Lay ministers serve RLC

Resurrection Lutheran Church welcomes Rev. John Hazzard as its next pastor. Pastor John has been a member of Resurrection his whole life. On Nov. 2 he was ordained by the North America Lutheran Church Bishop Dan Selbo and installed by Pastor Tim Loehrke. After retiring from Port Clinton Schools, Pastor John followed finalized his dream to become a pastor.

Sermons

Pentecost 16 September 13, 2026

Matthew 18:21-35

Pastor John Hazzard

“The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant”

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In today’s Gospel we continue to hear about how we, as God’s children, are to live in His kingdom. In this great message, Jesus illustrates what it means to be a childlike believer. As we work our way through the chapter we see how we are converted into humble and obedient children of God so that we might be right standing in the kingdom of heaven. Later in the message we are told that we are to be protected like children and to not lead or leave any believer in harms ways. In fact, we are called to go out of our way to help lead our brothers and sisters who are in sinful situations back to holiness and obedience. Jesus explains that if our brothers or sisters sin, we should go to them privately and try to correct the situation. If that does not work, we should take another to resolve the situation, and if that doesn’t work the Church should call them to repentance. The last resort would be for them to be excommunicated from the Church if they fail to repent of their wrongdoing.

It is at this point in Jesus’ great message we are told that we are to forgive one another when we are wronged. The whole idea behind this is that if a person comes to us to ask for forgiveness, we will forgive them and then we will regain our brother or sister. We have lots of examples in scripture of where individuals gave forgiveness in difficult situations. First, we have Joseph who forgave his brothers who sold him into slavery. Then, you may remember, David forgave King Saul who was trying to kill him. Finally, we have the greatest example of forgiveness in all of Scripture. We have God forgiving us on account of His only begotten Son taking on our sins, dying a horrible death on the cross, and then being raised on the third day. These are all examples of what Jesus was saying. The way it is supposed to work is that a person sins, you go to the person, they then repent and ask for forgiveness. When forgiveness is granted, that person is redeemed. Simon Peter is starting to get the message, and this prompted him to interrupt Jesus with a question, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. It is obvious what Jesus was saying here; we don’t forgive three times which was the Jewish tradition nor seven times. Jesus says we are to forgive endlessly.

To illustrate the point Jesus was trying to make, in Matthew 18:21–35, Jesus tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant to teach His disciples about the relationship between God’s forgiveness of us and our willingness to forgive others. The parable begins with a king who wants to settle his accounts with his servants. The king can be understood as representing God, while the servant represents a person who has a debt that he could never possibly repay. The servant owes the king ten thousand talents, an enormous amount of money that would have been completely beyond his ability to repay. We can think of a talent as being like a large bag of gold, while a denarius was more like a silver coin representing a much smaller amount. Jesus deliberately uses an enormous debt to show the difference between what humanity owes God because of sin and what one person may owe another.

The servant’s enormous debt can be understood as representing the debt of sin that we have before God. Sin creates a debt that we cannot pay through our own efforts. No matter how hard the servant worked, he could never earn enough money to satisfy the king. In the same way, we cannot work our way out of the debt of sin or make ourselves righteous before God. The servant recognizes his desperate situation and begs the king for patience, promising that he will somehow repay everything. Yet the king does something far greater than simply giving him more time. The king has compassion for him, releases him, and forgives the entire debt. In the spiritual picture of the parable, this points us toward the forgiveness that God provides through Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the cross. What we could never pay ourselves is forgiven because Christ paid the price for our sin.

The servant leaves the king completely forgiven, but almost immediately he encounters another servant who owes him a much smaller debt. Compared with the ten thousand talents that had just been forgiven, this debt is extremely small. The second servant also begs for patience and promises to repay what he owes. Unlike the king, however, the first servant refuses to show mercy. He demands payment and eventually has the other servant thrown into prison. The contrast is the heart of the parable. One servant has been forgiven for a debt that he could never repay, yet he refuses to forgive another person a debt that could actually be repaid.

When the other servants see what has happened, they are deeply troubled and report the matter to the king. The king calls the unforgiving servant back and confronts him about his actions. The king reminds him that he had been forgiven an enormous debt, and therefore he should have shown the same mercy to the servant who owed him so much less. Because the servant refused to extend the forgiveness that he himself had received, the king withdrew his mercy and turned him over to the tormentors until his debt was paid.

Jesus uses this final part of the parable to give a serious warning about an unforgiving heart. The debt is so enormous that it could never actually be repaid. Therefore, being turned over to the tormentors represents an ongoing judgment from which the servant has no ability to free himself. The picture is one of eternal punishment because the debt remains impossible to pay. The only reason the servant had been free in the first place was because the king had chosen to forgive the debt.

The message Jesus is communicating is that receiving God’s forgiveness cannot be separated from our willingness to forgive those who have wronged us. Jesus is not presenting forgiveness as something we earn from God by forgiving other people. Rather, He is showing that a person who has truly understood the enormous forgiveness they have received from God should become willing to extend that same forgiveness to others. The servant’s problem was not that he had failed to receive mercy; he had received mercy in an extraordinary way. His problem was that he received mercy but refused to show mercy.

This is why Jesus makes the difference between the two debts so important. The ten thousand talents represent an overwhelming debt that the servant could never pay. The smaller debt owed to him represents the offenses and wrongs that other people may commit against us. Jesus is showing that, compared with the immeasurable debt of our sin before God, the debts we are asked to forgive others are small. This does not mean that the wrongs people commit against us are unimportant or that forgiveness means pretending that something harmful did not happen. Rather, the parable teaches that because God has shown us such great mercy, we are called to extend mercy to others.

The king’s response also shows how seriously God takes an unforgiving heart. The servant wanted to receive forgiveness for himself while refusing to give forgiveness to someone else. Jesus is showing that we cannot claim to embrace God’s mercy while deliberately withholding mercy from others. The forgiven person is expected to become a forgiving person. The mercy that God gives us is meant to change the way we respond when someone sins against us.

In this sense, the parable connects directly with the Gospel. Our sin creates a debt we cannot pay, but God provides forgiveness through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. We stand before God not because we have successfully paid our own debt, but because He has shown us mercy. Therefore, when someone else has a debt against us because of something they have done, Jesus calls us to remember the mercy we ourselves have received. The servant in the parable failed to do this. He looked at the small debt owed to him but forgot the enormous debt that had just been forgiven.

Jesus ends the parable by applying its message directly to His disciples: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:35). The emphasis is on forgiveness coming “from your hearts.” Jesus is dealing not merely with an outward decision to stop seeking repayment, but with the condition of the heart. The person who has experienced God’s forgiveness is called to release others from the debts they owe because of their offenses. The parable makes clear that forgiveness is not an optional addition to the Christian life. It is evidence that we understand and have received the mercy of God.

This came in the form of Jesus’ response to Simon Peter’s question of; how often are we to forgive those who wrong us? Jesus’ response to this question might shock you or upset you because Jesus answered the question with “not seven times but seventy times seven times.” In other words, we are to forgive as many times as someone asks us to forgive them.

We may find this response upsetting because many times we wield our unforgiveness like a sword hoping to somehow get even for all the wrongs that person had committed against us. We feel that this is the only way we can hurt them back. The fact of the matter is most of the time we end up cutting ourselves deeply both emotionally and spiritually. Who better to give us this imperative than Jesus, our Lord and Savior who more than anyone knows what it means to be unfairly offended and harmed.

It is easy for us to forgive our own children because we know they are weak and are in desperate need of forgiveness. Never are we more like God than when we forgive those who harmed us, and never are we farther from God than when we refuse forgiveness. We should forgive others because we know we are weak and are in desperate need of forgiveness ourselves.

There are several examples of forgiveness being demonstrated in Scripture. We have Joseph forgiving his brothers who sold him into slavery. We have David forgiving Soul who wanted to destroy him because he threatened Soul’s kingship. And, of course, we have the greatest picture of forgiveness in that God forgives us because of Christ and the work of the cross.

You can talk about how "forgiveness" has lost its meaning and its power in our colloquial vernacular. Then you can continue about what forgiveness really means to the person forgiving, to the person being forgiven, and for our relationship with God and Christ. If you want to go that route. Then move into what then that means for the ultimate forgiver! God who forgives all our transgressions, though we break his laws and mortally wound his generosity every day. We turn our backs on him, deny him, or forget about him when we should be thanking and praising him. And yet... he does not forsake us. He uplifts us. He takes us by the hand and rejoices at every small victory in our lives and celebrates every time we finally remember to return to Him. Even though we don't deserve it! He celebrates... because as Christ taught us last week. What shepherd, having 100 sheep and noticing one had gone astray wouldn't drop EVERYTHING to go and find the lost one! So too does God, every day... go looking for us! To renew us, to lead us, to uphold us, and to reunite us with Him in ways only He can. We are so lucky to have God in our lives. The great forgiver who forgives us even when we don't deserve it and could never earn it! We just need to learn to forgive ourselves. Let go of the guilt that we hang like a badge of honor around our necks! Because if God has already forgiven us, who are we to go against His will!

