Jesus took the cut of the law to save you.

 

Sermon for New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2025

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

Luke 2:21  After eight days passed, when the child was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (EHV)

Jesus took the cut of the law to save you.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            There is likely not a man out there anywhere that does not flinch at the idea of this particular surgical procedure.  That is especially the case when we remember that Abraham was commanded to do the operation on himself and his son, Isaac.  However, it was critical that Jesus undergo this circumcision commanded by God when He gave His covenant of grace to Abraham.  As we consider this text, we remember that Jesus took the cut of the law to save you.

Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after His birth exactly as commanded in the law.  The fact that circumcision marked the child as a member of God’s people should put to rest any idea that we can chose this faith for ourselves.  It also reminds us that babies are born sinners.  Already at birth, and we could add at conception, babies inherit sin from their father.  We accept that this is why God commanded the men to be circumcised, an indication that the need for a Savior is inherited from our sinful parents all the way back to Adam.

We also note that circumcision for Abraham’s descendants is like Baptism for us.  God’s chosen people were not chosen because of their great righteousness or obedience to God’s will.  God did not chose Abraham because of his faithfulness, because Abraham was not credited with righteousness until after God chose the man and “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)  Likewise with Abraham’s descendants, God chose them because of His great love and mercy.  God chooses us also for that same reason.  We do not become children of God by works but by the work of God through the Gospel and the Sacraments Jesus instituted.

Which brings us back to Jesus.  Did Jesus need to be circumcised for God to chose Him?  The answer is no.  Jesus was circumcised because He is from the Father from eternity, and having come to earth to live for us, God was putting Jesus fully in our place.  Thus, Jesus took the cut of the law to save you.  In that circumcision, Jesus was connecting Himself with Abraham’s descendants including all people who will ever believe.  In that cut of the flesh, Jesus took the burden of our guilt upon Himself.  It is the first shedding of His blood to pay for our guilt.  This tells us that Jesus was working for our salvation right from His birth, even from His conception in Mary’s womb.

This is appropriate, because Jesus’ name means, “The Lord saves.”  Jesus came to earth with the sole intent to win our salvation and to honor His Father’s will to save us.  As sinners from the moment of conception, we were unable to do anything that would merit forgiveness, salvation, or eternal life.  The very nature we inherit from our parents warrants condemnation unto death, even eternal death in hell.  However, God’s plan from before the fall into sin was to change that through sending His Son to redeem His people from their guilt.

Now, it is common in our times for parents to choose the name of their children, whether for good or ill.  In addition, some people take on new names as a result of pride in their accomplishments or in expectation of some great achievement.  We could refer to any number of modern celebrities or ancient rulers who have done so.  On the other hand, Jesus’ name was declared from heaven before even His conception in Mary.  The angel, Gabriel, brought that instruction to Mary at the time he announced to her that she would bear the Savior of the world.  The angel who later visited Joseph in a dream, when he was considering divorcing Mary before the birth, confirmed this instruction. 

Thus, Jesus’ name was put on Him by God not from men.  This is important for us, because just as God put His name on Jesus at the circumcision, so God puts His name on us at baptism.  In baptism, we become part of God’s family through faith, and it’s all because Jesus took the cut of the law to save you.  Jesus’ circumcision also ended the need for this command among us, as Paul explained, “A real Jew is one on the inside, and his circumcision is of the heart—a spiritual circumcision, not one based on carrying out the letter of the law.  That person’s praise does not come from people but from God.” (Romans 2:29)

Jesus being given His name before His conception in Mary’s womb is God proclaiming that His own Son would bear the sins of the world, along with the cruelty and hardship, the pain and suffering, and finally the death that would rescue us from condemnation.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His listeners, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)  This too is why Jesus had to be circumcised.  There was not to be even one dot of the law that was not carried out by the second Adam so that all mankind might be counted righteous by faith.  Everything that God and Moses had commanded had to be fulfilled or you and I would never inherit life.  But that is the point—Jesus did everything needed so that the Father in heaven is able to look down upon us covered with the righteousness Jesus lived for us and see us as holy and flawless before Him.

Seven hundred years before Mary became pregnant, the Lord told King Ahaz through the prophet, Isaiah, “Look!  The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)  The angel repeated that promise to Joseph.  Immanuel means, “God with us.”  The Son of God came down to earth to dwell with us for a time in order to be “The Lord saves.”  He came to live with mankind and to be the Savior who would live, suffer, die, and rise again to give us hope.  Not some wishful thinking kind of hope, but a sure and certain reality that we are forgiven of all sin and guilt, and God has opened the gates of heaven for all who believe in Jesus.

Dear friends, we have come to the end of another year.  As always, the past year has had its highs and lows, its trials, challenges, triumphs, and joys.  Through it all, we recognize that this was another year when sins, sorrows, and doubts troubled us.  The nature of our sinful flesh makes us worry both about this life and the life to come, but it’s time to put all worry to rest forever, because Jesus took the cut of the law to save you. 

