The Holy Family

by Pastor Paul Wolff

The Holy Family Window from Epiphany Lutheran Church, Detroit, Michigan (Now closed)

This past year (2022) my wife and I have been blessed to see our extended family grow. On the day of Epiphany we rejoiced at the birth of our fifth granddaughter. Then, not quite eleven months later, we rejoiced again at the birth of her niece, our first great-granddaughter. I don’t know what the deal is with all the girls. Statistically, you would expect out of six children born to the younger generations three would be girls and three would be boys. Children, aren’t born by statistics, however, and our grandchildren are all beautiful women and girls, and we thank God for all of them.

Children are truly a blessing from God, despite what the world may think of them. King Solomon wrote, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalm 127:3-5) This blessing goes all the way back to the creation of the world where God created mankind as a husband and his wife and blessed them, saying “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) This blessing was given before the fall into sin, but God blessed Adam and Eve with children even after they rebelled against Him, but He also promised to send a Savior to rescue them all from their sin. God also repeated His blessing to Noah and his sons after God rescued them from the great flood, saying“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” (Gen 9:1) Even though every person ever born on earth (except Jesus) has been born a sinner, God still blesses families with children, and has provided salvation for all of us through Jesus. This is the reason why we celebrate with joy the birth of Jesus, and why it is also important to remember the Holy Family at Christmas (and at other times when we celebrate God’s gifts of new members to our family).

 

The Holy Family at the Nativity of Christ This is not the real Holy Family, but a lifelike representation (compared to the other images in this article).

It is significant that when God became incarnate He came into a young family. In American culture, we would say today that Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married, because the marriage had not been consummated. In Jewish culture of that time, respectable people (like Joseph and Mary) would be legally married for a year – while living apart – before they consummated the marriage. You should note, too, that this practice was not only for prominent wealthy people, but also for laborers, like carpenters. It didn’t matter if Joseph was a skilled master carpenter or an unskilled laborer. People of all social classes would demonstrate their integrity by waiting a year before consummating the marriage, thus showing that they had not engaged in physical intimacy with each other. This not only gave them time to prove they were chaste and hadn’t been unfaithful, but it also gave them time to solidify their lifelong commitment to one another, and to the new family that they were creating.

God could have chosen an unmarried virgin to bear God’s Son, but that is not how God works. God, in His wisdom, created marriage and family for a purpose and He blesses families. In an intact family, the children know the love of both their father and their mother (see the Fourth Commandment – Exodus 20:12). This is God’s good plan, and though in this sinful world, this is not always possible, it is what we should strive for at all times. Besides, as God planned it, we have the “holy family” to look up to and try to make our own families holy also. We do this through repentance and forgiveness of one another when we sin against one another – as we inevitably will. If God had become incarnate through an unmarried woman, then Christians would idealize unmarried mothers and that would necessarily result in all kinds of chaos, like we see in pagan America today: children growing up in broken families feeling unloved and disobeying authorities and getting involved in drugs and crime. Our prisons are overwhelmingly populated with children of broken families.

The Holy Family Window from Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Detroit, Michigan (Now closed)

As it is, Joseph and Mary belong together, and we ought to try to emulate their purity and faithfulness. Though, I should say here that the “pious” idea of Mary’s lifelong virginity is pure wickedness. That would make her a lousy wife to withhold herself from her husband (see 1 Corinthians 7:1-5). Mary is perpetually a virgin in our memory because we perpetually remember her as “the blessed virgin”, or the “virgin mother”. We do this because Mary was still a virgin until after Jesus was born (see Matthew 1:18-25). This is important because it testifies to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, not the physical son of Joseph or any other sinful man, though Jesus lived as the son of Joseph, and was named as such (see Luke 2:48; Luke 3:23; Luke 4:22; Matthew 13:55; John 1:45; and John 6:42). There is no confusing the Blessed Virgin Mary with anyone else because never before and never again will a virgin conceive and bear a child. We also see in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 that the brothers of Jesus are named and the Gospel writers make note that they have sisters, also. The most plain (and best) interpretation of this is that these are the natural children of Joseph and Mary. There is no reason to doubt that – either historically, or exegetically, or theologically.

The “holy family” is considered holy because Jesus is holy. Joseph and Mary were sinners in need of Jesus to save them from their sins. In the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) Mary calls God, “my savior” (v. 47). Yet, despite the fact that Joseph and Mary were just like everyone else, they were also faithful, pious believers. As a young married couple, they were chaste and pure. When Joseph learned Mary was pregnant, he knew he was not the father, and though he was not (at first) willing to believe what Mary must have told him about what the angel said, he could have intended to have her stoned for adultery, but instead he planned on divorcing her quietly and not subjecting her to public disgrace. Then, when God told Joseph in a dream that all Mary had told him was true (see Matthew 1:20), he believed and kept the family intact. Joseph later protected Mary and Jesus by taking them to Egypt after Herod sought to kill the child, who was the true King of Judah (see INRI).

