“The Israelite Christ Is the Forever-blessed God Over All”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“No lovelier antiphon In all high heav’n is known
Than ‘Jesus Christ be praised!’
There to the_eternal Word The_eternal psalm is heard:
‘May Jesus Christ be praised!’
“Ye nations of mankind, In this your concord find:
‘May Jesus Christ be praised!’
Let all the earth around Ring joyous with the sound:
‘May Jesus Christ be praised!’”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
807:3-4)
Epistle
Reading.................................................................................
Romans 9:1-5 (esp. 5)
5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh,
is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Prologue: Consider this bit of the past. “The Jewish people
have been persecuted more than any other people in history. One of the main
causes for the persecutions has been the accusation that the Jews were
responsible for killing Christ. Although prejudice against the Jews
developed over the years after the crucifixion, it reached serious
proportions in a.d. 613 when the Jews in Spain were given the option of
either being baptized or leaving the country. A few years later those who
remained were declared slaves and given to pious Christians. Children under
seven years old were taken away from their parents and given to Christian
families to provide a Christian education.
“In 1121 the Jews were driven from Flanders, which is now a part
of Belgium, and were not allowed to return until they repented of the guilt
of killing Jesus Christ. The persecutions spread. Jews were killed, burned
at the stake, and tortured in the inquisitions. They were driven from most
countries in Europe. The climax was reached when Hitler came to power in
Germany and began his persecution of the Jews in 1933, resulting in the
murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazis.” (Encyclopedia of Sermon
Illustrations. Compiled by David F. Burgess. Copyright © 1988 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 162.)
Well, the irony, of course, is that the very Christ, whom the Jews
deny being the Messiah promised by God throughout the Old Testament era, was
Himself of Israelite-Jewish descent. Additional irony is that the very
people whose namesake is Christ, that is, Christians, inflicted severe
persecutions on the race of people from which Christ descended. Then add
the ultimate irony that the Christ, who descended from the Israelite-Jews
and whom the Israelite-Jews denied and called for his crucifixion-death, did
Himself suffer and die for the salvation of all people, including those who
called for His suffering and death. So it was that the apostle Paul, who
was himself a descendent of the Israelite-Jewish race, correctly declared in
today’s Epistle Reading that …
“The Israelite Christ Is the Forever-blessed God Over All.”
It’s been said that “A little (you fill in the blank here) goes a
long way.” Love? Help? Generosity? Kindness? Respect? Well, in this
case a little context goes a long way. As Armin Panning wrote in his
commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Romans, “Other nations had their
philosophers and sages, but only Israel had heroes of faith like Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and Solomon, who not only believed and
proclaimed God’s promises but were themselves bearers of the Promised Seed.
Jesus was born a Jew according to his human nature, a direct descendant of
the patriarchs. But he was also more, much more! He was the promised
Christ ‘who is God over all, forever praised!’” (Armin J. Panning in Peoples
Bible Commentary: Romans. Copyright © 2000 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis, MO. Page 150.)
Saint Paul had a self-consuming desire for his fellow
Israelite-Jews to know that truth about Jesus Christ. That self-consuming
desire was driven largely by the fact that …
I. Intense Sorrow and Anguish Consume People Whose Loved Ones Don’t
Know and Confess Jesus As Lord and Savior Over All. (1-2)
1I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me
witness in the Holy Spirit—2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish
in my heart.
“Mr. Dinh Hai Au is [or at least was] the acting director of the
Lutheran Hour Ministries’ office in Vietnam. Working under unusual and
difficult circumstances he must be both creative and innovative in his
presentations. Vietnam is a country where atheism is the semiofficial
religion, and religious work cannot be done off church grounds. As such,
creativeness is this ministry center’s strong suit. Puppet shows, music
evangelism, Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), and Equipping The Saints
(ETS) have all proven successful. In this Southeast Asian country of 90
million people, LHM-Vietnam cooperates with local congregations of Vietnam’s
officially approved Christian churches, providing programs and resources to
assist them in their outreach efforts.”
