{"id":11498,"date":"2021-02-07T19:48:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-07T19:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=11498"},"modified":"2023-02-09T12:17:25","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T11:17:25","slug":"luke-2332-43-reflecting-on-bonhoeffers-christians-and-pagans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/luke-2332-43-reflecting-on-bonhoeffers-christians-and-pagans\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke 23:32-43 \u2013 reflecting on Bonhoeffer\u2019s \u201cChristians and Pagans\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

2006 Lenten Sermon Series<\/strong>
\nCelebrating the 100th Anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s <\/strong>
\nSECOND MIDWEEK OR LENT II (March 8 or March 12, 2006)<\/strong>
\nA Sermon on Luke 23:32-43 by Douglas Evenson<\/strong>
\n( after reflecting on Bonhoeffer\u2019s \u201cChristians and Pagans\u201d in Letters and Papers from Prison)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, \u201cFather, forgive them, for they know not what they do.\u201d And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, \u201cHe saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!\u201d The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, \u201cIf you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!\u201d There was also an inscription over him, \u201cThis is the King of the Jews.\u201d One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, \u201cAre you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!\u201d But the other rebuked him, saying, \u201cDo you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.\u201d And he said, \u201cJesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.\u201d And he said to him, \u201cTruly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.\u201d (Luke 23:32-43, ESV)<\/p>\n

GOD\u2019S ACTION AND OUR REACTION
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the laws of physics, it is taught that for every action there is a reaction. So in our text for today we learn that
\n<\/strong>When God is Crucified, a Reaction Happens.
\nI. Some react in continued unbelief.
\nII. Others respond in belief, faith and love.
\nIII.God responds graciously to both believer and unbeliever.<\/p>\n

I. Some react in continued unbelief<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we continue our acknowledgment of the 100 th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer\u2019s birth, we consider a poem from him entitled \u201cChristians and Pagans\u201d (Bonhoeffer , <\/em> Letters and Paper from Prison,<\/em> 348-49) The first stanza of the poem speaks of people and their condition. It reads:<\/p>\n

Men go to God when they are sore bestead,
\nPray to him for succour, for his peace, for bread,
\nFor mercy for the sick, sinning, dead;
\nAll men do so, Christian and unbelieving.<\/p>\n

This is the condition of all men\u2014all people on earth. We are sore bestead (and perhaps you\u2019ll permit me to continue to use this special word throughout?)– in need of food, water, shelter– and so many are sick and dying. Our physical need and sickness are only symptoms of a more serioius spiritual condition\u2014sin and rebellion against a Holy God.
\nThe people who stood around the cross\u2014which suspended the very divine Word that brought all things into existence\u2014are a people sore bestead and sorely oppressed, as Bonhoeffer illustrates. They are people just like you and me.<\/p>\n

According to the text, the Roman soldiers led Jesus to a place called the Skull. There the crowd watched them crucify Jesus along with two criminals, one on his left and one on his right. There Jesus hangs naked on a cross and the soldiers cast lots for his clothes. And there they hear Jesus pray: \u201cFather, forgive them for they know not what they do\u201d (Luke 23:34).
\nThey\u2019d heard the reports about this man, Jesus. Many, in fact, had heard him speak and seen his miracles: making the blind to see and the lame to walk. Jesus had released those bound by demons, and he had even raised the dead. In him was fulfilled what the prophets of old had foretold about the Christ\u2014the Chosen One of God, the Lamb of God, the redeeming sacrifice for the sin of all people. And it was for this\u2014who he was\u2014that he was being crucified.
\nSo, how do such people, a \u201csore bestead\u201d people, react to this event which they witness? Many react, not with belief and faith in Jesus and his teaching, but rather with continued unbelief.
\nThe Jewish religious leaders were among these. They begin to mock Jesus for whom he claimed to be. They sneered, \u201cHe saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!\u201d (23:35). The soldiers, too, scoffed, \u201cIf you are King of the Jews, save yourself\u201d (23:37). Even the government mocked him with a sign Pilate had placed on the cross above him: \u201cThis is the King of the Jews\u201d (23:38).<\/p>\n

There is one yet who represents all of them, for they rightly deserve what he is getting. One of the more sore-oppressed among them hangs as a criminal beside Jesus. He, too, mocks and rails at Jesus, \u201cAre you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!\u201d (23:39). In other words, \u201cCome on, Jesus, live up to all you said you are. You said you\u2019re the Christ, you said you\u2019re a king, so save yourself and us!\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonhoeffer writes, \u201cMen go to God when sore bestead.\u201d This criminal, and those who sneered, refused to believe in what they had heard and what they had seen, and what they now witness about Christ. And yet, when God is crucified, a reaction happens; they go to God. Oh, that unbelieving criminal, now condemned to die, would like succour, rescue, from Christ. He really would! But his \u201cprayer\u201d comes from unbelief\u2026and so it is mockery. He, they all, despise God and his Word and remain in their unbelief.<\/p>\n

Jesus is still despised and rejected today. So many hate Jesus and his church and fight against it\u2014persecuting it. They, like the people standing around the cross of Jesus, have heard his word, heard of his miracles, but reject it and him. These \u201csore bestead\u201d men will yet go to God again on Judgment Day. They will then stand before him who died for them and be found condemned for their unbelief. Jesus said in John 3:18, \u201cWhoever believes in him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

