Category: Sermon Page

Palm Sunday/ Sunday of the Passion
April 2, 2023

“Flourishing Palms” (Psalm 92)

At the start of today’s service, with palm branches in our hands, we sang, “All glory, laud, and honor to You, Redeemer, King.” Today we’re like the crowd that greeted Jesus on his way into Jerusalem: “They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’”

These palm branches befit the praises with which we hail our coming King. Today these palms are fresh and green, just as our worship today is strong and vigorous. But my question this morning is this: How do we keep these palms fresh and green? What’s to keep them from drying out and dying? These palm branches will not stay fresh and green for long, cut off from their source of vitality. Soon they will be dry and dead, and only good for burning into ashes. What’s to keep the same thing from happening to us, spiritually? How do we Christians keep on as “Flourishing Palms”?

Oh, there is an apparent flourishing, a phony flourishing, that the world knows. We read about it in Psalm 92: “The wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish.” This flourishing is that of the wicked, the evildoers. They oppose God and his ways; they reject his word and live for themselves. And these people may prosper. They may do quite well, in fact. A successful career, a nice home, all the trappings of the good life–except that it is life without God. The success of the wicked can seem very appealing to us. After all, the grass is always greener on the other side.

But looks can be deceiving. The psalmist says that the wicked “sprout like grass.” That’s a good comparison, because when the grass appears in Palestine in the spring, its growth is rather rapid. But when the hot weather comes, then the grass dries up and dies. So it is with the wicked. They may flourish for a while, but they will die in the end. “Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever.” Drying and dying, doom and destruction–that would be our destiny apart from God’s grace. The green grass of our self-serving success dries up, and we die under the scorching sun of God’s judgment.

The judgment of God is a fearful, terrifying thing. Look what happened to Jesus. After his triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, Jesus was in a very different type of procession on Friday. On Palm Sunday, he was led into Jerusalem with great honor and glory. On Friday, he is led out of town in disgrace and shame. On Sunday, there were palm branches to greet him. On Friday, there is a crown of thorns for him to wear. On Sunday, there was a large crowd shouting, “Hosanna!” On Friday, there are women wailing and weeping for him.

But as he is being led along the street known as Via Dolorosa, “The Way of Sorrows,” Jesus turns to these sorrowful women and says, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” Why? Because the time is coming when something much worse will happen to you. “For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” In other words, if sinless, innocent Jesus is suffering like this, what will happen to wicked, guilty Jerusalem? If the green tree is getting it, what will happen to the dry wood?

Well, we know what happened to dried-up old Jerusalem. They continued to reject the gospel. They failed to heed Jesus’ warning, and thus they fell under God’s judgment. In the year 70, the Romans leveled the city.

The judgment of God is a fearful, terrifying thing. Thank God that Jesus took that judgment for us! That’s what we especially remember during this Holy Week of our Lord’s Passion: How Jesus went to the cross and died for us, to take the punishment that you and I deserve. “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” For sinners like you and me, Jesus prays for forgiveness. For sinners like you and me, he promises paradise. For you, for me, this righteous man Jesus dies that we might live.

On the tree of the cross, Christ atoned for our sins and gives us his righteousness. Through faith in him, we are counted as righteous before God. Now what the psalmist said of the righteous applies to us: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree.” The palm tree knows a flourishing that the grass does not know. The grass springs up only to die under the hot summer sun. The palm tree continues to flourish all year round. So it is for those who are righteous in Christ. Not only will we survive, we will thrive. Throughout our lives, and even beyond this life, we will flourish forever.

The psalm goes on to say that the righteous “grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” The cedars of Lebanon were renowned for their beauty and their strength. In fact, these were the trees chosen for building the temple in Jerusalem. So when the psalmist says that the righteous will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, I think of two things. One, that the growth God gives us will be a thing of beauty and strength. And two, that this growth happens in the temple, that is, in the place where God gathers his people to live in fellowship with him. So it is that here, in the church, where God is dwelling with his people–this is where God is growing us into those strong and beautiful cedars of Lebanon.

