God’s Word at Work

THE FIG TREE
Luke 13:1-9

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 13, verses 1 through 9 — particularly these words, “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘Cut it down; why should it use up the soil?’  And he answered him, ‘Leave it alone, sir, one more year, and I will dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.”  This is our text.

In the name Jesus. (Amen.)  Do you remember our simple definition of a “Parable?” A parable is an earthly story, with a heavenly meaning. A parable was a teaching device which Jesus used very often to get across a point that might not have been very clear being taught any other way. In today’s text, Jesus was answering what appears to be a very simple, theological question — “Does God punish people because of their sins?” And there were two very recent events that were on the people’s minds — raising this question. Some Galileans were killed by soldiers from Pilate. Now that would not have been so unusual, in and of itself, — but what made it unusual was that they were offering their sacrifices to God at the time it happened. Our text told us, “Now some present at that time told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices”. And Jesus added another incident — 18 people had died when a tower in Siloam fell on them. And the question that people were asking was, “Why did God punish these people this way? What did they do? Was there some great crime or sin that they were guilty of which caused them to die in such a harsh way?”  Jesus answered that question very clearly. He said in our text, “I tell you, NO! BUT unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  And then he told the parable to explain his answer.

First of all, God has a right to expect good works and good deeds from all people — and that includes you and me. God is the owner of the vineyard in the parable. He is the one who pays for the land and plants the plants. He is the one who has a right to expect a profit from his investment. When we translate that parable into our lives, it is God who created this world of ours — it belongs to Him. It is God who has given life to each and every human being who inhabits this earth, we all belong to him and to him alone. It is God who gives us nourishment, and strength, and fellowship, and comfort. And because of all that he has given to each one of us—we owe him everything that we have, everything we are, and everything we hope to be. We are the fig tree, which owes fruit to our owner.

But have we produced the fruit which our owner wants us to produce? Have we always put God first in our lives? Have we always loved our neighbors as ourselves? Have we always put the best construction on everything? Have we always been faithful to our God in THOUGHT, WORD, and DEED?? As sinners who fall short of the perfection which God demands—every one of us must answer “NO”. We have not produced the “fruit” our God wanted us to produce. Maybe we have done better than some other people — but that is not our standard. Have we been perfect, like God is perfect?? — That is God’s standard!

And so the judgment of God is clear–“The soul that sins, it shall die.” “The wages of sin is death.” And so the owner in our text tells the keeper of the vineyard “Cut down the tree!” If that was the end of the parable, then it would be possible to say that those Pilate killed, and those on whom the tower fell were indeed being punished because of their sins — and also, that their punishment, their death, was justified and right. And if that were true, then nothing but fear could live in your heart or mine — because we would spend our days waiting for the time when God would choose to get even with us, and to punish us for our sins. There could be no peace — only fear and trembling.

But the parable didn’t end there. For some reason, a reason which Scripture does not share with us, the keeper of the vineyard cares about that fig tree — and so he pleads with the owner to spare it for one more year.

The vineyard keeper is very obviously Jesus Christ; because Christ is the one who intercedes for us before the Father in Heaven. Jesus is the mediator between God and man. Jesus is the one who stands up for you and me, and asks God to spare us — not because of what we have or have not done — but because of what He himself has done. In the parable, he promised to dig around the tree and to give it some fertilizer so that that fig tree might produce fruit. In life, he gave his life — He himself suffered at the hands of the Jews and Pilate and He himself died on the cross of Calvary so that we might have forgiveness of sins. He paid the price of our debt of sin so that we might be forgiven. And then, together with the Father, he sent us the Holy Spirit, so that working through the Means of Grace, through Word and Sacrament, you and I might be brought into Saving Faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, so that we might be kept in the faith in Jesus Christ, and so that we might be strengthened in our faith so that it would be possible for us to accomplish the good works that God himself has prepared for us to do — in other words, so that you and I might be “good trees,” “bearing good fruit.”

And if that were the end of the parable, we would all rejoice with exceedingly great joy, because our future in heaven would be absolutely and completely secure without any worry, or care, or response whatsoever on our part! But the parable didn’t end there. There was still a possibility that even after the caretaker did all that he possibly could — that fig tree could still parish.

