LutheranLectionary.org

Series B – Eighth Sunday of Pentecost – Sunday, July 18, 2021 | 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
0:28	holy gospel according to saint mark the
0:30	sixth chapter
0:32	[Music]
0:39	the apostles returned to Jesus and told
0:41	them all that they had done and taught
0:43	and he said to them come away by
0:44	yourselves to a desolate place and rest
0:46	a while
0:47	for many were coming and going and they
0:49	had no leisure even to eat
0:51	and they went away in the boat to a
0:53	desolate place by themselves
0:55	now many saw them going and recognized
0:57	them and they ran there on foot from all
0:59	the towns and got there ahead of them
1:01	and when he went ashore he saw a great
1:04	crowd
1:04	and he had compassion on them because
1:06	they were like sheep without a shepherd
1:08	he began to teach them many things and
1:11	when it grew late his disciples came to
1:12	him and said this is a desolate place
1:15	the hour is now late send them away to
1:17	go
1:18	into the surrounding countryside and
1:20	villages and buy themselves something to
1:22	eat
1:22	but he answered them you give them
1:24	something to eat and they said to him
1:26	shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of
1:28	bread and give it to them to eat
1:30	and he said to them how many loaves do
1:32	you have go and see
1:33	and when they found out they said five
1:36	and two fish
1:37	then he commanded them all to sit down
1:39	in groups on the green grass
1:41	so they sat down in groups by hundreds
1:43	and by fifties
1:44	and taking the five loaves and the two
1:46	fish he took
1:47	he looked up to heaven and said a
1:49	blessing broke the loaves
1:50	and gave them to the disciples to set
1:52	before the people
1:54	and he divided the two fish among them
1:56	all and they all ate and they were
1:57	satisfied
1:58	and they took up twelve baskets full of
2:00	broken pieces and of the fish
2:02	and those who ate the loaves were five
2:04	thousand men
2:05	this is the gospel of the lord in the
2:08	name of Jesus
2:10	woe to the shepherds who destroy and
2:12	scatter the sheep of my pastor declares
2:14	the lord well there’s an actual
2:16	declaration from the lord
2:18	and boy throughout Christian history
2:19	this is one that
2:21	people who have been pastors and church
2:23	leaders have not
2:24	paid attention to the history of abuse
2:28	from the pulpit from pastors throughout
2:30	the Christian church in both rome and
2:32	in protestant churches is well terrible
2:36	and it’s real you know i always like to
2:38	point out that
2:39	uh you know back in the middle ages the
2:42	church
2:43	the church they tortured heretics you
2:46	know alas we here at kungsfinger we’re
2:47	just not strong enough for that
2:49	you’ll note that down in the basement we
2:50	do not have a torture chamber
2:52	and i do not try to compel you by saying
2:55	now if you do not believe that Jesus has
2:58	risen from the dead
3:00	ah then we are going to well make you
3:03	pay
3:04	all right nobody does this right
3:08	but the thing is is that throughout
3:09	Christian history there have been
3:11	shepherds who’ve not only tortured
3:13	people in the name of Christ which is an
3:14	authority
3:15	Christ has not given to the church
3:17	they’ve murdered people
3:19	martyred them taken away their bibles
3:21	and
3:22	in our day and age we have a whole host
3:24	of people out there who claim to be
3:26	god’s anointed the super special super
3:29	apostle types
3:30	and what do they say well if you send in
3:32	your thousand dollar seed offering
3:35	god himself is going to multiply that
3:37	he’s going to give you divine health
3:39	he’s going to give you divine wealth and
3:41	you’re going to be the head and not the
3:43	tail
3:43	and you’ll have your best life now so
3:46	like a fool you write the check for a
3:48	thousand dollars or you clear out your
3:50	savings account
3:51	make it payable to apostle pastor
3:53	anointed so and so
3:55	and you wait and you wait
4:00	and you wait and then he preaches the
4:02	sermon don’t worry your breakthrough is
4:04	on the horizon it’s just around the
4:06	corner
4:06	and of course your breakthrough never
4:08	comes right
4:10	and then you go to the pastor and you
4:11	say you know i’m beginning to think that
4:13	you’re twisting
4:14	god’s word you know because i wrote you
