Fear not! The Lord is the One who helps you!

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Septuagesima

Isaiah 41:1-13

We’ve been jumping around a little bit in our study of the last 27 chapters of the book of Isaiah. Certain chapters become especially relevant during certain seasons or festivals of the Church Year. The last time we met for Vespers was for the Baptism of Our Lord, when we heard the words of Isaiah 42, Behold, My Servant whom I uphold! This evening we backtrack just a little bit and take a look at the first half of the previous chapter, Isaiah 41.

Remember the setting. Isaiah is writing a hundred years before Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were taken captive to Babylon. He’s writing primarily to the future captives, and in the first nine chapters of this section, he’s prophesying their eventual deliverance from Babylon. He writes:

Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
      let the peoples renew their strength;
                  let them approach, then let them speak;
      let us together draw near for judgment.

The Lord calls on the coastlands, the distant Gentile nations, to gather for judgment. They have defied the Lord, they have worshiped their manmade idols, and many of them have oppressed the people of Israel. So God calls them to together to rebuke them. He wants them to consider:

      Who stirred up one from the east
      whom victory meets at every step?
                  He gives up nations before him,
      so that he tramples kings underfoot;
                  he makes them like dust with his sword,
      like driven stubble with his bow.
                  He pursues them and passes on safely,
      by paths his feet have not trod.
                  Who has performed and done this,
      calling the generations from the beginning?
                  I, the LORD, the first,
      and with the last; I am he.

First, who is this “one from the east”? It’s a champion whom the Lord is sending to bring destruction on the Gentile nations and to bring deliverance to Israel. We’ll hear more about him in the coming chapters. Figuratively, it points ahead to the Christ, but it points directly to Cyrus the Great of Persia. Isaiah will even name him a few chapters later. From 605 BC until 586 BC, the Babylonians were carrying out raids against Jerusalem. In 586 King Nebuchadnezzar took the Jews captive and held them in Babylon. But in 539 BC, Cyrus the Great took his military campaign into Babylon, conquered the Babylonians, and eventually sent out an edict, together with Darius the Mede, that the people of Israel could return to their homeland. Here in these verses, God begins to reveal His plan to the captive Jews.

But the point of these verses is not just to introduce the champion Cyrus. It’s to serve as a witness to the Gentiles that the Lord God of Israel is the One who foretold Cyrus’ coming over a hundred years before Cyrus was even born, who raised him up, and who sent him against the Babylonians in order to rescue His chosen people of Israel. God had been working to manipulate the history of the world so that all the right actors were in all the right places to carry out His will. Yes, He brought the Babylonians against Israel for Israel’s infidelity. But He would also bring the conqueror of the Babylonians along at just the right time to deliver them.

      The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
      the ends of the earth tremble;
      they have drawn near and come.
                  Everyone helps his neighbor
      and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
                  The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
      and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
                  saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
      and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
The nations whom Cyrus will conquer along the way are afraid as they hear of his approach. They’re wringing their hands. They’re trying to give pep talks to one another. They’re getting their idol images ready to protect them from his invasion, and they strengthen those idols with nails, as if that will help. But no one can stop the Lord from sending His champion to deliver His people. While the nations are cowering in fear, the people of Israel are comforted.

      But you, Israel, my servant,
      Jacob, whom I have chosen,
      the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
                  you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
      and called from its farthest corners,
                  saying to you, “You are my servant,
      I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
                  fear not, for I am with you;
      be not dismayed, for I am your God;
                  I will strengthen you, I will help you,
      I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

See how tenderly the Lord speaks to Israel! “Israel, my servant,” He calls them. We’ll see that phrase repeated several times in these chapters of Isaiah, and it’s important we identify which servant God is referring to. In the next chapter, the Servant of the Lord is narrowed down to one person, namely, the Christ, who is the perfect Israel, the Head of the body. But sometimes in Isaiah’s prophecy, as in these verses, it’s the people of Israel as a whole referred to as the Lord’s servant, the rest of the body of which Christ is the head.

He reminds them that, some 1500 years before their captivity in Babylon, He chose them. He called Abraham His friend. He multiplied and nurtured Israel. He trained them and taught them and delivered them time and time again, only handing them over for punishment when they stubbornly turned to other gods. Now is one of those times of deliverance. God is stretching out His right hand to help and deliver His people.

