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The Day of Pentecost
Sunday, June 5, 2022

“The Centrality of Baptism: On Pentecost and in Your Life” (Acts 2:1-42)

Today is the Day of Pentecost, one of the three great festivals of the Christian church year, along with Christmas and Easter. This festival commemorates the day of Pentecost that we read about in Acts chapter 2. And what happened that day–the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter’s preaching of Christ crucified and risen and repentance and forgiveness in his name–what did that result in? The baptism of 3,000 souls that day. And we even see what happened in the life of the newly baptized in the days that followed: They continued steadfastly in the life of the church.

And so it is for us on this Pentecost day. Today we are gathered in the name of Christ as his baptized people. The Holy Spirit is at work in our midst, working repentance and faith in our hearts, delivering the goods Christ won for us on the cross–all that and more. Then there is the carryover effect of baptism into every day of our lives: dying to sin, rising to newness of life, and having the sure hope of the resurrection. And so our theme this morning: “The Centrality of Baptism: On Pentecost and in Your Life.”

First, let’s see what happened on the Pentecost we read about in our text. “When the day of Pentecost arrived,” Acts 2 begins. Pentecost was a Jewish festival. In the Old Testament, it’s called the Feast of Weeks, since it falls seven weeks after Passover, thus on the fiftieth day, and the word “Pentecost” simply means “fiftieth.” Pentecost was one of the three pilgrimage festivals of Israel, when all the Jews were supposed to travel to Jerusalem and worship at the temple. That’s why you have all those thousands of Jews in Jerusalem in Acts 2, having traveled there from all over the Mediterranean world where they had been dispersed.

This particular Pentecost was seven weeks after Jesus had been crucified in Jerusalem at Passover time. But Jesus arose, of course, and over forty days he appeared to his apostles, before he ascended into heaven. That was ten days ago, and Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem until he sends them the Holy Spirit to empower their witness. Which is what they’re doing when we pick the story up in Acts 2: They’re waiting in Jerusalem. Then the ascended Lord Jesus sends them the promised Holy Spirit, and they commence to witnessing about Jesus. They’ve got a ready-made crowd there, and Peter gets up to speak.

Peter preaches Christ to the people: This Jesus, whom you rejected and crucified just a few weeks back–this Jesus, God raised from the dead, and of this fact, we all are witnesses. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Now this same Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Well, this is a powerful message of repentance! The people are cut to the heart. “We messed up so bad,” they think. “Is there any hope for us?” “Brothers, what shall we do?” they ask the apostles. “Yes, there is hope,” Peter says. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

The people are convicted of their sin, and Peter preaches the good news of forgiveness to them. And notice where he directs them: to baptism. In baptism, they will receive the forgiveness of sins. In baptism, they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, they will be saved by God from the judgment that is coming on this world.

And so they are baptized–three thousand of them on that day. But notice, that’s not the end of the story. That’s just the beginning. For all those newly baptized are brought into the life of the church: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.” Not just on a surface level. No, it was a deep dive. “They devoted themselves,” it says. And to what? To “the apostles’ teaching”: They wanted to grow deeper in their faith. To “the fellowship”: They committed themselves to their congregation and their fellow church members, sharing life together and caring for one another, in very practical ways. They devoted themselves to “the breaking of the bread”: They communed regularly, partaking of the Lord’s body and blood. And “the prayers”: They praised God, and they asked for his help. They attended the regular liturgical services of Word and Sacrament. This was their life as the baptized people of God. This was the ongoing, continuing, carryover effect of baptism in their lives.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is the same for us today. What happened on the day of Pentecost back then continues to happen in our day. We still need to hear the message of repentance, for we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We still need to hear the word of the gospel, for we all need Jesus Christ. He is still the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord and Savior. He is your Lord! He is your Savior! You have the forgiveness of your sins in his name!

