In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The world has never really understood the Church. The world cannot really understand how the Church can talk about loving God and talk about people’s sins in the same breath. For the world, there is a disconnect: either you have your relationship with God, and all your other actions shouldn’t matter to much; or your actions do matter, but they don’t care about your God. More and more now, the world wants the Church to preach according to the world’s doctrine, preach against the sins that the world condemns, but they want the Church to stay silent when it comes to God. At least when it comes to the God of the Bible, who has His own Law. To most of the world, what we call God’s Law is just a list of outdated rules—a bunch of things the Church thinks you shouldn't do. And it doesn’t have anything to do with whether or not you believe or love God.
The Pharisees who tried to test Jesus had some similar ideas. The Pharisees knew God had given plenty of commandments in His Law. So their plan was to get Jesus to pick a commandment. That way, whichever one He picked, they could come up with arguments about why He was wrong. They could just pick another commandment. To them, the commandments are a big list of disconnected rules.
Too bad for the Pharisees, Jesus doesn’t play their game. He doesn’t pick one commandment. It’s not even worth saying that He picked two. He summarized them all. He connected all those seemingly disconnected, arbitrary rules in a very simple way: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” I’ll admit Jesus numbers two commandments here. But first of all, He is not picking two out of a pile. He is summarizing all the commandments into these two. And even more than that, these two go together so tightly they form a unit. They cannot be divided, because on this unit hangs all the Law and the Prophets. The Word of God is summed up in this way: Love God and love your neighbor.
The Pharisees saw a disconnect between all the commandments of God as if you can play one off against another. Sometimes, we in the Church have also disconnected the commandments and applied them arbitrarily, picking on certain sins while ignoring others because of what was or is considered acceptable in society. But thinking of God’s Law in this way does give the world the impression that God’s Law is really nothing more than a bunch of random and oppressive rules.
Jesus sees things differently. The Law is not simply a bunch of rules—the Law shows us the will of God. And the will of God is this, that we fear, love, and trust in the one true God, that is we believe in the Holy Trinity; and that we live according to His Word and His plan, His order, in how we think, speak, and act. If we don’t believe in God, we sin. And if we commit other sins, we do not fully believe in God as we should, with all our heart, soul, and mind. Love God and love your neighbor. Faith in God and actions in ourselves and actions with others. These two commandments go together. Jesus will not let them be divided. On them hangs the Law and the Prophets. On this unit hangs the will of God.
So, the Law must be preached. The will of God must be shown from His Word. That means the Church must continue to preach about God and about sins. The Church must still tell people when their lives are contrary to the will of God, whether it’s in their thoughts, words, or actions. The Church must still call people to repent in order that the message of forgiveness can also be heard. The Church must still proclaim God’s Law and Gospel, even to this unbelieving world that doesn’t understand it.
Yet, how much can we really expect from the world? Time and again we are disappointed by the world’s rejection of God’s Word. While we must not let the Law fall silent outside the Church, because it still must be preached to unbelievers, we must also not let the Law fall silent inside the Church. To whom much is given, much will be required. Think of it this way: Who is worse, the child or the adult who steals from a store? Even though the child may know what he’s doing is wrong, because he is immature and doesn’t fully comprehend the seriousness of his actions, we can at least partially excuse his behavior. But the mature adult, who knows full well that what he has done is forbidden and consciously violates the law, we cannot excuse. And when it comes to God’s Law, we are the mature adults—us within the Church—not the immature children of the world. We are not ignorant of God’s Law and yet we violate it anyway. We are fully aware of what God says about sin.
Simply look at how well we attempt to cover up our evil deeds, deny them, sweep them under the rug. Over time, with enough practice, we can begin to convince ourselves that if we just stay quiet (and since no thunderbolt has fallen on us) we must be getting away with it. God must be turning a blind eye to our sin. This attempt to keep quiet and hide sin away is not only foolish, since God sees everything, but it is also dangerous, because it can make our hearts turn cold and hard, so that eventually we can’t even repent and then it’s too late for forgiveness. Lord, have mercy!
What more is there to say that that? Not, “God, give me another chance…” Not, “God, I really didn’t mean to…” Not, “God, I promise to make it up to you…” Just confess the sin, pull it out from under the rug, and get it out in the open. Stand naked before God, and say the only thing there is to say: "Lord, have mercy! I have not kept Your Law."
And your Lord wants to give mercy. He doesn’t delight in the death of a sinner. He delights in being merciful. Jesus even tried to lead the Pharisees to this mercy. Before they had a chance to come up with another question to stump Jesus, He asked them a question. But when our Lord asks a question, He’s never trying to trick or humiliate the person—He’s trying to teach them. “Whose son is the Christ?” The Pharisees answered correctly, “The Christ, the Messiah, the promised Savior, he is the son of King David.” Although that’s only part of the answer. Jesus points out that in Psalm 110, David called the Christ his Lord: “The Lord God said to my Lord, the Christ, ‘Sit at My right hand…’” So if the Messiah or Christ is David’s son, why would he call Him “my Lord”? The Pharisees didn’t believe the answer even though it was staring them in the face. Thanks be to God we have and believe the Scriptures which teach us the answer: Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the promised Savior, David’s son and David’s Lord. He is true man and true God. And this is who He is all to save you from your sins, from you're breaking the Law.
The Pharisees thought the Christ would be great because he would be the son of David the King. He would lead their armies and set up his kingdom on earth. Jesus teaches us that the Christ is great because He is the Son of God come down to earth and made man to suffer and die for sinners. David’s Lord became David’s son. The God-Man, Jesus the Christ, came to show mercy on sinners. He died and rose and has received the throne given to Him by His Heavenly Father. And now He reigns, still David’s son and David’s Lord, all so that He can give mercy to you.
Your prayers of Lord, have mercy! for breaking His commandments are heard at that throne. And the King who sits on that throne has nail marks in His hands and feet and a spear mark in His side. He received those marks for you, in your place. He shed His blood for you, in your place. That blood—descended from David, descended from Adam, the same kind of human blood that runs in your veins—that blood was joined to the Son of God. And offered to the Father as a perfect and holy payment for all our sins, all the commandments we have broken.
Our Lord is a man so that He could be judged by His own Law, just like we are. He is the only man to ever love God with all His heart, soul, and mind. He is the only man to ever love His neighbor as Himself. He didn’t deserve the Law’s punishment. But He paid our debt in full. So the Law’s judgment no longer applies to us. The thunderbolt has fallen but not on us. It fell on Jesus the Christ—not a mere man, but the Lord Himself, so that we may go free. All that happened on the cross is still true with Him on His throne. He is the King of mercy and love. He hears you and He forgives all your sins. And He gives you gifts so that you may begin now to love God and love your neighbor; so that you may begin now to turn away from sin and strive to do His will; so that you may begin now to receive eternal life from Him.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA, and Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
