“Jesus is The Good Shepherd,” John 10:11-18

¹¹[Jesus said:] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

¹⁶And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (ESV)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Good Shepherd. He lays down His life for His sheep. Jesus is that good Shepherd. He laid down His life in death on the wooden cross for you. This is what the Holy Scripture reveals. The Testaments of Old and New point to this: the death of Christ and three days later, His glorious resurrection, the forgiveness of sins.

Of these, Jesus spoke in the last chapter of St. Luke where He says, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” There, Jesus also said, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day” (Luke 24:44).

Jesus did give His life in death for His sheep, as one of our Lenten hymns has it, ‘The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander’ (TLH 143 ‘O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken’, v4). For you did Jesus die, to save you from your sins. As you continue in the faith of Him who died and rose again, so you are saved from your sins, and so you remain.

Faith in Christ comes from the God who gives it, as Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” and as St. Paul writes, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (John 6:29; Ephesians 2:8). Grace is the gift of God. Faith is the gift of God. Through His Holy Word preached and His Blessed Sacraments administered, God creates, strengthens, and preserves your faith. Through these very means, your Good Shepherd declares that you are His and that He is yours.

In today’s text, Jesus says, “I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14). The Good Shepherd of your salvation knows His sheep. He knows them because they are His. He doesn’t forsake them. Indeed, Jesus Christ laid down His life for His sheep. His promise is not to abandon or leave, but to lead and guide. This is just what Jesus does.

You are sheep of the Good Shepherd. He knows each one of you by name. Into the Name of the Triune God you were baptized; into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Into His Name were you washed of your sins and born again into new life. Baptism is God’s work, His work of cleansing from sin and giving newness of life. There, He declares that you are His.

Through water and word, at the font, God there gives to you the forgiveness of sins. And ‘where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation’ (Small Catechism, The Sacrament of the Altar, ‘What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?’). This truth of God forgiving your sins through ordinary means instituted by God, applies also to the Lord’s Supper, The Sacrament of the Altar. It is the very body and blood given for you for the forgiveness of your sins.

The very Words given by our Lord you simply believe. Because God declares it to be so, so it is, not because you understand it; but because He says it; therefore, do you believe it.

The Lord’s Word is here sufficient, as it always is, even as His Word is sufficient everywhere else. It doesn’t matter how greatly or how poorly His Word be understood. It is to be believed just the same.

Faith in God’s Word is the kind of faith that believes what God says and gives according to His Word. Christian faith is that which believes the ‘for me’ of Christ’s death and resurrection, the ‘for me’ of sins washed through water and word in Holy Baptism, and the ‘for me’ of sins forgiven in the Lord’s Supper.

By these means of God’s grace do you know that Jesus knows you as His own. Through the preaching of Christ’s death and resurrection, sins forgiven, the Gospel, Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, Christ gives to you life and salvation. He makes known to you that you are His and that He is yours.

God does not abandon you nor forsake you to your sin, guilt, or shame. You He does not let go to be overwhelmed by sorrow, grief, or worry. Because Jesus knows His own, because Jesus knows you, He continually and constantly gives you His help and aid. To you does He proclaim His Word and give His true body and blood—for your benefit. To you He gives peace with Him through His Son. He strengthens you in the faith. He comforts you with His comforting Word. He declares to you by that same word that you are His.

The Lord opens your eyes to see and your hearts to believe. Your sin. His mercy. Because of His great love for you, the Father sent His Son, the Good Shepherd, to lay down His life. You cannot save yourself. He saved you. You are delivered from sin and death. You do not lead yourself to the greener pasture. The Lord leads you. You are led. You have the certainty of eternal life – in Him – now – having peace with God – having been justified by faith.

In the Word, God reveals Himself to be your Savior from sin. This He makes known to you that you believe it, that you find confidence—not in the world, not in things, not in people—but in Him alone – in the ONE Whom He sent to die your death on the cross.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows all who are His. Those who are His are those who hear His Word and believe it; those who believe the ‘for you’ of sacred Scripture, the ‘for you’ of sins forgiven, the ‘for you’ of everlasting life; those who trust, not in themselves for hope and for help, but in Christ alone.

Jesus the Good Shepherd leads you, His sheep, unto eternal life. He directs you with His Word to Himself, that you remain on the narrow and difficult way to life (Matthew 7:14). This way is narrow and difficult because it is a way that is not your own. It is Christ’s way. It is the salvation way. It is the way of faith, not the way of sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). This way sees only Christ – and Christ at the center, Christ and not man and his sin, but Jesus and His righteousness.

The Lord’s promises you do not reject. His promises you believe. By this you know that you are His. According to His Word, God declares that you are His, sheep of the Good Shepherd Jesus. The Lord you follow. You hear His voice – His Word – and His voice only – because you are His sheep. The Lord’s sheep do not hear the voice of another. They hear His voice – His Word – alone. Every other voice leads to another who is not Christ and does lead to the way of life. The Sheep of the Good Shepherd follow Him who purchased them with His own blood (Acts 20:28).

That the Lord’s sheep remain safe and in His flock, the Good Shepherd places His undershepherds, also called pastors, to care for His beloved sheep. He sends them to preach His Word and to administer the blessed sacraments of Baptism and Lord’s Supper. Jesus sends them to preach Christ and none other. This is how they lead.

They also protect. They protect the Lord’s sheep by admonishing them not to stray from the true doctrine and to live a godly life, as is proper for one who is called Christian. Pastors warn the Lord’s sheep of false teachers and teachings that lead away from Christ and His Holy Word. God doesn’t leave His sheep to fend for the themselves. Faithful pastors speak God’s Word. This they have been given by God to do, that the Lord’s sheep remain His sheep and not be ‘ooed’ and ‘ahhd’ by outward works of piety, a false show of righteousness, or be led by what itching ears want to hear’ (John 7:24; 2 Timothy 4:3; Hebrews 5:14).

Herein is salvation revealed: The Good Shepherd lays down His life in death for His sheep. Having authority to lay His life down of Himself, He also has authority to take it up again, of Himself (John 10:17-18). This Jesus did on day three following His crucifixion.

Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sins, and to save all and everyone. The Lord’s sheep believe this, because they know His voice. Those who don’t know the voice – the Word – of our Lord – these are not yet His. They go their own way and believe what they want to believe. They don’t believe the truth of God’s revelation in Christ. They who do – these believe that Christ is their Good Shepherd because He gave His life for them that they have eternal life.

For this reason, you know and believe Christ to be your Good Shepherd, because He laid down His life for you. His death and His resurrection – you believe and confess. Christ is your life. In Him – you live.

Others too, by His grace and according to His mercy, will believe Christ’s voice – His Word, for the Word of the Good Shepherd continues to be proclaimed. His Word proclaimed, there will always be those who hear it and believe it. Such is what it does. Amen.

“Christ came to serve, not to be served,” Mark 10:35-45

³⁵And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to [Jesus] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

³⁶And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³⁷And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

³⁸Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, ⁴⁰but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

⁴²And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

⁴³But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (ESV)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus contrasts His way with the world’s way. They are at odds with each other.

St. John writes in his first epistle, ” ¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world– the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life– is not of the Father but is of the world.

¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 Jn. 2:15-17 NKJ, ¹⁵ Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν κόσμον, οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ πατρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ· ¹⁶ ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἡ ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἐστίν. ¹⁷ καὶ ὁ κόσμος παράγεται καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ, ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα).

