Sunday, March 7, 2021
Lent 4 Series B
Time in the Word - Lent 4
Third Sunday in Lent
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Lent 3
March 7, 2021
John 2:18-19
The message of the cross cleanses the heart
A man sleeps in death. So sad his passing. What crime had he committed? He stirred up the people. He questioned those in authority. He exposed their hypocrisy. His message could not be tolerated. What was so offensive; the word he spoke?
A man sleeps in death. So sad his passing. Cut down in his prime. So prematurely. Was it necessary? Why all this fuss?
Could there not have been a compromise?
A man sleeps in death. Itinerant. A loner. A poor man.
His only possession was his garments – which were auctioned off; by the guard,
to the winner, in a game of dice.
A man sleeps in death. In love a friend steps forward;
but secretly, for fear of the authorities. There is a tomb nearby in which no
one had been laid. The final tribute of an acquaintance who wishes to remain
anonymous.
A man sleeps in death. A holy day is coming. Time is
passing. In hast he is buried. It will do for now. After the observance, they
shall return. Then, they can bring more spices to anoint his body and remember
his life. And mourn their loss. So unfair. So useless. So sad his passing. Was
it all necessary? Why?
Lord Jesus,
You slept in death only to rise to new life. Without Your resurrection, Your
death has no purpose. Only in Your rising can we understand Your passion.[1]
Then the Jews
demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority
to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it
again in three days.” John 2:18-19
The cross is the chief and central symbol of the
Christian. Jesus gave the cross as the only sign given to men as to His
identity and His work.
Christians live, worship, and work under the sign of
the cross; for the way of the cross includes cleansing the heart.
The sign of
the cross is –
I. The sign of authority – to drive out
the traders. To
those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my
Father’s house into a market!” John 2:16
A. Jesus exposes religious pretension. Some
inadvertently cheapen the Gospel through marketing – Bart Simpson famously once
said: “take the latest hip teenage rage
into the church just to make it relative!”
Jesus is not a brand. And people are not objects by
which we treat them as customers. Rather, they are ones for whom Christ
suffered, died and rose again.
The leadership of Jesus’ day forgot all that. No wonder Jesus was so passionate. “He had come to assert the claims of God upon
his own nation, and he keenly felt the spiritual indifference which had turned
worship into a means of profit.”[2]
B. Jesus
calls the Temple “My Father’s house.”
Jesus was not always a nice or polite person. “Niceness” is neither a fruit of the
Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), nor a character trait of Jesus. Jesus was
tremendously kind and gracious to most people; especially the oppressed.
But he scornfully denounced the religious leaders as
hypocrites who stubbornly refused to believe Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah,
who were burdening the people with unnecessary rigorous, religious rules.
Because we can never truly be certain about the inner
heart of a person and their circumstances; open rebuke is rarely something we
should engage in. (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:4).
Jesus knew the true heart of the people around him;
especially those who opposed him. (John 2:24).
While we are called to be loving, kind and gentle, we
are also called to be strong and courageous. Allowing unbelief, ignorance,
injustice, and evil to go unchecked, where we can make a difference, is not
love. Rather it is a sin of omission.
Not only did Jesus’ act of clearing the temple reveal
his passion for the things of God, it also revealed his authority. “Jesus’ act in cleansing the temple
presupposed authority as the representative of God.” (Tenney 1976:84)
Transition: John writes that while watching this impressive
spectacle, the disciples were reminded of Psalm 69:9 which says: “Zeal for your house has consumed me!”
II. The sign of cleansing – clean up the
commercial interests. Then his disciples remembered that it is
written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” John 2:17
A. These words come from where the Psalmist is
lamenting the suffering that has resulted from his faithfulness to the Lord.
Later, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples will finally
understand that it was the Father’s plan that Jesus’ zeal would alienate the
religious leaders and lead to his crucifixion.
B. The Savior’s
words beg the question; have we lost a sense of awe or reverence? There should
be solemnity sincerity and seriousness to our worship. Zeal for the Divine
consumed Jesus. As Christ’s followers we must follow suit.
Jesus is not anti-temple, but anti-exploitation. He
acknowledges the temple as his Father’s house. He insists that it be treated
with the reverence due the house of the Lord.
III. The sign of healing – by the cross the broken
relationship with God is healed. Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to
prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this
temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 2:18-19
The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate
authentication that he is who he says he is. Jesus says, “You want proof that I
have the right to condemn religious pretension? Just wait until you kill me and
then I raise myself up in three days.”
The real question for all of us is whether the
resurrection really happened or not. Pay attention to this question. If it did,
then we need to pay attention to Jesus.
If Jesus really
did come back from the dead as he said here, we need to pay attention to him,
because he is no ordinary man.
That’s what we learn here. Jesus condemns religious
pretension, and he replaces it with himself. Jesus is the alternate to the
ritual of religion. Jesus is the way of connecting with God. And he gave his
life willingly for you so that you could be in communion with God. Jesus is the
way of connecting with the Father.
The prophet Isaiah announced; “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Yet by his cross and his
victory over the grave the Savior reconciles us to the Father and to each
other.
The solution to the problem of religious pretention is
the cross where the price of disobedience was paid and where perfect obedience
to God was demonstrated. Since Christ has fulfilled the demands of the Law,
believers in Christ are now free from the curse of the Law as a means of
finding favor with God. There is not deceit or deception by Jesus’ words and
actions. He cleared the temple to make way for you to worship God in sincerity
and truth.
______________
Words- 1,215
Passive Sentences- 6%
Readability-72.3 %
Reading Level- 5.7
Saturday of Lent 2
Friday, March 5, 2021
Saturday prior to Lent 3
Psalm 67:1-2— The hymn of the Day is May God Bestow on Us His Grace {LSB 823}. These verses introduce a prayer. The heart of the prayer is found in verse one, echoing the priestly benediction that God’s people have received for thousands of years. The Lord blesses us as He comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ our Savior.
In a sermon delivered on Christmas morning in the year 1522 Luther writes:
Now, if you steadfastly believe, if you rejoice in God your Lord, if you are alive and his grace satisfies, if your wants are all supplied, how will you employ yourself in this earthly life? Inactive you cannot be. Such a disposition of love toward God cannot rest. Your zeal will be warm to do everything you know will be to the praise and glory of a kind and gracious God. At this point there is no longer distinction of works. Here all commands terminate. There is neither restraint-nor compulsion, but a joyful willingness and delight in doing good, whether the intended achievement be insignificant or difficult, small or great, requiring short service or long.[1]
Collect for
Psalm 67: Father, through your power the earth has brought forth its noblest
fruit, the tree of the cross. Unite all people in its embrace and feed them
with its fruit, everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord.[2] -06
March 2021
[1]https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/luther_martin/Incarnation/Gods_Grace_Received_Must_Be_Bestowed.cfm
[2] Collect for Psalm 67, For All the
Saints a Prayer book for and by the Church © 1995 The American Lutheran
Publicity Bureau, Delhi NY
Morning Prayer Reading 105: Mary and Martha
Friday of Lent 2
DAY 15: March 5, 2021 Friday of Lent 2- Matthew 5:21-22
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Friday prior to Lent 3
John 2:13-22—Jesus cleanses the temple of those who traded in it.
Man’s failure to
keep God’s law. Jesus cleanses the temple of those who traded in it. In the
first three Gospels, Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee, but in John’s Gospel
the focus is on Jerusalem. In the first three Gospels, the cleansing of the
temple comes at the end of Jesus’ ministry, but John’s Gospel puts it at the
beginning. In the first three Gospels, the cleansing of the temple becomes the
immediate cause of Jesus’ arrest. In
John, the cleansing is related to the Jew’s demand for a sign authorizing Him
to take such dramatic action. Jesus’ sign was the destruction of the temple and
rebuilding it in three days – a forecast of His death and resurrection.
“Who are you to
say or do what you said or did?”
This question is the same as the Jews’ asking Jesus for a sign. The
temple with its activities, services, and programs is in the charge of the
priests who were authorized to take care of the temple. Who is this itinerant
peasant preacher to say what is right to do in the temple? This question is certainly in order. Jesus
gives them the sign of the cross. He is the one whose temple will be destroyed
and rebuilt on the third day. This proves who He is – the Messiah – and He has
the right and the authority to cleanse the temple.
A Prayer in times
of temptation: Almighty and everlasting
God, through Your Son You have promised us forgiveness of sins and everlasting
life. Govern our hearts by Your Holy Spirit that in our daily needs, and
especially in all time of temptation we may seek Your help and, by a true and
lively faith in Your Word, obtain all that You have promised; through the same
Jesus Christ, our Lord.[1]
-05 March 2021
[1] A Collect in times of temptation, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
Illustration “Jesus Clears the Temple” is taken from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books in Pictures. © WLS Permission granted for personal and congregational use.