Pentecost keeps happening! The Holy Spirit continues to work in and through the church’s ministry, bringing people to faith and keeping them in the faith through the means of grace. The Holy Spirit is doing that for you right now, strengthening you in faith and love through the gospel means of Word and Sacrament. God continues to baptize souls, bringing them into the church. We are God’s baptized people.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ your Savior? This is evidence that God has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit, in Holy Baptism. As you learned in the Catechism: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” Your ongoing faith in Christ–in spite of all that would pull you away from Christ, such as the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh–your faith in Christ is a miracle worked by the Holy Spirit, given you in your baptism and nurtured in you as you continue steadfast in the means of grace.

Pentecost keeps happening! You have opportunities right now to devote yourself to the apostles’ teaching, as you come here regularly for the preaching and teaching of God’s Word in sermons and Bible classes. You are part of this fellowship, our congregation, where brothers and sisters care for one another, where we share our life together. Here you can participate every week in the breaking of the bread, the Lord’s Supper, refreshing you and strengthening you in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another. And we devote ourselves to the prayers: We pray for one another, for our country and world, for all those in need, and we praise God for his mercies, which are new every morning. And in our daily prayers, we continue this throughout the week.

We do all this as God’s baptized people. God has given us his Holy Spirit, and the Spirit changes and transforms our lives. This is what I’m talking about when I speak of the centrality of baptism in your life. You live each new day as God’s baptized person and as part of God’s baptized people, the church. This is your identity. This is your life. As Luther used to say: “I am baptized.” Not “I was baptized way back when, and that has no relevance for my life today.” Not that at all. But rather: “I am baptized. I am a baptized person in Christ, every hour of the day, every day of my life. This is who I am, and I thank God for it!”

The centrality of baptism, on Pentecost and in your daily life. Notice how I emphasize this reality even visually. I always lead Confession and Absolution from the baptismal font, showing that we all are baptized in the name of the triune God and that forgiveness in his name flows from this font out to you. And notice the placement of the font: right in the middle of the aisle, so that you pass by the font in order to approach the altar for Holy Communion. This is how we have access to God, as Christ’s baptized people.

The centrality of baptism in our lives. In the Large Catechism, Luther sums it up like this: “In this way one sees what a great, excellent thing Baptism is. It delivers us from the devil’s jaws and makes us God’s own. It suppresses and takes away sin and then daily strengthens the new man. It is working and always continues working until we pass from this estate of misery to eternal glory. For this reason let everyone value his Baptism as a daily dress in which he is to walk constantly.”

Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 29, 2022

“Paradise Restored” (Revelation 22:1-6, 12-20)

Paradise lost. Paradise restored. That’s the story of the Bible, from cover to cover. In fact, the Bible literally has bookends, at front and back, telling that story. As we will now see. Thus our theme this morning: “Paradise Restored.”

The last couple of weeks we’ve been hearing about the new Jerusalem to come, in Revelation 21. Today we continue in Revelation 22, the last chapter both of the Book of Revelation and of the whole Bible. Our text begins: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.”

“The river of the water of life.” “The tree of life.” All kinds of fruitfulness. Does this remind you of anything? It does me. This description of the new Jerusalem as a garden-like paradise, here at the end of the Bible, sounds a lot like the paradise we read about in the beginning of the Bible, that is, the Garden of Eden. For in the opening chapters of Genesis we get a garden, a river, a tree of life, and abundant fruit. There we read: “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden. . . . A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden. . . .”

That garden was beautiful and verdant and lush with vegetation, to be sure. The whole thing was very good. But the best thing about it was the community that existed, the communion between God and man–and, shortly thereafter, with woman, too. That’s what really made it a paradise: not just the glories of God’s creation, unblemished, but also the harmony of God with people, unbroken. When we talk about the river and the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, we’re talking about life the way our Creator meant it to be. That paradise was designed for us human creatures to live surrounded by God’s abundant blessing. We were designed by God to live with him and with one another in peace and perfect fellowship forever. That was the Master’s plan.

