Listen here.

John 8:48-59

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” ⁵⁹ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

In the name of the blessed Trinity who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear Bruer,

Today you are baptized. Today, God sent a flood that condemned all that was sinful and unbelieving in you while He placed you safely in the ark of His holy Christian Church (Gen. 6-9; 1 Pet. 3:21).

Today, God has led you through the sea out of slavery to sin as all your enemies perished behind you (Ex. 14-15; 1 Cor. 10:1-2).

Today, God has led you into His promised land (Josh. 3; Col. 2:11-15, 3:1-4).

Today, the Holy Spirit descended upon you, and the Father has proclaimed, “You are My beloved son, with you I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:13-17; Eph 1:11-14).

Today, dear Bruer, you have been united with the death and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 6:3-11). God did not abandon you to rot in your slavery to sin. He has come and rescued you. God has saved you not because of anything you have done but because of His rich mercy. He has given you the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-7). And Bruer, Jesus promises in our text that as you keep, as you believe, His Word, you will never see death (v. 51).

Bruer, it is fitting that today you have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because today is Trinity Sunday. Jesus told His apostles to make disciples by baptizing in the name of this blessed Triune God and teaching those disciples of all nations to keep everything Jesus has said (Mt. 28:18-20).

David, Bailey as parents and Brandon, Brianne, Danny, and John as sponsors and the rest of you here as witnesses of this great thing that God has done, you are called to continue teaching little Bruer all that Jesus has said. And this is no small task for two reasons: First of all because the devil and the world now have him in their sights. He will be attacked in so many different ways. And second, because Jesus said so many things. How do you go about this task teaching all that Jesus has said in the face of the opposition of the devil and the world?

Well, the best place to start is to consider who God is. In the Scriptures, we are taught that God is One God and Three Persons. And the clearest expression of this is the Apostles’ Creed. So, every part of life is an opportunity to teach about the Father who created, the Son who redeemed, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies, makes holy.

So teach. Teach Bruer about the Father who created. When Bruer looks around at this beautiful creation and sees all the wonderful gifts that God has given, teach him. Teach him that the Father created all that exists. When Breuer is fed by the food on your table and has enough to eat, remind him that is the Father who has given that nourishment and sustains him. When Bruer gets sick and recovers, teach him that the Father has preserved his body.

Teach Bruer about Jesus, the Son. Teach him that this Jesus, who is true God, became man. When he sins against you he feels guilt, forgive him. Teach him that because Jesus has bought and freed you from all those sins, you forgive him too. Teach Bruer that Jesus did not buy him with silver and gold, but with His holy and precious blood, with His innocent sufferings and death. Teach Bruer that Jesus did this so that you might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. And, teach Bruer that Jesus is coming again.

Teach Bruer about the Holy Spirit. Teach him that the Holy Spirit has called him through the Word of God, specifically the Gospel. Teach Bruer that whenever he hears God’s Word, that the Holy Spirit continues to make him holy. Teach him that the Holy Spirit is the one who opens his ears to Jesus’ word of forgiveness. And, when Bruer sees the pain and sin and suffering in this world, teach him that because of what Jesus has done that when the Last Day comes, Bruer will be raised from the dead and given everlasting life because he believes in Jesus. Teach Breuer that all of this is most certainly true.

Bruer, today God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – this blessed Trinity – has begun a good work in you. And I am confident that He will be faithful today and forever to bring that good work to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). May we be faithful as well. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 14:23-31

²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, ³¹ but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”

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

Dear Johnny, Justin, Evan, Liam, and Michaela,

Today, you confirmed your faith. In the presence of God and this congregation, you acknowledged the gifts of forgiveness, faith, and salvation that God gave you in your baptism. You publically renounced the devil and all his works and all his ways. You confessed your faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You promised to remain faithful to the Word of God – to hear it frequently and faithfully. You promised to live according to God’s Word and to continue and remain steadfast in this confession. You have said that you intend to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from the faith. All of this you have vowed to do by the grace of God.

How do you go about all of this by the grace of God? Good question! Jesus says to you and to all of us, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.”

The natural question for you to ask yourself, then, is, “Do I keep Jesus’ word?” Well, what does it mean to keep someone’s word? We know what is meant by keeping a garden – tilling, watering, fertilizing, seeding, weeding, pruning, etc. But what does it mean to keep someone’s word? It depends, somewhat, on what kind of word(s) that person has spoken.

Now, the whole Bible is God’s Word, and Jesus Himself is the Word who became flesh. So, sometimes, to keep Jesus’ word, you will have to take a stand against what the world is telling you to do. When the Scriptures say, “You formed my inward parts; You knit me together in in my mother’s womb” (Ps. 139:13) or when the Bible says, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27), to keep those words means that you stand behind them. You hold them to be true – absolutely true. And, my dear confirmands, this will continue to be more and more difficult. This world hates God’s Word, and Jesus calls you to keep it.

What does it mean to keep Jesus’ word? Again, it depends on what the word is. On the one hand, the question, “Do I keep Jesus’ word?” should, be a terrifying question – a deadly question, a killing question. Remember some of the things Jesus has said. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And, you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37-39). Because Jesus is giving commands there, to keep Jesus’ word would mean that you should actually do that – that you obey what Jesus says there. Part of keeping Jesus’ word means that you obey what He says.

How about this one: when Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:20). Jesus isn’t giving a command there. But He is making a truthful statement. Part of keeping Jesus’ word there would mean that you are always trying to be really, really good.

