LutheranLectionary.org

Series A – Tenth Sunday After Pentecost – Sunday, August 06, 2023 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:27	The holy Gospel
0:29	According to Saint Matthew the 14th
0:31	chapter
0:32	[Music]
0:38	that when Jesus heard about the death of
0:41	John he withdrew from there in a boat to
0:43	a desolate place by himself but when the
0:46	crowds heard it they followed him on
0:48	foot from the towns when he went ashore
0:51	he saw a great crowd and he had
0:52	compassion on them and he healed their
0:54	sick now when it was evening the
0:56	disciples came to him and said this is a
0:59	desolate place and the day is now over
1:01	send the crowds away to go into the
1:03	villages and buy food for themselves but
1:07	Jesus said well they need not go away
1:08	you give them something to eat and they
1:11	said to him we have only Five Loaves
1:13	here and two fish and he said bring them
1:15	to me so he ordered the crowds to sit
1:17	down on the grass and taking the Five
1:19	Loaves and the two fish he looked up to
1:22	heaven instead of blessing and then he
1:24	broke the Loaves and gave them to the
1:25	disciples and the disciples gave them to
1:27	the crowds and they all ate and were
1:30	satisfied and they took up 12 baskets
1:32	full of broken pieces left over and
1:35	those who ate were about five thousand
1:37	men besides women and children this is
1:40	the gospel of the Lord in the name of
1:42	Jesus Amen now in case you haven’t
1:45	figured it out I think a good way to
1:46	talk about my past is that I’m a
1:48	recovering Evangelical I’m also a
1:50	recovering Californian although never
1:52	going to repent of In-N-Out Burger lit
1:54	in fact I’m looking forward to enjoying
1:56	it tomorrow but alas but all of that
1:59	being said when I was an Evangelical I
2:02	noted that because they misunderstood
2:04	the scriptures and didn’t rightly
2:06	distinguish between law and gospel and
2:09	oftentimes well they’d preached the law
2:11	very well but they didn’t preach the
2:14	gospel to Christians and also they had a
2:17	false understanding of Israel because of
2:19	this this led to some weird senses that
2:23	feelings of guilt or feelings of
2:25	insufficiency let me explain by the way
2:28	I hate that feeling of insufficiency
2:29	yeah you ever feel like man I just don’t
2:32	measure up well Well here here’s an
2:34	example back in the day this was over 10
2:37	years ago there was a fellow by the name
2:40	of ergon canner and he succumbed to this
2:43	feeling of insufficiency that exists in
2:45	evangelicalism at least the first one
2:47	and that is that feeling that if you
2:50	don’t have one of those spectacular
2:53	personal testimonies that somehow your
2:57	Christianity isn’t compelling enough for
3:00	other people to take you seriously as it
3:02	relates to talking about Jesus let me
3:04	explain an evangelicalism like the best
3:07	kind of testimony that you can have is
3:09	like yeah I grew up in a gang banging
3:12	family I entered the mafia was selling
3:15	drugs and and then I met Jesus and now
3:17	I’ve left that all behind and everyone
3:19	goes ooh ah right but then if you if you
3:22	say well well my experience is kind of
3:24	like you know I was raised in a really
3:26	good family and baptized as a kid and
3:29	I’ve always been a Christian and I went
3:31	to college and didn’t do drugs and and
3:33	and waited to have sex until I was
3:35	married and and now I’m happily married
3:37	and and well we’re all going to church
3:39	and there’s there’s been no serious like
3:41	things like that in my life and people
3:43	go hmm are you really saved and so
3:46	because of this because of this there’s
3:49	this pressure to enhance to uh bolster
3:55	to fudge a little bit on the details
3:57	regarding your personal testimony and
3:59	back in the day I we came up with a
4:01	false product the false product we
4:02	called it ergon canner’s testimony
4:05	enhancement spray and the reason why we
4:08	came up with this is because ergon
4:09	canner this guy legitimately flat out
4:13	made up his personal testimony this
4:15	guy’s personal testimony was his Bland
