Tag Archives: Water

Stepping In – Sermon on John 2:1-11 for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

John 2:1-11

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have become drunk, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This text is so rich; it’s a pile of treasure for preachers. This whole week, I felt like Scrooge McDuck taking a daily swim in all the wealth.

The main point of the text is that Jesus supplies more mercifully and abundantly than we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20). Christ manifests His glory by turning 120-180 gallons of water into wine for a bunch of people who are drunk. Most English translations have the master of the feast say in v. 10, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.” Every other place that word gets used in the New Testament (Lk. 12:45; Eph. 5:18; 1 Th. 5:7; and Rev. 17:2), it is a reference to drinking too much alcohol and is condemned. Do not – I repeat, DO NOT – take this text to mean that Jesus is ok with getting drunk. Instead, see that in turning water into wine, Jesus is giving sinful people good things they do not deserve and cannot fully appreciate. That is the definition and nature of mercy, and God’s glory is to give mercy (Jn. 1:14).

My fellow failures, Jesus gives you the full forgiveness of your sins even though He knows that you will turn around and fall into the same sin tomorrow. And when you fall into the same sin over and over, repent, and confess again. Jesus will answer with His mercy again. That is the main point of this text.

But there are many other gems here. We could consider how Jesus removes all human efforts to purify ourselves. He makes the stone jars that are there for man-made purification rites hold wine instead of water. Or, we could spend a lot of time talking about how much God loves marriage and weddings. Jesus makes sure that the celebration of the union of man and woman as husband and wife keeps going by providing for the feast. God created marriage, He blesses marriage, and He sustains joy in marriage.

Again, this text is a treasure-trove for preachers. But today, we are going to consider what this text has to preach to us about prayer. Yes, Jesus turning water into wine has a lot to teach us about prayer, so let’s get to that.

In Jesus’ day, wedding feasts would last several days, typically a whole week. At some point during this feast, [1] the wine runs out. The custom in Jesus’ day was for the groom and his family to pay for the wedding and the feast that followed. But here, Mary steps in, “They have no wine.” The wine wasn’t Mary’s responsibility. It isn’t one of her kids getting married; if it were, she would have told Jesus, “We have no wine.” But she says, “They have no wine.”

Having no wine is a fairly trivial thing and something we probably wouldn’t think Jesus would get involved in. It isn’t like someone is demon possessed, leprous, blind, lame, or dead. Those are typically the times Jesus steps in for a miracle. Even in the feeding of the five and four thousand, Jesus is concerned that the people won’t make it home because they will faint on the way. No one is in physical or spiritual danger at this feast because they ran out of wine. 

Now that being said, running out of wine at a wedding feast in that culture would mean public humiliation and disgrace. It’s impossible to make a direct equivalent between the customs of Jesus’ day and ours, but here’s my best shot. Imagine you get invited to a wedding. You love the couple and excited for their marriage, and you RSVP indicating that you would like the bone-in tomahawk ribeye (rare, of course) and chicken cordon bleu for the reception. (And yes, that would be a really fancy wedding reception.) But after the wedding, you go to where the reception is supposed to be only to find out the party has been cancelled because the couple didn’t pay the caterer and venue, so the doors are locked. For the rest of your life, you would remember that the wedding gift you bought for the couple was way too expensive. (In saying that, I’m assuming the custom is to buy a gift that is similar to the amount spent on the reception.)

Again, Mary has or nothing to do with this quandary of the wine running out. But here, she presents this problem to Jesus as though she is responsible for keeping the feast kept going. And Jesus initially responds, “What is that to you and to Me. My hour has not yet come.” In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ hour is His Passion and cross (see Jn. 12:23, 27; 17:1). In other words, according to Jesus, fixing this problem will cost Jesus His life – eventually. (There is a whole sermon there too.)

Even though His response sounds rude, Mary trusts that Jesus will do what is right and good. So, she steps in a little further telling the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” Jesus directs the servants to fill the six jars full of water, and He miraculously turns them into wine. This would be equivalent to between 750 and 900 bottles of wine. Jesus steps in because Mary had stepped in seeking Jesus’ help in a problem that is fairly minor and more of a luxury than a need, and Jesus responds with abundance. And this is where the text has something to say about prayer – or, even more importantly, the grace and mercy of our God who answers prayer.

Only a few people know where the wine came from. The servants, the disciples, and Mary knew, but no one else at the feast did. The master of the feast, the guests, and the groom didn’t know the Source of the wine. For the most part, the miracle is done in secret. As best as we can tell, the groom has no clue about the embarrassment and shame he was spared because Mary stepped in by her prayer, and Jesus stepped in to answer her petition. So, here are the two things this text teaches us about prayer. 

First, we benefit from the prayers of others when they step in and intercede for us. Dear saints, we are like the groom in this account. The way John records this miracle, the groom is a necessary character, but he’s almost invisible. The groom doesn’t say or do anything except listen to the master of the feast call him an idiot for serving the good wine to guests who can’t appreciate it. The groom goes stumbling through the wedding feast unaware of what is happening behind the scenes and completely dependent on the prayers of others who interceded for him. He simply benefits from Jesus’ miraculous provision because Mary stepped in and prayed.

Now, I don’t think you and I can even begin to imagine how many millions of people have stepped in and prayed for us, maybe not by name, but with a general prayer that God has answered in a way that blesses you. If we could see how God answers those prayers through governing all of creation; by commanding His angel armies to protect and defend us; and by using His infinite power, wisdom, and might to cause all things to work together for our good (Ro. 8:28), if we could see all of that, we would fall on our faces in humility and praise.

And the second thought on prayer from this text is that we should pray for others because Jesus steps in by answering our prayers with His grace, mercy, and abundant provision. Each week in our corporate prayer we pray for all sorts of people we will never meet. We pray that they would hear God’s Word taught and preached; that God would protect families, husbands, wives, children, widows, and orphans; that God would provide our nation with good leaders, good economic conditions, and good laws; that God would heal those who are sick; etc. I don’t know what your thought is about that prayer, but I would encourage you to imagine it as all of us going into battle together. As we pray corporately, we aren’t individual soldiers fighting on our own. We are a while squad or battalion fighting a spiritual battle together as one. So, each week, listen to that prayer, and as it concludes with, “Lord, in Your mercy…” you pray with me, “hear our prayer.”

And as you go through your week, be a soldier fighting the spiritual battles around you through prayer. When you hear of someone in need, pray for them. It can be as simple as, “Lord, have mercy.” When you hear that something good has happened, pray, “God be praised.” 

Don’t be concerned with how trivial or silly your prayer might sound to God. In Romans 8:26, Paul says that none of us, and he includes himself in this, none of us know how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. God loves to hear your prayers, the Holy Spirit loves to interpret those prayers, and the almighty God of armies will always answer those prayers in the way He knows is best.

Dear saints, God gives better than we deserve and better than we can even appreciate. And He invites you now to come to this altar where He will do another miracle by giving you His very Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sin. Here, Christ gives better than you deserve and more than you can appreciate. Come to His table and receive a foretaste of the great wedding feast to come. Amen.

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

[1] We don’t know how many days had elapsed during this wedding feast before the wine ran out. When John talks about “the third day” in v. 1, he’s making a connection to the sixth day of creation when God created mankind and instituted marriage. If you go back to John 1, you see John start to number days. Day 1 – Jn. 1:19-28. Day 2 – Jn. 2:29-34. Day 3 – Jn. 1:35-42. Day 4 – Jn. 1:43-51. Day 6 begins in our text with the phrase “on the third day” (i.e. ‘after, but including, day four’).

