“And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven … and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.” Daniel 5:23,24 (Read Daniel 5:1-31)
What would you think if you were at a party or celebration and enjoying all your successes in life, and then, suddenly, a man’s fingers appeared and wrote words on the wall — words you did not recognize or understand?
It happened during the reign of the last king of Babylon, King Belshazzar. He threw a great feast for a thousand of his lords and, while he tasted the wine, he called for the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and used them as drinking vessels in which to serve wine to his guests. “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone,” verse 4 says.
Daniel 5:5-6 tells us: “In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.”
No one could be found to interpret the writing until Daniel the prophet was called. Listen to what he tells the king before he interprets the writing and reveals to the king that his kingdom would fall that very night: “You have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven … and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.”
Who is it who holds our breath in His hand and owns all our ways? The Lord God who created the heavens and the earth!
I think of the words of Psalm 100:3: “Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
We like to imagine that our lives are our own and that we are in control, and then there is the writing on the wall to remind us of the truth: it is the almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, who created us in the beginning and breathed life into our bodies and made us living souls (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7,18ff.; Psalm 139:13-16). He holds our life, our very breath, in His hand.
What Daniel said to Belshazzar is very similar to what St. Paul said to the Athenians at the Areopagus who had altars to many gods and even an altar to the unknown god, just to be safe. Paul said, “The One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’” (Acts 17:23-28).
The current coronavirus pandemic which has caused fear and panic around the world is another form of writing on the wall. It reminds us that God holds our very breath in His hand and, with something so small that we cannot even see it without an electron microscope, He can take it away.
And the writing on the wall in Babylon? “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”
What does it mean? We read in Daniel 5:26-28: “This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
And these words could very well be applied to people today who fail to give glory to the God of heaven by humbling themselves before Him and hearing and heeding His Word. MENE, God has numbered your time and your life in this world and finished it. TEKEL, You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. PERES, Your earthly kingdom and wealth will be divided and given to others.
What’s my point?
God is in control and holds our lives and our every breath in His hand. He gives us life that we might acknowledge Him and bow before Him by repenting of our self-centered and sinful ways and looking to Him for mercy and forgiveness through faith in the Savior He provided for us — Christ Jesus, who died for the sins of all and then rose again in triumph on the third day.
If we continue to imagine that we are in control and go on in our self-centered ways, refusing to repent and look to Him for mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, the handwriting is already on the wall. The current virus scare is just one more reminder to all of us of who really holds our breath in His hand.
Have mercy upon us, O God, for failing to acknowledge and glorify Your name by true sorrow over our sinful and rebellious ways and Spirit-wrought faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus, Your Son and our Savior. Amen.
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The Hymn. “Abide with Me! Fast Falls the Eventide”
by Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847
1. Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
2. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see.
O Thou, who changest not, abide with me!
3. Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
4. Come not in terror, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.
5. Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
6. I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the Tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me!
7. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still if Thou abide with me.
8. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
The Versicle.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O Lord!
The Psalm. Psalm 51To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight — that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart — these, O God, You will not despise. 18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
The Lesson. Matthew 27:1-10
1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. 3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
But You, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Thanks be to You, O Lord.
The Hymn. “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood”
by William Cowper, 1731-1800
1. There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
2. The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, as vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
3. Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more.
4. E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die.
5. When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I’ll sing Thy power to save.
The Sermon.
What of Judas Iscariot?
Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. Matthew 27:3-5
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Jesus, grace, mercy and peace be unto you through faith in Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen.
True repentance has two parts. One is that we see our sins against God and sorrow over them because we have broken God’s holy commandments and justly deserve His eternal wrath and punishment (contrition). The other is that we trust in God to be merciful to us and forgive our sins for Jesus’ sake (faith). And, where there is true repentance, there will also follow the fruit of an amended life.
The Augsburg Confession, in Article XII, confesses this truth when it says: “Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits of repentance.”
We see this in David’s prayer of repentance in Psalm 51. David acknowledged his sin and guilt and he sorrowed over his transgression. He said (v. 3-5): “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight — that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me….”
But David also looked to the LORD God to show him mercy. He prayed (v. 1-2 ): “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” David trusted that God would deal with him in mercy and grant him forgiveness for the sake of the promised Messiah and Savior who would “redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (Ps. 130:8).