There is nothing we must do to be saved and enjoy eternal life because Jesus has done everything needed to rescue us from the punishment of hell.  We do not and cannot even choose to believe, for “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)  On the other hand, having heard that, now ask yourself, “Do I believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior?”  If you can honestly answer that in the affirmative, then give thanks to God for the Holy Spirit has worked that faith in your heart, and therefore, you have forgiveness and salvation already credited to you in God’s heavenly ledger, for God “did this when he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.  He did this in accordance with the good purpose of his will, and for the praise of his glorious grace, which he has graciously given us in the one he loves.  In him we also have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in keeping with the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:4-7)

If, perchance, someone here, or someone listening out there somewhere, does not yet believe in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of mankind, now is your time of grace.  God is calling you to believe in Jesus and receive the gift of life.  For your sins and mine, and the sins of the whole world, Jesus took the cut of the law to save you.  God’s Son, Jesus, endured the suffering and death we all deserved for our guilt.  In addition, because He is God’s Son as well as the son of Mary, He could bear our sin all the way to death on the cross then take up His life again on the third day to guarantee for all who believe that we too, in connection with Jesus, will rise to live eternally with Him in heaven.

God grant this forgiveness and salvation to all who hear His message of grace.  Whatever might come our way in the new year, remember this saving truth, that because of Jesus and His sacrifice, all sin is forgiven and we have life in heaven through faith for in His circumcision, Jesus truly took the cut of the law to take your place as He made Himself the Sin-bearer who would take the law’s final cut with the nails driven through His hands and feet, and the exclamation cut of the law as the  spear pierced His holy side, proving that justice had been satisfied so that God’s merciful kindness could be extended to all who believe.  In His great love for people like you and me, Jesus took the cut of the law to save you.  Amen.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God his Father—to him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.

Come worship the Lord!

 

Sermon for Christmas 1, December 28, 2025

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  Amen.

Matthew 2:1-12  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, when Herod was king, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem.  ²They asked, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  ³When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.  ⁴He gathered together all the people’s chief priests and experts in the law.  He asked them where the Christ was to be born.  ⁵They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this was written through the prophet: ⁶You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not least among the rulers of Judah: because out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my people, Israel.”  ⁷Then Herod secretly summoned the Wise Men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared.  ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child.  When you find him, report to me, so that I may also go and worship him.”  ⁹After listening to the king, they went on their way.  Then the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them, until it stood still over the place where the child was.  ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy.  ¹¹After they went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they bowed down and worshipped him.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  ¹²Since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. (EHV)

Come worship the Lord!

Dear fellow redeemed,

            There is likely no Commandment of the Ten Commandments that better demonstrates the perversity of fallen man than the 3^rd Commandment.  Consider that God felt it necessary to issue a command for our personal eternal good.  Indeed, all of the commandments were given to protect God’s people from their own worst desires and the wickedness of worldly people.  Yet, here is a command that logic would assume we all would want to keep, but it seems to be a struggle for us.

In our text, we read of a number of scholars who travelled hundreds and perhaps thousands of miles over dangerous roads while walking or riding on pack animals, like donkeys or camels.  In their zeal to meet the new-born King of Israel, they likely would plead with us, Come worship the Lord!

The Third Commandment says: You shall keep the day of rest holy.  What does this mean?  Martin Luther taught, “We should fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”  One would think this would be our natural reaction to the great blessings God pours out upon the world providing everything needed for body and soul.  Yet, how many of us have had to be dragged to church on a Sunday morning?  When we were children, and especially adolescents, how often did we rebel against the idea of attending church every Sunday.  Yes, our parents made us go— but how harsh and demanding, we so often thought.

I suspect there are not very many people in our world, today, who are truly excited to spend an hour or more in church on Sunday morning, but the question is why?  If someone at the bank was handing our stacks of $100 bills, people would rush to get in line, but here, God gives us the riches of heaven and so many take a so what attitude.  Has God’s mercy and providence become so expected that we’ve lost interest?  Has our love for material things superseded any desire to hear what the Lord wants to tell us?  Do we really intend to bite the hand that feeds us?  Have we forgotten to give thanks that “Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, who does not change or shift like a shadow.”? (James 1:17)

Now, it would be real easy for this sermon to turn into a diatribe against all the people out there who don’t desire to be in church as much as good old me, but let me be clear, that is not my intention, for everything I asked above is equally convicting for me.  There must be some urge in every sinner to put his own corrupted desires ahead of what the Lord would want for us.  Rather, than seek the help of God, there is a part of us that wants to go our own way and seek our own good fortune, but on our own, we are destined for the pit of hell, because we cannot save ourselves.

