The Baptism of our Lord

ADVENT 4, DECEMBER 22, 2024, Holiness in the Body of Jesus Text: Hebrews 10:5–10 Other Lessons: Micah 5:2–5a; Psalm 80:1–7; Luke 1:39–45 (46–56)

Sermon Theme:

God wants to make you holy; for that he needs a body.

Sermon Goal: That seeing the contrast that the letter to the Hebrews makes between the new covenant and the old, you are strengthened in faith that God makes you holy by the bodily sacrifice of Jesus, which you share in the Sacrament of his body and blood. Based on a sermon in Concordia Pulpit Resources by Rev. Dr. Geoffrey R. Boyle

Sermon: God alone is holy. He’s totally other, uncommon, undefiled, and free from the stain of sin and death. His holiness reveals his one-of-a-kind-ness. No other god and nothing within creation is holy like our God. Yet this holy God—the one who made man in his image, who created everything out of nothing, and who still preserves it all to this day by his grace—this holy God desires above all that you, too, would share in his holiness. He wants to sanctify you. Of course, there’s much that stands in the way of his holiness—first and foremost, our sin. We’re not only unholy; we’re also unclean. Defiled without and within—in thought, word, and deed—what right do we have to share in his holiness? What right do we have to draw near to God, to approach his holy presence, to be sanctified, sharing in his holiness? None at all. No one comes before God on his own terms, with his own plans, by his own means or merit, no matter how great it may seem at the time. But none of this stops God from coming to you, making you holy, and giving you access to him, and he has his particular way to do it. God Wants to Make You Holy; For That He Needs a Body. Actually, that’s how it’s always been. God has always wanted to make his people holy, and he’s always done so with a body. That’s what the whole sacrificial system at the tabernacle and temple was all about: atoning for Israel’s sins and drawing his people near to him, making them holy.

It’s a shared holiness. Israel never was nor ever could be holy in themselves. They could never be totally other, set apart, one-of-a-kind—at least, not like their God was. But they were given to share in his holiness, given to draw near to him, be separate with him, and reflect his one-of-a-kind-ness to the world. “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:45). But the only way to approach this holy God is on his terms, according to his Word, by the means that he so graciously establishes for them. That’s what the book of Leviticus is all about—God’s gracious means of access to his holiness. All the rules and rubrics of timing, location, and animal—everything laid out so that Israel could draw near to God and that he might sanctify them. There’s no works righteousness in the Old Testament. It’s not a different God or a different way of being God. Salvation is always and only through faith in Jesus Christ. Holiness is always a participation in his presence, sanctified by his Holy Spirit. But the way we’re given to approach him and share in his presence differs. Holiness in the old covenant came through the bodily sacrifice of animals. Then it was by bulls and goats;now it’s by bread and wine, water and Word.Then it was by daily, monthly, and yearly offerings;now it’s by one Baptism and the ongoing feeding at the altar and hearing the  preached Word.

The letter to the Hebrews doesn’t deny that the saints of old were sanctified by their sacrifices. But it does strongly warn against going back to what is old when the new has come! When Christ came into the world, he came taking a body. And with this body he came to do the will of God—to atone for the sins of the world and sanctify all who would believe in him.

But why a body? Why not just up and forgive the world? Why not simply thunder a word of absolution from heaven, avoiding the messiness of flesh and blood? Well, as it was of old, so it always will be. To forgive and make holy requires a body because it requires blood. And without blood there is no forgiveness. The letter to the Hebrews says: “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (9:22).

Now Christ has come. And the body prepared for him was a body prepared for death, for the shedding of blood, for the forgiveness of sins and sanctifying of his people. Holiness in the new covenant comes through the bodily sacrifice of Christ.

It was never the body and blood of animals that took away sins or gave access to God’s holiness. But it was by these that the atoning work of Jesus was given to them. Through sacrifices as through sacraments, Israel gained access to God and shared in his holiness. They were types, figures, and means of God’s grace, delivering the One whose blood alone forgives sin. No wonder the body and blood of these animals were so central to the worship of God’s people! But when Jesus came, everything changed. His body offered on the cross, and the blood that flowed from his hands and feet, this was the once-and-for-all sacrifice. This wasthe real deal, the real sacrament, the opening of heaven, the forgiveness of sins won for the whole world. Here, in the body of Jesus, we have full and final access to God; here we share in his holiness.

God certainly never intended for anyone to trust in the sacrifice itself but rather to look to him who promised to sanctify by his Word, through these slain bodies and shed blood.

God wants to sanctify his people. He wants to make you holy. For that he needs a body—a body prepared for him that he might offer it once and for all. Through him and his offering we have access to God; we’re invited to share in his holiness. The old is gone; the new has come. Sacrifices and offerings no longer grant access to God, but here he comes to you today. He gives you his body and his blood with this bread and this wine. Again, he speaks his promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Here he draws close to you that you might be found with him. He has come to do the Father’s will. He has come to make you holy, for he is holy. So take and eat the very body of Christ given for you. Amen.