Eighth Sunday after
Pentecost (B—Proper 10)
July 15, 2018
Text: Mark 6:14-29
St. John the Baptist was
beheaded by the government for preaching traditional marriage. Let’s not
mince words on this. Herodias was offended by John’s preaching,
because he declared it unlawful, ungodly, for Herod to have his brother
Philip’s wife while Philip was still alive. As we all know, hell hath no
fury… and Herodias was furious at the scorn and shame brought upon her by
John’s preaching. How dare he make her feel bad about her domestic
situation! How dare he question the sanctity of her love. How dare
he suggest, nay, proclaim, that her marriage to Herod is sinful before
God. And so John finds himself in the dungeon. Herodias wants him
executed, but Herod protects him, if you can call the dungeon protection,
because he fears John and knows that he is a righteous and holy man.
Herod even appreciates a good John the Baptist sermon now and then, although he
finds John’s message perplexing. You know how it is when a sermon hits a
little too close to home. The Law of God tears you apart at the
seams. And it hurts. It’s the crucifixion of the old man, the old
sinful nature. That always hurts. But it must be done, so that your
God can raise you up to new life, a new creation in Christ Jesus. That
preaching hurts, but you love it, because you know it’s true, and you hear in
it the voice of the living God.
But the enemies of the Gospel are always watching for an opportune time to rob
you of such preaching, and Herodias and the demons identified the opportunity
to silence John on the occasion of Herod’s birthday. There was a big
bash, a serious feast, a wining and dining of the elite of the elite.
These included Herod’s nobles and his generals and the leading citizens of
Galilee. Such feasts always serve a political purpose. They offer
an occasion for the ruler to show off his wealth and his power. He shows
the leading men a good time and shores up their loyalty. The free-flow of
alcohol looses up the tongues. Stories are told. Boasts are
made. And hearts are merry. And they’re all the merrier if Herod’s
pretty step-daughter gives us a dance. It’s not in the text, but we
assume the dance was lewd. Whether that’s true or not, it was certainly a
crowd pleaser, and it exceedingly pleased Herod. Caught up in the spirit
of the moment and the spirits in his cup, Herod makes a rash vow. “Ask
me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you… up to half of my kingdom”
(Mark 6:22-23; ESV). It has been suggested Herod was offering to trade in
the mother for a newer model, make Herodias’ daughter his wife. It’s hard
to say. But this had been a set-up by Herodias the whole time.
Daughter asks mother, “For what should I ask,” and mother advises
daughter, “The head of John the Baptist” (v. 24). She wouldn’t be
the last mother to demand a preacher’s head on a platter. But she meant
this quite literally. She had trapped the king in his words. Herod
didn’t want to execute John. But he also didn’t want to be embarrassed in
the presence of his prestigious guests. So rather than do what he knew to
be right, he sold his soul for a dance. Isn’t that the way of the
world? Herod promises to give up to half his kingdom, as if he were a
powerful god, but in the end, we see he is nothing but a weak and insecure
slave of his subjects.
Well, John is beheaded. So it goes. But there would have been an
easier way, you know. If he had just tolerated the illegitimate marriage,
this never would have happened. He could have done so much more good if
he’d just kept his trap shut this one time. But that wasn’t his office,
was it? He was sent to be “the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’” (Mark 1:3).
He was sent to proclaim “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”
(v. 4). To everyone. Even to sinful kings. He doesn’t stay
out of politics when the Word of the Lord is at stake. He is not ashamed
to proclaim the Lord’s testimony before kings (Psalm 119:46), even if it costs
him his life. Divine truth is worth dying for. We forget that,
living in a culture where the very existence of objective truth is denied.
But John knew it. So did the prophets and the apostles and the martyrs of
all ages who loved not their lives even unto death (Rev. 12:11). What
about you? Are you afraid to bear witness to Christ? Do you fear to
speak His truth because your friends and family might rebuke you, or think mean
thoughts about you, or defriend you on Facebook? Repent. It’s
getting harder, isn’t it? The Lord knows your weakness, and has taken
your failure into Himself and put it to death in His flesh. And He gives
you His Spirit, to make you bold, that you confess His Name and His Word, even
if it means your death. For you know that whoever lives and believes in
Jesus, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in
Jesus shall never die (John 11:25-26). And you know that whoever confesses
Jesus before men, He will also confess before His Father in heaven; but whoever
denies Jesus before men, He will also deny before His Father in heaven (Matt.
