Blog Archives

Comfort in A Little While

4/26/2021

Christ Preaches to the Apostles, Duccio, Date: 1308 - 1311, Public Domain

Jubilate Sunday
John 16:16-23
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
April 25, 2021

Seven times in our Gospel lesson we hear our Lord say, “A little while.” Seven is a holy number. It symbolizes God’s providence and loving care. Three is the number of God, who is three persons, yet one God. Four is the number of the earth. In six days, God created the heavens and the earth and on the seventh day he rested. Yet, God continues to watch over and care for his creation. By repeating the words “a little while” seven times in this Scripture passage, the Holy Spirit is communicating to us that throughout this little while of suffering our loving God is in control.
Jesus speaks these words to his disciples on the night in which he was betrayed. This Gospel lesson teaches us about three little whiles. The first is the one, which will follow immediately when Jesus is arrested and crucified and laid dead in a tomb. During this little while the disciples wept and lamented while the chief priests and Pharisees rejoiced. Yet, this little while ended when Jesus rose from the dead and showed himself to his disciples. The second little while came when Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after his resurrection. Soon afterward, his disciples experienced severe persecution as they proclaimed the Gospel that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, rose from the dead, and is now seated at God the Father’s right hand. That little while ended when the Apostles were each granted a Christian death and were received by their Lord Jesus in paradise where they sit on twelve thrones (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). The final little while is the little while we currently are suffering in. It is the little while of the Holy Christian Church on earth in these last days. This little while will end for each of us personally when we die and are received into paradise and generally for the entire Church on earth when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead, and his Church will rejoice with her Head for all eternity.
Each of these little whiles has a cross. In the first is the literal cross of Christ Jesus onto which he was nailed by his hands and feet and languished in unspeakable pain while bearing the guilt of all mankind on his very soul. This is the most important cross, which Jesus for a little while bore. Yet, our Lord willingly embraced this cross for our sake, desiring our salvation. He knew that we could not pay for our sins without bearing them for eternity in hell. So, Jesus bore our sins on the cross for us. And although Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” from the cross, he remembered the rest of that Scripture which he quoted also declared, “I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you,” (Psalm 22:22) which means that after he had suffered for a little while, the Father would raise him up to comfort his Church with the promise of everlasting life. In Jesus’ little while of suffering on the cross, God remained in control. This was his plan to win for us salvation. Jesus trusted his Father in the midst of his suffering.
The second cross is the one borne metaphorically and also at times quite literally by the apostles as they suffered shame for the cross of Christ. They were beaten, imprisoned, betrayed, slandered, and even crucified for the Gospel of Christ. Yet, encouraged by Jesus’ words and strengthened by the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent to them, they endured. They considered it an honor to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. They knew that when they finished the race Christ had an imperishable crown stored up for them in heaven.
The third cross is the one we bear as Christians on this earth. Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) Jesus says quite plainly that Christians should expect to suffer on this earth. We are called to be willing to lose all things for the sake of gaining Christ. This is the little while Jesus warns us about and for which he provides the greatest comfort.
Jesus offers comfort in the face of suffering. The first and most obvious comfort is the fact that he calls it a little while. The Greek word used is where we get the word micro. It’s so small. It won’t last. It will be over soon. Yet, the joy that will come will last forever. Jesus says that no one will be able to take that joy away. That alone gives comfort as we deal with suffering. That chronic pain that has become “normal” to you will come to an end. You will enjoy a happy reunion with your Christian loved ones who have preceded you in death. The temptations that try you and the sins that grieve you will be forgotten forever. Your own death is only temporary. Alleluia! This is but one reason why St. Paul says that the sufferings of this present age are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)
Suffering can be defined as having evil inflicted against you. There are three types of Christian suffering. For all three, Jesus offers immense comfort. The first is godly grief, which leads to repentance. This suffering is when the Lord disciplines us for doing wrong. There is no glory in suffering for doing wrong. And Christians should never glory in sin whether they suffer for it or not. Yet, Christians do sin. And sometimes God permits suffering as a result of sin. This is not like the suffering for the Gospel, which is a great honor and blessing to the Christian. Rather, this is a shameful thing. And yet, there is still comfort in it when it leads to repentance. Scripture says, “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret.” (2 Corinthians 7:10). And again, Scripture says, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:6, Proverbs 3:12)