The Holy Family Window from Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Dearborn, Michigan

The world despises children because it takes sacrificial love to properly raise a child. Selfish pagans idolize themselves and do not care to expend the love and time and money it takes to provide for a child’s needs of body, soul, and mind. Parents must sacrifice to provide for their children’s needs, but that is what people were made for. It is very rewarding to raise a child and give him or her the necessary skills and resources necessary to become a respectable, productive member of society. It is even more rewarding for Christian parents to raise a child who loves God and his neighbors, and trusts in Jesus to save him from his sins. Parents who have done a good job raising children can be justifiably proud that their children are admired and respected by their neighbors and friends, and are valued members of society who care for those whom they deal with every day. This is something that selfish unbelievers who despise and murder their children (see my article on Molechianism) will never fully know because they idolize themselves, and they are unfulfilled because sooner or later their false gods will fail them.

No family is perfect, however, because all members of families are sinners. Even the holy family must have had its struggles and difficulties. The presence of Jesus did not change the sinful nature of Joseph and Mary, nor of His brothers and sisters. The story of the boy Jesus in the temple at age 12 (Luke 2:40-51) shows us that as the years went by, Joseph and Mary seem to have taken for granted that Jesus was the Son of God, and just thought of Him as a normal boy – which He was. There seems nothing out of the ordinary in the way that they deal with Him, as their son. They do show a high level of trust in Him, as they weren’t particularly worried that He wasn’t with them for a time. They assumed that Jesus was with others in their group (v. 44) as they traveled back up north, and they trusted Him not to be disobedient. Jesus always obeyed them perfectly, as an obedient son, but somehow not in a way that drew attention to Himself – so they trusted Him. Though, Mark 3:20-34 describes a situation where Christ’s family (specifically, His mother and brothers) thought Jesus was out of His mind, but Jesus kept teaching what He had been teaching because He was doing what He was supposed to do, and few others understood what it was all about. They thought Jesus suicidal for calling the leaders to repentance, and not heeding the threats against His life. Jesus was not suicidal, and at various times had to walk away from imminent threats to His life before His work was finished (See John 6:15 and Luke 4:24-30), but neither did He try to save Himself when the time came for Him to give His life to pay the price for the sins of the world (see Matthew 27:12-14). Some of the people who heard Christ’s teaching understood after He died and rose to life again, but others never did.

Glory to God in the Highest Jesus is born in Bethlehem (I forget where this window is from. This is a scan of an old film photograph.)

It seems strange to the world that God would become a man simply for the purpose of suffering and dying a shameful death on a cross. It is no wonder that Christ’s family thought Him out of his mind. That kind of love doesn’t make sense to our selfish, sinful flesh, but God’s love is perfect, and we see perfect love in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. That is why we celebrate Christmas, and why we celebrate more on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday. God is the only one who can save us from the guilt of our sin, and rescue us from sin’s consequences. So God became a man in Jesus to redeem us from sin and death. This is perfect love in action – that God would live and die to save His disobedient people, so that He could make us holy to live with Him forever.

 

This Christmas may Christ bless your family as you contemplate the Holy Family. May you love one another as Christ has loved you. May you forgive the sins that your family members commit against you, as Christ has forgiven all your sins. May father and mother be strengthened in love and commitment to one another, and may children give thanks to God continually for the blessings of their family.

 

 

Psalm 144:9-15 (NIV)

I will sing a new song to you, O God;

on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

to the One who gives victory to kings,

who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.

Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners

whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.

Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants,

and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.

Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision.

Our sheep will increase by thousands,

by tens of thousands in our fields;

our oxen will draw heavy loads.

There will be no breaching of walls,

no going into captivity,

no cry of distress in our streets.

Blessed are the people of whom this is true;

blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.

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Here are my other Christmas-themed articles from this blog:

What was Jesus like as a Boy?

Come, Lord Jesus! 

God’s Justice and Mercy at Christmas 

Justice at Christmas 

Christmas Peace is Forever 

Is Christmas Offensive? 

Christ is for You 

God is With Us 

Does Jesus Sing? 

The Incarnation of God

Magi

Shepherd Visitors

Don’t Make Me Come Down There!

What was Jesus Like as a Boy?

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Most images of this event in Luke 2 can be somewhat misleading. The boy Jesus came to learn, not to teach.