Slavery to the Promised Land – Sermon on Exodus 14:13-31 and Mark 1:9-13

Exodus 14:13-31; Mark 1:9-13

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture repeatedly connects water with death and life. At creation, there was chaos and darkness as the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. But then God spoke, and life was brought forth (Gen. 1:2). In the Flood, God sent judgment and death upon sinful mankind by raining water on the earth for 40 days and nights, but those same waters were life-giving as they lifted Noah and his family safely in the ark above God’s judgment (1 Pet. 3:21). When Moses was born, the Hebrew baby boys were to be drowned in the waters of the Nile, but Moses was placed in a basket – his own personal ark – and saved by those waters to be found by Pharaoh’s daughter (Ex. 1:22-2:10).

After wandering in the desert for forty years, God’s people passed out of the deathly, barren wilderness and into the Promised Land by passing through the waters of the Jordan River (Jos. 3). Naaman came to the prophet, Elijah, as a man with deadly leprosy, but he washed himself in the waters of the Jordan River and came out with the skin of a newborn (2 Kg. 5:1-14). Jonah was swallowed by the great fish and brought down to the depths of the sea, but was vomited up again on dry land with new life (Jon. 1:17:2-10, Mt. 12:40). 

Last but not least, in tonight’s Old Testament lesson (Ex. 14:13-31), God’s people are departing Egypt and leaving the land of slavery, leaving the brutal taskmasters, whips, despair, hopelessness, and death behind. Initially, Israel had gone to Egypt to stay alive and find a place of refuge and rescue from a severe famine (Gen. 45:4-15). In those days, Egypt was a land that offered a good home while the world was filled with desperation (Ex. 1:1-7). But things had taken a bad turn. A new pharaoh came to power and saw God’s people as a source of cheap labor. The Hebrews ended up groaning under his cruelty. The land that had provided for them became the place of pain and sorrow. The country that had been a place of life became a place of death.

God heard the cries of His people and sent Moses to deliver them out of slavery and death. It wasn’t an easy departure. It took ten terrible plagues to convince Pharaoh to let them leave and go to the land that God had promised to give to Abraham and his offspring. But the Hebrews only got as far as the Red Sea when Pharaoh had another change of heart. Now, God’s people were stuck between a big body of water on one side and Pharaoh and his army on the other. 

God told Moses to lift his staff over the sea, and the waters parted so God’s people could pass through on dry ground. Through the water, God’s people left slavery and death and begin their journey from their exile in Egypt back to the Promised Land. The Egyptian army pursued them through those waters, but it didn’t work. The walls of the sea collapsed on Pharaoh’s army. The Lord did, indeed, fight for His people, and they had only to be silent (Ex. 14:14). The evil tormentors of God’s people were all washed away. The waters of the Red Sea were an instrument of both life and death. The same waters that destroyed the enemies of God’s people are the waters that save them. The waters that killed also delivered.

Dear saints, the world around is is getting very bleak. Yes, we live in the land of the free, but the darkness of evil is gathering around us. Like the Hebrews when they initially entered Egypt, we’ve had remarkably blessed days, but that is changing daily before our eyes. The novelist, G. David Hopf wrote, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” The good times that have been a blessing from God, have created weak men. We are watching inflation soar. We see the potential for horrific wars. The holocaust of abortion continues to rage around us. And our culture has become so open-minded that brains are falling out. For example, yesterday, the supreme court nominee said that she was unable to define what a woman is during her confirmation hearing. Stating simple truths are now considered “hate speech.” It may be that hard times and persecution are looming large before us. Dear Christian, be ready. Our beloved country might turn into a land of slavery. Lord, have mercy.

But even if that isn’t the case and we enjoy more good days, it doesn’t change the fact that we are all slaves of sin and death. We continually sin in thought, word, and deed. We do not love God with our whole heart or our neighbors as ourselves. We need a Savior and deliverer. We need to be rescued from the demons. And, God be praised, God has come and fought for us to deliver us from every oppression.

In our Gospel lesson tonight (Mk. 1:9-13), Jesus came to the Jordan River. Scripture tells us that in those same waters, the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan were going to John to be baptized as they confessed their sins (Mt. 3:5-6). Jesus also went into that water to be baptized. But Christ didn’t need to be washed clean of sin because He didn’t have any. Instead, Jesus went down into those waters, and like a sponge, He absorbed those sins into Himself. After Jesus was baptized, He was driven by the Holy Spirit to go into the wilderness bringing those sins back to Satan, the father of sin.

In His baptism, Jesus began to take upon Himself the sins of the whole world (2 Cor. 5:21, Jn. 1:29). In Jesus, God has condemned sin in the flesh (Ro. 8:3). By taking our sin, going to the cross, and suffering God’s wrath against your sin, Jesus prepared you for your own journey into and through the waters of Baptism. In your Baptism, your old, sinful nature was drowned (Ro. 6:3-8), and your sin, all your sin, is washed away. God promises that in your Baptism, you have everlasting life and are delivered from your exile. Dear saints, continue to believe what God has promised you. Because of what Jesus has done for you, heaven has been torn open so you can pass safely through this world of sin and into the promised land of the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

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

Dead to Sin, Alive to God – Sermon on Romans 6:1-11 for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Romans 6:1-11

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This epistle text is dropping us near the middle of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. Because that is the case, I want to quickly summarize what Romans says up until this point: In Ro. 1-2, Paul lays out everyone’s state under God’s Law. We’re all in trouble. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Ro. 3:23). And there is nothing you or I can do about it. Your works and my works cannot save. The Ten Commandments shut our mouths before the right and just judgment of God. Then, at the end of Ro. 3, we are given hope. In Ro. 3:21-24, Paul says that the righteousness God requires has been manifested apart from the Law through faith in Christ.

When he gets to Ro. 4, Paul uses the example of Abraham who was declared to be righteous not because he was such a good person but because he believed God’s promise to him (Ro. 4:3 see also Gen. 15:6). In Gen. 15, God promised old, childless Abraham that He would bless him with a son. God brought Abraham outside, told him to try to count the stars, and promised that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars. God made a direct promise to Abraham there under that night sky, and Gen. 15:6 says, “[Abraham] believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”

And notice how God connected His promise to Abraham to something physical, the stars. Think about how the nights were for old Abraham after that. Imagine him going out on a clear, cloudless night and seeing all the stars. How many nights, do you suppose, Abraham would remember God’s promise and start trying to count the stars? How long would he count before he would give up, realizing it wasn’t possible? And then Abraham would get tired, yawn, smile to himself, go to his bed, and fall asleep thinking, “Well, God made a promise to me. It’s hard to imagine and believe, but God promised.”

Back to Romans. When we get to Ro. 5, Paul changes gears and compares Jesus to Adam by saying that Jesus is the second Adam and new head of humanity. The first Adam brought sin and death to all humanity, but Christ, the second Adam, brings forgiveness, justification, salvation, and life. Paul writes in Ro. 5:18-19, and listen carefully to these verses, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one Man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

Through Jesus’ righteousness and obedience, you, believer, are made righteous. Eternal life has been secured for you – not by your works, efforts, and achievements but solely by the work of Christ, which is yours through faith. God be praised!

All that brings us to our text. In this first part of Ro. 6, Paul deals with a question even before it is allowed to enter a forgiven sinner’s mind. When we hear the Gospel, that we are forgiven and reconciled to God for Christ’s sake, the old Adam in us wants to go wild. “If God loves to forgive, let’s give Him lots to forgive!” Paul says, “Not a chance; may the possibility of that thought never come to be! How can you live in sin when you are dead to it?”

“Don’t you know that all of us who have been Baptized into Christ Jesus were Baptized into His death?” (Ro. 6:3). Just like He did for Abraham, God has made a promise to you that is connected to something physical, the water of your Baptism. You who are Baptized have been picked up from where and when you are and joined to Jesus’ death and resurrection. In your Baptism, God joined you to Jesus’ death so that you have a Jesus-kind of death. In other words, a death that doesn’t last very long, and a death concludes with resurrection. That means that sin and death no longer have a say in your life. You are dead to them. You are alive to God in Christ Jesus. The day you were Baptized was both your death day and the day you were begotten from above (Jn. 3:3-5).

