A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Mark’s Gospel is full of short episodes with many significant events. This is especially true as it begins. In Mark, chapters 1 and 2, we read about how Jesus was baptized in the Jordan and then tempted in the desert. We then hear how He preached, healed, and cast out demons. We read about the great crowds that began following Him. We also learn about how He called the twelve disciples. Then, in Mark 3, Jesus returns home to Capernaum, but things have changed. Now, after all that He has been doing, crowds follow Him. Yet, the path was not without its thorns. In this segment of Mark, the conflict between Christ and His family, as well as the religious authorities, reaches a boiling point. His response is marked by some of the most direct warnings from the Son of Man during His earthly journey. It’s a moment that calls for introspection and understanding. After a long preaching jour...

"Get Behind Me, Satan" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. And Jesus went on with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told Him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered Him, “You are the Christ.” And He strictly charged them to tell no one about Him. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He said this plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” And He called to Him the crowd with His disciples and said to them, “If anyone would co...

"The Protestations of St. Peter" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. But [Jesus] turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It’s a short step from “Rock” to “Stumbling Block,” from “blessed” to “Satan.” Just ask St. Peter. In last week’s reading, Peter spoke for the rest of the disciples by confessing Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus commended this confession, identifying the Father as its source and its truth as the foundation of the Church’s endurance. In other words, Peter got Jesus right. Jesus pronounced Peter blessed and called him Petros , “Rock.” But now, just five verses later Jesus calls him Satan, and says he is a skandalon , a stumbling block to Jesus and His ministry. What changed? To find out, let’s review the narrative. ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in His spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom He spoke. One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to Jesus, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom He was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” (John 13:21-27) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Have you ever been betrayed? Betrayal, at its heart, is a break of trust, particularly a break of trust from someone close to you, someone you should ...

"Christ Tempted by Satan to Turn Stones into Bread" by William Blake Click here to listen to this sermon.

"Jesus Heals a Mute-Possessed Man" by James I. Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. “ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house” ( Mark 3:27). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! There are only two religions in the world. While such a statement may seem naïve to some, it should not sound so strange to you. For when the facade of this world is torn away, all that remains are two spiritual kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the evil one—Satan. The kingdom of God is founded on Jesus, the Way and the Truth and the Life. The kingdom of the devil is founded on a lie. His is a fallen and condemned kingdom without any hope of return to its splendor. [i] But that does not mean the devil is no longer dangerous and deadly. Satan is the father of lies and can become whatever we desire him to be. He represents himself as an a...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ! Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve traveled, All your might has come unraveled, And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord unites with me” ( LSB #594, v. 3). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The Jordan River water slowly trickles off Jesus’ wet head. The hot sand glues itself to His damp feet. Behind Him the famous river snakes along; before Him the ancient serpent lays in wait. Still drenched with baptismal water, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Heaven and hell are about to exchange blows. And in the celestial realm, you can hear a pin drop. You may be tempted to view the fight as a spectator, to cheer for your Big Brother who is about to blacken the eye of the bully from below. But you are not just a fan in the stands. No, you are in Christ . In Jesus, all hum...