      Behold, all who are incensed against you
      shall be put to shame and confounded;
                  those who strive against you
      shall be as nothing and shall perish.
                  You shall seek those who contend with you,
      but you shall not find them;
                  those who war against you
      shall be as nothing at all.
                  For I, the LORD your God,
      hold your right hand;
                  it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
      I am the one who helps you.”

God graciously promises Israel that, although He had allowed the nations to come in and fight against them, now He will fight for them. He will sweep all their enemies out of the way like they’re nothing. They are to picture God holding out His right hand to take them by their right hand, “Fear not! I am the One who helps you!”

And that’s the Lord’s message to everyone who has been brought to repentance, to everyone who has fallen into despair. To Israel as they sat in captivity, finally realizing how foolish they were to rebel against their Helper, despairing of escape from their captivity, God held out His hand, through His Word, “Fear not! I am the One who helps you!” And He did! He sent His champion, Cyrus and delivered them. And then He sent the real Champion, the Christ, to battle against their enemies of sin, death, and the devil. And He delivered them. Fear not! I am the One who helps you!, Jesus said.

And now to His New Testament Israel, to His Christians throughout the world and to those who would become Christians, God says the same thing. Fear not! I am the One who helps you! When we come to see that we’ve ruined things for ourselves, that we have foolishly put God, our Helper, on the backburner, when the world stands against us, when we’ve lost all hope of saving ourselves, God reaches out His hand, Fear not! I am the One who helps you! So don’t despair! And don’t trust in idols! Don’t trust in yourself! Don’t trust in any human savior. Put your trust in God alone, and you, too, will be helped. Amen.

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A perspective focused on God’s grace

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Septuagesima

1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5  +  Matthew 20:1-16

You know that Jesus told many parables during His earthly ministry. Each one has a context. Each one has a purpose. The parable you heard today, the parable of the workers in the vineyard, is only recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. It’s recorded in the context of Jesus’ apostles having just pointed out to Him how much they had given up, how much they had sacrificed in order to follow Him. And they asked what they would receive in return. Jesus told them, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. In other words, you will receive great rewards when Christ comes again. But be careful how you think about those rewards, and all the things you did to obtain them! Be careful that you don’t begin to think of your service to God as a matter of earning wages from Him! In other words, be careful not to start thinking that God should give you what you deserve! Because many who are first will be last.

To illustrate that point, Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard.

The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a household who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. The vineyard is God’s Holy Christian Church. No one starts out in it. Ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin, we all begin life outside of God’s holy Church, outside of His family, outside of His salvation. All people begin life as sinners who don’t know God, don’t trust in God, and don’t obey God. We start out alienated from Him and separated from Him by our sins.

But one by one, God goes out into the “marketplace” of the world and calls people out of that idleness of sin and death, out of that state of condemnation. Through the ministers of His Church He calls people to repent and to believe in Christ crucified. He calls all people to the same vineyard, to the same family of God, to the same inheritance of eternal life. And He’s always serious about that call to repent and believe in Jesus. He wants all people to be called, and He wants all the called to come into His Holy Christin Church.

But the call goes out to people at different points in their lives, some at the beginning of the day, others a little later, others a little later, and some not until the eleventh hour, close to the end. Those who are called early, like the apostles, often have to sacrifice the most, bear the heat of the day, deal with a lifetime of denying themselves and bearing the cross for Jesus’ sake. Those who are called later in life may have to sacrifice relatively little. Think of the thief on the cross next to Jesus, who was promised Paradise after suffering practically nothing for Jesus’ sake.

What happens in the parable? Those who were hired first were promised one denarius at the end of the day. And they were content with that. Those who were hired later, throughout the day, were simply told they would receive what was right at the end. And the landowner, in His goodness, chose to give one denarius to those who worked only one hour, and the same to those who worked three hours and six hours and nine hours. So when those who had worked twelve hours came along, they thought they deserved to receive more and were sorely disappointed and even angry when they were each given one denarius, although it was exactly what they were promised at the beginning of the day.

And the landowner approached one of them in the midst of their grumbling, Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I give you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?