That is what God does for us. We wander away, and He comes looking for us. We forget Him, and He calls us back. We stumble, and He reaches out His hand. We fall, and He helps us stand again. He leads us, renews us, upholds us, and rejoices over every small step we take back toward Him. He does not wait for us to become perfect before He loves us. He does not wait for us to become worthy before He searches for us. He searches for us precisely because we are lost and need to be found. And when we finally turn around and return to Him, He does not stand there with crossed arms reminding us of everything we have done wrong. He rejoices. The God who created us rejoices when His children come home.

That is the God who forgives us. He forgives us even though we do not deserve it. He forgives us even though we could never earn it. He forgives us even though we continue to fall short. And He offers that forgiveness through the immeasurable gift of Jesus Christ. So perhaps one of the hardest things we have to learn is not simply how to forgive others, but how to accept the forgiveness God has already given us. We have to learn to put down the millstone. We have to stop dragging our guilt behind us as though carrying it proves that we are sorry enough. We have to stop wearing our shame like a badge of honor. If God has forgiven us, then continuing to condemn ourselves is not humility. It is refusing to accept the mercy God has offered.

The message of Jesus is that God's forgiveness is meant to change us. Because we have been forgiven, we are called to forgive. Because we have received mercy, we are called to show mercy. Because Christ has lifted our burden, we should not willingly place that burden back upon ourselves. And because God continues to seek us when we wander away, we should never believe that we are beyond His reach.

God is not waiting for us to become worthy of His forgiveness. He is calling us to receive it, to live in it, and to allow it to transform the way we see ourselves, the way we see others, and the way we understand our relationship with Him. The great forgiver has already reached out His hand. The question is whether we will finally have the humility to take it.

The peace of God which surpasses all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in our crucified and risen Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Pentecost 15 September 6, 2026

Sermon Text—Matthew 18:1-20

Pastor John Hazzard

“Childlike Believer”

Peace and blessing to you from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior—Jesus the Christ.

Matthew chapter 18 is packed full of familiar verses, but its central theme is often ignored today. Today’s Gospel text explains that those who enter God’s kingdom like a child will be the greatest. This text is also the part where we are told how important it is to inform people about the sins they are committing. The unconfessed sins that condemn us is the part that society, including you and me, doesn’t like to think about if we can help it. The verses that might sound familiar to you is verse 3, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In verse 6, “ …but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Verse 8, “ …And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.” Or verse 12 & 13, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” Or verse 15, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Or verse 20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” These are all remarkably familiar statements that are many times used as forms of popular Christian axioms by Christians today. In fact, it might be a surprise to you that these proverbial sayings are a part of a long sermon that Jesus preached to his disciples in response to their pride filled attitudes. Preachers very often ignore this complete sermon today or downplay because of the difficult message it is giving about how important it is to correct sinful actions.

Matthew is known for carefully recording summaries of Jesus’ famous and important sermons that were presented on more than one occasion. An example of what I am talking about is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (found in chapter 5-7) that is incredibly important because it lays the foundation for moving people from a system of works righteousness to true salvation through faith alone. Then in chapter 10, Matthew records Jesus’ sermon on discipleship—what it truly means to be a disciple of our Lord and Savior. Then we have the famous Olivet Discourse that is found in chapters 24 & 25. This famous discourse explains what it will be like in the end times and why it is important to live righteously and wait with care until Jesus’ second coming. Jesus’ discourse in today’s chapter, chapter 18, is rarely looked at as one sermon with a common theme, a theme of humility and protecting those that are apart of the body of Christ.

Here Jesus is describing the importance of humility and childlike attributes we as God’s children are to exhibit in His Kingdom. It teaches that true greatness comes form humility, not pride, and as members of the body of Christ, we should care for one another with the same care and protection we would give to a small child.

What seems to spark Jesus’ message is the destructive pride demonstrated by His disciples when they asked Him, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Perhaps they expected Jesus to answer, “Your heavenly Father,” or even “Moses” or “Elijah.” Instead, they were likely hoping He would name one of them. How often does Jesus answer us in ways that are different from what we expect? Rather than giving them the answer they anticipated, Jesus called a small child over to him, took the child into his arms, and taught his disciples an important lesson about humility. He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4).

The message Jesus was offering his disciples is clear: we must humble ourselves and resist pride and self-reliance by placing our trust completely in the Lord. Children, particularly very young children, seem to depend on their parents for everything. They trust their parents to feed them, protect them, care for them, and of course love them. In many ways, young children deal simply and straightforwardly with one another. They readily form friendships, seek out children they have played with before, and can often forgive one another and settle their disagreements without resentment. There is a natural humility and innocence in children that allows them to depend completely upon those who care for them.

This dependence is especially evident in a toddler. A toddler cannot provide food, shelter, or protection for himself or herself. Children cling to their parents and trust them to meet their every need. Jesus is teaching us that this is the attitude we should have when we come before the Lord. Becoming like a child does not mean becoming childish or lacking wisdom. Rather, it means approaching God with humility, trust, dependence, and a willingness to recognize that we cannot save or sustain ourselves. Just as a child depends upon his or her mom and dad, we are called to depend upon our heavenly Father.

This understanding takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Before the fall of humanity, Adam and Eve lived in a humble and intimate relationship with the Lord. God their creator provided everything they needed: water, food, companionship, and perfect love. They experienced the intimate love that can be shared between a man and a woman who become one flesh, as well as the agape love they experienced as they walked in the very presence of the Lord in the garden. Among the greatest blessings they possessed was their innocence—the absence of shame, fear, and separation from God.

Unfortunately, these blessings were negatively impacted when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At that moment, humanity lost its innocence. Instead of turning toward God and trusting Him, Adam and Eve turned away from Him and hid themselves. Their humility and innocence had been replaced by sin, self-reliance, fear, and shame. Their disobedience brought separation from God and ultimately death.

This is why today’s lessons encourage us to return to the relationship we were created to have with God before the fall. To become like a child is to recognize our complete dependence upon our heavenly Father. It is to surrender our pride, abandon our self-reliance, and trust God for what we cannot provide for ourselves. The child Jesus placed before his disciples was a living picture of humility and dependence. Jesus was showing them—and us—that greatness in the kingdom of heaven is not found in power, status, knowledge, or recognition. It is found in humility. We are called to come before God with the trusting heart of a child, depending on Him, receiving His love, and recognizing that apart from Him, we can do nothing. In becoming like children, we turn away from the pride that separated humanity from God and turn once again toward the loving Father who desires to bring us into His presence.

So, a question you might be asking yourself is this: How do we humble ourselves and regain the innocence that was lost through sin? The answer is found in humble repentance as we cling to Christ in faith. This is a faith that is strengthened and sustained through the power of the Holy Spirit, who works through the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Sacraments. Through these means of grace, God draws us closer to Christ and brings us into a relationship in which Christ dwells in us and we dwell in Christ. As 1 John 4:15 tells us, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” Through faith in Christ, repentance, and the work of the Holy Spirit, we are made children of God and become members of the Body of Christ. In Christ, we are brought back into the relationship we were meant for—a relationship of humility, trust, dependence, and love.

It is through these means of grace that God continually reminds us that we belong to Him. In Holy Baptism—the baptism baby Ruth is about to experience—we are brought into the family of God, united with Christ in His death and resurrection, and given the promise of new life. Baptism reminds us that our salvation does not depend upon our own strength, goodness, or ability to make ourselves worthy before God. Rather, it is God who reaches down to us in mercy and grace by the power of the Holy Spirit. Like a child who completely depends upon a loving parent, we receive His promises with humble and trusting hearts. In the Lord’s Supper, Christ gives us His true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, strengthening our faith and assuring us of His continued presence with us. Through the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Spirit speaks God’s truth into our lives, convicting us of our sin while continually pointing us back to the mercy and forgiveness we have in Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen.

Through these gifts, the Holy Spirit continually draws us away from pride and self-reliance and back to the foot of the cross. He reminds us that we do not have to earn God’s love or somehow make ourselves worthy of His presence. Christ has accomplished for us what we could never accomplish for ourselves. When we repent of our sins and place our trust in Christ, we are once again learning what it means to live as children of God. Our innocence is not something we can recreate through our own efforts; rather, we receive forgiveness and a new identity through Christ. The guilt and shame brought about by sin are covered by His righteousness, and we are reconciled to the Father through His Son.

There is another important part of Jesus’ message in today’s Gospel. Jesus is not only teaching us how we are to approach God; He is also teaching us how we are to treat one another as members of the Body of Christ. If we have truly become like children, humble, dependent upon God, and trusting in His Word, then that humility will affect the way we love and care for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus tells His disciples that whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in Him to stumble faces a very serious warning. He goes on to speak about the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that has gone astray. These teachings reveal something important about the Christian community: every person matters to God, and we should care deeply about the spiritual well-being of one another.