But of course, our first parents messed that all up by their sin and rebellion against the Creator. And we, their children follow in their footsteps. Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, barred from access to the tree of life. Paradise was lost. Death entered the picture. Disharmony marred the landscape. Broken relationships became all too commonplace. Distrust of God and his goodness became our sad, inherited trait as human beings. All the damage that follows when sin enters the picture became all too familiar: Gardens turned to wilderness. City life turned to urban squalor. People turned against one another. People turned away from God.

And you and I are right there, in the midst of it, responsible for our own part, each one of us, in this whole miserable mess. How often have we repeated the sins of our fathers? We fail to listen to God. We block out his voice. We want to be our own god, making up our own rules to rationalize our behavior. We go our own way, and try to defend it. We hurt our brothers and sisters, serving self instead of others. That is our common human lot, isn’t it? That is the original sin that has been passed down from generation to generation. And it is your own poor miserable sin, is it not? Therefore, each one of us has been driven out of the garden. Each one of us has been infected by the disease of sin and death. We were headed to a grave, not a garden. We were headed to hell, not to life in the kingdom of heaven. Paradise lost.

But that all changed when God sent his only Son into the world: Jesus Christ, the new Adam, the second Adam, the one who gets it right. Adam and Eve gave in to the devil in the garden. Jesus fought the devil in the wilderness, and won. Jesus went to a garden, but it was the Garden of Gethsemane, where he agonized in prayer and was betrayed and arrested. Jesus went to a tree, but it was the tree of the cross, outside the city walls, where he was lifted up as the sacrifice for all sinners. Christ’s tree of death becomes our tree of life. From out of his side, pierced by the soldier’s spear–from the side of Christ flows his life-giving blood, and living water, too.

In the tree of the cross we find our healing. The forgiveness of sins now. The promise of perfect healing in the age to come. In the new Jerusalem, we will drink from the water of life and eat fruit from the tree of life, which will yield its fruit twelve months a year. The leaves of that tree are for the healing of the nations.

“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” This is the best part of the paradise to come: We will know God, even as we are fully known. No more obstacle, no more barrier, no more distrust. Life will be the way it always was meant to be. We get a taste of that life even now: God has given us his Spirit so that we do know him. God has placed his name on your forehead in your baptism. When you were baptized, the sign of the holy cross was marked on you and the name of the triune God was placed on you. You belong to God. You are his. You are his dear children, baptized Christians. You bear his saving name.

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.” Yes, your citizenship is already in heaven. As baptized believers, our sin-stained robes have been washed in the cleansing blood of Christ. Therefore, we are ready to enter the new Jerusalem, through the gates of pearl, by the merits of Jesus Christ your Savior.

This is your way in. There is no other access. Only through Christ, through faith in him, do we have robes ready to enter. If you think your garments are clean enough on your own, you are sadly mistaken, and you will be barred from entering. Likewise, only the thirsty, who realize their need and look to Christ to meet it–only the thirsty will be able to drink from the water of life. If you are thirsting for the righteousness only Christ can give, come to him today and drink freely from the living waters. “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” By grace, through faith in Christ, you have a share in the tree of life and in the holy city.

The new Jerusalem, as it is described in Revelation 21 and 22, has the best qualities of both a city and a garden. That has been the dream of many urban planners over the years, to create a city that combines the best of both worlds. The official motto of the city where I grew up, Chicago–the city’s motto is, in Latin, “Urbs in horto,” which means, “City in a garden.” The hope and vision of the founders of the city way back in 1837 was to establish a city that would have, besides the bustle of a city, the beauty of a garden. “Urbs in horto. City in a garden.” Decades later, in 1909, the architect Daniel Burnham developed a master plan for Chicago that would ensure that that vision would become a reality. The Burnham Plan called for preserving the entire lakefront, running the length of the city, as permanent green space and parkland, never to be ruined by unsightly industrial development. And it established many parks throughout the city. The city of Chicago has more public parkland and green space than any other city in America. “Urbs in horto. City in a garden.”

