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1 Year Lectionary – Quinquagesima – Sunday, February 27, 2022 | 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 according
0:30	to saint luke the 18th chapter taking
0:32	the twelve Jesus said to them see we’re
0:35	going up to jerusalem and everything
0:37	that is written about the son of man
0:39	by the prophets will be accomplished he
0:42	will be delivered over to the gentiles
0:44	and be mocked and shamefully treated and
0:47	spit upon and after flogging him they
0:49	will kill him and on the third day he
0:51	will rise
0:53	but they understood none of these things
0:55	this saying was hidden from them they
0:56	did not grasp what was said and as he
0:59	drew near to jericho a blind man was
1:01	sitting by the roadside begging and
1:03	hearing a crowd going by he inquired
1:05	what this meant and they told him Jesus
1:07	of nazareth is passing by and he cried
1:09	out Jesus son of david have mercy on me
1:13	and those who were in front rebuked him
1:15	telling him to be silent but he cried
1:17	out all the more son of david have mercy
1:19	on me and Jesus stopped and commanded
1:22	him to be brought to him and when he
1:24	came near he asked him what do you want
1:26	me to do for you and he said lord let me
1:27	recover my sight and Jesus said to him
1:30	recover your sight your faith has made
1:32	you well and immediately he recovered
1:34	his sight and followed him glorifying
1:36	god and all the people when they saw it
1:38	gave praise to god this is the gospel of
1:41	the lord in the name of Jesus
1:44	amen
1:45	all right our gospel text today uh well
1:48	it makes me nervous i know it seems a
1:50	little odd you know pastors are nervous
1:52	about this gospel text yeah because have
1:54	you ever heard of somebody saying you
1:56	know
1:57	you have a blind spot you know when we
2:00	think about our vehicles right you know
2:02	all of our vehicles every one of them
2:03	has a blind spot but it’s really
2:06	annoying when other people can readily
2:09	see
2:10	something in us that we have a very
2:13	difficult time seeing within ourselves
2:16	in fact if you were to think of it this
2:18	way sin itself results in
2:21	blindness true
2:23	spiritual
2:24	blindness and this is a this is not a
2:27	small thing it’s not a trivial thing
2:30	always amazes me that the gospel of john
2:32	begins with these wonderful words about
2:34	how the light was coming into the
2:36	darkness was coming into the world and
2:38	those whom god created didn’t even
2:41	recognize him if Jesus were walking down
2:44	the street today
2:46	how many of us would go oh that’s Jesus
2:49	right you see that’s kind of the point
2:51	and here are the frightening words i
2:53	want you to think about this but we’re
2:54	going to take away the the fear here in
2:56	a little bit but let’s kind of work our
2:58	way through this because this touches on
3:01	well the blindness of sin that’s in me
3:03	the blindness of sin that is in you that
3:05	Jesus says and he asked his disciples
3:07	and at several times do you have eyes
3:09	but do not see do you have ears
3:11	but do not hear and that’s really kind
3:13	of the point of this text as we get
3:15	ready to go into the lenten season so
3:17	taking the 12 Jesus said to them see
3:19	we’re going to jerusalem note here Jesus
3:22	isn’t talking allegorically he doesn’t
3:24	say the kingdom of god is like me going
3:26	to jerusalem you know he’s just kind of
3:29	walking through and ticking off things
3:31	but watch how he does it
3:33	we’re going to go to jerusalem
3:35	and here’s the important words
3:37	everything that is written about the son
3:40	of man by the prophets
3:42	will
3:43	be accomplished and the list that
3:45	follows you can find biblical text in
3:48	the old testament
3:50	that bear this out
3:52	talking about himself Jesus says he will
3:54	be delivered over to the gentiles
3:56	right mocked
3:59	shamefully treated spit on yeah there’s
4:02	old testament texts to talk about that
4:04	and after flogging him they’ll kill him
4:05	but on the third day he’ll rise
4:08	and so Jesus walks through these things
4:10	and he says all these things are written
4:12	about him
4:13	in the prophets you know from moses to
4:16	malachi you’ll find texts prophecies
4:19	telling about Jesus’s death burial
