Ezekiel

September 10, 2017


FIRST LESSON: Ezekiel 33:7–9
“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”



GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 18:1–20
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Ezekiel was an Old Testament Prophet. He lived at the time when the People of Israel were in Exile in Babylon. God made him “a watchman for the house of Israel.” The people were in danger, not just because they were slaves in a foreign land, but because they were in danger of losing their faith in the God of Israel. At the time of Moses, God had led them out of slavery in Egypt, at the time of David, had saved them from the Philistines, but now God has let the Babylonians destroy the city of Jerusalem and carry its people to slavery again. People naturally wondered about the love of God and his promises to Abraham and David. It was the job of Ezekiel to be a watchman, a guard, a whistle-blower to protect them so that they do not die in their sin. There would always be forgiveness for breaking Commandments Numbers Two through Ten, but only if a person kept Commandment Number One, in other words, if a person had faith, love and trust in God Almighty who forgives sin and gives salvation.

Ezekiel was a watchman, and so were other prophets, also, John the Baptist, Jesus, the Apostles, and countless pastors and parents who protect their sheep and children, watching and keeping and guiding and warning them.

God watches over us. That is the message of the Bible. God does not just idly stand by and watch us die, rather he sees our situation. He sees our sin, he sees the natural disasters that threaten us, he sees our personal disasters, too. And God the Watchman seeds someone to rescue us. He sends his Son Jesus.

God’s rescue plan is John 3:16. I paraphrase it. “God so loved the world with all its disasters and evil and sin, that he SENT his son to RESCUE the world so that all who believe in Him as their Rescuer and Savior may not PERISH, but have everlasting life.”

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He told us that the Son of Man had come to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). In today’s Gospel lesson, the Shepherd who leaves the 99 in a safe place and seeks the lost sheep is Jesus Christ. God the Father in Heaven does not want a single sheep to be lost. He does not want a single human being to be lost. This is why he sent his Son Jesus to this world. Jesus said, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” That means, quit wandering and come home to God. And God rejoices when even a single sheep comes home.　 In searching for the lost sheep, Jesus searches all over this world. In the search, Jesus went to Mt. Calvary, where he was crucified. In his search Jesus went to hell, not to be punished, but to find the sheep he loved and bring them safely to heaven. Jesus comes to our hearts and says, “You have been found. Come home.”

How many times has Jesus searched for you? How many times have you broken the Ten Commandments?　　That is how often Jesus has watched over you. Jesus does not give up. We often use the words “repentance, or confession, and forgiveness or absolution.” Those words mean “You have been found. You have been forgiven. Come home.” Peter once asked Jesus, “How many times do I have to search out and forgive my brother? Seven times?” And Jesus answered, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Mt.18:21-22) In other words, uncountable times, always forgive without end. That is the way God forgives us. His mercy and love is endless. As the Psalmist (Ps.136) says, “His love endures forever.” PTL.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” The brother is like a lost sheep. He needs to be found. He needs to be forgiven. He needs to come home. If you cannot find the brother, take a search party with you. Perhaps he will listen to other people and mend his ways. If not, get a bigger search party, and then a bigger one.

Pray in Jesus’ Name that the brother will come home. About this, Jesus said, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Jesus is in the search party, too!

That is the way God operates. God’s love and mercy and patience and forgiveness are infinite. He is a Watchman like Ezekiel. He is the Good Shepherd. He searches for us, for you and for me. And when he finds us, God rejoices. The church rejoices.　Individually, we are happy to be found.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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