Sexagesima—Citizens of a Better Country
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Like I just said, last week began the season of pre-Lent. I'm glad I'm not sick anymore and that I can actually be here for the second week in this season. But pre-Lent are Gesimatides, the name of these three weeks before Ash Wednesday. The three Sundays leading up to Ash Wednesday, their names come from the Latin words for seventy—Septuagesima—seventy days; sixty—Sexagesima—that’s this Sunday; and then next Sunday is Quinquagesima, fifty days before Easter. That’s where the names come from. And the Latin name for Lent is Quadragesima. How many days is that? Forty. Yep. That’s where it comes from.
Now you might have heard this before; you might not have. The forty days of Lent, or Quadragesima, are meant to call to mind the significant events of world history involving forty: the forty days and nights with Noah and the flood (Genesis 7:12), the forty years that God’s people spent in the wilderness before finally being able to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33–34), and then Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by the devil for forty days (Matthew 4:1–2), fasting and battling the devil for our salvation.
In the same way, Septuagesima is meant to remind us of the significance of seventy in the Church’s history—in particular, the exile of God’s people in Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11–12). That was at the time of the destruction of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem and the people being carried away under King Nebuchadnezzar. That’s with Daniel being there in exile. That seventy-year period—that’s what we are meant to be reminded of in these three weeks.
We missed Transfiguration a couple of Sundays ago, but thankfully some of us were able to make it up that Wednesday after, when the weather was a little more certain. And that was the last time we sang or spoke the Hebrew word for “praise the LORD” that we normally sing before the reading of the Holy Gospel. The next time that we’ll speak or sing it—that’s going to be at the Easter Vigil about sixty days from now.
One of the hymns that we sang on Transfiguration, that most churches do sing when they celebrate Transfiguration, speaks of saying farewell to that Hebrew word for “praise the LORD” and points us also to that seventy-year Babylonian exile. I’d like you to open up your hymnal to hymn 417 to take a look at that. I want you to open up and look at it because I don’t want to just read the quote, because I’m trying not to say the word. So look at stanza two and follow along with me:
“Thou resoundest, true Jerusalem and free;
Joyful mother, all thy children sing with thee.
But by Babylon’s sad waters mourning exiles now are we.”
It’s a time to remember that we are in exile. You can close that. But 417—take a look at that this week maybe. Just ponder it for a moment. And Psalm 137 is a good psalm to look at to think about this.
This is a time in the Church Year to remember, in particular, that we are in exile in this world. That our citizenship isn’t here. We’ve got a lot of talk about citizenship in our world today. This is a good time in the Church Year—just like the last three weeks of Trinity time are a time to remember what the Bible actually says about the end of the world and Jesus coming again in glory—these three weeks are a good reminder that we are in exile as long as we’re walking on this earth. We are never settled and at home in a place on this earth.
In particular, in our context at St. Thomas, it would be good for us to remember that too and be content that we don’t have our own building. Because God’s people did not have a building for decades upon decades—at times for four hundred years. And we just need to recognize that we are never at home like that in this life.
So let’s take a moment to think about what the Scripture says about the true nature of our immigration status in this life. This is from Ephesians:
“Remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:11–19).
By His blood, our Lord Jesus has made people from every nation—including you and me—into fellow citizens in His Kingdom. A Kingdom that is ultimately not of this world (John 18:36). We are in exile now. We are on a pilgrimage to a better country prepared for us by the Lord Jesus before the foundation of the world (Hebrews 11:16; Ephesians 1:4). We are not at home in this world.”
As we remember that true status of citizenship that we have in this Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28)—the Lord Jesus’ Kingdom—we recognize that we are now living in a foreign land no matter what country we happen to live in. The Kingdom to which we truly belong works differently than all earthly kingdoms of this present evil age (Galatians 1:4).
This is what our Scripture lessons have taught us these past two weeks.
Last week, if you were here or read the readings, it was the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16). And we learned in the readings from Scripture that we as Christians are called to exercise self-discipline. It isn’t optional. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). And you’ll hear it on Ash Wednesday. Jesus says, “When you fast…,” “when you do charitable deeds…,” “when you pray…” (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16).
So we learned last week that we must exercise self-discipline as Christians. We do have a race to run (1 Corinthians 9:24–26), and we have the perpetual command—that’s what Melanchthon says in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession when he describes these passages of Scripture that have to do with bodily exercises that we choose for ourselves. He says they are a perpetual command from God’s Word—like Jesus saying, “When you do these things.”