10:32-33).
But with John there is even more at play. John is sent to prepare the way
of the Lord quite literally. John’s life, and his death, parallels
that of Jesus on every level, except that what happens to Jesus is greater,
what happens to John is lesser, just as he said it would be: “He must
increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). So John’s birth is
foretold by the angel Gabriel, who promises he will be great before the Lord
(Luke 1:15), and Jesus’ birth is foretold by the angel Gabriel, who promises
the Child to be born is the Son of God (v. 35). John’s birth is miraculous,
born to elderly parents. Jesus’ birth is even more miraculous, born of a
virgin. John baptizes for repentance, but Jesus offers a greater Baptism
that not only washes away sin, but makes you God’s own child. John has
disciples, but he sends them to follow Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And John prepares the way in
suffering and death. He is arrested and beheaded. His disciples put
his headless body into a tomb (Mark 6:29). Jesus is arrested, tried, and
crucified. Joseph and Nicodemus put His pierced Body into a tomb.
And now it is Jesus’ turn to blaze the trail. Jesus Christ is risen from
the dead! Herod worries that Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the
dead, and his fear is not completely unfounded. Because the risen Jesus
will raise up John on the Last Day. And He will raise you. You’ll
see John and Jesus with your very own eyes. And you’ll praise God for the
blood John shed, preparing the way for the Blood of the Savior, shed for you
for the forgiveness of all of your sins.
So you need not fear the enemies of the Gospel: Not Satan, nor the demons, nor
sin, nor death; not Al Qaeda, nor ISIS, nor the abortionists, nor the
homosexual marriage crowd. You need not fear the unfaithful who claim the
Name of Christ, nor your own sinful flesh. Jesus Christ is the end of
fear. The enemies of the Gospel are always watching for an opportune time
to get you. But they can never get to you when you are in Christ Jesus,
in His Word, in Your Baptism, in His Supper. The Lord also gives a Feast,
and He outdoes Herod. He, too, gives Food and Drink. But He invites
the weak of the weak, dying and dead sinners. His Feast is the medicine
that brings the dead to life. His wine also looses tongues, not for
boasting, but for confessing and singing songs of praise. His wine makes
our hearts merry, so that we rejoice, and we’re caught up in the Spirit, His
Holy Spirit, who opens our lips to speak His Word with joy. He makes no
rash vow, but He does make a vow: “If you ask me anything in my name,
I will do it” (John 14:14). It is the promise that He hears our
prayers and answers them. And unlike Herod, He delivers. He is not
trapped in His Words. He holds Himself to them. He is a
powerful God, the only true God, with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Though it is true that His Words result in a death: His own on the cross, for
the life of the world. For sinners. For you.
Jesus Christ is crucified by the government that He might form for Himself a
Bride, the holy Christian Church. He sleeps the deep sleep of death, that
from His side the Church be formed. Water and Blood, Font and Chalice,
filled with Jesus Christ crucified for you. You are His beloved.
You are His spotless Bride. As with any marriage, what is yours is His,
and what is His is yours. What is yours He has taken away: sin and death
and condemnation. What is His He has freely bestowed upon you:
righteousness and life and resurrection. In the Church, we preach
traditional marriage, not because we’re ignorant, or prudes, or haters.
We preach it because it is God’s gift for our good: for companionship, and
procreation, and holy sexuality. And we preach it because it is an icon
of Christ and the Church, a living picture of the Gospel. The husband
gives himself for his bride. The bride receives the sacrifice of the
husband for her good. And in this pattern of giving and receiving,
husband and wife live together in love and fidelity and so provide a safe haven
for the nurture of children. We all fall short of this in our
marriages. But this is what marriage is designed by God to be.
