God With Us

Friday, February 17, 2023

Blessed are the Meek, for They Shall Inherit the Earth

(Part 3 of a series of 9 articles on the Beatitudes)

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Blessed are the meek
for they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5
Photo from a mosaic in the
Saint Louis Cathedral, St. Louis Missouri

In the third Beatitude, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) Meekness is not something Christians would seek for themselves unless it was blessed by Christ. To be meek is to be humble and submissive to authorities, and not asserting one’s rights over others, but viewing others as greater or more important than yourself. Meek people are helpful and kind and are just the sort of people you are grateful to have helping you when you are in trouble or need and have nowhere else to turn. A meek person is a good and faithful friend, and just the sort of person who would “give you the shirt off of his back” if you are in need.

The world says, “might makes right” and “power rules” and other such things. The world despises the meek as weak and powerless people who are to be taken advantage of, and enslaved (if possible). Marxism, especially, is all about the exercise of power, and though we all hoped that Marxism was on its way to oblivion – where it belongs – after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1987 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, but it seems to be gaining in popularity by ignorant people who don’t mind becoming tyrants who are cursed by all good, peace-loving people whom they oppress.

Marxism would be a very funny joke if people didn’t take it seriously and murder people on an industrial scale. The idea is that there are two types of people: oppressors and oppressed. You could picture two people where one imagines that he has been wronged (oppressed) by the other in some small way and slaps the other. Now the tables are turned, and the other person is oppressed and he slaps back. Since these are both committed Marxists this continues until one gets tired of being slapped and hits back harder. This necessarily escalates until one murders the other. This is the necessary result of Marxist ideology and it cannot be any other way, unless one or both gives up on this demonic way of thinking.

Meek people are not necessarily oppressed, and need not view themselves as such (even when they are). Meekness is about how individuals act toward others in love. Jesus said later in the Sermon on the Mount that Christians ought to “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39) when someone strikes them in the face, rather than escalating the fight to murderous levels. This is how Christians are meek in love – not asserting their “rights” but forgiving their neighbor in love, and enduring all kinds of indignities for the sake of Christ. This is not cowardice at all (though the world may mistake it for cowardice), but meekness comes from the brave trust in the forgiveness and justice of God, and showing their neighbors the love of Christ in their lives.

Though Christian meekness is a virtue, we should understand that we cannot win salvation by being meek. There is nothing that anyone can do to save themselves. James (2:10) says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” We are all conceived and born in sin, and have inherited the corruption and guilt of sin, so none of us can save ourselves. Yet since Christ Jesus has redeemed us and gives us salvation and eternal life as a gift, then we don’t need to “assert our rights” and “take justice into our own hands” but we can leave vengeance to the righteous judgment of God. Scripture says, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19 – from Proverbs 20:22 and Deuteronomy 32:35)

The inheritance of the meek
is not this corrupted, sinful world,
but the new earth God prepares for His people.
(See Revelation 21)

The blessing that Christ promises to give the meek is that “they shall inherit the earth”. Obviously this is not something that we should expect to happen in this sinful world. Nor should we seek to take the earth by force. Those who seek to gain control of the earth by force are rightly punished by the authorities which God has established on earth. This “inheritance” is a passive thing, which is a gift from God. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” We can only inherit the earth if God considers us His children and gives it to us as an inheritance. We are God’s children through faith in Jesus Christ, and the new birth which God the Holy Spirit, gives to us in holy Baptism. The “born again” miracle which the Holy Spirit works through Baptism (John 3:5-6) is to adopt us as His children and give us each a new life which is forever. In the same way, the “earth” that we inherit is not this sinful world which is condemned to destruction (Revelation 21:1), but it is the new earth which God is preparing as a paradise for our eternal life with Him.

Jesus was meek
to fulfill God's plan of salvation
to redeem us from our sins.

