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December 25th, 2020

12/25/2020

Nativity, Lorenzo Lotto, 1523, Public Domain

Christmas Day 2020
John 1:1-14

O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is
My paradise at which my soul reclineth.
For there, O Lord, Doth lie the Word
Made flesh for us; here in Thy grace forth shineth.

Paul Gerhard says that Jesus’ manger is our paradise from which grace shines forth. Why is Jesus’ manger our paradise? What does it mean that the Word lies within it or that the Word was made flesh for us? The Word lying in the manger is the eternal Son of God, whom St. John writes, was with God and was God from the beginning, through whom everything that is made was made, who became flesh, that is, was made man. That little baby in the manger, whom we remember today, is the eternal God.
So, what does this mean? Why does Gerhardt call this our paradise? Because the Word-Made-Flesh in the manger opens the gates of heaven to all people. The Word-Made-Flesh in the manger makes our salvation trustworthy and sure. In that manger lies our victory over Satan; our conquest over death. In that manger lies our reconciliation with God, the appeasement for God’s wrath against our sin. In that manger lies our salvation. This is most certainly true.
Why? Why does the Word-Made-Flesh in the manger mean that our salvation is true? Because the eternal Word has joined our camp! In the enemy’s camp, which is the camp of death and hell, stands Satan, that great Goliath, who towers over his victims, that great red dragon with seven heads and ten crowns, whose tail wipes out the lights of heaven. He is an evil foe who has no equal on earth. But now in our camp has entered the Word, who was with God and was God from the beginning. This is an unconquerable Champion. He cannot be defeated. For us fights the Valiant One. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise in the Garden, when he said that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. (Gen. 3:15) In the manger lies our victory over our strongest enemies. This gives us certainty for salvation.
The Word-Made-Flesh lying in the manger means our salvation is true, because he assumed our flesh. God became a human being! This means that Jesus’ work includes salvation for all people. The Word has assumed our human nature, that is, our flesh and blood, our soul and mind and will. The ancient church father St. Gregory of Nazianzus wrote, “For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved.” This means that Christ has opened the gates of heaven to all who possess a human body, mind, soul, and will. The words, “The Word became flesh” mean that the Son of God has assumed everything that we are. He is like us in every aspect, except without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus took on human flesh to save your human flesh. He forever possesses a human soul to save your human soul. Jesus forever possesses a human mind and will to save your human mind and will. Are you a human? Then the Word-Made-Flesh lying in the manger is your salvation and paradise. The Word-Made-Flesh in the manger means that the Gospel is for everyone.
And this is not only an irrefutable logical syllogism derived from the clear words of Scripture. This is the clear promise of God’s Word. God told Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that in their seed all nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). Christ has come to save all people. And the Apostle John makes clear that Jesus comes to shed his blood for all peoples, as he says, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) It is the intention of God that the Word-Made-Flesh lying in the manger win salvation for all people and the fact that the Word became flesh proves that all human flesh find their salvation in him.
The Word-Made-Flesh is the light which enlightens everyone. He comes into the world to shine throughout the whole world. God makes the promise that whoever believes in him will be saved. This again proves that the Gospel is for everyone. For how can God tell you to believe in something that is not true? The Word-Made-Flesh opens the Kingdom of Heaven to everyone. He makes our salvation trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance.
The Word lying in the manger has won salvation for all people, yet that does not mean that all people are saved. The gates of heaven stand open wide, yet that does not mean that everyone enters it. St. John writes, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (vss. 10-11) The Word became flesh to save all flesh, but not all flesh will receive this salvation.
In order to walk through the open gates of heaven, you must have faith. Faith, as Scripture makes abundantly clear, is not your work. It is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ has already done all the work for you. Faith is trusting in the objective fact that God has saved you in Christ Jesus. That manger is everyone’s paradise, but if you do not believe it, you don’t possess it. Faith makes all the difference.
This faith can only be acquired through the Gospel, which offers this free salvation through Christ. This is why it is so important that we continue to hear the Gospel and to receive the Sacrament. This is what creates and sustains our faith. This is what draws us to enter those gates, which Christ has opened for us.
St. John says that all who do receive the light, who believe in the name of the Word-Made-Flesh, are given the right to become children of God, not born of blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God. The eternal Word of God was born of flesh, so that we, who were born of flesh might be born again of the Spirit. It is God’s Holy Spirit, who works through the Gospel, who causes us to be born again as children of God. This is done, most notably, in Baptism, where God’s word and promise is joined to water. And so, the gates of heaven are placed at the font where sinners are baptized. The gates of heaven are placed at the chancel, where the pastor absolves sins. The gates of heaven are placed in the pulpit, where the words of eternal life are preached. The gates of heaven are placed at the Communion rale, where Christ’s body and blood are fed to Christians. And it is faith that brings you through these gates. You receive the benefit of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament through faith. And the benefit is paradise secured by the Word-Made-Flesh.
That stable where Jesus slept in a manger was the most blessed place on earth at that time. There is no place you’d desire more to be. Not because it was beautiful or comfortable or even that Jesus looked different than any other baby. But because in that manger was the Word-Made-Flesh, who opens the gates of heaven for us. And so, it is today, that the most desirous place for us to be is where Christ comes to us in faith, not because they look more splendid than other places, but because through faith we know that here we stand before and enter through the gates of heaven.
Today, we can only enter through these gates through faith, which means that we do not see them with our eyes. Just as only through faith can you recognize Jesus’ manger as your paradise. Yet, the time will come when you will enter these gates with eyes wide open. You’ll see your paradise without the veil and you will spend eternity with the Word-Made-Flesh. But that is only if you enter through the gates through faith today. So, let us recognize our paradise now, so that we may enjoy salvation with our Savior forever.
The world may hold
Her wealth and gold;
But thou, my heart, keep Christ as thy true Treasure.
To Him hold fast
Until at last
A crown be thine and honor in full measure.
Amen.

