St. Timothy Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lombard Illinois

God knows we weren't built for a sinful world, but here we are, like the Hebrews in Egypt.

It is a sad thing that we will cheer and carry on over a football game...more readily...more exuberantly...

Many are even willing to appear pretty nuts...foolish...

With the face paint...body paint even…costumes...and whatnot....

No Wiggle Room

46 Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

48 The Jews responded to him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you’re a Samaritan and have a demon?”

49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus answered. “On the contrary, I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and judges. 51 Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

52 Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?”

54 “If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. 55 You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”

59 So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple.John 8:46–59

So many think that Jesus is this gentle, mild-mannered man that never raised His voice, was always politically correct, was interested in only helping minorities and...

…was just plain nice...

Really?

Yes, and there are all sorts of other versions of Jesus... like this one... running around... out there.... in people's minds...

And… when you hear the words, "Now what would Jesus do?"

What does… come to mind? What are people getting at?

It is usually not the Jesus of the Bible, that they are asking we emulate.

What does Jesus do?

He Judges. He condemns. He is a surgeon with a very precise hand, cutting away with a very sharp knife...

… the many things we hold dear... the many things we would like to keep...

But He never compromises...He never gives one inch to sin coddlers...or their sin...of any kind.

Yes, He comes for sinners...and yes...to forgive sinners...

But that is not the same thing as people think.

First...He judges...and this all the time...

...and when He says not to judge...it is not what people are quoting Him for.

No, Jesus gives no one... any wiggle room!  None!

In fact, He presses the Law more than anyone else.

That Law, that Jesus preached...and taught...and insisted upon...

… was not just about what we did... with our hands... outwardly...

No, it was about what we conceive inwardly...in our minds and hearts. What did you dream of? What did you want and desire? What secrets were we harboring?

Jesus tells us that even if we don't actually do any of that...what we wanted to do...what we thought about...fantasized about...

According to God, we have, in fact already had done it.

So... no... there is no wiggle room...to slink away with...then.

No... there is no wiggle room to escape justice… then. None!

We are what we are...what He says we are...

And we know it...even if we are not sure of the details of our case...but...be sure...He does.

So, when we encounter this Jesus, understand that this IS the real one...our Jesus...the same Jesus...as He always was...is and will be.

This is the Jesus who preaches the unfiltered...non-watered down Law. Who passes judgment on our...and all sin.

And we CAN say...as so many do...all manner of things about Him. We can call Him insane...a megalomaniac who thinks He is God, a magician...in league with the devil...a fake...or just another would-be religion maker.

Or we can ignore the Bible and come up with our on own version of Jesus as so many also do.

But when we meet Him in the Bible, we meet Him as the Word of God who uses His Word as a mirror to show us who we are and how we measure up to God's...His... Jesus’ standards.

And we either face these standards...and our lack of measuring up to them, or we do what most people do...

...remain unconverted and head right into hell.

But make no mistake about it,  when He points the finger...He is pointing it at me...at you...and at everyone.

So...stop then...stop trying to justify yourself. Stop trying to find legal loopholes. Stop trying to re-interpret what He is condemning us for...as something other than just what it is: Sin...wrong...and destructive.

Accept it. There is no way out of His verdict of our guilt.

What is the best thing to be done, then?

Plead guilty.

Let His Word turn us around. Let Him cut you...let Him cut as deep as needed to bring His healing process.

Well...but that would kill me!

Well...yeah! That it will.

That is how bad we are. We need to be killed. He needs to kill us...and that is exactly what He is doing to us...

...all so that He can resurrect us without that which He is condemning us for...what He is condemning us to death for.

All so that we will end up without our disease.

That is the purpose of the Law. To Kill us. In the end it will kill us all. It must. There is no way to rise again healed unless we let Him do this...kill us.

He will not compromise. There is no other way. We cannot do better...ever! We cannot make up for any of it, no matter how hard we try. Humankind cannot be rehabilitated. We have to put down. Each and every one.

So go ahead. Pharisee. Go ahead follower of the devil...and you are if you hold to any of his lies.

And we do...

Go ahead, adulterer...fornicator...sodomite...pornographer...

Go ahead, murderer, gossip...thief...

...coveter...idolater...

You who are stingy and inhospitable...

You who are despisers of God's House...preaching and His Word.

Go ahead and plead guilty. Let Him stop and kill all of that in you...as He must do...same as in me.

Yes...let Him change your mind. Accept His declaration of all of it...as being as evil, damnable sin.

What is left then...? … dead and dying ground that He plants saving faith in...