That brings us to one of the most difficult teachings in this entire chapter. Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” This is not a command to become busybodies who look for faults in everyone around us. It is not permission for us to condemn people or to make ourselves feel spiritually superior. Rather, it is a call to love our brothers and sisters enough to speak the truth when sin threatens their relationship with God. The goal is not humiliation. The goal is restoration. Jesus says, “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” The heart of Christian correction is to speak because we love, and we warn because we want our brother or sister to be restored.

This can be extremely difficult to do. We worry about offending people. We worry that they will become angry with us. We worry that they may reject us or even leave the Church. In our society, it has become a very common thing to ignore sinful behavior because it is often easier to go along to get along. We can convince ourselves that silence is kindness. We may tell ourselves that it is not our place to say anything. We may even think, “Who am I to judge? I am a sinner too.”

And in one very important sense, that last statement is absolutely true. We are sinners. We have no right to place ourselves above another person as though we are morally superior. We stand together at the foot of the cross as sinners who are completely dependent upon the mercy of God. There is an important difference between passing personal judgment upon someone and faithfully speaking the judgment of God that has already been revealed in His Word. We are not called to invent standards or to condemn people according to our own opinions. We are called to proclaim what God has already said.

This is why speaking God's Word can sometimes be an act of profound love. If someone is walking toward a cliff and we know that the path will lead to his or her destruction, would love allow us simply to remain silent because we think we might offend them? Of course not. Love would cause us to warn them. We might speak gently. We might speak humbly. We might even speak with tears in our eyes, but we would speak because his or her life matters to us. In the same way, when God's Word warns us, that sin separates us from Him and has eternal consequences, remaining silent is not necessarily an act of love. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is tell the truth.

Ezekiel gives us a sobering reminder of this responsibility. In Ezekiel 33:8, the Lord says, “If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” Those are difficult words. They remind us that proclaiming God's truth is not about winning an argument or proving that we are right. There are eternal consequences connected to sin, repentance, and faith. Because of that, God's people cannot simply bury their heads in the sand and pretend that sin does not exist. Ignoring sin does not make God's judgment disappear.

At the same time, we must remember that the purpose of speaking God's Law is ultimately to lead people toward the Gospel. We do not confront sin simply to tell someone that they are wrong. We confront sin so that the sinner might recognize his or her need for a Savior. God's Law shows us our sin; the Gospel shows us our Savior. The Law tells us that we have fallen short; the Gospel tells us that Christ has not abandoned us. The Law exposes our guilt; the Gospel announces forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when we speak God's truth, we should never forget the humility with which we ourselves stand before Him. We are not people who have escaped sin through our own goodness. We are sinners who have been rescued by grace.

This brings us back to childlike believers. The childlike Christian does not approach another sinner with pride, arrogance, or a sense of superiority. Instead, we approach them as fellow sinners who are equally dependent upon the mercy of our heavenly Father. We speak the truth, but we speak it with humility. We warn, but we also seek to restore. We identify sin, but we point the sinner toward Christ. We do not abandon the wandering sheep; we seek to bring that sheep home. And when our brother or sister listens, Jesus tells us that we have “gained” our brother or sister. That is the goal, not punishment, not humiliation, and not proving ourselves right, but restoration.

This is why Jesus begins this entire teaching with the image of a child. The childlike believer is humble enough to admit, “I need God.” And because we know that we need God's mercy, we should desire that our brothers and sisters experience that same mercy. We should love them enough to warn them when they are wandering, be humble enough to listen when someone warns us, and faithful enough to trust God's Word even when that Word makes us uncomfortable.

And perhaps this is the greatest lesson Jesus wanted His disciples—and us—to understand. The question is not, “Who is the greatest?” The question is, “Who is willing to humble himself and receive the kingdom as a gift?”

The peace of God which surpasses all human understanding keep your heart in minds in our crucified and risen, Lord and Savior—Jesus the Christ through whom, as Children of God, we can always turn to. Amen

Pentecost 10 August 2, 2026

Text: Matthew 14:13-21; Romans 9:1-13

Pastor John Hazzard

“We Are Fed by Christ”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

There is something special about sharing a meal. Throughout Scripture, meals are never just about food. They reveal relationships, priorities, and the condition of the human heart. A table can be a place of celebration and fellowship, but it can also reveal pride, selfishness, and brokenness. Today, as we look at the feeding of the five thousand, we are invited to see the difference between the tables of this world and the table that Christ prepares for His people.

Before Matthew tells us about Jesus feeding the five thousand, he tells us about another infamous banquet. It was the birthday feast of King Herod. As you may remember, at Herod’s table there was wealth, power, entertainment, and plenty of food. But that banquet ended with the death of John the Baptist. Herod’s feast became a place of pride, selfishness, and violence. It showed what happens when power is used to protect status instead of serving others.

Then Matthew immediately takes us to another meal. After hearing of John’s death, “He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Jesus withdrew to a quiet place to grieve. When the crowds found Him, He did not turn them away. Instead, Matthew tells us that Jesus “had compassion on them.” Rather than focusing only on His own sorrow, Jesus cared for the needs of the people. He healed the sick, taught the crowds, and when evening came, He fed more than five thousand people with five loaves and two fish.

These two meals could not be more different. At Herod’s table, one innocent man died to satisfy the pride of a ruler. At Jesus’ table, thousands found life because of the compassion of the Savior. Herod’s banquet was built on power, fear, and selfish ambition. Jesus’ banquet was built on mercy, generosity, and love. Herod took a life; Jesus gave life. This contrast helps us understand the difference between the kingdoms found in this sin filled world and that of the Kingdom of God. Jesus does not gather people around a table because they have earned a place there or because they have something to offer Him. He gathers them because He has compassion. He sees their hunger, their sickness, their brokenness, and their need—and He provides. The feeding of the five thousand is not only a miracle of multiplication; it is a revelation of who Jesus is.

In today’s lesson, the disciples were asked by Jesus to do something that seemed impossible. In our gospel text we are told, “Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ But Jesus said, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’”

They struggled with doubt because they could not see how they could accomplish the task He had given them. Like the disciples, we often find ourselves in situations where we sense Christ calling us to do something beyond our abilities. We may question whether we are strong enough, wise enough, or good enough to fulfill what God is asking of us. The truth is that, in our own strength, we often cannot do what God calls us to do. However, God does not call us to rely only on ourselves; He calls us to trust in Him. Jesus reminds us, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Our weaknesses do not prevent God from working through us. In fact, Scripture tells us that God’s power is made perfect when we recognize our own limitations: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). When Christ calls us to serve, love, forgive, or step out in faith, we can move forward knowing that He will provide the strength we need. As Jesus said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Our confidence does not come from believing we are capable on our own, but from trusting that Christ is capable and works in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Martin Luther reminds us that the feeding of the five thousand is about much more than bread. The miracle shows Jesus’ compassion, but its greatest purpose is to point us to Christ Himself. Just as God fed Israel with manna in the wilderness, Jesus feeds the hungry crowd to reveal that He is the true Bread of Life. Ordinary bread satisfies our hunger for a little while, but only Christ can satisfy our deepest need by giving forgiveness, life, and salvation. The people came looking for another meal, but Jesus called them to something greater, to believe in Him, the One sent by the Father, who alone gives the bread that endures to give eternal life.

Nowhere is this truer than at the Lord’s Table. The same Jesus who declared, “I am the Bread of Life,” now comes to us with bread and wine, giving us His true body and true blood. At the altar, Christ does not merely remind us of His love or point us to a past event; He gives Himself to us as the crucified and risen Savior. As we eat and drink according to His promise, we receive the very body given for us and the very blood shed for us for the forgiveness of sins.

The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 teaches us that Jesus alone can satisfy our deepest hunger, and in the Lord’s Supper He continues to feed His people with the heavenly food that strengthens faith, assures us of His forgiveness, and sustains us until the day we feast with Him in His eternal kingdom. The Lord’s Supper is not simply a meal we remember, it is a meal, a conduit, where Christ comes to us with His saving grace.

This is why the words of Saint Augustine, a great Christian teacher who lived more than 1,600 years ago, are so meaningful. Augustine had a beautiful way of inviting people to the Lord’s Table. As he stood before the bread on the altar, he would say, “Behold, the body of Christ.” Then he would turn to the congregation and say, “And you are the body of Christ.” He wanted people to understand that the bread reminds us of Jesus’ body given for us, but it also reminds us that together we are Christ’s body in the world.

As Rev. Harry Wendt explained, Augustine would invite believers to receive Communion by saying, “Come, eat what you are.” And when the meal was over, he would send them out with these words: “Go forth to be what you eat.” In other words, as we receive Christ’s love and grace at His table, we are called to go into the world and live like Him, showing His love, serving others, and being His hands and feet wherever we go. Augustine’s words remind us of something very important. For many people today, Communion is seen mainly as a time to receive God’s forgiveness. While it certainly is that it is also much more. The Lord’s Supper is an invitation to live the way Jesus lived. Jesus showed us how to love, forgive, care for others, share what we have, and serve those in need. As we come to His table, we are not only remembering what He has done for us, we are also being shaped into the people He has called us to be.

