Luke 14:1-14
Trinity 17
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit
The Pharisees in today’s Gospel reading seem awfully silly, don’t they? It’s easy for us to mock how ridiculous they are. None of us would think for a minute that it would be bad for someone to be healed on the Sabbath. God was obviously not forbidding that when He told us to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Why would it be OK for someone to get a trapped animal out of a pit but not OK to help someone trapped and afflicted with some disease? To us that just seems absurd. It’s easy for us to justify ourselves and think that we certainly would have done better than the Pharisees.
But don’t just dismiss them. It’s worth asking, why is it that they were thinking that way? What did they wrongly believe that led them astray? They were thinking that the way they would be counted as good and righteous in God’s sight was by how well they kept His commandments. That’s still a common belief to this day, isn’t it? And keeping the Sabbath was a particularly important commandment. Every seven days they were to stop their work, just like God did on the seventh day of creation. In their mind, it was an offense against the Creator to do any work at all, even if it was something good like a healing; there were six other days for that. Especially someone who was a rabbi like Jesus should know better, they thought. If He was a true prophet of God, He would be setting an example which showed how righteousness comes through obeying God’s Law.
Now as Lutherans, we think we’re pretty well defended against the Pharisees’ false teaching. We’ve rightly had it drilled into us that we’re saved not by our own works, but by grace alone and what Christ alone has done for us. However, we sometimes then fall into the opposite error of the Pharisees. I mean, why is it that so many Christians are tempted to just disregard the 3rd commandment? Why are so many gone from church for weeks at a time–sometimes even months at a time–and are not remembering the Sabbath day? Is it possible that we actually have the same root problem as the Pharisees? Here's what I mean: If people believe they can do without the preaching of Christ and the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, there’s only two possible reasons for that: either they don’t think they have any real sins that need to be forgiven–which is a big problem–or they think that they already know enough of this stuff, and so their own private belief and efforts at being a good person are enough to merit God’s favor. In both of those scenarios, Jesus’ words and sacraments become basically non-essential, just something maybe for Christmas and Easter. Do you see? In the end it’s the exact same sin as the Pharisees, thinking that righteousness comes by what we think and do, apart from Christ’s divine service to us. Those who purposely skip church are trusting in their own works instead of Christ’s works, just like the Pharisees.
Now of course, there will be times once in a while when you simply can’t make it to divine service because of sickness or an unexpected work obligation and the like. We don’t want to descend into Pharisaic legalism here. But imagine if people treated the other commandments the way they do with “Remember the Sabbath Day.” Think of how ridiculous it would sound: “I refrain from murder except when I have to work.” Or “I refrain from adultery at least two weeks out of every month.” Or “I don’t steal except when the weather’s really nice.” All those statements sound completely idiotic. And yet, that’s the way even many church members talk about remembering the Sabbath day, as it if it were merely a suggestion that we could sometimes safely ignore based on our plans and desires. “You skipped church? Oh, well. I’m sure you had a good reason.” Even if we thought we didn’t need church, even if we thought it was completely pointless, still simply because God has commanded it we should be eager to hold preaching and His Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
And here’s the thing: it truly is a glad thing to remember the Sabbath day, because it’s not about trying to merit God’s favor by your good church attendance, chalking up points with Him; that’s not why you come to divine service. It’s about receiving God’s favor dished out to you as a free gift in Christ’s preaching and supper. “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!” The Sabbath day is all about us stopping our work so that we can focus on God’s work and receive His work for us in Christ. That’s where real Sabbath rest and peace is to be found in this world that is so restless and lacking peace. This commandment, like all the commandments, is given for your good, not as a burden but as a blessing.
When Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, He was showing precisely what the day is all about. We gather around the Great Physician to receive His healing mercy and forgiveness and His wise counsel. What the Pharisees failed to see was that in Christ God was the One doing the work here. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. And the Sabbath work that He does saves us and redeems us in both body and soul. Again, remembering the Sabbath day means that we stop our work and all the activities and the running around and the sports–good heavens, the sports!–and all the busyness of our life to dwell upon God’s work for a couple of hours and receive His divine service to us in Christ. We focus not on our performance but on what He performs and does for us through His words and sacraments. And we then respond with glad thanksgiving and praise that confesses what He has done.
Now it is true that this commandment applies to us in the New Testament differently than it did in the Old Testament. Back then, the day of rest had to be the 7th day of the week, Saturday. But with Christ’s coming the Law was fulfilled so that the requirement to worship on a particular day no longer applies. Colossians 2 says, “Sabbaths are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” The Old Testament day of rest pointed us forward to Him who Himself is our rest and our peace, namely, Jesus. Why focus on all the Old Testament shadows when the One who is casting the shadow has come!
Just consider how wonderfully Jesus fulfilled the 3rd commandment for us in order to save us. Not only was it his custom to be in the synagogue each Sabbath where the Word of God was preached and taught (and He certainly knew it all and still showed up); not only did He love being in His Father’s house, meditating on and talking about the Scriptures; but He redeemed and renewed the days of creation, including especially the seventh.
Think of Holy Week as a new creation week. On the first day, Palm Sunday, the Light of the world entered into Jerusalem to do His Father’s business and carry out the mission He had been given. He taught and He labored throughout that week. On the sixth day He suffered and died to redeem man whom He had created from the dust of the ground, triumphantly declaring, “It is finished!” His work was very good. And what did He do on the seventh day? He rested in the tomb, sanctifying our graves and making them a holy place of rest from which we shall rise again on the Last Day. Finally, He brought into existence an eternal 8th day, an unending Easter by conquering death for us. His bodily resurrection has ushered in a new creation, free from the curse of sin, rich with mercy and divine life. That is why Sunday is called “the Lord’s Day” in Scripture and is the church’s primary day of worship. Divine Service can happen on any day of the week, of course, but at its center is always the Word of the risen Savior who said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Since the Sabbath is all about God’s work, what Jesus is doing, it is necessary that we come before Him with an attitude of humility. It’s not about us and our works. This is His show, His teaching, His meal. Our place at the table is not something for us to achieve for ourselves but for Him to give. We all come before God as beggars, without any right to exalt ourselves in His presence. Whatever we are is a gift of His grace.
So instead of jockeying for the places of honor and glory, Jesus says, “When you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.” So humble yourself before God. Acknowledge your sin in true repentance; hope in His mercy. Do not come to assert your spiritual rights based on your works, but come recognizing that it is the Lord’s place to bestow honor and glory, and it your place simply to receive whatever His good and gracious will gives. Those who love and honor the Lord in humble faith will be exalted by Him and brought to everlasting glory in the presence of the whole creation.
This is Jesus’ way. He put Himself in the lowest place, the place of death, in order to save you. He bore your shame on the cross to restore your honor. And now Jesus is exalted to the highest place at the right hand of the Father. And the good news is that He has raised you up with Himself. By your baptismal faith you are united with Him in such a way that you share in His exaltation as members of His body. If Jesus the bridegroom is honored, then His Church, the bride, is also honored with Him. It is written in Ephesians that you who believe are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
That heavenly place is here for you today. Jesus is here among us at the head of the table. To every penitent heart He says, “Friend, move up higher.” “Come, ascend these steps to this holy place. Share in My honor by receiving My own body and blood. Be filled with My forgiveness and My life. Here is your Sabbath rest and healing. Here is the foretaste of the Last Day, the day of resurrection, the day when you will move up higher forever.”
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit