Third Sunday in Lent

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

March 23, 2025

In Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthians, our second reading today, we have good example setters and bad example setters. For…example…parents are good example setters when they teach their children to read, to speak, to comb their hair and brush their teeth. Or, we can look at past centuries and see good example setters in people like the church fathers or certain political leaders who lived pious lives in fear of God and service to men.

But it seems that for every one good example setter there are a thousand bad example setters. We learn from those bad example people what NOT to do, how NOT to live, and what things we should strive to avoid. The sins of people of history show us that we should not follow in their footsteps. We learn from Hitler not to try and take over the world. We learn from certain religious leaders, even some who are still alive today, not to covet or steal. We learn from Hollywood actors such as Brad Pitt not to be adulterers.

This is what St. Paul is talking about in his epistle. That history can teach us both what it is to be good and godly, and what it is to be evil and corrupt. Paul considers ancient Israel, and he calls on their history in order to warn the church in Corinth, and the church today, of what to do and what NOT to do as God’s children. And the exodus of the Jews from Egypt gives some pretty clear and concise “do this” and “don’t do this” examples for each of us to consider and embrace.

Now, all you need to do is read the Book of Exodus or the Book of Numbers. And of all the things our confirmation kids grumble about, grumbling about memorizing the names of the books of the Bible seems to be at the top. And I suspect that if I were to ask each of you to list off the names of the books of the Bible in order, that you’d find it pretty hard too. I mean, these days, people don’t even know the names of the states of the USA anymore, or the capital cities.

But I digress. When we talk about “the exodus,” we’re talking about that time in ancient history when God’s people, the Hebrews or Israelites, were set free from slavery in Egypt by the hand of the Lord through Moses. They traveled from Egypt to the Red Sea, crossed the sea on dry land, and made their way to Sinai Mountain to receive the laws of the Lord as a new and free nation.

And let’s be somewhat inquisitive here and see that there are a whole lot of parallels between the exodus and the Christian church. Paul makes this point for us, but even if he didn’t, all you have to do is read the Book of Exodus or read Deuteronomy and you’ll see it.

God let the people out of Egypt by a great cloud or pillar of cloud – the “glory cloud” as it was known. He led them out of Egypt to the Red Sea and He led them through the waters of the Red Sea, saving them while drowning evil Pharaoh and his armies, ending generations of slavery and hopelessness. In this sense, they were “baptized into Moses,” because they followed Moses and Moses was the law-giver.

Paul is literally saying that Israel was saved by water, saved from their enemies and set free to follow Moses to the promised land. It’s pretty clear what Paul is talking about when it comes to the Christian church, isn’t it? We witnessed it today, where God used water to unite a young child to Christ and make that child a citizen of His kingdom. It’s totally God’s work. In Egypt, it wasn’t the work of the individuals that saved them from Pharaoh. It was the Lord’s work on their behalf. In baptism, even though I’m doing the baptism and the candidate is present, it’s not the candidate’s work or my work, but it is God’s work by His Word doing the saving.

A lot of people have a tough time with this because all they see is a pastor pouring water on a person and they don’t see how God could possibly work through that. But it is God’s Word which says it, and His Word which saves, just like ancient Israel was saved by God’s promise that they’d be delivered if they would just trust Him as they passed through the sea on dry land.

Paul then says that they all ate from the same “spiritual food and same spiritual drink.” God provided for their bodily needs by sending water and manna and quail aplenty, to keep them nourished and strong as they made their way to the new land. And this spiritual nourishment was a foreshadowing of Christ. They drank from the spiritual rock, and the Rock was Christ.

What is the spiritual food and drink of the Church, the Rock from which we receive our nourishment? It is Christ. Paul is referring to the Lord’s Supper, that we eat and drink of Christ, His body and blood in the bread and wine, just as the Israelites did long ago. And amazingly enough, in the very same chapter, 1 Corinthians 10, Paul very pointedly says that the bread and wine is a communion with the body and blood of Christ, a participation, an unbreakable connection between the bread and the body, the wine and the blood.

And lo and behold! There we have the sacraments. And would you believe that in the same letter, just a few chapters earlier, Paul refers to himself and the apostles and other church leaders at the time as the “stewards of the mysteries of God.” And the word for “stewards” in Greek is the same word for “dispensers” or “distributors,” and the “mysteries” of God, well suffice to say that the word “mysteries” in Greek is the word “sacraments” in English. You see the connection.

So, ancient Israel’s exodus was a good example, thus far. God sets us free by water and Word, and by body and blood. This is where Paul goes with the rest of chapter 10 and into chapter 11. And as he goes forward, he focuses more on the Lord’s Supper because there was a great abuse of the sacrament in the church.

It’s at this point where Paul looks at ancient Israel and the bad example it set. In spite of all the wonderful blessings of God for His ancient people, those Israelites fell off the rails and fell into the judgment and wrath of God.

Paul says that God was not at all pleased with most of them, and his displeasure led to their being overthrown in the desert. They desired evil and it led to their demise, and Paul says that we must be careful not to desire the same.

Paul lists the sins to which Israel fell: Idolatry, adultery, testing the Lord, grumbling and complaining, and just being downright unthankful for God’s love and mercy for them. Paul says that we are not to be like that, because if we are we, like them, will perish.

If you listen to Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading today, He says the same thing, doesn’t He? And if you listen to God’s instructions to Ezekiel, He instructs Ezekiel to preach the same thing, doesn’t He?

