Sermon for the Third Sunday After the Epiphany
REPENT Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In today’s Gospel, as soon as John got thrown into prison, Jesus immediately set to work. Jesus continues what John and the other Old Testament prophets did before Him. Jesus preaches to you and to all people everywhere, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Dear Christian friends, When lightening ignites a forest fire in a California mountain range, or when a hurricane begins to gather its fury off the coast of Texas, you will inevitably find people living in the path of death and destruction who do not want to listen. Government officials appear on the front porch, warning these people in the strongest terms: “The hurricane or the forest fire is coming. You are not going to stop it. Act NOW.” The people will not listen. “I can take care of myself. I will tough it out. I do not need your help.” Everything may seem fine while the danger is still distant, but then the forest fire begins to melt the siding on the house, or the hurricane picks up your boat and throws it through the living room window. NOW you want to escape, but you cannot. You do not have the power, you do not have the escape route, and you do not have the time. Fire and storm are right there. What happens? The very same government officials who earlier warned you that this was going to happen now come in and save the day along with your backside. First they gave you the command, and then they did for you what you would not and now could not do. Without them you would be destroyed; with them you escape death and you get the gift of life. God Sent His Son Jesus to Save You from Disaster! Somewhat like a government official who is warning us of impending disaster, Jesus says to you and to me in today’s Gospel, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”—right here at your door and my window. Now ask yourself honestly: How is it even possible for you to repent? What exactly does repentance look like and what does it mean and how can any of us be certain that we have done repentance well enough to gain entry into the kingdom of heaven? You do not have any more willpower for repentance than I. Even if you did have the desire to repent, what precisely are you going to do? What steps do you plan to take? How do you intend to do it? “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Fire and storm are right here; Jesus is right here and Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Like a homeowner who stays too long while the disaster looms overhead, it does not matter how much you might want to escape the fate of those who refuse to repent. Neither you nor I have the power to repent, we no escape route to follow for repentance, and I am not getting any younger so maybe we do not have the time. So, what happens? The very same Jesus who calls for your repentance now comes in and saves you. Jesus is like the government official who warns you to escape the storm and the fire, but then He comes and gives you the very escape that you now realize you need. First the official gives you the command, and then—even while the forest fire is consuming your garage—the official does for you what you would not and now could not do. In the same way, Jesus likewise says to you, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But then, even while the kingdom of heaven is drawing near to you, Jesus does all of your repentance for you. Jesus does all your repentance for you from beginning to end, without any help or contribution from you at all. Just as the government official saves you from the deadly jaws of the looming storm, so likewise does Jesus give you your repentance, that is, your deliverance and escape from death, and Jesus gives you your certainty of forgiveness and life. Jesus’ Built His Sermon Upon the Sermons of the Old Testament Prophets Who Came Before Him, Preparing His Way When Jesus preaches, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” He is not merely echoing the preaching of John the Baptist before Him (Matthew 1-2). Rather, Jesus’ sermon about repentance in today’s Gospel taps deeply into God’s Old Testament, where God spells out for you precisely how it is that He works His miracle of your repentance for you. Essentially, Jesus is applying personally to you what God had earlier said through His prophets: · Hosea 6:1–“Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up.” With these Words, God wants you to know that repentance is something HE begins in you through the wrath and condemnation of His Law. Through the Ten Commandments, God tears at you, so to speak. God’s Law performs its work on you when it crushes you and breaks your bones, as it were—so that God Himself may heal you and bind you up with the promises of forgiveness that are yours in Christ Jesus. How, then, do you repent? You repent by listening wholeheartedly to God’s Ten Commandments and by not resisting the way they tear you down and accuse you and condemn you. Stated another way, you repent by allowing the fire and the hurricane to draw close—precisely so that you may call out to someone to save you. · Isaiah 44:21-22—“O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a could and your sins like a mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” With these Words, God wants you to know that repentance does for you through the preaching of forgiveness and peace. If your God were still angry with you, you would have reason to run away. But God is not angry—Jesus died on the cross to quench the fire of His anger. Just as a government official wants only your health and well being when he urges you to escape the coming fire or hurricane, so God only wants your health and well-being when He says to you, “Return” (Isaiah 44:12) and when He says to you, “Repent.” God has blotted out your transgressions with the blood of Jesus His Son. All your sins have disappeared like the mist in the rising Sun of morning. How, then, do you repent? You repent by listening wholeheartedly to God’s Gospel promises, which He speaks to you on account of Christ. You repent by allowing Jesus your rescuer to save you from the forest fire of God’s judgment and the hurricane of divine wrath. Just as a government official would save you from the deadly jaws of a looming storm, so Jesus gives you your repentance, that is, your deliverance and escape from death, and Jesus gives you your certainty of forgiveness and life. · Matthew 3:1-2—“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” With these Words, God wants you to know that repentance is not something that happens for you only once in a lifetime. Repentance is a miracle God produces in you repeatedly and continually through the power of His Word. This is where the analogy of rescue from a forest fire or a hurricane breaks down. Certainly no one would choose to be caught in a natural disaster, if even that many times. But repentance is something God continually works in you and something God desires never to stop working in you. John the Baptist did not preach, “Repent,” as though it were a single action. John the Baptist preached, “Be repenting” or “Continually repent” or “Never stop repenting.” So long as you remain in this life, Law of God will not stop accusing you and the fire of judgment will not be far from your door. “Be repenting and continually repenting.” So long as you remain in this life, your Lord Jesus will never fail to remain your faithful and courageous rescuer, delivering you again and again by the miraculous power of His promises. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” There is only one thing Jesus has in mind for you—your rescue and deliverance. Do you have time for one more analogy? Sometimes a lifeguard will need to punch a drowning person in the gut before he or she can get that person to stop resisting the rescue. In much the same way, your God in Christ will punch you, too. But maybe you have been putting up too much a fight. By slugging you with His Law, Jesus puts you into a position to stop resisting Him long enough for Him to drag you to safety. ___________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author (as long as no charge is made for the work and it is not made part of a compilation), as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. 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