Christ, the Mediator, once for all.

Sermon for Lent 5, March 29, 2020

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

Hebrews 9:11-15  ¹¹But when Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things that were coming, he went through the greater and more complete tent, which was not made by human hands (that is, it is not part of this creation).  ¹²He entered once into the Most Holy Place and obtained eternal redemption, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood.  ¹³Now if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who were unclean, sanctifies them so that their flesh is clean, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works, so that we worship the living God?  ¹⁵For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant.  A death took place as payment for the trespasses committed under the first covenant, so that those who are called would receive the promised eternal inheritance. (EHV)

Christ, the Mediator, once for all.

Dear redeemed members of the body of Christ,

            Getting things clean is a big concern right now.  Wash your hands with soap and hot water for a full twenty seconds.  Use hand sanitizer if soap and water isn’t available.  Get out the bleach and disinfectants to make sure your house, car, phone, and anything else you might touch is clean and free of any virus or bacteria that might make you sick.  All good advice, but if we are that concerned about cleaning the outside, how are we cleaning the inside—the soul?  What do we need to stand pure and holy before God?  We might ask, what does it take to wash away the deadly contamination of our sin? 

If we could jump in a time machine and travel back to the days of Solomon’s temple, I think we would be shocked at the amount of blood that was spilt, and sprinkled, during Hebrew worship.  At the week-long dedication of Solomon’s temple, we would see a river of blood.  In that dedication festival, Solomon alone sacrificed “twenty-two thousand cattle, and one hundred twenty thousand sheep.” (1 Kings 8:63)  I can tell you from experience that even one cow can gush out a lot of blood, so from this great number of animals being sacrificed, the blood would have run in torrents.  But the Israelite priests had to offer more sacrifices than just at that great, dedication festival.  They were daily sacrificing burnt offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings, and thank offerings, and most required the shedding of blood.

In addition to those sacrifices, the High Priest, once each year, was commanded to make a special sacrifice of atonement for the people.  That one day of the year was the only time anyone, and then only the High Priest, was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place of the temple.  In this ceremony, the High Priest had to ceremonially purify himself before atoning for the sins of the people.  This was required every year to preserve the covenant relationship that Israel enjoyed with God.  The Israelites relied on this atonement.  In fact, they began to rely on the Old Testament sacrifices so much that many of them forgot the point of all the blood.  So, how much blood does it take to wash away sin? 

We don’t know who wrote the book of Hebrews, but the Holy Spirit used that man to remind the Jews, especially those who were following Jesus, that all those Old Testament sacrifices, and all the ceremonial regulations that went with them, were designed and given for the purpose of pointing people to the promised Savior.  The letter to the Hebrews was written to silence those who tried to entice new Christian believers to return to following Old Testament regulations as a condition of salvation.  In this letter, the Holy Spirit teaches that it is only through Jesus’ sacrifice that sins are removed and salvation is won.  So our question shouldn’t be, “How much blood is needed?” or “What sacrifices must we make?”  Rather, our focus must be on Jesus’ work of winning salvation for all people by shedding His holy, precious blood, for Jesus is the Christ, the Mediator, once for all.

The Old Testament priests served one purpose—as a go-between between God and Israel.  It was the priests’ job to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people, to bring their thank offerings and prayers before the LORD, shedding the blood of countless animals so that Israel would remain in good standing with God.  But all of this was to be done with the understanding that there was One Man yet to come, Who would be the true, and final, Sacrifice of Atonement for all.  Generation after generation in Israel looked forward to the coming of this promised Savior. 

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that “when Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things that were coming, he went through the greater and more complete tent, which was not made by human hands (that is, it is not part of this creation).”  Jesus came as our one, true High Priest, not to offer the dead bodies of animals, but to sacrifice Himself.  All of the lambs, goats, calves, and doves that had been sacrificed before, had only been symbols of the sacrifice that was to come.  The true sacrifice that would satisfy God was that final, one-time sacrifice of His uncreated, perfectly holy Son, Jesus Christ, begotten of the Father from eternity.  When the writer tells us that Jesus is “the high priest of the good things that were coming,” he is reminding us of the salvation Jesus brings as our Mediator with God.

“He entered once into the Most Holy Place and obtained eternal redemption, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood.”  All the blood that had been shed before Jesus would have no worth without His innocent sacrifice.  Jesus’ blood has true value for our forgiveness and salvation because it had no taint of sin.  Jesus, as God’s own true Son, incarnate of the Holy Spirit, was sinless from conception and lived without any hint of sin so that He could be the final, atoning sacrifice for the world.  In contrast, the Old Testament High Priest had to offer up a sacrifice for his own sins before he could make atonement for the people.  Jesus, as the holy, perfectly innocent Son of God and the One true High Priest, simply offered Himself.’’

“Now if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who were unclean, sanctifies them so that their flesh is clean, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works, so that we worship the living God?”  Here the writer uses a lesser to greater argument to show everyone that those older sacrifices only had meaning in the context of the sacrifice of the Christ.  All of the blood of the animals gave only ceremonial washing, but true spiritual cleansing is done by Christ’s blood which, by faith, transforms believers from sinful flesh into holy servants of the living God.

