Sermon for 3/20/22: Third Sunday in Lent

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Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Exodus 8:16-24

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

In the Gospel, we heard our Lord Jesus say, “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” But He also warned of the danger of letting down one’s guard and permitting those demons to return. Wherever Jesus goes, the devil runs away; he must. Even the cross on which the Son of God died was turned from horror into the very means by which Jesus throws down the devil and all His power! In Holy Baptism the Lord has thrown the devil out of you. Of course, the devil will stop at nothing to try to drag you away from Christ. But no matter what Satan throws at us, he is sent packing by the remembrance of our baptism, by Holy Absolution, whenever the Gospel is preached, and when the body and blood of Jesus is faithfully received. The devil cannot stand these things!

But what if the trouble in our lives comes from the Lord? As we heard, it was the finger of God that brought flies in Egypt. The devil didn’t do this; the Lord did! When Israel later complained against God in the wilderness, He sent serpents against them. We need to hear this and repent of any notion that God doesn’t bring bad things when that serves His purposes.

Still, there is a difference between the plagues the devil brings and the plagues God brings. When the devil attacks you, his purpose is to cause you to lose faith in Christ. He wants you to despair of God’s mercy, to fall back into the kingdom of darkness. But when the Lord causes suffering—even when the suffering is severe, even when it tests you to the limits of your patience—that suffering is for your good. It is given to turn you away from your sin, to teach you to trust only in your heavenly Father. When the Lord sent the flies, that plague was used by God to further harden Pharaoh’s heart, and, ultimately, to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt. When God sent the serpents against Israel, He worked to bring His people to repentance and faith in Him.

Think about how salvation is brought through suffering: the suffering of the Son of God. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, the devil thought it would turn Jesus aside from trusting His Father. The Father, on the other hand, used the suffering of His Son to rescue sinners, and to triumph over sin, death, the devil, and hell! Just as the plagues signaled the salvation of God’s people from Egypt, so the death of Jesus is uniquely the power of salvation for all people. The devil uses his plagues to try and tear us away from Jesus. The Lord’s plagues are given to save us.

So, how do you tell which is which? How do you know, when you are plagued by some trouble or suffering, whether it’s from the devil or from the Lord? How do you distinguish between the two? How do you figure out whether your suffering has its source in the work of Satan by God’s permission, as was the case with Job, or by the Lord Himself directly? The answer is this: Keep your eyes on Jesus! Was our Lord’s suffering from the devil or from the Father? In the end, does it really matter? Do you really need to know? Jesus suffered and took away our sins. With our eyes on Jesus, we need not even be concerned about the source of our suffering. With our eyes on Jesus, we have God’s promise that, whatever suffering we have, it cannot separate us from His love for us in Jesus Christ. With our eyes on Jesus, we have the promise of God that He will deliver us out of whatever is plaguing us and give us everlasting life.

How do you keep your eyes on Him? Luther says in the Large Catechism, “When our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say, ‘Nevertheless, I am baptized. And if I am baptized, it is promised to me that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body.’” You are baptized! Live in that gift from God. Hear the good news of Holy Absolution: your sins don’t count against you any longer; they have been completely washed away. Hear the preaching of the Gospel: Christ suffered and died and finished the work of salvation for you! And to prove it, He rose from the dead three days after. Eat and drink Christ’s holy body and blood, the same body and blood that suffered for your sins, now given as your promise from the Lord Himself that your suffering will pass and you will have joy and blessedness with the Lord forever. It doesn’t matter if your troubles are from the devil or from the Lord; God will use them for your good. As St. Paul writes, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” So keep your eyes on Jesus! When your eyes are on Jesus, there is nothing but the promise of God to deliver you out of your troubles and give you eternal life!

Those who are in Christ are safe from the plagues of the devil. Whatever the Lord sends will be for your good and for your salvation. Yes, plagues will come. Pain, heartaches, troubles, suffering, miseries, difficulties of every shape and size: they will all hit you. When they do, fix your eyes on Jesus! He is the One who saves you from every enemy, every trouble, every affliction, and brings you at last to your heavenly home! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.