Faith of Our Mothers
May 11, 2025. John 19:22-30. Rev. Edward Skutshek
This glorious, comforting passage is of such beauty and power that it should be memorized by every Christian for use against the wily attacks of the devil and his allies. The Lord here even gives us a guarantee against ourselves, against our own weakness and doubt. He promises to come to us in our doubts and fears and by the words of the Gospel and the sacrament of Holy Communion to restore and strengthen our faith and shepherd us along life’s path.
The iconic hymn Faith of our Fathers speaks to the fulfillment of the promises of John 10:22-30. The hymn reminds us that Jesus has inspired and equipped men of faith through the ages. Through the power of God they overcome their fears and doubts, preached the Gospel and won souls in the face of persecution and tribulation, some even facing martyrdom.
Today we celebrate Mother’s Day. We give thanks to God for our mothers, grandmothers and mother figures who God has placed in our lives and the sacrifices they have made for us. God’s word teaches us that he used women mightily in bringing salvation to our world. God used and continues to use the faith of our mothers too!
It began with Eve. Even as divine judgement was pronounced on the Serpent, Eve and Adam, the Lord God promised: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15). These words which came from God’s lips would take on flesh, accomplish God’s desire and achieve the purpose for which He sent the word.
God would use a daughter of Eve to bring a son into the world who would defeat the Devil, at the cost of his own pain and suffering. In every generation God’s chosen people waited for the promised seed to come and defeat Satan.
Adam and Eve begat Cain and Abel. Eve wondered, “Could the promised seed be either Cain or Abel? God favored Abel and his sacrifices. Cain, whose offerings God rejected, killed his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy. Cain was cursed by God and thus rendered ineligible to be the chosen seed.
Undeterred by these tragedies, Adam and Eve came together to fulfill God’s promise and begat Seth. Seth took up the God’s promise of a seed who would defeat the Devil and save the world. He took a wife and they begat Enosh who married and took a wife and had sons and daughters. From the line of Seth came Noah. Like all before him Noah took a wife and together they produced three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. God saved these four men and their wives from the waters of a global flood. Noah and his wife are thus the ancestors of all humanity after the flood.
Scriptures testify that God chose Shem and his line to beget the promised seed. Shem’s sons took wives and each generation begat a son who carried this line forward. Shem’s line produced Terah was the father of both Abraham and Sarah. Abraham and Sarah came from the same father but had different mothers (Genesis 20:12).
God called Abraham and promised him a nation, a country, blessings and a seed through whom the whole world would be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3, 22:16-18). God promised that this nation would come from Sarah who was in her 80s and had been barren he whole life. Despite their doubts, Sarah bore a child of God’s promise, and he was named Isaac, as God had commanded.
Isaac took Rebekah as his wife. Their union produced twins, Jacob and Esau. Esau was the baby that emerged first at birth, yet God had told Rebekah that the first born Esau would serve second born Jacob. This motivated Rebekah to take steps to ensure that Jacob would receive Isaac’s blessing. She and Jacob duped Isaac, whose site was dim, to bless Jacob rather than Esau. Isaac’s blessing made Jacob the ancestor from whom the promised seed would come.
Jacob took two wives, Rachel and Leah, and two concubines Bilhah and Zilpah. These women produced twelve sons and a daughter. Joseph, a son of Rachel, was Jacob’s favorite son. His brothers’ jealousy was so intense that they sold him into slavery. He ended up a slave in Egypt. God raised Joseph to the status of the governor of Egypt second only to Pharaoh. Joseph took an Egyptian woman named Aseneth to be his wife and they had two sons Ephriam and Manasseh. They would later become the head of the tribes known as Ephriam and Manasseh who were given land (they replaced Joseph and Levi the priests who did not get land).
Famine in Caanan forced Jacob and his eleven sons to take refuge in Egypt. Joseph forgave his brothers and invited them to stay in Egypt. Jacob blessed his sons and singled Judah out as the leader and ruler of the family and the nation. They settled in an area of Egypt called Goshen. Over 400 years they grew to over a million.
The Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians and treated horribly. Even in this time of tribulation, an Israelite man name Amram took a woman named Jochebed to be his wife. They had three children: Moses, Miriam and Aaron. God used Moses to free his people. Moses spoke for God and pronounced 10 plagues on Egypt. Pharoh relented and let the people go. God chose Aaron to be the first priest of Israel that would serve in the Tabernacle. Aaron married a woman named Elisheba and from their union came the line of priests that served in the Tabernacle and then the Temple.
Moses brought the people to the edge of the promised land. God promised to drive the inhabitants out. However, they were spooked by their own spies who convinced the people they could not overcome the people in the land. God sentenced them to wandering in the desert for 40 years. Only Joshua and Caleb, two faithful and faith filled spies would see the promised land. God’s chosen people continued to have children while they trudged through the wilderness.
When the 40 years passed Joshua led the people into the promised land. Starting with Jericho, God gave them city after city and the land God promised took shape. The people soon became weary of the fighting and asked God if they could stop. God relented. When Joshua died, the people lapsed. Each man did as he pleased. The people were oppressed by their pagan neighbors. Caleb’s younger brother Othniel rose up and defeated their enemies. He was the first judge. Othniel was followed by Shamgar.
Deborah married a man named Lapidoth. God made her a prophetess and she led Israel for many years. She sat in Moses’ seat. Joash and his wife begat Gideon who led Israel for 40 years. Gideon was followed by Tola, Jair and Jephthah. Manoah and his wife begat Samson. He was a child of promise, as Manoah’s wife was barren. Samson saved the people from the Philistine’s.
