Proverbs 25:6-14; Ephesians 4:1-6; St Luke 14:1-11
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Dear people loved by God, today you have set before you the account of a Sabbath supper, Jesus and the Pharisees attending, and our Lord, in mercy and love, heals a man who has dropsy, that is, edema. But the miracle is not the main point of this text. It is the teaching. Jesus took him and healed him and sent him away. Therefore, let us strive to keep the Sabbath Day by listening to the Word of the Lord, holding it sacred, gladly hearing and learning it.
How did the Pharisees keep the Sabbath? Not by hearing the Word of the Lord from the mouth of Christ who was their dinner guest. But by watching Him closely, secretly hoping for Jesus to trip up, to violate the Sabbath in some way, so that they could point the finger and accuse Him. The Pharisees prided themselves on their careful attention to the Law. This phrase, watching carefully, is never used in a positive way in the New Testament, but always in the sense of an ulterior or sinister motive.
And behold there was a man before Him who had dropsy. Maybe he was outside and Jesus saw him. Maybe he was placed there as bait for a trap set by the Pharisees. Certainly he would not have been invited. For along with the uncleanness and the disfigurement caused by swelling and water retention, dropsy was assumed to be the result of immoral behavior. The Pharisees would not have associated with such a man.
But Jesus knows He’s being watched and the reason for their invitation. Previously in chapter thirteen, He had healed on the Sabbath a woman who suffered from a disabling spirit. To this the ruler of the synagogue indignantly replied, “There are six days on which to work. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then Jesus answered, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his money from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Lk 13:14-16). This constellation of words - untie, bound, loose - are from the same family of words as forgive. Jesus is making a point that forgiveness knows no law, not Sabbath or otherwise.
So too here. Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out? Jesus is not equating the life of an animal to the life of a child, but is making an analogy from the greater to the lesser. If you have mercy on your livestock on the Sabbath, how much more for those who suffer who share in your own flesh and blood? Compassion overrules human tradition. And need makes its own law. Our neighbor’s need determines our good works. The law of the Sabbath cannot be used as a law against good works and serving the neighbor in mercy and love. As Jesus says in Matthew, I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Mt 9:13; 12:7).
Then Jesus tells a little parable; a poignant story on manners and humility. What prompted this story? He noticed how they chose the places of honor. The Pharisees invited Jesus, watching Him carefully, in order to trap Him. But Jesus is people watching, too. And He notices that not only do they use, or rather misuse, the Law to justify their lack of mercy, but they also use the Law to put themselves forward by self-exultation; taking the place of honor at a wedding feast and then with shame being moved lower because that seat was reserved for another. This common sense instruction - don’t sit at the head table when it’s not your wedding - is an all out assault on everything that the Pharisees thought and did.
And its good for us too. For, remember, we all have a little Pharisee living inside us, the sinful flesh, which knows nothing of the Gospel, of mercy and forgiveness, but is busy with the Law, exalting ourselves to God and against the neighbor.
The Pharisees, them and us, are experts at twisting the Law, using it for our own benefit. The Law, which commands faith toward God and love toward the neighbor, is used against God and neighbor. Consider this: God’s Law, which first accuses us before God and shows us how we deserve His wrath, so that we come before Him humbly and repentant, is taken by the Pharisees and used to show how good they are, how perfect and righteous, how they deserve to sit next to God in heaven.
And the Law which is supposed to put us in a humble position towards our neighbor so that we come alongside them and serve them, help them and give the gifts, is used by the Pharisees to beat down the neighbor, show how bad the neighbor is compared to them.
So if this how the Pharisees, both them and our pharisaical flesh, misuse the Law, how is it to be rightly used? We talk of the three uses of the Law: curb, mirror, and guide. Not three laws, but the one Law of God, the Decalogue, having three uses or functions.
The Law as curb keeps society in order. This is the Law that keeps us from hurting and harming each other, honoring true marriage, protecting other family’s stuff, and the reputation of our neighbor. The Law as curb is why we have government, police, military, courts and judges, jails and stop signs. You saw this use in action earlier this week in Las Vegas. Lord, have mercy!
The second use of the Law is a mirror. This is the chief use. The Law shows us our sin. It always accuses us. This is the theological use of the Law. It condemns us. Shows us the sins which we commit, the good works we neglect, and the sin which clings to our flesh and bones until we die. Here the Law teaches us something that we can’t know by feeling or experience. Sin has corrupted us to the core.
See, we might know that we are sinners, that we’ve messed up and not done well. Usually it goes like this: “I know I’ve made mistakes. I’m not perfect. It’s just human nature.” But we don’t think we’re bad enough to deserve God’s wrath and hell. Here the Law of the Lord comes like a hammer and demolishes us. In our flesh we are repulsive and offensive to the holiness of God. Here the Law shows us how the pain and shame and darkness of the Cross, the being forsaken and smitten and rejected by God that Jesus suffered is what we truly deserve.
