Fifth Sunday in Lent - Judica

St. John 8:42–59

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I think John, chapter 8, is where Jesus gets most exasperated with the stubborn Jews and their refusal to believe Him. He gets in their face and challenges them. He asks them flat out, “Why do you not understand what I say?” They have no reason to reject Him, no legitimate reason to even be suspicious of Him. In His life He is innocent, so He asks them, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” In His doctrine or teaching He is blameless, so He asks them, “If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?” But the Jews have no good answer to these questions. They simply don’t believe, which means they are not God’s children. They slander His life by saying, “You are a Samaritan!” They deny His doctrine by saying, “You have a demon!” Since they don’t receive Christ’s teaching and believe, they must reject Him and destroy Him.

Every preacher and every person who holds an office in the Church should follow the example of Christ here, because at some point we will encounter hostility and stubbornness from the world, so we should not make matters worse. Every preacher or officeholder should strive to demonstrate an innocent life and irreproachable doctrine. Of course, the difference between us and Christ is that we are never without sin before God. So we should try to maintain a holy life in the eyes of our fellow men, while trusting only in the righteousness of Christ for salvation. But doctrine is different, because it is not a matter of conduct, a matter of trying, it is a matter of truth or falsehood. Doctrine is either from God, the Father of Truth, or it’s from the Devil, the father of lies. So, our doctrine must be good and pure so that it stands not only before men but also before God.

As I said, at some point we all encounter hostility and stubbornness from the world, so what should we do? Again, let us look at the example of Christ: He lets the attacks and slanders at His life go and He endures the shame. He tolerates it when they call Him a Samaritan and He doesn’t bother to contradict the ridiculous accusation. But He defends the doctrine, the teaching. He says, “I do not have a demon.” He does not teach the Devil’s lies. He says, “I honor My Father.” He preaches the grace of God because that is how God is truly honored.

When we are attacked we should forget about our lives. Let them slander us. But we cannot let it go when the doctrine is attacked. The doctrine is not ours but God’s, and He does not tolerate lies. We should risk all we have for the purity and honor of God’s Word. If I perish, if I even lose my life, no great harm is done. But if I let God’s Word perish and I remain silent, then not only do I harm God’s honor but I also harm the world, because it is only through the Word of God that the world is saved. If I make people angry at me by speaking God’s Word, then not much has been lost. But if I do not speak the Truth, then I dishonor God and I condemn the people by not giving them the Word that they need to hear. And if people mock me or whisper lies about me, oh well. God will handle that. He is the judge and He will not let them go unpunished.

God promotes and upholds our honor. He did it for Christ. After all the mockery and lies He endured, God raised Him up again. The resurrection is the vindication of Christ. And He will do it for us too. All who believe and wait on God’s judgment will be proven right in the end. That is why we pray with Christ: Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! For you are the God in whom I take refuge.

Now, Jesus not only defends His doctrine against the Jews’ lies, but He also declares that His doctrine has power over sin, death, and the devil. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. He’s not speaking about the word of the Law here, but the word of the Gospel. The Word of the Gospel talks about Christ who died for our sins. The Word of the Gospel presents Christ and His righteousness to us. It gives Him to us as the One who has overcome sin, death, and the devil. So, whoever grasps and holds onto this Word, grasps and holds onto Christ. And so, through this Word you are set free from eternal death.

This also explains what Jesus means by “keeping” His Word. He’s not talking about the kind of keeping we do when we keep the Law by doing its works. The Word of the Gospel must be kept in the heart by faith. That is the way we go through death but never see it.

We must all go into death, but a Christian does not see death, he is not terrified by it, he does not lose faith because of it. A Christian that keeps Christ’s Word by faith does not see death but only sees his Savior and eternal life. Jesus made a similar point in John, chapter 11: Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. A Christian that keeps Christ’s Word has already been redeemed from eternal death. For a Christian, death is only sleep, and he goes through death and into life. That is the kind of power Christ and His Word have. And that is why the Jews are wrong when they claim that Abraham and the prophets are dead. Abraham is not dead. The prophets are not dead. In the midst of death they are still alive because they believed and kept the Word of the Gospel which forgives sins and gives eternal life.

Jesus kept pushing back against the Jews’ arguments. He won’t let things slide. He continues to defend His doctrine. Jesus made His second-most offensive statement to the Jews when He declared, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” Of course, this doesn’t mean that Abraham saw Jesus with the eyeballs in his head, but he saw Jesus by faith. He saw Jesus when he believed the Word spoken to him: In your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 22:18). In that Word, Abraham saw that his descendant would be born of a virgin, live a truly innocent life, suffer for sins of the world, rise again, and cause this message to be preached and cover the world with blessing. In hearing and keeping that Word, Abraham saw the day of Christ, the time of the Gospel. And now you, today, some 4000 years after Abraham, some 2000 years after Christ’s death and resurrection, this same Word is given to you. And this is the Day of Christ. This is the time of the Gospel. And if anyone keeps this Word he will never see death.

