A mostly unedited transcript of the sermon follows the jump:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the thirteenth chapter:
[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy He goes and sells all that He has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that He had and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
These parables again are very familiar to us. We tend to kind of gloss right through them. They're short. They're sweet. They're to the point. There's not much to them or so we think. For Jesus leaves us in our reading this day with something, kind of. well, interesting. He says this, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who brings out of his treasure, what is new and what is old.” It's an interesting turn of phrase here. Jesus is referring obviously to someone who owns the house, someone who is having some kind of party, and someone who is presenting things before the guests, often gifts or perhaps a meal and, in the serving utensils, he's bringing out that which is new and that which is old. The master knows best what is good, what is bad, what is new, what is old, what is right, what is wrong and He says that every scribe is like that master.
Now the scribes, you have to remember, the scribes had an interesting role within first century temple Judaism ,where they not only would, of course, write the scriptures as they would copy them from one piece to the next, but certainly the scribes also had a teaching capacity, a teaching capacity where they would get up and they might be able to give the sense of what the text is saying. And in doing so they put themselves in a position where they are able to read God's word and people would hear them and they would say this must then be what God's word means.
You have to go back if you want a little bit of a sense of what that might look like. When they go back in and Nehemiah is there rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem, they're coming out of exile and they haven't heard the word of God for years. They’ve forgotten it, and in the the destructed wall of the temple, they find a singular copy of God's word and when the people hear it being read they weep. They weep because they haven't heard it. And as that word is read not only is the word read in its entirety, if you can imagine that reading an entire book, right, but then they would teach from it and ask what does this mean? I was a good Lutheran question, right? But the Scribe would be there, giving you the sense of what God's word is saying.
Jesus leaves our reading today with this kind of word and for us it allows us to go back and actually interpret rightly the rest of the parables. Now, certainly we all can see different truths that are coming out of these parables and they're very plain on the surface. But what Jesus is saying is the one who hears and understands this will continue to find God's word in them and if God's word is in them, because they are God's word, then they will always bring something new to your hearing and to your understanding.
So we're going to begin at the end of the parables and make our way backwards through them. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a net that is thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind and, when it was full, men would draw it ashore and they sat down and they sorted through the fish into containers. They would put the good into those containers. They throw the bad away. Now, of course, Jesus gives us the interpretation of this parable: the angels will come out at the close of the age and separate the evil from the righteous. The evil will go to hell and the righteous will be welcomed into their place of rest.
So, what do we do with this? Well, you can say, ‘Well, Pastor, that's exactly what Jesus means and that's all you need to say about that,” and I could say you're probably right. But here we find that the kingdom of heaven is like a net that is thrown. You have to imagine this for a second sit down and think about this for a moment that the kingdom of heaven is like a net that is cast out into the world and draws in all people. The kingdom of heaven is like that. It's not just talking about, you know, this is the last times and the angels are going to go through this. Jesus is saying the kingdom of heaven is going to be cast out over the whole world and will draw in all kinds of people. What about the kingdom of heaven does this?
Well, if you're a careful reader of God's word, you would find that Jesus often will say things like the kingdom of heaven is at hand or the kingdom of heaven is in your midst. When Jesus refers to the kingdom of heaven, He is certainly referring to the rule and reign of God the Father, but it's more than that. The kingdom of heaven can be seen as Jesus Himself. Jesus is the kingdom of heaven being thrown out into the world, gathering all men to Himself.
And there on that last day when the net goes out and all people are judged by the angels, separated good from evil, there we find those who either grasp onto Jesus or are dead in the water, which is really the idea, a living fish will get tangled up in the net and the dead fish will just kind of flop down, right?
And so it is with Jesus, that being cast out of the world, He indeed brings us into a life that we do not know. For if we are the fish in this parable, the kingdom of heaven is cast out into the water where we are comfortable, in a world that we know, and we’re taken by the kingdom of heaven into a place that we do not yet know but can only see glimmers of. And there we find either life or death. It's strange to think that a fish out of water would have life but it is what Jesus promises you in this parable, that you will have life and the evil will be put to the fire.
Now again, He goes into the second parable. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant, like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and bought it. You've ever done any kind of gold panning? I remember when I was a kid, we had gone on a trip out west and you can go to some of these old-timey, little ghost town places. They have all these tourist traps and, at one, you can go and pan for gold. There’s usually there's no gold in it, because, of course, it's actually all the soil that's been brought up there. It’s already been dug through and panned. But as a kid, you're just so excited you put your little pan down in the water and you get some dirt and start shaking it and try to find the gold that's in there.
This merchant is kind of like that, it’s like he's going into a box looking for great pearls in this box. And he goes in and he finds this one, one that's been overlooked, one that's been cast aside, but the merchant knows that it is of great value. And so you can almost imagine the merchant taking the pearl and sliding it into the bottom of the box, in a corner where it's less likely to be found and he goes back home and he arranges for everything he has to be sold because what he has is not worth what that pearl is worth. But the guy selling it doesn't know it.