It was then that David prayed (v. 10-13): “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.”
Judas, when he realized what he had done — that he had betrayed “innocent blood” and that Jesus was now “condemned” — was remorseful. He saw his sin, was sorry for what he had done, and even tried to return the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. Judas had sorrow over his sin, but did he trust in God’s mercy? The answer is quite obvious. He did not!
And how the chief priests, as servants of God, failed Judas! When Judas confessed his sin to them, they should have proclaimed to him the Gospel — the good news of God’s mercy and forgiveness for the sake of the Messiah and Savior who would be offered up as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. But, since they did not believe in the Messiah themselves but rejected and condemn Him, they cared nothing for the eternal welfare of Judas and told him, “What is that to us? You see to it!” So, Judas despaired of God’s mercy and “went and hanged himself.”
Could Judas have received mercy? Consider the examples of David in the Old Testament, and Peter in the New. David committed adultery and murder, yet God forgave him. When David, after being confronted regarding his sin by Nathan the prophet, acknowledged, “I have sinned against the LORD,” Nathan told him, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Sam. 12:13; cf. 2 Sam. 11-12; Psalms 51 and 32).
Peter three times denied even knowing Jesus, and he too received mercy and went on to serve his Savior. Jesus had told him in Luke 22:32: “When you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” And Jesus, asking Peter three times if he loved Him, recommissioned him to feed His sheep and His lambs (cf. John 21:15ff.).
Could Judas have received forgiveness? Certainly; for Christ died for the sins of the whole world, “the just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18; cf. 2 Cor. 5:19,21; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Cor. 15:3,4). As John the Baptist had said of Him, Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!
But Judas thought his sin was too great. He did not believe that God could or would forgive him. He despaired of God’s mercy and died in his sin and unbelief. How tragic!
What about you? Have you ever betrayed or denied your Lord Jesus? Have you ever turned aside from following Him and broken His commandments? You know that you have — we all have! The Bible tells us that “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6a).
Have you felt sorrow over your sins? Are you saddened over the fact that you have broken God’s holy law? Do you fear God’s judgment and wrath? Does it bother you to know that it was because of your sins (and mine, too) that Jesus was condemned to suffer and die on the cross?
Have you ever felt like Judas must have felt? Have you ever felt that your sin was too great or that you have sinned too many times for God to forgive you yet again? Do you fear that this time God will not forgive you and that you are hopelessly headed for hell?
If so, you are despairing of God’s mercy! You are forgetting the fact that “the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6b); that Jesus has paid in full the penalty for our sins and that, when we turn in faith to Jesus, we “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).
Remember the truth expressed by the Psalmist in Psalm 86:5: “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” When we look to Jesus and His cross for mercy, God is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” because “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 1:9 and 2:1,2).
Remember also that our Lord Jesus tells us in John 6:37: “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” Look to Jesus and receive God’s mercy, pardon and forgiveness.
Dear Lord Jesus, we know that we have denied and betrayed You by our sins. By Your Holy Spirit, bring us to see our sinfulness and repent, having true sorrow over our sins and the just punishment we deserve, but also true faith in You, trusting that for the sake of Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death upon the cross, we have pardon, forgiveness, and the eternal joys of heaven. Amen.
The Versicle.
Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
The Canticle. The Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79)
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
The Prayer.
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Then shall all say the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed.
Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers: And greatly to be praised and glorified, forever.
Bless we the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost: We praise and magnify Him forever.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven: And greatly to be praised, and glorified, and highly exalted forever.
The Almighty and Merciful Lord, bless and preserve us. Amen.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, this night: To keep us without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let Thy mercy be upon us: As our trust is in Thee.
Hear my prayer, O LORD: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let us pray.
We give thanks unto Thee, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast this day so graciously protected us, and we beseech Thee to forgive us all our sins, and the wrong which we have done, and by Thy great mercy defend us from all the perils and dangers of this night. Into Thy hands we commend our bodies and souls, and all that is ours. Let Thy holy angel have charge concerning us, that the wicked one have no power over us. Amen.
Versicle.
The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Benedicamus.
