Second Sunday in Lent (B) 2019

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

Text: Luke 13:35
Theme: “Blessed Is He Who Comes In The Name Of The Lord.”

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The attempt was made to threaten Jesus. The Pharisees warn Him that Herod wants to kill Him. For His own safety He should move along. He should keep a low-profile. He should stop stirring the pot. Does Jesus feel threatened by Herod? Not in the slightest! He tells the Pharisees to inform Herod that he will continue His work. In doing so He previews His own death. Jesus is new wine, and the old wineskin of the Jewish religious structure will not be able to contain Him. At His arrest in Gethsemane He said, “Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”1 Christ was humble, but never inept.

Dear friends, Jesus didn’t suffer fools lightly. The image of a sappy, indulgent Jesus who happily affirmed all of the opinions, confusions, and falsehoods of men must be banished from our minds. It doesn’t square with the biblical data. The Son of God came to confront evil. He came to distinguish truth from falsehood, light from darkness, love from hate. The purpose of His coming was nothing less than the redemption of all humanity. It was an undertaking that required full immersion into the filth and chaos of our fallen, broken, and sinful world. Christ was up to the task.

Today Jesus laments the hard-heartedness of His people. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”2 Jesus was grieved. At various times we see that His heart is moved with compassion as He laments the toll sin takes on humanity. In chapter 9 of his gospel Matthew tells us, “When He [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”3 But here He is grieved at the persistent hard-heartedness of God’s people. His forbearance is put to the test.

Now, when we say that Jesus didn’t suffer fools lightly, we’re not speaking of those who are simply uniformed, disadvantaged by their circumstances, or lacking courage. The Scripture says, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.”4 With those who are vulnerable the Saviour is gentle beyond our understanding. The fool, according to the Bible’s definition, is the one who has no place or time for God’s wisdom in his or her life. They reject it, scoff at it, and militate against it. The fool may be very clever and popular in worldly terms. The fool may be very successful in the eyes of society. Yet the fool is more than ignorant about God’s will, he opposes it. He rejects it. The Bible summarizes the reality by saying, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”5 To die in this state of foolishness is the greatest tragedy.

Our Lord doesn’t take these matters lightly. He earnestly calls all to repentance. The misrepresentation of Jesus’ character is a perennial problem. It is often propagated within Christian circles too. Christ meets the needs of every age, but He is not a waxen nose that can be shaped for any and every parochial purpose. Our Lord is not a life-coach for those seeking self-actualization, or a therapist for those needing psychoanalysis. He’s not a blasé grandfather figure who indulges every whim. And doesn’t come to merely add a spiritual dimension to the lives of those who otherwise hold a humanistic worldview. He comes to overturn that view entirely.

Now saying that Christ comes to overturn the worldview of the unbeliever is not the same as saying that He comes to overthrow all of the secular structures of society. Remember, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”6 Yes, at His Second Coming He will dismantle all those structures, but meanwhile we must live within them. So, Christians aren’t allowed to withdraw from, ignore, or militate against worldly governance. In the left-hand kingdom Christians gladly submit and serve- as they are called to do- for the well-being of society. But in the right-hand kingdom, the spiritual realm, the conscience can be bound only by the word of God. In the realm of God’s rule, we fall under His authority alone. We are always blessed under His rule, even when we internally struggle against it.

Dear friends, as we learned Wednesday night, we can’t be relieved of the struggle. But the struggle has meaning, and we can flourish within it. The Holy Spirit transforms the unwilling into the willing through His gift of faith. Above all, pray for that gift in the lives of those who lack it. Pray for an increased measure for those who have little. Today the Scripture says, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”7 With faith all things are possible because with God nothing is impossible. Faith is nothing in and of itself. It’s only as good as its object. Luther says, “These two belong together, faith and God. That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is…really your God.”8

The final words of Jesus today are a reference to Palm Sunday. “I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”9 Yes, in the centre of our Saviour’s deluge of blessings is exactly where we want to be during this season of lent and beyond. There is good reason why believers throughout the centuries have sung or spoken those words right before Holy Communion10. Blessed is He who comes from the heights of heaven to the depths of our fallen world, descending, stooping, lowering Himself to be present among us. Blessed is He who chose to be conceived of a virgin, born in a stable, housed among commoners, and executed like a criminal. Blessed is He who is the immortal Son of the Father but could find no honour among men. Blessed is He who has a throne in heaven but had no place to lay His head on earth. Blessed is He whose closest friends forsook Him in time of need.

Blessed is He who welcomes us with arms stretched out wider than those of the Father receiving the prodigal son. Blessed is He who comes as the Bread of Heaven offering His own body and blood as food for the soul. Blessed is He who by His Spirit baptized us into His family. Blessed is He who is light in our darkness, joy in our sorrow, hope in our time of doubt. Blessed is He who is strength for the weak, health for the sick, and rest for those who are fatigued. Blessed is the One who is the Way for those who are lost, the Truth for those who are deceived, the Life for those living in the shadow of death.

Jesus didn’t suffer fools lightly. Yet Paul called himself a fool for Christ. Lent is a time to recognize that is our identity too and cultivate it. We might be members of this, associates of that, and contributors to many other things. We might have identities, reputations, and responsibilities in organizations, societies, companies, clubs, and families. Only one association matters in the end. Only one identity defines us. We are baptized. We are redeemed. The Scripture says, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power than enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”11 Amen.


+ In nomine Jesu +

Second Sunday In Lent
17 March 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 26:53
2 Luke 13:34
3 Matthew 9:36
4 Isaiah 42:3
5 Psalm 14:1
6 John 18:36
7 Genesis 15:6
8 Large Catechism
9 Luke 13:35
10 See Lutheran Hymnal, p.16
11 Philippians 3:20-21