The Lord gave the Ten Commandments to Moses to be a blessing to His people.  As much as they feel like restrictions, God intended them to protect His people.  This is especially so in the case of the Third Commandment.  When first given, this command required that a day of rest be allowed for everyone: worker, slave, master, maidservant, and even the beasts of burden.  Foreigners were also included in this mandatory day of rest.  For two reasons: God knows our needs, including our need for rest, and God intended the Sabbath day to remind us that even though He rested from His work on the seventh day of creation, He continues His providence for us even on the day of rest, and the Sabbath pointed the people forward to the rest we receive in Christ.  Therefore, the command moves us to focus us on what God did and does for us.

Now, as far as the specific day of the week is concerned, the Holy Spirit, through James, teaches us that we don’t need to follow the strict command of Moses in regard to the day of the week.  He wrote, “Do not let anyone judge you in regard to food or drink, or in regard to a festival or a New Moon or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were coming, but the body belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17)  All those Old Testament ceremonial regulations were fulfilled in Christ Jesus.  That doesn’t mean the 3^rd Commandment is no longer in effect, but it’s focus has shifted to paying attention to Christ in whatever we do.  Thus, it isn’t required that we rest on a certain day of the week, but God still wants us to take time to rest and, especially, to focus on His love.  The best example and place for this is in our weekly worship services regardless of which day of the week we chose to worship.

The point is to direct us to Jesus who is our Sabbath.  The word, sabbath, means rest.  Jesus is literally our rest from the curse of the law, our rest from Satan’s overbearing domination, and our rest from condemnation and eternal torment.

In our text, we see two types of people wanted to meet Jesus, or at least that said they did.  Those magicians or wise men from eastern lands came seeking the new King of Israel.  They wanted to worship Him because they believed that the promises given to Old Testament Israel were true.  A King would come out of Israel to rule the world in peace and love, but we might add that they likely didn’t know that Jesus’ kingdom is not and will not be of this world.  However, look at how they devoted themselves to the promise of the King.  The travelled a great distance, spending who knows how much in time and resources to do so.  Then, they diligently sought information on where to meet Jesus.  Finally, once they arrived at the home in which Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were staying, they prostrated themselves in devotion to the new-born King and opened their treasures to pour out gifts of thanks and praise.

On the other hand, King Herod claimed to be interested in honoring this new King of the Jews, but there was no sincerity in his spoken wish.  Rather, out of fear of losing his position as king, Herod wanted to eliminate a potential rival to his reign.  So, which type do we resemble?  Do we bow down before the Lord in humility and thankfulness and devote our treasures and possessions to honoring Christ and helping His kingdom grow?  Or is protecting our own domains more important to us?

Troubling questions, I suppose.  Regardless of how we might feel in the moment, I suspect there are very few of us who could honestly say we have never put our own desires ahead of honoring Jesus.  Like with every other commandment, we soon see that we are indeed great sinners.  Sinners who need the Savior.

That brings me back to why a faithful believer might wonder why anyone wouldn’t want to be in church, study his Bible, and meditate on God’s Word, pray, praise, and give thanks.  If we actually understand what God did, does, and will do for us, what could stop us from dancing continuously in joy and songs of praise?  What holds us back from shouting from the rooftops of God’s love for us?  We know the answer is sin.  Our fallen nature tends to listen to the devil’s twisted lies.  He tells us we don’t have time to put worship over work.  He tells us our leisure activities are more important than hearing what we have heard many times before.  He tickles our ears with ideas that the message is boring.  The truth is, we have a battle within.

Not too surprisingly for you, I hope, I have good news for you.  The Good News begins with this: Throughout His whole life, Jesus gladly and willingly heard what God in heaven had to say.  From infancy on, Jesus eagerly desired the learn the Scriptures His own Spirit had caused to be written, but in His state of humiliation, Jesus had to learn that just as much as we do.  Throughout His days on earth, Jesus regularly sought counsel with His heavenly Father in prayer.  He offered up the required gifts at the temple, even though He is the giver of all good things to us.  Jesus did those things for you and me and for all people, so that we could be credited with righteousness through faith in Jesus.

So now, why should we be excited to come to worship?  Does this poor pastor claim to be a great speaker who will knock your socks off with his brilliant oratory?  Well, you all know there is nothing further from the truth.  Our worship here isn’t about me, and if I should ever make it so, throw me out.  Instead, faithful worship services are first of all God’s service to us.  Before we return thanks, God is serving us with healthy portions of good spiritual food.  Faithful services are God freely forgiving our sins and offering His mercy and grace week after week and day after day.  God implores you to hear His Word regularly and often, because our weak souls need continual refreshment.

