Saint Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

June 20 + 23, 2002 Pentecost 5 Matthew 10:24f

“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do don’t be afraid; you are worthy more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before me, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

Dear People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

They did a study the other day—to find out if people tell lies or not. It was really painfully simple. They introduced two people to each other—and asked them to just visit—get to know each other for about ten minutes. Then they did follow up interviews with each person to find out if they told the truth. What they found out was—I think—pretty sad. They said people were very quick to admit they lied—lied through their teeth. The average person told three lies—three statements that were absolutely false—in just ten minutes! The best person told at least one lie. The worst person told twelve. Twelve lies in ten minutes? That’s better than one lie per minute—and that’s with the other person doing some of the talking, too! That’s really good at being really bad—isn’t it? They said men and women told the same number of lies. That men told lies to build themselves up—to make themselves look good. One guy told the other person he had just signed a contract to do a record with his rock and roll band. The truth was he hadn’t signed a record contract—he wasn’t in a band—he didn’t even know how to play an instrument. Women told lies most of the time—to make peace—to make other people feel better—to make other people feel good about themselves. That’s pretty sad too—don’t you think? That they think the only way to help people and build them up is to say things they know aren’t true? The sad fact is—we all sin—all the times. Sometimes we sin with practiced skill and cold hard calculation. Sometimes we sin and we are utterly oblivious to the hurtful evil we have done. And sometimes we sin—when there was something kind and gentle and patient and helpful that needed to be done—and like a lump—we just sat there and did nothing! Jesus lived and died and lives—to wash away all our sins. Jesus lived and died and lives to make us strong to serve him and share him. Today we hear the Lord Jesus say again and again:

Don’t be scared!

1. Don’t be afraid of those who threaten your body

2. But boldly confess your Savior and King!

The Lutheran Church—from the very beginning has been a liturgical church—that is we have a plan—an orderly, systematic, thought out and careful plan for our worship services. It’s not spontaneous or impromptu. It’s carefully planned so that our worship is as well thought out and as much a blessing as Jesus will make it. Starting with the first Sunday after Pentecost—until Advent—four Sundays before this coming Christmas—with the exception of Reformation and Thanksgiving Day—all our Gospel readings—every Gospel reading from now until almost Christmas will come from the Gospel of St. Matthew. We will—with Jesus’ permission—from now until the leaves turn color and fall and the ground freezes and snowflakes come—we will read through the Gospel of Matthew. These last few Sundays we have been reading through chapter 9 and now 10—verse by verse. Today Jesus is continuing to instruct his disciples before sending them out. We heard last Sunday—why Jesus sent out his disciples. Jesus saw that God’s people were “harassed and helpless—like sheep without a shepherd!” Harassed and helpless is a terrible way to be. The devil is never ever content to leave God’s people alone. So he attacks and attacks again and again. The devil is the original terrorist—attacking when you least expect it. The devil comes after us again and again. When you are sick—when you are tired—when you are stressed—when you feel all alone. That’s when he will attack! To people harassed and helpless—like sheep without a shepherd Jesus sent his disciples to tell them precious good news. The kingdom of God is near!

Jesus told his disciples it was going to be painfully difficult! Jesus said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” It was going to be painfully difficult—but Jesus told them again and again and again—do not be afraid—do not be afraid—don’t be afraid! Don’t be scared! “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.” If you are mistreated—falsely accused—suffer for something you didn’t do—don’t be surprised! I read the other day about a guy named Raymond. Everybody loves Raymond. No—this Raymond was accused and convicted of murdering a pretty girl who served drinks. Raymond said he didn’t do it. But he was convicted in a court of law. Raymond lost everything. He lost his house, a boat, a dune buggy, his retirement savings and a $30,000 a year job. Raymond lost ten years, three months and 9 ½ days of his life. He spent two years on death row—waiting to be executed for a murder he didn’t commit. When they finally realized Raymond was innocent what did they give him? $50 to start his life all over again—and the prosecutor said, “Sorry about that! Really, I’m really sorry!” That’s it! $50 and an apology! How do you like that? Raymond didn’t commit murder—probably. You have to kind of wonder—if they convicted him once—maybe the mistake wasn’t convicting him. Maybe the mistake—the real miscarriage of justice is letting him go now! Who knows? Jesus knows. Jesus never ever did anything wrong. Jesus never every hurt anyone. Then Jesus was falsely accused and condemned and tortured and executed to pay for Raymond’s sins—my sins—my mistakes and all your guilt, too. A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”

So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” I heard the other day—that the famous Nixon tapes—the tape that was erased—some 15 minutes that were erased? That the erasers are about 99% effective. That means even after it was erased—there’s 1% left. And so there are some experts today—that think—working with that 1% they might still be able to uncover what was so carefully covered up. When Judgment Day comes there will be no secrets. No shredded documents that covered up thievery! Jesus knows all my sins and all your sins. And he paid for them—every single one. We have nothing to hide—and nothing to be afraid of!

