Category: Sermon Page

Second Sunday of Easter
April 11, 2021

“Believing Is Better Than Seeing” (John 20:19-31)

The doors were locked. The disciples had locked themselves in, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, who had just had Jesus killed a couple of days earlier. And since they were Jesus’ disciples, if it became known where they were, the authorities might come after them, too. So the disciples were afraid and were staying behind closed doors.

But if a sealed tomb couldn’t keep Jesus in, a locked door couldn’t keep Jesus out. He passes right through and stands in their midst. “Shalom aleichem,” he says, “Peace be with you,” a standard Hebraic greeting. But when Jesus says it, it’s a little more than standard! Jesus really does convey peace when he speaks it! This is a blood-bought peace, peace purchased by the blood that God’s Son shed on the cross. Peace between heaven and earth. Peace between a righteous God and sinful man. Jesus made that peace for us on the cross, where he died for the sins of the world. Jesus packs real peace into his words, when he greets us with “Peace be with you.”

The disciples are mind-boggled: “Whoa! We thought you were dead, Master! They nailed you to that cross! You died! The soldier speared you in the side! They took you down and put you in a tomb! And sealed it! With guards around! How can that be you?” But then: “Wait a minute, boys. Maybe we’re imagining things. This must be some sort of hallucination. You know, we’ve been pretty stressed out lately.” “Or is it–can it be–his ghost?” “No, no, this is no ghost. It really is Jesus! Alive! In flesh and bone! God must have raised him from the dead! Look! He’s showing us the marks in his hands, where they drove in the nails. He’s showing us his side, where the soldier pierced him with the spear! Yeah, it really is him! Risen, alive! Wow!”

Well, how about those disciples, huh? Lucky them! They got to see Jesus, in the flesh, risen from the dead. They saw him with their own eyes. They touched him with their own hands. Too bad we’re not that lucky. Yeah, look at the advantage they had! Easter evening Jesus comes to them and shows them his hands and his side. No wonder they believed!

Well, most of them, at least. Thomas wasn’t there that night. Later, the other guys tell him, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas is thinking: “Oh, yeah, right. What have you guys been drinking? He was crucified, remember? Just a few days ago. He’s dead, Jim–yeah, you James and John and Peter and the rest of you. He’s dead. Roman soldiers don’t mess up on things like that. There’s no way I can believe what you guys are saying. It’s just crazy wishful thinking.” “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Well, the next Sunday, Thomas was in the house that night, there with the rest of them. Guess who shows up? Jesus. Again, through the locked door. Again, with the hands and the side. This time Jesus does it for the benefit of Thomas. “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

See? Seeing is believing. Thomas gets to see. The rest of them got to see. And they believed. Oh, those lucky, fortunate disciples! If only we could have been in their position! Then we would be strong Christians, and we wouldn’t falter in our faith. Right?

Wrong. That’s not how Jesus sees it–or says it. He tells Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus corrects Thomas. He says that seeing is not an advantage. Seeing is not the same as believing. In fact, Jesus turns it around. He says that believing is better than seeing.

What’s going on here? What does Jesus mean by “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”? And what does this have to do with us? Well, that is us! We are the ones Jesus is talking about when he says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” So Jesus thinks we are pretty “blessed”! We are the fortunate ones! Believing is better than seeing.

We’re like the people John is writing his gospel for, people living long after the events he reports. John writes for folks who had never seen Jesus up close and personal like he had. There were only a small number of persons in the world at that time who had gotten to see Jesus during his ministry, and even fewer who saw him after he had risen from the dead.

Although, there were enough eyewitnesses who did attest to the bodily resurrection of Christ. Jesus wanted a core of witnesses who could verify the factuality and physicality of his resurrection. As Peter would later testify, “We are witnesses of these things.” As Paul would later write: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

So there were enough eyewitnesses to establish the facts at the time. But it wasn’t the seeing alone, it wasn’t the seeing per se, that produced faith. Seeing, by itself, is not the same as believing. No, there were lots of people who saw Jesus in the flesh who did not believe in him. His opponents, for example. They saw him, but they rejected him.

Friends, you and I are like all the millions of Christians around the world, going back to the first century. We have never seen Jesus, yet we believe in him. And Jesus calls us “blessed.” We still receive the blessings that come to us by faith. What you don’t see is what you get. You don’t see the peace that Jesus gives. You don’t see the forgiveness of sins or the sure hope of everlasting life. You don’t see the Father’s love, the presence of Christ, or the gift of the Holy Spirit. You don’t see these things. But God gives them to you, nonetheless. What you don’t see you still get.