“And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 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. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:40-52)

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God’s Word is the greatest treasure on earth. There is nothing on earth that can give you the blessings that God’s word can give. God had the Holy Bible written to show us what He has done to save us, so that we might trust in Him and be saved through that faith. God Himself works through His Word to bring you forgiveness and salvation. Nothing else in all the world can save you from sin and death and give you eternal life in God’s paradise. That is why God’s Word is such a great treasure.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

God’s Word is such a treasure that God has made sure that from the time that Moses wrote the first five books about 3,500 years ago until now, the Holy Bible has been preserved so that at all times in history God’s people could hear it or read it and learn that God is our loving Father and creator and redeemer. God’s Word first shows us that we are all sinners, descended from Adam and Eve, and we would all be under God’s condemnation, but for God’s mercy. This is likely why more people do not appreciate this great treasure. Sinners don’t like to be reminded of the truth of our sin. We like to think we are better than we are, and more holy. The truth, however, is that we are rebellious sinners, and we all desperately need God to save us from death, which is the condemnation of sin. Every person who ever lived on earth before 1903 has died. That includes the one man who never sinned nor deserved death, but who gave His life to redeem us all from the curse of sin. That man is Jesus. We need to hear the truth of our sin, no matter if we want to or not. If we deny the truth of our sin, then we will deny the blessings God has provided for us in Jesus. But, as Saint John wrote, “If we confess our sins, (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

God became incarnate as a man to redeem sinners from sin and death.

God’s Word does not only tell us how bad we are, and how much we need a savior, but it also shows us what God has done through Jesus to rescue and redeem us from the consequences of our sin. God, in His essence, is a Spirit, and He is eternal and cannot die. In order for Him to provide for our redemption the Second Person of the Trinity became incarnate as a baby who grew into a man. He is like us in every way, except without sin. Jesus had to be a man so that He could not only keep and fulfill God’s Law, but so that He could offer His life in payment for the lives of all of us sinners. We might not know any of this, except for the fact that God had it written down and preserved for us to hear and read and know, so that we may be saved.

The Bible was not just written for you and me. God also had it written and preserved for Jesus, also. When Jesus read the Bible it was a little different! The Bible Jesus read was not different than what we read today, but Jesus is a little different than us because He is holy and sinless. Also, because the Bible is all about Jesus, it affected Him a little differently. Jesus once told the Pharisees, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)

In His state of humiliation, Jesus did not remember being equal with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. He had to learn about God the same way we do – by reading the Holy Bible. Jesus also had to trust that the Bible is God’s Word, and is completely true. This was especially important when Jesus was dying on the cross. When He was suffering the Father’s wrath for the sins of the world, He only had to rely on God’s promises in the Holy Scriptures that this was God’s will, and that everything He was doing would work out for the glory of God, and the salvation of the human race.

God’s Law is good and righteous but it condemns sinners. Jesus had no sin and was not condemned by God’s Law.

God’s Law did not condemn Jesus – because He did not inherit the corruption of sin from His mother, and He committed no sin in His life. Jesus happily obeyed God’s Law because as the Son of God, the Commandments of God completely fit with His holy nature. Where we would naturally rebel against God’s commands, Jesus naturally obeyed God’s commands, and was happy to do so. We, too should be happy to obey God’s commands, because they are good and right and beneficial to each one of us and to our neighbors, but because we are corrupted by sin, we don’t always do so.

Also, Jesus had a slightly different perspective concerning the salvation promised for us. Jesus did not need salvation from sin, since He had no inherited sin. Also, because Jesus was sinless in everything He did, He was not condemned by God’s Law. However, Jesus was the one sent from God to pay the price for the salvation of us sinners. Though, because the price was the sacrifice of His life, the promise of salvation which gives us great hope and comfort was a death sentence for Jesus, if He was willing to endure it. Jesus would need to trust in God the Father to rescue Him from death if He accepted the Father’s will and desire that He would give His life in exchange for our forgiveness and salvation. The Father did not force Jesus to give up His life, and suffer and die for sinners, but because it was the Father’s will that Jesus would redeem us from our sins, then Jesus was willing to please the Father and do what was needed to save us from our sins – including innocently suffering crucifixion and God’s wrath over our sins, and dying to pay the price for sin.

Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover. He doesn’t tell us if Jesus went with them also, but, whether He did nor not, the year he turned 12 was special. He had attained a certain level of maturity, and was likely allowed a little more freedom and autonomy than before. I’m sure it helped that Jesus was perfectly obedient and sinless, because Joseph and Mary knew they could trust Him to do what He ought to do. Though, on this occasion, what Jesus rightly did, was not particularly what they expected Him to do.

It is likely that Jesus came to learn about God’s mercy for His people in the events of the Passover.

Luke doesn’t tell us what Jesus and the teachers talked about, but an obvious topic of conversation would have been the Passover, and its meaning for Israel, and for the Messiah. He might have asked something like, “What was the Passover all about?” They would have told Him, “The Passover was the salvation of the people of Israel. God had decreed that the firstborn in every household of Egypt would die. However, among the Israelites, God would accept a substitute – a lamb – who would be sacrificed instead of the firstborn. The substitute, the lamb, would die, so that the firstborn child would live. This showed God’s mercy and love.” Jesus would have learned that it is good and right to love God with all His heart, soul, mind and strength. God is a just and righteous God, but He is also merciful and forgiving to sinners, and loves them. Because Jesus is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He also felt the same way about sinners, even as a boy, and even later as a man.

If people sin against you, you likely would want revenge, or at least just punishment. You are not likely to suffer and die for the people who betrayed you, or hurt you, or murdered you. But Jesus is different.

When the twelve year old Jesus was talking with the teachers in the temple, He might also have asked what the events of the Passover had to do with the Messiah. If they didn’t have a quick answer, Jesus likely would have quoted other Scriptures which would have led them to the correct answer. “Why does Isaiah write, ‘Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’”? Something like this is likely why the teachers were impressed with the questions that Jesus asked. The events of the Passover were a prophetic type of how the Messiah would come and save the world from the condemnation of their sins. The Messiah would offer His life in place of all people – like a substitutionary sacrificial lamb, so that He would take the punishment of death, and so all people would have forgiveness. Not everyone would receive the benefits of this forgiveness, only those who believe, but the forgiveness was there for everyone, if they wanted it.

What this meant for Jesus was that He was the sacrificial lamb of God who was going to have to offer His life to God the Father in place of all sinners in the world, so that He would bear the punishment for our sin, so that we would be forgiven and live. The amazing thing about the love that Jesus had for God the Father, is that when Jesus realized that He would have to endure God’s wrath for all the sins of the world, and die for wicked, rebellious sinners like all the rest of us, Jesus did not reject this plan, but agreed to do it because it was God’s Will. Jesus was willing to suffer and die as an innocent lamb to pay for the sins of every wicked sinner who ever was conceived on earth, and whoever would be conceived until the last day. This is the great love that God has for us – that He would live as a man in a sinful world, and still die to save sinners!

Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

The Word of God brings all this to us, but that is not the only treasure that God gives us. God also combines His holy Word with water in Holy Baptism to wash away our sins and to give us a new birth as God’s beloved children. Jesus also combines His holy Word with bread and wine to give each one of us His body and blood which he sacrificed to pay for our sins. Just as the Israelites in Moses’ day ate the sacrificial lamb who saved the firstborn from the Angel of Death, and thus received the blessings of that sacrifice, Jesus offers us His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper that we may receive the blessings of His sacrifice. These blessings include the forgiveness of sins, and victory over sin and death. Jesus shares these treasures with us to make us His children and keep us in the faith until he comes to take all His children to His heavenly kingdom where we will live forever in holiness with Jesus.

When Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem He told them that He had to be doing His Father’s business, but Jesus also submitted to His earthly parents and obeyed them like a good and holy child. All this Jesus did out of love for you, so that you may know the love of God, and trust in Jesus to save you from your sins. What a great treasure we have here today. May you treasure God’s Word as the most valuable thing on earth, and trust in Jesus to save you from your sins and give you everlasting life.

Jesus is always doing His Father’s Business

Come, Lord Jesus!

by Pastor Paul Wolff 

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
Revelation 22:20

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The second coming of Jesus will be different from the first.

Some people have a hard time understanding why Christians are so eager for Jesus to return. They read about the war and the plagues and God’s judgment in the Revelation that Jesus gave to Saint John, and they fear what is coming. This is what happens when people read the Bible out of context, and without understanding.

For some people there is much to fear from God’s judgment. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire; his breath is like an overflowing stream that reaches up to the neck; to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction, and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray.” (Isaiah 30:27-28) The anger of the almighty, righteous God is certainly something to be feared for all who are the objects of that anger. Isaiah also writes in 40:10, “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.” This also could cause fear in anyone, but the very next verse describes the “reward” and “recompense” that the Lord brings with Him: “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11) This is not the “wages of sin” (i.e. “death”) that Saint Paul describes in the first part of Romans 6:23, but this is the “gift of God” which is “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (the second half of Romans 6:23).

We need to remember that Isaiah was writing to the Kingdom of Judah who had turned away from God in favor of idols. They were essentially unbelievers – pagans – in God’s eyes, and so God treats them like pagans. However, God did send Isaiah and other prophets to call them to repentance, and warn all who would be willing to repent to do so before it was too late. Sadly, not enough repented, and God sent the Babylonians with His power and wrath, and they came and destroyed Judah and Jerusalem, and carried away the survivors to Babylon, over 500 miles away. This was harsh, but it was also part of the mercy of God. God could have had the Babylonians destroy the Jews, but God spared a small remnant so that He could keep the promise He had made to His people (notably, to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Jacob (Israel), King David, and others) that He would send one of their descendants to come and redeem the world from sin and make everything all right with God again. Because this promise comes by faith (see Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3), all who believe in God’s Messiah (Jesus Christ) are considered by God to be His beloved children and they receive God’s forgiveness and favor.

The only people who need truly fear God’s wrath and judgment, and fear Christ’s coming are those who reject Christ and His forgiveness and salvation. Jesus certainly died for them, too, and paid for their sins also, but because they reject God’s gift of forgiveness, they don’t benefit from it at all. These are the ones who ought to fear the return of Jesus, but they don’t (except on a subconscious level) because they either don’t care, or they don’t think they need Jesus to save them. Christian heretics misinterpret Christ’s Revelation in order to make Christians fear His return. Jesus warned his disciples about such things when He taught, “False Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible.” (Matthew 24:24)

Jesus came humbly as a baby with minimal fanfare, except to the local shepherds.

