Christ is seated in authority to rule for our good.

 

Sermon for Exaudi, Easter 7, May 17, 2026

To all those loved by God…called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Ephesians 1:18-23  ¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, just how rich his glorious inheritance among the saints is, ¹⁹and just how surpassingly great his power is for us who believe.  ²⁰It is as great as the working of his mighty strength, which God worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and above every name that is given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  ²²God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church.  ²³The church is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (EHV)

Christ is seated in authority to rule for our good.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            A form of idolatry has crept into our culture, and I pray that it hasn’t touched us.  That idolatry is the idea that a deceased loved one now in heaven is watching over, protecting, or helping those left behind regardless of whether the deceased was a believer or not.  This idolatry seems to be offered as some sort of comfort to the mourners, yet there is no promise in Scriptures that any part of it is true.  Even faithful Christians who depart this life to dwell in glory are not spending their moments in heaven helping us.  Their focus is on the Lord who has rescued them from the darkness of sin and death.

At the same time, there is one who has died, who didn’t stay dead, but rather was raised alive again to take up a position of glory, honor, and might, through which He is continually working for our everlasting welfare—Christ is seated in authority to rule for our good.

Our text is a continuation of St. Paul’s prayer for his friends in Ephesus, a prayer of the Holy Spirit that is for our help as well.  He prayed, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, just how rich his glorious inheritance among the saints is, and just how surpassingly great his power is for us who believe.”  It is so important that our eyes not be clouded by the idolatry of the world.  Almost everyone in the world seeks hope for the future.  No one truly wants to face death without some assurance that there is something more, even if that something is just a meaningless nothingness in which there is no more pain as the atheists, Buddhists, and some others imagine.  Yet, our Lord lived and died and rose again to give us so much more for the future.

First of all, our Lord Jesus has won for us an inheritance of immeasurable worth.  Considering all that God had promised him, King David sang, “Lord, you are the cup that has been given to me.  You have secured an allotment for me.  The property lines chosen for me fall in pleasant places.  Yes, a delightful inheritance is mine.” (Psalm 16:5-6)  Through St. Peter the Holy Spirit blesses us with an everlasting gift in the Lord, “By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that is undying, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.  Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)  Thus, through faith in Christ, Christian believers inherit with Him citizenship in the Paradise of heaven where “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Part of the idolatry that so easily infects is a desire for this world to be instantly better.  However, Jesus uses His power and authority to bring us to faith in Him as our Savior, so that He can deliver us, His dear ones, out of this existence of sorrow, trouble, danger, pain, and death.  Seeking greater riches of either peace or prosperity in this life offers little future consolation, because there will always be new trouble right around the corner as long as sin infects the world, for as St. John wrote, “The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2:17)

Therefore, so that we might be welcomed into His family as brothers and sisters forever, Jesus took away our sin, and the condemnation we deserved for it, with His holy life and sacrifice on the cross.  Then, when the Father raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus returned to His Father’s side in heaven and was granted authority over heaven and earth to use on our behalf.

The Holy Spirit wants us to know how great Jesus’ authority truly is.  He had Paul write, “It is as great as the working of his mighty strength, which God worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and above every name that is given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”  Before He suffered and died as the Lamb of God, Jesus told His disciples, “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.  I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again.  This is the commission I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18)  Jesus later told them why He did this; “No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

My friends, you all are Jesus’ friends, because He laid down His life to buy your freedom from sin and death and the devil’s control.  Furthermore, just as Jesus had authority to rise from the dead under His own power, so He has authority over everything and every power in this world, including raising you and me from the dead.  Though there are many seemingly powerful people and governments that often work against God’s people, ultimately, they have no authority over our eternal welfare, because Christ is seated in authority to rule for our good.

Accordingly, even if the devil or any earthly authorities will make our lives on earth miserable, or even kill the body, our futures remain secure in the glory of heaven, for all people must someday stand before the Lord in judgment, but through the faith the Lord works in His people by the power of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, Jesus has already declared all who believe in Him innocent, beloved of the Father, and His own children through faith.  Thus as the Scriptures declare, “Now, if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17)  So, we have a home in heaven.

What all this means is that there is no reason for us, in times of sadness, to seek comfort in anything other than our Savior.  Likewise, in time of great need, we have no reason to seek help from anyone but Him.  That doesn’t mean we will never ask our neighbors for help, and it certainly doesn’t mean we don’t have to help them.  Especially in the Church, we as one body will gladly and willingly work for the good of those around us, and even around the world.  Our command is to love the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves, so as we consider the love Jesus showed for us as His friends, how could we do anything less?