The blessedness of believing rather than seeing is a consistent teaching in the New Testament. Peter wrote long after Christ had ascended into heaven, and he said to Christians just like us: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Likewise, Paul writes in Romans: “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Again Paul writes, in 2 Corinthians: “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.” And again: “We walk by faith, not by sight.” In the Book of Hebrews it says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” All these passages are saying the same thing: What you don’t see is what you get! Eternal things, like the salvation of our souls and the redemption of our bodies. We don’t see those things with our eyes. Yet this is our certain hope, as sure as the resurrection of Christ himself.

So how does it happen? How do we get this faith that trusts in Jesus Christ? Answer: By the Word! It is the Word of God that gives us the faith to believe in Christ our Savior. It is the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, who he is and what he has done for us. The Holy Spirit works through the gospel means, Word and Sacrament, to give us that saving faith and to keep us strong in it. There’s no other way. God’s Word is what we need.

This is why John writes, at the end of our text today, the purpose statement for his gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” It’s the gospel, the good news of Christ, as it is preached to us, taught to us, sacramented to us–it’s the gospel that the Holy Spirit uses to create faith to trust in Christ and to keep us strong in that saving faith. As we learned in the explanation to the Third Article of the Creed: “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.” The Holy Spirit works saving faith in us, our whole life long, from start to finish, and the means that he uses to do this is the gospel.

So what is the takeaway today? Two things: 1) Jesus really is risen from the dead, victorious over sin and death, and he gives us life in him. And 2) Since faith in Christ is created and nourished through the Word, it is essential that we regularly be in the Word.

Today our risen Lord Jesus comes to us through our locked doors, through our fears, and he reassures us with his words: “Peace be with you. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That’s us! Dear friends, believing really is better than seeing! Thank God that you believe in Jesus Christ, your risen Savior! And thank God that you have his Word here for you, in this church, to give you that faith in Christ! Praise the Lord!

The Resurrection of Our Lord: Easter Day
April 12, 2020

“Alleluia! Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!” (Matthew 28:1-10)

“Alleluia! Christ is risen!” “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”

“He is risen indeed!” Over many centuries, this is how the church has joyfully responded to the great Easter proclamation. Why such an exuberant response? Because of the glorious good news that precedes it, the news that Christ is risen. This good news of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ brings reassurance and restoration to troubled, weary hearts. His resurrection calls forth our joyous response. On this Easter Day, then, on this most glorious of mornings, the whole church in heaven and the church on earth–all across the earth–hears the good news, “Christ is risen,” and we rejoice to respond, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”

But first comes God’s word to us: “Christ is risen.” That’s what the angel said to the women at the tomb: “I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” This is the great fact of the resurrection stated–or I should say, understated—in such simple yet profound words. The reality of the resurrection itself is the first thing that grabs our attention. Jesus really did die, he was buried, and he lay in the tomb since Friday. Now he is arisen, alive, risen from the dead! Jesus Christ is the destroyer of death and the Lord of life. By his resurrection from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ is declared to be the Son of God in power. The grave could not hold him. Our Savior broke the chains of death, and by his resurrection he has brought life and immortality to light.

“I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. . . . He has risen.” This announcement by the angel brings together the two central events at the heart of the gospel, and they are: Christ’s death and Christ’s resurrection. On the cross, Jesus finished the work of our redemption. And now his resurrection declares the sufficiency of his saving work. The resurrection testifies to the infinite worth and the astonishing effect of his atoning sacrifice. You see, on the cross Jesus Christ made the perfect sacrifice for all the sins of the whole world. Nothing else would do.

This is the good news for you: The holy precious blood of God’s own Son saves you. God has acted to save you from your sins and from the death you deserve. God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, was crucified for you! This is how much God loves you! Amazing! What grace! What a gift! And as a result, God is now at peace with you! God is reconciled to us sinners–he must be–for the sacrifice of the Son has been accepted by the Father. Easter shows that Good Friday did the job. Nothing left to be done. It is finished, complete. Christ’s death paid for all our sin and overcame death itself. The crucifixion and the resurrection together declare the glory and grace of our God. And we hear it now in the angel’s words: “Jesus who was crucified . . . has risen.”

