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The Baptism of Jesus: Jesus removes the burden of sin from us

1/15/2020

The Baptism of Christ, Francesco Albani (1578–1660), Hermitage Museum, Public Domain

Matthew 3:13-17
January 12, 2019

Jesus had no need to be baptized by John. John knew this. John baptized sinners for the remission of sins. John knew that Jesus was not a sinner. Jesus didn’t need to be baptized for himself. Jesus also didn’t need to be conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, taking on human flesh. He didn’t need to be born in a stable or be circumcised on the eighth day. Jesus didn’t need to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness while foregoing food and water. He didn’t need to submit to earthly governments. He certainly didn’t need for his own sake to die a miserable death on the cross, laden with the sins of the world. None of these things did Jesus need to do for himself. He is and always has been with God and has been God from eternity. He is the eternal Son of God. He did not need to come to earth to earn his heavenly kingdom. He didn’t need to submit himself to the Law in order to be righteous. Christ Jesus already had a kingdom and has been righteous before all worlds. So, John was right, Jesus did not have any need to be baptized. But John did need to baptize Jesus for his own sake and for our sake.
It was fitting for Jesus to be baptized so that we could be righteous. In Jesus’ baptism he joins himself to sinners and gives to them his righteousness. When Jesus was baptized, he was anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit, who descended upon him like a dove. This fulfilled what God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” Jesus began his earthly ministry by being anointed by the Holy Spirit in his Baptism.
The words Messiah and Christ are the Hebrew and Greek words for Anointed One. God promised that he would send the Messiah, anointed by the Holy Spirit himself, to save his people. Jesus is the Christ, the Lord’s anointed.
To be anointed means to be chosen and set aside for service to God. In the Old Testament God chose the people of Israel and separated them from all other nations to be his own chosen people. He gave them the Book of the Law. God told Moses to say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me.’ If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’” (Exodus 4:23) And, this is exactly what God did. He killed all the firstborn of Egypt and he called his son out of Egypt, baptizing Israel in the waters of the Red Sea. But God’s firstborn Israel did not remain faithful. The people worshipped other gods, rebelled and complained, so that most of them died in the wilderness.
Here at Jesus’ Baptism, God the Father calls Jesus his Son. Now, Jesus has been God’s Son from all eternity, long before his Baptism. Yet, here, The Son of God bears our human flesh and is washed in the water of our Baptism and God calls him his Son. Jesus is Israel, the Israel the people of Israel failed to be. Jesus is the true, faultless Son of God in human flesh.
God the Father calls Jesus his beloved Son. The name David is the Hebrew word for beloved. It is well known that David was a man after God’s own heart. God chose David and had the Prophet Samuel anoint him with oil as King of Israel. And God promised David that he would raise one of his sons to sit on his throne and rule Israel forever. Frequently in Scripture God tells his people that he will rescue them for the sake of his servant David (2 Kings 20:6; Isaiah 37:35). And in Ezekiel chapter 34, God even says that he will set up his servant David to be the One Shepherd to shepherd his people Israel.
Yet, King David, who died 400 years before Ezekiel made that prophecy will not rise to shepherd the people. And King David was not always a perfect king. Rather, he behaved selfishly. He committed adultery and murder. But David was only a type, a shadow of the true David to come, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true Beloved of the Lord, the true David, who has come to shepherd his people. There is no fault in him. Not even death can stop him from being our Shepherd.
This is what it means that Jesus is baptized with poor sinners. He is the true Christ, the true Israel, the true David, the one anointed by God to rescue us from our sins, from Satan, and from hell.
In Baptism we have our sins washed away. Jesus had no sins to be washed. Rather, Jesus is baptized for the opposite reason. He is baptized in order to take on our sins and become the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is to fulfill the prophecy concerning him from Isaiah 53, “And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” In Jesus’ Baptism he takes on an obedience that was not required of him, but that he fulfills for us. Israel failed. King David failed. You and I have failed. We all fall short of the glory of God. No one living is righteous before God. Except for Jesus. Jesus is righteous. And he fulfills all righteousness for us, by living in our place, obeying the Law in our place, and dying in our place.
Jesus is obedient for us, who have been disobedient. In Baptism we receive a great exchange. Our sins are put on Jesus and his obedience is given to us. This is why Jesus answers John, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Now, some pause at the word us. Does John fulfill all righteousness with Jesus? It is not by John’s work or any of our works that fulfill righteousness. Titus 3 states, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)
