Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity - Ex 20:1-17

 

          Trinity 6

                                                                                                       Ex 20:1-17

                                                                                                       7/27/25

 

            The Ten Commandments. As the name indicates, there are of course, ten of them. But what seems so simple turns out upon closer examination not to be quite so simple.  On multiple occasions Scripture say that there are literally, “ten words” – ten commandments.  However, God’s Word never actually numbers them for us.

            And this is where things start to get more complicated.  For while we are told that there are ten words – or ten commandments in our text – when you examine it you find that there are far more than ten statements.  We know that there have to be ten commandments in there, so how do you divide up the material?

            It turns out that over the course of history there have actually been three different ways of doing this. In the western Church – the tradition from which the Lutheran church and the Romand Catholic church derive – the well founded answer has been to consider the statements about not making images to be an explanation of the First Commandment – “You shall have no other gods.”  In turn, the two statements about coveting have been counted as the Ninth and Tenth Commandments.

            On the other hand, the Eastern Orthodox church has taken the statement about not making images to be the Second Commandment, and it has combined the statements about coveting into a single Tenth Commandment. At the time of the Reformation, the Reformed tradition rejected the western way of numbering the commandments and adopted this way of numbering them, in part because the Second Commandment then supported their rejection of art in church like statues.

            Finally, the Jewish rabbis have taken the introduction found in the first two verses to be the First Commandment. They have considered the statement about making images to be an explanation of what is then the Second Commandment – “You shall have no other gods.” And then they have combined the statements about coveting into a single Tenth Commandment.

            While the exact numbering of the Ten Commandments has caused questions, the Church has always known them to be an expression of God’s will and ordering of life.  The Ten Commandments are the ultimate expression of God’s Law. This means that in themselves they are good.  As sinners, they are bad for us because of what they reveal about who we are. And in Christ, they become something that is good for us as they describe the life that fulfills God’s will – the life for which we were created.

            The Ten Commandments are the first words that God spoke to Israel after he had descended on Mt Sinai. Yahweh had rescued the descendants of Abraham from slavery in Egypt. He had sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians when Pharaoh refused to let Israel go.  The last of these was the Passover as God spared the Israelites, but killed the first born male among the Egyptians.

            Yahweh had brought Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground, but had destroyed the pursuing Egyptians as the water enveloped and drowned them.  Now he had brought them to Mt Sinai in order to enter into a covenant with Israel. In the previous chapter he said, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

            The Ten Commandments are Law – they tell God’s people what they are to do. Yet before we hear any of the commandments, the very first statement in our text is one of Gospel. Yahweh says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” The God who gives the Ten Commandments is the God who has rescued his people.  When they were helpless he redeemed them – he freed them from slavery.

            God is the One who loves his people. And we learn that his love is an all encompassing one. In our text Yahweh says, “I the LORD your God am a jealous God.” Normally we don’t think of “jealous” as being a positive description.  But when Yahweh says that he is a jealous God, he means that he does not share his people with anyone else. He created them. He redeemed them.  He loves them. And he will not permit any competition for their love and trust.

            The Ten Commandments are an expression of God’s will. They describe how God has ordered his creation – how life is to work. They describe how we are to live in relation to God and our neighbor. During Holy Week a Pharisee asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  Christ responded, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

            Life lived in fellowship with the holy God is a life that keeps the Ten Commandments. Several weeks ago we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan. A lawyer approached Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Our Lord replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” When the man responded with this same summary of the First and Second table of the Ten Commandments, our Lord said, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

            Do this and you will live. And it is here that the Ten Commandments which are a good thing, become something bad for us.  For rather than showing us a way in which we can have life with God, they become something that reveals the many ways that sin is present in our life.  God says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Certainly, we do not set up a carved image as an object of worship.  But a “god” is whatever is most important in your life. A “god” is whatever provides your sense of security and well being. Identify the thing to which you direct the most time, money, and attention – and you have found your god.

            The commandments sound simple. “You shall not murder.” But the full meaning of this statement is explained to us by the Lord Jesus and his apostles. Christ says in our Gospel lesson this morning, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Anger in the heart breaks the Fifth Commandment.

