LutheranLectionary.org

Series B – Third Sunday After the Epiphany – Sunday, January 25, 2015 | 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	the holy Gospel According to Saint Mark
0:30	chapter 1 verses 14 through 20.
0:33	after John was put in prison Jesus went
0:36	into Galilee proclaiming the good news
0:38	of God the time has come he said the
0:41	kingdom of God is near repent and
0:44	believe the good news as Jesus walked
0:46	beside the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon
0:48	and his brother Andrew casting a net
0:50	into the lake for they were fishermen
0:52	come follow me Jesus said and I will
0:54	make you Fishers of Men at once they
0:56	left their Nets and followed him when
0:58	they had gone a little farther he saw
1:00	James the son of Zebedee and his brother
1:02	John in a boat preparing their Nets
1:04	without delay he called them and they
1:06	left their father Zebedee in the boat
1:08	with the hired men and followed him
1:11	in the name of Jesus
1:15	the text I’ll be preaching on this
1:17	morning is the beginning portion of Our
1:18	Gospel text which reads after John was
1:21	put in prison Jesus went into Galilee
1:23	proclaiming the good news of God the
1:25	time has come he said the kingdom of God
1:28	is near repent and believe the good news
1:32	now I’d like you to consider for a
1:35	minute the juxtaposition between our Old
1:38	Testament text and Our Gospel text our
1:41	Old Testament text tells the story of
1:44	Jonah preaching repentance in you know
1:47	to the ninevites while our new testament
1:49	text tells us that Jesus the son of God
1:52	in first century Judea was calling the
1:55	people of Israel to repent which kind of
1:58	begs the question what on Earth did
2:01	first century Israel have in common with
2:03	the Assyrians so that they were being
2:05	called to repent just as the Assyrians
2:08	of Nineveh had been centuries earlier
2:11	we’re all familiar with Jonah and the
2:13	fish story now if you look at merely the
2:15	surface of things this doesn’t quite
2:17	make sense consider the differences the
2:20	Israelis of Jesus’s day were religious
2:23	while the Assyrians of Nineveh were
2:26	Pagan Idol worshiping terrorists now I
2:30	want to give you some idea of just how
2:32	cruel and brutal the Assyrians of
2:34	Jonah’s day were in order to do that I’m
2:37	going to have to enlist the help of Will
2:39	and Ariel Durant they are Pulitzer
2:41	prize-winning historians and the authors
2:44	of the you know multi-volume series
2:46	entitled the story of our civil
2:47	civilization in volume one they actually
2:51	describe the Assyrians these are the
2:54	people of Nineveh
2:55	and I’m not trying to be over the top
2:58	this is just how they were you need to
3:01	understand what these people were like
3:04	when the Assyrians captured a city it
3:06	was usually plundered and burnt to the
3:08	ground its sight was deliberately
3:11	denuded by killing its trees the Loyalty
3:15	of the troops was secured by dividing a
3:17	large part of the spoils among them
3:19	their bravery ensured by the general
3:22	rule of the near East that all captives
3:25	in war might be enslaved or slain
3:29	soldiers were rewarded for every severed
3:32	head they brought in from the field so
3:35	that the aftermath of a victory
3:36	generally witnessed the wholesale
3:38	decapitation of Fallen foes most often
3:42	the prisoners who would have been who
3:45	would have consumed much food in a long
3:47	campaign and would have constituted a
3:50	danger and a nuisance in the rear were
3:52	dispatched after the battle they knelt
3:55	with their backs to their captors who
3:57	beat their heads in with clubs or cut
3:59	them cut off their heads with cutlasses
4:02	scribes stood by to out the number of
4:05	prisoners taken and killed by each
4:07	Soldier and apportioned the booty
4:09	accordingly the king
4:11	accordingly the king of time permitted
4:14	presided at the slaughter the Nobles
4:16	among the defeated those who were the
4:18	people of higher standing they were
4:20	given more special treatment their ears
4:22	noses and hands and feet were sliced off
