Trinity 19 - St. Matthew 9:1-8
Grace to you and Peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.
Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
We pray: Hear us, O Lord, as we come to You burdened with our guilt, and bow in faith at Your feet. Speak to us Your word of absolution; say to our souls, “Your sins be forgiven You”; that with good courage we may rise up and go forth to serve You, now and all our days, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Fellow redeemed: Before us in the Gospel today we have a glorious example of good work in action. I have taught you, and it is characteristic of our Lutheran religion that you should hold that man is not saved by his good works, but by the grace of God. Sola gratia! That is, salvation is by grace alone. Yet we must consider the necessity of works in salvation, for here we see how man is saved by good works.
Now let me put the question to you regarding your own justification- that is, your own being made just before God, and therefore saved and rescued out of sin and eternal death-were good works necessary in your case? If you consider your own condition apart from this salvation you were in no position at all to do such a work. You were like the fellow lowered before Jesus, for you were spiritually paralyzed and dead, weren’t you? No, it is clear that you could not by your own reason and strength believe in Jesus, or come to Him. You could do no more to accomplish your salvation than if you were a skeleton laying in a valley of dry bones. What does the paralytic do for his justification and salvation in today’s Gospel? Not one thing. He is unable. He lays there, while others do all the work, doesn’t he?
Therefore it is abundantly clear that a man is not saved by his own work, but by the work of another. And so we see Jesus in today’s Gospel. And just how does He react to the sight of this hopeless, helpless fellow laying there before Him? “He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.’” So the man is not justified by his work, but through the action, the word of forgiveness Jesus speaks to him. So it is through the word and by the good work of Jesus that the fellow is saved. For here Jesus’ Word is to be backed up by His Work. Like writing a check, which is then backed up by the money in your bank account, the promise is satisfied by the action and work of Jesus’ perfect obedience under the Law, and His innocent suffering, and His death on the Cross that saves the man. The man indeed is saved by good works- the good works of Jesus- for He speaks here the absolution, which He accomplishes in the man’s place by His work.
So, are good works necessary for salvation? Yes! No, not the paralytic’s works, but the good work of Jesus.
And here the good Lutheran rejoices, for of course, it’s the work of Jesus, not of us sinners, which saves! Sola gratia! You are saved by grace alone- and it is the gracious good work, merit, and sacrifice of Jesus for us through which a sinner is saved! Yes, yes, but, now get this, we’ve ignored something here. So let’s take another run at the matter.
Are good works of men also necessary for salvation, in distinction to the work of Jesus’ passive and active obedience in our place? What do you think? Because the answer is, yes. Yes, the good works of men are also necessary for salvation.
Good. I see none of you have fallen off your seat. You haven’t made a rush toward the door. You seem willing enough to hear me out. But mind you: you must now judge me in this matter. Yes, here the sheep must indeed judge the shepherd! If I speak in accordance with God’s clear Word, and as you have been instructed in it according to the Catechism, you must embrace what I say, and also, you must do whatever you are given to do, as though our Lord Himself were speaking to you. But if I speak contrary to the clear teaching of God’s Word, you must without delay call me to repentance, lest I continue to err and lead us all to hell. This is dreadfully serious stuff, so hear me carefully now. And consider what it must mean when I tell you that yes, the good works of men are also necessary for salvation, and- while I’m at it I may as well go totus porcus (whole hog) here- more than that, your own good works are necessary for salvation.
Hear again the portion of today’s Gospel I read at the start of this sermon:
Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
Before Jesus opens His mouth He saw the faith, not of the paralytic man, but of his friends who brought him. And this was no casual matter, but was done by the friends on purpose. In the parallel passages in the other Gospels we see that these fellows, in order to get their friend right in front of Jesus, for all the press of the crowd, had hoisted him up onto the rooftop, and had removed the roofing tiles and other material until a large hole was made, through which they then lowered their helpless friend. So Jesus sees the clattering tiles, the bits of displaced lumber, the dust and junk raining down, looks up and sees the ropes and cot, the paralytic being lowered by the straining muscles of the friends above, like some weird reversal of Jacob’s ladder, not holy and mighty angels descending to earth, but an infirm sinner being lowered into the heavenly presence of the Savior!