In spite of that beautiful Burnham Plan, Chicago does have its share of problems: violent crime, rundown neighborhoods, heavy traffic, woke politicians, and the like. But it still has that beautiful lakefront and all those parks, combined with a gleaming downtown skyline, all the museums, and all the cultural advantages of a great city.

“Urbs in horto. City in a garden.” Throughout history, people have wanted to achieve that ideal and combine the best of both worlds, a city and a garden. A city, at its best, is a place of community, of interaction among people. A city is where people can do things together in close proximity that they could not do apart, if they were alone and isolated. But because of the problems that often come with urbanization–crime, corruption, congestion–we also like the appeal of country life: nature, beauty, clean air, fresh water, nice scenery. Oh, if only we could combine the two, city life and garden beauty, and strike the perfect balance!

Well, guess what? That’s where we’re headed! Toward the perfect paradise. The holy city, the new Jerusalem, will truly be a city in a garden. Paradise was lost through our fall into sin, and we were driven out of the garden. Paradise now has been restored through Christ our Savior, and you and I, praise God, are headed there. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 22, 2022

“The Holy City, the New Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27)

Last week we went from the now to the new. We saw that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Indeed, we heard the Lord say, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And so we also saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city coming down out of heaven from God–the new Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God with man.

This morning we take a tour of the new Jerusalem. This is good, because the new Jerusalem is our final destination. It’s where you and I are going to spend eternity. We are citizens of that holy city. Our citizenship has been bought and paid for with the blood of Christ. Where we’re heading is “The Holy City, the New Jerusalem.”

Today we get to take a look around this city, along with St. John, who is being shown around the place: “Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”

This is a shining, glorious, brilliant city, the new Jerusalem is. A city full of light. “Jerusalem the Golden,” we call it. The beauty of this city will far surpass anything you have ever seen or anything you can imagine. It is a city of light, and the light brings to life all the brightest colors the eye can behold. Precious gems and jewels come the closest in our experience to approaching its beauty.

What else do we see? “It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed–on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. . . . And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.”

This city is safe, and it is secure. No attackers can mount its walls or break through its gates. The holy city is founded on the testimony of the twelve apostles–those apostles who bore witness to our crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ. And the holy city is radiantly beautiful. Gates of pearl, streets of gold–you have never seen anything as thoroughly lovely as the heavenly home that awaits us.

The holy city is a city of light, and the source of its light is the presence of God himself: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

God is dwelling in the midst of his people in this city. The temple served that purpose in the old Jerusalem. In the new Jerusalem, the whole city is like that. God’s presence shines throughout this city, down every street and into every corner. We will be at one with God, finally. We will be at one with God fully, the way life is supposed to be. And that is great and glorious.

The Lamb is right there, too, at the center of things. The Lamb is the lamp of this city. Christ, crucified and risen, shining forth in all his glory as the Lamb of God, the Lamb who was slain and who now lives forever. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He is also the light of heaven. The Lamb is the light of the city of God.

The new Jerusalem is a city of light, light undiminished and unbroken: “There will be no night there.” In other words, the things that threaten us now, the things that endanger us–they will be no more. No more night. No more sin to darken our conscience. No more pain or grief to dim our joy. No more death to cast its long shadow over our lives. No, only light in this city, light that comes from God himself.

So who would not want to live in this city, filled as it is with light and beauty and the very presence of God? I know I want to go there. How about you?

But not everyone will be able to go there. The new Jerusalem is a holy city, you see. “The holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” Since it is a holy city, admission is strictly prohibited to all who do not meet God’s demanding standards: “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Well, how about you? Do you qualify? Are you holy enough to live in the holy city? No, not on your own, you’re not. You and I must admit that we do not have, as one hymn puts it, “those pure desires the spirit of the Law requires.” We have not loved God with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We must confess that our hearts are impure. Our hands are unclean. Our deeds are all too often shameful and deceitful. We must admit that we are sinners. And so, on our own, we do not qualify to be admitted.