4:25	or they were thrown from high Towers or
4:28	they and their children were beheaded or
4:30	flayed alive or roasted over a slow fire
4:32	and reliefs Stone reliefs at Nineveh
4:35	show men being impaled or flayed or
4:39	having their tongues torn out impaling
4:41	by the way is a awful way to die
4:43	basically you take somebody run a stake
4:46	through them and then put the pole up
4:48	you know high and just leave their
4:50	bodies hanging there it was a very
4:51	terroristic technique and kind of a
4:54	precursor of crucifixion
4:56	so tongues torn out one king one king
4:59	one shows a king gouging out the eyes of
5:01	prisoners with a lance while he holds
5:03	their heads conveniently in place with a
5:05	cord that passed through their lips and
5:08	that gives you just a wonderful picture
5:10	of what the ninevites were all about
5:12	they were well they made Isis look like
5:16	a bunch of upstarts you know what I’m
5:18	saying because Isis didn’t doesn’t quite
5:20	get their hands as dirty as the
5:22	ninevites do so we all know the story of
5:25	Jonah and how when the Lord commanded
5:27	him to go to Nineveh how Jonah disobeyed
5:30	boarded a ship heading for tarshish and
5:32	how Jonah was returned to shore after
5:35	spending three days in the belly of a
5:36	large fish we all know the story now is
5:39	the reason that Jonah fled because he
5:41	feared for his life by preaching
5:43	repentance to the men of Nineveh nope
5:46	Jonah chapter 4 records Jonah’s reaction
5:50	to nineveh’s repentance that we read in
5:53	verse 10 of our Old Testament text and
5:55	it also reveals the reason why Jonah
5:57	disobeyed God and headed away from
6:00	Nineveh in that chapter we learned that
6:02	Jonah rather than praised the Lord for
6:05	the Revival that took place in Nineveh
6:07	and rejoice along with the angels who
6:09	rejoice when Sinners are brought to
6:11	repentance he didn’t Rejoice at their
6:13	repentance instead Jonah was very
6:16	unhappy that the people of Nineveh had
6:18	repented and that God had mercy on them
6:21	let me read to you Jonah Chapter 4
6:23	verses one through three
6:25	but Jonah was greatly displeased and
6:28	became angry he prayed to the Lord O
6:31	Lord is this not what I said when I was
6:34	still at home that is why I was so quick
6:37	to flee to tarshish I knew that you are
6:41	a gracious and compassionate God slow to
6:45	anger and abounding in love a God who
6:48	relents from sending Calamity now oh
6:51	Lord take away my life for it is better
6:53	me for me to die than live
6:57	so Jonah didn’t want to preach
7:00	repentance in Nineveh because he knew
7:03	God was merciful and he didn’t want
7:05	those murdering Pagan terrorists to be
7:07	forgiven because when you read in your
7:09	Old Testament you’ll see that
7:12	Israel and Assyria often times were at
7:15	war with each other and when Assyria
7:17	would get the upper hand all those
7:18	things I described the Assyrians doing
7:21	they did that to the Jews
7:24	so Jonah had a grudge if you would so he
7:27	didn’t want those guys to be forgiven
7:29	Jonah would have preferred that the
7:31	ninevites were punished for their sins
7:33	the city of Nineveh overthrown and its
7:36	inhabitants thrown into the Eternal
7:38	fires of hell
7:40	but you see
7:42	God is merciful
7:44	and when he calls people to repent and
7:47	to turn from their sin he does so
7:49	because his desire is to forgive and to
7:52	Pardon and save those whom he has
7:55	created and loves so now let’s return
7:58	back to our gospel text
8:01	in Our Gospel text Jesus the son of God
8:03	in human flesh second person of the Holy
8:05	Trinity born of the Virgin Mary is now
8:08	an adult and John the Baptist has been
8:10	arrested and Jesus get this just like
8:14	Jonah is preaching what
8:17	he’s preaching repentance
8:19	but this time God’s messenger is none
8:22	other than God himself and this time the
8:25	nation that he’s preaching to is not a
8:27	nation of pagan terrorists who torture
8:30	and impale their victims nope this time
8:33	it’s a nation that is very religious not
8:36	only is this nation religious this
