LutheranLectionary.org

Reflections on Scripture with Dr. Leins

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:00	[Music]
0:10	hello today let’s answer the question
0:15	which one do you
0:17	see the text before us is from the
0:20	gospel of St John the 15th chapter vers
0:24	45536
0:25	17 introduction the clever caricature
0:31	I want to show you a tricky
0:37	picture as you can see it is a picture
0:41	of an old
0:42	woman do you see her profile her large
0:48	nose yes her compressed lips her bulging
0:53	eye can you see her what a comically
0:56	grotesque caricature she is yes
1:00	but do you also see the coish young
1:04	woman in the same picture do you see
1:07	that old nose is actually a young
1:10	woman’s chin
1:12	line the bulging eye is her ear and the
1:16	thin lips are a ribbon necklace she has
1:20	turned away from you the Young Beauty
1:23	only allows you to see the side of her
1:28	face now look carefully can you see them
1:31	both the old
1:33	woman and the attractive young lady
1:37	isn’t that something they are both there
1:40	in that one
1:42	picture at first glance you may have
1:45	seen only one of them but both of them
1:47	are there now can you see
1:51	them they are both captured in this
1:54	famous optical illusion that first
1:56	appeared in a German postcard in 18 88
2:01	the image was later adapted by a British
2:04	cartoonist William Eli Hill who
2:06	published it in a Humor Magazine in 1915
2:10	with the caption my wife and my
2:12	mother-in-law today we have seen how we
2:15	can look at a picture and find two
2:17	completely different
2:19	meanings I think this same idea could be
2:22	applied to the word of God today we will
2:25	look at a passage from John 15 and find
2:28	two complete
2:30	different meanings point one if you love
2:34	me Jesus taught us in John 14: 15 if you
2:39	love me you will keep my Commandments
2:42	please think about that verse for a
2:43	moment if you love me you will keep my
2:47	Commandments what does that mean to you
2:50	what is Jesus
2:51	saying is Jesus saying if you really
2:54	love me then you will keep my
2:57	Commandments and by implication is Jesus
3:00	saying but if you don’t keep my
3:01	Commandments well you prove that you do
3:04	not love me at first it may seem that is
3:08	what our Lord is
3:10	teaching how about a verse from today’s
3:13	Gospel John
3:16	15:10 Jesus says if you keep my
3:19	Commandments you will abide in my love
3:22	what does that mean is Jesus saying if
3:26	you keep my Commandments then you may
3:28	abide in my love
3:30	and conversely if you do not keep my
3:32	Commandments then you may not abide in
3:35	my love is that what Jesus is saying it
3:39	does seem to be the case I
3:46	guess please notice that each of these
3:49	interpretations is a statement of your
3:52	Works righteousness if you love Jesus
3:55	you must prove it you must work to show
3:58	that you love Jesus
4:00	you must keep his commandments so it is
4:03	up to you prove by your works that you
4:06	love Jesus keep his
4:09	Commandments the verse from today’s
4:11	Gospel seems to have much the same
4:14	message if you keep my Commandments you
4:16	will abide in my love is this also a
4:19	matter of your Works righteousness is
4:22	Jesus asking do you keep my Commandments
4:26	and then saying prove it by your works
4:29	if you keep them then you may abide in
4:32	my love but if you break my Commandments
4:34	then of course you may not abide in my
4:36	love is that what our lord Jesus is
4:41	saying in each case it may appear that
4:46	if you work righteously then Jesus will
4:49	give you your heavenly
4:51	reward admittedly that is exactly the
4:54	way things work in this world if you do
4:57	something that’s right you expect to
4:58	earn a reward if you do something that’s
5:00	wrong you expect to get a punishment
5:03	that may be the way that it works in the
5:05	world but that is not the way it works
5:08	with God no it is not thank God this
5:13	entire line of thinking is the opposite
5:15	of the heart of God it is the opposite
5:18	of the way things are in the kingdom of
5:21	God let’s see what the Bible teaches us
5:24	Jesus
5:25	says God so loved the world that he gave
5:30	his only begotten son that whosoever
