Sermon: Trinity 18 – 2023

8 Oct 2023

Text: Matt 22:34-46

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

The Sadducees were the liberals of first century Judaism.  They were the sophisticated scholars, the priests, the ones who didn’t believe in those old things written in Moses and the Prophets about angels and the resurrection.

They picked a fight with Jesus, and He quickly made them look foolish – responding to their question by telling them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.”  And then He asked them questions that they could not answer. 

Of course, this made their rivals, the Pharisees, happy.  But now, the Pharisees take their shot at Jesus.  Surely they would have better luck.  For they too were scholars, but unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees were conservative, and they actually knew the scriptures.  And, they had the scribes and the lawyers on their side.  And so, they come to Jesus to ask a question of their own “to test Him.”

For they still think Jesus is just some simpleton from the hill country whom they can trip up with Bible trivia.  It’s really sad, if you think about it.  For here is their long-awaited Messiah, who has proven it through His preaching, through the prophecies that He fulfills, and through His miracles: healing the sick again and again, and casting out demons.  Here, for the first time in four hundred years, God is speaking in person to their nation. But instead of asking questions to learn from Him, they are asking questions to try to trap Him.  They have their agenda, and the last thing they want is for Jesus to ruin it.

And so their lawyer asks Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  And like all lawyer questions, it’s not really a question.  They have a script, and no matter what His answer id, they will have a retort.  But not this time, dear friends.  For Jesus replies to their question in a way that they cannot argue against.  For there are actually two answers to their question: the two tables of the Law.  The Ten Commandments are all summed up by “Love the Lord your God,” and “Love your neighbor.”  As Jesus says: “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The liberal Sadducees were wrong, as they did not believe in the whole Bible.  But the conservative Pharisees were also wrong, for they did not understand that the Law of God is all about love.

The Sadducees had no faith, and the Pharisees had no love.  And both groups simply did not know God – and so neither of them had hope.  And so God has come to them, to restore hope, standing in front of them, teaching them, in the flesh.  But both groups stop up their ears.  Instead of listening to Jesus, they are trying to trip Him up.  And again, what a tragedy.  How sad it is to have God in the flesh in your presence, but to be more concerned about looking good in the eyes of the world than wanting to know what God has to say.

And now, as the Pharisees are astounded at our Lord’s answer, and they have no retort, it’s time for Jesus to ask some questions of His own.  So the Pharisees and their lawyers are now being cross examined by God.  For those who refuse to repent, that is not a good place to be.

Right away, Jesus goes for the Big Question: “What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?  Of course, this is a loaded question.  For the Messiah is both the Son of God and also the Son of Man.  He is the Son of Adam, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Son of Mary.  And yes, their answer is correct, He is also “the Son of David,” the King of Israel.

“How is it then,” asks Jesus, “that David, in the Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet’?  If then David calls Him Lord, how is He His Son?”

Yes, indeed, the Messiah, according to Psalm 110, written by King David, is both David’s Son and David’s Lord.  He is both a man, a descendant of David, and He is God, the Lord – at the same time.  Jesus is telling them, “I am the Messiah.  I am the Son of David.  I am also God in the flesh.”  And this, dear friends, is how Jesus preaches with authority as never before seen in Israel, how He casts out demons, and how He does amazing miracles that only God can do.  And it also means that He can forgive sins, and He can indeed work on the Sabbath as He pleases.

If what Jesus says is true, the Sadducees will have to stop being Sadducees and start following Jesus.  And if what He says is true, the Pharisees will likewise have to stop being Pharisees and start following Jesus.  They will all have to know the scriptures and the power of God, having faith, hope, and love, having forgiveness, life, and salvation, receiving God’s grace, mercy, and eternal life – and Jesus can tell them all about it, if they will only listen, if they will only put their trust in Him and His Word.  For the Messiah has come to rescue them.  Indeed, as John the Baptist preached, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  Jesus has good news for them!  All they have to do is listen, and believe!

But here is what happened instead: “No one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions.”  For they didn’t like where this was going.  They didn’t like Jesus’ answers.  They didn’t like the fact that He was proving to them that He is the Messiah.

So they stopped asking Him questions.  It is like they stopped coming to church, stopped reading the Bible, stopped praying, and stopped caring about spiritual matters unless they called the shots.

Can there be anything more sad than that, dear friends?  But don’t we do the same thing?  Do we know the scriptures?  Do we know the power of God?  Are we eager to come to where Jesus is, and hear His Word and treasure it more than anything else in the world?  Are we “hanging on His every word” like the multitudes who heard Him preach – which made the Pharisees and Sadducees hate Him even more?

Is there a part of us that is a faithless Sadducee?  Are we skeptical when it comes to the Bible?  Do we think that God really doesn’t have the kind of power that science does, that the American government has, that corporations have, that there are simply things of this world that are more important and reliable than listening to Jesus?  And is there a little loveless Pharisee inside of us, along with a little hopeless lawyer that justifies whatever sins we commit because we think we are better than those other people?

Maybe we all need to stop doing what the Sadducees and the Pharisees do: relying on what we prefer to believe rather than asking Jesus, rather than seeing what His Word says, what scripture teaches us.  Maybe we thing there are just better things for us to do rather than come here to hear a sermon on the Bible and to eat some bread and take a little sip of wine. 

But Jesus is God, dear friends.  He is David’s Son and David’s Lord.  He is the Messiah promised by scripture.  He promises to be with us always, eve to the end of the world.  And if we do know the scriptures and the power of God, we will believe this.  And we will also know that He goes to the cross to shed His blood for us, so that we might be redeemed from this world’s evil.  We will eagerly eat His body and drink His blood, and we will have faith, hope, and love.

Jesus has come to save us and to give us eternal life in a new heaven and a new earth.  Jesus has come to raise us, and all believers, from the dead.  Jesus has done this by His preaching and miracles, that is, by Word and Sacrament.  We do not come to Jesus to test Him.  But in order to be saved by Him.

That Psalm that Jesus quoted, Psalm 110, goes on to warn the enemies of Jesus that “He will shatter kings on the day of His wrath,” but also, “Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of Your power.” 

Jesus offers Himself freely to us, dear friends, and so let us offer ourselves back to Him, hearing Him, and continuing to ask Him questions, ever eager for His Word, confessing Him freely on the day of His power, as both David’s Son and David’s Lord: our King, our Messiah, our Priest, our God, and our Savior!

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.