8:38	nation claims to worship the one true
8:41	God
8:42	yet Jesus’s message to them is the same
8:46	as Jonah’s his messages repent
8:51	this is a mistake right
8:53	no it’s not a mistake in fact note how
8:57	in the Book of Jonah how there is not
8:58	even a hint that Jonah feared for his
9:00	life in the preaching to the Assyrians
9:02	of Nineveh his only fear was that God
9:04	would forgive them but Jesus’s mission
9:06	is actually taking him into a region
9:08	that is far more dangerous than Nineveh
9:11	because the Sinners he’s calling to
9:13	repentance are not merely Pagan
9:15	terrorists those are easy to deal with
9:17	the Sinners he’s calling to repentance
9:20	are religious Sinners those who have all
9:23	kinds of Pious works but inwardly have
9:26	no faith no true fear or love or trust
9:29	in God now how do we know that they
9:32	don’t have faith well if they did then
9:35	they would have worshiped Jesus as their
9:37	God because he is their God right now to
9:41	give you an example of just how off
9:44	these religious Sinners are I would
9:46	remind you of the story of Jesus raising
9:49	Lazarus from the dead and will pick up
9:51	halfway through the story so as not to
9:53	believe favor the point and then look at
9:55	the reaction of the Jews to Jesus
9:57	raising a man from the dead who’ve been
9:59	dead for four days in the Gospel of John
10:01	Chapter 11
10:03	starting at verse 32 we pick up in the
10:04	middle of the story it says this now
10:06	when Mary came to where Jesus was and
10:08	saw him she fell at his feet saying to
10:10	him Lord if you had been here my brother
10:12	would not have died when Jesus saw her
10:15	weeping and the Jews who had come with
10:17	her also weeping he was deeply moved in
10:19	his spirit and greatly troubled and he
10:21	said where have you laid him and they
10:23	said to him Lord come and see Jesus wept
10:26	so the Jews said see how he loved him
10:28	but some of them said well could not he
10:30	who opened the eyes of the blind also
10:32	have kept this man from dying so then
10:34	Jesus deeply moved again came to the
10:37	tomb it was a cave and a stone lay
10:39	against it Jesus said take away the
10:41	stone Martha the sister of the dead man
10:43	said to him Lord by this time there will
10:45	be an odor or the King James saith he
10:47	stinketh right yeah usually corpse is
10:50	dead for four days sitting in caves
10:52	don’t smell too good right
10:54	he’ll be an odor for he’s been dead for
10:56	four days Jesus said to her did I not
10:59	tell you that if you believed you would
11:00	see the glory of God so they took away
11:02	the stone Jesus lifted up his eyes and
11:05	said father I thank Thee thank you that
11:07	you have heard me I knew that you always
11:09	hear me but I said this on account of
11:11	the people standing around so that they
11:13	may believe that you sent me and when he
11:15	had said these things he cried out with
11:16	a loud voice Lazarus come out and the
11:20	man who died came out his hands and feet
11:23	bound with linen strips his face unwrap
11:26	his face wrapped with a cloth Jesus said
11:28	to them unbind him and let him go
11:32	wow man dead for four days raised from
11:36	the grave you’d think Revival would have
11:38	broken out right we’ve never seen
11:41	anything like this well listen to the
11:42	response
11:43	John continues
11:45	many of the Jews therefore who had come
11:47	with Mary and had seen what he did
11:50	believed in him but some of them went to
11:53	the Pharisees and told them what had
11:55	Jesus had done so the chief priests and
11:59	the Pharisees gathered the council
12:01	beware of councils Beware of counting
12:05	so they gather the council and they said
12:07	what are we to do for this man performs
12:10	many signs and if we let him go on like
12:13	this everyone will believe in him
12:17	and this is a bad thing
12:19	why he just raised a guy from the dead
12:22	but listen to their reasoning okay if we
12:25	let him go on like this everyone will
12:26	believe in him and the Romans will come
12:28	and take away both our place and our
12:30	nation they don’t want to lose their