And so, Christians count it a blessing when the Lord corrects them. As the Psalmist says, “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head.” (Psalm 141:5) How much more when the Lord disciplines us! On this earth we have a chance to repent and turn to Christ. By disciplining us now, our Lord spares us from eternal hell. So, we find that even when we are disciplined now, it is a kindness from the Lord to turn us back to him.
The second type of Christian suffering is suffering as the result of living in a fallen world where sin and death reign. Here Christians are particularly comforted, because we know that Christ has taken away all our guilt and has won the battle against death. The wicked will not prevail. Death has lost its sting. We should not fear death. There is no sickness that can defeat us. What are cancer, stroke, heart-failure, Parkinsons, arthritis, and all the other awful maladies that plague us, but minions of death? But our Lord Jesus Christ has defeated death. So, how can the minions, these mere servants of death conquer us, when our Lord has vanquished their master and given us the victory? This is what we mean when we cry, “Oh death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Christ has taken away the sting of death by washing our sins away.
So, we are comforted in the suffering of our bodies and in the turmoil of the earth, because we know that this is only temporary and Christ has already won the victory for us. Yet, more than that we see our suffering as an opportunity to shed our old Adam, who must be drowned and die every day. We repent of our sins, knowing that the new man who rises will live forever. We cast away our idols, whether they are pleasures of life, good health, or long life, knowing that in Christ Jesus, even if we die, we will live forever. And our loved ones who die in the Lord will live forever as well. This does not mean that as Christians we should not mourn death. Jesus says that we will mourn now. We will weep now. But we do not mourn as those who have no hope. Rather, we maintain hope in our eternal joy even in the midst of sorrow.
The third and primary type of Christian suffering is the suffering on account of faith in Christ. This is the suffering Jesus is speaking of when he says, “You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.” And as with the other types of suffering, this suffering too will end after a little while. Then our sorrow will turn into a joy that will never be taken away from us. Yet, this third type of suffering also brings joy and comfort here and now.
Suffering has been described as crying out “No!” to God in complaint. And this makes sense as we look at the Psalms of lamentation in the Bible, such as Psalm 94, “O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?” (vs. 3) Of course, there is Psalm 22, which Jesus recited from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”
And so, it seems strange that suffering could produce joy in the midst of suffering, even before the little while has passed. But listen to the words of our Lord Jesus, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12) Jesus tells us to rejoice when we suffer on account of him, because it is a sign that we are his and that we will inherit the kingdom of heaven. This is why the apostles rejoiced when they were beaten for preaching about Jesus in the temple, because they had suffered dishonor for the name of Christ.
I do feel compassion for my fellow Christians, who suffer for confessing Christ: the Christians who are frequently murdered in the middle east for going to church, the pastor in Canada, who was imprisoned for holding church services, Christians who are maligned and slandered as haters by their family and acquaintances, because they still believe what the Bible teaches about sexual morality and the distinction between men and women. I have deep sympathy for the suffering of these Christians. Yet, I am much more concerned and fearful for those, who do not recognize the suffering of the Christian Church, who laugh along with the world while Christians are weeping and lamenting the evil inflicted upon them. I am fearful for them, because they are losing sight of Christ. One of the fruits of being a Christian is to suffer with Christ, because the world hated him first. This fruit, while bitter for a little while, is a comforting sign that you are in good company.
Our Lord Jesus endured suffering for our sake, so that he could pay for our sins. But also, to set us an example, so that we can learn to suffer in faith and find comfort in suffering. Romans 5 states, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:3-5) When we recognize that we are suffering on account of Christ, we rejoice knowing that we will not be put to shame before God. And we learn that this suffering is a tool to shed the old Adam and gain endurance for the course before us. My fellow Christians, let us find such purpose in our suffering, so that we may gain endurance for this little while before our joy is made full. Amen.

