Fear, Love and Trust
June 22, 2008 (Pentecost 6)
Rev. Steven D. Spencer – Pastor Messiah Lutheran Church, Salem, OR
Matthew 10:5a 16, 21-33
These twelve Jesus sent out, "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. "So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
As a Christian Church we are well aware of the need to share the Gospel. The words of the great commission are not foreign to our ears. Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Over the years many evangelism programs have been created to make sharing the Gospel easier or more productive. I’ve even been involved in the rollout of some of these programs. I’ve attended the train the trainer sessions. One of the rules of teaching how to evangelize is make it fun, remove the fear.
I. Fear
In our text today Jesus is sending His disciples out into the world to preach the message, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He will send them out with the ability to heal and do the miraculous. It sounds as if Jesus has made it fun; He’s removed the fear. But, in verse 16 Jesus says: "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves," The Lord doesn’t want them to be unaware. They will face great opposition. They will be rejected by: households, resisted by whole communities, even family members may turn against them. Those once counted as best friends will betray them. And society will brand them as lunatics if not heretics.
Jesus doesn’t want them or us to be uninformed. He tells them as our text begins, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household." What is interesting, it’s just 2 chapters later, that the Pharisees and Scribes call Jesus "Beelzebub," which means "lord of the flies." And if those pious church leaders, who can do no wrong, call Jesus such, will they not consider His students simply gnats to be swatted. The disciples will face some terrible intimidation for telling the Good News about Jesus.
But intimidation is no excuse. The disciples are not to remain silent. "Have no fear of them,” Jesus commands.
For one thing, they are not to fear because Jesus says:"for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." Those enemies of Jesus may look powerful; after all, what is: one Rabbi and twelve men against the world? However, the disciples know the end of the story because Jesus tells them: He will be the Victor, and He will return in glory to judge all nations and condemn those who had rejected Him. Therefore, the disciples should not be intimidated in this battle of good vs. evil. Evil may appear to have the upper hand for some time to come. But the disciples know the rest of the story, and it would be foolish to side with those who will lose in the end.
Intimidation is no excuse. They are not to remain silent. They are to preach the message given to them, “The kingdom of heaven is near.”
"Do not fear," the Lord says again. This time He is speaks even more specifically. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The disciples will suffer at the hands of sinners, this is for sure; but those evildoers can only kill the body. God, the Father almighty, brandishes a much larger sword: He can send body and soul to hell for eternity. Who is more to be feared? Please listen, man might be able to bruise you, break your bones even kill you but it could be far worse. But this message is not just for the ears of fear filled disciples of Jesus day. It’s for disciples of today and the unbelievers of today. Jesus is reminding us that some will not heed the warning of the Kingdom of Heaven and instead will pursue a kingdom of this earth and they will be eternally destroyed.
The Lord calls His people to proclaim what He tells them: His Law in all of its severity, and His Gospel in all of its sweetness. As an individual Christian, you will face such intimidation: When confronted with a crisis where the righteous decision means suffering, will you do what is right or take the easy way out? When a family member or close friend chooses a sinful way of life, will you lovingly speak the truth and risk hostility, or will you keep silent to maintain family peace? In the school locker room and the business office alike, there will be constant attempts to turn you from what is good and pure and holy to what is wrong and impure and most unholy.
Even as individual Christians face such intimidation, so also Christian congregations. Some say “The Church should update its message to survive. The change must come in order to bring more people into the sanctuary; we must sound more loving and less condemning of sin. Or the change must come for economic reasons: Bodies in the pew mean more offerings; more offerings mean more paid bills; and more paid bills mean that a congregation continues. The change must come because, after all, this isn’t our grandfather's America; times change, and so must we.” The change must come, we are told, though it’s usually is put in soft and attractive terms: “We're not supposed to abandon the Gospel, of course; we should still believe that Jesus is the Savior. We just need to play down the Law. Instead of denouncing immorality as evil, we should learn to be accepting. Instead of disciplining a visible sinner, we ought lovingly to bear with them as they work through their sin rather than risk offending them. Instead of preaching that the Law condemns all sin, we should preach a Law that sounds like a helpful tool for living a prosperous life, and nothing more disastrous than that.”
It’s a matter of faith to believe that the Church continues by the pure preaching of God's Law and Gospel; so we live by faith. When we are tempted to alter the message, make no mistake about it: We are being tempted to sin. And when we are tempted to sin, the Lord lashes us with His Law for our own good. To show us our sin and the death that awaits if we continue down that path. He demands that we proclaim His Word. And He asks this damning question: "Why do you fear them more than Me?"
From the Word of God we know the end of the story. There is only One who sits on the judgment seat and determines our fate forever. He wields the larger sword of eternal life or death. Why would we fear anyone else more than Him?
The world tempts us to lean to our own understanding and to trust ourselves. They say God’s Word is antiquated. It’s old and doesn’t understand what we now do. We have science and technology. We know better than those prophets and disciples of old, they didn’t have our learning. Where Scripture doesn’t agree with me, I can cast it aside. But if we do so, are we not saying we know better than God’s Word. Solomon considered the wisest man of all times said in Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding.” Oh, the devil will tickle our ears and tell us that we know better than Scripture but in the end it is a path that leads to perdition. For we place ourselves above God and His Word.
Now, let me stop here to be perfectly clear: So far in this sermon, we heard the preaching of the Law of God-His unrelenting, unforgiving Law. This is the Law that Jesus preaches in this Gospel lesson. Fear God and obey His commandments, even when opposed and intimidated by men, because He can destroy your body and soul in hell.
This is the Law of God, and it is perfectly true; however, we hasten to add that it is only half of the story. God gives us His Law to show us our sin; however, He does so for our own good. When we see our sin, we know we cannot save ourselves. When we know we cannot save ourselves, we are ready to hear of a Savior. The Law is half the story; now we turn to the other half of the story: the Gospel.
II. Love
How sad it would be if the message of Christianity was only one of fear, of "Obey God because He carries the biggest stick." But this isn’t the case. We don’t trust the Lord because no one else greater than He is to be feared. No, we trust in Him because there is no one who loves us more.
Consider, then, the words of Jesus from our Gospel lesson today: "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." God the Father keeps track of sparrows, purchased at a penny a pair; He knows when one of them falls to the ground. Dear Christians, here is your comfort: You have not been purchased cheaply for a penny. No, you have been redeemed-not with silver or gold, but His holy precious blood, and innocent suffering and death of Jesus. He has purchased you in this way that you may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness. God loves you that much. This is most certainly true.
III Trust (Conclusion)
Our text for today is pure Law and Gospel. So I conclude with words from Luther’s Small Catechism in his explanation of the First Commandment. "We should fear and love and trust in God above all things." Do we fear God? Yes, we rightly fear the consequences of breaking His command and suffering His wrath. This is a godly fear, which moves us to sorrow and repentance for our sins. But all the more, we love God because of our redemption. He has punished His Son, placing Him under His wrath, in our place. He has judged His Son who kept His commandments because of our failure to do so. The price had to be paid, a price far greater than that of sparrows. Because that price has been paid, you can be certain of this: All of your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, for Jesus sake and in Jesus name, Amen!
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen!