Remember Jesus Christ

Jesu Juva
2 Timothy 2:7-9
October 13, 2019
Proper 23C

Dear Saints of Our Savior,

It’s just a happy coincidence—nothing more. But on the very Sunday when we have our seminarian, Alex, home to assist with the service—on the very Sunday when we have a bona fide pastor-to-be sitting in the chancel, we also have a Scripture reading that is tailor-made for both pastors-to-be and pastors (not to mention all of you who are served by pastors).

Second Timothy is one of those New Testament epistles we call “pastoral epistles.” That’s primarily because the epistle’s first recipient was a young, rookie pastor named Timothy. This little letter is filled with admonitions, encouragement and instruction for Timothy as he discharged his duties as one of the undershepherds of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

The writer of this letter—the man whose Spirit-inspired words spilled out onto the scroll and into our Bibles—was the Apostle Paul. By the time he wrote 2 Timothy Paul was an old man. He could look back on a long and distinguished ministry. Only he wasn’t retiring as the senior pastor of some mega-church in a posh Roman suburb. He wasn’t being toasted, roasted, and lavished with praise from swarms of admiring saints. No, he was all alone.

Paul had been arrested and imprisoned by the notorious Roman Emperor, Nero. In contrast to his earlier imprisonment, which had been a kind of house arrest, he now languished in a cold dungeon, chained like a common criminal. He had no wife to comfort him—no children he could lean on—no children, that is, except for young pastor Timothy, whom he called his “true son in the faith.” Paul was alone. His execution was drawing near. Second Timothy was Paul’s very last letter and, in many ways, it is his last will and testament.

At the heart of this last will and testament is Paul’s dying hope for Timothy, for pastors and pastors-to-be, and for all who look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul writes: Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel. It’s only two sentences; but in those two sentences Paul has given an outline for an entire sermon.

Take just that first phrase from Paul: Think over what I say. Paul is telling Timothy to apply his mind, his reason, his intellect to the inspired words Paul had written. When it comes to the Scriptures, Paul tells Timothy (and all of us): Use your brain! Study the Word. Ponder the Word. Give the Word your full attention. This is why we send our pastors to seminary. Sure, Alex could just be my acolyte and follow me around as I carry out the ministry among you each day. But how much better that he can fully apply his mind to the Word of God, study it in the original languages, while sitting at the feet of gifted scholars. This is also why you, dear saints of Our Savior, attend Bible studies and tune into sermons. Why? Because when it comes to the Word of God, we are all charged to “think it over,” to “apply our minds” to what God has written for our learning.

But there’s also a promise attached to that command. Did you catch it? Paul writes: Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. He doesn’t say, “For you might gain a few insights here and there.” No, he says, “The Lord will give you understanding in everything—clarity instead of confusion, insight instead of ignorance. Use your God-given intelligence to study the Scriptures; and let God give you understanding in everything. A mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste; and you’re wasting it if you don’t apply it to God’s Word—where wisdom and understanding await you.

But at the heart of the Scriptures stands Jesus. Jesus is the key to understanding everything from Genesis to Malachi, from Matthew to Revelation. And to Jesus Paul directs us in his very next sentence: Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, preached in my gospel. Paul’s entire ministry could be summed up in that sentence: Remember Jesus Christ. In all of life’s busyness, in times of joy and times of sorrow, when fear overwhelms us, or when success surrounds us—remember Jesus Christ.

But remembering Jesus might not be exactly what you think it is. We often think of remembering as a merely mental activity—recalling special people and special times from the past. But to “remember” takes on added meaning in the Scriptures. To “remember” in the language of the Bible isn’t just a mental activity—not just thinking thoughts, but also doing deeds. To remember in the parlance of the Bible means to take action. To remember Jesus, therefore, is much more than just recalling old stories and saying, “Oh, remember when Jesus did that? Remember when Jesus promised that?” No, to “remember Jesus Christ” is to structure your whole life around Jesus—to receive His gifts in worship—and by those gifts to love and serve those whom Jesus has placed in your path.

You remember Jesus Christ when you come here to the Divine Service. You remember Jesus as you hear His Word and sing His praise. You remember Jesus as you confess the worst about yourself—the sins of which you are ashamed—and then receive absolution from the pastor, who speaks in the stead and by the command of Jesus Christ. You remember Jesus as you confess your faith—the faith once delivered to the saints. You remember Jesus when you kneel at this altar to receive Him—Him who comes to us in His body and blood.

Oh, and by the way, make sure you remember the right Jesus. Not just any Jesus will do. Paul makes this point with clarity: Remember Jesus Christ, (which Jesus? The Jesus who is) risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel. Paul didn’t want us remembering a generic Jesus who was only some great moral teacher. No, Paul bids us remember the risen Jesus—the Jesus who walked out of His tomb very early on the first day of the week—the Jesus who is the firstfruits of them that sleep—who defeated death for us—the Jesus through whom God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s sins against them.

Paul also would have us remember the Jesus who is the “offspring of David,” (and a Moabitess named Ruth), David’s descendant who is fully human, just like us—the Jesus who was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin—the Jesus who was born of the blessed virgin Mary, who was laid in a manger and worshiped by stinky shepherds, the Jesus who hemorrhaged real blood on a real cross for our real sins of thought, word and deed.

This is the Jesus Christ we remember here today. This was Paul’s Jesus, the Jesus of the Scriptures, the Jesus of history, the Jesus of this hour. Don’t confuse the real Jesus with any modern substitutes. Don’t fall for the pseudo-savior who winks at your sin and says, “Live as you please.” But do remember the Jesus who takes all of your sins upon Himself, who died as your substitute on a Roman tool of torture. Don’t fall for the Jesus of the modern mass media about whom nothing is sure, nothing is certain, and nothing is sacred.

But do remember the Jesus who was born in real time—in real history—whose birth came to pass when Caesar Augustus issued a decree that all the world should be taxed—who died when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea (exactly 1,996 years ago). Remember the Jesus who cleansed lepers and is the friend of sinners. This is Paul’s Jesus and the Jesus we confess here today. This is the Jesus who will one day lead you right through the valley of shadow of death so that you, together with Paul and Timothy, together with pastors and pastors-to-be and all who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, can dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This is the Jesus we preach—and the Jesus in whom you believe. Remember Jesus Christ.

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