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The Divine Call to be Christ’s Lamb

4/19/2021

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Jesus as the Good Shepherd, publicdomainvectors.org

Miscericordias Domini (Easter 3)
John 10:11-16
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
April 18, 2021

To emphasize the importance of a job, when a job is more than a job, such as teaching, police work, farming, and health care, people say, “Oh, it’s not a job; it’s a calling.” Referring to a job as a calling adds meaning to the job, because it implies that God is calling that person to this very important task. The Bible refers to only two calls that God makes (we’ll call them divine calls): 1. The call into the Office of the Holy Ministry and 2. The call to be Christ’s Sheep, that is, the call to be a Christian.
Our Lutheran Confessions state in Article XIV of the Augsburg Confession, “No one should publicly teach, preach, or administer the Sacraments without a rightly ordered call.” And this statement is supported by Romans 10:15, where St. Paul asks, “How are they to preach unless they are sent?” And there are many other Scripture passages that teach that no one should enter the Office of the Ministry without being called (James 3:1; 1 Timothy 3; 4:14; Jeremiah 23:21). If a person decides that he wants to be a pastor, he can’t simply open up a church and start preaching, like one would if he wanted to open up a cake shop. A man must be called by God in order to be a minister of the Word. The apostles were called directly by Christ himself. Today, pastors are called through the Church.
A man who desires to be a pastor should feel an internal calling, but an internal calling is not enough. Through the Church, God calls pastors to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments. This is why when a man is called to be a pastor to a congregation it is called a divine call. It is for the sake of Christ’s sheep that only those who have been rightfully called should preach. Every pastor must preach the voice of the Chief Pastor, Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is the Good Shepherd.
The second and greater divine call is the call to be Christ’s sheep, that is, the call to be a Christian. This call likewise is from God and likewise is done mediately through the church. While the divine call into the Office of the Ministry calls only a few men who fulfill the Scripturally prescribed qualifications, the divine call to be Christ’s sheep calls all people who hear the Gospel. In order for a Christian man to be called into the ministry, he must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, and so forth (1 Timothy 3:1ff). Yet, the call to be Christ’s sheep makes no such list of qualifications. Rather, Scripture tells us that all we like sheep have gone astray. Jesus calls sinners to his fold. And he searches out those who have gone astray.
Jesus does not call the righteous, but sinners. He doesn’t demand that people reach certain qualifications before he will call them to be his sheep, rather he calls the weak, those picked on and abused, the wandering, the sick, the sinful. He calls them to repent of their sins and to believe in the forgiveness he has won for them.
Those who recognize the voice of their Good Shepherd and receive the call to be Jesus’ sheep do not do so because they are better than others or because they are less sinful. We were all children of wrath like the rest of mankind, born and even conceived in sin. The sin that dwells in our flesh is just as opposed to God, just as evil, just as damning as the sin that dwells in all mankind. Yet, Jesus’ sheep believe the voice of their Shepherd, which tells them that all their sins are forgiven for the sake of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One can only believe this and receive the call to be Christ’s sheep by the power of the Holy Spirit, who works through the proclamation of the Gospel.
The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Those called to be Christ’s sheep learn not to listen to any voice that does not preach that Jesus, the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. All we like sheep have gone astray. We followed our own way, that is, we followed our own sinful impulses. And we Christians continue to struggle with the impulses of our sinful flesh. Our Good Shepherd never committed any such sin. Yet, he knows our sin even better than we do. He tasted it when he drank God’s cup of wrath and died on the cross bearing the sins of the world. Jesus has felt the guilt of our sins more intensely than we could ever feel it. He knows our weakness. He knows how and why we fall. And he laid down his life in order to save us from it all.
Jesus knows his sheep and his sheep know him. He calls them by name. In your Baptism, Christ Jesus called you by name and made you his own dear lamb. You know him as him who bought you with his precious blood and washed you clean of all your sins. Through Baptism you receive the righteousness of Christ, so that you truly are without sin in the eyes of God. Yet, all this can only be received through faith. So, Christ’s sheep must continue to hear the words of their Shepherd. Jesus says that his sheep know his voice and follow him, but they will not follow the voice of a stranger. Why is this? Because they recognize the voice of their Shepherd, but they do not recognize the voice of a stranger.
