“Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness” (Micah 6:1-8; Matthew 5:6)

Micah 6:1-8

Matthew 5:6

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 29, 2017

Our Scripture from Micah gives us two rhetorical questions. That is to say, the answer is so obvious, God asks the question to remind his people of the truth of the good things he has done for them. He starts an argument with the questions: “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!” God’s question is dripping with sarcasm. “What have I done to deserve your scorn?” “How have I beaten you down?” “What evil have I done to you?” We might ask ourselves. Do we have cause to be disappointed by God? What has God done to make us disillusioned with our lives? How is it that we can become so jaded and cynical in our faith journey God answers the first question. He lists all the good things he has done for his people Israel. They were being held hostage in Egypt and he delivered them from foreign captivity. They were slaves and he bought their freedom.

The defining moment for the Israelites is the Exodus. He rescues them from evil, injustice, and the misuse of power under Pharaoh. And he takes them from slavery, through the wilderness, and brings them into the Promised Land. They were refugees once; so they should have a heart for the refugees of the world. The defining moment for believers today is the good news of Jesus who died and rose again. He rescues his people from evil, death and sin. He delivers us from captivity to the power of sin that threatens to destroy us from the outside and within. We should also have a heart for those held captive by sin and death. What has God done to deserve our neglect…our disappointment…our scorn? Nothing. Quite the opposite. He has done far more than we could have asked or dreamed of.

The other question is from the believer: “With what shall I come before the Lord? What kind of sacrifices does he want? And how many is enough?” It is an exaggerated question. “Does God want thousands of animal sacrifices in response? Does he want a river of oil? Does he want human sacrifice?” And again, the answer is “Of course not.” “Does God want all our money and earnings to be poured into the offering plates? Does he want us to pay him back by showing up to church day and night? How can I possibly pay back God for all the good he has done for me and for his people?

The answer is “We can’t.” We do not purchase God’s goodness. We do not earn his love. God does not want our livestock. He does not need our oil reserves. He does not want us to purchase his love by the lives of our children. He does not need our money. His goal is not to win an argument with us. He wants to win our hearts.  His plan is to do the right thing for us so that we, in turn, will do the right thing for those around us. He satisfies our hunger and thirst for justice in our personal lives so that we will grow hungry and thirsty for justice throughout the world. This is God’s original promise to the people of Israel. “I will bless you as my people and through you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3). Or as Scripture says, “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19).It is God’s design to do right by us so that we will do right by our neighbor.

This is how we show our gratitude for the gift of his Son—the one who lived, died, and rose again for our salvation—this is how we live out our calling as believers—to show the same kind of compassion to others that God has shown to us. “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” God wants a genuine change of heart. He wants us to have an authentic desire for those around us to experience the goodness of God. The struggles of our neighbor should bother us. The suffering of refugees should disturb us. The captivity of slaves should grieve us. The premature death of the innocent should outrage us. Social justice should matter to Christ’s church on earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. What happens both across town and on the other side of the globe ought to matter to us. When it stirs up our hearts—when it impacts us—when those injustices and wrongs provoke our minds, prayers, and action we are developing an appetite for justice—hungering and thirsting for good in the world.

That is the great commandment—to love God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves. God puts a yearning in our hearts for a better world. The Holy Spirit gives us a sweet tooth for a land flowing with milk and honey. We pray “Thy Kingdom come” and for God’s good and gracious will be done. Jesus tastes the bitterness of death on the cross to give us a craving for the sweetness of forgiveness. He steps out of the mouth of the empty grave to make us famished for eternal life—not just for ourselves—but that for the whole world. Pastor Dan Gilbert has often said that is the mission of Christ’s Church on earth—to do as Jesus did. He went around (1) doing good and (2) preaching the Good News. That is our mission on the back of our bulletin: to proclaim Christ, nurture faith, and serve others.

As you, Lord, have lived for others,
So may we for others live,
Freely have Your gifts been granted;
Freely may Your servants give.
Yours the Gold and Yours the silver,
Yours the wealth of land and sea;
We but stewards of Your bounty
Held in solemn trust will be.
          (from "Son of God, Eternal Savior" LSB 842 v. 2)

“The Worldwide Net” (Matt 4:12-23)

Matthew 4:12-23

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 22, 2017

Fishermen did not use poles and reels to catch their fish. They used nets. And they were not the little nets you find on the ends of a pole to grab one fish struggling to get away. They were very large nets. So large it took a team of fishermen. They would take out several boats with several people in each boat. They would lower the net into the water. They would spread the net as wide and as deep as possible. All sorts of fish would be caught. And the larger the catch, the more muscle it would take. Think about how much strength and balance it would take to pull a wet and heavy net. The water itself provides resistance as the net is pulled in. And the boat is hardly a steady and stabilizing place.