4:22	resurrection suffering his shameful
4:24	treatment why by the way did he do all
4:26	of that to suffer in our place to
4:29	reconcile us to god
4:31	you know i we live in a world right now
4:34	where uh we’re all kind of on edge
4:36	watching as events are unfolding in the
4:39	ukraine with the invasion
4:41	of the ukraine by russia
4:44	reconciliation and peace are something
4:46	that’s on our mind because it seems to
4:48	be missing at the moment in our world
4:50	right but note then the hostilities
4:52	between russia and the ukraine are
4:54	nothing and i mean this nothing compared
4:57	to hostility between you and god as a
4:59	result of your fall into sin and mine
5:02	and Christ has well
5:04	done the the unbelievable the unexpected
5:08	he has made peace with god for us by all
5:12	these things that he said were written
5:14	about him
5:15	in the old testament prophets
5:17	but here’s the text it says
5:20	they understood none of these things
5:23	none of them
5:24	this saying was hidden from them they
5:26	didn’t grasp what he said
5:28	but what Jesus said was actually quite
5:31	straightforward it’d be like me saying
5:33	all right after the alethia service i’m
5:35	going to head over to the grocery store
5:37	i’m going to buy some bananas and i’m
5:38	going to take my truck and i’m going to
5:39	fill it up with diesel and then i’m
5:41	going to come home and go to bed you’d
5:43	all know exactly what i was talking
5:45	about that’s how plainly Jesus was
5:47	talking
5:48	but they understood
5:51	none of it and here’s where we have to
5:53	understand something
5:55	when
5:56	god acts in judgment and makes it so we
5:58	cannot understand the scriptures
6:01	that’s a terrifying act of judgment it
6:03	means that we can grope all we want but
6:05	we’re never going to find him in fact
6:07	god is the one who has to open our eyes
6:10	god is the one who has to open our ears
6:12	and that’s kind of the point
6:14	if you remember
6:15	it was not that long ago i preached on
6:18	mark’s version of the story of blind
6:20	bartimaeus and i called that sermon the
6:23	blind man who could see and that’s
6:25	really kind of the point juxtaposed to
6:28	this text here where the disciples they
6:30	hear Jesus speaking plainly and none of
6:33	these things are registering there you
6:35	got blind bartimaeus a man who can’t see
6:39	but man he could hear and in hearing he
6:42	heard from the biblical text the old
6:44	testament about the messiah and putting
6:47	two and two together even though he’d
6:49	never seen Jesus
6:51	never heard him he knew exactly who he
6:54	was how
6:55	from the bible from the old testament
6:58	and so there’s blind bartimaeus crying
7:00	out Jesus son of david have mercy on me
7:04	what a great prayer what great theology
7:07	where’d he get it from the bible
7:10	okay you know right you know and so this
7:13	is where we we consider them the
7:15	consequences of sin
7:17	terrifying text number two if you would
7:20	if you think about genesis chapter 19
7:22	and the two angels that were sent to
7:25	sodom and gomorrah they ended up in uh
7:27	nephew lot’s house and abram’s nephew a
7:29	lot they ended up in his house and the
7:31	men of the city came out and they let’s
7:34	just say that they wanted to i’ll put it
7:36	politely wanted to rough up the two
7:38	angels that were staying with lot it was
7:40	far worse than that by the way and here
7:43	they are they’ve they’ve gathered at at
7:45	the door of lot and lot is saying
7:48	don’t do this don’t do this right
7:51	but they they they re they reacted
7:53	terribly and they say this this fellow
7:55	he came to sojourn among us and now he’s
7:57	become our judge we’re going to deal
7:58	worse with you they said a lot than we
8:01	are with them so then they pressed hard
8:03	against lot they drew near in order to
8:05	break the door down it says
8:08	but the men reached out their hands and
8:10	brought lot into the house and they shut
8:12	the door
8:13	and then they struck with blindness the
8:14	men who were at the entrance of the
8:16	house both small and great so they wore
8:18	themselves out groping for the door have
8:21	you ever read that account and thought
8:22	to yourselves
8:24	how is it
8:25	that a group of men
8:27	couldn’t find a door that was five feet
8:30	in front of them
