Mid-Week Lenten Worship

By Norma Boeckler

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers, March 20, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Time

The Hymn #245   God Love the World                                      4:6
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody                                                      p. 128
The Lection                            The Passion History

The Sermon Hymn #525            As Pants the Hart                             4:36 

The Sermon –     Confession and Shame

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #657            Beautiful Savior                                            4:24

KJV Mark 8:27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. 31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. 34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Confession and Shame

Confessional is a popular term to use. Everyone is a confessional Lutheran or at least become more confessional.

More confessional is an amusing term, because it means not confessional at all but getting there slowly.

The Scriptures divide between the believers and the unbelievers, so there is no one becoming a believer.

John’s Gospel uses two terms for this – one is the basis for homiletics.

KJV John 9:22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

KJV 1 John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

KJV John 1:20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

The other is the basis for martyr:

KJV John 1:19 And this is the record [witness]of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

KJV John 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

When we call this passage the Confession of Peter, it is clear that confession means the complete truth about Christ.

Jesus asked a general question about His role, ministry, or title.

He received three answers –

28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

And then He said, But what do you (plural) say?

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

KJV Mark 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

This is the complete definition or confession of the Christ – He must suffer many things, be rejected by the religious leaders, be killed and rise again.

Peter was becoming more confessional – he was not confessional yet, because he rebuked Christ for teaching what must happen.

Therefore, Jesus rebuked Peter for rebuking the truth. This verb rebuke is the strongest possible one, for Jesus said, Get behind Me, Satan.

Peter’s limited confession proved that he did not believe in Jesus’ actual title and mission. Instead, his version was so wrong that Jesus rebuked him and called him Satanic.

In front of the disciples, Jesus said, “Your mindset is not God’s but man’s.”

34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

This short sermon is the meaning of Christ’s mission and what it means to all believers.

Following Him does not mean glory in this life, but self-denial. More than that, it means bearing the cross.

The cross does not mean the human afflictions that everyone suffers in various ways, such as disease, but suffering because of the Word – when people despise and reject the believer, pile on the name-calling, impose financial costs, drive away and exile. He included what we call martyrdom – being killed because of Christ. That has happened many times over and continues to this day.

This is a promise of following Christ in suffering, although nowhere nearly as great.

When there is no real confession, there is shame. If you are ashamed of Christ in this “adulterous and sinful generation,” He will be ashamed of you on the Day of Judgment.