12:32	power do they right but one of them
12:35	Caiaphas was the high priest that year
12:36	said to them you know nothing at all nor
12:39	do you understand that it is better that
12:41	one man should die for the people not
12:43	that the whole nation should perish he
12:45	did not say this on his own accord but
12:47	being high priest that year he
12:49	prophesied that Jesus would die for the
12:50	nation and not for the nation only but
12:53	also to gather into one the children of
12:55	God who are scattered abroad and the
12:57	passage ends this way so from that day
12:59	on they made plans to put Jesus to death
13:04	kind of takes that saying you know no
13:06	good deed goes unpunished kind of to its
13:09	ultimate thing but I mean think about
13:10	this who are the ones leading the charge
13:12	to put Jesus to death the religious
13:15	leaders the ones who claim that they
13:18	love and serve and obey God and there’s
13:20	God in human flesh raising a guy from
13:22	the dead who’s been dead for four days
13:24	and their responses killed him
13:28	yeah the ninevites had nothing on these
13:32	guys right so the god the Pharisees
13:34	claim to worship was standing right in
13:36	front of them he had just called Lazarus
13:38	from the grave and their response rather
13:40	than worship and praise is to make plans
13:42	to put Jesus to death
13:44	so this begs the question what is going
13:46	on here well let me give you Jesus’s
13:48	diagnosis from Matthew chapter 23 a
13:51	rough passage this is another one of
13:53	those passages of scripture that
13:55	obliterates that idea that Jesus is kind
13:58	of like that precious moments guy that
14:00	he’s all about making people feel good
14:01	this will be rough if you’ve never read
14:03	it let me read
14:05	Jesus said to the crowds and to his
14:07	disciples the scribes and the Pharisees
14:10	they sit on Moses’s seat there’s an
14:12	office that they hold so do and observe
14:14	whatever they tell you but do not do the
14:16	works they do for they preach but they
14:19	do not practice they tie up heavy
14:21	burdens hard to Bear lay them on
14:24	people’s shoulders but they themselves
14:26	are not willing to move them with their
14:28	finger they do all their deeds to be
14:30	seen by others for they make their
14:32	flackataries Broad and their fringes
14:35	long and they love the place of honor at
14:37	the feasts and the best seats in the
14:39	synagogues and greetings in the
14:41	marketplaces and they love being called
14:43	Rabbi by others but you are not to be
14:45	called Rabbi for you have one teacher
14:48	and you are all brothers and no man you
14:51	didn’t call no man your father on Earth
14:53	for you have one father who is hap in
14:55	heaven neither be called instructors for
14:57	you have one instructor the Christ the
15:00	greatest among you shall be your servant
15:02	whoever exalts himself will be humbled
15:04	whoever humbles himself will be exalted
15:06	and here it comes but woe to you scribes
15:11	and Pharisees you Hypocrites for you
15:13	shut the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s
15:15	faces for you neither enter yourselves
15:18	nor allow those who would enter to go in
15:21	woe to you scribes and Pharisees you
15:23	Hypocrites for you travel across sea and
15:26	land to make a single proselyte and when
15:28	he becomes a proselyte you make him
15:30	twice as much a child of hell as
15:32	yourselves woe to you blind guides who
15:35	say if anyone swears by the temple it’s
15:38	nothing but if anyone swears by the gold
15:40	of the temple well then he’s Bound by
15:42	his oath you blind fools for which is
15:45	greater the gold or the temple that has
15:48	made the gold sacred and you say well if
15:51	anyone swears by the altar that’s
15:53	nothing but if anyone swears by the gift
15:55	that’s on the altar well he’s Bound by
15:57	his oath you blind men for which is
16:01	greater the gift or the altar that makes
16:03	the gift sacred so whoever swears by the
16:06	altar swears by it and who and
16:08	everything on it whoever swears by the
16:10	temple swears by it and him who dwells