Still, we know we have fallen short of loving as we should.  We also are forced to admit that sometimes our hopes for the future may be misplaced while we are immersed in this idolatrous world.  Yet, that is precisely why Jesus came into the world—not to lead us to be just better behaved, but to give us the life God always intended we should have.  Then, having been made alive in Christ, we live as His body here while we wait to be reunited with Him as our Head in heaven.  You could say we become His hands and foot soldiers here on earth until He returns to judge the world.

Thus, while we wait for Judgment Day, or the day He calls us out of this world in death, we will put our full confidence in the fact that “God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church.  The church is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

When God called Abraham to faith those many centuries ago, He promised Abram, “All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you.” (Genesis 12:3)  Through faith in Jesus, that blessing has come to us.  Just as Jesus took humanity into the divine by becoming one of us in the flesh, so He now takes us into the divine family through the faith worked in us by the Holy Spirit through the hearing of the Good News of all Jesus has done for us and through the washing flood of Baptism.  In Jesus, all our sins have been removed and all our guilt wiped away.  In Jesus, we are made alive, and in His resurrection we have sure hope that we too will be raised never to die again.

At the same time, we know with full confidence that no matter what the devil or this world might try to throw against us, Jesus retains and uses the full authority of God to thwart anything that could truly harm us.  He doesn’t guarantee we won’t have trouble.  In fact, He promised we will because the world under the devil’s control hates us just as much as it hated Jesus. 

However, Jesus rose from the grave victorious over all things that could harm us, and seated at the right hand of the Father, He has all authority in heaven and on earth to bring us home to dwell with God forever in heaven.  Therefore, we “Give thanks to him and bless his name.  For the Lord is good.  His mercy endures forever.  His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5)  Today and forever, our eternal welfare is secure, because Christ is seated in authority to rule for our good.  Amen.

To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.  Amen.   

Jesus ascended to give us life and salvation.

 

Sermon for Ascension, May14, 2026

Grace to you and peace from him who is, who was, and who is coming.  Amen.

Acts 1:4-11  ⁴Once, when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what the Father promised, which you heard from me.  ⁵For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  ⁶So when they were together with him, they asked, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  ⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority.  ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  ⁹After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  ¹⁰They were looking intently into the sky as he went away.  Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them.  ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (EHV)

Jesus ascended to give us life and salvation.

Dear beloved of the Lord,

            “He ascended into heaven.”  King David prophesied about this great day when he wrote, “You ascended on high.  You led captivity captive.  You received gifts among men, so that even among the rebellious the Lord God might dwell.” (Psalm 68:18) We confess this truth every Sunday in our Creeds, but many a sceptic might wonder why we celebrate Jesus’ ascension.  Perhaps, they ask, with all the trouble in the world and the attacks of so many enemies of our faith, wouldn’t it have been better if Jesus had stayed right here with us?  Couldn’t He be helping protect and preserve us still today?  In other words, their desire for a Savior is just like the people who wanted to make Jesus their king after He miraculously fed the five thousand.

Whenever we begin to question God’s plans, it is certain that we are missing something, lack faith or are simply missing God’s Good News.  Though some may expect that the Church would remember Jesus’ ascension with sorrow and fear, the Christian Church has always celebrated the Ascension of our Lord with great joy.  The reason is that without Jesus ascending to His Father’s side in heaven, you and I and all people would remain lost in sin and condemnation.  However, so that saving faith might be worked in us, Jesus ascended to give us life and salvation.

The first thing we must understand is that faith, forgiveness, and salvation come to us only by faith.  There is nothing we can do on our own to reach God or to deserve His reward of a place in heaven.  The Holy Spirit moved Paul to write, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)  On the first Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension, Peter declared to the crowds, “Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.  There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)  Paul also wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, “God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses.  It is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Okay, so what does all this have to do with Christ’s ascension to heaven?  We go back to what Jesus told His disciples shortly before His arrest: “Now I am going away to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’  Yet because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth: It is good for you that I go away.  For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:5-7)

Jesus’ work as the true God-Man was to redeem and save.  His work on earth was now accomplished.  It was time for the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to take up His work of bringing forgiveness and salvation to a world of sinners.  This was God’s plan from the beginning.  It is why we rejoice for Jesus’ return to His Father’s side in heaven.  Jesus also confided, “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  For he will not speak on his own, but whatever he hears he will speak.  He will also declare to you what is to come.  He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.  Everything the Father has is mine.” (John 16:13-15) 

This brings us back to our text this evening.  As Jesus finished His final preparations before His ascension, He told the disciples, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what the Father promised, which you heard from me.  For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  Now, there are people who mix this word of the Lord with His command to baptize to give faith.  John’s baptism was and is valid for cleansing our souls and granting rebirth into a life of faith and salvation.  However, the baptism Jesus promises here was a pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon those chosen disciples giving them information and understanding of all that God had been promising from the beginning, as well as courage for the road ahead.  The assignment to those chosen apostles was that they would take Jesus’ message to the world for people like you and me.