So we have that perpetual command to run this race with certainty that Christ has already conquered for us—that the imperishable crown at the end is not something uncertain. We are not boxing at the wind (1 Corinthians 9:26). He has conquered already, but we have a race to run, and the Scriptures told us that last week.
This race involves continuing in the Means of Grace as well as subjecting ourselves to various disciplines according to our callings in life—voluntarily, by choice—and patiently submitting to the discipline that the Lord would lay on us outside of our control. There’s a fasting you choose, and then there’s the fasting the Lord gives you when you can’t afford groceries, and it’s real. Both.
We learned from our Lord Jesus that He does promise that He will give temporal and eternal blessing to His saints who run that race in faith—who do give up the things of flesh and world for His sake. That’s why He told the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.
If you go back and look at the end of Matthew 19, right before the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” (Matthew 19:27). And Jesus doesn’t say, “Nothing, because your works don’t matter.” He says first that the Apostles are going to sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel when the Son of Man comes in His glory (Matthew 19:28). So He answers Peter’s question in particular. And then He says that all who have given up “houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 19:30). And then He tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.
So He does promise temporal and eternal blessing for those Christians who run the race in faith, trusting in Him.
But we also learn that those wages in the Kingdom of God are not given out like the wages that are given in this world. We learn from Scripture that no matter how much we give up, no matter how much mastery we demonstrate over our sinful flesh, the temporal and eternal rewards that our Lord gives us as laborers in His vineyard will be out of pure gift. This won’t be a wage that we justly deserve for our sins. It will not be a wage that we might arrogantly presume we deserve for the labor that we have performed. It will be the blessing and crown of life that the Father gives us only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in us (Small Catechism, First Article). It will only be by grace (Ephesians 2:8–9).
This Sunday we learned a little bit more about the Kingdom to which we belong and our place in this foreign land.
“To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10). That’s why Jesus told the parables—to you He is going to reveal these hidden things of the Kingdom. Grace was that hidden reality He revealed in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard—that that wage is given according to God’s grace. And as soon as His grace is removed, we are given what belongs to us: sin, death, everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2). We are cast away as soon as grace is removed. But He gives us eternal blessing by His grace and goodness.
The mystery of the Kingdom that we learned this week is concerning the reality that not all who are outwardly appearing to hear God’s Word become or remain citizens of God’s Kingdom. But only those who hear God’s Word, receive it, cling to it, continue in it, and bear fruit by that Word in patience (Luke 8:15).
As soon as God’s Word is removed, grace is also removed. As soon as God’s Word is removed, you are nothing but dirt and dust, devoid of life, devoid of fruit. That is the secret of the mystery of the Kingdom of God in this parable.
Think of it like the stories that maybe you’ve seen in cartoons or the movie series Back to the Future. I must admit I’ve only seen clips of it, but I kind of get the general gist about time travel. If you go back in time and you accidentally keep your mom and dad from ever getting together and getting married and having you, what happens in these stories? You start fading away—“Oh no”—and then you disappear. Because the critical event that is why you exist basically is gone.
I don’t want to get into the rabbit trail of, “Well, doesn’t that mean that you’d never existed, so you never went back and prevented them from getting together, and so they got together, and then you were born, and so then you came back and made yourself not exist again?” That’s not the point. The point is, that kind of illustration—that’s what’s going on in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–15). As soon as the seed is gone, there is nothing to bear fruit. All that is left is some form of dirt—either hardened and packed down, or shallow on stony ground, or surrounded by thorns. Nothing.
As soon as the Word of God is removed—God created everything that exists out of nothing by His Word (Genesis 1; Psalm 33:6). He upholds everything that exists by His Word (Hebrews 1:3). He creates faith in each of us out of nothing by His Word (Romans 10:17). And He keeps us in that saving faith and preserves it by His Word. And as soon as that is removed, it is like you going back in time and preventing your parents from coming together and having you. You are gone. Your faith doesn’t exist.
Christ’s parable concerning this mystery of the Kingdom is a warning to you and me.
Do not be surprised—or despairing—when your family, friends, neighbors, even your own children and grandchildren at some point react in negative ways to the Word of God, whether it be Law or Gospel, because that is all God’s Word. And don’t be surprised, and don’t despair when there are negative reactions to the Lord’s Word. Be warned. It’s going to happen.
If you took the parable exactly, literally, number by number, it’s only going to work out well twenty-five percent of the time. Some will hear the Word—whether you speak it to them or they hear it preached—they’ll hear it and it will go in one ear and out the other. The devil comes and snatches it away lest they understand, believe, and be saved (Luke 8:12).