So, we see from Scripture that is it Jesus alone, whose work of righteousness saves us. Yet, Jesus says to John, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,” because Jesus is going to use John as his instrument. When John baptizes Jesus, it is certainly not John’s righteousness or John’s power that does anything, but rather Jesus’ righteousness and obedience. Yet, the words and action of Baptism still work! God successfully used John to fulfill all righteousness, not by John’s merits, but through Christ Jesus alone!
And here we must discuss the great power that Baptism has for us today. It doesn’t look very impressive. A sinful man, who is no better than anyone else, pours water on the head of another sinner and says some words. How on earth can this do anything? Well, if you consider the man who pours the water and the water alone, then you would have to conclude, not much except some wet hair. Yet, if you consider what God has done in Baptism and who has joined himself to Baptism, namely Jesus Christ, then you must see Baptism as a most marvelous treasure with tremendous power.
Last week we celebrated Epiphany, when Jesus appeared to the Gentiles as the Wise Men gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Yet here in Jesus Baptism, we see a much more marvelous Epiphany as the Three Kings of Heaven reveal themselves to us. The Son of God himself stands in the sinner’s water; the Holy Spirit in the form of a gentle dove descends upon him to anoint him the Christ and Savior of sinners, and God the Father, whose voice once shook Mount Sinai and terrified the hearts of the people of Israel, now speaks with joyous tone, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Here in Jesus’ Baptism, we see the Holy Trinity in the clearest vision that has ever been seen, and the message our God gives us is one of salvation through this man Jesus Christ, who has come to save sinners!
And this is why we should value our own Baptism. Jesus commanded that all nations be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Trinity who was present in Jesus’ Baptism is present in yours! St. Peter tells us that whoever is Baptized will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! The same Holy Spirit, who descended on Jesus!
Holy Scriptures tells us that in Christ Jesus we are all sons of God, through faith, for as many of us as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27). In Jesus’ Baptism, Jesus’ joined himself to us spiritually. He took on our burden under the Law and the burden of our sin. He joined himself to the waters of Baptism, so that we who are baptized might wash our sins and every burden in those waters and put on Christ’s righteousness.
This is what Scripture means when it says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-6) In Baptism God makes us his children by faith. He gives us the right to call him Abba! Father! That is what our Lord Jesus calls him! Just as God the father called Jesus his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased, so God calls you who are baptized into his name his beloved children in whom he is well pleased. Your sins have been taken from you by Christ. He was obedient in your stead. He has paid for your sins by his death on the cross.
In your Baptism, God anointed you with the Holy Spirit to be a little christ, a Christian. To be set apart from the evil world to serve him by believing his word and trusting in him and by loving your neighbor.
Yet, there are many who doubt the power of Baptism. Some question the man who performs the Baptism. Don’t let that bother you. All Baptisms done according to God’s Word are done by God. It is his word, not the pastor, who makes it a baptism. Some doubt the power of Baptism, because it looks like plain water. Don’t doubt the water. God’s word is powerful enough to do mighty works through plain water. Rather, when we look at Baptism, we should see our Savior Jesus, who has joined himself to Baptism. When you are baptized, you are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Baptism your sins are taken away and you receive Christ’s righteousness. For this reason, every Christian should cherish his Baptism as a precious gift and pledge from God that he considers you his own dear child, that he does not look upon your sins, but that when he looks at you, he sees his own beloved Son, Jesus Christ. That is what it means to put on Christ in Baptism.
This is also why we baptize babies. Babies are sinners. Babies die. Babies need a Savior. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and by no means hinder them, for to such belong the kingdom of God.” And Jesus also said, “Unless one enter the kingdom of heaven as a child, he will by no means enter it.” An adult is not more equipped to be baptized than a baby, because Baptism is God’s grace. It is a free gift by which sinners are forgiven of their sins and joined to Christ Jesus in faith.
Now, it is possible to throw away your Baptism by continuing in unrepentant sin and by denying the faith. That is why we Christians return to our Baptism every day by repenting of what we have done wrong, and turning to Jesus, who died for us. Our Baptism reminds us that God has indeed washed away our sins in Jesus’ blood, that he has anointed us with his Holy Spirit, and that he has clothed us in Christ Jesus his own Son. Our Baptism tells us that we are God’s children and heirs of heaven. Amen.