God also invites and encourages our prayers.  In addition, we are encouraging each other with our presence in this gathering of the body of Christ.  Imagine the pain we would feel if our physical bodies were torn apart and never brought back together.  That destructive force would also be in play for our souls whenever we fail to seek God’s face in worship.  And rest assured, God meets us here in His holy Gospel, and especially in the Lord’s Supper of bread and wine, in which Jesus personally delivers to you His own body and blood that was sacrificed for your sins, as a token and medicine to bring you restored forgiveness of all sin and to strengthen your faith and your soul for a life of service and to keep you in His grace unto life everlasting. 

Again, I would ask, how can we not want that more and more?  Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)  This is one of the many reasons we gather for worship services.  Our God loves us to serve us with spiritual healing.  He feeds us for eternal life with every preaching of His Gospel.  He dwells with us through His Word, both read and heard.  On top of that all, He encourages us to build each other up through mutual expressions of our Christian faith.  The Holy Spirit inspired the writer to the Hebrews to say, “Let us also consider carefully how to spur each other on to love and good works.  Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing.  Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Dear friends, the day of judgment indeed approaches quickly.  Will we be ready?  It is God’s intention to have us ready and rejoicing to meet our Savior when He returns in glory.  Let every part of our being spend our lives with the joy filled intention, Come worship the Lord!  Amen

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

To us God’s Son is given!

 

Sermon for Christmas Day, December 25, 2025

The grace of Almighty God, the reconciliation of His Son, and the Word of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  Amen.

Isaiah 9:6-7  ⁶For to us a child is born.  To us a son is given.  The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders.  He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  ⁷There will be no limit to his authority and no end to the peace he brings.  He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from now on, into eternity.  The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this. (EHV)

Luke 2:19-20  ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (EHV)

To us God’s Son is given!

Beloved children of God,

            The message given to Isaiah is like a clear vision of the birth of God’s Son.  It’s like Isaiah was standing in the stable that night the angels sang to the shepherds and the shepherds hurried to the new-born Savior’s bed.  What glorious things the prophet tells us.

In the same way, Mary and the shepherds gave glory to God for delivering the Deliverer to us.  To us a Child is born!  What an amazing statement.  Now, in our day, there are many people who don’t celebrate the gift of a child.  We know that Herod’s slaughter of the innocent shortly after Jesus’ birth pales in comparison to the millions of babies thrown away in our times.  But this Child.  What a story He is!  What amazing promises come to us because this Child of God was given to us!

Continuing our catechetical review, this morning we read The Second Commandment: You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.  What does this mean?  Martin Luther explained, “We should fear and love God, so that we do not curse, swear, practice witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon Him in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.”  As we learn from Luke’s account, this is precisely what Mary and the shepherds did after seeing Jesus’ birth with their own eyes.  Mary, of course, much more involved than the shepherds.

Still, the question for us is how well do we keep this commandment?  Is every moment of our lives spent in praising God, studying His Word, trusting His love and providence, and seeking counsel only from the wisdom of God in Christ Jesus?  Do we always treasure the salvation Christ provides us through His life and sacrifice?

The honest answer, I suppose, would have to include that Mary and the shepherds also had their failings.  No one born in the line of Adam and Eve can ever claim true innocence and total trust in God.  For that reason, we needed a Savior.  The shepherds rejoiced with great enthusiasm because they had been privileged to witness the birth of the promised Savior.  Imagine the excitement they must have felt.  It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to maintain that joy.

Mary treasured all the things she witnessed in Jesus’ life.  She was eyewitness to Jesus’ journey from conception to the cross.  That didn’t make her a saint in itself.  Rather, it gave her a reliable testimony to share with Luke when he studied the history and record of all that Jesus did for us. 

When Luke was investigating Jesus’ life, Mary was likely the only one who remembered Gabriel’s coming to her with the exciting news that she would bear Messiah into the world.  Who else would know about Joseph being informed of the Good News by an angel in a dream?  Who else could later report of their journey to Egypt to escape Herod’s jealous wrath?  Who else would remember her embarrassment for leaving twelve-year-old Jesus at the temple when the family attended the festival and she and Joseph left for home without young Jesus? 

Thus, there are many, many reasons to appreciate and celebrate Mary’s part in Jesus’ life.  Yet, Mary also needed a Savior, and by that first Easter morning, her joy in Jesus was complete, and she could again give thanks and praise that To us God’s Son is given!

Though there is nothing further told us about those humble shepherds who visited Jesus’ natal bed, I can assume they were much like us.  They went about their ordinary lives.  I pray that they never forgot about that Baby of whom the angels filled the skies with praise.  Yet, there were likely some who let that good news drift away.

I pray also that everyone who has ever entered through the doors to this church building will never forget of whom they heard such marvelous things, but I know some have drifted away.  Oh, they may have a fond memory or two.  I pray that many of those who are not here anymore have found other churches where the truth of the Gospel is preached, but if so, why have they not let us know?