Jesus’ way is not the way of being served. His way is serving. Jesus’ way is not the way of taking. His way is giving. With Jesus’ words, Jesus tells us the purpose for which He came – and the cost. He also – by His words – reveals to us how we are to be – how we are – in Him.

Jesus’ purpose for which He came

Jesus was the servant of servants. He came not to be served, but to serve. As we consider Who Jesus is according to Holy Scripture, this is extraordinary. Thomas calls Him, “My Lord and My God” (John 20:28). Peter says of Him, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29). People worship Him (i.e. Matthew 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). Angels worship Him (Hebrews 1:6). Even the demons recognize Jesus for who is, calling Him “Son of the Most High God” (Mark 5:6).

Jesus is He who by whom “All things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers” (Colossians 1:16).

Of Himself, Jesus says, “I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:17-18). Compare the first part of these words of Jesus to Isaiah 41:4 and 44:6 and we see something extraordinary.

In Isaiah 41:4, God says, “I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He” (Isaiah 41:4). The Lord speaking here is none other than Yahweh/Jehovah/God – He who created the heavens and the earth with the Word – He who spoke to Moses in the burning bush – He who prefaces the 10 Commandments, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). This is the “King of Israel…The Lord of Hosts”, who also says “I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).

Jesus says of Himself what only God says of Himself. For Jesus to say, “I am the First and the Last” is to equate Himself with God. In John 1:1, St. John the Evangelist writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus says of Himself and the Father, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30; see also 17:21). Jesus also says, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

There was a reason why the Jews in the New Testament wanted to stone Jesus on numerous occasions – why many did not believe in Him – and why many still do not believe in Him today. It is because Jesus is God. This – they did not believe. It is just for this reason that He continues to be rejected by all but few today – because He is not the kind of God that people are looking for – though He is exactly the kind of God that the world needs. They do not believe Him.

Jesus is not He who came into the world to rule with an iron fist, to cleanse it of all impurity by means of force, to make the world a better place, to transform it into a modern day utopia, to make life easier, to make us feel good about ourselves, or so that we could live how we want to live and do what we want to do.

Jesus did not come to change the world. He came to save it from itself – not by means of strength or power – by means of weakness and humility – by means of obedience and servitude to His heavenly Father.

Instead of ruling with an iron fist, He shows mercy to the sinner – to the unworthy – to the undeserving. Instead of cleansing by means of force, He cleanses by means of His own shed blood on the cross, poured out for you. Instead of making the world a better place, He forgives sins and gives the certain hope of eternal life.

Instead of transforming the world into a modern day utopia, He works through the common, the ordinary, and the mundane to bring about faith in Him, that we not seek to change the world, but in constant hope, look to Him alone for help and comfort, awaiting our eternal home, and living to Him and for our neighbor.

Instead of making life easier, Jesus came to give peace with God, that we recognize His work even in the midst of our living, and that we know that in Him, we have a gracious God.

St. Paul writes in Romans, “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ⁶ For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:1-9 NKJ).

Instead of making us feel better about ourselves, Jesus came to give true blessedness and confidence in Him, that we look outside of ourselves to His promises and there find our confidence.

“Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Rom. 12:16 NKJ, τὸ αὐτὸ εἰς ἀλλήλους φρονοῦντες, μὴ τὰ ὑψηλὰ φρονοῦντες ἀλλὰ τοῖς ταπεινοῖς συναπαγόμενοι. μὴ γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς).

“³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:3-4 NKJ, ³ μηδὲν κατ᾽ ἐριθείαν μηδὲ κατὰ κενοδοξίαν ἀλλὰ τῇ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ ἀλλήλους ἡγούμενοι ὑπερέχοντας ἑαυτῶν, ⁴ μὴ τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἕκαστος σκοποῦντες ἀλλὰ [καὶ] τὰ ἑτέρων ἕκαστοι).

“⁷ But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:7-11 NKJ,⁷ [Ἀλλ᾽] ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν. ⁸ ἀλλὰ μενοῦνγε καὶ ἡγοῦμαι πάντα ζημίαν εἶναι διὰ τὸ ὑπερέχον τῆς γνώσεως Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ κυρίου μου, δι᾽ ὃν τὰ πάντα ἐζημιώθην, καὶ ἡγοῦμαι σκύβαλα, ἵνα Χριστὸν κερδήσω ⁹ καὶ εὑρεθῶ ἐν αὐτῷ, μὴ ἔχων ἐμὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ νόμου ἀλλὰ τὴν διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ, τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει, ¹⁰ τοῦ γνῶναι αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ [τὴν] κοινωνίαν [τῶν] παθημάτων αὐτοῦ, συμμορφιζόμενος τῷ θανάτῳ αὐτοῦ, ¹¹ εἴ πως καταντήσω εἰς τὴν ἐξανάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν).

Instead of for living how we want and doing what we want, Christ came that we serve, not ourselves, but Him who bought us with His own precious blood, that we freely serving others, even as He has served – and serves – us (1 Corinthians 6:20).

“¹⁸ …you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. ²⁰ He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you ²¹ who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (1 Pet. 1:18-21 NKJ, ¹⁸ εἰδότες ὅτι οὐ φθαρτοῖς, ἀργυρίῳ ἢ χρυσίῳ, ἐλυτρώθητε ἐκ τῆς ματαίας ὑμῶν ἀναστροφῆς πατροπαραδότου ¹⁹ ἀλλὰ τιμίῳ αἵματι ὡς ἀμνοῦ ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου Χριστοῦ ²⁰ προεγνωσμένου μὲν πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, φανερωθέντος δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων δι᾽ ὑμᾶς ²¹ τοὺς δι᾽ αὐτοῦ πιστοὺς εἰς θεὸν τὸν ἐγείραντα αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ δόξαν αὐτῷ δόντα, ὥστε τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶναι εἰς θεόν).

“You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20 NKJ, ἠγοράσθητε γὰρ τιμῆς· δοξάσατε δὴ τὸν θεὸν ἐν τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν).

¹³ “You…have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:13-14 NKJ, ¹³ Ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἐκλήθητε, ἀδελφοί· μόνον μὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν εἰς ἀφορμὴν τῇ σαρκί, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις.

¹⁴ ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόμος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν).

Christ indeed came to serve us, but not in the way that we might expect. He came to serve according to His Father’s will, not the world’s or ours. This is what makes the request of James and John in today’s gospel so ironic. It’s ironic because James and John hadn’t gotten it. They hadn’t gotten what Jesus was saying, that it wasn’t through the greatness of power, or worldly might or glory that Jesus would reign and rule, but through suffering and death that Jesus would be victorious. It was through the mocking, the spitting, the flogging, the crucifying, and the being dead that Jesus would rise from the dead. It was through what is despised and rejected that Jesus would gain the victory.

Just before the request of these two disciples James and John, Jesus had said, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise” (Mark 10:33-34). Before resurrection, there would be death. Before death, there would be suffering.

This was the way of Christ. This is the way of the cross. This is the way of life. Jesus’ words, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” – these words have meaning (Mark 8:34-37, ³⁴ Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν ὄχλον σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἀκολουθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι. ³⁵ ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ἀπολέσει τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου σώσει αὐτήν. ³⁶ τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον κερδῆσαι τὸν κόσμον ὅλον καὶ ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ; ³⁷ τί γὰρ δοῖ ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ;).

In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray these petitions, “Lead us not into temptation,” and “Deliver us from evil.”