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Children of God

1/6/2020

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Abraham Bloemaert, Adoration of the Magi, 1624, Public Domain

Epiphany 2020
Matthew 2:1-12; (John 1:11-13)

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of the blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13

These Magi who come from the east are perfect examples of God’s children, who are born not of the blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. They are not born of the blood. They are not descendants of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. They are foreigners. They have no stake in Israel; no claim to call Abraham their father. They do not descend from God’s People Israel. Yet, as we have learned, not even those born of God’s people Israel are God’s people, unless they have faith! Neither are the offspring of Abraham, Abraham’s children, unless they have faith in the promise.
These Wise Men did not become children of God by the will of the flesh. The sinful flesh is so corrupt that even the high priests and scribes, who are born of the seed of Abraham and have the temple and the scriptures, are not able to make themselves God’s children, but rather reject God. These Magi did not become children of God by the will of a man. Herod did not invite them, nor any other human dignitary. Rather, they were led by a star, which God himself placed in the sky. I don’t know how they knew that this star meant that a king was born in Judah; whether it was from studying the Prophet Isaiah or if God revealed it in a dream. But come they did; to find the King of the Jews and worship him.
They came to Jerusalem, which makes a lot of sense. Jerusalem is the city of the kings of the Jews. David ruled in Jerusalem, as did Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Jerusalem is the city of the temple of God, where God himself dwells in the Holy of Holies receiving sacrifices and worship day after day. And Jerusalem is just a couple of miles away from Bethlehem, so if a star is in the sky near Bethlehem and Jerusalem, you’re going to choose Jerusalem to be the birthplace of a king.
Yet, the king is not born in Jerusalem, against all human-reasoning. Yet, when the scribes read from the holy Scriptures, from the book of Micah, that the Christ will be born in the humble village of Bethlehem, the Magi don’t doubt it. They desire to go in search of this king.
This is because the Magi are children of God born of the will of God. You are born of God when you have faith in God’s word. Children of God trust the word of God above their own reason, because the Word of God tells you the very will of God. It was God’s will that his Son be born, not in a splendid palace in a bed of silk surrounded by gold and jewels, but rather in a stall on rough straw, where beasts but lately fed. This is nonsense. A joke! An absurdity and insult to human intelligence. Yet these Magi don’t question it. They hear the words from Scripture and accept them immediately as truth. They have been born of God. They have faith in God. They believe that his Word expresses his perfect will, and they will follow that will, even if it leads them to search for a king in a manger.
This is an important lesson for us to learn today. Are you children of God? Are you born of God? You aren’t born of God through the blood. It doesn’t matter who your father or mother is. You can’t pass faith through the blood stream. And you cannot become a child of God through the will of the flesh. How often do we hear neglectful parents say such foolishness as, “Well, we’re going to just let our little Timmy decide for himself what he wants to believe.” Well, little Timmy is born of the flesh. That which is born of flesh is flesh. He needs to be born of the Spirit! He needs to be baptized and hear the word of God! He needs to hear the Gospel of his Savior Jesus Christ! It is only through hearing the Gospel that one can become God’s child! The flesh cannot do it!
Neither can you become a child of God by the will of a man. It doesn’t matter if you’ve built the church building with your bare hands and have your name engraved in the Communion ware and etched into the stain glass windows. No. You can only become a child of God and remain a child of God through the will of God. And God’s will is revealed to us in his Holy Word. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. The holy Scriptures are Christ’s words. In them, we have a brighter light than even the Magi saw on that first Epiphany, as St. Peter says, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19) Here St. Peter speaks of the Scriptures, the Bible, which the Holy Spirit himself caused to be written by the hands of men.
So, we should follow the example of our older brothers in the Lord, the Magi, the wisemen and follow the light of Scripture, even if it tells us to find our God in the unlikeliest of places. Scripture told these Magi to leave the king’s palace and search for the king in a humble village, even to go around houses into a backyard, and search for the King of Kings in a stable! Yes, and there they worshipped the eternal Son of the Father between ox and donkey.
And so, we follow the words of Scripture and bow our knees before ordinary bread and wine, and we believe the words of our Lord, “This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” We should know better, shouldn’t we? Bread isn’t a body! Wine isn’t blood! You can’t consume the body and blood of a man without killing him and tearing him asunder! Yet, God invites us to believe that here we eat the living and risen body and drink the flowing blood of Christ, which was nailed to the cross and poured from the veins of Jesus! What utter nonsense! Yet, children born of the will of God believe what God’s word says. We believe this apparent nonsense, if we are to determine that which the human mind cannot comprehend as nonsense. We believe God’s holy will.
