Printable PDF:  6-28-2020 Pentecost 4 Sermon

Vicar Jason Lindemann  ~  Matthew 9:35-10:8  ~  June 28, 2020  ~  Pentecost 4

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” ¹Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. ⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

 Jesus Takes Good Care of Us

When I would babysit my younger brothers, the last thing my parents would say to me was, “You take care of your brothers.” It’s a good thing they said that, because that was not on the top of my priority list when they would leave. I was racing to the good food in the fridge and leaving them with leftovers, and to the GameCube so that I could play the videogame and they could find something else to do. Since they were my brothers, I didn’t really have any compassion for them. But my parents were trying to teach me to look at them the way they looked at them – as their children on whom they had compassion and of whom they were taking good care. That’s not how I was looking at them at all! But when my parents would say that “you take care of your brothers,” they would make it clear to me that I was to care for them with the compassion they had for them. I didn’t always do the best at that, parents do much better, but Jesus does it the best. Jesus takes good care of us. Jesus has compassion on his people and he gives freely to his people.

1. Jesus has compassion on his people. (verses 35-38)

Jesus had compassion on those crowds and recognized their problem. He had a pretty good sample size – all the towns and villages in Galilee! Jesus recognized they all had the same problem. What was it? A good chunk of them had the same problem that Jesus took care of. He healed each and every disease and sickness. Was any of the crowd blind, mute, bleeding, or dead? Jesus healed it all. But that was just part of the crowd that had that problem. Here’s the problem he saw when he looked at the crowds, “They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus looked at these people and noticed that some were in physical pain, but what ripped his heart out of his chest was their souls. They were in spiritual and emotional pain. Their consciences hurt them; their sins burdened them.

And Jesus’ heart went out to those ‘sheep without a shepherd’. Sheep without a shepherd are in deep trouble. They can’t run fast, have no defensive moves, they don’t know where they’re going, they’re sitting prey for any number of common predators who are hungry to take them down, or they could go running off a cliff. That’s how Jesus saw those crowds. They were sinful, had no way to cover it and were sitting prey for the attacks of the devil and false teachers who were hungry to make them fall into hell.

He had compassion on those sheep without a shepherd. Jesus’ compassion is powerful and personal. His heart sank to his stomach when he saw that crowd. It turned over and over when he saw the trouble his people were in. And he called for action. He didn’t sit there and watch his people suffer. He prayed. And he also invited his disciples to pray. “Disciples, see the crowds? They are like sheep without a shepherd. They are like a harvest with almost no one to bring them in. That’s the Lord’s harvest. Those are the Lord’s people. Pray that he save them!” Jesus’ big heart went out to those lost people; he had compassion on them. Jesus’ compassion called for action. His disciples prayed, and God acted.

Jesus’ compassion isn’t limited to those crowds in all the towns and villages of Galilee. He has compassion on all his people. He has compassion on you. Jesus recognizes that the problem that each of the people in those crowds had is the same problem we have. We also have spiritual and emotional burdens. Without a shepherd, what would we do to fix them? Would you run after someone who promised you happiness and help, only to find out he is a false teacher, a ferocious wolf attacking your soul? Would you run to satisfy the desires of your sinful flesh to try to numb the hurt with any number of vices to fall of the cliff to your doom? Would you run to fend for yourself, only to find out that you are lost in sin?

Jesus recognizes our problem, and his heart goes out to you. You aren’t just another doomed sheep to him. He sees you as his. He has compassion on you because you are his people. When he sees you lost in your sin like sheep without a shepherd, his heart sinks and turns over and over and goes out to you. He sees your pain and he feels it, too.

And he doesn’t just feel sorry for you. Jesus’ compassion led him to save you. Jesus’ compassion led him to the cross. He didn’t want you to be lost in spiritual and emotional pain anymore. He didn’t want to lose you to sin, because he had compassion on you as his people. He went to the cross to suffer your spiritual and emotional pain. He paid the price for your sins. He took the assault of the predators and the danger you were in. He has a big heart for you. He made sure to take good care of you.

Jesus makes it so that we aren’t sheep without a shepherd. He is our shepherd who takes good care of us. He has great compassion on his people. He doesn’t limit his compassion either. He doesn’t stop at being our shepherd. Jesus gives freely to his people.