16:12	in it and whoever swears by Heaven
16:15	swears by The Throne of God and by him
16:17	who sits upon it woe to you scribes and
16:20	Pharisees you Hypocrites for you tithe
16:22	mint and Dill and cumin and have
16:25	neglected the weightier matters of the
16:27	law Justice and mercy and faithfulness
16:30	these you ought to have done without
16:32	neglecting the others you blind guides
16:35	straining out a gnat and swallowing a
16:37	camel woe to you scribes and Pharisees
16:40	you Hypocrites for you clean the outside
16:43	of the cup and the plate but inside they
16:45	are full of greed and self-indulgence
16:47	you blind Pharisee first clean the
16:49	inside of the cup in the plate and that
16:52	outside that the outside may also be
16:54	clean any continues so this is quite the
16:57	sermon right yeah this is not a good
16:59	church growth sermon by the way woe to
17:01	you scribes and Pharisees you Hypocrites
17:03	for you are like white washed tombs
17:06	which outwardly appear beautiful but
17:08	within are full of dead people’s bones
17:11	and all uncleanness so you also
17:14	outwardly appear righteous to others but
17:17	within you are full of hypocrisy and
17:20	lawlessness
17:24	wow
17:27	like I said these guys had nothing on
17:29	the ninevites Jesus saw right through
17:32	their Pious performances and called them
17:35	out for their sins and if that wasn’t
17:38	bad enough Jesus even likened himself to
17:42	Jonah and even compared the men of
17:45	Israel of his day to the Assyrian
17:47	ninevites listen to this from Matthew 12
17:49	starting at verse 38 some of the scribes
17:52	and Pharisees answered Jesus saying
17:55	teacher we wish to see from you a sign
17:58	but he answered them well an evil and
18:00	adulterous generation seeks for a sign
18:02	but no sign will be given to it except
18:04	for the sign of the prophet Jonah for
18:06	just as Jonah was three days and three
18:08	nights in the belly of the great fish so
18:10	will the son of man be three days and
18:12	three nights in the heart of the Earth
18:13	the men of Nineveh listen to this the
18:18	men of Nineveh will rise up at the
18:21	Judgment with this generation and they
18:23	will condemn it for they repented at the
18:27	preaching of Jonah and behold something
18:30	greater than Jonah is here
18:33	that is a grenade of a bombshell
18:37	Jesus is in Israel
18:40	surrounded by religious people who say
18:42	they worship the one true God and he
18:44	says of those Pagan terrorists that
18:47	they’re going to rise on the Judgment
18:49	Day
18:51	forgiven and Justified and they will
18:54	condemn the religious Jews
18:57	why because they repented
19:00	these guys are not
19:02	murdering Pagan idolatrous Gentile
19:05	terrorists they are forgiven and saved
19:08	by the kind and merciful god of Jonah
19:10	yet the Pharisees in their
19:12	self-righteousness were so blind to
19:15	their sin that they refused to believe
19:17	that they even needed to repent
19:20	the men of Nineveh confess their sins
19:22	repented in sackcloth and Ashes and
19:25	hoped for God’s mercy and they received
19:28	it the religious leaders of Israel
19:30	believed themselves to be righteous
19:32	because of their obedience to the Torah
19:34	and the tradition of the elders in their
19:36	way of thinking good righteous law
19:38	Keepers don’t need to repent yet the
19:40	very God whom they claim to worship and
19:43	Obey was the one looking them in the eye
19:45	and calling them to repent and believe
19:48	the good news
19:49	but rather than confess that their
19:52	righteousness was nothing more than a
19:54	religious facade and rubbish as the
19:56	Apostle Paul would someday confess about
19:58	his own righteousness as a Pharisee and
20:01	rather than confess that they were
20:02	sinful just like the prostitutes and the
20:04	tax collectors and receive God’s mercy
20:07	and forgiveness like the men of Nineveh
20:09	the Pharisees instead like the Assyrians
20:12	who impaled their victims for all to see
20:15	they had Jesus impaled on the cross so
20:18	that all could see what happens to those
20:20	who oppose their self-righteous religion
