Sermon
for Maundy Thursday, April 9, 2020
Grace, love, and peace
be with you all from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The
battle is personal.
Dear blood-bought
children of God,
The story is told in ancient Greek literature about a war
in which Greek warriors laid siege to the city of Troy. For a long time, it was a stand-off, neither
side gaining any ground. Finally, it
appeared that the Greek army simply gave up and went away, but before they
left, they built a large wooden horse and left it outside the city gates. As almost everyone knows, that gift was a baited
trap. For whatever misguided reason, the
people of Troy pulled that gift-horse into their city, and during the night,
soldiers hidden inside crawled out to open the city gates, and the Greek army returned
to conquer the city from within.
That
tragic event is not unlike the devil’s scheme to derail Jesus’ work of
redeeming all people. One of Jesus’
closest followers, a man named Judas, allowed himself to be infiltrated by
greed, and for the paltry gift of thirty silver coins, Judas betrayed his
Savior. It was like a Trojan horse had
entered his heart allowing the enemy to gain control, and it cost Judas his
life and salvation.
When we
read about Judas, it’s not hard to see how we, too, could succumb to such a
fate. How often doesn’t the devil tempt
us with things that glitter in our eyes?
It could be money, love, success, property, or any number of seemingly
good things, each of which can become for us a personal Trojan horse. The devil beguiled one of Jesus’ chosen
disciples, attacking the inner circle of His friends. Likewise we, the people Jesus loves, are dead
center in the devil’s sights, so for Jesus, The
battle is personal.
Jesus had
just finished praying in the Garden of Gethsemane when He woke His disciples
for the third time and warned them against falling prey to temptation. Then, While He was still speaking,
suddenly a crowd appeared, and the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, was
leading them. He came near to Jesus to
kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas,
are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Judas
made a show of pretending that Jesus was his dearest friend. In truth, Jesus was Judas’s best Friend, as
He is for all of us, only Judas no longer believed that. The kiss was a prearranged signal to the
soldiers Judas was leading that this was Jesus, the man they were to capture
and arrest.
We can
say Jesus was Judas’ best Friend not only because He gave His life on a cross
for all people, but also because of the concern Jesus had showed him. Several times Jesus had given Judas the
chance to repent and turn away from his evil plans—to no avail—so what kind of
Trojan Horse caused Judas to betray his Friend?
Most of
you already know: Judas had carried the money bag for Jesus and His disciples,
but Judas also stole out of their joint funds.
Worse, when Judas let go of his faith in Jesus, Satan moved in to fill
the void. Thus, when Jesus told the
disciples that one of them would betray Him, Judas never flinched—his love for
the silver overpowered his conscience.
Whatever
struggles Judas had in his conscience were in that moment under the devil’s
control. Desire for that pitiful handful
of silver coins was Judas’s only motivation that night. If it took betraying his Friend to get that
money in his hand, Judas thought it was worth it. That is, until the realization finally hit him
that Jesus wasn’t going to walk away through the crowd like He had in the past,
and that realization led Judas to despair.
This
battle was personal for the other eleven disciples, just as it is for us. How do you suppose they reacted when Jesus
said, “One of you will betray Me”? Did
they suspect one or another? Did each
man fear it might be him? John tells us,
“The disciples were looking at each other, uncertain which of them He
meant.” (John 13:22) Considering
their confusion, how many of us ponder whether we could betray our Savior? Are we so confident in ourselves that we
think that couldn’t happen? Remember how
bold Peter had been when Jesus warned him that he would deny Jesus three times. Weakness troubles all of us, doesn’t it? It could be weakness in the strength of our
faith, or in being too bold in our self-confidence, but the battle continues in
every believer.
That
night, during their Last Supper together, Jesus had warned the disciples that
they would all desert Him. None of them
could believe it. Yet, a few hours later
after Judas led that motley band of soldiers, thugs, and temple guards to take
hold of Jesus and bind His hands to be led away, not one disciple could stand
up to his fear. Even Peter, after
pulling his sword and managing to slice off an ear, then ran for his life. An enemy had managed to sneak into even those
strong hearts.
So, what
about you and me? What Trojan Horse does
the devil leave for us to find and invite in?
St. Paul wrote some years later, “I certainly delight in God’s law
according to my inner self, but I see a different law at work in my members,
waging war against the law of my mind and taking me captive to the law of sin,
which is present in my members. What a
miserable wretch I am! Who will rescue
me from this body of death?” Romans 7:22-24) Could any of us possibly dare to claim being
as strong in the faith as Paul? Even if
we could, we’d still be stuck in the same fight. That last night in the Garden of Gethsemane
as Jesus prayed, His disciples really wanted to watch faithfully, but three
times they fell asleep. Jesus warned
them, “Watch and pray, so that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
If you
are like those disciples, and me too, then your flesh has this same
weakness. As we think back on all the
times we have betrayed our Savior with unholy thoughts, words, jests, and
glances, how dirty does it make us feel?
