The King Is Coming - Sermon for Lutheran Women in Mission Sunday

Lutheran Women in Mission Sunday
October 22^nd, Year of Our + Lord 2023
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
The King Is Coming!   Matthew 11 and Isaiah 2

   The King is coming!  The King is coming, with salvation in His train, coming to rescue His people by offering Himself as our ransom.  The King is coming, and so the question before us is, of course, how many Hebrew and Greek words should we learn today? 

   Today we especially celebrate the work of our faithful women, in particular the work of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, those purple-clad gals who do so much, locally, nationally and internationally, to enable, support and participate in the extension of God’s Kingdom through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the demonstration of love towards our neighbors in need.  Maybe such a focus doesn’t make you long to expand your acquaintance with the Biblical languages.  If so, you are missing out, and you could learn a thing or two from the Dorcas Circle at Our Redeemer. 

   A couple of Mondays ago I led a Bible Study for their monthly meeting.  I passed out Psalm 73 in two translations, the New King James and the English Standard Versions, side by side in two columns.  I wanted to use differences in the two translations to get at significance of the Psalm, to show how their different approaches to various verses help reveal the original Hebrew’s meaning, which can be hard to render in English. 

   I only meant the discussion of differences in translation to be a minor part of our study.  But immediately the questions started coming.  “How can two versions differ so greatly in a given verse?”  “How come the NKJV is so much shorter that the ESV, here and here and here?”  “Why do different translators arrive at such different end products?”  And of course, “Which translation is best for us to use in our personal devotions?”   I went about twenty minutes over my alloted time, barely covered the Psalm, and didn’t begin to respond adequately to all their questions.  Which is great.  And so why not dig into the languages again a bit today, on Lutheran Women in Mission Sunday?  Perhaps expound a bit on the subtle differences between ‘piel,’ ‘pual’ and ‘hithpael’ forms of Hebrew verbs?  Or the distinctions between ‘aorist’ and ‘imperfect’ imperatives in Greek? 

   Or, maybe not.  To be honest, beyond looking up and repeating those terms, I couldn’t really say much more, other than by reading out of a dusty textbook.  I was never great at the details of the grammar of Biblical Hebrew or Greek.  I got by in seminary by knowing vocabulary, by recognizing words, the way kindergartners learn to read.  So maybe we could look at just two words in our readings today.  Lord willing, these two won’t make your eyes glaze over, but rather will open our eyes to see and understand our coming King a bit better.

   Our two words this morning are‘chrestos’ and ‘torah.’   Chrestos comes from the end of our reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel, and means good, kind, or merciful.  Torah comes in our Old Testament reading from the prophet Isaiah, and means, well, ‘torah.’ 

    Torah is a Hebrew word a bit like the New Testament word Gospel.  Gospel most simply means ‘good news.’  Through the centuries, however, it has taken on various meanings.  Today, it can refer a style of music, or be used to indicate something is really true, as in “that’s the gospel truth!”   Biblically, Gospel can refer to any of the first four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, or to the overall teaching of Christ.  Or, Gospel can narrowly refer to the Good News that, despite our sinfulness, God in Christ has achieved our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

   Similarly, ‘torah’ means the teaching, or the instruction of God.  It is also used to refer to the Books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the first 5 books of the Old Testament.  Unfortunately, in our English Bibles, most often ‘torah’ is translated with ‘law.’  There are a number of reasons for this that we won’t get into, since I promised to only talk about two words. 

   And the Torah of God certainly does contain the law.  As in the 10 Commandments found in Exodus and Deuteronomy, and all the other rules, regulations and commands of the LORD, recorded by Moses.  But translating ‘torah’ with ‘law’ loses the best part.  Moses didn’t just preach the Law, he also proclaimed God’s promise and plan to save sinners.  The law of God is good and right; but it leaves us without hope, because we cannot fulfill it.  But the Torah of God includes the Gospel, the good news of God’s gift of salvation. 

   We might do better to translate ‘torah’ with ‘law and gospel,’ but that would be cumbersome.  Perhaps ‘teaching’ or ‘instruction’ would be better, but those words are very generic, and lose touch with the Biblical content of ‘torah.’  So, as many Hebrew scholars encourage, in our Isaiah 2 passage, I left the Hebrew ‘torah’ as simply ‘torah.’

   I think this is especially helpful today, when our theme is the “The King is Coming.’ Isaiah declares the Torah goes out from Zion, and the Word goes out from Jerusalem.  Then Isaiah declares this Torah, this Word, is a person, a man with authority, sent from God, who will judge between the nations and end all the fighting that plagues the human race.  Mankind’s weapons, swords and spears made for killing, will be re-purposed, beaten into plows and pruning hooks, for cultivating food.  This man who is the ‘Torah’ and the ‘Word,’ is the reason that the nations are attracted to God’s holy mountain.  He is the resident in the House of the Lord, and He gives light, a light that enables us to walk together in Way of God.  

