8.16.26 Sunday Drive to Church

[00:00:00] Good morning, St. Paul Lutheran Church. It's a Sunday drive to church for August 16, 2026, the 11th Sunday after the feast of the Holy Trinity. [00:00:10] We're a bit of a relief Sunday because the last two Sundays are tricky. Trinity 9, Trinity 10. [00:00:17] Last week we heard about the destruction Jerusalem. [00:00:21] The week before that was that parable of the shrewd. [00:00:26] A manager who steals and gets commended. That's a tricky one. [00:00:31] Today we get this beautiful parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee going to pray, going to church together. It's so beautiful. Such a contrast of law and gospel. [00:00:41] Absolutely stunning. So beautiful. Gospel filled, well, wisdom filled texts too. Let's pray. [00:00:49] Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear than we. To pray and to give more than we either desire or deserve. [00:00:57] Pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things that we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [00:01:17] Amen. We'll start with the psalm. The answer to Psalm is Psalm 50, starting at verse 7 and going to the end. [00:01:26] Verse 7 is conveniently located at the top of the page of your hymnal, Psalm 50. When Luther talks about the Lord's promise to answer prayer, he really goes to two places. He goes to the Sermon on the Mount, ask, seek, knock. To the one who asks is answered, receives to the one who seeks. He finds the one who knocks, the door's open. [00:01:51] And then Luther, his second, or maybe even his first primary verse that he goes to for the promise of answered prayer is Psalm 50. 15. [00:02:01] Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. [00:02:09] That's the key. Praise there. And it's right in the middle of this little sentence. Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the Most High. Now that sacrifice of thanksgiving that's discussed in verse 14 is contrasted with the other sacrifices that they're offering. So in Israel at this time, there's all sorts of sacrifices being offered in the temple, and the Lord is not impressed. [00:02:35] Here's what it says, starting with verse seven. Hear, O my people, and I'll speak. O Israel, I'll testify against you. I'm God, your God. And this is funny. I think this is one of the funniest passages, one of the funniest things that the Lord says in the whole Bible. [00:02:50] I am your God, not for your sacrifices. Do I rebuke you. Your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine. The cattle on a thousand hills, I know. All the birds of the air. [00:03:05] I know all the birds of the hills. And all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you. [00:03:15] That's so great. The Lord says here, you're offering all these sacrifices. It's not for me that you. I don't need these things. I don't need your bulls. I don't need your goats. I don't need your turtle doves. I don't need your wave offering, your grain offering, your wine offering. [00:03:29] You are bringing those things to me like I need them. Do you think I'm like the hungry pagan gods that need to be fed? Look, if I were hungry, God says, I wouldn't even tell you about it. I'd go get some Denny's myself or whatever. I mean, he's never hungry. But this is the point. God doesn't need anything for us. If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you. For the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? [00:03:55] Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. [00:03:58] In other words, what is the sacrifice that really impresses God? [00:04:02] Like, he's hungry and we're going to feed him. He's thirsty, and we're going to give him something to drink. No, he. He loves us, and he wants us to believe it. He gives us gifts, and he wants us to receive them with thanksgiving. That's what the Lord wants from us. [00:04:18] Now, this is an amazing thing because there's two shortcomings to the sacrifices of the Old Testament. I mean, God instituted them, and he instituted them on purpose so that they would preach that the Lord accepts the death of another in my place. In other words, Passover, day of atonement, morning sacrifice, evening sacrifice. All the other sacrifices that the priests are making every day in the temple, those are preaching sacrifices, preaching the blood that was going to be shed. [00:04:52] But two things happen. [00:04:54] One, the people failed to recognize that they were pointing to something else. They thought that they were an end in themselves. They missed that they were again preaching sacrifices and that they were a way of attaining their own righteousness. And then that's what they switched over to think that God needed them. [00:05:14] And so the Lord has to rebuke this false idea of the sacrifice, like their need. Like. Like he needs them for something. [00:05:21] Absolutely not. It's Beautiful. [00:05:23] This is such. [00:05:25] Such a beautiful psalm. Mark this, then. This is at the end, verse 22. Mark this, then. You who forget God, lest I tear you apart and there's none to deliver. [00:05:35] The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me to the one who orders his way rightly, I will show the salvation of God. [00:05:47] So we're not offering to God the sacrifice of bulls and goats as if he needs them. We're offering the sacrifice of faith and praise and thanksgiving and a life ordered to keep his commandments beautiful. Who could have learned a little bit about that