It is now the First Sunday in Lent, and, as has long been the church’s custom, there is a move from hearing of the manifestations of the Divine in Christ throughout the Epiphany season to a focus on the humanity of Christ. The First Sunday in Lent, in particular, finds Jesus moving from His Baptism, at which is proclaimed to Him, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased,” to the wilderness, having been led there by the Holy Spirit. And, just as He was Baptized for you, He is now going to the wilderness for you. Having been joined to you in Baptism and having had all of that sin washed onto Him, He now goes into the wilderness to be faced with temptations like (and very much unlike) humanity always faces.

The image of the scapegoat is brought to mind here. In Leviticus 16 is prescribed the manner in which the sin of the people is atoned for. Two goats are brought to the high priest; one is sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the people and various instruments in and around the temple so as to make atonement for the people. Then the priest, “[lays] both his hands on the head of the live goat, and [confesses] over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.” (Leviticus 16:21) Likewise, Jesus, having just bathed in the sin-filthy waters of the Jordan is led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

There, in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for 40 days. The self-disciplined practice of fasting during Lent (be it the denial of some pleasurable thing, such as sweets or some entertaining activity, or a full-fledged fast) hearkens back to this 40-day fast of Jesus. The season of Lent is 40 days (not counting Sundays) also because of Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness when He was tempted.

Now, go without food for any length of time, and food starts looking better and better the longer you go. Regardless of the pains of hunger, food becomes a temptation to those who deny themselves food. The same goes for any kind of less-strict fast. Try spending 40 days (or 46 if you’re going to count Sundays) without cake or cookies or ice cream or candy—the first day you’ll be fine…probably even the second and third, too; by the fourth day, however, and certainly by the fifth day you’ll have likely developed a craving for cake or cookies or ice cream or candy. Spend a little time without the internet or television, if you’re used to using these things regularly, and you’ll quickly find yourself missing something and wanting it back.

Now, while the consumption of cake or cookies or ice cream or candy—in moderation of course—is not sinful, the breaking of such a self-discipline is a symptom of the sinfulness that pervades all that you are and do. Similarly, proper use of the internet and television is not sinful, but to fast from these for a set period of time and then to use them in that set period of time is a symptom of the sinfulness that pervades all that you are and do. It’s not a sin to break any self-imposed fast, but it proves that you do not live without sin.

Not Jesus Christ, however.

He was in the wilderness for 40 days, and St. Luke wrote, “[H]e ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.” It would normally go without saying that after eating nothing for 40 days, Jesus would be hungry, but the point Luke was making is that Jesus fasted fully in His human nature, and that after 40 days, He, like any person would be, was deliriously hungry. So, what did Satan, that Great Tempter do? “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” “Go ahead, Jesus. You’re the Son of God…You are God. You have the power to do anything. I dare you to turn this stone into bread.”

Now, recall that was merely 40 days ago that the voice of God from heaven told Jesus, “You are my beloved Son.” But, the human mind without food for 40 days works in extra-mysterious ways. However, the human mind without food for 40 days and without sin still knows what to do: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

The passage from Deuteronomy 8 continues, “but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3) Life is not found only in the bread that you eat; that is, the bread you make for yourselves to eat. That bread is eaten for a time, and you still die. However, life is found in the One Who is the Bread of Life, for He is the very Word of God that proceeds from His mouth, in the flesh made manifest.

No, Jesus did not command the stone to be turned into bread. The Word doesn’t work that way. To do that, the Word would destroy the stone. The Word creates, and what He creates He does not destroy…at least, not before the end.

Now, you might imagine that Satan was a little dejected here. So, the Great Deceiver tried another angle. “And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’” Did you catch that little deception? “I can give all of this to you, because it has been delivered to me. Go ahead, I dare you.” Satan would not have this power had it not been given to him, and as it is declared in Scripture, specifically in Job and Revelation, this power is given to him by God. So, He tries to tempt the One who gave him this power and authority by giving Him this power and authority back.

Now, any man after the fall would jump at the chance to reign in all power and authority for Himself. Things would finally get done and be done correctly, at least in the way that he or she sees it. With one flick of the wrist, they could bring an end to world hunger, cause all wars to cease, heal all diseases…bring about a utopia as they see utopia. And all of this for one simple act of worship? “Hey, I can get by with it this one time; after all, I’ll have the power and authority to correct it afterwards,” one could easily think. “If it could all be done so simply, what need is there of Jesus and the cross? What need is there of God? I can do it all myself, and the only cost is one simple bow of the knee to Satan.”

And, there-in is the point. If Satan could have gotten Jesus to worship Him, then he would have saved his own hide. If Jesus accepted Satan’s offer of power and authority for one simple act of worship, then He wouldn’t have to have gone to the cross where He would ultimately crush and defeat Satan. In the process, He who bows the knee to Satan denies God Who created him (or, in Jesus’ case, begot Him) and orders all things for his good, creating an attitude of thanklessness: “Who needs God?”

Not Jesus Christ, however. His response? “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” The sinless response to this temptation to spite and replace God with the self is taken from Deuteronomy 6 and 1 Samuel 7. Being mindful of God Who created you and orders all things for your good (and redeemed you) is to thank Him, worship Him only, and serve Him only.

Further dejected, Satan then turned the tables on Jesus. To this point, Jesus had responded to Satan’s temptation with the Word of God; so, Satan responded in kind.

This is the oldest trick in Satan’s book. He will take the Word of God and twist it to suit his purposes. He did this with Eve in the Garden when He asked, “Did God really say…?” He did it here with Jesus, “If you are the Son of God…” “Go ahead, I dare you; throw yourself down from here and see if God’s angels will catch you.”

God tells you to trust Him in His Word. Satan twists that Word and tells you to make Him prove it. “Did God really say you would die if you ate of the fruit? Make Him prove it; take some and eat—you won’t die.” “Did God really say that Baptism saves you? Make Him prove it; you’ve sinned since.” “Did God really say the bread is His Body? Did God really say the wine is His Blood? Make Him prove it; it doesn’t taste like flesh and blood, does it?”

Satan lays some pretty clever snares, doesn’t He?

• Adam and Eve did eat some of the fruit that they were forbidden to eat, and wouldn’t you know it, they didn’t die right on the spot. Their immediate thought might have been that God had lied to them.
• And, you certainly have and continue to sin long after your Baptisms; and sin, as you are taught, is what separates you from God—what separates you from salvation. In the history of the church, many would delay Baptism until they were near death because they didn’t want their post-Baptismal sins to deny them salvation—they had succumbed to the doubt that Satan had cast about that Word of God in 1 Peter 3:21, where it is written, “Baptism…now saves you…”
• How many Christian denominations claim that the Sacrament of the Altar is merely symbolic? “When Jesus said, ‘This is…,’” He meant, ‘This represents…’” What a crafty liar Satan is that He would cause one to doubt Jesus’ words (even put words in His mouth!) because fallen logic says that since the bread doesn’t taste like flesh and the wine doesn’t taste like blood, then they must be representative.

And you are quick to believe his lies because they are crafty and logical. Old Adam likes logic. It makes him feel good. It makes him feel accomplished. It makes him feel smart. It makes him feel on par with God. “Hey, maybe Satan and God agree on this point, then I can, too.”

Not Jesus Christ, however. In keeping with His pattern, He responded with the Word of God: “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” The sinless response is taken from Deuteronomy 6. God’s Word says it and God has given you faith to believe it; therefore, there is no need to doubt it.

• When God said, “You shall surely die,” He kept that promise and condemned father Adam and mother Eve and all their seed (that’s you and me) to death—a slow, painful death of toil and labor and sin. But, He also promised the way out, for from the woman will come One who will crush the head of the serpent. Ironic that the next verse in Psalm 91, which Satan quoted, says as much: “You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” (Psalm 91:13)
• • When God said, “Baptism now saves you,” He meant it, from that moment on. And because of that Baptism, through the work of God’s Law, you see your sin, confess it, and receive forgiveness through God-given faith, given in the waters of Holy Baptism, seeing the Savior through the work of the Gospel.
• When God said, “This is…,” He meant “is” “‘Is’ means ‘is’,” Luther argued against Huldrych Zwingli, one of those “reformers” who argued that Jesus meant “represents” instead of “is.” By faith, you believe the bread is the Body and the wine is the Blood, fully flesh and blood, though outwardly they taste like (and still remain) bread and wine.

Listen to Jesus’ response once more. “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Jesus said to Satan, “the Lord your God.” Yes, Satan’s Lord and God is the same as your Lord and God, for He is the Lord and God of all. Luther called Satan, “God’s devil.” That should give you some perspective. There is One who is greater than God’s devil in the world. When Jesus cried out, “Τετέλεσται,” from the cross, He finished the devil in one last breath, defeated him, put him under his feet, crushed his head.

“And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.” Satan left dejected and defeated. By His perfect resistance, Jesus had sealed His victory over Satan. So, the devil left him until the opportune time—the time when he placed in people’s hearts that the only way they could win (at life, to get salvation, whatever you like, they are all lies used by the Great Deceiver)…the only way they could win is to get rid of Jesus by putting Him to death.

However, you know the outcome of this sacrifice on Calvary. “By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising again He has restored to us everlasting life,” is prayed in the proper preface for Easter. “This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none, He’s judged; the deed is done,” you just sang (or something like that, depending on which arrangement was sung). Satan’s efforts in Jerusalem that night were for naught; God’s victory over His devil was sealed at Jesus’ temptation and delivered on Calvary. “Τετέλεσται!”

These days, you pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” You learn that to mean that “God, indeed, tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory.” The good news this day is that Jesus perfectly resisted temptation for you, so that you could receive the credit for it. He was led into the wilderness like the scapegoat on your behalf, having been Baptized to be joined to you, and countered all of Satan’s temptations—which were more than you could ever have borne—and given to you the gift of His perfect resistance. He perfectly resisted the shouts on Calvary tempting Him to come down from the cross and save Himself for you, so that you could receive the benefits of His work on the cross and His rising again from the grave: death destroyed for you and life eternal for you.

Thanks be to God, dear hearers in Christ. Christ has resisted the devil in all of His temptations (in the wilderness and at Calvary) and given you the victory. Therefore, you are forgiven for all of your sins.

The changes of times and seasons are used by the Church to commemorate events in the life of the Savior, especially such as Christmas and Easter, and to teach Her members and get them to focus on some aspect of their lives as the Baptized. Lent is especially one of those latter times and seasons.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is still an event in the life of the Savior that is the particular focus of the season of Lent: Jesus Christ’s Passion and Death, which will serve as the focus of the mid-week services here starting next week. Such should be proclaimed year-round, much as the rest of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection should be. After all, any particular event in the life of the Savior loses all meaning and purpose apart from the whole of the events of the life of the Savior. You can’t have Good Friday without the Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God, which would be for nothing as regards salvation apart from Good Friday. Nevertheless, during this time of the Church Year, especially during Holy Week, the Passion and Death of Jesus come to the forefront of the Church’s preaching and teaching.

For the Christian, the focus this season becomes even more introspective as you compare your lives according to and against the Law of God. And just like the Church’s preaching and teaching, this is something that should be happening year-round. Nevertheless, these two things go hand-in-hand: the Church’s preaching and teaching look especially to the Passion and Death of Jesus for your sins which is likely reason for you to do an especially harder look at your life against the Law of God to see your sins.

When you evaluate your life as the Baptized according to the Law of God—especially as found in the Ten Commandments—you find that you come up short, that you don’t measure up, that you have not done what you should have done, that you have done what you should not have done, and so on and so forth. In other words, you find that you have departed in thought, word, and deed from God. You have sinned and forsaken the very Word of God, turned your back on what He has declared, and—dare I say it—turned your back on Him.

But that’s when He calls out to you. You are still His Baptized, His son for the sake of the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and He still loves you and wants you back. So, He says, “Yet even now, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD, your God!

Why? “[F]or he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love...” Your God wants you back! He wants you to turn your eyes on Him, to hear Him, to follow Him, and to be with Him forever. That’s why He sent His Son to you, and continues to do so in Word and Sacrament, in order that you would be rent in the heart over your sin and by His mercy and steadfast love be forgiven. So He says through the Apostle, St. John, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Let me say that as it is meant, not in the “If...then” way it is often heard: contrary to those who deny sinfulness, as the apostle mentioned in the previous verse, God is faithful and just to forgive those who acknowledge sinfulness, who return to Him, so to speak. In other words, those who deny any need for forgiveness do not receive it; Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (cf. Luke 5:32)

Your lot in this life as the Baptized is to be a reproach among the nations. This can lead to doubt and sins. And this is especially true when you recognize that, at times, God sends the nations to make you a reproach. See what befell Job, and realize that it was God who allowed, maybe even sent, Satan to rob him of his family and goods and to afflict the man himself. Then, his friends stop by and basically think of him as reproachable. In all of this, Job did not waver; He remained faithful and true to God, just as God had told Satan he would.

So it is also with you. As far as the world is concerned, you are reproachable, and there will be times when it spares no words or hits to remind you of this. As I said, it’s enough at times to lead to doubt and sinning. Take heart, dear Baptized, for God does not allow nor send this in order to push you away but to draw you close to Him. He uses this to teach you that your life is in His hands, not theirs and not your own, that it is far greater than whatever comes at you from this vale of tears. In other words, it is done to strengthen your faith, so that you would return to Him.

That’s the deal with rending your hearts and not your garments. The outward show of mourning and lamentation of sin is fine, but more important than that is actual mourning and lamenting over sin. So, you have Lent, and Ash Wednesday to start it all, to remind you that you are dust, that you have sinned, to repent and return to God, rending your hearts, not your garments. If you want to wear sackcloth and ashes, if you want to weep and fast and lament, do it, they are fine practices meant to acknowledge your sinfulness, which you then come here to confess and receive the forgiveness. And you do that with an eye to the promises of God, which far outweigh any good you might find from this temporal life.

You come here to confess your sin and receive the forgiveness of sins, because you have a faithful and just God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Here, He washes you, face and all, removing the dust of this fallen creation from you and making you, again and again, a new man who lives before Him in righteousness and purity forever. It’s a now-not-yet existence which always finds itself covered with the ashes of sins, but looks with hope to the promises of God.

Therefore, remember that Jesus is with you always, to the end of the age. And since Jesus is with you, you are of the Baptized in Christ, one whose life and death is wrapped up in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God who became flesh like you and died your death that you might live forever with Him. What you have here and now is only temporary. Your ills and worries and hard times will pass. Jesus is coming back to take you to Himself!

That’s what you should always look ahead to, even and especially as you contemplate your life in this Vale of Tears according to the Law of God. You are in Christ. He does call you to repent, because He came for you. He calls you to return to Him, to leave behind the life of sin in this Vale of Tears. And all of this because He promises to take you to where He is, where He is preparing a place for you. (cf. John 14:1-3) Or, as He has said through the prophet Joel, as you heard this evening, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.” All of that is yet to come, in eternal life that awaits you who are in Christ, where you will no longer be a reproach among the nations, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.

Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. Turn the other cheek to those who strike you. Give your tunic to the one who took your cloak; maybe we can say give your shirt to the one who took your coat. Give to beggars. Don’t demand your stuff back from the one who took it. Do to others what you would have them do to you. Lend without expecting payback.

But wait, there’s more!

Do not judge or condemn and you won’t be judged or condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.”

It’s all a tall order. I mean, I know that as I read through the list earlier, and now recounting it, you got a little uncomfortable in your seats at one point or more, and for good reason. There’s something in those lists which doesn’t sit well with you because you don’t do it, hate to do it, and have likely done the opposite.

Let’s take everyone’s favorite, especially among the unbelievers. “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” That one is usually pulled out by your adversaries because they feel judged by you. Maybe you said something that pointed out the sinfulness of what they do. Or maybe you simply professed yourself a Christian in their presence and they felt convicted because they know what they’re doing is sinful. Either way, they feel judged by you and let you know that you shouldn’t judge them or you’ll be judged.

For one thing, that’s not what the text is getting at. Yes, I did say last week that Jesus was preaching the same material here on the plain as He had on the mount in Matthew 5 and following, putting a plainly different spin on it while on the plain. On the plain, He plainly said, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned.” The two go together. They are connected ideas. On the mount, Jesus said,

More detail from the mount… Basically, Jesus is not giving a complete prohibition on judging, at least as He put it from the mount. In this regard, He didn’t just give a different spin from the plain, He’s said something a little different.