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” I was walking around my yard the other day—when I saw a bunch of feathers—little soft brown speckled feathers—wispy little feathers in a couple of small clumps stuck in the grass. It looked like the place where the police would come and put that tape down—in the outline of the body. Except there weren’t that many feathers either. Maybe some little bird bit the dust—and maybe this was just the scene of a terrible struggle where the little bird escaped—got away from that mean old cat or hawk or owl or whatever got a hold of it—but somehow it escaped. I don’t know. But Jesus knows. Jesus knows about every little bird. Jesus knows about the little gopher that runs across our back yard—running for his little life—running as fast as he can—from his little hole in the ground to the safety of the fireplace wood pile in the back corner of our yard. Jesus knows about the ducks in the pond by the hospital. Jesus knows about the birds that come by our bird feeder—that’s sometimes full and sometimes not! Jesus knows about all the little things! You know how hairbrushes get full of hairs—all wrapped around those little bristles with the little bumps on the ends. I like to clean that up—to pull that knot of tangled hairs off—in one clump and throw it away. Then the hairbrush is all nice and clean! Did you ever try to figure out how many hairs exactly are in that little tangled clump? Jesus knows. Jesus knows—of the estimated quarter of a million hairs on your head—exactly how many there are! I saw a brand new baby the other day—not even 24 hours old. He had thick, soft, very dark hair. Jesus could tell you exactly how many—how many little wispy soft little hairs on his tiny little head! If Jesus keeps track of that—that what do we have to worry about? Absolutely nothing! If Jesus is taking care of the sparrows and the squirrels and the gophers—then surely he is watching over you and me!

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. You acknowledge Jesus before people when on Sunday mornings—you get up—and instead of reading the newspaper and having pancakes and flavored coffee and mowing your lawn you come to Church—you are acknowledging your Heavenly Father! The danger to your faith is not likely the Islamic militant guerilla soldiers with automatic weapons who took the life of a missionary in the Philippines. The danger to your faith is your nice soft pillow—full of the feathers from a soft goose tummy—your crisp designer sheets—your warm blankets on your bed in your air-conditioned bedroom—nice and dark and cool and quiet—that moment when you can sleep late. The danger to your faith is the soft warm arm of a spouse that wraps around you and the whisper—lets just stay here—when you could come to your Father’s house to pray—to praise Him—to hear his Word! Don’t give the devil the satisfaction of your denying your Father—by spending your Sunday mornings or your Friday nights or your Saturday nights or your Monday mornings being just like every other unbeliever. Confess your faith by how you live day after day—with joy, with humble kindness and determined contentment that gives all glory to your Savior and King!

So don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared. Don’t panic. It’s easier said than done. But you dasn’t panic. It could cost you your life. A guy named Kyle went swimming the other day at Indian Lake. Kyle jumped out of the boat to go swimming—but something went wrong right from the get go! I don’t know. Maybe he wasn’t holding his breath when he jumped in and he got a bunch of water down his throat. Maybe he got a cramp in his arm or his leg. Maybe he got water up his nose or in his eyes. Something wasn’t right and you could tell. So Kyle’s dad jumped in to help him and that didn’t work either! Something went horrible wrong. You see Kyle ended up drowning—and his father did too. Kyle wasn’t some little guy—Kyle was 33 years old—and Kyle’s dad was 63. And the worst part was—they drowned in water that was between 3 and 6 feet deep. Three feet of water? All you would have to do is stand up! Don’t panic. Don’t thrash about—choking—swallowing water—gasping for breath—pulling your rescuers under water with you. All you have to do is let someone hold you—hold your head above water—and you would be ok! Do you know what it’s like to be drowning in sin? To be drowning in the guilt and shame and blame of all your mistakes? It’s a horrible feeling! But there is rescue in Jesus and his forgiving blood! Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Jesus loves you. Jesus has forgiven you. He washed away all your sins. You are saved. Amen!