Sermon for Easter 7, June 2, 2019
Elect in the sanctification of the Spirit: grace to you and
peace be multiplied forever from God the Father and Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
John 15:26-16:4 26“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about
me. 27And you also are going to testify, because you have been with me
from the beginning.” 16:1“I have told you these things so that you will not fall
away. 2They will put you out
of the synagogues. In fact, a time is
coming when anyone who murders you will think he is offering a service to God. 3They
will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. 4But I have told you these things
so that when their time comes, you may remember that I told them to you. I did not tell you
these things from the beginning, because I was with you.” (EHV)
The
Spirit comforts us with Christ.
We pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, we
give thanks to You that through Your Holy Spirit, You have appointed us to bear
witness of Your dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: we humbly pray, since the
world hates such testimony and persecutes us in so many ways, grant us courage and
comfort, that we may not be offended by the cross or entrapped by the torments
of this world, but continue steadfastly in Your truth and be always found among
those who know You and Your Son, until we obtain eternal salvation through the
same Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear fellow redeemed,
To an unbeliever, it might sound
like Jesus’ disciples would be getting a raw deal. They were called to proclaim Jesus as the
Savior of the world and King of all creation, but here, Jesus promised them that
if they were faithful in their service, they could expect to be thrown
forcefully out of the synagogues, hunted down by His enemies, and likely even killed.
Most people would naturally expect that serving the Son of
God would bring better perks. Indeed,
Peter once asked Jesus, "We have
left everything to follow you! What then
will there be for us?" (Matthew 19:27) Thus, we see that even Jesus’ closest
disciples were expecting rewards, not persecution, and I think that most
people, today, still expect to benefit themselves by being faithful.
However, in this short text,
Jesus lets us know that while we are here on earth, being a Christian won’t
always be easy. As we consider our
Savior’s words this morning, remember that Jesus was preparing His disciples
for His departure from this world. Jesus
wanted to assure His followers that though He was leaving this world, and they
wouldn’t be able to see Him every day, they needn’t be afraid, for they would
not be alone as they carried out the tasks He was giving them.
Because it
sounds like Jesus is warning His followers, you may, at first glance, not catch
the comfort promised here, but from
this text, we should learn that The
Spirit comforts us with Christ.
Jesus was telling His disciples about the Helper. The Greek word is “paraclete.” You will see it translated, “Helper,” “Advocate,”
or “Comforter,” but another good choice is “Counselor,” as we see it here. If you break down the word from its verb
root, parakaleĊ, it means someone who
calls you to his side, so it makes a really good, descriptive name for the Holy
Spirit. He is the One who calls us over
to Jesus. So, we can see why this third
person of the Trinity is often called the Helper, Comforter, or Counselor. He is the one who counsels us with comforting
news—the gospel of Christ Jesus.
Now, I will grant you that the disciples already knew
Jesus. As He said, they had been with Jesus
from the beginning, under His kind instruction for three years, already. They had heard Jesus teach so many things, seen
His many miracles, yet they still didn’t truly understand His mission. They had some weaknesses in their understanding
that kept them from fully grasping the salvation Jesus had come to win for us
all, but when His Helper would come, their understanding and faith would grow by
leaps and bounds.
Today, you and I need to understand how the Spirit
works. There are lots of people in our
world who think the Helper’s visit always comes in some grand physical or
emotional experience like He came to the disciples on Pentecost. Yet, Jesus said, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the
Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.” The Holy Spirit is not some wild force
running His own entertainment show sprinkling miraculous signs here and
there. Rather, “the Counselor…the Spirit of truth,” comes to us in the testimony
about Jesus Christ. In other words,
Jesus tells us that the Spirit comes to us in the proclamation of the
Gospel.
Now, notice that Jesus doesn’t say that the Spirit will
teach people to obey some new law, and He doesn’t say that the Spirit will be waging
wars in the physical world. The Spirit
isn’t even sent to protect us from all the troubles, problems, and persecutions
the enemy sends against us. Rather, the
Spirit testifies of Christ Jesus. Whenever
and wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit is teaching us to trust
in the forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life that Jesus won for all.
Those who preach salvation by works of law are following
some other spirit. No amount of
obedience to any law will ever make us right with God, because by nature we are
always imperfect in our obedience. However,
The Holy Spirit comforts us with Christ. Jesus has done everything necessary so that
we can stand before His Father without fear, as the Spirit testifies through
St. Paul, saying, “There is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)
Jesus told His disciples, "And you also are going to testify, because you have been with Me
from the beginning.” The Spirit
would be working in and through the disciples, because they had been chosen to
witness every part of the work Jesus accomplished on earth, so that they could
proclaim to the rest of us their eyewitness accounts. The twelve, in particular, were chosen to
observe the events and actions of Jesus’ life and then to proclaim to the world
what Jesus had said and done: His holy life, His miracles that defied the laws
of nature, His suffering and death on the cross, His resurrection from the
grave on the third day, and ultimately, His glorious return to heaven. Jesus’ disciples witnessed it all, and they
testify to all generations that follow, so that we have verification of the
salvation Jesus has won for us.
A few of the disciples were also given the task of writing
down the words of the Spirit so that no one would be left out. Peter later declared, “Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21) And St.