And when our faith grasps the reality of what God is saying, we see what a wonderful gift we have on this earth! I’ve mentioned that my family and I went to Washington D. C. this past summer for our vacation. Did you know that we got to take a tour of the White House? We walked through the same rooms where dozens of presidents, including the current head of state, have eaten and lounged. We walked through the very house in which our president lives! Yet, you know, President Trump didn’t come out to see us! He didn’t invite us in for dinner or even offer us a cup of coffee! We didn’t even see him. Rather, ropes kept us out of forbidden rooms.
Yet, here in this ordinary town, in this simple building, we not only get to meet the God of heaven, we get to dine with him! We feast at his table and eat the food that angels cannot taste! To eyes born of blood, which judge things by the will of the flesh and of man, this is a very simple and plane thing. But with eyes born of God according to his will, which trust the words of God, here we recognize what we eat and drink: the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which gives forgiveness of sins and strengthens the faith of all who believe this.
And here we understand a bit better what the Prophet Micah is telling us by prophesying that the king of the Jews will be born in Bethlehem instead of Jerusalem. Jesus comes not to be an earthly king. Otherwise he would be born in the finest room in the palace with marble walls, and sleep in a crib made of silk. Jesus is born in poverty to show that he come to save the poor. He doesn’t come to make you rich. He doesn’t come to make you fat or fit. He comes to save your soul from death, to make atonement for your sins, to forgive you and make you right with God. He doesn’t want you to mistake him for any other earthly prince or ruler. Don’t think he comes to start a war or negotiate with tyrants. He comes to crush the head of Satan and open the gates of heaven for you.
Micah goes on to say that this ruler of Israel, who shall be brought forth in Bethlehem was also brought forth from of old, from ancient days. This king is brought forth twice. Once when he was born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, but even before that, before time began from ancient days. So, these Magi go to Bethlehem, not to find a king, who will give them earthly presents or promise them security as long as the king lives on this earth. No, they go to a king who has an eternal reign; who gives eternal presents; who will profit his subjects much more than any earthly ruler!
And we worship this same king. He rules from heaven! Yet, he still bears his human form. He is our brother and king; revealed to us through the holy Scripture. The little baby, whom those Magi from the east worshipped is the same Christ, who said, “This is my body; This is my blood.” on the night when he was betrayed. He is the same Jesus who was crucified for our sins and rose from the dead. He is the same Jesus who commanded that all nations be baptized and made into his disciples; the same Jesus who reigns in heaven and promises to always be with us in his word and Sacrament.
This Jesus is despised by those born of the flesh. His presence is denied by those of this world. But for us born of the will God, we follow the light of his Word, we find our Savior where he promises to be.
The Magi brought gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Children of God brought earthly gifts to their heavenly king. Sure, you could say God doesn’t need our earthly gifts. He could have caused fish and birds and frogs to cough up gold coins for Joseph to pay their bills. But this is how God chose to provide for Mary and Joseph and the Christ-child and fund their flight to Egypt when Herod sought to kill baby Jesus. Children of God bring their best earthly gifts to their heavenly King. And in this way God has provided for his Church on earth throughout her mission to spread the light of the Gospel in every dark place.
Jesus says that whoever receives the one he sends receives him and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of the least of his brethren will by no means lose his reward. So, those born of God have given their first fruits in an expression of faith in Christ. No, God in heaven doesn’t need your gold or dollars. But Mary and Joseph certainly needed some cash to travel from Bethlehem to Egypt. And congregations need to pay for heating and electric along with the salaries of their pastor, secretary, and organists. God uses us to fund missions in other lands. God uses unrighteous mammon, so valued by earthly kings and rulers, to spread his heavenly kingdom. We have the privilege to present our gifts before the King of the Jews today even as the Magi presented their gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
We don’t know much about the wisemen, except that they weren’t Jews and that they came from a different country in the east. Yet, we do know that they were children of God born of God’s will. That means they are good examples to follow. Let us follow the wisemen and follow the star God has set before us, the holy Scripture, and worship him who was born King of the Jews, whose coming forth is from ancient days.
Amen.