Isaiah listed many names for the Savior of the world.  The Bible has numerous names for Jesus, but as we study the Second Commandment, we soon realize that the Lord’s name includes His reputation, so we would say it includes everything in the Bible for it is His Story.

As you read Isaiah’s words in our text, you have to wonder how anyone could not be impressed.  Why would anyone not want to be close to Jesus?  Still, we too have our shortcomings and weaknesses.  It is easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day humdrum of living.  I suppose we start to take God for granted.  Even as we confess our sins or pray the Lord’s Prayer, it is easy to lose focus on Jesus and the love of God for us.

At the same time, what joy is ours that To us God’s Son is given!  To us, who are so undeserving of God’s mercy!!  We did nothing to deserve this gift of God’s grace.  We did nothing to bring Jesus into human flesh or into our lives.  Yet, here we are, blessed by God through the power and work of the Holy Spirit, believing in Jesus as our Savior, giving thanks to the Father for sending Jesus into our hearts and lives.  Here we are, washed clean of all sin in the cleansing flood of baptism.  Here we are, having been brought into God’s own family through the adoption He made when He chose us to believe.  Here we are, with every benefit Isaiah foretold in this bit of text.

Here we are with Jesus ruling heaven and earth for our eternal welfare.  St. Paul wrote, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose, because those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” (Romans 8:28-29)  About the God-Man who would be both his Son and His Lord, King David prophesied, “You make him suffer need, apart from God for a while, but you crown him with glory and honor.  You make him the ruler over the works of your hands.  You put everything under his feet.” (Psalm 8:5-6) 

Isaiah wrote, “There will be no limit to his authority and no end to the peace he brings.  He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from now on, into eternity.”  Now, perhaps, ruling on David’s throne doesn’t strike you as all that important, because the kingdom of Israel is long gone.  But, this wasn’t a prophecy about an earthly kingdom.  Rather, Isaiah and David both knew that the Holy Spirit was teaching them about the kingdom of God that is heaven.  As He stood before Pilate in judgment, Jesus revealed to that pagan, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight …. But now my kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36

We give thanks that Jesus’ kingdom s not of this world, for this world will pass away, and everything in it will fall to destruction.  However, we do not need to be afraid, for Jesus is our “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  In Jesus, we find the wisdom of God, that He used the humble, ordinary things of this world to give us eternal life: the Son of God hidden in, with, and under the flesh of a tiny baby, ordinary water along with the power of the Gospel in Baptism cleansed us of sin and made us God’s children by faith, the body and blood of our Savior in, with, and under the bread and wine in His Supper to restore our forgiveness and strengthen us for living in His kingdom of grace.  God hid His Son in a humble Baby so that Jesus could redeem our whole lives from Satan’s grip.  Jesus came not in riches and splendor but in poverty and meekness so that we could be rich in God’s mercy.

Jesus is our Mighty God because He took on the demonic forces that caused the curse of sin upon the world, a curse that would have caused us everlasting torment, but Jesus won that war, and the devil lies crushed and defeated, while we have been rescued from the devil’s control by the power of the Spirit of Truth Jesus sent from His Father to bring us peace.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace because He is now our judge, and having paid for our sins on the cross, and having welcomed us into His family through the work of the Holy Spirit in Word and Baptism, Jesus now recognizes us as His brothers and sisters.  As our Good Shepherd, He welcomes us, His precious lambs, to approach His heavenly throne in peace for it is His blood and body that cleansed us and won our release from Satan’s cursed side.

Dear friends, there are many in this world who would argue against God’s true love.  Many reject His Son as Savior.  Many deny that God has the power to save, much less the inclination.  But those people all misjudge the God who loved us from everlasting to everlasting.  The Creator who knit us together in our mothers’ wombs has never stopped loving us and providing for our care.  He has never taken His eyes off of us so that the devil could get a grip on us again.  Rather, because He loves us and desires only to have us in His heaven forever, God the Father sent His Son to be our Redeemer and Savior, and the Son gave His life into service and death to make us right with God and holy in His eyes.  No effort was spared in the heavenly realms so that you would have peace with God.  The zeal of the Lord of Armies has accomplished this—To us God’s Son is given!  Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

 

The Word, Creator and Savior, hid in human form.

 

Sermon for Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025

“Do not be afraid.  For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: … in the town of David, a Savior was born for you.  He is Christ the Lord.”  Amen.

John 1:1-14  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ²He was with God in the beginning.  ³Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made.  ⁴In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.  ⁵The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  ⁶There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John.  ⁷He came as an eyewitness to testify about the light so that everyone would believe through him.  ⁸He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.  ⁹The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the world.  ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him.  ¹¹He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him.  ¹²But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.  ¹³They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God.  ¹⁴The 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. (EHV)

The Word, Creator and Savior, hid in human form.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            No greater news has ever been proclaimed than what that angel announced to the shepherds that long ago night.  It is Good News that pastors, today’s messengers from God, get to announce on a regular basis, not just on Christmas Eve but many times throughout the year.  Christ the Lord, the Son of God, entered into our world into our fellow human flesh to do for us what we could never do, to rescue us from the dragon that started all this trouble way back in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Adam and Eve to sin.