You see, Jesus was warning His apostles here. Because they had a sinful flesh just like everyone’s sinful flesh that ultimately wants to make everything about me, what I deserve, what I’ve suffered, what I’ve given up. And we like to compare ourselves with others and point out where we’ve done more, given up more, sacrificed more, suffered more. And the devil whispers, “That means you deserve more from God!”

But, friends, that is not how God works—not when it comes to eternal life, not when it comes to the basis on which He hands out eternal life. Our sinful flesh spends all day staring in the mirror, so that we focus on ourselves. The Gospel of Christ says, turn away from yourself, you sinner, and look at God! Look at His mercy! His goodness! His generosity! Look at His sacrifice of His own beloved Son, on the cross, for you! And, you fool, stop demanding from God what you deserve! Because if He were to analyze your works and your heart according to the strictness of His holy Law, what you deserve—what all people deserve—is His wrath and punishment. But instead, God, in His grace, wishes to count to you what Christ deserves, and to overlook all your sins and failures and guilt. If you keep focusing on yourself, you will eventually put your faith in yourself, lose faith in God, and slip away from His grace. And, although you were one of the first to be called, you’ll end up last in God’s estimation.

You see, it’s a matter of perspective. But perspective matters! So, instead of viewing your place in God’s Church as a burden you must bear, instead of viewing your service to God and your obedience to His commandments as something for which He should pat you on the back, as something for which He should pay you back, view your place in God’s Church as the most wonderful, generous gift anyone could ever receive! View your place in God’s family, as a baptized believer in Christ, as a gift you could never possibly deserve, but which God in His goodness has been pleased to give you for free. View the good works, and the suffering, and the sacrifices you are called on to make for Christ’s sake as opportunities to live in freedom from sin, as time spent pursuing what is good and right and beautiful, and as opportunities to give thanks to God and to be made into the image of Christ, your Redeemer!

Then, if you’ve suffered more than others or sacrificed more than others during your time in Christ’s Church, you won’t see it as something you’ve lost, or as something God needs to compensate you for, but as something you’ve gained, as a blessing you’ve been given already this side of heaven! Because, which, really, is the greater blessing from God? To be like an apostle who spent years or decades living a hard life of service and sacrifice within the Church, or to be like the thief on the cross who led his whole life as an enemy of God, as a slave of sin, and only got to spend an hour of his earthly life as a child of God in Christ’s kingdom? They all received the same kingdom of heaven in the end, by God’s goodness and grace, through faith in Christ Jesus. But the ones who got to serve longer and harder within Christ’s kingdom actually had the greater benefit than the one who only got to spend an hour there before he died. Instead of expecting more from God for their longer time in His service, they should be praising and thanking God for showing them that kind of grace!

Have that perspective of your time and service in Christ’s kingdom, with your eyes fixed on God’s grace. Then, whether you were called early or late, first or last, you will still be counted among the first in the kingdom of heaven. May God grant it for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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In the face of death, a light shines

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord

2 Peter 1:16-21  +  Matthew 17:1-9

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Peter in his second Epistle all describe Jesus’ Transfiguration, this brief moment up on a mountain in Galilee where Jesus’ hidden glory was actually revealed to the eyes of Peter, James, and John. Not many events in Jesus’ life get that kind of coverage. Only the accounts of His death, His resurrection, and the institution of the Lord’s Supper are referenced that many times. It must have great meaning for the Church of Christ, if the Holy Spirit chose to dwell on it so often. It does have great meaning, because it served to prepare Jesus’ disciples for the thing they would soon have to face—for the thing we all have to face. It prepared them to face death, teaching them, and us, that, in the face of death, a light shines!

All three Gospels tie the Transfiguration to what happened about one week earlier. “After six days,” Matthew says. What happened six days earlier? Well, six days earlier Jesus had asked His twelve disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They gave Him all sorts of strange answers: John the Baptist returned from the dead! Elijah! Jeremiah! Or another Old Testament prophet! Jesus put the question to them: “Who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” And Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And then He began to explain to them that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. That was the very first time Jesus told His disciples plainly that He, their Lord and Christ, was going to die. And Peter said, No! No! That won’t happen to you! And Jesus said, “Get behind Me Satan!” And then He said the words that really help explain the purpose of the Transfiguration: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. In other words, in order to follow Me, you, too, have to die. Willingly.