I imagine Peter, Zebedee, and his sons James and John all were great physical condition. Their arms must have been tanned by the sun and swollen by their strain all day in the Sea of Galilee. They were likely great communicators and team players to draw in a net together to maximize their catch. These are all great skills for ministry. The carpenter turned teacher and healer Jesus comes through the region. He is in an area that is partly occupied by Israelites and partly by Gentiles—non Jews. It frontier. And Jesus is fulfilling Scripture by taking the good news across the Jordan River.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” Jesus says. Repent means to expect that our lives will change. There will be a transformation of thinking, attitude, behavior, and direction. “Repentance is not merely a change of mind, one preacher said (Charles Spurgeon), it is a change of the mind itself.” The Kingdom has come. The Kingdom is near. The reign of Messiah has finally reached Israel, Galilee, and now it is about to cross all sorts of boundaries. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light!” Light is a wonderful way of explaining what the Kingdom does. When the love of God is revealed, it brightens up our world. God’s loving light takes away the darkness. That is where the metaphor of a net is also helpful.

The Kingdom of God is also like a fisherman’s net. Like a net, Jesus throws out his hopeful words: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” And his words don’t just describe what he is doing—his words don’t just illuminate what he does—his words accomplish what he promises. To say it as Scripture itself does, his Word “is living and active.” His words transforms minds, hears, and lives. It is like a net woven and tied together with words of promise and hope. And God uses it to draw us into his Kingdom. Jesus casts out his Word to draw in Peter, James, and John into his net. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” His Word not only calls them to be his disciples, it equips them—“I will make you into fishers of people.”

Theologians call this “effectual calling.” It is a fancy way of saying that when God invites us to follow him, he also gives us the wisdom, strength, and grace to do so. His Word goes out like a net. It takes hold of our hearts and lives. Being a part of the Kingdom is not just taught, it is caught. And God does the catching. It cannot be any other way. Otherwise we would just be in the deep darkness of this world. Like fish in the Sea of Galilee, we need help from above. We need the light of God’s grace to shine in our cold darkness. Our sin, disease, and the forces of evil keep us under. The truth is we need someone above all this to throw us the net as well as some light. He will have us for supper—not as the meal but as guests—as sons and daughters at the table.

Jesus goes by the road and the water teaching and healing. But his teaching and healing go far deeper than Bible stories and illness of the body. His teaching is the Word that transforms lives, heals the broken-hearted, and revives the soul. And Jesus’ example of fishing for people is a vision of multiplication. Jesus, the Fisher of people, transforms those people into more fishers of people. And those fishers of people teach and equip even more fishers of people. This is the way Jesus begins his ministry in Matthew. And he ends it the same way: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And look! I am with you to the end of the age.”

Jesus makes us into fishers of people. He makes us into disciples and sons and daughters of the Kingdom. He makes us partners in ministry. We are fishers who serve under the master Fisher of human souls. And he catches to multiply his Kingdom. And he equips us to globalize his reign. It is multiplication and globalization. The net of Jesus grace is first cast in the frontier of Galilee and it is now cast out to all nations.
This is how the King expands his Kingdom. This is how the Son equips us to be ambassadors to the whole world. This is how the Holy Spirit unites people who may have many differences but one Lord and Savior.

“Behold the Lamb!” (John 1:29-42a)

John 1:29-42

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 15, 2017

You’ll remember that John the Baptist was preparing the way of the Lord. He was transitioning God’s people for the time of the Messiah. He was there to introduce Jesus in His public ministry as the promised Messiah. Jesus’ Baptism was the official beginning of Jesus’ traveling from place to place teaching and healing. For the average citizen of Israel, the coming of the Messiah meant not only truth and physical healing but also political liberation. He would rule the nations, as Isaiah prophesied. “The government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6,7). This Messiah was to be the King of kings and Lord of lords. His reign would extend to the whole world. He would rule the earth in peace. He would be the Great Shepherd of the nations.

So why does John introduce Jesus with such an unusual title? When John sees Jesus coming, he says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Not “Shepherd” but “Lamb.” To call Jesus “the Lamb of God” would flood the minds of God’s people. They would think about the lambs sacrificed at the Temple every day. They would think about how there was one very special lamb without spot or blemish that would be sacrificed on the Day of Atonement. When John called Jesus “the Lamb of God,” they would remember the great stories of the Scriptures.