What temptation is the devil leaving at your doorstep, or your computer
screen, or the neighbor’s fence? Is it
greed, envy, lust, or boastfulness? Are
there times when simple laziness keeps you from studying the Scriptures? Do the daily interferences of life take away
your commitment to prayer? How about
entertainments, desire for more money, or bigger, better toys, do these things draw
you away from worship, or personal Bible study?
The devil sure spreads around a lot of pretty, Trojan horses, doesn’t
he?
Whenever
guilt comes calling, remember the Good News: Jesus took your battles
personally. Our Hidden Warrior didn’t abandon
the fight for our lives. Jesus went to
war for us, walking resolutely through His days on earth to the moment before
us tonight, His last twenty-four-hours of mortal combat with the devil. Paul expressed our faith and hope when he
wrote, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25)
The battle is personal. You and I have to fight
against temptation every moment of our lives.
Jesus knew it. He knew the
temptations Satan has devised. Jesus knew
we couldn’t handle it, so He did. Our
Savior made our battle His own personal fight.
He resisted every one of the tempter’s schemes. Jesus walked in our shoes for thirty some
years without even one stumble. Then,
when there was no more temptation the devil could use against Him, Jesus took
all of our sins and became sin for us.
All
alone, Jesus went to battle for us. Even
more than He stood in the judgment of the Sanhedrin and Pilate, Jesus stood
before God’s judgment in our place. For
us, Jesus took the meanest punishment men could think of. For us, Jesus voluntarily carried the sins of
the world as the soldiers nailed His hands and feet to the cross, and because
of us, God the Father turned His face away from His Son. The fullest torment of hell was born on that
cross in our place. Jesus took it all so
that we could be set free.
When
Jesus died on that torturous tree, light returned to the sky, and the temple
curtain was torn in two. The separation
between us and God was ended. From that
moment forward, God credits us with the holy perfection of His Son, because in
exchange for His holiness, Jesus took away all your sins.
When the
devil drags his Trojan horses into your view, you need a Friend battling with
you. The strongest Warrior the world has
even know is Jesus, God’s own precious Son, who in hidden power humbled Himself
to become one of us so that He could battle our worst enemy and never give in,
a Champion who would not be deceived but in strength could encounter the
devil’s lies and not be misled.
With
Jesus on our side, we have powerful tools for the fight. God’s Word is a double-edged sword—the law
side hewing out all the wickedness in our hearts, the sins we would hope to
keep hidden, and with the Gospel side, healing the wounds the devil’s
temptations have inflicted. The scarlet
cord at the center of the Bible is that Jesus came to suffer and die to set us
free. His life for ours. His holiness covering our weakness. His death giving us life.
A second
tool Jesus has put in our hands is the holy meal we especially celebrate on
Maundy Thursday. With this year’s social
restrictions, it will feel like a tremendous void has been placed upon us, but
this we know is temporary. The night He
was betrayed, Jesus established a personal offer to each of His followers, that
we might eat His flesh in the bread, and drink His blood in the wine as
medicine for our souls. Taking time out
of the picture, you and I were there. In
this blessed communion, we are united with Jesus and all fellow believers
throughout eternity. When temptations
weigh us down, and real sin is at our door, Jesus offers this precious food as
assurance that He has paid the price for our sins, and God remembers them no
more. Because our battle against the
devil is personal, Jesus gives us His personal help in bodily form.
A third
tool we consider is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus and the Father send the Spirit through Word and Sacrament to
defend, teach, and strengthen us. The
Spirit works in us as His Word gives faith and life. As He called men to write His Scriptures, and
after that to continue proclaiming them, the Holy Spirit gave us all we need
for the journey through life. Some
people might look for something more to instruct their lives, but the Word of
our God is supernatural power sufficient to answer every problem or need.
Why can
we be bold when others would be timid?
Because we know that our God and Savior has won the battle for us and we
will stand with Him forever no matter what this world might do against us. Why can we patiently bear the limitations
this Covid-19 disease has caused?
Because we know that in Christ, we can never really be separated. Yes, it feels like it for the moment, but
this too shall pass, and whether here on earth or in Paradise above, we will
dwell together in peace and joy as one with Christ Jesus.
Dear
friends, The battle is personal, but we are never alone in the fight. Christ has won the war for us, He equips us
for the journey to our forever home, and He will never leave us defenseless. We read from the letter to the Ephesians, “Take
up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil
day and, after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13) The battle is personal. Jesus won it for you. Amen.
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