Bless we the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Benediction.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
The Hymn. “Lord Jesus, Thou Art Going Forth” by Kaspar Nachtenhoefer and Magnus Omeis. Tr. W. Gustave Polack
(Due to the fact that no organ recording was available, you may wish to listen to this hymn in German and follow along in English with the words from The Lutheran Hymnal printed out below).
1. (The Soul:) Lord Jesus, Thou art going forth
For me Thy life to offer;
For me, a sinner from my birth,
Who caused all Thou must suffer.
So be it, then,
Thou Hope of men;
Thee I shall follow weeping,
Tears flowing free
Thy pain to see,
Watch o’er Thy sorrows keeping.
2. (Jesus:) Soul, attend thou and behold
The fruit of thy transgression!
My portion is the curse of old
And for man’s sin My Passion.
Now comes the night
Of sin’s dread might,
Man’s guilt I here am bearing.
Oh, weigh it, Soul;
I make thee whole,
No need now of despairing.
3. (The Soul:) “Tis I, Lord Jesus, I confess,
Who should have borne sin’s wages
And lost the peace of heavenly bliss
Through everlasting ages.
Instead “tis Thou
Who goest now
My punishment to carry,
Thy death and blood
Lead me to God;
By grace I there may tarry.
4. (Jesus: ) O Soul, I take upon Me now
The pain thou shouldst have suffered.
Behold, with grace I thee endow,
Grace freely to thee offered.
The curse I choose
That thou mightst lose
Sin’s curse and guilt forever.
My gift of love
From heaven above
Will give thee blessing ever.
5. (The Soul:) What can I for such love divine
To Thee, Lord Jesus, render?
No merit has this heart of mine;
Yet while I live, I’ll tender
Myself alone,
And all I own,
In love to serve before Thee;
Then when time’s past,
Take me at last
To Thy blest home in glory.
Hymn
“Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now” by unknown author, 1651
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878
1. Lord Jesus Christ, be present now,
Our hearts in true devotion bow,
Thy Spirit send with grace divine,
And let Thy truth within us shine.
2. Unseal our lips to sing Thy praise,
Our souls to Thee in worship raise,
Make strong our faith, increase our light
That we may know Thy name aright;
3. Until we join the hosts that cry,
“Holy art Thou, O Lord, most high!”
And in the light of that blest place
Fore’er behold Thee face to face.
4. Glory to God the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To Thee, O blessed Trinity,
Be praise throughout eternity!
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. +
Confession
Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word and deed. Therefore, we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Then the Minister shall say: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us, and has given His only-begotten Son to die for us, and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in His Name, He gives power to become the sons of God, and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes, and is baptized, shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. Amen.
Psalm verse: Psalm 50:15
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Collect
We ask You, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon Your people that by Your great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore in both body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Catechism Lesson
81. Of what would God remind us particularly in these last commandments, saying, “Thou shalt not covet”? Of two things: 1. that in God’s sight mere evil lust is indeed and truly sin; and 2. that we should have no evil lust whatever in our hearts, but only holy desires and love of God and of all that is good.
133) Rom. 7:7. I had not known lust except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
134) James 1:14-15. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
135) Lev. 19:2. Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord, your God, am holy.
136) Matt. 5:48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
137) Ps. 37:4. Delight thyself in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Scripture Readings
Exodus 16:1-21
1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.” 9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 13 So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ” 17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
John 6:1-15
1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
Apostles’ Creed
I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn
“Oh, Bless the Lord, My Soul” by Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
1. Oh, bless the Lord, my soul!
Let all within me join
And aid my tongue to bless His name
Whose favors are divine.
2. Oh, bless the Lord, my soul,
Nor let His mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness
And without praises die!
3. ‘Tis He forgives thy sins;
‘Tis He relieves thy pain;
‘Tis He that heals thy sicknesses
And makes thee young again.
4. He crowns thy life with love
When ransomed from the grave;
He that redeemed my soul from hell
Hath sovereign power to save.
5. He fills the poor with good;
He gives the sufferers rest:
The Lord hath judgments for the proud
And justice for th’ opprest.
6. His wondrous works and ways
He made by Moses known,
But sent the world His truth and grace
By His beloved Son.
The Sermon
Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. John 6:5-6 (Read v. 1-15)
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Why does God test us in seemingly impossible situations? It’s certainly not because God doesn’t already have a plan in mind. And, it’s not to see what we’ll do, for God already knows that too.