From the mount, Jesus preached that you ought to be careful in your judgments. Judgment is a gift from God. It allows you to tell right from wrong, make decisions on which way to go, what to eat, when to go to bed, and what to do. Judgments should always be informed, especially in judging between right and wrong. And when you judge between right and wrong in someone else, warning them that their sin will lead to condemnation, you must always confess that it is the same for you apart from Christ, but that in Christ there is the forgiveness of sins. That’s what it means to see the speck in your neighbor’s eye as well as the log in your own. In fact, this kind of judgment is commanded of you in Scripture. (cf. John 7:24; 1 Corinthians 6:5; Ephesians 5:11; 1 John 2:18-20; et al)

From the plain, however, Jesus equated judgment and condemnation. You have no place to condemn anyone. Only God forgives, and only God condemns. Where those two diverge is that God has given you the command to forgive, but not to condemn. He does come close, because in righteous judgment, He does give the church authority to withhold forgiveness, to put it bluntly, by binding the sins to the unrepentant. Still, even in such a dire case, condemnation is reserved solely for God. You and I have no authority from God to send a person to hell. Judge the sin, proclaim the wrath of God against sinfulness, and declare the faithfulness of God in providing salvation against His wrath in the blood of Jesus Christ crucified, died, and risen. And thank God that He has given you and the other person time to repent and receive His forgiveness.

Right judgment is a tall order, as is not condemning. Everyone is guilty from time to time of improperly judging and condemning when one ought not. The same can be said for the rest of what Jesus said from the plain that day.

So, just how are you to take all of that? Are these things you ought not to be doing or doing as He said in order to be right with Him? Absolutely not! “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:19-20) The law is a righteous judge. It declares to you the way of righteousness. It also proclaims to you the impossibility of keeping every jot and tittle. (cf. Matthew 5:18) Therefore, no one will be justified by keeping the law, because no one can keep the law. The same can be said of the commands Jesus gave from the plain (and from the mount). On the contrary, the law (and these commands included) serve as a righteous judge, showing you just how much you don’t measure up to God’s righteousness.

This is the second function of the law, the chief function. This function tells you that you hate your enemies instead of loving them. That you do evil to those who hate you instead of good. That you curse those who curse and abuse you. That you strike back at those who strike you. That you withhold your shirt from the one who takes your coat, and in fact, that you fight to get your coat back. That you do not give to beggars. And perhaps most damning of all (if one were to judge things in a way), you do not forgive as you have been forgiven. No wonder Jesus bade His church to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (cf. Matthew 6:12)

Still, you have been forgiven, and you most certainly are forgiven. Therefore, that third function of the law is also at play here. Not only do you hear Jesus’ commands as a righteous judge pointing out your sin—pointing out the log in your eye—but also as a gentle instructor. The New Man delights in the Law of God, as the Psalmist and St. Paul declare. (cf. Psalm 1:2; Romans 7:22) He joyfully receives God’s law as an instruction and meditates on it day and night. As I like to say, the New Man asks, “God, how can I please you?” And God’s answer is His law. And by the working of the Holy Spirit in you, you do good works according to the law, and please your Father in heaven, not to righteousness, but as a son pleases his father by his obedience. The son is always a son, good or bad, but in the good, the son pleases his father.

Remember from last week, after power gushed out of Jesus, healing people and exorcising demons, He turned directly to His disciples and preached to them. Today’s text is a continuation of that sermon. This is what His disciples out to be about: loving their enemies, doing good to those who hate them, and forgiving those who have sinned. It doesn’t sound like too tall an order when it’s put that way, and especially when it’s framed by the third function of the law: as instruction for the New Man that you have received in the waters of Holy Baptism, which have made you a dearly beloved son of God. True, you won’t get it right this side of eternity, because you are at the same time justified and sinner in this Vale of Tears. But God has given you the desire to do these things, as St. Paul also declared (cf. Romans 7:15-23), and the grace to be reconciled to Him when you come up short, again and again.

As His son, God loves you. Because in Christ, He has made you a friend who was once His enemy. (cf. Romans 5:10) In Christ, He has shown you the greatest good, who once hated Him (for what enemy of God loves Him?). This is how it’s given to you…”Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap:” in Christ, you are a New Creation, a New Man who delights in the Law of God—by grace through faith—for by the measure you use it is measured back to you, and you are found faithful in Christ, and forgiven you for all of your sins.

It is a familiar saying that John 3:16 is the Gospel in a nutshell; that God loved the world, so He sent His Son. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17) Every week you sing the Agnus Dei which proclaims with the other John that Jesus is the “Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world.” St. Paul wrote that “[God] in Christ was reconciling the world to himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Therefore, from Scripture (especially these passages), you learn this truth: Jesus is the Savior of the world. But, you can also discern this truth: If Jesus is the Savior of the world, then He is the Savior of each person, individually, that is part of the world.

This morning’s Gospel finds Jesus of Nazareth having left Nazareth, after passing through the people unharmed as they sought to throw him over the brow of the cliff on which the town was built—the end of last week’s Gospel. He had returned to Capernaum, teaching and amazing His hearers. He spoke with authority…His own authority. He didn’t merely repeat what had been repeated by teachers before him and teachers before them: “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you…” (cf. Matthew 5:21ff)

A demon-possessed man was in the synagogue where Jesus was teaching with authority. This world that Jesus had come to save was the playground of these unclean demons. And so, this one cried out,

Now, isn’t it amazing that when the demon spoke, He identified Jesus as the Christ; there are very few people in the Gospel accounts that do the same. But, as it is written, “Even the demons believe—and shudder;” (James 2:19) the demons believe, in this case know who Jesus is, and shudder before Him. So, Jesus rebuked this knowledgeable but shuddering demon: “Be silent and come out of him!”

