JUL 5, 2009  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen.

The sermon is based upon the Gospel of the Day, from St. Mark chapter 6, especially the fifth verse: "He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them" (Mark 6:5).

Dear Christian friends,

Every pastor must take heed of St. Paul's word to the Corinthians, where the Christian preacher is essentially warned that if he does not preach God' s Word rather than his own, he will rob the cross of its power to save. St. Paul describes his and every other pastor's work as one of preaching the Gospel, "not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1 Corinthians 1:17).

In other words, if the man you send into your pulpit stands up here and blathers about the weather or politics or social issues or any at all that is not the Word of God, Christ is made useless to you.

That is not to say I am able to destroy Jesus, for I cannot.

He is "King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone is immortal and lives in unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:14-15).

He is "God almighty, who was and is and is to come" (Revelation 4:8), "Maker of all things" (Jeremiah 51:19), "the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13).

But what good is this Mighty God if He is not "God for you"? What good is Jesus' blood and righteousness if it is not poured out for you? How powerful is Jesus' cross if it is not Jesus' cross for you?

This is why the pastor must be careful to preach the Word; to preach Jesus' words and not "words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" . He must be faithful with the words of Jesus so that he not be found guilty of making Jesus useless and powerless and unable to do His mighty work among you.

Here is another way to render Jesus useless, to strip Him of His power, as it were, and to waste eternally the blood that He shed for you. It is written in the book of Hebrews, "If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26).

Listen to this carefully! "If we go on sinning willfully-deliberately, voluntarily-after receiving the knowledge of the truth-even though we know better-there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." What a terrifying thought! Think about it. Your deliberate and willful sin robs Jesus of His saving power? By doing the things you know you ought not do, things which are contrary to God's commands, you make useless His death upon the cross.

In 1 Corinthians, St. Paul's words about emptying the cross of its power apply to pastors, and this is a special burden that pastors must bear-to preach God's words and not one's own "lest the cross be emptied of its power" (1 Corinthians 1:17).  

But there is not a single Christian in the entire world, pastor or otherwise, who cannot find himself in these words from the book Hebrews: "If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26).

No true Christian who has ever lived does no feel his or her stomach tighten when God starts talking about voluntary sin and willful disobedience and deliberately ignoring the Word of God that has been spoken to you. You all know the seduction of our flesh. You all understand the pleasures of disobedience. You all turn away-daily-even though you know better.

It is learning that God forbids murder, and in that commandment includes harming your neighbor in any way, but then going to school and vowing to "beat up" anyone who messes with me or my friends. It is learning from the Scriptures about God's gift of marriage, but then moving in and living with a girlfriend without bothering to marry her.

It is learning that God commands you to obey the governing authorities, but then cheating on income taxes or selling goods and services "under the table" or disregarding the other laws of the state. It is learning that God calls you to remember the Sabbath, the time when He comes to you and strengthens your faith, then making Sunday worship an occasional extra that you try to squeeze into your calendar. It is being confronted with any sort of temptation at all, understanding God's Word but disregarding it, choosing to do what you want, all the while thinking, "That's okay, God will forgive me for it later." Worst of all, it is hearing the promise that Jesus died to wash away all your sins, but then refusing to believe the promise or only pretending to believe.

It does not matter if we are speaking of God's demands and laws or of His promise of grace and mercy for the sake of Jesus. It does not matter if we are speaking about pastors or lay people. When we ignore His words, when we refuse to believe and take to heart the things that He has spoken, we strip Jesus of all He is and all He has done. The cross of Christ is emptied of its power; "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins."

Hear me well: It is not as if Jesus is Superman and our sin is some sort of kryptonite that saps Him of His strength and power. You know very well that Jesus is much greater than your sin and my sin and the sin of the whole world combined. St. Peter says of your Christ, "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His stripes you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). And St. Paul adds, "Through Jesus Christ the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).

No, Christians, you do not change Jesus in any way by your sin. But you are able to destroy His gifts for you. You are able to remove yourself from the new life that is yours by Baptism into Christ. You are able to empty the cross of its power by saying, "That's fine, Jesus. I have heard what you said. I just like my old life better." That's what the book of Hebrews means, where it is written, "there no longer remains to sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26).

Suppose a person comes to the edge of a cliff or a deep ravine. A guardrail is placed in the way, preventing a fall over the edge. A sign with great big letters stands by the rail: "This guardrail will save you from falling to your death. Do not ignore it." It is easy to see that if the person ignores the sign and refuses the protection of the guardrail by crossing over it, the guardrail becomes useless. It is still a powerful guardrail, able to save anyone who falls against it. But it cannot save the one who ignored it. For him it is useless, powerless, and worthless. It might as well never even have been placed there.

So it is with the cross of Christ, and the salvation that Jesus purchased for you upon it. If you pass it by, it is still a powerful cross, still saving all who fall against it, so to speak. But it cannot the one who ignores it. For him it is useless, powerless, and worthless. It might as well never even have been placed there.

Understanding this, you can make sense of today's Gospel, especially the words, "[Jesus] could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them" (Mark 6:5). Jesus came to His own, "but His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). He came to His blood relatives, but they refused to be included in the gift of His blood. He "began to teach in the synagogue" (Mark 6:2), and although many were amazed, St. Mark leaves us the distinct impression that virtually the entire town "took offense at Him" (Mark 6:3).

They would not believe. They refused to acknowledge that this hometown boy had anything they needed. They crossed over the guardrail, as it were, ignoring the sign that was so clearly posted in front of them: "This Jesus is here for your good. Do not pass Him by." As a result of their unbelief and their deliberate rejection of His words, "[Jesus] could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them" (Mark 6:5).

The people of Nazareth missed entirely the "for you" of the Christian faith. "Jesus may get away with this sort of thing in the other towns and villages around here, and people may believe it, but how dare He come here and preach this way to us!"

Dear saints of God, the whole of the Christian faith boils down to these two little words: "for you." Without these two little words, as small as they may be, you have no Christ! Without the words "for you," you have no Baptism, no Holy Communion, no forgiveness of sins, no healing, no hope, no peace, and no resurrection to eternal life. To para-phrase today's Gospel just a bit: without the words "for you," Jesus cannot do any miracles here.

But with the words "for you," you have your full share in every gift that Jesus gives! Every second of His existence, from the point of His conception in Mary's womb to this very moment, Jesus' life is a life lived for you! Every step He takes, every word He utters, every time He lays His hands upon the sick or the demon-possessed, He does so for you. Every insult, every blow, every lash of the whip is born for you.

When you have "for you," then you have Baptism, for it says, "I baptized you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." When you have "for you," then you have Holy Communion, for this is Jesus' body "which is given for you" and Jesus' blood, "shed for you for the remission of sins." With the words "for you" come all the blessings of Jesus' life and death: His forgiveness of sins, His healing, His hope, His peace, and His resurrection to eternal life. With the words "for you," the cross is by no means emptied of its power, and the sacrifice for your sins is by no means taken away.

Jesus says that "a prophet is without honor" (Mark 6:4) in his hometown. But He has given His Holy Spirit unto you, His Church, so that He is held in honor; His words and deeds for you trusted, believed, and kept in heart and mind. Among you, who have the words "for you," Jesus is able to do mighty things, and He has done them out of His great love for you. As it is written in the book of Acts, "The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39).

Dear friends, it is for you that Christ is Risen.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will guard you hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.