Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Epiphany (January 21, 2024)

MARK 1:14-20

JESUS COMES WITH A STRANGE GRACE.

In the name + of Jesus.

     This is what the Lord says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).  Page after page of the Scriptures shows us that God does not act like we think he should.  Day after day in life shows us that God does not act like we think he should. 

     The Bible tells us why.  Sin clouds our minds and our judgment.  We are convinced that we know what is right and good and just.  We would like to step into the role of God and correct the wrongs that we see.  We are convinced that we can do it better than God can because, somehow, we know better.  Even though we feel this way, we prove ourselves to be double-minded.  On the one hand, we complain that God does not strike down the wicked so that they will cause no more harm.  Well, God did just that when he sent the Flood in Noah’s day.  Through that flood, God destroyed the entire population of the world expect for those who were saved in the ark.  But then we complain, “Why did God treat people so brutally?  Where’s the compassion?”  So, which is it?  God should strike down the wicked or God should let the wicked go?  We tend to answer both ways.  Let us confess that we have limited knowledge and biased judgment and be content to accept what the Lord has told us: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8). 

     We see this again when Jesus began to call his disciples.  He does not do it the way it makes sense to us.  He comes with strange grace.  St. Mark wrote, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God” (Mark 1:14).  John was arrested in Galilee.  Wouldn’t it have been safer for Jesus to stay away for a while?  Jesus did not think so.  Jesus came to Galilee to call disciples to himself.  But that is strange, too.  If you wanted to be rich in knowledge and theology, then Jerusalem was the place to be.  If you wanted to get rich in agriculture or fishing, then Galilee was the place to be.  So, where is the obvious place Jesus should go to find people to follow him and to preach the word of God for him?  Jerusalem!  That’s where the rabbinic schools were.  That is where the priests were.  But no, Jesus went to Galilee.  Jesus comes with a strange grace.

     And it gets stranger.  Jesus did not recruit his disciples from the synagogues.  That would make sense.  Instead, “passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’  And immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:16-18).  He did the same with James and John.  Jesus did not seek the company of scholars and rabbis.  He found fishermen.  It would be like saying, “Our church needs a new pastor.  I know!  Let’s go down to the wharf to find one!”  That’s a rougher crowd than you would expect Jesus to recruit. 

     Jesus comes with a strange grace.  Just knowing the character of his disciples shows you that.  We do not know too much about Andrew; the Bible doesn’t give us much information on him.  But we do know a lot about his brother, Simon Peter.  Peter was a man of action, bold and brash.  He often said things and did things before thinking them through.  One examples comes in the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter took it upon himself to fight in defense of Jesus.  Judas Iscariot came with a band of soldiers to arrest Jesus.  One of the Gospel writers used the word “centurion” which is the commander of 100.  So, there was a large company of professionally trained soldiers.  What did Simon Peter do?  He took out his dagger and started to swing away to defend Jesus.  Brave?  Perhaps.  I think foolhardy would be the better term.  If Jesus had not rebuked Peter, he would have been a pincushion for Roman swords.

     As for James and John, they were given the nickname “sons of thunder.”  They were a bit rowdy, and their blood could run hot.  For example, when Jesus began to travel to Jerusalem, he intended to stay in a Samaritan village.  When the Samaritans refused to let Jesus stay in their village, James and John suggested calling down fire from heaven to destroy the place.  A bit of an overreaction, wouldn’t you say?  To liken this village to Sodom and Gomorrah?  These are some of the men Jesus called to be his disciples.  We might have concluded that they were not the right men for the job.  But Jesus comes with a strange grace.

     We tend to put these disciples on a pedestal because they became apostles of Jesus.  But the Bible shows us that Jesus called flawed men to follow him.  But that is all of us, isn’t it?  Our story will not be recorded in the best-selling, most-read book in the history of the world.  But we all have stories that we would just assume would never be told.  We don’t want to be reminded of our sin and shame.  Nevertheless, we are haunted by those stories.  Even if others never hear them, we know them because we lived them.  We have turned our backs on friends, used people, and let others take the blame for our sins.  Like the disciples Jesus called, we have shot off our mouths, acted without thinking, and prayed for the death of people who have disrespected us.  The Bible reminds us, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).  The shame we feel is appropriate.  Our death is deserved, and our judgment has been earned.  Repent.

     But Jesus comes with a strange grace.  He knows our hearts and minds.  There are no secrets with him.  Yet, he does not turn away from us in disgust.  He calls us to himself.  He is eager to have us follow him, be with him, and converse with him.  That does not mean Jesus doesn’t care about our sins or that he overlooks them.  Instead, he comes to pay for them.  He takes up a debt that he did not incur and makes the payment he did not owe.

     Jesus comes with a strange grace.  He declared, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  To repent, in part, means to turn away from sins and flee from them.  But it also means to give up trying to make our own case with God—that our sins are not that bad, that we are better than most, that we have good qualities that should be rewarded, that God should relax his Commandments, that God should be soft in his judgment, and so on.  If we repent of everything about ourselves, then we must rely completely on Jesus to take away everything in us that is corrupt.  If we repent of everything about ourselves, then we must rely on Jesus to credit us with everything that would make us innocent. 

     Jesus comes with a strange grace, because Jesus comes to do exactly these things for us.  Rather than breathe out words of cursing and vengeance, Jesus suffered in silence for us.  Rather than strike back at others, Jesus endured the punches and being spit upon for us.  Rather than slaughter those who plotted his demise, Jesus endured the death that sinners deserve.  Jesus lived and died in pure innocence, loving even his most vicious enemies.  He bore the curse for everyone.  In doing so, Jesus has taken away your sins, the punishment you’ve earned, and the curse you deserve.  In turn, Jesus has washed you clean through holy baptism.  Your shame has been covered with his righteousness.  He bestows upon you the very innocence you need to dwell in the kingdom of God.  None of this is earned or deserved by us, but Jesus gives it freely. 

     “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  This gospel is this: God loves sinners and wants us to dwell with him forever.  The kingdom of God is a kingdom of grace.  This grace is strange and marvelous to us, but it is the very nature of God.  While it is strange, it need not be surprise.  Remember the word of the Lord: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8). 

     Jesus called Andrew and Simon, James and John to follow him, but it was more than that.  Jesus told them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).  Just as Jesus plucked up these men from the murky depths of sin and death, so they would snatch others up for the Lord.  Why these men?  For the same reason you get to do it.  You and I know what it is to be shown mercy.  You and I know what it is to live with secret shame, and we know what it is for the Lord to relieve our guilt and to cleanse us in the blood of Jesus.  We know what it is to have stories that we never want told, and we know what it is that our story now is that we are forgiven and beloved by God.  So, who better than you to proclaim this mercy to other sinners?  Who better than you to be merciful to those who are ashamed or afraid?  Who better than you to demonstrate the patience, kindness, and faithfulness of God?  It will seem like a strange grace to people who know that you don’t owe them anything.  And they will marvel that so much would be invested in them for their good.

     Jesus comes with a strange grace.  Does it seem like God knows what he is doing in calling you, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17)?  Perhaps not, because you know your past, and you know what you still are—still weak, still flawed, still sinful.  For this reason, others might challenge what right you have to speak about sin and grace.  If you are only trying to promote yourself, their scorn is valid.  But we don’t preach ourselves.  We are not the good news.  We preach Jesus Christ who comes with strange grace.  He brings relief to the guilty and hope to the dying.

     Even if you feel that you are not up to speaking for Jesus, fear not.  Jesus said that he would make you become fishers of men.  As you follow Jesus, he trains you.  You not only hear his word, but you take it to heart.  Jesus works in your heart so that you learn to think, to speak, and to act like Jesus.  Then, it is Jesus who at work in you.  As you confess his word, Jesus plucks up people from the murky depths of sin and death.  It is Jesus who makes his call powerful and effective, even if it comes through the mouth of sinners. 

     This grace comes through the strangest of places—through the mouths of Andrew and Simon, through the testimony of James and John, and through the confession made by you.  And this grace comes the kingdom of our loving Savior.  How strange, and yet how wonderful, that Jesus died in innocence to save the guilty!  How strange, and yet how wonderful, that the saved are now called to save others.  The time has been fulfilled.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Jesus has come.  Let us follow him for every good thing.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.