And yet after all this, the Jews still resist, still deny, still refuse to believe. So, Jesus kicks it up a notch and makes His most offensive statement yet: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” In other words, you want to know how I can say all this? You want me to answer your silly objections and explain Myself? Okay. I existed before Abraham. I am the One who was and is and is to come, with no beginning and no end. I am who I am (Exodus 3:14). I am the one true eternal God.

And here’s why it was necessary for the Christ to be true God: If the person who sacrificed Himself for us were only human and not God, it would not help, because even if He were perfectly sinless, His life would only count as a sacrifice for one other human life. But when Jesus hangs on the cross, God Himself hangs in the balance. Only the eternal God who is also a Man can be the sacrifice for all men. What brings the eternal blessing and victory over all sin and death is that the Seed of Abraham, the Son of the Virgin, is also the true God who gives Himself for us. How can we possibly praise Him enough? How can we possibly wrap our puny minds around this great mystery? By faith we keep it and gratefully bow before it.

But the Jews, along with many others, refuse to do that. Sinful humans will never stop taking offense at Jesus’ Words, never stop throwing stones at Him or slandering Him. And Christ hides Himself from them and leaves their temple. He will only be found by those who receive His Word.

So, let us take care that we never resist Christ’s instruction and force Him to hide His loving face from us. Let us never anger or frustrate Christ with lies or with apathy. Let us always approach our Teacher and Savior with humility, with a desire to learn and understand, with a hunger to receive Christ and His righteousness alone in His Holy Word and in His Blessed Sacrament. In the next two weeks, let us humbly follow Christ our Lord, and by faith see the salvation He won for us on the cross and in the empty tomb. Send out Your light and Your truth, O Lord;  let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Martin Luther’s Sermon: Luther’s Works, Vol. 76, pp.409–414.

Lent 4 Wednesday Matins

Catechism Series: Holy Baptism

Small Catechism: Holy Baptism

St. Mark 10:13-16

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord loves water. In the beginning of creation the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep waters. Then the waters of the Flood destroyed the sinful world, while Noah and his family were kept safe in the ark. At the Red Sea, the Lord saved His people by bringing them through the water, and drowning Pharaoh and his host. At the Jordan River, God again stopped water and let Israel cross over into the Promised Land. At that same Jordan River, but many years later, the Lord Himself – Jesus – God incarnate, stepped into those waters and was anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our Savior. And finally, the Lord instituted all water to be a washing away of sin. What is Baptism? It is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word. And not just any word, but His Name. “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in THE NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Lord loves water. And He gives great benefits with His water. And yet, we take it for granted. Or even worse, we despise it.

If you despise Baptism, you despise the Lord who gives it. And if you think people don’t ignore Baptism, think again. Many Christians believe it does nothing at all. For them, it’s just a symbol. For them, Baptism is all about what they do – they dedicate their life, or dedicate their child to God. Of course, we don’t believe that, but what about us in our Lutheran church? How many times do we postpone the baptism of a baby because we’re more about getting all the relatives there? How many bring their children to Baptism and then never bring them back to church or Sunday School? How many go through the steps of getting baptized and then never give it a second thought?

Baptism saves you. Baptism saves because faith saves. But if faith is gone, Baptism can’t do too much. There’s no such thing as “once saved, always saved,” or “once baptized, always saved.” So once again, if we despise Baptism, we despise the Lord.

But the opposite is also true: when we remember Baptism, when we hold on to it, when we continue in it, when we return to Baptism, then we trust in the Lord. Because Baptism is all about what our Lord is all about. Baptism works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe. And whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

As I said before, there are many who ignore or despise Baptism. Because it really doesn’t look all that special. Just some water and some man saying some words. Nothing impressive about it. So people ask: How can water do such great things? Aha! says Martin Luther. You’re missing the best part! Not just water, but the word of God in and with the water. The Name of God joins with the water and makes it Baptism, makes it God’s water, and makes the baptized God’s child.

Where God’s Name is, there He is doing His work, doing the things that only the crucified and risen Lord can do! Forgiving sins. Putting sinners to death, and raising them up again. Where God’s Name is, there is forgiveness, life, and salvation. The Lord loves water. And He uses that water with His Name to deliver His forgiveness. In Baptism, the water and the word always go together. So, when the water got put on you, God’s Name came with it, and His Name got put on you. You are branded, marked, singled out, with the Name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are His. Bought by His blood. One of His children.

