Grace, Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text today is the Old Testament lesson just read, especially these words, “As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.” Thus far our text.
Dear friends in Christ. Peace is something that we always strive for in this world. Its something we want and desire. We will often times do whatever it takes for the feeling of peace. However, in this world, Peace is not something that is easy to come by. It is not something that is easily found, and in fact, it isn’t even something that is promised here in this world at all.
But still it has always been something that people want and hope for, even in the most dire of circumstances. Take our Old Testament lesson for an example. The Prophet Jeremiah lived in one of the most tumultuous times of ancient Israel. The nation that once had been militarily strong under David, was now weak and dependent. The nation that once had prospered financially under the wise Rule of Solomon, now could hardly pay its bills and tribute to its enemies. The armies of Babylon led by the king Nebuchadnezzar were marching on the much weaker armies of Jerusalem.
The people of Jerusalem and Israel were afraid, and Jeremiah’s prophecies about the coming destruction of their once proud nation did not make things any better for them. But in the midst of these difficult times, our text says a false “prophet” Hananiah comes and preaches a message not sent from God. He proclaims a message pretending to be from God, and tells the people of Israel exactly what their itching ears want to hear.
“Peace” Hananiah says, “not slavery to Babylon. Victory, not destruction. God will rescue us and give us peace in these days and restore the power and prestige of our great nation. He will restore all the things that the Babylonians have stolen from us. Peace will finally be ours!” What a wonderful thought! What a hope filled message! What a lie! God had not promised peace, but rather that Babylon would carry the Israelites away in the yokes of Oxen for their lack of faith and as punishment for worshipping false Gods. Hananiah proclaims a false message of Peace, and because it sounds better than war, the people of Israel believe it.
But Jeremiah, when he hears these false words, prophesies himself in our text. “Oh that it were true” Jeremiah says. “The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. And the same thing is what God says is going to happen to you because of your sin.” Yes, one day there will be a prophet who correctly predicts peace, and when that day comes, you will be sure that it is truly a prophet from God. But Hananiah was not that prophet. Hananiah was just telling those people exactly what they wanted to hear.
We too like to listen only to what our itching ears want to hear. Don’t worry about what God says about it, just do what you want to, and it will be fine. We want to hear that God will condone whatever we want to do, regardless of what scripture says. If I want to cheat on my taxes, God will understand. If I want to skip church to go to the fishing lake, God will forgive me. If I want to do this, or do that, God will understand.
Homosexuality, living together, cursing and swearing. Yes God’s word says its wrong, but my itching ears don’t want to hear that. Drinking excessively, fighting with family members, hating people who do something wrong to me. Wanting money more than anything else. Wanting the best house or car or cellphone. God says no, look at me, but we say thanks but no thanks. I want to do these things no matter what God’s word says. And why do we act that way? Because ultimately, it isn’t God we want to listen to, it is our own sinful natures that we want to listen to. Just as those Israelites wanted peace rather than the promise of struggle and pain, so too do we want our own selfish desires rather than what God says we should.
Friends, what do you want? What things do you want to do? Are they what God would have you do, or are they only what you have decided to do yourself. Honestly look at yourself. Don’t you too have some things you do that God says No to. Don’t you have some things that you do that you know are wrong, but you figure, everyone else is doing it, why can’t I?
So long as we listen to our own itching ears instead of to God’s word, we will never have peace. So long as we obey men instead of God we will have struggles and fights in this life time. It is the same for us as those Israelites in Jeremiah’s day. Looking at our self leads only to sin, while looking at God leads to peace.
And the God we look towards is the God Jeremiah prophesied about, the Prophet who truly brings peace in this world. Jesus Christ is that prophet, Jesus who knew that we were selfish and sinful people, came to live among. Jesus who knew that we listened to what we wanted to hear rather than the truth came and said boldly, “I am the way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by me.” Jesus shows us what our itching ears should look to, his own bloody death on a cross for Forgiveness life and salvation. There and there alone to we learn what true peace is, the suffering of Jesus.
For as we see Jesus on the cross, and we know the price paid for our sin, we no longer listen to our sinful nature, for it is dead with Jesus in baptism. As we see the body of Jesus hanging and dying from a tree, we know that is the body that we eat. As we see the blood pouring from the side of Jesus, we know that it is that blood of which we drink for our forgiveness. In Jesus, our itching ears are deafened to the cries of this world, and can only hear the voice of our God, “Come to me, and I will give you peace, come to me and I will give you eternity, come to me, and be forgiven forever.”
Friends, there is no peace in this world. All the things we turn to and look at will never bring us satisfaction. Even though our itching ears send us looking for all sorts of comfort in this world, the only true comfort is not here. Instead we look to Jesus, and we know that there we have comfort there we have peace, there we hear the true voice, the voice that tells us not what our itching ears want to hear, but tells us about our salvation in Jesus. Amen.