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Why Christmas is Merry

12/30/2019

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Mysteries of the Rosary, Presentation of Jesus at the temple, Cornelis de Vos, 1620, Public Domain

Luke 2:22-40; Galatians 4;1-7
December 29, 2019

Merry Christmas! Christmas is such a joyful time, is it not? This month I read Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. When the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Ebenezer Scrooge through the streets on Christmas Day, although the frost is biting hard on people’s noses as they shovel their walks, everyone is gleeful and they greet one another with friendly hellos and Merry Christmases. And you know, that’s not too far off from reality. Everyone I saw on Christmas Day was smiling. I talked to a number of friends and family on the phone to exchange Christmas greetings. Everyone was gay and merry; full of good cheer.
What is it about Christmas that makes us so merry? Perhaps it’s that after all the hustling and bustling we finally get to take a breath and enjoy time with our loved ones. Maybe it’s that at this dark time of the year, we have something to celebrate and the days will only get longer. Perhaps it’s the songs. Perhaps it’s the treats. But we Christians have something to be merry about that exceeds all these things and predates even Christmas trees and Jingle Bells.
Over two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, an old man and an old lady give Christmas greetings. They are unusually happy. Why are they so merry? It’s Christmas! Christ Jesus is born! For this they rejoice. And why are they so happy that this baby is born? Are they just making up an excuse to celebrate during the cold winter nights, to take time off work and get together with friends? No. They are celebrating, because the birth of this baby does great good for many more people than for just his parents, or even for his tribe or nation. The birth of this child, Jesus, does great good for the whole world.
Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, because that is what the Law of the Lord commanded. The Law said that every male who first opens the womb shall be consecrated as holy to the Lord. The people of Israel were commanded to present their first-born sons to the Lord, and sacrifice all the first-born male of their livestock throughout all their generations. God commanded this in order to prophecy that he would send his First-Born Son to die for the sins of his people.
God commanded his people to do this. Yet, as many of their sons as they presented to the Lord, and as many of their livestock that they slaughtered in obedience; it never accomplished their redemption. The blood of the animals could not wash away their sins. And all of the sons presented before the Lord were sinners. They served only as a shadow; a sign of the real thing. But none of them were the real thing.
There was indeed a sign of a promise in the command God gave his people, but only a sign. As long as it remained a command, his people never fulfilled it. It remained a burden for them. This command made them slaves. But now, the fulness of time has come! God sent forth his own Son! Born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons! This is a great statement from St. Paul, and it is exactly what Simeon and Anna are realizing as they see Jesus being carried into the temple by his mother and foster-father.
The Son of God is born of God from eternity. He is eternally begotten, meaning, he has always existed with the Father. There never was a time when he was not! Yet, now this Son of God, this first-born of God from all eternity, has taken on a second birth. His first birth was outside of time and space. He is begotten from eternity. Yet, his second birth happened on a particular day, in a particular town, namely Bethlehem, to a particular woman.
We are all born of a woman. Every single one of us has a mother. That means that every single one of us is born under the Law. Now, the Law can be split up into three parts: the civil, the ceremonial, and the moral. The civil law refers to the authority of the state. Israel was a state, a nation that had rules that governed its citizens, but not those outside of its borders. The ceremonial law refers to the laws surrounding worship, which God commanded through Moses to govern the people of Israel. This included the laws concerning circumcision, sacrifices, and festivals. The ceremonial laws ruled the worship life of the Israelites and served to point them to the coming of the Christ. Yet, those outside the people of Israel were not required to keep these ceremonial laws.
The moral law rules over everyone, whether you are of the house of Israel or not. The moral law can be summed up in the Ten Commandments. They teach you what is right and wrong. You should have no other Gods than the LORD God. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder or comit adultery or steal. This law rules over even those, who do not know their Ten Commandments, because Scripture says that this law is written on people’s hearts. Their consciences themselves testify against them when they do wrong. And even if their consciences remain quiet, God remains the judge.
When Scripture says that God’s Son was born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the Law; Scripture is saying that Jesus was born under the entire Law: civil, ceremonial, and moral. This means that Jesus came to redeem those who are under not just the civil law of Israel or the ceremonial law of the temple, but everyone who is under the moral law. Everyone who was born of a woman is born under the moral law. Everyone is judged by this law and condemned by it. Jesus was born under this law to save everyone, both Israelites and Gentiles.
This is why Simeon is so excited and filled with Christmas cheer! This is why Anna can’t help herself but go from person to person, essentially wishing them a Merry Christmas, by telling of the redemption of Israel. Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel, that is, the comfort of Israel. God promised that he would console Israel in her sorrow and burden under the Law. He promised that he would send forth a shoot from Jesse’s stem. Jesse was the father of David. Jesus was born in the city of David, because Joseph, his adoptive father was of the house and lineage of David. The Holy Spirit told Simeon directly that he would see this Christ, this anointed child, who would fulfill the entire law! And in this baby Jesus, who comes with his parents to perform the requirements of the Law, he sees this promised Christ, this promised consolation of Israel.
Jesus fulfilled the entire Law in our place. He fulfilled the civil law, by obeying all those in authority. He paid his taxes and obeyed the laws of the land. Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law. From the time he was circumcised on the eighth day, Jesus followed all that God commanded. And Jesus obeyed the moral law. He loved God with his whole heart, soul, strength, and mind, as no other human ever could. And although he was God himself in the flesh, he submitted to his parents and did as they commanded him. He loved his neighbor. He helped those in need. He even prayed for his enemies. Jesus Christ is the only man born of woman, who completely and fully obeyed the Law.
And Jesus did this for your sake. Christ had no need to earn his way to heaven. He already owned the heavenly kingdom by divine right. He is the eternally begotten Son. Yet, Christ earned your way to heaven for you. And more than that; Christ Jesus is your redeemer. That means, he paid your debts. You have broken the commands of the Law. You have not loved God with all your heart, soul and mind. You have not loved your neighbor as yourself or loved your enemies. For this, you are indebted to the Law. The Law demands punishment. Yet Jesus fulfills even this!
You see, Jesus did not only observe the rites of the ceremonial law. He fulfilled the prophecies these ceremonies gave! Jesus is the first born of the Father! He is his only begotten Son from eternity! And here, he has opened the womb of the Virgin. None of the firstborn sons of Israel born before him could fulfill this prophecy. They all fell short. Jesus fulfills it. And Jesus fulfills the prophecy of that the first born would be sacrificed. He was sacrificed for our sins, paying our debts! Your debt incurred by your sin against the law is paid by Jesus Christ!
This is why Simeon rejoices. This is why Anna is filled with good cheer. Christ Jesus, born of the woman, has redeemed us, who are born under the law. He has removed our burden. He is God’s consolation sent down from heaven.
When we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we don’t just celebrate his birth, we celebrate our own birth. Jesus received a second birth of the woman, so that we might receive a second birth from above. Through faith and in baptism in Jesus Christ, we have received adoption as sons of God. All who believe on Jesus’ name are given the right to be called children of God, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Simeon and Anna sing with Christmas cheer, because they have the right given to them through faith to call God their heavenly Father. When God listens to our voice, he listens to the voice of his children, whom he loves. Why wouldn’t we sing and make merry and rejoice at that?
We should greet each other with Christmas cheer. And we should spread this Christmas cheer past these twelve days and to all twelve months! Jesus is born! God’s own Son! And he came to redeem us! To save all people! All our sins are washed away. We are not slaves, but God’s dear children. We have the right to call upon him as our Father. And we have the joy of spreading this good cheer to others.
Merry Christmas! It is indeed merry! Amen.

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And the Word Became Flesh

12/26/2019

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Nativity, Lorenzo Lotto, 1523, Public Domain

Christmas Day 2019
John 1:1-18

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
And the Word became flesh. It is this statement right here for which we celebrate Christmas. But what does it mean? What is the Word? The Word was in the beginning with God. This means that the Word has no beginning and no end. The Word has a special relationship with the Father that nothing else has; neither angel nor human being. Not only has the Word always been with God, but the Word is God.
Here John is teaching us about the Holy Trinity. There is only one God, yet, there are three Person’s in the Godhead. The Word is the second Person in the Trinity. He is also called the only begotten Son of the Father. He was begotten by the Father before all worlds, that is, outside of time. There never was a time when the Word was not. He has always been with God and he has always been God.
All things were made through the Word and without the Word nothing was made that was made. This again proves to us that the Word is uncreated. This is why we say in the Creed, “Begotten, not made.” God created all things through his Word. The title Word is a descriptive name. Word has a double meaning. Sometimes when we say the word of God, we are referring to something that God has said, for example, the Holy Scriptures. Yet, other times when we speak of the Word of God, we are speaking of the Person in the Holy Trinity, also known as the Son of God. This is because it is the Son who speaks. The Father does not create anything or accomplish anything apart from his Son. So, when the Father speaks, his Son speaks. This is how closely their relationship is. Psalm 33 captures this well, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth their hosts.” Is the Psalmist speaking of the Word, which is the Person, or the word, which is his speech? Both. God speaks through his Son.
John also calls the Word the light. This again is a descriptive name. Light means that he illumines the minds of people. The Psalmist again says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) And so, we see that the Word of God has been active throughout the history of mankind. From creation, the Word has continued to speak and enlighten mankind. And the light of the Word of God has shone through the preaching of the prophets and the writing of sacred Scripture.
And so, with so many words we just briefly summed up what is meant by the Word. The Word is our God. He is God’s Son. Through him all things were created and continue to hold together. By him the angels and prophets spoke and the Scriptures were written. He is eternal, all powerful. He completely transcends the created world, whether we speak of the physical universe or the invisible spirits. And this Word became flesh!
What does it mean that the Word became flesh? Well, it means that this eternal God has taken on a human body. And not just a human body, but a human soul and will. This Word become flesh is Jesus Christ himself; that little baby lying in a manger, wetting his diaper and craving milk from his mother. He is powerful enough that the mountains and oceans were formed by him and all orbs of the heavens run their course by his will, yet, he now lies bound by swaddling cloths; too weak even to control his arms. You see a simple baby; indiscernible from any other infant. Yet, you behold God in the flesh!
When John says that the Word became flesh, he is not saying that the Word of God simply possessed the body of a man. Rather, God became man in every way that man is. A human being is made up of three components, without any it is not a human being: A body, a soul, and a will. Jesus clearly has a body. He was a baby in a manger. He walked, spoke, ate, drank, got tired, cried, was beaten and killed, after his resurrection he again showed his body to his disciples, let them touch him, and he ate in front of them. Jesus also has a human soul. Without a soul, a body cannot live. And Jesus himself said on the night of his betrayal, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” (Matthew 26:38) And Isaiah prophesied of Jesus saying, “When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;” and “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.” (Isaiah 53:10, 11). And Jesus certainly has a human will, which is distinct from, yet in full conformity with God’s will, as he spoke to his Heavenly Father in the garden, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
It is important for you to understand that when Scripture says, “The Word became flesh” that flesh includes a human body, soul, and will, because everything the Word became, he became in order to save it. You have a human body, which is dying. The Word took on a human body in order to give your body eternal life. You have a human soul, which deserves to be cast into hell forever on account of your sins. The Word took on a human soul in order to save your soul. You have a human will, which has rebelled against God’s will and made you guilty before him. The Word took on a human will, so that he could perfectly obey God in your place and fulfill the will of God for you. This means that when we say, The Word became flesh, what we are saying is that God became all that is necessary to save you from sin, death, and hell.
Yet, why does he use the word flesh? Why didn’t he say that the Word became a human being, as in other places of Scripture it calls him a man? This is to point to his work here on earth. Flesh is what you sacrifice on an altar. The Word became flesh in order to prepare himself to be sacrificed for your sins. He took on your human blood, so that he would bleed that blood for you. He took on your flesh, so that his flesh would be pierced for your transgressions. His soul itself is a holy offering to God. And because he does all this while remaining the Author of Life (Acts 3:15), this sacrifice makes your salvation certain.
And dwelt among us. These are important words that we should not quickly overlook. Jesus Christ, true God and man, dwelt among human beings. Real eye witnesses saw him. They touched him. They spoke to him and listened to what he said. There are lots of myths in pagan religions about gods coming down to earth and taking on human form. This is not a myth we are talking about. We are talking about the real, historical event when God became man and dwelt among us. God himself lied in that manger. God himself hung on that cross. God himself lied in that tomb. God himself, permanently untied to our human flesh now dwells in heaven, interceding for us.
The word for dwell is related to the word tabernacle, which causes some people to turn the word tabernacle into verb. The point is that the tabernacle in the Old Testament, where God dwelt in the Most Holy Place, was a prophecy about Jesus. As God dwelt with his people in the tabernacle, so God dwells with his people in the body of Jesus Christ.
And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. These witnesses of Christ Jesus witnessed the only begotten Son of the Father. When they saw Jesus, they saw their God! This is why wisemen worshipped him along with all his disciples. When they witnessed Jesus, they witnessed their salvation. They saw him die and rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. This means that a man dwells in heaven, at God’s right hand, who has been with God from the beginning and indeed is God. Our human flesh sits on God’s throne! That is the certainty we have in our salvation!
The Word became flesh in order for you to receive grace from God. Christ came to save you. And he continues to shower you with his grace; even to dwell with you through his Word; to come to you in his very body and blood in the Sacrament! When we believe the Gospel and receive the Sacrament, we believe that this is from the Godman himself, who has won for us salvation.
This is most certainly true. Jesus Christ is truth. The Word really did become flesh. Christ Jesus truly did die for our sins and rise for our salvation. And he truly sits in heaven interceding for our salvation. Jesus Christ is truth. We truly eat his very body and blood for our forgiveness and salvation. If the eternal Word could become flesh, it is a small thing for him to give us his flesh and blood in bread and wine. This is truth. Our God does the impossible to save us. Our God has become man for us. Our God has won salvation for us. This is what is meant by, “And the Word became flesh.” Merry Christmas, Children of God. And happy New Year. Amen.