4:15	that thousand dollar seat offering and
4:17	i’m still driving a pinto and he says
4:20	touch not god’s anointed
4:22	right or worse a pacer does anyone
4:24	remember those things
4:26	yeah i hear that those things are going
4:30	pretty
4:30	are very expensive now on the resell
4:33	market much more than when they were
4:34	uh you know available uh as new cars but
4:38	anyway
4:38	so what what do they end up doing well
4:40	people’s faith they get it gets
4:42	destroyed people’s money is fleeced
4:45	lives are shattered and people end up
4:48	walking away from Christianity
4:50	and saying it’s all a bogus
4:54	scam but here’s the thing every pastor
4:57	needs to pay
4:58	close attention to the fact that we
5:01	suffer
5:02	a stricter judgment and god has declared
5:05	a woe and when god says
5:07	whoa you better pick step back and go
5:10	whoa
5:10	because the woe is there for a reason
5:12	woe to the shepherds who destroy and
5:14	scatter
5:15	the sheep of my pasture declares the
5:18	lord
5:19	you see god is nothing like that god
5:21	cares for people he doesn’t fleece
5:24	his flock he doesn’t torture them
5:27	if they’re struggling and if they’re
5:29	sick or
5:30	poverty stricken he shows mercy grace
5:33	kindness and love
5:36	in fact Jesus who was the head
5:40	became the tail in the incarnation the
5:42	highest went to the lowest
5:44	and so keep that in mind as we consider
5:46	our our gospel text today because
5:49	there’s something kind of amazing going
5:50	on you’ll note that
5:52	in our gospel text we have that great
5:54	miracle the feeding of the five thousand
5:57	and aside from the resurrection of
5:58	Christ
5:59	this is the only miracle that appears in
6:01	all four gospels and
6:02	one of the things i love is that each of
6:04	the gospel writers has a
6:06	slightly different emphasis that he puts
6:09	on this particular miracle
6:11	now in order to get the the co the whole
6:13	gist of it
6:14	i would like you to consider uh if you
6:16	would the exodus for a second it seems
6:18	like a strange place to go
6:20	but it’s important that we kind of go
6:22	when we go into the mall we look at that
6:24	kiosk that says you are here
6:26	so that we can kind of figure out what’s
6:27	going on so you’ll note the book of
6:30	exodus
6:30	tells the story of the people of israel
6:33	the people of god
6:34	enslaved to a tyrannical
6:38	false god king who likes wearing snake
6:40	hats
6:41	okay that’s really what the pharaoh’s
6:43	hat is all about it’s it’s you know it’s
6:45	it’s a cobra you know in fact you can
6:47	kind of think of pharaoh as like the
6:48	original cobra kai
6:50	guy right you know and a strike first
6:53	strike card
6:54	no mercy right that’s kind of his his
6:56	motive
6:57	and uh and the pharaohs of ancient egypt
7:00	they were considered like osiris
7:02	on earth and and so that’s one of the
7:05	big things going on here so
7:07	no where’s the snake hat big cobra kai
7:09	guy he’s a stand-in for the devil
7:11	children of god are in under slavery and
7:14	are
7:14	just withering under the heat and the
7:17	tasks and the labor
7:19	and god remembers his promises to
7:21	abraham isaac and jacob
7:23	and he sends them a deliverer moses and
7:26	moses
7:26	he comes and he says let my people go we
7:29	know how the
7:30	story goes there’s ten plagues all the
7:32	gods of egypt get judged and they come
7:35	up wanting yahweh prevails and then
7:38	with the death of the passover lambs
7:41	instead of the firstborn
7:44	the children of israel are finally set
7:45	free from slavery and then god marches
7:47	them out into the wilderness
7:49	baptizes them in the red sea that’s what
7:51	that was all about
7:52	and then they find themselves on the
7:54	other side of the red sea somewhere in
7:56	the saudi arabian desert
7:58	and well they’re hungry
8:01	you know and so we have this interesting
8:03	picture in chapter 13 of exodus it says
8:06	the lord yahweh went before them by day
8:08	in a pillar of cloud to lead them along
8:10	the way
8:11	by night and a pillar of fire to give
8:13	them light that they might travel by day
8:15	and by night the pillar of cloud by day
8:17	the pillar of fire by night
8:18	did not depart from before the people
8:22	if you would here’s god leading out his
8:25	sheep
8:25	yeah he’s gonna lead them to greener
8:28	pastures the
8:29	the land flowing with milk and honey so
