Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: Jeremiah 23,16-29. Trinity I

Jeremiah 23,16-29 3524

Trinity I 47

Blandina, Virgin, Martyr in Lyon, France 177 (Marcus Aurelius, 161-80)
Erasmus, B., Confessor, ✠ 303

Clotilde, wife of Clovis, Queen of the Franks, ✠ 548

2. Juni 2024

1. ℣ O Yahweh, I hope/trust in Your merciful steadfast love:

℟ My Heart rejoices in Your salvation (Psalm 12,6a vul lxx/mas).

O Father of mercies, Your hand has fashioned us. Lord Jesus Christ, only-begotten Son of the Highest, our Mediator, Redeemer, and Savior, … let none of Your redeemed be lost. O Spirit of Grace, have mercy on us and be not far from us with Your gifts. Comfort and refresh our poor souls when we are grieved. Amen. (Pieper 187.188; English transl. 107).

2. »Thus says Yahweh Sebaoth: „Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of Yahweh. They say continually to those who despise the word of Yahweh: ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say: ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’“ For who among them has stood in the council of Yahweh to see and to hear His Word, or who has paid attention to His Word and listened? Behold, the storm of Yahweh! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of Yahweh will not turn back until He has executed and accomplished the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, then they would have proclaimed My Words to My people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds. Am I a God at hand and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth? I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in MyName, saying: ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make My people forget My Name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot My Name for Baal? Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has My Word speak My Word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? Is not My Word like fire, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?“«

3. Everyone boasts in proclaiming the Word of Yahweh. Everyone claims to be speaking the truth. But not everyone who claims to speak for Yahweh, in fact, does speak for Him. In Moses’ day, his own brother, Aaron, made a golden calf to represent the gods who brought them out of Egypt (Exodus 32,1-4). In Jeremiah’s day, false prophets claimed to speak for Yahweh and they said all would be well for Judah, but Jeremiah did speak for Yahweh who said those false prophets are like their ancestors who forgot the Name of Yahweh and instead remembered him as the golden bull Baal that Aaron had made for them. In the days the apostles, Christians claiming to speak for James, the bishop of the Jerusalem church, said the Gentile Christians must be circumcised and follow the Mosaic dietary laws. 100 years later, Marcion rejected the Old Testament and declared the God of Israel to be an angry and wrathful God, but he used an edited New Testament of Luke’s Gospel and 10 of Paul’s Epistles that he said were the true scriptures that proclaimed God to be a loving and forgiving God. Those who speak for God always contend against the false prophets.

4. Nothing has changed within the Church of the 21^st century. False teachers rise up and seek to proclaim a false gospel. Yahweh’s words against the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day apply to the false teachers in our day: »They speak visions of their own minds, from the mouth of Yahweh. They continually say to those who despise the word of Yahweh: „It shall be well with you“; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say: „No disaster will befall you.“« Our sinful human nature does not want to hear the law accusing us of sin and wickedness. Our fallen flesh would prefer to hear the sweet words that all is well. The false gospel of „Jesus plus something we do“ makes sense to our corrupted minds; surely I must add something to this gospel to earn it and be blessed by it; nothing in life is free, so neither is the gospel. Thus goes the argument of the false teachers. The Apostle Paul dealt with such false teachers in his Epistle to the Galatians.