Some will hear, receive the Word with joy, and believe for a time. But because they neglected the Means of Grace and the discipline of the Christian life meant to prepare you for temptation and affliction, they had no depth of soil and no moisture. So when the fiery trial of temptation and affliction comes upon them, they stumble and fall away (Luke 8:13; 1 Peter 4:12).
Some will hear and believe. They will maybe avoid intense affliction and so avoid that way of falling. But they will instead fall prey to a life of comfort and ease. Instead of being scandalized by the suffering of the Christian cross, they will be deceived into thinking that anything—and it could be anything—in this world is more important than the seed of God’s Word.
Money. Health. Honor. Self-care. Anything in this world. And anything pertaining to your flesh—which includes your sinful brain or your weak body, or whatever other excuse to keep away from God’s Word that this person might hide behind.
Choked out by the honor that they might receive from members of whatever tribe they belong to. They don’t want to deal with that particular Word of God because they’ve got this crew over here that gives them what they need. Whatever they think this world has to offer—the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the pleasures of life, the desire for other things (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14)—these choke the Word, and they bring no fruit to maturity.
So do not be surprised or despairing when these are the responses to God’s Word. The parable is a warning to us. You will witness all of these responses to God’s Word. But Jesus is also warning us not to fall into these same traps.
“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7–8), like that road where the devil can so easily fly up and snatch the Word away because you have been trampled down and your heart has been hardened.
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (Hebrews 3:12–14).
Continue in His Word (John 8:31) and in the fear and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Continue in it day and night like the blessed man of Psalm 1 (Psalm 1:2–3), so that your roots would grow deep and spread and would soak up the living water of Christ’s Holy Word more and more, so that you may be able to stand and be defended against every fiery dart of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7–8).
And do not be carried away by what the world prizes and values—money, wealth, success, honor, comfort, pleasure.
“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:6–8).
But those who desire—most Bibles here will say, “those who desire to be rich.” But I don’t think that’s helpful for most of us, because I think when we hear “rich,” maybe we think just Elon Musk or Bill Gates, and we’re like, “Well, no, no, I’m not ever going to be rich.” So hear it this way: those who desire to have more than they need—those who desire more than they need—they fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of possessions is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:9–10).
Remember where your true citizenship lies. Remember that your heavenly citizenship was purchased and acquired for you by the holy, precious Blood and innocent suffering and death of your Lord Jesus (1 Peter 1:18–19).
Do not be deceived or carried away by the allurements and enticements of this sinful world—its treasures, the lies it feeds you about measures of success, about mental wellness, or about how busy you should be, about what you or your kids should do to really be fulfilled and happy.
“Beloved, keep yourself unstained from the world” (James 1:27).
You are on a pilgrimage. You are not at home here. Do not get comfortable. We are all on a pilgrimage together to a better country, kept safe for us in the heavens, sure and certain, sealed for us in the Blood of Jesus (Hebrews 11:16).
“Here we have no continuing city” (Hebrews 13:14). And this world and all its vanity is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31). Even your own flesh in which you reside right now is going to be burned away, and you are going to be raised up in a glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:42–44). So how much more all the other things we worry about and pine after in this life?
“Today, while it is still called today,” let us lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and ungodly desire for more than we need, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21).
Christ’s Word always achieves the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11). And He sent it for you—to believe and be saved and be with Him forever in His Kingdom, to see Him face to face (John 17:24). That’s His purpose in sending it to you today, right now.
Hear it. Believe it. Cling to it. Trap it in your heart like your heart’s a prison that’s never going to let it go. Continue in it. And the Lord Jesus, who has saved you out of pure grace by the shedding of His Blood, will keep you firm in His Word and saving faith until the end, and no one will be able to snatch you from His hand—ever (John 10:28–29).
And joined to Him by the Holy Spirit’s work through the Means of Grace, you will bear much fruit. But you’ll do it patiently. And it won’t be easy. And it will be Him working in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, how perilous and frightening things stand for those hearts which the devil seizes and from which he takes the Word, so that they do not believe and are not saved. How miserable also are those who indeed receive Your Word with joy and come to know and taste Your sweetness, but have no root and only believe for a while and then fall away at a time of trial. No less to be lamented are those who hear Your Word and, going on their way in the midst of the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life, are choked and bring forth no fruit. Protect us by grace, O Lord, that the devil would not lead us into such distress and misery. May Your Holy Spirit guide us upon the proper way for the sake of Your Name. Preserve us by Your Word and drive away from us all unbelief, self-security, and wicked desires, that we may thereby be especially sanctified unto Your honor and remain Your little plants and holy seeds in eternity. For You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
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