Are there any people who will be admitted into the holy city? Yes. But only those whose names are written in the book of life. In other words, only those with an advance reservation, as recorded in the official register of heaven–they alone will be allowed in.

But now here is the Good News! That book with the names written in it–that is nothing other than “the Lamb’s book of life.” It is the register of all those who simply, humbly, trust in the Lamb to be their purity, to be their holiness.

And he is! Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We do not have any purity or holiness of our own. But Christ Jesus has written his righteousness into our account in the record book of heaven. He kept the Law purely and perfectly in our stead. He died on the cross as our substitute. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain as the sacrifice for all sinners. He rose from the dead, and now this same Lord Jesus lives forever. He will welcome the faithful into the holy city. He gives life–new life, eternal life–to all his baptized believers. He has written their names into his book.

Do you trust in him, the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ? Then rejoice! Rejoice that your names are written in heaven, written there in “the Lamb’s book of life.” Jesus has made the advance reservation for you. You and I–we are in his party, and the bill, he has already taken care of. Yes, Jesus Christ is our life, our purity, and our holiness. Jesus is the one who, by his holiness, makes us holy. So he is the way–the only way–for us to enter the holy city. He is the way, the truth, and the life, life everlasting.

The new Jerusalem, the city that St. John saw, is a holy city, inhabited by those made holy by the blood of the Lamb. It is a city of light, with the glory of God’s presence shining throughout. And this city is going to be our home. For we are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Brothers and sisters, we have a home waiting for us. It is the holy city, the new Jerusalem!

Jerusalem the golden,
With milk and honey blest–
The promise of salvation,
The place of peace and rest–
We know not, oh, we know not
What joys await us there;
The radiancy of glory,
The bliss beyond compare!

Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 15, 2022

“From the Now to the New” (John 16:12-22; Revelation 21:1-7)

Our readings today take us “From the Now to the New.” What I mean is, they take us from the “now” we are experiencing in the present to the “new” that awaits us in the future. And that knowledge of the “new” gives us the hope and strength we need to carry on in the “now.”

Let’s start with the “now” of the disciples. Their “now,” as we read about it in John 16, was a time of sorrow and sadness and grief. It’s Thursday evening, and Jesus has been telling them some disturbing things. He’s been saying that he’s about to go away, that he’s returning to the Father, and they won’t be seeing him for a little while. This fills them with grief. Obviously, they’re going to miss their master. He had called them to be his disciples, and they’ve been with him these past couple of years, and they have witnessed some astounding things. Jesus has done great works of mercy and power: healing the sick, casting out demons, stilling storms, feeding the multitudes. They had never seen any things like these! And they have heard Jesus’ remarkable teachings, his words of wisdom and insight unlike any other’s. Jesus has demonstrated an authority in word and deed that could only come from God. This has been a life-changing experience for these men, to be with Jesus in such close contact during this time.

But now he says he’s going away. Imagine their shock and sadness and confusion! “How can this be? What will we do? How can we cope? And what does he mean by this ‘little while’ when we will see him again?”

Friends, you and I may have similar questions. Our “now” may not be so pleasant. We wonder how we’re going to cope when we see our life savings going down by the thousands each month–at the same time that gasoline and groceries are costing more and more. There go my dreams for a happy retirement! We wonder how we’re going to cope when we get the bad diagnosis of a brain tumor or a malignant melanoma–and how are we going to pay all those medical bills? We wonder how we’re going to cope when our spouse deserts us and refuses to be reconciled. We’re saddened when our adult child doesn’t ever take the initiative to reach out to us and says they’re too busy whenever we suggest getting together. All of these things cause us pain and grief and cause our hearts to be downcast. Is this kind of a “now” all there is? Do we have any hope for the future?

