In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

Reformation Day (2011)

The “Violence” Which the Church Needs Rev. Toby Byrd

Matthew 11:12-15 (ESV)

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. [13] For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, [14] and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. [15] He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

It’s not unusual to hear someone remark that today the Church needs another period of persecution. Many feel that such violence would have a wholesome and salutary effect upon the Church, saying that the Church realized its greatest growth during such periods. However, whether the Church needs such a chastisement or not, is not for us to say; we must leave such decisions to the Head of the Church, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If it is His divine providence that such is necessary, then He will permit it to happen. However, as Christians, as forgiven sinners, we do not desire such a violent persecution, nor do we ask God to send it. Rather, we who confess Christ as our Savior follow the lead of the inspired Apostle Paul who said: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:1-2 ESV).

Although we do not want to see our brothers or sisters hurt or harmed in any way, there is a violence of another kind in the Kingdom of God which is desirable and for which we ought to pray; a violence to which our Lord speaks in the words of our text today when He says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (v. 12). These words of Jesus do not speak to violence perpetrated against the kingdom, but instead to the indifference and dissatisfaction that hinder men from entering the kingdom with zest. Rather than “violence” some would suggest that we might use the words power or forcefulness instead. This would be appropriate, because there is little doubt that the Church in our day stands in great need of the power and forcefulness of God’s Word; power and forcefulness to instill the vigor and vitality which has been sorely lacking in the Church for so long and has placed it on a quest for seeking after the things of man rather than the things of God. It will therefore prove profitable for us to consider The “Violence” Which the Church Needs.

When Jesus spoke these words of today’s Gospel, John the Baptist had been arrested by Herod and was in prison. A first reading of His words might appear as if Jesus was speaking of some violent persecution of which the kingdom of heaven was suffering. However, this is not the case. We know from Scripture that there was no violent persecution of Kingdom members from the days of John the Baptist until the time Jesus was speaking these words. However, the era beginning with the Baptist was characterized by the forceful urge of his emphatic preaching of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew writes, “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2 ESV), and Mark reports: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV). This forceful preaching of both John and Jesus also induced “forcefulness” in those who received their Word. As starving and thirsty people forcefully seize food and drink, the hearers of John and Jesus eagerly snatched the words of the Kingdom of God unto themselves.

John the Baptist was a powerful preacher, so powerful in fact that large crowd’s went into the wilderness just to listen to him. He preached passionately against sin and evil, attacking it with fearless courage, warning against the fiery judgment to come and calling all to repentance. He was no reed shaken by the wind instead he stood his ground firmly. When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, he said: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:7-9 ESV). Our Lord Jesus praised this preacher highly, saying, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11 ESV). Jesus compared him to the prophet Elijah, saying; “and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come” (v 14). Therefore, if someone was to ask, “What made John such a forceful preacher?” our Lord has given us the answer; John came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. As Elijah once stood on Mount Carmel before the wayward sons of Israel and issued the challenge, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21 ESV), John the Baptist stood before wayward Israel in the wilderness and preached forcefully; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2 ESV).

Jesus reminds us, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (v. 12). However, it was an age of “violence” with a divine benediction. It was “forcefulness” in the Kingdom which brought a smile of delight upon the Lord’s face, and the same can be said of the age of the Reformation. A contemporary of Luther might well have said, “From the days of Luther until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”

Luther, too, was a powerful preacher. It’s interesting to note that as Jesus compared John the Baptist with the prophet Elijah, so, too did Luther’s colleague and co-worker; Melanchthon compared the Great Reformer with the same prophet. What was it that made Luther’s preaching so powerful? Nothing other than he preached the Word; and that Word of God is in itself powerful. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV). However, Satan and the flesh can hinder God’s Word.

