LESSON: PSALM 106:6‒8

For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 1 Corinthians 1:26‒29

In this week’s Gospel (Matthew 22:15‒22), we have a very good portrayal of the cunning and perversity of human nature. There is nothing in men by nature but evil, lies, deceit, cunning, and all that is vicious. By nature man is nothing else but a liar, as the psalmist declares. You cannot trust a single person. Don’t think for a moment that you will ever hear a word of truth from anyone; man is a liar whenever he opens his mouth. How so? The spring is evil, that is, the heart is no good. Therefore the streams are no good either.

This is why the Lord at times described men as a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 12:34) and “serpents” (Matthew 23:33). Is not this an apt title for these people? Let anyone come forward here to boast about his piety and the powers of his own free will! Before the world it is possible to put on a fine exterior, and to be pious and holy, with much outward glitter. But there is really nothing else there than a brood of vipers and serpents, especially in the most valued, excellent, wise, and clever men. When you read the histories of the Greeks, Romans, and Jews, you will find that the best and cleverest princes, those who ruled well by human standards, were not conscious of receiving anything from God but relied on themselves alone, ascribing nothing at all to the power of God.

SL.XI.1809,15

PRAYER: Dear Lord, heavenly Father, in Your mercy and grace You bestow upon us everything in our lives that deserves to be called good. May we ever cling to You in firm faith, the giver of all good gifts, in Christ our Lord. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:293-306.

LESSON: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:18‒23

Jesus did not trust Himself to them, because He knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for He Himself knew what was in man. John 2:24‒25

Whenever we are assailed by the enemies of our faith, we always have the strong consolation that Christ is in us and will carry off the victory through us. Christ is so close to us that we always conquer through Him because we are in Christ. When we are not beset by any adversity, we do not feel the need of His presence. But when we are under attack and are being crushed, He makes His presence felt and puts our enemies to shame.

Here, too, we should note that those who are a cut above others, cleverer, more powerful, with special gifts of understanding, nature, and fortune; those who are more artistic, more learned, and wiser than their fellows, who can speak well and who are equipped to exercise leadership over others, who can rule and regulate everything in the best possible manner, these people, for the greater part, are opposed to God and faith, and tend to rely more on the powers of their own reason than on God. Poisoned nature prevents them from being prepared to employ their gifts to the best advantage, for the use and benefit of their neighbor. Relying on their own gifts, they simply set their minds on this or that and hold the view that they do not need help or strength in any way.

They resemble the Pharisees of the Gospel (Matthew 22:15‒22). They were quite confident that they would get the upper hand over Jesus by setting Him a trick question. They felt that He could not possibly escape from their clutches because He would be in serious trouble if He answered either “Yes” or “No.”

SL.XI.1808,13

PRAYER: The wisdom of this world is folly with You, O God, and Your wisdom is foolishness with the world. Be pleased to open our hearts to receive the foolishness of the Gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:293-306.

LESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 12:7‒10

We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way; through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 2 Corinthians 6:3‒10

Nothing better can happen for the Gospel than for the world to oppose it with might and cunning. The more that sin and the devil assail my conscience, the stronger becomes the justice of my cause. For the sins that press upon me hurt me; this makes me all the more persistent in my prayer and cries to God; hence my faith and confidence in my cause become stronger and stronger continually. This is also what St. Paul means when he states, “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Inasmuch, then, as we have a treasure which becomes stronger through temptation and adversity, we should never become afraid, but be of good courage and even rejoice in tribulation as Paul also observes.

If the devil were clever enough to keep quiet and simply allow the Gospel to be preached without trying to hinder it, he would certainly have less trouble on his hands. For if the Gospel is not attacked, it grows rusty and has no particular reason for manifesting its power and might.

SL.XI.1807,11

PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, we are by nature weak and beggarly, having nothing in us with which to oppose our enemies—the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Make us strong, especially in the blessings of the Gospel available to us in rich measure, in and through Christ our beloved Savior. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:293-306.

LESSON: PSALM 118:1‒9

If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with Him? Romans 8:31‒32

All who set themselves against the divine wisdom and Word of God must bring discredit on themselves or suffer disgrace. Let no one therefore be afraid, even if all the cleverness and might of the world range themselves against the Gospel, and even if efforts are made to subdue it with bloodshed. The more blood that is shed, the more Christians will increase. Tertullian well observed that the blood of the Christians is the seed from which Christians grow. The devil is drowned in Christian blood. Hence it is not a very smart thing to try to suppress the Gospel by force.

In a certain respect, the Gospel resembles the palm tree. It is the nature and character of this tree to lie on top, no matter how much loading one puts onto it. If a beam is made of it, it does not yield to any load but actually raises itself against the load. That is also how the Gospel is. The more opposition it encounters, the greater pressure it exerts, and the more men try to quench it, the more and more it grows.

We should never be afraid of might and force; what we should really fear is success and good days. These are quite likely to do us more harm than anxiety and persecution.

We should also not be afraid of the wisdom and cleverness of the world. This can do us no harm. The more the wisdom of the world opposes the truth of the Gospel, the purer and clearer the truth becomes.

SL.XI.1807,10‒11

PRAYER: Be the defender and protector of Your Word and Gospel, O God, in all attacks made on it by its enemies. May Your Word and Gospel continue to go from strength to strength, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:293-306.

