Sympathy.

 

Sermon 6^th midweek Lent, January 20, 2024

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

Luke 23:26-34  ²⁶As they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country.  They placed the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.  ²⁷A large crowd of people was following him, including women who were mourning and wailing for him.  ²⁸Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  ²⁹Be sure of this: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that never nursed.’  ³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’  ³¹For if they do these things to the green wood, what will happen to the dry?”  ³²Two other men, who were criminals, were led away with Jesus to be executed.  ³³When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.  ³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  They cast lots to divide his garments among them. (EHV)

Sympathy.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            So much of modern man has fallen into the trap of believing that people have been getting better throughout the history of mankind.  Yet, we still see brother hating brother, women being abused and murdered, violent crime rampant in many of our cities, killing unborn babies applauded as something good, unjust wars waged over a desire for land and power, slander and vilification is normal in politics, and many assume that our country is nearing a civil war.  If that is what society improving itself looks like, it’s hard to imagine what would be worse.

As we gaze around the world, though, there are many places where Christians are facing horrible persecution, and many live lives far more perilous than our own.  In many of those places, Christianity was at one time a major part of the society.  So, what happened?  And is that what we are likely to face in the coming decades to centuries?  And if so, should we expect sympathy?  Or should we feel sympathetic to those who cause such abuse and violence now?

As we have read through the passion of our Lord these last five weeks, the thought of feeling sympathy for Jesus and what He went through may have grown in your mind.  Truly, what Jesus suffered for you and me is horrific.  It is something none of us ever want to experience, and honestly, we wouldn’t want it for anyone else, not even our worst enemies—at least I pray we all feel that way.

At the same time, is sympathy what we are to feel toward our Lord Jesus?  He indeed suffered unjustly at the hands of sinful men, but how should we feel about that?  As His enemies led Jesus out of Jerusalem to the site of His execution at The Skull, “A large crowd of people was following him, including women who were mourning and wailing for him.”  Would we say that those crowds had sympathy for Jesus?  From the records of the Gospel writers, it appears that most of the crowd were merely coming along to make sport of Jesus’ situation.  Many were likely part of the rabble that the high priests, scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees had stirred up to demand that Jesus be crucified.

On the other hand, many of the women were likely either professional mourners hired to make it look like the Jews didn’t want Jesus killed, or they may have been women who were horrified to see His condition or who mourned for any Jewish man the Roman rulers deemed worthy of death.  It is unlikely that the women who had followed Jesus were part of this mob, though many of them did accompany Him at the cross, still showing their support and love for the Savior.  Those women likely felt honest sympathy for Jesus.

In reality, however, the one who felt sympathy was mostly Jesus.  Jesus felt sympathy for the women who mourned for His condemnation, because He knew they would suffer greatly because they didn’t understand why He was sentenced to die, nor did they accept Him as the Savior promised by God for as long as this world has been troubled by sin.  Jesus felt sympathy for the citizens of Jerusalem because they rejected the promised Messiah who had come to take away their sins, and because of their rejection, the city would quite soon fall under the most grievous siege and attack, and the people would suffer horribly until their end.

But truth be told, Jesus was in that predicament because He felt sympathy for the world—for you and me.  Because of His love for us, “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)  Because He felt compassion for people lost in sin and hopelessness, Jesus willingly stepped into our shoes, so to speak, when He came into this world to suffer that abuse and trial and mockery, and to be nailed to the cross. 

As a Man the night before this awful event occurred, Jesus had prayed to His Father “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)  Living in our frail human flesh, Jesus understood the great agony He would undergo for sinners who didn’t really care about Him.  As the Son of God, He understood the immense suffering He would face when the Father forsake Him as He paid the full price for all the world’s guilt.  If there was another way to save sinners, Jesus was willing to accept it if that was His Father’s plan.  Yet, Jesus perfectly trusted His Father, and perfectly obeyed His demand of death for sin.  Jesus knew better than we ever will the perfect justice God His Father displays.  Jesus also, of course, knew perfectly His Father’s love.  It is God’s love that sent Jesus to the cross, and Jesus’ love for you and me that kept Him nailed there until death.

So, what are we to do with our Sympathy?  Should we pour it out in grief and despair for what Jesus endured?  Should we look to that cross ashamed of its horrible example of the cruelty of mankind and vow to do better ourselves?  Well, in this question, too, Jesus shows that He has the perfect Sympathy.  “When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.  Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’”  Jesus demonstrated His Sympathy for those caught up in killing Him.  He showed Sympathy for those who had condemned Him, and for those who were mocking Him as He hung on that cross.  Furthermore, Jesus showed Sympathy for us that day as He hung there for you and me, and while He was taking our punishment, He was praying to His Father in heaven to count all of us as innocent.