“For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant.  A death took place as payment for the trespasses committed under the first covenant, so that those who are called would receive the promised eternal inheritance.”  Because Jesus was willing to carry out His Father’s will, because He was willing to leave His throne to come to earth to live and die for us, because Jesus was not only willing but able to accomplish the perfect holiness we could not, and because God the Father views His Son’s sacrifice as sufficient and complete for all, Jesus “is the Mediator of the new covenant.”  Christ’s perfect obedience earns Him that right, and His sacrificial death is the perfect answer to the requirement of death demanded by the Law.

The new covenant is God’s promise that Jesus’ death is sufficient payment for all sins.  The new covenant is the one-sided promise from God to mankind that the punishment for sin is complete in Christ.  In Jesus we are given the redemption that He earned for us on the cross.  We cannot gain that gift by anything we do, or by any sacrifice we make.  Yet, as the one Mediator between God and man, Jesus brings that saving gift to all whom the Father has called, and the Holy Spirit goes out from the Father and the Son in the Gospel to bring salvation to all who hear the Word and believe it.  Thus, through God’s holy Word we “receive the promised eternal inheritance.”  Through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Spirit works in us the faith in Jesus that brings the gift of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.

My friends, how much blood does it take to wash away sin?  The answer was never in the volume of blood.  The answer has always been in the value of the blood that was shed.  Isaacs Watts wrote, “Not all the blood of beasts on ancient altars slain…could wash away the stain.”  The stains of our sins, and the sins of the world, are washed away only by Jesus’ blood.  Christ’s blood cleanses us from sin, because with His blood, He has satisfied the Father that all of our sins have been punished sufficiently—nothing more is ever needed. 

Dear friends, as our Mediator, Jesus sits at God’s right hand testifying on behalf of you who believe in Him, that you are forgiven, that you are redeemed, that you are fellow members of Christ’s family, and you are welcome in God’s mansions in heaven to live with our one true Mediator, and with His Father, in peace and glory for all eternity.  Glory be to Christ, the Mediator, once for all.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Hidden Warrior.

2^nd Sermon for mid-week Lent services, 2020

Grace and peace to all of you in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

John 11:33-37  ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.  ³⁴ He asked, “Where have you laid him?”  They told him, “Lord, come and see.”  ³⁵ Jesus wept.  ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”  ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Dear friends in Christ,

            He came to speak at our seminary class, and if he were visiting here tonight, nothing about his appearance would make him stick out in your mind.  Even his last name is rather ordinary in the Wisconsin Synod.  But, that missionary began to tell us about his work in Peru, and we learned how this ordinary, American citizen, a fellow graduate of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mankato, had helped start congregations in several parts of the Peruvian jungle, and Lutheran schools among the indigenous peoples, and how he struggled against witch doctors, voodoo, and native superstitions.  His “Jungle Journal” reports became fascinating reading for me.  I dare say, we might call him a hidden warrior in the battle for souls.

This evening, we focus our attentions on a far greater Hidden Warrior—The Son of God went forth to war in a decades-long-battle that would change the history of the world.  Now, one might expect such a great warrior to have an imposing physical build, to be tough as rawhide, and perhaps show no emotion at all, but as Isaiah had foretold, “He had no attractiveness and no majesty.  When we saw him, nothing about his appearance made us desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)  Jesus looked like just any ordinary man, with the same physical needs and emotions as all of us. 

Luke does hint at one major difference between us and Jesus: “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” (Luke 2:52)  Jesus was completely without sin for He had no sinful nature.  Think about how unusual of a first-born child Jesus must have been: always perfectly respectful, smart, kind, and obedient, even when His parents were grumpy or less than fair. 

Sometimes, I feel a bit sorry for the other children in Mary and Joseph’s family—what a difference there must have been between holy Jesus and His ordinary brothers and sisters.  Mary and Joseph would never have had a reason to punish Jesus, because unlike me, Jesus never sinned, not even accidently.  Peter later testified, “He did not commit a sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22)  Jesus came into the world to live like this so that, “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot,” (1 Peter 1:19) the Father in heaven could redeem all of us from sin, death, and the devil.

Jesus was perfectly sin-free, but likely no one noticed He was different than the other children, because He wasn’t a showoff; He didn’t flaunt His superiority.  However, in humility, Jesus lived to serve.  He felt compassion for others.  He ate, slept, and wept, yet always without any hint of sin, so that He could go to the cross as the absolute perfect sacrifice for you and me.

Of course, if anyone had been expecting Jesus to be the perfect child, they might have noticed some differences.  His willingness to help his parents and submit to their authority was remarkable.  As a twelve-year-old lad, He was enthralled to study the Scriptures, engaging the teachers in discussions about God’s Word, and His answers were a telling sign that He had come to battle for the truth.