These ancient Israelites are the bad example setters we are not to follow. God warns us time and again to be on guard and to be mindful of our P’s and Q’s and to avoid following the bad example setters. We are not to make idols of things in this life, be they possessions or positions, money or career, popularity, because these things, these idols lead to death. We are not to indulge in sexual immorality, be it premarital sex or cohabitation, pornography or fleshly lust, ungodly physical relationships, extramarital affairs and the like because such things lead to death. We are not to grumble and complain about the lot to which our Lord has assigned us, or grumble and complain about the food He provides, the gifts He gives, the path upon which He leads us, the overseers and leaders He chooses for us, because such faithless, cold-hearted complaining and doubt-driven grumbling leads to death.

And as I often tell the confirmation students, this is no joke, and we are not to take our Lord’s warnings lightly. The music we choose to listen to, the friends we choose to hang out with, the things we choose to watch on our smart phones or computer screens, how we spend our time each day – and where we spend our time each day – it matters because we are either surrounding ourselves with the good example setters and seeking the Lord’s will, or we are surrounding ourselves with the bad example setters and seeking the will of the flesh and devil. And which example setter will lead us on paths of righteousness, and which one will lead us on paths of death?

Ancient Israel was highly blessed by God’s gracious provisions. But they squandered it all away for the flesh. They trampled on God’s holy Law; they did not fear the threats and eternal consequences for breaking His Law. And even though God was showering down His divine, spiritual blessings upon them without stop, even leading them, cloud by day and fire by night, even though He did not let their sandals wear out or clothing fray, they did not take these “good news” blessings, these Gospel blessings to heart. If they did, nothing but thankfulness and joy and peace and service to one another would have flowed out. They were like a fig tree that bore no fruit.

The Israelites’ desert crossing took 40 years, a trip that should have only taken a few months, because they were unfaithful. The Lord led them in circles, giving them every opportunity to repent and to fear and love Him as He taught them. But that whole generation of Israel, the actual generation that was freed from Pharaoh, was so rebellious that the Lord barred them from the promised land and waited until that whole generation passed away, and He then gave His promise to the next generation. He ripped them from the ground, cut them down, and moved on.

And this is God’s warning to you. Repent or you will likewise parish. Turn from the ways and paths and example setters of the world, of sin, death, and the devil, or you will be destroyed with the world.

Noah, as he built the ark, preached to the people and called them to repent and be saved, but no one listened; they all rejected him and scoffed at him for wasting his time. See what happened to them. Ezekiel preached to the people of Israel and called them to repent and turn from their wickedness, but he was dragged before the king and the priests, and they sought to murder him for his message. Look what happened to Israel when the Babylonian Empire besieged the city and destroyed everything.

Jesus Himself called the Jews of His day to repent and warned them of what would happen. They rejected His message and crucified the Son of God, and a few decades later their temple was annihilated and hasn’t been rebuilt ever since. God has made sure of this by placing a Muslim Mosk atop the temple mount.

Paul says that anyone who thinks he stands, that he should take heed lest he fall. In other words, be humble. Repent. No child of God should think they are so super-spiritual that they could not fall into temptation. And when you do fall into temptation, repent, turn away. When the pastor or priest or bishop or prophet or whomever the Lord sends, when he comes and says, “repent of your adultery, repent of your idolatry, repent of your grumbling, repent of your gossip,” don’t stomp your prideful feet and grumble your way out the door. Repent or parish. Ask for the Lord of life to forgive you and help you and restore you to true reformation and to the narrow way.

Do you know what my main job is as your pastor? It’s to make sure you get to heaven, to make sure you stay on the narrow path, make sure you mind your P’s and Q’s along the way, to assure you are seeking God’s endless blessings, especially the gift of His only Son for you, rather than seeking blessings from the world and the bad example setters. And part of my conversation with you is always going to be our Lord’s words: “Repent or parish.”

The Lord wants NOTHING for you but to forgive you and cleanse you of your sins. God is faithful! He will never go back on His Word. He always keeps His promises. In your baptism, God claimed you as His child. He has no interest in abandoning you or leaving you to your own vices. He WANTS you to finish your course and enter the Promised Land of eternal life and He will help you every step of the way, to lead you in both day and night. He has put you into the army of the Great Champion and Conqueror, Christ Jesus who conquered sin, death, and the devil by giving His life as a ransom for many. Remain close to Him as He remains close to you. He will NEVER lead you off the path like the bad example setters who are everywhere.

God wants you to make it home, to His home, to your “mansion in the sky.” He sent Jesus to be your Passover Lamb and set you free from the slavery of sin and death. He provides you with the great Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and yes even the Absolution, so that you remain free, remain on course, remain strong and laser-focused on the goal.

When your pastor says, “stop skipping church, show up once in a while,” it’s not because I want more offerings in the plate or better numbers on the reports. It’s because I want you to get to heaven, to remain on the narrow path, and it is in God’s Word and Sacraments where you are blessed with the forgiveness and strength of God to see you through. Just as with ancient Israel where God commanded the people to congregate and follow and remain steadfast, God calls you today to congregate and follow and remain steadfast. The Lord WILL see you through.

The world and the ways of the world will never be a good example for you to follow. It will suck your life away and make you so busy and so distracted that you have no time or desire to be following Christ, the true and best example setter of them all. But more than an example setter, Jesus is the doer, the worker, the One who accomplished your salvation.

Repent of your sins, hold tightly to Jesus who holds even more tightly to you. This is your way home. Amen.