So why does God test us? To teach us to trust Him in every situation! That’s exactly why Jesus questioned Philip as to where they could buy bread to feed a multitude of more than five thousand who had followed Jesus to this remote spot along the Sea of Galilee.
Philip’s answer illustrated the seemingly hopeless situation: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little” (John 6:7). A denarius is used in another parable of Jesus as a full day’s wage, so Philip’s answer is equivalent to saying that even 200-day’s wages would not be enough to feed this crowd, even a little.
When Andrew mentioned the lad with five barley loaves and two small fish, the disciples assumed this was nothing in comparison to the need but Jesus had the men sit down. He gave thanks to God for the food He had provided. Then Jesus distributed the food to His disciples and His disciples to the people. All ate to the full, and they gathered up twelve basketfuls of leftovers.
In the book of Exodus, we see that God also fed the people of Israel in a seemingly impossible situation in the wilderness, providing mana in the mornings and quail in the evenings. But God also tested the people and taught them to trust by providing only enough manna for each day, that they might learn to trust in Him each day for their daily bread.
In Exodus 16:4-5, we read: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.’”
God provided enough manna each day for His people and, on the sixth day, He provided enough for two days so they could rest on the Sabbath. Of course, some people did not trust in the LORD and gathered more than they needed for the day and the leftover manna bred worms and stank. And some tried to gather on the Sabbath, but there was none (cf. Ex. 16:17-30).
And, in the Lord’s Prayer, recorded in Matthew 6, we pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). Luke 11:3 says: “Give us day by day our daily bread.”
Jesus also teaches us the same when He tells us in Matthew 6 not to worry about what we will eat and drink or what we will wear (Matt. 6:25ff.) After telling us to seek first His kingdom (v. 33), He says, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things” (v. 34).
When we consider the feeding of the five thousand with only five barley loaves and two small fish, we certainly see a miracle and proof that Jesus is the almighty Son of God in human flesh. But we also learn that God would have us trust Him in seemingly impossible situations, give thanks for what He has provided, and rely upon Him to care for our every need (Prov. 3:5ff.). We are to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God,” as Paul writes in Philippians 4:6). We may find the situation impossible, but God already has a plan in mind!
And, certainly, our sinfulness puts us in an impossible situation before the Lord. We have sinned and God’s Law condemns us to eternal suffering in hell! The Bible tells us that all of us “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23); and that “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4; cf. Rom. 6:23a; Gal. 3:10; Eccl. 7:20).
But God had a plan! He sent His only-begotten Son into the world as a man to fulfill the law for us and then to suffer our just punishment. In Galatians 4:4-5, we read: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
God laid our sins upon Messiah Jesus and punished Him in our stead. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 53:6 that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures … He was buried, and … He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3,4; cf. Gal. 3:13; 1 John 2:1-2).
And, through the preaching of the Gospel, He brought us to faith in Christ Jesus and declared us just and righteous in His eyes. In Romans 3:21-26, we read: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” And John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Our situation was indeed hopeless and impossible — and it still is without God’s gracious intervention — but God provided a way, in His Son Jesus, for sinners like you and me to be justified, pardoned and acquitted through faith in Christ Jesus.
God grant that we look to Him in faith and be saved and also trust Him in every need! Amen.
Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us for failing to trust in Your power and willingness to help us in every situation. Teach us always to come to You and to trust in You for all our needs, both earthly and heavenly. Amen.
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Offertory
Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation: and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.
General Prayer
Almighty and most merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We give Thee thanks for all Thy goodness and tender mercies, especially for the gift of Thy dear Son, and for the revelation of Thy will and grace: and we beseech Thee so to implant Thy Word in us, that in good and honest hearts we may keep it, and bring forth fruit by patient continuance in well-doing.
Most heartily we beseech thee so to rule and govern Thy Church universal, with all its pastors and ministers, that it may be preserved in the pure doctrine of Thy saving Word, whereby faith toward Thee may be strengthened, and charity increased in us toward all mankind.