            The commandments sound simple. “You shall not commit adultery.” But Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The Scriptures teach us that the Sixth Commandment means that sexual intercourse is only to be shared between husband and wife in marriage. God’s will for sexuality condemns not just the physical act, but also the lustful intent – a lustful intent at work in every use of pornography.

            Do this and you will live. Yet rather than offering the way to life with God, the Ten Commandments become the mirror in which we see our true selves.  We see the sin that is present in us. We are confronted by this sin, and God’s Word reveals to us that we are unable to escape it. We have been conceived and born as fallen sinners, and so in thought, word, and deed we sin in ways that deserve the eternal judgement of the holy God.

            Israel could not rescue itself from slavery in Egypt. Yet God announces at the beginning of our text, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” This action was not deserved by Israel.  It was a matter of God’s grace and mercy.  For this is the character of God that he has revealed to us.  Again and again we hear this in the Old Testament. The prophet Joel urges the people, “Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”

            God is gracious and merciful. He abounds in steadfast love. And so he sent his Son into our world in order to free us from sin and the death it causes.  The Son of God became man without ceasing to be God.  True God and true man he lived in this world in order to carry out the Father’s saving will. He, the sinless One, kept the Ten Commandments in thought, word, and deed.

            And then God justly condemned our sin in Christ. Jesus died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins. He drank the cup of God’s wrath as he received God’s judgment for us.  St. Paul told the Corinthians, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

            God’s judgment against our sin brought death to Christ. And then on Easter God raised Jesus from the dead. Death was not the end. Instead, Jesus was the second Adam through whom God has given us resurrection life.  Because of Christ we already have forgiveness now. Because of Christ, we will share in the resurrection on the Last Day when Jesus raises us from the dead.

            In the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Last Days have begun. The risen and ascended Lord has poured forth the Spirit who now brings God’s saving work to us. In Holy Baptism you were born again of water and the Spirit.  You are a new creation in Christ. St Paul told the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

            As those who are in Christ, the Ten Commandments now become something that are good for us as they describe the life that fulfills God’s will – the life for which we were created.  In the Ten Commandments and the explanation of them provided by Jesus and the apostles we see the life that we want to lead as we live in Christ through the work of the Spirit.  We learn what this life looks like and we seek to put it into practice.

            As we are nourished by the Means of Grace we seek to fear, love, and trust in God above all things – to love and trust God more and more. We call upon God’s name in every trouble, even as we pray, praise, and give thanks to him.

            In the Fourth Commandment we learn to honor, serve and obey, love and cherish our parents and other authorities. At the same time, as parents we see the vocation – the calling – God has given to us raise our children in the faith through faithful attendance of the Divine Service, and devotions during the week with our family.

            In the Fifth Commandment we see the goal of assisting our neighbor in every physical need, even as we resist the impulse of anger. In the Sixth Commandment we find that sexuality is God’s good gift for marriage, even as we reject the temptations of the world that want us to abuse this gift. And in the Eighth Commandment we learn not to share gossip, but instead to speak well of our neighbor, just as we want our neighbor to do so for us.

            Until Christ returns or we die, we will still have the flesh – the old Adam – with us. There will be continue to be time when as we look at the Ten Commandments we instead find that it is revealing where sin is present in our lives.  When this happens, we repent. We confess this sin and return to our baptism in faith for there we have the sure promise of God’s forgiveness and the ongoing source of the Spirit’s work in our life. As Paul says in our epistle lesson today: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

 

 

 

           

 

           

 

Sermon for the First Sunday after Trinity - Gen 15:1-6

                                                                                Trinity 1

                                                                                Gen 15:1-6

                                                                                6/22/25

     

Abraham was a pagan.  There is no other way to describe him.  Joshua told the people of Israel, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many.’”

Abraham, then known as Abram, and his father Terah had journeyed from Ur in what is today southern Iraq. Their plan was to go to the land of Canaan.  But for some reason they had not arrived there. Instead, they settled at Haran – a place that today is on the border of Turkey and Syria.