“They are planted in the house of the LORD,” the psalmist says, “they flourish in the courts of our God.” Planted, we flourish. Planted here in the Lord’s house. That means not just visiting occasionally, when the mood strikes or it’s convenient. But planted. Taking up root and residence. I like what one commentator has said about this verse: “Those whose life is rooted in God’s sanctuary flourish in their nearness to God which is a reality in their lives.” Friend, is your life lacking fruit? Then examine your root. Dig your roots in deep here at God’s house. Nourished on Word and Sacrament, you will grow in your faith and your fruit. This is the place where God’s palm trees and cedars get their nourishment. And nourished, you will flourish.

“They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.” Whether you are young or old, God’s promise is true for you your whole life long. A living faith will bear its fruit in your life. You will continue to produce the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Alive in Christ, you will do the good works that come from faith. Like life-giving sap flowing into leaves to keep them fresh and green, so Christ’s life flows into our lives, keeping us spiritually healthy.

And as we flourish, we declare, “The LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” It is always the Lord who is our righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own, nothing to boast about. But the Lord is upright. He is the one we rely on. He supplies us with all that we need in order to flourish.

So back to these palms. Cut off from their source of life, they soon will be dry and dead. What will keep that from happening to us? The life of Christ, flowing into us through Word and Sacrament! Jesus Christ is the source of our life! He is the ever-green tree who gives you life and keeps you growing, even into old age. Connected to Christ, you will bear good fruit in your life. You will flourish like a palm tree, planted in the house of the Lord.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 26, 2023

“Raising the Stakes, Raising Our Sights, Raising the Dead” (John 11:1-53)

Today we come to another of those memorable chapters in the Gospel of John. So far during this Lenten season, we’ve had: John 3, Jesus and Nicodemus; John 4, Jesus and the Samaritan woman; and John 9, Jesus and the man born blind. Now today we have John 11, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. But that’s not all that Jesus raises, as we will hear. Thus our theme this morning: “Raising the Stakes, Raising Our Sights, Raising the Dead.”

The chapter opens with Jesus hearing a report about his good friend Lazarus: “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” When Jesus hears this, he says: “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” This may remind you of what Jesus said last week about the man born blind: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” In other words, in both cases, Jesus is saying that this bad situation is an opportunity for him to do the work of God for the glory of God.

So you would expect that now, with Jesus hearing this report about his friend Lazarus, and with Jesus saying that this illness does not lead to death and that he, the Son of God, will be glorified through it–you would expect that now Jesus will rush off to see Lazarus and heal him of his illness. You would think. But no. Jesus does just the opposite. He doesn’t go. Instead, he hangs around and waits.

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” Huh? What? This does not make sense. If Jesus loves Lazarus and Mary and Martha so much, why doesn’t he go to them as soon as possible? Why doesn’t he go immediately and heal the poor guy? Imagine the distress the sisters must be going through. They had sent Jesus an urgent request, but he doesn’t respond. What kind of love is that?

Maybe we feel like that sometimes. “Why doesn’t God answer my prayer right away? Why do I have to wait? Why is this taking so long? What’s going on here? Does God really listen to my prayers? Does God really love me? It sure doesn’t look like it.”

That may have been how Mary and Martha felt when Jesus doesn’t show up and their brother dies. Jesus waits around until Lazarus dies. Then he tells the disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.” And he explains he’s not just talking about taking a nap. No, “Lazarus has died,” he says plainly. But he also says that this is not the end of the story: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” This means that Jesus is going to waken him from death.

But this waiting–it’s like he’s trying to make this miracle as difficult as possible: “When Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.” But by waiting that long, Jesus will make it clear that Lazarus truly was dead when he raises him. No one could say that Lazarus had merely lapsed into a coma, and so it wasn’t really a miracle. No, Lazarus really was dead. Four days dead.