20:23	of works
20:25	but while they were mocking Jesus while
20:28	he was bleeding on the cross and telling
20:30	him to come down from the cross Jesus
20:33	was dying for their sins and the sins of
20:36	prostitutes Tax Collectors Assyrian
20:39	terrorists drunks thieves Liars cheats
20:43	murderers drug addicts gossips wife
20:47	beaters fornicators homosexuals
20:50	abortionists Shady businessmen crooked
20:53	politicians long-winded pastors
20:57	and Sinners Like You
21:00	and just like Jonah was three days in
21:02	the belly of the great fish Jesus died
21:04	and then emerged Victorious from the
21:06	grave on the third day
21:08	yet knowing that Jesus had raised bodily
21:11	from the grave these Pharisees still
21:14	would not repent
21:17	which begs the question
21:19	are you blind like the Pharisees and
21:22	self-deceived
21:24	if you say you have no sin the Apostle
21:27	John writes you deceive yourself unlike
21:30	the Pharisees the truth is not in you
21:32	now a simple way to know if this is you
21:35	is if you believe that you are a good
21:38	person if you believe that God’s going
21:40	to let you into heaven because of your
21:42	good deeds and because you believe that
21:44	you’re good outweighs your bad or
21:46	because you came to church regularly or
21:48	because you read your Bible five days a
21:50	week or because you voted the right you
21:52	know for the right party’s candidates or
21:54	because you never smoked a cigarette or
21:56	because you never allowed a curse word
21:58	to come across your lips
22:00	don’t get me wrong for a second there’s
22:02	nothing wrong with these good works
22:05	but you are just like the Pharisees if
22:07	you believe that a right standing before
22:09	God is due to your obedience and your
22:12	good works this is why the Lord had the
22:16	Apostle Paul a man who was a Pharisee of
22:18	the Pharisees penned these words in
22:20	Philippians 3.
22:21	Paul writes look out for the dogs look
22:24	out for the evildoers look out for those
22:26	who mutilate the flesh he’s talking
22:28	about the Pharisees and the judaizers
22:30	for we are the circumcision who worship
22:31	by the spirit of God and glory in Christ
22:33	Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh
22:36	though I myself have reason for
22:37	confidence in the flesh if anyone else
22:40	thinks he has reason for confidence in
22:41	the flesh well then I have more I was
22:43	circumcised on the eighth day of the
22:45	people of Israel of The Tribe of
22:47	Benjamin a Hebrew of the Hebrews as to
22:49	the law of Pharisee as to Zeal a
22:51	persecutor of the church as to
22:53	righteousness under the law blameless
22:56	but whatever gain I had I counted as a
23:00	loss for the sake of Christ indeed I
23:02	count everything as a loss because the
23:04	surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus
23:06	my Lord for his sake I have suffered the
23:09	loss of all things and count them all of
23:11	my good works as a Pharisee I count them
23:13	as rubbish
23:15	in order that I might gain Christ and be
23:17	found in him listen to this not having a
23:20	righteousness of my own that comes from
23:22	the law but a righteousness that comes
23:25	through faith in Christ the
23:26	righteousness that is from God that
23:28	depends on faith
23:30	so if you say you have no sin you
23:32	deceive yourself and like the Pharisees
23:34	the truth is not in you but if you
23:36	confess your sins like the men of
23:38	Nineveh God who is faithful and just
23:40	will forgive your sins and cleanse you
23:42	from all unrighteousness
23:43	repent therefore
23:45	repent of your sins repent of yourself
23:48	righteousness repent of your religious
23:51	sinfulness and be forgiven your right
23:53	standing has been established for you by
23:55	Christ not by your good works for Jonah
23:58	was right
23:59	God is gracious God is compassionate
24:02	slow to anger and abounding and
24:05	steadfast love and a God who relents
24:07	from Calamity even the Calamity of hell
24:10	in the name of Jesus Amen
24:13	[Music]

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