With the Name of God put upon you, there is no part of your life not belonging to God. There is no part where He is not there. Where His Name is, there He is. You belong to Him and He belongs to you and with you. You are His children. He is our Father. And nothing else in this life can change that. Yet, even as Baptism doesn’t look like much, doesn’t look real, the troubles of life look like a lot. They look all too real. But God’s baptized Children shut their eyes to what things look like, and see things as they really are. So here’s a great Baptism word to remember: “Nevertheless!” Whatever you’re facing, say, “Nevertheless, I am baptized!” If the Devil throws your sins in your face and makes you feel your guilt, say “Nevertheless, I am baptized!” If you are worried over finances, or faced with sickness, or faced with death itself, say “Nevertheless, I am baptized!” You have God on your side. You are His.

Notice, it’s in the present tense: “I am baptized.” It’s not just something in your past. God’s Name is put on you and stays with you. And so every time we remember our Baptism, when we say “Nevertheless I am baptized!” we are returning to that water and Name. We are splashing around in it some more. Your baptism won’t dry up. Because when you return to Baptism, you return to the Lord, you trust Him.

This all has to do with the dying and the rising. Baptism is all about dying and rising. It’s all about Good Friday and Easter. Christ bore the sins of the world on the cross and died for them. Those sins, your sins, followed Him into His tomb, and were sealed there. Christ rose from the dead, but your sins stayed in the tomb. Christ rose to new life and now gives that life to you. Where God’s Name is, there He is, doing His dying and rising work. So in Baptism the Lord puts you to death. You are crucified with Christ. You are drowned in the water, and all your sins follow you down into that watery grave. Then the Lord raises you up again to new life.

Martin Luther once said that the Old Adam, our sinful self, is a good swimmer. That means, that as long we live in this life, we won't be fully dead to sin or fully alive to Christ. At least we can’t see it yet. And so throughout our lives we stay swimming in the Baptism pool. Every time we confess our sins, we are dying, drowning again. And every time we hear the pastor pronounce forgiveness, we are raised to new life. Every time we pray to God and fight against temptation, we are drowning our sinful self. And every time we remember our Baptism and the salvation given there, we are raised up again.

This continues daily, for now, but not forever. There will come a day when you die for good. But do not fear. Your death is a good thing, because then you can be raised for good, forever. So, when next you face death, face it as one baptized. God’s Name is on your head, so death cannot keep you. You have already died in Baptism. The worst is behind you. All that remains is for you to be raised up to new and eternal life. When you go to die, go as a little baby in the arms of Jesus. He wants the little children to come to Him and live with Him forever.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Fourth Sunday in Lent - Laetare

St. John 6:1–15

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord will provide. It’s such a common saying, almost cliché. As much as we say it or know it, do we ever really believe it? The wealthy are satisfied with their life and think that they don’t need God or His Word. And the poor wonder how they could possibly be concerned with God’s Word or make it a priority when they have to spend all their time and effort just getting food or shelter.

Somehow the American Middle class seems to fall into both problems. They’re not really concerned about God or eternal questions like heaven and hell because their life seems so good and comfortable. Who wants to think about heavy, serious things when we have toys to play with? On the other hand they are very serious about their jobs, working and saving for expensive colleges and comfortable retirements. Very little attention is given to the Lord, or His Word, or His promise to provide.

But this is the message of the feeding of the 5000. The Lord will provide. And this miracle can teach us how the Lord provides two kinds of bread: earthly bread and heavenly bread.

First of all, we should notice that Jesus provides more than enough food for the crowd out of His compassion for them. It is His idea to feed the crowd. He knew what He was going to do. And He initiates the whole thing. He brings the matter of food up to Philip, because He wants to feed them, and He wants to teach something through the feeding.

Our Lord still provides out of His compassion. He gives daily bread to everyone, even without our prayer. He makes the sun shine, the rain fall, the corn grow. And He would continue to do all this even if no one asked Him to. Because that’s how He is. He gives gifts to people who don’t deserve them, even you.

Second, we should notice how Jesus gives the food through means. He takes up already existing bread and fish offered by the boy. And then He distributes it to the disciples, who in turn distribute the food to the crowds. Our Lord always prefers working through means, through created stuff, and through ordinary people.

He always provides earthly bread through means. He sends rain and sun to make seeds germinate and grow. He sends farmers to harvest the grain, gather it, process it, and distribute it. He sends bakers and cooks, wives and mothers to prepare it and set it before the ones who need to eat it. There are a lot of steps between God and the bite of food in your mouth, but He is the One who makes it all happen.