That’s like what the disciples were wrestling with. “Jesus says he’s going to be leaving us, and what will happen to us then? Was this all for naught?” Well, Jesus knows what they’re thinking and feeling, and he addresses their sadness and sorrow. He says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.” Whoa, this sounds even worse! At least, though, Jesus is being honest. He doesn’t sugarcoat things. He knows they’re going to be weeping and lamenting. And at the same time, the world will be rejoicing! This can mean only one thing: Jesus’ enemies, who have been out to get him–they’re going to succeed! And they, his enemies, will be happy that they got him!

Jesus had told his disciples that this would happen. He had said several times that when they go up to Jerusalem, he would be arrested and handed over to sinful men, and they will kill him! And he has just said, that very evening, that one of the twelve is going to betray him! The bad news is in the process of happening–that night! Of course, this comes like a blow to the solar plexus to the disciples. They’re stunned, they’re confused, they’re saddened. How is it helping, Jesus, that you’re saying, “You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice”?

It is helping, because it is by this very act of Jesus’ enemies triumphing over him, which will happen now this night and the next day–it is by Jesus’ seeming defeat that he will paradoxically gain the victory. His crucifixion will be the sacrifice that atones for the sins of the world–yes, your sins and mine! His blood will cleanse your sin-stained garments. His death will be death’s undoing. All the devil’s ammunition against you has been stripped away from him. Christ’s righteousness covers your guilt and your shame. Now you are right with God. No more barrier, no more wall of separation, between you and God. Peace has been made in the body and blood of Christ.

This is the basis for what Jesus says next: “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” Think of the big change that happened for those disciples from Thursday night to Sunday night. Thursday night, they’re sad when Jesus tells them these things. It gets worse when Jesus is arrested in the garden that night, and they all are scattered. Friday, there’s the shock when Jesus is crucified, and now he’s dead! All their hopes are crushed. Saturday is the saddest Sabbath they’ve ever experienced. They’re despondent–and frightened. On Sunday, they huddle in secret with the door locked, for fear that Jesus’ enemies now will come after them. Oh, they hear some crazy talk from their women about Jesus supposedly rising from the dead, but, hey, who can believe that?

But then, suddenly, Jesus appears in their locked room, and, amazingly–can this really be true? Yes, it is! Jesus greets them with peace. He lets them touch and handle his body, to see that he’s not a ghost. They see the nail marks in his hands. Yes, it really is Jesus, risen from the dead! And now is fulfilled what Jesus told them would happen: Their sorrow is turned to joy!

Jesus told them this would happen, too, using the analogy of a woman giving birth: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” Now I have never given birth to a baby. Believe it or not, a biological male cannot be a “birthing person,” no matter how he may try to self-identify. But I was in the room when my daughter was being born. And I can attest that the actual “birthing person” does go through some anguish, and she may even remember that pain a little later. I think some of you ladies know what I’m talking about. But that anguish is far outweighed by the joy that the little baby gives you.

What Jesus is saying, dear Christian, is that the pain and the anguish of your “now” will be far, far outweighed by the incredible joy that’s in store for you! And this is where the “new” comes in. One of the disciples, the apostle John, was given a glimpse of the “new” that awaits us, and he passes that vision on to us in the Book of Revelation, to give us the sure hope of what we have to look forward to. He says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” This current heaven and earth are messed up. The whole creation is groaning, due to the damage that sin has done. We have earthquakes and droughts, floods and tornados–the list goes on and on. But all that is coming to end. God is going to replace the damaged old with a perfect new: a renewed creation, where everything will work right, like it was before the fall into sin, when everything was very good.

What does John see next? “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Notice, the holy city comes down from God to us. That’s the way it always goes with our salvation: from God to us, and not the other way around. The bride is the church; her husband is Christ. The church is adorned like a bride: radiant, beautiful, no more flaws or ugliness. And a loud voice says: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Now we see why the holy city is called the new Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem was where the temple was, where God made his dwelling in the midst of his people. And God is going to do that again in the new Jerusalem. And we will be delighted to be God’s people, to be in perfect communion with our God.