Jesus’ greatness and power as our Hidden Warrior were occasionally put on display.  To glorify God, when Jesus learned that His dear friend Lazarus was sick, He intentionally delayed His return to the home Lazarus shared with his two sisters at Bethany.  Thus, before Jesus got there, His dear friend had been dead in the grave for four days.  When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.  He asked, “Where have you laid him?”  They told him, “Lord, come and see.”  Jesus wept. 

We know what it is like to cry at funerals.  We weep for our pain and for the grief of those we love.  Jesus also wept for His friends.  He hated their pain.  Jesus was emotionally stirred up inside, because He loved these people as friends, and though He didn’t show His anger, it was there—righteous anger against the pain that sin, death, and the devil had caused all His friends, including you and me.  Hidden in those simple words of grief we see what drove Jesus to live, suffer, and die for you and me.  Love for His friends, and an emotional determination to defeat those things we could not.

As we journey through Lent, there are many reasons we might be moved to tears.  Repentance begins with sorrow for sin and during Lent, we recall those times we caused pain to others.  Perhaps, it was in disobeying our parents, or when our inconsiderate words hurt our own children.  Maybe it’s the irritation or anger we caused with simple things like time wasted on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or various other shallow entertainments, gambling, or games.  How many times have we ignored the needs of dear ones who need our presence, help, and love?  Or, how often have we neglected a chance to tell someone about Jesus, and left a troubled soul adrift and untouched by our Savior’s compassion?

Thankfully, we have something better than a box of tissues to dry our tears.  There is great compassion and unfathomable power under the surface of our Hidden Warrior.  The Jews said, “See how he loved him!”  But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”  When I was in fourth grade, I was in that crowd.  No, I’m not two thousand years old, but when my mother woke me up one morning with the sad news that my grandmother had died, I too was asking, “Why couldn’t God make her better?”

You see, we weren’t created to die, so death hurts no matter how it touches us.  Jesus grieved because of the agony death was inflicting upon His friends.  He hated the pain Satan had caused by introducing sin into the world.  Those friends mourning with Mary and Martha also hated the pain their friends were suffering, and most of the people there believed Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying.  It might be weak faith, but it was faith in Jesus.

By the time of this event, everyone in the regions of Judah and Galilee had heard of Jesus’ countless miracles and healings.  They knew Jesus had incredible power but, in fact, no one could overestimate how much power.  St. Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus.  Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant.  When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man.” (Philippians 2:5-7) 

What Paul explained is that Jesus is not just 50% Man and 50% God, but that Jesus is fully God as well as fully Man.  Trying to understand that, Martin Luther said, is “Like trying to illuminate the sun with a candle!”  It is beyond what we can fully comprehend that the Son, eternally begotten of the Father, took the human nature into the godhead when He became a human being in Mary’s womb.  Yet, the true God-Man held the divine nature in the human. 

Jesus, according to His human nature, set aside, or emptied Himself, of the use of His divine power and majesty.  For most of His life on earth, the divine remained hidden.  Yet, Jesus revealed it little by little in the miracles and the Transfiguration.  This gathering at Lazarus’ tomb is one of those times.  Jesus told Martha she would see the glory of God, and you know what happened as Jesus called Lazarus out from the grave.  With just that glimpse of His almighty power, Jesus punched death in the mouth and forced it to yield.  Like a warrior testing and practicing his skills before a great battle, Jesus prepared for His final hand to hand combat with the devil that was coming up only a week hence.

The devil didn’t just attack Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden—he was attacking God Almighty, there, but consider the great damage the old evil foe has done to our world and to all people—death came to all creation.  The world, and everything in it, was created for the good of mankind, so that God could provide everything we need to be part of life with Him.  Satan can’t stand that thought.  The devil wanted to own it all, to rule everything and thwart God’s beautiful plan.  Satan wanted to keep God from having any relationship with you and me, and still today, the devil tries to steal away our hope of heaven. 

That’s why God’s plan is so perfect.  If Jesus were just a human, even a perfect human, His sacrifice would cover only Himself, and Jesus would have to come back continually to suffer and die for every sinner one at a time.  But, when God’s Son stepped into the fight, His life and death could substitute for the whole world.  Not only is His life more valuable than all creation, but with the power of God hidden in human flesh, the Savior could destroy death in one ultimate confrontation.  When death swallowed the God-Man, death’s head was crushed when it bit down on the heal of the Son of God and Mary, so death couldn’t hold Jesus, and it can no longer hold us, and just as Jesus was raised from the dead so also will we be raised.

Jesus told His disciples, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” (John 15:13 NKJ)  Jesus called those disciples His friends.  Lazarus was Jesus dearly loved friend as well, and Jesus said the same thing about you and me at our baptisms.  There in the water and Word, the God-Man made you His friend.  So, how does that loving relationship make you feel when you are weak, hurt, scared, or dying?  Who do you have in your corner when a bully tries to pick on you, when another person thinks you can’t do anything right, when your spouse gives you the silent treatment, a friend betrays you, or when even your body turns against you in illness or aging?  Look up to Jesus’ cross and find your answer; Jesus laid down His life for His dearly loved friends, for you.