What’s more, says the angel, “He has risen, as he said.” Just as he said! Jesus himself had foretold his resurrection. Not only had he predicted his passion, his suffering and death, but with it he also promised that on the third day he would be raised to life. The disciples didn’t understand it at the time, but Jesus had told them, nonetheless. Therefore the resurrection attests to the truthfulness of all of Christ’s teachings. His words, all of them, are true and trustworthy. They are sound and sure. Indeed, they are Spirit and life. Jesus has the words of enteral life. There is nothing more trustworthy for you to rely on. You can stake your life on the word of Christ.

You know, right now we are facing a lot of uncertainty in our life. There are uncertainties about our health and safety. Can I leave my home and go out in public? There are uncertainties about our economic future. Will I have a job when this thing is over? When will that day come? Will my life savings be evaporated by then? Plenty of uncertainty for all of us.

But there is one thing that we can be absolutely sure of. And that is the completed work and trustworthy word of Christ. Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. And amid all the uncertainties of this life, we have this solid rock on which to stand: The promise of the Lord that he forgives us of our sins, he has given us eternal life, and he will come again and raise our bodies to live with him forever. This–this is most certainly true!

Friends, you can depend on what Jesus tells you. Follow him, keep on following him and listening to his voice, as he preaches his word to you, as he teaches you what it means to be his disciple. His words are trustworthy and true, as the resurrection so powerfully demonstrates. “He has risen, as he said.”

Now you would think this proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection would bring forth nothing but pure joy. But our text says that the women “departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy.” Yes, their joy was great, yet it was mixed with fear. They weren’t sure how to put this all together.

But Jesus meets the frightened women, and he calms their fears. “Greetings!” he says. “Be of good cheer,” in other words. Jesus reassures the women with the sound of his familiar voice. He greets them with a word of well-being. And happiness and joy certainly come to these women, now that they see their Lord before them and hear his voice.

Then Jesus gives them even more reassurance: “Do not be afraid.” Fear not, for the perfect love of Christ drives out our fears. The fear of punishment, the fear of God’s judgment, the fear of death–all these fears are overcome by the comforting voice of Jesus our Savior. Jesus speaks these same words of reassurance to us today: “Greetings! Do not be afraid. I have risen from the dead. I have conquered the grave. I have the keys of Death and Hades. They are a defeated enemy. Listen, I am not angry with you. God is not angry. Listen, I have good news for you! You are forgiven. You have life with me. I give it to you freely. Be reassured by my resurrection.”

So amazing is this grace of our risen Lord! And now he says to the women, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” This is in reference to his disciples when he says, “Tell my brothers.” But think of it, these are the same disciples who had deserted and denied their Lord, in his hour of trial, just a few nights earlier. Yet here Jesus calls them his brothers. In doing so, Jesus is speaking pardon for their lack of faith. He is speaking restoration. Jesus is restoring them to his fellowship. Instead of saying, “Forget those guys, they blew it! They were faithless when it came to crunch time”–no, instead of that, Jesus says, “Go and tell my brothers.”

Restoration to fellowship–this is a gift that Christ gives to his disciples, both then and now. Today Jesus speaks his word of restoration to you, as well. Have you wandered from the faith? Have you absented yourself from the fellowship of Christ’s church? Today Jesus is restoring you. He is calling you back to himself, back to his family, the church. Jesus calls us sinners his brothers.

What hope, what riches are ours as a result! Martin Luther writes: “If now Christ is our brother, I would like to know what we still lack? Brethren in the flesh have common possessions, have together one father, one inheritance, else they would not be brethren. So we have common possessions with Christ, and have together one Father and one inheritance.”

Brothers and sisters, in Holy Baptism, you and I were united to Christ, and we were made God’s children. Now we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Our Lord’s resurrection, then, is the guarantee of our own resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection life has been delivered to you in the waters of Holy Baptism. On this Easter Day, my fellow baptized Christians, take hope in the victory over death that Jesus gives you. You have been raised with Christ to newness of life even now, and on the day when Christ returns, we will share in his bodily resurrection and the life that lasts forever.

Dear friends, today the Lord’s messenger announces the good news of Easter to us: “Jesus who was crucified . . . has risen, as he said.” Today our risen Lord himself cheers us with his presence, his familiar and comforting voice speaking to us his reassuring, restorative words: “Greetings! Do not be afraid. I call you my brothers and sisters.” Now hearing these gospel words, what other response could we have but one of joy and worship? This is why we say, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” Today we join with all Christians around the world in one big joyous Easter worship. Temporary isolation cannot stop or muffle the joy that bursts out from within us.

