“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20

Some in Jesus’ day misunderstood and thought that Jesus was trying to throw out all that is taught in the Old Testament Scriptures because He offered forgiveness and life through faith in His name. Unfortunately, some today assume that Jesus’ teaching does away with the Old Testament and makes these Scriptures obsolete and unnecessary for Christians. Many even believe and teach that one can be a Christian and disregard some or all of what the Bible teaches. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

It is as Jesus said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Jesus, the long-promised Messiah and Savior, came to fulfill all that is taught in the Old Testament, not to destroy it. Not the smallest letter (iota) of the Law or the smallest part of a letter (a dot or tittle) in the Scriptures will pass away until all is fulfilled.

Thus, Jesus went on to say: “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

It is a grave offense to break or compromise even the smallest commandment in the Scriptures and teach others so. Those who do so will find themselves called least in God’s kingdom — possibly even being excluded from it. And those who do and teach all that God commands in His Word will be called great in God’s kingdom, being faithful stewards of the mysteries of God (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1f.).

And, as a study of the Scriptures will reveal, the righteousness which God demands is far greater than the outward righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. It far exceeds the righteousness of the churchgoers of our day who depend on their own righteous works and deeds (See Matthew 5:21ff.).

The Scriptures demand perfect righteousness of heart, soul and mind (cf. Lev. 19:2; Matt. 5:48). The Scriptures demand a holy life in thought, word and deed — righteousness which we do not have and cannot attain by our own attempts to keep God’s Law (cf. Rom. 3:19-20).

But Jesus came to keep every commandment of the Scriptures perfectly for us. He regarded the Scriptures as the very Word of God and was obedient to every teaching of the Law and the Prophets! He fulfilled all and regarded all as absolute truth (cf. John 10:35; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22). He fulfilled the righteous demands of the Scriptures for us.

Jesus also, as prophesied by the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures), took our place under God’s Law and took the guilt and punishment of our sins upon Himself, that we might have forgiveness and life through faith in Him and His blood shed for us upon the cross (cf. Isa. 53:6; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18; Luke 24:45-47).

And these same Scriptures declare to us Christ’s full atonement for our sins and the acceptance and pardon of a merciful God for Jesus’ sake (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 3:21-28; 4:3-8; 5:18ff.)! They offer to us the imputed, perfect righteousness of Christ Jesus that we might stand in God’s judgment through faith in Jesus’ name.

Dear LORD Jesus, holy Son of God and true man, our Savior, thank You for fulfilling for us the perfect righteousness taught and demanded in the Holy Scriptures, and thank You for bearing upon the cross the full and just punishment for all our sins and then rising again to grant us forgiveness and life — perfect righteousness — through faith in Your name. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from The ESV® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11

God’s Word – whenever and wherever it is read, preached or proclaimed – will accomplish God’s purpose. It does not return to God empty, but it accomplishes what God purposes and succeeds in the thing for which God sent it.

Notice that God does not say it will accomplish our purpose but His, and sometimes that can be a surprise to us and unexpected. Let me give you a couple of examples.

I recently made calls on a church member in a nursing facility, each time sharing a short Scripture reading and a few words of explanation and application regarding that Word of our God. Though it was on some occasions difficult for me to see a response in the church member, it opened the door to frequent conversations with another resident of the facility who expressed his desire to hear more and professed his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And though our church member has since gone home to be with the Lord, I still visit the other resident and share with him the Word of our God.

Just yesterday I stopped at a rehabilitation hospital to share a reading from Psalm 130 with a man who is a family member of one of our church members. After explaining that none of us would or could measure up and be acceptable to God if He were to keep a record of our sins and hold them against us but that there is forgiveness with God because of the abundant redemption provided for all by Christ Jesus when He died for our sins and rose again, I heard a voice behind the divider curtain saying, “Pastor, when you are done there, could you come and visit me also?”

I visited the second man. He had been a pastor for many years and then had served as a chaplain but was clearly somewhat discouraged because of his health problems. He told me that I was the first pastor he had heard in the facility since he had been there. I was privileged to assure Him of God’s grace and mercy in Christ Jesus as well and to take his hand and pray for him.