They would remember how God told their Abraham to take his son Isaac to Mt. Moriah and sacrifice him there. When Abraham was walking up the mountain, Isaac was carrying the wood for his own sacrifice. Isaac asked his father, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” His father Abraham responded, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Gen 22). When Abraham reached out his hand to sacrifice his son, the angel of the Lord told him not to kill him. And when Abraham looked up, he saw a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. God provided a sacrifice in place of his son.

When John called Jesus “the Lamb of God,” they would think of another story of God’s people—when they were slaves in Egypt—how God sent Moses and the plagues—each plague worse than the one before. God sent the final plague—the Angel of Death. Each Jewish family was instructed to prepare a lamb. They were instructed to paint its blood on the doorposts.  When the angel of death came to a house, the firstborn son died. When the angel of death came to a house where there was blood painted on the doorposts, the angel of death passed by, leaving those inside unharmed. The blood of the lamb was a shield against death. The lamb defeated death itself.

John the Baptist is preaching a whole sermon when he calls Jesus “the Lamb of God.” John is also speaking about Jesus prophetically. Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus does not just spare one special son from death like the lamb who saved Abraham’s son Isaac on Mt. Moriah. Jesus does not just spare the lives of a nation of people like the lambs who saved thousands of Jewish sons in Egypt.  Jesus does not just take away the power of sin from one individual or one nation, He takes away the sin of the whole world. Jesus is the Lamb for every tribe, nation, tongue, and people. He is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

For centuries, Christians have sung the song “Agnus Dei, qui tollis pecatta mundi” “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” We sing it as the bread and wine are distributed to the nations. We believe that Jesus gives His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins—to once again take away our sins. In this little phrase we have a condensed Gospel: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus is not only the Good Shepherd who leads us but also lays down His life for the sheep. Jesus is the Lamb who takes away our sin. He did not come for the righteous but for sinners. He is the Friend of sinners. He came to set His people free from death, guilt, and condemnation. His resurrection frees us from sin’s hold forever.

Jesus is the Lamb who alone bears not only the governments on His shoulders, but the brokenness of the fallen world. He came to take the load of sin off our backs. We are saved—not by our efforts to amend our lives—but by trusting in Jesus to renew us and transform us by His grace. Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Soon He will come and finally take away the last vestige and remnant of sin and brokenness. He will come to bring this world true and abiding peace and justice—taking away all that is evil—making all things new. Jesus is the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world—once and for all. He will wipe away all our tears. He will swallow up death forever. And once sin and its consequences are finally taken away, we will live with the Lamb in perfect peace, wholeness, and joy forever.

“To fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-17)

Matthew 3:13-17

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 8, 2017

People are leaving their homes to go to a remote place in the wilderness. They are going to the River Jordan to see the prophet John the Baptist. They confess their sins and receive a ceremonial washing. They want a fresh start for a more godly life. They are also worried about the state of things. Like us, they would say, “No news is good news” or “There is so much that is wrong with the world.” They live under foreign occupation. Most people are truly second-class citizens. There are constant uprisings and violence in their homeland. There is a steady stream of the news of wars and rumors of wars throughout the world. People question the legitimacy of their leaders like Herod. John the Baptist publicly criticizes and calls Herod to repentance for his wrongdoings. And it ultimately takes his life. There is so much wrong in the world. And it needs to be made right.

But what I admire about these people coming to be baptized is that they are not just pointing the finger at the world, leaders, and other injustices they see. They point their fingers at themselves. They hear John name their sins. He tells them the wrongs that need to be made right. They acknowledge their sin. They recognize their need to turn away from harmful thoughts, words, and actions. They embrace their need to turn toward godly and righteous living. Their calling is now to fulfill God’s call for justice—to love God with their whole being and their neighbor as themselves. They come into the river. And John washes them. And they trust in God’s forgiveness and strength to make a new start.

That is what is so confusing about Jesus. He is, as John says, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” There are no wrongs to right. There is no injustice to repair. In him there are no sins to forgive. John would have prevented him. John is ready to deny Jesus baptism! He needs no repentance. Why give someone a bath or a shower when they are already cleaner than the river water Jesus asks John to simply trust him. “Go ahead and baptize me,” Jesus says, “because it will fulfill all righteousness.” And so John baptizes Jesus who promises it will result in changing everything for good—to fulfill all righteousness.