But Paul goes on to say that this truth is something you have to take on faith. “You must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Ro. 6:11). This is why we don’t believe that everyone who is Baptized will be saved. Yes, Baptism is where and how God saves you (1 Pet. 3:21) and delivers what Jesus has done for you by His death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-11). But you can walk away from the promises God gives you in Baptism.

“Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Believer, you have two identities at once – one in Adam and another in Christ. You must reckon yourself as dead and alive at the same time. By your birth into this world, you are a sinner. By your new birth from above (Jn. 3:3-5), you are a child of God.

This means something for you each day of your life. It means that sin is no longer your master because sin has been dethroned by Jesus. He’s your Lord now, not sin. So, don’t put sin back on the throne. Fight against it. Don’t use your body as an instrument of unrighteousness. Sin and death will have no dominion over you because they have no dominion over Jesus, which is what Paul says in the next few verses after our text (Ro. 6:12-14).

Dear saints, you are, right now, dead to sin and alive to God. That fact might seem strange because you know that you still sin. The old Adam still clings closely to you. At times, you feel that old Adam and know the guilt and shame of your sin. You recognize that you are not what God intended you to be. The wages of sin is death (which is what you earn by yourself) but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ro. 6:23). That’s why considering and reckoning yourself dead to sin and alive to God is so important. You are simultaneously righteous and sinner.

So, when you are inclined to sin and cave into temptation, you have all the proof you need that the old Adam is still hanging around and you need repentance. So, repent. Repenting is saying and believing what God says about sin. Confessing that you do not deserve anything good from God, but don’t stop there. Keep going! Confessing your sin also means saying what God says, that those sins have been died for and are forgiven because of Christ.

And when you are upset, discouraged, and appalled that you have sinned, when you resist and fight back against your wicked thoughts, words, and deeds, you can know for certain that you are alive to God.

Through your Baptism you are truly forgiven, regenerated, and made holy. That is how God looks at you, Christian. But we also recognize from both Scripture and our experience that this new life has only begun. It is not yet complete. But know that the God who began a good work in you, He will be faithful to bring it to completion (Php. 1:6).

What occurred in your Baptism – the drowning and rising, the death and resurrection – isn’t something that is merely in the past, but neither is it something will only come later in the future. Your Baptism is your present life, believer. Daily you repent of your sins, daily you believe in Christ crucified for your forgiveness, and daily you walk in newness of life until that great day when your Old Adam finally perishes, and you are perfectly and eternally renewed.

In other words, because your Baptism has joined you to Christ’s death and resurrection, live that out. Sin now has no dominion over you. You are dead to sin and alive to God. Amen.

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

The Well of Salvation – Sermon on Isaiah 12:1-6 for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Listen here.

Isaiah:12-1-6

1 You will say in that day: 

     “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, 
      for though you were angry with me, 

     your anger turned away, 
that you might comfort me. 

2   “Behold, God is my salvation; 
I will trust, and will not be afraid; 

     for the Lord God is my strength and my song, 
and he has become my salvation.” 

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day: 

     “Give thanks to the Lord, 
call upon his name, 

     make known his deeds among the peoples, 
proclaim that his name is exalted. 

5   “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; 
let this be made known in all the earth. 

6   Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, 
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Have you ever been watching a movie for an hour and a half and then right at the climax, when there is only twenty minutes left, someone walks into the room starts asking questions? They want to know everything about the characters and what is happening so they can watch the end with you. When that happens to me, my inclination is to grab the remote, turn up the volume, and pretend I don’t hear the intruder. Hopefully, you’re more polite than I am and pause the movie to give as full of an explanation as possible so that person will understand the characters, plot, and inside jokes that usually come at the end of a movie.

This text, which is a stunning song, is one of the climactic parts of the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 12 is absolutely magnificent, but jumping straight into it like we have today is like coming in for the climax of a movie. Without the context, you miss the beauty and wonder. Well, don’t worry. Today, I’m a preacher, so I won’t just ignore the questions that this text begs. Let’s all get caught up.

The two questions that stare us in the face when we come to this beautiful chapter are first, when is “that day”? And second, who is the “you” that will sing this song in “that day”?

To get at the ‘when’ of that day, we have to go back to Isaiah 11 which begins with a famous prophecy of Jesus’ birth. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” And as you get to v. 6 of Isaiah 11, the focus shifts to looking beyond Christ’s birth to His return on the Last Day. There, Isaiah talks about how “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,” etc. And as you work your way down to v. 10, Isaiah speaks about how Christ will, “stand as a signal for the peoples – of Him shall the nations inquire, and His resting place shall be glorious.”

So, when we get to our passage here in ch. 12, what day is Isaiah referring to when he says this beautiful song will be sung? Is it when Christ is born in Bethlehem, or is it when He returns on the Last Day? I think the best and safest answer is, “Yes. It’s both.” Which also means that the answer to the second question about the identity of the “you” who sings this song is you, believer.

Dear saint, you live in the day when God’s anger turned away from you and to Christ. God comforts you because Jesus went to the cross to suffer God’s wrath against your sin in your place. On the cross, Christ, the eternal Son of God, became your salvation. Today, you trust in Him and are not afraid. Jesus is your strength and your song, and He has become your salvation.

And to see how this is for you now, we have to do a little leg work. And, please, bear with me; this will feel more like Bible study than a sermon for just a bit. And it would be helpful for you to turn to ch. 7 of John’s Gospel. There in Jn. 7, Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. That feast was when God’s people commemorated their time of exodus in the wilderness and lived in tents. If you want to learn more about what God commanded for that feast, see Lev. 23[:33-36, 39-43] and Dt. 16[:13-17].

Each day of the celebration of that week-long feast, the priest would go to the Pool of Silom in Jerusalem and draw some water and carry it back to the Temple in a parade filled with trumpets. The crowds would follow the priest who was carrying that jar of water and sing v. 3 of our text, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” When they reached the Temple, that water was poured around the Altar as a thank offering for God’s provision for the people during the Exodus.

So then, look at Jn. 7:37-38. It was on the last day of that feast that Jesus cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” So, in the context of the people singing for a whole week about joyfully drawing water from the wells of salvation, Jesus says, “If you’re thirsty for salvation, come to Me and drink.”

Now, the way the ESV reads there, the one who drinks from Christ will have living waters flowing from his heart. But I want you to notice something. If you are looking at one of our pew Bibles, there is a little footnote #3 which provides an alternate translation (which, I think, fits better with the context).

The alternate translation reads, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and let him who believes in Me drink. As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Translated that way, it makes Jesus Himself the source of the rivers of living water. In other words, Jesus is saying, “Believer, drink from Me because out of My heart flow the rivers of the living water of salvation.” And understanding Christ’s words that way makes more sense since Christ is inviting those who are thirsty for salvation to come to Him and be satisfied.

Also, think back to what John tells us happened after Christ died on the cross. The soldiers came to Jesus, saw that He was already dead, and pierced His side with a spear. And what came out? Water and blood flowed from Christ (Jn. 19:31-37). In other words, when we understand Jesus as the source of the rivers of living water, it is the very wounds of Christ that are the wells of salvation for you, believer. From the wounds of Jesus, salvation has poured and flows into this world. God be praised!

That is why we Christians sing. We give thanks to the Lord, we call upon His name, and we make His deeds known among the peoples.

All of this brings me back to you, Israelle. Israelle, today, God has joined your voice to the great choir of His children. Today, God poured the wells of His salvation over you. Though you were born in sin, Jesus’ heart has flowed with rivers of living water to save you (see also Jn. 4:10, 14).

Israelle, in your Baptism today, you have begun to drink from the wells of salvation which are the wounds of Christ. Because of God’s promises given to you in your Baptism, His anger has turned away from you, and He has comforted you (Is. 12:1). Continue to drink from Christ. And continue to sing His praises because He will never leave you or forsake you.

