He is Risen!

Sermon for Easter Sunday based on Luke 24:1-12 (Is. 65:17-25; 1 Cor. 15:19-26)

Dear disciples who have the promise of the resurrection: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The disciples didn’t just lose a close friend on Good Friday. They lost their Master and Teacher. They lost their Lord who was supposed to be ushering in a new kingdom in which they were supposed to sit on thrones. They lost all hope.

They had spent three years with Jesus, learning from Him and witnessing Him perform miracles and powerful signs. They believed that Jesus was their Redeemer, who would rescue them and all mankind from every evil. They believed that nothing could prevent the coming of kingdom of God.

Their hopes had been dashed. Two of the disciples confessed as much on the road to Emmaus. “We had hoped He would be the one to redeem Israel,” they said (Luke 24:21). They had hoped, but hoped so no longer. They had lost all hope.

They thought Jesus was God’s promised Saviour. Jesus had taught them for years, shown His power, and taught like no human could teach. Whenever He had been threatened or attacked before, it came to nothing. Jesus had simply walked away from an angry mob that tried to throw Him off a cliff. The angry rulers had been trying to kill Him for a long time, but unsuccessfully. When they had picked up stones to kill Him in the Temple, Jesus escaped from them with ease.

The disciples didn’t understand why, after all that, Jesus let Himself be arrested. They thought they’d be ushering in a new kingdom with Jesus. Peter pulled out his sword against an army, ready to fight by himself; that’s how much he believed in the kingdom of Jesus.

But then Jesus died. His death was witnessed by many, some watching with great sorrow; others with great delight. His death was confirmed by the centurion, and just for good measure a spear pierced Jesus’ side resulting in the flow of blood and water. Then His corpse was laid in a stone-cold tomb. Jesus was dead. Everything was lost. No kingdom. No teacher. No Jesus. No hope.

The disciples’ faith had been crushed. They ran in fear. They had abandoned their Lord at His arrest and then after His death they went into hiding behind locked doors, cowering in terror. They were afraid that they would be killed next.

Jesus had told them many times that He would die, but the disciples didn’t understand. Even when the women came from the tomb telling them that He had arisen, they thought the women were telling idle tales. The women kept insisting but the disciples would not believe. After all, who has ever seen anyone rise from the dead? When do you ever go to the tomb of a loved one and expect them have risen and be alive? The women also did not go to Jesus’ tomb expecting to find Him alive, but they went with spices to prepare His body for permanent burial. It was the empty tomb and the message of the two angels reminding them of what Jesus had told them that gave them faith again. “Remember how He told you… that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise?” (vv. 6-7)

The resurrection of Jesus was not just a reunion with a friend who had died. It was the return of hope. It was the return of faith.

Without the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples had nothing. They had the promises of a dead man. They had more questions than answers in trying to understand what had happened. Without the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples would have been witnesses of the victory of sin, death, and the devil over Jesus.

On Good Friday, the powers of death did their worst. The devil and his angels attacked with all their might. Sin and hell stung with all their strength and the Law of God accused with all its force. If Jesus is still dead, then sin, death, and the devil rule.

Without the resurrection of Jesus, you have nothing. You only have death and hell in your future. If Christ has not been raised, then my preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (I Cor. 15:14). If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins (I Cor. 15:17); then there is no reunion with your loved ones in heaven; then you’re wasting your time coming to church today because there is no forgiveness of sins to be had here; then Baptism is an empty circus show and the Lord’s Supper is not the medicine of immortality but just a farce.

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (I Cor. 15:20) We have been redeemed and rescued from every evil. Jesus had to die to save us. “[Jesus] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death” (SC II.2). His death is the very thing that paid the price and took the punishment of our sins.

Jesus’ resurrection was also necessary to prove that He conquered sin, death, and the devil. His resurrection was necessary to prove that God the Father accepted His death as payment for our sins; as a substitute in our place. His resurrection was necessary to show that the strife is over, the battle done; that the victor’s triumph is won. The powers of death have done their worst, but Christ their legions hath dispersed (LSB 464 st. 1, 2). Sin, death, and the devil have been conquered.

Further, it was the death and resurrection of Jesus that brought about the kingdom of God. Jesus is the promised Saviour, but unlike the expectations of the disciples, Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. Jesus told as much to Pilate during His trial. Jesus has a new heavens and a new earth waiting for us in His eternal kingdom. We heard about this kingdom in our Old Testament lesson – it will be a joy and a gladness and no weeping will be heard there or the cry of distress; the wolf and the lamb will graze together and the lion will eat straw like an ox; no one will hurt or destroy in all by holy mountain, says the Lord (Is. 65:17-25).

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we do not have eternal death or hell in our future. My preaching is not in vain and neither is your faith futile because they are firmly grounded in the promises of Jesus, our risen Saviour. Further, you are no longer in your sins. Jesus has paid for them and removed them from you. You have a promised reunion with your loved ones who have died in the faith. You’re not wasting your time coming to church today and every Sunday because there is forgiveness of sins given freely here. Baptism is being buried with Jesus into His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-5). The Lord’s Supper is the medicine of immortality because it gives the forgiveness of sins as Jesus promised (Matt. 26:28).