A sheep does not need to know the different voices of strangers in order to know not to follow them. A sheep simply needs to know the voice of its shepherd. We, Jesus’ sheep, need to know Jesus’ voice. This means we need to continue to listen to Jesus’ voice. There are hirelings who will pretend to be Jesus’ under-shepherds, who seek only to fill their belly. They’ll satisfy themselves, but they don’t care for the sheep. They’ll run when the wolf comes. They will provide the sheep with no protection from the enemy. Wolves will come to snatch the sheep and scatter the sheep. And so, there will be false teachers, contrary voices to the voice of the Good Shepherd, which will try to draw you away from Christ’s fold. How can you protect yourself from them? How will you be able to recognize that they are strangers and enemies of Christ? By listening to Christ’s voice and learning from him. Those who listen to Jesus are his. Those who do not listen to Jesus do not belong to him.
What does Jesus call his sheep to? God calls men into the Office of the Ministry, so that they can be his stewards and tend his sheep. He calls them to preach the Gospel, baptize, instruct, forgive and retain sins, administer the Sacrament, and comfort the sick and distressed. What does Christ call his sheep to do? He calls them to follow him. Jesus’ sheep are called to listen to his Word, to repent of their sins and believe in the forgiveness he declares to them. Jesus leads his sheep to green pastures and feeds them, so Jesus’ Christians should gather to eat from Jesus’ hand his body and blood given and shed for them and to listen to his words which are more precious than any food for the body.
Jesus calls his sheep to follow his example and to suffer rather than fall away from him. Jesus did not deserve any of the suffering he received, yet he bore it willingly for our sake. And he has left us an example to not be scandalized by the suffering that God permits us to bear, because when anyone suffers as a Christian, he suffers to the glory of Christ by shedding the glory of this world and placing a firmer trust in Christ. We follow Christ by forgiving those who have sinned against us; by being patient and kind to others. We follow Christ by serving our neighbor and humbling ourselves before one another in love.
We do not follow Christ to become rich or powerful here on earth. We do not boast over others, because we are Christ’s sheep or because we think we are better sheep. Rather, we recognize that we have all gone astray like stupid sheep. And if it were not for our Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for us in order to forgive our sins and who called us out of sin and into his pasture, we would continue to stray and get devoured by wolves, that is, be devoured by Satan and be damned to hell.
Jesus says that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but that He came so that his sheep might have life and have it abundantly. Jesus laid down his life, so that we could have abundant life. He had the authority to take his life up again from the grave, and so he has the authority to take our lives up again and make us live forever. This is why we follow him. It is to this end that we follow him, so that we can live with him forever. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” We follow Jesus, because he is the only way to eternal life. He is the only one who can save our souls from death and hell. He is the only one who can give us peace with God, and he has done it through his death and resurrection.
Jesus calls some of his sheep to be under-shepherds in the Office of the Ministry. They are not better than the other sheep. They are still sinners, who need forgiveness and need to constantly listen to the voice of their Shepherd and feed from his hand. They are held to a higher standard, because they must be able to teach Jesus’ sheep and must not scandalize them by sinful living, but rather set an example. But those called to preach are not to set themselves up as the Good Shepherd. They must rather point Christ’s sheep to the true Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who has won for them salvation.
Why does a preacher preach? Because it’s a job? No. Because he is called by God to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel. Why do Jesus’ sheep come to hear preaching? Because they are called by God to hear. God has called you. You are called by God to listen to the voice of your Shepherd, so that you can be fed the food of eternal life and be kept safe from the hirelings, wolves, and thieves. Every one of us has a divine call from God to listen to the voice of our Shepherd, to follow him, to eat what he gives us to eat, to go where he bids us to go, and to flee from any voice that would bid us to do otherwise.
The calling to be Christ’s sheep is the highest calling in the world. It is more important than being a teacher, farmer, or doctor, father or mother. It is by following the call of Christ that we fulfill our purpose in our other stations in life. And it is only by following the call of Christ that we will reach eternal life. May our Good Shepherd keep us in his fold, well fed and safe by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we may enter the green pastures of heaven to live with our God forever. Amen.