Jesus endured all that pain, that mockery, abuse, and rejection.  He watched them divide all His earthly possessions, right down to His underwear, among the soldiers who nailed Him to that cross, and Jesus suffered all that shame with nothing but love and Sympathy for all of us sinners.

So, what are we to do with our Sympathy?  Jesus gave us the answer after He rose from the dead.  It was after He had accomplished everything needed for our salvation and the salvation of the world that He said, “Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

As the world turns against Christians more and more, we are not to fight back, nor are we to hide from the world, nor to mock it as foolish, for we all were once fools without knowledge of God and His love.  We also shouldn’t just express empathy for those who are dying in their unbelief and sin.  Rather, we are to tell people about the Man who lived perfect Sympathy for all people by giving up His life to pay for their sins.  Whether still in a free society where we can easily speak of Jesus’ love, or if persecuted for believing in Jesus, our goal remains the same, to tell of Jesus and His love—love that led Him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

God showed us grace, which is love we don’t deserve, by sending His Son Jesus to live and die on our behalf, so that God could declare us forgiven and innocent for Jesus’ sake.  God showed us mercy in not punishing us as we deserved, but rather, in sharing the Good News of what Jesus has done for us, and by working faith in our hearts to believe it, so that we can have absolute confidence in Jesus’ promise, “Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies.  And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.” (John 11:25-26)

By putting Himself in our place, both in life and death, Jesus demonstrated true Sympathy for us that day and throughout His earthly time.  Now, may we by God’s grace and mercy continue to share His Sympathy for the world as we continue to tell the world about Jesus, about His life, His death, His resurrection from the grave, and His ascension into heaven where He lives and reigns on behalf of those who will believe until He returns to judge the world, because there will come a day when Jesus returns to judge, and those who don’t believe in Him will be crying for a place to hide.  God grant that our sympathy for others help many escape that wrath.  Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore.  Amen. 

Do not be afraid; God is with you!

 

Sermon for Lent 5, March 17, 2024

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.

Isaiah 43:1-7  But now this is what the Lord says, the Lord who created you, O Jacob, the Lord who formed you, O Israel.  “Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name.  You are mine.  ²When you cross through the waters, I will be with you.  When you cross the rivers, they will not sweep you away.  When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not set you on fire.  ³Because I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I gave Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.  ⁴Because you are precious and honored in my eyes, and I myself love you, I will give people in exchange for you, and peoples in exchange for your life.  ⁵Do not be afraid, because I am with you.  From the east I will bring your offspring, and from the west I will gather you.  ⁶I will say to the north, “Give them back!” and to the south, “Do not hold them.”  Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth—⁷everyone who is called by my name, everyone I created for my glory, everyone I formed, yes, everyone I have made.” (EHV)

Do not be afraid; God is with you!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            We could spend a good amount of time examining how this prophecy was carried out among the people of Israel in the centuries after Isaiah lived.  However, what should truly interest us is how it applies to us today, for this word from our God extends down through the centuries to all God’s people, and the message remains the same: Do not be afraid; God is with you!

Now, we may never suffer the wrath of God for blatant idolatry and rebellion as Isaiah prophesied for the people living in his day, yet our world is ever in opposition to God’s people, so we too will face much hardship, many trials and temptations as we go through life.  And though we are unlikely to be carted off into exile in a foreign land, many people still today face persecution from their neighbors and hostility all around. 

Likewise, we may not be guilty of blatant idolatry, yet, we must take the words of St. John to heart when he writes by the power of the Holy Spirit, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)  Any believer who is honest with himself will quickly admit that there is not a commandment of our God that we do not regularly break.  Without falling astray, we can’t even get past the first Commandment, “You shall have no other gods beside me.” (Exodus 20:3).  Every worry we might have is an indication that we don’t trust God enough to handle our troubles.  Every time we fret over how we might survive the new year, or the next international threat, or even the next political administration is a reminder that we haven’t fully placed our confidence in the Lord.  Furthermore, every time we break any of the other commandments, whether by thought, word, or deed, we live our defiance against our Holy God.

Now, for all of these faults, and any other we might have, we deserve nothing better than the destruction and discipline God warned about through His prophets to Israel.  On our own, we too deserve nothing but God’s wrath and eternal death for our sins.  Therefore, whenever we recognize the depths of our guilt, it is especially important that we also hear this message, Do not be afraid; God is with you!

Truly, that is the message of God’s absolution for our sins.  The guilt has been removed from us as far as east is from the west for the Holy Spirit moved the psalmist to declare, “As distant as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:12-13)  Here, “This is what the Lord says, the Lord who created you, O Jacob, the Lord who formed you, O Israel.  ‘Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name.  You are mine.’” 

