Blessed in the Presence of Jesus :: Matthew 13:54-58
And they were scandalized (or offended) by him (v 57).
We live in a world that is easily offended. People scandalize each other by suing over the most trivial matters. They lie, cheat, and steal. They are proud, arrogant, and abusive. They are always just a moment away from creating an even bigger scandal.
Worse, they are shocked or horrified ... the definition of scandalize ... by the presence of a cross and the words under God. If that cross is a crucifix, the world will malign it even more and speak more maliciously about it. They feel scandalized by being reminded their sin was nailed to a cross. They feel scandalized by thinking that God died for us ... and that he would do this precisely because we are actually poor, we are actually miserable, and we are actually sinners.
The world is scandalized by its refusal to believe in Jesus.
It’s nothing new to recognize how offended we are. Scandals are as old as man. The first scandal of history is recorded in the garden. There, Adam and Eve stumbled over the idea that they didn’t know-it-all. They were offended by the sin of adding to God’s Word. Then they added scandal on top of scandal by denying it.
It’s his fault ... it’s her fault ... it’s God’s fault, the man and woman said.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, before you create another scandal for yourself, heed the warning of our Gospel reading today. Jesus is saying that when we take offense at Him ... it is no less than unbelief ... the scandal of scandals.
1.
Now ... I imagine that there isn’t a single man, woman, or child here who’d freely admit aloud that they are scandalized by Christ or his Word. Instead, I’m sure we’ll all quickly admit how instead we are offended by the world and that it’s their fault. I’m sure we’ll all quickly turn our attention to the scandals of other Christians ... and pastors ... and events of our lives. It’s his fault, it’s her fault, it’s God’s fault!
Brothers and sisters in Christ, when we walk away from the pure Word of God, when we ignore the pure Word of God, when we change God’s Word to suit our lifestyles and desires, when we despise preaching and God’s Word ... we are taking offense at Christ ... we are causing scandal ... and we are stumbling over the cornerstone of the Christian faith ... our Lord Jesus.
When we spurn his sacraments, we are causing an offense ... a scandal ... that denies Jesus.
When we reject the plain word of God, we are causing offense to the one who sent that word.
2.
The people in Nazareth took offense at Christ ... They were offended by the good news he was sharing with them. They then fell into sinful unbelief. That’s what our appointed Gospel reading from Matthew 13 declares today for this Festival of Saint James of Jerusalem.
They did this because they didn’t really know who Jesus was.
Do you?
Listen to our Gospel reading again. And coming into his fatherland, he began to teach them in their synagogue, with the result being that they began to be astonished and to say, “Where did this man get this wisdom and power? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where, therefore, did this man get all of these things?” And they were scandalized by him ... (you know, offended and horrified by what he was doing and saying). So Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his fatherland and in his own household.” And he didn’t show much of his power there because of their unbelief.
They didn’t believe in Jesus! Oh, the scandal it causes!
How foolish is it to be offended by what Jesus teaches about grace and love and forgiveness? How foolish is it to be offended by means of grace and what Jesus was doing among them, healing and saving? How foolish is it to dismiss Jesus simply because they knew his family ... Joseph and Mary, and James among so many other brothers and sisters?
Like the people in the synagogue at Nazareth, too often we also allow our rationalism, moralism, and mysticism get in the way of recognizing who Jesus really is, and what he really does for us. Too often we rely on our own observations, feelings, and attempts to improve ourselves to prove to ourselves that we believe in the True God. Too often we rely on what our works as proof that we’re good. And then, like the world around us, we reduce Jesus to being nothing but simply a good man with a good word about good living. It’s scandalous!
When we deny the Word of God among us ... we dismiss his power and miracles ... and finally we fall into unbelief ... the scandal of scandals.
The people of the synagogue rejected Jesus as true God and true man. They became offended by the idea that God would come to them in the flesh. They disbelieved ... just like Saint Paul ... until he saw the light on the road to Damascus. They disbelieved just like Saint Peter on the night of Jesus’ betrayal ... just hours after receiving the Lord’s supper no less. They were scandalized by Jesus. And because of their unbelief, Christ didn’t do many miracles there.
3.
I know we all want to say ... Surely if Jesus were speaking to us here, we would respect His preaching, and let nothing drive us away.
I know we all want to say ... Surely if Jesus were really here, we would flock here to Trinity Lutheran Church every Lord’s day to receive his Divine Service.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the name of Jesus, repent every one of you.
JESUS BLESSES US WITH HIS PRESENCE AND SILENCES OUR SCANDALS BY DELIVERING TO YOU LIFE AND SALVATION THROUGH WORD AND SACRAMENTS.
4.
We know this precisely because of witnesses like Saint James of Jerusalem, the brother of Jesus and a martyr for the Lord. Along with all the prophets and apostles, James bears witness to the truth the people of Nazareth failed to recognize: that our Lord Jesus is in fact God with us, God in the flesh, true God and true Man. This brother of our Lord is among the first people to recognize from the prophets that Jesus was the Lord “known from of old” (Acts 15:17). And in his confession, Saint James goes on to teach us to recognize that every good and perfect gift comes down to us from God himself (1:17). This is pure Gospel.
James is a witness to the truth that Jesus unswervingly performed his Father’s will (Mt 26:36-46) ... sweating blood for you in prayer ... shedding his blood for you on the cross and that he alone redeemed you from your sin ... dying for you and just as importantly, rising to new life as the firstfruit of the resurrection. This is pure Gospel. James gives us a true witness.
He bore witness to the truth that it is Jesus and Jesus alone who serves you in this place during his Divine Service to you. That’s what today’s festival is all about today, or would be all about if we upheld our Lutheran Confession. James reminds us all that it is Jesus who has drawn near to you to preach his Gospel and administer his sacraments just like he did in Nazareth.
Don’t allow yourself to be scandalized by this truth and say you don’t need any of this.
Our sinful flesh wants to take offense and stumble over the word of our Lord. We will seek ways to demand that we can save ourselves ... that it is our decision that matters. We scandalize ourselves by trying to boast about how well we have prepared ourselves. Our flesh wants to deny that God is able to deliver the forgiveness of sins to us through means of grace.
5.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, scandals are stumbling blocks to receiving the forgiveness of sins from Jesus.
Put to death the flesh with its pride and its offense. Believe God’s Gospel and receive his gifts from above with joy. Return to your baptism daily, drowning the old Adam through repentance and faith. Long to hear his words of absolution through the preaching of the Gospel and then believe that that forgiveness is yours because Jesus said so. And finally take and eat ... take and drink with joy, knowing that his body and blood given and shed for you deliver to you life and salvation through a feast of forgiveness that has no end.
Through his means of grace, God will deliver to you healing that is more powerful than the cleansing of lepers or the opening of the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. Through them, he will nourish and nurture the saving faith in what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do ... finally delivering to us the eternal life God created us for.
Jesus blesses us with his presence to free us from the scandals of our lives.
As our Psalmist declared today ... Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard ... It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there, the Lord has commanded the blessing: Life forevermore!
... in Jesus’ name.