View Full Transcript
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good morning, St. Paul Lutheran Church. Pastor Wolfmull here. This is the Sunday Drive to church podcast for September 27th, year of our Lord, 2026, 17th Sunday after Trinity. The double, double story today.
[00:00:14] I guess it's not a double story. It's the gospel from Luke 14, where Jesus is dining at the Pharisee's house. He heals the man and then he tells the parable. So you get a. It's great because you know just exactly who Jesus is pointing at with the parable. But anyway, more on that later. First, let's pray.
[00:00:32] Lord, we implore you, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
[00:00:51] I love how much our Lutheran theology and the ancient church fathers, how much they talk about the devil.
[00:00:58] It's one of the ways. I don't know if I should tell you guys this. It's one of my little secret hacks. If I try to figure out how much I like a person's preaching, it's how much they talk about the devil. Because if you never mention the devil, what are you doing?
[00:01:13] It's on every page in Luther.
[00:01:15] It's a reality. It should be a reality for us anyhow.
[00:01:18] Great. Collect. Here's the Psalm 2, Psalm 2.
[00:01:23] I'm looking at my notes on Psalm 2, and maybe it's because it's Psalm 2 and not Psalm 146. I haven't gotten to Psalm 146 in a lot of my notes.
[00:01:33] I've got a lot of notes for Psalm 2, including a couple of things indicating that this was probably that the first Psalm when David published the Psalter.
[00:01:44] So you know how when you read through the psalms, there's book 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. It seems like those are the editions of the Psalter, so that the first time it's published, it's the first 46, 47 Psalms and then another 25 are added, then another 30 something are added.
[00:02:00] My professor thought, had a suspicion that Psalm 1 was a preface added by King Solomon on the third edition of this altar. So the first two times David publishes it, this is number one. And it's in a lot of ways the chief psalm.
[00:02:17] And it could go under the theme who is the king?
[00:02:21] Or it could go under the theme, something's going to get broken.
[00:02:26] This is a psalm with this deep and profound doctrine of Christ. Also, it's the chief word.
[00:02:34] This is the chief word in the Old Testament about Jesus.
[00:02:40] It's in verse seven, I will tell of the decree.
[00:02:43] The Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you.
[00:02:49] Well, who's talking there? That's Jesus talking. And who's he talking about? The Lord. That's God the Father. So Jesus is telling us what the Father said to him. And the Father said, you are my son. Notice this also the Father said in verse six, as for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill, so that the Father calls Jesus the Son, my king. That's already amazing.
[00:03:14] There's another verse where the Father will call the Son my God.
[00:03:19] That's great. So. So the nations are. Boy, am I really ahead of myself here. So it begins like this. Why do the nations rage and the people's plot in vain?
[00:03:30] Rage is the.
[00:03:33] Rage is the first word in the.
[00:03:38] In the Iliad.
[00:03:41] Yeah, it's the Iliad.
[00:03:43] And I remember my friend Dr. Schultz, he pointed this out to me. He says that if you take the Iliad as the first piece of literature in the entire Western canon, that means the first word of literature of the Western world is this word, rage.
[00:04:05] Rage. Achilles. In fact, it's talking about the poets who are talking about Achilles. Rage.
[00:04:12] But look at how the Psalter begins. Why do the nations rage?
[00:04:20] It's so much better to be a Christian than a pagan.
[00:04:23] That's all there is over there. Rage. And then here, this is. What are you guys so mad about?
[00:04:30] Now, this is a verse used to understand what happened when Pilate and Herod got together to try to kill Jesus. Really? It says the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and his Messiah. It'll say, anointed there. But remember, every time you see anointed, that's the English translation of the Hebrew Messiah.
[00:04:51] So what did the king say? Let us burst their bonds and cast away their cords from us. And what does the Lord think about that? He who sits in the heavens laughs.
[00:04:59] And this is not because he's chuckling at our funny jokes.
[00:05:04] He's laughing because, well, it says he holds him in derision, and he'll speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, as for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. So all these kings are like, hey, we have to burst the bonds. We have to escape from the Lord's commandments.
[00:05:23] We have to get out from under the Lord's rule. And the Lord says, nah, because my King Jesus is on my holy hill. I'll tell the decree. The Lord said to me, you're my Son, today I've begotten you. Ask of me, and I'll make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You'll break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
[00:05:45] So either the I told you something's going to be broken. Either the nations are going to succeed in bursting the bonds, or the Lord is going to succeed in breaking them with a rod of iron. And that's exactly what happens. That's Psalm that's Revelation 20, where the Lord sits on the throne, the one who has a rod who will rule the nations with a rod of iron.
