Fellow redeemed in Christ,

What's good about the public ministry, the ministry of Christian pastors and teachers? Today we shall learn from Scripture that, while it is despised by men in time, it is honored by God in eternity. Our text is Daniel 12:3: "And they that be wise [rather, they that make others wise] shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever. "

What does the prophet mean when he speaks here about making others wise? Well, according to Scripture, true wisdom comes in only one way, namely, by learning to know Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin and death. In the second Psalm, for example, we read: "Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth" (vs. 10). Even though these kings and judges may have been educated in the finest schools of the world, they were still sadly ignorant and lacking in instruction. How could they become wise? The Psalmist tells them: "Kiss the Son-Jesus Christ- lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him" (vs. 12).

To make men wise, then, means to bring them to a knowledge of Jesus Christ through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. What Luther's friend, Bugenhagen, said remains forever true: "If you know Jesus aright, it's enough even if you don't know anything else. If you don‘t know Jesus, it's nothing even if you learn everything else."

And what does it mean to turn many to righteousness? It means to preach the Law, to show them that they have absolutely no righteousness of their own by which they can stand before God on Judgment Day; but then to preach the Gospel, to show them that the righteousness which they need to be saved is theirs already in the perfect life and innocent death of Jesus Christ. We turn men to righteousness when we turn them away from themselves and toward their Savior, of whom Scripture says: "God hath made Christ to be sin for us, he who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21),

Listen now to what our text says about those who make others wise through the Gospel and turn them to the righteousness of Christ: "They shall shine as the brightness of the firmament . . . and as the stars for ever and ever. " This promise is there, not only for pastors and teachers, but for every Christian who in his life leads others to the Savior. As a recent Ministry by Mail sermon put it (14 Oct. 1984):

Here are words of encouragement for all

who love the Lord and have been awakened

from the sleep of death by the Holy Spirit to

rest their hope of forgiveness, life, and sal-

vation on Jesus alone. Do you want to make

your mark in life? Do you want to do

something that will be an eternal memorial

for you? Do you want to shine like the stars

forever and ever? There is a way! The way

is to be instrumental in making others

wise-~in leading others from their sins to

their Savior. That is a work which blesses

both doer and receiver, the deer with the re-

ward of shining like the stars and the receiver

with the blessing of eternal life.

But surely these words of our text are able to provide a special kind of encouragement to those who through a divine call are devoting their lives to the preaching and teaching of Christ’s Gospel. Humanly speaking, their job is often a thankless one; and if they are faithful witnesses of Christ and His Word, they can expect moreover to suffer the insults and hostility of the world around them.

So it was with the Apostle Paul, whose labors and struggles and sufferings for the Gospel fill almost a complete chapter in the New Testament. To encourage him, the Lord in a remarkable revelation caught him up to the third heaven, the blessed abode of God and the holy angels, where he was given a glimpse of the glory waiting for him in eternity.

To encourage present-day pastors and teachers, the Lord through the promise of our text--they shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars for ever and ever--gives them a glimpse of the glory which He shall graciously bestow upon them in heaven.

What's good about the public ministry? While it is despised by men in time, it is honored by God in eternity.

And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,

Steals on the ear the distant triumph song, 

And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.