St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Kemmerer, WY

This does not mean, of course, that New Testament Christians are to expect dreams, visions and private revelations from God. To hear this voice of God we are still directed to hear the preaching of pastors and teachers of the Church. But what it does mean is that when we hear Biblical preaching by those who have been sent to us, we are not only hearing a relay of some specific message from God but in the human voice which we hear, we are in fact listening to God speak to us directly.

This is what is meant by New Testament passages such as Luke 10:16 where Jesus sends out his disciples two-by-two promising them, "He who hears you hears Me." Likewise in Hebrews 1:1-2, it is taught, "In many and various way God spoke to His people of old by the prophets. But now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son." The "to us" does not only include those people who had contact with Jesus before His ascension. It also refers to us who hear the Word today. That is why we recite these words as a congregation immediately after hearing the scriputres read in Morning & Evening Prayer (Lutheran Worship, pp. 239 & 255).

But what difference does this make? Is this claim intended to bolster the credibility of the clergy? Must we believe everything our pastor says simply because he says it? Certainly not. For, as the Catechism reminds us, we are only to receive their words as God's words when they are "dealing with us by His [Jesus'] divine command" (Small Catechis pt. V).

What then? Woes Jesus teach us these things so that we might be more fearful of disobeying the New Testament preachers than the Isrealites were fearful of disobeying Moses? Hardly that! What could be more fearful than to see the Korahites swallowed up by the earth after disobeying Moses (Numbers 16:1-35)? No. In fact, the effect of the New Testament is just exactly the opposite of heightening the fear and terror of hearing God's word. Martin Luther explains this at length in his comments on the words of Jesus in John 6:45:

This is also the significance of the words which Christ now quotes from the prophet Isaiah: "And they shall all be taught by God" (Is. 54:13). He declares, as it were, that whoever would be a member of Christendom and be called a member or disciple of Christ must simply hear God Himself. And how do I hear Him? How am I instructed by Him? A schismatic spirit withdraws into some nook, gapes, neither reads nor listens, but waits for God to speak with him. He waits for the Spirit to appear, and he says: "Oh, this is what it means to be taught by God!" Yes, the devil is standing on your head! No, to be taught by God Himself means to heed the Word of Christ, to learn from Him, and then to feel convinced that it is God's Word. This is hearing God Himself. And even though You were to hear an ass speaking, as Balaam did (Num. 22:28), it would nonetheless be God's Word. Thus when you hear a sermon by St. Paul or by me, you hear God the Father Himself. And yet you do not become my pupil but the Father's, for it is not I who is speaking; it is the Father. Nor am I your schoolmaster; but we both, you and I, have one Schoolmaster and Teacher, the Father, who instructs us. We both, pastor and listener, are only pupils; there is only this difference, that God is speaking to you through me. That is the glorious power of the divine Word, through which God Himself deals with us and speaks to us, and in which we hear God Himself.
Moses and the prophets preached, but in their sermons we do not hear God Himself. For Moses received the Law from the angels (Gal. 3:19). Moreover, his is also a different and lesser commission; for the proclamation of the Law merely drives people to good works. Thus when I hear the emperor speak, I do not hear God, although it is God's will that I obey the emperor's commands, as it is that I honor my parents. Now when I hear Moses exhort me to good works, I hear him as I would a herald who brings the command and decree of an emperor or prince. But that is not the same as hearing God Himself. For when God Himself speaks to men, they hear only sheer grace, mercy, and goodness. His are fatherly and friendly speeches, as He Himself is by nature gracious, merciful, and kind (Joel 2:13). But when you hear God speak through the mouth of a burgomaster, you hear nothing but a preacher of works. God's words, however, cannot be different from His nature and disposition, and He is goodness, grace, and mercy. That is the message you hear the Father speak - not through a servant or any other medium, as He did in times past through angels, or through Moses or any other governor, all of whom gave commands. No, since that day God communicates with us directly through His Son and through the Holy Spirit. Now we hear a paternal voice proclaiming a message that abounds in unfathomable, ineffable love and grace, uttering nothing but blessing, nothing but what is good, sweet, and pleasant; for that is what it means to be God. (Martin Luther, AE 23; Sermon on John 6:45-46)

Permit me another illustration from family life. The other day I was sitting down with Isaiah while dinner was being set out. When the table was prepared, I dispatched Benjamin to go downstairs and invite Justin to the dinner table. I then listened as Benjamin went downstairs and hollered at his brother, "Dad says to come upstairs!"

Although Benjamin did faithfully convey the content of my message, it was hardly the loving and inviting tone that I had originally intended. What was meant to be a sweet invitation, ame out as yet another harsh demand. In the New Testament Church, God no longer wishes to have his loving invitation obscured by messenger. That is why He now takes matters into His own hands and promises, "they shall all be taught of God." And this is the blessed sound that awaits you each Sunday.