2. Jesus gives freely to his people. (verses 1-8)

Jesus sent apostles to give freely to his people. This is how Jesus chose to take care of those crowds, those lost sheep of Israel. He sent the apostles. ⁵Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. This was not Jesus giving unwillingly to the Gentiles, but giving freely to the lost sheep of Israel. He had a different way to take good care of the Gentiles. Here’s the roster of the real people to whom Jesus gave his authority to take good care of the people of Israel. It was not a random assignment. Jesus sent them to the lost sheep of Israel because the disciples knew those people. These were their family and neighbors whom they saw every day. Jesus didn’t send them randomly. He sent them to give freely to those people whom they already knew.

He sent them to preach the gospel and to spread his compassion on his people. ⁷As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Jesus sent them to freely give what they freely received from him, which is the Gospel. Those apostles weren’t miraculously healed by Jesus physically, but they were once lost sheep who were freely given the Gospel that they learned from Jesus. This was what they were to give freely to God’s people in Israel. They were to spread his compassion by the forgiveness of sins. And yes, also spread his compassion in other ways – healing, raising, cleansing, driving out demons – but this was not their focus. Jesus takes too good of care of them for physical healing to be the main thing to share. “The kingdom of heaven is near, Jesus is here! He has come to save you.” What a beautiful message that Jesus freely gives to his people.

Jesus also sends you to give freely to his people. He doesn’t send you to the lost sheep of Israel. He has a different way of taking care of them. He takes good care of his people here, the Gentiles, by giving freely to you to give freely to them. Like I read the list of apostles, I could read out of our directory to see the roster of the real people that Jesus has given authority to give the forgiveness of sins to people. He sends you to the lost sheep of your family and neighbors. Jesus gives freely to the lost sheep of Glendale by sending you.

He doesn’t send you to heal diseases or cast out demons. He doesn’t even send you to preach long sermons. He sends you to spread his compassion. He invites you to see people like he does, as people who belong to Jesus. He sends you as a gift to give the gift of the gospel, because you were given the same gift of the Gospel. This is the Gospel – a free gift for all. He freely gave himself to his people to take away the sins of the world. He gave you that gift. You have the gift to give freely to others just as you got it. And just as you didn’t receive it by getting it forced down your throats, neither do you do that. You don’t have to, there’s no certain way to do it. But Jesus invites you to freely spread his compassion. So you show acts of goodness, words of kindness, and pray for your family and neighbors to reflect Jesus’ compassion with the message about the one who takes good care of you.

Jesus is our best caretaker. He has the compassion for his people to do it. His heart goes out to the ones who are suffering, and he helps them. He gives freely to his people and teaches his people to give freely as well. This all reflects that Jesus takes good care of us, and will take good care of us forever.  Amen.

Printable PDF:  6-14-2020 Pentecost 2

Pastor Mark R Jacobson                              Pentecost 2 (June 14, 2020)                  Matthew 7:15-29

¹⁵“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. ²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” ²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

FINISH IN THE SAME WAY YOU STARTED!

What’s more important: the start or the finish? Gardeners, is the planting more important or less important than the harvesting? Booklovers, is a gripping opening chapter more important or less important than a dramatic conclusion? Do-it-Yourselfers, is knowing what you are doing more important or less important than getting the job done? What’s more important: the start or the finish?

• Listening to God’s Word, not false teaching

Matthew 7:28-29, “²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” The things Jesus had finished saying is known as the Sermon on the Mount. In a little over 100 Bible verses Jesus laid out the building blocks for the Christian life of faith. And the crowds went wild. They had been listening to Jesus like they were listening to word of God. And they were listening to God’s Word! What a wonderful start for their life of faith.

One challenge for this crowd in the future would be not having Jesus personally teaching them every day. In the coming years they would have the apostles and the evangelists teaching them God’s Word, but not everyone speaking God’s Word to them would be speaking God’s Word to them. That’s why Jesus issues the warning, “¹⁵Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” No false prophet has ever prophesied with a sign over his head that reads, “I am a false prophet.” False prophets look like true prophets. False prophets appear as soft and gentle as sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Their false teaching can obliterate the good work of faith God has started in people. So how can you tell who is telling the truth?

¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. The fruit of a prophet is what he has to say. In Old Testament times you could spot a false prophet by whether or not his words came true in the future. In these New Testament times you can spot a false prophet by whether or not his words adds to God’s Word says or subtracts from what God’s Word says. To say a person is saved by faith and good works is adding to God’s Word. To say a person is saved by grace no matter what they believe is to subtract from God’s Word. To deny the 6 day creation account in favor of evolution is to subtract from God’s Word. To say that Christ will come back and reign for 1,000 years before he judges the world is to add to God’s Word. In any of these kind of situations you are no longer listening to God’s Word, but a false prophet!

Finish in the same way you started, listening to God’s Word. That means listening for God’s Word in church like you look for good fruit at the grocery store. If you do the grocery shopping at your house, you examine the fruit you put in your cart. You don’t want to buy rotten apples or brown bananas or sour grapes. What a waste! Even worse is to continue to listen to false prophets because you fail to examine what is being preached and taught. When it’s called a sin in the Bible, it better be called a sin from this pulpit, and from our classrooms and in your home. And if that sin is called forgiven in the Bible, it better be called forgiven from this pulpit and from our classrooms and in your home.                

• Believing in Jesus, not becoming a hypocrite

Finish in the same way you started, listening to God’s Word, not false teaching, and believing in Jesus, not becoming a hypocrite. That’s the direction Jesus’ teaching turns in verse 21, “²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,” If you run a business “word of mouth” is a big deal. Your business will do better with 10 recommendations from satisfied customers than with 10 thousand dollars in advertising. God loves “word of mouth” too. God loves your songs of praise. God loves my preaching of the gospel. God loves parents making life applications of God’s Word with their children. God loves children telling their friends about Jesus. God loves word of mouth, but God doesn’t love lip service. Lip service can sound exactly like word of mouth, but lip service doesn’t mean a word of it. “Without faith, the Bible says, it is impossible to please God (He 11:6). Spiritual apathy may lead some to go through the motions of Christianity, thinking that keeping a few church milestones like Baptism or Confirmation and a few key church services is enough for salvation. Lip service is not enough and neither is an outward display of good works. Jesus taught in verse 22, “²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  That’s quite a list of good works! How does your list compare to this list? My list isn’t that good either! No matter how good your list of works, it’s not good enough. Believing in Jesus is not about good words and good works. Believing in Jesus is a reason for good words and good works. Unfortunately, becoming a hypocrite is also a reason for good words and good works.

So how can we tell who really believes? We can’t. We can fool each other. We might even fool ourselves. We can’t fool God. He knows the heart. He sees apathy. He sees self-righteousness. He sees faith. Here Jesus teaches, “(the one who) will enter the kingdom of heaven (is) … the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Elsewhere Jesus taught, “The will of the father is this: believe in the one he has sent (John 6:29).

Believe in Jesus. Believe he forgives your moments of apathy. Believe he forgives your moments of self-righteousness. He is your Savior because he is your consistent Savior! From start to finish he believed in his heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. From start to finish he not only said the right things and did the right things for our forgiveness he also said words and did those works with pure motives and honest intentions.

• Standing tall through it all, not falling away

Finish in the same way you started, listening to God’s Word and believing in Jesus. Jesus sums up these two lessons this way, “²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Listening to God’s Word and believing in Jesus adds up to paradise in heaven. It does not add up to paradise on earth. I wish that it did. I like warm sunshine and gentle breezes, but not every day is like this. The weather changes and seasons change.

Today, in the church we start the seasons of Sundays after Pentecost. We start with Pentecost 2 and then Pentecost 3, then Pentecost 4 and 5 and 6 and 16 and 17 and 18. By then it will be the End Times. Sunday topics will include: the Final Judgment, Saint Triumphant and Christ the King. Will you stand tall through it all? Will you stand holy before God at the Final Judgment? Will you hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” Will you follow Christ the King into heaven or will you fall away with a great crash?

Finish in the same way you start! It all starts with Jesus. Your life was built on that rock in Baptism. Your life was built on that rock when you first believed. It all starts with Jesus. It all ends with Jess too. Don’t blow your Christian life by becoming lazy with your listening. Don’t blow your Christian life by becoming careless with what you first believed. Stand tall through it all. Finish in the same way you start … with Jesus. Amen.