8:34	it doesn’t sound possible right
8:36	but listen that’s how this works when
8:39	god acts in judgment like this and
8:42	blinds people
8:44	he blinds them for real so the thing
8:46	that they’re looking for they’ll never
8:47	find
8:48	and so it’s with that that we humbly
8:51	must come to grips with a few things
8:54	number one when peter makes that great
8:56	confession of faith Jesus says who do
8:58	people say that i am and peter says
9:00	you’re the Christ the son of the living
9:01	god listen to Jesus’s response he says
9:04	blessed are you simon bar jonah because
9:05	flesh and blood hasn’t revealed that to
9:07	you
9:08	but my father who is in heaven
9:11	when we understand the scriptures that
9:14	is an act of mercy on the part of god
9:18	and you’ll note that god intends for us
9:20	to hear his word
9:22	to meditate on it to consider our own
9:25	sin to call out to him and ask him for
9:27	mercy and forgiveness and pray to god
9:29	the holy spirit that he would give us
9:32	even more understanding and that he
9:34	would continue to open our eyes more and
9:36	more
9:37	to our own sin
9:39	and to the greatness and mercy of god
9:41	and to the realization that what the
9:44	scriptures are about Christ in that
9:47	regard then consider you know what is
9:50	said
9:51	in the gospel of luke in the gospel of
9:53	luke uh you know at the day of the
9:55	resurrection chapter 24 we got these
9:58	words that very day two of
10:00	the followers of Jesus were going to a
10:02	village named emmaus seven miles from
10:05	jerusalem
10:06	that’s a pretty good walk you figure i
10:08	could probably walk about five and a
10:09	half i can walk five miles in about an
10:11	hour and a half right
10:13	so you know tack on another
10:15	you know let’s see 20 40 minutes so this
10:18	is a good three three hour 15 you know
10:20	three hour three and a half hour walk
10:22	right that’s pretty good walk and so
10:25	while they were talking together Jesus
10:27	himself drew near
10:29	and he went with them but their eyes
10:30	were kept from recognizing him here we
10:32	go again
10:33	the greek text here by the way says
10:35	their eyes were held it’s like you know
10:37	Jesus took their eyes and said nope
10:39	you’re not going to know who i am that’s
10:40	how god operates and so he said to them
10:42	all right what’s this conversation
10:43	you’re holding with each other as you
10:45	walk
10:45	what’s what is that
10:47	so they stood still
10:49	looking sad and then one of them named
10:51	cleopas answered him are you the only
10:54	visitor to jerusalem who doesn’t know
10:55	the things that have happened here in
10:57	these days
10:58	and Jesus said to them what things you
11:01	know
11:02	he doesn’t need to know he experienced
11:04	them all firsthand right but he’s going
11:06	to help them out and note that Jesus
11:08	wants you to know the scriptures too so
11:10	they said to him well concerning Jesus
11:12	of nazareth a man who was a prophet
11:15	mighty indeed and word before god and
11:17	all the people and how our chief priests
11:19	and rulers delivered him up to be
11:20	condemned unto death and they crucified
11:22	him
11:23	but we had hope that he was the one to
11:26	redeem israel
11:29	let that sentence kind of roll around in
11:31	your head for a second here say what
11:34	you’re you you just said Jesus was
11:37	crucified and you had hoped he was the
11:40	one to redeem israel
11:42	what do you think he was doing on the
11:43	cross right okay so you’re going to note
11:46	here they haven’t understood the
11:48	scriptures yet either right and this is
11:51	going to take a divine act of mercy on
11:54	the part of Christ to work this out
11:56	so
11:57	the text continues so we had hoped that
12:00	he was the one to redeem israel and yes
12:02	besides all this it is now the third day
12:04	since these things happened moreover
12:07	some of the women of our company amazed
12:09	us they were at the tomb early this
12:10	morning and when they did not find his
12:13	body they came back saying that they had
12:15	even seen a vision of angels who said
12:17	that he was alive some of those who were
12:20	with us went to the tomb and they found
12:22	it just as the women had said but him
12:25	they did not see now wait a second here
12:27	let me go back to our gospel text