4:18	and vanilla as anyone else’s he was his
4:21	parents were basically immigrants from
4:22	Switzerland they moved to Ohio he went
4:25	to high school in Ohio did all the
4:27	normal things that people do of course
4:29	he’s of Arab descent but the way he told
4:32	the story after 9 11 is that he was
4:36	raised in a in a very strict Muslim
4:38	family and that he was radicalized by
4:41	terrorists and was was considering
4:43	strapping a bomb to himself and blowing
4:45	up people nothing could be further from
4:48	the truth that was completely false and
4:51	people did their work and found out that
4:53	that’s not true and as result of it
4:56	ergon canner experienced a lot of public
4:58	shaming now another pressure that is on
5:01	evangelicals where you feel insufficient
5:03	is because they hold out this idea that
5:07	Israel is somehow special in God’s eyes
5:11	that we Christians yeah we we are
5:14	forgiven by Jesus but we’re not as
5:17	special as the special special people
5:19	who happen to be genetically Jewish and
5:22	as a result of it you always have the
5:24	sense of sin of reading the Bible and
5:26	going man you know I feel like I’ve kind
5:29	of like lost the genetic Lottery because
5:31	I have no jewishness in me I have no
5:35	Jewish blood at all and when you listen
5:37	to the beginning of our epistle text
5:39	talking about the Israelites to them
5:42	belong the adoption the glory the
5:45	covenants the giving of the law the
5:47	worship the promises to them belong the
5:50	Patriarchs and from their race according
5:53	to the flesh is the Christ or the
5:54	Messiah who is God over all blessed
5:57	forever amen
5:59	you sit there and go man I feel like
6:02	I’ve just missed all of this because I
6:05	look at my DNA you know results from you
6:08	know from ancestry.com and it says I’m
6:11	really Irish I’m really Welsh I’m also
6:14	part German in something else in Polish
6:16	and any scant traces of of Jewish blood
6:20	in me not at all and I sit there and go
6:22	man you know I kind of missed out now
6:25	when this pressure comes to Bear it
6:28	leads people to fudge regarding their
6:30	own ancestry a good example of this is a
6:33	fellow who goes by the name of Jacob
6:35	prash Jacob is not his name his actual
6:39	birth name given to him by his parents
6:41	is James Aloysius prash James Aloysius
6:46	prash comes from Irish Stock all right
6:50	that’s his ancestry his mom full Irish
6:55	Catholic his dad Irish Catholic too but
6:58	see he he figured out that an
7:00	evangelicalism if he fudged things a
7:03	little bit he can actually get some like
7:04	brownie points that he never earned and
7:07	so he used to tell the tale that his dad
7:09	was actually a lapsed Jew and that he
7:13	and that he encouraged his son to go to
7:15	the to the Jewish Community Center and
7:18	so he was raised in the Catholic church
7:20	and the Jewish Community Center and he
7:22	claims that he has all this Jewish blood
7:23	well it turns out his own family paid a
7:27	genealogist to actually do one of those
7:29	full-blown ancestry.com reports on his
7:32	family and you know what he doesn’t have
7:35	a drop of Jewish blood in him in fact
7:37	he’s so Irish that uh you know we can
7:41	dance a jig talking about how Irish he
7:43	is but the one thing he isn’t is Jewish
7:45	in fact he’s as Jewish as the Lucky
7:47	Charms leprechaun
7:49	right
7:52	are we having a problem
7:55	I’m good okay just check just checking
7:58	in here because I’m seeing heads looking
7:59	at the Technology Center as if there’s
8:02	some kind of major problem I’ll try not
8:04	to draw too much attention to it but
8:06	like I said James prash is is as Jewish
8:09	as the Lucky Charms leprechaun and that
8:12	being the case you’ll note that he’s
8:14	also been shamed for enhancing things
8:18	but you’ll note the pressure in
8:20	evangelicalism is to enhance things like
8:23	this because of their misreading of
8:26	scripture
8:27	that being the case I think we should
8:29	consider the longer reading of our
8:32	epistle text today and then see if we
8:34	can tie it into our gospel text and I’ll
8:36	even throw in the Old Testament text as