Or when Jesus says, “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). To keep that word of Jesus… Well, hopefully when you get to that word of Jesus, you realize that you are in a heap of trouble.

What does it mean to keep Jesus’ word? Well, it depends on what the word is. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t just speak words of crushing, condemning Law. Jesus has more words to say. After Jesus rose from the dead, He kept saying to His disciples, “Peace be with you.” Well, how do you keep that word of Jesus? It isn’t a command, so you don’t have anything to obey. It isn’t something you have to try to do.

When Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” believe that He gives that very peace through His words. Jesus gives that peace because Jesus has taken all your sins. He took those sins to the cross, and He has died for you. He suffered God’s wrath for you. He rose again for you. Believe it. That is probably the best way to understand Jesus when He says, “Keep My word.” Believe it. In fact, all you can do with those Gospel words is simply believe them. Receive them.

So, when Jesus says, “Keep My word,” – it doesn’t matter what that word from Jesus is – believe it. When God has something to say about how this world is ordered, believe that it is true. When God gives you a command to obey, believe that you must do it. Believe that it is in your best interest to follow it. When Jesus gives you a Gospel promise, believe it. Trust it. Bank your life now and even your eternity upon it.

Keep Jesus’ word. Believe what He says to you. And thank God that He has sent the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance all that Jesus has said to you. So hear what Jesus says to you.

Jesus’ word to you is, “Your sins are forgiven.” Keep, believe that word of Jesus.

Jesus’ word to you is, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Keep, believe that word of Jesus.

And today, Jesus’ word to you is, “Take, eat. This is My Body given for you. Take, drink. This is My Blood shed for the forgiveness of your sins.” Keep, believe that word of Jesus.

Jesus’ word to you is, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Keep, believe that word of Jesus.

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.” Johnny, Justin, Evan, Liam, and Michaela, keep all the words of Jesus – both Law which kills you and your sinful self, and Gospel which raises you to everlasting life. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 17:20-26

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Christ is ascended!
He is ascended indeed! Alleluia!

Jesus prays for you. That’s right, just before He was arrested, tried, condemned, crucified, and killed Jesus prayed for you. John 17 is often called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer.” In this prayer, Jesus prays for Himself (v. 1-5), He prays for the disciples because they will remain in the world (v. 6-19), and here, in this text, Jesus prays for the whole Church who will believe in Him through the word of the Apostles. That means, dear saints, Jesus prays for you. The part of His prayer that we will focus on today is this, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me [Jesus means you], may be with Me where I am to see My glory.”

Well, where is Jesus? Right now, where is He? We’ve confessed that He ascended into heaven where He is “seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” This past Thursday marked forty days after Easter when Jesus ascended. He was taken up before the disciples. A cloud took Him out of their sight. Jesus’ physical body, His human nature, was lifted into heaven. The dust from which Jesus’ was taken is now sitting on the throne of heaven. In the Ascension, your flesh is given the ultimate upgrade because Jesus, your Savior and brother, now rules and reigns over all creation. And He is everywhere. Ephesians 4:10 says, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.”

But just because Jesus has ascended does not mean that Jesus is not interested in you anymore. Just the opposite. Before Jesus ascended, He told the disciples, “I am with you always,” (Mt. 28:20) and He promised, “Where two or three of you are gathered in My name, there I am” (Mt. 18:20). You don’t see Him, but does that matter? If Jesus has said that He is with you, then He is with you – even though you don’t see Him.

Actually, the fact that you don’t see Jesus physically is a good thing. Speaking of His ascension, Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away” (Jn. 16:7). If Jesus still appeared like He did for those forty days after Easter, you would have reason to doubt that He is always present with you. You would have to check the news or the “Where is Jesus Now?” app. Russia? Trinidad? Indonesia? Well, if He’s there, then He can’t be here.

Dear saints, Jesus is with you. He is ascended to God’s right hand where He lives and reigns to all eternity. But the devil likes to tempt you to disbelieve what Jesus says. The devil wants you to believe that he is running the show here on earth. Satan takes your focus off of the risen and ascended Jesus to focus only on yourself and the things going on around you.

Just think about this: Remember the last verses of the Gospel of Matthew, what is often today called “The Great Commission”? I bet if you talked to one hundred average Christians coming out of church on a Sunday and asked them to summarize the Great Commission, they would say something like, “Yes, Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations.” I would also guess that most of them would leave out that the Sacrament of Baptism is how Jesus tells us to make disciples, but that is for another time.

Now, Jesus instructing us to disciple all nations is very important. But, for now, simply hear what Jesus says in those last verses of the Gospel of Matthew, without the part about making disciples. Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Hear it again, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Satan would love nothing more than to rob you of these beautiful promises of Jesus. So as you watch the world fall apart around you, as you watch babies being killed and sold for parts. As you watch ISIS slaughter Christians in the Middle East. As you watch our country care more about which bathroom .3% of the population uses than about caring for our veterans. As you watch all of this, remember Jesus still has all authority in heaven and on earth. Remember that He is with you until the end of the age to keep you and bless you.

Yes, it is hard. You see so much evil and sin surrounding you. You are living in the tribulation (Jn. 16:33). But remember Jesus’ prayer for you is, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am to see My glory that You have given Me.” Jesus is with you here and now, in His Word. Jesus is with you in His Sacraments. Do you see Jesus’ glory? Maybe not with your eyes. But that’s ok. As one pastor has said, “The eye of faith is the ear.”