Jesus takes this scene in, and it is in the broken bits of tile, the rush of dirt and dust cascading down with the sinner, and seeing the faith of the friends- that they here are showing that they had heard His Word and believed it- reckoned it to them as righteousness, as faith in Him. This is no different than it had been two thousand years prior with old father Abraham, whom had also believed God’s Word, and he too was reckoned righteous, and then made a blessing, or I should say one through whom great blessing would come to all the peoples of the world!
These men believed Jesus, and believing acted. And it is by means of their good works (that is to say a work based on the Good News of Jesus which they heard and in which they had faith) in bringing the paralytic even through the considerable obstacles they faced- the crowd, and the construction of the roof, and the engineering necessary to lower and not just dump the man into the room- that the man was brought to Jesus and so was delivered to his salvation. The man was saved by the Good Work of Jesus, and also through the good works of the men who regarded their vocation as his friends and did what was given them to do for his blessing.
John Pless recently wrote that “In a little tract written in 1520, On the Freedom of the Christian, Luther describes the Christian as a person who lives outside of himself. By faith he is drawn into Christ. By love, he is lowered into the life of the neighbor.” - We call the work of love toward one’s neighbor ‘vocation.’ The friends reckoned their vocation toward their helpless friend, and so acted.
When parents, regarding the helplessness of their infant exercise their vocation in love and bring her to church to be baptized, yes, it is through their good works that their daughter or son is saved. When you show kindness toward your neighbor, when you honor your father and mother, when you are mindful and do what is given you to do to ensure the safety of the members of your household, and your neighbors in their person and property, when you treat one another’s heart as sacred and so keep yourself from sexual intimacy outside of marriage, when you act in whatever earthly employment you may hold, when you pray for others, when you open your earthly treasure to share with the ongoing work of the congregation, when you do what is put in your hands and mouth and heart to do, you are made the instrument through which our Lord indeed now would work and even through which others may be saved!
Yes, the good works of men are indeed necessary for salvation. For it is through these deeds that our Lord brings others to Himself, and also encourages Christians to keep faith in the face of the discouragement and temptation to fall which our dying world daily causes us to face (like the pressing crowd and the structure of the roof in today’s Gospel), and should bring blessings, both great and small, both common, such as the meal you prepare for your family or the service you provide at work, or the kind word or smile you give your passing neighbor, and divine, such as teaching and encouraging each other to pray when you sit to eat, and to hear the Word of the Lord, inviting bringing one another into the house of the Lord, and to beseech God’s blessings on one another in your prayers.
Indeed, as you can see, while you are saved apart from any good works of your own, and are saved by the grace of Jesus alone, He nevertheless does use the work of others toward you to effect and deliver your salvation and blessing, and now also works through you toward them!
Finally a word of warning: this good work does not follow an elaborate script. God works through His Word, which you then are made to employ and apply in your daily life as the Holy Spirit works faith toward our Lord and love toward your neighbor. Those who come in and would trouble the church, and suggest that you should go along with changes of every sort in order to make you, and the church more outwardly successful are doing Jesus no favors. Rather, for all their spiritual-sounding words they show they do not believe the Holy Spirit is able to use God’s Word in your life as He has been sent to do, and prefer their own strategies- which invariably turn you away from the Good News of Jesus and the straight-forward delivery of His Word and the Means of Grace. Stick to the old paths, which may seem narrow, but which lead to eternal salvation. That is, hear God’s Word and believe it. Your sin is forgiven for Jesus’ sake! And receive His Means of Grace. And love one another, and love and serve your neighbor, your family, those whom you work with and for. And always be prepared to give an answer to those who ask about the hope that is in you, in gentleness and respect. Through such the Lord Himself is working, and saving many for Jesus’ sake!
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Amen.
Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
We pray: Hear us, O Lord, as we come to You burdened with our guilt, and bow in faith at Your feet. Speak to us Your word of absolution; say to our souls, “Your sins be forgiven You”; that with good courage we may rise up and go forth to serve You, now and all our days, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Fellow redeemed: Before us in the Gospel today we have a glorious example of good work in action. I have taught you, and it is characteristic of our Lutheran religion that you should hold that man is not saved by his good works, but by the grace of God. Sola gratia! That is, salvation is by grace alone. Yet we must consider the necessity of works in salvation, for here we see how man is saved by good works.
Now let me put the question to you regarding your own justification- that is, your own being made just before God, and therefore saved and rescued out of sin and eternal death-were good works necessary in your case? If you consider your own condition apart from this salvation you were in no position at all to do such a work. You were like the fellow lowered before Jesus, for you were spiritually paralyzed and dead, weren’t you? No, it is clear that you could not by your own reason and strength believe in Jesus, or come to Him. You could do no more to accomplish your salvation than if you were a skeleton laying in a valley of dry bones. What does the paralytic do for his justification and salvation in today’s Gospel? Not one thing. He is unable. He lays there, while others do all the work, doesn’t he?
Therefore it is abundantly clear that a man is not saved by his own work, but by the work of another. And so we see Jesus in today’s Gospel. And just how does He react to the sight of this hopeless, helpless fellow laying there before Him? “He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.’” So the man is not justified by his work, but through the action, the word of forgiveness Jesus speaks to him. So it is through the word and by the good work of Jesus that the fellow is saved. For here Jesus’ Word is to be backed up by His Work. Like writing a check, which is then backed up by the money in your bank account, the promise is satisfied by the action and work of Jesus’ perfect obedience under the Law, and His innocent suffering, and His death on the Cross that saves the man. The man indeed is saved by good works- the good works of Jesus- for He speaks here the absolution, which He accomplishes in the man’s place by His work.
So, are good works necessary for salvation? Yes! No, not the paralytic’s works, but the good work of Jesus.
And here the good Lutheran rejoices, for of course, it’s the work of Jesus, not of us sinners, which saves! Sola gratia! You are saved by grace alone- and it is the gracious good work, merit, and sacrifice of Jesus for us through which a sinner is saved! Yes, yes, but, now get this, we’ve ignored something here. So let’s take another run at the matter.
Are good works of men also necessary for salvation, in distinction to the work of Jesus’ passive and active obedience in our place? What do you think? Because the answer is, yes. Yes, the good works of men are also necessary for salvation.
Good. I see none of you have fallen off your seat. You haven’t made a rush toward the door. You seem willing enough to hear me out. But mind you: you must now judge me in this matter. Yes, here the sheep must indeed judge the shepherd! If I speak in accordance with God’s clear Word, and as you have been instructed in it according to the Catechism, you must embrace what I say, and also, you must do whatever you are given to do, as though our Lord Himself were speaking to you. But if I speak contrary to the clear teaching of God’s Word, you must without delay call me to repentance, lest I continue to err and lead us all to hell. This is dreadfully serious stuff, so hear me carefully now. And consider what it must mean when I tell you that yes, the good works of men are also necessary for salvation, and- while I’m at it I may as well go totus porcus (whole hog) here- more than that, your own good works are necessary for salvation.
Hear again the portion of today’s Gospel I read at the start of this sermon:
Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
Before Jesus opens His mouth He saw the faith, not of the paralytic man, but of his friends who brought him. And this was no casual matter, but was done by the friends on purpose. In the parallel passages in the other Gospels we see that these fellows, in order to get their friend right in front of Jesus, for all the press of the crowd, had hoisted him up onto the rooftop, and had removed the roofing tiles and other material until a large hole was made, through which they then lowered their helpless friend. So Jesus sees the clattering tiles, the bits of displaced lumber, the dust and junk raining down, looks up and sees the ropes and cot, the paralytic being lowered by the straining muscles of the friends above, like some weird reversal of Jacob’s ladder, not holy and mighty angels descending to earth, but an infirm sinner being lowered into the heavenly presence of the Savior!