“Be silent!” “It is not for you to tell these people who I am. It is not yet my time. When my time comes, and the Son of Man is lifted up as the serpent was in the wilderness, then they can gaze upon me and know that I am the Christ. So, come out of him!”

And, once again, the people were amazed. “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” In other words, “How is He able to speak and the unclean spirits obey? Who is this that even the demons obey Him?” Oh, if only they knew, and they will soon enough.

“What’s next?” you can imagine them thinking. Simple! He got up, and left.

This past week, I got to thinking about my dear professor again—Dr. Norman Nagel. It happens from time to time. And I went looking for a file in which I thought I had collected a bunch of his sayings and quirks that others remembered and had shared—Nagel-isms we called them—but I couldn’t. I did find a few in other files, but not the one file of only Nagel-isms. However, there is always one that I remember: He would come in to the classroom, put his briefcase on the desk, and start pacing, eyes closed, and lecturing. He would walk from one side of the room to the other, coming mere millimeters from running into the wall at either end. Then, after about 15 or so minutes of lecturing, he would abruptly leave the classroom. He had said what he wanted to say. He had said what he needed to say. We were left in amazement at what he had said, and we were graciously given time to soak it in, ruminate on it, fully digest it, and come to class the next day and discuss it. Of any man I have ever met, I like to think that Dr. Nagel is the one of the most Christ-like.

In the same vein, I could imagine Jesus doing something similar in Capernaum that day. Not that it is written that he did or that I think that He did, but given what was written of that day in Capernaum, it seems like he taught for a bit, exorcised a demon, then left and let the people soak it all in. However, as you may recall from last week, when Jesus taught, He sat, as it was customary to do. So, it’s likely he didn’t do the Nagel-like pacing, but the rest is not out of the question.

Where did He go? He went into the house of Peter, His disciple. Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever, and He had been told about it. This is an amazing bit of information. Jesus left the crowd, left the many, to attend to the one. God sent His Son to save the world, and in so doing, sent His Son to save the person who lives in the world.

The Holy One of God left His lofty, seated position of authority, and stooped down to one lowly soul who is suffering with a fever. He rebuked the fever, it left her, and she began serving them. There was no pomp or circumstance there, she simply went about the task of caring for the house and all who were in it. But she did so confident in the knowledge that her son-in-law’s teacher was sent for her, personally.

Now, the crowd had followed Him to Peter’s house, and by this time had assembled at the door with many of their own sick and demon-possessed relatives. “[A]nd He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” He laid His hands on every one of them, individually. Every person who had need of God’s grace received it individually from the Son of God…well into the night, after the sun had set, and into the early hours of the next morning.

How deep is the love of Christ that He did this for those people, individually, in Capernaum? How deep is the love of Christ that He does the same for you. While I certainly mean you corporately, Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, I definitely mean each of you individually assembled here.

In all of your cares and situations, you have the privilege as an individual in the world that Christ was sent to save to present your petitions before God. And God does hear them and answer them. In those times of illness, pray to God for God in Christ heals your diseases, if not in time, then certainly in eternity. If you are wrestling with some other burden, a sin or concern that has you sorely weighed down, or even demon-possession (yes, they can and do still happen), “take it to the Lord in prayer;” God hears your prayers, and He answers them for He has taken your burdens from you, individually, and placed them on the individual of His Son who bore them to the cross, for you, individually. All of this He does out of love for you, His people, and for you, individually, His son in Christ. As I often like to say, take this personally.

God is gracious—He has sent someone to you to care for you and feed you. So, in those times of need and tribulation, you can and should certainly pray to God, but you can also call your pastor. This man, as he is able, by the command and in the stead of his Lord Jesus Christ (and your Lord) will then come to you, individually, to hear your concern and to proclaim the Word of God to you in your personal need. He can be there to pray with you; he can be there to lay his hands on you in blessing and prayer.

You will get a beautiful taste of this grace given to God’s people individually in just over two months. On Maundy Thursday, the service will begin with corporate confession. After the congregation corporately confesses their sins, you are invited up to received Christ’s absolution individually. The pastor places his hands on the penitent’s head and pronounces, “In the stead and command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” What’s different about it this time is that “you” and “your” is singular. And this is just as valid and certain as if God in Heaven were speaking to you, personally, in the absolution. So, take it personally.

But, you don’t have to wait that long. If you ever find yourself burdened by any particular sin between now and then (and even after Maundy Thursday), call your pastor. He is called by God to hear your (singular) confession, speak the absolution over you (singular), and encourage you (singular) with the Word of God. Please, do not hesitate to make use of this gift that God has given to the Church, and to each of you, His sons in Christ.

With all of this comes a word of caution. It is easy be tempted to view Jesus as your “personal Lord and Savior.” While this is true, the caution comes in turning that into the belief that God sent His Son to do your bidding. “He’s my Savior to give me what I need and want when I need and want it.”

God does promise to hear your prayers, but only once is a promise is ever made to answer your prayers in a manner or time that pleases you. You are encouraged and commanded to call upon God in “every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.” St. Paul wrote, “[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6), and that, “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) Still, only once is it ever said that prayers and wants are answered immediately and in the manner desired.

Therefore, do not be discouraged when God does not immediately heal you of your illness, as he did to Peter’s mother-in-law. Do not grumble against God when He doesn’t allow your favorite football team to win. Do not curse God when He does not give you the handsome raise or promotion you think you deserve—or if He doesn’t give you the job you want—or if doesn’t magically make the money you want appear in your lap. In other words, do not hinder the Christ from accomplishing the purpose for which He was sent.

