Eighth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2018

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Mark 6:27
Theme: Martyred For Christ


Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

John the Baptist was martyred for his faith. Martyrdom is a dramatic conclusion to faithful confession. Modern Western Christians can hardly relate. Self-preservation is a powerful drive that supersedes nearly all other motivations. Yet there are loyal Christians in various places around the world today that face the possibility of forfeiting their lives for their beliefs nearly every day. God grant that their example be a source of strength for us who often waver in defending even the most basic points of Christian truth. May the Holy Spirit teach us to value the crown of life beyond all earthly treasure.

The early Christians, too, faced daunting opposition for their faith. In times of persecution and oppression there are always fewer nominal adherents to any faith. Christ is not nearly so appealing when life-changing or life-risking sacrifice is imminent. There are few defenders of the faith that stand out as prominently as John the Baptist. John lost his physical head in service to Christ, who was his spiritual head. John was a transition figure. The long wait for the Messiah was over. John received the duty and privilege to announce Him. John’s ministry marked the end of the old covenant and prepared people for the new.

In the person of Jesus, the Messiah had come, and the cosmic war was re-engaged with great fervor. The devil, of course, is a motivator behind the persecution of Christians. Satan delighted to have John the Baptist beheaded. But such brazen activity is rarely his most successful tactic. The cultivation of a false sense of security is often far more effective. Why force the issue by revealing who the true believers are through such violent means? Yes, more hypocrites will be uncovered. But this may serve to strengthen the faithful. Why not encourage the illusion as the Scripture says, “They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.”1

Sin is a serious matter and it gives us no peace. The apostles were sent by Jesus into a very dark spiritual world. In large swaths of Western Christianity that darkness is again growing. The light of the gospel is being blanketed with shadows. The unchangeable truth is being subjected to the evolutionary forces of secular thought. People search frantically for meaning but deny the source. It is as the Scripture says regarding those “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”2 Some of the most detestable sins are justified by the most pious-sounding motives. Is the evil of late-term abortion any less barbaric than the ancient pagan practice of ritual sacrifice? We dare not be self-righteous in our judgments. We are all- great and small alike- indebted to the mercy of Christ who is compassionate beyond measure. To live in humble appreciation of this is the struggle of faith.

Faith is that gift of the Holy Spirit which enables a person to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. It is not an inanimate or static possession, but a relationship dynamic characterised by the activity of constantly receiving the life of God through His word and sacraments. It involves confidence in His promises and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This reality is constituted at baptism. Our epistle says, “You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.”3

At its heart, faith is worship; for to trust wholly in Christ’s forgiveness is the highest degree of worship. This faith, then, expresses itself also in the activity of worship. Faith desires to be blessed by God. In the Divine Service the soul is a recipient of God’s gifts. Never take lightly your time in His house. Though a thousand other concerns press upon you, not one will endure longer than the fleeting days you have in this life. In the world you become involved in temporary concerns but here you participate in eternal things. There you may try to gorge on the tastiest morsels the world has to offer but only at the communion rail do you have a foretaste of the feast to come.

Dear friends, Christianity is not a matter of convenience. If that were so Christ would be our lackey, not our Lord. Convenience is sometimes a fleeting concession of God, but often a powerful tool of Satan. If you have undertaken an internal debate to determine which things might take priority over your worship life, whether occasionally or absolutely- perhaps out-of-town visitors, work, sleep, sport, recreation- then the battle has already been lost. The devil has His foot in the door and is seeking to run the household.

But we have a different Master. He is the one who saves us and serves us. Jesus Christ became the payment that was demanded to cover the debt of your sin. That debt was not a voluntary obligation, but a non-negotiable, binding and unalterable burden. His life was forfeited that the souls of believers might be spared. The gospel is the GOOD NEWS that the Son of God was the all-sufficient substitute for the guilt of the world. The gospel is not about the commendable effort of Jesus to show us the moral high ground in the face of opposition. It is not a reward for those who seek Him with all their hearts. It is not a balm to soothe the consciences of the self-righteous.

Christ is the sacrificial Lamb. He is the scapegoat. He is the victim whose blood was poured out. He was clothed with your sin. You wear His righteousness. This is what John came to preach. Repent and turn to Him who is water for those who thirst, food for those who hunger, light for those in darkness, freedom for those enslaved, health for the sick, strength for the weak, joy for the sorrowful, truth for the deceived, and immortality for mere mortals. Only He was crucified for your sins and raised to life that you might live.
The circumstances surrounding John’s beheading were so off-putting as to almost cause one to question the propriety of how God maintains the dignity of those who serve Him. King Herod, a drunken monarch, consumed by lust makes a foolish and regrettable pledge. His pride prevents justice from taking place. And so, without preparation, or ceremony, protest or pardon the great prophet’s life comes to an end. It seemed an unfair conclusion for a bold and dedicated servant. Yet could there have been a more fitting way for the ‘forerunner of the Messiah,’ this ‘greatest of men born of women,’ this ‘office-bearer of Elijah,’ this ‘voice of one crying in the desert,’ to be martyred than to foreshadow the ignoble death of the Lord Himself!

And how astounding that Christ could say of him, “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”4 Yes, this is how highly He regards the least of those who have faith in Him. Rejoice that you are counted among the least for in heaven God gives you a place among the great. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
15 July 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Jeremiah 8:11
2 2 Timothy 3:5
3 Ephesians 1:13-14
4 Matthew 11:11