Sermons 2025

Text: Jeremiah 26:8-15

Outline
1.    Prophets proclaim what they are told to proclaim.
a.    We don't always enjoy Gods Word, J-town like Shiloh.
2.    Jesus, as the Incarnate Word, is faithful.
3.    God’s word is true, gives true security.

Sermon

Grace, mercy, and, peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our mediation today is the Old Testament Lesson from the prophet Jeremiah the twenty-sixth chapter verse eight through fifteen.

Boys and girls, I pray that you are doing well today, and enjoying the day that God has given to you. Have you ever had someone call you a bad name? How did it make you feel? Pretty sad, especially from people that you think are your friends. Even at home, sometimes our brothers and sisters are not always kind to us. They can hurt our bodies, our feelings, sometimes even our hearts. In our text for today, we see that some people were horrible to Jeremiah. They even said that they were going to kill him. How does God protect Jeremiah? How does He help us today to hear His Word and be kind, even when others are not being kind back? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.

1.    Prophets proclaim what they are told to proclaim.

What is the role of a prophet? A prophet is one sent by God to proclaim His message to the people. The prophet had to preach what he was commanded to preach, with little thought for his own personal safety. At times that message is a joyous one to proclaim. Many times throughout Scripture, the message that the prophets proclaim is not a joyous one. Often it is one of Law, of repentance. Turning away from idols, away from vain hearts, away from manmade commands, and turning to the Lord, asking for His forgiveness. 

This is the message that Jeremiah was sent to proclaim to the people. In verse two of this chapter, we read: Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’ ”  

a.    We don't always enjoy Gods Word, Jerusalem like Shiloh.

While our text does not given us the message, it does given us the people’s reaction to this message. The priests, prophets, and all the people grab Jeremiah and threaten him with death. They are incensed, they are outraged that Jeremiah would have the gall to proclaim a message of the destruction of Jerusalem within the very house of the Lord, the Temple. They are full of pride, arrogance, and a false sense of safety. They think that Jerusalem, the place where the God of Israel has promised to be with His people. Jerusalem will not end up like Shiloh, a former sanctuary of the Lord. Shiloh was completely destroyed because of its pagan idolatry and was never inhabited again.

Yet, that very fact is what Jeremiah proclaims because of the sins of the people. Has anything changed since the time of Jeremiah? Jeremiah’s opponents “do not seem to care if it is a word from God, for the defense of their way of life overrides any such theological question.³ How often and in what ways do we respond to the call to return to the Lord, to listen and turn from our evil ways, to walk according to his will, with our own “the church, the church, the church” (cf. Jeremiah 7:4)? That is to say, how often don’t we console one another with the downward spiraling logic that, since we are the church, we must be right? Just like the people of Jeremiah’s day, we often fall into a false sense of security, pride, and arrogance. We do not always enjoy hearing the Word of God. Our sinful nature does not want to hear the fact that we are not perfect. We do not want to be reminded that we are the ones who need to change, not God. We do not always read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God because the Law hurts.

2.    Jesus, as the Incarnate Word, is faithful

Thanks be to God that He has no left us with only His harsh rebuke of the Law. In love, God the Father send the Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our pride, arrogance, and to give us true security. Jesus, as the very Word of God incarnate, is faithful to everything that comes from the mouth of God. As our Lord walked upon this earth, His very first proclamation was that the Kingdom of God was here. Here is God's very word for our salvation. Yes, Jesus was with tax collectors and sinners, not to give approval for what they were doing, but to lead them to true repentance. The suffering of Jeremiah and the threat of death, foreshadowed what will happen to our Lord. People were angry with what Jesus was saying and doing. Whereas Jeremiah was spared in our text, Jesus was not. The Word made flesh, heard the words of the Sanhedrin that sentenced Him to death. He was taken to Pilate, eventually  the cross, where He bled and died that you might be restored.

3.    His Word gives true security

Indeed, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead, your sins of arrogance, pride, and false security have been cleanse. In Christ, you are given humility and true security. You have true security found in what God has done and continues to do for you. You have been washed with water and the Word in Holy Baptism. You have been claimed as God’s own dear child, not because of yourselves, but because of God Himself. Every week, you feast on Jesus’ true body and true blood, in, with, and under, the bread and the wine, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of every single one of your sins and the strengthening of your faith. You have His Holy Spirit living within you. Not only does the Holy Spirit sanctify you through His Word, but He also enables you to hear the harshness of the Law, turn from away from your sins in repentance, and receive the forgiveness of your sins in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, thanks be to God that He has forgiven all of your sins. He removes your false security and gives you true security through the death and resurrection of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.