Deo Gloria
February 18, 2026
Sermon for Ash Wednesday
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Zechariah 1:1-6
Theme: Return to Me!
The young man stormed out of the room, slamming the door as he left. Yes, he was caught lying to his dad, but he didn’t care for the way his father had scolded him. He hadn’t said a word as Dad laid into him, but now he was done: done with this house, done with these rules, done with doing what others told him to do. He was old enough to be on his own; there were plenty of jobs that didn’t require a high school diploma. So he stormed off in a rage . . . and with a plan to launch out on his own.
Dad waited up late that night—and then the next—and then the next. He wondered if his son would ever return, if they could ever have a good relationship again. Eventually, Dad stopped waiting up so late. He had other children who needed his attention. He had other work he needed to do. But he never stopped thinking about his estranged son. He never gave up hope that one day his son would return home.
That sad but true story illustrates the way God looks at his wayward and wandering people. He never stops loving them. He never stops holding out hope that they will return to him. But he won’t force them to return. He won’t capture them and tie them up and drag them back. He lets them wander far from home, but he also offers the comforting promise that when they return to him, he will return to them.
This Lent we’ll be hearing from Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo. Each week we’ll look at one of his prophecies to see how he described Jesus’ suffering and death in such vivid detail that he has been called the Holy Week Prophet. Our text for this evening is Zechariah 1:1-6. (Read text.)
In the opening verses of his book, Zechariah states his theme: “Return to me,” declares the Lord Almighty, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.(v. 3)
Why does God say that? Where had his people gone that they should now return? Zechariah’s prophecies were made around 520 B.C., some 15 years after the exiles had returned from Babylon to the Promised Land. They were back home, living in relative peace and comfort.
God obviously wasn’t calling them to return physically. But he was calling them to return spiritually. He was calling them to repent and return to him in their hearts. You see, after they came home, they became so focused on rebuilding their lives and planting their fields and rebuilding their homes and restoring their bank accounts that they forgot about the God who had brought them back to their land.
So Zechariah, whose name means “the Lord remembers,” would help his people remember the Lord. He began by calling them to turn from their evil ways. “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. . . . Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord”(vv. 2+4).
The Lord had been very angry; literally, “He raged! He raged against your ancestors!” He was tired of his people’s repeated rebellion. They heard his warnings but refused to listen when he told them to knock it off. So he disciplined them. He took away their nice homes as they saw them burned to the ground. He took away their homeland as they were carried away into captivity. He took away their freedom as they were enslaved by an enemy nation.
But now the next generation had returned to the land of Israel. Zechariah held up their forefathers as a bad example:
“Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?”(vv. 5+6)
“Look around,” the prophet challenged the people. “What happened to your ancestors when they disobeyed? Everything that God had warned would happen did! Will you learn from their history? Or will you repeat their mistakes? And don’t think that God’s offer of grace will last forever. I won’t be around forever to keep warning you if you reject God’s grace.”
It’s been said that the only reason some people seem to exist is to serve as a bad example for others. How sad! Have we learned from the Israelites’ mistakes? Or will we repeat them? We too need to be called to turn back to God because we daily sin much. We too get distracted by the cares and concerns of this life, by our jobs and our homes and our bank accounts. We can get so caught up in everyday life that we even forget about God.
If God has ever seemed distant from you, guess who wandered away? (I’ll give you a hint: It wasn’t God.)
It may not come in the form of slammed doors and curses mumbled under our breath, but just as a relationship with a parent can be strained by atrophy—one too many forgotten phone calls, long stretches between visits, little communication when you are together—so our relationship with God can be strained by atrophy too. Missing too many worship services, long stretches between opening our Bibles at home, lack of focus even when we are in God’s house—all can widen the gap between us and our Maker.