was Cain. That's our Old Testament lesson. Genesis, chapter four. [00:06:11] I have this. [00:06:12] Oh, let me see if I can find it. [00:06:14] I found it here. I remember reading Paradise Lost, and the scene where Adam, in a vision, beholds Cain killing Abel was striking. Well, let me talk about the text, and then I'll read you a little of the poem. I don't think I'm going to preach about it, so I'll give it to you here. [00:06:31] Remember that. [00:06:33] Chapter four. Genesis, Chapter four, verse one. There's a couple of key passages here. Adam knew his wife, knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I've gotten a man with the help of the Lord. The Hebrew for that. Here's how Luther translates the Hebrew. I've gotten a man, the. The Lord. [00:06:52] Whoa. [00:06:53] In other words, Eve thinks that with his very first child, Cain, her oldest son, God has already kept the Messianic promise of Genesis 3:15, and that Cain is the Messiah. Now, she was wrong. I mean, Cain is the opposite of the Messiah. He's a murderer, a patricide. What's it called? Fratricide, A brother murderer. [00:07:16] But Eve at least understood the promise that she was going to the baby who was coming along was the Lord. It's amazing. [00:07:24] And then second comes Abel. [00:07:27] Now, Abel's a keeper of the sheep. Cain was a worker of the ground. So Cain, the oldest, inherits the father's work. Adam is the gardener. [00:07:35] Cain. It's interesting to think about Abel's work to keep the sheep because they weren't authorized to eat the sheep yet. So maybe they would have used the wool for clothing, but. But maybe most importantly, they would have used the sheep for sacrifice. [00:07:50] Remember, God taught them that sacrifice by killing the animal and covering them with the clothes, with the skin. [00:07:57] And so the sacrifice there was the sacrifice of blood. And that's that preaching of that sacrifice, the blood shed for another. [00:08:05] So they go and they both bring an offering to the Lord. Cain brought to the Lord, an offering of the fruit of the ground. He's a farmer. He brings his own fruit. Abel brought the firstborn from the flock, the fat portions. [00:08:18] The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. [00:08:24] Now, what is the difference? [00:08:27] The book of Hebrews tells us that Abel made his offering by faith and Cain did not. [00:08:35] In other words, Cain came and offered an offering of pride, not humility, not of faith. [00:08:45] And it's something like this. Look, I'm the oldest, I'm the farmer. Here's the best fruits. This is what causes us to live. [00:08:54] I don't want to bring the messy, nasty, bloody sheep. No way. [00:09:01] I think I have a better way to offer. And here's where the faith falls apart. Because God had shown already Adam and Eve how to offer the sacrifices with the animal and with the shed blood. [00:09:12] And faith clings to that word of promise, and Cain just doesn't. [00:09:18] So the Lord accepts Abel's offering, but not Cain's. And how? The Lord indicated that, we don't know. But the result is that Cain's pretty upset. His face fell. He was very angry. But the Lord comes to him and he's going to talk to him about his anger. Remember, spiritual anger is particularly dangerous if we're angry. You know, anger fights against love, and anger fights against faith both. [00:09:44] And here his anger was fighting against his faith. But the Lord says, why are you angry? Why is your face fallen? If you do well, you'll be accepted. In other words, I've not cast you off. I've rebuked you for the sacrifice. I'm calling you to repentance so that you can be forgiven. But look at this. Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you. You must rule over it. [00:10:09] This is really, I mean, for all of us. There's sin crouching at the door. And part of our dominion is having rule over that sin. That's crouching like a lion or a coiled snake ready to bite us as we step outside. [00:10:25] But it doesn't work. [00:10:27] So Cain spoke to Abel. That had to be part of his plot. When they were in the field, he rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. [00:10:36] And then the Lord comes to Cain and says, where's your brother Abel? I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper? Answer to that question, by the way. We hear that all the time. Am I my brother's keeper? The answer is yes, you are your brother's keeper. [00:10:48] The answer to Cain is no, you're not your Brother's keeper. You're your brother's murderer. And the Lord says, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground, and you're cursed from the ground. You're going to have to go driven about. Everywhere the Lord puts a mark on Cain. I don't know what that is, but it's an indication that if anyone were to kill Cain, then the Lord would have vengeance on him. Now people say, well, who are all these other people that were going to murder Cain? Well, there must have been a significant amount of time had passed and that Adam and Eve had other children. Maybe even Cain and Abel had other children. They were, after all, farming and ranching and developing things. There was enough people for a city to be formed and so forth. So that must be where that's coming from. [00:11:34] Now I'm in paradise Lost Boy. I think you guys are going to like this if you don't. [00:11:41] Book 11, line 440. [00:11:45] The Archangel Michael has taken Adam, like up on the side of a hill, if I remember