Our world is full of trouble and affliction.  We know the devil roams around seeking whom he might yet devour, and death is ever knocking at the door.  Illness again abounds.  Wars and rumors of war are rampant.  Sometimes, it might feel like God is far away and not paying attention.

The truth is, though, our Mighty Warrior, the Savior who gave His life so that we can live forever, hides Himself here among us, today, like when He raised Lazarus from the grave.  Today, Jesus hides in plain sight in His Word and Sacraments, always ready to help and befriend us.

Concerning God’s Son, the Psalmist wrote, “You make him the ruler over the works of your hands.  You put everything under his feet.” Psalm 8:6)  On the day He ascended to heaven, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 29:18)  So, picture it this way: with one hand, Jesus is upholding and controlling the universe, and He has His other hand wrapped firmly, but gently, around you.  We can’t see that yet, because God’s Son allows Himself to be seen only in the Means of Grace He has given us, but He is there, working all things for our everlasting good.

Dear friends, you matter to Jesus.  He gave His life on the cross so that you will live.  He rose from the grave so that we can know without a doubt that His triumph over death and the devil is complete.  Jesus works for your everlasting peace every moment of every day.  The Holy Spirit assures us, “Christ Jesus, who died and, more than that, was raised to life, is the one who is at God’s right hand and who is also interceding for us!” (Romans 8:34)  Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

The tears flowed from Jesus eyes as He felt the pain of His friends.  He shed those tears, also, for you and me.  Every prayer you have ever whispered, or shouted out in pain, was heard by your Hidden Warrior.  Jesus carries them personally to His Father along with our every plea for forgiveness. 

It’s not just His tears, though, that show us Jesus cares—His cross is the ultimate testimony for how much Jesus loves you, and His triumph over death proves how powerful your beloved, loving Friend truly is.  For now, the Warrior remains hidden.  Soon enough, He will reveal His glory, and every knee will bow, even of those who pierced Him.  Your rescue from sin and death is a sure and certain thing, because you are in mighty hands, the hands of the Hidden Warrior—God’s own beloved Son.  Glory be to Jesus.  Amen.

May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with you all.  Amen.

Rejoice in the LORD’s favor.

Sermon for Lent 4, Laetare, March 22, 2020

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Isaiah 49:8-13  ⁸ This is what the Lord says.  In the time of favor, I will answer you.  In the day of salvation, I will help you.  I will guard you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to re-establish the land, to redistribute inheritances that are now deserted, ⁹ to say to the prisoners, “Go forth!”  to those who are in the darkness, “Show yourselves!”  They will graze beside roads, and they will find pasture on all the barren heights.  ¹⁰ They will not hunger, and they will not thirst, and neither scorching wind nor sun will strike them, because the one who shows them mercy will lead them.  He will guide them beside springs of water.  ¹¹ I will make all my mountains into a smooth road, and my highways will be raised up.  ¹² Look, people will come from far away.  Look, some will come from the north and the west, and some from the land of Sinim.  ¹³ Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth.  Let mountains burst forth with shouts of joy, because the Lord is comforting his people, and he is showing mercy to his afflicted ones. (EHV)

Rejoice in the LORD’s favor.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            For centuries, the fourth Sunday in Lent has been called, Laetare, from a Latin word meaning, “Rejoice!”  It is thoroughly fitting for us this morning to rejoice!  Now, I know many people might be feeling a bit less joyful right now with the weather still cold and dreary, our schools, many businesses, and social functions shutdown, most of our financial and commodity markets falling like a rock, people in quarantine and social isolation, and many others severely afflicted by this new virus.  For a lot of reasons, most people likely don’t feel like celebrating right now.

However, Christianity has never been about day to day life in this troubled world but about what the Lord has done for us and what lies ahead for those who believe in Jesus.  Therefore, today as every day, we celebrate and Rejoice in the LORD’s favor.

Our sermon text is like we stepped into a conversation between the Father and the Son.  God appointed His only begotten Son to redeem the world from the curse of sin which is death.  To the world, the Son appears to have accomplished nothing.  He will be rejected, bruised, beaten, mocked, and crucified.  Jealous men will have their wicked way with God’s appointed Servant, and His enemies will have a hasty celebration of their victory, but they celebrate too soon.

“This is what the Lord says.  In the time of favor, I will answer you.  In the day of salvation, I will help you.”  You and I can rejoice even through the trials and hardships of life, because God has raised our Savior from the grave at the exact time Jesus prophesied that He would rise.  Jesus didn’t stay dead, so even though His enemies may have had a momentary mirage of victory, in the end, Jesus had crushed the devil’s head and restored us to the good graces of His heavenly Father. 

The troubles and trials of life on earth are part of the curse of sin upon the world.  Because we all sin, we know we all must die.  Whether death comes early or late, the result is the same—life on earth has ended for that person.  Because death came unnaturally into the world with the fall into sin at the devil’s temptation, we are afraid of death.  It stalks us daily, especially at times of famine, pestilence, or plague.  Yet, King David sang concerning the Son, “My whole being rejoices.…because you will not abandon my life to the grave.  You will not let your favored one see decay.” (Psalm 16:10)  Because Jesus rose from the grave, we who are connected to Christ by faith are also assured of a resurrection hope.  The grave is no longer the end of the line, but rather, our gateway to heaven. 

