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This Week's Sermon THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY 27 January 2008 "The Light Has Dawned" Matthew 4:12-25 LSB Series A Pastor Philip G. Meyer Soli Deo Gloria!

As we have said many times, Epiphany is the season of light. Especially we heard that on 06 January, the Epiphany of Our Lord. Today the theme appears yet again, but in a different context. Instead of the Magi we have a reference to John the Baptizer who had been arrested and Jesus withdrawing into Galilee in fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah had said about a great light shining in what is called "Galilee of the Gentiles." We hear Jesus speak the first words of his earthly ministry, words which John had spoken in the wilderness. Jesus was crowning and completing what John had proclaimed in himself. In Jesus the light of God's new creation was dawning. Jesus is himself that Light.

The Kingdom of God was present in Jesus' person, words, and works. It was evident, epiphanied, to use that word again. At the same time Jesus called disciples to himself in order to train them to be witnesses of everything he said and did. This is distinct from the general calling of disciples, what we might call "the wide sense." It is true that all people need to repent of their sins and follow Christ for forgiveness and salvation. In this way, the calling of the Twelve serves as a model for all people, but it would be a mistake to apply the calling of the Twelve to all Christians. No doubt you've heard sermons on this text that exhorts all Christians to be "fishers of men." There have been elaborate evangelism campaigns built on this image, complete with little fish hooks that men used to wear on the lapels of their jackets. Aside from the wrong picture of fishing with hooks-the disciples who were fishermen who fished with nets, not hooks-there is the mistaken notion that every Christian is to be engaged in this kind of fishing.

Not all disciples will function in the same way. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans:

"Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness." (Romans 12:6-8, ESV)

When Jesus says that these fishermen will become fishers of men, he is saying that this apostolic office will form the holy Christian Church, and that through this Church the Holy Spirit will call all people to be his own. In explaining the meaning of the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed, Luther instructs:

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

This Apostolic Office has continued throughout the ages, from the very first day that our Lord said to Simon and Andrew, James and John, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." In spite of all the turmoil of the ages, Word and Sacrament have continued and Christ has shone in every age, sometimes brighter and sometimes dimmer, but Christ has been the Light of the world. By contrast Mormons, who are not Christians in spite of their claims to the contrary, say that the true Church disappeared after the age of the Apostles and didn't emerge again until Joseph Smith re-instituted it in the 19th century. There are other denominations which say that there was no Ministry until they re-instituted it, but one must ask if there were any Christians from the time of the Apostles until the rise of these sects and denominations. They have made it all dependent upon the persons they establish rather than upon the Marks of the Church, that is, Word and Sacrament.

Where Word and Sacrament are, there is Christ and there is Christ's Church. Jesus calls these first disciples for a very specific purpose, namely, they are to be the eyes and ears witnesses of everything that Jesus said and did in his earthly ministry. They are called by Jesus so that he can train them, educate them, and convey to the Church through them the authority to forgive sins. On the evening of his resurrection from the dead our Lord appeared to the Ten disciples-Judas was dead and Thomas was not present-and had some very specific instructions for them:

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld."" (John 20:21-23, ESV)

Matthew writes that Jesus began to "preach." Unfortunately, that word in English has a negative meaning for most people, such as scolding people. It has a moralistic quality about it that many people want to avoid, such as, "Don't preach to me." But that's not what the word meant originally in the Greek. It means "to proclaim," "to announce." It has its roots in the herald's proclamation from the king, so it has the idea of the man who brought a message directly from the king. That's what Jesus was doing and what he would train these 12 disciples to do.

The herald came with certainty. There were no "ifs" or uncertainties about his message; he didn't come with a list of "probablies," or "most likely;" he came with certainty. Apostolic preaching in the Christian Church, then, has the note of certainty, a "thus says the Lord." So you hear it every time you repent and confess your sins:

In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + son and of the Holy Spirit.

These words also contain the voice of authority, that is, your pastor speaks for the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He speaks with an authority that is not his own, but is the authority of the Author himself, Christ. It is the voice of God spoken through the mouth of a man. Here The Light Has Dawned anew every time it is spoken in the Absolution, in the sermon, in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism or the Sacrament of the Altar. It is as sure "as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us himself," to quote the Small Catechism.

All of this is happening as our Lord begins his earthly ministry and immediately calls these men to follow him so that he may train them to carry on his Ministry to succeeding generations. And what a blessing it has been to the world as our Lord uses men to bring in others into his boat, his ark, the Holy Christian Church.

Here today for you the Light shines. Here is Christ and his grace, his forgiveness, his life, his salvation! The Light is not hard to find. You find it wherever Word and Sacrament are used. When our Lord was ready to ascend to the Father he left his Apostles with these words:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)