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Real Resurrection, Real God, Real Salvation

4/12/2021

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Doubting Thomas, Karl Heinrich Bloch, 1865-79. Public Domain

Quasimodo Geniti (Easter 2)
John 20:19-31
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
April 11, 2021

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!
Last Easter Sunday, the following was posted on the Twitter account of the Georgia Senator and pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Raphael Warnock, “The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves.” The post was later deleted and Warnock’s office stated that a staff member posted it without authorization. Warnock declined to state whether he agreed with the statement or not. However, many did defend it. And as a matter of fact, it expresses the belief of a growing religious and political cult, which is present in many religious denominations, a cult which denies the truth of the Bible, ignores Christ’s work of salvation, and devotes itself to earthly pursuits, such as environmentalism, social justice, and other social, economic, and political activism.
Now, to any orthodox Christian, the statement above is absurd and obviously heretical. How can the meaning of Easter transcend the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Scripture says, “[Christ Jesus], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11)
So, to say that anything transcends the resurrection of Christ is contrary to Scripture. By his resurrection, Jesus was exalted above all things. His Ascension, which we will be celebrating in a few weeks, is simply delayed while Jesus gives final instruction to his disciples. But it is in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that Christ is victorious over death and hell and gives us this victory. The only way a person could claim that the meaning of Easter transcends the resurrection of Jesus Christ is if he denied that Jesus bodily rose from the dead and that Jesus is truly God.
And that is exactly what this religious and political cult, which I mentioned earlier, does. You’ve heard of higher criticism, which claims that the events in the Bible did not actually happen and judges all supernatural events in Scripture against observed science. Higher critics deny the miracles of the Bible. They frequently deny the virgin birth of Christ, Jesus’ divinity, the doctrine of the Trinity, and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Yet, these same higher critics preach sermons in churches! Well, what do they preach if they do not believe in the Trinity or that Jesus rose from the dead? They preach a religion of works. This is why that Twitter post said that both Christians and non-Christians could save themselves through the commitment to helping others. According to this cult, faith in Christ does not save, but rather, your own works save you.
Now, this is not simply beating up on some silly tweet. Jesus teaches us to mark and avoid false teachers, who come to us in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. In churches throughout our country, there are ministers who will preach about the resurrection of Christ and about salvation when they don’t actually believe that Jesus bodily rose from the dead or that he won salvation for us by his death and resurrection. How can they do this? Equivocation. Equivocation is when the same word is used with different meanings. When they say, “Jesus’ resurrection,” they do not mean that Jesus’ dead body came back to life, but a spiritual resurrection or even a metaphorical resurrection, that is, a pretend resurrection. When they say, “salvation,” they do not mean that you ascend into heaven to live with Christ or that your body is risen from the dead, renewed after the image of Christ. They mean a very earthly and temporal salvation that you experience here and now, a temporary and superficial liberation of sorts.
This liberal religious cult is more palatable to modern people, because it does not ask you to believe in miracles or other difficult to accept teachings in the Bible, like the Trinity and the divinity of Christ and Jesus’ resurrection. What’s more, it doesn’t condemn many popular sins of the flesh like fornication, homosexuality, or abortion. Yet, the acceptance of these sins does not mean there is no law. This religion has a salvation based on works, yet not the works of God. Yet, in this religion there is no real forgiveness nor any real salvation. Rather, you must obey their rules obediently with the false promise of salvation here and now.
Of course, the Bible makes clear that we cannot save ourselves by our own works. No human being will be justified before God by works of the law, for through the law comes knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20). All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:24). For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing, it is a gift from God, not of works. (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet, if Jesus did not rise bodily from the dead and if Jesus is not true God, then our faith in salvation through Jesus apart from works is a sham. We are of all people most to be pitied.
