Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year - Mt 25:1-3

 

  Last Sunday

                                                                                                                        Mt 25:1-13

                                                                                                                        11/23/25

 

           

See! I was telling the truth.  It’s all about the kingdom of God. Last Sunday I spoke about how the central feature of Jesus’ preaching – the phrase he used to summarize his ministry – was “the kingdom of God.”  We discussed the fact that the phrase kingdom of God – or “kingdom of heaven” as we often find it expressed in Matthew’s Gospel – refers to the reign of God that was present in Jesus Christ. We heard the parable about the unforgiving servant, as we learned what life is like for those who have received the reign of God in Jesus Christ.  Those who have received forgiveness from God in Christ, share it by forgiving others.

And now, in this morning’s Gospel lesson, Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God once again.  Our text begins with the words, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.”  Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God.  But if you listen carefully you will hear a small change in language, and this difference is very important.

Last Sunday Jesus said, “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” More literally we can translate this as “the kingdom of heaven is like.”  Today, Jesus says, “the kingdom of heaven will be like.”  Last Sunday we heard about how things work as we experience the reign of God in the present. But today we hear about what the reign of God will be like in the future.

So which is it?  Is the kingdom of God now, or is it something coming in the future? The answer is “Yes” because it is both. This what we often describe with the phrase “now and not yet.” The kingdom of God – the reign of God – is present now.  It arrived in the incarnation of the Son of God.  Jesus Christ was the presence of God’s reign overcoming Satan, sin, and death.

Jesus carried out the central event of this saving reign on Good Friday when he died on the cross.  Christ committed no sin. But he took our sin as his own. St Paul says of God that “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.” But Jesus was also the second Adam through who God overcame the presence of death as he raised Christ on Easter. Paul told the Corinthians, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

This reign of God is present here for us now. We receive it through the Means of Grace as the Spirit gives forgiveness and sustains faith.  As the Small Catechism says, “The kingdom of God comes when our heavenly Father give us his Holy Spirit so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”  The presence of God’s reign means that we are living in the end times. The last days have begun in the death and resurrection of Christ, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Paul told the Corinthians, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

We are in the last days.  But we are still waiting for the Last Day – the return of Jesus Christ in glory. And so we find that we are also living in the “not yet.” We still face temptations from the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature.  We live in a world of sickness, death, and suffering. We want these things to end. 

In our text this morning, Jesus teaches us that there is also a future aspect to the kingdom of God – the reign of God. It is present now, but it will also arrive in a final and complete form when Jesus Christ returns in glory.  We look for the consummation of God’s kingdom.

Jesus teaches us about this future aspect of God’s kingdom this morning.  Just as with last week, our text today is part of one of those blocks of teaching material found in Matthew’s Gospel. Our Lord is in Jerusalem during Holy Week. This section is introduced with the information that as Jesus was going away, the disciples pointed out to him the buildings of the temples. A product of King Herod the Great’s building program, the temple in Jesus’ day was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

But Jesus answered them: “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”  Talk of the destruction of the temple was shocking.  It was something that surely would be part of God’s end time action. So as they were seated on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him and asked, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered their question first by talking about the events surrounding the temple’s destruction, and how believers should not be misled during this time by false christs and prophets.  Then later in the discussion, he shifted to the topic of his return in glory and the end of the age – the Last Day.

In our text, and in the surrounding material, Jesus teaches us three things about his return on the Last Day and the consummation of the kingdom of God. First, from our perspective, it will be delayed. Second, when it does arrive it will be sudden and unexpected. And finally, because of these first two points, we must keep watch and be ready.

Jesus teaches in a parable as he says, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.”  We may not know about all of the details of first century Jewish weddings, but it is clear that the virgins are to be ready to greet the bridegroom and accompany him into the marriage feast. However, there is a distinction among them because five are wise and five are foolish. We learn that the wise ones brought flasks with extra oil for their lamps, while the foolish did not.

However, things did not go as expected. We learn that the bridegroom was delayed. He didn’t arrive right away, and the virgins found themselves waiting for him. As the hours passed and it got later in the night, they all became drowsy and slept.