Mr. Dihn Hai Au wrote in a Lutheran Hour Ministries Daily Devotion
for March 1, 2013, entitled “Tell Them”: “To be separated from the love of
God ... no wonder Paul felt great sorrow because people in his heritage did
not have faith in Christ, nor did they know the love of Jesus (see Romans
9:1-3). Yes, that is what Paul felt. Now let me ask, do you really love
the souls which are heading toward hell?”
He then continued with this account: “Last August, we had a futsal
(futsal = indoor soccer) eight-team competition for the youth in Vinh Long
Province. The players played cheerfully and invited their friends to join.
Our team from Lutheran Hour Ministries not only wanted to play futsal, we
wanted to share the Good News of Jesus with our lost friends.
“God blessed us as that day 48 young people were called to faith by the
Holy Spirit. God used our Christian players when they showed teamwork and
fair play. One of the players, along with the son of the man who owned the
field, said, ‘We now know how Christians live and play sport. We want to
know more about your God.’
“They soon became Christians.
“Their story is not unique.
“A month later when I made a trip to a nursery school for our milk
project, there were many things I delivered on that day to the youngsters,
but none was more important than the preaching of the Gospel. Once again
the Holy Spirit brought many people to faith in Jesus. Today we keep
following up with our new brothers and sisters in Christ, lest they become
discouraged and fall back into unbelief.” (LHM Daily Devotions; Ref:
LHM0022280A-0018222#; 1997-2013 Lutheran Hour Ministries. All rights
reserved. Lutheran Hour Ministries, St. Louis, MO)
That’s the heartfelt passion Saint Paul had for the people of his
Israelite-Jewish race. It’s the heartfelt passion Jesus Himself had for the
people of His day as we heard in today’s Gospel Reading: “Now when Jesus
heard [about the death of John], he withdrew from there in a boat to a
desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him
on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he
had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (St Matt 14:13-14 ESV)
It’s the same heartfelt passion Jesus has for all of us today
especially about our temporal and eternal spiritual health and welfare.
That’s why, according to the words of the Nicene Creed: “for us men and for
our salvation [Jesus] came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy
Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified for us under
Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried”; and the Apostles’ Creed:
“[Jesus] was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.” He did it all …
for us, to atone for our sins. He did it so that we might possess His
merciful and gracious gifts of forgiveness of our sins, spiritual healing,
and everlasting life in His glorious heavenly mansions.
It’s the same heartfelt passion that Pastor Marks and I have for
you, the sheep and lambs of this congregational flock over whom God has made
us His undershepherds. That’s why we’re so bold to make you aware of your
sinful condition and your need to be rescued by Jesus, redeemed by our
heavenly Father, and reconciled by the Holy Spirit’s power with the one true
triune God. That’s why we get great pleasure out of reminding you to read
your Bible, encouraging you to reflect on the meaning and significance of
Holy Baptism, reading and proclaiming God’s Word to you, declaring His
forgiveness to you, and administering the Lord’s Supper to you. You see, we
want you to realize and experience the fact that …
II. Sanctified Spiritual Pride Focuses on Jesus Christ. (3-4)
3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for
the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are
Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the
giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.
We native-born Texans often sound very arrogantly proud. After
all, we’re convinced that Texas is the best state in the Union with
qualities that rise above and surpass those of all other states combined!
Now, before anyone becomes angry with or offended by my braggadocio, please
realize that my boasting about Texas is my shtick. That is, it’s my attempt
to be sarcastically humorous. Unfortunately, some people haven’t understood
that, have been offended by it, and have become irritated and even angry
with me about it. Well, dear fellow residents of Missouri whom God loves
with an everlasting love, I hope that especially you who are native-born
residents of the “Show Me” state have and retain a special feeling of love
for your home-state. And, please accept my sincere apology for any offense
I gave in regards to this state-pride matter.