There is a ton of comfort for us packed in that sentence.  First, this applies to all those who believe in Jesus as their Savior.  When the Lord refers to the nation of Israel as Jacob, he is referring to all who believe in Him and walk in that faith.  How do we know we are included?  Because the Bible promises us in several New Testament texts, “Understand, then, that those who believe are the children of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:7)  Likewise, Paul wrote to the Roman congregation, “Abraham is the father of all the uncircumcised people who believe, so that righteousness would also be credited to them.  He is also the father of the circumcised people who are not merely circumcised but also walk in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” (Romans 4:11-12) 

Furthermore, this saving faith that connects us with God isn’t something we do or something we have to find.  The Lord redeemed us, as it says here.  He bought us at the price of the blood of His Son.  Having called us through the Word, He calls us by name at our baptisms.  Oh, we might imagine that we pick the names for our children, but God puts His sovereign name over us as well.  He claims us as His own through the faith His Holy Spirit works in us, and then He says, “Do not be afraid,…You are mine.” 

With God as our Father, what power, what enemy force would dare hurt us?  What evil thing could steal us away from God?  The absolute truth is that as long as we don’t walk away from God and turn against Him, no one and no thing can truly harm us.  Oh, that isn’t to say we will never have trouble, sorrow, or pain.  After all, we live in a world broken by sin, and cursed because of sin.  Though defeated for all eternity, “Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)  However, even though he will try his hardest to deceive and accuse us, Satan can’t have us, because by His holy life and innocent death, Jesus has given us the victory over that ancient liar.  Furthermore, even as He promised through Isaiah, Jesus assures His disciples, “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)  What could the devil do that Jesus could not, would not, deflect away from us?

Through Isaiah, God promised to give nations to ransom Israel.  This was a foreshadowing of the true ransom price for all God’s people, the sacrifice of His own dear Son so that we have been reconciled to our Creator to live with Him forever in peace.  The Lord declared, “you are precious and honored in my eyes, and I myself love you.”  So much did He love us, and so greatly did God value us, that He gave of Himself, the Only-Begotten Son, in exchange for our lives.

Isaiah wrote to warn Israel and Judah of the punishment that would come against them for their wandering ways and rejection of the Lord.  As he wrote this portion of his prophecies, Isaiah was telling God’s people that the discipline planned for their rebellious ways wouldn’t go on forever.  After a certain time, God would bring back a remnant to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This too pictures God’s plan for us.  Though we live in a foreign land, not the home of our heavenly Father, but in a world cursed by sin with all the troubles and sorrows that go along with sin, God has plans to take us to our eternal home of peace and glory in the Promised Land of heaven.

Isaiah wrote the promise of our Lord, “Do not be afraid, because I am with you.  From the east I will bring your offspring, and from the west I will gather you.  I will say to the north, ‘Give them back!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them.’  Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, everyone I created for my glory, everyone I formed, yes, everyone I have made.”  To the far reaches of the planet, God has sent His messengers: apostles, prophets, missionaries, gospel workers, pastors, and teachers, to call God’s people into His kingdom of grace.  God’s invitation is for all people, because it is not God’s desire that any should be lost.  (1 Timothy 2:4)

Through the hearing of God’s gracious Word, you and I and millions upon millions of others have come to believe in God’s promises, and especially in Jesus as the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  Through that faith, He made us His own, and through His Word of promise, He keeps us believing so that, unlike those who reject God’s gracious promise and will, we walk with Jesus, dressed in the righteousness Jesus lived for us, washed clean in the water and blood of His sacrifice, and fed by His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

So, what does this prophecy given twenty-seven hundred years ago mean for you and me?  It tells the story of God’s never ending love for those He has chosen to be His people.  It tells us that He never forgets us, no matter what hardships and trials might lie before us in this troubled world.  Especially, He reminds us again and again, Do not be afraid; God is with you!  Amen.

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

Truth.

 

Sermon for 5^th midweek Lent, March 13, 2024

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

John 18:33-40  ³³Pilate went back into the Praetorium and summoned Jesus.  He asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  ³⁴Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”  ³⁵Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew?  Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me.  What have you done?”  ³⁶Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world.  If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews.  But now my kingdom is not from here.”  ³⁷“You are a king then?” Pilate asked.  Jesus answered, “I am, as you say, a king.  For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  ³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate said to him.  After he said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.  ³⁹But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover.  So do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?”  ⁴⁰Then they shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was a rebel.) (EHV)

Truth.