Now it’s not hard to identify the bridegroom in the parable. Earlier in the Gospel the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him why they and the Pharisees fasted, but the disciples of Jesus did not. Our Lord responded, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

As the risen and ascended Lord, Jesus is the bridegroom. The parable teaches us that the return of Jesus will seem delayed to us. After two thousand years that certainly is the case. But just as God sent the Son into the world “in the fullness of time” – when it was exactly right according to God’s plan – so also the return of Christ will occur at exactly the right moment according to his plan. 

I don’t have much use for speculation about how things work because our experience of time doesn’t apply to God. It’s enough to know he sees things differently. As Peter says, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Therefore we need to trust that our sense of “delay” is exactly that – our perception. God’s plan is on schedule and we can trust him while we wait.

The virgins were sound asleep as they were waiting. But suddenly, at midnight there was a cry: “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” There was no warning or time to get ready.  This is the second point that Jesus is making about what the arrival of the kingdom of God will be like.  It will be sudden and unexpected.

Just before our text Jesus said, “But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” This metaphor of the thief in the night continues on in the rest of the New Testament, such as we find in our Epistle lesson today.

Our Lord says that his return will be sudden and unexpected.  Therefore, anyone who says that they have figured when Jesus will return is a fool – and more foolish still is anyone who listens to such nonsense.  The history of the Church is littered with people who said they knew the day … and were wrong. There is absolutely nothing about events in the world that will give you insight.  This is all we can know for sure: We have been living in the Last Days since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but the exact day of Christ’s return cannot be known.

When the cry about the bridegroom’s arrival sounded out, the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps – most likely this means that they re-lit them.  Then the foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.”  They weren’t going to be ready to greet the bridegroom, and so they asked the other virgins to share. But the wise answered, saying, “Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.”

The foolish ones went away to purchase more oil. But while they were gone, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Later, the foolish virgins finally arrived at the closed door and said: “Lord, lord, open to us.” However, the bridegroom replied, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” And when he had concluded the parable Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

It should not escape our attention that all of the virgins thought they would be going in with the bridegroom. Since the marriage feast stands for the end time salvation of God, this is a warning that not all who think they are going to enjoy God’s salvation on the Last Day will do so.  Jesus says that we must watch, because we don’t know when he will return.

But how do you watch in a way so that you are ready for Lord’s return? The wise virgins were ready because they brought extra oil.  Clearly there was a difference, but what is it?

We gain some insight from what Jesus says just before and after our text. Jesus says, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” But then Jesus warns that if a wicked servant says “My master is delayed,” and starts to be beat his fellow servants and gets drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and will cut him in pieces.

Once again we hear about a delay in arrival. Once again we hear about a sudden appearance. We learn that the faithful and wise servant is the one who is doing what the master has given him to do.

Immediately after our text, Jesus tells the parable of the talents.  The word “talent” here refers to money, not ability. Jesus said, “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.” The master gave them great resources and responsibility – a talent was the equivalent of twenty years wages.

The first servant traded with the five talents, and made five more. The second servant used the two talents to make two more. But the third servant took the one talent and hid it in the ground. After a long time the master came to settle accounts.  He commended the first two servants as he said, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” But he condemned the third servant for doing nothing. Once again there is a delay. And here the faithful servant is the one who has used the master’s blessings.

We do not keep watch and show ourselves ready for Christ’s return by going up on hill and looking toward the eastern sky.  Instead, we keep watch and are ready when we focus on how the kingdom of God is present now and what it means for us as we live each day in faith.

This means first that we shape our lives around the ways that we receive God’s kingdom – his reign - today. We place the Means of Grace at the center of our life.  This begins as we make each Sunday the day of the Divine Service – the day when we receive Word and Sacrament. And then it extends throughout the week as we actually take time to read and study God’s Word.  When we are receiving the kingdom of God now through Word and Sacrament, we are keeping watch and are ready for its consummation when Christ suddenly returns in glory.

And then it means that we live as those who have received God’s kingdom by doing the things God has given us to do; by using the blessings he has given to us. We do this by forgiving others, just as we discussed last Sunday.  We do this by faithfully carrying out the vocations – the callings – God has given to us as husband and wife, father and mother, son and daughter.  We do this by faithfully using the resources with which God has blessed us to support the ministry of the Gospel here in this place.

Remember, the five foolish virgins thought they were going to be in the marriage feast with the bridegroom. But when he arrived suddenly and unexpectedly, they found that they were not. People will say, “I don’t go to church, but I still believe in Jesus.” They will have sex and live together outside of marriage, and tell themselves, “But I still believe in Jesus.” 

However, you can’t willfully and persistently reject the ways that God’s reign is coming to you; you can’t live in ways that reject what God’s reign means for how we live; you can’t continually fail to live the life of faith, then think that you still have faith.  That is self-deception which on the Last Day will be met by the Lord who will declare, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”

We listen to our Lord’s words this morning and give thanks that already now we are receiving the kingdom of God – the reign of God. We have forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His Spirit keeps us in the faith through the Means of Grace.

We have this now, and we also know that the end of sin, death, and suffering is coming when the Lord Jesus returns in glory. The kingdom of God – the reign of God – will reach its consummation on the Last Day.  Our Lord teaches us this morning that while it may seem to be delayed, its arrival will be sudden, and unexpected. And so Jesus says, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

    

 

 

 

 

Sermon for the Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity - Mt 18:21-35

 

   Trinity 22

                                                                                                            Mt 18:21-35

                                                                                                            11/16/25

 

           

            The central feature of Jesus’ preaching – the phrase he used to summarize his ministry – was “the kingdom of God.” In Matthew’s Gospel we hear this in the term “kingdom of heaven,” which is just a Jewish way of saying the same thing.  Matthew narrates the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with the words: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

            As you have heard me say many times, it is important to understand that when Jesus uses the word “kingdom” he is not referring to a place as we commonly use the word, such as the kingdom of England. Instead, based on the background in the Old Testament he is referring to an activity – an action. The kingdom of God is God’s reign.

            Jesus declared that the reign of God was present in his person. In him, God was overcoming Satan, sin, and death. When the Pharisees accused him of casting out demons by being in league with the devil, he responded by saying, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

            A feature of Matthew’s Gospel is that much of Jesus’ teaching has been gathered together into five large blocks of material. Our text, in chapter eighteen, is located in one of those blocks. In this section, Jesus is teaching about how things work when you have received the reign of God in Jesus.

            The chapter begins as the disciples come to Jesus and ask “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  They are focused on glory – on being the greatest. So Jesus put a child in their midst and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

            We live in a world that prizes children, and holds them up as examples of innocence. However, in the ancient world there was a very different view. Children were seen as weak, uninformed, and dependent.  They had nothing to offer until they became older, and the available evidence indicates that they were not used as a positive metaphor.

            Jesus is teaching that the person who is greatest in the kingdom of God, is the one who recognizes his lowliness and need. It is the person who acknowledges that he is dependent on, and in need of Christ.  In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in spirit is the person who recognizes his sin – the fact that he is a sinner who has no spiritual resources for dealing with God.

            We are spiritually dependent and in need. But just before this chapter Matthew tells us, “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’” Because we are plagued by sin and death, Jesus Christ carried out the central act of God’s reign by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.

Jesus told the disciples, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Christ redeemed us from sin – he freed us from its slavery by winning forgiveness for us. He offered himself as he received the judgment of God that we deserve. And then in his resurrection he defeated death, as he began resurrection life that will be ours on the Last Day.

This is the reign of God – the kingdom of God – that you have received through the work of the Holy Spirit. In baptism you received the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Spirit. Your sins were washed away.  You have been baptized into the death of Christ the risen Lord, and so Paul tells us about baptism, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

So how do things work for those who have received the kingdom of God in Christ? Immediately before our text, Jesus has taught that because God has sought and saved each one of us, we are to be concerned about the spiritual welfare of one another. We care for others who are in circumstances that lead away from Christ.  Jesus said, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.”

This means that we must confront sin. Immediately before our text Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”  Now the world will tell you to “mind your own business.” But we are not the world.  Instead, we are those who have received the kingdom of God. We are those who have been united by baptism in the Body of Christ – the Church.

We do not confront sin with an attitude of superiority. Remember, we are those who are dependent on Christ because we recognize our own sin. The Church is made up of sinners.  But they are very particular kind of sinners – they are repentant sinners.  We confess our own sin, and receive forgiveness through faith in Christ. And then we seek to turn away from sin because we recognize that it does spiritual harm.

Christ describes a process by which the Church seeks out believers who are straying in sin. It begins with individual and  private interaction which calls sin what it is, and urges the individual to return to God’s ways. This is followed by the act of taking several other Christians to do the same thing.  Finally, the congregation as a whole undertakes this work.

Those in the Church have received the kingdom of God as repentant sinners.  But when an individual persistently refuses to repent, our Lord tells us that a time arrives when we must admit that a person is no longer Church – no longer a forgiven sinner. Jesus said, “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Our Lord tells us that he gives his Church the authority to declare what he has already said is true. Where there is no repentance, there is no forgiveness.  We call this the Office of the Keys. There is indeed the binding key that says sin has not been forgiven. This is the final act of law – the last thing the Church can do in trying to bring about repentance.

But in our life together, our primary focus is on the loosing key – the word of absolution. Just as it occurred at the beginning of this service, we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness from the pastor as from God himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it ours sins are forgiven before God in heaven.

Jesus had just spoken about forgiveness for those who have received the kingdom of God. And so in our text Peter approaches him with a question and asks, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Life in the kingdom of God will involve forgiving others, just as we have been forgiven by God. And so Peter seeks to know the limits on that forgiveness as he suggests what he must have thought to be the generous number of seven times.

However, Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” The Greek here is unclear as to whether it means seventy-seven times, or seventy times seven. The answer is irrelevant because the point of our Lord’s statement is: Don’t stop forgiving.

Christ then illustrates this with a parable.  He said, “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.” The man owed the equivalent of 60,0000,000 days wages. There was no way the man could ever pay the debt, and the king ordered that the man, his family, and all his possessions should be sold in order to get some return.

However, the servant fell down on his knees and implored the king saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” The statement was absurd. There was no way that the man would ever be able to repay the master.

 But then, something remarkable happened.  We are told that the master had compassion on the servant. He released the man and forgave the entire debt.

This is what God has done for us in Christ. We must remember that on the Last Day, God will settle all accounts.  St Paul told the Romans, “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” St Augustine observed that just as the man owed ten thousand talents, so there are Ten Commandments that we violate and for which we owe God. And we are just as incapable of addressing this as the man in the parable.

But in Christ, God did something absolutely remarkable. He had compassion on us.  In his mercy he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, and innocent suffering and death. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we receive forgiveness before God.

In the parable we learn that when the man went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He owed a hundred days wages. This was not a small amount, but it was something that in time could be repaid.

The servant for whom the king had forgiven the enormous debt seized the man and began to choke him saying, “Pay what you owe.” So the man did and said exactly what the servant had just done before the king. He fell to his knees and pleaded, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.”  However, the servant refused and instead put his fellow servant in prison until he should pay the debt.

Other servants knew what had happened and were greatly distressed. They reported it to the master. So he summoned the man and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” Then the master

delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. And when he finished telling this parable, Jesus said, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

            Those who have received the reign of God in Christ are forgiven. And because we are forgiven, we forgive others. St Paul told the Colossians, “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Forgiveness is a unique commodity. In order to continue to receive it, you must give it away.  In order to have it, it must be pass on through you to others.

            Now it is important to define what we mean by forgiveness.  Forgiveness is an act of the regenerate will in which the Spirit leads us no longer to hold something against another person.  Like biblical love, forgiveness is not a feeling. It is an action.

            At the same time, we are also people with emotions. When deeply hurt or wronged, we can feel anger and resentment. Sometimes the act of forgiving does not remove those feelings.  We do not feel at peace with the person we have forgiven. We do not “feel” like we have forgiven the person. But if you make the choice not to hold something against a person, then you have forgiven the individual.

            We want to feel at peace with a person we have forgiven. We want to “feel” that we have forgiven them.  And often for that to take place the best advice we can receive are Jesus words when he said, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

            Do you want your emotions to change? Then start praying for that person every day. Even if it begins as the simple act of saying the words, continue to pray for that person day in and day out. Over time the emotions and feelings will change as you put Jesus’ words into practice.

            We have been forgiven by God in Christ. And so we forgive others.  It does not matter whether the person asks for forgiveness or not. We forgive others, because God has forgiven us.