So look with your ear. Find Jesus as He speaks to you through His Word. Jesus is with you as that Word is read and vibrates your eardrums, or as that Word shines into your eyes from the pages of your Bible. Find Jesus in the waters of your Baptism. Find Jesus in the Bread and Wine of His Supper. Find your Savior where He has promised to be and see His glory. See that He rules and governs all things by His mercy and for your benefit. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 16:23-33

²³ “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

²⁵ “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” ²⁹ His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! ³⁰ Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

“I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus has won. He has overcome this broken, fallen world. Jesus said this even before He went to His death on the cross. Now that we live in the resurrection, now that we live in the time after Jesus has defeated death, how much more can we say, “Amen, Jesus. You have overcome the devil, our sin, and this world full of tribulation and heartache”? Jesus is ascended and is now at the right hand of the Father. He will bring you to be with Himself for all eternity. And yet, the tribulation continues. You suffer in this tribulation while God delays the final judgment. Take heart, believer, God only delays in order to get all His chosen children to safety.

Until the day He returns, Jesus has given you the gift of prayer. Jesus says, “In that day, you will ask nothing of Me.” He is speaking of the time of the resurrection. Jesus is speaking of today. “In that day, you will ask nothing of Me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

What happens when you ask in Jesus’ name and do not receive? The devil and the world love to throw this in our face and rob us of our joy. When we do not see God answering our prayers in the way we want, they twist this promise of Jesus in two common ways. The first is this: Some say that if you pray for something and have enough faith, you will get everything you want. You see this in books or preachers teaching this on TV. So if you have a job that you don’t like or isn’t paying as much as you want, just pray to God, “Heavenly Father, give me a job that pays $250,000 per year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Then, they say, if you really believe, God will answer that prayer. And if you don’t get what you are asking for, then you don’t have enough faith and are holding God back.

But you see what that does? It makes God’s answer to prayer contingent upon you. It takes Jesus’ promise and turns it into a crushing statement of Law. And people start to wonder, “Well, if I don’t have enough faith to get God to answer this prayer, how do I know I have enough faith to be saved?” It is a terrible thing.

The second way Jesus’ promise, gets twisted – “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you” – goes like this: Every now and then, people will say things like, “When we pray, we shouldn’t always be asking God for things. We should be praising Him, thanking Him, etc.” I think is error more common here, at least I get roped into this one from time to time. There is some truth in that. We should praise and thank God in our prayers. But asking God for things isn’t sinful; it isn’t wrong. God isn’t sitting up in heaven listening to your prayers and keeping a tally of how many thanks you have offered before He will listen to another request.

Again, that makes God’s answer to our prayers contingent upon us and how we pray. Then we try to figure out the right prayer recipe. We start to think, “I’ll throw two cups of adoration, three tablespoons of thanks, a dash of a request. Throw it all up in the heavenly prayer oven and see how it turns out.”

Repent. God doesn’t answer your prayers based either on how much faith you have or what formula you use when you pray. Both of these wrong teachings on prayer obscure the beautiful promise that Jesus has for you.

So why is it that God doesn’t always answer our prayers exactly how we pray them? Notice that right after Jesus tells us, “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you,” He says, “I have said these things to you in figures of speech.” That means when Jesus says, “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you,” He is using figurative speech. He means whatever we ask that is in accord with Jesus’ Name and mercy. We know this because that night Jesus sincerely prayed in Gethsemane that His heavenly Father would deliver Him from having to go to the cross. But Jesus ended that prayer with, “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Mt. 26:39).

Look at what Jesus says is true. He says when you pray, you are asking not only His Father, but your Heavenly Father. And Jesus says that God the Father loves you because you have faith in Jesus. So when you pray, you pray with the boldness and confidence of a child approaching a loving, caring father.

This is so beautiful. Isn’t this wonderful? Most of the time, what do children ask their father for? Food? Clothes? Shelter? Safety? Sure, sometimes, but not mostly. Most of the time children ask for trivial things. That is just how it is with children.

And praying for frivolous things isn’t wrong – it is natural for children. Besides, God already knows what you want before you ask (Mt. 6:8). So ask! Ask for petty things like a good parking spot or a sunny day on your birthday or for the Twins to win. Ask for whatever you wish because it doesn’t annoy your Heavenly Father. God delights in your trivial prayers because you are His child.

When you pray for things that you desire, it is exercising your faith. When you ask for petty, simple things, you are actively believing that God has the ability and the desire to give you everything good. And God already knows what you need, and He provides it even when you don’t ask for it. And if God doesn’t answer your prayer just as you ask, He is still giving you all good things because He loves you.

Finally, pray to your Heavenly Father because it makes a difference. Jesus wouldn’t tell you to pray if it didn’t. A man walking down the street might pass by several panhandlers and not give any of them a nickel. Either he is cynical and knows that many abuse handouts and use them only to buy alcohol or drugs, or he is simply selfish. But that same man walking down the street with his child is different. The child sees that something is wrong asks the father to give to the beggar, the father is moved by his child’s compassion and gives. Don’t take that analogy too far. God is not cynical or selfish. But your prayers have an effect. They make a difference in the world, and we shouldn’t make light of that fact.

Your God has called you to pray. So don’t worry about making your prayers perfect. Don’t worry about asking for the right things. Just pray. Pray for what you want. Pray to make that green light. Pray to slow your graying hair. And, maybe, in the next breath, you pray for a cure to your aunt’s cancer, for peace in the Middle East. Wonderful. Your Father is pleased by your prayers. Pray for all of these things in Jesus’ name boldly, confidently, and fearlessly.

As you live in this world full of tribulation, this world that Jesus has overcome, pray. Pray because according to Jesus, it makes a difference. Your loving Heavenly Father acts because of them. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 16:12-22

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

¹⁶ “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” ¹⁷ So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” ¹⁹ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹ When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²² So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

“A little while,” Jesus says, “and you will see Me no longer, and again a little while, and you will see Me.” On this side of the Cross and Resurrection, we know what Jesus meant by, “A little while.” But the disciples have no clue. They can’t figure it out. So Jesus explains it to them. “A little while and you won’t see Me because I’m going to be bloodied and buried in a tomb. The result of this is that you will have sorrow but the world will rejoice. But then a little while and you will see Me because I’m going to rise from the dead. The result of this is that all your sorrow will turn into joy that no one will be able to take from you.” So, what Jesus is saying here is that the sorrow and the joy of Jesus’ disciples is bound up to how it is with Jesus.

This is also true for you. Your sorrow and your joy is bound up to how it is with Jesus. And because your sorrow and joy is bound up to how it is with Jesus, you should always be joyful. Now, to be joyful doesn’t mean that you aren’t ever sad or that you never cry. Jesus was sad; He cried when Lazarus died (Jn. 11:35). It is good to be sad when a loved one dies. It is good to mourn when God’s good gifts are taken away. Being sad about those things teaches us to long for the Resurrection when all sadness is taken away and creation restored.

But in the midst of our sadness we should always have joy because Jesus has risen never to die again, and He now lives and reigns to all eternity. “Rejoice always,” (1 Thess. 5:16) because Jesus is always with us in His Word and in the Sacraments. “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Php. 4:4). But we aren’t always joyful, and that is because of sin. Think through this with me.

Start with this question: What brings you joy? Think about that for a moment. I hope a lot of things come to mind because there are so many good things that God gives to you. What brings you joy? Your family, your home. Hopefully, your work, your hobbies. The things you taste and touch and smell all these good things bring you joy.

Now, I want to ask you a different question: What would rob you of your joy? Here is the kicker because when you answer this question, you will find out what your idols are. What would rob you of your joy? Would getting cancer or some other sickness rob you of your joy? Then you are idolizing your body and health. Would losing your house rob you of your joy? Then you are idolizing your property. Would a certain candidate getting elected this November rob you of your joy? Then you are idolizing the government.

Think through the Ten Commandments with me for a minute. Normally, we think of the Commandments as God putting restrictions on our behavior. That is one of the things the Commandments do. But by giving the Commandments, God protects you and the things He gives you. So consider the Commandments in reverse order:

10 – Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s. God gives you contentment in the relationships He has given you.

9 – Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house. God gives you contentment in the things He has given you.

8 – Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. God protects your reputation with the truth.

7 – Thou shalt not steal. God protects the things He has given you from people who would take them away.

6 – Thou shalt not commit adultery. God protects your covenant relationship with your spouse so that you can have a joyful, happy marriage.

5 – Thou shalt not kill. God protects your body and the very life He has given you.

4 – Honor thy father and thy mother. God gives and protects order in this world by giving the gift authority.

3 – Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. God gives His Word and preaching so that you can hear the voice of God.

2 – Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. God gives you the gift of prayer. You use God’s name to call upon Him in every time of need.

1 – Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me. This is the big one. This is where God gives you Himself. God the Father who created you, God the Son who redeemed you, and God the Holy Spirit who has sanctified you, He invites you to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things. He also invites you to find your joy in Him alone.

A pastor friend[1] of mine used this analogy, and I think it is very helpful. Imagine, you are settling new land. You live by a pond that provides you with water. Eventually, that pond dries up. Now, you have two choices: you can lay down and die, or you can follow the stream that fed that pond and see what happened. Well, you do follow that stream and find another pond. But then that one runs dry. So you follow the stream to another pond and it runs dry. Nine times this happens. Finally, the ninth pond runs dry and you follow the stream and you find the source that never runs dry.

That is how it is with the Commandments. If you look for your joy in the gift of contentment that God gives in the 9^th and 10^th Commandments, that will be taken away. Or if you find your joy in your stuff that God gives in the 7^th Commandment, that will be taken away. If you find your joy in your life, in the 5^th Commandment pond, eventually that will be taken away. If you find your joy in the 3^rd Commandment, in worship and the gift of hearing God’s Word, that, sometimes is taken away too. Even the joy in the 2^nd Commandment, the gift of prayer, that dries up too.

So all you are left with is the source – the first Commandment. There, God says, “Let everything else go. I am your God.” And that, brothers and sisters is where your joy comes from. And when you have God as your God, when you have the source, then all of those other ponds are full. All of those things that God gives and protects, you know are from the God who says, “I am all you will ever need.” And even if those other ponds dry up – even when God’s good gifts are taken away – you still know that God is your God. You have the source of all good things. You have the fountain of all joy.

As Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Today, we repent. Repent of finding your joy anywhere else but in God. Repent of those idols that give only fleeting joy. Turn back in faith to your God.

Jesus tells the disciples, “You will not see me. You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” Remember, your joy and your sorrow is bound up to how it is with Jesus, your God.

Here is how it is with the God who says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” He died for you. He was crucified for every commandment you have failed to keep, for every time you have found false joy in something other than Him.