We are used to thinking of a miracle as something that interrupts and changes the natural order of things. Like a magic spell that turns a boy into a frog. But the miracles of Jesus are nothing like that. When Jesus feeds the 5000 He doesn’t turn stones into bread and scorpions into fish. He uses regular bread and fish, He just multiplies it. Water really does turn into wine: Water falls on the vines and is taken up into the grapes, and the grapes are fermented to make alcohol. Diseased bodies really do become healed. Storms really do quiet down. The miracles of Jesus are not magic tricks, contradicting the Laws of Nature. They simply speed up nature. Or they direct nature to work the way it was meant to so that it supplies mankind with what is good. We think of the feeding of the 5000 as an incredible miracle, and yet when single kernels of grain produce a bountiful harvest, we dismiss it as ordinary. God hasn’t changed in either case. He is still providing. But we so often fail to recognize God’s miraculous works in the little things of life. As much as we might praise the Lord for the feeding of the 5000, we should also praise Him for every bit of our food as well.

Finally, Jesus teaches us to be careful with what has been given to us. He tells the disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” You’ve all heard that other cliché: “Waste not, want not!” But many times frugality can turn into stinginess. Still, there is truth in it. We should not assume that there will always be an overabundance. The Lord provides, but we don’t necessarily know when He will provide, or how much, or for how long. We should appreciate the gifts we have while we have them and not squander them. We should not presume that we can just go back to God and snap our fingers for more (like to a waiter) when we’ve wasted His gifts and run out. So we should take care of what God has given us.

Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t learn what Jesus wanted them to. The problem with sinful people is that when they’re hungry they lose faith in God and think they will starve to death. And then when they’re well-fed and satisfied they lose faith in God and think they’re all set and they don’t need Him for anything else. The crowd was happy that Jesus filled their bellies. And that’s all they wanted from Him. They were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king. So Jesus left them.

But in the rest of John, chapter 6, they followed Him, looking for more bread. When they caught up to Him, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me… because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:26–27). “The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:33–35). Now Jesus is leading them from the earthly bread to the heavenly bread. This was the greater point of the feeding miracle: the heavenly bread is the Lord Jesus Himself and the Lord provides Himself to us in His Word.

The feeding of the 5000 also illustrates how the Lord provides this heavenly bread. First, He provides His Word for us out of His compassion. It is His desire to make Himself known to us so that we might believe in Him and live with Him. If God were not gracious enough to reveal Himself to us in His Word, then we could never find Him. Second, He provides His Word through means. He sends prophets and apostles to write down His Word by the direction of the Holy Spirit. He sends preachers, and even every Christian, to speak His Word, either publically for the Church or privately within their own vocation. And He sends His Word along with physical elements like water, bread, and wine. The Lord does not speak to us directly. He speaks to us through His written and spoken Word. But His speaking is no less real. His Word is meant for you.

Third, the Lord teaches us to gather up the left-overs. When the Gospel is being preached in abundance, when we have opportunities to hear and study God’s Word, when we are able to receive the Sacrament, then we must take advantage of it. We are still so blessed, especially in our corner of America, where we have several faithful churches in easy driving distance. This is not the case everywhere in the world. Many Christians have a much harder time hearing God’s Word than we do. So, we should appreciate what we have and make use of it. We cannot assume we will always have those opportunities. We must learn now our Catechism and the basic teachings of Scripture, store them away in our hearts and minds, so when we are in need of comfort or guidance, we won’t go to the cupboard and find it bare. We must make every opportunity to cherish God’s Word while we have it so available.

The problem is, sinful people don’t appreciate what the Lord provides, either His earthly bread or His heavenly bread. They want a king who will give them bread on their terms. They want a king who will give them what they want when they want it. Jesus is not that kind of King and He doesn’t go along with that program. Thanks be to God, He provides according to His will. He does not pander to the delusional felt-needs of sinners. He is only the King on His terms.

Jesus suffered to be made a King. He allowed them to crown Him with thorns and mock Him with a purple robe. He allowed them to set Him on His wooden throne, exalted above the earth on the cross. He allowed them to proclaim His kingship as a cruel joke: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. He suffered all that to happen, because that is how He is King. That is how the Lord provides. He offered up His body and shed His blood to provide us with the forgiveness of sins. He gave up His very life, so that we might have it.

Many don’t like that kind of King: a dead man, hanging on a cross. Many people turned away from Jesus even before it got to that point. At the end of John, chapter 6, many of the crowd left Jesus. Turns out, He wasn’t the kind of King they were looking for, and what He was providing wasn’t what they wanted. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:67–69). Peter is right: Who else can we go to? The Lord died and rose for us. He provides heavenly bread for us, His Word that gives eternal life. Surely, He provides earthly bread for us as well. Thanks be to God.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Martin Luther’s Sermon: Baker, Vol. V, pp.344–350.