Whether it happens through attack or atrophy, a strained relationship with God is entirely our fault. We deserve to have God rage at us, to slam the door and bolt it shut forever. But that’s not how God deals with his wayward and rebellious people. The Lord remembers. The Lord—the God of faithful, steadfast love—he never forgets his people, never stops loving them, never stops holding out hope that they will return to him. But he won’t force them to return.
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
“Come home,” the Father pleads, “and know that I will welcome you with open arms. Repent, turn from your sin, turn back to me, and know that I will return to you.”
On Ash Wednesday, we set aside time to reflect: Have I been apathetic toward God’s Word? Has my relationship with God grown cold? Am I heeding the Lord’s call to repent—to turn away from my sins in sincere sorrow and turn to my Savior?
Let’s do that right now, using these questions and answers from the 1993 version of Christian Worship (page 156).
Q: What does God tell me about myself in his holy Word?
A: He says that I am a sinner and deserve only his punishment.
Q: What should I do if I am not aware of my sins or am not troubled by them?
A: I should examine myself according to the Ten Commandments and ask how well I have carried out my responsibilities as a husband or wife or single person, as a parent or child, an employer or employee, a teacher or student. Have I loved God with all my heart, gladly heard his Word, and patiently endured affliction? Have I been disobedient, proud, or unforgiving? Have I been selfish, lazy, envious, or quarrelsome? Have I lied or deceived, taken something not mine, or given anyone a bad name? Have I abused my body or permitted indecent thoughts to linger in my mind? Have I failed to do what is right and good?
Q: When I realize that I have sinned against God and deserve his punishment, what should I do?
A: I will confess before God all my sins, those which I remember as well as those of which I am unaware. I will pray to God for his mercy and forgiveness.
That’s not easy, is it? Confessing our sins is never much fun. But you can do this self-examination often and without fear by recalling God’s gracious invitation: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Notice how Zechariah emphasizes that this is not his idea but the certain promise of God. In one short verse, he says it three times: “This is what the Lord Almighty says . . . declares the Lord Almighty . . . says the Lord Almighty.” And what does the Lord Almighty say? “Return to me, . . . and I will return to you.”
The Lord—the God of faithful, steadfast love—remembers us. He never forgets us, never stops loving us.
Remember the angry young man I referenced at the beginning of the sermon? Well, he eventually did go home. Years later, after rebelling against his earthly father and his heavenly Father, he returned to both. Both fathers forgave him, welcomed him home with loving arms, and embraced him with joy. That young man was Lee Strobel, who would later write The Case for Christ, The Case for a Creator, The Case for Easter, and other Christian apologetics books that have helped many wayward sons and daughters find their way home.
Even if you never stormed out of your home and needed to be reconciled to your earthly father, you have been reconciled to your heavenly Father. Because the Lord remembers, he remembered his promise to send a Savior. Jesus was estranged from his Father on Calvary’s cross so that he could reconcile you to God. So now, back to those questions:
Q: How do I receive his gracious forgiveness?
A: His Word assures me that Jesus led a pure and holy life for me and died on the cross for me to pay the full price for all my sins. Through faith in Jesus, I have been clothed in my Savior’s perfect righteousness and holiness.
When we return to God in repentance, he returns to us with assurance. When we return to him in confession, he returns to us in absolution. When we return to him and seek his favor, he returns to us with the reminder that we have had it all along—for Jesus’ sake.
Yes, we may still suffer earthly consequences for our sins, and we must confess with the people of Israel, “The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do”(v. 6). But because of God’s grace and mercy, we are spared the eternal punishment that our sins deserve, and we accept his forgiveness with joy.
And then we return to God with our lives too. We give them back to him in thanks. We change our minds about what is important in life. Our everyday cares and concerns—our jobs, our homes, our bank accounts—yes, they still require our attention. But our heavenly Father knows that we need them. So Jesus instructs us, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
No matter how often you have wandered, no matter how far you have run from home, the Lord’s promise remains: “Return to me . . . and I will return to you.” So come, friends, let’s go home! Our heavenly Father is waiting with open arms! Amen.