The God of all creation promised the Redeemer, “I will guard you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to re-establish the land, to redistribute inheritances that are now deserted, to say to the prisoners, “Go forth!” to those who are in the darkness, “Show yourselves!”  God’s plan from before He created the world was to rescue His people from the torment He knew would come upon His creation.  God didn’t create the sin, nor was He responsible for it.  Yet, God took our salvation upon Himself because it was the only way we could again be pure and holy in His sight.  By God’s grace, we are set free.

God promised Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 22:18)  This was God’s covenant promise—His one-sided commitment to bring salvation to earth through one descendant of Abraham.  One Man would bring God’s favor to the world.  That One Man is Christ Jesus.  St. John testified, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)  Jesus, the Word through whom God had created the world and everything in it, came into the world to make all of God’s promises come true—to free all of us who were imprisoned in the darkness of sin and unbelief and bound under the devil’s control.  Christ came to call us out of Satan’s chains and the deep darkness that had imprisoned us.

Time and again in the Bible, God’s people are pictured as the sheep of His flock.  Once God rescues us, He will never abandon us.  Even most people who only slightly know Christianity are familiar with Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd.” (Psalm 23:1)  Jesus declared, “I am the Good Shepherd.  I know my sheep and my sheep know me,…And I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)  Through Isaiah the Lord promises us, “They will graze beside roads, and they will find pasture on all the barren heights.  They will not hunger, and they will not thirst, and neither scorching wind nor sun will strike them, because the one who shows them mercy will lead them.  He will guide them beside springs of water.”  Why can we rejoice even in the midst of hardship and trial?  Because the Lord is leading us and taking care of our every need.  Christ gave His own lifeblood to purchase us from the kidnapper.  Our Savior will never leave us defenseless but will take us home to heaven.

The prophet heard the Lord say, “I will make all my mountains into a smooth road, and my highways will be raised up.”  Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6)  The devil and the world like to pretend that we must do something to appease God and earn His mercy, but there is only one way to heaven, one way to peace with God, and that is through faith in Jesus, because Jesus made the holy sacrifice that bought us out of the devil’s control.  Jesus bore our ugliness on the cross so that we could shine before God in all the glorious brightness of His Son’s holiness.

A moment ago, we heard God’s promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed.  Through Isaiah we hear, “Look, people will come from far away.  Look, some will come from the north and the west, and some from the land of Sinim.”  The prophecies of Isaiah were not just for the Jews.  Rather, the Son of God declared to the prophet,

But now the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to turn Jacob back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord, because my God has been my strength—the Lord said: It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:5-6)

We Rejoice in the LORD’s favor, because we were not left out of God’s salvation plan.  No matter what troubles we may experience in this world, no matter what trials and hardships might yet come our way, our salvation is accomplished, and God has called us to faith through His Means of Grace.  Through the promises of the Gospel, and by the power of Baptism, you and I have been granted eternal life, and no one can take that away.  Martin Luther sang in his great battle hymn, “And take they our life, Goods, fame, child, and wife, Let these all be gone, They yet have nothing won; The Kingdom ours remaineth.”

Jesus told His followers, “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)  Through Isaiah we hear, “Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth.  Let mountains burst forth with shouts of joy, because the Lord is comforting his people, and he is showing mercy to his afflicted ones.”  Heaven and earth will break forth in shouts of joy and gladness when the people of Christ’s kingdom are gathered into heaven forever.  Here we are afflicted, but there we will know peace and comfort that never ends. 

Because we believe every Word God has given us is true, and because God is faithful in all His promises, we can rejoice with the confidence of St. Paul who said:

Therefore we are not discouraged.  But even if our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.  Yes, our momentary, light trouble produces for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond any comparison.  We are not focusing on what is seen, but on what is not seen.  For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

The troubles of today will fade away, but God’s Word remains forever.  Trust the forgiveness and salvation you have been given through faith in Christ Jesus.  Know that He is ever with you, using the authority of God to work all things for your everlasting good.  Know that nothing the devil or this world can use against you will be able to separate you from the love and promises of God. 

Dear friends, through every trial and challenge that might rise up against you, whether seemingly bad or good, Rejoice in the LORD’s favor, for God has smiled upon you with His grace. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Christ in you keeps Satan out.