Abraham did not know Yahweh. He worshipped the false gods of his fathers. But Abraham had a special place in God’s plan of salvation.  And so, in his grace, God called Abraham. We learn in Genesis 12 that God said to Abraham, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God told Abraham to leave everything he knew.  He promised to make Abraham into a great nation. He promised that Abraham would be the means by which blessing would come to all the families of the earth.  And then a little later, God promised to give the land of Canaan to his offspring.

Abraham believed God’s promise. He trusted God. It was certainly a great act of faith because everything about Abraham’s circumstances seemed to contradict the promise. Abraham was seventy five years old. His wife Sarah was sixty five. To expect that they would have a child at those ages was not rational. But God had called Abraham, and he believed Yahweh’s word.

God had made his promise to Abraham. But time passed, and nothing happened.  Abraham and Sarah had no child. Our text is introduced with the words “after these things.”  These things were the events in the previous chapter when Abraham had to lead a war party to rescue his nephew Lot from local kings who had taken him captive. It was the kind of event that made a person reflect on how fragile life was – and about the fact that Abraham had no heir if he died.

We learn in our text that at this time God came to Abraham in a vision and said, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  Abraham obviously was fearful about his future for he said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And then he added, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

God had not given Abraham a child – he had no son. According to the law of that time, a member of his broader household would be his heir.  Yet Yahweh responded to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” Then he brought Abraham outside and to him, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” And he added, “So shall your offspring be.”  God reaffirmed his promise, and stated it in an emphatic way. We learn that in response to this Abraham believed the LORD, and God counted it to him as righteousness.  He reckoned Abraham as having a righteous standing before him.

In the first century A.D. Jews considered Abraham to be the great example of a convert from the Gentiles.  He had not known God, and then God had called him.  Later in chapter fifteen we learn about how God made a covenant with Abraham in which he promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s offspring.  Then in chapter seventeen, he gave Abraham circumcision as the sign of the covenant, and commanded that all of his offspring were to be circumcised.

The Jews pointed to Abraham’s faithfulness, for he had done what God commanded.  They said that the Law of Moses was eternal, and that Abraham had kept the Law of Moses – the Torah – in its unwritten form before it had even been given to Moses. Abraham was the great example of doing the law.

After Paul had preached the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the Galatians, other teachers arrived.  They followed up on Paul’s work by saying that, yes – a person needed to believe in Jesus. However, they said that in addition to this the Gentile Galatians had to do what God’s people had always done.  They had to keep the Law of Moses. It seems quite clear that they used Abraham as an example of this need. After all, he had been circumcised, and now the Galatians needed to receive this as well. These opponents held up Abraham’s faithfulness – his doing of God’s law – in order to prompt the Galatians to keep the law of Moses.

Paul takes up Abraham as he addresses the Galatians. But he has a very different emphasis.  Instead of Abraham’s faithfulness – his doing what God had commanded, Paul points to Abraham’s faith – his belief and trust in God’s promise. The apostle does so because faith and the law are mutually exclusive when it comes to our standing before God.

The law is about works – about doing.  Paul tells the Galatians, “But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”  The law is about doing, and those who do that law will be justified – they will be declared just by God. The apostles writes to the Romans, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

          The way of the law is clear and unambiguous. But Paul warns that it can only lead to God’s judgment. The problem is not the law, which in itself is holy and good as an expression of God’s will. Instead, we the users of the law, are the problem. Paul tells the Galatians that “the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin.” God’s Word declares the truth about our status – we are fallen people who are under sin’s power. Not only do we fail to do what we should. Even when we do it, the act is not holy because our motives are never entirely pure.

          That is why Paul says that “by works of the law no one will be justified.” Instead, as we fail to do the law it brings God’s curse. Paul writes, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’”

          It is for this reason that Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins. He, the Son of God, entered our world in the incarnation in order to free us from the slavery of the curse. Paul told the Galatians that, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” And then on the third day Christ rose from the dead as he began the new life that is already at work in us through his Spirit.

          Paul tells the Galatians, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

          It’s important to recognize that Paul’s opponents at Galatia weren’t denying faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. They were saying that salvation takes place by faith in Jesus plus doing the Law of Moses.  In the history of Christian theology, this is always the threat – the desire to add our doing back into the cause of salvation.

          We do this because we have been created with the work of the law written on our hearts – we are hard wired in our creation to understand the way of the law. We know that there is no such thing as a free lunch – you get what you earn.  And deep down we also want to be able to claim some credit for having a part in salvation.

          This was the case in Martin Luther’s day when God’s grace equipped the believer to take part in their salvation. It remains the case in Roman Catholic theology today. But this is also what is happening when people believe they are able by their own choice and power to believe in Jesus.  It is happening when living a holy life becomes the final proof and assurance that a person is really saved.

          Paul points us to Abraham in rejection of this. He cites the last verse of our text which says, “And he believed the Lord, he counted it to him as righteousness” and then adds, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.”  Just as Abraham believed the promise that God would give him an heir through whom all nations would be blessed, so we believe in Jesus Christ the fulfillment of that promise. 

          The apostle goes on to say, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” 

          We believe in the promised seed of Abraham – the promised offspring, Jesus Christ. By God’s grace, through faith in Christ we are justified. Although we are sinful in ourselves, because of Christ we know that God has already declared us righteous.  He has done so, and he will do it on the Last Day.  We have been baptized into Christ, and so we live as those who are in Christ.  We have been clothed with Christ in baptism and so we have the status of being holy in God’s eyes.

          Paul points to faith as the means by which we receive justification before God.  He rejects the idea that our works have anything to do with it. But when it comes to our life in Christ through the work of the Spirit he leaves no doubt that faith is active and does.  He says in Galatians chapter 5, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

          We have been freed by faith in Christ.  We have been freed from sin, and from the law and its curse. But this freedom does not lead us inward as we focus on ourselves. Paul says, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

          So as you live in Christ through the work of the Spirit, act in love as you assist others. Don’t react in anger, but instead be patient and self controlled. Be kind and gentle toward others, treating them the way you want to be treated.

This morning we hear in our text: “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham believed and trusted in God’s promise.  In the same way, we believe and trust in the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham – Jesus Christ. By God’s grace through faith in Christ we are justified.  We know that it has been counted to us as righteousness, and that this will be the verdict by God on the Last Day.

 

 

           

           

 

 

  

 

 

Mark's thoughts: Talking about your Lutheran church to share the faith

 

The Augsburg Confession defines the Church as, “the assembly of the believers among whom the Gospel is purely preached and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel” (VII.1).  This definition includes two parts.  First, it says that the Church is comprised of people who believe in Jesus Christ. Second, it says that the Church is present where the Gospel is purely preached and the Sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.  Wherever this is taking place faith is being created and sustained, and we know that the Church is present.

This definition is helpful as we think about sharing the faith with others, for it includes two things that we are trying to accomplish.  First, we want to share the Gospel so that others are called to faith in Christ. Second, we want to share what the Gospel is when it is purely preached and the Sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.  We want people to understand what the Gospel is when it is not mingled with Law.  We want people to understand what the Sacraments are when they are received as Christ’s Gospel gifts.  This is what we believe and confess as Lutherans, and we want others to share in this as well.

It can seem challenging to share the faith with others. How do we start a conversation about this subject? The Church is a great place to start. Ask a person: “Do you have a church home?”  No matter what the answer is, follow up by asking, “Were you raised in a/that church group?” These questions easily initiate an interaction that is going to take up the subject of faith in Christ and what a person believes. They tell you whether a person believes in Christ, and something about the background of how they arrived in their current status. This is helpful to know if the conversation continues or for a later time.

Your response is then to talk about your church. One can say: “I am a member at _______ Lutheran Church. I love how in my church I receive forgiveness and eternal life through the Word and the Sacraments because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.” This brief statement sets forth the Gospel – the good news about the forgiveness and life we have through Christ’s death and resurrection. It ties the Gospel to the Word and Sacraments, for these are the means by which Christ comes to us. By focusing on these Means of Grace it articulates a distinct Lutheran confession about how God works. And it says that this faith and confession are a blessing in your life.

We never know where the conversation will go from there. Our only job is to share what Jesus Christ has done for us by his death and resurrection, and what he still does now through his Means of Grace. If the person indicates that he or she does not have a church home where they are attending, it is very easy to follow up and invite them to visit your congregation. If the person does have a church, your confession about receiving the Gospel through the Word and Sacraments is an invitation to discuss this further in comparison to what that person’s church believes. It may not lead to anything.  It may lead to an opportunity later to do so. This is not something we can control. Our only job is to share.

(These thoughts were prompted by Dr. Ken Schurb's reference to "Church Testimony")

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Trinity - Isa 6:1-7

 

  Holy Trinity

                                                                                                Isa 6:1-7

                                                                                                6/15/25

 

            In our Old Testament lesson this morning, the prophet Isaiah describes an experience that was completely and utterly overwhelming.  He tells us exactly when it happened – it was in the year that King Uzziah died.  This was a time of uncertainty for Judah.  Uzziah had ruled for nearly fifty years.  It had been a period of peace and prosperity. But in that year he died, at a time when it was becoming very apparent that the Assyrians were a great power that threatened the nation.

            God called Isaiah at this moment to be his prophet.  He would speak God’s word during a time of crisis as Yahweh used the Assyrians to bring judgment upon the northern kingdom of Israel.  He would deliver God’s word of Law and Gospel as he used the Assyrians to punish Judah, but ultimately provided dramatic deliverance for the city of Jerusalem. And he would speak a word of hope to Judah in the exile that was yet to come.

            Isaiah describes his call in our text. We don’t know whether this was something that he actually experienced in the temple, or whether it was a vision. It doesn’t really matter, because nothing could have made it any more “real” to Isaiah.

            He says, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”  Yahweh is seated on a throne because he is the king – he reigns over all as the Creator of heaven and earth.  The prophet seeks to capture the exalted nature of God as he says that Yahweh was “high and lifted up” – so much so that the fringe of his robe filled the temple.

            Isaiah tells us, “Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” He sees fiery angelic beings above Yahweh – the heavenly host that attend him.  Next we learn: “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’”

            The seraphim acclaim God as they announce that Yahweh, the One who directs the angelic armies, is holy.  The threefold repetition of the word drives home the point that he is utterly and completely holy in a way that has no comparison. And they declare that the whole earth is full of his glory.  Isaiah says that the foundations of the thresholds of the temple shook at their voice, and that the temple was filled with smoke.

            Isaiah is confronted by the almighty and holy God.  His response is to admit that he is completely undone.  He says, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

            Isaiah’s response to being in the presence of God encapsulates the situation that is true for every person who has ever lived since the fall of Adam. God is the holy God, and his holiness illuminates the presence of our sin in the most intense and frightening manner. Created for fellowship with God, our sin now can only result in our annihilation when we come before him. Remember, God has not changed since the days of Isaiah. The writer to the Hebrews warns us that our God is a consuming fire. Sinners who sin cannot have life with God. Instead, this sin evokes God’s wrath and eternal judgment. 

            Sin prevents us from being in God’s presence – it makes life with God impossible. And we are powerless to do anything about this.  We see this illustrated in our text, for it is God who must act to remove Isaiah’s sin. We hear: “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’”

            The Old Testament makes it absolutely clear that there is only one true God – the Creator of heavens and earth. As we learn in Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” We learn that this God is a personal God – he is no mere force or power.  He has a name, Yahweh, and he enters into a relationship with Israel by taking them as his own.

            But how could sinful Israel live with the holy God? And how could the blessing of Abraham pass on to the sinful nations, so that they could as well?  Isaiah tells us that this salvation from God would take place through the Messiah – the descendant of David.

But in prophesying about this he uses very puzzling language.  He says: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”  We wonder, how can the son of David be called Mighty God?

Isaiah says that the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon the Messiah – the shoot from the stump of Jesse – and that he will bring universal peace. At the same time, he says of the Servant of the Lord, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

At times, the Servant is clearly identified as Israel. But other times it is not so clear. And on one occasion the Servant seems to be an individual who is the means by which God deals with sin. Isaiah writes, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The Servant is described as a sacrificial lamb - as an offering by which God “makes many to be accounted righteous.”