Jesus was meek in many ways from His conception to His death. Some misguided rationalist heretics have sayings to the effect of “you can’t put god in a box”, or “the finite cannot contain the infinite”. Yet, in the incarnation of the Son of God, that is exactly what the Omnipresent, Almighty God did. At the conception of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity was present bodily in a newly conceived, one-celled person who grew up to be Jesus, the Christ, the son of Mary. Jesus is not part-god and part-man. Jesus is fully God and fully man. This is a paradox, to be sure, but it is something that only God can do. Though even in mathematics there is the concept of a structure with infinite surface area contained within a limited, finite volume, so even in the physical (or mathematical?) world the heretical sayings are not true. Even though Jesus, as God, is eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and more, He lived life as an ordinary man for about thirty years (Luke 3:23) before He began His ministry, and then He didn’t use His divine powers completely, but only for specific purposes.

Though Jesus is the creator (with the Father and the Holy Spirit) of all that exists, He did not come in power and glory, but was born quietly in Bethlehem. Because the census required people to register at their ancestral home, Bethlehem was crowded and no one made room for the birth of the Son of God, He spent His first night after His birth sleeping in a manger. Though after the local shepherds heard what the angels said about Him, surely more comfortable accommodations were found for the holy family after that. When the magi from the East came to worship the King of Judah, they went to Jerusalem first because they expected the newborn king to be in the royal palace in the capital city, yet the Holy Family was still in Bethlehem. This is one way which shows the meekness of Jesus. This was according to God’s plan. God became incarnate in Jesus in order to serve us sinners, not to rule in power. God has all power, but He came meekly to provide forgiveness and salvation for us all.

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.”
(Isaiah 53:7)

The ultimate expression of the meekness of Jesus was His passion. When His work was done, He allowed His enemies to arrest Him, put Him on trial prejudicially, and crucify Him. Jesus was meek as he was led to his crucifixion. This fulfilled the prophesy from Isaiah, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7) Sheep don’t mind going to the shearers, but Jesus knew He was not just going to get a haircut, but would suffer and die a horrible death. Even his judge, Pontius Pilate, was surprised that Jesus didn’t defend himself from outrageous, unsubstantiated accusations. He was mocked, beaten, and nailed to a cross. No false god in the world would be caught dead on a cross, but the true God was there to pay the price for the sins of the world. The result of Christ’s sacrifice is the full forgiveness of sins, and salvation for all who put their trust in Him. Because Jesus faithfully fulfilled God’s plan for salvation the result for Him is described by Saint Paul in this way: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) Now, that Jesus has paid for our sins and won our salvation, He is glorified, and uses His divine power fully always. Perhaps the only meekness He displays now is that He remains hidden, and He allows sin on the earth (with limits). When Jesus returns on the Last Day we will see Him in all His glory and power. Then He will judge the world and fulfill His promise to give His beloved children the inheritance of the new earth.

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Blessed are Those who Mourn, For They Will be Comforted

(Part 2 of a series of 9 articles on the Beatitudes)

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“Blessed are those who mourn”
Photo from a Mosaic in the
Saint Louis Cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri

In the second beatitude in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) Just like the other beatitudes, no one ever asks to mourn, yet it happens all too often. In general, we mourn at any kind of a loss, but mostly we associate mourning with the sadness we feel at the death of a loved one – a relative or a friend. These are proper occasions for mourning since those who die are lost to us who remain here on earth. Death is certainly a great enemy, and the losses we experience through death are the tragic result of sin. We also mourn sin and all of its consequences, including death. We mourn when others sin against us, but we also mourn when each of us recognizes that our own sin hurts our neighbors, and we rightly feel guilt that we have caused trouble to someone to whom we should have done good works, and not evil. We realize that each one of us is part of the problem, and that is a humbling thing to recognize, though often difficult to accept.

The problem with death which causes us to mourn is that it is permanent. There is no coming back from death as far as it is in our power. Sometimes people will say that they “died” when their heart stopped for a short time, but whenever someone has been revived from that situation it is clear that they weren’t dead, but they were dying. There comes a point, however, when a person cannot be revived, and is lost to us in this life. The comfort we have in Jesus is that He has overcome the power of death for all people. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25) He is the solution to death.

The loving father mourned over his prodigal son,
but was comforted by his
repentance and return.