8:31	that’s kind of the picture
8:32	and then of course they get hungry and
8:34	it says they set out from elim
8:36	and all the congregation of the people
8:37	of israel came to the wilderness of sin
8:40	which is between elim and sinai on the
8:42	15th day of the second month they had
8:44	departed from the land of egypt
8:46	and then the whole congregation of the
8:47	people of israel grumbled against moses
8:50	and aaron in the wilderness and the
8:52	people of israel said to them
8:53	o wood that we had died by the hand of
8:56	yahweh in the land of egypt
8:57	when we sat by the meat pots and ate
9:00	bread to the full for you have brought
9:01	us out into this wilderness to kill this
9:03	whole assembly with hunger
9:05	and already you gotta kind of wonder you
9:07	know if has their brain
9:08	been cooked a little too much in the in
9:10	the in the saudi sun here because
9:13	i don’t recall the children of israel in
9:15	slavery sitting in shae’s lounges
9:18	dipping their hands you know leisurely
9:20	into meat
9:21	pots and of course the egyptian slave
9:23	master saying is there anything else i
9:24	can get you could i top off your mai tai
9:26	you know nothing like that so already
9:28	things are a little squirrely in there
9:30	in their remembrance of things and
9:32	they’re grumbling against god well i
9:33	mean
9:34	maybe hunger and sun do that to you so
9:36	then yahweh said to moses behold i’m
9:38	about to rain
9:39	bread from heaven for you and the people
9:41	shall go out and gather
9:43	a day’s portion every day that i might
9:44	test them whether they will walk in my
9:46	law
9:47	or not on the sixth day when they
9:49	prepare
9:50	when they prepare what they bring in it
9:52	will be twice as much as they gather
9:54	daily
9:55	so moses and aaron said to the people of
9:56	israel at evening you shall
9:58	know that it was yahweh who brought you
10:01	out of the land of egypt and in the
10:02	morning you shall see the glory
10:04	of the of yahweh because he has heard
10:06	your grumbling against yahweh
10:08	for what are we that you grumble against
10:10	us so moses said when
10:11	yahweh gives you in the evening meet to
10:14	eat and in the morning bread to the full
10:15	because yahweh has heard your grumbling
10:18	that you grumble against him what are we
10:20	your grumbling is not against us but
10:22	against yahweh
10:23	and then moses said to aaron say to the
10:25	whole congregation of the people of
10:27	israel come
10:28	near before yahweh for he has heard your
10:30	grumbling
10:31	and as soon as aaron spoke to the whole
10:33	congregation of the people of israel
10:35	they looked toward the wilderness and
10:36	behold the glory of yahweh appeared
10:38	in the cloud and yahweh said to moses i
10:41	have heard the grumbling of the people
10:42	of israel say to them at twilight
10:45	you shall eat meat and in the morning
10:47	you shall be filled with bread
10:48	and then you shall know that i am yahweh
10:50	your god
10:51	and you’ll note this then begins a
10:53	miracle that lasts 40
10:55	years every day except for on saturday
11:00	the children of israel would wake up and
11:02	on the desert floor there would be
11:05	mana what is it that’s what
11:08	mana means it’s kind of a big question
11:10	what is it
11:11	and the lord fed them that way gave them
11:15	miraculous bread from heaven but Jesus
11:17	himself makes it clear in john 6
11:19	that that bread from heaven that the
11:21	children of israel ate was pointing to
11:23	him
11:23	and that he is the true bread that has
11:25	come down from heaven
11:26	and so you know israelites know this
11:29	miracle
11:30	whole bunch of jews in the middle of
11:32	nowhere
11:33	big miracle regarding food ah
11:36	yahweh is the one who is feeding them
11:38	and that’s the backdrop of our
11:40	of our gospel texts today so in mark 6
11:43	verse 30
11:44	the apostles after returning to Jesus
11:46	Jesus sent them out
11:48	on a training mission he said to them
11:50	come away by yourselves to a desolate
11:52	place and rest a while
11:54	for many were coming and going that they
11:56	had no leisure even to eat at this point
11:58	Jesus’s ministry has really
12:00	kind of taken off and well Jesus and his
12:03	12 disciples are stretched
12:05	thin so they went away in a boat to a
12:07	desolate place by themselves