8:38	a bonus I won’t even charge you extra
8:40	for that right so here’s what it says in
8:43	the longer reading of our text it’s not
8:45	as though the word of God has failed and
8:48	then listen to what the Apostle Paul
8:50	writes for not all who are descended
8:53	from Israel belong to Israel
8:58	let that sentence roll around in your
9:01	mind for a minute not all who belong to
9:03	Israel are of Israel or belong to Israel
9:07	and not all are children of Abraham
9:09	because they are his offspring and then
9:12	he says this through Isaac shall your
9:16	Offspring be named now here’s where
9:19	we’re going to have to do a little pause
9:20	and kind of think this out a second here
9:22	if we were to travel to Jerusalem today
9:24	have you guys noticed that there seems
9:26	to be like hostility between Jews and
9:30	Muslims in Israel today right have you
9:32	noticed that right and if you were to
9:34	sit down with a Muslim and say so what’s
9:36	the beef what’s what’s your beef with
9:38	the Jews and you were to ask the same
9:40	question to the Jews one of the things
9:41	that would come up in the list of things
9:43	that they would air as grievances
9:45	against the other the Muslims would say
9:47	we Muslims are the true descendants of
9:50	Abraham we are the descendants of
9:51	Abraham through Ishmael
9:54	now are they genetically related to
9:57	Abraham through Ishmael probably a good
10:00	number of them are that’s not that’s not
10:03	an incorrect argument so then you ask
10:05	you ask the Jew
10:07	well what’s the beef well we’re the ones
10:10	who are the descendants of note because
10:12	we are the ones who are descended from
10:15	Isaac
10:17	ah okay so you’re descended from Isaac
10:19	and we look at our Biblical text here
10:21	and it would tend to lend the idea that
10:23	well the Jews have the better claim
10:25	right you read the rest of the Bible the
10:27	Jews have the better claim but now the
10:29	Christians come along and we have to
10:31	according to this text sit them both
10:33	down and say I’ve got really bad news
10:36	for you and that is is that neither of
10:38	you are actually the children of Abraham
10:41	now you may be genetically related to
10:43	him all in good well and good but that
10:46	is not the thing that matters
10:48	instead the idea here is this is that
10:51	there is a reason why those who are the
10:54	children of Abraham are counted as
10:56	children of Abraham through Isaac
10:58	because Isaac was the son of the promise
11:03	you and I are children of the promise as
11:07	well in fact if we were to swing on over
11:10	to the book of Galatians chapter 4. at
11:14	Paul writing in verse 21 to the
11:16	judaizers in galatia he says tell me you
11:19	who desire to be under the Torah do you
11:22	not listen to the Torah for it is
11:25	written that Abraham had two sons one by
11:29	a slave woman and one by a free woman
11:32	now note here if you know the Book of
11:35	Genesis okay we can all sit there and go
11:38	we know exactly who was the son of the
11:41	free woman and we know who was the son
11:43	of the slave woman right Hagar is the
11:46	slave she Bears Ishmael Sarah is the one
11:49	who Bears Isaac but watch what God the
11:52	Holy Spirit does through the Apostle
11:54	Paul and explaining to us what this all
11:56	means the son of the slave woman was
11:59	born according to the flesh indeed he
12:02	was while the son of the free woman was
12:04	born through promise now this may be
12:08	interpreted allegorically and note where
12:10	Paul goes here he doesn’t sit there and
12:12	say the son the children of the slave
12:15	woman are the Muslims they didn’t even
12:16	exist at the time watch where he goes
12:19	with this now this may be interpreted
12:21	allegorically these women are two
12:23	covenants one is from Mount Sinai what
12:27	Covenant was established at Mount Sinai
12:30	Mosaic Covenant right
12:32	so watch where he goes with this and
12:35	this that the people of that Covenant
12:37	they’re bearing children for slavery and
12:40	she is Hagar
12:41	that now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia
12:44	and she corresponds to the present
12:46	Jerusalem for she is in slavery with her
12:49	children
12:51	say what
12:52	so note what Paul does here
12:55	every single genetic descendant of
12:59	Abraham
13:01	who denies that Jesus is the Messiah
13:05	refuse to repent of their sins and call
13:08	out to the son of David to have mercy on
13:11	them they are not counted as children of
13:14	eyes according to Isaac they are counted
13:17	as children of Hagar
13:21	work that out in your mind and sit there
13:23	and go oh boy this is way more
13:25	complicated than I ever thought it is
13:27	right so Hagar is Mount Sinai Arabia she
13:30	corresponds to the present Jerusalem she
13:32	is in slavery with her children but the
13:34	Jerusalem above is free and she is our
13:37	mother talking to Christians for it is
13:40	written Rejoice O Baron one who does not
13:42	bear Break Forth and cry aloud you who
13:45	are not in labor for the children of the
13:47	desolate one will be more than those of
13:50	the one who has a husband now you
13:52	Brothers like Isaac you are children of
13:57	promise
13:59	and all of this has to do with the fact
14:01	that we have been well
14:04	promised a few things because of the
14:08	Gospel number one the Forgiveness of all
14:11	of our sins and you’ll know in our
14:13	congregation here and those of you
14:15	joining us online we have a multi-ethnic
14:18	group right we have folks from different
14:20	far-flung portions of planet Earth
14:23	including Norway we always have to give
14:25	honorable mention to Norway and Kongs of
14:26	English Lutheran Church and we’ve we
14:29	have swedes and we have Germans and we
14:31	have folks of Chinese descent present
14:33	with us we have folks of African descent
14:36	joining us online and in other places
14:38	and so you get this idea here but here’s
14:40	the idea and that is is that despite all
14:44	of that one of the things that we have
14:46	been promised is though we are Gentiles
14:49	reading on in Romans chapter 10 and 11
14:53	we find out that we Gentiles have been
14:57	grafted in to Israel
15:00	and the analogy that is given is Wild
15:03	Olive branches grafted into the
15:06	cultivated Olive Tree so each and every
15:09	one of us we truly are now counted as
15:14	descendants of Abraham
15:17	that’s what the scripture says so listen
15:20	again to what Paul writes it’s not as
15:22	though the word of God has failed not
15:24	all who are descended from Israel belong
15:26	to Israel not all are children of
15:28	Abraham because they are his offspring
15:30	but it is through Isaac shall your
15:32	Offspring be named this means it is not
15:35	the children of the flesh who are the
15:38	children of God
15:40	your DNA cannot save you
15:45	it is not the children of the flesh who
15:47	are the children of God but the children
15:48	of the promise they are counted as
15:51	Offspring for this is what the promise
15:53	says about this time next year I will
15:55	return and Sarah shall have a son and
15:58	not only so but also when Rebecca had
16:00	conceived children by one man our
16:02	forefather Isaac though they were not
16:04	yet born and had done nothing either
16:05	good or bad in order that God’s purpose
16:08	of election might continue not because
16:10	of works but because of him who calls
16:12	she was told the older will serve the
16:14	younger as it is written Jacob I loved
16:17	Esau I hated
16:19	so you’ll note that each and every one
16:21	of us when we were brought to the Waters
16:23	of baptism we were United with Christ in
16:25	his death and his resurrection we were
16:28	given the gift of faith and that Faith
16:30	clings to the promises of the
16:32	Forgiveness of sins because Jesus has
16:34	borne your sins and mine on the cross so
16:38	that being the case we being forgiven we
16:41	now are the children of Abraham and it’s
16:43	not the genetic Jews who have the
16:46	blessings and curses it is we who have
16:49	the blessings because of the Gospel we
16:52	are the ones who are the descendants of
16:54	Abraham through promise like Isaac that
16:57	being the case we should consider then
