"Who's yer Daddy!?" You've probably heard that question before, if only spoken by kids trying to "school" one another on the basketball court or football field. Dead celebrities notwithstanding, answering the question of "Who's yer Daddy?" is not very hard. Jesus answers it for us in the words He speaks in today's Holy Gospel. "Whoever is of God hears the words of God." Remember way back to the First Sunday in Lent, Jesus said these words," Man does not live by bread alone but by EVERY word that comes out of the mouth of God." It is simple, brothers and sisters. Either a person is a hearer and keeper of God's Word and therefore belongs to God or they are despisers of God's Word and children of the devil. Either our words are what matters most, our thoughts, our notions, our figurings, whatever the devil, world and flesh teach us—or else we are rescued by the Lord who gives us His Word, the Word that rescues us from our sins and delivers Jesus to us so that we are saved.
Sounds like quite an argument going on between Jesus and the Jews in the Gospel lesson today. We sort of drop into the middle of it. Jesus spares no words to tell them flatly that they don't love God; God is not their Father, the Devil is! But they don't take it lying down. They call Jesus a Samaritan (which is like someone who lives in the part of Illinois that's not Chicago) and say He's demon-possessed. All "sticks and stones" stuff? Not at all! This is no mere argument over "my way or the highway." When you and I argue, that's what we argue about: nothing! When Jesus is word-sparring with these Jews, our eternal life is at stake! You see, the Jews of Jesus day said that you are righteous and holy if you can keep the commandments and laws faithfully. If you do good, God will reward you. Jesus, on the other hand, taught that our only hope with God is that His Son has come into this world to save sinners. But the self-righteousness of the Jews here breeds hatred and evil. Rather than rejoice that Jesus has come to save them, they call Him names and despise His Word. So Jesus just does what He does: preaches God's Word and calls them to repentance. But they don't want it! They flatter themselves thinking they are God's children but they are really the Devil's children. Think about it! They are so upset that Jesus calls them murderers that they pick up stones to try and kill Him! Yeah...think about it.
Brothers and sisters, this exchange between the Jews and Jesus is recorded for our salvation. It is written by the Holy Spirit through the hands of St. John to teach us and warn us away from such self-righteousness and despising of God's Word. It is written to warn us not to be children of the Devil, but children of God by hearing and believing and keeping the Words of God delivered to us through Jesus. Oh, but that's a tall order! Here you are called to repentance. If you were children of God, you would love Jesus and keep His Words. Do you? Is your life centered in and around the Word of God? Is your highest joy in this life to hear and learn what the Holy Scriptures teach? Do you spring from you bed on Sunday morning because you have the glorious opportunity to be in God's House and hear His Word read and preached and sung? Do you have such a joy from God's Word that you never hesitate to teach it to your children and share it with those around you? Is every decision you make, everything you do for your neighbor, informed and based upon the wisdom and guidance of the Bible? Or is the Word of God not such a big deal. Is it not really a part of your life? Can you take it or leave it? Brothers and sisters, don't be like the Jews speaking to Jesus! Don't be like the leaders in our Synod who are convinced that they are right, that they are on God's side, that they don't actually need to study the Scriptures and hear God's Word and learn it. Don't be like those who want their name attached to a church's directory but never darken the door where God's Word is preached. Don't come to hear God's Word in worship and Bible Study and then forget what it's all about before your wheels have even left the parking lot! Repent of such despising of God's Word and learn to rejoice with Abraham that you have seen Christ's Day!
Repent indeed of despising God's Word. It's a hard thing to do. But rejoice that our salvation isn't in how faithful WE are. Our salvation is in these words of Jesus: "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me." Brothers and sisters, if Jesus only came to glorify Himself, make Himself look good, prove that He's right, stick it to the Jews and everybody else who despises God's Word—if that's what He came to do, then we are in trouble! For we should be doomed unless our whole life was about flattering Jesus and glorifying Him and making Him look good. But thank God that's not why He came. He came to deliver God's Word and do the work His Father sent Him to do. He came to fulfill God's Word which Abraham spoke. "Dad," says Isaac," Um...where's the lamb for the sacrifice?" "Don't worry, my boy! God Himself will see about the Lamb for the offering." The Lord will see about it. And so God does indeed provide the lamb for the offering. Not just "a" lamb but "THE" Lamb. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Lord would never require us to sacrifice our sons to cover our sins! But that same Lord freely sends His own Son and the Son freely obeys His Father and comes into this world to be exactly that: the once-for-all sacrifice for sins. Legend has it that the hill upon which Isaac was almost killed is the same hill upon which Jesus hung on the cross. And on that cross, Jesus shows that God is indeed His Father, never doubting. Yet here the Lord does not spare the knife but pierces our Lord for our sins and sheds His blood for our salvation. Then to the tomb. Then to life on the third day. All that is done and accomplished for our salvation is the Lord's work. Nothing to boast in for you, nothing to take credit for yourself: it's all Him and all for you.
And it's all delivered and given to you in His Word which is why His words are so important. They are life-giving. They are forgiveness distributing. They are salvation bestowing. The Words of the Holy Scriptures preached. The Word and the Water at the font. The words of Holy Absolution. The Word made flesh given you to eat and drink. And what does Jesus say about His Word? "If anyone keeps my Word, he shall not taste death." What does that mean? How do we keep God's Word? How shall we not taste death? Dear Christians, toe "keep" God's Word is nothing other than to hear it and believe it and receive it. To "keep" God's Word is to live each day in your baptism. It is to confess and be absolved of your sins. It is to come to the Lord's altar to eat His flesh and drink His blood given for the forgiveness of sins. To receive these gifts, these promises, these words of Jesus means that you won't taste death. Oh, it doesn't mean that you won't die. But it means that death will be a sleep, a nap, softened by the hope and comfort of Christ's Word which promises us that we will be raised on the Last Day. To despise God's Word, to listen to the devil's preaching, means despising and ignoring His gifts, not coming to receive them, not having comfort at their death but misery and fear and terror. Brothers and sisters, don't be like the Jews of Jesus' day, who had no need for a Savior for they were disciples and children of Satan. Rejoice that the Spirit has rescued you from the devil's kingdom and gives you the Word of God which saves you and protects you and will raise you from the dead on the Last Day.
I once tried to convince a woman to come to Bible Study. She and I disagreed about many things and so I suggested she come and learn what the Scriptures had to say together with me and her brothers and sisters in Christ. "No, Pastor," she said, "Because I won't be able to match you in Scripture knowledge; you know way more about the Bible than I do because you've studied it." "But, that's wrong," I told her." Because you are twice my age, you should know twice as much as me about the Scriptures because you've had twice as long to be learning them." Brothers and sisters, I don't care how much or how little you know about God's Word. Know this: there is always more the Lord has to give in His word. Only the children of the devil will despise it and not come to hear and learn it. But you, children of God in the waters of Holy Baptism, come and hear that word. For by that Word you have been delivered from your sins and you will not taste death but be raised to eternal life with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who are blessed forevermore. Amen.