Sermon Text for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the reading from Isaiah 45, did any of you raise a questioning eyebrow when you saw the word “anointed” connected to the name of “Cyrus?” It is a surprising connection. In the Old Testament, the word “anointed” is someone that is designated by God for a special, unique purpose. When Saul and David were selected to be the first and second kings of Israel, their selection was announced and confirmed by the anointing of oil by the priest Samuel. God compelled Samuel, a recognized man of God to anoint them.
One of the titles that we use to speak of Jesus, the Son of God, is the word Messiah. Messiah literally means “anointed one.” A messiah is a man that is chosen by God for a specific purpose. The specific purpose always involves leadership of one kind or another. Saul and David are selected to be kings of God’s people. Jesus is anointed to save the world through His sacrificial death on the cross and his resurrection on the third day. Jesus is the king of God’s kingdom. His kingdom goes beyond geographical boundaries. Jesus is a spiritual leader and his kingdom is everlasting.
Isaiah prophecies that Cyrus is God’s anointed. “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped…” Cyrus is not a Hebrew. Cyrus is a Persian. He does not confess to know or follow the one true God who established His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His gods are Persian gods. Yet God declares that Cyrus is His anointed. Why does God do this?
Isaiah prophesied from 740-681 BC from Israel. He lived through the lean years that were created by the siege of the Assyrians. From Jerusalem, he learned of the horror of the northern kingdoms, then called Israel, falling to Assyria in 722 BC. Isaiah prophesied to Jerusalem and Judah that God’s judgment was coming upon them too. The northern kingdom was defeated and exiled into Assyria because of the Lord God’s judgment against them. They would not turn away from their idols and sinful lives. They refused the words of the prophets that were sent to them. They refused to repent. God rendered judgment against them through the Assyrians.
One of the contributions that Martin Luther of the 16th century made to biblical theology is the notion of Deus absconditus which in English means the hidden God. Luther borrowed that choice of words from the Latin rendering of Isaiah 45:15: “Truly, you are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior…” Luther argued on the basis of the Biblical witness that God brings judgment and destruction by using other nations, other military forces. He is hidden from those who work his will in the world. They do not know that He is using them for His own purposes. They do not realize that their bright idea is really God’s.
Isaiah prophecies from 740 to 681 BC. He spoke God’s Word of Law to the leadership in the palace and the Temple. He spoke God’s critical Word to the ordinary citizens of Jerusalem and Judah. He called them on their sinful behavior, the abuse of their wealth, the falseness of their own sense of political sovereignty. He accused them of not being sincere in their repentance when they prayed and sacrificed to God. God looked into their hearts and saw deviousness, not devotion. He saw lukewarmness and cold calculation, not faith and obedience that reflects the meaning of the first commandment to fear, love, and trust in God above anything else.
As a consequence, Isaiah and other prophets warned that God’s anger was kindling against them. Judgment and punishment is coming unless they repent and return to the LORD. Well, there was no long-lasting change of heart, attitude, or behavior. Judgment came to Jerusalem in 587 BC, a hundred years after the northern kingdoms were decimated. King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army were God’s unwitting agents against Judah and Jerusalem. God was hidden from them. But, they did God’s bidding. Nebuchadnezzar thought He was expanding his empire when in fact the King of the universe was using them for His own purposes.
When God speaks to His people with Law, he also includes a Word of Promise, a Word of Gospel Hope. The working out of that Gospel promise can come in surprising forms. God’s punishment of destruction and exile against Judah and Jerusalem was only going to last 70 years. At the end of 70 years, God would provide a way for God’s chosen people to return to the Promised Land.
From two centuries before the events occur, God speaks through Isaiah and names the man who will conquer the Babylonians and allow God’s Chosen to return to their homeland. Cyrus is God’s anointed. “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him …”
Cyrus the Persian is named by God as His anointed one to do his work in the world. In 539 BC Cyrus and his Persian army defeated Babylon. The time of Persian dominance began. They had very different policies than the Babylonians. All exiled slaves were free to return to their homelands. The people God chosen to produce the Savior of the world returned to the region of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. God was hidden from Cyrus, yet Cyrus fulfilled God’s will. The path was laid again to make ready for the coming savior we know as Jesus of Nazareth, who dies on the cross for the sins of the world, that all who have faith in him, be reconciled to God through the forgiveness of their sins, on account of Christ.
Fast forward to AD 33 Jerusalem, mere days before Jesus begins his time of great suffering for you and me. Jesus is approached by smart young men to ask Jesus a question. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Undoubtably, a trick question to get Jesus in trouble with the Roman authorities. He provides a clever answer that affirms the legitimacy of the government. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”
The government is the left hand of God at work in the world. God maintains order among peoples through government. Regardless of whether a government is good or bad, for the people, of the people, or against the people, when God wills it, God’s purposes are accomplished. The leaders making the decisions may not realize it, but God works through them, even though He is hidden from them. As it turns out, God used the brutal machinery of the Roman government and army to facilitate God’s great act of mercy for the whole world. Jesus, God’s own Son, fully human, fully divine, sinless before His Father, is executed by Roman soldiers. Where many see a criminal receiving justice, people with Holy Spirit infused faith, see God’s anointed. Our faith sees the truth that is hidden from those without faith. The righteous one dies on our behalf. He bears our sins, our failures, upon Himself. He sacrifices His life for us so that we can be free of sin’s consequences. On account of Christ Jesus, we live eternally with Him in paradise. What is hidden is revealed by faith in Christ Jesus.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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