Jesus is the only "brothers’ keeper" we have, and He is the only one we need.
There is an interesting link between chapters 3 and 4 in Genesis that makes preaching the Old Testament lesson this week quite enjoyable. We see it in the first verse of our reading when Eve had pain in childbearing and gave birth to “a man.” Given all that had happened to her in the opening of chapter 4, Eve looked at her circumstances and appears to have believed she had fulfilled the requirements of the curse for sin which was just pronounced (3:16). God said it would happen, and it did happen to her, so now she has the promised “man” who would deliver them. Except, Cain was not the messiah at all. Instead, he would be the first murderer in the history of humanity. In Genesis 3, God said something would happen and in chapter 4 we see someone directly applying it to themselves and their circumstances.
Look at another connection between chapters 3 and 4 in Genesis. Cain brings an offering of “the fruit of the ground” (4:3) that mirrors the curse God put on humanity in Genesis 3:17-19. His offering is a presentation of the evidence that he has been working the cursed ground. He asks God to accept his offering to demonstrate he has done a good job and is working the curse. His brother Abel, though, “brought of the firstborn of his flock” (4:4), which mirrors God’s first sacrifice to cover over the sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21. Abel offers this to God as if to ask that, by this offering, this would do for him what he saw and believed God did for their parents. He is asking God to cover him, a sinner, in the same way He covered his sinful parents. He offered up this living thing as a covering for his sins because he believed in what God alone can do for him. Through this act, he pleads for mercy as a poor sinful being.
So, Cain offers up his works in the hope that God will accept them, while Abel pleads for God to have mercy on him and to cover his sins in much the same way the Lord provided for his parents. You might legitimately ask how this conclusion could be made? The only way you can see the connection is by noticing what is happening between Genesis 3 and 4 in context. Notice how this connection does not draw any conclusions about the mind of God. However, it does show the connection to the types of offerings and their contextual meaning. This also makes a remarkably interesting tie-in to our appointed Gospel reading for today.
The connection to today’s Gospel lesson from Luke 18:9-17 for the feast of the Reformation is almost too obvious. Here, you have a man who justifies himself by His works and another man, a sinner, begging God would cover him with mercy for his sin. Only one of them walks away justified and it was not the one who believed in works righteousness. God accept the tax collector’s offering, but not because he was a good guy. Nobody in any of the readings is accepted by God because they are good enough. The only thing that moves God is His grace on account of His mercy for sinners who have faith in His atoning work which would be given through the Son Eve just could not wait for.
The only thing that moves God is His grace on account of His mercy for sinners who have faith in His atoning work which would be given through the Son Eve just could not wait for.
This later promised Son of Eve, the promised Son of God, would take all of the sin for all of the world on Himself on the cross so we would be able to leave that Sunday and go home justified (Luke 18:14). Jesus’ miraculous birth (of a virgin mother), beloved of the Father (Matthew 3:17) is, like Abel, hated by His brothers (John 1:11). His brothers would reject His revelations from God (John 6:66). His brothers would gather around Him with murderous intent (John 11:53). One of His own disciples would sell Him into the grave (Matthew 26:15). Jesus was falsely accused (Mark 14:55-56). He was imprisoned, though innocent (John 18:1-19:16). Jesus was killed by Cain’s kin (Acts 5:30-32) and later exalted after suffering to a place of power and authority (Philippians 2:6-10).
Jesus is the only "brothers’ keeper" we have, and He is the only one we need. He forgave us all (Luke 23:34 and John 20:19-21:19) and instead of allowing the just wrath of God to come upon us as punishment for our crimes against God’s law, Jesus took the wrath for us. From His work we receive mercy through the forgiveness of our sins, and we are blessed by His grace eternally (1 Peter 3:18-22). Jesus stands between us and the just wrath of God for our sins. By His shed blood He pleads for the mercy of God (Genesis 4:10) which He receives for us through His atoning death and resurrection.
By doing this (again, for us) Jesus “keeps us” from receiving the penalty due for our sins. We are marked in our Baptism not by Cain’s curse but by Christ life, by the righteous sacrifice of the firstborn Son of God from the dead (Col 1:18-20). He has become for us the choice lamb of God (John 1:29) offered up on the altar of calvary. When we approach the altar for the supper, unlike Abel, we receive the lamb in, with, and under the bread and wine and are accepted by God in Christ. We are saved by God’s kept promises in Christ. We are saved by the God who made the first sacrifice to atone for humanities sin and the final and complete sacrifice through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This reminds me of the words from the old hymn (Lutheran Service Book #433): “Abel’s blood for vengeance pleaded to the skies; But the blood of Jesus for our pardon cries.”
The Multiple Story Structure will provide a way to make meaningful moments of development on the teaching of persistent prayer as the sermon progresses through both readings.
“In this structure, the sermon communicates a central teaching or experience for the hearers by offering a series of stories that have been strategically placed next to one another to form the sermon. The strategic placement of the stories allows them to interact with one another, reinforcing experiences or themes for the hearers (like a contemporary story introduces the hearers to an experience that is then repeated in the biblical story) or qualifying these experiences or themes (for example, a biblical story might call into question the “resolution” of a contemporary story and, thereby, invite the hearers into further consideration). The multiple-story structure has two primary challenges for the preacher: The way each story is told and the way in which the stories are linked to one another.
In telling each story, the preacher seeks to maintain a specific and strategic focus in experience or thought for the hearers. Each story has the potential to distract the hearers from the intended experience or theme of the sermon. Therefore, the preacher uses narrative techniques (like a refrain) to implicitly direct the experience of the hearers within the telling of the story. Also, such direction can be explicit as expository material is used to clarify the meaning of the story (for example, “the reason I tell this story is...”).
As the preacher moves from story to story, he needs to be aware of the experiential or logical connection that holds the stories together (for example, the first story raises a problem for which the second story provides a solution). Multiple story sermons often have an unstated propositional structure (for example, the first two stories depict two ways of encountering Jesus and the third story contrasts this with a depiction of how Jesus encounters us). Sometimes the preacher uses expository material to clarify these connections for the hearers.”[1]
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Genesis 4:1-15.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Genesis 4:1-15.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
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[1] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/textual/genre/narrative/multiple-story-structure/