Sermon for Lent 3 (Oculi), March 15, 2020

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Luke 11:14-28  ¹⁴ Jesus drove out a demon, which was mute.  After the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed.  ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”  ¹⁶ Others were testing him by demanding of him a sign from heaven.  ¹⁷ But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed.  And a house divided against itself falls.  ¹⁸ If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  You say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.  ¹⁹ But if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out?  So they will be your judges.  ²⁰ Yet if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.  ²¹ “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.  ²² But when someone stronger attacks him and defeats him, he takes away that man’s full armor, in which he had trusted, and divides up his plunder.  ²³ “The one who is not with me is against me.  The one who does not gather with me scatters.  ²⁴ When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, but does not find any.  Then it says, ‘I will return to my house, the one I left.’  ²⁵ When it returns, it finds the house swept and put in order.  ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and dwell there.  The last condition of that man becomes worse than the first.”  ²⁷ While he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”  ²⁸ But he said, “Even more blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” (EHV)

Christ in you keeps Satan out.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            The world is in turmoil, and many people are in panic mode, because a new virus has emerged that is spreading with some speed, and there remains a lot we don’t know about how to stop it, how to keep people safe from it, or how to keep it away from us.  Now, because it is so new, and many have died of the illness, wise, legitimate precautions are being taken.  That being said, as troublesome and new as this COVID-19 virus is, you have to wonder why people are so alarmed by it, when so few are concerned about an insidious disease that infects and kills one hundred percent of all people.

When Adam and Eve decided to disobey their Creator, as they listened to the devious serpent weave his web of lies, they allowed Satan to infect them with the incurable disease of sin.  Their sin put the whole world under a curse, and their infection of sin has been passed down throughout history causing death to every person ever.  This deadly infection has allowed the devil to infest every home, in every state on earth, but today, I have good news for you: Christ in you keeps Satan out.

Dear friends, I am in no way trying to mock the concern people have about this new illness, but the fact of the matter is, we are all destined to die because of sin.  The curse of sin causes all kinds of stress and hardship, but one we don’t think much about anymore is demon possession.  I’m not saying it can’t happen anymore, but it does seem to have been a special threat during Jesus’ earthly ministry.  We suspect that the devil was doing everything in his power to challenge Jesus.

Of course, the exorcism spoken of here in our text, and several others in the Scriptures, show us the power of our Savior over the demons.  They simply are no match for the Son of God.  Thus, the more pertinent points of this text are not that Jesus was able to drive out the demon, though we certainly do appreciate that.  Rather, this account shows us the divide between the kingdom of God and that of Satan.  I suspect that many people today would assume that they belong to the kingdom of heaven, yet their citizenship there is in grave danger.  Jesus said, “The one who is not with me is against me.  The one who does not gather with me scatters.” 

There is a sharp dividing line between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth.  Many assume there is a vast middle ground wherein we can do what we want and live in any way we might desire, but Jesus doesn’t offer that option.  We either walk with Christ, or we are His enemy, and that should scare the pants off a lot of politicians and ordinary citizens who claim to be Christian but advocate for anarchy, immoral lifestyles, and the murder of infants, among other grievous sins.

We sometimes look back at earlier cultures and think they were so idolatrous and lost, but how lost are we when we assume God’s marriage instructions aren’t important, or His command not to slander is just a cost of getting elected to office, or cheating a neighbor is just a cost of doing business?  How lost are we when lust and greed can be used to influence how we spend our money?  I dare say that if these questions haven’t bothered you at all, you may want to spend a little more time in front of the mirror of God’s law.

The mute man in our text was defenseless against the demons.  Perhaps he was never instructed in God’s Word.  Maybe he dabbled in the demonic arts and lost.  Or perhaps, he was simply allowed to be demon possessed so that God could help and instruct us by this case.

Jesus’ opponents accused Him of driving out the demon by the power of the devil.  Jesus easily brushed that accusation aside for it is illogical and impossible, because the devil would never conquer himself.  Furthermore, Jesus teaches that the devil is a powerful enemy who guards those under his control as a greedy man tries to keep his hoard of gold for himself.  The devil doesn’t want God to have any of us.  Thankfully, that is not the end of the story.

Jesus said, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.  But when someone stronger attacks him and defeats him, he takes away that man’s full armor, in which he had trusted, and divides up his plunder.  The one who is not with me is against me.”  Jesus pictures Himself here as the stronger man who steals away the treasures the devil had possessed.  Those treasures being fought over by the two kingdoms were all of us and all people everywhere.

Of course, we know that the devil had no right to possess us.  He had in fact kidnapped us from God in the first place, but all of us were born into his kingdom of sin.  The Jews who accused Jesus of driving out demons by the power of demons were stuck under the devil’s control, but they didn’t even realize it, because it seemed natural to them, as it does to us until the Lord intervenes. 

In order that we might be rescued from the kingdom of sin, we needed someone strong to save us.  That stronger Man is Jesus, both true Man and true God.  God’s Son entered our world armed with perfect holiness, perfect obedience, and perfect trust in His Father in heaven.  Jesus destroyed the devil’s reign by taking away his ability to accuse us of sin.  By living a perfectly holy life as a Man, Jesus satisfied the law in our place.  Then carrying our sins and the sins of the whole world to the cross, Jesus applied the penalty of the law to Himself, suffering what we deserved, so that we could be set free from the devil’s control.  Christ’s resurrection proves His victory.