Yet, our Gospel lesson makes clear that Jesus both rose from the dead bodily and that he truly is our God and Lord. Thomas declared that he would not believe that Jesus rose from the dead unless he saw the nail prints in his hands and placed his hands in the mark of the nails in his hands and in the mark of the spear in his side. Why did Thomas say this? Because he saw Jesus nailed to the cross. He saw the spear driven in his side and blood and water pour out of it. The disciples watched from a distance when Jesus was taken down from the cross and Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped his body in linen clothes and nard and laid him in the tomb. Thomas knew for a fact that Jesus was dead. And it is an indisputable historical fact today that Jesus was crucified and killed and laid in a tomb.
Yet, when Jesus appeared to his disciples, he showed them his hands and his side. He did the same thing to Thomas, even bidding him to stretch out his hand and touch him! Jesus is not a ghost. This is not a metaphorical resurrection. The man who was dead is now alive!
When Thomas saw that Jesus was raised from the dead, he confessed Jesus to be his Lord and his God. He did not only confess this because Jesus rose from the dead. Thomas witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, but he didn’t think Lazarus was his Lord and God. But Jesus taught Thomas that he was his Lord and God. Jesus confessed, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58) Jesus taught his disciples that he was one with God the Father (John 10:30). Jesus taught his disciples that he came from the Father and was going back to the Father. That Jesus, whom Thomas saw dead, is now alive, proves that all his teaching is true. It proves that Jesus is indeed Thomas’s Lord and God.
Both that first Easter Sunday and the Sunday after when Thomas was present, the doors were locked and Jesus suddenly appeared to his disciples. Jesus did not come as a ghost, but in flesh and bone, as we just heard. Yet, he defied the laws of physics and appeared in a closed room. How did he do this? Because Jesus is God. Since Jesus’ human body is united to the same person as Jesus’ divine nature, Jesus’ body is God’s body. This means Jesus’ body can do whatever God can do. This is also why he was able to exit the tomb before the angel rolled the stone away. And this is why Jesus is able to be present on many altars in his flesh and blood while simultaneously being present at the Father’s right hand in heaven. Jesus is able to do far more than we can either ask or think. All things are possible with Jesus. Jesus is God.
So, why does it matter that Jesus both bodily rose from the dead and that he is truly God? It matters, because this is how he saves us. Before Jesus told his disciples that whosever sins they forgive are forgiven, he showed them his pierced hands and side. He does the same thing today. Before we can have forgiveness of sins, we must see Jesus’ pierced hands and side, that is, we must hear the Gospel of how he won for us forgiveness of sins. Those marks on his hand and side declare to us that he suffered and died for our sins. By his wounds we are healed of sin and death.
This is why the Church has the authority to forgive sins, because the Church preaches the Gospel that Jesus died for sinners and rose again from the dead. The reason why this modern social and political cult does not forgive sins, is because it does not proclaim Christ’s atonement for sin. Only the Christian Church, which preaches that Jesus, true God and true man, died on the cross for our sins and bodily rose from the dead, can forgive sins. And Christ has given his Church the authority to forgive all sins.
By proving himself to be God, Jesus proved that he had the power to forgive our sins. He was able to bear our guilt. He is able to declare peace from God to us. He is able to breathe on us the Holy Spirit and give us his victory over sin, death, and hell. This all proves, that we are saved apart from our works, but rather through faith in Him, who conquered sin and death for us.
Jesus showed his disciples his pierced hands. It was as if he said, “Not by your works, but by mine are you saved. I have labored for your salvation. You can only receive it as a gift from my hands.” Our hands cannot earn our salvation. Neither can our feet or tongues or brains. We can only receive salvation as a gift from him who won it, Christ Jesus who was crucified, who was raised bodily, and who is exalted to the Father’s right hand, who is our Lord and God.
When we doubt the biblical account that Jesus is both God and man, that he truly suffered and died for our sins and rose bodily from the dead, then we doubt our salvation. We must guard against such doubt and against such teaching that would say that the historical truth of Jesus’ resurrection does not matter. Thomas doubted. He wasn’t the only one. Yet, when he saw his risen Lord, he confessed him as such. Jesus says blessed are those, who have not seen, yet have believed. But Jesus doesn’t leave us without a witness. St. John writes, “These things 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.” These things that are written are not fables or cleverly devised myths. They are the historical, eye-witness accounts that carry the power and authority of the Holy Spirit himself. These truths give us confidence in our salvation, because Christ Jesus has won it for us. Amen.

