Bethany Lutheran Church
The Third Sunday in Advent, 2023
Holy Communion, 10 AM
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Hymn # 63 On Jordan's Bank the Baptist Cries
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior
- December 18th - Ninth Wedding Anniversary of Corey and Abby Meyer Fagan.
- Ongoing medical care - Lori Howell, Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Kermit and Maria Way, Doc Lito.
- Today is Zach Engleman's Birthday.
- Christmas Day - conducting a wedding.
KJV Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
This chapter is filled with blessings and foreshadowing the Good Shepherd -
KJV Isaiah 40:
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
John was in prison because of his faithful work, led by the Holy Spirit, predicting the Messiah and denouncing the immorality of Herod. This led to John's execution. The Baptist was the forerunner for Jesus and both suffered the consequences of the righteousness of God being attacked by the evil of mankind.
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
"Show John again" - Jesus did not assume John's lack of faith in Him. Instead, this exchange allowed the disciples to see and understand the connection, directly from Jesus to John. The prophet was so overwhelming at this time that it was important for his followers to realize the forerunner was pointing them to the promised Savior.
The issue is faith. Their initial understanding was John's power and his use of Isaiah 40. And that passage clearly teaches both the Forerunner - "the Voice of one crying in the desert" - and its aim - "Prepare the way of the LORD." Who would not be dazzled by John the Baptist preaching the end times and promising the Messiah? We are all easily distracted, as proven by media coverage. When something must be forgotten, a big dramatic event overshadows the person and the effect.
The miracles recited by Jesus are the foundation of John's disciples faith in Him. The initial knowledge of Isaiah 40 led those disciples to Christ. Grace only comes to individuals through faith in Jesus Christ. These passages - Isaiah 40 and Matthew 11 increase our faith.
I mention this often, because we have an audience of academics out there. These people have been snookered into thinking Jesus was a great man without being a miracle worker. They have been told, many different ways, that Jesus did not perform miracles, even though the smallest child confesses this truth. People get large doses of toxic certainties and they lose faith. Ministers get harsh treatment (forgetting John, Jesus, the prophets, and the disciples) and lose hope, and even lose faith completely. I can name 3 pastors who became atheists and 2 of them continued as pastors! I knew them well and saw them spiral out of faith for various reasons.
Jesus is the miracle worker and only seeks to have us trust completely in Him.
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. μη σκανδαλισθη εν εμοι
Scandalized is not today's version of the word - all about one's shame or mistakes. The term comes from the trigger in the trap - the scandalon - that snares the animal. There are so many triggers - the Creation, the divinity of Jesus Christ, tragic events that seem to make God the villain.
At my reunion a once potential pastor introduced us to his wife, who was getting her seminary degree at a joint school for the Disciples of Christ and the Unitarians. She said it was great having both denominations together in classes. Christina said, "How can you tell them apart?" When I asked the bride about the actual Virgin Birth of Christ and His actual bodily resurrection from the dead, the lady said, "Those are not important questions." (I emphasized actual because many eggheads try to have it both ways, denying and yet using the language in some vague and dishonest way.) One of our members said, "The question covers everything. No more needs to be asked."
Likewise, when Jesus explained the meaning of the Bread of Life in John 6, disciples (not the 12) were scandalized and no longer walked with Him. I thought that passage was especially important because the Growthers (actually Shrinkers) said everything depended on "making disciples" and not on the efficacious Word. One of my former students said they helped a VBS with a huge number of participants. In the Bible, numbers tend to fade because the superficial ones are scandalized.
7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
This is ironic humor, since John did not fit these two categories. It struck me as a puzzle when I was a young lad. Reeds would wave in the breezes out in the desert. John was not one of many prophets - there were false prophets, too, as there are today. They even wear soft garments and have 20,000 people in their stadiums and similar grand venues.
9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
This is God's way of preparing people for the revelation of the Savior. Everything works together. The ancient writings established everything, long before anyone had a complete knowledge of what would happen. Chapters 7 and 9 of Isaiah teach about Jesus in the Virgin Birth (7) and His divinity (9). The Holy Spirit taught everything to the disciples, as Jesus promised in John 16, in perfect harmony with many details overlapping, either shortening passages or making them more detailed. No human editor could do this alone or with help - it is divinely captured in the New Testament, which Luther called sermons about the Scriptures (Old Testament).
For Those Who Ignore the Bible And Become Indifferent
God became man, born of a Virgin so that we might understand and trust in the Holy Trinity. God does not change in any way because of what we think or imagine. Interpretation about Jesus has ranged from the bizarre to the absurd because we humans truly believe in our own feelings and praise ourselves for being subjective, correct because we think we are correct.
All the excuses in the world do not change one particular and very special fact about the Scriptures. The Bible is not simply an ancient work, older than the empires we read about and see on the media. The Bible begins with the Trinity and Creation, always including what we need to know, alerting us to many dangers from unbelief and assuring us of our place within His flock.
The Bible is an objective truth revealed by the Holy Spirit and preserved by the Spirit as well. "Heaven and earth will pass away but My Word will never pass away." (Matthew 24:35)
People long for grace and sing about grace, often without considering its one and only source or access - faith.
Romans 5:5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Access is everything and has always been everything. I wanted to shake hands with an executive making $20 million a year. Otherwise I was just a face in the crowd (a famous movie, by the way). I walked up and introduced myself as a customer and shook his hand. I had access for a moment. People jam up a venue because someone famous is there. I saw a very famous person at the time, looking over the books on sale at Notre Dame. I knew his face from the books and went over to talk to him. We had a long, un-interrupted talk because no one else recognized him. He was one of the top speakers that day (Laurens van der Post), but spoke after the break. And after the break, the line stretched out to infinity.
My favorite celebrity connection is Norma Boeckler. One LCMS pastor asked me, "How did YOU get to know Norma Boeckler." That is an ongoing quip, because he did not think I was worthy.
I put these examples of access together because they are hints at what the Apostle Paul teaches - grace only comes from access to Jesus Christ, which is through faith. If there is no faith then no access and no grace.
The singular work of Jesus the Son of God is to pour out His grace on our trusting hearts.
The end.
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