right. And he's basically given him a vision and it says, okay, so in the midst an altar as the landmark stood rustic of grassy sword, thither anon, sweet reaper, from his tillage brought first fruits. The green ear and the yellow sheaf uncold as it came to his hand. A shepherd next more meek, came with the firstling of his flock, Choicest and best then sacrificing, laid the inwards and their fat with incense strewed on the cleft wood, all due rites performed his offering soon propitious fire from heaven consumed with nimble glance and grateful steam. And the others not for his was not sincere where he inly raged, and as they talked, smote him into the midriff with a stone that beat out life. He fell and deadly pale, groaned out his soul with gushing blood, Effused much at that sight was Adam in his heart dismayed and thus in haste to the angel cried, o teacher, some great mischief hath befallen to that meek man, who well it sacrificed is piety. Thus pure devotion paid to Michael. Thus he also moved, replied, these two are brethren, Adam, and come out of thy loins the unjust and the unjust the just hath slain for envy that his brother's offering found from heaven acceptance. [00:13:16] But the bloody fact will be avenged, and the other's faith approved the lose no reward, though here thou see him die, rolling in dust and gore. [00:13:26] To which our sire says, alas both for the deed and for the cause. [00:13:35] But have I now seen death? [00:13:39] Is this the way I must return to native dust? O sight of terror, foul, ugly to behold. Horrid to think how horrible to feel. [00:13:52] To whom thus, Michael? [00:13:54] Death thou hast seen in his first shape on man. [00:13:59] But many shapes of death, and many are the ways that lead to his grim cave, all dismal. [00:14:10] That's a. I don't know. That. That passage there. Can you imagine Adam and Eve? See this? That. Because here, this is the first death. [00:14:18] The Lord had promised death. But this is the first one. [00:14:21] Oh, and Adam says, this is death. Oh, the horror, the terror. [00:14:27] And Michael says, this is just the first shape of death. Wait till you see all the other ones. And then he, by the way, in the poem, goes on to show him, basically the whole Old Testament, just death after death. After death, Adam says, oh, what have I done? [00:14:42] Okay, that's your English lesson. Okay. Epistle, First Corinthians 15. [00:14:47] Remember, 1 Corinthians 15 is Paul's resurrection chapter. [00:14:51] The whole thing about the resurrection. But these first few verses, we've got the first 10 verses, but especially the first few is where Paul basically gives the first creed. Here's what I received, I passed on to you. That's what he says in verse three. I delivered to you as of first importance, what I also received. That language of receiving and delivering is the language of tradition handed onto us from the Old Testament. The prophets and the apostles, they received and they passed on. And so is for us. We receive the doctrine and the teaching of Christ and we pass it on to our neighbor, our friend, our family, the next generation. We're receiving and we're passing it on. So Paul says, now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed it in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance that which I also received. [00:15:47] One, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. [00:15:53] Two, that he was buried. [00:15:56] Three, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. And four, that he appeared. [00:16:04] And then here's the list of appearances to Cephas, that's Peter, to the 12 more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive. Some have fallen asleep. He appeared to James, all the apostles, last of all, as to one untimely born. He appeared also to me, says Paul, from the least of the apostles. And then. [00:16:22] Well, I'll just finish unworthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. I think that, you know, Paul's approval of the stoning of St Stephen still haunts him. [00:16:33] How do you shake it? [00:16:35] But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. [00:16:48] So this, this is the gospel. Christ died for our sins in accord with the scripture, was buried, was raised on the third day, appeared to his apostles and to others, ascended into heaven and so forth. That's what's. [00:17:02] That's what's delivered, that's what's received, that's what's passed on. [00:17:06] If someone asks you and they're like, hey, what's the gospel? This is a great place to go, 1 Corinthians 15:3 just outlines it right there. So great. Then he goes on to say, but this resurrection is so important. That's why he makes the apologetic argument here that Jesus appeared to over 500 believers at one time. So they all saw him. [00:17:27] And Paul says, you can go and ask him about it because most of them are still alive. [00:17:32] And Paul is writing, oh, I don't know, 20, 20 something. 