On the contrary, in those times, look to the cross, for there you find the immediate answer to the one prayer, just as He promises. For it is written, “[C]all upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15), and, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9) Look to the cross, for it is there that the prayer, “Lord, have mercy” is answered with the death of His Son, a death which was the purpose for which He was sent. It is at the cross that you see the Son of God lifted up, that all may gaze upon Him, see Him, believe in Him.

However, here another beautiful Nagel-ism comes into play. He once said,

So, yes, the prayer for mercy is answered at the cross, but it is delivered to you personally once in the waters of Holy Baptism, in the Words of Absolution, and, as Dr. Nagel preached, in the Lord’s Supper where you take into yourself the body of Christ given for you and the blood of Christ shed for you under the bread and wine for your forgiveness, life, and salvation. Yes, look to the cross, but look even more to His means, for there you find the answer—the immediate answer—to your prayer, “Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.” (Psalm 25:18)

“Forgive me for despairing of your mercy when you did not take my fever away when I asked.” “Forgive me for blaming you when my team lost.” “Forgive me for cursing you for not giving me the money I wanted.” “Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.”

Dear hearers, cast your cares upon Jesus. By God’s grace, confess yours sins for what they are. God is faithful and just—He hears your prayers; He answers your prayers; He forgives your sins. Look at the cross and see your Savior hanging there; that blood was shed for you, all of you gathered here. Look to His means, for there He grants you forgiveness of sins individually. Take this personally!

So, with that prayer for forgiveness answered, you receive peace. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Since this is true for all of you, it is true for each of you individually, because you, each one of you, are forgiven for all of your sins.

I often wonder what it would be like if I were to return to my “home” congregation as a guest preacher.

For a little bit of background, I’ll say this: My grandparents were long-time residents of Tampa or the surrounding suburbs. When my grandparents married, there was only one LCMS congregation in the Tampa area. As the metro area grew, especially in the 70s and 80s, several other LCMS congregations were established; almost all of them began in my grandparents’ house. Not to boast, but the name Wagner is almost synonymous with Missouri Synod Lutheranism in the Tampa metro area.

That’s why I often wonder what it would be like if I were to return to my “home” congregation in Carrollwood (a Tampa suburb) and be about a task of ministry there. They know me there. They’ve seen me when my family would drive down from Ft. Gordon in Georgia for a holiday break. They received me as a member when I went away to college, and often saw me during that time. In a sense, they saw me grow up and certainly heard stories of me (and the rest of my cousins) from my grandparents. I was ordained in that congregation and was a first-time celebrant of the Sacrament there that afternoon. While it’s not the same for a pastor who grew up and spent every Sunday of their young lives in the same congregation, there is a certain renown that I have with Lutheran circles in Tampa that most others don’t share.

So, when I wonder and imagine what my return there would be like, I am confident I would be met with some contempt and resistance. For one, sadly, I think that many Lutherans in Tampa suffer from a lack of proper catechization that has plagued the LCMS for a few generations, now, so to hear a preacher that they know quote from the Small Catechism (and the Book of Concord), as he likes to do, could easily be received as a show of special or better knowledge and be met with resistance and complaint. “How dare you presume to teach us this?” and “How can you be like that?” would be added to the regular litany of complaints.

“Familiarity breeds contempt,” is an idiom learned from Aesop. Even so, Aesop was not the only one to say it. In today’s Gospel, Jesus taught something similar: “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.”

Jesus grew up in the little town of Nazareth. The people there knew Him as Joseph and Mary’s son. They watched Him grow up and learn to care for His family, as any good Jewish boy was supposed to. He learned His step-father’s trade, and so the people knew of His craft (and may have had some of His creations in their homes). They knew that He left town and went into the wilderness around Jordan and was baptized by His relative (though His whereabouts for the forty days after that were a little sketchy, I’m sure, when He was tempted by the devil). After His time with Satan, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” (Luke 4:14-15)

In such a short time, Jesus had acquired a reputation outside of Nazareth: He had quickly developed into a glorious teacher. In fact, He had even already begun casting out demons and healing diseases, according to Mark. (cf. Mark 1:21ff) Certainly, news of this spread to His hometown. Then, one day, He returns home. On the Sabbath, He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. While there, He took the position to read; He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and found the 61st chapter and began to read:

When He finished, He handed the scroll back and sat down, the position a teacher took when he was teaching. And so you might imagine that when “the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him,” they were so in amazement, eyes wide open, mouths to match. “What was Jesus going to say?” “What is this little carpenter going to do?”

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” “Today, as I read from Isaiah, I am proclaiming to you that I am He whom Isaiah was writing about. I was the One who gave Isaiah the words to proclaim and write, and I am the One who those words are talking about. I, Jesus of Nazareth, am here to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to give sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed. Truly, truly, I say to you that in Me is the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The people marveled at this: “These are gracious words indeed. It is a time to rejoice if now is the time of God’s favor.” But, there was an air of contempt about them: “Wait a moment, isn’t this Jospeh’s son? Isn’t this the same man we knew as a little boy who we saw grow up? The same boy whose tears we wiped when he scraped his knees? The same boy who played with our children? The same boy who caused his parents grief by staying behind in Jerusalem when we were traveling back home? How can He, of all people, say this? There’s no way this same boy could be the Messiah God promised!”

So, knowing their minds and hearts, Jesus continued his sermon: “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” In other words, “Prove yourself! We’ve heard the stories of you being a glorious teacher. We get that; we saw and heard that today. But, we’ve also heard the stories of your miracles in places not here. Do something here, too, so that we may see and believe.”