Until the Day the Lord Jesus comes again and bids us join Him at the
wedding Feast of the Lamb that has no end. Then St. John will have His
head again. And all will be made whole and right and good. Indeed,
come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly. In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ninth Sunday after
Pentecost (B—Proper 11)
July 22, 2018
Text: Mark 6:30-44; Ps. 23
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd,
and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd”
(Mark 6:34; ESV). The feeding of the
5,000 is our Lord’s fulfillment of the 23rd Psalm. Christ Jesus is the Good Shepherd who
satisfies the wants and needs of His precious lambs. The shepherding, the pastoring, had been busy for Jesus and the Apostles, and He had
called them away for a time, to a desolate place across the Sea, to rest and to
eat and to be refreshed by their Lord.
Even pastors need a vacation now and then, and we’re very thankful when
our congregations allow us that luxury.
In His compassion, the Lord Jesus reminds His ministers in this text
that quiet time away from the demands of ministry is important.
But
then again, it doesn’t always work that way.
Vacations are made to be interrupted.
If it’s true that there is no rest for the weary, there is certainly no
rest for the Savior. The people see
where Jesus and the disciples are going in the boat. And they beat them there! They run around the shore! If only every congregation were so eager to
hear a sermon! And as Jesus disembarks,
there is probably that moment of disappointment as He realizes there will be no
solitude. But at that same moment His
pastoral heart is moved. He has
compassion on them. The Greek word for
“compassion” literally means He feels it in His gut. Even the English word “compassion” literally
means “with suffering.” What causes
Jesus to be moved with compassion, to suffer in His guts for these people? They are like sheep without a shepherd. They are like a congregation without a
pastor. The word “pastor” means
“shepherd.” The chief priests, the scribes,
the Pharisees, they had failed to shepherd these people. They were starved for the Gospel. They were hungry for the preaching. They had been torn to pieces by wolves in
sheep’s clothing. They were very much in
want. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Good
Pastor, cannot let that stand. So from
that moment, until late into the night, He gathers them together into His fold
and He opens His mouth and teaches them many things.
Remember,
this is a desolate place, and the disciples have a very practical concern. The people haven’t eaten. It’s way past supper time. The shops in the villages are closing. Time to send them away while they can still
catch a morsel. But Jesus has other
plans. “You give them something to eat” (v. 37). You see, the Divine Service isn’t over
yet. We’ve had the Service of the Word:
Jesus teaching His people His Word of life.
But now it’s time to gather round the Lord so Jesus can feed us by the hand
of His called and ordained servants.
Jesus is teaching us how it works when He gathers His flock together,
when He congregates them.
Now,
the disciples are confused, as pastors often are. They doubt the Lord’s ability to provide for
the needs of these people. Granted, we
have here five loaves of bread and two fish.
But what are these among so many?
Jesus commands them to sit down in groups on the green grass. “He
maketh me to lie down in green pastures” (Ps. 23:2; all quotes of Ps. 23
from KJV). The word for “groups” in
Greek is “symposia,” that is, drinking parties.
It indicates this will be a feast!
Five loaves, two fish, and you know what happens next. Everyone eats. Everyone is satisfied. The disciples take up twelve baskets full of
leftovers, a basket for each man. And
then we find out that the number 5,000 only includes the men. Counting women and children, there may have
been ten, twenty thousand people there.
The disciples are amazed. Pastors
always are when the Lord’s gifts actually work.
Remember, one of the Lord’s favorite pet names for the Twelve (and I
imagine for the pastors who follow after them) is “O ye of little faith.”
The
Lord Jesus teaches His people, His sheep, and He feeds them. “He
restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s
sake… Thou preparest a table before me” (vv. 3, 5). That’s how He does it: Words and Food,
Preaching and Supper (and the still waters [v. 2] of Holy Baptism, of course). And it works!
The people are fed, spiritually and physically. And as it turns out, there is no better rest
or renewal for the Lord’s undershepherds than to feed His sheep the Means of
Grace the Lord commands, and watch Him do miraculous things with what doesn’t
look like much: words and water, bread and wine… five loaves and two fish.