Merry Christmas! Amen.

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Christ Comes to Dwell with Us in Love

12/25/2020

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The Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerhard van Honthorst, 1622, Public Domain

Christmas Eve 2020
Luke 2:1-20

Every once in a while, someone, usually from the church, will ask me if he can stop to check on something in the parsonage. And I almost always answer, “Yeah, sure.” This annoys my dear wife, not because she has a problem with people stopping by, especially to help, but because I almost never tell her that someone is coming. She likes to have a heads up, so she can tidy up before someone enters our home, in case there’s a mess. It would cause her embarrassment if someone she respected walked into our kitchen and saw oatmeal smeared on the table, milk spilled on the floor, and peanut butter fingerprints on the window and a toddler running around without any pants on. She’s not being weird. This is how we all are. It’s why we clean our homes before honored guests arrive.
Now, you can imagine the shame that befell our world when the Almighty God, the eternal Son of the Father by whom all things in heaven and on earth are made, who is robed in majesty in heaven and who receives the eternal praise of all the angels of heaven, came down to visit our humble earth. And he didn’t come to us unannounced by any means. Not only did prophets proclaim his coming for hundreds of years, even telling us the very town in which he would be born, but God sent angels to announce to Mary and Joseph! And still, with all this warning ahead of time, our world could not prepare a place fit for him. The finest palace with gilded marble and silk cushions would be too mean an accommodation for such an honored guest, yet all Joseph could secure for him was a drafty stable with a manger for a bed.
It makes one blush to think of the state of things when this most noble guest honored us with his presence. And indeed, it is horrifying to think of the behavior of our race as Christ Jesus arrived! No death glare from a mother at her son burping in from of his grandmother at Christmas dinner could suffice for the shameful act with which humanity welcomed the Christ child. Instead of sending precious gifts and welcoming him into his palace, King Herod sent soldiers to murder the baby boys of Bethlehem. And as this perfect child grew up into a man, he saw with eagle eyes our every fault: the weakness of our flesh, our diseases, our stench and mortality. He saw how we treat each other! Each one of us has his own faults, behavior that annoys and even harms our neighbor. Yet, instead of being patient toward the faults of others, we are quick to condemn, complain, and malign those with faults no worse than our own! Jesus didn’t just see our messy kitchens and smell our stinky feet. He watched how the crown of his creation, which he honored by joining in flesh and soul, treat each other with utter hatred, pride, and selfishness.
That’s embarrassing. Shameful. We humans couldn’t get our act together, even for a little while, to welcome the Son of God himself into our home. Of course, it did not surprise Christ Jesus that we were so awful. He didn’t come to earth expecting to find a bunch of righteous saints nor did he come to sleep in a comfy bed. Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins; to shine a light on those dwelling in darkness. He saw our wickedness and misery even from his glorious throne, and still he chose to come to us. Not only to come to us! He came to join us. To become our brother! Jesus Christ, our God is a human being. And he didn’t borrow the body of a man. He assumed human flesh. He acquired a human soul.
Think of the significance of this decision from our God! God cannot change. Yet, by becoming a man, he added something to himself that remains permanent forever! This means that in a billion years from now, yes, in one hundred billion times one hundred billion years from now, our God will still be our brother. He’ll still have ten fingers and ten toes, two eyes and a nose. He’ll be the same human who lied in the manger, who hung on the cross, who lay in the tomb. He will be as human then as he was that Christmas morning over two thousand years ago.
Why? Why did God join his creation? Why has he become a man, just like us? In order to rescue us from our sinful condition. Christ didn’t expect us to clean up this earth in preparation for his coming. Jesus came to rid the world of sin and death for us. While we with faults judged others for their faults, he who has no faults at all, came to rescue the people of the world from their own misery. It is exactly as the Apostle writes, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Christ Jesus came to earth, became a human permanently, bore the worst suffering this world could place on him, bore our sins, sorrow, and punishment, because he loves us. In the Christmas story, we see how much our God loves us; how far he will go to save us. Again, it is as the hymnist reasons,
“If our blessed Lord and Maker
Hated men, Would He then
Be of flesh partaker?
If He in our woe delighted,
Would He bear All the Care