And now, Jesus takes joy in forgiving you all of your sins, and that forgiveness is unassailable. Jesus now finds His joy in you – in calling you His own. So take your joy in Him. Because He lives and reigns to all eternity, no one and nothing will ever take your joy from you. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] Thanks to Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller for this analogy.

Listen here.

John 10:22-30

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

¹   The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²           He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

³           He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

⁴   Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

Jesus is just a few months away from being crucified. The Lamb of God will soon be led to the slaughter. As Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is walking through the Temple, some of the Jewish leaders come to question Him. And their question reveals that they are not Jesus’ sheep. They do not know the green pastures of the Good Shepherd. All they can see is the stony colonnade of Solomon. The waters are not still – they are frozen wintery solid. As they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, they fear every evil because even though the Good Shepherd is with them, they deny His presence. And so they know no comfort.

If Jesus was their Shepherd, they would not want – they would lack nothing. But not only do they want, they are dying in their want. Not only are their souls not restored, they are in torment. Our translation says they ask Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” Literally, they ask, “How long will you lift our souls from us?” In other words, “We are dying to know. If You are the Christ, tell us plainly, boldly.” Which is downright absurd because everything Jesus has been doing reveals that He is the Messiah.

Demons are confessing that He is the Christ. His works point to the fact that He is the Christ. His teaching reveals that He is the Christ. But these Jewish leaders have absolutely refused to believe. If they believed, they would be Jesus’ sheep and would know the peace and comfort of Psalm 23. But these Jews, probably the scribes and Pharisees, who come to question Jesus are not simply doubting that Jesus is the Christ. Instead, they are unbelieving. Now, there is a difference between doubt and unbelief. To be in unbelief is to be damned. To doubt is different.

Brothers and sisters, as God’s own sheep, we all suffer doubt because we have two minds – an old and a new – constantly warring against each other. The new mind is faithful to God, and the old mind constantly tries to push us slowly and persistently back toward unbelief.

Doubt grows when we do not listen to God’s Word. If we are not drinking from the still waters and refuse to eat in the green pastures, the voice of the old, sinful mind will get stronger and stronger. And the devil knows this about us. He knows our old mind is constantly pushing us, driving us, back to unbelief. So Satan feeds that doubt in very subtle, very tricky ways.

That is why Jesus teaches us to pray the 6^th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” “We we pray in this petition that God would so guard and preserve us that the devil, the world, and our own flesh may not deceive us nor lead us into error and unbelief, despair, and other great and shameful sins; but that when so tempted, we may finally prevail and gain the victory” (Small Catechism).

How does God guard and preserve you? What will make you prevail and gain the victory? Well, dear sheep, let me tell you. Hear your Shepherd as He speaks to you. Your dabbling in doubt does not frustrate Him. Instead, He lovingly speaks words of comfort to you. It is His tender words that make you recognize His voice. Follow that voice even though you may have a head full of doubt.

Listen to what He says, “I give you, My sheep, eternal life.” Jesus says, “My sheep will not ever, no never, ever perish – for eternity.” And your Shepherd promises, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Do you hear what your Shepherd is telling you? He says to you that nothing and no one – not even death – can separate you from Him. Your Shepherd has already walked through the valley of the shadow of death on His own. He knows every step of that valley, and He conquered it. Your Shepherd now leads you guiding you with His nail-scarred hands. And you are held safely, securely in those very hands.

Your Shepherd says that God the Father Himself has given you to Jesus to be His sheep. That Heavenly Father is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch you from the Father’s hand. And Jesus and the Father are one. So, my fellow sheep, what is in store for you? God will

⁵   …prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶   Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 21:1-14

¹ After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. ² Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. ⁸ The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

⁹ When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Welcome to the third week of Easter. Can’t you just feel the excitement? Yeah, maybe not. We are peak and valley people. We trudged through the valley of Lent hearing over and over to repent. We were humbled by the Scriptures recounting what our Lord did for us during Holy Week. Then Easter Sunday, we were ready to burst out singing, “Christ the Lord is risen today!” The music, the flowers, the dresses, the ties. The time with family, the delicious ham dinner, hiding eggs full of candy and watching the kids hunt for them. Easter is exciting. We burst out with joy telling each other that our Lord has conquered death and the grave. He is risen, alleluia!

But then Easter Sunday passes. The Resurrection slips into the background. We go back to familiar things. The glow wears off, and the excitement dies down. Now, we can feel guilty about this – maybe we should. But we are no different than the disciples and the women; we’re no different than the very people who were living through the events of Easter.

Look back to John 20 where John tells us about what happened that Easter morning. Mary Magdalene sees the stone rolled away from the tomb. She runs back to tell Peter and John, who both take off running. John and Peter see the tomb empty and the linen cloths. They are excited, their adrenaline is pumping, things are happening. But then Peter and John lamely go back to their homes (v. 10), and the excitement dies down.

After this, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and talks with her, and she finally recognizes that it is Jesus. She clings to Jesus, and Jesus sends her to tell the disciples that she has actually seen Jesus which she does, but John doesn’t give us any indication about what the disciples do with this. So, we are somewhat let down again.

John starts up again in v. 19 saying that Easter evening, Jesus appears in the room where the disciples were. He says, “Peace be with you.” He shows them His hands and feet. He breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit and sends them out to forgive sins. But then Thomas, arrives having just missed Jesus. The disciples tell him, “We have seen the Lord! Man, Thomas, you should have been here.” But Thomas throws a wet blanket on it all. Thomas says that he absolutely will not believe until he can place his finger in Jesus’ hands and feet and place his hand in Jesus’ side. Talk about a killjoy.