Dear saints of the living Lord,

            Unless Pilate was the most gullible ruler ever, he had to see immediately that the accusations against Jesus were a sham.  The Jewish leaders brought Jesus before Pilate accusing Him of leading an insurrection against Rome, agitating against paying taxes to Rome, and especially, of calling Himself the King of the Jews.  How ridiculous it must have sounded to Pilate that the Jews would bring one of their own to trial for claiming to be their king.  Obviously, Pilate needed to determine who was telling the truth, or otherwise, determine what actually was the truth.

The difficulty for Pilate is evident among us still today.  Like in our times, many Roman citizens, especially those in powerful positions, were skeptical that there is any universal truth.  The Jewish Council, the scribes, and the Pharisees, would only consider something true if they believed it.  Among the people of our culture and our world, many believe that truth is pliable.  Your imagined truth could be different than mine while both could contradict another’s supposed truth and all “truths” could be equally valid, even if they are contradictory.  Of course, the assumption of contradictory truths just leads to fights about what is true.  This naturally leads to great difficulty in the courtroom because if there are conflicting truths, reaching a true conclusion might be nearly impossible.  Actually, for something to be true, it must always be true and always reliable. 

Pilate’s job in that early morning trial was especially difficult.  The province he ruled had a long history of revolts, rebellions, and conspiracies against Roman rule, and Pilate had, undoubtably, heard of Jesus’ tumultuous entry into Jerusalem just days before this trial, with the great crowds shouting triumphantly their recognition of Jesus as King.  Furthermore, Jerusalem was crammed with thousands of Jews from a wide variety of places celebrating Israel’s liberation from the control of the Egyptians all those centuries earlier.  Pilate had to be concerned about emotions running high against Rome.

Then, really out of the blue, the leaders of the Jews brought in Jesus accusing Him of leading a revolt.  Pilate had to be wondering about the motivations of those leading men.  If they truly thought Jesus was their king, why would they turn Him over to the Roman governor?  Had Jesus turned against them and their own designs on power?  Was it possible that the Sanhedrin had uncovered some mysterious plot against Rome, but hoped to save their own skin by turning Jesus in?

Trying to get to the heart of the matter, Pilate asked Jesus point blank, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  It’s hard to know what Pilate expected to receive for an answer, but he had to start somewhere.  Jesus then threw the governor a curve ball, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”  Imagine the shock of having the accused turn the table on the one judging his case.  Pilate was seeking direction in the case, but Jesus was seeking Pilate’s soul.  Pilate would have preferred some explanation of why Jesus was accused of rebellion.  Jesus wanted to lead Pilate to the truth that saves for eternity.

Pilate recognized that it was ludicrous for the Jews to bring Jesus before the Roman court to accuse Him of being their king, so he replied, “Am I a Jew?  Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me.  What have you done?”  Pilate expected to discover what Jesus had done to so offend the Jewish leadership that they would turn against one of their own people.  However, standing in the truth that only believers can know, Jesus pointed out the obvious, “My kingdom is not of this world.  If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews.  But now my kingdom is not from here.”

For Pilate, that answer was clear as mud.  Jesus claims to be a King, but not from here.  What could that mean?  He claims to have servants with the ability and power to fight and defeat any enemies, but where were they?  But then came the ultimate intrigue: “You are a king then?” Pilate asked.  Jesus answered, “I am, as you say, a king.  For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  “What is truth?” Pilate said to him.  

Pilate was likely a practical guy.  He had to have been quite ambitious to work his way up to being governor of a Roman province.  Most likely, Pilate had been forced to fend off many challengers before reaching that post.  However, the answers Jesus gave just seemed curiouser and curiouser.  The Jews accused Jesus of many things, but Jesus was clearly innocent of those charges.  Jesus Himself spoke of being a King, but hardly any kind of rebel.  Like others had noticed, Jesus spoke with authority unlike anyone else Pilate had ever met.  How was Pilate to determine the truth?

For much of our world today, the same challenge remains.  How is one to determine the truth?  Is it by observation of present conditions?  Do you take those observations and then extrapolate them into the future or the past?  That would be the expectation of most modern scientists and scholars.  However, things haven’t always in the past, and won’t always in the future, continue the same as they currently are.

Should we expect to find truth by sorting through various eyewitness accounts?  Most lawyers would contend that if the eyewitnesses tell exactly the same story, it must be because they conspired to tell the same story rather than reporting honestly, yet those same lawyers attempt to find any discrepancy that might help them reject the eyewitness accounts.  However, eyewitness accounts are valuable when each witness gives specific details that generally agree, such as the four Gospel writers.