Of our race benighted?” (P. Gerhardt, All My Heart Sings and Rejoices, stz. 5, ELH 115)
The answer is obvious! Of course, he wouldn’t! In that little baby lying on straw in Bethlehem, we see irrefutable proof that God loves us, that he desires to save us. And in the teachings and deeds of Christ, up to his willing crucifixion, death and burial, resurrection, and great Commission of the Gospel, we see over and over again Christ’s love for us.
Now, by means of this very Gospel, Christ seeks an even more intimate dwelling with us than sharing the same planet. He desires to dwell in our hearts through faith. Yet, our hearts are an even less appropriate place for the Mighty King of Heaven than even the dingy manger in which he once lay. Our hearts are colder, darker, and harder than that stable. Out of the human heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, indeed, everything that defiles us and makes us ashamed comes from our dark cold hearts (Matthew 15:19-20; Genesis 6:5). The human heart is so bad, that the Prophet Jeremiah declares that its deceitfulness is beyond understanding (Jeremiah 17:9).
So, how can our hearts be an appropriate dwelling place for Jesus Christ? In the same way that our world became home for our dear Lord Jesus. Jesus came into this world to save it from sin, and so he comes to dwell in your heart in order to save you. He shines a light into your heart to expose every crevice, so that he can cleanse it from sin. He gives you a new birth of the Spirit that takes away your heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Jesus enters your heart with forgiveness and peace from God himself.
It was God who made our sinful earth his home, preparing everything, even raising up Caesar Augustus to declare a census, so that Joseph would take Mary to the town of Bethlehem in order to fulfill the prophecy of Micah (5:2). And, so it is God who prepares your sinful heart to be a dwelling place for the King of Heaven. He does this through the miraculous power of Baptism, which empowers plain water with the voice of God. He does this by exposing your sins to create remorse for the wrong you’ve done. He does this by declaring forgiveness for all your wrong. God does not demand that you make your heart clean in order for him to enter into it anymore than did he wait until we had cleansed the earth of sin before he was born in it. Rather, God enters your heart with forgiveness so that he might cleanse you from your sin.
God made the earth his home, because he loves us. Jesus makes your heart his home, because he loves you. This is the message of Christmas. This is the glad tidings the angel declared when he said, “unto you is born a Savior.” This is why this message is a message of great joy to all people. Jesus comes to save us.
And so, this Christmas season should be a season of peace. God has made peace with sinners. It is we who have sinned against God, not he who has sinned against us. We confess to God in Psalm 51, “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Yet, it is God who comes to us to make peace! It is our heavenly Father who sends his Son to die for us while we are still sinning against him. Rarely in a conflict is either side not at fault. Yet, it is God, the faultless one who makes peace with the guilty. This is the apotheosis of magnanimity. Yet, even at the time of Christmas, we who have our own faults find faults in others. We who have a need for peace refuse to make peace. We who need forgiveness refuse to forgive. We who are unworthy of God’s grace find others unworthy of our patience and good will. Such behavior is rooted in unbelief! It reveals a heart that has refused to let Christ dwell in it.
The only way for love to pour forth from our hearts is for our hearts to first receive Christ. Only when God makes peace with us through faith in Christ can we make peace with one another. Yet, when we refuse to make peace with one another, we show that we are not at peace with God in our hearts.
Every Advent we sing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” In the final verse we sing,
“O come, Desire of nations, bind,
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of peace.”
And our dear Lord Emmanuel answers this prayer. He answers this prayer with his Gospel of forgiveness. When his forgiveness dwells in your heart, Christ Jesus dwells in your heart. And from your heart flows peace. Make peace with those who have sinned against you through the peace that God gives you through Jesus, the Prince of Peace. He has made peace with our sinful world. And he has made peace with each of us.
This is also why we pray after receiving the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood, that through the Sacrament, God would “strengthen us through the same in faith toward [God] and in fervent love toward one another.” Indeed, how can this Jesus dwell in our hearts through faith and not have his peace pour out from us?
Dear Friends in Christ, God has made peace with us through Jesus Christ. May his peace spread from us to one another. Let us pray.

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,
A quiet chamber set apart
For You to dwell within my heart.
Amen.

