Trinity 8 July 30, 2023
Matthew 7:15-23
Watchin’ Out for Wolves
v.15-16a Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but
inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.
Dear friends in Christ, one of my favourite television shows growing up was
The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show. In particular, I liked the ones about Wile E.
Coyote, who was always trying to outmanoeuvre Sam the Sheep Dog, in his bid to
take home a sheep for supper. Sam always had to be extra wary whenever the
coyote was around, otherwise all the sheep would quickly disappear.
Well, in our texts for this morning, we hear warnings from God about false
shepherds—both in the Old and New Testaments. In Jeremiah we hear God’s
scathing rebuke of the false shepherds of Israel who were leading the people astray,
while St. Paul in Acts and Jesus in our Gospel both warn of wolves—false
prophets/shepherds/pastors—who would come to try and destroy the flock/church
of Christ.
Now, Sam the Sheepdog didn’t ever seem to have too much trouble
identifying the coyote—even when he was dressed up as a sheep in disguise.
Often, however, we are not so adept at noting the difference. It can be really
difficult when most preachers kind of look the same as the sheep—even better than
the sheep sometimes!
Some modern day false shepherds shouldn’t be too hard to spot. There is
Todd Bentley who is a revival “pastor” with a violent “ministry.” Indeed, he
enjoys telling the story to thousands of congregants how the Spirit told him to
“heal” a woman by kicking her in the face—so he did. I guess he has never read
the first letter of the apostle John (4:1) which clearly states, “Beloved, do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many
false prophets have gone out into the world.” The truly frightening thing is that so
many people continue to flock to him to hear these twisted stories and actually
seem to delight in them! Relishing the violent behaviour of this supposed pastor
toward God’s people.
However, not all false shepherds may be so easily identifiable. Indeed,
many appear very polished and sophisticated—they wear nice suits—drive nice
cars—have nice families—so how can you tell? Let us look to Scripture for
guidance, dear friends. Jesus says (Matthew 7:16-17), “You will recognize them
by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So,
every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.” So, we
will differentiate them by their fruits.
But what kind of fruit are we looking for? Obviously, you don’t see too
many pastors with grapes and figs popping out of their ears. But, according to
Scripture, the fruits of a true prophet are not outward righteousness or appearances
or successes—it is not accounted for by how many come to church on a
Sunday—or how many accolades and praises he receives from the world—rather a
true prophet of God is determined by one thing only—faithfulness to the Word of
God and the Confession of Christ Crucified for sinners.
Now, we may be tempted to follow the flashy preachers who put on a really
good show—who entertain us and wow us with their theatrics—or who tug at our
heartstrings with their stories—or who encourage us with their vision of how the
church should operate. But this is not what the true prophet of God is called upon
to do. Recall the Lord’s words given to Jeremiah in our OT text (23:16-17), “Do
not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain
hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
They say continually to those who despise the Word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well
with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No
disaster shall come upon you.’”
Pastors are to shepherd their flock according to the Word of the Good
Shepherd who is Lord of the Church. Neither pastors—nor any Christian
person—is to preach/teach visions of their own minds/understanding. Rather, only
what God has revealed to us in His Word of Truth—which is everything we need to
know for our salvation.
True prophets will not tell people what they want to hear, but rather what
they need to hear, as prescribed by God in His Word. Those who seek to proclaim
their own visions—their own truths—are inwardly ravenous wolves who will
scatter and destroy the flock. False teaching, you see, is what truly divides the
church of Christ. False teaching that obscures the perfect work of the Son of God
for the salvation of the world destroys faith and leads people to hell.
True prophets/pastors will not direct people to themselves or this or that
gimmick to grow their faith—rather they will only feed the flock on the rich fruit
of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinners. You see, this is the fruit we need to
partake of and receive each and every day! We need Jesus—the One who has
come to take our place—to suffer and die for our sins on the cross—to offer up
Himself to the Father as the perfect atoning sacrifice for all sin.
Because you and I are sinners—through and through. We are bad trees that
bear bad fruit and are only fit for the fiery furnace of hell. It is only through faith
in Christ Jesus—trusting in Him—looking to Him—being fed by His body and
blood in the Sacrament—being washed in His Baptism—being forgiven at His
Word—that prunes us and leads us to produce good fruit fit for His heavenly
kingdom. For in His Word and Sacraments we actually receive Jesus—His
blood—His righteousness—that covers over all of our sin and redeems us.
The fruit of the cross of Christ is what you and I need most. For the fruit of
that tree is the fruit of everlasting life and salvation through the sure and certain
forgiveness of sins found only in Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is this fruit that
strengthens you so that you are not led astray by false prophets and so brought to
ruin and destruction. Instead, you are filled with the Spirit of God as you receive
His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation exactly where He has told you to find
them—in the blood of Jesus poured out for you on the cross—and given in Word
and Sacrament.
By these means of God’s grace good shepherds/prophets/pastors drive off
demons with water, place Jesus’ own body and blood into sinners’ mouths to eat
and to drink, and forgive the sins of the repentant. This is the church. This is
Christ’s body that bears much good fruit. And by God’s good grace you are a
living member of it. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Matthew 7:15-23
Watchin’ Out for Wolves
v.15-16a Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but
inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.
