"Wash and Be Clean!" 2 Kings 5:1-15

January 23, 2022
Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

"Wash and Be Clean!" The Lord God Christ Jesus restores Namaan's diseased flesh through water and His Word. Our God creates and cares for human bodies. He also calls us to care for each other's body and lives. Sermon Text: 2 Kings 5:1-15. Sermon Theme: "Wash and Be Clean!" preached for Third Sunday after Trinity, 23-January-2022, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Tell City, Indiana by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert.

Episode Notes

Third Sunday After The Epiphany                 23-January-2022
Sermon Text: 2 Kings 5:1-15
Sermon Theme: “Wash and Be Clean!”

I.N.R.I. Yesterday 49 years ago the U.S. supreme court decided that human life was disposable. It claimed to find a right to privacy that allowed the destruction of another human life within the U.S. Constitution. All fifty states were forced to comply with this genocide of future generations. Since January 22nd, 1973 over 63 million unborn babies have been slaughtered in the name of choice just in the U.S.. Sadly the abortion industry exported its pro-death philosophy throughout our world to help “modernize” third world countries. From January 1st of this year to this day an estimated three million babies have been destroyed through abortion. Far exceeding any variant of COVID abortion still remains the greatest threat to human life on this globe.
      King David in the Old Testament had more scientific knowledge of conception and human life in the womb than did those justices in 1973. They falsely imagined that a human baby in the womb is just a tissue mass, without any feeling or thoughts. David praised God singing, “Psa 139:13-16 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. (14) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. (15) My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. (16) Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” With ultra sound evidence, no honest biologist would deny that human life begins at the moment of conception. The Lord forms and knits us together in our mother’s womb - babies are separate bodies within their mother’s bodies. Realizing this undeniable truth, the pro-death abortionist now argue that babies are not yet human persons. Some going so far as to argue that even young children are not yet human persons and should be put to death if they don’t meet societal expectations. David praises the Lord God as a human person from the moment of conception. Satan, the liar hates the sanctity of human life. He is pro death, rebelling and attacking the Lord God’s creation of the human body as male or female from conception.
    Sadly we have not honored human life as the sacred gift from God. As a nation we have averted our eyes to the truth. When Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practice of harvesting and selling fetal tissue for research was exposed. The researcher who exposed this desecration of human life was prosecuted and fined. Experimentation of human embryos or babies body parts to pioneer new pharmaceuticals and vaccines to prolong our own lives at the expense of theirs is diabolical.
      Our Creator God is clear. “You shall not murder!” We learn to confess that this means, “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.” There is no age limit on this commandment it stretches from conception to the point of natural death. We further confess with Dr. Luther, “Secondly, under this commandment not only he is guilty who does evil to his neighbor, but he also who can do him good, prevent, resist evil, defend and save him, so that no bodily harm or hurt happen to him, and yet does not do it. 190 If, therefore, you send away one that is naked when you could clothe him, you have caused him to freeze to death; if you see one suffer hunger and do not give him food, you have caused him to starve. So also, if you see any one innocently sentenced to death or in like distress, and do not save him, although you know ways and means to do so, you have killed him. And it will not avail you to make the pretext that you did not afford any help, counsel, or aid thereto, for you have withheld your love from him and deprived him of the benefit whereby his life would have been saved. 191 Therefore God also rightly calls all those murderers who do not afford counsel and help in distress and danger of body and life, and will pass a most terrible sentence upon them in the last day, ...”(L.C. 5th Cmdt).
      Truth be told - we have blood on our hands. Women and men suffer post traumatic stress syndrome from participating in the lie of abortion. We who have ignored their hurts and not actively prayed and worked to end this slaughter in our land stand convicted by God’s Word. We need a greater word of healing. We need to “Wash and Be Clean!”
      What makes a human life valuable? (Vs.1) Eight centuries before Christ became the saving Embryo in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Naaman wielded the sword for Syria. He commanded the Syrian army. According to ancient Jewish rabbis - his arrow was the one that pierce wicked King Ahab’s armor giving Syria the victory. He was a strong powerful soldier. True to his word and his calling to serve as God’s instrument in preserving peace for his nation. Soldiers do not murder on the battlefield when they engage in just wars - they are God’s instruments to bring justice establishing peace and protecting human life, especially the weakest in the nation. For all of Namaan’s great accomplishments - he was a leper. His body was infected with a slow terminal disease which excluded him from society. We are our bodies and our bodies are us - that is we are body and soul special creations of God. Human life isn’t less precious because we have terminal illnesses like cancer, alzheimers, struggle with depression, or are born with down’s syndrome. Every human body is sacred to our God.
