him who judges justly.”
And how does God judge us? Have we like Jesus honored the authorities even while they mistreated us? Have we been willing to suffer for doing what is right and good? Have we continued to put our trust in our Lord, even while everything in society seems to be going wrong? We know the answers to these questions. We may have done well sometimes, but God knows the times we felt anger and hatred in our hearts toward the governing authorities. He knows when we willingly broke just laws. He knows when we failed to trust in His help and His strength.
But God does not judge us by our many violations of His holy law. He judges us by His Son. When Jesus was sinned against, He did not retaliate, He did not threaten, He did not punish. He took the suffering that we and every other sinner deserved. He made our sin His own. He appealed to His Father, the just Judge, to judge Him in our place, to judge Him instead. And God the Father did. He let the earthly authorities do their worst, so that they, and you, and I would have a Savior.
Because Jesus suffered and died in your place, your failure to respect the authorities by not following the laws of the land, not paying your share of taxes, not speaking well of them, and not praying for them—these sins are all forgiven. God does not hold them against you, not your sins of today or your sins from years ago against your parents and any others whom God placed over you. Jesus shed His holy blood to wash these sins away.
Through Baptism He has applied His forgiveness and holiness to us. He has made us His people, and He calls us to “follow in his steps” (1Pe. 2:22). No earthly authority can take away the victory we have in Him. No matter how bad it gets in this world, Jesus has triumphed over death itself and now reigns at the right hand of His Father. Nothing happens that He does not see. No injustice is done that will not be set right on the last day. Earthly authority is temporary. Earthly kingdoms and rulers come and go. The authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and His kingdom are eternal.
After describing how we should respect the authorities in the home and the workplace, Paul writes this, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23-24). This is our motivation. This is our confidence. No matter who is ruling over us here on earth, we see the opportunity through our respect and obedience for the governing authorities to give honor to our almighty Lord and Savior.
It is because of Him that our debt with God is paid. It is because of Him that we stand righteous before the throne of heaven. It is because of Him that we are free to help and serve our neighbors, including the authorities, just as He helped and served us. We Give to Caesar out of Love for Christ.
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 Tribute Money” by James Tissot, 1836-1902)