We should also remember that we are not celebrating this meal alone. All around the world, millions of Christians gather at the Lord’s Table. Though we may speak different languages and come from different cultures, we are one family in Christ. They are our brothers and sisters, and together we share in the one bread and the one Lord. The Lord’s Supper is not only communion with God, but communion with one another.

In Jesus’ day, sharing a meal meant much more than simply eating together. It was a way of saying, “We are family. I care about you, and I will stand by you.” When we come to the Lord’s Table, we make that same commitment to one another as members of God’s family. God continues to provide enough food for this world. The problem is not that there is not enough, it is that food is not always shared with compassion and generosity. Too many people go hungry because of human selfishness, not because God has failed to provide. Jesus teaches us that true blessing is not found simply in having more money, more possessions, or a more comfortable life. True blessing is found in becoming more like Christ, loving others, sharing what we have, and caring for those in need.

So, what does this mean for us today? It means that when we come to the Lord’s Table, we come hungry—and Christ feeds us. He gives us forgiveness, strength, and life through His body and blood. But He also sends us away changed. Those who have been fed by Christ are called to feed others with His love. Those who have received His mercy are called to show mercy. Those who have received the gift of Christ’s self-giving love are called to give themselves in service to their neighbors.

The world has many tables that promise satisfaction but leave people empty. Herod’s table was filled with abundance but produced death. Christ’s table is different. It is a table of grace, forgiveness, and life. At His table, the true Bread of Life comes to us and reminds us that we belong to Him and to one another. And having been fed by Christ, we are sent into the world to share His love with others until the day we gather with Him at the eternal feast in His kingdom. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in our Risen Lord and Savior—Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Pentecost 11 August 9, 2026

Sermon Text MATTHEW 14:22—33

Pastor John Hazzard

"WALK WITH JESUS UPON THE WATER"

GRACE BE UNTO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD THE FATHER AND FROM OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR -- JESUS THE CHRIST.

Last Sunday, as Bobby was being picked up by his mother from Sunday school he excitedly proclaimed, "Wow, that story of Moses and all those guys crossing the Red Sea was amazing!" His mother smiled, and asked Bobby to tell him about it. "Well, the Israelites escaped from Egypt, but the Pharaoh and his army chased after them. So, the Israelites ran as fast as they could to the Red Sea. The Egyptian Army was getting closer, so Moses got on his walkie-talkie and told Israel’s Air Force to bomb the Egyptians. While that was happening, Israel’s Navy built a pontoon bridge so the people could get across to the other side.”

Puzzled, his mom interrupted, "Bobby, are you sure that is what Mrs. Nelsen said?" “Well, no, not exactly," Bobby admitted, "but if I told you the way she told it, you'd never believe me!" In child-like innocence, Bobby was like those modern critical theologians who try to make Biblical truth fit the limits of their own human knowledge.

As Christians, we view God’s miracles knowing that “With God, all things are possible” and we recognize that in each miracle there is a sign pointing to who God is and what he intends to accomplish. We know our limited human intelligence is incapable of proving that God couldn’t do what God did. Some biblical scholars, like Bobby’s version of his account, try to explain the miraculous by pointing to how nature or some unique circumstance allows the ordinary to seem miraculous. The fact that miracles are beyond our understanding is what makes them signs pointing to the true identity and mission of God who performs them.

Our text today is recorded in Matthew, who does not label the miracle as a sign but nevertheless it most definitely is. This sign not only points to the Son of God, Savior as Lord over the very forces of nature, but this sign also points to what Jesus can and does do through those who believe in Him.

Let me take a moment to explain the events that led up to this morning’s Gospel narrative. Last week, were heard about the feeding of the 5,000 with just five loaves and two fish, which happens to be one of only two miracles that are recorded in all four Gospels.

After the miracle of the feeding, Jesus reaches the climax of His popularity among the people. The people witnessed Him heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and now He proves that He can feed the multitudes at will. The people were suddenly overcome with excitement. Everything that they had heard about what Jesus could do was suddenly demonstrated before their very eyes and unlike Bobby and the critical scholars, there was no magic hat or other way of explaining the miraculous feeding other than Jesus is truly the Son of God.

The people were ready to accept him as their leader who would lead them against the corrupt Jewish leaders and even against the Roman Empire itself. For St John tells us in his gospel account that after they experience this miracle the people wanted to take Jesus and make him a king. In John chapter 6 we are told, “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!’” The people assumed that He would not only heal their bodies, cast out demons, and raise their dead, but He would be the source of permanent food supply. They were ready to make Him their earthly king.

Jesus, however, had no plans of being that kind of king. He had not come to kill, rebel, or lead some form of revolution. Jesus didn’t have any kind of political, economic, or social agenda; He had a spiritual agenda. He came to heal the sick, give hope to the weary, give His own life, and provide salvation that would lead to eternal life in His kingdom of righteousness. He did not come to be an earthly king, he came to be our spiritual king.

Jesus saw that this crowd of people were only interested in the temporal physical things He freely gave them. They wanted the healing; they wanted the food; they wanted to be free from those that oppressed them; but they failed to understand the spiritual healing and freedom Jesus had to offer them. This is why Jesus suddenly dispersed the crowd and sent His disciples, who seemed to be just as blind to Christ’s purpose as the crowd, to the other side.

Our sermon text tells us what happened next, “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.” And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Jesus knew the crowd and His disciples’ hearts. It was for this reason that He knew He had to send the disciples away and go up on the mountain to pray.

The disciples were about to have the scales pulled from their eyes and the calcified hearts softened. This would be accomplished in miraculous fashion. It was done by allowing His disciples to be put into a situation that they were not capable of handling themselves. That old saying that God or Jesus never gives us more than we can handle is simply not true. In fact, there are times when it seems to me that God gives more than we can handle to force us to our knees in despair and to the point that we realize that we are at the end of our rope. This forces us then to understand that the only way out is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what happened to Jesus’ disciples.

Our text continues to describe the parlous condition the disciples found themselves in. It describes, “When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.”

A lot is happening in this text that can be easily overlooked. First, we see that Jesus, as distraught as He was, immediately went to pray and do what He always did and continues to do for us as our divine redeemer. He offers prayer and graciously intercedes on our behalf. I am convinced the horrible storm those more than capable “fishers of men” struggled with for about nine hours was part of God’s divine plan for their understanding of who Jesus was. The storm that blew them more than four miles off course—out to the middle of the sea of Galilee and began to swamp their boat—was the answer to Jesus’ prayer because it was in that moment of utter horror, terror, and despair that those disciples would suddenly see Jesus’ true purpose. And that purpose was to save them and give them eternal life.

Our sermon text goes on to demonstrate this when we are told, “And in the fourth watch of the night (between 3 - 6 AM) he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.” But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

The eyes of those twelve disciples had been opened. The revelation of who Christ is was graciously given to them as they were saved by Jesus who walked on top of the water, not wadded out on some unknown sand bar as some critical scholars and little Bobby might try to explain, but actually walked on water as the Son of God and saved them.

What makes me think the disciples suddenly understood the person of Jesus Christ? Because we are told in the final verse of our text, “And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” This is the first time that we hear the disciples refer to Jesus as more than their rabbi or pastor. For we are told that they worshiped him as the “True Son of God.” Interestingly enough the next day the same crowds that were miraculously fed the night before caught up to Jesus and the disciples and expected Jesus to feed them breakfast. Jesus didn’t feed them breakfast but instead told them that He was not here to simply care for their physical needs but instead was offering himself as the Bread of Life.

Jesus refused to reduce His ministry to a simple meeting of temporary physical needs. Instead, He redirected their attention to something far greater. He told them, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you" (John 6:27). Jesus wanted them to understand that while bread can satisfy the body for a few hours, only He can satisfy the deepest hunger of the human soul.

As the conversation continued, Jesus made one of the most profound declarations in all of Scripture: "I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). The miracle of feeding the five thousand was never just about bread; it was a sign pointing to the One who is the true bread from heaven. Just as God provided manna for Israel in the wilderness, Jesus declared that He is God's ultimate provision for a world dying of spiritual hunger.

The disciples were in a very different place than the crowd because of what they had experienced the night before. After Jesus sent them across the sea, they found themselves struggling against a fierce wind and rough waters. In the darkness, when they were exhausted and afraid, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. What seemed impossible to them was completely under His authority. When He entered the boat, their fear gave way to peace, and immediately they reached the shore. That experience was more than a dramatic rescue; it was another revelation of who Jesus truly is. They were beginning to understand that Jesus had not come merely to provide bread for hungry people or to perform spectacular miracles. He was the sovereign Son of God who possessed authority over creation itself. While the crowd was still seeking another free meal, the disciples were learning that their greatest need was not another loaf of bread but the presence of Christ Himself. Their confidence was slowly shifting from what Jesus could provide to who Jesus is. That growing understanding prepared them to receive the difficult teaching that followed, that Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life, the only One who can truly satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart.

