The Festival of the Reformation + Matthew 11:12-15 + October 29, 2017
Grace
and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1) “From the day s
of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent
take it by force.” These are difficult words. What does it mean that the
kingdom suffers violence and the violent take it by force? Was there violence
and persecution against the kingdom of heaven at the time when Jesus said this?
There had been none up to that point. John was still alive, although imprisoned.
Jesus had not yet been crucified, nor His apostles martyred because of their
preaching. That would all come in due time. But at this point in the ministry
of John and Jesus, violent men had not yet tried to lay hold of the kingdom of
heaven. They would try. They would execute John, crucify Christ, and martyr the
apostles. They would persecute the church, burn her books, and give Christians
over to lions and other creative fates. But none of the violence of the world
could ever take hold of the kingdom by force and suppress or destroy it. That
is because the kingdom of heaven is not an earthly kingdom. The kingdom of
heaven is not something that can be destroyed by men, though they may try
through force and false teaching. The kingdom of heaven is “righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). And no violence can be done
against the righteousness, peace and joy that the Holy Spirit works in men’s
hearts. The kingdom is not something external or tangible at all, for Jesus
tells His disciples in Luke 17:21, “the kingdom of God is within you,” so
it cannot be violently taken by violent men. No, Jesus isn’t speaking about persecution
and violence against the kingdom. A clearer translation of this text would be, “From the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven advances forcefully and forceful people snatch it up.”
2) From the day John the Baptist began preaching in the
Judean wilderness, through the time when Christ began preaching, the kingdom of
heaven had been advancing forcefully. Since the kingdom of God is
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, all of which is only grasped
by faith, the kingdom forcefully and powerfully advances through the preaching of
the Gospel. John preached repentance from sin and baptism for the forgiveness
of sins. He forcefully preached to all, and those who believed his preaching
forced their way into the kingdom of heaven, not by works, not because they
earned it, not because they were good people, but by faith, by simply believing
the message John preached. So they rushed to repent and be washed clean of
their sins in the River Jordan. And when John extended his blessed finger and,
pointing to Jesus, said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!” (John 1:29), many fled to Christ and followed Him. When John was
imprisoned and Jesus began preaching the gospel of repentance and forgiveness
of sins by faith alone, the kingdom of God continued to advance forcefully. For
many who had assumed they were not worthy to enter the kingdom because of their
many sins and because of their unholy lives, heard the Gospel of Christ, that
God “wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”
(1 Timothy 2:4). God “commands
all men everywhere to repent” (Acts
17:30), and promises to freely forgive the sins of those who repent, not
account of their own works, merits, or goodness, but solely for the sake of
Christ Jesus. Through this preaching, the kingdom of God forcefully advanced
and sinners, hearing that God is gracious and merciful in Christ, forcefully
laid hold of that Gospel through faith, and like their father Abraham, they
were declared to be righteous by their faith in God’s promise.
3) Throughout the history of the church, since Christ’s
ascension, the kingdom has advanced forcefully and sinners have forcefully
snatched it up by faith, receiving the righteousness of Christ and the peace of
conscience that being justified by faith brings. But there have been times in
the church’s history where the kingdom has not advanced as forcefully as one
might hope. There are have periods of her history where the church has muffled
her preaching through falsehood. There have been times when the preaching of
the forgiveness of sins though faith alone in Christ have been muted
altogether, so that men could not lay hold of the kingdom and receive its
blessings. Martin Luther grew up in such a time. The Medieval church had muted
the preaching of the Gospel by preaching the falsehoods of indulgences and purgatory.
The once vibrant and faithful see of Rome had, over the course of centuries,
introduced a new gospel which is no gospel at all, that men are justified by
faith formed by their works of love. What this meant was salvation was no
longer by faith alone which looked to Christ as the sinner’s mediator and
throne of grace. Salvation was now a matter which God began in the sinner’s
heart and then gave over to the sinner to complete. He completed His righteousness
by man-made works like pilgrimages, fasting, days of obligation, rosaries, and
countless other man-made works. The gospel of justification by faith alone was
still taught in some corners of the church, for the Lord promised that her true
church would never fail and the gates of Hell would not overcome her. But for
most of the saints, Rome had snatched their salvation from them, and mandated they
earn it back by their own works.
4) It was in this setting that the Lord raised up
Martin Luther. His ninety-five theses, nailed the door of the Wittenberg Church
on October 31, 500 years ago, was the beginning of the kingdom advancing forcefully
once again. Luther vigorously preached that God does not declare us righteous
because of what we do, but by faith in Christ we are declared to be righteous
in God’s sight. For it is as St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “For in [the
gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is
written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17). To ears that had heard for so
long that God is an angry God who must be appeased by good deeds, this is a
sweet sound. To hearts burdened with the idea that man-made works of the church
could demonstrate your repentance and reduce time in purgatory, the preaching
of the free and complete forgiveness of sins solely on account of Christ, was a
joyous sound. To hear clearly and purely, that in Christ, God is merciful to
sinners and promises to forgive all sins when they flee to Christ Jesus in
faith, that teaching brought peace to consciences that had long labored under
the burden that they could attain righteousness by the law. Like John the
Baptist, Luther stood at the edge of an empire, in the wilderness of
Wittenberg, and preached the kingdom of heaven, the righteousness of faith, the
peace of conscience, and joy in Christ, to sinners. In Luther’s preaching, the
kingdom advanced forcefully. Through faith many grasped all that God offered in
the promise of the Gospel. The kingdom of heaven forcefully advanced and
forceful people snatched it up and held onto the gospel for their hope and
salvation.
5) Today we celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of
the Reformation of Christ’s Church. Anniversaries are a good time to reflect on
the past and what it means for the present and the future. As we look back at
the events of the Reformation, we cannot help but celebrate and give thanks to
God for raising up Dr. Luther to rediscover the Gospel, to reform the Church
according to Gospel, and reorient all the church’s doctrine and doings around
justification by grace through faith alone. If it had not been for Luther, as
God’s chosen instrument, Christendom would still languish under the heavy
burden of the Papacy. Without Luther’s rediscovery of the Gospel and its
forceful advancing, our souls would have no certainty of salvation since our
faith would be directed to our own imperfect works. If God had not raised up
Luther, and those who came after him, we would still be heavy-laden with Rome’s
man-made works and false beliefs so that our souls would know no rest and our
consciences would know no peace with God. Thanks be to God the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, for reforming His church through His servant. On this anniversary
we ought to give thanks not only for what happened, but that it continues among
us today. For although we are a small congregation in a small diocese, we thank
God that we have the pure Gospel and that we have been blessed with a fellowship
of pastors and churches who believe, teach, and confess the same pure Gospel
without spot, blemish, or adulteration. We ought to always give thanks for
these blessings because there are only a handful of people in our time who can
truly say that that is the case. Let us give thanks to God for what He has done
in the past. Let us give thanks that He continues the Reformation teaching among
us for our salvation.
6) This five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation
is a cause to rejoice. But it also is a call to vigilance. Our world is the
same world which executed John, crucified Christ, and martyred the apostles. We
are beleaguered by the same devil who led Rome astray into falsehood and who
incites many to unbelief. The history of the Reformation shows us that the
words of the Scriptures are true: the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour, and that the world hates the true Church because
the church loves Christ and treasures all His teachings. We must be vigilant
for our church and our doctrine, abiding in Christ through faith, and remaining
steadfast in the Holy Scriptures. We must also be on guard against the devil,
the world, and even our own sinful nature which wants to entice each one of us
away from the gospel, so that we put our trust in our works and our confidence
in ourselves and not in Christ’s mercy.
7) How do you be vigilant against such adversaries? Be
forceful and vigorous with the promise of the Gospel. Lay hold of the kingdom of heaven that comes
to you through the preaching of the Gospel. Grasp tightly the promises of God
given to you in the Holy Scriptures so that Satan cannot easily tear them from
your heart. Grab onto the promise of the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake,
flee to Christ each day in faith, trusting that He is merciful and just to
forgiveness your sins not because of deeds done and works worked, but because
Christ has died to atone for your sins and promised to forgive them. For five
hundred years the kingdom has forcefully advanced through the preaching of the Gospel
rediscovered by Luther. Let us who truly bear his name forcefully snatch the
gospel up in true faith and confidence for the forgiveness of all our sins, our
life, and our eternal salvation. The kingdom of heaven advances forcefully and
forceful people still snatch it up through faith.
May the peace of
God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds through
faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.