“Jesus is God’s Right Hand Man” Hebrews 10.11-25 Pentecost 25B, Nov. ’15

1.       Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The message from God’s Word today is taken from Hebrews 10:11-25.  Here we see that, “Jesus Is God’s Right-Hand Man.”  He has made the one-time sacrifice for our sins. (vv. 11–14) and He has gained our complete forgiveness. (vv. 15–18) Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.       Many of us in the modern world do our work sitting down. Accountants and lawyers do much of their work sitting down. Business people spend long hours at their desks. Many shopkeepers sit at a cash register. When we stand up, it’s a sign that work is over for the moment and we’re off to do something else.  For much of the world, though, and for much of history, the act of sitting down meant that you had finished work, not that you were beginning it. In a world where most working people labored in the fields or in energetic crafts like building, only a few sat down. Most people stood to work and sat to rest. That’s the contrast which Hebrews is making here between the priests who (in his day) still served under the old covenant, offering regular sacrifices in the Temple, and the position Jesus has now taken after completing his work. They all stand daily at their duties (verse 11), but Jesus has finished his work, and now sits at God’s right hand (verse 12). He doesn’t have to offer his sacrifice anymore; he’s done it, and it’s complete.  Jesus is God’s right hand man.

3.       Hebrews 10:11–25 says, “11 Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 15And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  18Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

            4.  As I said before, in the Old Testament Israel’s priests stood constantly at work bringing the same sacrifices and yet never removing sin. In sharp contrast, Jesus our High Priest “offered for all time one sacrifice for sins” and with that one sacrifice totally effective “sat down at the right hand of God.” In heaven in all glory and honor, Jesus our High Priest, whose perfect sacrifice was laid on the altar of the cross, now points to that completed sacrifice as the basis for his pleading for us when we sin. Romans 8:34 shows the sequence, “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” With the ascended Savior as our lawyer, our case in heaven’s court is eternally secure.  Jesus is God’s right hand man speaking to God the Father for you and for me.

5.        Let Jesus enemies, though, be warned. The Lord is waiting for the time when all who oppose him will be “made his footstool.” On that Last Day, as described in Philippians 2:10, 11, every knee will bow before him and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. Who would want to stand at that day among his enemies, quaking with fear because of his splendor and because of the horrible awareness of having rejected the only Savior?

      6.       The author of Hebrews reminds us, “By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” In this verse it is the thought of man being brought to the completeness that God had in mind for him. Peace and pardon, harmony and heaven were God’s goal for man. The author of Hebrews tells us that we as Christians have been brought to this blessed goal through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

7.       The Church Year is more than just 52 Sundays. It’s the time during which we speak the Word of God to one another. It’s God’s action in and through that Word.  It’s God telling us His will, His forgiveness, His power, and His life. Every worship service is a call to specific action and a power to carry God’s will out. We still have our selfish nature that restrains us from loving God and our neighbors as we should. This results in a guilty conscience that persuades us to run from God. And if we come into His presence with other folks, we think we must wear a mask to cover our real selves. Such phoniness only adds to our guilt.

8.       But, because of Jesus, God’s right hand man, we can come before our heavenly Father just as we are.  We don’t need a mask. Jesus made the once-for-all-time sacrifice for our sins. He died as the guilty you, the guilty me. He felt the harsh sting of God’s justice, which is hell, when He was forsaken by His Father. Then the perfect One went into the holy presence, and there, as our sacrifice, He took our part forever.

9.       God, in Christ, is our Savior who has sprinkled our hearts clean from an evil conscience. He has fully atoned for our sins. We can boldly come to Him in worship, in confession and prayer, without any false front. In full assurance of faith, He forgives us and helps in every need.

10.   To strengthen our confession of the sure hope we have in Christ we have this promise, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more” (Hebrews 10:17). God does not let go. He does not give up on us. He stays with us in our weaknesses and failures. We have His Word and the pledges of His sacraments for this.

