The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
February 16, 2014 - Pastor Adam Moline
Deuteronomy
30:15-20 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Matthew 5:21-37
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
amen. Our text today is from the Gospel
lesson today, especially these words from Jesus, “You have heard it said.” Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ. We all know the ten
commandments. We all had to learn them
in confirmation. You shall have no other
Gods. You shall not steal. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery etc. And we all know that these are the basics of
Christian behavior, the basics of what is right and wrong – so much so that
they are even displayed in many courthouses across our country.
And we like the
ten commandments don’t we, because they make us feel good about ourselves? What I mean is this, if someone asked us if
we’ve murdered, we’ll answer cheerfully – “No!
I’ve never murdered, aren’t I good?”
or if asked if we’ve stolen, we’ll say, “No! I’ve never robbed or stolen or anything like
that. I’m a good person.” And we like it when people say, “Oh, yes,
you’re such an honest person, you’re so truthful.”
We like the Ten
commandments because we feel like we can and have kept all of them. And
we feel like we can look down on those around us who we know have not kept them. “Oh, yes, I remember the Sabbath day and keep
it holy, but Jane down the street doesn’t!
Too bad for her.”
But Jesus cuts
through all the false piety in our text today.
He says if you’ve been angry at your brother, you’ve murdered him –
something all of us are guilty of – yes even you. If you’ve looked at someone lustfully,
whether they be walking down the street, or on your T.V. screen or anywhere
else, you’re and adulterer. We can apply
this same principle to all of the ten commandments. If you break them – even in the slightest
bit, or the smallest point, you’re guilty of them all. If you fail in one point, you’ve failed in
them all.
And so the truth
is, if we take Jesus’ word as the truth, which it is, we aren’t holy. We aren’t righteous. We aren’t good. We aren’t better than anyone else. We are as the hymn says, chief of all
sinners. We are the worst of the
worst. We deserve punishment because
we’ve broken God’s law time and again.
We deserve the judgment Jesus himself speaks of in our lesson, the
judgment that he himself will one day dole out upon the sin of the world.
And yet, we don’t
receive that punishment. Instead we
receive grace. Instead we receive
blessings. Why? Because that punishment for sin has already
been poured out upon a substitute. There
was one who was perfect in the places that you have failed. There was one who succeeded where you fell
short. There was one who never looked at
anyone with adulterous thoughts. There
was one who never stole, but always gave freely. There was one who wanted to make all things
new and right with those around him. And
this one is Jesus.
To put it simply
he traded you. He was perfect, and you
were not. So he gave you his perfection
and took your sin. He gave you his life,
and died your death. He gave you his
inheritance, and took all of the emptiness of hell that your sin deserved. And so, since you and Jesus traded places,
God the Father looks at you as his holy precious child, whom he loves. He looks at you as one who cares for the weak
and sick, and one who loves those who are lonely. God sees in you all the good works that Jesus
has done for others. God gives you
heaven, because that is what Jesus deserved.
And what you
deserved, Jesus suffered. Stripped,
beaten, bloodied, mocked and tortured on the cross. He suffered hell for you. He died for you. He laid in your tomb. All so that you would not have to. The cross your guilt earned, Jesus suffered.
Dear friends. It is truly the great exchange. You are free, because of Christ. Christ in you keeps the ten commandments,
even as your sinful nature does not.
Christ in you is God’s child, even as your sinful nature fights against
Him. You are God’s child, and will be
forever more. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
