January 23 2022
Epiphany 3 January 23rd 2022
Old Testament: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 (11-12) “The ears of the people were attentive”
Psalm: Psalm 19:1-14 “More to be desired than gold”
Epistle: 1st Corinthians 12:12-31a “Baptized into one body”
Gospel: Luke 4:16-30 “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled”
Sermon Text: Nehemiah 8 and Psalm 19
Sermon Title: “Gathered Around the Word”
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer”. (Psalm 19:11) Amen.
“Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming out of His mouth”. (Luke 4:21b-22) A few moments later, “they were filled with wrath. (against Jesus) And they rose up to drive Him out of the town and brought Him to the brow of a hill on which the town was built, so that they could throw Him down the cliff”. (Luke 4:28b-29)
As Nehemiah recorded, Jesus (also) “read from the book of the Law of God, and gave the sense so that the people understood the reading”. (Nehemiah 8:8) In the examples that Jesus gave, the people understood that He was speaking of the inclusion of the Gentiles as recipients of the salvation of God. And their reaction to His message, His Word, was not good; they were filled with wrath and attempted to kill Jesus. As Jesus said elsewhere, “you seek to kill Me because My Word finds no place in you”. (John 8:37a)
These events took place near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and already He was being rejected by the people in Nazareth; in His hometown synagogue. Jesus was right to declare that “no prophet is acceptable in His own hometown”. (Luke 4:24) Jesus did very few miracles in Nazareth; “because of their unbelief”. (Matthew 13:57b) Even His own family “went out to seize Jesus, for they were saying, He is out of His mind”. (Mark 3:21b)
We make the same mistake today, when we think of Christ apart from His Word; when we assume or believe things about Him that simply are not true according to Scripture. So, for example, some think of Jesus as merely another prophet or a good moral teacher; even though He clearly testified of Himself as God, Lord and Savior. A “good” teacher would not call Himself God. If anyone claims to be God and is not God; then he is a liar or mentally ill; the one thing that he is not; is good.
Even when we like Peter, give the bold confession that we heard last week, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29b), we can still get the details wrong, as Peter also did, and quickly find ourselves doing the bidding of Satan. Jesus simply quoted the prophet of Isaiah regarding Himself, to the people in the synagogue and they tried to kill Him for it. So, the Word has a two fold effect on man; whoever opposes it, it blinds and hardens, but whoever, by the power of the Holy Spirit receives the Word; it enlightens and strengthens.
The Word of God; the Scriptures are the sole foundation of our certainty that our sins have been forgiven for the sake of Jesus’ innocent suffering and death. So, when the Word is rightly proclaimed, we need to listen, not just for the sake of avoiding (doctrinal) error, but also because “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ”. (Romans 10:17)
The Psalmist described the Word of the Lord in this way; “the Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; and in keeping them, there is great reward”. (Psalm 19:7-11) As the writer to the Hebrews put it, “The Word of God is living and active”. (Hebrews 4:12)
Knowing these things, why are we so often hesitant to listen, learn, and keep the Word of the Lord? Why do we so frequently listen to voices that are contrary to the Scriptures? Especially, since the Holy Scriptures testify throughout of the Christ who came to this earth to suffer and die for the sins of the world, so that through His sacrificial death and bodily resurrection, we would have the hope and promise of eternal life.
This is the Gospel message; that we are saved not by our own good works, but that it is a gift of the grace and mercy of God. And we receive that gift that Christ won for us nearly 2000 years ago, in the means of grace; the Word and sacraments. This is the witness of all of Holy Scripture, from beginning to end; from Genesis to Revelation. “We find Christ nowhere else than in His Word”. (Pieper, Vol. I, p. 124)
Nehemiah wrote the words of our text today after the people of Israel had begun to return from their exile back to Jerusalem. A smaller temple and the walls of the city had already been rebuilt. Ezra, the priest, had been sent to teach those who were returning, and so, he “set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel”. (Ezra 7:10)
Now he is presented with a great opportunity as “all the people gathered as one man into the square … and they told Ezra to bring the book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel (so he) brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard on the first day of the seventh month”. (Nehemiah 8:1-2) This particular day was called the “Feast of Trumpets, a memorial celebration.
“And he read from it (the book of the Law) facing the square before the Water Gate; from early morning until mid-day, (this was about six hours) in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. (older children) And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the Law”. (Nehemiah 8:3) They were glad to hear the Word of the Lord.
“And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people (“standing on a wooden platform they had made for the purpose”, verse 4) and as he opened it all the people stood. (out of respect for the Word) And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen. Amen; lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground”; (Nehemiah 8:5-6) a sign of humility and repentance.
Ezra not only “read from the book of the Law of God, clearly; (he also) gave the sense, (the meaning) so that the people understood the reading”. (Nehemiah 8:8) It is vitally important that all Christians, hear, “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” the Word of God. The people in our text did just that; “for all the people wept as they heard the word of the Law”. (Nehemiah 8:9b) It is the Holy Spirit working through the Word, that opens our ears to hear and our hearts to believe in Christ and it is the same Spirit and Word that moves those who hear the Word to respond in repentance and in joy.
And the Word of God had its effect; and in true repentance, they grieved and mourned over their sins; so much so that Nehemiah said to the people; “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep”. (Nehemiah 8:9a) “Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready; for this day is holy to the Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So, (also) the Levites calmed all the people saying, be quiet … do not be grieved. And all the people went their way … rejoicing … because they understood the words that were declared to them”. (Nehemiah 8:10-12)
These words apply to us too. The Law of God brings a conviction to our hearts “that we have sinned against God in thought, word and deed … by what we have done and by what we have left undone”. By the standard of God’s Word, there is much in all of our lives, of which we need to repent; which is why Luther speaks of “daily contrition and repentance” in the Small Catechism. If you do not think you have sinned and are in need of repentance, I would urge you to examine your lives in light of the Ten Commandments and their explanation in the Small Catechism.
As the Scriptures declare, “We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23) “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us … if we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us”. (1st John 1:8, 10) So, the Law of God makes us aware of our sinful condition and that we cannot save ourselves by our own good works, rather, we “are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. (Romans 3:24)
Therefore, if we acknowledge/confess our sins Scripture declares, “He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all righteousness”. (1st John 1:9) Confidence that our sins have been forgiven for the sake of Christ; brings great joy and true comfort to us, whenever we hear the Word of God’s pardon. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. (Romans 5:1) And the psalmist declared “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered”. (Psalm 32:1)
We receive all these blessings and benefits of His Word, whenever we gather here and we can rejoice saying with Nehemiah, “the joy of the Lord is my strength”. (Nehemiah 8:10b) It would be a dangerous mistake to deny these words as God’s own truth, or to think they only apply to certain people or only at certain times or in certain situations. We are always to preach and teach only the doctrines confessed in Holy Scripture.
This should be our every Sunday habit; gathering together as His redeemed people, around the infallible, inerrant Word of our Lord Jesus Christ who has promised; “Whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life”. (John 5:24) For, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. (Psalm 119:105) Amen.
The peace of God …