The whole Old Testament points to the promise of the Messiah Jesus. Even seemingly unclear passages are promises about Him.
The American sociologist, Erving Goffman, coined the phrase “total institution.” By definition, a “total institution” is a place or residence that controls every aspect of your life and possibly even your death. A “total institution” exists alongside of society, but it is very distinct from society. A “total institution” has a specific way of dressing, talking, acting, reacting, and working. There are three classic examples of this: The military, prisons, and, ironically, seminaries. Just spend any amount of time in one of these places and you will immediately understand what a “total institution” is.
In our text today, we are dealing with a lot of rules, a lot of laws. They are ways of speaking, acting, reacting, and working. There are so many that some may even question the purpose of preaching on a book like Leviticus to begin with. Where is the Gospel in this text?
The key to understanding the point of all these “laws” in Leviticus is to remember that God’s people had been in a “total institution” for 430 years (Exodus 12:40). They had been living in the “total institution” of slavery in Egypt. Slavery was, by definition, the very thing that controlled their life and death. It controlled what they wore and how they acted and reacted to the world around them. It was literally everything. So much so that God had to teach them how to be His people again, step by step, rule by rule, law by law. He must resocialize them at every level of their life because all they knew was their identity as slaves. God was reminding them of who they were and how distinct and set apart they were from everyone else in the world! This accounts for the sometimes large and oddly specific number of details we see in the Levitical code.
Our text is in a section of Leviticus dealing with moral purity (chapters 18-20) and it hits on a critical theme for the entire book. Namely, it deals with holiness. God calls His people to live distinct, separate lives from the way the people around them live. They are to be distinct from the Egyptians, Canaanites, and everyone else in almost every way.
For this sermon, we will work with a turn of phrase from verse 2 to turn this law code into gospel proclamation. In verse 2 it says: “You shall be holy.” The original sense of the word and the plainest meaning of this verse is that God commands us to, in fact, be holy. It is an imperative, plain and simple.
The problem is that we sin and are not holy. We are by nature sinful and unclean, by our thoughts, words, and deeds. Jesus Himself says in John 8:34, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”
So, now this imperative teaches us that we are in the “total institution” of slavery as well. We live in a place, a prison of sin and it affects our acting, talking, reacting, and thinking. It impacts our whole life and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Christ took on the “total institution” of sin at the cross and empty tomb so you can see that “you shall be holy” (verse 2) but not on account of your works or your keeping of the Law.
John 8 continues to tell us about our problem in verse 35: “The slave does not remain in the house forever.” Oh no, who can “save us from this body of death” (Romans 7:24)? Who will bring us back into right relationship with God? Who will set us free from our slavery to sin?
Listen to these beautiful words of gospel from John 8:36, “So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Indeed, that is what we need. We need the Son of God, Jesus, to set us free. Not by the Law, not by a social gospel, but by the blood mark of the lamb, a sacred eating, and by passing through the sea of baptismal regeneration. Christ took on the “total institution” of sin at the cross and empty tomb so you can see that “you shall be holy” (verse 2) but not on account of your works or your keeping of the Law.
“You shall be holy,” when you are in Christ. The past meets you in the present and creates a glorious future for you in the here and now by faith in the shed blood and empty tomb. You see, Leviticus 19:2 can be read in the future tense in Christ. It does not have to be seen only as an imperative. It can be seen, in a sense, as a word of promise.
How, you might ask, is that a legitimate reading of the text? Can you read the Old Testament and Christ into the Old Testament in that way legitimately. The answer is a definite, “Yes!”
Look at what Jesus does in our appointed Gospel lesson for today in Matthew 22:34-46. Jesus turns the question around on the religious leaders by pointing to the Old Testament and interpreting it in Himself. The whole Old Testament points to the promise of the Messiah Jesus. Even seemingly unclear passages are promises about Him.
Therefore, you can certainly read this imperative as a promise for the future Messiah. You shall be holy because of Christ. That turn of phrase can bring the Gospel out of a text of pure law and demand, and it can point to a promise we receive by faith. “You shall be holy” ...in Christ alone.
A nice construction to draw out this turn of phrase might be the Proverbial Structure:
“This sermon structure works with the prevalence of proverbs in contemporary discourse (like advertising slogans and sound bites) and seeks to use that experience for the purpose of proclaiming the divine wisdom tradition. In this structure, the sermon develops a single proverb (or in our case a single verse) for the hearers by using it as a refrain throughout the sermon. Often, this proverb arises out of the text itself (for example, Leviticus 19:2 says, “You shall be holy”). The sermon consists of offering the hearers various life situations in which this proverb is reflected upon. In each case, the hearer needs wisdom to discern the application of the proverb, and the sermon offers that contemplative wisdom which discerns how the proverb applies. At one point in the sermon, the proverb is related to the proclamation of the Gospel. By moving from biblical stories to contemporary situations and punctuating each situation with a statement of and reflection upon the proverb, the preacher forms hearers who enter the world remembering the proverb and seeing situations wherein it guides their daily life with godly wisdom.”[1]
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Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18.
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!
[1] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/dynamic/proverbial/