Because He has already been condemned, punished and killed for all of those sins listed...and for any that were not.

He has stepped in and took your place at the executioner’s head-chopping block...firing range...lethal injection table.

He has already been blamed for all that you are and all that you do...and… in eternity He did the time in the dark black cell.

What is left then? What do you do now?

Contrary … yes we are to be contrary… to all that is listed above...

Yet this can only be done IN HIM...within His walls...under and by His Grace and Mercy...and only because of the Freedom He gives through the Gospel...in the Gospel...by the Gospel....

That is, only by and in... because of...and in the midst of Him... with His things… Where He gives them… by His Word...

Which is the same thing...for us...right now.

Only a person forgiven of a crime can know what forgiveness is...can walk away free.  Only a person who is forgiven a life-time of evil, guilt and shame...can know true forgiveness...and really be free.

If in our condition, we think we are already free...free to do what we please because we have decided what is good and right for us to do...

We are bound up tight in a very dark place.

And we will remain there if we refuse His sentence...His Judgment...

The Son must set you free. Then and only then are you in fact.

But it is only again ever so in Him...in Christ...with Him...

You in Him and He in you forever. That is the true human condition. We are only what we were meant to be...what we were created to be...in that state. We were made to be companions of God...together.

We cannot even be true companions to each other unless it is with Him too.

As one pastor said once, plead guilty so that you can be acquitted and go and live forever with the judge.

That is the only way out of all of this. He is the ONLY Way...the ONLY Truth...and the ONLY Life...no one gets to the Father...the Judge...the King...but in this way.

And He is offering. It is a limited time offer. It only lasts as long as your life...or as long as the world lasts...whatever comes...or I should say, goes first.

So yes, you are guilty. Yes, you are facing a death and an eternal life sentence.

But Jesus is offering you complete forgiveness without any strings. To make you truly human...like He is...the way you were created to be: Living, breathing, running, singing...laughing...

Forever...

Forever to live in His House and...out into the wide open fields...at play...as a child of God. It is yours right now.

Amen.

What if Jesus came back today for a look see at our fruit? What fruit is He looking for?

Prayer is a funny thing. I mean odd...not laughable...although....to hear some of my prayers...

When put on the spot… and yours…

The Kingdom Has Come Upon Us

14 Now he was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, "He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons." 16 And others, as a test, were demanding of him a sign from heaven.

17 Knowing their thoughts, he told them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes from him all his weapons he trusted in, and divides up his plunder. 23 Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.

24 "When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, and not finding rest, it then says, 'I'll go back to my house that I came from.' 25 Returning, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first."

27 As he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the one who nursed you!"

28 He said, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."Luke 11:14-28 [CSB]

Whatever argument you hear...whatever logic is, was and will be applied...whatever other explanation is given...

For all THIS--for what we are and what we do in this place...as well as everything else that makes up the church militant on earth...

a place like this… right smack in the presence of the all and every nay-sayer, detractor, unbeliever, and out-right dangerous enemy...

We say to them, and to our wavering and weak faith...

20But if it is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

But what really has been brought about?

What happened to the universe a little over 2,000 years ago?

What has been given to it...to us...placed here...put into our lives...?

You see, it is either true or it is not.

As St. Paul says, if this is not all true, then we are to be pitied above everyone else.

And I mean ALL TRUE.

As it holds together. It fits and works only one way.

If it is by Grace through faith, then it is not of works...not of our doing...not a choice...not because we are this or that...or good...or able...

Else, we are still in the place everyone else is...in the same lost condition...DEAD IN OUR SINS says St. Paul...because we have…

…and always will fail.

If you cannot trust the Creation accounts.

If there is doubt whether Jesus was born of a virgin...

If we question the miracles that He did…

Or if He was really dead… and then rose on the third day...

If Jesus was only a man and not God…

Then nothing else is True...and we should just give up now ...walk away... go home... eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die and...

So, all of it MUST...BE...TRUE!

HAS to be...for any part of it to be true.

Well… because then nothing is really done, or left undone...or really matters in the end...

NO…NOT AT ALL...NOT ONE BIT.

So, all those people who ignore a part of Scripture...say its is merely a cultural thing and God does not mean it to apply to us...

…or worse! …and say that NO PART is the WORD of God...

Should just toss out the whole Bible then... as it will and cannot do anyone any good…

No… not unless all of it is God's Word.

Jesus' point about the devil applies to God's own kingdom. If it is divided...if it is not whole and consistent...if He says one thing at one time and something else entirely...or the opposite… at another...

