This is probably the last sermon on the topic, unless I end up returning to
Jonah for Holy Week.
ER
Sermon for Midweek of Lent 5
IN THE STEAD AND BY THE COMMAND
Theme: The preaching of repentance moves inevitably forward after Jesus/Jonah’s
death and resurrection.
In a certain sense, our earliest Lutheran forefathers did not care whether your
pastor is a Christian or an unbeliever. Our forefathers did not feel cold
disregard for the pastor’s salvation. They simply emphasized that a pastor’s
unbelief or unworthiness cannot rob God’s Word of its power. “Unworthy
[pastors] still represent the person of Christ and do not represent their own
persons,” our forefathers said. Jesus declared to those preachers whom He sent
out into the world, “The one who hears you hears Me” (Luke 10:16). Based on
these Words of Jesus, our earliest Lutheran forefathers confessed,
When they [pastors] offer God’s Word, when they offer the Sacraments, they
offer them in the stead and place of Christ. Those words of Christ [in Luke
10:16] teach us not to be offended by the unworthiness of the ministers (AP
VII.28).
If God’s Word remains powerful upon the lips of those who lack faith, the same
Word will remain powerful upon the lips of those who lack love for their people
or heart for their task. Jonah held no love toward Nineveh, but look what
happened when he preached within her walls: “The people of Nineveh believed
God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to
the least of them” (Jonah 3:5). These Words speak great assurance, both to
those who hear God’s Word and to those who preach it. These Words bring divine
comfort personally to you and personally to me:
· These Words teach you that your faith and salvation do not depend upon
your pastor’s ability to use God’s Word. Your faith and salvation depend upon
the ability of God’s Word to use your pastor, despite your pastor. It is not
hard to think that Jonah might have lacked enthusiasm or vigor when he
preached—or perhaps his preaching was entirely too vigorous, especially in its
application of God’s Law. Did Jonah roar frightfully, or did he speak in
monotone, hoping no one could pay attention long enough to get the point? Good
news for you: Jonah’s delivery had nothing to do with the power of the Word:
“The people of Nineveh believed God.”
· Good news also for me: Jonah’s delivery had nothing to do with the
power of the Word. The earliest Lutherans stated, “Practical and clear sermons
hold an audience” (AP XXIV.50) but sometimes the sermon seems neither practical
nor clear. And that is the preacher’s fault. And God’s Word remains powerful
and beneficial for the congregation nevertheless. “The people of Nineveh
believed God.”
Jonah’s Gospel follows this basic pattern:
1. Jonah died;
2. Jonah rose from the dead;
3. Jonah preached repentance to Nineveh; and
4. Nineveh was saved by the power of the divine Word Jonah preached.
Jesus has promised,
No sign will be given… except for the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will
the Son of Man be three days and tree nights in the heart of the earth”
(Matthew 12:40).
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ proceeds in the same basic pattern as
Jonah’s Gospel. Like Jonah,
1. Jesus died;
2. Jesus rose from the dead;
3. Jesus today preaches repentance to the world through those whom He
still sends out into the world. “The one who hears you hears Me” (Luke 10:16).
“Those words of Christ teach us not to be offended by the unworthiness of the
ministers” (AP VII.28).
4. Like Nineveh, you also have been saved from sin and death by the power
of the divine Word Jesus still preaches. You are saved, despite the sin of
those men whose lips and hands Jesus chooses to use.
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