Jesus Christ, our crucified Savior, is risen from the dead. He is here with us now, as we are gathered in his name. Our response then? We rejoice to worship him, to give our Lord the highest honor and praise. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” “Therefore let us joyful be and sing to God right thankfully loud songs of alleluia!”

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Good Friday
April 2, 2021

“The Light Shines in the Darkness” (John 1:1-5, 9-14)

Tonight we’re doing a traditional Good Friday evening service called “Tenebrae.” The Latin word, “tenebrae,” means “shadows” or “darkness.” This is the Service of the Shadows, the Service of Darkness–moving to complete darkness at the end of the service. This reminds us of the darkness that came over the land when Christ was hanging on the cross, the great darkness that occurred when the author of life was put to death. And then his lifeless body was placed in the tomb, and night fell, and all was darkness and shadows. The loud noise that will come at the end of this service, called the “strepitus”–that will remind us either of the earthquake at the time of Christ’s death or of the shutting of the tomb, when the heavy stone is rolled into place. In either case, the sound will signify the finality of death. Boom! Death wins.

This is the time of darkness and shadows. It seems that darkness has covered the earth. The one who had done only good, a righteous man–murdered. The one who had brought healing and had shown God’s mercy to so many–dead. The one in whom men had put their hope, now has been killed, and hope died with him. Jesus of Nazareth–crucified, dead, and buried. Now what?

The light has gone out of the world. We sit in darkness and shadows. Look around you, and all you will see are dying people. You will see suffering and hurting people, people losing hope. Shadows everywhere. The shadow called cancer, casting its gloom over lives once bright and cheerful. The shadow of old age, which creeps up on all of us and turns our hair white, our skin wrinkled, and our bones brittle. There are other shadows, too, shadows called virus and violence, divorce and depression, debt and death. Deep, dark shadows, everywhere we turn.

We sit in darkness and in shadows. Look inside you. There you will find no light of your own. The heart of darkness lies within us all. There are dark, hidden places inside, places of lovelessness and lust, of selfishness and sin–vile places, ugly places. We try to hide those dark, hidden recesses from others–and we may succeed to some extent. We can put on a good show. We may try to hide the darkness from ourselves. We may even try to hide it from God. But the fact is, that is not going to work. God sees the darkness in our heart. Don’t kid yourself.

Shadows and darkness, death and grief and sadness. People hurting other people, people hurting themselves. People turning their backs on God, wanting nothing to do with God. They have no desire to listen to God’s word. Men and women become their own gods, each one living for self, following the desires of their own sinful heart. The prevailing opinions in the pop culture–this is what people think they need to go along with. Such is our society in 2021. People have no use for God or for his church. Headline this week: “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time.” We are living in a post-Christian culture. Darkness all around us.

But the darkness has been around a long time. It was there when Jesus came into this world, this land of shadows. He came bringing light with him, light from above. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” The eternal Son of God was coming into the world, the one who was in the beginning with God: the Word, the Logos, through whom the heavens and the earth were created, when God said, “Let there be light.” This is Jesus, the Word made flesh, the one who declares, “I am the light of the world.”

“The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Here was the true light, but men preferred the darkness. They wanted to extinguish the light, because the light was exposing their evil deeds. That’s how we humans are. We want to hide from God, to keep his searchlight from shining in the dark recesses that we’re trying to keep hidden. That’s how sin works. And so they kill the author of life. They get him condemned falsely and nailed to a cross. Darkness falls over the land. The last candle, it seems, is going out. Extinguished. Snuffed out. Nothing but darkness. Is this the end of the story? It sure seems that way. Strepitus! Boom! Death wins.

Is this the end? No, it’s just the beginning. St. John tells us the truth: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The loud noise, the strepitus, the sound of the stone being rolled into place and sealing the tomb–that sound will be matched on Easter morning when the stone is rolled away. The loud noise, the strepitus, the sound of the earthquake when Jesus dies–that will be matched on Easter morning at the earthquake when he rises. The darkness over the land on Friday will yield to the light dawning on Sunday. Look for the return of the light this Sunday morning. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Sunday’s light comes out of Friday’s darkness. Ironically, the light of Christ is shining at its brightest in his dying. This is how the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. It is when Christ is lifted up on the cross that he shines like a beacon in the night, giving light to everyone in the world. For there on the cross Jesus took all our dark deeds, our heart of darkness, everything that causes pain and sadness and death–he took it all into himself. He became sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Our beautiful Savior shines fairest when he takes the darkness of death from us and replaces it with his light and life. Good Friday darkness leads to Easter resurrection light.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” And so now “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” You who believe in Christ, you have the light.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” Or what shall I fear? Shall I fear condemnation and judgment? No, Christ has won forgiveness for our sins and release from our guilt. Shall I fear the Grim Reaper, Death itself? No, Christ has conquered death by his death and resurrection. Shall I fear loneliness or loss, despair or decline? No, because Christ has placed us into his loving family, the church, where we care for one another. Shall I fear whatever is my thorn in the flesh? No, for God’s grace is sufficient for me, his strength is made perfect in weakness. Whom shall I fear? No one.