Satan and man are constantly developing obstacles to put in the way of God’s Word so that it may not have free course. Our Lord warns that the sword of the Spirit can be put into a scabbard preventing it from exerting its piercing power. In fact, this is what happened during the medieval age until the time of Luther. Instead of letting Holy Scripture, the Word of God, hold sway in the Church, the Church relied on tradition, the decrees of church councils, and the encyclicals emanating from Rome. Such man-made edicts were given equal authority to God’s Word. In fact, in reality they were often exalted above God’s Word. What the Lord Jesus once said to the scribes and Pharisees could well be said of the church leaders of Rome: “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God” (Matthew 15:6 ESV). False doctrine thrived. Instead of teaching the fundamental doctrine of Holy Scripture, namely, that man has forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation alone by faith in Christ’s atoning blood, men were taught that salvation and God’s favor had to be earned by works prescribed by the Church. The clear and comforting words of St. Paul in his letter to the Church at Ephesus; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV), were buried under the rubbish of a religion of work-righteousness. Abuses and superstition prevailed, so many in fact we’re unable to count them and what is worst; these abuses had the effect of fouling, polluting, and poisoning the crystal-clear, healing waters of the Word of God.

The Kingdom of God was in need of violence, and it came with Luther. On October 31, 1517, Luther hammered his ninety-five theses onto the door of the church in Wittenberg. Each hammer blow was a blow against the abuses of works-righteousness. From that time forth he would continue to hammer away relentlessly against the errors and iniquities of the Church of his day. With heated and forceful language he refuted the falsehoods which were being proclaimed and he was successful because the arsenal of his holy war was the Word of God. Some have complained that Luther should have been more temperate in his language; however, we remember that Jesus was not ashamed of John the Baptist, even though John called the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers” (Matt. 3:7 ESV). Moreover, we also remember that it was the Lord who warned these same Pharisees against leading God’s people astray when He said, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in” (Matthew 23:13 ESV). In the spirit and power of Elijah, Luther assailed the idolatry and evils which had taken seat within the Church while he called men to repentance.

To suppose that Luther’s preaching was only polemical is a grave mistake. Truth is no one since the time of the Apostles had expounded the glorious truth of the Gospel that man is saved by grace through faith alone with greater clarity and forcefulness than Luther. His commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians bears this out. Luther resurrected the central doctrine of Holy Scripture; that all men are justified before God solely by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the Altar of the Cross. I ask you, who can surpass the beautiful presentation of faith in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as that which is found in Luther’s explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true”

Indeed, the Reformation era was a time when the kingdom of heaven suffered violence; it was brought to men forcefully. The Gospel of Christ was unfettered to exert its power unto salvation. Moreover, the “violent” received it by force. People eagerly heard the Word of truth. Its saving influence was spread to many lands; and through it the gates of heaven were stormed by the sons of men. They turned from their own righteousness to the righteousness of Christ; they turned from idolatrous and manmade mandates to serve the living God accord to His Word.

It is generally admitted that the Church today is sadly in need of power and forcefulness. But where is this power and forcefulness sought? The emphasis today seems to be on the union of large numbers. Focusing on social concerns, the church growth efforts of today are aimed at uniting people around practice rather than doctrine, on self-help lectures rather than God’s Word of Law and Gospel, but this is not the answer. St. Paul asks, “How are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14 ESV). How are men to know sin if the Law is not preached to them (Rom. 7:7)? And how are they to know the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16) if the Gospel is not preached to them. If the Church is to be forceful and strong, if the kingdom of heaven is to suffer violence, then there must be a return to the only source that truly unites, namely, the unadulterated Word of the living God, Holy Scripture.

While divisions within the visible church are deplorable and while efforts made toward true unity on the basis of the Word are worthy encouragements, it must be realized that the mere union of millions does not make for a forceful Church. God does not work that way. Instead, we are reminded by St. Paul just how God works, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor. 1:27-29 ESV). God has chosen the simple preaching of the Cross as the means of increasing the Church; that is the power of God unto salvation.

If the kingdom of heaven is to be brought forcefully to men, falsehood must be strongly assailed, as John the Baptist and Luther did. If the kingdom of heaven is to suffer violence, we must preach the Gospel of Christ and rightly administer the Sacraments, making that the chief concern of the Church. Only through the God-given means of Word and Sacrament can the Kingdom be brought “forcefully” unto men.

May God grant a revival of Christian virility among the members of the Church! May we be members who earnestly seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first, who “forcefully” clasp the Kingdom and its gifts to our souls with the strong arm of our God given faith. This is the violence, the forcefulness, we need. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (v 15). May the spirit of God grant us grace to hear and heed the admonition given! Amen.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.