And here is God’s promise: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Now we feel the pain and the mourning and the crying of the old creation. When the new heaven and the new earth arrive–that is, when Christ comes again, when the new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven–then all that old painful stuff will be forgotten. No more death, only life. No more tears, only joy and gladness. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

When that day comes, our Lord will say, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Including you! You will have a new, glorified body. Your soul will be renewed, with no more sin or sorrow to weigh you down. The same Lord who said on the cross, “It is finished!” now will declare, “It is done!” The goal has been reached.

Dear friends, this is the “new” you have to look forward to! It will be so much better than the sadness we experience in our “now.” But because we have this “new” to look forward to, to give us hope and strength to carry on–this hope will enliven and enlighten even our darkest days. And the joy of the future will sneak into our present, knowing that even now we have Christ our Lord with us, leading us forward toward that day when he returns. And so Jesus says to you today: “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 8, 2022

“The Good Shepherd and His Flock” (John 10:22-30; Acts 20:17-35; Revelation 7:9-17)

Today is the Sunday in the church year known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” You’ll notice that on this day all of the readings, the psalm, the hymns–all carry the theme of the shepherd and his flock, the sheep. And this will strengthen our faith today and give us life and hope for the future, as we see what God’s word says about “The Good Shepherd and His Flock.”

The first thing we need to do is to identify who this shepherd is and who are his flock. The shepherd, of course, is our Lord Jesus Christ. “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus says about himself. And when he says that, Jesus is identifying himself as the Messiah, the heaven-sent shepherd who would come and lead God’s people. Jesus claims to have a unique relationship with the heavenly Father: “The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me.” In his ministry, Jesus demonstrated works that showed he came from God, works full of divine mercy and power.

OK, so Jesus is the shepherd. Then who are the sheep, his flock? Jesus tells us: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” The flock consists of all those who listen to Jesus, who are known by him, and who follow him in faith. In other words, it’s people like you! “My sheep hear my voice.” You are here today to hear Christ’s voice. You recognize his voice, how he speaks, the things he says. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them.” Jesus, your shepherd, knows you. He called you by name in your baptism. Do you think that God has forgotten you? No way! The good shepherd knows each one of his sheep. You are dear to him. “And they follow me,” Jesus says. Being a sheep in Christ’s flock is not a one-time thing. No, we follow our shepherd on a daily basis, week after week, year after year, throughout our entire life.

What has your shepherd done for you, that you follow him? “I am the good shepherd,” Christ says, “I know my own and my own know me, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Friends, the good shepherd is so good that he sacrifices his own life in order to save yours. Jesus laid down his life by being lifted up on the cross. You would still be dead in your trespasses and sins if he had not done that. Your sins would kill you. They would condemn you to death. But Christ took our death and our punishment on himself. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” That’s what Jesus did by shedding his blood for us on the cross. The good shepherd laid down his life for the sheep.

Now your sins are washed away, forgiven! Our robes have been washed clean in Christ’s blood. And so, Christ the good shepherd has gotten himself a flock. Now we are the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. He has purchased and won us, to be his own and live under him in his kingdom. Otherwise, we would be like sheep without a shepherd, lost and vulnerable, and that’s a dangerous place to be.

Our good shepherd laid down his life only to take it up again. His resurrection shows the victory he won over sin, death, and the grave, a victory he shares with all of us. “I give them eternal life,” Jesus says of his sheep. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Dear Christian, this is your shepherd’s promise to you. It is the promise of a new life that lasts forever. It’s the promise that the grave will not keep you, that hell has no hold on you. It is Christ’s promise that no one or no thing–no devil, no disease, no despair, no trouble or temptation–no one can snatch you out of our Lord’s mighty, nail-pierced hand.