12:09	and many saw them going and recognized
12:11	them and they ran there on foot from all
12:14	the towns and got there ahead of them
12:16	and when he went ashore he saw a great
12:18	crowd
12:19	and the text says he had compassion on
12:21	them i love the way the greek talks
12:23	about it
12:23	his splug needs a my his guts were
12:26	wrenched for these people
12:28	and there’s the big difference jude the
12:30	half-brother of Jesus warns us that in
12:32	the last days it would be shepherds who
12:34	feed only themselves
12:37	over and again you can tell when
12:38	somebody is a true minister of Christ
12:41	by whether everything is about them and
12:43	everybody’s supposed to make
12:44	their dream their vision their legacy
12:48	the thing that they’re supposed to get
12:49	behind or if they truly have compassion
12:52	on Christ’s sheep and care for even the
12:54	weakest among us
12:55	you’ll note that friedrich nietzsche in
12:57	his book on the antiChrist which gives
12:59	you the real values of the world
13:01	basically says that it’s a vice it’s an
13:03	absolute vice
13:04	for human beings to care for those who
13:08	are
13:08	weak who are poor who are destitute
13:11	instead he points to nature and says we
13:13	need to be more like
13:14	wolves where we well tear apart the weak
13:19	and so nietzsche in his well epic work
13:22	really laying out the values of the
13:24	antiChrist in the world
13:25	despises Christianity and by extension
13:28	despises Christ
13:30	because you’ll know when you come to
13:32	Christ filled with the
13:34	muck of sin or you are destitute
13:38	financially or you are struggling
13:41	because your body
13:42	is failing Jesus doesn’t say well see to
13:44	it yourself
13:45	you should have taken care of that
13:47	earlier you know
13:48	after all you know an ounce of
13:50	prevention is worth a pound of cure
13:52	everything that’s happening to you is
13:54	your own fault
13:56	and you should have been tithing the
13:57	whole time too you know what were you
13:59	thinking
14:00	Jesus isn’t like that at all seeing this
14:04	crowd of people in great need
14:07	great need because they’re spiritually
14:09	lost they’re physically
14:11	broken they’re well under the boot of
14:14	rome and all of them
14:15	the whole lot of them are pretty far
14:19	down in the financial status what does
14:22	Christ have
14:23	compassion he has absolute compassion on
14:26	them because they were like sheep
14:27	without a shepherd
14:28	and he began to teach them many things
14:31	the need is great so Jesus rolls up his
14:33	sleeves it says boys even though we’re
14:35	all exhausted and tired it’s time to get
14:37	back to work
14:38	and so he goes about first tending to
14:42	their souls
14:43	preaching and teaching to them the very
14:45	words of god because that is who Jesus
14:48	is
14:48	and so when it grew late oh yeah how did
14:50	that prophecy go
14:52	in the evening you’ll eat meat and
14:53	you’ll know that i am yahweh
14:55	yeah that’s kind of what’s going on here
14:57	so the the day is far
14:59	spent his disciples come to him and said
15:00	this is a desolate place
15:02	the hour is now late send them away to
15:05	go into the surrounding countryside in
15:07	villages to buy themselves something to
15:09	eat
15:10	this is one of those ministry moments
15:12	where you just have to crack
15:14	up and so Jesus looks at him and says
15:16	you give him something to eat
15:18	now i like mark’s account because it
15:20	gives us a hint that maybe the disciples
15:22	were a little lippy back to Jesus
15:24	because they just ask him the question
15:26	kind of straight up
15:28	all right shall we go and buy 200
15:29	denarii worth of bread and give it to
15:31	them to eat
15:32	you know knowing full well 200 denarii
15:34	worth of bread wouldn’t go very far
15:36	at all so Jesus said them how many
15:38	loaves do you have go and see
15:40	so they when they had found out they
15:41	said five and two fish so he commanded
15:44	them
15:44	to all sit down in groups on the green
15:48	grass oh wait sheep without a shepherd
15:50	had them
15:51	sit down in groups on the green grass
15:54	well that reminds me of that really
15:56	famous psalm that we all know we all
15:58	learned it in the king james too which
16:00	is interesting
16:01	how’s the song go the lord is my
16:04	shepherd
16:05	i shall not want he makes me to lie down