16:59	our Our Gospel text and in our gospel
17:03	text something important is happening
17:05	and since all of us have been grafted
17:07	into Israel we better start doing our
17:09	homework and get a good grasp on the Old
17:12	Testament you might want to learn a few
17:14	Hebrew words and stuff like this because
17:16	that’s just being polite now that you’re
17:18	part of the family right so so when we
17:21	look at our gospel text we find this
17:24	account of Jesus who what does he do he
17:29	well feeds a multitude of people with
17:32	just a scant amount of food he
17:35	multiplies food and everybody has a big
17:39	meal a crowd of people five thousand men
17:41	and then there were women and children
17:43	kind of do the math on that there were
17:46	five thousand men there was probably a
17:48	good five thousand or more women and
17:50	then children were also present and back
17:53	in the day they didn’t have birth
17:54	control so families were a little larger
17:56	than they were today so how many people
17:58	do you think were there
18:01	good fifteen twenty thousand people and
18:04	where exactly were they the text
18:07	actually says it very clearly it says
18:09	that they were in a desolate place the
18:13	disciples came up to Jesus after this
18:16	crowd had listened to Jesus been healed
18:18	by Jesus and he was teaching them and
18:20	they said this is a desolate place the
18:21	day is now over send the crowds away to
18:24	go into the villages and buy food for
18:26	themselves and Jesus said you need not
18:28	go away you give them something to eat
18:30	they said to him well we only have Five
18:32	Loaves here and two fish he said bring
18:34	them here to me he ordered the crowds to
18:36	sit down on the grass kind of like that
18:38	that Psalm Psalm 23 he makes me lie down
18:41	in Green Pastures Jesus truly is the
18:44	Good Shepherd he has him lie down on the
18:46	Green Grass and he takes the Five Loaves
18:49	and two fishes he looks up to heaven set
18:51	a blessing and then he broke the loaves
18:53	gave it to the disciples and the
18:54	disciples gave it to the crowds and they
18:56	all ate and they were satisfied they
18:58	took up the 12 baskets full of broken
19:00	pieces that were left left over and
19:02	Matthew doesn’t give us the
19:05	the what happened next but John does
19:09	in the Gospel of John chapter 6 we
19:13	legitimately hear what happens after all
19:16	of the food and the leftovers are put
19:18	together in the doggy bags and here’s
19:21	what it says in verse 14 when the people
19:23	saw the sign that he had done they said
19:25	this is indeed the prophet who has come
19:27	into the world
19:30	how why this miracle why does this
19:33	miracle make them realize who Jesus is
19:36	by the way they’re not wrong what they
19:38	are wrong is that they were at this
19:40	point about ready to take Jesus and
19:43	March him against his will to Jerusalem
19:45	and force him to become the king of
19:46	Israel that’s not going to happen
19:49	because he’s not here to be a bread King
19:51	but why is this important because this
19:53	invokes The Exodus The Exodus you think
19:56	all the way back there you remember the
19:58	details here’s a quick summary of it the
20:01	book of Exodus opens with the children
20:02	of Israel in Egypt and they have been
20:05	enslaved by the guy who wears the snake
20:07	hat Pharaoh right and the reason I say
20:10	that is because he looks exactly like
20:12	somebody who’s wearing a snake hat
20:14	because that’s the headdress for
20:15	Pharaohs he has enslaved these people
20:18	he’s had them murder their own children
20:20	he’s oppressed them and God remembers
20:22	his promises sends a deliverer Moses ten
20:26	plagues resulting in the final plague
20:28	the put the plague of the the the
20:30	Passover where the Destroyer comes
20:33	through Egypt and everybody who has the
20:35	blood of the Lamb over their doorpost is
20:37	saved everybody who doesn’t have the
20:40	blood of the Lamb over their doorposts
20:42	their first born dies
20:45	starting to sound familiar right blood
20:48	of the lamb and you’ll note then that