Still, some insist that this Spirit baptism is what saves.  What they don’t understand is that what saves is the message of God’s Word handed down to us through those apostles and recorded for us in the Scriptures.  Yes, there were some miraculous powers that came along with this washing of the Holy Spirit, but Paul warns that those miraculous signs would fade away, just as the glory of God faded from Moses’ face after he left his meeting with God fourteen hundred years earlier.

The point for us is that Jesus’ ascension is His return to His Father’s side as the conquering King who had won the eternal victory on our behalf.  What we could never do to conquer sin and death, Jesus had accomplished for all.  In the Revelation, Jesus was again revealed to John as “The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David”—the Lamb who was slain and yet lives in victory, power, and knowledge of the future things. (Revelation 5:5)  About Jesus, the apostle Paul wrote, “God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church.” (Ephesians 1:22)

As the Head of the Church, Jesus sees all things, knows all things, and directs all things for the good of His Church. (Romans 8:28)  Therefore, with all the power of God, Jesus, also according to His human nature, is reigning over the heavens and the earth.  Again, some may ask, then why do bad things still happen to His people?  The answer, of course, is that God desires that people be reconciled with Him and enter His heaven through faith.  If Jesus made this world to be without sin and glorious, it would be a false paradise with no believers and no one ever entering His heavenly kingdom.  Being precise, this would be submission to Satan’s schemes when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness.

Therefore, while the Lord allows us to experience hardships, pain, suffering, loss, and even death in this world, Jesus, through the Spirit in Word and Sacrament, is building up our faith in Him as our Savior so that we may live and reign with Him in the mansions of His heavenly Father.

As the Head of the Church, Jesus had to return to His Father’s side because where the Head goes, so the body will follow.  Though we may not always understand the plan, Jesus is working all things for our eternal welfare.  Furthermore, His promise remains true that no matter where we are on earth, or what conditions we must face here, He is with us, and not just in wishful thinking, but through the power of His Word and His Holy Spirit.  Though we no longer see Him physically, He is with us in worship, in danger, in good times, and in trials and pains.  Just as the Lord led Israel out of Egypt and though the wilderness after delivering them from slavery, so He leads us through the wilderness of this troubled world, so that trusting in Jesus by faith, He may lead us into eternal Paradise in heaven.

On that last day Jesus spent with His disciples in person, they asked about His kingdom, and Jesus enlightened us with His answer, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  It is not given for us to know how our times will end, or when Jesus will return.  Yet, the power of His Spirit in the Word allows us to see Jesus as He is—the Son of God who gave His life on a cross to redeem and save us from sin and condemnation.  Furthermore, God has not left us without hope.

“After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  They were looking intently into the sky as he went away.  Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them.  They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’”  We are not left hopeless, because Jesus never fails to keep His promises, and He has promised to return and take us to be with Him where He dwells. (John 14:3)

There are warnings in the Scriptures concerning Judgment Day against those who do not believe.  As He was led to the cross to be crucified, Jesus quoted the prophet Hosea in warning those who grieved His sacrifice, “Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’” (Luke 23:30)  Concerning His return on the final day, Jesus had already instructed His disciples just as the angels promised the people on the mountain as He rose to His Father’s heaven, “They will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  But when these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.” (Luke 21:27-28)  On Ascension, we rejoice because now our redemption and ascension to Jesus’ side is near.  This is the Lord’s promise to you and me and all who believe in Him as their Savior and Redeemer.  We have a secure future and an everlasting home in heaven, because Jesus ascended to give us life and salvation.  Amen.

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

Our holy High Priest pleads for us forever.

 

Sermon for Rogate, Easter 6, May 10, 2026

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  He gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—to whom be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Hebrews 7:23-28  ²³There were many who became priests because death prevented any of them from continuing to remain in office.  ²⁴But because this one endures forever, he has a permanent priesthood.  ²⁵So for this reason he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, because he always lives to plead on their behalf.  ²⁶This is certainly the kind of high priest we needed: one who is holy, innocent, pure, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  ²⁷Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices on a daily basis, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.  In fact, he sacrificed for sins once and for all when he offered himself.  ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses.  But the word of the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been brought to his goal forever. (EHV)

Our holy High Priest pleads for us forever.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            I wonder how many of you have ever wondered if you were enough.  Did you do enough?  Care enough?  Love enough?  Pray enough?  Hardly anyone goes through life fully confident in everything.  There are likely a few, but most of those may fall into the narcissistic category.  But, if you are like me, there are days when you hurt another person’s feelings, or perhaps you felt lazy.  There were days when you grew frustrated with your spouse, or your children, and certainly most everyone has had moments of anger that cannot be described as righteous.  Maybe you were tired and became angry or irritated with someone.  Maybe you felt weak even when everything about the day was good.  Perhaps you have felt afraid, ignored, rejected, unloved, unappreciated, or unheard.

All of this stuff, and I could fill pages more if necessary, comes from sin in the world and sin in each of us.  Born from parents infected with original sin, we likewise couldn’t avoid that natural enmity with God.  Because that is what sin is—enmity with God.  It is distrust of God’s providence and mercy.

Our ancient foe loves to stoke in us those fears and animosity against God.  Most people don’t recognize it as such, but it shows up both in some subtle or more violent ways.  Therefore, what is the solution for this inbred, natural rebelliousness that separated us from God?  The world says look inside yourself for the good.  Some say work harder.  The devil tries to get sinners to despair.  None of those things help.  However, there is One who is continually working to ease your pain and take away your guilt, for in the throne room of heaven, Our holy High Priest pleads for us forever.

It is for just these multitude weaknesses, faults, fears, hopelessness, and outright rebellion that God gave the office of the priesthood to the Children of Israel.  The priest was appointed to intercede with God on behalf of the people.  Yet, a problem remained.  What about those priests’ need for intercession?  He, or I should say they, as the writer here points out, also needed a daily sacrifice to cover their guilt.

Here is the reality of the situation.  Those priests who served in Israel from the time of Moses until the day Jesus died on a cross outside of Jerusalem were offering up sacrifices for the sins of the people and pleading with God on their behalf, but the sins were not covered by the burning of animal flesh on that altar.  Rather, to instill faith in God’s mercy, those sacrifices pointed the people forward to the one sacrifice that truly would cancel the guilt of all people of all time—the sacrifice of God’s own Son, Jesus.

As the writer points out, all those original priests died.  As sinners, that was the just sentence for them, just as it is for us.  The point of this portion of the epistle is that Jesus is a different kind of priest.  As the true Son of God, Jesus didn’t have any sin, so when Jesus died, He didn’t just stay dead.  Though Jesus indeed died, He rose from the grave Easter morning to live and never die again, and “because this one endures forever, he has a permanent priesthood.”  As the Risen Savior, Redeemer, and Son of God, Jesus lives forever, and more than just living, He reigns at His Father’s side in heaven, interceding for us with the Father, pleading for our eternal good.  Indeed, Our holy High Priest pleads for us forever.

The apostle wrote, “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices on a daily basis, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.”  Jesus is for sure the One and Only—The One and Only Son of God by nature—the One and Only begotten of the Father from all eternity—the One and Only without sin—the One and Only who perfectly loved and loves us still today.  Just as through the Son all things were created, likewise, through the Son, all things are redeemed.

As the Son of God and Child of Mary, Jesus took the human nature into the Godhead becoming true Man as well as true God, so that He would be under the law that was condemning and controlling us.  Jesus put Himself under that law so that He could obey and fulfill its demands on our behalf, even the demand of death for sin.  In His case, though, death couldn’t demand Jesus’ death for His sins for He had none of His own, so Jesus offered His life for our guilt.  “So for this reason he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, because he always lives to plead on their behalf.”

For all our guilt, all our weaknesses, all our failures, shortcomings, transgressions, and even rebellious acts, Jesus accepted the guilt as His own.  Jesus went to that cross as a condemned criminal and rebel, not because He was forced, nor even because He was betrayed, though He was betrayed by men including you and me, but Jesus went to that cross to suffer and die out of a love for us that will never change.

The Old Testament priests offered up lambs, goats, calves, and doves that God didn’t need.  They offered up those burnt offerings with the prayers of the people pleading for forgiveness and peace.  God accepted those sacrifices, not for their own merit, but for the sake of Jesus, the Lamb of God. 