16:09	in green pastures
16:10	and he leads me beside the still waters
16:13	ah i see what’s going on here here Jesus
16:16	is this desolate place he’s having his
16:18	sheep without a shepherd
16:20	now he’s tending to them he’s fed their
16:22	souls he’s going to feed their bodies
16:24	so he has everybody sit down makes them
16:26	lie down in the green
16:27	pasture oh it’s a beautiful picture and
16:30	so if the
16:31	psalm goes on he leads me beside the
16:33	still waters oh
16:34	i think of baptism here he restores my
16:37	soul
16:38	he leads me in paths of righteousness
16:40	for his name’s sake
16:42	have you ever considered as you read
16:43	psalm 23 one that we’re all very
16:45	familiar with
16:46	just the absolute patience kindness
16:50	and tenderness of this lord who is our
16:53	shepherd
16:53	and indeed he is it’s exemplified in
16:55	what we see in our gospel text
16:57	regarding Christ he restores my soul he
17:00	leads me in paths of righteousness for
17:02	his own name’s sake
17:04	and even though i walk through the
17:05	valley of the shadow of death i will
17:07	fear
17:07	no evil and we all have a date with that
17:10	that uh
17:10	shadow of death thingy you know
17:13	there’s a time coming you don’t know if
17:15	it’s tomorrow next week
17:17	five years or 20 30 years from now each
17:20	and every one of us as long as Christ
17:21	tarries we know that we’re going to have
17:23	to journey through the darkest part
17:25	and that’s the valley of the shadow of
17:26	death but don’t worry
17:28	it’s the shat the valley of the shadow
17:30	of death it’s not it’s not the valley of
17:32	death
17:32	itself the reason why death is but a
17:34	shadow for us Christians
17:36	is due to the fact that Christ who bore
17:38	our sin on the cross
17:41	bodily rose from the grave he conquered
17:43	death
17:44	on the third day after he was crucified
17:46	under pontius pilate
17:48	death for us is just a mere shadow you
17:50	know something that we need not fear
17:52	so as anxiety causing as the thought may
17:55	be
17:56	don’t worry we will fear no evil because
17:59	Christ is with us his rod and his staff
18:01	they comfort us
18:03	he’s even prepared a table before us in
18:05	the presence of our enemies
18:07	ah that’s what we’ll be experiencing
18:09	today note baptism
18:10	the lord’s supper they’re all present
18:12	here you prepare a table before me in
18:14	the presence of my enemies
18:16	and you anoint my head with o with oil
18:18	and my cup overflows
18:20	because of this surely goodness and
18:22	mercy shall follow me all the days of
18:24	the
18:24	of my life and then i will dwell in the
18:26	house of the lord
18:29	forever see the difference
18:33	shepherds who care only for themselves
18:35	compared to well
18:37	our lord who is our shepherd who deeply
18:40	cares for us and meets all of the real
18:43	needs that we have and doesn’t give us
18:46	the vain things that we want
18:48	because of his great love for us so
18:50	Christ has
18:52	all these people sit down in the green
18:54	grass and it says then
18:57	that they sat down in groups by hundreds
19:00	and by fifties and taking the five
19:02	loaves and the two fish he looked up to
19:04	heaven and said a blessing
19:05	broke the loaves gave them to the
19:07	disciples and set them before the people
19:10	he divided the two fish among them all
19:13	and they all
19:13	ate and they were satisfied and this
19:16	isn’t a metaphor you know
19:17	all those wingnuts out there who claim
19:19	that miracles and don’t take place
19:21	this actually took place it’s written by
19:23	eyewitnesses Christ
19:24	really multiplied these loaves and
19:27	fishes and
19:28	fed these jews in the middle of the
19:30	wilderness
19:31	and they knew exactly who he was after
19:34	that when you read
19:34	john’s account in john 6 they were ready
19:37	to make Jesus king
19:38	by force so they took up 12 baskets full
19:41	of broken pieces and those who ate the
19:43	loaves were 5 000 men
19:45	so the question then is what does it
19:46	mean because clearly this miracle shows
19:48	us who Jesus is
19:50	at twilight you will eat meat and you’ll
19:51	know that i am yahweh well that’s
19:53	exactly who Jesus is
19:55	but you’re going to note then this is a
19:56	story that hearkens to the exodus
19:58	isn’t the exodus all about you know