Now, the Bible doesn’t tell us if Jesus gave Pilate a further answer to his question.  The answer is obvious, however, by faith.  Truth is not just an observation.  It certainly isn’t an unprovable theory.  Rather, truth is a person.  Not some ordinary person, but one Man who came into the world from somewhere else, for a purpose the natural, sinful person couldn’t imagine.  Early in his gospel account, St. John testifies, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) 

The truth is a message of hope for sinners in a broken world.  The truth is the solution for a world broken by sin, rebellious against God who created it, and lost in unbelief and pain.  That lost nature filled with pain and ruled by a rebellious spirit is why in our times, there are so many ideas about truth.  Each person wants to see reality his own way, but the eyes are blinded by the sin that infects us all.  The only solution is for someone from outside of our world to remove the blinding veil sin puts over our eyes.  That One, dear friends, is Jesus.

The truth is, if we seek to find truth in ourselves, the cacophony of voices of the world, the devil, and our own imaginations will keep us in darkness.  If we seek to find complete truth by observing the world we inhabit, all conclusions will be corrupted by the curse of sin that has corrupted every part of creation.  Again, keeping us lost in confusion with no hope of real truth.

Because we could only be saved, and could only know the truth if God reveals it to us, Jesus came into this world to testify the truth, and to set us free from the corruption and the blinding lies of Satan.  Because God did not abandon us to the fate of eternal condemnation for the sins that infected the world, He sent us His Word, first through the prophets, then, in the person of His Son.  The prophets foretold all we needed to know to recognize the Savior.  Then God’s Son entered our world through a human birth from Mary, and He set us free from the devil’s lies with His holy, innocent life, and His willing, substitutionary, sacrifice on the cross.  These truths are the basis of our faith. 

Still, we didn’t discover them.  Rather, the Holy Spirit brought them to our attention and used them to create faith in us, so that we can now know the truth that God loves us and has declared us innocent of all sin, and through Christ Jesus has made us welcome in His presence forever in heaven.

All the truth this world really needs to know is found in the Bible, because it is God’s Word to save a fallen race from the destruction cast upon us by the devil’s deceit.  Jesus said, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  We didn’t make a decision to believe Jesus.  He made a decision to save us, and by the Holy Spirit worked that faith in us. 

This is the truth: “This saying is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.’” (1 Timothy 1:15)  Along with St. Paul through whom the Holy Spirit testified this truth, you and I are the beneficiaries of God’s saving plan.  By His grace, He rescued us from the darkness of sin and death.  We have been rescued, redeemed, and reconciled with God by His truth, the Son who came into the world to save you and me.  Amen.

Amen.  Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever.  Amen.

Jesus was lifted for the serpent-bitten.

 

Sermon for Lent 4, March 10, 2024

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.

John 3:14-21  ¹⁴“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  ¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  ¹⁸The one who believes in him is not condemned, but the one who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.  ¹⁹This is the basis for the judgment: The light has come into the world, yet people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.  ²⁰In fact, everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, or else his deeds would be exposed.  ²¹But the one who does what is true comes toward the light, in order that his deeds may be seen as having been done in connection with God. (EHV)

Jesus was lifted for the serpent-bitten.

Dear beloved of the Lord,

            Now we know why.  For a long time, I wondered why God commanded Moses to lift a bronze snake on a pole when the Israelites were dying from being bitten by serpents in the wilderness.  To me, that seemed like it would be idol worship to have to look to a metal snake in order to save one’s life.  Now, with Jesus’ explanation, I understand what was going on in God’s plan.  Everything that happened in the Old Testament fit together until Jesus was lifted for the serpent-bitten.

My initial confusion occurred because I failed to understand what was saving those snake bitten Israelites.  It wasn’t that metal image on a pole that had power.  Nor was it the strength of faith in those who believed God’s promise that saved them from the serpents’ venom.  Rather, it was the power of God behind the promise that made them whole when they trusted Him.

This all fits together as a perfect illustration for us, because we needed saving from the venom that the devil injected into the human race at that first temptation in the Garden of Eden.  The poison of sin became endemic to all of us so that we were all dying from the moment of conception.  All die that is, except for those who look to the promised Savior lifted up on a tree, or in reality, a cross.

Jesus told Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  The serpent was cursed for being the conduit through which the devil brought sin into the world.  The Bible also declares, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)  Therefore, God’s Son, Jesus, took the curse of sin for all of us in order to buy us back into reconciliation with God.  Thus, St. Paul wrote, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we would receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14)

Even though he was a teacher of Israel, Nicodemus came to Jesus because curious but hoping to understand God’s plan of salvation.  Nicodemus, and others like him, had always been looking to appease God’s anger for sin with their own works, but without faith in Jesus, all our works are tainted with the sin that infects every part of the sinner, you and me included.  At the same time, Nicodemus recognized that there was something different about Jesus.  Jesus wasn’t like other teachers of His time.  The miracles alone set Jesus apart, but His teaching too spoke little of works and much about faith in the God of their forefathers.  Again, Jesus explained, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  In other words, Jesus was lifted for the serpent-bitten.