In his Small Catechism, Luther gives these meanings to these cherished petitions to our Lord, “God, indeed, tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory.” Luther also says, “We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven”(https://bookofconcord.org/small-catechism/the-lords-prayer/).

The Lord delivers us from the desire to save ourselves, from serving our own interests, and from continuing our own way or maintaining our own path – that very way – that very path – that leads to death and destruction – not to life and salvation.

The way of Christ is the way of the cross. We are not masters of our own destiny. Any who seek to be so are only deceiving themselves. The Lord has His way of humbling us that we remain in Him. It is the way of trial, trouble, and difficulty, the very thing that we don’t want, like those disciples James and John; like the other 10 who were angry at what James and John had requested, who themselves wanted to be first above all others, and not slave or servant of all.

This way of the Lord is for our good, that we not look for glory in the world, but rather, that we boast in Christ. “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD” (1 Cor. 1:31 NKJ, ἵνα καθὼς γέγραπται· ὁ καυχώμενος ἐν κυρίῳ καυχάσθω).

We are not a hopeless people. We are a hopeful – with sure and certain hope – confident of what will be – and confident even now – even through what we face in life – because of Christ – because of His suffering and His death – because of His resurrection – because of who He is – because of what He has done – and because of what He does do.

Our Lord Jesus continues to serve, giving His body and blood in the bread and the wine for the forgiveness of sins. He continues to speak those precious words of absolution, where He pronounces you forgiven. There – you can be sure that you are forgiven. God does not lie or mislead. God says what is. He preaches to you by His Word – that you turn from your ways and look to Him alone for your salvation.

Our Lord continues to serve by mediating between you and the Father. He “Makes intercession for” you (Romans 8:34) and is your “Advocate with the Father. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

Jesus came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. He came to shed His blood and die on the cross – for you. He came to rise from the dead – for you. And just as He came for you – so also – in Him – your greatness and your glory is not in ruling over others – not in others serving you – but in you serving others – freely and willingly – not against your will – but voluntarily. This certainly won’t mean recognition from the world, awards, and honors, but more important than temporal praises and fame is that which comes from God: His goodness, His peace, and eternal life – in and through His Son. Amen.

“The Passion of our Lord,” John 19:17-40

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“Sunday of the Passion,” John 12:20-43

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“I Will Greatly Rejoice,” Isaiah 61:(1-4), 8-11

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; ³to grant to those who mourn in Zion — to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. ⁴They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. . .

⁸For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. ⁹Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. ¹⁰I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ¹¹For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. (ESV)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God” (v10).

This morning – on the Advent wreath – the pink candle is lit. The pink candle is lit because this Sunday is called ‘Gaudete Sunday’ – ‘gaudete’ from the Latin – meaning, ‘Rejoice.’ Today – we rejoice – this Third Sunday in Advent – for the celebration of Christ’s birth is soon here. The Lord Christ’s Second Coming is nearer than before. As we rejoice in His first coming – so we also now – too – rejoice in expectation of His Second Coming. Our Lord comes for our redemption. Because of His crucifixion – no need is there to fear judgment. Our judgment was on Christ. Our just condemnation He bore in our place. It is no more on us – as it was on Him.

Thus do we rejoice – in Christ’s coming again – in Christ’s first coming -being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin. So also do we rejoice at our Lord’s coming now – in Word and Sacrament. Jesus has not left us alone. He has ascended – this is true – and according to His Word – we know with absolute certainty of His presence in the ordinary – where He attaches His Word and promise – in Word preached and water and bread and wine. Jesus – God and man in one Person – is God and man in One Person. He is right where He promises to be. What He says stands – even as we cannot see how such can be. No matter. The Word of Christ is what we cling to. Let the world and all others say differently. The Word is the foundation of the Christian. The Word is our foundation (Ephesians 2:20).

Because the Word of God has such a place, it does not surprise that that that Word lead and guide – form and direct – break and mend – chastise and comfort – humble and lift up. That Word – it is God’s – and it does all this – and more.

God’s Word reveals Christ – the Messiah – the Savior; your Savior – your Messiah – Your Christ. There is no other (Acts 4:12). In the New Testament – we expect this – as the New Testament is of Christ. Also in the Old Testament – as in today’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah 61. Significantly, Jesus read verses 1 and 2 in a Galilean synagogue, as recorded in Luke chapter 4. There, Jesus read from Isaiah – sat down – and began to say, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (σήμερον πεπλήρωται ἡ γραφὴ αὕτη ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ὑμῶν (Lk. 4:21 BGT); Luke 4:14-22).

The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus. He brought good news to the poor. He bound up the brokenhearted. He proclaimed liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who were bound. He preached the year of the Lord’s favor. In Jesus, you have God’s favor – are no more bound to sin and death. You are free in Christ. No longer are you captive or enslaved to your sin. Under God’s grace in Christ – sin does not have dominion and rule over you. God forgives you your sins. Your heart is created anew. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (ὥστε εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονεν καινά (2 Cor. 5:17 BGT)). The poor – the poor in spirit – they who have nothing to give and are empty – these have the good news – the good news of Christ’s peace – the Good News of Christ’s righteousness as their own – through faith. “He has filled the hungry with good things” (πεινῶντας ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν (Lk. 1:53 BGT)). What you don’t have of yourself – you have in Christ. What belongs to Christ is now counted as your own before the Father.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9 NKJ).

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21 NKJ).

“Of Him (God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God– and righteousness and sanctification and redemption–that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD” (1 Cor. 1:30-31 NKJ).

“I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:8-9 NKJ).

That God is the One doing these things – doing – giving -bestowing to and on us – as it is written – this is your certainty and confidence that these things are so. If these not be of God but somehow of you – doubt would there be – not confidence – and hope would deflate and be nothing but doubtful. But in Christ – these words are sure and true.

For this – for Christ – in Him – we rejoice – in the Lord. As verse 10 of Isaiah 61 exclaims – so we join the choir. Individually and collectively – we – too – greatly rejoice in the Lord – and not just because. There is reason. There is prompt to do so.

Yes. God is God. This alone is reason enough to rejoice. But without a Mediator – without One Who does and speaks on our behalf – without One to stand in our place and be our substitute before the Father – all is lost. We – you – don’t have what it takes. None do. No one does. As Adam and Even after the Fall – we are naked in our sin before the righteous Judge – no cover – no ability – no excuse. As Isaiah saw the Glory of the Lord in the temple and could do no more than say, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts” (Isa. 6:5 NKJ) – so with us. We have no defense before God. We stand before Him unholy and sinful creatures.

“Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man” (τὰ δὲ ἐκπορευόμενα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ἐκ τῆς καρδίας ἐξέρχεται, κἀκεῖνα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον (Matt. 15:18 BGT)).

It’s not by just what we do or don’t do that we are without excuse before our Creator. It’s by who we are by nature since the Fall. And since the Fall, Adam’s descendants no longer are in the state of innocence and righteousnesss.

With the Psalmist we say, “I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5 NKJ).

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23 NKJ).

“The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23 NKJ).

Because this is the case – there is no reason for rejoicing in the Lord – of ourselves and in ourselves. Apart from Jesus and His death and resurrection – you would still be in your sins (1 Cor. 15:17). But because of Jesus – that rejoicing in the Lord you do and is your lot – according to His Word.

Note what follows those words of Isaiah in today’s text, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in God.” It is significant. It is salutary. It is revealing. It is salvific.

“He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with a robe of righteousness” (v10).

No longer do you stand before the Lord in your filthy rags of unrighteousnesses (Isaiah 64:6) – in your sins – transgressions – and iniquities – unworthy of being a guest in the Lord’s house and at His table. Christ’s robe of righteousness covers you. His blood cleanses you (1 John 1:9). Because of Him – those white robes of righteousness worn by the saints in heaven as revealed by John – you also wear before the Father. In Jesus – you see the Father. No spot – no blemish – no sin – no stain – before the Almighty. Holy – pure – undefiled – in Christ. Having Christ’s garment of salvation on you through faith means favor with God – through His Son. Because He died – and lives forevermore – you have peace with God.

Jesus is your certainty. He is your surety of sins forgiven – your confidence before the Father. Clothe yourself and you will not be in proper attire – as the guest not wearing the given wedding garment in the parable told by Jesus in Matthew 22 (v12). Because that one was not wearing what was given him to wear, he was “cast out into outer darkness” (Matthew 22:13). So it will be for all who seek God on their own terms and not His – who stand on their perceived worth and not on what God says – who depend on their own goodness – and not on the goodness and mercy of and in Christ.

“We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Tim. 6:7 NKJ). What God gives – what He freely bestows – that is what sustains – preserves – and saves. The gift of God in Christ is that no more do we hide before God as condemned sinner. In Christ, that judgment is no more. In Christ, we come before Him – having a righteousness not our own – through faith in the Son. Christ for us – we say; for so He is.

We have reason to rejoice – now – and when Christ comes again. Amen.

“Established Forever,” 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

¹Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, ²the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” ³And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan,

⁵“Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? ⁶I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. ⁷In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

⁸Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

⁹And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

¹⁰And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, ¹¹from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. . .

¹⁶And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (ESV)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

“And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (v16).

That promise – that promise of God – God made to king David. No conditions – no dependence on David – no “if you do…then I will do.” No quid pro quo. No contingency upon David does God make. Straight up – God makes the promise – which He would fulfill – which would be – not because of David – but because such a promise was made.

God’s goodness and mercy are this way. God’s grace is not at all conditional. It is not dependent on you. If it was – like so many others who have as their foundation something other than the Word of God – there would be nothing but doubt. A sad way to live is it to think and believe that God’s kindness and mercy depend on us and what we do! We would never have it! The rat race would be always be going – rest never won. Just when all the boxes would seem to be checked – more would immediately pop up – never to end. Not enough is how we would be. Not enough – not enough love – not enough doing – not enough caring – not enough keeping.

Not enough – never enough – before God – that’s how things are – without Christ – Who alone is our sufficiency (ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ἱκανότης ἡμῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεου (2 Cor. 3:5 BGT)). Without Christ – there is only that do-it-yourself kind of religion. The problem is – no one does ‘enough.’ God’s bar is too high; His Commandments too broad. They address not only the outward doing or not doing. They address especially the inward – the heart – the soul. Corrupted by the Fall – we stand before God – sinners – with no excuse – before having done anything.

This is why – if God’s mercy and kindness were dependent on us – conditional on you – you would never have it. But as it is in truth – revealed in God’s Word – through Jesus – the Father’s Son – Word made flesh – you have it (ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο (Jn. 1:14 BGT)). The Son – Whom the Father sent because He so loved the World – He is your certainty before the Father (οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον (Jn. 3:16 BGT)). St. Paul says that “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God” (ὅσαι γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ναί· διὸ καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀμὴν τῷ θεῷ πρὸς δόξαν (2 Cor. 1:20).

Trust not in yourself. Trust in God – according to His Word. Believe His Son. In Him – God’s promises to you are “yes” – now – in the future – into eternity. Christ lives forevermore. In Holy Baptism – you died with Christ. In Holy Baptism – you rose with Christ.

“As many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death. Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:3-11, οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς λογίζεσθε ἑαυτοὺς [εἶναι] νεκροὺς μὲν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ζῶντας δὲ τῷ θεῷ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ (Rom. 6:11 BGT)).

As that promise of God to David of an eternal throne was not contingent on David’s obedience but established by and on the Word of God given – so also with God’s forgiveness of your sins through His Son – the same Son promised to David in verses from 2 Samuel not included in today’s Old Testament reading. Through Nathan the prophet, God says to David, “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12-13, וַהֲקִימֹתִ֤י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֵצֵ֖א מִמֵּעֶ֑יךָ וַהֲכִינֹתִ֖י אֶת־מַמְלַכְתּֽוֹ (2 Sam. 7:12 WTT)).

It was king Solomon – David’s Son – who would build a house for God’s name. He did build the temple during his reign. But Solomon’s reign was to end. Another would come forth – the Son of David – Whose house and kingdom and throne would be “established forever.” Of these – there is no end – for they are established by God. And established by God – they stand.

Though it was David who wanted to do something for God – it would be God giving and promising to David. That David wanted to build a place for God to dwell seems like a good thing. So Nathan the prophet also thought. And yet, God asked this question of David, “In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” (לָ֛מָּה לֹֽא־בְנִיתֶ֥ם לִ֖י בֵּ֥ית אֲרָזִֽים (2 Sam. 7:7 WTT)).

God does not dwell in earthly abodes set by man. His “moving about in a tent for a dwelling” before was not for the purpose of establishing for Himself a place to reside. It was for the purpose of directing His people to know and to believe His presence with them – that they know where to find Him – that they be sure of His goodness and kindness for them.

Likewise does God direct us away from ourselves and outside of ourselves to know and to believe God’s presence with us – where to find Him – that we be sure of His goodness and kindness. “To the law and to the testimony!” ( לְתוֹרָ֖ה וְלִתְעוּדָ֑ה (Isa. 8:20 WTT)). To the Word and to what God makes known and reveals in His Son according to His revelation! To the promises of God – to the preaching – to His means of Grace – Word attached to water and bread and wine – according to Christ’s institution. By what God says – we know that here – in God’s gifts – He is with us – and that His gifts of life and salvation are for us and to us.

According to the Lord’s Word to David through the prophet – so it would be. According to the Lord’s Word – fulfilled in Jesus – so it is. That house – that kingdom – that throne of David – to be established forever – IS established forever – in Jesus Christ. Fulfilled. Continually.

This morning’s Gospel reading from Luke chapter 1, called “The Annunciation of our Lord, celebrated in the church year on March 25, nine months before Christmas Day, testifies of Who the Child to be born of Mary is. No ordinary Child is He. Not by chance or human choice did He come – the One conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. Of Him, the angel Gabriel says, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” ( ³⁰ Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος αὐτῇ· μὴ φοβοῦ, Μαριάμ, εὗρες γὰρ χάριν παρὰ τῷ θεῷ. ³¹ καὶ ἰδοὺ συλλήμψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ καὶ τέξῃ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν. ³² οὗτος ἔσται μέγας καὶ υἱὸς ὑψίστου κληθήσεται καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν θρόνον Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ³³ καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος (Lk. 1:30-33 BGT)).

The throne of His father David is given Him. Reign over the House of Jacob forever this One does. Of His kingdom – there is no end. He Who now sits on the throne since His ascension – rules – King of kings – Lord of lords – the Mighty One – the Lamb Who was slain – now the risen and ascended Lord.

God’s Word is sure and certain. Of Jesus the angels sang. Of this One – we confess and proclaim. God’s Word is true. His Word will remain. Nations and kingdoms will fall. Leaders will be no more. But what the Lord establishes – what the Lord promises – that will stand. That will be. That is. Amen.

“The Passion of our Lord,” John 18:1-14

¹ When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. ² And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.

³ Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. ⁴ Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. ⁶ Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹ that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”

¹² Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. ¹³ And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.” (NKJ)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

“Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”

(Jn. 18:11 NKJ).

Jesus arrested. Jesus before the High Priest. Unlike the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John in his Gospel seems to cut to the chase. Book ended between Jesus and the disciples in a garden and Jesus before the High Priest, the larger part of today’s reading is that of Jesus’ arrest. Jesus goes willingly. He gives no resistance. He lets be what is. Peter, on the other hand, wants to defend our Lord. He wants to protect Jesus form harm. Yet, the Lord’s will was not to fight. His will was to suffer and to die and to rise again. Jesus submitted Himself to the cup His Father gave Him. He did this for you!

In a Bible I use, notes for verse 11 concerning ‘to drink a cup’ had these comments and references: “To accept God’s plan for one’s life, whether desirable (with Psalm 116:13) or difficult (with Jeremiah 25:15, 28).

Psalm 116:13 reads, “I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the LORD” (Ps. 116:13 NKJ). Preceding this verse is verse 12, which, together with verse 13, reads, “What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the LORD” (Ps. 116:12-13 NKJ, ¹² מָה־אָשִׁיב לַיהוָה כָּל־תַּגְמוּלוֹהִי עָלָי ¹³ כּוֹס־יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא וּבְשֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא).

Psalm 116:13, in context, is not talking about ‘accepting God’s plan’. Rather, the Psalmist is expressing the response of faith and confidence to the Lord’s goodness – His benefits.

Receiving the Lord’s kind and merciful gift is good. This is what faith does. More than ‘accepting God’s plan for one’s life” – believe in God’s goodness in Christ – His Word – His will – whatever the circumstances – that you have a God’s favor through His Son.

Those other verses of Jeremiah 25:15 & 28, read:

“Thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: ‘Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it’” (Jer. 25:15 NKJ).

“It shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them,`Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall certainly drink!” (Jer. 25:28 NKJ).

Interestingly, these verses have nothing to do with one’s choice to drink. God, through Jeremiah, was declaring His wrath upon a wayward people. They had no choice to drink what was given them. The contents were given them, whether wanted or not. The choice was not theirs to make. Accepted or unaccepted, the drink was theirs to take.

Though those words “accept” and “God’s plan” are popular ones used in today’s Christendom, such words might be used quite differently than what the Bible says about God’s will, faith, and one’s circumstances. “God’s plan” – according to Word usage – is God’s – not ours. God’s will we only know according to what He has made known – only what He makes known in His Word. We call this the “revealed will” of God. The will of God that we don’t know – that which is not revealed in God’s Word, this we call the “hidden will” of God. We can’t comment on what this is – because we don’t know. What we do know – however – is that which is sure and certain – revealed by God in His Holy Word.

Because Jesus did drink the cup of His Father, we know that God’s will for us is nothing but good. But this good will of God does not translate into everything or anything being the way we want it to be – expect it to be – or would have it to be. We know that God’s will for us is always good – in Christ. We also know that we live in a sinful world – with sinful people – as sinful people.

Many a Christian take the position that nothing bad should happen to them. And if it does, that that’s not part of God’s will or plan. But how does one know this? On what basis is one making this assumption?

God is good. This is true. But to deny suffering or trouble as from God because it’s not what we want or expect is to place ourselves in the driver’s seat – as if we determine what’s best for us. We don’t. Only God does. And He does know what’s best for us – more than we do.

Into His hands we commend ourselves; our bodies and souls and all things (Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers; Psalm 31:5 בְּיָדְךָ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי (Ps. 31:6); Luke 23:46 πάτερ, εἰς χεῖράς σου παρατίθεμαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου. τοῦτο δὲ εἰπὼν ἐξέπνευσεν).

God can and does allow things to happen – as He is God. He also, in His wisdom – acts and does. The challenge for us is to believe God – His Word – His Son – as everything else says differently. When all is well, it’s easy to believe God to be for us. When all is not well, the temptation is to believe that God is not good – that God is against us. Circumstances or how we feel or how things appear to be, however, are not the litmus test for how God is toward us. God’s Word alone is! Christ reveals the will of God.

People deceive themselves into thinking – and are deceived by the belief – that all is well if few troubles or sorrows exist within or without. They may very well be blessings from God. Such times can also serve to tempt the soul and harden the heart against God – to encourage one to think and believe, “I don’t need God” – “I’m doing quite well on my own, thank you very much.” “I have all that I need. I’m happy. That’s all that matters.”

Whether things are going well or not – as we define it – whether God is for us or against us – you don’t have to figure out. If you have to figure it out yourself – you’ll never come to the truth – because you don’t figure this kind of thing out for yourself. God’s favor to you and upon you – definitively – is revealed by God Himself – in God’s revelation of His Son.

Peter tried to prevent the events of that Holy Thursday night of Jesus’ arrest. Jesus’ arrest was to be. Jesus was to drink the cup of His Father. We know this because Jesus so says – because Jesus so drank.

In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul writes, “⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8 NKJ).

Sinners naturally believe that their plans are God’s plans. This is not so. God’s plans – His will – God makes known in His Word. We don’t have to guess – try to figure out – or speculate on “God’s plan for our lives.” We know – because God makes it known. Look to the 10 Commandments. Hear the Words of Jesus. In the Bible – there is where God would have you look. There – in the Bible – is what God would have you believe. There – in Holy Scripture – is God’s will clearly laid out – that you have faith in His Son – the forgiveness of sins – eternal life.

Thus do we repent of our sins. We receive God’s forgiveness. We humble ourselves before the Father. We entrust ourselves into Lord’s hands. We believe God’s promises. We live by faith. We bear our crosses. We love our neighbor. We bear each other’s burdens. We gladly receive the lot that our heavenly Father gives us. Amen.

“Offered Instead of,” Genesis 22:1-18

¹After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” ²He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” ⁶And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

⁹When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” ¹²He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

¹⁵And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, ¹⁸and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (ESV)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

God, the true God, the One Who gives life, the One Who promises a son to Abraham and Sarah in their old ages, the God Who fulfilled such promise through their son Isaac, this God, the same God, tested Abraham by calling him to sacrifice that same Isaac as a burnt offering. It seems as if God is contradicting His promise that through the Seed of Abraham, through Isaac, all nations of the earth would be blessed. This promise God made to Abraham before, and now, it appears that God is going back on His Word, for if Isaac died, how could all the nations be then blessed through him? God seems to be telling Abraham to do a most inhumane thing, to kill his own son.

It would be true that God is telling Abraham to do a most inhumane thing, an ungodly thing, if it was not God telling Abraham to do it. But in truth, the worship of God then – and today – was – and is – only the worship of God when it was and is worship according to the very Word of God given, according to the truth, according to the way that God seeks to be worshiped, according to what He says about worshiping Him.

King Saul, the first king of Israel, thought he was rightly worshiping God when he saved what he considered the best of the things to sacrifice them to God. The problem was, God had told him to do something entirely different than what he did. In Saul’s mind, Saul decided how to worship God, even if such worship went against what God had clearly said. Hear what God through the prophet Samuel then said to Saul, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in hearing the voice of the LORD? Behold, to hear is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Sam. 15:22-23 NKJ).