And because Jesus is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, His resurrection is the promise of our resurrection. “As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (I Cor. 15:22) Buried into the death and resurrection of Christ we have the promise that just as He rose from the dead, so we will rise also. Buried into Jesus’ death and resurrection we have the promise of eternal life in His kingdom.

Jesus is risen! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Cross

Sermon for Good Friday based on John 18-19

Dear people who ponder the cross: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

We see crosses and crucifixes all over the place. Certainly in and on church buildings and on headstones, but also in many other places. In art. On jewellery. Hanging from rear-view mirrors. Tattooed on bodies. The cross is quite probably the most recognized symbol in existence.

Very often, however, its meaning is completely lost. It has become just another symbol that is used because it looks kind of neat. It has become just another fad or fashion statement worn around the neck or tattooed beside a fire-breathing dragon for effect. It has become a superstitious good luck charm that wards off evil in the minds of some.

But what is the cross? The cross is an instrument of torture and execution. You don’t see too many people with mini guillotines hanging from their rear-view mirror, tattoos of gallows on their shoulder, or bracelets on their wrist with electric chair charms. A cross is trendier.

Romans used the cross as a threat to would-be criminals. Criminals would be crucified with the charges against them inscribed above them. Crucifixions were public executions so they acted as a deterrent to crime; a threat that if you commit a similar crime you will die a similar, long, painful death.

The meaning of the cross as a symbol for us, of course, comes from the death of Jesus on a cross. While His death was with criminals, He was no criminal. He is the only man who never sinned. The charge inscribed above Him on the cross was “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” That’s not exactly a crime.

In fact, the only charge of which Jesus was found guilty, was that He said that He is God. If a man claims to be God and is not, it is blasphemy. That is what the chief priests and scribes accused Jesus of doing. They accused Jesus of blasphemy because He said He is God.

Jesus’ death on a cross was not just another crucifixion. It was the crucifixion of God in the flesh. It was the crucifixion of all of our sins in the body of Jesus (I Peter 2:24). It was Jesus taking the punishment and wrath of God onto Himself, saving us from it.

Jesus did not just suffer physically. Jesus also suffered all the guilt of every sin ever committed. He suffered the guilt of sins we don’t even want to mention because they’re so dark. Jesus suffered the abandonment of God the Father. He was forsaken by God and left to bear the sins of the world.

Jesus’ death on the cross changed everything. We no longer have to fear the eternal punishment we deserve because of our sins. Death is no longer a threat to us. Our relationship with God has been restored because we are reconciled to Him. We are no longer His enemies since our sins against Him have been wiped clean and removed from us as far as the east is from the west. We are no longer dead in our sins but are alive in Christ Jesus.

The cross of Christ also changes our relationships with each other. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. He reconciled us to God so now we can also be reconciled to each other. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, receiving the same forgiveness that we all need.

Jesus’ death on the cross changed everything. So let us not act like the cross is just some fad or fashion statement. It is a reminder to us that the debt of our sins has been paid. It is a symbol of the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is the sign of reconciliation between us and God.

Likewise, let us not act like the death of Jesus for us doesn’t change us completely. How can we who died to sin, still live in it? (Rom. 6:2) After being rescued from sin, how can we turn right back into sin? After being forgiven our sin, how can we rebel against God by following our sinful desires?

The cross changes us. The cross of Jesus leads us to walk in newness of life. We don’t have to let sin reign in our mortal bodies or obey its passions (Rom. 6:12). We have a new life in Christ.

This life is renewed every time we read or hear God’s Word. This life is renewed each time we receive the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sin. Every time we fall, Christ Himself lifts us up again through giving us His body and blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of all our sins.

This is our new life in Christ: continual forgiveness; continual strengthening through His Word and Supper; continual love which He showed to us by His death on the cross.

The cross is not just some empty symbol to which we attach meaning as we see fit. The cross is not some fad or fashion statement, nor is it some kind of a good luck charm. The cross is a symbol of the life we have because of Jesus’ death for us. The cross is a sign of the reconciliation we have with God. The cross is a reminder to us that the debt of all of our sins has been paid because of the love of God shown to us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Jesus the Servant

Sermon for Holy Thursday based on John 13:1-17

Dear people served by Jesus: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Simon Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” The very thought of having his Teacher and Lord humiliate Himself by washing his dirty feet was just too much for Peter. It would just be too embarrassing. Maybe the lowest of the low slaves could wash the feet of guests, but certainly not the host. Certainly the greatest Teacher to walk the earth, the Lord of creation, should not be washing the feet of His disciples. Really, it would have been embarrassing for the disciples if other people found out they followed a leader who humiliated Himself in such a way. It was a completely foreign thought that their Lord and Teacher would not seek prestige and honour from others, but would instead humble Himself and serve them in such meekness.

Really, what Peter needed was not just for Jesus to humble Himself like a lowly slave by kneeling before him and washing his feet. He needed Jesus to humble Himself even more than that. Peter needed Jesus to humble Himself by allowing Himself to be betrayed, mocked, whipped, beaten, and numbered with criminals. Peter needed Jesus to humble Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. All the world had that same need.

The washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus took place in the upper room the same day Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is another way in which Jesus humbly serves His people. Jesus gives us His body and blood to eat and drink. This gives us much more than clean feet as Jesus humbles Himself and serves us in meekness.

Jesus humbled Himself to be like a lamb led to the slaughter (Is. 53:7). Passover lambs without blemish or spot were chosen from the flock and slaughtered at twilight. Their flesh was roasted on fire and they were eaten rather humbly with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Their blood was put on the doorposts and the lintel to turn away the angel of death.

In similar fashion, the only man without blemish or spot, the sinless Son of God was chosen by God the Father to be slaughtered. His flesh was roasted in the fires of hell and is eaten rather humbly with bread and wine. Wherever we eat His body and drink His blood death’s dread angel sheaths his sword (cf. LSB 633 st. 3).

So do we respond like Peter and say, “Lord, do you give me Your body and blood to eat and drink?” Is the very thought that our Lord and Teacher would humiliate Himself by giving us His body and blood to drink too embarrassing? Certainly the Lord of creation should not humble Himself to the point of dying for us and giving us His body and blood to eat and drink. Is it such a foreign thought that our Lord and Teacher would not seek the prestige and honour of the world but would instead by humbling Himself serve us in such meekness?

Jesus responded to Peter by saying, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” This wasn’t just about Peter refusing to have his feet washed. It was about Peter refusing to let Jesus serve him. It was about Peter thinking he knew better than Jesus how Jesus should serve him.

For us it is not just about refusing to eat a wafer of bread and take a sip of wine. It is about refusing to let Jesus serve us. It is about thinking that we know better than Jesus how He should serve us.

Peter responds, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Peter is still thinking that he knows better than Jesus. “If you need to wash me so that I can have a share in You, then wash all of me, not just my feet – that’s not enough.”

Jesus answers Peter, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except his feet, but is completely clean.” If you’ve bathed and then walk in your sandals on dusty streets to another house, you are still clean, except for your feet. You don’t need another bath; you just need your feet cleaned in order to be completely clean.

So it is for us. We should never say the Lord’s Supper is not enough. We should never say that we need more than the Lord’s Supper from Jesus. We’ve already been cleansed by the waters of Holy Baptism. Holy Baptism has washed us clean from all of our sin. We’ve been given faith through the Word of God. When we fall into sin, God does not take away the promises He made to us in Baptism. When we go out and walk in the streets of sin our feet get dirty, but God does not take His Word away from us. We need the forgiveness that Jesus gives in His Holy Supper to cleanse our sin.

Sometimes it may feel like it’s not enough. God’s Law convicts us of our sin. Our sins of thought, word, and deed haunt our consciences. Our feelings of guilt make us feel dirty and unclean.

But when we hear the words of Absolution that forgive us our sins and receive the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of sins, we are no longer dirty. We are completely clean. We don’t need to feel like we’re too wretched and sinful to have a share in Jesus. When you’ve been baptized and absolved, you’re not completely dirty even though you’ve again fallen into sin. You just need your feet washed, so to speak. You need to once again hear that your sins are forgiven. You need to once again receive the Lord’s body and blood for the forgiveness of all your sins.

It may seem too little or too simple. We may ask, “How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things? Certainly not just eating and drinking do these things, but the words written here: ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’ These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: ‘forgiveness of sins.’” (SC VI)

It’s so simple, because Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross for your sins. He’s already paid the price of your sins. You’re already baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, so regular forgiveness is as easy as coming to the Lord’s Altar. It’s simpler even than a foot washing. And the forgiveness given to you in the Lord’s Supper is complete. God doesn’t give partial forgiveness. Every time you receive Holy Communion you receive complete forgiveness of all your sins.

We daily sin much, so we daily need forgiveness. Jesus humbly serves us in His Holy Supper. Our Lord and Teacher desires to humbly serve you and give you the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation (SC VI). Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Father, Forgive Them

Sermon for Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion based on Luke 23:1-56

Dear sinners for whom Jesus died: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The Roman soldiers did not know that they were crucifying the Son of God. As they pounded the nails through the flesh of Jesus and mocked Him, they did not know who He was or understand what it was that they were doing. Jesus prayed to the Father that He would forgive them.

The chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the temple did not know what they were doing. When they gathered a band of soldiers to arrest Jesus, they did not believe that He was God. When they dragged Him to Pilate with false accusations against Him and when they urgently demanded with loud cries that He be crucified, they did not understand what it was that they were doing. Jesus prayed to the Father that He would forgive them.

Pontius Pilate did not know what he was doing. He found no guilt in Jesus. None of the accusations was proven and the witnesses conflicted each other with their false testimony. When Pilate allowed himself to be pressured into doing what he knew was wrong and unjust, he did not know what he was doing. He did not know who it was that he sentenced to death. Jesus prayed to the Father that He would forgive him.

