Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6A)
June 14, 2026
Text: Matt. 9:35-10:20
The Lord Jesus is moved with compassion… for you. He would not leave you as sheep without a shepherd. He would not leave you unprotected, untaught. He sees the danger of your prideful ignorance. He knows the wounds your sin has wrought. And He is well aware of every maleficent power that stalks you in the darkness. The temptations. The demons. The false teachers. The wolves. So, He, Himself, comes, and what does He do? He goes about teaching and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom… that’s how He shepherds His sheep… the preaching, the Word… healing every disease and every affliction.
And then, He establishes an Office for the continuation of all of that… that kind of shepherding… to the end of the age. Because our Lord’s earthly ministry will culminate in His sin-atoning death, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and rule. So He will not be here, visibly, in the way that He was when He was 33 years old. But that will not be the end of His shepherding. Now, He will shepherd through men, whom He calls for the purpose, and to whom He gives His authority. Authority… to do what? What He did. Teach. Proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. Heal. Make whole. See, what is happening in Jesus’ ministry, and through the Office He here establishes, is nothing less than New Creation breaking into the Old. To undo the curse. To heal the corruption. To release from the bonds of death and the devil. To restore Paradise, and bring it to its fullness by the reconciliation and Communion of God and men.
I love how Jesus bids His disciples pray that the Lord of the harvest (the Father) would send out workers into His harvest field (ministers of the Gospel sent out into the world). And then Jesus, Himself, answers that very prayer by calling twelve of His disciples to be appointed and sent to do that very thing. They are the answer to their own prayer. It does sometimes work that way, and actually, that would be a very healthy thing for us to recognize. We so often pray for someone to come and do something that so desperately needs to be done. Sometimes… perhaps to our initial shock, and even denial… the Lord’s answer is to appoint and provision us to be that someone. Here I am, LORD. Send me. Send me (Is. 6:8).
He appoints the Twelve to be Apostles. As we mentioned last week, disciple and apostle are not synonymous. All believers in Christ are disciples, but not all are apostles. Apostles are called from among the disciples. So, the Twelve are both. An apostle is literally a sent one, one officially designated to bear the authority of the sender in the matter for which he is sent, so that in that matter, his word is as good as the word of the sender. Well, that means that when an Apostle of Jesus Christ teaches and proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom… or enacts that proclamation by rebuking a disease or commanding a demon to hit the road… that Apostle’s Word is nothing less than the Word of the living God. With all the performative power pertaining to it. That is why we can believe every word of the New Testament, because the New Testament is the Apostolic Word, which is to say, the Word of Jesus Christ, which is to say, the Word of God. And that is why we know it is inerrant… without error… no mistakes! (By the way, we know that of the Old Testament, as well, because that is the Word of the Prophets, likewise sent by God [the word for sent one is שָלִיחַ Hebrew], thus the Prophetic Word is the very Word of God. Who spoke by the prophets? The Holy Spirit did, we confess. And so, by the Apostles.)
Now, the Apostles are unique. Only Twelve (in the sense in which they are called in today’s text). Twelve, constituting the New Israel, which is the holy Christian Church. And we don’t replace them when they die. Judas was replaced, not because he died, but because he forsook his office, and there must be Twelve. But they continue in office beyond death, because they are in Christ, and so, dying, they live. And they still teach, because to this day we still hear them in the reading of the Scriptures. Paul is a special case, as you know. The 13th Apostle? Well, yes, but the point is, he is sent primarily to the Gentiles, who are given to be grafted into Israel (Rom. 11). So, Twelve for New Israel, a 13th for the Gentiles now included in New Israel.
And, of course, not just anybody could be an Apostle. The Apostles also had to meet particular qualifications that we couldn’t possibly meet if we tried to replace them today. Do you remember what they were? When the Church met, after the Lord’s ascension, to fill the apostolic vacancy left by Judas, they had to appoint a man who had accompanied them since the Baptism of John, AND (and this is the big one) one who had been an eyewitness of the risen Lord Jesus (Acts 1:21-22). They put forward two candidates, prayed over them, cast lots, and we know that the lot fell to Matthias (v. 26).
What were the Apostles given to do, though? Same things as Jesus: “proclaim,” He commands them, “saying, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matt. 10:7). Then, enact and exert that Kingdom, with all the authority of the King: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (v. 8). Say the things Jesus said, and do the things Jesus did. See, they were to continue Jesus’ ministry. Not their own ministry. That is really a mispeaking, when we talk about a pastor’s ministry. We all do it, and it’s fine, as long as we understand that it’s really Jesus’ ministry (Who on earth cares about a ministry of and about Jon Krenz? Lord, have mercy! There’s no power in that. Or, rather, there would only be evil power in that, which is why we must always avoid ministries that are cults of personality. Paul talks about that very thing in 1 Corinthians, doesn’t he?).
Jesus’ ministry is the direct result of His compassion for the crowds, who are like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus’ ministry is the direct result of His compassion for you. And because His compassion never fails, never runs out, never stops… He bids His Church pray for workers in for the harvest, and He answers by giving those workers.
But if we don’t have Apostles anymore… or better, we do, but they’re in heaven, and we’re here on earth, and we need boots on the ground, so to speak… how does Jesus shepherd His sheep today? You know the answer. Pastors. He gives to His Church, pastors (the word pastor means shepherd). He calls some from among His disciples, and appoints them… ordains them… pastors. And what are the pastors given to do? Same things as Jesus. Same things as the Apostles. Proclaim. Speak the Word. And then… heal? Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. Now, most pastors today do not have the gift of physically healing diseases and afflictions as consistently and spectacularly as the Apostles did. That is true. But then, you do call me when you go to the hospital. Why? Because, when you are sick, or weak, or wounded… when the icy fingers of death touch your body, robbing you of health and inflicting you with pain… you want to hear the Word Jesus has given me to speak. The Word of Jesus Himself. Which does heal and give life. Not temporarily (as an earthly miracle would). But ultimately. And eternally. That is, you want the Gospel of the Kingdom proclaimed to you. You want the New Creation to break into the Old, which is passing away. You want the undoing of the curse, the healing of corruption, release from the bonds of death and the devil (and your own stupid sinful flesh), and the restoration of Paradise… reconciliation and Communion between you and God. Which is to say, the forgiveness of sins. You want the Holy Absolution. The Voice of Christ. The Word of the cross. And His crucified and risen body and blood.
So, the Lord Jesus sends you pastors to give you that. Because He is moved with compassion for you. They bear an Office, to speak and act in His stead, but understand, He is the Minister. He is the Shepherd. It is His speaking, and His doing. And in this way, He heals you, body and soul. And raises you from the dead, spiritually now, and bodily… and eternally… soon. And cleanses you from sin and all uncleanness. And sends the demons packing. What great compassion. Jesus sees you, and Jesus loves you. Therefore, Jesus shepherds you, and gives you shepherds. Christ be praised in all things. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment