Sermon archive

This blog contains sermons listed by date, Bible passage and title

Name:
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, January 03, 2010

2nd Sunday after Christmas 1/3/09 Luke 2:40-52

Second Sunday after Christmas


1/03/10

Luke 2:40-52



Saint Luke in writing his inspired gospel is setting out to prove from eyewitness accounts that Jesus is true man and true God, a message that needs to be preached today with all the false teachings out there concerning Jesus, especially the ones where it is taught that Jesus came to be one of us, so that we could all enjoy good health, prosperity, and power. Teachings like this attract people by the hundreds of thousands and why not, for who does not want good health, prosperity and power.



Unfortunately for those that follow Jesus for that reason that is not the reason Jesus came to be one of us. He came for another reason and that was to save us from God’s wrath which we still deserve, for God can only accept perfection. If he accepted anything less he could not be God. We have heard angels proclaim him to be the Messiah. We have heard Mary proclaim him to the Messiah. We have heard Mary’s Aunt Elizabeth proclaim him to be the Messiah. We have heard shepherds proclaim him to be the Messiah. We have heard Simeon proclaim him to be the Messiah. All of this before he was 41 days old



Today in our gospel reading we hear for the first time Jesus proclaiming that he is the Messiah. While he did not use the actual words “I am the Messiah” that is what he means when he said to Mary his mother, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house”, actually the Greek is “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business.”, which I like better, for Jesus was always doing his Father’s business from the time he was born, for in his coming into the world he was doing the Father’s business of saving those whom God loved. He was doing the Father’s business, healing people, forgiving sins, living a perfectly obedient life, being scorned, whipped, and murdered on the cross. His life was and is still doing the Father’s business.



Those words of Jesus, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business.” are the first recorded words of Jesus in Luke’s gospel. So now we don’t have to just believe the words of the angels, of Mary or Elizabeth, or the shepherds, or Simeon, or in Matthew, the Magi. We now have Jesus at the age of 12 proclaiming who he is.



In that short statement he is stating that he is in a relationship with God the Father that is different from, and deeper than, anything that our world had ever been known before. It is from and in that relationship that Jesus is going to bring all others to the Father who are prepared to put their faith in God. It is through that relationship that Jesus will teach them to address their prayers regularly to “Our Father”, and it is through that special one of a kind relationship that his followers will learn to use the affectionate, intimate name ‘Abba’ (‘Daddy’) which he himself uses.



Thus in this one statement of Jesus early in his Gospel Luke introduces the great object of the divine plan of salvation, just as John does, in his own way, at the beginning of his story of Jesus when he wrote in John 1:12, “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”.



Both of these truths; that he is Son of God, and that he has come into the world so that others may become sons of God are implied in his words in verse 49. For to be ‘in my Father’s house or about my Father’s business’ really amounts to the same thing for where the Father is, is the center of his activity and that is where Jesus is too. Jesus has come to be one with the Father in the saving of his human creation.

With this particular reading Luke finishes off the beginning of the life of Jesus. He has made his point that Jesus is not only 100% human, but also 100% God. When you think about it the coming of Jesus into the world would mean nothing, were it not accompanied by God’s own explanation of it, so Luke has told us, so that we too can fully grasp the fullness of this message of salvation and thus receive his blessings.

Theologians have puzzled over the exact relationship between Jesus’ humanity and deity ever since Jesus came. But all we can say with confidence is what God’s Word says about him. Jesus is both God and man. Jesus spoke the creation into being, so he is 100% God. As a human being, He descended from Adam, was born, and lived a normal human life. He felt hunger and physical exhaustion. He knew rejection and pain. He enjoyed wedding celebrations and parties. He felt pity for the helpless, frustration at the dullness of His followers, and anger at the heartless indifference of the religious leaders to human suffering. He is 100% human, in the best and the ideal sense of that word. As a human being he is one of us.



That he is 100 % human is critical to our salvation, for without being 100% human he could not take our place in facing the wrath of God. In other words, if he had used any of his God powers which he could have used, if he desired, he would have been cheating, for he had to be 100% human even while being 100% God. He had to on his own perfectly trust in the Father. That is why we are told in God’s scripture that Jesus is the second Adam. Jesus is doing what the first Adam was created to do, but did not do, that is to perfectly trust in God the Father to provide for all his needs. Jesus had to perfectly fulfill the law of God which is what he was doing even as his parents hauled him around as a baby, a child, and later as a young boy when we read in verses 51 and 52 “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man."

Jesus fulfilled the Law of God as he honored his parents by obeying them even while acknowledging that he was to be doing the business of God the Father. Our Gospel lesson this morning helps us to see while Jesus is true God he is also true man fulfilling the Law of God perfectly.

Still maybe a little confused on Jesus being 100% God while being 100% human? Hebrews 2:17 will be of help in understanding what I have been talking about, for it is written that Jesus, "had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make atonement for the sins of the people." There it is. In God’s plan of salvation Jesus had to be made like His brothers in every respect. Jesus had to be human. He had to be the genuine article! He couldn't just act human. He couldn't just turn into a human one moment and turn back into God the next like Clark Kent becoming Superman and vice versa. Jesus had to be like us in every way, shape, and form. He had to be a genuine human person capable of sinning, but not sinning. We know that because we are told in God’s Word that he was tempted as we are, but did not sin.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus is the genuine article. You don’t have to completely understand how it all works, his being true man and true God. Just believe. In other words have faith in the teaching of God’s Holy Word. Believe that Jesus is true God and true man. Believe that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Believe that "He grew and became strong, filled with wisdom." Believe that "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." Believe that he fulfilled God's Law perfectly for us and then as an innocent man he suffered, shed His blood, and died to save us. Believe that he is our one and only Lord. He is our genuine Savior. It is all finished and completed. There is nothing left to do. Believe that your salvation has been won. Jesus, genuine God and genuine man, fulfilled God's Law for you. He suffered and died for your sins. The Good News of Jesus is that you are forgiven. You have eternal life with God. The work has been done for you by our Lord Jesus Christ and he continues to freely give his blessings to you through the power of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament. Amen