It all falls apart… and there is no sure place for faith to stand on...no foundation to build a life or church upon...and then…

… there is not much  hope...if anything...if anything is left...

And it is even weaker… than if we went with trying to work hard...trying to be good enough...

As everyone agrees that God wants us to be moral and to help our neighbors...

Well...at least we thought so...at least people used to think that way...and told everyone that people ought to be decent...

But whatever the current cultural moral climate... that a few move...even a little...move in that direction... try to be decent and good for a change…

And when it looks like it... (that there is a nice corner of sunshine) it ends up being just surface stuff for the most part...that never lasts too long ...

20But if it is by the finger of God...

If Holy Baptism does save...

If Holy Absolution does declare… THERE AND THEN… that our sins are forgiven...and it is so because of those Words proclaimed… RIGHT there and then… to us and for us...

If the Words of Scripture from Law...kills...and the Words of Scripture from the Gospel produces faith for eternal life...

If these Words of God preached to you here and now...bring you to salvation...

If the Words of the Liturgy, taken from Scripture...if the Hymns sung containing the Law and the Gospel...

If the Body and Blood of Jesus, with the bread and wine, DO forgive sins, bring and strengthen faith...

...then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Did God really say? Yes… YES! He said all that! … and it is ALL TRUE! And it must ALL BE BELIEVED to be of value.

Because that is how the Kingdom of God has come upon you...and me....and on into the world after Jesus rose from the dead.

He is the Word made flesh… and He then...after rising to fill the universe in that flesh and blood body...sends it into the Church, to be read and heard...to be put into Water, bread and Wine...

So that it continues to keep coming upon us...

That is why Jesus told that woman...the one paying Him that supposedly wonderful compliment--to Him and His mother Mary...

27As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”

Jesus says...wait...no Lady, not really...because really the truth is:  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Because even the other Mary could not hold onto Jesus after He rose from the grave. Remember that? In John 20:17, Jesus tells her she cannot...

Or rather it would not do her any good that way...

Better to hold onto Him in Word and Sacrament--after He ascended...because He will send the comforter...the Holy Spirit to bring Him.. Jesus to her...and to us...

As there is where He comes to us...all the time...comes upon us...goes to the very core of us...and remains...

And this through the Inspired Word of God...heard and believed...and kept, as His mother did...

Remember? She stored up all those things said about Jesus in her heart.

Keeping God's Word is less about doing works, than believing it with the faith provided in its hearing.

No, rather keeping His Word is hearing and then taking it to heart, believing it. That is what turns into action. This is done over our entire lives.

Read. Hear. Believe. Think about. Meditate upon it...working it about...working through...

And believing...and repeating this again...then confessing it as true...to and with those around you...

Then this is what causes us to act upon it...in the way God prescribes.

We must become Biblically minded...heart filled with His Word people...believing what He says...before we can apply it and ever do it.

And this is the finger of God in each of our lives. This is how the devil is thrown out… and this is how... the kingdom of God has come upon you.

It has, this very day! Amen.

…do this and you will live…who me? Who...you?

I don’t think so…as no matter how hard we try… we fail…and so…

What is failure? Sin. What is earned by sinning? Death.

What kind of faith do you have? Great faith? Or not so great?

The truth is… whatever faith anyone has...it is the same faith that this women in our text has.

So, are you listening? Are you speaking? Are you growing? Are you learning? Are you living?

Passover

3 1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?"

2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.' "

4 "No! You will certainly not die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"

10 And he said, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

11 Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

12 The man replied, "The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate."

13 So the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:

Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. 15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

16 He said to the woman:

I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.

17 And he said to the man,

"Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'Do not eat from it': The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust."

20 The man named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them. 22 The Lord God said, "Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever." 23 So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove the man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:1–24 [CSB]

We may not see...understand or accept the reason...or think it deserving...

This...the result and consequences of sin...

…especially since it was not us...but our first parents...who did it...who began

this journey...

Why should we be held accountable for them? Why should we be blamed...we didn't ask to inherit this mess!

But we have to stop and think. Let’s go ahead and drop the original...the first...and just ask about our own individual sins.

Sure, but then we will do what Adam and Eve did...won't we?

We are all ready and willing to then blame our parents...or the devil...or anything...else...

Yet they remain ours...and they are because of us.

But this is Lent.  And so...today...we could stand before God...naked...ashamed and guilty...

If we chose to try and justify ourselves in anyway…

And that which we fear...would overwhelm us with terror...and...dread...

So… think along those lines… what are you going to say to Him? What's to be done?

