Trinity 5Jesse JacobsenTypeset
Last Modified: "Fri Jun 20 08:43:19 2008" |
1 The Eyes of the Lord Are on the Righteous
Jesus had two disciples who especially failed in their faithfulness.
One was Judas, who betrayed Him.
The other was Peter, who denied Him.
It was during Jesus’ trial before the High Priest Caiaphas.
Peter strongly denied being Jesus’ disciple for the third time,
and Jesus turned and looked at Him.
This was one of the most dramatic moments in our Lord’s passion:
When Jesus and Peter locked eyes across the courtyard.
Jesus, already bleeding and bruised for the sins of others.
Peter, already fallen completely
from his earlier boast of strength and faithfulness.
What was in that look from Jesus?
Was it scorn? Was it a righteous “I told you so?”
I don’t think so.
Jesus had prayed for Peter, knowing this would happen.
This glance from Jesus communicated to Peter
that He knew what had happened, and did not approve,
but that there was still divine mercy for Peter.
It might seem contradictory
since Judas would finally be condemned,
and Peter would finally be absolved.
Peter’s denial was just as grievous as the betrayal of Judas.
It was just as damning.
How could Jesus possibly look upon Peter in mercy?
Both sins have their parallels in today’s world.
Both sins remind us that God’s people must be righteous.
But Jesus had still called Judas, “friend,”
fulfilling the words of Psalm 55:
For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
Then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
But it was you, a man my equal,
My companion and my acquaintance.
The same would apply to Peter.
Some of the hardest sins to forgive
are betrayals and denials between friends.
Many such sins are never forgiven.
Yet Jesus still looked upon Peter in mercy.
It seems impossible, but is nevertheless true.
Our text today shows us how this paradoxical mercy
exists for every one of us.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.
Because a righteous God requires righteous people.
Because in them He sees the righteousness of Christ.
2 1 Peter 3:8–15
Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another:
love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for
evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that
you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
“He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”
And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.
“And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to
everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness
and fear.
2.1 Because a righteous God requires righteous people.
In the words of our text,
we might be reminded of Peter’s bitter experience that night.
He quoted Psalm 34,
He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
This not only condemns Peter for denying his Lord,
it also condemns the rest of us.
Wouldn’t you like to love your life?
Wouldn’t you like to see good days?
Yet where are the good days?
There are two ways that we deceive ourselves in this regard.
First, we sometimes cover the harsh reality of life
with a false optimism: insisting that everything is fine.
But other times I find that we become despairing,
and may even begrudge God secretly in our hearts
— or not so secretly.
“Why don’t I have good days?
Why must I suffer so…
in my relations with the people of my own household?
in my abilities to perform the work expected of me?
in my efforts to keep up with bills and obligations?
in my efforts to have a clean conscience before God?”
If you’re not caught by the blind optimism
that refuses to admit how many ways we really suffer,
then you have probably wondered where the good days have gone.
But this psalm quoted by Peter shows us the answer.
He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
“But I have already done all that!
So why has God withheld from me the good days I deserve?”
Not true. We have not done all that.
Hear again the righteousness that Peter urges upon us,
and see how many ways you have done the opposite.
Finally, all of you be of one mind,
having compassion for one another:
love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling,
but on the contrary blessing.
Peter was aware of his faults.
When the eyes of the Lord looked upon him that night,
Peter was made quite aware of his faults.
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny
Me three times.” So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Peter’s sorrow was different than that of Judas.
Judas knew later that his betrayal condemned him before God,
and he despaired of God’s mercy.
Peter knew that his denial also condemned him before God,
but he remembered the words of Christ,
and despaired of his own righteousness.
We also need to despair of our own righteousness,
recognizing that a righteous God requires righteous people.
Just as important as repenting,
we must also believe, with Peter, in the words of Christ.
Two weeks ago, we heard the complaint of the Pharisees:
“This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Believe it, because with Peter, that is your daily comfort.
I thank God in my own life and for the sake of every one of us
that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous:
not those who are righteous in their own right,
but those who find their righteousness in the mercy of God.
His eyes are upon us,
so that we realize He knows our faults,
and we despair of our own rightousness
but also so that we trust in His mercy.
2.2 Because in them He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Consider our Gospel lesson for today.
We see two things modeled there,
relating to two of God’s commandments.
First, there is the teaching of Jesus on the lake
and the confession of Peter:
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!
This relates to the Third Commandment,
where God requires us to regard as holy
the preaching and teaching of His Word.
Peter’s confession of sin was a result of that teaching.
Second is Peter’s willingness to let Jesus teach from his boat,
and the miraculous catch of fish which followed it.
This relates to the Seventh Commandment,
where God requires us not to steal,
but that we all obtain what we need by working.
God had given Peter the occupation of fisherman,
and it was God who provided the fish he caught.
These two things show us the correct priority we should have
between our work and our use of God’s Word.
We should let Jesus enter our workplace and teach there
by our own example in our words and actions.
We should not pretend that our work is more important
than receiving the Word of God,
but gladly make the time first for the Word of God,
because the God we worship provides all that we need.
Yet so often, we keep Jesus out of our own fishing boats,
and spend our time of grace on other things.
It’s no wonder when we can also have such trouble
bringing home the fish — or the bacon.
It’s no wonder when we have such spiritual confusion.
So take a moment now to be taught by Jesus.
(Let’s encourage each other to do this every week!)
The essence is the mercy that we just learned about,
based not upon any righteousness of our own,
but upon the righteousness that God imputes to us through faith,
when we believe the promise of forgiveness in His Word.
Though we can’t keep the right priorities straight each day,
though we don’t have the righteousness
required by a righteous God,
Jesus did keep those priorities;
Jesus did maintain that life of righteousness.
God credits Jesus’ own righteousness to us as a gift!
Do you see a pattern emerging here
in the ways that God deals with us?
He is the one who takes care of us in all things.
We don’t really provide the fish we may catch;
we don’t provide for our own success in our work,
but the God who provides all of these things
calls us to Him in faith before our work even begins.
So when we place his Word first,
He provides what we need in abundance.
We can’t possibly provide the righteousness we need;
we can’t keep His Law to earn the right of eternal life,
but the only One who could
calls us to Himself in faith, to give all that we need.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.
When we hear and believe His Word first,
confessing our sins and entrusting our souls to His mercy,
He provides the forgiveness and righteousness we need
in abundance.
Are you righteous before God?
With Peter, we must all confess that we are sinners before Him.
Yet Jesus has forgiven us.
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
So yes, you are righteous before God,
with the righteousness of Christ!
The Lord’s eyes are upon the righteous.
Now we may confidently confess with Peter
that we have a certain hope of salvation
through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
We may confess it to God and our neighbor
both privately and publicly.
We may confess it together in worship,
or individually wherever God has placed us.
Whether others take our confession well or not doesn’t matter,
though we’d like them to believe too.
Whether we suffer for our Christian life doesn’t matter either.
No matter what, we are blessed in confessing our Lord.
Peter wrote, Always be ready to give a defense
to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.
Because the Lord’s eyes are upon us,
we can be as bold as Peter
after he knew the mercy of God.
You are recipients of God’s mercy:
His righteous people through faith in Jesus Christ.
This document was translated from LATEX by
HEVEA.