After six days, with those words still ringing in their ears, Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus up the mountain. Those three were often the three disciples whom Jesus took along without the rest. Why those three? Maybe because Peter, who had objected so strongly to Jesus’ prediction of His death, needed to see that it would be okay. Maybe because James would be the first apostle to face death after Jesus’ resurrection. Maybe because John would have to face the next sixty years watching his fellow servants die, one after the other. In any case, I think it’s important that it wasn’t all twelve disciples. It didn’t need to be all twelve. Not everyone needs to see the Transfiguration of Jesus with their eyes in order to be helped by it. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every matter be established.”

And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Jesus’ disciples beheld His glory in many ways during His life—in His miracles, in His knowledge, in His teaching. This was the only time they got to see the glory of God with their eyes, the glory of God and the glory of eternal life. There, for a moment, they could see with their eyes what they had come to believe with hearts and confess with their mouths: that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Also glorious was the appearance of two Old Testament prophets, Moses and Elijah, Old Testament saints who had lived a hard life of service to God, who had been at times loved, but more often hated, not only by the world, but also by those who were supposed to be God’s people. Each of them had learned ahead of time what it meant to die to himself so that he might live for God and with God. Each of them was an example of those who had “lost” their earthly lives for God’s sake, only to find a life that’s even better. And this vision showed Jesus’ disciples that death had no power over them. Moses had died, but here he was alive and glorious. Elijah hadn’t died, but here he was, alive and glorious 800 years after being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. The disciples—all disciples of Jesus—have this to look forward to on the other side of death.

What were Moses and Elijah doing there with Jesus on the mountain? Mark tells us they were talking with Jesus. Luke tells us what they were talking about. About His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Literally, about His “exodus,” the Greek word for departure, here referring to His own departure from this life. How fitting! Who better to talk with about your impending death than people who had already made an exodus from this life and had lived to tell about it? Now, Jesus knew very well that the deceased are not truly dead. But it would be good for Peter, James, and John to see with their eyes what they believed in their hearts. It would be good for them to hear someone besides Jesus talking about how He would soon suffer and die and live again in glorious light.

The glory and peace and safety of that life on the mountain were so compelling, so attractive to Peter that he wanted it to last forever. Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Mark tells us, Peter didn’t know what to say; all three disciples were so afraid. But you can relate to Peter, I think. We always want the peace and safety and comfort to last. It always seems good to us, and we’re thankful for the moments of peace and safety and comfort that God gives. But you’re not supposed to hold onto it yet. You’re not supposed to cling to it now. You’re supposed to give thanks to God for it while it lasts, and then be ready to let it go.

Before Peter could latch onto the vision too tightly, God the Father interrupted him. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!

This is the second time we’ve heard God the Father speak these words about Jesus. The first time was at His Baptism. That means nothing Jesus has said or done since His Baptism has been sinful. Nothing has been misguided or wrong. Including all His preaching against sin. Including His predictions of His own imminent suffering for the sins of mankind on the cross. Including His prediction of rising on the third day. Including the forgiveness of sins which Jesus has pronounced on everyone who believes in Him. Including His insistence that all who follow Him must also deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him, even to death.

Hear Him!, is the Father’s prescription for us. The Word of Christ is that light shining in a dark place, the light we all need to focus on in the face of death. We all have a lot of distractions in our lives. We all have things we’d like to hold onto, to keep at all costs, along with a sinful nature that will not die willingly. And we have a world around us that’s filled with the devil’s lies and the devil’s hatred of all good things. Hear Him!, the Father says. Hear Jesus! Don’t deny Him. Hear Him! Don’t ignore Him. Hear Him! Don’t live for yourself and for an earthly paradise. Hear Him! He is the beloved Son of God. In Him the Father is well pleased. And if you are found hearing Him now, if you are found in Him by faith at the end of your earthly life, then you, too, have the assurance that God the Father is well pleased with you, too.