One wonders how long it took Nicodemus to fully comprehend what Jesus said.  Did he go away that night bewildered?  I suspect that faith had begun to grow in the man, but it didn’t truly take root until he saw Jesus nailed to the cross for sins He didn’t commit—the innocent Man for the guilt of all people.  Or was Nicodemus still questioning when he helped lay Jesus’ body in the tomb?  I think most would agree that the word of our Lord convinced Nicodemus that Jesus truly is the Savior, and because of his faith in Jesus, Nicodemus was at last willing to put himself in service of the One who loved him unto death.

Jesus continued, “The one who believes in him is not condemned, but the one who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.”  What is so hard for the mind poisoned by sin to believe is that we can do nothing to save ourselves or to reconcile ourselves with God.  In fact, we are born condemned, because it is only by faith that anyone can be saved.  Yet, because God loves us, He doesn’t willingly leave us in that condemned condition.  Rather, God intervenes in the world so that we may hear about Jesus, and the Good News of what Jesus has done for us is used by the Holy Spirit to create saving faith in us.

God intervened in Moses’ time by promising healing through faith in the promise of a look at a bronze snake on a pole, but that was merely a foreshadowing of what was to come—God’s own dear Son taking on the form of sinful man, taking on the curse of sin and the punishment of death we all deserved.  Consequently, through faith in holy Jesus, who was lifted up on that cross as the curse of sin for the world, we are reconciled with God, as St. Paul explains, “But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace.” (Ephesians 2:13-14)

Jesus explained that to Nicodemus in this way: “This is the basis for the judgment: The light has come into the world, yet people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.  In fact, everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, or else his deeds would be exposed.”  With our sinful nature controlling us from birth, we naturally wanted nothing to do with Jesus, and we see the evidence for that all around our world as people try all sorts of ways to hide their guilt.  Yet, nothing a person does ever brings relief.  However, through His words of promise shining Jesus’ light in us, God brings us to believe in Jesus and through that faith grants us spiritual healing to cleanse us of all the poison of sin.  This is the faith King David displayed as he sang, “Yes, you light my lamp, O Lord.  My God turns my darkness to light.” (Psalm 18:28)

Dear friends, Jesus promised His disciples, “I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)  Light always needs a source, and without it, we walk in permanent darkness, lost in sin and destined only for destruction.  Yet, that is not God’s desire for anyone.  Therefore, through history, God intervened in this world to bring about the cure for sin and death.  Every part of history was leading up to the moment when Jesus would bear the sins of the world on the cross and cry out, “It is finished!”  Our reconciliation with God was accomplished by the horrible sacrifice of God’s Son.  This was symbolized by the hours of deep darkness as Jesus hung on that cross.  However, since His Easter morning resurrection, the light of Christ is again shining on the world in the form of His Gospel of peace between God and men.

Here, Jesus said, “But the one who does what is true comes toward the light, in order that his deeds may be seen as having been done in connection with God.”  We come to the light only as the Holy Spirit draws us to believe in Jesus.  The Spirit, though, does not work without means.  Rather, He works in us through the hearing of God’s Word, through the washing of the water and Word in Baptism, and He strengthens us in that faith through the continual application of the Gospel as God serves us in the worship service with the promise of forgiveness and peace because of Jesus.  We are likewise strengthened in our faith by the eating and drinking of Jesus’ body and blood in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper through its connection with the Word of our Lord.

Again, I say, Jesus was lifted for the serpent-bitten.  Through inherited sin that infected all of us from our first parents on, we all enter this world dying from the ancient serpent’s poisonous bite.  Left to our own solutions, our end would be only everlasting death in the wilderness of hell, forever cut off from God’s love.  Yet, because He loves us with an everlasting love, God sent His Son to be our Redeemer and Savior, and it is by His blood shed on that cross of shame that God’s justice for our guilt is satisfied.  Then, by faith in Jesus, God’s only-begotten Son, God has declared us innocent, eternally at peace with Him, and forever welcome in His presence as dearly loved children. 

Our sin and guilt have been removed from us as far as east is from the west, because “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  Thus, by faith in the Gospel, we have been brought to see that Jesus was lifted for the serpent-bitten, so that through faith in Jesus, we who once were dying of sin’s venom, now have life everlasting, and the sure and certain hope that we will live with God in heaven forever.  Amen.