20:00	people who are genetic descendants of
20:02	abraham
20:02	people who are hebrews ah this is where
20:05	we must pay close attention to our
20:07	epistle text
20:08	because Christ has so wonderfully
20:12	taken us gentiles and he’s
20:15	joined us with his big flock in fact
20:18	that’s kind of the point of our epistle
20:20	text
20:20	in ephesians 2 11 it says remember that
20:22	once at one time you gentiles
20:25	you norwegians you polish people you
20:27	swedes you
20:28	you celts wherever you’re from if asia
20:33	south africa it doesn’t matter wherever
20:34	you’re from
20:37	we were all part of that group the
20:40	gentiles
20:41	in the flesh called the uncircumcision
20:44	by those who had received the
20:45	circumcision the jews
20:47	that is the circumcision that is made
20:49	with hands remember that
20:50	you you and i all of us we were at that
20:54	time we were separated from Christ
20:56	and indeed that’s how we were born dead
20:58	in trespasses and sins
21:00	we were alienated from the common wealth
21:03	of
21:03	israel as a result of that we were
21:06	strangers to the covenants of promise
21:09	and listen to the verdict having no hope
21:12	and without god in the world
21:15	to not have Christ is to have no hope
21:18	to not have Christ is to not have god
21:21	that’s how each of us came into this
21:24	world
21:25	but paul goes on but now in Christ you
21:27	who were once far
21:29	off you have been brought near by the
21:31	blood of Christ
21:32	your good shepherd has brought you into
21:35	the commonwealth of israel he’s made you
21:37	familiar with the covenants of promise
21:39	he has given you a hope and he is your
21:42	god
21:42	he himself is our peace who has made us
21:45	both
21:46	jews and gentiles one that’s why in
21:49	Christ there is neither jew nor greek
21:51	there is slave nor free
21:52	we are all one in him and by his blood
21:56	he has broken down in his flesh
21:58	the dividing wall of hostility no more
22:01	is there a barrier that says gentiles
22:04	enter here
22:05	upon pain of death that’s what the old
22:09	sign said in the old
22:10	temple instead Christ has torn down the
22:14	wall of hostility
22:16	how did he do it well by abolishing the
22:19	law of commandments expressed in
22:20	ordinances
22:21	so that he might create in himself one
22:24	new man in place of the two and so
22:26	making peace and so that he might
22:28	reconcile us both
22:29	jews and gentiles to god in one body
22:32	through the cross
22:34	thereby killing the hostility he
22:37	came and he preached peace to you who
22:40	were far off
22:41	and peace to those who were near
22:44	i love the fact that scripture repeats
22:46	this concept
22:47	that god did not send his son into the
22:49	world to condemn the world but that the
22:51	world might be saved
22:53	through him now there is a second coming
22:56	of Christ when he comes in glory to
22:57	judge the living and the dead
22:59	but now the message of the gospel goes
23:01	out that we who were far off
23:03	we who were steeped in sin we who were
23:05	guilty we who were hostile to god
23:08	we who’ve participated in the rebellion
23:10	of the devil Christ
23:11	comes and he preaches peace to us and
23:14	offers us
23:15	pardon peace hope forgiveness
23:19	and reconciliation with the god with
23:20	whom we’ve sinned against
23:22	how by bearing in his own body our sins
23:25	and bleeding and dying for us on the
23:27	cross
23:29	what an amazing selfless kind
23:32	merciful gracious shepherd that we have
23:34	in Christ
23:36	through him we both have access in one
23:38	spirit to the father
23:39	so then you’re no longer strangers
23:41	you’re no longer aliens
23:43	you all are now fellow citizens with the
23:45	saints and you are now
23:47	members of the household of god you are
23:49	built on the foundation of the apostles
23:51	and the prophets
23:52	and this is the only place where you can
23:54	hear this message rightly
23:56	you can only hear it in the scriptures
23:58	apostles and prophets is referring to
24:00	our bibles
24:01	Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone
24:03	he’s the one to whom the prophets
24:04	pointed to
24:05	and the apostles preached about in whom
24:08	the whole structure then is now being
24:09	joined together
24:10	and is now growing into a holy temple in
24:13	the lord