True worship of God is to worship God how He seeks to be worshiped, not as we determine Him to be worshiped. This truth King Saul got wrong. Abraham got it right. He got it right because to Him was the Word given to sacrifice his son, the son whom he loved, the son of promise, Isaac by name.

What Abraham was to do was not for the purpose of obtaining God’s favor, getting on God’s good side, or earning peace with God. All false religions have this as their motive with works and sacrifices. The true religion, Christianity, does not. The Bible, both Testaments, the Old and the New, the First and the Second, reveal that God’s favor and mercy is not at all earned, achieved, merited, or gained by you doing. God’s favor and mercy are freely given of God according to His Word, by His doing.

Even before the time God tested Abraham as He did in Genesis 22, God had declared Abraham righteous—through faith. Hear this account from Genesis 15. “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’ But Abram said, ‘Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ Then Abram said, ‘Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!’ And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’ Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:1-6 NKJ).

Before Abraham did anything, he was righteous in God’s eyes—through faith—through faith in the promise of God. God promised. Abraham believed that promise. Righteous was Abraham. St. Paul says it this way, “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin’” (Rom. 4:2-8 NKJ).

In Romans Chapter 5, Paul also writes, “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1 NKJ). Such is also our lot, according to and through the promise of God. It is as God says, according to His Word. As we believe, so are God’s Words to us. By them, we live (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew/Luke 4:4; John 6:63).

With God’s command and promise, there is solid ground upon which faith rests and is certain. Abraham had such foundation in pressing forward to do what God had said, because God to Him had said it. But God has not given all people everywhere to do the same thing as God gave Abraham to do. To proceed in applying that Word, or any Word of God as our own when it is not, is to lay claim to what God has said when He has not said it. God did test Abraham to sacrifice His son Isaac. God does not test you in this way. Jesus told the rich young ruler with many possessions to sell all he had and give to the poor, but Jesus does not give you to do the same (Matthew 19:21).

This is where many of those who forsook their daily life, spouse, family, and livelihood in the middle ages and before, and after, to become a monk or the serve in the church in pursuit of holiness got it wrong. They did what God had not commanded. They pursued where God did not lead. Thinking they could serve God better by inventing their own ways to worship Him, they deceived themselves, convincing themselves that they could get ever closer to God apart from what God had said. Many still do these kinds of things today. To trust in God above all things – Yes! To abandon one’s calling – No!

In the text before us, Abraham had the Word of God to sacrifice his son. Yes, that Word was one that to us seems greatly out of place. To us, it is, because God does not call us to do the same. We are to sacrifice where God has given us to sacrifice only according to the Word, only according to the Command and promise of God, as St. Paul says, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2 NKJ, Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, διὰ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ θεοῦ παραστῆσαι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν ἁγίαν εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ, τὴν λογικὴν λατρείαν ὑμῶν· ² καὶ μὴ συσχηματίζεσθε τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ μεταμορφοῦσθε τῇ ἀνακαινώσει τοῦ νοὸς εἰς τὸ δοκιμάζειν ὑμᾶς τί τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ εὐάρεστον καὶ τέλειον).

God does not call you, or the church, to save the world. This is Christ’s job. HIS ALONE! Salvation is in and by none other (Acts 4:12). Only Jesus is “The Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). To suffer for Jesus’ sake—this Jesus gives you to do. To worship Him according to His Word—this is what Christians, God’s people, do, for they love His Word and the doing of it. Without the Word, we would be as so many others, floundering for ways to serve and please God. With the Word, the Word Incarnate, we know that we do please God—already—because of Christ—God’s only begotten Son—Who sacrificed Himself in our stead according to the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17; Romans 3:21).

Jesus is that Seed of Abraham through Whom all nations would be blessed. Truly, all nations ARE blessed through Him, the Savior of the World. His blood cleanses from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). None other does this. You don’t and you can’t save yourself. Only by the Son promised through Abraham you now—already—have peace with God.

How God tested Abraham is how God tested Abraham. He tests us differently, not for evil, but for good, that we be and remain His, not for His sake, but for ours (James 1:13). So also does our Lord through these tests and trials – whatever they might be – and however intense or weak we find them – direct our attention and trust and confidence to Him and to His Word alone and away from ourselves.

It was in Genesis 12 (verses 1-3), that God had said to Abraham, “…Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3 NKJ, וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃² וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃³ וַאֲבָֽרֲכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃).

Later, God promises a son to barren Sarah and her husband Abraham. In Isaac, that promise was fulfilled. The Word of the Lord to Abraham concerning Isaac, that Abraham sacrifice Isaac, does not contradict and does not indicate God going back on His Word at all. Rather, as the text in Genesis 22 states, “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham” (Gen. 22:1 NKJ).

The test of Abraham was real. What is impossible with man would not be impossible with God (Matthew 19:26). Abraham’s faith was such that he believed that God would keep His Word and promise, even though Abraham did not understand or could not see how God would do so. Had Abraham sacrificed his son according to the Lord’s Word, Isaac’s death would not have nullified God’s promise that “all nations would be blessed through him.” God’s Word cannot be undone. “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Trust in the Word of God is not uncertain or blind; nor is belief in the resurrection from the dead unfounded.

Hebrews 11 reads, in part, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead (NKJ).

Even death is not the end of the matter. St. Paul writes of this where he says, “God…gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom. 4:17 NKJ, θεοῦ τοῦ ζῳοποιοῦντος τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ καλοῦντος τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα).

Of Abraham, Paul says that he, “Contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Rom. 4:18-25 NKJ).

For Abraham and for Isaac, the Lord did provide. The Lord supplied a substitute sacrifice for Isaac. The Lord gave a ram to be the sacrifice instead of Abraham’s son. Abraham believed the Lord God. Isaac was willingly laid on the altar. But instead of Isaac, a substitute was given in his stead.

That provision of the Lord, that substitutionary sacrifice of a ram instead of Isaac – this looks forward to the fulfillment – to the One Who through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Abraham’s descendants – conceived of the Holy Spirit – born of the Virgin Mary – offered Himself freely for sinners – the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Having shed His blood for your sins, no more blood is to be shed for the forgiveness of your sins. Sacrificed on the cross as He was, so also would and did His Word come to pass, “He is risen, just as He said” (Matthew 28:6).

As the Lord’s Word and promise, even of the resurrection, was Abraham’s confidence, so it is also our own. Such faith is blessed—because it is founded on that which is certain and true.

That which is certain and true is that which God says and does. Instead of you, the Son of Man – God’s beloved Son – was sacrificed for your sin. To the cross He went – in your stead. He Who came – not to be served, but to serve, gave His life a ransom for many – a ransom for you (Mark 10:45, καὶ γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν).

“What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3 NKJ, ὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκός, ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν πέμψας ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας κατέκρινεν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί).

God “did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32 NKJ, ὅς γε τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πάντων παρέδωκεν αὐτόν).

The Lord will provide. The Lord has provided—the Savior—Christ the Lord. Amen.

“The Kind of God We Have; The Kind of people His People Are,” Mark 8:27-38

²⁷And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

³¹And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? ³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his life? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (ESV)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Church year is a great blessing, a blessing which we ought not readily ignore. It provides guidance, direction, and a reminder to us wayfarers that the life of the church and the lives of Christians, her members, is not about the church nor about the Christian. It’s all about Christ. It’s easy to forget this truth, especially in the current climate of the day, where all who call themselves Christians are not saying the same thing. Some emphasize this, and some emphasize that. And as much as we might want to believe that the differences between us are only or insignificant, when you get down to it, they’re not, for we don’t all say the same thing about Jesus Christ. To get Christ wrong is to get salvation wrong. Only with the Jesus Christ of the Bible is there salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

It is true that all in Christendom speak of Christ in some way, but not all in the same way as Scripture speaks. Do they speak of Him as complete Savior, one who has fulfilled all that is needed for our salvation with nothing left to be done, or do they preach a Jesus who does most of the work, but we have our part to play, too, even if that part is very small part? Do they speak of Jesus as fully God and fully man, who was born of a true virgin, who died a real physical death, and who rose bodily from the dead, or do they speak of a Jesus who only appeared as a man, was not born of a pure virgin, who only apparently died, or who only spiritually rose?

To speak of Jesus any other way than God does in His Word is to get Jesus wrong. To get Jesus wrong is not to point the way to eternal life. That’s why it’s so necessary to make distinctions. Not all get Jesus right. That’s why there are so many different denominations today. The problem is not so much in using the name Jesus, but how His Name is used, and speaking rightly about Him, not only at the start, but throughout. It has to do not only with who He is, His identity as Savior, but also how He is Savior.

This is one of the reasons why the church year is such a blessing. It draws our attention to Him who is the center of Christianity, the church, and the people of God – to Jesus. It’s all about Him. Beginning with Advent, we prepare for His Second Coming. At Christmas, we celebrate His birth. During the season of Lent, especially, we reflect on what kind of Jesus Jesus is. Then we have that glorious day of Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord, where we boldly testify again that Christ is risen from the dead, that death itself has no more say over Him, and as a consequence, nor you, having been baptized in His Name and having died with Christ and now alive in Him. Then, following Easter, there is the Ascension of our Lord, then the Day of Pentecost, then the Time of the Church, where we are reminded again and again of the Lord with His people until the Last and Final Day, where no more will faith be needed, for then, and only then, will we, on account of Christ, be in His presence with the Father and the Spirit for all eternity.

The Church year is important because it points our eyes to Jesus. This Season of Lent is no different. It draws our attention to the reality of not only Christ’s existence in the flesh, but also our own. There are many who spiritualize Jesus in such a way that says that suffering and sorrow are not according to the Lord’s will; that if you’re melancholy, then you’re not acting very Christian; that Jesus wants you to be happy, and that if you’re struggling with that sin, then something is wrong with you, because if you’re Christian, then you can stop sinning; if you’re unhappy and you’re Christian, then you should be happy; if you’re melancholy, you need to be different, for such is not the Christian way of living.

But any who spiritualize Jesus this way paint Jesus and the Christian life wrongly and not according to the truth. The kind of Jesus we have is not glamorous or pretty. He’s not showy or attractive. He doesn’t draw people’s attention by the big advertisements and exaggerated claims of making everything ok in the world. But He is real! And so is the Christian life. The Christian life is not attractive to the world. But it is attractive to those who seek substance and content, to those who have real problems and don’t seek temporary answers, but the lasting solution. The Christian life doesn’t advertize itself as grand and successful in the eyes of the world. It looks just the opposite. And so does Christ.

²⁷And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

When Peter said of Jesus, “You are the Christ” (σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός (Mk. 8:29 )), he was of course stating the truth, the truth that he hadn’t come up with himself, but the truth that had been revealed to Him by the heavenly Father. No one of himself could come to this confession of the Christ on his own – neither Peter, nor you. And no one can come faith in Christ on his own. It is for this reason that Jesus had said in St. Matthew’s Gospel, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17, μακάριος εἶ, Σίμων Βαριωνᾶ, ὅτι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψέν σοι ἀλλ᾽ ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς (Matt. 16:17)). Flesh and blood cannot make out who Jesus is on its own.

St. Paul draws our attention to this fact where he writes, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14, ψυχικὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ θεοῦ· μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν καὶ οὐ δύναται γνῶναι, ὅτι πνευματικῶς ἀνακρίνεται (1 Cor. 2:14)). Natural man, that is, man by himself, cannot know God as He is. He knows that there is a God, but he does not know, nor can he know, who that God is unless God reveal Himself.

This is why St. Paul can say in another place that “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18, Ὁ λόγος γὰρ ὁ τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῖς μὲν ἀπολλυμένοις μωρία ἐστίν, τοῖς δὲ σῳζομένοις ἡμῖν δύναμις θεοῦ ἐστιν (1 Cor. 1:18)). Man rejects God and His work in Christ of His own free will, because he is in bondage to his own sinfulness and is unable to free himself from such a predicament. Help must come from the outside and not from within. Just as a car that won’t start can’t start itself, so the sinner can’t jump start faith in Jesus. The car must be repaired, not by the car, but by the mechanic. So also the sinner cannot know Jesus unless Jesus reveal Himself to him. And Jesus does this by means of His Word.

It was by means of Jesus’ Word that Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, because the Word of Jesus is the Word of the Father in Heaven. To hear Jesus is to hear the Father. To dismiss His Word is to reject God’s Word. Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ because through Jesus’ Word, the Father was making Himself known.

The Father makes known His Son Jesus to be the Christ in no other way than by means of His Word. To confess Christ apart from the Word is to have a different Jesus. That’s where Peter later got it so wrong in our text.

³¹And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Peter was thinking of the Christ of God as one who wouldn’t suffer, who wouldn’t be rejected, and who wouldn’t be killed. He wanted a Christ who would last forever, a hero with no setbacks, trials, or afflictions, because if he had such a Christ, maybe things would be the same for him. Who wants burdens to bear, crosses to carry, sorrow, and suffering? Who wants to face the reality of the world and the reality of ourselves, with all the complexity of life’s concerns, and the trouble brought about the sins of others and our own sins.

It’s easy to try to escape from the things we struggle with in life, if even for a moment. Some start bad habits and some might even start good habits, for the purpose of making life more bearable. For some, even silence is something to be avoided because it means spending time with yourself. For others, trying to get your mind off work or problems at home is the goal because, frankly, it’s hard. So we try to find ways to make life easier or things to distract us from what is because we want something else than what we have. We want some kind of out, some kind of relief, some kind of help, any help, to make it through the day.

Some try to picture the Christian life as a life that should have minimal troubles, few problems, endless bounty, and success at every turn. And some view the Christian as one who is always happy, one who is always joyful, one who never raises his voice or gets into fights or arguments, especially over doctrinal differences, and one who doesn’t continue to struggle with sin.

But such views of the Christian and the Christian life are mistaken. They are mistaken because to be a Christian in this life does not mean that everything will be perfect. It doesn’t mean less struggle with sin, or that one is always happy, that everything now goes one’s way. It doesn’t mean success the way the world determines success. And it doesn’t mean fewer problems in life. It means difficulties all the more in life on account of the world’s hatred with Christ, and now, with us.

On account of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, the rage against us because we bear the Name of Christ becomes all the stronger. Sin becomes all the more recognizable and unbearable. Happiness, like the changing seasons, becomes undependable. Perfection becomes a fleeting dream in light of our corrupted nature. Struggles within ourselves become all the greater, because we recognize that we are not as God commands us to be.

As we grow in the faith, we might become more and more saddened by the fact that so few who call themselves Christians know what Christ and Christianity truly mean, not a life of peace of or from the world, but the life of peace in Christ, Who forgives our sins. Thus do we more clearly distinguish between what is of God and what is not of God. Doing so, w also become more aware of our own sins and our own failures.