Grant also health and prosperity to all that are in authority, especially to the President [and Congress] of the United States, the Governor [and Legislature] of this Commonwealth, and to all our Judges and Magistrates; and endue them with grace to rule after Thy good pleasure, to the maintenance of righteousness, and to the hindrance and punishment of wickedness, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty.
May it please Thee also to turn the hearts of our enemies and adversaries, that they may cease their enmity, and be inclined to walk with us in meekness and in peace.
All who are in trouble, want, sickness, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity, especially those who are in suffering for Thy Name and for Thy truth’s sake, comfort, O God, with Thy Holy Spirit, that they may receive and acknowledge their afflictions as the manifestation of Thy fatherly will.
And although we have deserved Thy righteous wrath and manifold punishments, yet, we entreat Thee, O most merciful Father, remember not the sins of our youth, nor our many transgressions; but out of Thine unspeakable goodness, grace and mercy, defend us from all harm and danger of body and soul. Preserve us from false and pernicious doctrine, from war and bloodshed, from plague and pestilence, from all calamity by fire and water, from hail and tempest, from failure of harvest and from famine, from anguish of heart and despair of Thy mercy, and from an evil death. And in every time of trouble, show Thyself a very present Help, the Savior of all men, and especially of them that believe.
Cause also the needful fruits of the earth to prosper, that we may enjoy them in due season. Give success to the Christian training of the young, to all lawful occupations on land and sea, and to all pure arts and useful knowledge; and crown them with Thy blessing.
These, and whatsoever other things Thou wouldest have us ask of Thee, O God, grant unto us for the sake of the bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, our Lord and Savior, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.
Hymn
“O Savior, Precious Savior” by Francis R. Havergal, 1836-1879
1. O Savior, precious Savior,
Whom, yet unseen, we love;
O Name of might and favor,
All other names above.
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.
2. O Bringer of salvation,
Who wondrously has wrought
Thyself the revelation
Of love beyond our thought,
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.
3. In Thee all fulness dwelleth,
All grace and power divine;
The glory that excelleth,
O Son of God, is Thine.
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.
4. Oh, grant the consummation
Of this our song above
In endless adoration
And everlasting love!
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.
“Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5
As Isaiah prophesied, some 700 years before the birth of Messiah Jesus, He bore and carried in His sinless body the curse of our sins against the LORD God. He bore our griefs and sicknesses. He carried our pains and sorrows.
Yet the people of His day, and especially the religious leaders of Israel, viewed the sufferings and death He endured as the just punishment of God upon Him for His claims to be the promised “Son of man” (Daniel 7:13-14), the Christ, the very Son of God and Savior of the world (cf. Matthew 26:63ff.). And there are, yet today, many who still view His execution as just because of His messianic claims.
But the real reason for His wounding (literally, his piercing) was our transgression of God’s holy commandments. We have not kept God’s holy and perfect will. We have transgressed in our thoughts, desires, words and deeds. He was bruised and crushed — even forsaken by God the Father — upon the cross because He was bearing in His sinless body the just punishment for your sins, my sins and the sins of the whole world (cf. Matthew 27:46).
It is as the old hymn states: “The sinless Son of God must die in sadness; the sinful child of man may live in gladness; man forfeited his life and is acquitted — God is committed” (Herzliebster Jesu, Johann Heermann, Tr. Catherine Winkworth, TLH Hymn #143).
The chastisement — the punishment — that we deserved on account of our sins was laid upon Him that we might be pardoned of God and forgiven. Through faith in Jesus and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead, we have forgiveness for all our sins and peace with God our Father. The stripes we deserved were laid upon His back; and because He suffered the punishment we deserved on account of our sins, we who trust in Him are healed and made whole, forgiven and cleansed!
As the Apostle John writes: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin … Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:7; 2:1, 2).
While the world passed by the cross of Jesus, seeing only the judgment of God or that of a cruel Roman empire upon a Jewish rabbi who dared to challenge the existing religious system of the day, Jesus, the very Son of God and promised Messiah and Savior, was suffering and dying to make atonement for the sins of the world. He was paying the price for your sins and mine that we might look to Him in faith and have pardon and peace and live forever with God our Maker!
Jesus, Son of God and Savior of the world, thank You for bearing in Your sinless body the sufferings and death that I truly deserve on account of my sins and transgressions. Grant to me pardon and forgiveness and a place in Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]