Israelle, Jesus will always be in your midst to deliver and save you (Is. 12:6). He will bless you with every good and perfect gift from above (Jas. 1:17). His right hand and holy arm have worked salvation for you (Ps. 98:1). Israelle, God has given you the Holy Spirit to guide you into all the truth throughout your life (Jn. 16:13). So, continually put away all filthiness and wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted Word of God, which is able to save your soul (Ja. 21).

And all you Christians, come today to this altar to drink again from the wells of salvation as Christ gives you His Body to eat and His Blood to drink. Nourished by this pure gift, give Him thanks. Go back out into the world making His deeds known among the people you encounter.

Sing His praises. He has done gloriously. Shout, and sing for joy, you inhabitant of Zion. The Holy One of Israel is great in your midst today and forever. Amen.

Alleluia! 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.

I Thirst – Sermon on John 19:28 for Good Friday

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In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In Hosea 11:1, God says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” But it didn’t take long for that beloved child to start whining. Even though God had displayed His might and power to protect and deliver His people through the plagues He sent upon Egypt, three days after crossing the Red Sea the people came to the bitter waters of Marah (Ex. 15:22-26). They grumbled against Moses saying, “I thirst! What are we going to drink?”

Well, God acted for His son, Israel. God showed Moses a log and told him to toss it into those bitter waters. Moses did, the bitter water became sweet, and the thirst of Israel, God’s son, was quenched.

About one month later, God’s son, Israel, again said, “I thirst.” They had come to a place where there was no water. This time the whining was worse. The son grumbled again saying to Moses, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” But God, their loving Father, still provided. He told Moses to take his staff and strike a rock. And from that rock came water for God’s son, and his thirst was quenched again.

Tonight, Jesus, on the verge of death, cries out, “I thirst.” Jesus is God’s true, beloved, faithful, obedient Son. Jesus is the true Israel. Christ had never whined or complained no matter how hard or bitter things got for Him. He was everything that the nation of Israel wasn’t. Yet, when Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, cries out to His Father, “I thirst,” God doesn’t move a muscle. God doesn’t jump to action.

You remember the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31). As he is there in torment, the rich man begs for a drop of water from Lazarus’ finger. Like that rich man, Jesus gets nothing to drink. Not even one drop.

When Jesus cries, “I thirst,” it is because He is truly parched. Jesus is true God and also true Man. He actually was thirsty. But even more than needing water for His dehydrated mouth, Jesus’ thirst is to do His Father’s will (Jn. 4:34). Christ thirsted for your salvation so that you can be God’s child. Only Jesus can truly say, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps. 42:1-2a). Jesus thirsted in your place.

We thirst for things that are momentary and trivial. We thirst for the attention and approval of others. We thirst for our own glory, our own wealth, our own safety, our own selfish desires. But no matter how much we drink from the cup of our sins, our thirst is never satisfied there. That is why Jesus went to the cross. He went there because of your sin. He went to the cross to atone for your sinful thirsts.

That is why, it pleased God to do nothing for Jesus as He thirsted on the cross. It was God’s will for Jesus to drink from the bitter cup of wrath so that you could drink the sweet, living waters that Jesus gives which well up to eternal life (Jn. 4:14).

There was no water from the rock for Jesus because He was the Rock. According to 1 Cor. 10:4, Christ was the Rock that was struck in the wilderness for God’s people to drink. It happened in the wilderness for Israel, God’s son, and it still happens for you today, believer. Jesus was struck with a spear and out of that dead Rock hanging on the cross came the water and blood which give eternal life.

Jesus thirsted. He died. He rose again. And He is ascended and is now seated at God’s right hand. But Christ still thirsts. Even today He thirsts, and His thirst is for your salvation. He thirsts for you to be forgiven and receive His righteousness. Jesus’ thirst is to eternally satisfy your thirst.

So, Jesus, your Savior, invites you, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (Jn. 7:37-38).

May we drink from Him, our crucified and risen Lord and Savior. Amen.The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Infant Baptism – Sermon for Midweek Lent 5

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Do children also believe? Are they rightly Baptized?

The Baptism of infants is pleasing to Christ, as is proved well enough from His own work. For God sanctifies many of those who have been baptized as infants and has given them the Holy Spirit. There are still many people even today in whom we perceive that they have the Holy Spirit both because of their doctrine and life. It is also given to us by God’s grace that we can explain the Scriptures and come to the knowledge of Christ, which is impossible without the Holy Spirit [1 Cor. 12:3].

For this reason let everyone value his Baptism as a daily dress [Gal. 3:27] in which he is to walk constantly. Then he may ever be found in the faith and its fruit, so that he may suppress the old man and grow up in the new…. [I]f anyone falls away from the Christian life, let him again come into it. For just as Christ, the Mercy Seat [Ro. 3:25], does not draw back from us or forbid us to come to Him again, even though we sin, so all His treasure and gifts also remain. Therefore, if we have received forgiveness of sin once in Baptism, it will remain every day, as long as we live. Baptism will remain as long as we carry the old man about our neck.

Martin Luther’s Large Catechism

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Many times, we Lutherans (along with Roman Catholics and others) are accused of doing something that is not biblical when we Baptize infants. Some well-meaning Christians will say, “The Bible never records an infant being Baptized.” And I have to admit that is correct. There is no verse that says, “Little two-week-old Bobby was Baptized,” or, “Timmy was Baptized as an infant.” The snarky side of me would like to point out that nowhere in Scripture does a woman explicitly receive the Lord’s Supper. If we would deny a child the gifts that God gives in Baptism just because there is no explicit mention of an infant being Baptized in Scripture, should we deny women the Body and Blood of Jesus? No!

Even though the Bible does not have a record of an infant being Baptized, the Scriptures certainly do imply that babies were Baptized. Look again at our first lesson (Act. 2:37-41). Peter has preached his great Pentecost sermon and closes with the horrific words of the Law, “Know for certain that God has made [Jesus] both Lord and Christ, whom you crucified.” The people are terrified, cut to the heart, and ask, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter answers, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” now listen closely, “for the promise is for you and for your children.” In other words, the gift of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit is for the people there and for their children. That doesn’t mean that their children get the promise eventually when they grow up. The natural reading of that text is that Baptism is for the people there and for their children and babies. Peter could have limited it to people who were of a certain age, but he didn’t.

Later, in Act. 16, there are two entire households that are Baptized. First the household of Lydia (Act. 16:11-15), and later the household of the Philippian jailor (Act. 16:25-34 esp. v. 31-33). Remember that in the time of the New Testament, the life expectancy wasn’t that much longer than normal, child-bearing years, and they didn’t have the methods of birth control that we do. Also, children were much more valued back then. It is highly unlikely that neither Lydia, who was a seller of purple goods (Act. 16:14), nor the Philippian jailor had households without any children.

And remember, when Jesus gives the gift of Baptism to the church as the method of making disciples, He says, “Make disciples of all nations (ἔθνος, ‘ethnicities,’ ‘all types of people’) by Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19). If Jesus wanted to limit who is eligible to be Baptized, He would have made a limit there, but He didn’t.

Now, very briefly (I don’t want to spend much time on this because it is an absurd thought process): We know that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro. 3:23). Our Psalm tonight (Ps. 51) teaches us that we are brought forth in iniquity and in sin did our mothers conceive us (Ps. 51:5). Still, some people teach that God does not hold babies accountable for their sins until they reach some sort of ‘age of accountability’ (which isn’t a biblical term anyway). But just use a little logic: If God isn’t going to punish young children for their sins until they reach a certain level of understanding of their sins, then abortion and infanticide would be evangelistic tools. God forbit it! Enough on that thought.