After the vision of the Transfiguration was over, Jesus warned His three disciples not to reveal it to anyone until after He was raised from the dead. That means that this vision was meant to be told, meant to be celebrated. It’s a vision meant for the Church to ponder, and to use. We can only imagine how this vision, together with the rest of the Word of Christ, helped the countless Christians who faced torture and imprisonment and death in the coming years, as they were forced to choose between holding onto their earthly lives or holding onto Jesus.

Let this vision bring you comfort, too, and strengthen your resolve to bear the cross, to face death bravely, and to face life bravely, too. This is what awaits you, if you would follow Christ: Shame and death and then glory and life. But if you trust in Him then you have God’s favor covering you through it all. If you use it, this vision will help you to face death. But more importantly, it will help you to live as a cross-bearer, following in the steps of Christ crucified, until you reach the glory He has promised at the end of the road. Amen.

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Watching Jesus at a wedding feast

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Epiphany 2

Romans 12:6-16  +  John 2:1-11

A friend called me this week. He has been watching the news, listening to people issue warnings about some nefarious schemes being carried out by some powerful people in the world, with dire predictions about the kinds of things we’re going to have imposed on us in the near future. He was very troubled over the state of the world, physically shaken by it. I said, yes, all those things could happen. Or maybe they won’t. Or maybe we’ll face trials that are completely unexpected, and even worse than what’s predicted. What should we do?, he asked. I said, just keep looking at Jesus. Watch how He reacted to mistreatment by His government and by the devil and by the powers of the world. Watch His behavior, in every situation. And remember that He still sits on His throne. I couldn’t think of any better advice to give. Melting in fear won’t help. Rising up and overthrowing the government isn’t what the Christian is called to do. But watching Jesus? Yes, that we can and should do.

Watching Jesus is what the church year is all about, following Him through His life, listening to Him, and learning from Him every step of the way. The seasons of the year give us focus for that watching. In this Epiphany season, we’ve watched the wise men visit baby Jesus in Bethlehem. We’ve watched Jesus devote Himself to God’s Word at age 12. We’ve watched Jesus step forward to be baptized, to be acknowledged and praised and sent on His mission by His Father in heaven. And today we watch Jesus perform His first miracle at a wedding feast in Cana. Aren’t there more pressing things going on in the world that we should talk about? Well, surely there were more pressing things going on in Jesus’ world, too, but He chose to attend a wedding feast that day, and to reveal His glory there, and to have it recorded for us in Holy Scripture.

The timing of this event is important. It’s Jesus’ very first act with His first five disciples, less than a week after John the Baptist had pointed to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John, for his part, came “neither eating nor drinking,” that is, avoiding wine and avoiding weddings and feasts and celebrations, spending his entire ministry out in the wilderness, apart from society, preaching to whoever would come out and hear him. But Jesus came participating in all those things. Yes, He was serious about preaching and teaching, but by attending a wedding feast as the first act of His ministry, following His Baptism and temptation in the wilderness, He’s teaching us something about Himself and about the kind of people He’s looking for us to be. He hasn’t come to be a hermit or to change us all into hermits (or monks!), to abolish marriage and the family. The change He came to bring is a change of the heart, a change in our attitude toward sin, toward God, and toward our neighbor. God doesn’t mean for His children to avoid celebrations or family gatherings. He means for us to be a blessing at those gatherings. And so Jesus was.

The wine ran out early at this wedding feast. And Jesus’ mother Mary approached Him about it. They have no wine, she told Him. Some have suggested that Mary had some serving role at this wedding, which is possible, given her knowledge of the situation and her interest in doing something about it. The way she put it to Jesus wasn’t irreverent or demanding. But Jesus’ answer reveals that He wasn’t altogether pleased that His mother seemed to be looking to Him to do something about this minor inconvenience. Why do you involve Me, woman? Jesus wanted to make clear to His mother that, while her role as His mother continued, and He would continue to honor her as His mother, things were going to be different now. It’s telling that in both places in the Gospels where Jesus addresses Mary—here and at the foot of the cross—it’s “woman,” not “mother.” Her role as earthly authority over Him as her Son had come to an end. His role as the Son of God took priority. And she would have no place in guiding Him in the ministry He was now beginning. Only His Father in heaven would do that.

My hour has not yet come, He added. Just as John the Baptist had only a week ago pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, so Jesus, too, was focused on the sacrifice that lay ahead at the end of His earthly ministry, some three years or so in the future. That was Jesus’ hour. That’s when the Son of Man would truly be glorified. That was the mission. That was the goal, to suffer for the sins of all people, to give His life on the cross, to die the death that we all deserve, so that we might receive His life.

But, starting on that day, Jesus would reveal little glimpses of His glory along the way. Mary must have seen some indication from Jesus that He would do something, because she told the servants, Whatever he says to you, do it. And what He said to them was amazing. There were six large stone jars standing there. He said to the servants, Fill the jars with water. And then He told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. And just like that, the water was changed into wine.

And fine wine at that! When the servants gave it to the master of the feast, he was amazed at how good it was, and how strange that the bridegroom had apparently reserved the best wine until this late hour of the feast. It was clear, at least to the servants and to Jesus’ disciples who were watching, that no tricks were being played here. Jesus didn’t even touch the jars or anything that went into them. But He revealed His incredible power over the creation, His unfathomable understanding of matter on a molecular level and His ability to manipulate it at will, taking simple water and changing it into something much more complex—not unlike the original creation, in which the Son of God participated, when, as Peter says in his second epistle, the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God.

After hearing and watching Jesus for less than a week, after watching Him perform this astonishing miracle, revealing His glory as the Son of God, John tells us that Jesus’ first disciples believed in Him. But they would need to keep watching, because faith isn’t like a light bulb that’s either on or off. It’s more like a fire that needs tending. Over the next three years, the faith of Jesus’ disciples would grow stronger and weaker, and sometimes it seemed nonexistent. But they kept watching, and God sustained them and grew them into the apostles who now make up the foundation of the Christian faith, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief Cornerstone.

You and I—we don’t get to watch Jesus with our eyes. We don’t get to see His miracles. We watch through our ears, which doesn’t sound as good, at first, until you realize that it’s not the sight of God but the Word of God that does everything. It’s the Word of God that brings us to acknowledge and repent of our sins. It’s the Word of God that reveals Jesus to us as our Savior from sin and that moves us to believe in Him. Next week, when we celebrate the Transfiguration, we’ll hear God the Father calling on to “Hear Jesus!”

So watch Him again today by hearing Him and by hearing the Word of God about Him. Learn about Him from this account of the wedding at Cana, that He did not come to destroy, but to save; not to make life bitter, but to season it with joy, even now, in the midst of all the bitter troubles that we face and have yet to face. You can get caught up in all the madness of the world. Better to get caught up in the life and in the Person of Jesus the Christ. Look up at Him! Watch Him! And be at peace. Amen.

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Behold! The chosen Servant of the Lord!

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord

Isaiah 42:1-13  +  Matthew 3:13-17

The Baptism of Jesus has traditionally been a very important celebration within the Epiphany season. That’s why many of our Epiphany hymns reference, not only the visit of the wise men, but also the Lord’s Baptism in the Jordan River. It fits very well with the theme of this season, because it’s an important epiphany, an important revelation of the hidden divinity of the Man named Jesus. Coincidentally, it also fits well in our review of the book of Isaiah this year. We turned to Isaiah 60 last week to talk about the visit of the wise men. This week we turn to Isaiah 42, which we’ll consider in conjunction with Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Baptism.

Matthew writes, Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And what happened when Jesus was baptized? The heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Now, what did Isaiah prophesy about the coming Christ?

Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him;

Do you hear the similarities? They’re intentional! This! This, above all, is what we are to take from Jesus’ baptism, that He is the promised, chosen servant of the Lord whose coming was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. Here, in this humble ceremony performed in the Jordan River, Jesus was anointed, not with oil, but with water. Here, at His Baptism, Jesus was inaugurated into the office which He would now begin in earnest to fulfill: His Christly office as Prophet, Priest, and King. Even Jesus, the God-Man, didn’t take this office on Himself. He waited 30 years, until this time of His Father’s choosing.