20:51	the story of The Exodus is your story
20:53	and mine
20:55	this is our history and not only is it
20:59	our history because we’ve been grafted
21:00	into Israel this is our present day
21:03	because the whole point of The Exodus is
21:06	to point us to the reality that we find
21:08	ourselves in when you were born and
21:11	conceived you were born dead in
21:12	trespasses and sins under the Dominion
21:14	of Darkness Satan makes Pharaoh look
21:17	like a school girl and he’s far worse of
21:20	a tyrant and God through Mighty acts of
21:22	judgment upon Christ and him bleeding
21:25	and dying for your sins has set you free
21:27	has washed you in the Red Sea of baptism
21:29	and now you’ll know what are we doing
21:32	week after week day after day
21:35	we’re wandering through this life
21:39	is this the place where we can put down
21:42	a foundation and build a home and live
21:44	forever
21:45	no we’re just sojourning here the
21:48	Wilderness is the world that we find
21:50	ourselves in the promised land is the
21:52	new Heaven and Earth which Christ says
21:54	that he will bring with us he will bring
21:56	with him when he returns in glory to
21:58	judge the living and the dead he has
22:00	given us all of this so when we see this
22:03	account we must read it through that
22:06	Jewish lens and see it for what it is a
22:09	food Miracle where God feeds his
22:11	multitude in the wilderness with
22:13	miraculous food and is that not what God
22:17	does for us today
22:19	today we will eat the body and blood of
22:21	Christ given and shed for the
22:23	Forgiveness of our sins in fact Jesus
22:26	goes on in John 6 to make it very clear
22:30	that he is the true bread of God that
22:33	comes down from heaven and that we are
22:36	to Feast upon him
22:39	and you can’t make these connections
22:42	until you embrace the fact that you are
22:46	all now Israelites right remember years
22:49	ago I preached a similar message and
22:52	Mike DeGraw was in the uh in the in this
22:55	congregation and so as soon as I said
22:58	that congratulations you are all
23:00	Israelites he blurted out in church
23:02	Mazel Tov right which I think is kind of
23:06	appropriate
23:07	yeah indeed but we shouldn’t break out
23:10	and sing Hava Nagila that’s a whole
23:12	other thing but all of that being said
23:14	we are truly grafted into Christ he is
23:16	the one who feeds us with his body and
23:18	blood he feeds us today this is why our
23:21	sermon hymn was talking about the Bread
23:24	of Heaven and it’s a communion hymn so
23:27	brothers and sisters as we consider all
23:29	of this note then that it is true that
23:33	you and I are insufficient and it
23:36	doesn’t matter if you have a spectacular
23:39	gory story of how you went from living
23:41	like a pagan Outlaw to being a Christian
23:44	it doesn’t matter if your testimony is
23:46	one of just Bland ordinariness growing
23:49	up in church all your life and never
23:51	having anything super exciting happen
23:52	along those lines we have all been made
23:56	sufficient by Christ and we don’t need
23:59	to pretend to be Israelites even though
24:02	we are not genetically Israelites we
24:04	have been grafted into Israel this is
24:06	our history this is our present reality
24:09	and all of this by the Jesus who feeds
24:12	us with his body and blood and
24:14	miraculously sustains us in our
24:16	Wilderness while we are heading towards
24:18	the real Promised Land again that
24:20	promised new Heaven and new earth when
24:22	he returns so brothers and sisters note
24:24	that you are made sufficient in Christ
24:27	you need not feel like you have anything
24:30	missing and you need not look at people
24:32	who are genetically Jewish and sit there
24:34	and go oh if only you’ve all already
24:36	been adopted into the family so as Mikey
24:39	said Mazel Tov in the name of Jesus Amen

If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax-free donation to: Kongsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th Ave NW, Oslo, MN 56744 We thank you for your support. All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message, and, again, thank you for listening.