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John the Baptist Teaches Us to Confess

12/22/2020

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St. John the Baptist Preaching, Mattia Preti, circa 1665, Public Domain

Advent 4
December 20, 2020

John the Baptist confesses and, in his confession, he teaches us how to confess. To confess means to speak the same. John repeats back the same message that God gives him to speak. And we, by repeating the words of John the Baptist, confess Christ. John the Baptist speaks the truth. So, when we speak what he speaks, we too confess the truth.
John confesses and does not deny, but confesses. Of course, whenever you confess, you deny something. By confessing to be a voice sent by God to prepare the way of the Lord, John must confess himself not to be the Christ. Yet, the priests and Levites sent by the Pharisees were not satisfied with this answer. “Are you Elijah?”, they ask. John certainly comes in the spirit of Elijah, so that even Jesus Christ calls him Elijah, yet, John answers, “No.” He is not Elijah sent down from heaven. “Are you the Prophet?” they then ask? John is neither the Prophet promised by Moses, whom God would raise up from among the Jews (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). That Prophet is the very Christ, whom John has already said he is not. Nor is John like the prophets of the Old Testament, who longed to see that which they prophesied, yet died before its fulfillment. John is preparing the way of the Christ who is come, who has arisen, who stands among the people! John is a voice preparing his way!
But these priests and Levites are not satisfied with this answer either. They despise John for being a voice. “If you’re just a voice and you’re not someone important like the Christ, or Elijah, or one of the prophets, then why are you baptizing? Why do you have so many people coming out to hear you?” John answers in a way saying, “Yeah, you’re right. I am just a voice. I baptize with water. But pay attention to the one whose way I prepare! He is much greater than I am, and he is already standing among you!” John of course, is speaking of Jesus Christ, true God, who has joined our human race in fulfillment of the prophecies.
Yet, the priests and Levites should not despise John for being a voice, because he is the very voice sent by God to prepare the way of Christ our Lord into our hearts. John says he baptizes with water. That’s a way of saying, “Yes, I am only a tool, like a hammer or saw.” Yet, John is not saying that his Baptism is nothing. Rather, Jesus himself indicates that John’s Baptism is from heaven (Matthew 21:25). So, while John is just a man baptizing with plain water, his Baptism is from God himself! Likewise, John is just a man, not the Christ, Elijah, or one of the prophets of old back from the dead. And he is speaking in ordinary language that even the tax-collectors, sinners, and soldiers can understand. Yet, his words are from heaven! And his message raises valleys and lowers hills to prepare the way of God’s Son.
And this is indeed the way it always is. Those who consider themselves wise and important despise the voice God sends out into the word for its meager appearance, so that Isaiah the Prophet himself declares, “Who has believed what he has heard from us?” (Isaiah 53:1) Yet, those who do believe the voice God sends declare, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7). Why? Because, this good news grants forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe it! The voice is despised by those who cannot look past the man wearing camel’s hair and a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey. The voice is ignored by those who will not consider it the voice of God. Yet, Jesus says to his disciples, “The one who hears you hears me.” And God himself made John the voice crying in the wilderness. This is why the Prophet Moses rebuked the people of Israel by saying, “What are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD.” (Exodus 16:8)
And so, we should not only listen to this voice from God, but we should repeat the words this voice proclaims, that is we should confess what he confesses to us. We should make his sermon our personal confession. St. John the Baptist and all of Holy Scripture, teach us to confess two things: 1). something about ourselves and 2). something about Christ.
First, what do John and Holy Scripture teach us to confess about ourselves? That we are sinners. Scripture tells us that John told his hearer to repent. Now, the word repent has a broad and a narrow meaning. I spoke about the broad meaning of repent last week in my sermon. The broad meaning of repent has two parts: first, sorrow over sin and second, faith in Christ. The narrow meaning of repent, however; only includes the first part: sorrow over sin. When John preaches this narrow repentance, he is telling his hearers to confess something about themselves, that they are sinners. That is why St. Matthew’s Gospel records that John’s hearers were confessing their sins to John in the Jordan (Matthew 3:6).
This is what Scripture consistently teaches us to confess about ourselves. Psalm 32 states, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” This is what Scripture tells us to confess about ourselves. And this is what the Voice, who prepares the way for the Lord tells us to confess. In this way, the way is made straight for Jesus.
Isaiah says that the Voice will raise valleys and flatten mountains and hills to make way for the Lord (Isaiah 40:4). Yet, this is spoken as an analogy. The way of the Lord is the way to our hearts. And the valleys are raised and the mountains flattened when we are brought to repentance, that is, when we confess that we are sinners.
Now, it is not true that all sins are the same. Some sins are worse than other sins. Some sins have worse consequences, cause more harm, drive you further from repentance, harden your hearts, and so forth. Everyone knows this. This is why you get a ticket for illegal parking, but you get put in prison for armed robbery. Yet, all sins are the same in one respect. They all separate you from God and bar you from heaven. “You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”, Jesus tells us. (Matthew 5:48). The Law of God makes no distinction, but declares that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And St. James tells us that whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. (James 2:10) This is what it means for the valleys to be raised and the hills be made low. We are all on the same level ground. God has imprisoned everyone under sin, so that he may have mercy on all (Romans 11:32; Galatians 3:22).
Before the judgment seat of God, it doesn’t matter who is a better or worse sinner. Quibbling about that is like fighting to get on the bow or stern of the Titanic while it is sinking. No, we are all sinners. None of us can save ourselves. We all need a Savior. That is why John the Voice was sent from God first tells us to confess about ourselves that we are sinners, so that we know we need a Savior.
Now that we have confessed ourselves to be sinners, who deserve nothing but punishment, John teaches us to confess something about Christ. The very next verse after our Gospel lesson, the Evangelist writes, “The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Now, you see why it is so important that you first confess about yourself that you are a sinner before you then confess who Christ is! If you do not confess yourself to be a sinner, then this Christ will be of no help to you. Yet, since you confess and the Voice has taught you that you are a sinner, then what this Voice teaches you to confess about the Christ is the most wonderful message your tongue can declare!
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the Lamb of God, that is, he is the appointed sacrifice, who makes atonement for our sins. He takes away the sin of the world. Which sin? The sin of the world. All of it. Whatever sin there is in the world, Jesus takes it away. So, are you a sinner in the world? Then, Jesus has taken your sin away! He bore it as he went to the cross. His dying took it away forever. Now, through faith in this Lamb of God, you are free from the eternal consequences of your sin. You have no fear of hell. You are forgiven and redeemed.
The voice is not finished with his task by only teaching you to confess that you are a sinner. He must also teach you to confess about the Christ, that he takes away your sins. This is why the Prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” This is the instruction God gives to John, the Voice in the wilderness, to make straight the way of Christ Jesus into our hearts. And this is the instruction God gives to every voice he sends to proclaim the Gospel. Our hearts are not prepared to receive Christ simply by confessing about ourselves that we are sinners. Our hearts are prepared to receive Christ when we confess about him that he takes our sins away.
“Cry to her” our God says, “that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” God’s warfare against us is over, because his wrath is taken away. Our iniquities are forgiven. We have received double for our sins, meaning, not only has the price of our sins been paid on the cross, so that we do not have to suffer the punishment for them, but we also receive the reward as heirs of the Kingdom of God. All this is communicated to us sinners by the words, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” This is why we not only confess our sins each and every Sunday, but we confess these same words of John the Baptist, “O Christ, thou Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!” This is the confession of those whose hearts have made way for the Lord. This is the confession of those who are saved. Amen.