The disciples of Jesus did not understand what they were doing either. Even during Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, John writes that the disciples did not understand what was happening. That’s why the disciples slept instead of praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. That’s why Peter started swinging with his sword during Jesus’ arrest. That’s why all the disciples fled and abandoned Jesus. That’s why Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times. The disciples did not know what they were doing. Jesus prayed to the Father that He would forgive them.

Do you know what you are doing? Do you understand what you are doing with your love for the vain things of this world? Do you know what you are doing when you are lured by the enticements of the world? Do you know what you are doing when you allow your mind to be fascinated by the lusts and sharp temptations of the world? Do you know what you are doing when you fall yet again into your favourite sin and think it’s not a big deal?

Sometimes we think we know what we’re doing. We think we know how good we are and how insignificant our sins are. But in reality, we are so busy accusing others and excusing ourselves that we don’t know. We can easily see the sins of others against us and are quick to accuse them and even use their sins against us as an excuse to justify what we do. We do not know what we do.

Psalm 19 confesses, “Who can discern his errors?” and prays, “Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” (v. 12) Scripture confirms that we do not know what we do.

We have to take our place along with the Roman soldiers, the chief priests, Pilate, and the disciples. We do not know what we do. We barely even consider our sins to be all that bad even though Jesus died because of our sins. We are quick to fall into one sin or another because we do not know what we do.

As we sing in the hymn:

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered Was all for sinners gain;

Mine, mine was the transgression, But thine the deadly pain.

Lo, here I fall, my Saviour! ‘Tis I deserve Thy place;

Look on me with Thy favour, And grant to me Thy grace. (LSB 450 st. 3)

Our sins are the reason Jesus died – the sins we know and the sins we do not know. We do not know what we do, yet Jesus prays for us, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus prayed this prayer right at the moment when He was paying the price of our sins; right at the moment when He made it possible for God the Father to forgive us our sins.

Sins do not just disappear. Sins cannot just be swept under some carpet somewhere. The price of our sins had to be paid. Jesus’ death makes it possible for God to forgive us because He paid the price of our sins. Jesus took our punishment. He took the full wrath of God for all the sins of the whole world. Jesus was charged with every point of God’s Law that we have failed to keep and was found guilty. He redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). He was forsaken by God the Father so that we will not be forsaken by Him.

One of the criminals crucified with Jesus understood this. He confessed that he was receiving a just punishment; the due reward of his deeds. He recognized that he did not know what he had done and was now judged on earth and the judgment of heaven was imminent. What could he do to undo the evil he had done? How could he repay those from whom he had stolen? How could he unhurt those he had hurt? There was nothing he could do. His life of crime resulted in the Roman authorities executing him on a cross as an example to others. His life of sin deserved an eternal judgment from God. There was nothing he could do to turn his life around. There was nothing he could do to save himself.

Yet Jesus said to this criminal, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” The Holy Spirit included this conversation in Scripture for a reason. It teaches us that we are not saved by anything we do. We are not saved because we do more good than bad in this life. We are not saved because we manage to undo the bad things we have done. We are saved even though we do not know what we do. Jesus’ conversation with this criminal also teaches us that there is nothing left to be done. Jesus’ death completes the payment for our sins.

There’s no such place as purgatory where we have to go to suffer for the temporal punishment of our sins. If there was such a place, Jesus would not have told the criminal that he would be with Jesus in Paradise today. If there was such a place as purgatory, this criminal would have had millions of years to spend there. He spent his life doing evil. If his family spent all they had to light candles for his soul and buying indulgences and going on pilgrimages even to this day, they would not even have put a dent in his time in purgatory. Yet Jesus told him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

On the day of your death, you can rest assured that this promise of Jesus is also for you. Not because of what you’ve done or left undone. Not because you have done more good than bad. Not because you know what you do, but because you know what Jesus did for you. You know that He paid the price of your sins. You know that His death is your death and His life is your life. Baptized into Christ you have the promise that just as He rose from the dead, so you too will rise from the dead. On the day of your death, you have the promise from Jesus, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

We do not know what we do. We do not understand the enormous price of our sins. But we do know that Jesus paid the enormous price of our sins. We do know that Jesus has taken all our guilt away. We do know that Jesus gives us His body and blood to eat and to drink so that we can be certain that the promise of the forgiveness of sins is for us. We can be certain that on the day we die, we have Jesus promise: today, you will be with me in Paradise. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Body of Christ: His Heart

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

You have a heart condition. I’m not speaking medically, but theologically. Scripture says that every intention of the heart of man is only evil continually (Gen. 6:5); that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9); that out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander (Matt 15:19).

You are not sinful because you commit sins. You commit sins because you are sinful. You don’t commit sins that then make your heart sinful. You commit sins because your heart is sinful. You may be good at hiding it from men, but God knows your heart (Luke 16:15). That’s why God knows that you need a new heart.

It’s not just a matter of repairing the old heart. The old heart cannot be rehabilitated. It cannot be made better. Trying to do better won’t help your sinful heart to be any more alive than exercise and a balanced diet would help a dead heart to start beating. You need a heart transplant.