John
In the days immediately after
Jesus’ death, His disciples were terrified of those who might seek their harm. But what a change we saw after the Spirit
came to them. For the rest of their
lives, they boldly proclaimed Christ crucified wherever they went, to friend
and foe alike, to the slave and humble citizen, to governors, priests, and kings. And when commanded to stop, Jesus’ followers
could only declare, "Judge
for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than
God. For we cannot help speaking about
what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20) That
had become their chief purpose, and also ours.
Some of you may think that I am
up her preaching about Christ because it’s my job, and some people may think
you talk about Jesus because you are obeying His command, but we preach Christ
crucified because we can’t help ourselves.
The Spirit motivates us to speak through the peace of knowing the
salvation of our God. The joy of hearing
the Good News of Jesus compels us to share our faith with others. No human command makes us preach the truth of
Christ, and no prohibition will stop the believer who is motivated by the
Spirit to speak.
Out of love, Jesus was preparing
His disciples for the opposition they would face. So that they would not be dismayed nor turn
away from His salvation when threats, jail time, torture, beatings and even
death came their way, Jesus said, "
I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who
murders you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do these
things because they have not known the Father or Me.” Throughout
history, unbelievers have reacted violently to the message of the gospel. Stephen was the first to be killed for
preaching Christ. Many more would follow
in his footsteps.
According to church tradition, of all the apostles, only
John may have died a natural death. In
the centuries after Christ’s ascension, thousands upon thousands of Christians
were marched to their death for the sport of unbelievers, yet like the apostles
when they were beaten and imprisoned, these witnesses went “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” (Acts 5:41)
In the middle ages, too, many people
died because of the laws of evil men who misused the church. Martin Luther was excommunicated, with his
life under constant threat, because he wouldn’t deny his faith in Christ
Jesus. Even today, people suffer and die
for their faith in Jesus, yet the Spirit continues to strengthen believers
against the trials and torments of those who refuse to know Jesus or the
Father.
Jesus said, "They will do these things because
they have not known the Father or Me.” We shouldn’t be surprised that those who
reject Jesus will also reject us. His
grace terrifies them. It reminds them of
their sin against God which the corrupt nature doesn’t want to admit. The men who stoned Stephen were confident
that they were serving their God, but what it really showed is that they were
serving a false god, a god of this world, an idol, but not the Father in
heaven. The same is true today. Those who reject Christ may believe they
serve a god, but it’s not the true God who created the world and then died to
save it from sin and the devil.
Still, through all the trials and torments this world
dishes out, The Spirit comforts us with
Christ. Through Word and Sacrament,
the Spirit fills Jesus’ followers with comfort and hope, strengthening us so
that we never lose faith. To protect us
from despair, we are assured that just as Jesus rose from the grave, so shall
we. Because Jesus paid for all our sins
and took the punishment we so rightly deserved, our Father in heaven has declared
us forgiven of all sin for Jesus’ sake, so the curse of sin no longer hangs
over our heads. As the Holy Spirit
assures us, “whether we live or die, we
are the Lord's.” (Romans 14:8) We are comforted by the knowledge that the
Lord has a home for us in heaven that nothing in this world can ever compare
to, or take away.
So, my friends, when we face
trouble or persecution for our faith, we can rest assured that this is exactly
what Jesus said we should expect for following Him. Trouble itself doesn’t comfort us, for this
world is full of trouble. Rather, when
we suffer for Jesus’ sake, the Spirit assures us with the comfort of Christ
Jesus and His Gospel. With Christ’s body
and blood, the Spirit assures us that God’s Son sacrificed His life for our
sins. All our sins have been washed away
by the blood Jesus shed on the cross, and the words of the Spirit proclaiming
Christ’s glory and His resurrection tell us that the Father is satisfied.
You may be wondering about the
final sentence of our text. Jesus said, “I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because
I was with you.” Jesus
wasn’t withholding information. The
disciples simply hadn’t needed to know this earlier. And, it wasn’t just that Jesus was protecting
them from the world, for Jesus continues to preserve and protect all who follow
Him. The psalmist wrote, “He shall give His angels charge over you,
to keep you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11)
Jesus was protecting His disciples, but there is more to the story.
While Jesus still walked with His
disciples here on earth, the forces that opposed the Father were concentrating
on defeating Jesus. The devil didn’t
much care about stopping the disciples while he still hoped he could bring defeat
God’s Son. So, for those thirty-three
years, the devil, and all those who were his, concentrated their wicked efforts
against Jesus. All the torment that
Satan could dish out; all the abuse that those who hated Jesus and His Father
could bring to force, Jesus took for you and me. For you and me and all His disciples, Jesus
carried the full weight of pain, sorrow, and opposition. So, if you ever feel like the world’s
persecution is too hard to bear, know that Jesus has already lived through that
for you.
More than that, Jesus carried the
whole world’s load of grief, guilt, and shame so that you can know that no
matter what this world throws against you, your home in Paradise is
secure. Your Savior is already there
preparing a place for you. The world can
kill your body, but it cannot take your life.
The Spirit assures us time and again that our
salvation isn’t up to us. It was
accomplished for us by Christ Jesus.
Believe in Him and the troubles of this world are soon over, for Jesus
will take us home, just as He promised Peter in response to the question of
what would be ours for leaving all to follow Jesus: "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son
of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers
or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a
hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matt. 19:28-29 NIV
84) As always, The Spirit
comforts us with Christ. Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment