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The Significance of Jesus’ Ascension

5/17/2021

The Ascension, John Singleton Copley. 1775. Public Domain

Ascension Day (Observed)
Acts 1:1-11; Mark 16:14-20
Pastor James Preus
May 16, 2013

Last Thursday marked the fortieth day of Easter. St. Luke tells us that Jesus, after his death and resurrection, showed himself alive to his disciples for forty days before He was taken up into heaven. Yet, for most people Thursday passed by with little noted significance. But should the day of our Lord’s ascension to the right hand of God the Father be ignored by the faithful? Don’t we confess in the Apostles’ Creed every day, “He ascended into heaven…”? Let me give you four reasons why we should celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven not only on the fortieth day of Easter, but every day.
First, Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of God the Father proves that Jesus is victorious over sin, death, and the power of the devil. When Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, he fulfilled what David prophesied in Psalm 110, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Jesus is the Lord God. He is the eternal Son of God the Father, who from eternity has shared in his divine essence and majesty along with the Holy Spirit. Yet, for us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. Not only did the Son of God take on our human flesh, but being born under the Law, he humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. In our place he fulfilled the law actively, that is, in our human flesh he perfectly loved the Lord God with all his heart, soul, and mind and loved his neighbor as himself. And in our place, Jesus also fulfilled the law passively, that is, in our human flesh he bore the punishment of all our sins on his body and soul.
Our Savior Jesus was vindicated Easter morning when he rose from the dead. He proved that he was innocent of all sin, that he is truly God’s Son and the teacher of truth, and that he has washed away all our sins forever. Now, in his ascension, God the Father took him who was made for a little while lower than the angels and has crowned him with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). It is as St. Paul says, “[the Father of glory] raised [Christ] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he has put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:20-23)
What does this mean? It means that our Lord Jesus is victorious over our enemies and rules over all powers and authorities. Your sin is under Jesus’ feet. Satan, who attempts to lead you into sin and unbelief and accuse you before God is now crushed under Jesus’ heal. The Law, which condemns you is under Jesus’ feet along with death and hell. And all other powers and authorities are under his dominion. We have bad government on this earth. Our own government sanctions the killing of unborn children, the destruction of the family with bad laws that destroy marriage, and increasingly, the persecution of the church. History will repeat itself. Christians will suffer from governmental persecution. Yet, these governments too remain under Jesus’ feet. Jesus is in charge. All powers and authorities on earth will pass away. But Christ’s rule will never pass away.
The second reason we should celebrate Jesus’ ascension to God’s right hand, is because it proves that he is always with us. This might sound contradictory. Jesus ascended into heaven. His disciples watched him go. How can he be with us? There is a lot of talk lately about flying rockets back to the moon and even astronauts landing on mars in the near future. Maybe that’ll happen. But I assure you, astronauts will never find Jesus in their adventures among the stars. Elon Musk can’t build a rocket to the right hand of God the Father. Yet, this does not mean that Jesus is far away from us. In fact, it is precisely because Jesus is at God the Father’s right hand that we know that he is with us in the Church today.
It is exactly as God says in Isaiah chapter 57, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (vs. 15). Jesus dwells in the heaven of heavens. Yet, Jesus dwells also with us lowly creatures here on earth. How can this be? Because the right hand of God the Father is not a location far off in a distant galaxy. The right hand of God the Father is God’s right hand of power. Jesus is not limited by his position at the Father’s right hand. Rather, he is unlimited in his power. He is able to do far more than we can either ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). The term, right hand of God, does not refer to a local place, but rather to a position of power. Most people are right-handed. When a person is called someone’s right hand man, it means that that person accomplishes the work the other person sends him to do. Jesus does the work of God the Father. Jesus at the Father’s right hand is all powerful. We celebrate Jesus as the Father’s right-hand, because at the Father’s right hand Jesus is with us here on earth.
This is indeed what Jesus promises us. He doesn’t simply tell his disciples to go out and preach the Gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15), but he also promises to be with them always even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). When Jesus’ ministers proclaim the Gospel, they are not only delivering words, but they are delivering Christ Jesus himself, as Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” St. Mark even records that the Lord Jesus accompanied the disciples in their preaching and worked with them (Mark 16:20). And he works with us today as well. Jesus is with us today in this church. This is where he promises to be. We all were baptized by different pastors at different times and places, yet, it was the Lord Jesus who baptized all of us and clothed us with himself. At the altar, although we cannot comprehend how this can be, we eat the true body and drink the true blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, because Christ has ascended to the Father’s right hand. And so, we have Jesus bodily with us here today. Every time you have heard the absolution spoken to you by your pastor, it was spoken to you by Christ himself.
All this is possible, because Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4, “He who descended is the one who also ascended above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.” And indeed, he has filled his Church. And he has raised us up with him and seated us with him even now in the heavenly places through his Word and Sacraments, a reality we will realize more clearly when our faith is turned into sight.
The third reason we should celebrate Jesus’ ascension is because, as the angels told the disciples, Jesus will return in the same way he ascended (Acts 1:11). We all will see Jesus coming on the clouds of heaven. He will come to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1). This is the natural result of Jesus ascending to the Father’s right hand, because Jesus has received all authority from his Father, so naturally, he has also received the authority to judge. And the world must be judged. And Jesus has warned us that he will come at a moment we do not expect. Now, this might sound like a strange thing to celebrate. Jesus’ judgment sounds terrifying. How awful are the words Jesus foretold that he will say to some, “I tell you, I never knew you.”? (Matthew 7:23)
Yet, for us who trust in Jesus and believe that his death has taken away our sins and that through him we are reconciled to the Father, Jesus’ return to judgment is not a terrifying thought. Jesus promises, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24) Jesus does not come to judge us, but rather to bestow on us the crown of righteousness. Rather, Jesus says, “whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) Our sins cannot condemn us, because Jesus has taken them away. It is not, “Whoever has committed the greatest sins will be condemned,” but rather, ‘Whoever does not believe will be condemned.” This is because Jesus has already paid the price for our sins. The only way we can be condemned is if we reject Jesus. (Which many people do, because they refuse to listen to his word and repent of their sins). But for those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus for salvation, Scripture says, “So Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28)
And this brings us to our fourth reason to celebrate Jesus’ ascension to the Father’s right hand, because Jesus will return to bring us to live with him. Through Jesus’ ascension, we too will ascend to live with Christ before the throne of God in righteousness and purity forever. St. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
As surely as Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God the Father, so surely will he return to bring us to be with him. This is a real salvation. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He has a human body, which was nailed to a cross and laid dead in a tomb, which truly rose from the dead and dwells gloriously in heaven. And we will see that same body descend to meet us. And our bodies will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). We will dwell with Jesus in our bodies, which will be changed after the image of his imperishable and immortal body. What our eyes cannot yet behold, we will see with our own eyes. Jesus’ bodily ascension into heaven means that our end is not to be disembodied spirits floating around in the heavens, nor will be become angels. Jesus became a human being to redeem human beings, body, soul, and will. We will truly live bodily with Jesus in a physical new heavens and new earth, one that is not corrupted by sin, but which will last forever, world without end. Amen.
When we celebrate Jesus’ ascension to the Father’s right hand, we celebrate Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the devil; we celebrate that Jesus is with us today in his Church through the ministry of his Word and Sacraments; we celebrate that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead; and we celebrate that we too will ascend to live with Jesus in imperishable bodies without sin, death, and suffering forever. These are things worth celebrating. Amen.

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Praying in Jesus’ Name

5/10/2021

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Morning Prayer, Ebenezer Newman Downard (fl. 1849-1889), between 1860 and 1861. Public Domain.

Rogate Sunday
John 16:23-33
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
May 9, 2021

This Sunday is named Rogate from the Latin word for pray. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus teaches us how to pray, specifically, how to ask God for what we need. Jesus tells his disciples to pray directly to God the Father and that whatever they ask the Father in his name, he will give them. But what does it mean to ask the Father in Jesus’ name? It means to ask the Father according to your faith in Jesus Christ his Son. Jesus says, “The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day, you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” The disciples are able to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name after Jesus speaks plainly to them about the Father. Well, what does Jesus tell them plainly about the Father? He tells them that God the Father sent him into the world to bear the sins of the world on the cross. “That hour” is when Jesus is betrayed into the hands of sinful men, is flogged, beaten, mocked, spit upon, and lifted up on the cross to bear the punishment for our sins. This is not figurative language. This is plain speech. God sent Jesus to die for our sake.
So, what does this tell us about the Father? Well, it tells us that he loves us. St. Paul articulates it well in the eight chapter of Romans, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things.” (Romans 8:31-32) Jesus tells his disciples plainly about the Father by speaking plainly about his crucifixion, death, and burial. Earlier on this same evening in which Jesus said these words, he said to his disciple Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) This is the case for a couple of reasons. First, the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. They share the same divine essence. It is impossible to see the Son without the Father. Secondly, because Jesus does the will of his Father. He has come to die on the cross for our sins. Why? Because it was the Father’s will to crush him, having laid our iniquities upon him. When we see Jesus on the cross, we see our heavenly Father. Not that the Father suffered for us. He didn’t. Only the Son did. But on the cross, we see how much our heavenly Father loves us. He has done this out of love for us. So, we know he is willing to give us all things.
Jesus said, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” This certainly is the case for most of us. We do not ask God as we ought. Either we take for granted that he gives us all that we need, so we forget to recognize that all good gifts come from God and to ask him for them with thanksgiving; or we are afraid to ask the Father for anything. We are embarrassed, because we sinned against him and have not lived as we ought. A guilty conscience delays our prayers until we can feel worthy enough to pray. Yet, Jesus does not tell us to become worthy to pray. Rather, he tells us plainly about the Father, that he loves us and prepared our salvation and forgiveness for us through Christ. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray despite our guilt and shame, but rather on account of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.
Now that we know that to pray in Jesus’ name means to pray to God in faith, we now must know what we ought to pray for. Jesus says, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give you.” So, what ought we pray for? Everything. Jesus promises that God will give us everything we ask for. Now, obviously this everything does not include evil. We cannot ask God to commit evil or allow us to do evil. To ask in Jesus’ name means to ask in faith, and our faith draws us to ask for those good things that God desires to give us. Yet, although God generously promises to give us everything we ask for, we still find it difficult to know what to ask from him. So, Jesus has taught us a simple prayer, which you all know by heart, by which we ask our heavenly Father for absolutely everything we need.
Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” We have the confidence to call God our Father, because Jesus, God’s Son, is our brother, who has joined himself to us through faith. Father’s love their children and gladly give them what they need. So, being invited by Christ to call God our Father should bring great joy and confidence that we will receive what we ask for.
“Hallowed be Thy name.” With this petition we ask that God’s word would be taught to us in its truth and purity. We are asking that God’s word be preached to us. This makes sense, because it is after Jesus speaks to the disciples plainly about the Father that they are able to pray in Jesus’ name. Gospel preaching creates faith. You must have faith in order to pray in Jesus’ name. So, it makes sense that the first thing we ask for is that we would continue to hear plainly about the Father, that is, that we would hear pure Christian preaching, so that we continue to have confidence to pray to God the Father and to believe that he will give us all that we ask for.
“Thy kingdom come.” With this petition, we ask that God would give us faith by his Holy Spirit, so that we can believe the preaching and live in Jesus’ kingdom here and now and also in eternity. We live in Christ’s kingdom in Jesus’ name, that is, through faith in Christ guided by the Holy Spirit we live in service to God and our neighbor. If we are to live in Christ’s kingdom in eternity, we must live in his kingdom now through faith. For this reason, Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s kingdom to come by giving us his Holy Spirit.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” With this petition we ask that God would hinder the evil wills of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, so that God’s good and gracious will can be done among us. With this prayer, we ask both for things we know and do not know. We know it is God’s will that we believe his holy word and live godly lives according to it. That is why he sent his Son to die for us and why he sent his Holy Spirit to create faith in our hearts and forgive our sins. Yet, we do not know what we must suffer on this earth, when and for how long. There is much that God simply does not reveal in his word. Yet, through faith in Christ, we believe that all things work out for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. So, we boldly pray not that our will be done, but that God’s will be done, with sure hope that it will lead to our salvation.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” In this petition we ask for everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. Rogate Sunday always falls around planting time. That makes a lot of sense. It takes a lot of faith to put seeds in the ground. And farmers ought to pray that God will cause their seeds to sprout and grow and bear a bountiful harvest. They know that this is beyond their control, but not beyond God’s. With this petition we ask for all that we think we need and for all the things that we need, but don’t know it yet. This teaches us to receive all that we have with thanksgiving.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Without forgiveness of sins, we are unworthy to pray. Yet, Jesus has won an inexhaustible source of forgiveness for us. Whenever we pray, we should ask for forgiveness, so that our prayers are not hindered by doubt or unbelief. This is the only petition we pray where we in turn make a promise. We promise to forgive others. This is a fruit of saving faith. You can only forgive others if you believe that you have been forgiven by your heavenly Father. So, as we pray to our heavenly Father in Jesus’ name in response to hearing the preaching of Jesus, so we also forgive in response to being forgiven.
“Lead us not into temptation.” Temptation leads to sin, which leads to unbelief. We know that the devil and the world are against us, because they are against Christ. And we know too well that our own sinful flesh betrays us, which is why the devil tempts us according to our own sinful desires. For this reason, we should constantly pray to be led out of temptation. When we are overwhelmed with sinful lusts, we should run to God in prayer, listen to his word, and not stop praying until the hour of temptation passes. Satan tempts us in order to stifle our prayers, but Jesus tells us to pray all the more when tempted. God knows our weakness and will gladly send aid in such affliction.
“Deliver us from evil.” With this petition we pray that God would grant us a Christian death. We certainly pray that God would defend us against all evils of body and soul, which may attack us in this life. Yet, there is no evil so great as to die in unbelief. We pray that we would never outlive our love for Christ, but that we will escape this world of sin in Jesus’ name.
We close every prayer with the Hebrew word, “Amen,” which means, “Yes, yes, it shall be so.” This is because we pray in Jesus’ name and Jesus never lies. We are confident that our heavenly Father will give us what we pray for, because he loves us through Christ Jesus.
Now that we know how we should pray: in Jesus’ name, that is, through faith in God’s love for us through Jesus; and we know what we should pray for; all things that we need for body and soul here and now as well as in eternity; now we must know when we should pray. Always. At all times. St. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5, “Pray without ceasing.” This is the life of the Christian. We hear God’s Word in church, and we pray in response to it. We meditate on God’s Word at home, and we pray in accordance with it. This is why we often recite the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed before we pray the Lord’s Prayer. It is after Jesus has spoken plainly to us about the Father that we have confidence to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. Sometimes our prayers are very formal, as they are in church or in the Lord’s Prayer. Sometimes our prayers are said at a certain time, such as before and after we eat and when we go to bed. And sometimes our prayers are informal, even inaudible, and said at any and every hour of the day. And at all these times our heavenly Father hears us and answers us in his good time. When you are tempted, when you have sinned, when you are in anguish, when you are joyful, in the morning and at night, in church and at home, when you are with your family and alone, pray. Make known your needs to God in Jesus’ name. Ask, seek, knock, and you will receive. Amen.

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The Holy Spirit Sanctifies Us

5/3/2021

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http://cliparts.co/clipart/3809707

Cantate
John 16:5-15
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
May 2, 2021

“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.”
These words are the explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed in Luther’s Small Catechism, where we confess our faith in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father is God and the Son is God. The special work of the Holy Spirit is that he sanctifies. The Father creates. The Father created us through the Son and with the Holy Spirit and he still takes care of us. The Son redeems. The Son redeemed us with his precious blood and innocent suffering and death. The Father and the Holy Spirit did not suffer and die for us, but rather it was Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Father who was made man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, suffered and died for our sins, and was raised from the dead. The Father created us. The Son redeemed us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us.
To sanctify means to set apart for God’s special purpose, to be made God’s precious possession. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by means of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit does not work apart from God’s Word. Yet, through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us by separating us from the sinful world and placing us into the Christian Church. Jesus’ disciples are sad, because he tells them that he is going away to the Father, but Jesus tells them that it is to their advantage that he go away, because if he does not go away, the Helper will not come to them. But if he goes away, he will send him to them. The Helper is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can only come to do his work of sanctifying us if Jesus first departs to the Father. This is because Jesus goes to the Father by way of the cross, where he redeems us from all sin, death, and hell. If Jesus does not redeem us, then the Holy Spirit cannot sanctify us.
The title Helper given to the Holy Spirit comes from the Greek word, Paraclete. Paraclete can also be translated as Comforter. The Holy Spirit comforts us by means of words, specifically, the Gospel that Jesus has redeemed us from sin and hell and has won for us salvation. The Holy Spirit works in the world, because it is those in the world, whom he seeks to sanctify. The ruler of this world is Satan. The world is full of sin and death. The world hates Christ and is in constant rebellion against God. So, the Holy Spirit comforts us by taking us out of the world and placing us into the Christian Church. By doing this, we are not of the world even while we are in the world. This gives us comfort even in the midst of sorrow.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by preaching. By means of preaching the Word, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, because they do not believe in Jesus. All inhabitants of the world are born in sin, inheriting the desire to sin from their first father, Adam. Yet, because Jesus has borne the sins of the whole world, unbelief has become the only unforgivable sin. Only through rejecting Christ Jesus are your sins still bound to you.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of righteousness, because Christ Jesus goes to the Father. Again, Jesus goes to the Father by means of the cross. The whole world is convicted of righteousness, because Jesus has borne the sins of the whole world and removed them from us. This means that the whole world is justified, that is, declared righteous and innocent of sin on account of Christ.
Yet, this is confusing. How can the Holy Spirit convict the whole world of sin and of righteousness? Sin is the opposite of righteousness? The whole world is convicted of sin, because by nature all mankind is born under sin and in unbelief. The whole world is convicted of righteousness, because Christ Jesus has paid the debt of the whole world and has won righteousness for us. Those of the world who do not believe in Jesus do not have his righteousness counted in their favor, because this righteousness can only be received through faith. While those who do believe in Jesus do not have their sins counted against them, because Christ’s righteousness puts away their sin. It is as the Holy Spirit speaks through St. Paul in Romans chapter 5, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (vss. 18-19).
So, it is clear that all are sinners and all are righteous. All are sinners by physical birth. All are righteous on account of Christ reconciling the world to the Father by his suffering, death, and resurrection. Yet, sin is not counted to those who believe, but only the righteousness of Christ. And the righteousness of Christ is not counted to those who disbelieve, but only their sins. So, the big difference is faith. This is why the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctifying is accomplished only through the Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit convicts us by convincing us by means of the Word, that God is at peace with us on account of Christ. Our first birth of the flesh makes us sinners. But the Holy Spirit gives us a second birth by means of the implanted word, which enables us to hold fast to Christ’s righteousness through faith. This second birth is accomplished by the Holy Spirit ordinarily in Baptism. And the Holy Spirit continues to daily and richly sanctify reborn Christians by means of the preaching of the Gospel and the Sacrament, which again is empowered by the Word of God.
This is not self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is righteousness that you think you have by your own good works, as if you earned it yourself. This righteousness that the Holy Spirit convinces you of is the righteousness of Christ, which is given as a gift and received through faith alone. Again, it is as the Holy Spirit caused St. Paul to write, “For Christ’s sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” (Philippians 3:8-9).
This is why we call the Holy Spirit the Comforter. He does not come to lay upon us another Law, by which we attempt to become righteous before God, but fail; a law that only shows us our sin and guilt. No, the Holy Spirit is sent by Christ after he has won eternal redemption for us. The Holy Spirit comforts us by telling us that it has all already been done for us. We are redeemed. We are forgiven. We are righteous before God for Christ’s sake. When we believe this, we are also sanctified and separated from the sinful world and placed in Christ’s kingdom, the Holy Christian Church.
Finally, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. The ruler of this world is Satan, who falsely judges and condemns us beyond his authority. He is the enemy of God and of the Christian Church. Satan has ruled this world ever since man’s fall into sin. The whole world is born under the influence of Satan until they are rescued by the Holy Spirit. The world of sin is judged along with its ruler. But those whom the Holy Spirit has sanctified, whom he has rescued from the world of sin and convicted of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer, are not condemned with the world. Rather, they pass from judgment into eternal life (John 5:24).
It is the exclusive right of the Holy Spirit to judge, because the Holy Spirit is God. Every judgment the Holy Spirit makes he receives from God the Father through Jesus Christ his Son. Yet, Jesus teaches his Christians not to judge. Christians are not to judge where they have no right to judge, but are rather to leave judgment up to God and to those whom God has delegated judgment, such as parents, the Church, and government. Christians are not to judge the motives of others, but are to put the best construction on everything. Rather than condemn others, Christians are called to forgive as God in Christ forgave them. Yet, this does not mean that Christians are to make no judgments whatsoever. Christians are called to judge between right and wrong, to confess the truth and refute error.
One of the most absurd errors that the Satan has convinced so many people of believing is that when Jesus says that Christians are not to judge that Christians are not allowed to state what is right or wrong, to confess the truth, or to call sin, sin. I was once told that I was wrong to say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, because Jesus said not to judge. Well, how absurd would it be for Jesus to tell us it is wrong to confess what he teaches us about himself? No, Christians are called to confess what the Holy Spirit says about sin, about righteousness, and yes, about judgment. Christians should call sin, sin, and unbelief, unbelief. Christians should confess Jesus as the Redeemer of the world and the one who gives his righteousness to whomever believes in him. And Christians should confess that God will judge the living and the dead and that this judgment will be determined on the basis of whether people cling to sin and Satan or to Jesus and righteousness.
The Holy Spirit convicting the world of sin and judgment is terrifying for the unbelieving world, because it sets it at enmity with God. Yet, the Holy Spirit remains our Comforter, because he sanctifies us by the Gospel, that is, he separates us from the sinful world and places us safely into the Church of Christ, where we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ through faith alone. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but passes from death to life.” (John 5:24) We are not judged along with Satan. We are not found sinful along with the world, rather, having believed in the redemption of Christ preached to us by the Holy Spirit, we are declared righteous by God. The Holy Spirit tells us how it shall be for the righteous in Psalm 37, “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” May this message from the Holy Spirit comfort us always. Amen.

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Comfort in A Little While

4/26/2021

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

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

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

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The Divine Call to be Christ’s Lamb

4/19/2021

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Jesus as the Good Shepherd, publicdomainvectors.org

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

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

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

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The Divine Call to be Christ’s Lamb

Rev. James Preus

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