        In the New Testament our Lord Jesus doesn’t shy away from the leprous man. He reaches out touching his diseased body, not maintaining the required social distancing. Then Jesus speaks His Word to heal and restore that man’s flesh. So the Lord God will use a slave girl to save the mighty warrior. (Vs.2-3). This little girl captured and enslaved by the Syrian raiders has mercy on her captors. She doesn’t mock Namaan saying, “You are getting what you deserve! Stay away from me!” She draws near to speak a word of hope, a word of invitation to one full of death. “Come, to Church - hear the prophet Elisha preach - Christ can heal you through his Word!” Learn from this little slave girl to reach out to those crushed by the lie of the pro-death mob. Come alongside them, let Jesus reach out and touch them through His Word to comfort and heal them.
      Namaan’s wife rejoices in hope for her husband. She convinces him to ask the king of Syria to send him to be healed. The King loves Namaan and values his body and life. Scripture records that he sends a kingly gift with him along with a letter to the King of Israel for healing. History records, (vs.6-7) King Joram could not heal Namaan. The government cannot heal illness, stop pandemics, or absolve sinners. The government functions to preserve peace and justice by upholding the rule of law, not by entering the medical field. Joram is certain that Syria is using this diseased commander and his great gift as a pretext for war. In distress he tears his clothes.
      Elisha hears and sends word to King Joram calling him to repent and trust in the power of God’s Word preached. (Vs.8) St. Paul reminded the Roman congregation that the preaching of the Gospel - “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”(Rom. 1:16) Learn from Elisha, Paul, and Jesus not to be ashamed of the Gospel - speak this Word to those who have lost hope, whose bodies fail them, who are crushed by the spirit of death and lies -Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
    Namaan thought he knew how the Lord God of Israel would heal him. (Vs.9-12) Imagine the presidential motorcade pulling up outside of Emmanuel and instead of greeting him - we send out a deacon to tell President Biden to go to the Ohio River and wash seven times. The headlines would scream that such action was scandalous. Elisha doesn’t even answer the door when Namaan and his great parade of pomp knocks - instead he sends forth God’s Word by his messenger. “Go, jump in the Jordan - seven times!” The commander in chief is scandalized. The rivers of Syria are better than the muddy Jordan. Namaan was certain that the prophet would come to him, wave his hand over his disease, call on the name of his God and abracadabra he’d be cured. What foolishness to wash to be clean!
      Our fallen world, like Namaan, thinks very little of holy baptism and thinks it foolish to baptize infants. They reject the power of the Creator’s Word placed into the water by His Name. The Roman Centurion bowed before Jesus praying for his paralyzed servant. Jesus was willing to go with him, but this man trusted in Christ’s spoken Word alone! What Jesus says really happens! Our Lord praises his great faith! Baptism saves - that is what God the Lord - Jesus risen from the dead after paying the full penalty for our sins says - Mar 16:15-16 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
      Proud Namaan is counseled by his lowly servants. (Vs.13) This is a great Word and promise spoken to Namaan by the prophet Elisha. Is not the Word and command of Jesus even greater? Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.” By baptism disciples are made as the Triune God seals His holy Name upon them saying, “You are Mine, I save you!” Namaan repents and clings to the Word of God preached by Elisha - (vs.14-15) He washes and is made new again. His skin is restored like that of a new born baby. The washing of water and the word makes us new again filling these bodies of ours with the life of Christ Jesus. Washing away all of the leprosy of our sin, guilt, shame, and death. St. Paul echos this truth preaching, 2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
      Dear Christian - learn from Namaan to cling to the great word of forgiveness, life, and salvation that Jesus speaks to you within His Church. He draws near to forgive you to wash you new again every morning. To all wounded in body and conscience by the lie of our pro death culture - Jesus calls, “Mat 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." - On the cross He took our place, suffered the hell we’ve earned, died our death to reconcile real sinners to their real heavenly Father in their bodies. By His resurrection He has made us new and sealed to us body and soul people - that our bodies shall one day walk forth from the grave - never to die again. Amen.

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