So this is the first thing that Jesus raises in this story. He’s raising the stakes on the miracle he’s about to perform. It would have been miraculous enough if Jesus had gone right away and healed Lazarus of his illness before he died. But by waiting and not going until Lazarus was already dead, Jesus is raising the stakes. He’s making what he’s about to do that much more amazing and astounding.

Jesus raises the stakes. Secondly, Jesus raises our sights. He raises the sights of Martha regarding the resurrection. Now Martha did believe in the resurrection of the dead. She tells Jesus, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Martha was a pious Jew who knew her Bible. And her Bible–the Old Testament–does indeed teach the bodily resurrection of the dead on the last day. The Jews–most of them, at least, except for the Sadducees–the Jews did believe in the resurrection. And that’s what Martha believes. Good for her. She’s right.

But Jesus wants to raise her sights a bit. He wants her to realize that the resurrection is standing right in front of her, in the person of Christ himself. He tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” In other words, “I can make the resurrection happen right here, right now. I can bring the resurrection in ahead of time. I am the resurrection and the life.”

Then he says, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” What a beautiful and mysterious sentence this is! It sounds like Jesus is saying two opposite things. On the one hand, the believer dies. On the other hand, the believer will never die. How can this be? Well, it’s like this. You and I will die. Our heart will stop beating. Our lungs will stop breathing. We will die. And yet we who believe in Christ will live. We will never die a permanent, eternal death. We will not perish. The physical death of Christians will not put an end to the eternal life that Jesus gives.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” And then Jesus adds a question. He asks Martha, and he asks us: “Do you believe this?” Martha answers with the voice of faith, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” Jesus has raised the sights of Martha, so that now she makes the connection: Because Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God come into the world, he has the power to give life to the dead even now.

Which is what Jesus does next when he raises Lazarus. Jesus goes to the tomb and speaks his powerful, life-giving word: “Lazarus, come out.” It’s a good thing he specifies “Lazarus,” or else all the tombs in the area would have emptied out! Christ’s word has that kind of power. Jesus Christ has life within himself, and he has the power to give life by his mighty word. “Lazarus, come out.” And he comes out. Jesus raises Lazarus.

Friends, this is an advance demonstration of what our Lord will do on the day when he returns. Christ will speak the word and call our dead bodies from the grave. The dead in Christ will rise. And we will rise with glorified, perfectly restored bodies, no longer subject to disease and death. Philippians 3 says, “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself.” To demonstrate this ahead of time, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Jesus shows forth, in a remarkable way, the bodily resurrection of the dead that he will bring about by his life-giving word on the last day. “Lazarus, come out.”

Jesus raises Lazarus. Many of those who witness this miracle believe in him, but some go and report this to Jesus’ enemies in the Sanhedrin. This angers them, and they step up their plans to get rid of him. Caiaphas, the high priest, tells the Council members, “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” What Caiaphas meant was, “If we kill Jesus, then the Romans won’t come in and squash our nation and take away our power.” But God was using Caiaphas to speak as an unwitting prophet. “He prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only.” Yes, he would die for the whole world. By his sacrificial death on our behalf, Jesus saves us all from our sins and from eternal death. The evil plans of the Sanhedrin will have wonderful results. By the atoning death of Christ on the cross, our slate is wiped clean, our sins are forgiven, we are at peace with God, and the grave will not hold us.

Even as the grave would not hold Jesus himself. The raising of Lazarus foreshadows Christ’s own resurrection soon thereafter. Which in turn is the firstfruits of the resurrection that you and I will experience on the last day. We who believe in Christ, who trust in him for our salvation, we who are baptized into Christ–we will share in Christ’s resurrection. Death will not hold us.

In this story of the raising of Lazarus, we have seen what Jesus raises. He raises the stakes on his miracle by waiting. He raises the sights of Martha–and he raises our sights–by saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And he raises the dead by his mighty, life-giving word, “Lazarus, come out.” And by all this, Jesus raises our hopes. He lifts our eyes toward heaven, and we look forward to what our Lord will do when he returns. And this hope will not disappoint us. Our hope is as good and as sure as Christ’s own resurrection. This hope enlivens our hearts and gives us joy. We live life now with a lively, living hope, even in the midst of sorrows and setbacks, knowing that our future is secure in Christ. Death is not the end for those who trust in Christ. Brothers and sisters, the one who raised Lazarus will raise us as well.

Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 19, 2023

“Jesus Opens Your Eyes–and Your Tongue” (John 9:1-41)

The Holy Gospel for today is John chapter 9, the story of the man born blind. But he doesn’t stay blind, once Jesus comes along. Jesus does several things for this man: He opens his eyes physically. He opens his eyes spiritually. And he opens the man’s tongue, as well. And the good news is, he does these things for you also. And so our theme this morning: “Jesus Opens Your Eyes–and Your Tongue.”

First, Jesus opens the man’s eyes physically. Now that is really something, isn’t it? Maybe we gloss right over it, because we’ve heard so many stories of Jesus’ miracles. But it really is quite remarkable. Jesus gives sight to a blind man! And not only was the guy blind, he was born blind, blind from birth! He had never had any sight at all his whole life long. There is no question that this is a mighty miracle.

Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. This is a remarkable, miraculous healing. A restoration of creation, back to the way it was in the beginning, before the fall into sin, and ahead to the way it will be when Christ comes again. This healing is a sign of the ultimate healing Jesus will bring: A new creation, restored humanity. The restoration in this case comes ahead of time, as a foretaste, a preview, of what’s in store in the age to come.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came to bring the kingdom of heaven here on earth. He came to bring life and wholeness to fallen man and sin-damaged creation. He did this by going to the cross for the sin of the world. And in his ministry, Jesus showed forth, ahead of time, what the results of his saving work would be–as in this giving of sight to a man born blind. These restorative works of our Lord give us encouragement and hope while we wait for what is not yet here. It’s like saying: “Here’s what’s coming. In fact, I’ll give you a sneak preview.” These miracles thus are signs, signs pointing to who Jesus is and what he came to do and what’s in store for all of us.

Do you realize this? This is the sort of thing that is in store for all of us! Most of you know that last year I had cataract surgery on my eyes. It made my eyesight a lot better. I don’t need glasses anymore to drive. But I still need reading glasses and a lot of light for small print. Plus, I’m 70 years old with creaky knees and various aches and pains. This old body has had its share of wear and tear, and if you are not there yet, you will be. The point is, these bodies of ours only last so long before they stop working entirely.

But Jesus gives us hope for the future–our eternal future! There will come a day when we won’t need glasses of any type anymore. There will come a day when our knees won’t ache and our bones won’t break. There will come a day when the weakness and weariness we experience now will be gone for good. That day is coming, the day when Christ comes again. On that day, our bodies will be raised imperishable, full of vigor and life for eternity.

Jesus gives a sign of that coming wholeness by giving sight to the man born blind. He opens his eyes physically. Jesus puts some mud on his eyes and tells him to wash. He specifies a certain place to wash, the Pool of Siloam. When Jesus attaches his mighty word to ordinary means, great things happen. The man goes and washes and comes back seeing.

You know, we think of John chapter 9 as the story of Jesus healing the man born blind. But the healing itself is taken care of in the first 7 verses. The rest of the chapter, the next 34 verses, is about the investigation into the healing. It’s about coming to faith, in the face of unbelief. It’s about confessing Christ in the face of intimidation.

So there’s more sight still to come. Besides opening the man’s eyes physically, Jesus will open his eyes spiritually. And he will do that as he opens the man’s tongue. The man is placed in situations where he has to speak about what happened to him. He begins to reflect on his experience and who the man might be who gave him sight. This will lead to a second encounter with Christ, when Jesus gives him the gift of faith, spiritual sight.

So the man is healed, and people are curious. How can this be? Is this even the same fella we knew before? This isn’t a scam, is it? No, it’s the same guy. OK, then, what happened? Who healed you? The man tells them. He restates his experience in a straightforward manner: “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” Yeah, straightforward. The magnitude of the miracle speaks for itself. No need to spice it up. The man simply gives witness to what Jesus did for him.