This year, we are reviewing the catechism which summarizes the basics of Christian faith.  Tonight, we review briefly, The First Commandment: You shall have no other gods.  What does this mean?  “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”  Why do we examine this command on Christmas Eve?  Because that Baby in the manger was and is true God, just as God’s prophet, Jeremiah, proclaimed so many centuries ago, “The Lord is the true God.  He is the living God, the eternal King.” (Jeremiah 10:10)

Consider the ramifications of that news.  God, who encompasses heaven and earth put Himself into Mary’s egg and became the One and Only true God-Man.  How can that possibly be, that God would confine Himself in a tiny Baby?  That is part of the mystery of our Triune God.  There are things about God that our minds simply cannot fathom.  We can neither imagine nor comprehend the full extent of God’s power or His love and desire to save us from the devil’s control.  Yet, God doesn’t demand that we understand every aspect of His being, just that we trust Him.

Sometimes, people think of God as too small or weak, as if He were unable to do the things the Bible declares He has done and still does.  Other times, people think of God being too far away, as if He doesn’t notice us, either seeing our sins, nor answering our problems or needs.  To these doubts God answers, “Am I a God who is only nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away?  Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord.  “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:23-24) 

Tonight, we consider the love God has shown for you and me.  The All-powerful Son of God humbled Himself to take on human flesh to live among people very much like us.  People who had their frailties and faults, who often lived in poverty, who got sick, injured, had physical frailties and birth defects, and above all else sinned just as we do.  God’s Son wasn’t born in a palace and luxury.  Instead, He became the Child of poor peasants and was almost immediately a refugee in a foreign land.  The head of the local state wanted Jesus killed before He could grow to be a Man.  Yet, that wasn’t the real danger for God’s Son.  The real danger Jesus faced was with the powers of darkness, because if the devil managed to get Jesus to sin, at any moment in His years of living as a Man, everything would be lost and there would be no god except the evil beings who rebelled against our Creator.

Jesus understood the task before Him.  In fact, He relished the opportunity to go head-to-head with Satan to rescue mankind from that deceiver’s lies.  John reported:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.  The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

St. Paul later wrote, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)  We only get to enter the fight because Jesus has already crushed the deceiver’s head.

So, why a baby, why does God enter the fight against evil in the form of a child?  In answer, God’s Son came to live a complete life of perfect obedience in our place.  From conception to death, Man had to live without any sin or in any way desire something other than God’s holy will.  Therefore, Jesus had to start at the very beginning of our lives and fight the fight all the way through to the portal of death.

But, there is also a secret involved.  The devil is certainly crafty, but he was perhaps overconfident in his rebellious attitude, so God set a trap for the devil.  God’s Son hid Himself in the form of a little Baby.  We like to think them innocent, but the devil knows that babies are born in sin, and the sooner he can lead them astray the easier his wicked schemes become.  Even so, the devil bides his time for convenient moments.  We read about a few of those in the Gospels when Jesus was in the desert for forty days and nights fasting and alone.

Yet, the ultimate test was what would happen when death came stalking that perfect human?  What would Jesus endure when the devil could throw all his accusations for the sins of the world against Jesus?  Would that God-Man crack under all those false accusations.  The One holy Son of God and Child of Mary bearing the sins and guilt of the whole world.  Sins so great that you and I would be ashamed to admit them are all laid on Jesus.  The sins of the most wicked and cruel of the world’s despots, criminals, thieves, rapists, abusers, slanderers—all that guilt—all of your guilt, and mine, laid upon that Babe in the manger.  Jesus had to carry that burden from the moment of conception until He was ready to enter the tomb.  That’s why The Word, Creator and Savior, hid in human form.

So, how would you feel if you were ever falsely accused of a crime?  How do you feel when someone takes advantage of your generosity?  How do you feel when someone slanders you, stabs you in the back, or betrays you?  How would you feel if your friends and relatives lied about you, mocked you, or betrayed you to murderous authorities for a small reward?  Yet, the truth is, we are just as guilty as any of those people who walked with Jesus two thousand years ago.  So, Jesus hid Himself in our flesh, to suffer the worst indignities, in order to save us from the dragon who wants only to consume your soul.  Satan wants to control you.  He wants to steal you away from God.  Today, defeated, the devil is still trying to lure you away from the love Jesus displayed for you as He entered our world as a tiny Baby and walked toward the cross of shame in our place.