In Jesus we receive comfort in our mourning and rescue from death. Saint Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our lord.” (Romans 6:23) Death comes as a result of sin, and only Jesus can rescue us from sin and death. Jesus is the holy and perfect Son of God in human flesh. When He offered His life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, God the Father accepted His death as payment for the sins of all people of all time. Because of this, Jesus has conquered death for all people. On the last day, when Jesus returns in Glory and Power, all the dead will be raised never to die again. The believers will be raised in eternal glory because they gladly received Christ’s forgiveness in faith as a gift that was given to them. The unbelievers will be raised to unending mourning and torment because they rejected Christ’s gift of forgiveness and the guilt of their sin remains with them forever.

This is why Jesus is also saying in the Beatitudes that those who mourn over their sin are blessed because they recognize the guilt of their sin and repent of it and look to Him for forgiveness and salvation, and trust that He will make everything right in the end. That is where we are comforted. Jesus also taught, “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7) That joy in heaven is not only the angels and the saints, but God, Himself, has joy over the repentant sinner because God has worked hard to win our salvation, and it gives Him joy that we receive His salvation as the greatest gift that He gives us. Jesus endured the wrath of God the Father for the sins of the world, so that we might escape that wrath (which we deserve because of our sinfulness), and receive full forgiveness through Jesus. We will also be reunited with all believers in God’s heavenly kingdom through the resurrection of all flesh and the glorification of all who, by faith, belong to God and are adopted as His children. (see my article: “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit”)

We mourn at the graves of loved ones,
but we are comforted
in the hope of the resurrection.

Saint Paul writes, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10) Saint Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth that godly mourning over our sin and its consequences leads to repentance. We should mourn over our sin, lest we get too comfortable with it and enjoy it too much and despise Christ’s salvation. “Godly grief” leads to repentance which leads us to trust in Christ to forgive us and save us from our sin. The opposite of that is worldly grief which does not lead to repentance. The unbelievers in the world grieve when the consequences of sin are manifest and they are stopped from the guilty pleasure they take from wicked acts. This worldly grief leads to death because they mourn the pleasures and profits of sin rather than look to Jesus to save them from their sin.

In Matthew 11:16-19 Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who condemned John the Baptist for being too ascetic and austere in his lifestyle, while they condemned Jesus for being too free in His eating and drinking. In this passage, Jesus makes a distinction between worldly people and godly people. He compares worldly people to taunting children in the marketplace who say, “We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn.” (v. 17) (Note: A dirge is a song of sadness and mourning like one sung at a funeral.) The world rejoices in sin and evil, but Christians cannot join them in their celebrations over such things. The world holds parades for sexual immorality and murder and theft and lies, and makes a big show of giving awards to people who practice and approve such things. They also condemn God’s people for not joining in with their wicked celebrations. So we mourn over wickedness and evil when the world celebrates. On the other hand, the world mourns when justice is done and evil people get what is coming to them, and they are prevented from continuing in their sin. In this case God’s people rejoice in His justice and the rescue they enjoy from God’s hand as their tormentors are punished and stopped from persecuting good people.

The Pharisees wanted the Christ to come and recognize their imagined righteousness and lift them up as leaders and co-rulers with Him. When He called them to repent (like all the other sinners) they resented it (thinking they were already holy) and they hated Jesus and plotted to kill Him (see John 11:53 and 12:10). The Pharisees did not mourn over their sins, though they didn’t exactly rejoice over their sins like much of the world does. Instead the Pharisees tried to cover up their sins and hide them and pretended that they were holy in all that they did.

Jesus explained to His disciples what was going to happen when He would be arrested and crucified. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:20-22) This is exactly what happened when Jesus was arrested, convicted in a prejudicial show trial, crucified, and rose from the dead. This is also prophetic (in a typological sense) about Christians mourning in anticipation of Christ’s return on the Last Day for judgment. We weep and lament over sin and death in this life as we await the complete fulfillment of our salvation, but when Jesus returns in Glory we will rejoice in unending praise for our God who has done so much to save us.

Jesus mourned with Mary and Martha
at the grave of Lazarus,
but Jesus brought comfort by
raising Lazarus back to life.

Jesus mourns at various times in His life. In Luke 13 Jesus mourns over Jerusalem. Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Luke 13:34-35) Jesus doesn’t mourn only because they are going to kill Him and treat Him shamefully, but mostly because they have largely rejected Him as their savior and God and many will lose the salvation He goes there to win for them. Jesus also mourns the death of a friend, Lazarus, in John 11. Even though Jesus is planning on raising Lazarus back to life, the death of a friend still makes Jesus weep for sorrow.

The blessing that Christians receive for their mourning over sin is that they will be comforted. We are first comforted through the forgiveness of our sins that we receive from Jesus. Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit to bring His forgiveness to us through God’s Word and Sacraments. This comforts us because we know that the guilt of our sins have been paid for by Jesus, and we are freed from the punishment that is due to us because of our disobedience. Jesus has reconciled us with God by paying for our sins Himself through His death on the cross. God, the Father poured out His anger over our sins on Jesus when He was dying on the cross. Jesus remained faithful and endured God’s wrath, and died in our place. We are comforted that God has no more anger left for us because of what Jesus did for us.

Saint Paul writes of Christ’s comfort in his second letter to the Corinthians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) The comfort that we receive from Christ in the forgiveness of our sins, and the promise of eternal life in God’s Paradise, gives us empathy for the suffering of others in this world. As we have been comforted, so we can turn people to Jesus so that they, too, may receive God’s comfort, forgiveness, and assurance of eternal salvation.

We are further comforted when we mourn the loss of loved ones because we know that Jesus has defeated the sting of death by dying for our sins. The resurrection of Jesus is just the first of many. When Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead He will raise all the dead, and all believers in Jesus will live forever in comfort with an “uncountable” number of fellow children of God (see Revelation 7:9) who have received God’s salvation through faith in Jesus. Christ’s salvation is free, and available to all through faith, but those who reject Jesus have rejected their salvation and do not receive the blessings and comfort that is given to them through Jesus Christ. Yet, we are comforted to be reunited with fellow believers to live forever in God’s heavenly kingdom.

Because Jesus has conquered sin and death
He comforts us and tells us that, for the Christian,
death is no worse than sleeping.
Jesus will come and awaken us from
the sleep of death, and give us eternal life.

Saint Paul gives the Thessalonian Christians the reason for hope when they grieve those who have died. He writes, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14) Our comfort in times of mourning is in the resurrection of all flesh. Jesus will return on the last day and raise all the dead, and we will be reunited with our brothers and sisters in the faith, and united with Christ forever. This is our ultimate hope, and our comfort in this life when we mourn those who are lost to us here.

Saint James reminds us that there is a time for mourning and a time for joy. He writes, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:8-10) Here we see again, that our comfort is something that comes from God, just like everything else in life. We mourn the losses we experience in this sinful life, but trust in God for comfort and restoration, just as we trust in God for forgiveness, life, and daily bread.

Though we have comfort in this life in the hope of the resurrection, the fulfillment of our comfort must wait until the last day when Christ returns to fulfill all He has promised. Saint John saw a vision of this in the Revelation that Christ gave him. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) Our hope lies in the complete destruction of death and the restoration of God’s people as He wants us to be – holy and immortal in God’s heavenly kingdom.

“… the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

(Part 1 of a series of 9 articles on the Beatitudes)

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“Seeing the crowds, (Jesus) went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 5:1-3)

Blessed are the poor in Spirit
(Matthew 5:3)
Image from a Mosaic in the
Saint Louis Cathedral, St. Louis, Missouri

The beginning of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:1-12 is called the Beatitudes. We don’t hear that word much in everyday conversation, but beatitudes are blessings, and blessings are gifts. These gifts are special because they come from God. Jesus gives a list of blessings that God gives His beloved children, but if you read what type of things that Jesus says is blessed in His Sermon on the Mount, you will see that these are gifts that no one really asks for, and wouldn’t want – except for the fact that they are blessed by God. Because of this, Christians are happy to receive them as true gifts of God.