11.   Our power for bold, steady confession comes from our faithful Lord, since He loves us with a love that will not let us go. There is no longer a sacrifice for sin. To say no to the perfect sacrifice means that we must bear our sins and their judgment. Therefore, to talk about another Church Year of God’s grace in Christ, we are talking about the most crucial thing in our lives.  That Jesus is God’s right hand man in whom we have redemption by His blood.  It’s only in Him that we can come to the Father and have the assurance of eternal life. May God help us to respond to His wonderful grace always with faith and a new life.  Amen.

“A Sacrifice of Staggering Proportions” Mark 12.38-44, Pentecost 24B, Nov. ‘15

1.                  Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  Here in Mark 12 Jesus uses the sacrifice of a widow to illustrate for His disciples the character of absolute dependence on God. In our text this morning we see a, “A Sacrifice of Staggering Proportions.” It’s a sacrifice given in anticipation of an even greater Sacrifice (vv. 41, 42) and commended by our Lord Jesus (vv. 43, 44).  Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                  Budgets, deficits, and spending are a large part of congregational life. In addition, as individual families, we have to make decisions about how we handle what God has given us. Today’s text is a very familiar story. It’s come to be known as “The Widow’s Mite.” But, this text isn’t just about giving or contributing to the Lord’s work. This word from God teaches us the proper perspective on living as God’s people.  Jesus shows us 2 very different categories of people. He shows us that this poor widow gave more than either the scribes or people of great wealth. Her gift was truly a sacrifice of staggering proportion because the Lord sees what’s in our hearts, not our gifts.

3.                  Some things everyone knows about the story of the widow’s mite. It’s really very simple, Mark 12:41-44 says: “And [Jesus] sat down opposite the [temple] treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on’ ” (vv 41–44).

4.                  Jesus sits down in the temple and can see people put in their offerings. Offerings weren’t handled the way we do today, at a specific moment in the worship service. Instead, there were 13 containers in the courtyard of the temple. They looked a lot like toll baskets on some of our freeways that aren’t free. Worshipers would walk up and drop in their coins. They had no paper money, just copper or silver or gold. Often, people would sit around and watch—and give an appropriate reaction when a particularly shiny offering was made. As Jesus sat there that day, there were plenty of those offerings, probably being noticed by the people.

5.                  Then along comes a poor widow with a couple of little coins. These were the smallest coins in circulation, in today’s money, a fraction of a cent. But Jesus calls his disciples and tells them her offering was the greatest of all. Other guys gave more in terms of their wealth, but this widow gave all she had to live on.  It was a sacrifice of staggering proportion. We all know the story, don’t we?

6.                  All of you probably also recognize that this story teaches proportional giving. Jesus said the rich had given out of their abundance. They made a lot, and they gave a lot. But the woman gave all she had, 100 percent. The total dollars couldn’t compare, but percentage-wise, her gift was tops.

7.                  Proportional, or percentage, giving is always the way God prescribed. Old Testament Israel was required to give 10 percent of their crops or whatever form of income they received. The tithe was God’s system of percentage giving. One reason God prescribed percentage giving is that it works at any income level. Some folks say, “If I had a big income, I’d give a tithe, 10 percent, but my income is small.” The nice thing about percentage giving is that it grows or shrinks with the paycheck. It works for everybody. Here in the New Testament, in our text, God still speaks about percentage giving, but he doesn’t demand a particular percentage. We can give more or less than 10 percent, right?

8.                  Right. But offerings should still reflect the way we’ve been blessed. How do our financial blessings compare with those of the widow in our text? More important, how have we been blessed spiritually compared to those Old Testament people who had to give 10 percent? They were blessed with the promise of a Savior to come someday. We’re blessed with the certainty that the promise has been fulfilled. The Savior, Jesus Christ, has come. We know he died and rose from the dead for us, that he has taken away sins. Could we really consider giving a lesser proportion of our income than people who only looked ahead for the promise? The story of the widow’s mite teaches us that percentage giving is alive and well and God’s plan also for us in the New Testament. You all knew that too, didn’t you? Okay.

