Pastor Tom Johnson, October 18, 2020
Today all our Scripture texts highlight the uniqueness of the one, holy, true and living God. God says in Isaiah, “I am YHWH, the Lord—I am that I am—and there is no other; besides me there is no god. ...From the rising of the sun to its setting place, there is no one besides, me; I am that I am—and there is no other.” Psalm 96 says that “the Lord is great and worthy of praise, to be feared—held in reverential awe—above all gods.” Paul tells the Thessalonians that by their faith in Christ they have “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.” And in our Gospel, Jesus with one phrase exposes the false religion of Imperial Rome.
There is no question that we live in a growing pluralistic society. By pluralistic, we mean that there is a growing cultural and political climate that recognizes and affirms a diversity of religious beliefs, religions, and gods. By some estimates, there are more than 4,300 different religions in the world. There are the great religions—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism. Each of those are broken up into many different sects and variations. On top of those are the countless tribal religions and regional differences. In a pluralistic society, the only wrong belief is to claim that we have the right belief. In this context, it is unacceptable and intolerable arrogance to say that our God is the one and only—the true and living God—and that there is no other. And to a large extent I understand this repulsion to those who claim they alone have the truth. As we see in our Scriptures today, we do not claim to have the truth alone; the Truth claims to have us alone.
God’s Word in Isaiah tears down the wall of our pride. God affirms his own uniqueness while at the same time he expands our understanding of his work and his love for all people. He is one of a kind. And he is for all. God works through Cyrus, the Persian emperor—who himself claimed to be a god. He works through him even though he is completely oblivious and does not yet know the true and living God but only false gods. He does this, our Scripture says, so that all may come to know God—from the rising of the sun to its setting. We know the rest of the story of king Cyrus from 2 Chronicles and Ezra. He comes to know God and helps God’s people rebuild their city and the Temple.
Psalm 96 calls us to sing and proclaim God’s uniqueness and reign over heaven and earth “among all nations and peoples.” Paul reminds the Thessalonians that they did not come to know Christ because they were smarter or better but because God chose them so that people “in every place” may also come to know him.
Not surprisingly, Jesus most masterfully reveals this truth. And he does it by a the most common coin of his day called a denarius. It was used for over 250 years by the Roman Empire. They were so common two thousand years ago we are still finding them. I learned that you can even purchase them online! When Jesus asked whose likeness and what the inscription was, it was of Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus.” The idea was that his father reached the status of a god in his death and that he is a son of a god. When Jesus was asked if it was lawful to pay a tribute or tax to him, they were trying to entrap him into either false religion or treason. Jesus’ response is genius. The emperor made those coins—give them back to him if you need to. But know that all wealth, all people, all things, and heaven and earth belong to God. It is God’s idea to reach out to us and reveal his uniqueness and universal love for us in Jesus Christ. And it is still his idea to reach out to the whole world to reveal himself to a people who have not yet come to know him.
And so we are called—not to be the frozen chosen, judgmental, nor arrogant. Nor are we to be afraid or ashamed to tell the whole world how holy, unique, good, and loving our God is and how beautifully and fully he is revealed to us in Jesus Christ. God is at work universally. He reaches out through us and in spite of us even if we are not even aware of him or have not yet come to know him.
I cannot think of a more winsome way of sharing our faith with others—humbly acknowledging that we all have trusted in false gods—whether they people people, things, or false religion. And then to tell them of the true and living God who is for all, loves all, and has given his Son, Jesus Christ to all. Our focus should not be to attack false gods and tear down other beliefs. Our focus should rather be on the Truth and to welcome others to celebrate the holy, uniqueness and mystery of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for all.
God lifts up his Eternal Son who was born into our likeness—whose inscription says that he alone is true and living God and that we are forgiven. It is not inscribed on silver or gold but in blood—not on a metal coin but on the wooden beams of the Cross of Christ. And there he also proclaims an end to the reign of false gods, religion, evil, sin, and death itself. The One who created us is the same One who loves us all.
Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
(“Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” LSB 940, vv. 1,5)
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