Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

From the Old Testament of the Day: Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” [Genesis 28.16-17]

From the Holy Gospel: But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins – he then said to the paralytic – Rise, pick up your bed, and go home. [Matthew 9.6]

     Today, we experience the St. Michael jump, jumping from whatever Sunday after Trinity occurred on the Sunday before the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, to the 19th Sunday after Trinity following St. Michael and All Angels. This occurs to allow the Sundays of the End of the Church Year to actually occur before we run out of Church Year. So, today is observed as the 19th Sunday after Trinity, and the emphasis of this Sunday is Forgiveness of Sins on Earth. And on this day, and in this sermon, you will hear what Dr. Luther says about this matter of forgiveness on Earth.

                              I.

The importance of Forgiveness on Earth Sunday is lost unless and until you come to realize that, for a long period in the Old Testament era, forgiveness was not found on earth. What do we mean by that?

  When Adam and Eve fell into sin, God provided forgiveness of sins, despite their shame and their explusion from the Garden of Eden. It was seen by our first parents when God slaughters animals, takes their skins, and fashions clothing for Adam and Eve. In the shedding of blood is the forgiveness of sins.

When God establishes the Israelites as His chosen nation, He gives to them, on tablets of stone, the sacrificial system, again centered on the shedding of blood, that would bring forgiveness on earth to His chosen people. The center of this sacrificial system is the tabernacle – and later the Temple – when the people of God could and would find forgiveness on earth. This forgiveness from God is located specifically in the holy of holies of the Temple, in which is found the Ark of the Covenant. On the lid of the Ark, the blood of the annual sacrifice is spread. This blood covers God’s eyes to the sins of the people, represented by the 10 Commandments, the jar of manna, and Aaron’s budded walking stick. On the Day of Atonement, God reminds His people that He has given them forgiveness of sins on earth.  And thus He shows them that forgiveness of sins on earth is the heart of the relationship between God and His people.

This relationship of forgiveness of sins on earth continues until stubbornness and unbelief of God’s people brought an end to their life in a promised land. They are conquered. The Temple is destroyed. The Ark of the Covenant is stolen away, never to be seen again. And forgiveness is no longer found on earth. It is found by prayer and petition to God in heaven, pleading for forgiveness. But the sign and pledge on earth of the forgiveness of sins is gone – gone until Christ comes.

                              II.

In St. Matthew, chapter Nine, Jesus demonstrates that forgiveness of sins is again found on earth. It is found in the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, Incarnate, is on earth. It is found in the promise of the Angel Gabriel to Zecharias, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to shepherds, and to Magi – it is found in all these promises, because, according to God’s Word, He brings forgiveness on earth in the person of God the Son made flesh, Jesus the Christ. Jesus makes that point in the healing of the paralytic: “In order that you might know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins – he then said to the paralytic – Rise, take up your bed, and go home!”

And so it was – and so it continues to be – that the forgiveness of sins returns to earth! No longer must we appeal to the heavens for forgiveness – though many Christians today limit themselves to that behavior! With Jesus, the blood of the covenant returns – in the shedding of His blood. With Jesus, the tabernacle of the interaction between God and man returns – in His body. And though He returns to heaven in the Ascension, His presence remains on earth. His promises remain on earth. And – though many Christians miss this fact, and thereby they miss this blessing: His body and His blood remain on earth, precisely for the forgiveness of sins, in the Sacrament of the Altar. And that all this is true is demonstrated by the Gospel according to St. Matthew, as His inspired words trace this forgiveness from the healing of the paralytic to the resurrection and ascension of Christ.

III.

Hear what Dr. Luther teaches of the forgiveness of sin on earth, in which he shows us that it is this forgiveness on earth that we need, for it is sinfulness on earth that we commit:

Therefore this doctrine, that our piety before God consists entirely in the forgiveness of sins, must be rightly comprehended and firmly maintained. We must therefore get beyond ourselves and ascend higher than our reason, which keeps us in conflict with ourselves and which reminds us both of sin and good works; and we must soar so high as to see neither sin nor good works, but be rooted and grounded in this article and see and know nothing besides. Therefore let grace or forgiveness be pitted not only against sin, but also against good works, and let all human righteousness and holiness be excluded. Thus there are in man two conflicting powers: Externally in this life he is to be pious, do good works, and the like, But if he aims beyond this life and wishes to deal with God, he must know that here neither his sin nor his piety avails anything. And though he may feel his sins which disturb his conscience, and although the law demands good works, he will not listen nor give heed to them, but will boldly reply; If I have sin, Christ has forgiveness; yea, I am seated on a throne to which sin cannot attain.  Therefore we are to regard the kingdom of Christ as a large, beautiful arch or vault which is everywhere over us, and covers and protects us against the wrath of God; yea, as a great, extended firmament which pure grace and forgiveness illuminate and so fill the world and all things, that all sin will hardly appear as a spark in comparison with the great, extended sea of light; and although sin may oppress, it cannot injure, but must disappear and vanish before grace. Those who understand this, may well be called masters, but we will all have to humble ourselves and not be ashamed to keep on learning this lesson as long as we live. 

For wherever our nature succeeds in finding sin, it tries to make an unbearable burden of it. Satan fans the spark and blows up a great fire which fills heaven and earth. Here the leaf must be turned and we must firmly conclude: If the sin were ever so great or burdensome, this article of faith is nevertheless much higher, wider and greater, which has been recommended and established not by man's wisdom, but by him who has comprehended heaven and earth and holds them in the hollow of his hand. My sin and piety must remain here on earth as far as they concern my life and conduct. But in heaven above I have another treasure, greater than either of these; there Christ is seated and holds me in his arms, covers me with his wings and overshadows me with his grace.

Thus the words of Dr. Luther on the forgiveness of sins on earth! And, thus the blessing of God on your every need, the blessing found in the forgiveness of sins on earth!