Then he’s hauled before the Pharisees, who are investigating the case. He repeats the same story: “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” This infuriates the Pharisees. They hate Jesus, because he had been going around exposing their hypocrisy. But there’s no denying the power of this miracle. They can’t deal with this. So they channel their rage to the nearest target, namely, the man whom Jesus healed. “What do you have to say about him?” they ask. The man replies, “He is a prophet.” Well, at least he’s on the right track. He knows that Jesus must have power from God. Soon, though, the man will discover that Jesus is even more than a prophet.

After hauling in the man’s parents, too, the Pharisees are stuck. They cannot get around the fact that Jesus really did this miraculous deed. They can’t stand it that people will conclude that Jesus is the Christ. So they bring the fellow back in a second time. They’re grasping at straws now, trying to find something to use against Jesus. But the man stands his ground. He’s not intimidated. He knows what happened to him, and he’s sticking to it: “I don’t know much about this Jesus. What I do know is that he healed me. Now you guys, the religious experts, you ought to be figuring something out here. Only God can heal blind people. Jesus healed me. Therefore God must be with him.”

As the man is testifying to the Pharisees, at the same time the light must be beginning to dawn for him. Jesus opened his eyes physically. He has opened his tongue to speak boldly. And now Jesus is beginning to open the man’s eyes spiritually.

The Pharisees throw the guy out. Jesus hears about this and finds him. He’s got something more to give him. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus asks. The man replies, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus answers, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” And the man declares, “Lord, I believe.” This is the even greater miracle. Jesus speaks, and great things happen. Faith is created in the man’s heart. His eyes are opened to see who Jesus is. To see what Jesus has come to do: to restore creation and make right what has gone wrong with humanity and the created order. Jesus came to fix all that. This healing is a sign of it. Jesus came so that the blind would see, really see.

You and I have been given this spiritual eyesight. We see Jesus for who he is: one greater than a prophet; the Christ, come from God. Come with healing in his wings. Come to restore humanity, restore creation, restore us poor sinners back to God. Jesus speaks, and great things happen. He has the words of eternal life. He speaks his creative, powerful word to you today: “I give you new life. I give you eternal life. I will give life to your mortal body. I will raise you up at the last day.” Jesus has attached his mighty word to water and applied it to your body. In Holy Baptism he washed you and made you whole, saving both your soul and your body. Jesus attaches his mighty word to bread and wine and gives you his body and blood, blessing you with forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Jesus does all this by dealing with the root cause of all the disability and death in this world, namely, our sin. Oh, not that you can draw a one-to-one correspondence between this particular sin and that particular disability. The disciples tried to make that move at the beginning of the story, but Jesus said you can’t jump to such a conclusion. Indeed, Jesus turns it around: He says that this is an opportunity for him to work, to do his good work of renewing creation. Jesus says he has come to bring light into this sin-darkened world.

But he will do it in a way that seems strange: by taking the sin upon himself. All the hatred and hostility of men who shake their fist at God–those who think they can see but are really blind–Jesus takes all that rage against God and lets it hit him. Those who hate Jesus get him nailed to a cross. And on top of that, at the same time, Jesus takes all of God’s wrath against sinners and lets that hit him too, in our place, on the cross, with the sky turned dark.

But Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. To a man born blind, and to all of us men born blind in sin, Jesus opens our eyes. Now we see the light. And Jesus opens our tongues, too, to confess our faith, even in the face of opposition and intimidation. Now we are bold to tell the world what Christ has done for us: “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”

Third Sunday in Lent
March 12, 2023

“The Woman–and the Man–at the Well” (John 4:5-30, 39-42)

Acceptance is a big idea in our culture these days. Every weird subgroup wants to be accepted as normal. More than that, they demand to be celebrated and approved, even if what they’re proud of is really something to be ashamed of. And if you don’t approve, if you don’t celebrate them, then you are a bigot and some sort of “-phobe,” and you need to be canceled.