5:32	believes in him shall not perish but
5:35	have eternal life This Promise is made
5:38	about believing not about Works
5:40	righteousness or earning a reward to
5:43	believe in him is to have eternal life
5:46	Faith Romans 5 tells us while we were
5:50	yet helpless Sinners even enemies of God
5:54	Christ died for us again we did not work
5:58	or earn his Mercy love and forgiveness
6:00	while we were Sinners and enemies he
6:03	died for us in John’s gospel Jesus says
6:06	if you love me now the word that he used
6:09	for love is agape that is God’s perfect
6:12	love if you have perfect love for me
6:15	well do you perfectly love God no God
6:19	knows that he perfectly loves you but he
6:23	knows that you do not perfectly love him
6:26	Jesus says if you love me you’ll keep my
6:28	Commandments but we don’t keep his
6:31	Commandments we do not perfectly love
6:33	God our sin and selfishness get in the
6:36	way we do not rightly keep his
6:38	Commandments again our sin and
6:41	selfishness get in the way but God knows
6:46	that our Lord knows that if keeping his
6:50	Commandments is the requirement for
6:52	abiding in his love then we will never
6:56	abide in his love there is no way for us
6:58	to perfectly love God or rightly keep
7:01	his Commandments or abide in his love
7:04	it’s impossible for us to perform these
7:08	works but God knows that too doesn’t he
7:13	thanks be to God Jesus is not saying
7:15	that we must do any of these things in
7:18	order to go to heaven or be saved this
7:22	is the wrong interpretation of God’s
7:23	word we’re looking at the old woman in
7:26	the picture and God is wondering why
7:28	we’re not seeing the young lady lady
7:31	point two I will keep the Commandments
7:34	for you Jesus shows us the way that
7:38	almighty God sees the picture in effect
7:41	our Lord says I know that you cannot
7:44	love me with a perfect love and I know
7:47	that you cannot keep my Commandments
7:49	rightly but I have remedied the
7:52	situation for you on the
7:54	cross I have accomplished all the work
7:57	for you myself
8:00	I have loved you perfectly and
8:01	completely I have rightly kept the
8:03	Commandments for you so says Jesus when
8:08	I say if you love me you’ll keep my
8:11	Commandments this is what I
8:14	mean I love you so much that I’ve given
8:18	you my word his word is very
8:21	powerful I gave you my word when you
8:23	were baptized with water in the word I
8:26	gave you my word when you came to church
8:28	and heard a sermon and received Holy
8:31	Communion I gave you my word when you
8:34	were home and you read your Bible I gave
8:36	you my word when you spoke with other
8:38	Christians about your faith in me I gave
8:41	you my word and your faith came by
8:45	hearing and hearing by the word of
8:48	Christ that is my word gave you Faith in
8:52	Me by my word I gave you both my love in
8:55	your heart and my holy spirit’s power in
8:57	your life Jesus is saying when I gave
9:01	you my word when I created faith in your
9:05	heart I myself came to live in you I not
9:10	only forgave you and saved you and gave
9:12	you eternal life I gave you my love so
9:16	that my love is now in you yes I love
9:20	you and I gave you the faith that you
9:23	have in me just as I gave you the love
9:27	that you have for me
9:30	wow do you see all of that so when Jesus
9:34	said if you love me he was saying if you
9:37	have faith that I have given you and
9:40	love that I have given you then you will
9:42	love me and Jesus will enable you to
9:45	keep his
9:46	Commandments you will want to do them
9:49	and you’ll be able to do them how
9:51	because you have the
9:54	help and work and love of Jesus and the
9:59	inspiration of the holy spirit all
10:01	working together inside of you today’s
10:05	Gospel is not a requirement of the law
10:08	it’s a statement of his grace it is not
10:11	a commandment about what you must do but
10:14	a proclamation of what Jesus has already
10:18	done you will love Jesus you will keep
10:22	his Commandments because Jesus already
10:25	has given you faith and love and the
10:28	ability to keep his command
10:30	Commandments point
10:32	three but I don’t keep his Commandments
10:36	perhaps that is what you will be
