Christ Jesus heals and exalts the humble through His Holy Supper.
I. It is the Christian intention to be saved from our works of wrath and to inherit eternal salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, for us to receive such good things, we must have faith. As Saint Paul writes in Romans chapter 4: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to… those who are of the faith of Abraham.” There is no way around it; we must have the faith of Abraham in the Lord Jesus Christ to receive eternal grace.
Yet, to possess that saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we must be humbled. But what does this mean to be humbled in the way of the Lord? Godly humility will never come if we do not let the law, the Ten Commandments, which God requires of all men, condemn us and find us guilty; we will be stuck in pride and arrogance. For God’s law shows us our sin, our failure, our shortcomings, and our disobedience. The Law shows us that we have not loved God with all our hearts, mind, and strength. God’s command to be obedient and holy cannot be ignored because, in the end, Christ will judge those who do not believe in Him by what they have failed to do.
This is what we see in our gospel reading from Luke: the righteous Pharisees on one hand and the sinful man with dropsy on the other. The Pharisees believe they are keeping the Sabbath laws perfectly in the five books of Moses. For them, the law shows God their righteousness. The Pharisees see the law as an outward call to obedience. This means that as long as they do not do any work on the seventh day of the week, they have perfectly kept God’s command, even if they do not truly love God in their heart.
Therefore, the Lord says to them: “Which of you, having a donkey or ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Christ Jesus exposes their hypocrisy: they trust their salvation because they believe they keep the law perfectly. And still, do not show love to their neighbor. The Pharisees have not shown God their righteousness; instead, they are sinful.
So we must look to the man who intrudes on this fine feast of the Pharisees to call upon the Lord Jesus. This man possesses a true and genuine Christian heart. The man with dropsy has heard of Christ’s marvelous deeds and pure teaching. That is, the man knows our Lord’s Law, also known as His command and His gospel, or the Lord’s promises. First, he was instructed in the Law when Jesus says, “You have heard it said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Or “you have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
This infirm man comes before Christ desiring to receive the gospel, that is, healing from sin. For he has heard that Christ has already healed the lame and the blind, and now the man comes before Jesus to plead for His divine mercy. The man knows his sins are great, as he has offended God. Yet still, our offenses do not deter the God of all mercies, as the man is healed of his diseases and we are saved from our sins. Because we confess Christ by the power of the Spirit, all who confess Jesus to the end will be healed and saved eternally.
II. Saving faith imparted by the Holy Spirit makes us humble in order that we may receive our Lord’s gifts and be exalted by the Father through Christ. All the heirs of Abraham’s promise hear our Lord’s call in Revelation chapter 19: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!”The marriage feast that our Lord speaks of in our text today is His own marriage feast to His beloved bride, the church. This marriage supper is ongoing, as Jesus unites us to Himself when He comes to us in the sacrament of the body and blood. In the Holy Supper, Christ Jesus removes the sin of all who acknowledge Him in the bread and wine and believe that what they receive is for their eternal benefit.
Here and in many other places, such as Matthew 22, Christ compares the kingdom of God to a wedding feast. As Christ Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is like a certain King who arranges a marriage for his son and sends out servants to call those who were invited to the wedding.” And now that the fullness of the gospel has been revealed in our Lord by His last testament and passion, the very kingdom of God is in and with the bread and wine that are the body and blood given and shed on the cross and raised to life again.
Right here right now, in holy communion, Christ Jesus and the kingdom of Heaven are here in body and blood. Are present here and now. With them are forgiveness, strength, and endurance.
Forgiveness. In the sacrament, we receive the crucified and risen body and blood of Christ. He is the Lamb offered for our sake. As the people of old ate the passover lamb as God freed them from the bonds of slavery. We are freed by eating and drinking Christ.
Strength. It is not only for the soul, but also for our present body. Though the body will be brought to nothing through our own death. Those who eat the bread of Christ in faith receive the medicine of immortality that strengthens the soul inwardly and will raise the body eternally on the last day.
Endurance. True faith begun by Christ must always draw from Christ. As the Vine gives life to the branches, so Christ in the cup continues to pour His mercy and obedience into us, so that whenever trials and fears come our way, we may run to His Supper. For Jesus, who has overcome the world, dwells in us and we in Him.
Everything we need for the Christian life finds its fulfillment in this holy meal, the wedding feast of the Son. In God’s law we know sin, yet in the sacrament we find redemption. In our flesh, we find only weakness and temptation; in our Lord’s body, we are made one with Him. In our life, we fall; in Jesus’ blood, we are exalted.
May we be humbled by the mysteries of this Sacrament and, by God’s Holy Spirit, desire it for eternal life. Amen.