When the Son of God arrived on earth the first time as a baby born in Bethlehem, He was not threat to anyone. He was a helpless baby born in a small town, away from the centers of power and worldly influence. Jesus later taught, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:17) Yet, King Herod felt threatened by this baby so much that he ordered soldiers to go to Bethlehem and kill all the baby boys two years old and younger, so that this one baby would die.

In His earthly ministry, Jesus never claimed political power or threatened those holding such offices. He called sinners to repentance, including those in authority, but Jesus never called for revolution or that specific political leaders should be overthrown. Yet those who lusted after power were jealous of the adoration and praise that Jesus rightly received from the crowds. This jealousy was so bad that they plotted to kill Jesus even though (or possibly because) they knew Jesus had the power to heal all kinds of sickness, injury, and disease; and He would cast out demons and raise the dead back to life. They also knew Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, yet they plotted to kill Him. This is what happens when people listen to the lies of the devil and demons.

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. His righteous judgment is the gift of forgiveness for ALL who trust in Him for forgiveness.

You might think that this poor treatment of Jesus might make Him angry so that when He returns He might come in vengeance. This would be a possibility if He were anyone other than the sinless Son of God, whose mercy endures forever. Jesus knew what people were like long before He went to the cross to suffer and die for sinners. Since He knew how bad we were, and still offered His life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, then we can have faith in Him and confidence that when He returns, He will come with salvation and healing for all who belong to God by faith. This is why the prayer of the church has long been, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

God’s Justice and Mercy at Christmas

by Pastor Paul Wolff

The Prodigal Son returning to his father to beg forgiveness.

I found myself praying for justice recently. Actually I have been fervently praying for justice since before last Christmas (See my 2019 Christmas article). But what if the gross injustice we see is part of a higher justice? It is a matter of faith that God is in control of all things as He tells us in His Word. However, God often uses evil to bring about His greater good purpose, and it doesn’t always seem like God is in control because for a time all we see is evil. The best example of this is the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus is the only human in the history of the world who never sinned against God nor man, but was convicted in an unjust trial and sentenced to die by crucifixion. God did not cause the evil, but He let sinful men do what sinners most want to do, which is to kill God. Yet God used that to accomplish forgiveness and salvation to all who believe in Him and who repent of their sins and trust in Him for forgiveness and rescue from sin and death.

If you find that your beloved child has become spoiled and rotten, what do you do? A loving parent will take away his toys and privileges until he cries. There may be nothing wrong with toys and privileges, because they were given out of love for the child, but if he begins to believe that he deserves them and can do with them what he wants, then it is time to teach him a lesson. If he has a temper tantrum and demands his way, then you spank him and make him cry even harder. “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” This is a paraphrase of Proverbs 13:24, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” Solomon also wrote in Proverbs 23:13-14 “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.”

What I was intending in my prayer for Justice was to ask God to let us do what is necessary to bring worldly justice to our nation and to the world. The power of the United States of America does not reside in the government, nor in its military, but in the citizens. We are clearly in the midst of an American Bolshevik revolution. It is relatively bloodless so far (though far from completely bloodless), but this is likely just the set up for a far bloodier affair if the past is a prologue to the future. Corruption in the United States is rampant, and it is obvious for anyone with the eyes to see. Many, however, have willfully blinded themselves to the obvious, but that is part of the problem. If even a fraction of the reports of voter fraud are to be believed, the American people expressed their power in an overwhelming desire for justice in reelecting President Trump. However, the Bolshevik Marxists could not let the will of the people get in their way and did what they thought was necessary to make it seem as if the Bolshevik party won even though their Manchurian Candidate seemingly won without hardly campaigning, and without even being able to draw a crowd on the rare occasions when he crawled out of his basement. The word “unlikely” doesn’t even begin to describe the outcome that we are being asked to accept without question.

“What is Past is Prologue” Inscription on this statue at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

The corruption seems to be widespread and deep. It is extremely likely that this is NOT the first time this has happened. They tried this in 2016, but didn’t fully anticipate the will of the good people of the United States. It likely also happened in 2012 when the worst President in the history of the USA was inexplicably (seemingly) reelected to office. The corruption is not just voter fraud. It is far deeper than that. We have a justice system to combat injustice and fraud, but it has apparently been thoroughly corrupted. We have a Federal Bureau of Investigation (the FBI) which ought to investigate domestic corruption, lawlessness, and treason, but the organization has been corrupted from within, and only occasionally works for justice. The FBI often participates in corruption and covers it up, rather than seeking to prosecute it. Who do you call for justice when the investigators are unjust and corrupt?

The judicial system ought to be the final arbiters of justice, though we have known for a long time that far too many judges do not rule according to the law, but according to their own whims they give out injustice in place of justice. We, the people of the United States of America, elected President Trump to bring justice and peace and prosperity back to our nation, and he has done what he could to work toward that goal. In the past four years over 300 federal judges and three Supreme Court justices have been installed to rule according to the law in order to bring justice back to our nation. It is not enough.