The first beatitude is: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) No one wants to be poor, but this isn’t talking about worldly wealth and riches. Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” These are Spiritual blessings, and those who are blessed here are people who recognize that they are poor in the Spiritual realm. They have nothing to give God Spiritually, because they are sinners who deserve only God’s wrath and punishment. This is true for all of us, but not all people recognize their Spiritual poverty. The people who are blessed by this Beatitude would certainly receive God’s condemnation unless another arrangement were made. Fortunately for us, Jesus has made another arrangement so that instead of punishment, we receive the blessings of God’s kingdom. Another way to say this is that these are repentant sinners who recognize their poverty of Spirit and know that they must rely on God to rescue them through Jesus Christ.

Jesus once taught people from a boat on the lake.
(see Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 5)

In Luke’s Gospel he records Jesus teaching on the plain, where He gives similar blessings as He did in the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke 6:20 Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Though on the surface it may seem as if Jesus is commanding His people to be poor, but that interpretation really has it backwards. Because of our sin, we are all poor already. Those who are rich are just fooling themselves, thinking they are something when they are not. Saint Paul writes to Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10) It is because of our sin that we have nothing to offer God. All the money in the world cannot save you because it all belongs to God. It is also because of our sin that we are subject to death. All that we have is a gift from God, and there comes a time in all our lives when we must give it all back. “You can’t take it with you,” is a saying which paraphrases Saint Paul’s words to Saint Timothy. Yet, we can be content with what we have because Christians trust that God gives us the “daily bread” which we ask for in the Lord’s Prayer, as Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). Because Jesus told us to ask for this, we trust that God provides for our needs every day.

James 2:5 says, “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” Christians are “rich in faith” because Christ has promised us the inheritance of God’s Kingdom. Though this is not a worldly gift, we trust that this heavenly gift is ours because God has promised to give us this inheritance through faith in Jesus. Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) We may not be rich in this world, but God still provides us all with good things, and He has promised to share with us all the riches of His Kingdom, which is eternal. So we live by faith, and trust that God’s promises are more sure than anything that we may hold in our hands. God’s heavenly Kingdom is already ours by faith, but we must wait to see its fulfillment.

A good example in Holy Scripture of someone who is “poor in spirit” is the character of the tax collector in Christ’s Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (See Luke 18:9-14). The tax collector was in God’s house looking for God’s blessings, but he was so ashamed of his sin that he wouldn’t even raise up his head, and he simply prayed, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus said he was the one who went home justified (forgiven), because he repentantly recognized his poverty of Spirit, and looked to God to save Him.

The opposite of “Poor in Spirit” would be something like “proud in spirit” or “self-righteous.” A good example of this is the Pharisee in Christ’s parable. He was boastful before God because he thought that he was so good that he had something to offer God. He was wrong, of course, but he thought he was so good that God had to be pleased with him. He didn’t recognize the guilt of his sin and how much he deserved God’s condemnation, so he did not repent, nor did he look to God to save him. This is why both John the Baptist and Jesus were so harsh in dealing with unrepentant Pharisees. The Pharisees weren’t bad people in the civil sense, but they were (generally speaking) unrepentant unbelievers. They needed to hear God’s Law to recognize their sin, and the true poverty of their spirit, and their need for God to save them.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, who did not believe in Him, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” (Matthew 21:43) The Pharisees admitted among themselves that they didn’t believe in Jesus (Matthew 21:25). This is why Jesus told the Parable of the Wicked Tenants against them. They didn’t want to be God’s people, and follow Him. They wanted to be in charge themselves. They were not producing the fruits of faith, because they did not have faith themselves. The fruits of faith are love, which is the good works done in obedience to God’s commandments. The Pharisees were too busy trying to save themselves that they did not do good to others. It is a paradox that those who are “poor in Spirit” are rich in good works, and those who think themselves “rich in Spirit” are poor in good works. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Repent of your sins and seek God in the Holy Scriptures because that is where God has revealed Himself, and there is where God’s Holy Spirit comes to you to bring you salvation, and God’s Kingdom.

Jesus was not so proud of Spirit
that He wasn’t willing to
suffer and die on the cross to save sinners,
and give us the blessings of His Kingdom.