5. „The preachers of another gospel did not come straight out against Christ. The Apostle Paul says, “Watch out—they are not straight-forward.” He gives some clues to help us recognize what is going on. “They make much of you”—persuasive talkers. What are they working you toward? They may indeed say lots of nice things in praise of Christ. Then comes the hook: “Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus.” Then if you want to make sure of Christ, there is something you better see to, you better work on. Christ plus something more. That “something more” that is added to Christ is clearly from people. This is quite clear when it is referenced to humans, evidenced by humans. The history of the church tells of the unapostolic succession of things added to Christ as “Christ clinchers,” evidences that can show that Christ really works. What is it you look for it to make Christ for sure? The preachers of another gospel in the churches of Galatia were thumping circumcision. Christ is great. We don’t deny all the good things that Paul has been telling you about Him, but if you want to be sure it is okay with you before God, you jolly well better be circumcised, for that is undoubtedly commanded by God. So they had God and His Law on their side—it is in the Bible. The preachers nowadays who preach another gospel, what are they thumping as additions to Christ to make sure that it is okay with you before God? If He is blessing you, why is that? If you want to be sure of God’s blessings, what is it you had better be doing? Are you tithing? Are you happy? Here is how to make it happen with Jesus“ (Nagel 159-160).

6. So the televangelists’ promise: „Send in your love offering and God will bless you“ brings a comfort to our itching ears. Or: „If you support the nation of Israel, then God will look favorably upon you.“ They even quote the Bible with that one: »Abraham, I Yahweh, will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed« (Genesis 12,2-3). You don’t want God’s curse do you? Then you better support Israel without question or criticism so you are guaranteed of His blessing on your life.

6. Nothing has changed in 2500 years: we don’t want to hear the harsh truth that we are wicked sinners.

7. God’s remedy for sin is a sacrifice. He sent His Son to be that sacrifice for us. This gospel is great news, but many people don’t want it that way. Where is my part in this gospel, they might ask? What must I do to merit or help in meriting forgiveness? False prophets and false preachers will highlight what it is that you must do to add to the gospel. In the Apostolic Church there were loud and influential Jewish Christian saying if you aren’t circumcised and following the Jewish dietary laws, then you don’t have the full gospel. The Apostle Paul wrote an entire epistle, Galatians, wherein he demolishes that false gospel being preached.

8. If that’s the „gospel“ you want, then you will get the same condemnation Yahweh spoke through His Prophet Jeremiah. Paul told them »But even if we or an angel from heaven may be preaching to y’all a gospel contrary to the one we preach to y’all, let him be anathema. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone may be preaching to y’all a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be anathema.« (Galatians 1,8-9). The apostle holds nothing back: those false preachers can go to hell! Harsh words, indeed from Christ’s apostle.

9. And Paul holds nothing back with the gospel. »Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written: Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. [Deuteronomy 27,26] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree [Deuteronomy 21,22-23] — so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.« (Galatians 2,16.21; 3,10.13-14).

10. Judah was solely liberated, redeemed and forgiven by Yahweh alone (Dominus solus). Ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, et suscitabo David germen iustum: et regnabit rex, et sapiens erit, et faciet iudicium et iustitiam in terra (Jeremiah 23,5). »Behold, the days are arriving, declares Yahweh, when I will raise up for David a Branch, and He will reign as king and deal wisely, and will execute justice and righteousness in the land.« Jeremiah is talking about Christ Jesus.

11. We are blessed on account of Christ. We don’t need to add anything to Christ to receive His blessing, for He gives us His blessing in full, by grace, through faith. We are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. We receive Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. We are liberated from our sins when Christ’s absolution is spoken. These are Christ’s Sacraments and Christ’s words. Christ has forgiven you and delivered you. Stand fast, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Nagel 160).

10. Though the world with its pride and splendor

Fades away, leaving behind its splendor,

Neither honor nor wealth shall remain,

Of what we once held in high esteem:

Beneath the earth, in slumber deep,

We shall be placed to sleep:

But when we awake, by God’s command,

We shall rise again from the land.

(Von Gott will ich nicht lassen elkg 630,6 2021 Ludwig Helmbold 1563)

This is most certainly true.

11. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.

12. Let us pray. Grant, O Lord, to Thy servants and followers who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, that their conversation may be as becometh the Gospel of Christ, that they may stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel; that in nothing terrified by their adversaries, they may be bold in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him but also to suffer for His sake. Amen. (Trinity I, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Jeremiah 23,16-29. Trinity I

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