When the Law is doing its mirror work, it always accuses, always shows us our sin, magnifying and highlighting and pointing it out. Not like a little hand held mirror, but like those big, lighted mirrors that show every wrinkle, every imperfection, every blotch and spot. Some things weren’t meant to be in high-def. But that’s what the Law as mirror does. As long as we are using the Law to compare ourselves with others we might be doing okay. But as soon as the Lord’s perfect Law comes into picture we are undone.
And this is exactly how Jesus wants us. Undone. Laid bare before Him by the Law. No merits or works of our own. Nothing on which to stand. Nothing of which to boast. No pointing at others and saying, “At least I’m better than him.” You’re not. You’re a poor, miserable sinner. But this is where the Gospel enters in. For Christ has had mercy on sinners. Christ came only for sinners. Christ died only for sinners. Christ lives only in sinners. If you don’t consider yourself a sinner then go home. You don’t need to be here.
But if you know your sin, feel it in your heart and mind, your conscience accusing you, then friend, come up here. If the Law has done its work and the two edged scalpel has cut you open and you are afraid you’re going to bleed out and die, come, receive the Gospel salve of the full and free forgiveness won by Jesus, by His fulfilling and keeping the Law on your behalf. For He has done all that the Law commanded and not done all that it prohibits. More than that, He died the death under the Law that you deserve so as to free you from under the Law. As it is written, When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal 4:4-5).
You are justified. You are washed. You are sanctified. In Christ you are no longer under the Law, but are like the man with dropsy, taken by Christ, healed, and sent away, to walk in the Law.
And this, beloved, is what we call the third use of the Law. A map or guide. This is what St Paul is speaking of when he writes to the Ephesians, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This doing of the Law, faith active in love, is rooted and grounded in the confession of one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Which is to say, faith and love go together, belief and works, doctrine and practice, justification and sanctification. The Gospel sets you free from the accusations of the Law for the purpose of fulfilling the Law. It is the word fitly spoken. Apples of gold in a setting of silver. To be held in high esteem and of great value.
You are a holy people, beloved. Given to live holy lives, here in time and thereafter in eternity. For you Christ Jesus humbled Himself unto death, even death upon a Cross. He who kept the Law entirely suffered the ignominious death demanded by the Law. Therefore the Father has highly exalted Him and raised Him from the dead. So to you. Jesus pulls you up out of the grave with Himself. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, says Jesus, if you do what I command you. He has sent His Word of Law and Gospel as invitation saying, “Repent and believe.” He says to you now, “Friend, move up higher.” Come, the Table is prepared, the Supper is ready. Our Lord exalts you to Himself and feeds you on His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins, the strengthening of your faith toward Him and the living out of your fervent love toward one another.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Dear people loved by God, today you have set before you the account of a Sabbath supper, Jesus and the Pharisees attending, and our Lord, in mercy and love, heals a man who has dropsy, that is, edema. But the miracle is not the main point of this text. It is the teaching. Jesus took him and healed him and sent him away. Therefore, let us strive to keep the Sabbath Day by listening to the Word of the Lord, holding it sacred, gladly hearing and learning it.
How did the Pharisees keep the Sabbath? Not by hearing the Word of the Lord from the mouth of Christ who was their dinner guest. But by watching Him closely, secretly hoping for Jesus to trip up, to violate the Sabbath in some way, so that they could point the finger and accuse Him. The Pharisees prided themselves on their careful attention to the Law. This phrase, watching carefully, is never used in a positive way in the New Testament, but always in the sense of an ulterior or sinister motive.
And behold there was a man before Him who had dropsy. Maybe he was outside and Jesus saw him. Maybe he was placed there as bait for a trap set by the Pharisees. Certainly he would not have been invited. For along with the uncleanness and the disfigurement caused by swelling and water retention, dropsy was assumed to be the result of immoral behavior. The Pharisees would not have associated with such a man.
But Jesus knows He’s being watched and the reason for their invitation. Previously in chapter thirteen, He had healed on the Sabbath a woman who suffered from a disabling spirit. To this the ruler of the synagogue indignantly replied, “There are six days on which to work. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then Jesus answered, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his money from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Lk 13:14-16). This constellation of words - untie, bound, loose - are from the same family of words as forgive. Jesus is making a point that forgiveness knows no law, not Sabbath or otherwise.
So too here. Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out? Jesus is not equating the life of an animal to the life of a child, but is making an analogy from the greater to the lesser. If you have mercy on your livestock on the Sabbath, how much more for those who suffer who share in your own flesh and blood? Compassion overrules human tradition. And need makes its own law. Our neighbor’s need determines our good works. The law of the Sabbath cannot be used as a law against good works and serving the neighbor in mercy and love. As Jesus says in Matthew, I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Mt 9:13; 12:7).
Then Jesus tells a little parable; a poignant story on manners and humility. What prompted this story? He noticed how they chose the places of honor. The Pharisees invited Jesus, watching Him carefully, in order to trap Him. But Jesus is people watching, too. And He notices that not only do they use, or rather misuse, the Law to justify their lack of mercy, but they also use the Law to put themselves forward by self-exultation; taking the place of honor at a wedding feast and then with shame being moved lower because that seat was reserved for another. This common sense instruction - don’t sit at the head table when it’s not your wedding - is an all out assault on everything that the Pharisees thought and did.