Dear friends in Christ, one of my favourite television shows growing up was
The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show. In particular, I liked the ones about Wile E.
Coyote, who was always trying to outmanoeuvre Sam the Sheep Dog, in his bid to
take home a sheep for supper. Sam always had to be extra wary whenever the
coyote was around, otherwise all the sheep would quickly disappear.
Well, in our texts for this morning, we hear warnings from God about false
shepherds—both in the Old and New Testaments. In Jeremiah we hear God’s
scathing rebuke of the false shepherds of Israel who were leading the people astray,
while St. Paul in Acts and Jesus in our Gospel both warn of wolves—false
prophets/shepherds/pastors—who would come to try and destroy the flock/church
of Christ.
Now, Sam the Sheepdog didn’t ever seem to have too much trouble
identifying the coyote—even when he was dressed up as a sheep in disguise.
Often, however, we are not so adept at noting the difference. It can be really
difficult when most preachers kind of look the same as the sheep—even better than
the sheep sometimes!
Some modern day false shepherds shouldn’t be too hard to spot. There is
Todd Bentley who is a revival “pastor” with a violent “ministry.” Indeed, he
enjoys telling the story to thousands of congregants how the Spirit told him to
“heal” a woman by kicking her in the face—so he did. I guess he has never read
the first letter of the apostle John (4:1) which clearly states, “Beloved, do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many
false prophets have gone out into the world.” The truly frightening thing is that so
many people continue to flock to him to hear these twisted stories and actually
seem to delight in them! Relishing the violent behaviour of this supposed pastor
toward God’s people.
However, not all false shepherds may be so easily identifiable. Indeed,
many appear very polished and sophisticated—they wear nice suits—drive nice
cars—have nice families—so how can you tell? Let us look to Scripture for
guidance, dear friends. Jesus says (Matthew 7:16-17), “You will recognize them
by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So,
every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.” So, we
will differentiate them by their fruits.
But what kind of fruit are we looking for? Obviously, you don’t see too
many pastors with grapes and figs popping out of their ears. But, according to
Scripture, the fruits of a true prophet are not outward righteousness or appearances
or successes—it is not accounted for by how many come to church on a
Sunday—or how many accolades and praises he receives from the world—rather a
true prophet of God is determined by one thing only—faithfulness to the Word of
God and the Confession of Christ Crucified for sinners.
Now, we may be tempted to follow the flashy preachers who put on a really
good show—who entertain us and wow us with their theatrics—or who tug at our
heartstrings with their stories—or who encourage us with their vision of how the
church should operate. But this is not what the true prophet of God is called upon
to do. Recall the Lord’s words given to Jeremiah in our OT text (23:16-17), “Do
not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain
hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
They say continually to those who despise the Word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well
with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No
disaster shall come upon you.’”
Pastors are to shepherd their flock according to the Word of the Good
Shepherd who is Lord of the Church. Neither pastors—nor any Christian
person—is to preach/teach visions of their own minds/understanding. Rather, only
what God has revealed to us in His Word of Truth—which is everything we need to
know for our salvation.
True prophets will not tell people what they want to hear, but rather what
they need to hear, as prescribed by God in His Word. Those who seek to proclaim
their own visions—their own truths—are inwardly ravenous wolves who will
scatter and destroy the flock. False teaching, you see, is what truly divides the
church of Christ. False teaching that obscures the perfect work of the Son of God
for the salvation of the world destroys faith and leads people to hell.
True prophets/pastors will not direct people to themselves or this or that
gimmick to grow their faith—rather they will only feed the flock on the rich fruit
of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinners. You see, this is the fruit we need to
partake of and receive each and every day! We need Jesus—the One who has
come to take our place—to suffer and die for our sins on the cross—to offer up
Himself to the Father as the perfect atoning sacrifice for all sin.
Because you and I are sinners—through and through. We are bad trees that
bear bad fruit and are only fit for the fiery furnace of hell. It is only through faith
in Christ Jesus—trusting in Him—looking to Him—being fed by His body and
blood in the Sacrament—being washed in His Baptism—being forgiven at His
Word—that prunes us and leads us to produce good fruit fit for His heavenly
kingdom. For in His Word and Sacraments we actually receive Jesus—His
blood—His righteousness—that covers over all of our sin and redeems us.
The fruit of the cross of Christ is what you and I need most. For the fruit of
that tree is the fruit of everlasting life and salvation through the sure and certain
forgiveness of sins found only in Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is this fruit that
strengthens you so that you are not led astray by false prophets and so brought to
ruin and destruction. Instead, you are filled with the Spirit of God as you receive
His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation exactly where He has told you to find
them—in the blood of Jesus poured out for you on the cross—and given in Word
and Sacrament.
By these means of God’s grace good shepherds/prophets/pastors drive off
demons with water, place Jesus’ own body and blood into sinners’ mouths to eat
and to drink, and forgive the sins of the repentant. This is the church. This is
Christ’s body that bears much good fruit. And by God’s good grace you are a
living member of it. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.