10:39	thinking I was right along with you when
10:41	you got to the up until you got to the
10:43	part where you said I will keep his
10:45	Commandments but I do not love Jesus as
10:48	I should I do not keep his Commandments
10:50	as I should there it is I confess it I
10:53	do not do these
10:55	things please listen carefully
10:59	you’re looking at the old woman
11:01	again and you may be missing the young
11:04	lady in the
11:06	picture of course you cannot love God
11:10	perfectly with agape love and of course
11:13	you cannot keep his Commandments rightly
11:16	because there’s always some sin and
11:18	selfishness and weakness of Faith going
11:21	on in your life yes but Jesus has a
11:25	different way of looking at you even
11:27	your weak faith and your sinful acts are
11:31	seen by God as faithful and righteous as
11:35	seen by God as holy and loving because
11:38	you trust in Jesus and those actions are
11:41	done in Jesus God looks at you your
11:45	attempted good deeds and kindnesses and
11:47	loving service and God counts it all as
11:51	loving him and keeping his Commandments
11:54	do you hear that it’s absolutely
11:57	incredible beloved our God sees you and
12:01	your actions not as the weak sinful
12:04	things that they are but instead he sees
12:07	them as the love of Jesus and as the
12:11	actions of Jesus you are so closely
12:15	joined to Jesus and Jesus so joined to
12:18	you that God receives all of your life
12:21	and love and Service as done by Christ
12:24	himself indeed God sees you as a little
12:27	Christ covered with the robe of Christ
12:29	fitted with the righteousness of Christ
12:31	and destined to receive all the Heavenly
12:34	blessings of Christ do you understand
12:37	God does not even see the old woman in
12:41	the picture God only sees the young
12:43	woman God does not even see you the
12:47	sinner God only sees you the believer
12:51	who is joined by grace through faith to
12:54	Jesus Christ what a
12:58	miracle clusion which one do you
13:02	see today we’ve we’ve looked at a
13:05	picture
13:08	ah in it we saw an old lady with a large
13:11	nose and thin lips and a tiny bulging
13:14	eye but we learned that there was
13:16	another way to look at the same picture
13:18	we also saw a young woman with a pretty
13:22	chin and a delicate ear and a ribbon
13:25	necklace today we looked at Holy
13:29	scripture and at first all we could see
13:31	was its demand for our perfect love and
13:34	our righteous works it kept showing us
13:37	our sin but by God’s grace we learned
13:39	that there was another way to look at
13:41	that same scripture in every word we
13:43	could see the wonderful saving love of
13:46	Jesus Christ the atoning work of Jesus
13:49	saved us not our works Jesus gave us his
13:53	complete forgiveness his perfect love
13:57	his righteous works and because because
13:59	of his love and mercy Jesus abides in
14:03	us because of the faith that Christ has
14:06	given you God no longer sees you as The
14:10	Sinner with dead works and a selfish
14:13	heart now God sees you as a baptized and
14:17	beloved Saint who has been born again by
14:21	water and the Holy
14:25	Spirit you are no longer helpless a
14:29	sinner an enemy of God now you are a
14:32	little Christ you wear his robe of
14:35	righteousness you have his heart of
14:37	Faith you do his works of
14:42	kindness when the Angels see you they
14:45	see your true spiritual self one day you
14:47	will see yourself too when you meet the
14:50	heavenly host and Behold the Lamb of God
14:52	who took away your sin it’s true that
14:55	sometimes you may only be able to see
14:57	yourself as a sinner
14:59	who breaks God’s Commandments in thought
15:01	and word In Deed yes but because of your
15:05	faith in Jesus God only sees you as his
15:10	precious child who loves him and keeps
15:14	his
15:15	Commandments a
15:17	miracle can you see that you are that
15:20	person too in reality like the picture
15:23	you are
15:24	both beloved which one do you see when
15:28	you look in the mirror
15:30	can you see that you are both you are a
15:33	sinner who needs a savior and you are a
15:38	saint who already has been
15:42	saved
15:45	hallelujah amen
15:53	[Music]