Jesus takes this scene in, and it is in the broken bits of tile, the rush of dirt and dust cascading down with the sinner, and seeing the faith of the friends- that they here are showing that they had heard His Word and believed it- reckoned it to them as righteousness, as faith in Him. This is no different than it had been two thousand years prior with old father Abraham, whom had also believed God’s Word, and he too was reckoned righteous, and then made a blessing, or I should say one through whom great blessing would come to all the peoples of the world!
These men believed Jesus, and believing acted. And it is by means of their good works (that is to say a work based on the Good News of Jesus which they heard and in which they had faith) in bringing the paralytic even through the considerable obstacles they faced- the crowd, and the construction of the roof, and the engineering necessary to lower and not just dump the man into the room- that the man was brought to Jesus and so was delivered to his salvation. The man was saved by the Good Work of Jesus, and also through the good works of the men who regarded their vocation as his friends and did what was given them to do for his blessing.
John Pless recently wrote that “In a little tract written in 1520, On the Freedom of the Christian, Luther describes the Christian as a person who lives outside of himself. By faith he is drawn into Christ. By love, he is lowered into the life of the neighbor.” - We call the work of love toward one’s neighbor ‘vocation.’ The friends reckoned their vocation toward their helpless friend, and so acted.
When parents, regarding the helplessness of their infant exercise their vocation in love and bring her to church to be baptized, yes, it is through their good works that their daughter or son is saved. When you show kindness toward your neighbor, when you honor your father and mother, when you are mindful and do what is given you to do to ensure the safety of the members of your household, and your neighbors in their person and property, when you treat one another’s heart as sacred and so keep yourself from sexual intimacy outside of marriage, when you act in whatever earthly employment you may hold, when you pray for others, when you open your earthly treasure to share with the ongoing work of the congregation, when you do what is put in your hands and mouth and heart to do, you are made the instrument through which our Lord indeed now would work and even through which others may be saved!
Yes, the good works of men are indeed necessary for salvation. For it is through these deeds that our Lord brings others to Himself, and also encourages Christians to keep faith in the face of the discouragement and temptation to fall which our dying world daily causes us to face (like the pressing crowd and the structure of the roof in today’s Gospel), and should bring blessings, both great and small, both common, such as the meal you prepare for your family or the service you provide at work, or the kind word or smile you give your passing neighbor, and divine, such as teaching and encouraging each other to pray when you sit to eat, and to hear the Word of the Lord, inviting bringing one another into the house of the Lord, and to beseech God’s blessings on one another in your prayers.
Indeed, as you can see, while you are saved apart from any good works of your own, and are saved by the grace of Jesus alone, He nevertheless does use the work of others toward you to effect and deliver your salvation and blessing, and now also works through you toward them!
Finally a word of warning: this good work does not follow an elaborate script. God works through His Word, which you then are made to employ and apply in your daily life as the Holy Spirit works faith toward our Lord and love toward your neighbor. Those who come in and would trouble the church, and suggest that you should go along with changes of every sort in order to make you, and the church more outwardly successful are doing Jesus no favors. Rather, for all their spiritual-sounding words they show they do not believe the Holy Spirit is able to use God’s Word in your life as He has been sent to do, and prefer their own strategies- which invariably turn you away from the Good News of Jesus and the straight-forward delivery of His Word and the Means of Grace. Stick to the old paths, which may seem narrow, but which lead to eternal salvation. That is, hear God’s Word and believe it. Your sin is forgiven for Jesus’ sake! And receive His Means of Grace. And love one another, and love and serve your neighbor, your family, those whom you work with and for. And always be prepared to give an answer to those who ask about the hope that is in you, in gentleness and respect. Through such the Lord Himself is working, and saving many for Jesus’ sake!
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Amen.