I said Jesus was setting a trap for the devil.  He used Himself as the bait.  The Bible declares that “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  Because Jesus was bearing all of our sins, the devil saw Him as one of us, and Jesus is, except that He Himself was and always will be without sin.  Therefore, when Jesus gave up His life on the cross bearing all our guilt and shame, death could swallow Him whole, just like a predator fish could swallow down a minnow.  But death couldn’t hold Jesus.  Jesus is the Son of God and the Child of Mary.  Both true God and true Man, Jesus lived for us full obedience and holiness, and as the same true God-Man, Jesus blew the devil’s death-jaws wide open as He rose from the grave triumphant on Easter morning.

Back when Adam and Eve first sinned, God promised the devil, “He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)  The devil certainly caused Jesus to suffer great pain, but Jesus won the war, so the devil’s future is eternity in the depths of hell.  Thus, the darkness of death is now blown open to be a portal for us to enter the everlasting life and Light of Jesus.  With Jesus for us, we too will be resurrected on the final day to dwell forever in the glory and peace of heaven.

That little Babe in the manger is great news for us.  Before He went to the cross, Jesus told His disciples, “Do not let your heart be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1)  Tonight, we remember John’s report of Jesus’ life:

He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him.  But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.  They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God.  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.

This is our reality and our future.  By the work of the Holy Spirit in Word and Baptism, we have been brought to faith in Jesus Christ.  Through that God-given faith we have been forgiven all our sins, and to those who believe God has credited the righteousness of His Son, Jesus, and in His righteousness the Eternal Father has adopted us to live eternally as His own beloved children.  By the power of the Word made flesh, we have been rescued from darkness to live in the eternal Light of His Son.  That is the glory the angels promised the shepherds that long ago night.  It is our story too. 

“In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.  The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  The devil and the world tried to defeat God’s Son, but Jesus could not be overcome.  He is our Savior and Redeemer, our Light and our Life, our King and our God.  Praise be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit for bringing us forgiveness and life everlasting through Jesus.  For us, The Word, Creator and Savior, hid in human form.  Amen.

Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The testimony of Scripture is Christ.

 

Sermon for Advent 4, December 21, 2025

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, in truth and love.  Amen.

John 1:19-28  ¹⁹This is the testimony John gave when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”  ²⁰He confessed and did not deny.  He confessed, “I am not the Christ.”  ²¹And they asked him, “Who are you then?  Are you Elijah?”  He said, “I am not.”  “Are you the Prophet?”  “No,” he answered.  ²²Then they asked him, “Who are you?  Tell us so we can give an answer to those who sent us.  What do you say about yourself?”  ²³He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ just as Isaiah the prophet said.”  ²⁴They had been sent from the Pharisees.  ²⁵So they asked John, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”  ²⁶“I baptize with water,” John answered.  “Among you stands one you do not know.  ²⁷He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”  ²⁸These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (EHV)

The testimony of Scripture is Christ.

Dear redeemed in Christ Jesus,

            As we study our catechism, we soon see that Christ is the center of the catechism, but that is because Christ Jesus is the center of the Scriptures.  Likewise, the scene before us shows us what the men who questioned John didn’t understand—The testimony of Scripture is Christ.

John the Baptist was becoming famous in Jerusalem.  His fame was beginning to make the ruling elites nervous.  They didn’t know why he was preaching away from the temple.  They didn’t understand why he baptized, and they challenged John to state by what authority he was doing any of it.  They were nervous because so many people were going away from them to hear what John had to say. 

Now, John wasn’t preaching to the people about the authorities, but he certainly spoke truth when those men came to see him.  To the ordinary citizens, John called for the people to repent of their sins and to remember the words of the prophets for their prophecies were now being fulfilled.  To the scribes and Pharisees who considered themselves the peak of authority, John also preached truth, but to them he declared, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Therefore produce fruit in keeping with repentance!” (Matthew 3:7-8)

Our sermon text was from a preliminary investigation.  We can see from the questions these sleuths were asking that they knew the Old Testament Scriptures.  John also knew what the prophets had foretold.  From reading the Scriptures, the Jews were expecting the promised Messiah.  They just didn’t understand Him.  John didn’t fit the description either, but his work was strange enough that they wondered who he might be.  John wasn’t preaching and baptizing because he had read the prophecies and wanted to fulfil them; instead, God gave the prophecies because He was sending John to prepare the way for Christ. 

All the writings of the prophets, from Moses through Malachi, pointed forward to the Savior.  We tend to think of much of the Old Testament as history.  Yet, it is history with a purpose.  God didn’t give this book just to tell us a little bit about the history of Israel.  Rather, God gave us the Bible to teach us about His Son.  First, God teaches us about our need for the Savior.  The history recorded by Moses teaches us how God created the world through His Son, the perfection with which God made mankind, and the peace they enjoyed with God.  He also teaches how sin entered the world.

