Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 9:8-10:11; 1 Peter 5:1-14
”Now this is His Name, by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jeremiah 23:6)
Are you kidding? I'm no longer my own righteousness before God? Someone else is? That's what you heard yesterday. And, if you're a sinner, what a great gospel this is: Jesus is now my righteousness before God. That must mean — hey, I'm holy now. Just ask God, the Highest Judge of all!
Those who always want to point you back to yourself and the law for righteousness with God — have you said the sinner's prayer, invited Jesus into your heart, given God your life? — seek only to trouble you (Galatians 1:6-9). Rather than feed you, they just scatter you, and all God's sheep, with the law (Jeremiah 23:1-4). Nothing the law commands can give you life (Galatians 3:21).
Now, don't get me wrong. Invite Jesus into your heart. Give God your life That IS what the Law commands. Just don't trust in any of that. None of that makes you a Christian, gives you life with God, saves you from all your sin, or declares you holy and righteous in His sight. Only Jesus does that.
Does He pray for you? Yes, He does: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their Word” (John 17:20). Does He invite you into His heart? Yes, He does: “Baptism now saves you” (I Peter 3:21). Does He give you His life? Yes, He does: “Take, eat, this is My Body; take, drink, this is My blood for you for the forgiveness of sins” (I Corinthians 11:23-26). That is what gives you life with God, and righteousness.
That is why Jesus is called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. He does all the saving. He goes to the cross to earn the forgiveness of all your sins. And now, through His Word, Washing, and Supper, He distributes that forgiveness to you, freely. Covered by that, you are righteous in God's sight, for remember: That's how it is when what is not kept is all forgiven.
Think of all the times you didn't do so well at school, at home, in some athletic competition. It hurt, didn't it? You let others down, including yourself. And you suffered the consequences. Now imagine this: Before God, that doesn't happen anymore. How? Jesus, that's how! For someone else took the test for you, someone else obeyed His parents for you, someone else never lost at anything for you. Jesus, born under the law, (Galatians 4:4-5), kept the law for you — and kept it perfectly, never sinning, not even once. That now counts for you: spoken over you by His Word, washed over you at His Font, and fed into you at His Holy Supper. Yes, God is smiling at you, still. For God always smiles at Jesus — THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! His righteousness never lets the Father down. So, it never lets you down!