[00:06:07] So if he's going to sit on the throne, what does that leave us to do? Verse 10. O kings, be wise, be warned. O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling, kiss the sun. This is to worship Jesus as king and to trust in him, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. But. But here's the last line. Blessed are those who take refuge in him.
[00:06:32] Remember how the Psalter started. Psalm 1. Blessed is the man. Here it is. Blessed. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
[00:06:43] Oh man. Is that a good psalm?
[00:06:47] I think?
[00:06:49] Okay, there's something amazing here. In this we have the so remember, when we read the Psalter, we say, who's talking to who?
[00:06:58] Half the time the Lord's talking to us.
[00:07:01] I've set my King on Zion, my holy hill.
[00:07:05] Then it switches to the King who said, that's Jesus who says, I will tell the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my Son. Today I have begotten you. So this is Jesus telling us what the Father said to him.
[00:07:19] Now, why doesn't it just tell us what the Father said, like it did in verse six?
[00:07:26] And the answer is that I don't know, but it's. Something's going on that the Holy Spirit wants us to hear.
[00:07:37] The voice of God the Father, speaking to the Son through the voice of the Son reporting it to us.
[00:07:51] I don't know why, but it's amazing.
[00:07:54] You are my Son. Today I've begotten you. So look at how today is present tense, begotten is past tense.
[00:08:00] So this has to do with the eternal begetting of the Son. Today I have begotten you. In other words, you're always before today this has to do with the eternal generation of the Son. Oh, there's so much there. Okay. It's quoted in Psalm 1. Or in Hebrews 1.
[00:08:12] It's quoted.
[00:08:14] I think Peter quotes this psalm in his Pentecost sermon.
[00:08:18] So good.
[00:08:20] Well, you guys are going to say, hey, why don't we just stop the service? Don't go on to the cure. Let's just sing Psalm 2, 4, or 5 times. It's so good. I know that's what you're going to want to do, but we got to keep moving so you can do it at home. Though Proverbs is our Old Testament lesson. It's in a meditation on the eighth commandment. I think this is a good way to think about Proverbs. We got to say, what commandment is this meditating on and deepening my understanding?
[00:08:51] It's related to the parable, because Jesus is going to say the parable to the Pharisees when he sees how they take the good spots. That's not a good strategy. Go sit in the low seat till the king moves you up. But that's already the wisdom that Solomon has gotten for us. Verse 6, Proverbs 25. Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great, for it's better to be told, come up here, than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. You'd rather someone say, hey, come up and sit with us, rather than, do you mind sitting in the back?
[00:09:27] Then listen to this meditation on the eighth commandment. What your eyes have seen, don't hastily bring into court for what you do in the end. When your neighbor puts you to shame, argue your case with your neighbor himself. Don't reveal another secret, lest he who hears you bring shame upon you and your ill repute have no end. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and settings of silver. That's nice.
[00:09:51] And then listen to this. Verse 12. This gives me so much comfort, I think I tend to think that to be wise means to have all the right answers.
[00:10:03] It means to be able to speak rightly and think rightly all the time.
[00:10:08] But listen to this definition of wisdom from Solomon.
[00:10:13] Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
[00:10:24] This is such an incredible text, and it reflects this theme that goes throughout all of Proverbs, and that is that wisdom is not being right. Wisdom is being good at being wrong.
[00:10:36] You can see why this is so hopeful, right?
[00:10:39] It's to be able to Listen to people who correct you and who rebuke you. So a fool hates rebuke, but a wise man loves it.
[00:10:49] And we should all be working on this wisdom, being ready to be rebuked. Not that boy, like Paul says, not that I've been made perfect.
[00:10:58] It's hard to be rebuked. But it's good to know that it doesn't.
[00:11:02] Being wrong does not exclude you from wisdom. It's being unwilling to be wrong that makes you foolish.
[00:11:09] That should be a profound comfort for all of us.
[00:11:13] The Epistle is moving on in Ephesians from chapter three to chapter four.
[00:11:17] This is a Paul's going to say, hey, let's think about unity for a little bit.
[00:11:24] We need to have the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
[00:11:28] And that's why we are walking in a manner that's worthy of our calling. Humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace. And then that unity is described. There's one body, one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, one who's over all and through all and in all.