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Blessed Is the One Who Is Not Offended by Me

12/9/2020

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St. John the Baptist Visited by Salome, Guercinco, 1599-1666, Public Domain

Advent 3
Matthew 11:2-10

“And blessed is the one who is not offended by me?” Why would someone be offended by Jesus? Indeed, Jesus is the most offensive man in human history. He was crucified, because he was so offensive. And his Gospel is rejected, maligned, and perverted by many around the world, because who Jesus truly is, is too offense. Many false religions, such as Judaism, Mormonism, Islam, and Jehovah Witnesses, have arisen on account of the offense of the real Jesus. And Christians have been persecuted and murdered on account of the offense of Christ. So, why are people so offended by Jesus?
John sent his disciples to Christ Jesus to ask him if he was truly the One to Come, or if they should look for another. Jesus responds by saying, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” Why does Jesus give this response? Because, by pointing out what Jesus has been doing, it is obvious from Scripture that he is the One to Come. He is the promised Christ!
Isaiah 35 predicts the coming of the Christ by saying, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” And again, in Isaiah 61, the prophet quotes the coming Christ as saying, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” These are the clear signs that the people of God could expect from the Christ. And these are the exact signs that Jesus performs!
Many miracles were performed in the Old Testament. Many sick people were healed of their maladies. But not a single Old Testament prophet ever made a blind man see. Yet, Jesus does this many times as Isaiah predicted. Jesus performed more miracles than all the prophets combined. And when Jesus raised the dead to life, he did not simply pray to God as the prophets Elijah and Elisha did when they raised the dead. Rather, Jesus by his own authority raised the dead. “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”, Jesus said.
Jesus proved himself to be greater than all the prophets of the Old Testament, greater than King Solomon, greater than the temple itself. He proved from Scripture and with his mighty works that he was not only David’s Son, but also David’s Lord. And this offended the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests. Why did it offend them? Was it because they didn’t believe that he had done these miracles? No, they knew he had done these miracles. They simply accused him of doing the miracles with the finger of Satan. They were offended that Jesus claimed to be both God and man, that he taught that justice, mercy, and faithfulness were better than their religious pretenses. They were offended that Jesus forgave sinners and promised to save all who believed in him. Jesus’ teaching and works proved him to be the Christ, true God and man. Yet, he offended the religious elites, because he was not what they expected or wanted.
And for the same reason, Jesus is rejected today. It is said that it is unreasonable to believe that Jesus performed these miracles and was raised from the dead. Yet, we have the testimony of Scripture that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, performed many miracles, healed many sick and raised the dead, was crucified, died, and was buried, and on the third day he himself rose again from the dead. The reason people reject this, is not because it is unreasonable, but because this goes against their preconceived notions. In other words, they don’t want to believe it.
Four evangelists wrote of the life and work of Jesus, including his death and resurrection. They all agree. St. Paul, the author to the Hebrews, St. James, St. Peter and Jude likewise testified of Jesus while calling upon many other witnesses. Yet, their witness is dismissed, because it is in the Bible. “What witnesses do we have of Jesus besides the writings of the New Testament?” is often considered a valid question to delegitimize the New Testament. This would be like if a lawyer presented as evidence to a judge signed affidavits from several witnesses and the judge said, “Okay, but do you have any witnesses besides those who signed affidavits?” The New Testament is written by those who signed their testimony in blood. The only reason to reject their witness is because they claim what goes against your preconceived notions, because they declare what you do not want to believe. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is only unreasonable if you refuse to submit your reason to the facts of Holy Scripture.
John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord Jesus. Jesus asked his listeners what they went out in the wilderness to see. A reed blowing in the wind? That is to ask if John simply proclaimed what popular opinion dictated. That certainly is not what John did. John proclaimed the way of Jesus. Jesus does not tell us what we want to believe. He tells us the truth. And so, Jesus and his forerunner John offended those with itching ears. And this again is why Jesus offends today. While there are many churches that will bend wherever the wind is blowing to accommodate the feelings and opinions of the masses, these churches do not prepare the way of Jesus. Yet, John the Baptist, never a shaking reed, offends, because he demands that his hearers deny themselves for Jesus.