And its good for us too. For, remember, we all have a little Pharisee living inside us, the sinful flesh, which knows nothing of the Gospel, of mercy and forgiveness, but is busy with the Law, exalting ourselves to God and against the neighbor.
The Pharisees, them and us, are experts at twisting the Law, using it for our own benefit. The Law, which commands faith toward God and love toward the neighbor, is used against God and neighbor. Consider this: God’s Law, which first accuses us before God and shows us how we deserve His wrath, so that we come before Him humbly and repentant, is taken by the Pharisees and used to show how good they are, how perfect and righteous, how they deserve to sit next to God in heaven.
And the Law which is supposed to put us in a humble position towards our neighbor so that we come alongside them and serve them, help them and give the gifts, is used by the Pharisees to beat down the neighbor, show how bad the neighbor is compared to them.
So if this how the Pharisees, both them and our pharisaical flesh, misuse the Law, how is it to be rightly used? We talk of the three uses of the Law: curb, mirror, and guide. Not three laws, but the one Law of God, the Decalogue, having three uses or functions.
The Law as curb keeps society in order. This is the Law that keeps us from hurting and harming each other, honoring true marriage, protecting other family’s stuff, and the reputation of our neighbor. The Law as curb is why we have government, police, military, courts and judges, jails and stop signs. You saw this use in action earlier this week in Las Vegas. Lord, have mercy!
The second use of the Law is a mirror. This is the chief use. The Law shows us our sin. It always accuses us. This is the theological use of the Law. It condemns us. Shows us the sins which we commit, the good works we neglect, and the sin which clings to our flesh and bones until we die. Here the Law teaches us something that we can’t know by feeling or experience. Sin has corrupted us to the core.
See, we might know that we are sinners, that we’ve messed up and not done well. Usually it goes like this: “I know I’ve made mistakes. I’m not perfect. It’s just human nature.” But we don’t think we’re bad enough to deserve God’s wrath and hell. Here the Law of the Lord comes like a hammer and demolishes us. In our flesh we are repulsive and offensive to the holiness of God. Here the Law shows us how the pain and shame and darkness of the Cross, the being forsaken and smitten and rejected by God that Jesus suffered is what we truly deserve.
When the Law is doing its mirror work, it always accuses, always shows us our sin, magnifying and highlighting and pointing it out. Not like a little hand held mirror, but like those big, lighted mirrors that show every wrinkle, every imperfection, every blotch and spot. Some things weren’t meant to be in high-def. But that’s what the Law as mirror does. As long as we are using the Law to compare ourselves with others we might be doing okay. But as soon as the Lord’s perfect Law comes into picture we are undone.
And this is exactly how Jesus wants us. Undone. Laid bare before Him by the Law. No merits or works of our own. Nothing on which to stand. Nothing of which to boast. No pointing at others and saying, “At least I’m better than him.” You’re not. You’re a poor, miserable sinner. But this is where the Gospel enters in. For Christ has had mercy on sinners. Christ came only for sinners. Christ died only for sinners. Christ lives only in sinners. If you don’t consider yourself a sinner then go home. You don’t need to be here.
But if you know your sin, feel it in your heart and mind, your conscience accusing you, then friend, come up here. If the Law has done its work and the two edged scalpel has cut you open and you are afraid you’re going to bleed out and die, come, receive the Gospel salve of the full and free forgiveness won by Jesus, by His fulfilling and keeping the Law on your behalf. For He has done all that the Law commanded and not done all that it prohibits. More than that, He died the death under the Law that you deserve so as to free you from under the Law. As it is written, When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal 4:4-5).
You are justified. You are washed. You are sanctified. In Christ you are no longer under the Law, but are like the man with dropsy, taken by Christ, healed, and sent away, to walk in the Law.
And this, beloved, is what we call the third use of the Law. A map or guide. This is what St Paul is speaking of when he writes to the Ephesians, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This doing of the Law, faith active in love, is rooted and grounded in the confession of one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Which is to say, faith and love go together, belief and works, doctrine and practice, justification and sanctification. The Gospel sets you free from the accusations of the Law for the purpose of fulfilling the Law. It is the word fitly spoken. Apples of gold in a setting of silver. To be held in high esteem and of great value.
You are a holy people, beloved. Given to live holy lives, here in time and thereafter in eternity. For you Christ Jesus humbled Himself unto death, even death upon a Cross. He who kept the Law entirely suffered the ignominious death demanded by the Law. Therefore the Father has highly exalted Him and raised Him from the dead. So to you. Jesus pulls you up out of the grave with Himself. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, says Jesus, if you do what I command you. He has sent His Word of Law and Gospel as invitation saying, “Repent and believe.” He says to you now, “Friend, move up higher.” Come, the Table is prepared, the Supper is ready. Our Lord exalts you to Himself and feeds you on His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins, the strengthening of your faith toward Him and the living out of your fervent love toward one another.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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