From that time forward, our Lord takes away the devil’s power by the Means of Grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacrament.  Throughout history, God had been rescuing people by the promise of a Savior.  The Jewish people had God’s promise.  Jesus was warning His accusers, here, that they were in grave danger when they rejected Him because the demonic forces had returned to their hearts and were controlling their thoughts and actions.

The devil is armed with lies, half-truths, and accusations.  Jesus overpowers Satan in our lives with grace and truth, with His holy life and sacrifice on the cross.  As the water and Word of Baptism is applied to a soul formerly lost under the devil’s control, the things the devil uses to possess us are swept away, and we are washed clean and given new life.

While the victory is won for us, there remains danger as long as we dwell on earth.  You and I can’t keep Satan away alone.  Worse yet, even after the devil has been driven out of our spiritual houses, as was the case when we were baptized into the Christian faith, if that clean house is not defended and filled by someone more powerful than the devil, we are susceptible to the demon’s return, and Jesus warns: when the devil returns to the home he had once occupied, he often comes back with more demons and greater evil.  Experience tells us this is true, for when a Christian loses his faith in Christ Jesus, he is often very hard to reach again with the Word of God—the only thing that can save him.

Now, many people seek safety in what they do.  And yes, for earthly dangers, there is much we can do to help keep ourselves safe.  We can listen to the experts when they tell us how to prevent this new virus from entering our bodies.  We can take all the reasonable precautions.  Yet, our spiritual lives can’t be protected by washing our hands for an extra twenty seconds or by keeping ourselves away from everyone else. 

In order to enjoy the eternal lives Christ has prepared for us, we need Him to be continually guarding our homes and our hearts.  For this, God gives us the Word and Sacraments.  He invites us to bring our sins to Jesus, to repent and be cleansed by the proclamation of His forgiveness.  God has given His Word in readily accessible form so that even if we can’t gather in this house, we can read and study the precious truths of Scripture to keep Satan at bay.

Dear friends, with Jesus living in you, you are a member of God’s kingdom.  By faith, God has entered in, swept your house clean, and put everything in order, so that you can be welcomed into His mansions above whenever your time here on earth might end.  That’s why we gather before the altar of our Lord each Sunday, and many Wednesday evenings.  If ever you can’t be here but need the assurance of God’s Word, I or another pastor will come to you with the promise of forgiveness and salvation.  Jesus doesn’t want you to be defenseless, so He offers you His body and blood as a medicine to strengthen your faith in Him and your confidence in the forgiveness He won for you and offers daily.  No matter what this world might throw against us, we have a Savior who threw the devil out.  Be assured, and have no fear; “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it,” for Christ in you keeps Satan out.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Abound more and more in holiness.

Sermon for Lent 2, Reminiscere, March 8, 2020

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Abound more and more in holiness.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            “The Lord told Moses to speak to the whole community of the Israelites and tell them these things: ‘You shall be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’” (Leviticus 19:1-2)  This statement of our God serves as a command, a warning, and a promise.  Jesus, likewise, told His followers, “So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  The thought is repeated throughout the Bible that God wants us to be perfectly holy—indeed, that we must be to dwell with Him. 

In our sermon text, Paul takes up the same theme.  We are to be holy before God.  Paul wrote to fellow believers, even commending those beloved Christians, but at the same time urging them to strive even more to live in Christian holiness in the midst of a world that is anything but holy.  The same could be said about all of us; we want to be holy before God, but the world fights against us.  So that we don’t give up the fight, the Holy Spirit encourages us through St. Paul to Abound more and more in holiness.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-7  Therefore, beyond this, brothers, just as you received instruction from us about how you are to walk so as to please God (as indeed you are doing), we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that you do so even more.  ² To be sure, you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.  ³ Indeed, this is God’s will: that you be sanctified, namely, that you keep yourselves away from sexual immorality.  ⁴ He wants each of you to learn to obtain a wife for yourself in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in lustful passion like the heathen, who do not know God.  ⁶ No one is to overstep and take advantage of his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we said previously and solemnly testified to it.  ⁷ For God did not call us for uncleanness, but in sanctification. (EHV)

In the opening sentence of our text, Paul acknowledges that these believers had been instructed in holy living, and indeed, they were doing so to the best of their ability, so we might ask, why harp on the subject?  The reason is that we must be ever on our guard against those things, spirits, and people who would seek to see us fail.  The world, unbelieving neighbors, and our own flesh work against us.  The devil certainly wants nothing more than to get us to ignore God’s will for our lives.  God’s command is that we will be holy, but who among us could live up to that?

These verses address what may be the two most tempting types of sin: lust and greed.  Paul wrote, “Indeed, this is God’s will: that you be sanctified, namely, that you keep yourselves away from sexual immorality.  He wants each of you to learn to obtain a wife for yourself in a way that is holy and honorable, not in lustful passion like the heathen, who do not know God.”  We could talk about the sin that was rampant in the times of the Thessalonians, but more concerning are the temptations of our days.  Lust and greed drive so much of our entertainments, our world’s advertising, and even political campaigns.  Just as critically, lust and greed so often drive how we relate to other people around us.