And Jesus continued:

The people expected miracles, so Jesus brings up two miracles from the past, performed by two of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history. But, notice to whom these miracles were performed. During a time of great famine in the region, many in Israel were suffering, but to none of them was relief given, only to a widow in Zeraphath, a gentile! Israel’s history is replete with lepers; none of them were miraculously cleansed by Elisha, but he did, by God’s Word, cleanse Naaman, a Syrian—a gentile and enemy of Israel!

What’s the moral of all of this? Miracles are not meant to prove God’s credentials to those who already have His Word. Jesus was in the synagogue and read from the Isaiah scroll to the people of God assembled in that place. He preached the Word of God to them. They had no need of miracles; they had God’s Word on it. Also, it was a reminder that God was the Creator and Redeemer of all, Israel and gentile alike, and that Israel was supposed to bring the good news of salvation to the nations. It is a lesson that fills the book of Isaiah, who wrote passages like

Now, I’m not claiming to be the second coming of Christ. For one thing, I didn’t come as He left, a sure and certain sign that I am not He. But, the message I am given to proclaim is the same as His. Now is the acceptable year of the LORD. The words you heard from Isaiah 61 are fulfilled in the life of Christ and in your own lives. Jesus of Nazareth has done all of those things Isaiah spoke and wrote, and you, dear people of God, are the recipients of that fulfillment.

• “To preach the gospel to the poor.” To you poor, miserable sinners is proclaimed the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
• “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted.” To you who are weighed down by the cares and worries of this world is declared that Jesus has borne all of your cares and burdens, and He promises you eternal rest in life everlasting. You have His Word on that, a Word that is sealed to you in your baptism.
• “To proclaim liberty to the captives.” You who were captive to sin have been set free; the burden of your sin was taken from you by the Christ and crucified with Him. “[O]ur old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7)
• “And recovery of sight to the blind.” That blindness that prevented you from seeing God in Christ has been healed. Through the waters of Holy Baptism, you have been given the eyes of faith that can look with confidence upon your God and recognize in Him your Creator and Redeemer.
• “To set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Once you were at odds with God and children of the devil, oppressed by Him and His deceit that you are no beloved creation. But now Christ has come and defeated the devil, crushed his head by His death on the cross, and freed you, His most cherished creation, from Satan’s power and deceitful oppression.

Yes, dear hearers, now is the acceptable year of the LORD. You have His word on it. Do not be like the Nazarenes who looked for God’s favor and power in miracles. You know Jesus by His Word, because “faith comes by hearing.” (cf. Romans 10:17) That does not mean that He leaves you without miracles; there is in simple means of water, bread, and wine—combined with the Word of God—the greatest miracles of all: forgiveness, life, and salvation. God’s promise to those who believe is not for miracles for this life; on the contrary, God’s promise for those who believe is resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come, just as we confess.

Yes, dear baptized, now is the year of the Lord’s favor. Therefore, joyfully proclaim that Word of God to the nations! For, just as Elijah and Elisha were sent to gentiles in Israel’s day—even to the enemy of Israel—the Church today is sent to the gentiles of this day and age to proclaim that in Christ there is forgiveness and life and salvation. Just as Israel had the Word of God in Isaiah that they were called in righteousness to be a light to the gentiles, so the Church also has the Word of God in Matthew that tells you to go and make disciples of all nations—of all people—baptizing and teaching them. What a joyous task to be about, to share the good news of salvation that you have been given—to share the words of Christ:

Yes, dear friends in Christ, now is the year of the Lord’s favor. The Gospel lesson ends with the people of Nazareth rising up against Jesus and attempting to throw him over a cliff. It is tempting to do something similar, especially when you don’t get your way with God—when He doesn’t answer your petitions in timely fashion or in the way you wanted—you want to throw Him over the cliff of your lives. Dear hearers, do not put God in your little boxes; the point is not to have your way with God, but that God has His way with you. Because, when God has His way with you, it is most certainly the year of the Lord’s favor—for that is when you confess your sinfulness, and once again hear that precious gospel, have your broken hearts healed, be released from captivity, recover your sight, and are set free from oppression.

And so it is my joy and privilege to proclaim to you who are here and receive His Word, that God has had His way with you and does have His way with you, and so you are forgiven for all of your sins!

It doesn't take long in the Christ-half of the Church year for the boy Jesus to grow up. It was just a week ago that you heard about the 12 year-old Jesus in the temple. A day after that, the church observed Epiphany, and regressed about 10 years to when Jesus would have been no more than 2 years old, when he was visited by sages from the east.

Today, however, He is about 30 years old. Luke doesn’t give an exact age, but he does supply a date, relatively speaking: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” It was at this time that John preached in the wilderness the sermon just before today’s pericope, the same time “when all the people were baptized,” and “that Jesus also was baptized.”

John was a man who, immediately after he was born, was proclaimed by his father as “prophet of the Most High,” the one who “will go before the Lord to prepare His ways.”

So, some 30 years later, John was in “all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew and Mark added that John “was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey”…typical wilderness prophet stuff. Matthew and Mark also wrote that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” It’s not a stretch to assume that this motley group of people included not only ordinary Jews, but also those who belonged to the Pharisees and Sadducees, even Gentile converts and curious Gentiles—Romans, Greeks, Parthians, etc.—all going to John in the Jordan wilderness and being baptized by him for the forgiveness of sins (or just watching the spectacle, if nothing else).