The next Sunday (v. 26), Thomas gets exactly what he demanded. He sees Jesus. He sees the scars in hands, feet, and side. Jesus calls Thomas to believe, and he does. Then Jesus gives a blessing, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Then in the last two verses of ch. 20, John writes what sounds like a nice conclusion to his Gospel. He writes, “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” (Jn. 20:30-31). What a perfect way that would have been for John to end his Gospel. But he doesn’t. He writes these words of our text to tell us about the third time Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples. And Jesus reveals Himself in the most familiar way.

The disciples have left Jerusalem and are back in familiar territory – the Sea of Tiberias which is also known as the Sea of Galilee (Jn. 6:1). And they seem, quite frankly, lost as to what to do. Jesus is risen from the dead. The Teacher they had been following for three years has done everything He said He would do. He has been crucified, dead, buried, and risen just as He said He would be. But Jesus isn’t with them all the time. So Peter decides, “Well, I don’t know what to do, so I’m just going to do what I used to do. I’m going fishing.” And the other disciples say, “Let’s go with you. Why not?”

So these fishers of fish, who had been called to be fishers of men by Jesus who has conquered death, return to the familiar. They go back to being fishers of fish. But they aren’t very successful, in fact they stink. The whole night, they catch nothing.

Day is breaking. The best time to catch fish is past. And here comes Jesus standing on the shore. The disciples had no idea who it was. So, in their minds, there’s a heckler on the shore, “Children, do you have any fish?” “No.” “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” Why they actually did it, I don’t know. But their nets are filled with so many fish, they can’t haul it into the boat.

Pause here. I hope this sounds familiar to you because this is almost identical to what happened in Luke 5. There, Luke records Jesus calling the disciples. Now, many Christians think that Jesus simply calls the disciples, “Follow Me,” and they do and have this three-year adventure. But Jesus actually calls the disciples at least two, and I would argue that Scripture is very clear that Jesus calls them three, times. You can ask me about it later.

Luke 5 is Jesus’ final call for them to be fishers of men. And it is almost identical to our Gospel text. The disciples have been fishing all night and have caught nothing – just like in our text. You start to wonder how the disciples made a living because they never seem to catch anything. In both of these texts, Jesus tells them to let down the nets. In both texts, they catch a lot of fish – in fact too many. In Lk. 5, they fill two boats so full of fish that they start sinking. In Jn. 21, they cannot pull the nets up onto the boat, so they have to drag it behind them.

With all the familiarity, there are differences between these two texts. In Lk. 5, Peter sees this miraculous catch of fish, and you might think that he would offer Jesus a contract to be their fishing guide. But he doesn’t. He says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Here, Peter frantically does everything he can to get to Jesus as quickly as possible. In Lk. 5, Jesus comforts Peter with forgiveness, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Here in Jn. 21, just after this text, Jesus forgives Peter again, but in a different way. Peter had denied Jesus three times, so Jesus asks Peter three times, “Peter, do you love Me?” And Peter answers Jesus three times, “Lord, You know that I love You.” And Jesus restores Peter, “Feed My lambs, tend My sheep, feed My sheep.”

But there is more familiarity to be found here. This text should bring our minds back to the shores of this very sea, about one year earlier when Jesus used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed 5,000 men plus women and children. Remember how afterward, the disciples carried off twelve baskets of leftovers for themselves (Jn. 6:1-14). Here in our text, Jesus is sitting on the shore by a fire, and again He provides fish and bread. But Jesus has also provided 153 extra large fish. What is the significance, why does John tell us there were 153 fish? Because that’s how many there were. Jesus takes the bread and gives it to them. Jesus takes the fish and gives it to them. Just as He did before.

John writes, “Now, none of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.” They knew because Jesus was doing what was familiar.

You know the phrase, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” It sure can. But when it comes to Jesus and your faith, I hope that the familiar brings you a calming peace because your needs don’t change. Of course, you grow in your faith and in your maturity, but you will always need the same forgiveness. Every Sunday, you come here and you confess your sins with the same words and hear God’s absolution with the same words. Jesus told His disciples, “Take, eat. Take, drink. This is My Body and Blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me.” To remember Him, we keep eating His Supper because we know He is there.

Jesus said to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. So, every sermon you will hear me preach will essentially be the same: you are a sinner, Jesus died on the cross for your sin, He is risen again, and you are forgiven. There is no new material. Sure we might get tired of hearing it, but I hope instead, you recognize the voice of Jesus in the familiar.

Keep hearing those familiar words because in those words you don’t have to wonder, you don’t have to ask, “Who are you?” because you will know there is Jesus. He keeps doing for you what He has done for you, bringing you to eternal life with Him.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

Luke 24:1–11

¹ But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” ⁸ And they remembered his words.

⁹ And returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, ¹¹ but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

You may not like to hear it, but you are dying. “On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero” (Chuck Palahniuk). No matter how full your life is now, eventually (unless Christ comes back first) you will die. And until that time, you will watch as those around you – people you care about and love – will die too. They will die and you will die because of sin.

Scripture says that because you are sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, you are born under the curse of sin. Because of that curse, you will die.  “In Adam all die” (1 Cor. 15:22). But it is even worse than that. Because of your sin, you are already dead. You are born a creature destined for eternal death under wrath of God.

