The Lutheran Hour

"Submission"

#78-17
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on January 2, 2011
Speaker: Rev. Ken Klaus
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: Luke 2:40, 51-52

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! A living Lord Jesus shows that His
lifetime of submission, His years spent living for us, suffering and dying for
us is at an end. Now the victorious Redeemer comes and says, “Believe on Me
and be saved.” God grant we hear the invitation which comes from the heart of
Him Who died that we might live. God grant it to us all. Amen.

It was a number of years ago that our congregation was having a post-Vacation-
Bible-School picnic.

One of the things I remember from that day was a mother who had her child
sitting on her lap. That’s not memorable. What is memorable is the speed, or
more accurately, the lack of speed at which the three-year-old child ate.
Molasses in winter is slow. Glaciers are slower and watching the continents
drift is painfully boring. But the movement of these things are measurable;
this lad’s eating was not. For ten minutes mother patiently urged, “Jeremy,
eat your hot dog.”

Twenty minutes into the non-eating marathon it became apparent to Mother that
Jeremy had made this a test of will power. Mom’s eyes narrowed, her cheek
twitched, her back straightened, she rearranged the napkin on Jeremy’s lap and
announced, “Jeremy, we will just sit here until you finish eating your hot
dog.” This commitment contest might have lasted forever if mother had not made
a fatal mistake. She knew she had blundered before the words were out of her
mouth, but she couldn’t catch herself in time to stop. She said, “Jeremy, you
will make mommy ever so happy if she sees no more hot dog on your plate.”
Jeremy, who up until that moment in time had shown a sloth-like slowness,
burst into action. With one hand on the plate to steady it, Jeremy used his
other hand to sweep the hot dog fragments from the plate into the deep sand
which covered the playground.

Then, with triumph in his voice, for the first time in almost an hour, Jeremy
turned to his mother, lifted his plate and innocently said, “Look, Mommy, no
more hot dog on Jeremy’s plate.” My memory might be flawed, but I think a
single tear rolled down her cheek as she reached into her purse for an
aspirin. One-half hour later she was composed enough to reenter the battle
which eventually made Jeremy into one of the finest young Christian men I
know.

I don’t know if that will be the outcome for the young girl Pam and I saw last
week at a large chain store. We were fifth in line at the register, and this
beautiful blonde four-year-old girl was in front of us. The girl, Leah was her
name, simply saw something she wanted and started screaming. Loudly. It was
amazing. There had been no warm up; no gradual increase in decibels. There had
been silence and then there was the scream of the little girl that shattered
the glass in the jewelry display cases five aisles away. Understand, the four-
year-old was not in pain. She had just seen something she wanted and had found
out her scream had the ability to deaden her father’s brain and bend him to
her will like a willow in the wind

Dad didn’t argue, he didn’t discuss. In his desire to please his diminutive
dictator, dad reached past the customer in line ahead of him and snatched up
the item his darling had demanded. He picked the wrong item. She sneered,
threw it on the floor, and, if humanly possible, screamed louder. Then, with a
jab which would make a board-splitting karate master proud, she nailed dad on
the chin with a closed fist. He wavered for a second, composed himself, and
managed to get the object of his deranged daughter’s desire. Pam and I shared
a look which said, “Poor father, may the Lord have mercy on your soul.”

Now I share those stories because they stand in brilliant contrast to
Scripture which, with one story and a few verses, covers the years from Jesus’
birth until the beginning of His ministry at the age of 30. Many of you are
acquainted with the story. The beloved physician Luke tells of how Jesus, His
family, and a whole bunch of local folk from Nazareth made the annual Passover
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When the festival was over, the whole crowd headed
for home. Mary and Joseph, believing Jesus was with friends, didn’t worry
about Hm. It was only much later that they realized Jesus wasn’t anywhere to
be seen. Naturally they retraced their steps back to Jerusalem. After a time
of searching they eventually located their Son in the temple, dialoguing with
the scholars of Israel.

No doubt Joseph and Mary, like any parents, would have been conflicted when
they finally found their Son. Part of them would have wanted to hug and hold
Him while another part would have wanted to yell at Him for making them worry.
After a brief exchange Jesus reminded Mary and Joseph He was on a mission from
God. He was on a mission which would end when, during a future Passover, He
would be crucified to save sinful humankind. Luke sums up the intervening
years with the verse: “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was
submissive to them.”