So what does all of this mean for us today? It means that there will be times when God allows us to find ourselves in storms that are far bigger than we can handle. Like the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, we may find ourselves exhausted, afraid, and wondering why God has allowed us to drift so far from where we thought we were supposed to be. We may pray for the storm to end, but instead, God often uses the storm to open our eyes to who Jesus really is. It is often in our greatest moments of weakness that we discover His greatest strength. It is when we come to the end of ourselves that we finally realize that Christ has been with us all along.

We also learn that God still works in ways that cannot always be explained by human reason. Just as little Bobby tried to explain away the crossing of the Red Sea with airplanes and pontoon bridges, our world often tries to explain away the miraculous. Yet the miracles of Scripture are not meant to fit within the limits of human understanding. They are signs that point us to the living God. They remind us that our Savior is not bound by the laws of nature because He is the Lord of nature. The God who parted the Red Sea, multiplied the loaves and fish, and walked upon the water is the same God who continues to work in powerful ways today, often in ways we cannot fully explain but can only receive by faith.

Most importantly, this text reminds us that if we have Christ, we have everything we truly need. The crowds wanted bread, but Jesus offered Himself. The disciples wanted to survive the storm, but Jesus gave them something far greater; He revealed Himself as the Son of God. In the same way, Jesus may not always remove every storm from our lives, but He always comes to His people in the middle of the storm. He still says, "Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid." Those words change everything. We do not have to fear the storms of life because the One who rules the wind and the waves is in our boat. We do not have to fear our failures because His hand is strong enough to lift us up, just as He lifted Peter. We do not even have to fear death because the Bread of Life has given us eternal life.

That is why we can leave here today with confidence. Whatever storm you are facing, whatever burden you are carrying, whatever despair threatens to overwhelm you, remember this: the greatest miracle is not that Jesus walked on the water. The greatest miracle is that the Son of God came into this world to save sinners like us. He died on the cross, rose again from the grave, and now comes to us through His Word and Sacraments to strengthen our faith and assure us that we belong to Him. Therefore, take heart. Trust in Christ. Keep your eyes fixed on Him. For if you have Jesus, you have nothing to fear, because the One who commands the sea also holds you securely in His gracious and almighty hand. AMEN

Pentecost 14 August 30, 2026

Sermon Text: Matthew 16:21-28

Pastor John Hazzard

“The Cost of Discipleship”

Peace and blessing be to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior—Jesus the Christ.

One morning young Gunther Tharp was helping his grandpa work around the house. Grandpa was carrying a large piece of heavy lumber through the doorway when Gunther proudly announced, “Grandpa, when I grow up, I'm going to be just like you!” Grandpa smiled and said, “I hope you do, Gunther.” Gunther thought about it for a moment and then added, “But I'm going to do one thing differently.” Grandpa asked, “What's that?” Gunther replied, “I'm going to let you do all the hard work!”

There is a little bit of Gunther in all of us. We want to follow Jesus, but sometimes we would like to follow Him without the hard parts. We want to be called Christians, but we don't necessarily want to carry a cross. We want the blessings of discipleship, but we would prefer to leave the suffering to somebody else.

Peter demonstrated the same problem. He knew Jesus was the Messiah, but when Jesus began talking about suffering and the cross, Peter said, “Lord, this shall never happen to You.” Peter wanted to follow Christ, but he wanted Christ to follow the plan Peter had in mind. Jesus had to teach Peter that discipleship is not about getting God to follow our plans; it is about trusting God enough to follow His. Sometimes following Jesus means carrying a cross, walking a difficult road, and trusting Him even when we do not understand where that road might be leading.

There is a lot going on here in St. Matthew’s 16th chapter. Last Sunday, we heard Peter make one of the greatest confessions of faith in all of Scripture. When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter boldly declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus praised Peter for this confession, telling him that he was blessed because this truth had been revealed to him by God the Father. Jesus went on to say that Peter would play an important role in the building of His Church, and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Peter had just experienced what must have been one of the greatest moments of his life. He had confessed Jesus as the Messiah, received His blessing, and was told that he would have a part in spreading the good news of the Gospel to the world.

Then, in today’s Gospel, everything changes. Jesus begins to explain what it truly means for Him to be the Messiah. He tells His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed, and that on the third day He would be raised. Peter, who had just confessed Jesus as the Messiah, could not accept the fact that Jesus was called to be a suffering Messiah. He takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Him, essentially saying, “This must never happen to You.” Peter wanted a Messiah who would conquer without suffering, a Christ who would reign without the cross. Jesus immediately rebukes Peter because Peter’s words, however well-intentioned, were standing in opposition to God’s plan of salvation. In just a few moments, Peter goes from being praised for speaking God’s truth to being confronted for allowing his own human expectations and selfish desires to get in the way of Christ’s mission. And it is in this dramatic turn of events, that Jesus begins to teach Peter—and all of us—what it truly means to follow Him.

It is in the midst of this dramatic reversal that we hear the words of today’s Gospel: “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” But Peter could not accept what Jesus was telling him. “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’” Jesus responded with words that must have shocked Peter to the core: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

How quickly, in our fallen human condition, we can fall into the snares that Satan lays before us. Only moments earlier, Peter had been praised by Jesus for his divinely revealed confession that Jesus was the Christ. Yet now, the very same Peter is being called a hindrance because he has allowed his own human expectations to stand in the way of God’s will. Peter was not necessarily trying to do something evil. He loved Jesus. He wanted to protect Him. He could not imagine that the Messiah he had just confessed would willingly walk toward suffering and death. And yet, in trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross, Peter was unknowingly opposing the very mission for which Christ had come.

When Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, he understood that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. That truth was a divine revelation, graciously given to Peter by God. Peter did not yet understand what kind of Messiah Jesus had come to be. Like many first century Jews, Peter expected the Messiah to come as a conquering king who would overthrow Israel’s oppressors, restore the nation, and establish His kingdom in a visible and earthly way. Peter was looking for victory without suffering, glory without the cross, and a kingdom that looked much like the kingdoms of this world.

God's plan was far greater. Jesus had not come merely to defeat Rome or to make Israel a political power. He had come to defeat something far greater: sin, death, and the power of the devil. The path to that victory would lead Him not to a temporary earthly throne, but to the cross. Peter was looking at Jesus through earthly eyes, while Jesus was carrying out the eternal plan of God. Peter had his mind set on the things of man, but Jesus was calling him to set his mind on the things of God.

Perhaps that is where this Gospel speaks most directly to us. Like Peter, we can know who Jesus is and still misunderstand what it means to follow Him. We can confess Christ with our lips while resisting His will when His path leads somewhere we don’t want to go. In most cases, it seems like we want the blessings of Christ without the cost of discipleship, the crown without the cross, and the resurrection without Good Friday. Jesus reminds Peter—and He reminds both you and me—that God's ways are not always our ways. Following Christ means trusting Him even when His plan does not look like the plan we were hoping for.

This is where we need to understand something very important: Jesus is most certainly not saying that because we are Christians our lives are going to be easy. In fact, Jesus tells us something very different. Following Him does not mean that we will be spared suffering, rejection, disappointment, or hardship. The life of faith is not a promise that we will never carry a cross. It is a promise that when we carry that cross, we do not have to carry it alone.

We hear something remarkably similar in Psalm 37:6–7: “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” There is an uncomfortable truth in those words. Sometimes it seems as if the evildoers are the ones who get ahead. They seem to prosper and have everything going for them, while those who try to remain faithful to God struggle and suffer. The psalmist tells us not to fret when we see this, but to wait patiently for the Lord and trust that God sees what his faithful need.

The prophet Jeremiah experienced this same kind of situation. Jeremiah knew what it was like to suffer, to be rejected, and to feel alone, even though his deepest desire was simply to serve the Lord faithfully. He is often called the “weeping prophet,” and our first lesson gives us a glimpse of why. Jeremiah would say to God, “Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.” Jeremiah loved the Word of God and proclaim it faithfully. In that sense, Jeremiah was saying all the right things, just as Peter did when he confessed that Jesus was “the Son of the living God.”

Yet Jeremiah suffered because he was faithful to God. He proclaimed God's Word during a dark period in Judah's history, leading up to and including the Babylonian exile, a time when God's covenant people suffered the consequences of their rebellion, idolatry, faithless leadership, and rejection of God's Word. These were precisely the sins Jeremiah had been called to warn them about. He faithfully proclaimed God's truth, but instead of being welcomed for it, he was rejected and persecuted.

King Jehoiakim himself despised Jeremiah and rejected the message God had given him. When Jeremiah's words were written on a scroll and read before the king, Jehoiakim responded by cutting the scroll apart and throwing the pieces into the fire. Jeremiah was faithfully speaking the things of God, yet the people around him were setting their minds on the things of man.

Jeremiah even lamented that he had not joined in the sins of the people. He says that he “sat alone.” He had separated himself from their idolatry and wickedness, and yet his faithfulness did not make his suffering disappear. Instead, he cried out to God in chapter 15, “Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail?”