LESSON: MATTHEW 22:15‒22

When they heard it, they marveled; and they left Him and went away. Matthew 22:22

This is written for our consolation, so that those of us who believe in Christ should know that we Christians are in possession of a wisdom that outranks all other wisdom, and that we have a strength and righteousness with which no human strength or righteousness can stand comparison. Against the Holy Spirit no human counsel is of any avail. Through Christ we have the power to tread sin underfoot and to trample upon death, and a wisdom that exceeds the wisdom of the whole world. If Christ dwells in us by faith, He is ours and will attend to all this in us. But in the hour of trial and temptation, we do not always feel this. Therefore, when I need it, He comes to me and enables me to make my way through my difficulties with renewed strength.

We should never be apprehensive that our doctrine will go under and be disgraced. No matter whether all the learned and wise men of this world rise up against God’s Word and make a merry sport of their opposition to the Word, they are doomed to ultimate failure. It can happen that they bark against the Word and bite it to such an extent that people think that the Gospel will be overwhelmed. But when they set themselves to overthrow the Gospel, it is quite certain that they will fail in a disgraceful manner, and they themselves will be caught in the trap by which they hoped to overthrow the Gospel. This is what happened here in this Gospel to the men who tried to trip up Jesus. They thought themselves smart enough to outwit Christ in every way, but their wisdom and smartness let them down.

SL.XI.1806,8‒9

PRAYER: Grant us a full measure of Your Holy Spirit, O God, the Spirit of truth and understanding, that we may always cling in firm faith to the teaching of Your Word, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:293-306.

LESSON: PSALM 119:57‒64

God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

When we believe that we have a gracious God and that we need nothing further, it would, presumably, be time for us to die as soon as possible. But if we are to continue our life here on earth, it must not be directed towards gaining God’s favor by our works.

Anyone who holds such a view makes a mockery of God and blasphemes God. Yet this is what was taught for such a long time in the Church. We were informed that we must keep on pestering God with our good works, prayers, fasts, and the like, until we obtained His grace. We did obtain grace, not by our works, but from God’s mercy.

In your life of faith, you certainly have to get busy and do something, but, as Christ informs us, everything we do must be done for the interests of our neighbor. The servant in the parable, we are told, “went out.” He “went out” in love. Faith leads men from people to God. Love leads them out to people. Our faith must break out and prove itself in action before our fellowmen. God does not need your works; He has enough in your faith. But He wants you to do works as fruits of faith, to demonstrate the reality of your faith before the whole world in works.

This servant (Matthew 18:23‒35) is an example or a picture of all who should serve their neighbor in faith. But what does he do? He does what most of us do. We imagine that we have faith, and in part this is true. We rejoice at having heard the Gospel, and we may even be able to talk a great deal about it. But only too few really live in accordance with the Gospel. There are even those in our midst who seem to become worse after hearing the Gospel.

SL.XI.1796,21‒24
AE. 79:255-265

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give us at all times a true and genuine faith, which proves itself in works of love to our neighbor and becomes ever stronger and more willing to walk the paths of your choosing, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 119:33‒40

With the Lord on my side, I do not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:6‒8

Because this servant (Matthew 18:23‒35) is humbled by the knowledge of his sins, the Word becomes a source of mighty consolation to him. The lord absolves him and forgives him his debt and punishment. Hereby we should note that the Gospel does not touch profligate hearts, nor those who are openly insolent in their wickedness, but only those whose conscience is terrified, whose sins oppress them, who would gladly get rid of them if they could. On such God has mercy. He grants them full remission.

In accepting the Word, this servant became God’s friend. If he had not accepted the Word, it would not have helped him; there would have been no remission. Hence, it is not enough for God to offer us the forgiveness of sins and to proclaim a jubilee year of grace; the Word must be accepted and believed.

If you believe the Word, you are free from your sins and all is simple. This is the first part of a Christian life which this Gospel and all others teach us. It consists basically in faith, by which alone we have dealings with God. In addition, however, we are shown here that the Gospel cannot be grasped unless conscience has been previously afflicted and is in distress.

SL.XI.1794,17
AE. 79:255-265

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Your assurance to us is that we have the full forgiveness of all our sins by Your grace alone through faith alone. Keep from us all trust in our own works and merits as we cling to Your grace alone, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: ROMANS 4:9‒12

If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. Romans 11:6

In his mercy, the lord in the parable of Matthew 18:23‒35 pities the wretched situation of the servant before him. He sets aside and gives up his rights and says no more about selling his servant “with his wife and children and all that he had.” He could certainly have insisted on his rights, declaring, “You have to pay up; I have my rights and have no intention of giving them up for your sake.” No one could have found fault with him on this score.

But he does not want to deal with his servant on the basis of rights. He exchanges rights for grace and has pity on his servant. He sets him free, together with his wife and children and all that he has, and forgives him his whole debt. This is also what God proclaims through the Gospel, saying to us, “He who believes shall not only have his debt forgiven but also the punishment he has merited.”

Works must never come into consideration here. Anyone who suggests that one can get rid of the guilt and punishment for sin through works has denied the Gospel. That God should have pity on you and that you should earn or merit His favor cannot be harmonized in any way. Paul’s argument is unanswerable, “If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6). If you pay what you owe, there is no need for His mercy. If you are the recipient of His mercy, you are not paying for it. Hence we must allow Him to initiate His dealings with us and to act quite alone; we must receive from Him and believe in Him. That is what the Gospel is all about, as we see also from this parable.

SL.XI.1794,16
AE. 79:255-265

PRAYER: As lost and condemned sinners, without any righteousness or merits of our own, O God, we have no other recourse but to throw ourselves on Your mercy and love. It is the glory of Your Gospel that it assures us that Your grace alone is our effective means of salvation, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.