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The Angels Proclaim Peace on Earth!

12/26/2019

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Painting "The Sheperds and the angel" (1879) by Carl Bloch. Oil on copper Public Domain

Christmas Eve, 2019
Luke 2:1-20

Our midweek Advent series this year was on angels. The first Wednesday we learned how these powerful spirits protect us. The second Wednesday we learned how these angels teach us how to worship. And last Wednesday we learned how the angels proclaim the Gospel. In short, angels are God’s servants, who do as God commands. So, what we have heard tonight, the angel announcing the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior, to a small group of shepherds, and then the great multitude of the heavenly army of angels joining in to praise God in the highest and declare peace and goodwill on earth, all this is by the command of God. Yet, this event stands in stark contrast to the first command recorded in the Bible which God gave to the angels.
Way back in Genesis chapter 3 after Adam and Eve sinned against God and were evicted from the Garden of Eden, God sent angels, called cherubim, armed with flaming swords to guard the way to the tree of life. These angels were charged with the task of keeping Adam and Eve out of paradise! What a great contrast from what we hear tonight, when the angels open up the heavens and declare God’s good pleasure to poor sinners! The angels, who were given the obligation to close the gates of paradise to mankind are now given the privilege to announce the opening of those gates to all who believe on Jesus Christ! It is as our hymn of the day declares in the sixth verse:
He is the key and He the door/ to blessed paradise;
The angel bars the way no more.
To God our praises rise/ to God our praises rise.
And you can understand then why the angels are so joyful and sing such praises to God! Christ Jesus has come to make all things right! He has done what no one else could do, neither man nor angel. He has opened the gates of heaven to poor sinners!
Yet, most underestimate how great a feat this is, which God has accomplished. They underestimate how far mankind fell; they belittle how much love God has for us and how much he gave in his endeavor to save us.
Adam and Eve fell into sin not simply because they ate a piece of fruit. Listen to what the serpent said, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:5) So, in that fruit Eve and her husband Adam saw their chance to be as wise as God; to become independent from him; to become themselves gods.
This is the greatest sin against the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods before me. Adam and Eve had other gods, themselves. They did not want to fear God. They did not want to be dependent on him so that they would need to trust in him. In their sin, they had no love for their Creator and heavenly Father.
And that is how we are in our sin. All sin in us is rooted in this desire to usurp God from his throne and set ourselves in his place! We want to be gods. We want to make the rules. We want to decide what is right and wrong. And so, we do! When we hear God’s word, we make our own determination whether it is important or not! We pick and choose which of God’s words we will believe and which we will disbelieve; which we will live by and which we will ignore! We imitate the sins of our first parents and even surpass them in our vice. This is no small sin. This not a little oopsie daisy, no biggie; no problem; no big deal. We are talking about a fall from God’s grace; rebellion against God himself; joining with Satan in a war against God!
For such rebellion, God has every right to condemn us to hell. He is perfectly justified in casting us out of paradise forever! Yet, that’s not what he has done! We take this for granted, but God did not do for the angels as he did for us! The Bible says in the book of Jude, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under the gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.” (vs. 6). Satan and his demons are fallen angels. But God offered them no chance of salvation. God never said to an angel, “You are my son, today, I have begotten you.” He never promised to become an angel or to send the angels a savior. Rather, he forever blocked the fallen angels out of paradise and damned them to hell. As he had every right to do! Yet, for our sad race, which leagued itself to Satan’s side, God offers salvation!
God loves us more than the angels. He made mankind in his own image. Immediately after God caught Adam and Eve in their sin, he promised a Savior, born of the woman, who would crush the head of Satan while enduring suffering for our sake. (Genesis 3:15). The birth of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promise God gave to Adam and Eve, two sinners, who joined themselves to Satan against God. And this birth is a promise to us, which tells us that God does not desire our damnation, but our eternal salvation.
Even the cherubim armed with flaming swords guarding the way to the tree of life, God sent out of love for us. He did not want those two sinners to eat of a tree that gives eternal life, because then, they would be forever trapped in their sins. Rather, God had already prepared a way to eternal life for them. God would send his own Son to become a human being, so that he would die for our sins and clear the way to paradise for us.
This is why the birth of Jesus is such a big deal. This is why God sent every angel at his disposal to announce his birth and teach us how to sing praises to our God. This is why we still celebrate this holy night over two thousand years later.
Every angel in heaven sang:
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men.