The last line of our text said, “If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.”  Jesus gave the same warning before he told the parable. He assured his listeners that those who died at the hand of Pilate, and who died under the tower were not being punished by God — but then he added a warning, He said, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

The theme of Lent is “Repentance of sins”. During Lent we remember our sinful nature. We remember our total inability to please God by our own goodness and our own good works. It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that we are at all able to come before God.     During Lent, we are reminded to humble ourselves before our gracious and loving God, and to renew our commitment and our dedication to Him and to his will — so that through the Holy Scriptures and through the Sacraments, The Holy Spirit will strengthen our faith, so that we can live our lives to his glory and we can bear the fruit that is fitting for a child of God, redeemed in the Blood of the Lamb. Not in our own strength, but in the Grace of God alone!

No! God does not punish us as we deserve, or else we would all be dead already, both temporally and eternally. But for Jesus sake He forgives us our sins, He creates saving faith within our hearts, and He strengthens our will to follow his holy will. Let us repent of our short comings and let us rejoice in His grace, His love, and his forgiveness. To God alone be the glory, now and always. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

THE TEMPTED CHRIST
Luke 4: 1-13

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 4, verses 1 through 13, particularly these words: “Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil….. When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. In our Old Testament reading for this morning, we read about the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of their slavery in Egypt. It was not their own ingenuity or genius or power that got them released — but it was God’s almighty power, working through those 10 plagues which forced Pharaoh to release God’s people and let them leave for the promised land.

In our Epistle reading, we read about the deliverance of sinners from the bondage of slavery to sin. The summation of verse 13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved.” — It is not our works, it is not our choosing, it is not our answering God’s call or opening God’s door — It is Spirit given faith and trust in the promise of God — that whoever believes in Christ shall not perish, but will have everlasting life! Just as in the Old Testament reading — deliverance is not in the power of man — but in the power of God! And it is the Gospel that is “the power of God unto Salvation…”  (Romans 1: 16)

Lent is a time of reflection. And it is a time of repentance. That’s why purple in on the Altar. That’s why the hymn of praise and the alleluia are missing from the liturgy. Lent is a time to look into our own lives to see our sin and to see our need for a Savior. One of those reflections for Lent needs to be to ask ourselves, “just how well are we dealing with the temptations of our lives?” Have we stood our ground as God’s people — or have we caved in to the temptations of the Devil, the World, and our own flesh? Sadly, we must admit that we have fallen short, we have given in to temptation, we have sinned.

So how do we find deliverance from our sins — NOT by our own power and works — but in God’s grace and mercy and power! Our Gospel lesson for today shows us how Jesus deals with the temptations of the Devil. One of the reasons Jesus HAD TO BE true man was so that he would be tempted just like you and me! And he had to be true God in order to resist those temptations and lead a perfect life.

Something that is very important to remember while we study this text is that each temptation is much deeper than the story line reveals. The temptation to change stones into bread is a much deeper spiritual problem than just providing a meal for a hungry man. It’s sort of like when you go to see the doctor, and you have a 102 degree temperature. The temperature is not the disease — it is only a symptom. Our temptations, like those of Jesus, can be symptoms of deeper spiritual problems that can only be cured, by God’s grace and love and mercy and forgiveness.

Temptation number 1: 40 days without food. Jesus was hungry! The Devil tempts Jesus, “If you are the son of God (and I doubt it), tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Provide for yourself. Make your own bread. Save yourself from hunger by your own word and deed. The deeper spiritual sin is to trust in our own power to provide our needs and earn our salvation, on our own — rather than to trust in God’s providence — God’s providing. It is the temptation to have faith in our ability to provide for ourselves rather than to have faith in God’s grace.

How did Jesus deal with that temptation? “A man doesn’t live on bread alone.” It was a quote from God’s Word — Deuteronomy 8: 3 — “He humbled you to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

In Deuteronomy 8, Moses reminded the Children of Israel that God had promised to take care of them on their way to the promised land — and then God backed up that promise with Manna from heaven. Our deliverance from the temptation to fear temporal sufferings like hunger, and sickness, and pain, and sorrow, and loss — is to trust God’s word of promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us. God promises if we seek first his Kingdom — then all the things that we need will be given to us. There is nothing wrong with planning for the future. There is nothing wrong with saving for the future. But our hope and our trust is in our God, who promises in his word to provide us with our daily bread.