9.                  Now something you may not know about the story of the widow’s mite: It isn’t primarily a story about proportional giving. It isn’t primarily a story about giving at all. All those rich guys putting money into the treasury—undoubtedly they were giving a hefty percentage. 10 percent was commanded; you can be sure anyone giving for show would exceed that! But someone could even give 100 percent and not be commended by the Lord. If we think giving gets us in good with God, then no percentage is good. The story of the widow’s mite is not primarily about giving.

10.              It’s primarily a story about faith. Faith is recognizing what God has done for us in the past and believing what he will continue to do for us in the future. The widow in our text had so little of everything except faith. She’d lost her husband, which in those days meant she’d lost her source of income. But, somehow this woman believed God had done right by her and trusted that he would continue to do so in the future.

11.              Christian giving is always a matter of faith. Do we recognize what God has done for us in the past? Do we trust he’ll be there for our future? God has given us all we have. God has given us a Savior. Do we believe he’ll continue to provide and save in the future? If we believe as the widow did, our giving will be in substantial proportion too. Christian giving is primarily a question of faith, isn’t it? The widow in our text trusted totally.

12.              Have you ever asked yourself, “What happened to the widow after she gave?” We like to think we know: that Jesus and the disciples took her under their wing. Maybe she became part of their group. Unlikely. The women mentioned as following Jesus were women of means; they actually provided for Jesus. Surely Jesus didn’t walk away without helping that day, but what about future days? Did she starve? Maybe. It’s absolutely possible. We’d like to say, “No way! God would feed her!” But we don’t know that.

13.              It’s no accident that Mark doesn’t tell us. If he did, it would ruin the story. If he did give us some earthly happy ending, we might think the point is that if we do what God wants, he’ll take care of us. If we tithe, our income will go up next year. If we pledge, God will be sure we don’t lose our jobs. If I obey God, he’ll care for me. God cares for us because he loves us, not because we make a deal with him.

14.              Mark fully intends to leave us in uncertainty about what happened to the widow, because our Christian offerings are always to be given in the face of uncertainty.  They’re always to be an exercise in faith. We don’t know about our jobs next year. We don’t know the amount of unexpected bills we might have to pay. Losing your job is a possibility. These things are always possible, because God doesn’t promise that kind of security.

15.              What we do have is a far greater security.  The sacrifice of staggering proportion in our Savior Jesus Christ. Our Epistle from Hebrews reminds us, “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time . . . to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb 9:28). Here’s something that’s never uncertain. Christ is coming back for us. Heaven is one certainty every Christian can hold on to. Jesus has secured it for us. His death and resurrection has made it certain for everyone who believes. And if we mattered to God that much, we can also be certain that he will care for us every day in the meantime.

16.              This was the faith of the woman. Not that she’d have a meal tomorrow. She really didn’t know where her next meal was coming from. Not faith in the next meal, but faith that God would take care of her. Maybe a well-to-do widower would walk into her life tomorrow. Maybe friends would take her in. We don’t know the whole story, and she couldn’t possibly know it. She was giving into uncertainty, wasn’t she? Maybe she would starve, but if so, it would be the culmination of what she’d really been trusting all along: God’s provision, security, that would be perfect, complete, that would never end when God would take her to her eternal home in heaven that He has prepared for her in her Savior Jesus Christ.

17.              You know, the woman of great faith in our text probably didn’t realize that the one she was trusting was sitting so near her that day. We do know the one we trust is sitting right here beside us.  He is with us with His Holy Word and Sacraments. We know that Jesus sympathizes with our struggle for our daily bread, our daily needs. He understands financial uncertainty. His whole ministry was spent traveling, living day to day by the good graces of others. Jesus understands our struggles against doubt, our fear about really committing our resources to God. He was tempted just as we are—but without ever giving in! He is here with us today, and we can be certain he’ll be with us in the future.  Amen.