Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 28, 2014- Pastor Adam Moline
Ezekiel
18:1-4, 25-32 Philippians 2:1-18 Matthew
21:23-32
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today comes from the Old Testament lesson just read, especially
these words, “The soul who sins shall die.”
Thus far our text.
Dear friends in Christ,
It is a harsh reality that our Old Testament lesson puts forth today. All souls who sin shall die. Its not a “Maybe they’ll die,” its not a
“Probably they’ll die.” It is a clear
cut, “If you sin, there is absolute certainty that you will die.” Why?
Because God is just. He cannot
allow any sin to go unpunished. He cant
avoid reality about what we’ve done.
Because God is just, everything must be accounted for at the end – both
good and evil.
And so dear
friends, we must die. Its true. When we look at all the things we’ve done in
our lives, when we tally up the score we’ve managed, we’ll be found
wanting. We’ll be found guilty of
disobedience to our just God. We’ll be
found guilty because of all the sins we’ve committed, whether it was us failing
to do the right thing, or purposefully doing something evil. Yes, dear friends, you’ve done both. You’ve passed by the person in need, more
concerned with your own self-preservation than with needs of someone else. You’ve put yourself first when you’ve planned
things or done things. You spent your
money for your desires rather than to care for your neighbor. Dear friends in Christ, all of these things
and more are your sin.
When a righteous
person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for
it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die, so you, dear friends,
shall die. Don’t be mistaken, don’t
think God enjoys killing sinners. He
grieves over the things you’ve done. He
is torn up by the way you’ve turned your back on him. He weeps at every funeral that happens, more
so even than we do. He hates that his
beloved creation has turned their back to him and written him off. He has no pleasure in the death of anyone.
And so in His great
mercy he calls out to you in the words of scripture, “Turn aside from your
sin. Leave it behind and do what is
right.” Have no other gods, do not
commit adultery, love your neighbor and love your god. Be holy as the Lord your God is holy. Do this and you will live.
But dear friends,
despite your efforts, you will never succeed at this goal. You will never be holy. Even if you did not sin once the rest of your
life – an impossible task – you could not make up for the sin you already have
committed. In fact, the very idea that
you can stop sinning is nothing more than a pipe dream – one which condemns you
all the more by showing your complete inability to do good in God’s eyes.
And it is because
of that, dear friends, that God did something amazing and wonderful to forgive
your sin and stop your impending death.
He sent his son, Jesus Christ into our world, and placing your sin upon
his shoulders in the waters of Holy Baptism, God killed Jesus in your place.
Yes, your guilt,
your shame, and your wrong doing was placed on Christ. He became the greatest sinner the world has
ever seen because he bore the sin you have committed. It was a heavy burden, one of which he
courageously bore to the cross outside of Jerusalem. Carrying your sin, he had to die, as sinners
must. He had to suffer, as sinner
must. He had to bleed, and give up
himself as sinners must. And so he
did.
It’s what our
epistle lesson today says. Jesus “emptied
himself, by taking the form of a servant,[b] being born in the
likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross.” He took on the form
of the servant by bearing the sins of the servant. And because Jesus died for and in the place
of sinners, sinners are made righteous, and in the righteousness of Christ they
can live. Let me say that in regards to
you, dear friends. Because you wear the
righteousness of Christ you can live. Because
he bore your sins, you’re forgiven. God
killed Jesus, his own son, so that you might be forgiven.
In the name of
Jesus. Amen.