Despite the clear evidence of massive voter fraud in several states, unjust courts have turned a blind eye to the evidence and, following the lead of the lying mass media, pretended that the clear evidence of fraud doesn’t exist. For four years the Marxist Democrats have been claiming without any evidence that President Trump came to power fraudulently, and now that we have real evidence that the other side is really trying to steal power and take over the United States, they pretend that there is nothing wrong. Where is the justice?

We see in the Bible many times where there is injustice, violence and bloodshed, the people of God have called out to Him for justice, peace, and retribution against those who persecute good, honest people. God is a just God. He wants justice, peace, and prosperity for all people, but how He brings it about is often not what we expect. God doesn’t do what we think is good and right, instead God does what is truly good and right. God’s way is always better, though it doesn’t always seem so at the time.

God called Moses to lead Israel to freedom, but the people had to wait over 80 years for the fulfillment of their prayers.

When the people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt they cried out to God to send a deliverer who would rescue them from their bondage and lead them to freedom in the promised land. God heard their prayer and sent them Moses – as a baby. However, a baby is not capable of freeing an enslaved nation and it wasn’t until Moses was 80 years old (!) that God sent Moses to Pharaoh with the message from God, “Let my people go,” and with the authority to call down plagues on the Egyptians when Pharaoh did not let God’s people go free. Eighty years, plus how many more years had God’s people been oppressed before Moses was born? God’s ways are not our ways, but God’s ways are always better.

In the days of the judges when the Midianites were oppressing God’s people they cried out to God to send them a deliverer. God gave them Gideon. This time they didn’t have to wait 80-100 years. Gideon sent the call to raise an army, and 30,000 soldiers answered the call. In worldly terms it was a sufficient army to defeat Midian, or at least make life hard for the Midianites, and free the oppressed people of Israel. However, God told Gideon that the army was too large. He said, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave.’” (Judges 7:2-3) Twenty thousand of the soldiers left and went home. These were good people who wanted justice, but really didn’t want to become killers. They were willing to do what was necessary, including to kill or be killed, but they really didn’t want to be there if they didn’t have to, so they left with God’s blessing. Ten thousand soldiers remained, but God said that was still too many. He set up an arbitrary test at a brook, and those who were chosen were only 300 men.

In worldly terms, this was not enough to defeat the enemies and bring peace, but that was the point. If a great army had arisen and defeated the enemy then they would claim that they had triumphed, or that Gideon was responsible for leading them to victory and freedom. Then they would have taken pride in their own strength and power and they would have proceeded to become oppressors themselves. This is the trap of power politics: Use power to defeat the supposed “oppressor” then become the oppressor yourself until someone else comes along and defeats you. That way the bloodshed never ends. This is why power politics is the trick of the devil who seeks to destroy all that God loves, and all that is good.

Gideon and his 300 men blew trumpets just like Joshua did at Jericho but God defeated the enemies and gave the victory.

So Gideon and 300 men attack the Midianites with pots and torches and trumpets and a few swords, but it is God who fights against the Midianites, and turns their own weapons against them so that they mostly slay each other. The 300 Israelites do dispatch the few stragglers who remain, but it is God who fights and wins the victory and brings freedom to His people.

Likewise, in the days of the Roman empire and occupation of the Holy Land, the faithful remnant prayed to God for a deliverer who would rescue them from the oppression of the evil pagan occupiers. They were looking for a Moses or a Gideon or a David who would bring military victory and worldly peace and prosperity. But God had a much better idea. Jesus came amid reports that God was finally fulfilling the promise He had made over 4,000 years earlier to Adam and Eve, to send a Messiah who would undo the deadly effects of sin and death and bring peace and prosperity to God’s people. But Jesus was again not what the people expected.

As God incarnate, Jesus is the King over all worldly kings, yet He said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus did not come to set up a worldly kingdom in a sinful world. That would just perpetuate the sinfulness and evil which is the cause of all of our suffering and sadness and dysfunctional angst. Instead, Jesus came to set us free from the bonds of slavery that is caused by sin. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36) Jesus came not just to set us free from evil people like George Soros and his minions who seek to enslave us and destroy all good in the world. Jesus came instead to set us free from all sin which separates us from God who loves us as His children and wants us to live with Him in holiness in His paradise in a new heaven and earth.

Jesus came in humility to drink the cup of God’s wrath over our sin, in order to redeem us

But Jesus could not do this by force of power. Power is a function of the law, and by God’s Law sin must be punished. If God punished all of us sinners as we deserve, then we would be destroyed. God does not play power politics because the result of that is only destruction. God must punish man for mankind’s sins, but God does accept a substitute on behalf of sinful man. If only there were a sinless man on earth who would be willing to accept God’s punishment for the sins of the world. The only problem is that we are all corrupted by sin. When Adam and Eve fell into sin all of their descendants were condemned to inherit that sinful corruption, and that is true to this day. “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10 and other verses as well as the rest of the Bible) The only solution is if God, Himself, became incarnate as a man and lived His whole life in perfect obedience to God the Father’s Laws, and then offered His life in place of sinners. What are the chances of that happening? Would God live and die as a man in order to redeem liars, cheaters, thieves, adulterers, murderers, and blasphemous idol worshipers? Such is the great love of God that He would do exactly that.