The last judge was Samuel. He was also a child of God’s promise. His father was Elkanah and mother Hannah. She was barren. Hannah prayed to God for a son and promised to put him in God’s service. God blessed her with a child and he served in the Tabernacle. Later Samuel led Israel. God used him to anoint two kings of Israel.
It is during this time that followed that Elimelek, his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Kilion left the region of Bethlehem and went to live in Moab. While there one of the sons married a Moabite woman named Ruth. When her husband and sons died, Naomi started back for Bethlehem. Ruth begged to go with her. She had come to believe in their God and wanted to be a part of Naomi’s family. She went with Naomi and came to marry Boaz, a righteous man. Ruth and Boaz had a son whose name was Obed. Their son Obed married and became the father Jesse, who in turn married and became the father of David, the second King of the 12 tribes of Israel.
David was described as “a man after God’s own heart. He walked closely with God and obeyed him explicitly. At the same time he was a great sinner. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba. To cover up a pregnancy, he had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah murdered. Yet, God forgave King David and Bathsheba. He blessed their marriage. God promised that one of David’s ancestors would establish an everlasting kingdom.
David and Bathsheba had Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. He enlarged Israel’s borders to those promised by God. He had many wives and concubines. His oldest son Rehoboam reigned after him. Because of Rehoboam’s pride and greed, Israel was split in two. The 10 northern tribes ruled by Jeroboam and the lands of Judah and Benjamin ruled by Rehoboam. The 10 Northern tribes were ruled by a king for about 200 years. The northern kingdom did not have a single royal line. The kings over the 10 Northern Tribes changed through bloody coups. The Assyrians put an end to the 10 northern tribes. The Assyrian’s took them into exile and never came back.
By contrast, Judah and Benjamin were ruled by one royal dynasty, the House of David. God ensured that a descendant of David sat on the throne. Davidic kings sat on the throne for some 300 years. Some were great men of God like Josiah who was described as follows: “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.” (2 Kings 23:25). Most were like King Menasseh who was described as follows. “He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.” (2 Chronicles 33:6).
During that 300 year period the House of David found itself in great peril. The evil King Ahab of Israel made peace with the King Jehosophat of Judah. To seal the peace between the Northern and Southern Kingdom, prince Jehoram married Ahab’s daughter Athaliah. The two had a son named Ahaziah. He became king when his father Jehoram died. In a terrible coup, Ahab and all his relatives were slaughtered and a new king came to the throne. In the same coup, King Ahaziah was murdered. With her son dead, Athaliah used this opportunity to take control of the southern kingdom of Judah. At the same time she systematically murdered all of Ahaziah’s relatives. Only Ahaziah’s infant son Joash survived. Joash’s aunt Jehosheba hid Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. When the time was right, the child was taken to the Temple with his nurse and hidden there for six years. In the seventh year, Athaliah’s was removed as queen by a coup and Joash was put on the throne.
At the end of the 300 years of the kings in the year 590 BC, Judah was taken into exile in Babylon. During the 70 years in exile God was faithful and made sure that the House of David continued. Matthew 1:12-16 describes the sons of David. They did not reign as the land was governed by the Greeks, Egyptians, the Maccabees and the Romans.
However, at the right time, a son of David named Jacob took a wife and they had a son who they named Joseph. They lived in Nazareth. Joseph proposed to a young woman named Mary. Before they came together as husband and wife, Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, appeared to Mary and on God’s behalf asked her to bear God’s son. She believed and she agreed. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and conceived a son in her. She was to name him Jesus. She was told that her son would save people from their sins. He would be loved and hated. She was told a sword would pierce her heart.
She watched him grow into a man. She saw his miracles. She heard his preaching. She heard him say he would die by crucifixion and after three days rise from the dead. She saw him die on the cross. The promised sword had pierced her heart.. She witnessed the devil’s bite. She witnessed his resurrection. She witnessed the promised seed crush sin, death and the devil. She witnessed the opening of the gates of eternal life to all who believe in her son Jesus.
The New Testament declares that the eleven apostles and Mathias, together with Paul, Silas, Barnabas, Titus and Timothy were called by Jesus to preach the Gospel. They boldly went into the world to preach the Gospel and win souls for Christ. However, that same text reveals that women were caught in the Gospel net and were powerful proclaimers of the Gospel.
In Paul’s letters to Timothy he reveals Timothy’s faith formation. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he mentions the faithfulness of two women in raising Timothy with such a devout and fervent faith. He writes, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).
Eunice was a Jewish believer who had been married to a Greek man (Acts 16:1). Lois was either Eunice’s mother or her mother-in-law. Lois and Eunice are examples of the powerful influence a mother or grandmother can have on a young people’s lives. Many personal testimonies include statements such as “My mom (or grandma) took me to church, taught me right, and prayed for me every day.” Paul recognized the life-changing contributions of these two women in a day when women were rarely mentioned by name. He honored their impact in preparing his young protégé, who later joined Paul in his travels (Romans 16:21) and eventually became the pastor of the church at Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3). It was my mother and maternal grandmother who passed the faith that first lived in them to me. My wife first passed the faith that was in her tour our son. They sowed the seeds that blossomed and grew. Eventually, like Timothy, I too became a pastor.
Lois and Eunice should encourage all Christian mothers and grandmothers, reminding them that their godly influence has an eternal impact on the lives and futures of their children and grandchildren. May God bless all the mothers, grandmothers and great grandmother gathered here today. I pray that God will continue use you to pass on the faith that is in you to your children and grandchildren.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops
View this sermon presented live here: https://youtu.be/XvekX4v7EK4