In the course of my life I have probably read that verse 40 or 50 times. Even
so, it was not until this sermon was being prepared that those five words
stood out. The words: “He was submissive to them.” That’s five, right? Yup,
five. He was submissive to them. Those words struck me as being out of place.
Those words got me to wondering: how did that play out in the day-to-day
living at the home and shop of Joseph the Carpenter. Think about it. When I
grew up, my father used to say to me, as yours probably said to you: “Son, no
matter how smart you get, I’ll always be smarter. I’ve got a 25-year head
start on you.” But Joseph couldn’t say that to Jesus, his foster-Son, Whose
wisdom and age included the days of creation. But there’s more. When I was
growing up, I thought of my father as just about the strongest guy in the
whole, wide world. But Divine Jesus was omnipotent. How do you work with a
foster-Son Who is omnipotent? I know, the Savior didn’t use His powers, that
He didn’t do any miracles until He was at a wedding which took place in the
little town of Cana when He was 30 years old. But that doesn’t change the fact
that they always knew Jesus was the Son of God.

Think about it. How did they deal with a Son Who, since He was holy, was never
wrong? How did the kids in town treat a Classmate Who never sinned? Did they
call Him a “goody-two-shoes”? Did they play tricks on Him? Did they try to
bully Him? They probably would have if their parents kept saying to them, “Why
can’t you be more like Jesus? Why can’t you be good like He is?” Reading these
few verses I do wish Luke would have given us a bit more information about the
Savior’s early years. All we have is, “Jesus was submissive to them.” Was it
frustrating being submissive to people who were not as smart as You, strong as
You, talented as You, perfect as You? Do you see? Jesus’ submission
represented a labor of love and total devotion to duty. His submission to His
parents showed a quality which Jeremy and the little girl of my opening
stories, and none of us ever had. Jesus was submissive because it was right
and proper for Him to do so.

You see, Jesus’ submission to Mary and Joseph was just part of His lifelong
obedience to His Divine Father. It was the Father Who had sent His Son to
earth to make the sacrifice for humankind which only God’s Son could offer, to
complete the promise which would change the eternal destiny of millions of
sinners who had been condemned to death. Even before He was born, Jesus
submitted to that plan which would call for Him to offer His life in exchange
for ours. Read carefully… and you will see this is so. His stepfather Joseph
was told (Matthew 1:21) that, according to ancient prophecy, his Stepson would
“save his people from their sins.” The first recorded words we have of Jesus
is His own admission that He had to be in His Father’s house about His
Father’s business. Years later, at the Jordan River, He was baptized by His
cousin, John. When John rightly admitted that he, not Jesus, was the sinner
who needed to be baptized, Jesus told him, (Mathew 3:15) “Let it be so now,
for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus’ baptism was one
more part of His submission to the Father’s plan to save us.

Throughout His life Jesus remained submissive to that plan. When the devil
took Him into the wilderness and offered Him the means by which He could save
Himself but would lose us, Jesus stayed faithful and embraced the painful plan
of salvation. Not so many months later, when His life and ministry was
numbered in hours, Jesus knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, as He
prayed, the crushing burden of the world’s sins was placed upon Him. Not for a
second could we have borne the accumulated weight of humankind’s
transgressions. Every sin, every pain, all the guilt, the hatred, the
injustice, prejudice, lust, greed, disloyalty, betrayal committed by every
person this world has seen or ever will see, all this hurt became His. Little
wonder Scripture records that even the omnipotent Son of God fell with His
face to the dirt and He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood.

You do understand, He deserved none of that; He had earned none of it; He did
not have to bear this pain beyond bearing. Indeed, three times He pleaded to
be released from this plan which called for His agonizing death. But three
times, in submission, He also said to His Father, “Not My will, but Your will
be done.” But it was not possible for Him to be released. The plan called for
His life to be offered so ours might be spared. And so Jesus continued on,
submissive to the sacrifice which He had to make and the suffering which would
come. And it did come. Before He left the Garden one of His own disciples
betrayed Him. Not from the shadows, not from a distance did Judas betray the
Savior. No, with an armed contingent in support, Judas approached Jesus as a
friend, greeted Him as a Friend, and gave Him a kiss which was reserved for
the closest of Friends. And with that kiss the betrayer set into motion the
closing act on Jesus’ life of submission.