The 2nd temptation was for power and might — “All these kingdoms I will give you, IF you worship me.” The devil likewise tempts us every day to be popular with others, to get rich in the market place, to be well liked by the “in crowd,” to be accepted at work — but all too often (not always, but often) the price tag for being popular, for being successful, and to being well liked is that we have to compromise what we know is right — to be popular and accepted we have to make a deal with the devil.

Jesus answered the temptation, again with a quotation from Deuteronomy, chapter 6: “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you!” Jesus said at another way — “you cannot serve two masters.” The devil, the world, and the sinful flesh are deceitful masters — they promise riches, happiness, wealth, and power — but give you nothing but death, eternal death. Dante’s “Inferno” records that the message above the gate to hell reads, “Forsake all hope all ye who enter here.” God, on the other hand, is the faithful shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep, and he is the one who gives life, eternal life. “Love the Lord your God, and serve him only!

The 3rd temptation was to put God and his promise to the test. The devil quoted Scripture, “God has promised that his angels will protect you, so throw yourself off this cliff.” This is a temptation to doubt God’s promise. The Devil was trying to get Jesus to doubt that God would keep his promise – to believe that God would not send his angels at all – to believe that God had lied to him. Remember doubting Thomas? “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and in his feet — and the wound in his side — I will not believe.” Do we, like Thomas, have to see a miracle before we will believe? Does God HAVE to prove himself to us?

Well, he already has. He gave His only begotten Son into death for you and for me! If he was willing to give His Son into death for us — is there anything else in all creation that he would keep from us? God has already proven His love for us in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection! We do not need more proof than that! “Do not put the Lord your God to the test!”

The final verse in today’s text is frightening! “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him UNTIL AN OPPORTUNE TIME.” Ladies and gentlemen — it’s not over until it’s over! The devil never quits! He just sits back and waits — he waits for an opportune time! Don’t give the devil an opportune time. God has claimed us as his own through the waters of Baptism, God has forgiven us our sins through his body and blood given in the Sacrament. God has given us his Word as a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. God’s means of Grace are the tools God has given to us to stand up to the Devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Be in the Word, Remember your Baptism daily, and be regular at the Lord’s Supper — Don’t give the Devil an opportune time!

Our Father, who art in heaven! Lead us not into temptation — but deliver us from evil! Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

JESUS THE LEADER

Luke 5:1-11

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning’s meditation is our Gospel lesson for today, Luke, chapter 5, verses 1 through 11, particularly these words:  “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’  So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”  This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. The crowds which came out to hear Jesus preach and teach were different from all Christian crowds of following generations. Our text tells us that the people were crowding around him–some translations even use the term “Pressed upon him”–they wanted to be close so that they could hear clearly. Modern Christians prefer sitting in the back pews–rather than being up front.

But Luke, in our text, tells us that the crowds were pressing around Jesus, so much so that he was looking for some way to keep them from pushing him into the lake in their eagerness to hear him speak. Jesus saw two boats–he had Simon push one into the lake just enough where he could easily address the crowd–and yet the crowd could not push him any further. And from the boat he spoke and taught.

Why were so many people, so eager, to hear what Jesus had to say? Why were they so excited about listening to Jesus?

There are probably many reasons why they were so excited about hearing Jesus preach. Maybe they had heard about the water turned into wine. Maybe they had heard that he was a miracle worker who had made lame people walk, and deaf people to hear. Maybe they had even heard about what he had said in Nazareth–that he was the Messiah, who had been promised by God, through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.

Now he was here among them. Now they had an opportunity to see him first hand–to personally hear what he had to say. This was their opportunity to be close and to see him work a miracle or two. They wanted to learn more about this Man who proclaimed himself to be the promised Messiah of God.

How many people today are like that crowd. They really are excited about religion—-but they really don’t know what religion is all about. Some people flock to the Charismatic churches because they think religion is to be found in some kind of emotional charge with the congregation clapping their hands and waving their arms and speaking in tongues. Some people run to false churches and false teachers who offer them something that looks exciting, but usually offers to them a list of rules—rules that if followed fully will make them disciples of the false prophet–not God’s people. Some people join a particular church because it is a good social move in the community or in their job, and some join because they have this feeling that if their name is not on some church role, God won’t accept them.

This kind of “RELIGION” is doing no one any good. In order to really find true religion–you must first know Jesus Christ. You must know, WHO he is, WHAT he did for you, and the PROMISE that is yours through him.