So what is to be done? What can you, who are dead and dying, do about it? Or, has someone else done something about it?

Indeed, Someone has.

The women arrive at the tomb early in the morning to finish what had been started. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had begun the work of embalming Jesus’ body back on Friday. They were back to finish their work for the dead. They didn’t know the One who had died had finished off death.

They find the tomb open. They see two men in dazzling apparel, and they were so astonished, they bow their faces to the ground.

They are asked, “What are you doing with those spices? Those are for the dead. No dead people here. Why are you looking for the Living One where only dead ones should be? He is not here. He is risen! Don’t you remember what He told you? It was necessary for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful men, suffer, die, and on the third day rise again. Remember?”

And it all came back to them. They remembered His words.

Even though you do not chose to die, Jesus did. Because He is the eternal Son of God, He could not die. So He chose to be born in your likeness, your flesh. He was baptized into your sin so He could carry it. He takes your sin – all of it – so there is no more sin in you. He takes that sin and marches to His death knowing that on the third day – today, Resurrection Day – He will rise. But now, this Jesus, the Living One who died and rose again, chooses to stay among you who are dead in sin so He can raise you to eternal life.

So, you here, remember what He has said to you. “I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Because you are baptized into Me, you are in Me. Here. Take, eat, and drink My living Body and My living Blood. You cannot die anymore. I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, even if He dies will life. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (Gal. 3:27; Mt. 26:26-28; Jn. 11:25-26).

Jesus’ resurrection gives you all the answers to death in your life.

When you staring your own death in the face, when your body decays, remember, “He is risen!” When you are laying your friend or family into the ground, remember, “He is risen!” When you are undergoing painful treatment for disease, remember, “He is risen!” When you are fired, when you can’t afford the mortgage, when the bills pile up, remember, “He is risen!” When you look around and see how messed up this world is, remember, “He is risen!” When you fall, when you stand, when life gets you down, and when life is good, remember, “He is risen!”

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.[1]

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] I am thankful for a sermon by my friend, Pr. Timothy Winterstein, as inspiration for portions this sermon.

Listen here.

Sermon Text: Luke 22:1 – 23:56

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

That Gospel reading is a lot to take in. With all the betrayal, conniving, injustice, denial, mockery, beating, and torture, we may wish to turn away from this reading. But we can’t. We must see. We must look. We must ponder because in this reading we see who we truly are.

We are the priests who refuse to listen to Jesus’ preaching and repent. We would rather murder an innocent Man rather than listen to one more word from His mouth.

We are Judas. We are more interested in money than our relationship with God. And we hide it all behind a show of love and devotion.

We are the disciples who, after receiving our Lord’s body and blood, dispute with each other about who of us is the greatest. Like them, we get bored and tired of spending time with our Lord, and so we fall asleep while Jesus is in agony. We unjustly rise up against those who threaten violence, and we leave a bloody mess in our wake.

We are Peter and fear what others might do to us if they know we are Jesus’ disciple. So we deny our Lord.

We are the false witnesses against Jesus and we misrepresent Him.

We are Pilate failing to work for justice because we are afraid of the consequences if we do what is right.

We are Herod and the guards who treat Jesus with mocking contempt.

We are the crowds crying for the release of Barabbas and shouting, “Crucify, crucify Him!”

Repent.

Even though, like Peter, your initial reaction is to boast about our devotion to Jesus, deep inside you are like the disciples (Lk. 22:23) wondering if you are so innocent. Is it your sin that drove the nails into Christ’s hands and feet?

Sure, but only in a small way. Sin did not bring Jesus to this world. Sin did not cause His death. Instead, love did. The never-ending love and mercy of God did. God would simply not allow Satan to win. The devil could not be allowed to hold his claim over you. Instead, the Lord of creation – out of sheer love, grace, and mercy – would restore and redeem His creation and set Jesus in dominion over it.

Because of that very love, through the faith Jesus has given you through the working of the Holy Spirit, you are those who cried out, “Hosanna! Save us now, Lord!”

You are the disciples who simply follow Jesus’ direction. And even though His words seem odd, you find everything just the way Jesus said it would be.

You are Barabbas. Even though you are guilty, you go free.

You are Simon of Cyrene. You carry the cross for Christ and bear the burden of His confession in this world.

You are the penitent thief who pleads for mercy and finds its source is there upon the cross.

And you are the centurion who confesses that the Man who died there on that cross is truly the Son of God. You see that blood has been shed. You know that blood opens heaven’s gates to you.

You know all of this because the stone will not hold Jesus. He is not dead, but lives.

Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest. Amen.[1]

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] I am thankful for a sermon by Rev. David H. Petersen as inspiration for this sermon.

Listen here.

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

¹ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” ³ So he told them this parable:

¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, ²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

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

You know this parable. In fact, if you randomly approached someone on the street and asked them, I would venture to guess almost everyone you met would be able to give you at least a summary of the story. But they will inevitably flunk a theological quiz about what the parable means. That is because so mush of the teaching on this parable is so far off. To be fair, part of the fault lies in the fact that the story is, unfortunately, named The Prodigal Son.

This parable is not primarily about a son who is received back into the loving arms of his father. This parable is Jesus’ attempt to completely blow up the natural theology of us sinners.