Without the Bible, people would almost be justified in accusing God of creating evil, as many already do.  Still, it is clear from Scripture that God could not and would not do such a devious thing, for God created the world in perfect harmony with His holy will.  It was a perfect paradise, but the devil deceived the first couple into desiring something else.  Consequently, just as God had forewarned, death entered the world, and the curse of sin that fell upon the world because of the devil’s rebellion and Adam and Eve’s wicked desire, had to be dealt with in a way consistent with both a merciful and yet a just God. 

In amazing, unwarranted kindness, God immediately after the fall promises a Savior to restore the peace Adam and Eve had enjoyed.  Following through on that promise, all the Old Testament writings show us God’s plan to bring His Son, Jesus, into the world to be that Redeemer and Savior who could restore peace with God in true righteousness and justice.

From the point of the fall, God gave many messages through His prophets to prepare people to receive His gifts of grace based on the work of His Son.  Along with proclaiming the mercies of God, the prophets foretold numerous details about the coming Savior.  Likewise, the history of Israel is a picture of the redemption of sinners from the chains of slavery in sin.

The messengers sent to John asked about those prophecies that pointed to Jesus.  Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”  He confessed and did not deny.  He confessed, “I am not the Christ.”  And they asked him, “Who are you then?  Are you Elijah?”  He said, “I am not.”  “Are you the Prophet?”  “No,” he answered.  Based on the old writings, the Jews expected the Messiah, but John faithfully denied that he was that One. 

The prophet, Malachi, foretold another Elijah who would precede the Savior.  They expected Elijah would be personally resurrected, but God planned to provide a new prophet with Elijah’s faith to prepare the way before the coming of the Christ.  That was confirmed when Jesus told His disciples that John is the man sent by God to be that promised road-clearer.  You can read about that in Luke’s Gospel. 

When they asked whether John was “the prophet,” they were referring to Moses’ promise before he was taken from this world: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brother Israelites.  Listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)  Moses’ message is a clear reference to the Redeemer who would rescue mankind from the slavery of sin.  The Jews questioning John didn’t understand it, for they were looking for a worldly kind of leader.

In response, John points his questioners to the ancient prophet, Isaiah.  Isaiah also had spoken of a forerunner to Christ, but here again, John points his examiners toward the Christ who truly did come from God.  John admitted his own mortality.  He was just a man like all of us, chosen by God for a special role, certainly, but in no way a Savior from sin.  At the same time, John directly told those people that the Savior already stood among them just as Moses had foretold.

The testimony of Scripture is Christ.  Our text touches on the many ways the Old Testament pointed forward to Jesus.  The New Testament, on the other hand, gives us what we need to know about Jesus’ life and how He suffered and died to pay the penalty for our guilt before God.  God chose four evangelists to write these Gospels so that forever after, people could learn about Jesus and be brought to believe in Him as their Savior, because there is no other way to salvation.

The epistles are further testimony from the Holy Spirit through His apostles that explain in greater detail what Jesus has done for us, and how we should understand Christ’s work.  They testify to God’s amazing mercy and grace.  They teach that though there is nothing we could ever do to appease God’s justice, Jesus has taken that need off us so that through faith in Him, we are counted as completely clean of all sin. 

God’s work of saving people from eternal torment continues with the New Testament, because the devil didn’t stop his rebellion against God just because he had been defeated by God’s Son.  No, even though Satan’s rebellious plans have been squashed by Jesus with His holy life and sacrificial death, that evil angel still tries to steal people from God’s love by leading them away from Jesus.  Thus, as the devil continues to tempt people to avoid church, or to doubt the Bible’s truth, or to delay coming to the Lord with the lie that you always have more time to seek salvation later, he is continually trying to interfere between you and the love of God in Christ Jesus.

We still need God’s Word in our daily lives.  We need God’s Word protecting us from the devil’s snares, for the devil is a sneaky deceiver.  He misleads with lies and accusations about God’s people.  He tempts us to imagine that our own moral acts have saving power.  He deceives people into imagining that God will bring all people to heaven regardless of faith.  The list could go on and on, but the truth is Satan always deceives.  Every word and temptation he uses are all lies, but God has given the saving truth in His Word, of which we can confidently say, The testimony of Scripture is Christ. 

Every part of the Bible is about Jesus.  It is not just history but His story of granting salvation through faith.  It is the declaration of God’s mercy for sinners who could never save themselves, but who are brought to believe in God’s Son, Jesus, as their Redeemer and Savior.  The Bible is the record of God’s interaction with this world and His ongoing war with the rebellious spirits that turned against God and against us.  It is God’s promise of life everlasting in the peace of heaven for those who believe in the Son who saved us with His life and sacrifice on a cross.  Hold on to what the Bible says with all your ability, trust, and hope.  The testimony of Scripture is Christ.  Amen.

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