12:30	Jesus said
12:32	everything written about the son of man
12:34	by the prophets will be accomplished
12:36	he’s going to be delivered over to the
12:38	gentiles
12:39	mocked shamefully treated spit on
12:41	flogged killed die on the third day
12:44	he’ll rise
12:46	that’s all in the old testament okay so
12:49	hear these guys on the road to me it’s
12:50	the day of the resurrection
12:52	are ticking off the exact same litany of
12:55	things that Jesus said before he went to
12:57	the cross would happen and said it was
12:59	all in the bible
13:01	so what do you think Jesus’s response is
13:03	going to be and listen to it carefully
13:07	oh
13:08	foolish ones slow of heart to believe
13:11	all that the prophets have spoken right
13:14	you guys failed bible 101 were you
13:17	doodling during sabbath school what’s
13:19	going on here right so was it not
13:21	necessary that the Christ should suffer
13:23	these things and then enter into his
13:25	glory
13:27	and then beginning with moses and all
13:29	the prophets he interpreted them all the
13:31	scriptures
13:33	the things concerning
13:35	himself
13:37	huh so Christ in our gospel text says
13:40	all the things written about him must be
13:42	fulfilled on the day of the resurrection
13:44	they’d all been fulfilled
13:45	right and Jesus still has to kind of
13:48	walk people through and so the the rest
13:50	of the story is always fascinating so
13:52	they drew near to the village to which
13:53	they were going he acted as if he were
13:55	going farther but they urged him strong
13:57	stay with us it’s toward evening the day
13:59	is now far spent so we went in to stay
14:00	with them and when he had it was that
14:03	table with them he took the bread
14:04	blessed it and broke it what does that
14:06	sound like gave it to them and then
14:08	their eyes were open and they recognized
14:10	him and bush he vanished
14:12	from their sight i added the bush part
14:14	by the way that’s really not in the
14:16	greek text the bush bit but you get the
14:18	idea right
14:19	and so
14:20	what’s interesting is is that the gospel
14:22	of luke itself
14:24	ends with some very interesting words
14:27	these are not the very last words of the
14:29	gospel luke but right near the vat last
14:32	part of the last chapter and here’s what
14:35	Jesus it says
14:36	so
14:37	Jesus said to them these are my words
14:39	that i spoke to you while i was still
14:41	with you
14:42	that everything written about me in the
14:46	law of moses and the prophets and the
14:47	psalms
14:49	must
14:50	be
14:51	fulfilled
14:52	he had appeared to them it’s the
14:54	resurrection and he said listen these
14:56	are the words i told you about and then
14:58	watch what happens remember because it
15:00	said in our gospel text all these things
15:03	they didn’t understand it the
15:04	understanding was kept from them
15:06	then he opened their minds
15:08	in order to understand the scriptures
15:11	and he said to them thus it is written
15:13	that the Christ should suffer and on the
15:14	third day rise from the dead and that
15:16	repentance for the forgiveness of sin
15:18	should be proclaimed in his name to all
15:20	nations beginning
15:21	from jerusalem ah you see here’s the
15:24	solution Jesus opened their minds now
15:28	this calls for us to be humble and to
15:31	note this then the same people who
15:34	Christ opened their minds to understand
15:36	the scriptures are the ones who wrote
15:37	the balance of the scriptures then they
15:39	wrote for us the new testament
15:42	and we then note then that in order to
15:44	understand god’s word we must be given
15:48	understanding by god and that comes by
15:51	humbly
15:53	crying out to god asking him for
15:55	understanding
15:56	and putting away our ego as if we know
15:59	how the bible should be understood
16:01	because many of us really don’t in fact
16:03	i can probably say to a person here at
16:05	alethia we we’ve all believed that the
16:07	bible was about us at one point or
16:09	another we wanted to go and slay our
16:10	goliaths and all that kind of nonsense
16:12	right have you parted your red sea this
16:14	week by the way i can’t even part my
16:16	hair right anymore but let alone part my
16:18	red sea and
16:20	when you’re thinking this way the
16:21	scriptures are locked up