    Putting all of Scripture together, like from St. John’s prologue where we learn the Word who is God became flesh and dwelt among us, to give light and life to men, we realize that Isaiah is teaching us that the message of Moses, the Torah of God, is more than rules and teaching.  The Torah is the Son of God Himself, made to be a man, our flesh and blood Savior.  He is the coming King who both fulfills the ‘torah’ of God, and is the Torah, God’s total message of warning and redemption, of law and gospel, of salvation for sinners, fulfilled and revealed in the man, Jesus.  Jesus of Nazareth is the ‘torah’ in the flesh, and that news is very good. 

   Good, as in ‘chrestos.’   Just as I replaced ‘law’ with ‘torah’ in our Isaiah 2 reading,
I also changed one word from the ESV translation of our Gospel.  And maybe you heard it.  At the end of our Gospel, Jesus proclaims:  “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is good, and my burden is light.”  “My yoke is good?”  Is that how you remember that verse?  How is it usually rendered?  “My yoke is easy.”  This is where our second word ‘chrestos’ comes in.  Jesus says my yoke is ‘chrestos.’  And almost every translation goes with something like ‘easy.’ 

   But here’s the thing: in every other case where the word ‘chrestos’ is used in the New Testament, it is translated with ‘’good’ or ‘kind’  or ‘merciful.’  Only in Matthew 11:30 is ‘chrestos’ translated ‘easy.’  I suspect ‘easy’ is chosen by translators to match the next adjective, the ‘light burden.’  Translators at least since Jerome, translating the Bible into Latin in the 4^th and 5^th centuries, have said Jesus yoke is ‘easy.’  Now, I’m not saying I know better than all those other translators through the centuries.  I could be wrong,  and ‘easy’ may be the best translation.  But ‘good’ is certainly also a correct translation, and I think it opens up a lot of meaning. 

   Because, what kind of yoke would we ever think of as ‘easy?’  This is not an egg
yoke, by the way.  Rather this yoke refers to a heavy wooden bar that goes over the neck of a beast of burden, to which ropes are tied, so that the beast can pull something.  Like oxen or draft horses pulling a cart or a plow.  So, what is the “yoke” of which Jesus speaks?  I cannot hear this verse without thinking of our Lord bearing His cross up Calvary Hill, to be stretched out upon it, nailed in place, as He bore the burden of the sins of the whole world.  “Take my yoke upon you” is very similar to Jesus saying, many times, “take up your cross and follow me.” 

   And so, as we wrestle with how best to translate “my yoke is chrestos,” let me ask you:  Was Jesus’ yoke, His burden, His central task, ‘easy?’  Was His yoke ‘easy’ or was it, while being the most difficult thing ever accomplished, also the very highest ‘good’?   And, as a follower of Jesus, is bearing His yoke, bearing the crosses He brings into your life, is this task ‘easy,’ or is it ‘good’? 

   Christian husbands, when your calling is to suffer, even unto death, for the good of your wife, as Christ did for His bride, the Church, is this ‘easy’?  I dare say not, but it is definitely good.  Mothers, you must suffer in order to bring new life, a new soul, into this world.  Is this God-given task easy?  Is it good?  It is most definitely good, but, as I have been told and have observed, it is certainly not easy. 

   Believers in Jesus, you are plagued by the same diseases that threaten and kill all people, but we are called to bear them as Christians.  Sickness is given us to bind us closer to God, and even to use our physical suffering as an opportunity to show forth and share our faith in Christ.  Is this easy?  No, but it is definitely good, a good witness to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to proclaim His Good News to those around you who do not yet trust in Him. 

   Christians, when the world, including your friends and neighbors, make living as a Christian and confessing God’s truth difficult, is this easy?  Sometimes it is just smirks and snide remarks.  Sometimes it is direct insult, or mocking.  Sometimes it becomes real persecution, a threat to your relationships, your job, your livelihood, or even, to your life.  Is confessing your faith in Christ easy?  Is it good?  Yes, it is wonderful!

   Bearing the yoke of Jesus is good.  It is not always easy.  But it is, in the end, always a light burden, when you dare to shoulder it.  Not light because it is easy, but light because of the One who bears it with you.  Your King has come, and He is still coming to you, day by day.  When you heed His call to take up His yoke, you are never alone.  Your yoke, dear Christian, is never a single yoke, for you to bear by yourself.  The yoke Christ calls you to bear is always double, because He is always there, right beside you.  He yoked Himself to you in your Baptism, and He will not leave you.  You bear yokes alongside the Torah of God become a man, and He does all the heavy lifting. 

   And so, whether you are a member of the LWML or not, you can rejoice to know the King, who has come, who has borne your burden and lifted all the weight of sin and guilt and death from your shoulders.  Your King is with you, always, until the end of the age, when He will come visibly, to lead you and all His people in that final triumphant procession into the glory of His Father. 

   This is the reason for our hope, the fount of goodness and mercy which leads us to care for our neighbors, and most especially to share the Torah, to share the Word of the Lord, with everyone we can.  For our King has borne the burden of all sinners, and wills to share His good yoke with all people. 

   How good it is to know the Torah, and to be yoked to Him, today, and forever and ever, Amen.