So the challenge is how to accept people in love without approving of what they’re doing that’s wrong. And our Gospel reading today is a good example. It’s the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, from John chapter 4. “The woman at the well,” she is often called. But our story today is not as much about her as it is about him–Jesus, that is. And so our theme this morning: “The Woman–and the Man–at the Well.”

OK, so, acceptance. It’s natural to want to be accepted. We want people to accept us for who we are. But from time to time we all experience a nagging sense that we are not accepted. There’s this a sense of alienation–whether from others, from God, or maybe even from ourselves. We want to be accepted, but if we’re honest with ourselves, we can find some things in our character and our behavior that are really unacceptable. “I want to be accepted, but if people really knew me for who I am, why would they accept me?” It’s like Groucho Marx once said: “I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me for a member.”

The big question, though, is this: Does God accept me? I mean, really? With all my sins and doubts and selfishness? That’s a good question. And we find the answer in our text. The answer is found in Jesus himself, the man at the well. Jesus does all things well. And he accepts this Samaritan woman, without approving of her sinful behavior or her wrong beliefs. If he can do that with her, he can certainly accept you and me.

Jesus accepts the Samaritan woman. He accepts her in spite of some rather significant obstacles. There were racial and religious barriers, moral and social barriers, that stood in the way.

Jesus accepts her even though she is a Samaritan. The Samaritans were a mixed bag, both racially and religiously. Ethnically, they were not a pure breed. They were a mixture of Jewish and Gentile elements. And that showed up in their religious beliefs and practices. As a result, the Jews looked down on the Samaritans and would not associate with them. But Jesus did. He, a Jewish teacher, strikes up a conversation with this Samaritan woman. He even asks her for a drink, which means he would have to receive water from her water jar.

Jesus accepts the Samaritan woman. But he’s able to do so without compromising the truth. He never expresses approval of the faulty teachings of the Samaritans. In fact, he begins to correct them: “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we Jews worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” But that doesn’t stop Jesus from accepting the woman herself. Not only does he accept her, he also points her in the direction of the truth. Because the Truth is sitting right there in front of her. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He himself is the salvation that comes from the Jews.

Now how about you? Does Jesus accept you? Yes, he does! He accepted the Samaritan woman, in spite of her faulty theology that needed correction. And he accepts you, even if you don’t have all of your theology perfectly straightened out yet. Some of your personal beliefs and practices need correction, even though you belong to a church that teaches the gospel in its truth and purity. You may have doubts and uncertainties. Nevertheless, take heart. Jesus accepts you, and he will guide you in the way of the truth. Jesus is as committed to you as he was to the Samaritan woman.

Jesus accepts the Samaritan woman even though her racial heritage was mixed and her religion need correcting. Furthermore, Jesus accepts her even though she has led a sinful, immoral life. This woman was living with a man outside of marriage. She was “shacking up” with a guy. And she had had five marriages before that, all of which apparently had failed. So this woman has a load of sin and guilt as she stands there before the Son of God. She knows it, and Jesus knows it too. Yet he accepts her.

At the same time, just as he did not approve of her wrong theology, so Jesus does not approve of her immorality. It wasn’t like he said: “Divorce? Adultery? Living in sin? Oh, that’s OK.” No, no, on the contrary, by telling her that he knows all about her sin, Jesus is leading her to repentance, so that she will see her need for forgiveness. His acceptance of the woman does not mean that he ignores her sins. Instead, he confronts them, so that she will be led to repentance.

How about you? Are you a sinner? Do you bring a load of guilt before God? Then take heart. Jesus accepts you. “This man welcomes sinners,” it says elsewhere in the gospels. “Jesus sinners doth receive,” we sang at the start of this service. And he does something better than tolerating your sin or excusing it. He forgives it.

Now when the Samaritan woman is confronted with her load of sin and guilt, perhaps she wonders where she can go to have her sins forgiven and her guilt removed. The Samaritans said that their mountain, Mt. Gerizim, was the place to go to make sacrifices and sin offerings. The Jews said that it was Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, where the temple was–that was the place to go to get your guilt taken care of. “So which is it, Jesus? You obviously are a prophet sent from God, so you must know.” But Jesus doesn’t send her to either place. For the solution to her dilemma is sitting right there in front of her. Jesus himself, the man at the well–he will remove her guilt from her.