II. Others respond in belief, faith and love<\/strong><\/p>\n

But, there is another reaction to the crucifixion of God. This is the response of one sore bestead and sorely oppressed, too. It\u2019s the response of the second criminal. Our text indicates that when the second criminal heard the mocking of the other he said, \u201cDo you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?\u201d (23:40). \u201cYou\u2019re going to die, man! You\u2019re going to God, and he is holy. Don\u2019t you fear his judgment of you and your sins?\u201d He goes on, \u201cAnd we indeed justly [are sentenced to death], for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.\u201d Then he turns to Jesus: \u201cJesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom\u201d (23:41-42).
\nThis criminal knows his state of being. He knows he is sore bestead. He knows he is a sinner who deserves the just condemnation of God. He looks across to Jesus, and he sees what Dietrich Bonhoeffer sees. Listen to the second stanza of Bonhoeffer\u2019s poem:<\/p>\n

Men go to God when he is sore bestead,
\nFind him poor and scorned, without shelter or bread,
\nWhelmed under weight of the wicked, the weak, the dead;
\nChristians stand by God in his hour of grieving.<\/p>\n

The second criminal responds in belief and in faith. But it\u2019s our response, too. Like this criminal, the law has rightly sentenced us. It has revealed our state of being and our sinfulness. Thus we reverently fear a holy God who hates sin. We are surely condemned as dead men before him for our wretchedness. Yet, like this criminal, we find at the cross a great and glorious miracle\u2014God, loving us by taking upon himself the just wrath for our sin. There on the cross is the Christ, the Chosen One of God who sacrificed himself to take away the sin of the world. He is not just a weak, suffering, dying man who only claimed to be something that he is not. No, he is the Son of God who is strong in obedience to his Father\u2019s will. He willingly remains on the cross even though he has every power to save himself from it. He willingly stays there to save the world from the guilt and just condemnation of sin.<\/p>\n

Yes, like this criminal we know we are sore bestead sinners. And so, like him we pray, \u201cRemember us in your kingdom, Jesus. Remember us who are sore bestead and oppressed. Remember us and your great love for us that brought you to earth humbled, scorned, poor and without shelter or bread, burdened with the weight of our wickedness, weakness, and death. And may the Father forgive us as you have asked of him, for your sake, O Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

III God responds graciously to both believer and unbeliever<\/strong><\/p>\n

Men do go to God when they are sore bestead. And what they find is that God has already come to them. God has come to them, and he is sore bestead upon a cross, saving mankind by not saving himself. When God is crucified, he graciously responds to all who are sore bestead\u2014believers and unbelievers alike. Listen now to Bonhoeffer\u2019s third stanza:<\/p>\n

God goes to every man when sore bestead,
\nFeeds body and spirit with his bread;
\nFor Christians, pagans alike he hangs dead,
\nAnd both alike forgiving.<\/p>\n

Jesus does not die for, and forgive, just select people or groups of people. No, he suffers and dies for all mankind. His forgiveness is universal for all, for he \u201cdesires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth\u201d (1 Tim. 2:4). Those who refuse to believe, may mock his name and reject the very forgiveness he has earned for them by his humiliation and bloody agony. And so, when their \u201csore bestead\u201d short life on this earth is over, they deny their own place in Christ\u2019s glorious kingdom where there is no pain, poverty, hunger, or death.<\/p>\n

Yet, God continues to respond graciously to them here. Because he has come, because he was crucified, he continues to give them sunshine and rain, crops for food, neighbors and government who help in the support of daily life. He also allows believers in him to live beside unbelievers. He has given believers his Holy Word to share freely with their unbelieving neighbors so that they might hear of Jesus who died for them. Jesus hung there dying for the mocking priests, for his crucifiers, for the impenitent thief. And the word of the penitent criminal to him was God\u2019s own word reaching out to him one last time for his salvation.<\/p>\n

And for those who believe, Jesus responds as he does to that repentant criminal. He says, \u201cTruly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise\u201d (23:43). It is not necessary for Jesus to wait to remember the criminal until Jesus enters his kingdom. Christ\u2019s kingdom, even though not of this world, is where Christ is\u2014he is Emmanuel, God with us.<\/p>\n

Christ died, was placed in a tomb, but was raised from the dead by his Father. And the risen Christ promised his Apostles and his church that he would remain with them until the end of the age. Believers will be taken into paradise like the criminal, but until then we live in the grace and presence of God\u2019s kingdom here, \u201csore bestead\u201d on earth.<\/p>\n

God is with us through Word and Sacrament. He bathes us in baptismal waters where we are made new beings, baptized not only into his death but into his resurrection. He feeds us and sustains us in faith at his table, where he gives us his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins earned for us on his cross.<\/p>\n

When God is crucified, a reaction happens. It happens because God is gracious in the giving of himself as one sorely poor and oppressed for the sore bestead. And because he desires all to be saved, he gives both pagan and believer what they need\u2014himself, through Word and Sacrament. Amen.<\/p>\n

\n

Douglas Evenson <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2006 Lenten Sermon Series Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s SECOND MIDWEEK OR LENT II (March 8 or March 12, 2006) A Sermon on Luke 23:32-43 by Douglas Evenson ( after reflecting on Bonhoeffer\u2019s \u201cChristians and Pagans\u201d in Letters and Papers from Prison) Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,727,120,853,1235,108,110,303,3,109,940],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-11498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lukas","category-archiv","category-bes_gelegenheiten","category-bibel","category-celebrating-the-100th-anniversary-of-dietrich-bonhoeffers-good-friday","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-23-chapter-23","category-nt","category-predigten","category-sermon-on-a-special-occasion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16886,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11498\/revisions\/16886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11498"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=11498"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=11498"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=11498"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=11498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}