What a painfully honest prayer. Jeremiah is essentially asking, “Lord, I have tried to be faithful to You. I have proclaimed Your Word. I have refused to join in the sins of those around me. So why am I suffering like this? Have You become like a stream that appears to have water after the rain, only to dry up when I need it most? Can I really depend upon You?”

Perhaps some of us have asked that same question. Maybe we have never spoken it aloud, but we have wondered it in our hearts. “Lord, I am trying to follow You. I am trying to do what is right. I am trying to live according to Your Word. So why is this happening to me? Why does the person who ignores You seem to prosper while I struggle? Why does faithfulness sometimes seem to make life harder rather than easier?”

Notice God's answer to Jeremiah. God does not promise Jeremiah that he will never suffer again. Instead, God promises His presence and His deliverance: “I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” God does not tell Jeremiah that the road of faithfulness will be easy. God tells Jeremiah that He will be there with His faithful.

That brings us back to Peter and the words of Jesus. I can only imagine how Peter must have felt at that moment. He went from being praised by the living God to being called a satanic hindrance in the next moment. Peter went from receiving praise to being confronted by Jesus with the startling words, “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter had gone from being a voice that expressed God’s truth to becoming a stumbling block to God’s purposes. And as difficult as that admonishment must have been, Jesus was not finished. He went on to give Peter and the rest of the disciples an even more challenging message: He told them that following Him would require more than simply believing in Him—it would require that they surrender their earthly desires for God’s kingdom.

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Then He explained why: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

When Jesus said, “Whoever would save his life will lose it,” He was confronting the natural human desire to protect ourselves, pursue our own interests, and make our own lives the highest priority. The world tells us to gain as much as we can—to build our reputation, accumulate possessions, pursue comfort, and live for ourselves. But Jesus says that if we make the preservation and advancement of our earthly life our ultimate goal, we will lose what matters most, an eternal relationship with our LORD and Savior.

On the other hand, Jesus says, “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This does not mean that we stop caring about our lives or that God wants us to destroy ourselves. It means surrendering the right to live solely for ourselves. It means laying down our own agenda and saying, “Lord, my life belongs to You. Your will matters more than mine.” And the remarkable promise is that when we surrender our lives to Christ, we do not ultimately lose, we find true life in Him.

That is why Jesus asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” Imagine possessing everything this world has to offer wealth, success, influence, recognition, comfort, and power and yet losing your soul in the process. What good would all of it be? Everything this world offers is temporary, but the value of your soul is eternal. There is no earthly achievement valuable enough to exchange for your relationship with God.

Jesus was teaching His disciples—and He is teaching us—that the greatest question in life is not, what can I gain, but whom am I living for? We can spend our entire life trying to gain the world and still miss the very life God created us to have. When we surrender ourselves to Christ, take up our cross, and follow Him, we discover that the life we thought we were giving away is the very life God intended for us to find.

Suffering comes to those who “get behind” the Lord and truly follow Him. They will suffer along the way because the things of God will always be an affront to the mind of man. Just as the Messiah suffered, so will His disciples, not because suffering itself is the goal, but because the world will often resist those who faithfully follow Christ. The only believers who may never suffer for following Jesus are those who refuse to take up their crosses. Yet even then, they miss something precious: they miss the joy of knowing Christ in the midst of their suffering and the assurance that God is faithful through it all.

Peter had to learn that the cross was not some kind of detour in God's plan, it was God's plan. Jeremiah had to learn that God's apparent silence did not mean God's absence. And we must learn the same lesson. Following Jesus does not mean that we will never suffer. It means that our suffering is not meaningless, our crosses are not carried alone, and our story does not end at the cross. For the One who calls us to follow Him is the same One who went before us, bore the cross for us, died for us, and rose again for us.

So, when the things of this world seem to prosper while the faithful suffer, let us not lose heart. Let us set our minds not on the things of man, but on the things of God. Let us take up our cross, follow Christ, and trust that the God who was faithful to Jeremiah, the God who corrected and restored Peter, will also be faithful to us. For whoever loses his life for Christ's sake will most assuredly find it.

The peace of God which surpasses all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in our crucified and risen, LORD and Savior—Jesus the Christ. AMEN

Pentecost 12 August 17, 2026

Text—Matthew 15:21-28

Pastor John Hazzard

“God Responds to the Faithful”

Peace and blessing to you from God the Father and from the Son, Jesus the Christ.

In this morning’s sermon text, we hear that “Jesus went away from Gennesaret and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.” Jesus had just fed the five thousand and continued teaching the people that He was the “Bread of Life,” not the warrior king many expected the Messiah to be. He had also confronted the Pharisees about what truly defiles a person, teaching that uncleanness does not come from what or how we eat, but from what comes out of the human heart. Despite witnessing Jesus’ miracles and hearing His teaching, many of his own people still struggled to understand who he truly was. So, Jesus withdrew into Gentile territory, into a region north of Israel that had long been associated with the enemies of God’s Old Testament people.

And it is there, in this unlikely place, that Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman who cries out to Him for mercy and begs Him to heal her demon-possessed daughter. This woman was a foreigner, an outsider, and a descendant of a people who had once been enemies of Israel. Yet, ironically, Jesus would find great faith in one of the most unlikely places. What makes this account so remarkable is the way Jesus initially responds to her desperate plea. He seems to ignore her, his disciples want him to send her away, and he tells her that He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. Yet, rather than giving up, this woman continues to cling to Jesus in faith. Sometimes a situation is much different than when it first appears, and that is certainly the case in our text this morning. Jesus not only shows mercy to this woman and heals her daughter, but He also gives us a remarkable picture of what “great faith” looks like. This Canaanite woman demonstrates that great faith in three distinct ways.

First, she, by the grace of God alone, was given the revelation of exactly who Jesus the Christ is. We heard this understanding in the Canaanite woman’s desperate plea. The Bible tells us that she cries out and screams, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” This was by no means a selfish act, but an unselfish plea made by a woman that had been given more than she could manage on her own. One can see that this woman was not coming to the Lord to ask something for herself, she came to ask Jesus to have mercy on her daughter who was severely demon-possessed. We can only imagine the anguish, pain, and suffering this woman and her daughter experienced as she witnessed the desperate condition her daughter was in each day. “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David…” This woman knew that she was totally and utterly helpless in this situation. There was no way for her to help her daughter and even the Syrophoenician gods she may have worshiped in her past, would be of no use. It is abundantly clear that she knew who Jesus was and as her Divine Lord and the long-awaited Son of David Messiah, He was the only one that could help her. Because of her strong faith she knew that only Jesus, the incarnate son of God could save her daughter from this condition. The woman came to Jesus appealing to his mercy and rightly acknowledging Jesus publicly as her Lord.

Secondly, we see this woman demonstrate her great faith in the way that she actively and persistently pursued Jesus. The gospel narrative continues, “But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” Jesus ignores her, and we even hear how his disciples encouraged Jesus to do something to get rid of her. I can hear Jesus’ disciples now, “Lord get rid of this woman; she is making a scene and bothering everyone. If you are going to help her, do it quickly so she will finally leave us alone. I can only imagine how devastated the woman must have felt.

And finally, the third way this woman showed great faith was by standing firm in her faith no matter the circumstances. We hear in verses 24-26, (Jesus) answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Even after she was ignored, she was told that she was being a pest, and then eventually insulted by being told that she was like a dog that was not worthy of receiving the children’s bread, she still clung to Jesus and refused to let him go.

In this situation, it would have been easy for the women to become even more depressed, dejected, and give up on Jesus. She could have easily told herself, “I can’t believe I ever thought you could or would have ever helped someone like me.” The fact is she wasn’t thinking that way at all, instead she obediently replied by showing her continued faith and understanding in who Jesus really is by saying, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

We might think that when someone is suffering or in great need, Jesus would somehow be obligated to help or save that person. But Scripture teaches that God is not obligated to save anyone, He chooses to. Salvation is an act of God’s grace and mercy, given according to His sovereign will. In the Old Testament, God told Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Exodus 33:19). People of Israel were not chosen because they were better or more deserving than other nations, but because God chose to love them (Deuteronomy 7:7–8). The same truth is taught in the New Testament. Paul says, “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16). Jesus also said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” (John 6:44). These verses show us that salvation begins with God. He calls, draws, and saves those whom He chooses. When God saves someone, it is not because He was obligated to do so, but because out of love He freely chose to show mercy and grace. John 3:16-17 makes it clear., “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Even though today’s sermon text seems to contradict the second part of these famous verses, John’s declaration is most certainly true, He came to save the world. That is what makes salvation so amazing; we receive something we could never earn or demand.