If Scripture is silent about Jesus’ early years; it paints in vivid detail His
last hours. Centuries before, the prophet Isaiah had told how Jesus would
deport Himself at His trials. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, God’s spokesman had
foretold how (53:7), Jesus would submit to the Father’s plan and decline to
defend Himself. Isaiah promised the all-powerful Son of God, the Lion of Judah
would allow Himself to be led like a Lamb, be silent like a Lamb, and die like
a Lamb. And so it was. Beaten, bruised, whipped, mocked, and scorned, Jesus
carried His cross to the place of His execution. There, on the cross, as He
remained submissive to the plan of saving us, Jesus managed to look past the
pain and past the weight of our sins and entrusted his mother to the care of a
friend and promised forgiveness and eternal life to a criminal who was dying
next to Him.

There, on the cross, you can clearly see how much Jesus loved you, how deep
was His commitment to the plan which would save you. At any time and without
any effort He could have pulled Himself free of the nails which pinned Him to
the cross. With a wave of His hand He could have swept aside the crowd which
showed such delight in His agony. But Jesus did none of those things. Instead,
looking down on the soldiers who were gambling for His clothing; seeing the
men who had orchestrated His death, He spoke words of forgiveness. Words of
forgiveness. Then, when He had finished His life, as death drew near, Jesus
willingly gave up the ghost and He died. His entire life had been lived in
submission to the plan to redeem us. Now, on the cross, His work was done.

And if you were to ask, “How can I be sure Jesus’ submission to the Divine
plan was at an end? How can I be sure He had been successful in winning my
salvation?” If you were to ask these questions, I would say, “Go to the
borrowed tomb where the corpse of the Christ was placed. Go there three days
after His burial and you will find Him gone. He is not there, because He has
risen. But after Jesus’ resurrection, you will note a difference in Him. Jesus
had died submitting to the Father’s will. The risen Christ of resurrection
Sunday is the Victor Who has defeated the devil, has trounced the tomb; has
succeeded in fulfilling the Commandments, and said “no” to each and every
suggestion to sin which had been placed before Him. The triumphant Lord Jesus
rose from the dead and shows to a disbelieving world that God has, in His
great grace and marvelous mercy, provided salvation to all who would be
brought to faith in Him, the Divine Deliverer. The Lord of life rose from the
dead and says: “Believe on Me and be saved from your deadly destiny of
damnation.”

Today I share the story of the Savior’s submission to His Father’s plan of
salvation. It can be your story, unless, of course, arrogance and
overconfidence, pride and self-importance keep you from submitting to Jesus
and receiving His blood-bought forgiveness. Submission to the Savior. That can
be, and often is, a problem. You see, we humans don’t like to submit. We want
to be leaders, not followers; we want to be sovereign and self-sufficient, not
reliant and dependent. Our age, our culture has promoted the myth that being
first, being the leader is everything and being second is inferior and living
as a follower is inglorious.

Too many people can’t see the concept of self-reliance and self-sufficiency is
a myth. The truth is, we must submit to someone. The athlete submits to the
coach; the coach submits to the manager; the manager submits to the owner who
submits to the team’s Board of Directors. But the pattern doesn’t stop there.
Not at all. The Board must defer to the people who pay, or don’t pay, to see
their team; the people submit to following a team which usually seems to be
successful or needy. Success is measured in games won and not lost. The win-
loss ratio is dependent upon the players, who must submit to the coach, who…
You see how it goes.

The question is not, “Will you submit?” It is to whom shall you submit? Will
you submit to Jesus, coming as a sinner in need of a Savior? If that is where
the Spirit leads you, wonderful, salvation is yours. But if you will not be
brought to the Christ, then who shall be your master? To whom will you submit?
You may be the strongest man in this world; you may be in perfect shape and be
gifted with almost limitless endurance, but the day will come when you will,
when you must, submit to death. On the day when death arrives, it will expose
how mistaken and misplaced was your self-confidence. On the day death comes,
what will you do; what will be your soul’s immortal fate? On the day death
comes, if Jesus is your Savior, you will be blessed, blessed beyond measure.
But if He is not your Redeemer, then an eternity of unending submission is
yours. Those are the options; the only options.

Let me ask, do you remember Jeremy… the little boy at the beginning of the
message who wouldn’t eat his hot dog? Jeremy won that contest of wills with
his mom. He won that time. But Jeremy can’t keep pulling that stunt
indefinitely. Eventually he will lose. Without ever eating, he will weaken, he
will sicken, and he will die. And if you’re thinking, “That would never
happen!” I can tell you there are many people who have eating disorders,
disorders that can and do end their days.