This is the salvation that Christ freely gives you. Salvation is the rescue out of danger that would otherwise kill you, from which you could not save yourself. Salvation is that rescue, plus the resulting state of safety thereafter. You are secure in the protection of your loving shepherd. This is assurance you can rely on. Why? Because it comes from God and not from you. Your eternal salvation is as strong as Christ’s promise, and that’s as strong as it gets. “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Not only can no one snatch you out of his hand, Christ also strengthens you in your faith your whole life long. Your good shepherd does that by sending you his undershepherds, pastors, to preach the word to you and build you up in the Christian life and hope. Look at how the apostle Paul emphasizes this in his address to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 (“elders,” meaning what we would call “pastors”).

Paul himself is both an example of how to shepherd the flock and he gives instruction to those pastors on how to do it. Paul says he has testified to all “of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” He says that his ministry was “to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” He says that he did not shrink from declaring to them “the whole counsel of God.” And besides expecting these pastors to follow his example, Paul also instructs them to guard the flock against “fierce wolves” who will come in and try to draw away disciples for themselves “by speaking twisted things.” These aspects of the pastoral ministry spoken of here in Acts 20–these are the same things that Christ’s undershepherds today are to continue to do for you, the flock.

And so I testify to you of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Is sin pulling at you, tugging at you, alluring and enticing you to go astray, to wander away from your shepherd? Have you been thinking and acting and speaking in ways that go against God’s commandments, self-chosen ways that you know are wrong? Repent of those sins. Confess them, whatever they are: lust, anger, unforgiveness, selfishness, not paying attention to God’s word, absenting yourself from God’s house. These are damnable sins, and you need to repent.

Then find forgiveness for your sins in the holy wounds of Christ. Believe Christ’s promise that he washes away all your sins. He cleanses you, gives you a clean slate and a fresh start. Find forgiveness here at this altar in the body and blood of Christ, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Faith in Christ takes hold of his promises. Faith listens to his voice and follows where he leads. This is the gospel of the grace of God, the good news that God is gracious to you, freely giving you his gifts, not because you deserve it but because he is kind and merciful to you for the sake of Christ.

As Christ’s undershepherd, I will not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. This means delving into God’s word together, attending to the preaching and the hearing of the word. My job is to preach the truth. Your job–and your joy–is to listen to the truth. Together we attend to the teaching and the study of the Scriptures. In the various classes we have here every week, you will get the whole counsel of God. I am called to teach you what God wants you to know. This is what Christ your shepherd does for you, by giving you a pastor who declares to you the whole counsel of God. God does this in order to build you up in the faith and to strengthen you in your life of Christian love and service.

That means I also need to warn you against the wolves, the false teachers that are out there, those who twist the Scriptures into knots, telling people what they want to hear. They’re all about style over substance, excitement and entertainment over God’s means of grace. When supposedly Christian teachers downplay and diminish the message of Christ crucified and make Christianity all about you and how to get what you want, they are speaking twisted things that would draw the flock away. So I need to guard you against that, by warning you and teaching you to distinguish truth from error.

See how much your good shepherd, Jesus Christ, loves you! He does everything for his flock, to guard and guide you, to lead and feed you. He has saved you by his blood, laying down his life for you, only to take it up again in resurrection victory. In him you have forgiveness, life, and salvation, new life now and the sure hope of an everlasting future. No one can snatch you out of his hands. Christ your shepherd knows you by name. You hear his voice and follow him in faith. Your good shepherd has brought you into his flock, the church, where his undershepherd leads you into the green pastures of God’s word.

And if that’s not all, all that the shepherd has already done for the flock and is doing, there is also what he will do for us in the future. For our good shepherd will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death and bring us out safe on the other side. Then will be fulfilled what is written of our life in the age to come: “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 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.”

Dear friends, today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and we look forward to enjoying a Good Shepherd Forever!