Now while I’m talking about greatness and superiority, among the
many wonderful blessings that made the Israelites a privileged people—the
best cream of all that rose to the top—was the worship that God instituted
for them and the promises that He gave them. After all, as I said earlier,
“Other nations had their philosophers and sages, but only Israel had heroes
of faith like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and Solomon, who not only
believed and proclaimed God’s promises but were themselves bearers of the
Promised Seed. Jesus was born a Jew according to his human nature, a direct
descendant of the patriarchs. But he was also more, much more! He was the
promised Christ ‘who is God over all, forever praised!’” (Armin J. Panning.
Page 150.)
In fact, He was true God, having divine names, possessing divine
attributes, performing divine works that only God could do, and receiving
divine honor and glory that belonged to God alone. At the same time, He was
true man being clearly called such in the Holy Scriptures, having a human
body and soul, and exhibiting feelings and actions that were definitely
human but sinless. Being fully human from the time of His conception was
necessary “in order for Him to A. act in our place under the Law and fulfill
it for us; [and] B. be able to suffer and die for our guilt because we
failed to keep the Law.” Being fully divine from the depths of eternity was
necessary “in order that A. His fulfilling of the Law, His life, suffering,
and death, might be a sufficient ransom for all people; [and] B. He might be
able to overcome death and the devil for us.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with
Explanation. Pages 122-127.)
So it was that this best God-man of the best Israelite-Jews, the
holy Son of God Himself, “did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born
in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil
2:6-8 ESV) Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, did so in order to redeem us
lost and condemned sinners from what we deserve because of our rebellious
transgressing of our holy God’s holy Law, namely, excruciating punishment in
hell’s flaming pit forever separated from Him who created mankind in His own
image.
Instead of what we deserve, however, our merciful and gracious God
gives us what we don’t deserve: forgiveness of all our sins, spiritual
healing of our sin-infested souls, and eternal life with Himself in the
glorious mansions of heaven. He assures us of those holy gifts with His
Holy Word, that we read and hear; the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Baptism, in
which the Old Adam in us was drowned and died; the comforting declaration of
Holy Absolution, in which He reminds us from the sanctified lips of His
servant-pastors that He has separated our sins from us as far as the east is
from the west; and the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, in which we
partake of Christ’s real body and blood that are truly present in, with, and
under the consecrated bread and wine in a sacramental union.
The very real meaning of all that Jesus did for us is that Satan
can no longer accuse us of our sins since Jesus took them all on Himself.
As a most blessed result, we can now resist the temptations of the devil
whom Christ completely conquered. After all, we now have the blessed
ability and opportunity to live out what the psalmist called us to do in
today’s Introit antiphon, “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!” (Ps 105:1 ESV) We do so by
thanking, praising, serving, and obeying our holy God with holy thoughts,
desires, words, and actions guided by the Holy Spirit, who lives within us
from the time of our Holy Baptism. We do with the words of today’s Collect
etched on our minds and embedded in our hearts, “though we do not deserve
Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant
us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all
Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience … .”
In conclusion, therefore, let’s take to heart the compassionate
words of Yahweh recorded by Isaiah in today’s Old Testament Reading, “Come,
everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy
and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Incline
your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make
with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”
(Isaiah 55:1, 3 ESV) Those words and the gracious gifts they contain are
real and wonderful because …
“The Israelite Christ Is the Forever-blessed God Over All.”
And, although …
I. Intense Sorrow and Anguish Consume People Whose Loved Ones Don’t
Know and Confess Jesus As Lord and Savior Over All. (1-2), nevertheless, we
who have been rescued and ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ rejoice
about and celebrate the reality that …
II. Sanctified Spiritual Pride Focuses on Jesus Christ. (3-4) Because
of that absolutely certain truth we do no less than praise God with the
words of the Gradual that has been part of our worship during this segment
of the Pentecost season, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable
his ways! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him
be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:33, 36 ESV)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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