            This is not the way of the world. But it is the way of those who have received the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ.  It is the saving reign of God that makes this possible, and so if we are to do so, we must continue to receive the Means of Grace. We must hear and read God’s Word for through that Word the Spirit gives us forgiveness and strengthen the new man. We must return to our baptism in faith, and lay hold of the forgiveness that continues to be present through our baptism into Christ. We must hear the word of Christ through our pastor as he says, “I forgive you all your sins.” And we must receive the body and blood of Christ in Sacrament of the Altar – body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. In these way the  Spirit strengthens faith and delivers forgiveness to us, which then passes through us and on to others.

             

 

           

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity - Jn 4:46-54

 

    Trinity 21

                                                                                                                        Jn 4:46-54

                                                                                                                        11/9/25

 

            The Holy Spirit has given us four Gospels.  Certainly, one would have been sufficient for learning about the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. But instead, we have received four of them. The early Church referred to this as the “Fourfold Gospel” – the one message about Christ revealed in four Gospels.

            All of the Gospels tell the same story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, they do not all do so in exactly the same way. Matthew and Luke each provide us with information that we don’t learn elsewhere.  These Gospels also have shared information that is not found in Mark. Each of the Gospels provides its own unique emphasis as it reveals Jesus Christ to us.

            More broadly, it soons becomes apparent that Matthew, Mark, and Luke share information about Jesus in a very similar way. This similarity has been captured by describing them as the “Synoptic Gospels,” which is based on a Greek word that means “to see together.”  The Gospel of John on the other hand is quite different.  It shares information that is not found in the other Gospels.

            We see an illustration of his in our Gospel lesson this morning. If you only had Matthew, Mark, and Luke you would presume that Jesus’ ministry lasted about a year, as our Lord made one trip to Jerusalem for the Passover – a trip that resulted in his crucifixion and death.

            However, we learn from John that Jesus made several trips to Jerusalem over the course of a couple of years, and engaged in extensive teaching while there. This fact provides the background for our text as John says, “So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.”  Jesus comes again to Cana in Galilee because he has been away. After the miracle at Cana, John tells us, “The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”

            Our Lord had been in Jerusalem for the Passover. While there, he interacted with Nicodemus. Then we learn at the beginning of chapter four that Jesus left Judea in the south, and again went north to Galilee. This trip took him through a portion of Samaria, and just before our text in chapter four we hear about how the Samaritan woman and many from her town come to believe in Jesus as they say, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

            Now Jesus enters again into Galilee and returns to Cana – a town that was a little over twenty miles southwest of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. We learn that there was a royal official whose son was ill. This man was most likely a Jew who was in the service of King Herod Antipas.  His son was ill, and the illness was very serious because we learn that he was about to die.

            The official knew about Jesus’ miracles. He heard that Jesus was now back in Galilee and so he made the trip to Cana. He went to Jesus and asked him – the Greek here gives us the sense that he pleaded – to come down to Capernaum and heal his son.

            But in reply, Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”  Our Lord described the role that his miracles had in prompting faith, and we will say more about this later. What’s clear is that he didn’t offer to go to Capernaum. And so the official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Where before he had referred to his son, now he talked about averting the death of his child.

            In response, Jesus said, “Go; your son will live.” He declared that his illness would not take the son’s life. The man had gone to Jesus and asked him to come to Capernaum and heal his son.  But instead of going, Jesus spoke a word declaring healing for the child. We learn that the official believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went on his way in order to return to Capernaum.

            As he was going down to the city – for the Sea of Galilee is at a lower elevation – the servants of the official met him and reported that his son was recovering.  They told him that his son lived. When the man inquired about when the son began to get getter, they told him that it was on the previous day at the seventh hour – 1:00 p.m. – that the fever had left him.

            The official knew this was when Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” The man had believed Jesus’ word. Now we learn that as a result of the healing, the man believed and all his household with him. They believed in Christ. And in words that are very significant for understanding our text John concludes by saying, “This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.”

            In our text today, Jesus gives life as he overcomes sickness and death. John explicitly connects this miracle with the previous one Jesus had done at Cana. His words call us back to what John had said after Jesus turned water into wine where John said: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

            John calls the miracle a sign.  It is a sign that reveals Jesus’ glory and calls forth faith.  In our text the sign is a miracle that gives life, and we see that it calls the man to faith.

In his Gospel, John leads us to see that all of Jesus’ miracles are signs that reveal Jesus’ glory.  The signs call forth faith as they point to the revealing of Christ’s glory in his saving death.