Jesus was poor in Spirit, but not quite in the same way that we are. We are humble because we are sinners who rightly are subject to God’s condemnation, and desperately need God to save us. Jesus had no sin, so He could rightly claim innocence before God, but He was certainly not “proud in spirit” so God the Father was pleased with Him in all things. Jesus knew He was innocent, and He never admitted to any sin which He did not commit, but He also never boasted that He was better than anyone else because of His holiness. Martin Luther explained that one who is “poor in spirit” “must not set his confidence, comfort, and trust on temporal goods, nor hang his heart upon them and make Mammon his idol.” * Jesus was not proud, and never made an idol of any created thing, but loved God with His whole heart, soul, mind, and strength in all that He did – and, in putting that into action in His life, Jesus also served us sinners in everything He did.

Saint Paul describes Christ’s humility this way in Philippians 2:5-8: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness … and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.” Jesus was equal to the Father in all things including power, glory, and all His being. However, He humbled Himself as a man to win our forgiveness and salvation. During His life and ministry, Jesus gave up all the honor, glory and riches which rightly belonged to Him as the Son of God, so that He could offer His life as the atoning sacrifice which would provide forgiveness and salvation to all who trust in Him to save them. The result of Christ’s humbling Himself like this is described by Saint Paul in this way: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) Jesus did not exalt Himself as a man, but God, the Father, exalted Him (as a man) for His faithful obedience and for winning our salvation.

The blessings that repentant sinners receive is that the Kingdom of heaven is given to them. What this means is that they are welcomed into God’s heavenly kingdom as beloved children who have been washed clean of their sins through the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin (1 John 1:7) because death is the punishment for sin, and Jesus died in our place as our substitute. Through holy Baptism and faith we are adopted back into God’s family as His beloved children, and, having been washed clean of all sin, we will get to enjoy the full blessings of the kingdom of heaven. There we will live in eternal blessedness and peace with God, and all our needs of body and soul will be provided for us by God.

Thursday, December 29, 2022

The Opposite of Murder

(Part Three in a Series on the Fifth Commandment)

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Jesus restored life to the daughter of Jairus
after she had died.
(Luke 8:40-56)
Photo of woodcut from Valparaiso University Chapel

The opposite of death is life. What is the opposite of murder? If murder is the taking of life, then the opposite is the giving of life. Can you give life to another? A father and mother do give life to their child, and that is truly a great gift from God in so many ways. This is the opposite of murder, but that is a one-time event. What if that child loses his life or has it taken away? Can anyone give him his life back, or give him new life? Such a thing is impossible in this world. Once your life is gone or taken away, it cannot be returned or restored. This is why the sin of murder is considered so evil, and why the sin of murder is different than most other sins.

Martin Luther’s explanation to the Fifth Commandment in the Small Catechism says, “We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.” This shows us that there is more to keeping the Fifth commandment than simply refraining from murdering your neighbor. God also requires that we help preserve and protect our neighbor’s body and life. Luther got this from several places in Scripture, but it is taught most clearly in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount where Jesus taught, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22) Here Jesus shows that God’s concern for life isn’t just a sharp distinction between life and death, but is much more involved. We must help our neighbor whenever we can. When God confronted Adam’s son, Cain, about the whereabouts of his brother, Abel, Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain was the elder brother, and should have been watching out for his brother and keeping his life protected, instead he murdered his brother (more on this in an upcoming article in my Biblical Vignettes on Murder series). We all should keep our neighbor’s life safe from harm as we are able (pun intended).

Jesus never committed murder, and He also did even more in the positive sense to obey God’s command against murder. When Jesus began His ministry and revealed Himself as the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God, He also began to miraculously heal many people from all kinds of afflictions. Jesus healed the lame, and those suffering from all kinds of illnesses. He restored hearing and sight to those who were deaf and blind. In doing this, Jesus not only showed His divine power as God in the flesh, but He showed great love and concern for the life and well-being of all kinds of people. Jesus also raised several people back to life who had died. This is definitely the opposite of murder.

Jesus Restored life to Lazarus
after he had been in the grave four days.
(See John 11)

During His earthly ministry Jesus restored life to several people who had lost theirs. Jesus restored life to the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:40-56), the widow’s son in the town of Nain (Luke 7:11-17), and Lazarus of Bethany, who had been dead four days when Jesus called him out of his grave (John 11). In all these ways Jesus actively obeyed the commandment against murder, and fulfilled God’s Law.