24:14	in him you also are being built together
24:16	into a dwelling place
24:17	for god by the spirit you’ll note
24:21	that with Christ because he’s come to
24:23	bring peace
24:24	we who are in him are not condemned we
24:26	are forgiven
24:28	we are not cast out we are cared for we
24:31	are not
24:31	shown the door we are shown mercy
24:36	we are not treated with impatience
24:39	instead we hear and should be hearing
24:42	and seeing exemplified
24:44	in those who preach to us that god is
24:47	slow to anger
24:48	abounding in steadfast love pardoning
24:50	iniquity
24:51	and forgiving trespasses and sins that’s
24:54	exactly what Jesus
24:56	is like and those who are his shepherds
24:58	he calls them to be
25:00	the same way and he threatens them with
25:02	punishment and woes if they
25:04	depart from that so coming back to our
25:06	initial thought our old testament texts
25:08	began with the words woe to the
25:10	shepherds
25:10	who destroy and scatter the sheep of my
25:13	pasture declares yahweh
25:15	therefore thus says yahweh the god of
25:17	israel concerning the shepherds who care
25:18	for my flock
25:19	you’ve scattered my flock you’ve driven
25:22	them away
25:23	you’ve not attended to them behold i
25:26	will attend to you for your evil deeds
25:28	declares yahweh
25:32	sobering words for those who abuse
25:36	Christ’s sheep who care for and feed
25:40	only themselves very powerful words
25:43	indeed is it any wonder that pastors
25:45	have a stricter judgment
25:47	but then he says this but then i will
25:49	gather the remnant of my flock
25:52	out of all the countries where i have
25:53	driven them and i will bring them back
25:55	to their fold they shall be fruitful
25:57	they will multiply i will set shepherds
26:00	over them who will care for them
26:01	and they shall fear no more nor be
26:03	dismayed neither shall any be
26:06	missing declares yahweh behold the days
26:08	are coming declares the lord
26:10	when i will raise up for david a
26:12	righteous branch and he shall reign as
26:14	king
26:15	and he will deal wisely he shall execute
26:18	justice and righteousness in the land in
26:21	his days judah will be saved and israel
26:23	will dwell securely
26:25	and this is the name by which he will be
26:27	called
26:28	yahweh is our righteousness
26:32	i i kind of like to think of it this way
26:33	if we’re putting it in the metaphor of
26:36	sheepy terms i mean sheep herding and
26:37	things like this
26:38	well what do shepherds do with sheep i
26:40	mean there’s a cash crop there
26:42	just growing on the outside of them so
26:44	every year you got to shave them down
26:46	you got to fleece those sheep
26:47	and sell the wool and you know some of
26:49	them they need to well be
26:50	barbecued and eaten for things like that
26:52	that’s generally how it goes
26:54	but Jesus our good shepherd doesn’t
26:56	fleece us or barbecue us and for this
26:58	i’m very thankful
26:59	in fact it’s quite the opposite Jesus is
27:02	the only shepherd
27:03	who doesn’t fleece his sheep instead he
27:06	covers them in his own righteousness
27:08	he clothes them rather than they
27:11	clothing him
27:12	and so you’ll note this wonderful
27:14	prophecy in the midst of here god
27:15	promising shepherd
27:17	the son of david who will care for us he
27:19	is our righteousness we are
27:22	clothed in the brilliant white robe
27:25	of his sinless perfection all of this as
27:28	a gift
27:29	and so when you do the contrast work the
27:32	shepherds who feed only themselves and
27:34	scatter the sheep
27:35	compared to shepherd Jesus there is no
27:38	comparison
27:39	and i would even argue any pastor who
27:42	doesn’t exemplify this love grace mercy
27:44	kindness patience and caring that Christ
27:47	exemplifies when he had compassion on
27:49	that crowd
27:50	is not a real shepherd instead it falls
27:53	under the condemnation
27:54	of jeremiah 23 may Christ send us
27:58	shepherds that are in his image
28:02	that will care for his sheep those who
28:05	on the last day despite the stricter
28:07	judgment will hear well done
28:09	good and faithful servant rather than
28:11	depart for me for i never knew you
28:13	but always and again compare your
28:15	shepherds to Jesus our good shepherd
28:17	the one who laid down his life for his
28:19	sheep in the name of Jesus
28:22	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.