This day and age...though...we are all about denial, changing the rules and the definitions...so that we don't have to feel so bad...because if there are less things we do wrong...well...then...

They tell us… out there… that we then… need not fear and tremble...

...as we will surely not die...at least not as soon as we once did...we are on the way to finding its cure all on our own...

Yes, we will cheat it...we will beat it… so no… don't…  let’s not call sin, sin. Let’s not deal with it as we used to. Live and let live.

Or...not too long ago it was all about cover-up. Pretend to be good...put on a good face...at church especially...and maybe no one will notice...

…and maybe God is at least pleased that I try....

But… there are other ways too...to deflect all of this...that which we feel...that brings sleepless nights...and worries...

We can justify ourselves...you know...say that the ends justify the means...and all that...after all, it was for a good cause...

Well, wasn’t it?

You could also just plead ignorance of the Law...

But that is why we have Lent...each and every year...as no matter what we come up with to try and deal with what we are and what we have done...

Lent arrives again...

And Lent is God coming after us...

Lent is all about God exposing our to light reality… bringing it all full bore...right between the eyes of the world… of humanity...

…and also, if need be… aiming for the heart. Ours?

You? Me? Everyone… lest we forget… but all whom God makes to sit up and pay attention...

Again...is this YOU and this is ME?

Are you hiding in the bushes...there...

Are you trying to cover yourself with things that don't do the job. Are you who like pointing the finger and blaming others.

YOU. IS GOD LOOKING AT YOU? IS GOD POINTING HIS FINGER AT YOU? OR ME?

And we have nowhere to go… do we and… are there really any excuses left? My hand is caught in the candy jar…

Is there blood on our hands?

YOU...yes...ME...yes...HE IS TALKING TO US...

ARE YOU GETTING UNCOMFORTABLE?  Are you yet? What have you done? What have you left undone?

You...YOU who knows...THAT HE KNOWS...all too well...in fact...

This is about you...this is about your life...and paying the piper...reaping what you have sown...

Well, you wanted to dance. You wanted to do your own thing. You wanted to make your own way in the world...

With your own rules...

How has that been going for you...now that it is the morning after. Now that your head hurts. Now that you are in a fix and cannot get yourself out.

Now that you are sick...

Now that you are dying...

Now that the time of your life is done and gone...and you are old...and you are dying?

What now? What do you have to say? What do you have to show for yourself?

From dust we are taken, and to dust we will return. Everything comes to an end.  Everything crumbles and fades away. Everything is taken away.

That is the very meaning of Lent. This is what Lent is for… each year…

Lest we forget… Again! We do… with all those voices out there… and in here… saying differently…

Lent is to bring us to this place. To this point. Again!

To bring us to this understanding about ourselves and our lives.

And to show us that there is nothing we can do about it... as if we remain in it… as it will not end well.

Sa what's left then?

Well...yes, we can continue in this… those many ways,,, that try to avoid or ignore… but...in the end...here we are.

Before God, just like our first parents.

God has (and thank God He has) brought us to this now...here and now.

He is doing this right now. That is what Lent is for. That is what God wants.

Because this is the start also of the Passover. His Passover.

And His passing over kills. His passing over spills blood, wrecks lives, destroys kingdoms...small and great.

Yes. And He passes over all...the whole world this time. He comes. He is coming. He is here.

All of this while we are holding the bag...without anything that could help us...that could prevent the fallout...that could be used in our favor.

Most will die because of it.

And yet...His passing over also saves. Anyone who has His blood covering them… lives.

His Sacrifice is offered instead of ours. His life in place of ours.

Just like He did for our first parents, He brings His covering to us.

Just like He made a way for Israel, Jesus is the way for the whole world...for us.

Yet it all begins in facing these terrible facts about ourselves.... It requires pleading guilty.

But again, better today, then in the end where there no longer is a covering to hide our shame and remove our guilt.

This is what our first parents faced. This is what the Jews faced in the Exodus, and then had to deal with when Jesus exposed their hypocrisy.

But they too, like Adam and Eve, all tried to avoid it. This is what we try all too often.

We still… knowing all this… we still all too often try our best to cover up, blame and make excuses...

Do we want to insist on this? Do we remain stubbornly justifying ourselves?

Then doomed they and we are to die. Thrown out of God's presence.

But there is no need! As God began the Passover...that which has been there from the beginning.

God provided the way out...the way of escape...the sacrifice, time and again. That blood that hid shame and the stain of our sin....

This until the right time...and then God became the sacrifice, once and for all. This once and for all removed the shame and cleansed us of sin.

That is why the Passover is such a big deal.