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. The message from God’s Word for this 14th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Jeremiah 15:15-21, it’s entitled, “God’s Encouragement to Preachers,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. In the eyes of the world, things did not turn out well for Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. He suffered opposition, imprisonment, and eventually death because he was a preacher of God’s Word. We are often tempted to rejoice arrogantly that we don’t have to suffer the sort of miseries he experienced. But every faithful pastor has met the wrath of a hearer who was offended by some truth that he preached or practiced in his ministry. And every Christian has known the skepticism, the scorn, the dismissal that comes from taking a stand on some unpopular truth in God’s Word. As it turns out, Jeremiah’s prophecy is as fresh and relevant today as it’s ever been. Today also, faithful preaching and hearing of God’s Word attracts opposition and suffering but also delivers the precious promises of salvation in Jesus Christ.
3. Jeremiah complains of sufferings, and God answers. Jeremiah complained that the prophetic office was difficult and lonely. Jeremiah was made a prophet against his will (Jeremiah 1:6), preached an unpopular message to people who were hostile to God’s Word (Jeremiah 14:10), and suffered their hostility as a result (Jeremiah 15:15).
4. Jeremiah felt like a failure. His hearers did not believe him when he spoke for God (15:20). God did not listen to him when he tried to pray on behalf of the people (14:11; 15:1). Jeremiah was regarded as a curse in the land (15:10). This is what had been taking place in the context of Jeremiah 15. God has sent drought on Judah for her sins, as Jer 14:1–6 says, and Jeremiah the prophet had attempted to pray to God for them (14:7–9, 13, 19–22). But God refused to relent and commanded Jeremiah not to pray for the people (14:10–11, 14–18; 15:1–9). Jeremiah, in dark despair at God’s refusal, lamented his birth and the contempt that the people have for him (15:10). God’s reply was to repeat his judgment on Judah (15:11–14).
5. Jeremiah complained that he bore reproach on account of God’s Word (Jer. 15:15). He was filled with anger and sharp pain (Jer. 15:17–18). In his despair, he even accused God of deceit and unfaithfulness (15:18). But, God responded to Jeremiah’s complaint with a call to repentance and with Gospel promises. God called Jeremiah to repent of his doubt: “If you turn and I turn you, you shall stand before me” (Jer. 15:19; cf. 31:18). God gave him joy in his words (Jer. 15:16), promising salvation, deliverance, redemption (Jer. 15:20–21). God promised to establish and bless Jeremiah in his vocation and office (Jer. 15:19–21).
6. Christian preachers and hearers often experience the prophet’s troubles, but they also receive his promises. In fact, there was a time in the early 1530s that Pastor Martin Luther became so discouraged at the lack of interest and unresponsiveness of the people of Wittenberg that he stopped preaching to them. He had endured opposition from the pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, other reformers, and even theologians from his own circle, but the faithlessness of his congregation was just too much. He would stop preaching. It seems he had fallen far from that big day before the Holy Roman Emperor at Worms when he had defied the threats and demands of the Emperor, bound his conscience to the Word of God, and refused to recant his theological writings.
7. Luther was suffering what every preacher and every faithful hearer of the Gospel suffers. Where was the saving power of God’s Word? Why did the Gospel meet so much resistance? Why did his office of preacher give him such heartache and provoke such opposition? We know that by God’s grace, Luther returned to the pulpit. His sermons and lectures from those discouraging days continue to be a comforting and enlightening gift of God to the Church almost 500 years later. Pastor Luther illustrated in his ministry the discouragement and doubt suffered by Jeremiah the prophet of old (Jer 15:15–21), and he also portrayed for us the great promises and blessings given to every faithful preacher and hearer of God’s Word.
8. Christian preachers can identify with Jeremiah, both in their sins and doubts, and also in failures. Preachers may struggle with the awareness of their own shortcomings, failures, and sins. They may sometimes be plagued with doubt and despair. The Word of God may seem to receive little success, and the preacher’s prayers may seem to fall to the ground unheard.
9.
Christian
hearers also share in the reproach of the Gospel. As hearers, they may share in
the struggles of their pastors and even suffer the same persecution. 1 Pet
4:12–19 says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes
upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But
rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and
be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ,
you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let
none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet
if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify
God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God;
and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey
the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer
according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing
good.” Christian
congregations and their preachers sometimes complain to God and question his
faithfulness. But, God calls us to
repentance, as he did Jeremiah. He turns us so that we are turned away from sin
and unbelief and now look to him for grace and mercy.
10. God gives us great and precious promises through his Word. He promises to make us stand before God. He makes the ministry of the Gospel a fortified and secure city for us, which is able to withstand the attacks of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. He bestows salvation, deliverance, and redemption to all who believe his Word.
11. In Jeremiah’s words we recognize the suffering of Christ and the salvation he died to give us. Christ himself would one day bear our reproach (Jer. 15:15), be filled with indignation at our disregard of God’s Word (Jer. 15:17), and suffer our perpetual pain and incurable wound (Jer. 15:18). His blood is our full redemption price. His death on the cross is our deliverance. His resurrection is our salvation and justification.
12. Preachers of the Gospel share in the sufferings of Christ, bearing the cross of Christ in the vocation of the Holy Ministry. St. Paul says in Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” But in this ministry, the promises given to Jeremiah are delivered to preacher and hearer alike, and Christ is revealed to give mercy to those who suffer for his sake. All Christians bear the cross (Mt 16:24) for the sake of Christ. But where the cross of Christ is willingly borne and the precious Gospel of Jesus’ cross is preached and heard and believed, there the Church of Christ stands before God (Jer. 15:19) and overcomes all her oppressors (Jer. 15:20–21).
13. Jeremiah’s example and words direct us back to the faithful preaching of the Word of God, where Christ is revealed and salvation is delivered. There we find ourselves in a strong and secure city, where we live secure in God’s eternal forgiveness and love. Amen. The peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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