This is what God does for you. Ezekiel records God’s words, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (36:25-26)

Already in Baptism you were cleansed from your uncleanness and given a new heart. Your impenetrable, stubborn heart has been replaced with faith created by the Holy Spirit. You’ve been given a new heart, a living heart. You have been brought from death to life, with your heart sprinkled clean (Heb. 10:22).

So does that mean that you have two hearts? Well, in a way yes. You still have your sinful heart of stone that never wants to do God’s will, and you have also been given a new heart that desires only to do God’s will. When you die you will no longer have your sinful heart but only your new God-given heart. This means that you will never again sin. There is no sin in heaven. Then you will have a heart that desires only what God desires.

Until then, you have two hearts, including one that is rock-hard. The only way to deal with this condition is through continual repentance; continually turning away from sin and receiving forgiveness from God.

Our rock-hard hearts are the reason why Jesus came to earth. Jesus had compassion on us and brought us salvation. He was heart-broken over our sin, so He came to save us.

Jesus’ heart is only full of love. His heart is always giving, loving, and forgiving. His heart holds no grudge against you because of your sin. Jesus’ heart is so full of love towards you that He willingly came to earth and died in your place. He paid the price of every hard-hearted sin you’ve ever committed.

Because of Jesus’ death for you, you can pour out your heart to God (Ps. 62:8). You can confess your sins with full assurance that all your sins are forgiven. You don’t have to hold anything back. When you sin, you can pray with David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10)

Because of Jesus’ death for you, you can take to heart what the apostle John writes in his first epistle, “Whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.” (I John 3:20) Whenever your heart feels the guilt of your sins, know that God is greater than your heart. Your sins are forgiven even if memories of sin remain. Your sins are forgiven even if consequences of sin remain. God is greater than your heart.

Until God takes you home to be with Him, you will have a battle with your sinful heart. But know that the battle has already been won. You have already been given a new heart that is alive in faith. Your sinful heart will no longer exist once God takes you home to Himself. Until then, the old heart in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and the new heart should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever (SC IV.4).

Because Jesus’ heart is filled with love towards you, you have been given a new heart. It is this new heart that will live forever before God in righteousness and purity. This new heart, which you already have, will be yours for eternity. Because of this new heart, you will live forever. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Wicked Tenants Destroyed

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent based on Luke 20:9-20

Dear church of God: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The owner of a vineyard has a right to the fruit of the vineyard. In the first century, it was not uncommon for a land owner to lease his land to tenants who would then give the owner his portion of the fruit at harvest time. The tenants’ job was to care for the vineyard in the owner’s absence.

How evil and wicked it would be for tenants not to give the owner what is due to him at harvest time. To add sin on top of sin, the tenants in Jesus’ parable did even worse than not giving the vineyard owner his fruit. They beat the servants the owner sent. The tenants treated the servants shamefully and physically abused them and sent them away empty-handed. Every servant the owner sent was beat up and thrown out of the vineyard with nothing.

Then the vineyard owner sent his beloved son. The tenants threw him out of the vineyard and murdered him. The tenants thought that if they murdered the heir, the vineyard would be theirs. The tenants are so wicked, that they are even blinded in their wickedness to the point of stupidity. Why on earth would the vineyard belong to them because they murdered the son? It doesn’t even make any sense.

The tenants certainly thought that the owner would never return, or that if he did return, he would be powerless to take his vineyard back. They showed no respect for the owner and through their actions showed themselves to be murderous thieves.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?” asks Jesus. “He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” The wicked tenants will not get the vineyard. They will be destroyed.

Scripture makes it clear that Jesus is speaking of the scribes and chief priests who were the leaders of the church. The scribes and chief priests were the tenants of the vineyard, which is the church of God. It was their task to take care of the church. It was their job to teach God’s Word which brings about the fruit of repentance.

But the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests did not teach God’s Word. They taught that people must earn their place in the kingdom of heaven through keeping the law. They even made up their own laws apart from the Law of God and demanded that people keep their laws in order to earn a place in heaven. Thus Jesus said, “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (Matt. 23:13) By teaching people to earn a place in the kingdom of heaven, they led people to rely on their own works and thus were shutting the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces and leading them into hell.

So God sent His servants the prophets to tell the people that they could not earn heaven because they were sinful and that the only way to heaven is through the promised Saviour. The prophets told people not to rely on their own works because their own works cannot save them. They taught the people that salvation is possible only through the mercy of God.

The prophets were sent to find the fruit of repentance – the fruit of people turning away from sin and trusting in God for forgiveness and salvation. But the prophets were treated shamefully and thrown out of the vineyard. Many of the prophets were murdered, even though Jesus doesn’t mention it in the parable.