Consequently, at the end of their time of service, or the end of their lives, each of those early priests was replaced by one from the next generation.  They died because they each had sin, and so the line continued from generation to generation.  Some were truly faithful men, and some were scoundrels, but they all died and stayed dead.  But, not Jesus.  Though Jesus truly died, He didn’t stay dead.

The writer wrote, “This is certainly the kind of high priest we needed: one who is holy, innocent, pure, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”  This is Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  The Father counted Jesus as sin so that He could bear the penalty we deserved.  At the same time, however, Jesus, when becoming true Man, remained true God begotten of the Father, and it is because of the holy, righteousness of God that the Father raised Jesus fully alive and without any sin clinging to Him after His time in the grave. 

Thus, because God Himself paid the penalty of death for sins, our sin and guilt has been thrown into hell forever separated from God, even as Jesus rose triumphant, holy, and pure from the grave in victory over the devil, death, and the penalty of the law.  ‘In fact, he sacrificed for sins once and for all when he offered himself.”  Then, by rising to life again, Jesus has proven to the world that the penalty for sin has been satisfied in Himself.

To the Hebrews, those Jews who had become part of the early Christian Church who were then under attack by those who wanted to draw them back under the law, this letter says, “For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses.  But the word of the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been brought to his goal forever.”  The writer was showing them the better way which is Christ Jesus.  Just as you and I are often under attack by Satan and his hoards, so were those early Christian believers, but God was not willing to abandon them or us to the whims of the wicked one.  Thus, the purpose of this letter, and indeed all the Scriptures, is to lead us steadfastly in Jesus.

Dear friends, if ever you might feel forgotten, ignored, rejected, unloved, unappreciated, or unheard, remember that Jesus promised, “Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.” (John 16:24)  Remember His word through Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)  Trust that with Jesus, our Great High Priest at His side, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8)

And whenever you feel your guilt, or even if you don’t feel it but the Spirit moves you to recognize it, then turn again to your Great High Priest in repentance and humble fear, for Our holy High Priest pleads for us forever.  For His sake, the Father has counted us as holy and as innocent as Jesus, for He took our sins upon Himself and having paid the full price for our guilt rose again pure and holy so that living and reigning eternally at His Father’s side, He pleads our innocence and answers our every need.  “Your sins have been forgiven because of his name.” (1 John 2:12)  Our holy High Priest pleads for us forever.  Amen.

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

Encourage each other in the risen Lord Jesus.

 

Sermon for Easter 5, Cantate, May 3, 2026

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.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  ¹³We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope.  ¹⁴Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.  ¹⁵In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep.  ¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  ¹⁷Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will always be with the Lord.  ¹⁸Therefore, encourage one another with these words. (EHV)

Encourage each other in the risen Lord Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus,

            How do you know when you’ve had a really good sleep?  Many of us might say that after a really good night’s sleep, we wake up completely refreshed, pain free, and ready for anything.  Now that I am somewhat older, I am glad when I wake up.  Yet, I often do so with stiffness and aches I didn’t remember having the day before, and I can only get a good night’s sleep when conditions are perfect.  So, I have always been amazed at how little children can fall asleep in any position, anywhere, and on any kind of surface and still wake up like no time has passed and everything is good. 

In the Apostles’ Creed, we confess our confidence in Jesus when we say, “the third day He rose again from the dead.”  That phrase comes in the middle of the creed, so we might sometimes be tempted to say those words without much concentration, but it is such a very important point.  Everything we believe hangs on this truth that “the third day He rose again from the dead.”  Therefore, as we consider this text, let us, Encourage each other in the risen Lord Jesus.

St. Paul wrote, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope.”  Now, Paul had no delusions about physical death.  At the same time, the Holy Spirit has Paul explain how the Christian’s death is different than that of the unbeliever.  Physically, they are the same, but the outcome is far different.

Paul describes the death of the believer as a falling asleep.  The reference indicates that while in that state of death, the body rests without any knowledge of time passing or the events going on around it, with no pain, no suffering, no fear.  Still, the main point for us is this: that when we are awakened at Jesus’ return on Judgment Day, we will wake up renewed and very much like we described a good night’s sleep: completely refreshed, pain free, and ready for anything. 