Back to what Peter says in Act. 2:38-39, some will say that Peter requires things to be done sequentially. First, you have to repent, then you can be Baptized. Or first you have to believe and only after you believe then you can be baptized. First of all, salvation isn’t a three-step program. But also notice that argument implies that babies cannot believe, which is not in line with what Scripture teaches – not at all. The overwhelming teaching of Scripture is that babies can and do believe.

I included an insert in your bulletin tonight titled, “Infant Faith in the Scriptures.” For anyone watching or listening, I’ll include links to it in the description (click here). And I would like us to quickly walk through it.

First, let’s start with Ps. 71:5-6. “For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.”

One of the reasons this is such a great place to start is the variety of vocabulary used to describe a child. The verses start by saying that the Lord is my hope and trust ‘from my youth.’ In English, we use the word ‘youth’ for a very wide range of ages. Sometimes, churches have ‘youth group’ for middle-school through high school. East Grand Forks has ‘youth soccer’ for preschool through sixth grade. The Hebrew word translated as ‘youth’ here has a wide range of meaning too. One of the nice things about Hebrew poetry is that it’s very repetitive, and the repetition helps us see how expansive the term is. So, in v. 5 God is the object of hope and trust for the psalmist from his youth, and notice in v. 6 how it gets specific. The psalmist has leaned on God from before his birth. He recognizes that God was the one who brought him from his mother’s womb, and he continually (i.e. from before his birth and throughout his youth) praises God.

Those verses are very instructive, but let’s turn to the New Testament, and specifically what Jesus teaches about the faith of children. To do that, we need to understand some of the vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. In English, we have lots of words for a kid: infant, baby, toddler, tyke, little one, child, youth. Greek does the same. I’ve included five words (there are more) that deal with children. And I put them in different colors so they pop out in the verses that follow. Let’s quickly go through and define them:

βρέφος (brephos) – very small child; baby; infant; unborn baby in the womb

παιδίον (paidion) – a child below the age of puberty; it’s maybe the most basic words for ‘child,’ but it has a wide range of ages that it can apply to.

μικρός (mikros) – ‘little one’; one who is small; it’s even used to describe Zacchaeus

νήπιος (nēpios) – a very young child; infant; a minor not yet of legal age

θηλάζω (thēlazō) – v. ‘to nurse’; can also be used as a noun meaning ‘one who nurses’

So, let’s go through the verses on that sheet. First, Luke 18:15-17 which is the same account as our Gospel lesson tonight (Mk. 10:13-16). Now, to be fair, Mark only uses the word παιδίον when he records this, but that’s why I used Luke’s account here. According to Luke, the doctor, people are bringing even their βρέφος (infants) to Jesus to be blessed by His touch. The disciples didn’t like it, but Jesus says, “Let the children (παιδίον) come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child (παιδίον) shall not enter it.” Jesus here plainly says that the kingdom of God belongs to children to παιδίον – and notice that includes infants, βρέφος. And if we say that the kingdom belongs to children apart from faith, we are going to end up in a very bad place theologically.

Next passage, Matthew 18:1-6: The disciples want to know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus brings a child (a παιδίον) into their circle and says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children (παιδίον), you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child (παιδίον) is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child (παιδίον) in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones (μικρός ‘little guys’ and notice what Jesus says next) who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” According to Jesus, children, even little ones believe in Him.

Next verse, Matthew 21:15-16: This is after Jesus has entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the shouts of “Hosanna!” The chief priests and scribes get furious when they see all the things Jesus is doing, and they see children (παιδίον again) crying out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” They want Jesus to get them to quiet down by asking, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus responds, “Yup! Have you never read,(then He quotes Ps. 8:2) “‘Out of the mouth of infants (νήπιος) and nursing babies (θηλάζω) you have prepared praise’?” Right praise of God is only possible through faith (Ro. 14:23b).

Chugging right along, Matthew 11:25-27: Jesus praises His heavenly Father, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children (νήπιος infants); yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” God is more than capable of hiding things from the wise and understanding and able to reveal the things of faith to the infants.

Two more, 2 Timothy 3:14-15: Paul tells pastor Timothy, “Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.” Pause for a second: remember from the previous verse, who does the teaching and revealing? God does. Continue at v. 15 “and how from childhood (βρέφος from ‘infancy’) you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Since his infancy, and maybe even before his birth (as we’ll see in a minute), Timothy was acquainted with the sacred writings, the Scriptures, through which God makes even infants wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Finally, we see this actually happen in our final passage, Lk. 1:15, 41: This is about John the Baptizer. In v. 15, the angel Gabriel announces to Zechariah that he will have a son, that’s John. And that John will, according to v. 15, “be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.” Later on in v. 41, Mary visits Elizabeth, John’s mother and Mary’s relative. When Mary got to her house and greeted Elizabeth, the baby (βρέφος the pre-born baby, John) leaped in her womb. Elizabeth goes on to say that pre-born John leaped precisely at the sound of Mary’s greeting, which, if I remember rightly, was shalom, ‘peace.’

With that text in particular, we see that babies can hear in the womb. But even more importantly, that the Word of God, that proclamation and greeting of God’s peace, is effective to give the Holy Spirit and create faith even for pre-born babies. So, all you dads and moms, take note. Read the Scriptures to all your children, even before they are born. God works through His Word.

So, Scripture teaches that children, infants, and even pre-born babies can have faith. So, if someone objects to infant baptism based on the idea that infants can’t believe, they are arguing against Scripture.

And we can admit that it’s difficult to know how babies believe. How can infants who can’t talk or express themselves believe? But that’s the miracle of faith. How can any sinner, dead in their sin believe? Faith is always a gracious, life-giving gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9).

Think back to what we’ve covered the past five weeks and see what Scripture says that Baptism does: Baptism saves (1 Pe. 3:21). It forgives sins (Act. 2:38). Baptism delivers from death and the devil (Col. 1:13). It gives the new begetting from above (Jn. 3:3, 5-6). In Baptism, God joins you to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-11) and clothes you with Christ (Gal. 3:27). And nowhere does Scripture limit that work. All sinners, even infants, need God to do those things. And, God be praised, God promises that Baptism does all of these things, and God cannot and does not lie. So, continue believing what God has done for you in your Baptism.

I want to close with the second paragraph from the Large Catechism in your bulletin:

“For this reason let everyone value his Baptism as a daily dress [Gal. 3:27] in which he is to walk constantly. Then he may ever be found in the faith and its fruit, so that he may suppress the old man and grow up in the new. [I]f anyone falls away from the Christian life, let him again come into it. For just as Christ, the Mercy Seat [Ro. 3:25], does not draw back from us or forbid us to come to Him again, even though we sin, so all His treasure and gifts also remain. Therefore, if we have received forgiveness of sin once in Baptism, it will remain every day, as long as we live. Baptism will remain as long as we carry the old man about our neck.”

Even though we can (and, sadly, some do) walk away from the faith and deny the benefits of their Baptism, God remains faithful to His promises (2 Tim. 2:13). Those promises are always there for you to return to. Live in those promises trusting what God has done for you through your Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

What Does Such Baptizing with Water Signify? – Sermon for Midweek Lent 4

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IV. What Does Such Baptizing with Water Signify?

It signifies that the old Adam in us, together with all sins and evil lusts, would be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance and be put to death; and that the new man should daily come forth and rise to live before God in righteousness and holiness forever.

Where is it so written?

St. Paul writes in the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans: “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

Martin Luther Small Catechism

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Baptism saves (1 Pe. 3:21), forgives sins (Act. 2:38), delivers from death and the devil (Col. 1:13), and gives the new begetting from above (Jn. 3:3, 5-6). Still, one of the most common objections people have to those Scriptural teachings is they will say, “Baptism doesn’t save. Only Jesus saves by His death and resurrection.” Well, they’re half right. We agree with the second part of that statement.

Jesus alone saves us by His death and resurrection. Colossians 1:20 says that Jesus reconciled all things by making peace through the blood of His cross. Ephesians 2:13 says that we who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul says that he decided to know nothing among the Corinthian Christians except Christ and Him crucified. And, finally, Galatians 6:14 says, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” By His death and resurrection, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, won our salvation. Period.

But that leaves us with a problem. We weren’t there. Jesus was crucified 1,998 years ago and 6,185.425 miles away (as the crow flies between East Grand Forks and Jerusalem). So how does Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the devil get to us who live nearly 2,000 years later? How do we get the benefits of Jesus’ blood which was shed half the world away from here? According to Romans 6:3-4, it happens through your Baptism.

Your salvation was won and purchased on the cross, but it isn’t distributed there. The only one we know was saved on Mt. Calvary on that Good Friday was the thief on the cross, the one to whom Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

Think back to all the sporting competitions you have watched. The team that wins the Super Bowl might win the game on a play that happens in the 2nd quarter, but they don’t get the Lombardi Trophy until after the game clock runs out, and probably on a different part of the field than where the winning play occurred. In the Olympics, the person who wins the 100m dash doesn’t get their gold medal as they cross the finish line in first place. It wouldn’t be safe. Just imagine what would happen if the officials tried to hang the gold medal on the winner at the finish line of downhill skiing or the luge. Talk about an epic clotheslining. I can’t think of any instance where the prize is awarded at the exact moment and location of where the victory is won.

The same is true of salvation. Your salvation is won by Christ on the cross, but it isn’t delivered there. Your salvation is delivered to you in your Baptism.

I know that this final question from the Catechism asks, “What does Baptizing with water signify?” We’ll get to what it signifies, but first Romans 6 says that Baptism actually does something. All of us who have been Baptized into Christ Jesus were Baptized into His death. We were buried therefore with Him by Baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Your Baptism actually joined you to Jesus’ death. It isn’t just that it was a sign or some symbology (sic.). It actually picked you up from wherever you were when you were Baptized, brought you back in time to 33 AD, and joined you to Christ’s death on the cross.

Being joined to Jesus’ death is a good thing because that means you have a Jesus-kind of death – a death that doesn’t last very long. Christ was in the tomb for three days before He rose again, and since you have been Baptized into Christ and joined to Jesus’ death you can know that your time in the grave will not last either. Being joined to Jesus’ death means that you will certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His (Ro. 6:5).

Your Baptism is where God delivered your justification. It is where God declares you to be not guilty of your sins. Beyond that, your Baptism is where God calls you to think of yourself differently – to think of yourself as one who is and is being sanctified. In other words, your Baptism allows you to say that you are no longer defined by your sins, but by God’s righteousness.

Because of that, Baptism signifies that you daily die to sin and live before God in righteousness. That’s why our Epistle text (Ro. 6:1-14) closes by calling us to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies and make us obey our sinful passions. 

Through your Baptism you are truly forgiven, regenerated, and made holy. That is how God looks at you, Baptized Christian. But we also recognize from Scripture and our experience that this new life has only begun. It is not yet complete. You recognize that the Old Adam still dwells in you despite the fact that he was drowned in your Baptismal waters. Also, you recognize that the devil and the world still remain around you pestering you, trying to deceive you and lead you astray. The devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh want you to continue in those sins which were drowned and return to slavery to sin.

What occurred in your Baptism, the drowning and rising, the death and resurrection, isn’t something that is merely in the past, but neither is it something to come later in the future. Your Baptism is your present life, believer. Daily you repent of your sins, daily you believe in Christ crucified for your forgiveness, and daily you walk in newness of life until that great day when your Old Adam finally perishes, and you are perfectly and eternally renewed.

In other words, because your Baptism has actually joined you to Christ’s death and resurrection, live that out. Sin now has no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

So, each night, as you go to your bed, let it be a practice run at your death. Over and over, Scripture speaks about the death of believers as them falling asleep (Mt. 9:24; Jn. 11:4, 14; 1 Cor. 15:6; 1 Thess. 4:13). As you go to bed, confess your sins and read a passage of absolution. Hear how God has cast all your sins behind His back (Is. 38:17). How God blots out your transgressions for His own sake and will not remember your sins (Is. 43:25) Know that God promises that He removes your sins from you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12) and that He tread your sins under His foot and cast them into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19). And as you sleep, die to those sins knowing that God’s steadfast love never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is His faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-23) to you.

Then, each morning think of your getting out of bed as a dress rehearsal for the Resurrection. Let your new, forgiven self come forth daily to rise and live before God in righteousness and holiness. Dear Baptized Christian, let each day of your forgiven life be a day where you take up your cross and follow after your Savior trusting in Him as you live and wait for your eternal inheritance with Him. Amen.

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

How Can Water Do Such Things? – Sermon for Midweek Lent 3

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III. How Can Water Do Such Things?

It is not the water indeed, that does such great things, but the Word of God, connected with the water, and our faith which relies on that Word of God. For without the Word of God, it is simply water and no baptism. But when connected with the Word of God, it is a baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says to Titus, in the third chapter: “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior; so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement.”

Martin Luther Small Catechism

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

To recap what we have covered so far: We heard how Jesus says disciples are made – baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching God’s Word. Last week, we considered how Baptism works the forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives salvation to all who believe. With all the things that Scripture says Baptism does, we rightly wonder, “How can water do all this?”

This is the same question that Naaman had (2 Kgs. 5:1-14). Remember Naaman, the commander of the enemy Syrian army? He had leprosy, but he went to Elisha God’s prophet in Israel. Elisha told Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River and he would be clean. Naaman wasn’t too happy with that prescription. He figured the rivers of Syria were better than all the waters in Israel. So, he wasn’t going to do it until one of Naaman’s servants basically said, “Why not give it a try? If the prophet has said this, it’s at least worth a shot.” Naaman went and washed, and he was cleansed. God had indeed spoken through His prophet, Elisha, and the waters of the Jordan became a life-giving and life-restoring stream. It wasn’t that the waters were special or healing, but because of God’s promise. When he exited the Jordan, Naaman’s skin was like the skin of a child. Smooth as a baby’s bottom.

So, speaking of babies and water. Let’s consider the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in our Gospel lesson (Jn. 3:1-17). Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness and has an incredibly interesting discussion with Christ about salvation.

There is too much going on in this text to cover everything. We’d be here until morning. We’re simply going to stick to one thing, and that is the fact that Nicodemus keeps thinking one way while Jesus is talking another. I’m going to translate these verses differently than the ESV does to try to bring out some of the nuances of the conversation because it helps us see what Jesus is teaching and how Nicodemus misunderstands. The first thing Jesus tells Nicodemus is, “Truly, truly, I say to you unless one is fathered/begotten from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Greek has two words for how kids come about. Here Jesus uses the Greek word γεννάω. Now, γεννάω is typically the word that refers to the father’s contribution to how a child comes into the world. For example, when Gen. 5 goes through the genealogies of the first people, the Septuagint, which is Greek translation of the Old Testament, will use the word γεννάω. It talks about how Adam γεννάω’d Seth. And Seth γεννάω’d Enosh. And Enosh γεννάω’d Kenan, and so on. Γεννάω means ‘fathered’ or ‘begat.’

The other Greek word for how children come into existence focuses on the mother’s action in bringing a child into the world. That word is γίνομαι or ‘birthed.’ When I was in seminary, Sarah and I lived in the brand new housing units on campus. Shortly before our one year anniversary, the kind woman who donated the funds for those units to be built came to tour them. We had our house cleaned up and gave her a tour. As she was about to leave, we again expressed our gratitude for her generosity. Right before walked out the door, she asked Sarah, “And when will you begin birthing?” If I had had quicker wits back then, I would have responded, “About nine months after I begin begetting/fathering.”