Jesus asked the crowd if they went out to find a man dressed in soft clothing. Certainly not. They did not look for a king out in the wilderness, but rather a man who would sleep in a king’s dungeon on account of his preaching. John did not preach a prosperity Gospel that promised material wealth and earthly pleasures. Rather, he forsook all worldly riches and pleasures to proclaim the Gospel of eternal life through faith in Jesus. John the Baptist offends, because he demands that his hearers deny the riches of this world for Jesus.
John the Baptist offends those who are looking for a yes man, who will scratch their itching ears. John the Baptist offends those, who are in love with the riches and pleasures of this world. John the Baptist offends, because he prepares the way of the Lord Jesus. And he prepares the way of the Lord Jesus by preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
The word repent means to change one’s mind. Repentance has two parts. First, contrition or sorrow over sin. The second is faith. True Christian repentance is when a sinner is sorry for his sins and turns to Christ for forgiveness and believes that his sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. Good works are then bound to follow the person who has faith in Christ.
Repentance comes about through the preaching of both the Law and the Gospel. The Law is what God commands of us, namely, that we love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. We are taught how to love in this way from the Ten Commandments. Yet, although the Law tells you to love, it gives you no power to do it. So, instead of the Law making you good, the Law proves that you are bad, as Romans 3:20 states, “By works of the law no human being will be justified in God’s sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” It is important that the Law proves to you that you are a sinner, so that you know that you need a Savior. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus died for your sins and that God forgives you for Christ’s sake. The Gospel does not demand works, but rather faith. Faith is believing and trusting in God’s promise to forgive your sins for Christ’s sake.
The Law is offensive, because it accuses you of sin. No one wants his faults to be pointed out to him. No one wants to be called bad. No one wants to hear that he deserves to go to hell, that he has angered God, and that he is at fault. So, people are offended at the preaching of the Law and go rather where they will not hear about their sins.
The Gospel is offensive, because it takes away your power to boast. It says that you do not deserve God’s grace, but he gives it to you as a gift. But people want to earn their salvation. They want to be told that they deserve it. The Gospel does not tell you that you deserve a reward. The Gospel tells you that you are saved from your own sin and just damnation by God’s grace through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. This is offensive.
The way John the Baptist prepares for the Lord is offensive to the world. It means that you must deny yourself, stop loving the things of this world, submit your reason to God’s word, repent of your sins and trust in Christ alone. The way John the Baptist prepares is offensive, because faith in Christ is offensive. But Jesus says, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” That is to say, blessed is the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who denies himself, denies his wealth, repents of his sin, and trusts in Christ Jesus alone for forgiveness and salvation.
Jesus is offensive, because his Gospel attacks our false gods, our pride, our love of money and wisdom, and honor. Jesus is offensive, because he calls John who sits in prison waiting to be executed blessed, while he calls King Herod dining in the palace cursed. Jesus is offensive, because he calls tax-collectors, sinners, adulterers, cheats, and thieves blessed, because they lay their sins on Jesus, while he calls the scribes, Pharisees, and high priests, who trust in their own righteousness, cursed. Jesus is offensive because his Gospel calls blessed the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Jesus is offensive, because he calls blessed the one who believes that Jesus’ death takes away his sins. Jesus is offensive, because he truly did rise from the dead and promises a resurrection to eternal life to all who believe, an impossibility to those who worship their own science and reason.
Jesus calls blessed those who have been granted true repentance from the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel. This change of mind and heart brings Christians to trust in their Lord and cling to his promises, even when the world laughs and rages against them. So, do not be offended that Jesus tells you that Baptism forgives your sins. Do not be offended that Jesus offers you his own body and blood to eat and to drink. Do not be offended that Jesus bids you to believe that when his servant forgives your sins in his stead, that your sins are indeed forgiven. Do not be offended that Jesus bids you to believe that all you’ve done to deserve hell has been forgiven by his blood.
When you are not scandalized by the preaching of the Law nor offended by the promises of the Gospel, you are not offended by Christ Jesus. To not be offended by Christ means to have your mind changed by the Holy Spirit; it means that you have true faith. And that is to be blessed forever. Amen.

