Saturday after the Second Sunday after the Festival of the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on January 25, 2020 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 7:24-29 (NKJV)
7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Devotion
The world, our sinful flesh, and the devil bring about a constant (yet futile) search for anything to give us security, while ever avoiding and excluding the very One who is the source of our security. This understanding is proclaimed in God’s Holy Scripture: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope” (Rom. 8:20).
The key words of that sentence are that God subjected creation to futility “in hope.” Christ and His fully atoning merits are that secured hope! Yet, how can one hear of—and by God’s grace have—such secured hope? Only by receiving the proper teaching of God’s Holy Scripture, which, through God’s Law and Gospel, brings one to repentance and belief!
Jesus’ sermon on the mount has delved into things to expect in the coming kingdom, namely, future honors and comforts. In today’s text Christ concludes His sermon by dealing with the here-and-now, and the emphasis is on faith having its proper object. Jesus reveals how life is befallen with tumultuous trials, tensions, and suffering. Security isn’t found in trusting earthly idols. The proper believing, teaching, and confessing children of God, however, are rightly focused. For, right in the midst of life’s tribulations, Christ and His teachings are the rock through which comes true security and peace!
We pray: Almighty and Everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
