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S. Epiphany 3 Evensong.25 Nehemiah 8:1-10

“They read from the book of the teaching of God, clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading.”

Here we run up against one of the most neglected biblical teachings—especially by modern Lutherans who alone should get it. Did you catch it? It’s Ezra the priest and the Levites his helpers reading aloud from the book of the Law or Teaching of God from Moses, preaching, teaching, giving the sense so the people understand the reading.

Still missing the point? It’s this: they didn’t just hand out LSB Study Bibles and send people home to read to themselves. It is not private reading of scripture but only the public proclamation of the Word by the called and ordained servants of God that is a means of grace, that creates and preserves faith!

Our Lutheran confessions are quite clear on this point. Yet a Lutheran pastor, Jon Lange wrote an article not his years ago, showing how only the public proclamation of the Word by pastors is a means of grace for us and nearly got kicked out of Synod because of the outrage of clergy and laity alike. He was denounced as some horrible sacerdotalist (everyone has to look up the word; it means the teaching that pastors are necessary intermediaries between God and humanity by divine fiat).

Since his brother Peter is 1st VP of Synod, I think Jon’s pretty safe. But no one talks about this anymore… well almost no one 😉

Paul makes it crystal clear in Rom. 10:14ff.: “how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent (Greek apostled)? As it is is written: ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel.”

I think what everyone hates about this are the verses that immediately follow as the necessary consequence: “So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for: “their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’ A quote from Ps. 19 that last line, BTW.

Modern Christendom is so in love with DIY Christianity, with the idea of missions, fervently wanting to believe that God needs our help to save people and that we can even help ourselves by reading the bible and watching YouTube videos by sages like Brian Wolfmueller et. al. Hearing we are like sheep in need of a shepherd Christ sends in his stead and without the shepherd, without the bother of actually having to come out and hear him speak into our ears in person—that we’re dependent on that ministry like heroin addicts on their supplier is highly offensive to the modern “Christian”.

It offended Israel back in Ezra and Nehemiah’s day. Those were dark days. 75 years or so after a rag-tag crew of 50,000 Israelites returned from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple to begin the worship of God his way instead of theirs. And it didn’t go well because they wanted to do it themselves, as usual…

Only when they were enslaved by the Canaanites and Arabs did they let Ezra and Nehemiah set them straight. And the great setting straight was the first pastor-led bible study in decades that we hear about today.

Their private reading of Moses’ scriptures wasn’t enough. Ezra’s preaching alone “gave the sense” so they could understand. He didn’t write a treatise or give them a study bible and leave them to hash it out themselves. He led them by the hand like little children to the green pastures, the still waters of Christ.

Like the black light at nightclubs, Ezra showed how Christ shines out from every page with forgiveness of sins by his sacrificial death which is what all those tabernacle sacrifice were really about!

But this scandalizes the Jews! They wept and wailed and cried their eyes out. Ezra left them painfully aware of their sin, of their crying need for a Savior. Humiliation is the first step to achieving true humility. Just ask me how I know this 😉 I’d write a book on humility and how I achieved it but only the spoken word actually works 😉

Well, they cried and cried. But, eventually, they got the joke. Ezra dismissed them with gentle words, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to the LORD…

“And do not be grieved. For the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Still is. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.