This is where Jesus’ resurrection from the dead has so much importance, because it is the sure and certain proof that His promises are true, and since He has promised to return and take us to live with Him in heaven, our sorrow concerning death is transformed.  Unlike the pagan, atheist, agnostic, or any other non-Christian, we have a future hope of life and glory.  “Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.”  Because God is always faithful, Jesus rose from the grave just as He had promised, and likewise, we can be sure that all His promises for us are true as well. 

Because we have sure confidence in Jesus’ promise to bring us into the new creation and renewed life in heaven, when we face our own death, or when we grieve the death of loved ones, we continue to have full possession of those sure promises of life, peace, joy, and glory.  Therefore, even through our tears, we may rejoice in the Lord Jesus for He has rescued us from the curse of sin.  Thus, we praise Him saying, “You turned my mourning into dancing.  You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my whole being may make music to you and not be silent.” (Psalm 30:11-30)

In all of our lives, there are times when hope feels far away, slim, and very weak.  Yes, on a day when all is going well, it is easy for me to stand up here and say we have nothing to grieve, and nothing to fear.  Yet, we know that in this world cursed by sin, and knowing that we daily sin much, as Luther wrote, death will be continually surrounding us with sorrow and pain.

Because of this corruption, our media thrives on reporting tragedies and scary things, so it becomes normal to live with a measure of fear concerning our immediate futures.  Plus, we each have undeniable trepidations about what the curse of death will bring into our lives.  Many of our loved ones have already faced challenges like cancer and a host of diseases that kill or maim.  We look at the open grave and tremble a little as we wonder how soon it will be calling our names.  We commit the bodies of our loved ones to the grave with weeping for our loss of their kindness to us for a time.

Sin is a part of our lives here on earth, and that sin leads to death certainly.  At the same time, by His holy life, His sacrifice on the cross, and ultimately, His resurrection on Easter Sunday, Jesus has conquered death on our behalf.  Thus, the gates of every tomb are blown open before the Lord Jesus.  The grave can no longer hold us for more than a temporary rest.  Therefore, while we grieve our losses, we also rejoice for the entrance of our fellow believers into rest that ends in the joy and peace of heaven.

Now, there are some church bodies in our world that seem to thrive on making people afraid of a supposed rapture and seven-year tribulation.  They talk a big game of people being left behind at Jesus’ return to judge the world.  None of those things line up with the Scriptures our Lord has given us.  Here, Paul tells us what the Holy Spirit had been given from the Father and the Son to assure us:

In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will always be with the Lord. 

This is why we may Encourage each other in the risen Lord Jesus.  Death is not our end, but rather, it is merely a time of rest for the body until Jesus returns and reunites the body with the soul for life everlasting in the glory of heaven.  At the same time, for those Christians who may still be alive when Jesus returns, we won’t miss out on the restoration of our bodies, nor do those who have fallen asleep in Jesus before He returns miss out on anything.  All those who throughout the history of the world have believed in Jesus will be awakened completely renewed, then gathered together in a moment into the company of heaven with our Savior leading us home.

Furthermore, knowing that Jesus died for us and rose in victory over sin, Satan, and the grave, we have sure confidence in what Jesus Himself has told us of how Judgment Day will go when He returns.  “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.  He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31) 

In chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares that day to a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats.  Having raised sheep and goats when I was farming, I can tell you confidently that there is not a real shepherd anywhere who doesn’t know exactly which animal before him is a sheep or a goat; he knows that long before the day he does the sorting.  Therefore, we don’t have to wonder or worry about which we might be or what we might do to change our status before God.  Our Good Shepherd, who gave His life for the sheep already knows those who are His.  Thus, our future is secure for the Good Shepherd declares, “My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)

Those who have heard the Good News of all Jesus has done for us, and have believed it, can be certain that they are His, for it is the power of His Word that made us His sheep, so that believing in Him as our Savior, we now have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.  Consequently, whether we be called out of this life at some point, or we remain alive until the moment Jesus returns to judge the world, “We who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore, encourage one another with these words.”  Because of Jesus, the forgiveness He won for us on the cross, and the holiness He lived for us while here on earth, we can comfort each other always for in Jesus we have peace with God and the sure and certain hope that He has prepared a home for us in heaven. 

We can also encourage each other, because when the Lord calls us out of our graves, we will like those little children I spoke of earlier, having been made fully renewed, we will be completely refreshed, pain free, wide awake, and ready to praise our Savior and God forever.  And, in that new creation, we will never again experience sorrow, illness, sin, or death.  Therefore, dear friends, Encourage each other in the risen Lord Jesus.  Amen.

The one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints.  Amen.