The crowd flocked to see a Messiah, a preacher, a miracle worker—Most of us met our Savior first of all in our Baptism, when the Holy Spirit created saving faith in our hearts. We know he died for us. We know he intercedes for us. We know we have eternal life because he took our sins upon himself, and set us free from the guilt and the punishment of sin. He is our Lord. He is our King. He is our Savior.

The crowd wanted to know more  –  the crowd wanted to hear more  –  and so they kept pushing. Finally Jesus was saved by the boats. With the boat pushed a few feet away from the shore, he could preach to the people and they couldn’t push him back any further. The words of Jesus were important to the people and they listened.

The words of Jesus had authority to them. Elsewhere in the Scriptures we read that people wondered at the sermons of Jesus because he preached with an “Authority like no one else possessed.” The authority of his message and his voice must have been very apparent because of what happened after he had preached his sermon.

Peter and his crew had been fishing all night and they hadn’t caught any fish. Now, when Jesus finished his sermon, he tells Peter,   “put out into the deep and let down your nets.”

Just suppose you were Peter. If you were Peter, what would you say? After all, Peter is a professional fisherman. He knew the best fishing holes in this lake. He knew the best times to go fishing. He made his living catching fish—and after working all night, he had caught nothing. He and his crew had cleaned their nets and put them away–they were tired, they were ready to go home and to rest. But Jesus said, “Let down your nets.” And Peter, realizing the authority in the message and the voice said, “At your word I will let down the nets.”

It’s too bad that ALL people are not like Peter was that day. We all seem to have our own idea of the way things should be run, or the way things ought to be done, or the way things should be. There are a lot of things that God asks us to do that we think are just a little bit foolish, old fashioned, or impossible—-and so we tell God that we know better. Jesus said of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, “This is my body, This is my blood.” And modern man says that is impossible–it only represents, or symbolizes, Christ’s body and blood. God says “He that believes and is baptized, shall be saved.” But man says, “I have to do good so God will love me and take me to heaven.” God says, “Ask and it will be given you.” and we pray only after we’ve tried all our other options.

Too bad we’re not like Peter, “At your word, I will let down the nets.”

In the Lutheran Church, we talk a lot about God’s Grace. We even say that we are saved by “Grace Alone.” This miracle of Jesus points right to that grace alone. Peter, the professional fisherman, had fished all night and caught nothing. The Bible says, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing.” Like Peter with his empty nets, we come to Jesus with empty hands, hands stained by sin, looking to His cross alone for our forgiveness. And Jesus fills our lives with His Love, His grace, His forgiveness. Just as Jesus filled the two boats with so many fish that the boats began to take on water, so Jesus fills our lives with His peace – a peace which the world cannot give. A peace of knowing that our sins are forgiven, that we are right with God, and that we have the promise of life eternal with God in heaven. As Peter’s boat was overflowing with fish – so our lives overflow with God’s blessings through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Seeing the miracle, Peter falls at Jesus’ feet in worship and adoration. And Jesus says, “From now on Peter, you will be catching men.” Jesus tells Peter that he now has a new calling–and that is to follow Him. Peter and his partners pull their boats to shore, leave everything, and follow Jesus.

May we follow Jesus. May he lead our lives through his Word. May his life, death, and resurrection give meaning and direction to our lives as “we love him, who first loved us, and gave himself for us.”

To God alone be the glory. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

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AN UNWELCOME PROPHET
Luke 4: 16-30

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this mornings meditation is the Gospel lesson appointed for this day, recorded in the Book of Luke, chapter 4 verses 16 through 30, particularly these words: ‘And Jesus said to them, ‘Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here also in your own country.’” And he said, ‘Truly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that they might throw him down headlong. This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. Let’s just SUPPOSE this morning. Let’s think of ourselves as living somewhere around the year 30 A.D. This is a small community where every one knows everybody else, And there is a great feeling of civic pride in our community and the people who live in it.

Now suppose that one of the children of our community grows up and becomes famous. When they return to our city — what do we ask them to do? Of course, we would ask them to do for us, that which has made them famous. If they are actors, we would ask them to star in a local play. If they were musicians, we would ask for a concert. If they were pastors, we would ask them to preach. We would want them to perform their specialty before the hometown crowd.

It was the same for Jesus back in the city of Nazareth. Jesus came home, he worshiped in his home church, and while there he read their minds, saying, “This is what you are thinking, “What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do also here in your own country.” The people had heard of Jesus miracles at Capernaum and now they wanted to see him work a few miracles, right here in Nazareth.