Morning Prayer Reading 104: Who is the Greatest?
Thursday of Lent 2
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Thursday prior to Lent 3
1 Corinthians
1:22-25—The fulfillment of God’s law
in the cross. The crucified Christ is preached as the power and wisdom of God.
The message of Christ crucified has difficulty in gaining a sympathetic hearing
in the world. Both Jews and Greeks were opposed to it. The Jews demanded a sign
and found the cross to be a stumbling block. The Jews asked how God’s Son, the
Messiah, could die on a cross, reserved for the worst criminals. Moreover, the
Jews looked for signs in terms of their being spectacular and startling.
How could Jesus be the Messiah when He came as one
meek and lowly and refusing to use violence?
The Greeks, too, were hostile to the cross, for they wanted wisdom. But
to them the message of the cross was foolishness. In spite of this hostile
environment, Paul is determined to preach Christ crucified; the power and
wisdom of God.
What do Christians do? They “preach.” What do they preach? They preach “Christ crucified.” What is in this account of an innocent man
meeting his death on a cross? Christians know that this death expressed the
infinite love of God for sinners who by faith are reconciled to God.
A Prayer for humility: O God, You
resist the proud and give grace to the humble. Grant us true humility after the
likeness of Your only Son that we may never be arrogant and prideful and thus
provoke Your wrath but in all lowliness be made partakers of the gifts of Your
grace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.[1] -04 March
2021
[1] Collect for Humility, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St., Louis
Illustration “The Crucifixion”
is taken from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a
distinguished German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books
in Pictures. © WLS Permission granted for personal and congregational use.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Pilate: "I Couldn't Make The Hard Decision"
You know Cornelius, when you asked about my days as ruler in
Judea, you make me search my memory. Especially when you ask whether I remember
anything about the beginnings there of the Christian sect that is growing so
strongly here in Rome. I find it hard to recall much that is very definite.
There were many uprisings among the Jewish people in those
days because of their peculiar beliefs. Likewise there were constantly new
nomadic prophets who claimed to have a message for the people from their God,
Yahweh. Jesus, whom some called the Christ, was a Galilean. I'm sure, because I
remember sending him to Herod, the tetrarch in Galilee who was in Jerusalem at
the time Jesus was brought to me for trial. It seems that the Galileans were
particularly inclined to follow these would-be messiahs.
About all I can recall for sure in connection with this
Jesus, whom the Christians follow, is that his trial came up one year during
the Passover season. That was a time of year when I stayed in Jerusalem because
of the possibility of trouble.
Every year at the time of the Passover in the spring these
Jewish people came to their Jerusalem temple from all over, from Galilee up
north but also from many non-Jewish countries, from Greece, Syria, Egypt, and
even from Rome. So whenever there was a Passover celebration the agitators and
fanatics would be busy stirring up the people against Rome. On group, called
the Zealots, was particularly violent and fanatic. I had many of them
crucified.
I remember one particular Passover that involved these
Christians you’re asking about. That year things seemed especially unsettled
and the Jewish people were restless. Early in the he week of the Passover my
men reported that a Galilean rabbi had come into Jerusalem on a donkey and some
of the pilgrims hailed him as a hero.
They had even staged a kind of festival parade, pulling
branches from palm trees and olive trees to honor him and taking off their
coats to put on the road for their hero to tide over on his donkey. But there
was no violence or rioting, and though they shouted hopes of deliverance the
rabbi did nothing to incite rebellion. So we did nothing about it.
That same week, however, we had to arrest another Jew by the
name of Barabbas. I remember him because the incident that caused his arrest
was particularly violent. Barabbas killed one of my Roman soldiers. It happened
when his gang of zealots stirred up a demonstration against Rome trying to
incite the Jews to revolution. When my soldiers broke up the gathering,
Barabbas managed to kill one of them. We held him in custody until the best
time to crucify him as an example to other agitators.
This kind of riotous agitation gave me a clue that there
would be more trouble brewing. I suspected that the temple crowd, the priests,
Pharisees, and scribes, might try to whip up hatred toward our Roman law and
order. There was an unusually large crowd of pilgrims and Jewish people from
many countries in Jerusalem that Passover. Such a crowd meant disturbances of
all sorts against Roman rule.