You see, Jesus not only accepts the Samaritan woman, he does something much more. He dies for her. This same Jesus will go to Calvary’s holy mountain, where he will make the atoning sacrifice for her sins. And not for her sins only, but also for your sins and mine and the sins of the whole world. As it says in Romans: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Again, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for us sinners. His holy precious blood cleanses us from all our sins. That’s why he forgives us.

Here, make the connection: This man at the well, tired and thirsty at about the sixth hour? There would come another day, also at about the sixth hour–only now this man is on a cross. Once again, he is tired and thirsty. He says, “I thirst.” Friends, Jesus suffered that thirst for you, so that you and I might never be thirsty.

Jesus satisfies a thirst that water from a well can never quench. “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,” he says. Where do you look to quench your thirst? People look in many places to try to satisfy their thirst. The Samaritan woman bounced from one man to the next, trying to find meaning and satisfaction in her life. Where do you look? So many people look in all the wrong places–sex, alcohol, drugs, the new boat, a bigger house–always trying to satisfy their thirst. But nothing seems to fill the bill and do the job. In the end, all you’re left with is a dry and dusty taste in your mouth.

Listen, are you thirsty? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Jesus gives you what you need. He gives you what he gave the woman at the well. He gives you living water. “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Eternal life. The new and abundant life that Jesus freely gives. And it will last forever. “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Jesus gives the Samaritan woman the gifts of God: acceptance, forgiveness, living water, eternal life. The gifts he gives her are so great that it changes her life. It’s so exciting that she leaves her water jar there at the well and goes back into town and starts telling others about the man at the well. Her testimony leads others to believe, to receive the same gifts from God. So it is with us. You and I have received living water from the Savior, and we too want to tell others and share our joy with them. There’s plenty of living water to go around.

My friends, I have good news for you today. The man at the well, Jesus Christ, is here right now, here at this hour. And he is giving you what we all so desperately need: acceptance, forgiveness, living water, eternal life. So, like the Samaritan woman, we also have a testimony to share with our friends and neighbors. For we know that this man Jesus, the man at the well–“this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Second Sunday in Lent
March 5, 2023

“Born Again, Born from Above, Born of Water and the Spirit” (John 3:1-17)

As most of you know, I’ve got a big birthday coming up this week, a milestone birthday, on March 7. But I have an even more important birthday coming up later this year, on September 10. Because it was on that date that I was “Born Again, Born from Above, Born of Water and the Spirit.”

Let me explain. I was born physically on March 7, 1953. That was my birthday according to the flesh. But I was born spiritually on September 10 of that same year. That was my birthday according to the Spirit. That was the day I was baptized. And that’s my more important birthday, because unless you are born again, born from above, born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

So says Jesus in our text, the Holy Gospel from John chapter 3: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” To be able to see and to enter the kingdom of God is the best thing that can happen to you. And that is the “re-birthday” present you receive when you are baptized.

John 3 opens with the visit of Nicodemus to Jesus at night. Nicodemus was a prominent religious leader of the Jews, and he comes to Jesus at night. Perhaps it would not look good for him to be seen with this controversial figure Jesus in public. But Nicodemus is curious, so he comes anyway, even if it’s a bit risky. He wants to find out more.

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus has been doing some remarkable things, like turning water into wine at Cana and other signs as well, healings and so forth. And Nicodemus acknowledges that Jesus must have some sort of authority from God. But for now Nicodemus can only recognize Jesus as a rabbi, a teacher. He does not yet see what those divine signs are pointing to.

This is why Jesus responds: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus does not see, he does not recognize, Jesus himself as the one who brings the kingdom of God into our midst. He will need to see that reality about Jesus if he is to see and know the truth about the kingdom of God.