Jesus came in humility, not to conquer violent sinful men, but to take their place before the face of the almighty righteous God who must punish sinful men for their sins – or in the case of Jesus, punish the one righteous man who is God incarnate, in place of all the rest of sinful humanity. So Jesus came not to conquer, but to be conquered, that He may free us from the condemnation of sin and death. Jesus suffered the Father’s wrath over our sin, so that we may be rescued from that wrath which would destroy us. Jesus died to pay the price of sin, so that we may be freed from the sting of death. Yes, there still is death all around us, and we all may taste of death before Christ returns, but all that remains for God’s people is just a taste of death. Jesus drank the full cup of death so that the taste of death that we receive will not destroy us. Because Christ’s innocent death for us fulfilled God’s wrath over our sin, death no longer has a hold on us, as Jesus has conquered death and rose to life victorious over death.

Jesus suffered and died in our place to rescue us from sin and death

The death that Jesus died, He died to sin, so that the life He now lives He will share with all who trust in Him. For all who believe in Jesus have been adopted as children of God through the miracle of Holy Baptism. We have been redeemed by Jesus by His righteous life, and His innocent suffering and death on our behalf, and we have been washed clean of our guilt and sin by the shedding of His blood which is brought to us personally through the sacraments of Holy Baptism and the very Body and Blood of Jesus given to us in the Lord’s supper.

“Trust not in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.” (Psalm 146:3) Whether or not there is a political or military solution to the political corruption and attempted takeover of the United States, we still have hope. Our God rules both heaven and earth. Whether we live as free men or as slaves, we are God’s children. Christ has redeemed us and set us free so that we will live forever with Him in His paradise. The troubles of this world are only temporary, though we may have to endure them for a hundred years (may God forbid this, but even so give us the strength to endure what must come). We need not fear tyrannical governors. We need not fear catching a bad cold that only kills 5 people out of every 1,000 who are infected. We need not fear worse diseases such as cancer, nor murder, nor violence, nor any death.

As Christ lives, so we shall live, even if we die. Christ has won the victory over sin and death and all the consequences of death which cause us so much sorrow and pain. Trust in Christ and live in hope. Christ has won the victory not for Himself, but for you. Jesus lives so that you may live with Him forever. Pray for peace and justice in this world, but do not be surprised if it does not come right away. God disciplines His children as a loving father disciplines his unruly child. It is not a sign of God’s disfavor, but of His love – that we may turn to Him and give Him the praise for our rescue, and not some worldly leader. We live by faith in the redemption won for us by Christ Jesus. That is a sure thing. May Christ give you comfort and peace, both now and forever.

Justice at Christmas

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” (Psalm 33:5)

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for justice and for the benefit of God's people.

Justice means to act in accordance with what is good and right and in accordance with the law. This is especially true with God’s Law (summarized by the Ten Commandments), but also worldly, human laws which conform to God’s righteous commands.

Justice seems hard to come by by in our sinful world. The rich and powerful seem to pervert justice for their own profit and the accumulation of more power for themselves and their friends, while honest, hard-working people pay the price of injustice – sometimes with their lives. In 2019 it is even worse than that since there is a fad called “social justice” which purposely seeks injustice to further some imagined “greater cause” which no one has ever heard of before. Blatant racism is called “racial justice”; nearly every sexual perversion is given protected status in social norms, if not in law; and fascist violence is called “anti-fascism” and those who promote it commit violent destructive acts as the police stand by and watch. There is likely more, besides, but that is what I can think of off the top of my head. Those who promote “social justice” really aren’t interested in justice, but in destroying the foundations of society so that they can get away with doing what they want to do without fear of the punishment which they so richly deserve.

In the United States of America, President Trump is doing great work to appoint federal judges who promise to rule justly according to the law, and not make up new laws as they go along. This is an answer to prayer, as the Judicial branch of our Federal Government has been the most unjust of the three branches for many decades. There is no guarantee that even the best judge will give the best judgment in every situation because if they rule according to bad laws made by evil people they will return bad results, and also some judges can be corrupted by money and bad influence, but the problem with judges making up laws is that the citizens do not know from day to day what is legal and what is illegal because it changes on the whim of the false judge. So we are glad that we can have better judges who we hope will rule according to law, and not according to another unelected authority.