God’s Word called forth hope, but remained mysterious.  Peter tells us that the prophets themselves “who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.”

And then in the fulness of time God acted. In the first century A.D. the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary – a girl who was betrothed to a descendant of King David.  He told Mary that her son would fulfill God’s promise to David of the Messiah. When she asked how she – a virgin – would become pregnant – he told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God.”

The angel told Mary that this child to be born would be the Messiah descended from David. But he also said that Holy Spirit would cause her to conceive, and that the child would be holy – the Son of God. As we learn from Isaiah, only God is holy. Yet somehow this child would himself be holy – he would be the Son of God conceived through the work of the Spirit of God.

Jesus Christ was born to Mary and at the beginning of his ministry he – the holy One - submitted to John the Baptist’s baptism of repentance. After he was baptized, the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Son stood in the water. The Spirit descended upon him. And God the Father spoke words based on Isaiah chapter 42 that identified Jesus as the Servant of the Lord.

At his baptism Jesus began his journey to the cross. He went as the Servant of the Lord through whom God was redeeming us from sin. He went as God’s answer to the sin that separated us from him.  In death he bore our sins and received God’s judgment to win forgiveness. Paul tells us, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Sin brought death for Jesus in our place. But on the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead.  The apostle Paul told the Romans that Jesus was “descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.” The risen Lord ascended into heaven and was exalted as he was seated at the right hand of God.  And then as we celebrated last Sunday, Christ poured forth the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

God has not changed.  There is only one God – the Creator of heaven and earth.  But in acting to save us, God has revealed more about himself. We have learned that the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Scripture reveals that the Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God.  We find that they relate with one another. And yet there are not three gods. Instead, God is three in one – the Holy Trinity.  He is one God in three persons.

God has eternally been this way. As we confess in the Gloria Patri: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.” In the Old Testament there were hints and things that made one wonder. God said, “Let us make man in our image.” There was the angel of the Lord. There was language about Wisdom. There were references to the Spirit of God.  But it is only as the Father sent forth the Son who was incarnate by the Holy Spirit that we have come to know the triune nature of God.

Our knowledge of the Holy Trinity bears witness to God’s love for us.  The writer to the Hebrews says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”  We live in the last days when the holy God has acted in Jesus Christ to give us forgiveness so that we can live with him eternally.  No longer does sin cause us to say, “Woe is me! For I am lost” like Isaiah in our text.  Instead, through faith in Jesus Christ we are justified by God’s grace. We are reckoned as holy in God’s eyes – we are saints.

Baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit our sins have been washed away.  In confidence we are able to approach the Father through the Son in the Spirit.  We look forward to the Last Day when Christ returns in glory. For we will dwell in the presence of our triune God forever.

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon for the Feast of Pentecost - Jn 14:23-31

 

          Pentecost

                                                                                                Jn 14:23-31

                                                                                                7/8/25

 

           

In our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Jesus speaks of giving peace to his disciples – and to us. But many of the things that he says in this portion of the Gospel – his “farewell discourse” that he spoke to the disciples on the evening of Maundy Thursday – seem instead to be disturbing.

Jesus tells them that they will not see him for a little while, and that they will mourn.  He says, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” When they don’t understand what he is talking about, our Lord says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”  This time when they don’t see Jesus will be one of sorrow. Yet Jesus says that it will last only a “little while,” and adds, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

While there will be this “little while” of sorrow, Jesus has also told them something that seems even more disturbing: He has said that he is going away, and returning to the Father.  Jesus says, “But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.”

Our Lord announces that he will be returning to the Father. He says that this is in fact a good thing for the disciples.  He explains, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”  Jesus explains that only by ascending and returning to the Father, can he send forth the Holy Spirit.

Christ states in our text that his departure should actually be a source of joy. He says, “You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

This statement by Jesus seems very puzzling. After all, we have learned at the beginning of the Gospel that the Son is truly God.  The first verses of the Gospel say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

We learn that the Word – the Son – is God and was active in making all things. John tells us, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  In Jesus Christ we meet the incarnate Son of God – the One who is true God and true man.

Jesus affirms that he is God. He tells the Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” He said, “I and the Father are one.”  Jesus will pray to the Father in the next chapter, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

So then why does Jesus say, “If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I”? The answer to this question is to be found in our text when Jesus says, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”

Jesus Christ was in the world to do what the Father had commanded. During Holy Week Jesus said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” Then he added, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

The Father was greater than Jesus as he was speaking, not because he is greater in his being.  Instead, the Father was greater because at that time Jesus was not making full use of his power and might.  Instead, he was carrying out the saving will of the Father by which the devil has been overcome. He had humbled himself, and would allow himself to be arrested and crucified.  Jesus told Nicodemus, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humbled himself in order to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He walked the way of service and suffering, because we are people who avoid these very things. We put ourselves before God and our neighbor in order to avoid limitations on looking out for that unholy trinity of me, myself, and I. In thought, word, and deed we are people who sin. As we confessed at the beginning of the service using words from 1 John: “If we say we have not sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

Jesus offered himself on the cross as the sacrifice that won forgiveness for us. He was, as John says in his first epistle, “the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” The Father was greater than the Son as he humbled himself to the point of death … even death on a cross. Our Lord said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

However, the will of the Father did not end in death.  Instead, it was his will to give life through the Son. As Jesus had said, the disciples did not see him for the “little while” of three days when he was buried in the tomb. But then they saw him again when God raised him from the dead. The risen Lord appeared in the midst of the locked room on the evening of Easter and said, “Peace be with you.” He demonstrated that now through faith in Christ there is forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Death cannot separate us from God, and the grave is not the end for our body because as Jesus said, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Now, the risen Lord has ascended to the Father. No longer can the Father be described as greater than the Son. Instead, the Lord Jesus has been exalted and exercises all rule and authority. And we see this in the event that we are celebrating today, the Feast of Pentecost.

Jesus says in our text, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jesus says that when he is ascended, the Father will send forth the Helper – the Holy Spirit. A little later, Jesus says that he will send the Helper as he declares, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

Jesus says in our text, “And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.” Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter.  He ascended into heaven. And then, as we heard in our Second Reading, on the day of Pentecost he poured forth the Holy Spirit.  Peter declared, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

Christ has sent the Spirit from the Father. And now the Spirit is the One who brings the saving work of Christ to us. It is the Spirit who gives us the apostolic witness about the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

The Spirit bears witness – a witness that is received through the apostles. Christ says in our text this morning, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” It is the Spirit who uses the inspired words of the Gospel to make known Christ and his saving work to us. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

The Gospel of John tells us, “For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” The ascended Lord has given us the Spirit, and through him we have life. Fallen man brings forth more fallen man. Jesus told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The life giving Spirit sent forth by Christ has given us life. Through the work of the Spirit we have been born again – we have been born of water and the Spirit in baptism.

This work of the Spirit takes place in us because we are living in the Last Days that have begun in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter says, “But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.”

The Old Testament prophets described how God would pour out his Spirit.  Isaiah compared this to water as he said, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” Jesus used similar language when he cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Then John explains, “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

            Jesus has been glorified. And on Pentecost he gave the Spirit. Now, we are the children of God because the Spirit has given us life.  The Spirit has created faith in Christ, and sustains this faith. And the Spirit enables us to live in faith.  Jesus says in our text, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  We keep our Lord’s word as by the power of the Spirit we continue to believe in him, and love our neighbor as Jesus has loved us.

The Son of God, Jesus Christ, carried out the Father’s will by humbling himself in death on the cross to free us from sin. On the third day God raised him from the dead, as he began the life that is ours. The risen and ascended Lord poured forth the Spirit on Pentecost to give us this new life in which we are the forgiven children of God. The Spirit creates and sustains faith in Christ, and enables us to share Christ’s love with others as we look towards the day when God will raise us from the dead through the Spirit of Christ.