Same with everybody. It all comes down to “Who is this Jesus fellow?” People may say some nice things about Jesus, that he was a prophet, that he was a good moral teacher, that he was a fine example of holding up under unjust suffering, and so on, and so on. But none of those evaluations goes far enough. Like Nicodemus, we need to have our eyes opened to see the full truth about Jesus.

“Unless one is born again”: That phrase in the Greek could also be translated as “unless one is born from above.” “Born again,” “born from above”: Either translation works. Jesus is saying that this second birth he’s talking about is not simply another earthly birth. No, you need a heavenly birth, one that comes from God. God has to do it. You can’t do it. Look, you didn’t even decide your earthly birth. You didn’t “decide” to be born. How can you decide your heavenly birth? You can’t. In fact, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Only God can bring you to life.

Your coming to faith in Christ is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. It even says as much in John chapter 1, about those who believe in Christ: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” “Born of God,” “born from above,” “born again”: That’s the birth that you need.

But Nicodemus doesn’t get it yet. He thinks Jesus is talking in riddles: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” It sounds ridiculous to Nicodemus.

So Jesus presses home the point: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Whoa! Now Jesus adds another dimension to what he means by being “born again.” He equates it to being “born of water and the Spirit.” And note, these are not two different acts, like being “born of water” is one thing and being “born of the Spirit” is something else. No, there are some who think that, but they need to look at the Greek a little more closely. Because there is one preposition “of” that governs both of the two nouns, “water” and “the Spirit.” It’s being “born of water and the Spirit” together, in one divine act of God.

Hmm, where else in the Bible do we see water and the Spirit joined together like this? Well, to start with, in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth. “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters,” when God spoke creation into existence.

And that same combination of water and the Spirit and the Word happens when God calls a new creation into existence. In Paul’s letter to Titus we read: “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” “The washing of regeneration”: “Washing” is a water word; it happens when water is applied to someone. “Regeneration” is a fancy way to say “rebirth,” being born again. And “renewal of the Holy Spirit” means the Spirit is making someone a new creation.

Now let’s put on our thinking caps and think about where and when all that happened together in your life: the washing of water with the Word, the Spirit, new birth. . . . Hey, I see lots of light bulbs appearing over your heads! Yes, that’s right: In your baptism!

In Holy Baptism, God has given you the new birth you need to enter his kingdom. To be baptized is to be born again, born from above, born of water and the Spirit. Through this blessed sacrament, God has raised you up from death to life. God has washed away your sins. He has made you his children. He has given you faith in Christ your Savior. He has sealed you with the Holy Spirit. You are a new creation in Christ!

You and I need this new birth of water and the Spirit. Otherwise, we could rise no higher than our natural birth, and that would surely be a dead end. As Jesus says: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

According to our natural birth in the flesh, we are born sinners, doomed to die. We have inherited the original sin nature passed down from our parents. Like Adam and Eve, who were driven out from the garden, so we would not be able to enter the kingdom of God. God needs to intervene in our lives if that is going to change!

And so thank God that he has! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Listen, God has had mercy on us poor sinners, and he sent Christ Jesus to do the job we could not do. Jesus died the sacrificial death that pays for all of our sins. Jesus was lifted up on the cross, so that everyone who looks to him in faith will be rescued from eternal death and raised to everlasting life. This is for you!

And then all the gifts that Jesus won for you on the cross–forgiveness, life, resurrection, eternal salvation–all these blood-bought gifts are delivered to you in and through the gospel of Christ. God the Holy Spirit did this work on you and in you in Holy Baptism.

“How can these things be?” That was Nicodemus’s question. And it’s our question too: How can this baptismal washing with water do such great things? The “how” is because of who God is. He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. And the “how” is because of what God’s mighty, creative, powerful Word does. His Word is efficacious; it does what it says. His Word delivers what it promises. And when God attaches his creative Word to the water of Baptism, a miracle happens: Dead sinners are raised to new and eternal life. The Holy Spirit works saving faith in our hearts. Brothers and sisters in Christ, praise God that you and I have been born again, born from above, born of water and the Spirit!