In these verses, Jesus repeatedly talks about begetting/fathering, but Nicodemus continually stays in birthing mode. Jesus says that we sinners must be γεννάω’d begotten/fathered from above, but Nicodemus can’t imagine being γίνομαι’d birthed a second time. “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Even though Nicodemus is using the same word Jesus uses, γεννάω, he is still thinking about being birthed γίνομαι’d by a mother.

So, Jesus further explains. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is fathered of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is fathered of the flesh is flesh, and that which is fathered of the Spirit is spirit.” What Jesus is saying here is that there is another way to be fathered – a water and Spirit kind of being fathered.

We need this mode of being fathered because we have all been fathered/begotten by sinful fathers. Ephesians 2 says that we are dead in our trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1) and because of that we are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). 1 Corinthians 15(:22) says that because we are descended from Adam we will all die, but in Christ we shall be made alive. Adam is the father and begetter of all sinners. But God desires to give us a new begetting from Christ who bore our sins on the cross. He took your sins from you because He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Through Baptism, Christ begets and fathers you so that you are children of righteousness.

In other words, when God connects His Word to the waters of your Baptism, you are begotten anew from above – from God.

Which brings us back to our Epistle text (Tit. 3:1-8). “When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us.” So, please notice. God is the one who saves. We aren’t saved because of works or prayers done by us in righteousness. God saves us by His own mercy. How does God do this saving? “By the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by [God’s] grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:4-7).

Dear saints, what God’s Word is saying here is that we are begotten/fathered by God through the washing of regeneration in our Baptism.

Christian, through your Baptism, you have been made an heir of God. You have been begotten from above and are poised to inherit everything that is God’s. John 1:12-13, which you hear every Christmas Eve service, puts it this way, “[T]o all who did receive [Christ], who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born (but the Greek word there is γεννάω ‘begotten/fathered’), not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of [the will] of God.”

By the power of God’s Word connected to the waters of your Baptism, you have a new begetting. With this begetting, God has given you all of Christ’s holiness and righteousness. You have been begotten by God and made and heir with Christ. Live as a child of God as our text from Titus stated. God has delivered you from your old, sinful, foolish, disobedient ways. He has rescued you from your various passions and pleasures.

So, you Baptized child of God, live out your calling as God’s beloved child as you devote yourself to good works. Amen.

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

What Gifts or Benefits Does Baptism Bestow? – Sermon for Midweek Lent 2

Listen here.

II. What Gifts or Benefits Does Baptism Bestow?

Baptism works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives everlasting salvation to all who believe, as the word and promise of God declare.

What is this word and promise of God?

It is the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in the last chapter of Mark: “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Last week we considered how Jesus instructs His disciples to make disciples of all nations/ethnicities by baptizing them and teaching them. Since Jesus has instituted Baptism as the means to make disciples, Baptism cannot be an empty, optional thing. It is vital. We also introduced the idea that God places His Name – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – upon us when we are Baptized. Wherever God’s name is, there is salvation. Psalm 54:1 says, “O God, save me by Your name.”

Now, as we move to the second question about Baptism and consider what gifts and benefits Baptism bestows, we see according to Scripture that Baptism works forgiveness of sins. After Peter preached on Pentecost, his listeners were convicted by the Law and asked, “What shall we do?” Peter responded, “Repent and be Baptized … for the forgiveness of your sins” (Act. 2:38). Because Baptism works the forgiveness of sins, it delivers from death and the devil (see Col. 1:13). (The idea of forgiveness being deliverance from death and the devil will be part of the sermon this Sunday.) Baptism also gives salvation to all who believe.

According to the plain words of Scripture, Baptism saves. You heard it tonight. Palin as the nose on your face, 1 Peter 3:21 says, “Baptism now saves you.” Before we get into the specifics of that text, I want to acknowledge that there are Christians (and, please, note that I truly call them Christians) who deny that Baptism saves. I’ve heard many Christians ask me, “You do know, the Bible doesn’t teach that Baptism saves, don’t you?” I point them to 1 Peter 3:21, “Baptism now saves you.” And they don’t have an answer. I have a friend who learned Greek at a Baptist college. His class translated this verse, and the professor said, “There is no denying what this verse says, ‘Baptism saves,’ but we know that isn’t what this verse means.”

That is a dangerous approach to theology and leads down a perilous road. If Scripture says, “Baptism saves,” but it doesn’t really mean, “Baptism saves,” then what other passages don’t really mean what they say? The devil loves to take little slivers of doubt like that to destroy the faith of Christians by sowing the seeds of unbelief in all sorts of texts – both Law and Gospel. Satan will whisper, “Does the Bible mean what it says, ‘By grace you have been saved through faith’ (Eph. 2:8)?  Does John 3:16 mean what it says? Did Jesus really mean it when He said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ (Jn. 14:6)? Did God really say, ‘Thou shalt not murder,’ ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ or, ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’? (Ex. 20:13-14, 16)?”

Now, this is a bit of an aside, but I love you too much to not address this: We could call Baptism an “apex doctrine.” Let me explain what that means. In biology, there are apex predators – the animals at the top of the food chain. For example, sharks are the top of the food chain in the ocean. Nothing hunts the sharks. So, when there is a shortage of plankton in a part of the ocean because there are high levels of mercury, the biologists will test the blood of sharks even though they are interested in learning about the plankton. Here’s why. 

Plankton will absorb the mercury, but the mercury won’t be detectable in the plankton. As you move up the food chain, mercury levels will get higher at each level. The fish that eat plankton have a little higher level of mercury. And the fish that eat the fish that eat the plankton have even higher levels. But the sharks that eat the fish that eat the fish that eat the fish that eat the plankton will have the highest concentrations of mercury. So that’s where the biologists look. They look at the apex predator because they will have levels of mercury that are detectable. Ok.

Baptism is one of the doctrines at the top of the food chain when it comes to being able to detect doctrinal poison. Little levels of poison don’t necessarily kill you right away, but there is no amount of theological poison that is safe. So, to you kids who are in middle school and high school, when you go off to college, move away from home, and look for a church, don’t necessarily pick the church that is the most fun to go to. Look at what that church believes – and look especially to what that church teaches about Baptism and I’ll add the Lord’s Supper. The ‘little’ theological problems that can be hard to see get more detectable when it comes to the church’s teaching about the Sacraments.

Ok. To 1 Peter 3. That text is so rich and dense, I’m not going to cover everything. Instead, I want to give you the context and then focus on what it says concerning Baptism. I’ll start at v. 18:

Jesus suffered once for sins, the righteous One for us unrighteous ones, that He might bring us to God. Jesus was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. What this text is saying is that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter, but before He physically came out of the tomb, He went in His spirit to hell and preached to those who were in that place of torment that they experience now. We know they have torment before Christ returns because of Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus in Lk. 16:19-31, but that is not their final destination. When Christ returns, everyone will be raised from the dead. Those who do not believe in Christ will be cast into the lake of fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41). So, Christ went to that place of torment and proclaimed His victory over sin, death, and the devil. And Peter mentions specifically that Jesus preached to the souls who did not listen to Noah’s preaching while he built the ark. And Peter mentions them because of the point he is about to make about Noah, his family, the ark, and Baptism.

Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives, eight people in total, were brought safely through the water of the Flood (Gen. 7-8). In the Flood, God was judging unbelief and saving the faithful at the same time. And in the Flood, God uses the same ingredient or instrument to bring both judgment and salvation. It was the waters of the Flood that killed the sinful, unbelieving people, and it was the same water that raised Noah and his family above God’s judgment that came through the Flood. In the Flood, water was the instrument of both death and life.