Now, when sinners are baptized, what’s it for? Scripture tells us. Repent and be baptized, Peter said, for the forgiveness of your sins. Get up and be baptized, said Ananias to Saul, and wash away your sins. Baptism now saves you, Peter wrote. For the sinner, Baptism is the washing of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit. You are all sons of God, Paul writes, through faith in Jesus Christ, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

None of that was true of Jesus’ baptism. The sinless One didn’t have any sins for which He needed to be forgiven, sins which He needed to wash away. The Savior didn’t need saving. The One who was born holy and who was still holy had no need of a rebirth. The One who was the Son of God according to both His divine and His human natures did not need to be made a son of God. So when Jesus was baptized, there was no change in His status before God, only a public acknowledgement by God of what was already true: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

Isaiah goes on to describe the ministry that the Servant of the Lord would carry out.

He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench;

St. Matthew will later (in chapter 12) cite these very words from Isaiah 42 and apply them directly to Jesus as a description of His ministry. Jesus was not a loud and obnoxious street preacher. He was patient and kind toward the weak. He didn’t shout and draw attention to Himself. Just consider His baptism. He didn’t make a big show. He humbly stepped forward and asked John to baptize Him. It was God the Father who exalted His Son in that moment.

He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles…He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”

There’s another testimony from Isaiah that the Christ would be sent not only to Israel but to all nations, to the Gentiles, too. Now, Jesus Himself never even went out into the nations, much less did He seek to establish political or social justice in the earth. But His justice includes His righteousness, the righteousness of God which we receive by faith in Christ Jesus, and that message He did send out into the world, not in connection with His own Baptism, but in connection with the Baptism He sent His apostles to administer: Go and make the disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And, as Paul wrote, when we are baptized into Christ, we put on Christ. We are clothed with His righteousness, with His justice, judged by God to be righteous for Christ’s sake, who was baptized just as we are, not because He needed cleansing, but in order offer Himself to all the baptized, so that we can put Him on, be clothed with Him and His righteousness, and be counted before God as His beloved sons, with whom He is well-pleased. People wonder what Jesus meant when He told John that He needed to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. This is one of the reasons.

Along those same lines, Isaiah continues: Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles,

Here Christ’s task, His ministry, is further explained. The LORD God, the Creator of all, God the Father Almighty, called His Son in righteousness. In connection with righteousness, as the One who would live a righteous life as mankind’s Substitute, as the One whose righteousness would cover believers in Him, as the One who would teach His people to live righteous and holy lives. And here the Father promises to hold His hand, to help and accompany Him in His earthly ministry, to keep, to preserve Him—until it was time for His sacrifice to take place, and to give Him as a covenant to the people (that is, to Israel), and as a light to the Gentiles. The old covenant God had made with Israel at Mt. Sinai would be replaced by Jesus, the author of the New Testament. And, again, He would be a light to enlighten the Gentiles, too, to bring them into this New Testament in His blood.

To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

A further description of Christ’s ministry. As we talked about during the Advent season, some of that He did literally. He literally opened blind eyes. He literally opened deaf ears. He literally delivered those who were imprisoned by the devil by casting out their demons. But He also did it spiritually, through His word, revealing the way of salvation to those who were living in the darkness and captivity of sin.

I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

This is an important verse, because Jesus claims divine honor and glory for Himself, and yet here the Lord clearly says that He won’t share His glory with anyone. The fact that the Father shares His glory and honor with the Son is yet another testimony that Jesus is Himself is also true God.

Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.

God’s old way of dealing with Israel—through the Law of Moses, through the Levitical priesthood, through the occasional prophet—was all about to change after the baptism of the Christ. Now He would deal with Israel for a time and show them Himself as clearly as possible. As John writes, For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made him known.

So Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them! Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare His praise in the coastlands.

Yes, the coming of Christ, His revelation to Israel, and now to us, at His baptism is reason for all people everywhere to sing to the Lord, because in this Man who stepped forth from those baptismal waters, the Lord has provided a Savior for all men, that all may believe in Him, be baptized in His name, and be eternally saved.

The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.

Sounds like Isaiah is describing Jesus going forth from His baptism, doing battle with the devil in the wilderness for the next forty days, carrying out His ministry for the next three years, crying out, yes, shouting aloud from the cross, “It is finished!”, and then rising from the dead, prevailing against His enemies. Give thanks today, for Jesus’ baptism and for Isaiah’s prophecy that helps us to understand just how important it was. Behold, the Servant of the Lord, the Son of God, going forth to bring salvation to sinners everywhere! Amen.

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