Don’t miss the first three verses of Luke 15 because they are vital to understanding what Jesus is teaching in this parable. Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Jesus. Imagine this. Jesus is always found with the drunkards at the biker bars and with the people who are under investigation for Ponzi schemes. The Pharisees didn’t like this at all. The mindset of the Pharisees was this: If God is mad at my sins, then He is pleased with my good works. Now, be careful here because your natural tendency is to look at the Pharisees and think, “Wow, that’s terrible of them. I don’t think like they do” Then you quietly pat yourself on the back for not being like them. But as soon as you do that, you have adopted the Pharisees theology which, again, is your natural theology.

Jesus tells three parables to destroy your natural theology – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Each of these parables has three main parts: something is lost (think ‘dead’), it is restored (think ‘resurrected’), and there is a party. Jesus concludes the parable of the lost sheep by saying this, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” He concludes the parable of the lost coin, “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” And the main point is that third part – the party. The party that ensues only after death and resurrection. We see this most clearly in the third parable which would be better titled, “The Waiting Father.”

In this parable, the younger son tells his father, “My life would be better if you were dead. In fact, why don’t you just pretend you are dead and give me what I’ll get when you finally are in the ground.” The father does exactly as the son asks and drops dead.

The son takes off. He lives high on the hog, and it’s fun while it lasts. But the inevitable comes sooner rather than later. The money is gone, the economy turns south, and he is left with nothing. So he hires himself out. But the best job he can get is feeding pigs, and the pay – well it’s not so good. He can’t even afford food with his income, so he wishes he could eat the slop he is tossing to the little piggies. He realizes he’s going to starve. His current employer is a stiff. This pathetic son looks at his life and finds nothing.

But his dad, his dad is the best boss around, and his employees have more than enough to eat. He formulates this little speech, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” Now, this may sound like repentance. But it’s not. Look closer. Teetering on the brink of death, this son formulates a plan to hold on to the possibility of carving out a life for himself.

His plan is to say to his dad, “Look, we both know each other, and we don’t have the best history. I know all of that. Can you just give me a job? I’ll work for you, and you don’t have to bother about me. Just deposit my wages in my account. I’ll stay out of your way, and you can stay out of mine.”

But when he finally meets his father, he doesn’t even get the chance to make his proposition. This son dies to his plan to hold onto his life because his dead-to-him father falls on him and kisses him. He interrupts the son mid offer. The father calls the servants to dress him, restore him, and kill the fattened calf so the whole town can celebrate. The dead son has been raised.

But not everyone is ready to die to their rights and party. The older son off living dutifully for his father – in fact double duty since his brother left – working away in the fields. He is so busy with his life that doesn’t even notice, at first, his brother’s return. This older son is just as lost as his brother had been (if not even more lost). He was simply lost in plain sight.

This older son learns about this party, and he starts opening fire on his father blaming the father for all his misery. “I have served you all these years,” bang. “I have never disobeyed your command,” Bang. “You haven’t given me a little to celebrate with my friends,” bang. Now, the son goes for the kill shot, “You don’t even see how much better I am than my brother. This sham of a son of yours comes home after devouring your property with prostitutes, and you kill the fattened calf for him,” BANG!

This is a picture of you and of me in our natural, fallen theology. You see, we are not the younger son in this parable. We are the older brother. We think God should reward us for our life of service to Him. We think that our obedience, devotion, and work have earned us something from God. We do this even with our confession and repentance.

The message of the Gospel is not that you confess your sins to get God’s forgiveness. Confession isn’t a transaction between the Lord and Giver of life and those who are clinging to life by a thread. That’s Pharisee reasoning, that is your natural, fallen, sinful theology thinking you can live and work your way back to God.

The Gospel only works on those who are already dead. Confession is simply a corpse realizing, “Yup, I’m dead as dead. Only resurrection will help me.” The father accepted and received the son before he said a blasted thing. The father restored the son before he could even try to cling to life. And the father is even accepting of the older son longing for him to simply get over himself, his works, his obedience, and his life.

The father says, “Look at yourself, standing out in the yard living like a beggar when you own this place. Remember, I died and the inheritance has already been doled out. All that is mine is yours. And the only reason you aren’t having a good time is because you won’t drop dead to your dumb rules about how you think things should be run. Just die to your rights and works and obedience. Drop dead like us. We’re all dead in here, and we’re having a splendid time. Get in here and pour yourself a drink.”

This is the Gospel. Everything that belongs to God is yours because of Christ. God is simply waiting to throw a party. All you can do is drop dead. Drop dead to your works. Drop dead to your rights. Drop dead to any claim of reward or privilege you would make on God. Drop dead because you already are and enter the party.

And here’s the kicker. Here’s how we know the party has already started. Which character in this parable is Jesus? He’s not either of the sons. Is Jesus the Father? Maybe, in a sense. The clearest character in this parable relating to Jesus is the over-looked fattened calf. All a fattened calf does is stand around waiting to drop dead at a moment’s notice so people can have a party. And Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:19-21).

The party only comes through death and resurrection. Christ is risen. Risen centuries before any of you were born. The resurrection is today (1 Cor. 15:20-23). The party is now.

And, now, here, at this altar, you have a seat at the party – the eternal feast of the marriage supper of the Lamb. This Supper is for those who are dead in their sin. If you think you deserve a seat at this party because of anything you have done, then it isn’t for you. Don’t come. This party is only for those dead in sin.

Here Jesus is inviting you to drop dead to your morality, your works, your efforts and enter into the party. Here is His crucified and risen body and blood to enter into your deadness so that you too will rise again. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.