“Fear to Faith” (Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Mark 1:21-28)

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Mark 1:21-28

Listen to Sermon

Pastor Tom Johnson, January 28, 2018

Last week, Rachel Denhollander was one of more than a hundred women and girls who spoke publicly about their experience of abuse. They confronted their gymnastics sports medical doctor Larry Nasser for his horrific behavior. Rachel’s statement cried out for the severest judgment. She did not hold back in naming his actions as evil and wicked. And she begged the court to send a message to the world that young girls need to be cherished and empowered, not harmed and used for one’s own sick desires. But she also talked about the importance of repentance—the usefulness of God’s Law to bring about true remorse, forgiveness, and life-transformation. She see him with his Bible and says,

“Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that is what makes the Gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it extends grace, and hope, and mercy, where none should be found. And it will be there for you. I pray you experience the soul-crushing weight of guilt, so that you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God, which you need far more than forgiveness from me, though I extend that to you as well.”

Her words powerfully and beautifully sum up what we see in today’s Scripture. The Israelites in our Old Testament reading have just experienced the crushing blow of the Law—the Ten Commandments. Along with the Word of God there was earthquake, trumpet blasts, smoke, fire, and terror. “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods nor take his name in vain. You shall observe the Sabbath day, honor your parents, you shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, nor covet.”

And so God says in our reading, “They were right when they said they could not hear God’s voice or see the great fire again lest they die in fear and terror.” That is the right reaction—to feel overwhelmed and crushed by the Law of God. They Law always condemns—always convicts us because we have not kept it faithfully. “We have sinned in thought, word, and deed in what we have done and left undone” just as we confessed earlier in our worship service. The kind and loving thing for God to do is allow this soul-crushing experience. We come to realize our limitations. We confront our demons. We look into the Law’s mirror and see the stain of sin on our bodies, minds, and souls. We come to terms with how much harm and destruction our own behavior has caused. It is a good experience, as Rachel said, because after having tasted the bitterness of the Law you can now know how truly sweet the Gospel of Jesus Christ is.

The Reformer Martin Luther said that his terror of God’s Law and its demand of perfect obedience and righteousness cause him to hate God. “I regarded God only as a severe and terrible Judge seated on a rainbow… I tortured myself thinking I could acquire righteousness by my works and strength…I hated God and his righteousness.” That is why God raised up Moses to be his prophet. He would help God’s people understand their shame, guilt, and sin. But he would also help them see God’s path to forgiveness and restoration. That is what I so admire about Rachel Denhollander—that she would want the devastating blow of the Law to fall upon her accused. But she also embodies the Great Prophet with pity and compassion. She wants her accused to fully experience the Great Prophet Jesus in all his mercy and grace.

This is the Great Prophet God and Moses' promise. He will also speak with great authority. He will also confront our sin, our captivity to evil, and our demons. Like Moses, he will lead us through the wilderness of this world. Like Moses, he will help us better understand God’s Law and its demand for righteous perfection. Like Moses, he will provide a way to forgiveness and safely bring us to freedom. Jesus is that Great Prophet. He astonishes the experts in the Law by his teaching and shocks them by his authoritative voice. He delivers people from their worst demons. He amazes them and his fame spreads. He does all this to deliver us from the terror of the Law and the captivity of evil and death. He leads us from fear to faith. That is what the Great Prophet does—he confronts sin and evil directly and openly so that he can reveal the fullness of God’s love for the world. He overcomes our fear by providing himself—the one we can wholeheartedly trust. He speaks with authority to remove doubt. He builds confidence in his Person and Work. He confronts our ills, sin, evil, and death on the Cross of Calvary. He rises again to authoritatively and prophetically ensure us of our forgiveness and eternal life.

Son of God, eternal Savior,Source of life and truth and grace,Word made flesh, whose birth among usHallows all our human race,You our Head, who throned in glory,Your own will ever plead:Fill us with Your love and pity,Heal our wrongs, and help our need.          (“Son of God, Eternal Savior,” LSB 842, v. 1)