So God sent His beloved Son, even though He knew that He would not be respected either. The scribes and chief priests, the leaders of the church, were instrumental in murdering the Son of God. They were the ones who paid one of Jesus’ disciples to betray Him. They were the ones who arrested Jesus at night with a lynch mob. They were the ones who first tried Him at the house of Caiaphas the high priest. The scribes and chief priests were the ones who sought false testimony to accuse Jesus before Pilate and Herod. They were the ones who spit in His face and struck Him. They were the ones who persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and Jesus to be crucified. They were the ones who mocked Jesus as He was suffering on the cross. They were the ones who tried to cover up the resurrection of Jesus by bribing the soldiers guarding the tomb to lie that the disciples had stolen His body during the night.

Yes, it was the church of God that murdered the Son of God. Keep this in mind when you think about the church. We’re not gathered here because we are so good. We’re not gathered here because our being here is some kind of good work that earns a place for us in the kingdom of heaven. We are gathered here because we are miserable sinners. We are gathered here because we know that no matter what we do we cannot earn a place for ourselves in heaven. We are gathered here to receive the forgiveness of sins which Jesus earned by His death on the cross. We are gathered here because we are part of the church of God that murdered the Son of God.

Have you been hurt by someone in the church of God? Maybe even by one of the pastors or leaders of the church? That is sad, but remember what the church is. We’re a bunch of sinners gathered to receive forgiveness together. If we’re capable of murdering the Son of God, we’re capable of hurting each other, too.

So we gather here to receive forgiveness. There is hope for us nowhere else. Only in the church does God call pastors to teach His Word. Only in the church does God give us new birth in the waters of Holy Baptism. Only in the church does God nourish us with the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of all our sins.

The church is God’s vineyard. When one group of tenants is unfaithful in giving the owner of the vineyard His fruit that is due Him, God will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

The church is so precious to God that He will not allow wicked tenants to be caretakers forever. God will destroy wicked tenants and put His church in the hands of those who will give to God the fruit of repentance.

That’s the fruit that God is looking for. He’s looking for us to turn from our sins every day because we sin every day. He’s looking for us to trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of all our sins.

God Himself brings about this fruit of repentance. His Word turns us from sin. His Word forgives us our sin. His Word gives us trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of all our sin.

Despite all our blemishes, we are the church of God. We are God’s vineyard and He ensures that we are bringing forth the fruit of repentance. After all, we belong to Him. He is the owner of the vineyard, and the owner of a vineyard has a right to the fruit of the vineyard. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Body of Christ: His Face

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

Isaiah prophecies concerning Jesus, “I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.” (Is. 50:7) The Gospel according to Saint Luke tells us of the fulfilment of this prophecy: “When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)

Jesus knew what He was going to face in Jerusalem. In fact, He had already told His disciples that He would suffer and be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes; that He would be put to death, and on the third day be raised (Luke 9:22). Nevertheless, Jesus was determined. He was unwavering. He set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die for sinful mankind. His will was hard like rock and He would not turn aside from His mission to save us.

The First Commandment commands us to set our faces toward God; to trust in Him above all things; to follow wherever He leads. It commands us to set our faces like flint to do God’s will. This we promised to do in our confirmation vows. We promised to suffer all, even death, rather than turn away from following God.

But we must confess that we have not kept our faces set toward God; we have turned away from following His will; we have not trusted Him completely. If we trusted God completely, we would never question Him. We would never ask “Why did this happen to me?” We would never question why we face hardships, why we lost a loved one, or why we have a terminal illness. We would just trust that God knows what He’s doing and leave it at that.

But rather than keep our faces set toward God, we are so easily moved to look elsewhere. We seek leisure and entertainment before we seek God’s face. We follow the world’s ways of thinking before we follow God’s way of thinking. We trust our bank accounts and pensions before we trust God.

We know this is true, because what would happen if all of a sudden we’d lose everything we had? What if God in His righteous judgment destroyed our town because of the wickedness that takes place here? What if your house became a heap of ruins and your bank account a few jingling pennies? Would you ask God, “Why; why me?” Would you question God’s wisdom in allowing such tragedy to befall you? Or would you join Job in saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21)?

We have to admit we’re not likely to have the attitude of Job. We’re more likely to be like Lot’s wife, who looked back at her home and city being destroyed by sulphur and fire out of heaven even though God rescued her from the city (see Gen. 19). We’re more likely to be like the Israelites who looked back to Egypt and fondly remembered the meat pots and bread, the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic (Ex. 14:11-12, 16:3, 17:3; Nu. 11:5) while grumbling against God because He saved them from slavery. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt. The grumbling Israelites were overthrown and died in the wilderness.

We can’t set our faces toward God’s will for us and follow it. That’s why Jesus set His face like a flint to do the Father’s will. Jesus did what we could not do. Jesus set His face on saving you and He never looked back. The temptations of the devil never got Him to turn away from His goal. The suffering and pain inflicted on Him by us and our sins never got Him to turn aside. Even though all His disciples turned their faces away from Him and fled; even though He was mocked and His face was spit on, He never turned His face away from saving you.

After His resurrection, Jesus did not come to the disciples in anger even though they had failed to trust Him and had abandoned Him; even though they had turned their faces away from following Him. Jesus came to them in forgiveness. He came and said, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19)

Despite our failures as disciples of Jesus; despite the times we have turned our faces aside from following Him, Jesus also still gives us His peace. You hear it at the end of every Divine Service. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace.

