Judica

Jesse Jacobsen

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Last modified: (Sat Mar 12 17:37:07 2005)

God's promises all turn upon one Person

Our god is unique among all gods. He is one god, but three persons. The word Trinity was coined just to describe Him. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each a different person, each equally and fully God. This is how He describes Himself.

We are welcome to pray to God or to God the Father or to God to Son or to God the Holy Spirit. But some people have been troubled that our teaching and preaching tends to dwell upon God the Son more than the Father or the Holy Spirit. Do we show favoritism? Do we believe in the Son more than the Father or the Spirit? No, we believe in the Trinity. We confess in the Athanasian Creed, found on p. 29 in the Hymnary: ``the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one; the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.'' If we hear more about God the Son, it's because that's how God speaks to us Himself.

God the Son is Jesus Christ. He was conceived of the virgin Mary, just as God had told through the prophet Isaiah. Only God the Son became a man in Mary's womb. It was the Son who was born of Mary nine months later at Christmas. It was the Son of God who was baptized at the Jordan River. It was the Son of God who made atonement for the world by his own death on a cross. And it is the Son who has risen bodily from the grave and rules all things.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, because they were written about Him. He is returning soon to fulfill all things. The entire Bible is about Jesus. We see that in today's text. God's promises all turn upon one person. His Church is ruled by a certain King. Our king provides certain righteousness.

Jeremiah 33:14--18

`Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, `that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

`In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David
A Branch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.'

For thus says the LORD: `David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.'

(Because) His Church is ruled by a certain King.

God's promises all turn upon one person: Jesus the Christ. He is at the center. He is the King ruling God's kingdom of grace. In other words, Jesus rules his Church. That's exactly what our text is saying, though it speaks of the Church using names from Jeremiah's day instead of our day.

God's prophet writes, `` 'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, `that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.' '' At that time, God's chosen people were recognizable as two nations in the world: Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. But today, God's people are a single, invisible nation. When we read what God says in the Old Testament about the children of Israel, sometimes He was speaking to them alone, but sometimes He was also speaking to his people from all ages: the Church.

In the same way, God speaks about Jesus with names from Jeremiah's day instead of our day. Our text says, ``In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness.'' Jesus is called a branch. In today's Old Testament lesson we heard Him called Immanuel. These names were given Him long before He was born, though we know Him best by other names. The rest of our text is all about that Branch --- Jesus --- and what He brings.

Now, we should be careful not to overlook an important fact about Jesus and his Church. Jesus is David's son, which means that He is heir to a throne, the throne of Israel. More than an heir, Jesus is the rightful king. Our text says, ``David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.'' That's because the reign of Jesus lasts forever. He is the last, the ultimate heir to the throne, ``and He shall reign forever and ever.''

That's all well and good, but what is his kingdom? For starters, Jesus created all things, together with his Father and the Holy Spirit. All created things are in his kingdom of power, and He rules them by a mighty arm and by his law. That's not the kingdom our text is about. It says ``He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely.'' Judah and Jerusalem are Old Testament names for God's Church. I don't mean this particular congregation or our Evangelical Lutheran Synod, but the sum of all believers in Jesus Christ. To us, it's invisible, but God knows who we are.

When we finally leave this world, we will enter the New Jerusalem, the Church Triumphant. Certainly, Jesus is King there too, and He causes the saints there to dwell safely. But our text says, ``He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.'' That means Jesus reigns over his Church even here on earth. He is our King, causing us to be saved and to dwell safely.

We call this his kingdom of grace, where His reign is characterized by forgiveness, and where He rules by virtue of his atoning death and victorious resurrection. It's an odd kingdom, invisible to the world. Here on earth, we sometimes call it the kingdom of the right, while the earthly powers and authorities operate in the kingdom of the left. In the left kingdom, God establishes governments and law enforcement, ruling through Law and Might. Meanwhile in the kingdom of Grace, his power is pure Gospel. There his ministers do not rule or make laws, but simply speak Jesus' Word and administer his sacraments. Their task is to bring the peace of Jesus Christ to Judah, and his forgiveness to Jerusalem. It's an entirely different kind of kingdom, meant for our salvation.