In both of these examples – and I could give you many more because “the fields are white for harvest” (John 4:35) – I went and shared the Word with one purpose in mind, but God had an even greater purpose than I had anticipated. Through the sharing of His Word, He also gave comfort and assurance to others whom He has chosen and called to be His own.

All this goes to show that God’s Word never comes back empty and fruitless. God works through it to convict the impenitent and to comfort those who are troubled over their sins. He lifts up the discouraged and broken-hearted with the promises of His Word and strengthens and builds up His children in the faith.

And, even when we don’t or can’t see the results, God’s Word is at work, accomplishing His purposes.

And what does all this have to do with our preparation for worship on Sunday? God’s Word is like the rain and snow which come down from heaven and water the earth so that it produces food to nourish and sustain both the farmer and the eater. As we gather to hear God’s Word and to receive Christ’s Supper, God is at work in ways we often do not expect or anticipate.

God uses the Word to reveal our sins and failures to live as He desires and commands, but He also speaks to us through His Word and the Lord’s Supper to give to us and assure to us the forgiveness of all our sins and a place in His everlasting kingdom because of what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross and rose again.

Through His Word and Christ’s Supper, God lifts us up from the depths of despair over our sin and guilt and comforts us with the plenteous redemption provided for us in Christ Jesus. Again, if God were to keep track of our sins and hold them against us, who could stand? But, there is forgiveness with Him because of the abundant redemption accomplished for us by Christ Jesus!

God’s Word, and His Sacraments, will not return empty. They will accomplish God’s purpose and succeed in the thing for which He sent them. Come, you might even be surprised at the work God has purposed for you!

Pastor Randy Moll

[Scripture quotations are from The ESV® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Called to be fishers of men” Luke 5:1-11

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:1-11

I remember when I was contemplating studying for the ministry, an uncle of mine jokingly told me being a pastor was a great job because you only had to work a half-day a week and you could go fishing the rest of the time. To be honest with you, it’s even better than that. A pastor’s job allows him to go fishing every day of the week. And, of course, the same is true for every Christian. Even though we may have toiled all night and tried everything we can think of, Jesus tells us to let down the nets for a catch and He fills the nets beyond belief.

Jesus calls you and me — every believer — to be fishers of men (cf. Luke 5:10; Luke 24:46-47; Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16) and He commands us to let down our nets again and again, trusting that He will accomplish His purposes. And so we do. We continue to preach and proclaim God’s Word, knowing and trusting God’s promise that His Word will not return to Him void, without accomplishing His purpose (Isa. 55:10-11).

Perhaps we can take the analogy of our text even further. Jesus commanded His disciples to launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch. He didn’t tell them to stand on the safety of the shore and try to bait the fish in. He sent them out to where the fish were — in the deep — and it is there where they were to let down their nets.

So also, Jesus would have us to go out into the world where the people are — maybe even into places we would rather not go — and there let down our nets. It doesn’t usually work to call the fish to come onto the shore or to jump into our boats. Nor is it sufficient to simply invite people to come within the walls of our church building that they might hear the Word of God and believe. We need to go to them and find ways to reach them with the Word of God where they are. It’s only when they are caught in the net out there that they can be brought into the boat and in here!

So, how do we launch out into the deep that we might catch men for Jesus? First of all, we need to go out where the people are and not expect them to come to us where we are. Secondly, we need to let down our nets, and they may need to be let down deep to where the fish are. That means finding ways to touch people’s lives with God’s Word where they are and in ways that they will hear. Thirdly, we need to remember who it is that fills the nets and follow His fishing instructions. We won’t catch souls for Jesus unless the nets we let down are His words of Law and Gospel — warning people concerning their sin and its eternal consequences and telling them of God’s mercy and forgiveness and life in Christ Jesus, who fulfilled all righteousness for us and then suffered and died on the cross for our sins and the sins of all and rose again in victory!

And what a great job God has given us! We get to go fishing every day by taking the message of His Word out into the deep, where the lost are, and catching them with the good news of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior!

Dear Lord Jesus, You have called us to be fishers of men, to launch out into the deep and let down the net of Your Word for a catch. Grant us the faith to go out into the world and proclaim Your Word to people where they are that You might fill the nets and bring people from the depths of sin to faith in You as their Savior. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from The ESV® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]