Drawn to Holy Scripture, the living Word of the living God, we begin to recognize that apart from that Word, there is only man trying to make sense of what he reads in the Bible according to his own thoughts and presuppositions, and not only according to what the Lord says; and that apart from the Bible, of whom Jesus is the center, man is left to his own devices for certainty and hope with God, which lead to neither. Apart from the Bible, man makes up his own god, and as a result, he makes up his own Jesus, not one who suffers and dies, but one who conquers and stands as king over all and obeyed by all.

But the Jesus of Scripture is not this way. The Jesus of the Bible is not He who would be rebuked by Peter for telling the truth. The Jesus of the Bible is He who would rebuke Peter and who rebukes all who would have their own Jesus and their own god and not the one of the Bible. There is no other Jesus than the one who was bloodied by the scourging, who wore the crown of thorns, who suffered miserably, and who died so ingloriously. There is no other Jesus who conquered sin and death by death, even by His own death. There is no other Jesus who humbled Himself as man in flesh and blood, though He Himself is One with Father (Philippians 2:8; John 10:30). And there is no other Jesus than He who was sent of God, who was rejected by men and still is rejected by men because they don’t want to hear and refuse to believe what He says that they may have life and peace with God.

³⁴And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? ³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his life? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:27–38)

Just as there is no other Jesus than He who gave Himself for you and Who gives you His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of your sins, so there is no other life of the Christian than coming after Jesus, denying self, taking up the cross, and following Him. All who would go their own way here bear the name of Christian in name only.

It is certainly the temptation to do so, that is, to be ashamed of Christ; to not follow Him; to forsake the cross, the burdens that we bear for His Name; to accept and be satisfied with ourselves and seek not to change that which we cannot or don’t want to, and to enter the wide gate and the broad way – where many go (Matthew 7:13). This is what we all do by nature, but by God’s grace and with His Spirit, we battle these temptations and seek respite and refuge in Him.

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

The Lord does not leave you without strength. He does not leave you without comfort. And He does not leave you without blessing. The Lord gives you strength, that you endure. He gives you comfort, that you remain steadfast in the faith. And He pronounces His blessing upon you in Christ, that your confidence be in Him, and in Him alone. By means of His Word does the Lord give these to you, that you bear with what befalls you and that you find your life, not here in the world, but in Jesus, for such is where it is, as St. Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

And again, “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:7-10).

The way of the Christian is the life of the cross. It is the way of death, not only of Christ’s death, but of one’s own—dying to sin, crucifying the sinful flesh and desires and lusts which war against the soul, and seeking help and salvation in Christ alone, casting aside lady reason and man pride; having nothing to give but only everything to be given on account of the real Jesus who suffered and died; the real Jesus then, and the real Jesus now, whose Gospel word is life, and lasting life. Amen.

“He Will Save His People from their Sins,” Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ²³“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). ²⁴When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (ESV)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Tonight, we celebrate and rejoice in the incarnation of our Lord. Because of Jesus, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, we celebrate this Christmastide, this Christmas Eve, tomorrow’s Christmas Day, the Nativity of our Lord. We rejoice at the birth of our Lord, Jesus the Christ, our Immanuel, God with us, God becoming flesh, for us. We do not ‘go up’ and ascend to God. It is He that ‘comes down’ and descends to us (Deuteronomy 30:11-14; Romans 10:5-6), “taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of sinful men…who humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

That God descends to us shows what kind of God the true God is. The true God does not wait for us to make the first move, nor does God wait until we do something. Instead, because God so loved the world, “He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). God did not wait until the time was right for us. God did not wait until we recognized our need for Him. Instead, God acted on His own timetable, in His own way, according to His own Word, according to His own will—for our salvation. “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (NKJ, ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον, ⁵ ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ, ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν. ⁶ Ὅτι δέ ἐστε υἱοί, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν κρᾶζον· αββα ὁ πατήρ (Gal. 4:4-6 BGT)). God does not answer to us. We answer and submit to Him. He is God. We are not. He need not give reasons for everything that He does and why He does what He does in the way that He does it. You are given to believe the Word which God gives, to cherish it, to abide in it, and so to have eternal life through His Son.

If we walked by sight, and not by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), we would think that things are the way that they are only according to what we see, only according to what we think, and not according to what we don’t see and according to the Word of the Lord. This was the case with Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, and the baby conceived in her womb. According to what he thought, Mary’s pregnancy was the result of another man not the work of the Holy Spirit.

As Joseph thought about these things and considered calling off his betrothal and marriage to Mary because of the way that He thought things were, God gave him clarity and instruction. Through an angel, God made known to Joseph that the child in Mary’s womb was not the result of an extramarital affair. God revealed the truth about the child’s true conception and the baby’s identity.

The baby Jesus was not conceived of man. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Mary had not been unfaithful to Joseph. She was the vessel of God’s grace through whom the Messiah was to be born. Through her, God was being faithful to His Word and faithful to His people, even as St. Matthew records with the words, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)’” (Matthew 1:22-23, ESV).

The child to be born of Mary was the Coming One, the Messiah, the One Sent by God to save His people from their sins. For this reason, Joseph was to give the Name of Jesus to that child. From their sins God would He save His people. That Name “Jesus” means ‘the Lord saves’. This name is full of significance. Through Jesus alone, God saves sinners. Apart from Him, there is no salvation (Acts 4:12).

Such is an unpopular message in the world today. If the world even wants a savior, it wants to be its own. The world wants its own way. Least of all does the world want to be told that its ways are wicked, sinful, and perverse. The world walks by sight alone. The world goes by what it wants to see, but not what is according to the Bible, the very truth itself.

Christianity is different. The Christian, like Joseph, believes the Word of the Lord as He gives it and does not deny it because it is not according to his way. The Christian denies self-omniscience and humbles himself before the Almighty God. He recognizes his place before his Maker and “Leaves all things to God’s direction” (LSB 719), especially things that he does not understand and things that God has not made known. The Christian abides in the Word of the Lord and in Him who came through the Virgin’s womb on that Christmas years ago. According to the Word of the Lord, Jesus is truly “God with us, our Immanuel.” This is so, not because we believe it, but because God declares it.

The Christian faith is not that generic kind of faith that accepts only certain parts of the Bible as true, namely, those parts of the Bible that agree with the reader, with a group of people, or with a church body. Many who call themselves Christians believe that they themselves decide how the Bible is to be believed, used, and accepted. But to selectively hold Holy Scripture partially and not wholly is not of God. Nor is it consistent with biblical teaching or of Christ.

Those who believe according to the Word of the Lord believe not only the conception and birth of our Lord as revealed in the sacred text. They also believe that Jesus Christ is God and man in the flesh, that He lived in perfect obedience to His Father, that He suffered, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Those who believe according to the Word of the Lord also believe that all Christ did, He did for sinners. All that Christ did, He did for you, for your salvation, for the forgiveness of your sins, for your peace with God.

The account of Christ’s birth is not merely a “nice or cute story” for which family, friends, and church gather. It is the account of our Lord’s Nativity, God come in the flesh, so “that through His death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). God becomes man for your redemption.

Walking by faith, not by sight, we take God at His Word. Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. By the mercy and doing of God were these things so. And still, by that same mercy of God, still do we continue to confess that in that lowly manger, that babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lay our Savior. Then, a child. Then, crucified. Then, resurrected. Now, ascended. Forevermore – God and King. Amen.