Let me begin with a portion of our Epistle lesson. St Paul says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is a great difference between a wage and a gift. A wage is something you earn. You work for it. It is owed to you. Your employer is obligate to pay you for the work you have done. St Paul says that what we have earned by our sin is death. The wages of sin is death.
A gift, on the other hand, is different. A gift cannot be earned. It is freely given. It depends not on your worthiness, but on the generosity of the giver. God freely gives eternal life because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
We will return to this verse later, but first we must go back to the beginning of Creation and to the fall into sin.
In the beginning, God formed Adam of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Later, He made Eve from Adam’s rib. Everything God created was very good. There was no sin, no suffering, and no death.
Today, God no longer creates people from the dust of the ground or from a rib. Instead, He gives life through the union of a husband and wife. You were conceived in the womb of your mother. You were created by God in His image. God gave you life and He sustains your life with daily bread. God blesses you with family, home, work, and health.
The Garden of Eden was perfect. There were no weeds, no diseases, and no drought. The four rivers running through the garden watered it. God had Adam work in the garden, but work was not burdensome or frustrating. It was a joy to work in the garden. Food was plentiful. God provided for all that Adam and Eve needed. They simply received His gifts with thanksgiving.
The same is true for us. Everything we possess is a gift from God. He provides us with daily bread and all that we need. He is the giver of all good gifts. We simply receive His gifts with thanksgiving. Don’t covet what other people have. Rather, be content with what God has given you whether much or little.
In the middle of the garden stood two special trees: The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said to Adam, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:16-17). Adam and Eve were free to eat from the tree of life. It sustained them. And they were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Some people ask, “Why did God put the forbidden tree there in the garden? Wouldn’t it have been better simply to remove the temptation?” The answer is that when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of life and did not eat from the forbidden tree, they showed their faith and love toward God and His Word. They loved God and they trusted in His Word.
Martin Luther wrote, “This tree was Adam’s church, altar, and pulpit. Here he acknowledged God’s Word, give thanks to God, and called upon Him” (AE 1:94). In other words, the tree of life became the place where Adam worshiped God by trusting His Word.
The same is true today. When we gather here every Sunday morning to confess our sins, to receive God’s forgiveness, to hear His Word, and to partake of Christ’s body and blood, we show our faith toward God and His Word. We show that we love Him because He first loved us. This place is our tree of life. But when we neglect God’s Word and absent ourselves from His Gospel and Sacrament, then we reveal how easily our sinful hearts place other things above God.
Sadly, Satan tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. She ate, then Adam ate. God had warned them, “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). And this is exactly what happened.
Although Adam and Eve continued to live physically for many years, they died spiritually that very day. Death is ultimately a separation from God. Many years later, they died a physical death.
We share that fallen condition. By nature, we are spiritually blind, dead, and an enemy of God. We cannot fear, love, or trust in God above all things. Our sinful nature continually produces sinful thoughts, sinful desires, sinful words, and sinful actions. Pride, greed, lust, anger, envy, gossip, and selfishness dwell within us. The ground produces thorns and thistles. Work is often frustrating. Sickness and suffering are with us throughout life. We have lost our original righteousness.
St Paul says in Romans 5, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [namely, Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (v 12). And again, “The wages of sin is death.”
Notice what Adam did after he sinned. He hid from God among the trees in the garden. Then he blamed Eve and he blamed God Himself for giving him Eve.
We do the same thing. We hide from God’s Word. We blame others for our problems. We excuse our sins. We question God’s Word. We listen to Satan’s lies instead of trusting God’s promises. We neglect the Divine Service because other things are more important.
Every day we move closer to the grave. Our bodies grow weaker. Disease and cancer comes. The wages of sin is death. One day, each of us will die.
We need help. We need a Savior. We need forgiveness. We need someone to conquer death itself.
Thanks be to God. Jesus has come to be our Savior. The eternal Son of God took upon Himself our human flesh. He was not formed out of the dust of the ground nor from a rib. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary apart from the aid of a man. Jesus was born under the law in order to redeem us who are under the law.
Unlike Adam, Jesus remained perfectly obedient. At the beginning of His ministry, Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread. Yet Jesus answered, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus teaches us that while daily bread is important, God’s Word is more important.
Throughout His ministry Jesus reversed the effects of the fall into sin. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, strength to the lame, cleansing to lepers, and He even raised the dead.
In our Holy Gospel for today, Jesus and the people were in the wilderness—a desolate place. They had no food. It was no garden of Eden. Jesus had compassion for the people. He loved them and cared for them. So, He multiplied enough bread and fish to feed more than four thousand people. Jesus did not sow wheat, harvest grain, grind flour, or bake bread. He simply spoke, and the bread came into existence.
More importantly, throughout His ministry, He spoke words of eternal life. He forgave sinners. He comforted the brokenhearted. He proclaimed peace with God.
St Paul says, “The wages of sin is death.” But he goes on to say that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We earned death, but God freely gives us eternal life through faith in Christ. Our work earns condemnation, but Christ’s work earns salvation.
On the cross, Jesus received the wages that belonged to us. He suffered God’s righteous judgment against our sin. He paid for our sin by His righteous blood. He died the death that we deserved. The cross has become our Tree of Life.
Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. Therefore, you are reconciled with the Father. You now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He defeated death forever. Because Jesus lives, you too shall live. Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me though he die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” [namely, shall never die an eternal death].
Romans 5:19 says, “By one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Adam’s disobedience brought death, but Christ’s obedience brings life. Through faith in Christ, you are declared righteous. The righteousness which we lost in the garden is now restored to us in Christ.
Therefore, you are no longer slaves of sin. Christ is your Master—your Lord and Savior. You have been set free from guilt and condemnation. As our Epistle lesson says you now present your bodies as instruments of righteousness. In other words, you joyfully serve God by serving your spouse, children, and your neighbor. Life within God’s kingdom is a joy not a burden. And if you ever need anything, pray to God. He hears your prayers and He gives you what you need.
In the garden of Eden, God freely gave Adam and Eve an abundance of food without any hard work on their part. In the wilderness, Jesus freely fed more than four thousand people without any work on their part. This morning, Jesus freely gives us His body and blood without any work on our part. In the wilderness, Jesus started with seven loaves, but ended up with seven baskets full of bread. Today God freely gives you grace and mercy, forgiveness and righteousness without any work on your part. His gifts will never run out.
When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of life and did not eat from the forbidden tree, they showed forth their faith and love toward God. This morning, when we receive the Gospel and Sacrament, we show forth our faith and love toward God.
As the tree of life sustained Adam and Eve before the Fall, so the crucified and risen Christ now sustains us on our journey to heaven. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