At first, it seemed as if Jesus was not going to help this woman, but that was not the case. Jesus was not turning this woman away. He tested her faith and used her as an example of what great faith looks like. Throughout His ministry, Jesus often used situations to teach important lessons. He waited four days before raising Lazarus (John 11:1–44), asked His disciples to feed the crowd even though they did not know how they could do it (Matthew 14:15–21), and sometimes healed people in ways that clearly demonstrated His power and mercy. In the same way, Jesus used this encounter with the Canaanite woman to teach His disciples—and us—what it means to trust Him with a great and humble faith. Jesus was not being cruel to this woman, and He was not ignoring her suffering. Instead, Jesus was using this situation to reveal her faith and to teach His disciples an important lesson. Jesus knew what He was doing. His silence, His words about being sent to the lost sheep of Israel, and even His words about the children’s bread and the dogs were meant to bring her faith to the surface. The disciples had seen Jesus perform many miracles, including feeding the five thousand, but they still struggled to understand who Jesus really was. Now Jesus was showing them great faith in someone they never expected—a Canaanite woman. She understood something that many of the people of Israel were still struggling to understand. She knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and she knew that He was merciful. She did not demand anything from Jesus or tell Him that she deserved His help. Instead, she simply trusted in His mercy. When she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table,” she was saying, in effect, “Lord, I know I do not deserve anything from You, but I trust that even the smallest amount of Your mercy is enough.” And Jesus answered, “O woman, great is your faith!”

This is also an important lesson for us today. We may not face the same situation as this woman, but we know what it is like to pray and feel as though God is not answering. We pray for healing, for our families, for our children, for our friends, and for situations that seem impossible. Sometimes we may wonder why God is silent. This woman teaches us not to give up on Jesus when we do not understand what He is doing. Great faith does not mean that we always understand God’s plan. Great faith means that we continue to trust Jesus even when we do not understand. This woman had many reasons to walk away, but she knew that Jesus was her only hope. She continued to cling to Him because she trusted in His mercy. We can do the same. When we are hurting, when we are confused, and when our prayers seem unanswered, we can continue to say, “Lord, help me.”

There is another beautiful lesson in this story. The woman was willing to receive even the crumbs from Jesus’ table because she knew that even the smallest gift from Him was enough. She did not need Jesus to give her everything she wanted. She simply trusted that His mercy was enough. And that is something we need to remember. We do not need Jesus to give us everything we ask for. We need Jesus Himself. He is the true Bread of Life. He is our Savior. He is the One who forgives our sins and gives us eternal life. Even the smallest blessing that comes from His hand is greater than anything this world can offer.

So, what does great faith look like? We see it in this Canaanite woman. First, she knew who Jesus was. She called Him “Lord” and “Son of David.” Second, she did not give up. She continued to pursue Jesus even when it seemed like He was not listening. And third, she trusted His mercy even when she did not understand what He was doing. Her faith was not great because she was a powerful or important person. Her faith was great because she trusted in a great Savior.

That is the message for us this morning. When you are hurting, cling to Jesus. When you are confused, cling to Jesus. When your prayers seem unanswered, cling to Jesus. When you feel unworthy, remember that none of us comes to Jesus because we deserve His mercy. We come because He is merciful. Like the Canaanite woman, we can come before Him and simply say, “Lord, help me.”

Our hope is not found in how strong our faith is. Our hope is found in how strong and merciful Jesus is. The same Jesus who showed mercy to the Canaanite woman is our Lord and Savior. He went to the cross for our sins, rose from the grave, and gave us forgiveness and eternal life. So let us not give up. Let us continue to trust Him, even when we do not understand His ways.

May God give us the faith of this Canaanite woman—a faith that knows who Jesus is, a faith that does not give up, and a faith that trusts His mercy. And may we always remember that even the smallest crumb from our Master’s table is more than enough, because Jesus is more than enough.

The peace of God which surpasses all human understanding keep your faith-filled hearts and minds in our crucified and risen Lord and Savior—Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Pentecost 13 August 23, 2026

Sermon Text Matthew 16:132-20

Pastor John Hazzard

“Jesus, the Rock the Church is Built On”

GRACE BE UNTO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD THE FATHER AND FROM OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR--JESUS THE CHRIST.

Few places in history were as spiritually diverse and tempting as the city mentioned in our text this morning, Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was formally known as Paneas, before it was renamed in honor of Augustus Ceaser and Herod the Greats youngest son Phili. It lies near Mount Hermon 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee at the boundary of the Gentile world. Primarily a Gentile city, it was known for the worship of Baal and Pan. In Jesus’ day, it also had a temple to Caesar. Jesus seems to go there to escape the Galilean crowds so that he might prepare his disciples for his journey to Jerusalem, which ended in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

It was here where people paid homage to an “earthly King” that claimed to rule the known world and worshipped pagan gods, Jesus asked His disciples, “Where do I fit into all of this? Who do people say I am?” The disciples had no problem answering Jesus’ questions because His true identity was a hot topic at this time.

Our sermon text leads to three important questions. Who is Jesus? Who is Peter? And, who was given the keys to the Kingdom? Let us start with, who is Jesus. 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied that some said John the Baptist. You may recall that Herod murdered John the Baptist. John had such a powerful presence that the people would not have been surprised to see him again. Even Herod thought that Jesus might be John the Baptist resurrected. Others say Elijah; the worker of miracles, who was expected to reappear “before the great and terrible day that Yahweh comes” (Malachi 4:5). And still others said Jeremiah or one of the prophets, the prophet Jeremiah, who had opposed the religious leaders in Jerusalem and had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. It is amazing to think that outside of Jesus’ inner circle, no one got it right.

It was clear that people admired Jesus and saw him as a holy man. However, when they try to identify him, they do so in terms of past prophets. But Jesus is more than a prophet. He is the Christos—the Christ—the Anointed One of God. Misconceptions about Jesus’ true identity exist to this very day. People throughout the ages have had many opinions about who Jesus was and is. He has been considered everything from an important man with morally relevant messages, to a mad man that tried to stir up trouble. Some people even saw him as a legend or some sort of a mythical person.

How we personally address this question of who Jesus is, is critically important. Uncertainty equates to unbelief at this point. To be Christian means believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Anything else is less than Christian. “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” As usual, the always impulsive Simon Peter was quick to respond, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Not the Messiah that Israel thought Jesus should be, but the True Messiah. The True Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world by taking all of our repentant sins and nailing them to the cross so that by his resurrection, we as believers are seen as righteous in God’s presence.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. If we put it another way, Jesus was saying, “Simon, son of Jona, you must be truly blessed. Obviously, this understanding did not come from any human logic or deduction, because what you confessed is knowledge and faith which only God could have given you.” Jesus went on to say, “And I tell you that you are Peter (petros), and on this rock (petra)—the belief that Jesus was the long-promised Messiah, the Son of the living God—I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Jesus told Peter that the Truth which God had revealed to him about Jesus is Petra, a spiritual stone mountain upon which Jesus’ Church is to be built. Anyone who believes and confesses that Jesus is “The Christ, The Son of The Living God’ has received that Truth from God and is a member of the Holy Christian Church and a citizen of God’s Eternal Kingdom.

In the Greek language, there is a word, petra, which means rock, a huge unbreakable rock like a huge immoveable mountain, the very rock which Jesus says, “I will build My Church.” This immovable rock foundation is the truth and the faith that Peter confessed when he said that Jesus is The Christ, The Son of the Living God. The very rock no force, not even death, can destroy.

In 1 Peter 2:4-6, Peter plainly tells us about what it means to be a member of The Holy Christian Church and the key role Jesus plays. Peter explained, “As you come to Jesus, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God, chosen and precious; you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” For it stands in Scripture, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Jesus is the petra the foundation of the Holy Christian Church.

The Greek language also has a word, petros, which means rock, smaller and less powerful than the mountain of rock it rests on. Jesus named Peter, petros, the man whose life was built on the foundation that Jesus is The Christ, The Son of The Living God. Jesus goes on to say, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. This is not the only time that Jesus promised to give his disciples heavenly inspired authority. You may recall that Jesus, in Luke 9:1-6, gave the disciples the power and authority to drive out demons and to cure diseases as he sent them on their first mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God. In John 20:23 we are told that Jesus even gave his disciples the authority to forgive sins. The difference was this time he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone who he was.

The reason Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone was because the Jewish people had a different understanding of the Messiah promised in the Adamic and Abrahamic covenants. He knew that the people would have tried to force things to happen that were not in God's Perfect Plan.

You see, the Jewish version of the messiah was all wrong. The Jewish people were looking for a messiah from the Davidic line, ensuring royal blood. They assumed that the Messiah’s role would be to restore an earthly kingdom with a ruler who would free Israel from all its enemies. Jesus had no political agenda. Jesus made this clear when He said in John 18:36 that “My Kingdom is not of this world.”

The Kingdom of God has nothing to do with the kingdoms of this world. It has everything to do with building God’s Heavenly Kingdom by spreading The Good News about The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus wanted the disciples to wait until The Gospel Story was complete and The Holy Spirit had come enabling all who have ears to hear and eyes to see to understand that Jesus is the true Messiah.

Who do you say Jesus is? The answer to that question is revealed to us by God who loves us, just as it was revealed to Simon Peter by God who loves him. Jesus is “The Christ, The Son of The Living God”. That God-given answer is so important that it serves as the solid rock foundation of the Holy Christian Church and is the key to entering God’s Eternal Kingdom.