My friends, be sure, you may be able to brush Jesus off today, and you may put
Him off tomorrow. But the day is most assuredly coming when death will also
arrive. You cannot brush off death. Far better to receive the salvation which
Jesus offers. Far better to submit to Someone Who loves you. Far better to
submit to Someone Who gave His life so you might live. To that end, if we can
be of help to you, please, don’t hesitate. Call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for January 2, 2011
Topic: Where Did God Come From?

Announcer: God created the world-but who created God? That will be our topic
for today, the first Sunday of the New Year. I’m Mark Eischer, here with our
newly retired Speaker emeritus, Pastor Ken Klaus.

Klaus: Hello, Mark. I’m sorry. I can’t do that. Hello, Mark. Was Santa good
to you this year?

Announcer: Well, we did have a wonderful Christmas. But, what about Santa?

Klaus: Oh, I asked the question in hopes that you would give me the
opportunity to tell a story which happened to us a few years back. My bride
and I were in church the Sunday after Christmas and at the door, while the
Pastor was shaking hands, he asked Pam, “Was Santa good to you this year?” She
turned to me, patted me on the tummy and said, “Santa is good to me every
year.”

Announcer: Anyone who’s seen your picture knows you look the part. And, I’m
wondering now that you’re retired, might you be considering a new career?

Klaus: (responds) … and what did you say the question was for today?

Announcer: This question comes to us from a mother with young children.

Klaus: And what does this mother with young children want to know?

Announcer: She says she and her children regularly attend church, Bible Class,
and Sunday School.

Klaus: Good for them. If dad is still around, I hope that he is, too.

Announcer: Well, she doesn’t really mention dad one way or the other. But she
says she and the kids discuss their Sunday School lessons on the way home from
church. The kids ask a lot of questions, mom is usually able to answer without
too much difficulty.

Klaus: Good for mom!

Announcer: And, the kids were learning the story of Creation and they
wondered, “Where did God come from? It’s hard for us to understand because
everything we know comes from something. So, how did God come into being?”

Klaus: Mark, before I answer the question, or at least try to, let me say,
“Kudos, mom. I don’t know how old your kids are, but I do know they’re blessed
to have a mom who not only makes sure that they know the Lord, but she’s doing
her best to reinforce that learning. You are bringing them up with a knowledge
of God’s Word and fulfilling one of the most important responsibilities God
has given to parents.

Announcer: And, we should point out that it’s not just something for mothers
to be doing, either.

Klaus: That’s right.

Announcer: OK, back to our question.

Klaus: Fair enough. The lady’s children are asking a question that many people
ask, sooner or later. Looking at the world, we see that almost everything has
a cause and effect… everything we observe has a beginning, a middle, and an
end… everything comes from something else or someone else. Therefore, we
logically conclude that that would also apply to the Lord.

Announcer: Well, logically it would seem that way, but, what do you say?

Klaus: We can only say what the Bible says, whether it seems logical or not.
The Bible tells us God didn’t come from anything or anybody. He didn’t have
parents. In contrast to His creation which had a definite beginning in time,
God always was and He always will be. Psalm 90:2 says: “Before the mountains
were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from
everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Announcer: Psalm 93: 2 says much the same. It says, “Your throne is
established from of old; you (meaning God) are from everlasting.”

Klaus: Words like “eternity” and “everlasting,” those are terms that we
creatures of time use to define the concept of Something which has no end and
no beginning. That alone would be God.

Announcer: So, God is unique in that He exists outside the realm of time.

Klaus: Yes, and quite frankly, it would be beyond the realm of logic and our
vocabulary. The problem in saying this, of course, is that, not having been
there, we can’t comprehend the idea of being outside of time or being without
a beginning or end.

Announcer: OK. Well, to sum this us, how would you advise our young mother to
answer her children’s questions?

Klaus: Well, if I were her, I’d simply emphasize that God is entirely
different from everyone and everything else. Everything else comes from God,
but God is different. He’s also different in His love for us which sent His
Son into our world of time and history to live, die, and rise again so we
might be forgiven, reconciled with God, brought into the family of faith. God
is special.

Announcer: Now, there will be doubters and deniers and skeptics who will say
you sort of copped out on this answer today.

Klaus: Yup, they will. I’ll tell you what. I’ll come up with a better answer
as soon as they tell me where this universe came from without a Creator to
make it.

Announcer: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran
Hour Ministries.

Music selection for this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC

“What Is the World to Me?” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.

“As With Gladness Men of Old” arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.

“Trio Super ‘Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend” by J.S. Bach. From J.S.Bach
Organ Works by Per Fridtjov Bonsaksen (© 1995 Vanguard Classics)