When Jesus said, “No prophet is acceptable in his own country,” What he was really saying was, “I just told you that the Scriptures I read were being fulfilled right here today, but unless I do some miracle for you, you are not going to believe that I am God’s promised messiah.” The people of Nazareth were a lot like many people today, “I’LL BELIEVE IN GOD IF HE WILL PROVE HIMSELF TO ME.” Certainly, Joseph and Mary’s son might be a good teacher and preacher all right – but certainly he is not the promised Messiah.

The atheist today says “I cannot accept God because a loving God would not allow war. OR A just God would not allow 10,000 children to be brutally beaten by their parents each year. OR a caring God would not let millions suffer starvation and malnutrition, after suffering through an earthquake in Haiti. Some people try to make God fit the standards they themselves set for him.

And sometimes, Christians act very much the same way. Can’t you just see the school child sitting down at his desk, ready to write the answers to a test, and he prays to God, “If you’ll help me pass this one — I’ll study for the next one.” How often are we like the people of Nazareth, asking God to prove himself, by working some miracle for us? How many times do we try to bargain with God — “we’ll do this for him — IF he will do that for us?

We need not test God. We can not bargain with God, because we have nothing of our own that He needs or that is not already his. God is God without having to prove himself to us. Jesus is the promised Messiah, without having to prove to the hometown just who he is.

The people from Nazareth were asking for a sign. But sometimes, in HIS almighty wisdom, God says NO to our requests. Sometimes God has ideas which are different from our own. It was true in Nazareth and it is true today. Jesus was in the midst of a devoted crowd of fine Jewish people. These were people who were proud of their religious background. They were God’s chosen People. They were special. And the rest of the world was barbarian or Gentile. They had pride in who they were and what they had done – pride in the wrong things.

But Jesus told them that God views people differently. It was a widow of Sidon, and not a Jewish Widow, where Elijah stayed during a 3 and a half year famine. And it was a Syrian and not a Jew who was healed of Leprosy by the prophet Elisha. God’s grace reached out to all people, not just a select few. Jesus work was not to impress the people of Nazareth with his magic tricks, but to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah had foretold, “he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

What about us? Are we looking for a God who meets our criteria? Are we looking for a God who will prove himself with signs and wonders? Jesus proclaims the good news of forgiveness to the poor in spirit who grieve over their sins. Jesus proclaims liberty to those who are held captive by a guilty conscience. Jesus, the light of the world, brings light into the lives of those blinded by sin. Jesus sets at liberty those who are oppressed because “by his stripes,” by his wounds, “we are healed.” And he proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor at the eternal banquet table of heaven.

Is Jesus what we need in a Savior? Or do we need signs and wonders so he proves himself to us? The people of Nazareth certainly didn’t like Jesus’ answer to them. It was clear that they wanted more than what they saw in Jesus. So they took Jesus out to a cliff and were ready to throw him over the edge. They rejected him completely! “A Prophet, a savior, is not accepted in his own Country”, Jesus said.

I’m afraid there are times when we are all guilty of about the same thing – there are times when we reject our Savior’s love for us and look for more: a miraculous healing, a special sign from heaven, a voice telling us what to do. Any of these would prove God’s guidance and God’s care for us in our special need. Remember Paul, three times he asked God to relieve his suffering from that thorn in the flesh. But God told him that the grace Paul had received from God was sufficient. What more could we ask for than forgiveness of sins? What more could we ask for than a stronger faith? What more could we ask for than eternal life in heaven as God’s chosen people? This we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. All of this, and many other gifts he gives, is purely by grace out of His love for us!

Jesus never promised his followers an easy life! Instead he told them, “If a man would come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me.”

Jesus was an “unwelcome prophet” in Nazareth! Is Jesus an unwelcome Savior in your heart? I certainly hope not! Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem for you! Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate for you! Jesus Christ died on a cross for you! Jesus Christ arose from the dead, so that you too might rise to eternal life. He is your Lord. He is your Savior.

Receive Him and his forgiveness into your hearts by grace through faith. Feel the peace which he gives to his followers: a peace which the world cannot give. Rejoice in His promises of grace and every blessing. And Rejoice in doing His will in your life. May Jesus Christ be a welcome Savior in your heart, by grace through faith. To God be the Glory! Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.