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The Signs of Jesus’ Coming

12/9/2020

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The Triumph Of Christianity Over Paganism, Gustave Doré, 1868, Public Domain

Advent 2
Luke 21:35-36
December 13, 2020

“Now when you see these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Our Lord Jesus tells us that there are appointed signs for the coming of the Son of Man in glory. For those who listen and believe Jesus’ word, these signs are a great comfort, reminding us that our redemption is coming near. Yet, for those who reject Jesus’ word, these signs are ignored and explained away or, as is often the case, they cause great distress and anxiety in the world. Jesus wants us to pay attention to the signs. But he does not want us to speculate as to their meaning. Rather, he wants us to turn to his holy Word with its promises for their sure interpretation.
It is par for the course that people ignore, misinterpret, and scoff at the signs God gives us. Take the rainbow for example. The rainbow is one of the most beautiful representations of God’s love and forgiveness. After violently destroying the world and killing everything on it with a catastrophic deluge, God fixed his bow in the sky as a sign of his covenant with all flesh that he would never again destroy the earth and kill all living things with a flood. Now, when we Christians see the rainbow, we are reminded that rather than destroying sin by killing all sinners with a flood, God washes away all sin in us through Baptism, through which we also are placed safely into the holy ark of the Christian Church. The rainbow, not only beautiful, is a sign of God’s love, patience, and forgiveness.
Yet, the world scoffs at this meaning of the rainbow. They think because they can explain the natural process by which a rainbow is formed, that light reflecting and refracting as it hits raindrops in the sky forms a spectrum of multicolored light, that God must not have created it. As if He who created light and wrote the laws of nature could not use those same laws to perform a sign. What’s even worse, the rainbow, the oldest sign of God’s covenantal love, has been hijacked to be a symbol celebrating carnal lust, sodomy, sexual perversion, and the destruction of God’s ordained distinctions between man and woman. The rainbow, which should be used by Christian parents to teach their children of God’s love and forgiveness, is now used by radicals to push the acceptance of abnormal sexual behavior and dangerous sexual philosophies upon our little children by means of public libraries, schools, and popular children shows and movies.
And so, the signs of the end times are treated no differently by the unbelieving world. Jesus says that there will be signs in sun and moon and stars. Many falsely interpret this to believe that there will be sudden supernatural signs in the sky directly before Christ’s return, so that all will know that Christ is coming. Yet, Jesus also tells us that he will come as a thief in the night and that people will continue as in the days of Noah, eating and drinking, marrying and giving into marriage. Rather, there will be and have been since the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem signs in the sky that Jesus is coming soon. Now it is certainly possible that some of these signs will have no natural explanation, as when God caused the sky to go dark in the middle of the day during Jesus’ crucifixion when there could not have been a solar eclipse at that time. Yet, many of these signs will have natural explanations, just as the rainbow does. Nevertheless, they remain signs fixed by God of the impending return of Christ.
Solar and lunar eclipses, red harvest moons, meteor shows and giant comets that light up the sky, these all have natural explanations for their occurrence, yet they remain signs of Christ’s coming. They’re dismissed by those who think natural processes determine the purpose of natural phenomena. Yet, our Lord Jesus determines their purpose. Their purpose is to alert his Christians to lift up their heads and pay attention, because their Redeemer is coming soon.
Some of the signs will cause great anxiety and perplexity: wild hurricanes, destructive tsunamis, earth quakes, wild fires, and the list of destructive natural disasters go on, so much so, that there are many in power who desire to upend our entire economy in order to get ahold of the reigns of the climate which causes many of these natural calamities. There have been and will be wars and rumors of wars, genocides, nations rising and falling, governments becoming destabilized. All these events will cause swooning and anxiety. Yet, without the revelation of Scripture, they will not cause people to pay attention to Jesus’ return. Rather, quite the opposite. Those who do not believe Jesus’ word will become even more enraptured by the things of this world. They’ll be so preoccupied with the cares of this life that they will not notice even the most obvious sign of Jesus’ coming or the clearest sermon of Jesus’ grace and forgiveness. Unless you listen to the words of Jesus, Satan will only use these signs of the end times to further distract you from Christ.