Today, Jesus still asks each of us the same question he asked his disciples: “Who do you say I am?” This is one of the most important questions we will ever answer. Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” That is the foundation of our faith. Jesus is not simply a good teacher, a prophet, or an important person from history. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Savior, and our Lord.

This truth is important for us today because there are many voices telling us what to believe and where to place our trust. The world around us is always changing. People change, governments change, circumstances change, and even our own feelings can change. But Jesus does not change. He is the solid Rock upon which we can build our lives. When we face trouble, sickness, disappointment, fear, or uncertainty, we can hold on to Jesus because He will never leave us or forsake us.

Jesus also reminds us that His Church belongs to Him. The Church is not built on a person, a building, a denomination, or human strength. The Church is built on Jesus Christ and the truth that He is the Son of the living God. Because Jesus died for our sins and rose again, sin and death do not have the final word. The gates of Hades cannot overcome what Christ has built.

So, as we leave this message today, let us remember the question: “Who do you say Jesus is?” Let our answer be the same confession Peter made: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Let us trust Him, follow Him, and build our lives on Him. And let us share the good news of Jesus with others. The world may change, but Jesus remains our Rock. When everything else around us feels uncertain, we can stand firmly because our faith is built on Him. Jesus is the Rock of our salvation, the foundation of His Church, and our hope for today and for all eternity. Amen.

THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH PASSES ALL HUMAN UNDERSTANDING KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS…THE TRUE LAMB OF GOD AND THE ONLY SOLID ROCK ON WHICH TO STAND. AMEN.

Pentecost 9 July 26, 2026

Sermon Text Matthew 13:44-52

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Grace Ev. Lutheran Church, Westerville, OH

“The Kingdom of Heaven!”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you study the parables of Jesus in any good Bible commentary, you will find some comment to the effect, “Scholars don’t always agree on the meaning of the parables.” Now, that might be disconcerting to some, for we want our Holy Scripture to be clear and concrete. We want to understand every passage in every book of the Bible! That’s not how Jesus intended for parables to work. In spite of the fact that Jesus did, at times, respond to the twelve disciples’ questions about particular parables, providing explanation, usually Jesus told parables to “crowds,” and then He left them to think about, to ponder, to consider the meaning, and especially, the meaning for “me,” the hearer of the parable. So, sometimes the meaning can be viewed in different ways, depending upon one’s perspective. That is not a bad thing. In fact, hearing a parable from different angles challenges us to think about the meaning of the parable. As with two weeks ago, for example, when from one perspective, Jesus is the Sower sowing the seed of God’s Word, while we are also, at times, called to spread the Word. We may also be the soil, on which the Word of God is cast, hopefully, to take root in us and grow! The perspective sometimes shifts the meaning, for the hearer. That’s true of our passage today, as we hear Jesus telling three parables about the kingdom of heaven being like a treasure hidden in the field, a pearl of great value, and a net thrown into the sea, gathering up fish of every kind! So, how do you view each of these parables? Where do you see yourself? And where does the Lord intend for us to see ourselves?

These parables are often heard and interpreted to be speaking about the kingdom of heaven as being of such great value, that we would sell all that we have to obtain that kingdom. As in, “If only you would know and realize how important, how meaningful, how valuable the kingdom of God is, you would give up all that you have and are, to possess that kingdom, to have a place in God’s kingdom!” Such an interpretation places a lot of weight on your shoulders, in a somewhat legalistic way, suggesting, first, that you must give up all that you have to buy your way into the kingdom of heaven and second, that having the kingdom is really up to you, if you are willing to sacrifice everything to have it! And there’s some truth in that message, about the value of God’s kingdom and the call to self-sacrifice, even as the Lord Himself frequently says things like, “If you lose your life for my sake, you will have life for eternity, ” and in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks about how we are to choose between serving God and mammon. But there’s something not true and not helpful in the suggestion that we can buy our way into the kingdom of heaven. Because if that’s the case, then why did Jesus give His life on the cross, for the forgiveness of our sins and to secure for us sinners, eternal life in the kingdom? Yes, the kingdom of heaven is that valuable, that we want to give up everything we have to obtain it. No, we cannot buy our way into heaven, no matter how much we are willing to pay! And yet, look up these parables in most bible commentaries and you will find that interpretation.

Lutheran Professor David Scaer, however, in his commentary on Matthew, suggests a different perspective, and one which is more consistent with the context and maybe truer to Jesus’ meaning. And what is that interpretation? That Jesus is the actor in the parables, not you and me. That Jesus is the man who buys the field, Jesus is the merchant who obtains the pearl and Jesus is the fisherman casting the net. So where do we find ourselves in these parables, from this perspective? In this interpretation, you are the treasure, the pearl, and the fish! And how do we arrive at that interpretation?

In the Third Teaching Discourse in Matthew in which we find these parables, the Lord has been speaking of ways in which God, in and through His Son, Jesus, is acting for the benefit of His kingdom. In the passages just before our text, Jesus is sowing the seed, explaining that He is sowing the seed of God’s Word. As we read on in chapter 13, we see the Son of Man is harvesting the crop, together with His angels, and He is also planting the mustard seed, as well as mixing leaven with the dough. So, it follows that here Jesus continues as the subject of the action. There is no suggestion that the subject in these parables changes, so that the disciples are the actors, instead of Jesus. Whereas, for example, the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapters 5 through 7 is specifically instruction to new followers of Jesus about the how they are to live the Christ-like life, in this Third Teaching Discourse, Jesus’ teaching is all about His action as the Son of Man and all that He would give, finally, to purchase, to obtain, to secure for God’s kingdom, us—you and me and all for whom Christ died. Which certainly humbles us. In the parables, Jesus speaks of the treasure and the pearl using words which are translated as “highly priced,” and “very precious,” and “extremely valuable,” which is why the man and the merchant had to sell all that they had to obtain them. This is why the Lord Jesus Christ gave His all, to purchase us for God’s kingdom. As we read in I Corinthians 6 and I Peter 1, we were “bought with a price,” not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. The price was the very life of the Son of God. Paul says in Philippians 2, that Jesus “emptied Himself” to obtain us. His life was broken and poured out for you and for me, that we might be with Him in the kingdom of heaven. Which, again, humbles us, doesn’t it?

How could the Son of the immortal, Sovereign God see us as so precious, so extremely valuable, that He would give His life to have us? Why would the only begotten Son of the eternal God so value and cherish you and me, that He sacrificed His very life and being, to die on the cross, to establish an eternal relationship for us, with God, our Father? We, often, don’t feel very valuable, precious or of great worth. We sinful human beings can’t imagine the Lord Jesus Christ giving His life so that we might have life. It wouldn’t seem fair or right. We aren’t worth the price Jesus paid for us! And yet, as with the man who bought the treasure in the field, our Lord paid the price with joy! He went to the cross willingly, because He so loves us and values us—as if you and I are a treasure, a pearl. And here’s the thing. He views each of us that way! As Saint Augustine said, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” Jesus died for all people. Jesus died for each of us. He views every person as being of great value and worth. He gave His life for every person, even though every person will not receive the gift of His life, for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal salvation.

That’s what Jesus is saying in the third parable of the fisherman casting his net into the sea, bringing fish of every kind. Christ Jesus died for every person who ever lived. But some He died for rejected Him, refused to live in God’s kingdom. Jesus died for the good and the bad. And we see that in the world and in the history of the world. But make no mistake, there will be a separating of good fish from bad and of sheep from goats. In spite of the flawed teaching that suggests all will be saved, regardless; in spite of the false teaching that all roads lead to heaven; in spite of the misguided preachers and teachers who assert that if there is a hell, it will be empty, that’s not what Jesus says. That’s not what the Holy Scriptures proclaim, in both the Old and New Testament. For as surely as God’s Word affirms that we are saved by His grace, as a gift, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s Word and the Lord Himself affirm that there will be a time when the angels will assist the Sovereign God in a separation of good and bad, believers and unbelievers, those who are evil from those who have been made righteous by trust in Jesus. And at the end of our passage, that’s what the Lord says. That’s what faithful scribes, faithful pastors and teachers will teach. What is “new,” is that Jesus, the Son of God became the Lamb who was slain, that all might be saved, not by works, but by grace, through faith in Jesus. What is “old” is that God is a still a just God and that there will finally be a judgement, a separation of those who belong to Jesus and those who refuse to belong to Jesus.

Thankfully, you are those who belong to Jesus! You are those who have been purchased by His blood. You are those who are so precious and valuable to God, that Jesus gave all, to secure for you a place in the kingdom of heaven. For you, a place in the kingdom of heaven. So, this week, live as the precious, valuable, worthwhile treasure that you are! Live your life as if you are a beautiful, luminescent pearl of great price, in God’s eyes, worth so much, that Jesus gave His life—for you!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lutheran Church

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Lutheran Church

RESURRECTION

Lay ministers serve RLC

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Luther Home of Mercy

Luther Home
of Mercy