How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, everyone who is walking in his ways.  Amen.

The message of the cross is power that saves.

 

Sermon for Lent 3, March 3, 2024

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  All who do his precepts have good understanding.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25  ¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.  ¹⁹In fact, it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nothing.  ²⁰Where is the wise man?  Where is the expert in the Jewish law?  Where is the probing thinker of the present age?  Has God not shown that the wisdom of this world is foolish?  ²¹Indeed, since the world through its wisdom did not know God, God in his wisdom decided to save those who believe, through the foolishness of the preached message.  ²²Yes, Jews ask for signs, Greeks desire wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified—which is offensive to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  ²⁵We preach Christ crucified, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (EHV)

The message of the cross is power that saves.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As we study this portion of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we will be helped if we understand a little about the society in which those Christians lived, and the closer we look, the more it will seem like we are studying our own times.  The city of Corinth was somewhat of a melting pot of different cultures.  Because it was a major trade center, a wide variety of people passed through the city on their respective trade missions.  As much as two thirds of the population were slaves, taken from the scattered parts of the Roman empire.  Like so many of the major cities of its day, Corinth had many temples in which a wide variety of Greek gods were worshiped.  Corinth was especially known for its riotous living—as a destination for many sailors, it became a center of immoral entertainment.  In fact, the temple to the goddess Aphrodite had 1000 prostitutes mixing immorality with pagan religion.

Now, slavery is no longer allowed, and temple prostitution is unknown in our country, but with so many people of our times moving from one area to another, and with a high percentage of our population coming from varying ethnic roots all over the world, with different languages, and different religious backgrounds, and with the moral breakdown of our society, our own times have many similarities with Corinth.

The reason I mention this is because it makes me wonder if we, as a nation, truly do trust in the God of the Bible, or do we trust more in money, government, a generic god, or human wisdom and power?  The evidence suggests that most people have been trained to trust in human wisdom, scientific reason, political will, or perhaps military strength, all of which by themselves lead only to eternal death. 

Now, the Greek people always had a love for learning and debate.  So, if you mix that tendency with Corinth’s immorality and its many religions, then stir in a few ideas from other cultures, it becomes obvious that the Corinthian Christians were under attack on all sides by many who trusted in something far different than the message of the cross Paul had preached to them.  The Corinthian Christians needed to be reminded that the message of the cross was not an empty promise, but rather, for those called by God, The message of the cross is power that saves.

In many ways, we, too, are being hit with some similarly destructive influences.  As today’s melting pot of the world, we are often exposed to other religions, and the scholars, debaters, and lie-mongers of our world are continually trying to sway us with their godless arguments.  Immoral living is championed by most of our society as people advocate living in sin outside of marriage in both straight and gay relationships.  We are constantly buffeted by the immoral ideas and risqué images of our age.

The message of the cross that Paul preached was simply Christ crucified for sinners, but many who heard Paul scoffed at the message.  Christ crucified was a stumbling block for the Jews.  They had grown up expecting God to send a Messiah, but they just couldn’t believe this Jesus was the One.  He wasn’t glorious enough for them.  He hadn’t driven the Romans from their homeland.  He didn’t even look like a king.  He came from that little town of Nazareth. 

The Jews expected miraculous signs.  They wanted something spectacular—a sign from heaven no less.  All those little miracles like healing the blind, the lame, and the sick just weren’t good enough.  Even when Jesus raised several people from the dead, the Jews were not that impressed.  Besides, they argued, how could Jesus be God’s Son if He was willing to do miracles on the Sabbath Day?  How could Jesus have the audacity to oppose the teachings of the scribes and the Pharisees?  And most disturbing, how could He allow Himself to be crucified?  According to Jewish thought, if Jesus really was the Son of God, He should have destroyed the Romans with spectacular power rather than die on their cross.  Quite simply, Jesus was a major disappointment to the Jews.

But, are we sometimes just like the Jews who expected miraculous signs?  How often don’t we hear, “Well, if there really is a god, would he allow this or that disaster to happen?”  Do doubts creep in as we sometimes start to think, “Yes, I know all about Jesus, but what has He done for me lately?  What has He done to help me with my troubles with my spouse, or my kids, or my boss, or the government?  Where is He when I really need Him?  When will He answer my prayers?”  And there we are, looking for miraculous signs, instead of seeing all the miraculous blessings God pours out on us everyday.  Therefore, just like those Corinthians, we still need to hear of the miracle that The message of the cross is power that saves.