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He is going before you to Galilee

4/4/2021

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Annibale Carracci, Holy Women at Christ's Tomb, 1590. Public Domain

Easter Sunday
Mark 16:6-7

Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
April 4, 2021

“Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

On Thursday night this congregation gathered to observe the annual remembrance of the night when the Lord Jesus was betrayed into the hands of evil men, so that he could begin his passion for our sins. It was on that night when Jesus told his disciples that he would rise from the dead and go before them into Galilee (Mark 14:27-28). But the disciples weren’t paying attention to what Jesus said. They were too busy vowing emphatically that even if all others fell away, even if they must die, they would not leave Jesus. Of course, they couldn’t even wait up with him one hour to pray with him in his agony. And when danger came, they all fled.
Now these women, at the command of the angel, are to tell these same disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. The last time they saw Jesus, they were abandoning him to death. They were breaking their word. Now, they are to see Jesus victorious over death, hell, and Satan. How do you think they feel?
Imagine a troop of soldiers marching with their commander and king off to battle. As they go, each one pledges his loyalty to this king and promises to die on the battle field rather than leave him. They wave his banner. They rattle their swords. They sing their king’s praises. Yet, when they reach the battlefield and see the green valley below them darkened by the bodies of well-armed soldiers, they freeze in their tracks. They watch as their commander and king walks forward without them. Paralyzed in fear, they stand watching until their king meets the opposing army in the center of the battlefield and they see him struck down to the ground, and every one of the king’s men flees in the opposite direction, leaving their swords and shields, even their clothes behind them.
They go and hide. One of them gets interrogated by a peasant woman, and he denies his loyalty to his king with an oath. The cowardly soldiers go and hide behind locked doors, confident that their lord is dead. Then they hear the cries of women. They declare the news that their king did indeed win the battle, what’s more, he has sent a message to meet him at their old camping grounds. Can you imagine how those cowardly soldiers would feel to go and meet him, whom they abandoned? If they can get over the shock that he isn’t dead, they would assume he would rebuke them for abandoning him; that he would tell them that they are worthless soldiers, not worthy of waving his banner; that they deserve death for deserting him on the battlefield; that their offense was as bad as treason!
That’s certainly what you would expect in such a situation. Yet, that is not how our Lord Jesus dealt with his disciples when he met with them after they abandoned him to death. Rather, he said, “Peace to you.” And to assure them that it was he and that he truly was risen from the dead and not some ghost, he ate with them and bid them to touch the wounds on his hands and feet. Yes, he rebuked them, but only for their unbelief. Instead, he focused on forgiving them and strengthening their faith, so that they could forgive others and bring others into his kingdom.
This truly is a marvelous thing. Jesus fought; his disciples fled. Jesus laid down his life; his disciples saved their own skin. Jesus won the battle, but he gives the victory to those who fled the battlefield. It is as we heard in our Epistle lesson, “‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54b-57)
And this very much describes our situation as well. Each Sunday, we begin our week by worshiping our Lord and King, confessing him as Lord. We confess our sins and remember the name he has placed on us in Baptism. We confess to not be of this world, but of his kingdom. We pledge never to leave him, that we will do better this week than we did the week before. But quickly our eyelids grow heavy when we should be keeping watch. We fall asleep when we should be praying. We abandon Christ’s teaching and flee from our responsibilities as Christians, to confess Christ and not be ashamed of him and to love others, even those whom we think hate us. And many of us fail to even come on the Lord’s Day to make such a pledge and confession, because the world has so sucked us in to those things which will pass away. And then we come again to the old camping grounds, where Jesus invites us to meet him, to our Galilee, and we’re ashamed. We’re ashamed because we didn’t stay true to that prayer we sang to put to death the sin within us. We’re ashamed, because we forgot Jesus and didn’t abide with him throughout the week or weeks since we last gathered before him. We’re ashamed, because he fought for us, but we did not fight for him.
And yet, whenever we gather, our Lord does not deny us. Rather, he renews his love for us, he gives us the victory we do not deserve, he joins us to himself. He forgives us our sins against him and he strengthens us to continue the course.
Yet, this shame is real. And it keeps us from going to Galilee, so to speak, to see our risen Lord. That's certainly what happened to Jesus’ disciples. If you read the Easter accounts from the four Gospels, you’ll notice that although Jesus tells them to meet him in Galilee, they don’t meet him in Galilee until the third time Jesus appears to them! Because of shame and unbelief, they ignore Jesus’ invitation to meet him in Galilee. So, it is Jesus who has to appear to them, in the closed room in Jerusalem, to encourage them and invite them once more. When they finally meet Jesus in Galilee, it is after Jesus has caused them to catch a great catch of fish. And after their meal, Jesus asks Simon Peter three times whether he loves him, so that he who denied Jesus three times may confess his love to him three times again. And Jesus commands Peter to preach the Gospel to his sheep.
And so, we learn that we should not let shame or unbelief keep us from meeting our Lord. He did not excommunicate Peter, who was mournful over his sin. He forgave him. And he forgives us. He forgives us, who fail him. He forgives us, who are attacked by the devil, wooed and manipulated by the world, and ruled by our sinful flesh. We lose the battle, and we go to meet our Victor, who gives us the victory.
Now this does not mean that we can go on sinning and abandoning Jesus and ignoring his preaching and Sacrament, because whenever we do happen to return again, he is sure to forgive us. We can’t constantly flee the battlefield and expect to receive the victory when we constantly deny him. No, Christians must repent of their sins. In fact, we must die with Christ as often as we fail him, so that we may rise with him to new life. Remember that Jesus did rebuke them for their unbelief. We must have faith in order to receive Jesus’ victory.
Before his crucifixion, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)
We cannot continue to deny Jesus and then receive his kingdom from him. We cannot be ashamed of Jesus now and expect him to confess us before his Father in heaven. Rather, if we are to be Jesus’ disciples, we need to be willing to pick up our cross and follow him. This again is why it is so important that we meet our Lord for forgiveness and strength.
After Peter confessed his love for Jesus, Jesus made a solemn prophecy of Peter’s end. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” And St. John adds, “This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.” (John 21:18-19) Now, at first glance, this sounds like very sad news. Peter is going to be killed. Yet, if you have been paying attention, this is very happy news. Peter, who on Thursday night wept bitterly, because to escape death he denied his Lord three times, is now being told that he will confess his Lord to the end. On Thursday night, our Lord told Peter that he would deny him three times before the rooster crows twice and Peter didn’t want to believe it. Now at Galilee, Jesus tells Peter that he will die to the glory of God and Peter is glad to know that he will be with his Lord forever.
This is how we should be. We should gladly die with Jesus, because he has died for us and promises to give us eternal life. We should be willing to lose all earthly treasures and pleasures and praises to be found in Christ. We should desire the courage to follow him, even if it loses father, mother, son, daughter, house, and lands on account of him. Because Jesus is our God and Lord, who has risen from the dead to give us the victory over death and an eternal kingdom to inherit.
Our Lord is not dead in the tomb. He is risen. His body and blood are not dead, but alive. And he bids us not to seek him among the dead, but meet him where he promises to be. Go to Galilee, where he promises to be, as he told you before. Our Galilee is where the Gospel is preached and where the true body and blood of Christ Jesus are administered faithfully. That is where our Lord promises to be with us until the end of the age. There, in our Galilee, our Lord does not condemn us or reject us for abandoning him. Rather, he forgives us and strengthens us, even to die for him, that we might live forever with him.
Our Lord Jesus is with us today here in our Galilee. And he invites us to come to him frequently for forgiveness and strength. Our Lord has won the battle. He is not dead, but living. And he gives us the victory, so that we have the strength to die and rise with him. Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed. Alleluia. Amen.

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Raised for the Sake of Our Justification

4/3/2021

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James Tissot, The Resurrection, 1886-94. Public Domain.