[00:11:57] So that unity is found in the fact that there's one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, one hope, so that these singular gifts are ours.
[00:12:09] There's again a lot here. But let's look at the Gospel.
[00:12:13] It's two parts, and I think they need to be understood together.
[00:12:16] One Sabbath, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they're watching him carefully. Behold, there was a man before him who had drupsy or dropsy, a swelling disease. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?
[00:12:35] So you can imagine this. I mean, here's Jesus having a meal, a Sabbath meal with all these Pharisees, and here's a sick guy who everybody knows he's sick.
[00:12:45] And Jesus looks at the Pharisees and says, is it legal to heal them on the Sabbath?
[00:12:50] Now they have to think, what kind of question is that?
[00:12:54] Like they probably never had to worry about if it was right or wrong to heal on the Sabbath, because they can't heal. Who can heal? Who can heal? This guy?
[00:13:04] But Jesus is going to make a point.
[00:13:07] They remain silent. So he took them aside and healed them, and he sent them away. And then he says, which of you having a son or an ox, that's Fallen into a well on the Sabbath day. I almost hear Jesus say, a son or even an ox will not immediately pull them out. They couldn't reply to these things. That's Jesus quoting the provision from Moses in the Old Testament.
[00:13:28] Now, he told a parable to those who were invited when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, when you're invited by someone to a wedding feast, don't sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you being invited by him.
[00:13:42] And he who invited you, who invited you both will come and say to you, give your place to this person. Then you'll begin with shame to take the lowest place.
[00:13:52] But when you're invited, go and sit in the lowest place so that when your host comes, he may say to you, friend, move up higher.
[00:14:00] Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. He who humbles himself will be exalted. There's the key to the whole thing.
[00:14:09] So Jesus, he sees how they're jockeying for position, and they want to get the best seats, you know.
[00:14:16] And Jesus, you could see him kind of rolling his eyes thinking about when he inspired Solomon to write that proverb and how they should have been paying attention to this in this text. It's amazing how Jesus brings forth Solomon and Moses both. He is the teacher of the Old Testament, so beautiful. And he brings this wisdom.
[00:14:33] But here's the trick that I think we can get in. It's like, oh, well, I want to sit at the highest seat. So I'm going to go sit at the lowest seat so someone will tell me to sit at the highest seat. That can also backfire. As an example, on Thursday at the liturgy conference, I was sitting at the back of the room where all the good Lutherans sit, and Jonathan says, hey, we're supposed to sit up front. And I said I didn't want to take the highest seat. And he says to me, friend, come up higher. And I had to sit in the front the whole time anyhow. Backfired.
[00:15:04] The point is that we're not trying to jockey to get the best seat.
[00:15:09] We are actually truly humbling ourselves. We are in this world not to be lifted up, but to go down and to serve so that the Christian has this attitude of humble service by the Holy Spirit. This is what the Holy Spirit is working in, working in each one of us that we want to go and serve. And so we're not trying to.
[00:15:29] We're not jockeying for position, we're trying to bless and serve one another.
[00:15:35] This was pointed out as we study the Scriptures, how our joy and our peace don't come in pursuing the easy life, but in fact in pursuing service, even though difficult.
[00:15:57] Now this. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. He who humbles himself will be exalted should be understood as the Lord's gift of repentance.
[00:16:04] And in fact the law humbles us by showing us our sin and casting down our pride. And then that exaltation is a matter of the Gospel. And so the Lord says to us in our baptisms, by his grace, he says, friend, can you imagine him calling you a friend? Friend, come up higher, that's great.
[00:16:28] To him are the week is the sermon. Hymn is 557.
[00:16:33] Seek where you may to find a way.
[00:16:37] This is a second generation Reformation hymn about justification. How about this line, Stanza 2. Seek where you may to be your stay.
[00:16:46] None can redeem his brother. All helpers failed this man. That's Jesus. You should capitalize it in your hymnal. This man prevailed, the God man and none other. Our servant king of whom we sing we're justified because he died the guilty being guiltless. Then the last part.
[00:17:07] My heart's delight, My crown most bright, O Christ, my joy forever.
[00:17:12] Not wealth nor pride nor fortune's tide. Our bonds of love shall suffer. You are my Lord. Your precious word shall guide my way and help me stay forever in your presence. Amen. It's beautiful.
[00:17:27] All right. That's a Sunday drive. Oh, we're studying Matthew. Still in Bible class. So join us for that Sunday drive to church. Drive safe. We'll see you soon. God's peace be with you.