This is what brings God glory. That his Son joined our human race in order to save us. And that we accept this Christ-child, so that he forever dwells in our hearts. This brings more glory to God than all the wonderful works of the angels. Our salvation! Our union with God through his Son Jesus Christ. This glorifies God in the highest.
And in this song, the angels declare a wonderful promise to us, “And on earth peace, good will toward men.” Indeed, there is now peace between God and our human race through the mediation of Jesus Christ. On account of Jesus, God is reconciled to us. He is not angry with us. Rather, God accepts us for the sake of Jesus, his death and resurrection. There is peace between God and us.
Yet, this proclamation of the angels does not say, peace in heaven. It says, peace on earth. And this is not simply a wish, a hopeful expression like, “have a good day!” No, this is a prophecy; a divine promise from God. There will be peace on earth!
But has this prophesy failed? Since the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem until now, wars have not ceased upon the earth. If anything, they have increased! Yet, the angels are not speaking about peace between heathen nations. The angels are speaking about those who accept this baby Jesus, born in the manger. Among those, who love this Christ child, who hope in him for their salvation, who are reconciled with God through faith in Jesus’ blood, there will be peace. This is a divine promise. This is a prophesy that cannot fail.
Our hymn of the month this December was "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” In the last verse this congregation prayed every week, “O come, Desire of nations, bind/ In one the heart of all mankind; Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace.” These were not vain words we sang. We sang these words in firm faith that they would come true. Christ Jesus ends our sad divisions. He is our King of Peace. All who trust in him become peaceful, as Jesus himself taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
Those who trust in Christ Jesus love one another. Scripture says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” (1 John 5:1) And Jesus himself declares, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Those who love Jesus, who are reconciled with God the Father through faith in Christ and his blood, who rejoice at the birth of God in a manger, love one another. As God has loved us, so do we love one another. We try to do what pleases our fellow Christians and that which causes them harm we try to avoid. We speak well of one another. We think of one another’s interests over our own. As we confess one Lord and are joined in one Baptism, so we desire to be one.
Yet, it doesn’t work out so beautifully, does it? Rather, it is often the case that we are selfish and careless with our words and actions. We offend one another and isolate ourselves. Christians at enmity with other Christians! This happens, because although the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. We Christians still sin against each other. Yet, our Lord has given us a way to deal with this problem here on earth and so maintain the peace we are given by the Prince of Peace. Jesus says that when your brother sins against you go and show him his fault between you and him alone, and if he listens, you have gained your brother! Jesus teaches us to forgive those who trespass against us, even as God forgives us our trespasses.
Yet, too often we don’t do that. Rather we think, “I did nothing wrong. This person has offended me. That is his problem. I have every right to hate him in my heart.” Yet, that is not how God has dealt with us. When we sinned against him, God did not simply cast us off and hate us forever. Rather, while we were still sinners, when we didn’t ask for it, God sent his Son to be born of the Virgin Mary and to die for our sins. God confronts us with our sins and gives us a Savior, so that he can make peace with us. And so, it is our responsibility as God’s children to make peace with one another. Forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave you.
If you have a problem with a fellow Christian, go and talk to him. It may seem like an intimidating task, but God is not commanding you to make peace yourself. God has already made peace through Jesus Christ. When you go to your fellow Christian, whom you are at odds with, you go armed with the blood of Christ. You go with the power and authority of the Prince of Peace, who has made peace for us.
Through the Christ-child, who was once laid in a manger, God has made you people of Good Will. He has made you peacemakers, through the Prince of Peace himself. You are fully equipped. Martin Luther says that those who refuse to make peace do not listen to the song of the angels, but rather the howling of the wolf, the devil. Don’t listen to the lies of Satan. Listen to the voice of those angels sent by God. Peace on earth. Make peace with one another. God has done much more to make peace with you.
It is a joyful gift that God has given us that we can be reconciled with one another. Nothing is impossible for us, who know Christ Jesus. So, through Jesus let us make peace with one another now, as we wait for God to command his angels to escort us to heaven, where we will sing praises to God in the highest with the angels and with one another forever more.
God’s peace be with you. Merry Christmas. Amen.

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

The Baptism of Jesus: Jesus removes the burden of sin from us

Children of God

Why Christmas is Merry

And the Word Became Flesh

The Angels Proclaim Peace on Earth!

Rev. James Preus

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