Easter Vigil
Romans 4:25
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
April 3, 2021

“Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

If you ask any three-year-old child, who regularly goes to church, why Jesus died on the cross, you will hear something like, “to take away my sins.” This is the simplest answer that even our little children can accept. Sin is bad. You are punished for doing bad things. Jesus was punished for our bad things in our place. Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses. Yet, this is a very difficult thing to accept. Our guilty consciences do not want to accept this truth. Our reason is offended that Christ could be punished for the sins of another. Yet, this is clearly what the Bible teaches.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. … the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5, 6b) “For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Galatians 3:13). “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) “The Son of Man came not to be served by to serve, and to give his life as ransom for man.” (Matthew 20:28) St. Paul did not make up that Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses. This is the clear and persistent message of Holy Scripture. What we remembered this Friday was done in payment for our sins. Our sins were laid upon Jesus for him to take them to the cross.
And was raised up for our justification. What does this mean? The Greek can be translated one of two ways: He was raised up on account of our justification, or he was raised up for the sake of our justification. These seem to be two very different interpretations. The first says that Jesus was raised because of our justification. The second says that he was raised up so that we are justified. Which one is the correct interpretation? Well, they are both in fact true!
Jesus was raised up on account of our justification. That is to say, Jesus was raised up because we are justified. Jesus went to the cross bearing all of our sins. He bore the agony for them. Even before the chief priests laid a hand on him or even the betrayer kissed his cheek, Jesus was bleeding drops of blood in the garden with a soul agonizing to the point of death. So weighed down was he already with the guilt of the whole world. When Jesus paid the debt of our sin, our sins were taken away forever. They were drowned in the depths of the sea. They were nailed to the cross. They were washed away in his blood. They were released, covered, not counted, and whatever other language from Scripture you want to use to describe them. Jesus’ death paid the debt of our sin, so that they are gone forever.
And on account of this, because Jesus had no sin of his own to die for, Jesus was raised, because God accepted his payment for our sins and had declared us justified. Because God counted us just, Jesus rose from the dead. When Jesus rose from the dead, he was vindicated. What does it mean to be vindicated? It means to be declared innocent, to be proven to be in the right. Jesus had no sins of his own. He did not die for his own sins. Had Jesus had sins of his own, had he been guilty in any way, then he would not have risen from the dead. But, by the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead, he was vindicated. He was cleared of all guilt. Jesus’ resurrection proves that his teaching is the truth. Jesus’ resurrection proves that he is the Son of God. Jesus’ resurrection proves that we are justified before God.
Jesus’ vindication is our justification. Justification means that God has declared you righteous and innocent of all sin. Jesus was vindicated in his resurrection, because it proved that he had no sins of his own and that he had the power to pay for our sins. Jesus’ resurrection proves that we are justified, because had our sins been too much for him to pay, then he would have remained dead in the tomb.
And this then proves the second interpretation correct. Jesus was raised up for the sake of our justification. We are justified. How do we know? Because Christ is risen from the dead. If Christ did not rise, then we would still be in our sins. We would be of all people most to be pitied. Our faith would be in vain. Yet, since Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, we know that we are justified before God. How could we not be? If Christ died for our sins and is now risen, then our sins must be gone! So, it is clear, that Jesus was raised for the sake of our justification. God raised him from the dead not only to vindicate Christ, but to justify us!
We can only be justified through faith. That is to say, we can only receive a good relationship with God and receive the benefits of Jesus’ death and resurrection when we believe that God finds us innocent for Christ’s sake. We must not only believe that Jesus died and rose. We must believe that he has done this for us and for our salvation. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Abraham was declared righteous before he had done any works. God justified Abraham through his faith. This is how Noah was found righteous. This is how Moses was justified. This is how the three men in the fiery furnace were saved. It is through faith alone. But these things were not written for their sake only. They were written for us. We too will be justified before God through faith when we believe that Christ Jesus was delivered up to the cross on account of our trespasses and that he was raised, because God has justified us.
Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. But I don’t feel at peace with God. I feel my sin. But faith does not have to do with feelings, but with facts. God has justified us for Christ’s sake. But, because our sinful flesh still hangs on to us, we still sin and we still feel sinful. That is why we must repent of our sins daily and cling to the promise of Christ’s justification for us. Because we are justified, our new selves will fight against our sinful flesh. Everyday our sinful flesh will grow weaker. Everyday our new self will become stronger. Through this faith, we will continue to grow in love and confess Christ with our actions until we finally shed this sinful flesh once and for all and are raised with Christ in righteousness and purity forever. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

Comfort in A Little While

The Divine Call to be Christ’s Lamb

Real Resurrection, Real God, Real Salvation

He is going before you to Galilee

Raised for the Sake of Our Justification

Rev. James Preus

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