The benediction is a blessing, the very words given by God to speak to His people (Nu. 6:24-26). As opposed to God setting His face against His enemies to destroy them, He sets His face with graciousness toward His people. Because Jesus set His face like flint and accomplished our salvation, God sets His face on us with mercy and looks on us with favour. When God looks at us favourably, we have peace – peace with Him because our sins are forgiven (Rom. 5:1).

This is the goal that Jesus accomplished. He set His face to accomplish our salvation and He did not turn aside from it. This is why God has set His face on us with His favour. This is why we have peace with God. This is why all our sins are forgiven.

The Lord will bless you and keep you. The Lord will make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord will lift His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Prodigal Father

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent based on Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Dear sons of the Father: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

We are accustomed to calling the parable Jesus told in today’s Gospel lesson the parable of the prodigal son. To be prodigal means to be spending resources freely and recklessly; to be wastefully extravagant. This certainly fits the parable, even if the word itself doesn’t appear in the parable.

The son is wasteful. He cannot wait for his father to be dead. He wants his inheritance immediately. The father divides the estate no matter how long it had been in the family. The son cannot take the estate with him as it is, so he must have sold it off. He sold his share of the farm and land, buildings and cattle so that he would have cash to burn. No sooner had he received his share of the family estate than he sold it to strangers. The text says he then went to a far country and there squandered his property in reckless living. He spent everything. He squandered what generations had worked to build. Yes, the son is wasteful. He is a prodigal son.

But who else is prodigal? Who else is wastefully extravagant and gives resources freely and recklessly? The father.

The father didn’t have to divide and give away his estate while he was still living, but he gave it away freely. That is rather extravagant. And when the prodigal son returns home thinking that he can earn back what he has squandered the father won’t even hear him out. The father doesn’t even want to hear the son say that he will work as a servant. The father runs out when the son is still far off which means that he was watching and waiting for the son to return. He gives the wasteful son his best robe. Never mind that the son must have stunk like the pigs he was feeding, the father just threw his best robe on him. That sounds pretty wasteful, too.

Then the father gives the wasteful son the ring that gives him status and authority over the father’s estate. The son has just wasted half of the father’s estate and now the father gives him authority over the remaining half. Talk about giving freely and recklessly. Talk about being wastefully extravagant. Talk about being prodigal.

But the father’s not done yet. The one fattened calf that was being saved for a special occasion was slaughtered and the father throws a party for the prodigal son. He hired musicians and dancers and threw a great banquet. He must have invited lots of people to celebrate with him since they had a whole fattened calf on which to feast and the older son could hear the music and the dancing while he was still out in the field.

And then finally, the father speaks to his older son saying, “All that is mine is yours.” So the father has nothing left. He’s given everything away. So again, who is the real prodigal in the story? Who is the one who gives everything away freely and recklessly?

This is indeed God, our heavenly Father. He is wastefully extravagant in His gifts to us, giving freely and recklessly. He richly blesses us with so many earthly goods even though we have been wasteful with what He has given us. When we think in our sin that somehow we will work like a servant and make back what we have wasted, God will hear none of it. He just runs out to us with His arms wide open, calling us His sons. He covers us in His best robe – the waters of Holy Baptism – that covers all of our filthy pig-smelling sins. He does more than just kill a fattened calf for us. He killed His only Son for us, and He prepares a feast for us of His Son’s body and blood. He gives us the inheritance of eternal life.

God our Father is so generous towards us, that it cannot be called anything except prodigal. He freely and recklessly gives and gives and gives. He knows that we cannot earn any of what He gives to us. He knows that we’ve been prodigal sons and have sinned against Him. He knows that we have been wasteful with what He had given to us. He knows that we have taken His generous mercy for granted.

It’s no wonder that the older son is upset with the father. We get it. We’d be upset too if our brother had just squandered half of the family estate and had returned only to be received like a king with a banquet and given the father’s bank cards and credit cards.

Or let’s apply it to the church. How do you feel if a member has taken the gifts of God for granted and never attends church, or only attends on Christmas or Easter? Should they really be welcomed back with open arms? You’ve stayed in the church, attending faithfully. You’ve served on boards and committees. You’ve contributed offerings through thick and thin to keep the gifts of God flowing here, and some prodigal just shows up when he wishes and benefits from your generosity. To top it off, what if they’ve dishonoured the Father and fallen into sinful living? Surely they don’t deserve a party to be thrown for them, but you do.

When we look at things this way, it is not with the straying member we have a problem, but with God. We think it is God who is not being fair. We see that God is being prodigal in giving grace to someone who doesn’t deserve it.

This is what the older brother in the parable thought as well. He tells his father that he is the one who has been slaving for the father for years. He’s the one who hasn’t been wasteful and reckless with the father’s property. He’s the one who hasn’t wandered away from the father. Yet his father hadn’t thrown him a party. He never got to wear the best robe or had the fattened calf killed for him. But now the prodigal son returns and the prodigal father gives him everything.