That is a bold claim. That is a huge order. That is what everyone was looking for—to fulfill all righteousness—to correct every error—to right every wrong—to rectify every misdeed—to repair all damage—to amend every inequity—to clean up every mess—to reclaim the forsaken—to straighten out what has been twisted—to forgive every sin—to produce every fruit of the Spirit. To fulfill all righteousness is what we are praying for when we say, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” To fulfill all righteousness is what we confess when we say, “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” Jesus is not baptized for himself. He was baptized for for the world. John washes him with water from the Jordan to show that he is the Son of God who will clean us up globally. He is the Lamb that will take away the sin of the world.

And so we come to the water. We long for righteousness. We hunger and thirst for justice. We name the wrongs we want made right in the world. But we begin with ourselves. We confess that we have not fulfilled righteousness. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We come to the water for a fresh start. We come for cleansing. We come for strength to live as God has called us to live—with love toward our Creator and love for our fellow creatures. We come to make the world a better place one soul at a time. We come to the water. And the Word and the Holy Spirit come to us. The Word adopts us as his beloved children as the Father speaks from heaven of his Son. “You are my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” He speaks of us, “You are my royal child whom I love.” The Holy Spirit fulfills righteousness through us as he promises to do. The Holy Spirit descends on us to make us holy, to transform our lives, and to give us strength to live for God. When we are baptized we are not just receiving forgiveness for our sins and cleansing. We are putting on the righteousness of Christ. We are dressing up. We are receiving the work of Jesus who fulfills every injustice and rights every wrong.

I bind this day to me for ever
By pow'r of faith, Christ's incarnation,
His Baptism in the Jordan river,
His cross of death for my salvation,
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile foes that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In ev'ry place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me those holy pow'rs.
          ("I Bind unto Myself Today," LSB 604 vv. 2 & 4)

“Jesus” (Luke 2:21b)

Luke 2:15-21

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 1, 2017

Jesus. The Greek is Iesous which is a transliteration of the Aramaic Yeshua. The Aramaic Yeshua is a later form of the name Yehoshua or Joshua. We pronounce the first letter as a hard consonant “J” because of our Germanic roots. All this to say that Jesus is the same name as Joshua. And Joshua means “The Lord is salvation” Yehoshua or “Yahweh delivers.”

You will remember that Joshua is the one who delivers God’s people out of the wilderness into the Promised Land. Moses raises up Joshua because he was one of the spies that trusted God to bring them safely to their ancestral home. Joshua commanded with his heart, mind, and sword. He was the kind of general that led from the front lines and was the first to enter that battle.

If Joshua had a heavenly counterpart it would be the Archangel Michael. Joshua led God’s people through war with flesh and blood. Michael leads the heavenly host in the strength and power of the Blood of the Lamb. Maybe that’s why God chose the angels to share the message of the name Jesus. They already know what it is to battle is the strength of Yehoshua—the “Lord of Salvation”—“Yahweh who delivers.” Even before he was conceived—before he took on humanity in the womb of the Virgin Mary—he bore the name of the One who casts the Devil, the demons, and evil into the eternal lake of fire.

The angel told Joseph his father to name him Jesus. And so he does at the time when fathers would officially name their children—at circumcision. On the eighth day, all male Hebrew children would receive the mark of true children of God. The eternal Son of God clothed himself in humanity in the strong name of Jesus. And he spilled his first drop of blood at Circumcision in the mighty name of Jesus. He delivers us through his Body and Blood from the very beginning.

And so we are called to pray in the name of Jesus, to confront sin in the name of Jesus, to battle our demons in the name of Jesus, to greet one another in the name of Jesus, to serve—even a cold glass of water—in the name of Jesus. Scripture says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” And “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And again, “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10).

We should pause and reflect when we hear the name Jesus. His name authenticates. His name empowers. His name delivers. His name transforms lives eternally. His name carries the full weight of the Kingdom over which he reigns. Just as the Word made Flesh receives the name Jesus at conception and circumcision, so we receive the family name at our new birth at Baptism. We are Christened and reborn royal daughters and sons. We are full and true citizens of the Kingdom of Yehoshua. Jesus is our King. He is our Brother. And we are co-heirs with him.

Jesus! Name of wondrous love,
Name all other names above,
Unto which must ev’ry knee
Bow in deep humility.

Jesus! Name of priceless worth
To the fallen of the earth
For the promise that it gave,
“Jesus shall His people save.”

Jesus! Name of wondrous love,
Name all other names above.
         (William W. How, 1823 – 97)