And, John's baptism indeed worked the forgiveness of sins. Those who came to John and received his preaching confessed their sins and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins in the Jordan river. John was in the wilderness “preaching a baptism of repentance.” Repentance is the acknowledgment of and sorrow for sin, which is worked by God through the preaching of the Law. Those who received John's preaching, by the Law received contrition for their sin and repented of it. It is then that through the preaching of the Gospel that John directed the repentant to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins; he made it clear that the source of forgiveness was Jesus Christ, as you may recall from his interaction with the priests and Levites that John, the evangelist, records:

Or, as he says in today's Gospel lesson:

John was fulfilling the Word spoken of him at his birth. By preaching a baptism of repentance, John was going “before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.”

As it also happened, on this day during the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, etc., Jesus came to John to be baptized. Matthew pointed out that John tried to prevent Him from being baptized: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:13) You might imagine that John is shocked at this. “I am the sinner, and you are the sinless One,” he could have said, “What need do you have of a baptism for the forgiveness of sins? You are the source of forgiveness.” And, John is right!

But Jesus says, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) Jesus needed John's baptism to fulfill all righteousness. In a sense, Jesus needed John's baptism to be the source of forgiveness…to win forgiveness for sinful man. For it is in being baptized that Jesus unites Himself with sinful man and becomes the sinner for you. I like to tell confirmation students that in being baptized, Jesus became the designated sinner or designated sin-bearer for them. But, there are other words and phrases that are familiar that also get the point across: Substitute, Vicarious Atonement, the Propitiation for Our Sins. In His baptism, Jesus becomes all of these for you, in order to fulfill all righteousness.

Or, you can look at it this way as well. A great multitude came to John to be baptized by him for the forgiveness of sin. He brought them down into the Jordan to wash them, pointing to Christ as the source of the washing. You can look at the Jordan waters as being spiritually filthy waters, then. Then Jesus is baptized in those spiritually filthy waters, an act that shatters the perceptions of holiness and His high priesthood, taking all of that filth upon himself.

It is no accident, then, that the Baptism of Jesus is the beginning of His ministry as Messiah. For the previous 30-or-so years, He learned and worked at the craft of His step-father, making only brief appearances (if you will) as the Son of God (such as at the temple at 12 years old). Now, he breaks away from that life, receives John's baptism, and begins His ministry—He begins His arduous 3-year journey to Jerusalem and the cross—teaching, healing all manners of diseases, casting out demons, raising the dead, forgiving sins, and making enemies who would crucify Him. He begins His way toward the cross by taking into His flesh the sin of the world.

“But, how does He do that for those who were, are, and will be baptized after He was?” you might ask. Because in His baptism, Jesus sanctified the waters of this world for Baptism to work the benefits He promised in His word: “forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation to all who believe this.” For, it is written in Mark 16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” and in 1 Peter 3, “Baptism now saves you!” It is the same as saying that at the cross, every sin that was committed and that will be committed was nailed with Jesus and there died with Him. It is a “time-defying miracle” as it has countlessly been explained to me. It is futile to attempt any explanation beyond that; you have to take it on faith because the Word of God declares it to be so.

So it is that Jesus came to John to be baptized. This is He of whom John said, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” It is incumbent to recognize the One who joins Himself to you in His baptism also as your Judge. The words John spoke to his hearers are important to hear.

Yes, dear Baptized, you must also hear the Law of God! Or do you not recall that Baptism indicates that the “Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” Your Baptism is not a one-day deal; it's not that you were baptized—no you are baptized!

Even if you were not yet be baptized, the word of God's Law would be for you, too. Contrition and repentance can be worked apart from baptism, especially in those who want to believe! As an example, recall the contrite thief on the cross next to Jesus. Or, perhaps look even to John's hearers in today's Gospel.

So, do not flee from the wrath to come. You will most certainly be faced with bouts of faithlessness. The toils and stresses of life on this earth will be difficult to bear. Stresses with health, relationships, work, finances, etc. can drive one to the point that they doubt God's love, presence, and providence—to the point where they curse God. However, I proclaim to you that these are not signs that God does not care, but that the contrary is true; these are manifestations of God's Fatherly will that you should not rely on yourself, but on Him—that you do not claim grace or favor because of who you are or where you come from or from whom you are descended, but that you look to God for grace and favor through His Son—that you confess your sins for what they are, in contrition and repentance, bearing that fruit in keeping with repentance, and receive the forgiveness His Son won for you on the cross, where He died with all of those sins washed upon Him when He was baptized.

“Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” Coming up out of the water, Jesus prayed. As He prayed, heaven opened. What a miracle! Heaven didn't open for anyone else baptized that day, or any day before, or any day since. The Spirit hasn't descended upon anyone since in bodily form like a dove when they were baptized. No voice came from heaven for anyone else proclaiming them God's beloved Son in whom He is pleased.

On the contrary, sin keeps heaven shut to everyone else. And so, in order to fulfill all righteousness, Jesus was baptized. In His baptism, Jesus opens heaven for you, for He bears the keys to heaven itself, as He proclaimed to John, the evangelist: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

Dear friends in Christ, that is why Jesus went to John to be baptized, to fulfill all righteousness. He was washed in order that heaven would be opened to you, so that your sins would be washed onto Him, and you in turn receive His righteousness and be received through Him in the presence of His Father in Heaven. For,

What a Blessed Exchange! And so it is, because of that exchange, that in your Baptism you do receive the Holy Spirit, not in the form of a dove, but as your Comforter. Because of that most Blessed Exchange, in your Baptism, God in Christ claims you as His son in whom He is well pleased.

Yes, dear hearers, what a Blessed Exchange! Because of that exchange, it is my joy and privilege to proclaim to you who receive this Word of God that you are forgiven for all of your sins!