Jesus didn’t stop there, however. It still was not enough for Jesus to restore health and life to a few sinners who had lost theirs. Every one of those people whom Jesus healed and raised from the dead also died later. These miracles were temporary solutions, but that wasn’t all Jesus did for us. He did much more. Jesus wanted to provide a permanent solution and cure for sin, sickness, and death, so He offered His life to God, the Father, in payment for the sins of the world. Because Jesus is the beloved Son of God who is sinless and perfect in every way, God, the Father, accepted the sacrifice of Jesus as full payment for the sins of all people of all time. By giving His life as payment for the sins of the world, Jesus also destroyed the power of death. Death is the ultimate consequence of sin, but Jesus died to pay for the sins of all people. Since the price for our sin has already been paid, we no longer have to die. Yes, there is still temporal death, which is a consequence of sin, and which must come to all sinners (except for those still alive on earth when Jesus returns on the last day), but this temporal death is now only temporary. In Acts 3:15 Saint Peter preached to the Jews after Christ’s resurrection, and told them that Jesus was the “author of life” – referencing His divine nature as God, the creator of all things, including people. The irony of Peter’s post-resurrection sermon wasn’t just that they killed the “author or life”, but that the “author of life” willingly gave up His life to redeem the lives of sinful people such as those who killed Him.

Since Jesus has overcome sin and death, when Jesus returns on the last day He will raise to life all people who have ever died on earth – from the first person to die, Abel (Son of Adam and Eve), to the last person to die before Christ’s return. This resurrection will not be temporary, like the raising of Lazarus (and the others), but it will be an eternal resurrection. For all who believe and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins the resurrected life will be a glorious life in paradise as God’s beloved children – adopted back into the family by Christ. For all who reject and despise Jesus and His work and gift of forgiveness and salvation for them, their resurrected life will be an endless hell of torment, suffering, and pain. Jesus paid for the sins of all people and provides salvation for all as a free gift, but those who reject the gift through unbelief do not benefit from it at all through their rejection. I believe a large part of the torment of the damned is that Jesus gave them forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift, and they rejected life in favor of death (their remaining torment is that they continue to hold on to their sin and hate God, though He is holy and completely good – so they are stuck with sin and death forever by their own choice).

We cannot give life and healing as Jesus did, but we can do what we are able to help preserve and protect our neighbor’s life. We can start by praying for our neighbor’s good welfare (including our enemies). We can also speak up to defend our neighbor against those who would harm them. Also, if we are able, or have special training, we can give aid and comfort to those whose life and health are endangered.

Another depiction of Jesus raising
Jairus' Daughter from the dead.
See Mark 5:22-24, 35-43

Jesus is the opposite of murder because He is the source of life, the salvation of those who are dying and those who are dead, and the giver of life everlasting. In John 5:19-21 Jesus taught, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” Jesus shows the nature of the Triune God as a loving God who desires the forgiveness and salvation of sinners so much that He would become incarnate as a man, and live and die to pay the price of death for sin so that whoever believes in Him would not perish in their sins, but would have eternal life in paradise with Him. This is not just a temporary opposite of murder, but a permanent life – the eternal opposite of murder, and the opposite of all death. Through faith in Jesus we will be restored by Him to be what God intended us to be (i.e. sinless and holy) to live an eternal, life without sin, suffering, and death.

“The Jews gathered around (Jesus), saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:24-30) Jesus gives life because He has paid the price to redeem all sinners. This is the perfect opposite of murder, because through His life and death, Jesus undoes the effects of sin and death. Jesus then freely gives forgiveness of sins through faith, and gives eternal life to all who listen to His voice and trusts in Him for forgiveness and salvation. Jesus does this because Jesus is equally God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it is God’s will that we trust in Him and are saved from our sin to live forever with Him.

There is so much more in the Holy Bible about God’s work as the opposite of murder that this article could go on for many pages, but I will deal with some of them in later articles in this series.

Articles in this series:

You Shall Not Murder

The True God Cannot Murder

Sunday, December 25, 2022

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;