John’s Gospel begins by declaring that in the incarnation, Jesus is the revelation of God’s glory.  We learn, “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.”

The glory of God is revealed by Christ in his miracles. But we learn that all of the miracles are signs that point to the cross, for it is there that God’s glory is revealed in a definitive, saving way. During Holy Week as he approached the crucifixion Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” The saving glory was revealed in the cross – it was the sign. Jesus said, “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.” Then John explains, “He said this to show” – literally, “to sign” – “by what kind of death he was going to die.”

It is sin that brought death to our lives. Sin brings physical death, for as Paul tells us, “The wages of sin is death.” Sin also brings the eternal death of God’s judgment. But Jesus Christ died on the cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John says in his first letter that “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 

Through his death in our place Jesus has taken away all of our sins and freed us from God’s judgment.  In his resurrection, life has overcome death. Because of this we already have eternal life.  We learn in John’s Gospel, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Through faith in Jesus we have eternal life now. Our Lord said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” And in Jesus we have life that will overcome bodily death, for he will raise us up on the Last Day.  Christ went on to say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

Jesus’ signs – his miracles – called forth faith during his ministry. And they continue to do so today. At the end of the Gospel, John tells us, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The Spirit of Christ has given us the Gospel of John – he inspired it – so that here we encounter Jesus’ miracles.  They call forth and sustain faith in Christ.

            Now one may say, “But hearing about them in the Gospel is not the same thing as seeing them.”  However this ignores the fact that those who actually saw them were also able to reject Jesus. John tells us about Jesus during Holy Week, “But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.” 

It is not the manner in which we see the miracles that makes the difference – whether we were there or not. Instead, what makes the difference is how they are received. That is the point of Jesus’ statement in our text, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Jesus signs – his miracles – divide and separate those who believe and those who do not. There is the same content – the same power – in the miracles no matter whether we were there to see them or whether we hear them in the inspired Gospels. The difference that matters is whether they are received in faith.

When Martin Luther preached on this text, he observed that the man experiences a progression in faith, and Luther described how this truth is important for us.  He said, “Now this Gospel reading speaks further about the increase of faith, and this is not alike. Even though faith fully has Christ and all his benefits, yet it must always be practiced and used so that it is certain and retains that treasure. There is a distinction between having a thing and grasping it firmly, between and strong and weak faith.”

We see this first as the man went to Cana to ask for Jesus’ help. There was the beginning of faith – he believed that Jesus could help his son, and was willing to make the trip to Cana in order to ask for his help.  He went to Jesus and asked him to come to Capernaum and heal his son.

However, Jesus didn’t give the man what he wanted. At one level, he rejected the man.  Instead, Jesus said, “Go; your son will live.” Instead of the action he requested, Jesus gave the man his word.  And then we learn, “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” Jesus apparent rejection of his request led to a deeper faith that now clung to Jesus’ word.

The man continued in faith. He believed Jesus’ word, but there was still the unknown of his son’s condition. He began to make the journey to Capernaum, and had no way of knowing whether the child was getting worse or even had died. But he in the midst of that journey he believed Jesus word – he held on to it.

Finally, he was met by his servant who reported that the child was healed. He discovered that the fever had left him at the very time when Jesus had said, “You son will live.” And then we are told that he believed.  This was certain and sure faith in Christ. And it was not just the man. His whole household joined him in believing.

Through faith in Christ we have everything.  We have forgiveness and eternal life. But faith must deepen and grow stronger. Luther commented, “What happens with all Christians is that, if faith is not continually practiced and used, it decreases, so that it must go out.”

The process by which faith is exercised and grows stronger occurs in circumstances of challenge and difficulty. As Luther said, “Yet faith must have temptation just so that it may struggle and increase.” Or as he added later, “This is why the cross, temptation, and adversity must come, in which faith grows and becomes strong.”

The challenges that we face in life are used by God to put to death the old Adam in us – all of the false gods in which we trust. Instead, we turn ever more strongly to Christ – to the Word become flesh. We grow in our trust in God’s Word of promise because Jesus is the One who has freed us from sin and given us life through his resurrection. This is not different from saving faith, but it is faith that is stronger – a faith that holds to Christ and his word ever more firmly. It does so because Jesus is the crucified and risen Lord in whom we have eternal life now.