21, 25 years, let's see, 54, 21 years after the resurrection of Jesus. [00:17:45] So they're still around. You can go talk to them. [00:17:49] Beautiful. [00:17:50] Now we get to the. [00:17:52] I won't say too much about it because I will preach on this. So good. It's Luke 18, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It's such a fantastic example of the distinction between law and gospel, because there's these two guys to go to church. [00:18:07] And it's really nice that Luke tells us why Jesus told this parable. He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. [00:18:20] It is a strange thing that self righteousness and contempt for others go together. You wouldn't think that it would have to be like that. [00:18:28] Like, it seems like it'd be very possible to think, hey, I'm a great guy and you're also great. But it just never works out like that because, well, because we're not great. [00:18:37] So the attempt to argue for our own greatness ends up twisting the conscience around. [00:18:45] And the only way we can do it to think that we're great is by comparing ourselves to other people being convinced that they're not that great. [00:18:52] So here's the parable. [00:18:55] Two men went into the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee standing by himself, no doubt, right up front, center of the aisle, prayed, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get. [00:19:17] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. [00:19:29] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. [00:19:35] For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. [00:19:45] Well, you know, this is a story that Jesus is telling. So I don't know if these are real characters, but if they were, we would. This tax collector, he's our brother. And you know, I mean, we hear tax collectors and we've got people at church that work for the irs and we say, praise the Lord, what a good and godly vocation. But not so in the time of Jesus. Remember, the Romans were the occupiers. And if you're a Jewish tax collector like Matthew, I mean, you really have to be a sellout to go and collect money for the Romans. I mean, blah, the Pharisees. And probably right would argue that the Romans had no authority to be in charge of the people of God, except for God gave them the authority. But still, here they are, and you're going to go and help them. It's like you've abandoned your people, you've abandoned your God, you've abandoned your confession, your religion, everything. You've just left it all for the sake of money and gain. [00:20:39] A tax collector. I mean, there's a reason why when the gospels talk about sinners, they'll say tax collectors and sinners, because it's about the same thing. It's about as bad as you can get. [00:20:50] And so when you hear the story, and it's also good for us to remember that back in these days, the Pharisees were the good guys. [00:20:57] You know, if your daughter said, hey, I met a guy and I think he's pretty cute, and I want to go out on a date with him. And by the way, he's a Pharisee. Your father heart would be like, ooh, Pharisee, that's great. They were the good guys. So when you hear this story about a Pharisee and a tax collector going into church, you don't think automatically, well, Pharisee Bad, tax collector good. In fact, the very opposite. So that Jesus is shocking us with this. [00:21:27] That the tax collector is the one who goes home justified. [00:21:30] He doesn't do anything but sin all day, but at least he knows it. [00:21:35] And that's the difference. [00:21:38] The difference in some ways is not our sin. It's what we say about our sin. It's what we know about our sin. It's what we confess about our sin. Do I recognize that I am a sinner? [00:21:54] Okay, more on that in the sermon. Because look, we can talk about this hymn. Do I have time? [00:21:59] Okay, real quick. Oh, how great is your compassion. Here's a couple of things to notice about it. It's a beautiful old hymn. Johann Aklarius, 1611-1684. [00:22:11] I looked him up a little bit. Just I recognize the name. He, at some point he published. He's one of these great hymn writers after the thirty Years War, one of these foundational Lutheran theological hymn writers. He published a hymnal in his day that had 1200 hymns. And of those 1200 hymns, he wrote over 300 of them. [00:22:32] That is a lot. [00:22:36] Comfort, comfort you my people. [00:22:39] What are the other ones that he wrote? Some of the famous ones. [00:22:42] Bach did a bunch of stuff with his. [00:22:50] I'm looking here. The fame. It doesn't tell me the famous hymns by him. [00:22:55] I thought it did. Where am I? I might be looking on the wrong page. Anyhow, super wonderful old Lutheran theologian and hymn writer. And this hymn. Oh, don't miss this. The first and the fifth stanza are the same, first and final. So it' bookmarked. Bookend an inclusio chiastic structure. [00:23:16] And what that does, I mean it helps us to memorize it. Oh, how great is your compassion. [00:23:22] At the end I will praise your great compassion, faithful father, God of grace, that with all our fallen race in our depth of degradation you had mercy so that we might be saved eternally. [00:23:36] And. [00:23:37] And when you sing it, at first you're making that declaration. But then Stanzas 2, 3, 4 are teaching us all that the Lord has done his mercy coming to us in our depth of degradation to save us. For example, 4. Lord, your mercy will not leave me ever. Will your truth abide then in you I will confide, since your word cannot deceive me. My salvation is to me safe and sure eternally. [00:24:06] So that when we get to the stanza and we sing it again at the final time, it's been filled out now by all the great things that God has done for us. [00:24:15] All right, that's Sunday. Drive to church. Keep driving safe. We're going to do. We're going to keep working our way through the Gospel of Matthew in Bible class today, and we'll see you soon. God's peace be with you.