Like I said, Paul is writing not to the pagans or the worst of their neighbors, but to and about Christian believers, and still, he tells them to Abound more and more in holiness.  Today, most of us live pretty stable, ordinary, Christian lives.  On the outside, we strive to look clean.  But, what if we each had a little computer monitor mounted on our foreheads that publicly displayed every thought and desire that enters our heads?  Men, what would the world see posted there when you see a pretty girl walking down the street?  Would it be thoughts we would want our mothers, or our wives, to see?  And ladies, would your thoughts be pure when meeting a handsome man?  Or even meeting that pretty girl, would your confession screen sometimes light up with the thought, “I sure wish I had her body?”

Likewise, when we think about the rich people of our society, what thoughts would pop up on those reality-checking monitors?  Would we rejoice about how God has blessed those who have more money and success than us, or would the screen say, “Why doesn’t that greedy so and so share the wealth with the rest of us?  Or might it say something like, “I sure wish I had his money!”  When we honestly examine our lives, that command that we must be holy sure seems to find us in trouble, doesn’t it?

Which brings us to the warning.  If God insists that we be holy to stand in His presence come Judgment Day, who among us could hope to do so?  Furthermore, where could our neighbors find any possible way out of condemnation?  Paul said, “No one is to overstep and take advantage of his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we said previously and solemnly testified to it.”  The Lord is the avenger.  God will judge us not just on what the outside looks like, but on every part of what He sees in our lives.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit instructs us to Abound more and more in holiness, because it is good for us, and it is good for those around us as well.

The Lord is instructing us, here, to treat everyone as righteously and as purely as Jesus treated everyone He met.  The Lord Jesus walked this earth helping everyone who came to Him.  He treated the women He met with absolute respect, kindness, and purity of thought, word, and deed.  Jesus met with the rich and the poor with the same attitude.  He never once was jealous of the rich even thought Jesus had no place of His own in which to lay His head.  At the same time, Jesus was never ashamed of the poor, the crippled, the blind, or the diseased.  He willingly touched, ate with, and healed those whom society considered unclean.  

If our Savior, who we claim to follow, could live like that, shouldn’t we always do the same?  The warning says, “Yes, we should, and we must!”’  On the other hand, if we think we can please God by imitating Jesus, be warned that we fall far short of Christ’s example of perfect love.

By faith, God’s statement again comes to mind, but thankfully now as a promise: “You shall be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”  This is the promise of the Scriptures, the source of our true faith, and our only hope: Jesus has made us holy by faith in His perfect life and holy sacrifice.  In our psalm, we prayed, “Remember, O Lord, your compassion and your mercy, for they are from eternity.  Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways.  According to your mercy remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord.” (Psalm 25:6-7)

The Christian believer strives to Abound more and more in holiness, not because we must in order to be saved, nor because we are afraid that if we don’t measure up to Jesus, He will leave us behind.  Instead, because we have been rescued from darkness and death by the Son of God, we want to live more and more holy lives, because we are grateful for all Jesus has done for us, for the life of holiness and purity He lived on our behalf every day of His earthly life, for the sacrifice of His holy body on the cross to cover our shame, for the blood that flowed from His side to wash away our sins, and for the body and blood He gives us yet today to strengthen our faith and comfort us with the assurance that His sacrifice is sufficient to make us right with God and all our sins are forgiven.

Paul said, “God did not call us for uncleanness, but in sanctification.”  God did not pluck us out of the stinking swamp of this world’s wickedness so that we could learn to measure up to His law.  Rather, God pulled us out of the slime so that He could make us clean.  Then, having granted us a new life of faith in Jesus, the Father and the Son make their home with us.  With God at our side, our desires change.  The new man of faith wants to live pure and holy.  Yes, that faithful believer in each of us has to daily struggle against the old man of death we were born with, but that is why the Holy Spirit urges us to live in the instructions of our God all the more. 

By the power of the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit changes our lives.  By the hearing of God’s Word, He works sanctification in us.  As new lives growing in God’s family, claimed in the adoption of Baptism, we want to live like our Brother and Father, holy in every thought, word, and deed, and when we fail, we now know were to turn.  Instead of looking inside ourselves, we run again and again to Jesus, to the One who made us right with His Father, to the One who left His throne in heaven to come to earth to be our Savior, who endured poverty and meanness so that we could be rich in His grace, Who suffered the punishment of wicked men and the pains of hell so that we could walk boldly into heaven, dressed in Christ’s holiness, as He intercedes for us with the Father.

Once upon a time, a tax collector (who perhaps was rich on earth, but we know was poor in spirit) stood before God in complete humility begging for mercy.  This is how we too Abound more and more in holiness.  We come before God trusting not in ourselves, or our own works, but begging for mercy for Jesus’ sake.  And Jesus declares for us, as He did for that repentant tax collector, “I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

Dear friends, trusting in Christ Jesus, Abound more and more in holiness.  Amen.

Now to him who is able to strengthen you— according to the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, . . . to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.”