What the older son doesn’t realize is he is just as guilty of sinning against his father as the younger son. The older son had also taken his share of the inheritance even though the father was still alive. His idea of a good time may not have been to run away from his father to a far country to party, but he did want to have a party with his friends but without his father. And just as the prodigal son thought he could earn back what he had squandered, the older son thought he had earned everything that he had been given.

The truth is the two sons were equally guilty of sinning against their father, and the father had been equally prodigal towards both sons. It is completely untrue that the father had never given the older son anything. The father himself says, “All that is mine is yours.”

The same is true for us. We are all fallen sinners. We have all equally broken the Law of God. And God generously pours out His forgiveness to us equally. He is prodigal in the way He just continues to forgive us our sins even though we turn around and fall into sin again. He is wastefully extravagant in giving us His Word even when our minds wander from listening to it. He freely and recklessly gives us forgiveness of sins in the Lord’s Supper even when we think we don’t really need it all that often. He is over abundantly giving and giving and giving.

Yes, it is true that we can wander away from that forgiveness like the prodigal son. It is true that we can refuse that forgiveness because we won’t go into the Father’s house because those we consider worse sinners are receiving so freely from God. But God pleads with you saying, “All that is mine is yours. Come into my house and receive my prodigal forgiveness freely and over abundantly given to you.”

Jesus ends the parable without telling us if the older brother went into the house or not. Does the older brother go into the house to receive the father’s gifts and joys? How about you? Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Body of Christ: His Head

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

The head controls the body. The brain sends messages through the nervous system and the muscles respond. The brain is the boss – it tells the rest of the body what to do.

There are many illnesses, however, that affect the body and prevent the body from doing what the brain tells it to do. Muscles can be affected so that they do not move when the head tells them to move. The nervous system can be affected so that the messages don’t come through as they should. Illnesses make the body unable to do what the brain tells it to do.

Jesus is the head of the Church, and the Church is the body (Eph. 4:15-16; cf. also Rom. 12, I Cor. 12). Jesus, as the head, sends us, the body, messages concerning what we are to do. Because of the illness of sin, we often do not follow those messages. When we do follow what the head tells us to do, it is imperfectly and in great weakness.

Sometimes we are very willing to do what Jesus commands. Like Peter, we may say, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death” and then that very same day deny knowing Him three times (Luke 22:33-34). We may want to do what Jesus tells us to do until we find out what it is.

The disease of sin pulses through our veins. We sin in thought, word, and deed. We are weak sinners, showing the symptoms of our sinful flesh.

“While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:6) While we were completely powerless to do what God commands us to do; while we were completely helpless in our sin, Christ died for us. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)

If that’s what God was willing to do for us when we were His enemies, how much more do you think He is willing to do everything for us now that we are reconciled to Him? How much more do you think He is going to do for us now that we are the body of Christ?

Jesus has done everything for His body, the Church. He kept God’s Law perfectly for us. His head never turned to sin or away from someone who needed help. He was always ready to bow His head in prayer for His body, the Church. Even His thoughts were always pure and holy. Jesus has the mind and the will of God. That’s why He always did the will of the Father and never thought selfishly of Himself but served us to the point of death on a cross. He subjected Himself to humiliation and torture. He allowed His head to be crowned with thorns as He was mocked. He gave His life, breathing His last and bowing His head.

Through our Baptism we are in Christ. We are the body of Christ. As forgiven members of the body of Christ, we still have the disease of sin. We still fall into temptation. But Christ is not going to amputate His body and cut us off. Instead, He absolves us of all our sin. He gives us His body and blood, the medicine of eternal life.

“If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:10) If Jesus died for us while we were ungodly and enemies of God, how much more His life means to us now. His resurrection is our resurrection because we are His body. Because He lives, we will live also. Jesus isn’t going to forsake His body because it’s diseased. He’s going to continue giving us the medicine of eternal life until we are with Him in eternity and no longer sinful. He’s going to continue forgiving us until we will be with Him in the joys and perfection of Paradise.

We don’t deserve forgiveness. We don’t deserve anything God gives to us. But God forgives us because we are in Christ. Christ prays for us like He prayed for Peter. Satan wanted to sift Peter like wheat, but Jesus says that He has prayed for Peter that his faith may not fail.

Jesus also prays to God the Father for us, that our faith may not fail. When He pleads for us, He is pleading for His own body. Jesus does not want Satan to sift us like wheat. He can pray for us like no one else can.

Jesus can pray, “Father, have mercy on this member of my body. I have paid the price of his sins. He has not listened to the messages I have given Him in my Word, but I have done what he has failed to do. He has denied me but his sins are covered by my blood. Do not allow His faith to fail because He is mine.”

The head will not forsake the body. Jesus will continue to nurture His body and intercede for us. Jesus isn’t going to forsake His body because it’s diseased. He’s going to continue giving us the medicine of eternal life until we are with Him in eternity and no longer sinful. He’s going to continue forgiving us until we will be with Him in the joys and perfection of Paradise. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.