On the other side of the coin, the Greeks looked for wisdom.  For many of them, the message of the cross sounded like a tall tale.  Why would God come down from heaven to become human?  Furthermore, if God did become human, why in the world would He allow himself to suffer and die on the cross, and what good would that do us?  Looking at it through Greek wisdom, a god that would allow himself to be killed really wasn’t much of a god at all!  And everybody knows that you can’t raise yourself from the dead!  The Corinthian Christians were surrounded by wise debaters who would taunt them with human experience as if that was wisdom; which is very much like what we face today.

The popular culture in which we live has made a sport of mocking Christianity.  The philosophers of our age fight against any use of God’s Word, and the scholars of our age tell us that there is no room for Christ in our schools.  We live in a country where the majority of people call themselves Christians, yet, more and more, those same Christians question whether the Bible even is God’s Word.  Much of our nation is looking at Jesus as perhaps a good teacher or maybe a mythological example for us to imitate rather than as the Son of God who gave His life to take away our sins.  Just as tragic, we are told by many that the Bible is just the religious imaginings of ancient men.  Because they have no faith, many others simply don’t care what the Bible says.  Some even call it hateful.

But, how much do those pop philosophies influence us here in our midst?  Does it perhaps make us question whether we can trust the Bible to tell us the truth?  Does it make us wonder if God really expects us to obey His commands, or is He satisfied merely for us to feel happy even as we sin?  Does it make us question whether it is worth our time to come to church to hear about Jesus?  How often do the questions in our minds, and the sin in our hearts, make us rebellious, unloving, and uncaring?  The truth is: all of these things are just the vain wisdom of those who are perishing.  If we listen to Satan’s lies and the whispers of those who don’t believe, we will perish right along with them. 

On the other hand, our faith is built up when we listen to the good news as Paul reminds us that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

Paul wrote, “God in his wisdom decided to save those who believe, through the foolishness of the preached message.”  What was preached sounds like foolishness to the sinful human nature.  Yet God used the message of the cross, that Christ was crucified for our sins, to work faith in Him in us.  The Holy Spirit uses the power of that message to give us a new spiritual life that will last for all eternity.  The devil and our old man fight against that message at every opportunity, but God still keeps building us up in the faith as He has His Word preached to us.  And what a joyful message we have in the message of the cross: our sins are forgiven!  We are reconciled with our Creator!  Through faith in Christ, we are prepared and welcome to meet God face to face and to live with Him forever in heaven!

Having been brought to faith through the work of the Holy Spirit, we no longer see just the beaten, bloody, pierced body on the cross.  Through faith in Christ as our Savior we now recognize the glory of the Son of God—risen from the dead, alive, with a glorified body, and ruling all things at His Father’s right hand.  Through what was preached, we have been given the gift of eternal life.  Through the message of the cross, we know that the blood that ran from Jesus’ pierced side now strengthens us in the Lord’s Supper.  Through the message of the cross, we learned that Jesus’ flesh didn’t decompose in the tomb, but He rose from that grave triumphant over sin, death, and the devil.  Thus, in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gives us His flesh and blood as the physical evidence that we are saved by the message of the cross.

Paul wrote, “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  In His great love for us, God has overcome the foolishness of our sinful nature that would lead us to eternal death, and He brought us to faith in His Son.  Jesus had the power to overcome the temptations of the devil and this world.  Jesus had the power to live the perfect life that the Law demanded, and He did it for you and me.  Jesus told His disciples, “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.” (John 10:17-18)  Jesus had the power to conquer death as He paid the price of death that we deserved for our sins, and Jesus demonstrated His divine power, and His victory, for all the world to see when He rose from the dead on the third day.

Jesus is the wisdom of God, because no human could devise this plan to save sinners.  In Jesus Christ alone we have salvation.  In no other name is salvation found.  No human wisdom will ever give eternal life.  No human strength can conquer the devil and the temptations of this world.  In His wisdom, God saw what needed to be done to save us from the death we deserved, so in His love, He sent His Son to be the final, one and only, sacrifice for our sins. 

Because of His mercy for all mankind, God has given us important work to carry on.  Along with Paul “we preach Christ crucified:” a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others.  Yet, as “we preach Christ crucified,” the Holy Spirit is working with us to give eternal life and salvation to those who hear the message of the cross and believe it.

Dear Christian friends, in spite of all the nonsense and mockery we face in this world, today, we can rejoice.  Though our own wisdom and strength would send us to eternal death, we have been restored to life everlasting; “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”  Because God caused the message of the cross to be preached to you and me, and by its power turned our hearts to believe it, we can sing with Isaiah, “Surely God is my salvation.  I will trust him and will not be afraid, because the Lord, yes the Lord, is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.” (12:2)  My friends, fight off the cacophony of the world and keep your trust in Christ Jesus, alone.  The message of the cross is power that saves.  Amen

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity.  Amen.