However, in the 2018 elections, the Democrats gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and immediately began to try to impeach President Trump even though there has never been evidence of any crime he has committed, much less an impeachable treasonous offense. President Trump has been amazingly open in his administration, but even when the documents are released to the public which exonerate the President’s actions, the Democrat leaders openly lie about what the documents say, even though we (who are able and willing to read) can clearly see that they are lying. The injustice is insane, though those who perpetuate the lies do so as if they don’t care who knows what they are doing. Their boldness is even more concerning because it shows how much lies are a part of their daily life.

A quick search of the Bible shows eleven dozen verses which speak of “justice” and more which similarly speak of “righteousness” and other synonyms of justice. God is greatly concerned with justice, and He is angry with those who pervert justice.

Justice means the Law applies equally to everyone.

In the days of Moses God gave His people just laws to live by so that they could live in peace with Him and with one another. For example, in Exodus 23:2-3 God says, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.” Similarly, Leviticus 19:15 says, “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” This shows that justice is a two way street. A just law applies to everyone equally. We ought not go along with the crowd or the "mob" just because they want a certain outcome, nor should we show favoritism to either the rich or the poor. Our tradition says that “justice is blind” in that it ought to treat everyone equally under the same law. There is not one law for the rich and another for the poor. There is not one law for the ruling class and another for the governed. We ought not to have a favored class and a disfavored class, nor a favored race, and an unfavored race – especially where what is favored changes as the wind blows.

God goes on to say in Exodus 23:6-7 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.” A large part of justice is that the guilty are punished and the innocent are free to go about their lives and conduct business as they please. Honesty and integrity are virtues which ought to be rewarded while dishonesty and lies ought to be strongly discouraged by proper punishment. Furthermore, Exodus 23:8 says, “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.” Also, Solomon tells us in Proverbs 17:23, “A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice.”

Rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong … for he does not bear the sword for nothing. Romans 13:3, 4

Immigration and slavery also falls under the application of justice. Exodus 23:9 says, “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.” This is also a problem in the 21^st century. President Trump is seeking to control our borders so that we know who is coming in to our country. This is vitally important so that we can keep out those who seek to harm our citizens, and also that those who come in to work are not taken advantage of by those who would enslave them under the threat of reporting their illegal presence to officials who would deport them. Here the 21^stcentury Democrats are going back to their 19^th century roots as those who would take advantage of the underclass for their own power and profit. Here also some Republicans are not very helpful either. There are some Republicans who also seek to take advantage of slave labor from illegal aliens, and block the government from taking the necessary action to deal with the invasion crisis. However, we call these liberal Republicans “RINO” or “Republican in Name Only.” They are part of the problem, also. Likewise, Deuteronomy 27:19 tells us, “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.” When people are in our country illegally they cannot receive justice, as they could if they were legal visitors.

Christmas shows the justice of God in action. God’s justice is true justice, but it contrasts with the justice of the world. In some respects it seems unjust and strange that the God who created and sustains the universe would condescend to become one of His creatures so that He could suffer and die in our place so that we might be saved from the just punishment for our disobedience and rebellion against God. Yet, this shows God’s mercy and love, as well as His justice. It shows God’s justice in that “the soul who sins is the one who will die.” It is people who sin against God, so if we are to be redeemed from our sin, our redeemer must be a person just like us, except without sin. Since we are all corrupted by sin, the only person who could be our redeemer is God incarnate as a man. God didn’t have to do that for us. He would have been perfectly justified and right in condemning us all to die, and we could not rightly say anything against that judgment. But God loves us, and wants us to be saved and sanctified that we might live with Him in righteousness and purity forever in His new creation. The only way that this could happen is if God became a man and did the work of salvation Himself for us.

The birth and life of Jesus shows God’s love and justice in action.

Jesus fulfilled God’s justice in two ways. First, He lived a perfectly obedient life as a man, and kept all God’s laws perfectly His whole life in His thoughts, words, and deeds. Second, Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice in payment for the sins of the world. Jesus, in effect, said, “Punish me instead, and let my brothers and sisters go free.” This was acceptable to God, the Father, and this is how Jesus won our salvation, so that everyone who believes in Him as their savior from sin is forgiven and has eternal life. Those who reject Christ’s forgiveness have still been forgiven, but they don’t benefit from the gift because they have rejected it by their unbelief. In this way we see how salvation is completely Christ’s doing, for which He is praised forever, and the damnation of the unbelievers is entirely their own doing and fault, for which they will regret forever.

In the justice of the world either you get what you deserve, which is punishment for your sin, or there is no punishment at all for sin, in which case sin and violence and death are rampant because there is no threat of punishment to curb the wickedness of sin. Neither of these situations is desirable. They both sound like hell to me. God’s merciful way of salvation is much better in every respect.

Solomon writes in Proverbs 28:5 “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.” It doesn’t make sense that God would die for His rebellious creatures, but love doesn’t always make sense. Yet, Jesus lived and died as a man out of love for all sinful people, that they all may be rescued from the punishment for their sin. It is wonderful and praiseworthy that Jesus would suffer and endure all the wrath of God for the sins of the world so that we might be saved from our sin and could live with Him in Paradise forever.