16:23	so what does this call for
16:25	repentance this calls for humbling
16:27	ourselves it calls for us calling out to
16:30	god and saying lord
16:32	help me to understand your word
16:35	help me through your holy spirit to see
16:37	Christ in these texts because Christ
16:39	taught us that these are about him and
16:42	to see the great things that Christ has
16:44	done for us and you’re going to note the
16:46	things that Christ were pointing to that
16:49	he says that the law and the prophets
16:51	and the psalms were all written about
16:52	were what
16:54	his death
16:55	his suffering his burial his crucifixion
16:59	if you were to think of it this way
17:00	we’re all very familiar with our epistle
17:03	text from first corinthians 13 because
17:05	why every newly wed couple every couple
17:08	that’s having a wedding they always want
17:09	this recited at their wedding right
17:11	but have you ever stopped to think for a
17:13	second
17:14	that if we just apply what Jesus said
17:18	work with me here work with me here
17:20	Jesus said all the things written about
17:22	me and moses and the prophets and he
17:24	opened up the uh the minds of his
17:27	disciples so that they could understand
17:28	the scriptures and everything is about
17:31	Jesus
17:32	you see here’s the thing
17:34	we live in a world where there is a
17:36	supreme lack
17:38	of love
17:39	of love towards god love towards
17:42	neighbor and if you’re not sure what i’m
17:43	talking about just think ukraine for a
17:45	second and ask yourself is putin showing
17:48	love to the ukrainians right now right i
17:51	don’t consider mass murder to be love i
17:53	consider it to be something different
17:55	but none of us are better than putin i’m
17:57	not you are not we’re all just as guilty
17:59	as he is right
18:01	and so me sitting there scolding you and
18:03	saying you don’t love enough and i don’t
18:05	love enough and putin doesn’t love
18:06	enough ain’t gonna do nothing right this
18:08	just throws us back but if we remember
18:11	all the things written about Christ that
18:13	he must suffer
18:15	buried die
18:16	rise again on the third day
18:19	why is that
18:20	you know why he didn’t
18:22	because god
18:24	so loved the world
18:25	he loves you
18:27	he loves me in fact when i see this list
18:30	here about love love is patient and kind
18:34	i’ve said it before and i’ll say it
18:35	again it amazes me
18:37	that i can replace the word love with
18:39	Jesus and it still
18:42	works perfectly
18:44	you see
18:46	where we have fallen short and we are
18:49	blinded by our own sin where we live in
18:51	darkness and love the darkness and hate
18:53	the light Christ is very different than
18:55	that he’s not satisfied to let us go off
18:58	to hell as we deserve
19:00	and to experience god’s wrath for an
19:02	eternity in fact
19:04	let me say it this way Jesus is patient
19:07	and he’s kind
19:09	Jesus does not envy or boast and he is
19:11	not arrogant or rude
19:13	he doesn’t insist on his own way
19:17	he’s not irritable or resentful
19:20	he does not rejoice at wrongdoing he
19:21	rejoices with the truth Jesus bears all
19:24	things and Jesus hopes all things
19:27	and he has endured the cross
19:30	for you
19:31	and for me
19:33	and so as we get ready to approach lent
19:36	don’t think for a second that there’s
19:38	nothing you need to repent of in fact
19:40	you may be completely blind to it
19:42	and don’t think that you perfectly
19:43	understand the scriptures because i
19:45	don’t do that either
19:47	but let us then see these texts and
19:50	understand that unless Christ opens our
19:52	minds so that we can understand them
19:55	that we never will
19:56	so let us pray in the midst of the
19:58	darkness that Christ the light of Christ
20:01	shines and let us humbly ask Jesus to
20:04	open up his word to us the word that
20:06	tell us about the great things that he
20:08	has done in order to save us and the
20:10	great love of a god who has sent his son
20:14	to be
20:15	so that you know he would die
20:17	so that we who are enemies of god
20:20	could be reconciled to him
20:24	and spend eternity
20:26	with him in a world without end all as a
20:29	gift by grace through faith because
20:33	Jesus
20:35	is love
20:37	in the name of Jesus amen

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