So I was really surprised when my servant woke my very early
one Friday, the day when the Jewish Passover would reach its climax in the
evening. The servant told me that the temple crowd, led by the chief priest
himself, had brought a political prisoner they accused of treason and wanted me
to crucify. It wasn't at all what I expected of them. I knew at once that they
were up to some kind of trickery. But I thought it best at least to listen to
their charges.
I had to leave the palace to meet them on the pavement
outside because of one of their peculiar religious laws.
Though they could bring this man, likely innocent, and shout
for his crucifixion, they couldn't enter the palace of a gentile governor
without becoming religiously unclean and thus not able to celebrate their
Passover.
When they hauled up their prisoner before me; I saw that he
too, was a Jew. The priests said his name was Jesus from Nazareth. Of course,
the name meant nothing to me, but I recognized at once that coming from
Nazareth made Jesus a Galilean. That is why I later sent him over to King Herod
of Galilee, who being a Jew, was also in Jerusalem for the Passover.
All that effort accomplished, however, was that Herod
thereafter became more friendly toward me. He returned Jesus to my jurisdiction
and decision.
As soon as I saw Jesus I knew at once that the priests had a
religious quarrel with him and not a political one. Jesus had a calm air and a
kind of serenity about him that didn't fit a political rebel. So I told the
priests to take care of it themselves according to their religious laws.
But they got mean. They insisted Jesus was a traitor and a
rebel. They threatened to notify Caesar in Rome that I was soft on traitors.
The temple crowd led by the high priest said this Jesus claimed to be a king
and that he didn't support paying taxes to Caesar.
Though I knew in my heat that it was all being done out of
spite and envy, I went through the motions of asking Jesus whether he was king
of the Jews. He looked at me without fear and gave a strange answer. Jesus
said, "My kingdom is not of this
world." Then he said some things about truth that made no sense to me.
But I knew beyond a doubt that Jesus of Nazareth was no political threat to
Rome.
Then I hit on what I thought was a brilliant idea. It would
certainly get me off the hook of having to make a final decision about Jesus. I
wouldn't have to go against the Jewish leaders with a decision to set Jesus
free in spite of their charges. They would make the choice themselves, I
thought. I offered to release either the harmless Jesus or the vicious
Barabbas. But the hatred of the priests toward Jesus - which I believe stemmed
from envy - was so great that they stirred up the people to ask that Barabbas
be released. [Matthew 27:15-23]
I was frustrated. But, I thought, surely they would be
satisfied with a lesser punishment than crucifixion. So I had Jesus flogged
till the blood ran down his back in streams.
Then I brought Jesus out, showed him to the people. I told
them I found Jesus to be innocent, and said, "Here he is! Look at Him!" To my consternation the crowd still
shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
What could I do? If I didn't crucify him they would blacken
my name to Caesar in Rome. So I yielded. I gave my decision and ordered Jesus
to be crucified. Even my own wife had warned me not to get involved, because
she had a dream that told her Jesus was innocent. [Matthew 27:19] But what
could I do? I had to make a decision. But I could not make the hard decision.
So I took the easy way out. I condemned an innocent man to
crucifixion to save my reputation with Caesar at Rome. To let the priests and
temple crowd know, though, that I considered Jesus innocent and that it was
their responsibility, I called for a basin of water. Then I publicly washed my
hands and said "I am innocent of
this man's blood; see to it yourselves." [Matthew 27:21-26]
As I remember it, that was the beginning of the Christian
sect. In time, even my wife, became a believer. She tells me often that I, too,
should ask God to forgive me. She often assures me that Jesus of Nazareth, whom
I crucified, really is the Son of God and that, three days after he died on the
cross, he rose from the dead. She says that is what gave his disciples courage
and gives his followers today the faith to say, "Jesus Christ is Lord of
all."
Concluding thoughts: Poor Pontius Pilate! He was faced with what for him was a
hard decision: To do what was right and set Jesus free or to do what was safe
for him and yield to pressure. How often we are faced with decisions that tempt
us to protect our own interests by yielding to pressures that make us do what
is not right or good in God's sight.
Jesus Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate, but He rose
again to give assurance that God's mercy is there for all who seek it in repentance
and faith. Whenever we confess the Creed, in church or at home, may it be a
voluntary testimony of our own faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Illustration
from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished
German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books in Pictures.
copyright © WELS used by permission for personal and congregational use.