Sermon and Video of Divine Service for 24th Sunday after Pentecost

Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer

24th Sunday after Pentecost  

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 

Hebrews 9:11-22 

Mark 12:28-37

 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

Jesus says to the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” This scribe that Jesus speaks to has just agreed with him about what is the most important commandment out of the 613 commandments that God gave to Moses.  When Jesus answered the question he began with the Shema, the Jewish confession of faith that is found in our first reading.  In the confession, “The Lord is One,” God reveals that there is only one God. There are no others. Unlike the pantheon of gods in Egypt, Caanan, Greece, and Rome. 

After the confession that the Lord is one, Jesus says the first commandment. The confession of the Lord God as One and the first commandment demand complete obedience to God. The Lord demands complete devotion through all the love we can muster with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We can never love God without also loving his creation, we love our neighbors too. Love of God and love of neighbor cannot and may not ever be separated from each other. The two go hand in hand. So, this is not two commandments but one. True observance of the first commandment implies fulfillment of the second commandment. 

There are other ways of answering the question, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Hence, the dispute. But, this is Jesus’ priority, and for our purposes, this is the only answer we can ever give, should we be asked. 

Jesus says to the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” The scribe is “close” because he agrees with Jesus. The scribe is also “close” because of his physical proximity to Jesus. But, he is not “in” the kingdom of God. This scribe does not yet approach Jesus with faith as the Lord.  While the Jesus that stands before him appears to only be a man, Jesus is also God. Jesus and the Father are one. 

The cross has not yet happened. The fullness of Jesus as God is revealed to the world when he is on the cross. But, at this point, the scribe is thinking only in terms of the old covenant. Those holding only to the old covenant stand outside the kingdom of God that Jesus represents.  

Those who are in the kingdom of God, are we who confess that Jesus is the new covenant. The new covenant begins with Jesus’ crucifixion. In the crucifixion, Jesus dies for the sake of the world. In the course of his suffering and death on the cross, the blood of Jesus is shed. His blood is poured out during his sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins of the world. He bleeds according to the brutal treatment he received during his Passion at the hands of the Roman soldiers.  His blood is shed when his feet and hands are nailed to the cross. He blood is shed when the spear pierces his side. 

Under the old covenant, the shedding of the blood of the animal sacrifice is what covers and takes away the sins of the priests and the people. The blood of the sacrificed sheep or goat is sprinkled first upon the priests, then upon the altar, so that the priests and the peoples’ sins are forgiven. It is not the burning of the animal, it is the shedding of the blood in the course of its sacrifice, that blots out the sins of the faithful. Hebrews uses a ritual analogy here to contrast the old and the new covenants. Whereas in the old covenant, the priests were sinners too, and a sacrifice had to be offered each day to cover the sins of both the priests and the people; Jesus is the perfect priest. He has no sin. He keeps the Law perfectly. He is one with the Father. In His life as the Incarnate Christ, He kept the first commandment perfectly. He loved his neighbors perfectly. Therefore, Jesus is the perfect sacrifice.  His blood is shed for the sake of the world upon the cross. He is sacrificed only once. His sacrifice covers the sins of the whole world. 

Through faith in Jesus as the Christ, who is the Son of God that is One with the Father, who keeps the law perfectly and who is sacrificed for us, so that we may receive the blessing of his forgiveness on account of his blood shed for us.  

Today, we have the privilege of receiving Jesus, his body and his blood, through rite of Holy Communion. In the bread and wine, we receive Christ and his benefits to us. Christ Jesus is given to us so that we may receive within ourselves the blessing of his sacrifice. His body is broken, and his blood is shed, for you. So that your sins are forgiven. So that when you have not loved the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and loved your neighbor as Jesus loved you, through faith in Him, you receive his forgiveness. 

Unlike the scribe who was close to the kingdom of God, we stand within the kingdom of God because we look upon Jesus with faith. We confess with our lips and believe in our hearts that Jesus is our Lord and that He is risen from the dead. We look upon Jesus with faith because we trust that His blood was shed for us and for our salvation. We live in hope that he will keep us in His kingdom forever.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹ equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.