The same is true of Baptism, and we’ll consider this more fully in two weeks when we look at Romans 6which teaches that Baptism unites us with Christ’s death and resurrection. But for tonight, see how Baptism delivers us from sin, death, and the devil by defeating them, and how it saves us. According to this verse (1 Pet. 3:21), Baptism saves because it isn’t just washing a little dirt from a person. Instead, Baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience. And this Baptism saves because it connects us to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, some will ask the question, “Do you have to be Baptized to be saved? What about the thief on the cross. He wasn’t Baptized and Jesus said that he would be in paradise that very day.” To which we respond, that’s right. But go again to what Jesus says in Mk. 16:16, “Whoever believes and is Baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Notice that unbelief is the only condition that Jesus mentions with regard to being lost and condemned. Those who trust in Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of their sins are saved. Those who don’t believe aren’t – even if they are Baptized. If you do not believe in Christ, you are still in your sins. Faith in Christ is to believe that Jesus has removed your sins.

All of this is to say that you can be saved without being Baptized. Deathbed and foxhole converts are just as saved as those who are Baptized as infants and remain believers their entire life.

The main thing about saving faith is that it believes something. To simply say, “I believe,” is an incomplete confession of faith. What is it that you believe? Christians, children of God believe what God has promised them.

Remember when God promised old, childless Abraham (then Abram)? God brought Abraham outside, told Abraham to try to count the stars, and promised that Abraham’s offspring would be as numerous as the stars. God made a direct promise to Abraham there under that night sky, and Gen. 15:6 says, “[Abraham] believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”

God connected His promise to Abraham to something physical, the stars. And I love to imagine what the nights were like for old Abraham after that. I can picture him going out on a clear, cloudless night and seeing all the stars because there was no light pollution. How many nights, do you suppose, Abraham would remember God’s promise and start trying to count the stars? How long would he count before he realized it wasn’t possible? And then he would get tired, smile to himself, go to his bed, and fall asleep thinking, “Well, God made a promise to me. It’s hard to imagine and believe, but God promised.”

Dear saints, God has made promises to you as well. God didn’t bring you outside to look at the stars, but He did bring you to the font. In your Baptism, God promised that He washed away your sins (Act. 2:38). At the font, God promised that you who are Baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). God promised that those waters joined you to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-4, Col. 2:12). There God promised that He delivered you from the domain of darkness and transferred you to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13-14). These are all things God has said in the Scriptures about what He did for you in your Baptism. God is true to His Word, and faith clings to and believes those promises of God.

So, when you wash your hands or face, when you take a shower, when raindrops keep falling on your head, you too can remember God’s promises to you. Everything Christ has won for you by His life, death, and resurrection was delivered to you in your Baptism by God’s decree. And God counts that faith as your righteousness. Amen.

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

What Is Baptism? – Sermon for Midweek Lent 1

Listen here.

I. What is Baptism?

Baptism is not simply water, but it is the water used according to God’s command and connected with God’s Word.

What is this word of God?

It is the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in the last chapter of Matthew: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I’m no Julie Andrews, but I’ll attempt a little Maria von Trapp impersonation here, “Let’s start at the very beginning – a very good place to start. When you read, you begin with A-B-C. When you sing, you begin with Do-Re-Mi…” When you consider Baptism, you begin with Mt. 28:19.

Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Our crucified and resurrected Savior, who has all authority in heaven and on earth, passes His authority to His disciples. But what exactly is Jesus telling His disciples to do here? What is the command? I can still hear and picture a particular missionary repeatedly telling a group I was in, “The command is to go!” Actually, it isn’t. And, in fact, the word ‘go’ is probably the least important word in this verse. That’s a horrible thing to say about anything Jesus tells us, but it’s true. In all honesty, you could remove the word ‘go’ and what Jesus says would have the same meaning. Just quickly, here’s why.

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus meets the disciples on a mountain in Galilee. Jesus wants His disciples to ‘make disciples’ of ‘all nations.’ Since ‘all nations’ are not there on that mountain, the disciples are going to have to leave the mountain in order to do what Jesus wants them to do. But because Jesus does say, “Go,” it is important. I don’t want to overly bore you here with grammar, so I’ll just get to the point. “Go,” is not a verb in Jesus’ sentence here. The idea is more along the lines of, “as you go,” in other words, wherever the disciples go, here is what they are to do. “Disciple all nations.” The command Jesus gives is ‘disciple,’ and ‘disciple’ is not a word that we are used to being an action. Normally, we hear the word ‘disciple’ and think it is a person – one of the twelve or a Christian today. But that’s the command, ‘disciple’ or ‘make disciples.’

And Jesus specifies whom the eleven disciples are to disciple – “all nations.” The word, there, for nations is ἔθνος – where we get our word ‘ethnicities’ or ‘all types of people.’ Jesus wants all ethnicities to be His disciples because – “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.” And to fast-forward to when we will consider infant Baptism, that is one of the reasons we baptize infants. No matter their skin color, country, heritage, age, or ethnicity, Jesus wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4).

How are Jesus’ disciples to disciple all ethnicities? Two things are necessary: First, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and second, teaching them all that Jesus has said.

Notice that, according to Jesus, the water of Baptism is tied to the divine, triune name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God places His holy name on you in Baptism. But this is more than simply slapping a bumper sticker or luggage tag on you. When you were Baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God brought you into fellowship with Himself. God gave you a new character, new identity, and even new birth.

When you put your name on a loan or marriage certificate, something changes. You are bound to an agreement or a person. When the eternal, unchangeable, holy God puts His name on you, that is significant.

That’s why teaching is also part of making disciples. It will take our entire lifetime to learn what it means to have God’s name placed upon us, the Baptized. That is why you come to church and listen to sermons, why you study and read your Bible. You have been made a disciple through water and the Word. Keep learning what that means, you children of God!

Now, some object to what the Bible says about God working spiritually through something physical like water. To that, we have to ask, “Has God ever used something physical to bring about salvation?” To that we have to say, without hesitation, “Yes!” Jesus became a literal, physical human to die on a cross, shed His blood, and rise again. In Christ, God used something physical to bring about something spiritual.

As humans, we are physical and spiritual – body and soul. So, it makes complete sense for God to save us through both physical and spiritual means – water and Word.

Now, it is vitally important that we recognize that Baptism isn’t simply water, but water used according to God’s command and connected to God’s Word. Without the Word and command of God, there is nothing special about the water used. That same water could be used to boil potatoes, wash your hands, or mop the floor. God’s Word and promise connected to that water is essential.

We might wonder, “Why would God chose to connect His promises to something as common as water?” God could have connected the same promises to honey, milk, or kiwi juice. But He didn’t. Asking why water is used in Baptism is like asking, “Why didn’t God create us with six arms? Why don’t birds say, ‘Moo’? Why doesn’t salt taste sweet?” The only answer is that God didn’t do it that way. Let’s let God be God, and let us be His creatures.

Again, God’s Word is essential to make a Baptism, but so is the water. Consider the importance of water through Scripture. It was over the water that the Holy Spirit hovered at the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:2). It was through water that God brought His people into the Promised Land (Jos. 3). It was through water that God led His people out of slavery (Ex. 14). It was with water that the priests were to wash their hands and feet before they went near the altar to minister to the Lord (Ex. 30:18-21).  And it was into the water that Jesus stepped to fulfill all righteousness (Mt. 3:15). 

Christian, as we will see in the coming weeks, in your Baptism God has done all of this for you. In your Baptism, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in you. In your Baptism, you have been brought out of your slavery to sin. In your Baptism, you have been brought into the Promised Land of the kingdom of God. In your Baptism, you have been brought into God’s presence and before God’s altar. In your Baptism, God has fulfilled all righteousness and saved you. 

Finally, because Jesus commanded Baptism and as we see what it does in the coming weeks, we know that Baptism isn’t merely a human work. Baptism is God’s work. Just as God has redeemed you through the shedding of blood through Jesus’ hands, He has adopted you through the washing of water in Baptism done by human hands. In your Baptism, God gave you His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and adoption. It didn’t miss. Amen.

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