Jesus
has gathered us together here this morning because of His compassion for us. He hurts in His guts for us. We are like sheep without a shepherd. There is, of course, no lack of would-be
shepherds calling us to follow them here, there, and everywhere. Politicians, professors, entertainers,
preachers of false gospels. What happens
in the chaos of competing voices is the division of the flock. You’ve heard a lot about how stupid sheep
are. That’s not a veiled insult… It’s
simply what the Lord calls us. We just
don’t know how to keep ourselves out of danger, and we’re always wandering off
on our own, away from the flock, away from the Shepherd and the safety of the
sheepfold. The Good Shepherd constantly
has to come find us, save us, wash us, heal our wounds from the dirty,
dangerous, deadly places where we’re trapped.
It is no wonder when He sees us He is moved with compassion, He suffers
in His guts for us. That same compassion
will lead Him to His Passion and death for us on the cross. His whole body will suffer. His entire soul will be in agony. For us.
For our salvation. His hands and
feet pierced. His sacred head crowned
with thorns. The insults and mockery and
spit. The scattered sheep. The Blood outpoured. The Spirit given up. The water and blood of His riven side. “The
good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). This Shepherd is also the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before
its shearers is silent, so He opens not His mouth (Is. 53:7). He dies.
For you. For me. For the world.
The
greatest peril for sheep who go their own way is the valley of the shadow of
death (Ps. 23:4). If a sheep gets lost
alone in that valley, there is no hope.
Notice what the Good Shepherd does.
He goes after the sheep. He goes
into the valley. That is what He is
doing on the cross. He is dying our
death. He is paying for our sins. He goes right down into it to bring us out
again. He knows the way. He is the way. He leads us out of the tomb and into life
eternal. Jesus Christ is risen from the
dead. And with His rod and His staff, He
comforts us (v. 4) and leads us out. You
need not fear this valley full of death’s dark shadow. You need fear no evil. Because on the Last Day you’ll emerge from it
into the light of day. Jesus Christ will
raise you from the dead. And you will
dwell in the house of the LORD forever (v. 6).
In
the meantime, Jesus gathers you here into the sheepfold of His Church to pour
out His compassion upon you. He teaches
you many things: His Word, Law and Gospel, convicting you of your sins,
bringing you to repentance, forgiving you, enlivening you by His Spirit spoken
into you, speaking Himself into your ears, and showing you what it means that
you are a child of His heavenly Father.
And then it’s time to eat. He
commands His minister to give you something to eat. It doesn’t look like much. Bread and wine, a wafer and a sip. But do not doubt. This
bread, and this wine, are in the
hands of the Lord who fed 5,000 men plus women and children from five loaves
and two fish. These are the hands of the
God who spoke the universe into existence, who made something, everything, out
of nothing. So you come, group by group,
symposia by symposia, drinking party by drinking party, for the joyous
Feast. And your Good Shepherd gives you
to eat, not just bread, but bread that is
His Body, given for you, for the forgiveness of all your sins. Wine to drink, yet not just wine, but wine that
is His Blood, shed for you, for the
forgiveness of all your sins. That’s
what He does. The Lord Jesus teaches His
people, His sheep, and He feeds them.
And your soul is restored. The
Lord gives Sabbath rest to pastor and people in the green grass of His
pasture. He does it out of His
compassion.
We
all too often take the feeding of the 5,000 as a neat little story about how we
don’t have to worry, because God will provide us with daily bread for our
bodies. That is true, of course, but we
miss the greater gift for all our fascination of the lesser. If, in His compassion, He feeds us His Body
and Blood and gives us eternal life, He will also feed our bodies with
bread. If He gives the greater gift, He
will not fail to give the lesser. This
feeding is about so much more than bread.
This is about the Divine Service.
This is about Jesus Christ present for you here and now, in the flesh,
and in great compassion. This is about
Jesus teaching you with His own Word.
This is about Jesus feeding you with His own Body and His own
Blood. This is about Jesus, your Good
Shepherd. With the Lord as your
Shepherd, you have no want. He has prepared
the Table before you. Time to
Feast. In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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