Whom shall I thank? The triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father of lights, who gives us every good gift from above. His Son, Jesus Christ, the light of the world, by whose death and resurrection we have light and life. And the Holy Spirit, who enlightens our minds, working faith in our hearts through the light of the gospel. Yes, dear friends, tonight we may sit in the shadows, but, thank God, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Palm Sunday/ Sunday of the Passion
March 28, 2021

“Hosanna!” (John 12:11-19)

Today is Palm Sunday, and if there is a “word of the day” for this day, it’s “Hosanna!” How often do we see that word show up in our service today! We started the service by saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Then we heard the Gospel reading, where the crowd cries out, “Hosanna!” As we processed in, we sang the refrain six times, “To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.” And we concluded the procession by saying, “Hosanna in the highest.” So before we even sat down, we heard or said or sang “hosanna,” nine times! And when we get done singing “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” and “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty,” you can add four more “hosannas” to the list, for a total of thirteen. Truly the word of the day for Palm Sunday is “Hosanna!”

Now what is the meaning of this word, as we have used it and heard it being used? When the crowd at Jerusalem cried, “Hosanna!” and when we today sing, “Hosanna!” the word is being used as an acclamation, an ascription of praise. We are welcoming and praising Jesus as the great King. When the crowd shouted, “Hosanna!” they added, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And in our “hosanna hymns” today, we acclaim Jesus with lines like, “All glory, laud, and honor to you, Redeemer, King,” and “For Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord of heav’n our King.” To say “Hosanna!” then is something like saying, “Hail the conquering hero!” or “Hail to our coming King!” Clearly “Hosanna!” is being used as an acclamation, an ascription of praise.

But that’s not exactly what the word means, literally, if you translate it from the Hebrew. You see, there’s one “hosanna” that we missed, and we didn’t even notice it. It was back in Psalm 118, verse 25, where it says, “Save us, we pray, O Lord!” But you say, “That doesn’t use the word, ‘hosanna.’” Well, yes it does, if you say it in the original Hebrew. The word, “hosanna,” or, as it’s pronounced, “hoshi’ah na,” literally means, and is translated there as, “Save us, we pray!” “Save now, deliver now, we pray you, we beseech you!” That’s what “hoshi’ah na” actually means. Originally “Hosanna!” was a prayer to the Lord for salvation, a plea for deliverance.

The crowd at Jerusalem, then, uses that plea for deliverance as a shout of acclamation. The prayer for salvation becomes an ascription of praise. They are praising Jesus precisely because they believe he is coming to save them, to deliver them. They are acclaiming him as the coming Messiah, sent by God to be the new and great king from the line of David, to deliver Israel from all her foes.

Now they’re right and they’re wrong at the same time. They’re right, in that Jesus is indeed the great Messiah, the deliverer sent by God to save his people. Only it will be a salvation and deliverance much bigger than they realize. And it will happen, it will come about, in a way much stranger than they expect.

Their hosannas sell Jesus a little short. He is much more than just a new national king, who will restore Israel to her glory days–peace and prosperity, and get the Romans out of town. Jesus has bigger fish to fry than that.

But, hey, are we any better? We’d be happy with a religion that validates us as we are, affirms us, makes us comfortable, makes us feel good about ourselves. We would gladly welcome a king who could boost our economy, lower our gas prices, and put an end to the virus and the face masks. That kind of a king would get lots of hosannas and look real good in the opinion polls.

But Jesus comes with a bigger and better salvation than that. He’s going to deal with a bigger problem, the underlying problem that produces all the other problems–the ones we see and the ones we don’t see or realize or admit. And that big problem is our sin. Oh, not just the sins of those other people, the bad people, the immoral people, the people we look down upon. But our own sins, the sins of us good and respectable people, God’s people, whether we’re talking temple-going Israelites or church-going Lutherans. Our sins–that’s what we need a deliverer for, a Savior. “Save us, we pray, O Lord!” “Hoshi’ah na!”