Sometimes we confuse the two kingdoms. Sometimes we think that Jesus' Church is manipulated by human power, or that it should be governed as a democracy, or that its authority is something other than the Word of God. This confusion leads to strife and bitterness in the church, and fails to acknowledge our true Lord and Master. If we find ourselves confused this way, we should repent and acknowledge our King. He is gracious and ready to forgive. It's his forgiveness in Word and Sacrament that makes his Church what it ought to be, and strengthens us to live as his subjects. Jesus is the proper King for His Church, because He is the one whose provides the forgiveness we need.

(Because) Our King provides certain righteousness.

Our second main point this morning is this: Our King provides certain righteousness. There is one head and King of the Church, and we don't want any other, because with Jesus Christ we are certain of our righteousness before God. As an heir of David, Jesus is called ``A Branch of righteousness.'' This means that He is a righteous branch in David's family tree. But his righteousness means even more than that.

The prophecy says, ``He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.'' Judgment we can understand, because great kings often make judgments. But how does Jesus execute righteousness? It's in the next verse: by saving Judah, and providing a safe place for Jerusalem --- even though they had no righteousness of their own. Our King not only is righteous, but He gives his righteousness to His people. He declares this judgment: ``My people have sinned against Me, but I have paid for their guilt in my own blood. Therefore, I declare them to be righteous from this time forth.'' It's a fine thing to have a righteous king. But it's so much better that our righteous King exchanges His righteousness for our guilt. In this way He has saved Judah, and Jerusalem dwells in safety.

We have deep comfort, then, whenever we find that we have rebelled against our righteous King. He is merciful and just at the same time, so that our rebellions are covered by his own blood. Our debts are paid, because He gave his own life in payment. The result is that we have a new name. The Church's name is: ``The LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS''

What a strange name for us to carry! It sounds like God's name. But Jesus directed His Church to baptize with water, using God's name. So He places his own name upon us, and we carry it always. We are called Christians because Christ our King has made us his own. We are present-day Jerusalem, and the name we carry is a confession of faith in what God has said to us: ``The LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.''

Sometimes we assume that this is really no big deal. Lots of people we know seem to believe in God. Some even know the name Jesus. Isn't it arrogant to think that the righteousness of Jesus is something so special? Aren't there other churches in town --- churches where the uplifted worshippers leave every service knowing that they have received exactly what they came for? Then how can we think ourselves any better? How can we claim that we have something so special?

The answer lies in our focus. Jesus is at the center. He is our gracious King, our Branch of righteousness. We are not the fulfillment of all of God's promises; He is. This is not my church. It's not your church. It's not our church. It belongs to Jesus, because the Holy Spirit has built it upon the Gospel of Christ, and He purchased it with his precious life. If we were the focus, then we could always expect what we want to hear, and we wouldn't have to hear a word about the cross. We could dispense with hard teachings like closed communion and rule the church any way we like, if we were the focus.

It's tempting, isn't it? And not surprising if there are congregations that think this way. But whenever we make ourselves the focus, then our story is no longer about Jesus. God's promises all turn upon Him. Without Jesus, we lose those promises. We lose our certainty of forgiveness and salvation. With Him at the center, all things are right, and He brings us to the center with Him, where we share in his righteousness. Without Him at the center, all things are wrong: sin and death rule over us, we cannot be sure about heaven, and Jerusalem falls to pieces.

But we are blessed to be a part of the true Judah and Jerusalem, to be ruled by a certain King, a King who provides certain righteousness. He sits forever on David's throne, and He has made atonement forever. So we gather to hear his Word, and His Word we keep in our hearts every day. We receive his sacraments, believing that through them, Jesus truly provides forgiveness of sins and righteousness before God. And being certain of our Savior, we want all our neighbors to have the same certainty. You and I don't deserve such a merciful Savior and King, so how can we withhold Him from those who need Him as much as we do?

He hears our prayers of repentance for all the times that we have complained and grumbled against Him like the stiff-necked Israelites of old. He is ready to hear and forgive, so let us also approach Him with full confidence, to receive his absolution. This is the good thing He still performs for us today: He has mercy upon us. We can be certain of it. Thanks be to God that He is our King, so that all God's promises turn upon Him. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.