But we who have been enlightened by the Gospel and sanctified by the gifts of the Holy Spirit should look at these signs as continued reminders of God’s grace and forgiveness and of the necessity to repent of our sins every day. Jesus compares it to the fig tree and all the trees pushing out their leaves, so that you know that summer is coming. That is what these signs are. It is quite remarkable. The same signs that cause people to fret and faint, fear and stress out, are the same signs that bring calm and comfort to us. Why? Because Christ comes with healing in his wings. Jesus says that our redemption is drawing near.
Now, what does redemption mean? Well, it means that we were bought with a price, the very precious blood and innocent suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. God became man! That’s what we’re preparing to celebrate on Christmas. The eternal God, who has no body, but is an infinite Spirit, who cannot be contained by heaven or the heaven of heavens, took on our flesh and bone, assumed a human soul, and was laid in a manger by his virgin mother. He nursed at her breast and slept in her lap, nodding off to the sweet sound of her lullabies. How beautiful! How mysteriously mild! And he did this in the fulness of time in order to prepare himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Christ Jesus fulfilled the Law in our place, in our flesh and blood, and he was punished in our stead. He is our ransom, our scapegoat. He paid the price for our sins by himself being the payment. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
That is the Gospel. That is the Good News we confess and hold dear. And that is why we are not troubled by signs of the coming of Christ, because we know why he is coming. He is coming to claim his prize. Jesus, the Godman, will return in the same body that was born of the Virgin Mary, that was laid in a manger, that touched lepers and cleansed them, that carried his cross on his back, that was nailed to that cross and laid in the tomb, which truly rose again from the dead on the third day. That same body we will see upon the clouds. We will gaze upon those scars on his hands and feet, which were formed when nails were driven into them. They will remain as receipts of purchase. Christ Jesus has paid for us. We are his. That is what it means that our redemption is coming. It means that our Lord is coming to bring us to himself to live with him forever. It means we will enjoy eternal salvation.
Has a season ever snuck up on you? It has for me. This past year I was still thinking it was winter when suddenly it was summer. Of course, it was not sudden. There were lots of signs. I was just distracted. I wasn’t paying attention. My children aren’t that way. They notice the buds on the trees becoming tender and turning green, the return of seasonal birds, that it’s warm enough outside to ride a bike. This is how we should be with the signs of Jesus’ coming. We should notice these things taking place, and we should be filled with joyful anticipation that Jesus will fulfill his promise to us.
Jesus warns us to watch ourselves lest we too be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and the day of his return come upon us like a trap. This is a real danger. We are not of the world, but we are in the world. It’s easy to become distracted, to get anxious, to think that the cares of this world are more pressing than the things of God’s kingdom. And this is common among Christians on earth. What do people find more important? Working for money or going to church to hear the Gospel? Well, you need money to pay your bills, to eat, and to live! Okay. What’s more important? Going to church to hear the Gospel or playing some game? Well, the team depends on us and we’ve made a commitment. Alright. And so, the choice to come and hearing the Gospel always seems to lose. It’s not that big of a deal though, right?
It is a very big deal. This is exactly what Jesus warns about. The cares of this life, no matter how important or trivial they may be are constantly used to distract you and your children from God’s Word and promise. And when they consistently win, eventually God’s word and promise is forgotten. You don’t know when Christ will return. There are signs that he will come soon. But again, if you are not listening to Jesus, then the signs won’t do you any good anyway.
Watch and pray Jesus teaches us. You watch by listening to God’s word, so that you can recognize the signs for what they are. And you pray according to God’s Word and promise. Whatever you ask for in faith, God will give you. To ask in faith means to ask according to God’s promise. This means that we should pray for what Jesus tells us to pray for. He tells us to pray that we will have strength to escape these things that are going to take place, so that we may stand before the Son of Man. What Jesus means is that we should pray that the distractions of this world would not cause us to lose our faith, but that we would continue to repent of our sins and believe in God’s forgiveness for Christ’s sake, so that when Christ comes, we will stand with a good conscience without fear. It is God who will strengthen us to withstand temptation and stand on that day. And he will strengthen us by the power of the Gospel of Christ. So, stay awake and keep watch. Listen to Jesus’ voice. Repent of your sins and believe that God forgives you. Pray to God for increased faith and endurance. And when you see these signs, take heart, because your redemption is coming near. Amen.

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

December 25th, 2020

Christ Comes to Dwell with Us in Love

John the Baptist Teaches Us to Confess

Blessed Is the One Who Is Not Offended by Me

The Signs of Jesus’ Coming

Rev. James Preus

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