Again, Jesus is this merchant going and finding a pearl of great value and the image here then is you. First, Jesus casts His net into the world and brings all people to Himself. Now, Jesus is looking directly at you. And He sees that you have great value, you who are a great sinner, you who have deserved nothing from God but hell, you who should be cast out with the evil ones, Jesus looks at you and says Nah. No, this is a hidden gem. I want this one. And He goes and He sells all that He has. He literally lays down his life. He gives his life up to ransom you home. He spills out his blood. His body is broken all in payment for you. That really is the idea of redemption, isn't it, to give up something for someone.
That's really the picture of atonement, of redemption in the Scriptures, that Jesus lays it all down to make you holy and righteous, to buy you back from sin and death and to make you His own. Jesus finds value in you. Not only does He see the whole world, but He finds value in you.
Now to the first parable. The kingdom of heaven, and, again, read this, Jesus, is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that He has and buys that field. All of the sudden, now, granted we're working through these backwards, but the kingdom of heaven, Jesus, is like the treasure in the field. Up until now you would expect Jesus would be the man who finds the treasure, right? But now you here are the focus.
Jesus is the treasure hidden in a field, which you have found, and in your joy, because you have been chosen by Jesus, because you have been redeemed in his blood, because you have been brought to salvation, in your joy you find Jesus, giving up all that you have. You buy that field, wherever that treasure is, that it and everything surrounding it may be yours forever. We give up the pleasures of this world that we might have even that one little morsel of treasure.
Imagine that. If Jesus were just a single gold coin, would you sell all that you had so that you may have him? I would think not. And yet because we are the redeemed of God, because we are His chosen people, because He has seen that we shall be His, He knows the joy that we will have. And in our hearts, as we have been made His own, we would give up all things so that we may indeed have Him ,the only great joy.
There's a story going around on Facebook this week of a storage unit that was sold. Have you guys seen these or heard of these? A lot of times, when storage units aren’t paid for, when the owner doesn't pay, the place will auction them off to the highest bidder. And it's a fairly common practice and people buy these units because every so often they find something that makes it all pretty valuable, makes it worth it. Well, there was a man who bought a storage unit and as he went through it and went through it, he found really nothing of value. But he did find an old American flag folded up into a triangle put into a glass case, a picture of a soldier on top of it. And that man, having looked at that American flag that was probably 60, 70 years old, knew that this was more valuable than anything he could find in that unit, not because of it's worth, not because he could sell it for money, but because there was a family out there that had forgotten this was theirs. And so now he is working to find the family of that poor soldier.
This is our Jesus. He may not look like much but He is of more value to us than anything. He is, in fact, a sentimental piece that we cannot do without. Think of the thing that is most beloved by you in your home, aside from a friend or a family member, a thing that's there that you could not do without. What would you give to get it back if someone hid that from you? What would you give to get it back if someone had stolen that from you and buried it in a field and you didn't know where it was. Your Jesus should be to you of more value than even that. And so He is.
For Jesus has chosen you out of the world, Jesus has looked at you and seen your value, Jesus has laid down his life to purchase you, and now ,having been called by his gospel, you would do the same, you would lay down your life even to have a glimpse of Jesus.
What an amazing thing it is that the Spirit working in us brings this joy into our hearts. The joy when we apprehend Jesus. And we do apprehend Him. We do grab onto him. We grab onto him with our ears when we hear His word, when we hear it spoken to us, when we pray it, when we sing it, when we receive His Absolution, the free forgiveness of sins. And we apprehended Jesus even in our memories as we remember our baptism at the beginning of every service, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we apprehend Him there. And we apprehend Him in our mouths as He enters into us and His true body and blood, in, with, and under the bread and the wine.
Your Jesus has given Himself over to you that you may have Him in every way, that you may grasp onto him in joy and in love. For God has chosen you to be His people. He has chosen you to be His son or His daughter. He has chosen you that you might live with Him forever.
But now go back to the end, the end of our reading. Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. You are like the scribes, having now the word of God in front of you, having been chosen by Jesus Christ, having been washed in his blood, having been welcomed into His kingdom, you are now the scribe, and so you are now like a master of a house laying before those who would come into your place what is good, what is right, what is new and what is old. You now have the responsibility and the joy of bringing Jesus to all those who come before you. Because you have been captured by God, because you have been chosen by Christ, and because you have found Him precious, you now have the joy of giving the sense of God's word. It may not be enough for some people just to hear, “You are forgiven. In the stead and by the command of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Well, maybe that's not enough for some people. Have you thought about that? It's enough for you, it’s enough for me, but we have been called. We are already in his kingdom. But now you may go to others and say what joy you have when you hear those words. You may go to others and tell how Jesus Christ has redeemed you, a lost and condemned creature. And every time those words are spoken to you, you are reminded of what Jesus has given over for you, that He has found in you such great price that He gave up everything, even His life. And they can have it, too. They can have it, too.
This was originally given to the apostles as they were being prepared to go out into the world to bring the word of God to every corner of the world. But now this is written also for you, that you may know that God has chosen you, He has found you, and He has declared you good, He has declared you of great value. And now you may hold on to Him in joy, for your Lord indeed is good and gracious to you, and having searched for you and found you and bought you, He shall never let you go from His hands. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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