And here’s where Jesus fits the bill. In fact, his very name means, “Savior.” Remember what the angel had said: “And you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The name “Jesus” in Hebrew is “Yehoshu’a,” and it comes from the same root as our word of the day, “hoshi’ah na.” Jesus is “Yehoshu’a,” literally, “The Lord saves.” He is the answer to our prayer, “Save us, we pray, O Lord!”

That’s why Jesus rides into Jerusalem, to do just that. But how he does it–there is the great surprise. If the word of the day on Palm Sunday is “Hosanna!” the word of the day on Friday will be “Crucify!” Another day, another crowd, a quite different mood and a quite different reception. Instead of an enthusiastic “Hosanna to the Son of David,” there will be a mocking “Hail, King of the Jews!” Instead of palm branches, a crown of thorns and a wooden cross. No longer is the prayer and the praise, “Save us, we pray, O Lord!” “Hosanna!” On Friday it will be mockery and insult: “Save yourself, and come down from the cross!” “He saved others; he cannot save himself.”

No, he cannot save himself. Because that is how, ironically, he will save others. That is how he saves you and me. Jesus is our Savior, our Yehoshu’a, precisely by not saving himself from this death he most assuredly does not deserve. Jesus saves us from our sins by dying for them, in our place. This is the bigger and better salvation that he brings. We needed a Savior to deliver us from ourselves, to deliver us from the death and judgment we earned by our sins against God. God sends that deliverer, his only Son come from heaven, the only one who can do the job, the only one whose sinless life and holy blood are sufficient to cover the sins of the whole world.

That is the strange way, the surprising way, that our conquering hero has conquered death for us. By his all-atoning death, Christ Jesus has won for us forgiveness for all our sins, and, with that forgiveness, life that comes out of the tomb–next Sunday at Easter, when he comes out of his own tomb, and at the Last Day, when he comes again and empties out our tombs and raises us up to life everlasting. So don’t sell Jesus short! His salvation is bigger than we can possibly imagine! Our hosannas now are just not big enough! But we’ll have a whole eternity to sing them to their fullest!

That reminds me, there’s one set of hosannas we haven’t mentioned yet. And that’s the hosannas we will sing in the Sanctus in just a few minutes: “Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” We will sing those hosannas right as Jesus rides into this temple today, to give us his body and blood in the Sacrament. Again, he comes in humble, lowly fashion. But as of old he comes now having salvation to bestow. In the Blessed Sacrament, our blessed Lord gifts us with the sign and seal of salvation in his body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

“Hosanna!” “Save us, we pray, O Lord!” The Lord does exactly that, in this humble king riding into Jerusalem and coming to us now in this service. If “Hosanna!” is the word of the day for Palm Sunday, then so is “Jesus.” “Yehoshu’a” is God’s answer to our “Hoshi’ah na!” And so our prayer for salvation becomes also our song of praise: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, March 24, 2021

“‘Follow Me’: The Crown of Discipleship” (Mark 10:17-22)

Today we conclude our series on the “Follow Me” sayings of Jesus in Gospel of Mark. Last week we took up “The Cross of Discipleship.” Today our theme is “The Crown of Discipleship.” And that’s a good order to go, because there is no crown without the cross, and there is no cross we endure that will not be far outweighed by the crown we will receive. And both the cross and the crown come as we follow Jesus.

Last week we talked about the cross. Now we take up the crown. Well, maybe not just yet. We take up the crown as the theme of this message, but we haven’t actually taken it up in the sense of experiencing it. We still have a ways to go till we get there. But the crown, the crown of life, is laid up in heaven for those who follow Jesus.

The promise of that crown is given in our text today from Mark 10. There Jesus looks at a rich man and loves him, and says to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Jesus promises the man a crown, that is, “treasure in heaven.” But first he has to undo the man’s messed-up thinking about how we get to heaven. Let’s see how he does it.

“Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Does Jesus mean that if only we would sell our earthly possessions and give the money to the poor, then we will have heavenly treasures? There have been those who claimed that, that if only we renounce earthly wealth, we will merit a heavenly reward. That is a natural inclination, to think that if only we do something good and noble, then we deserve God’s approval and can earn our way into heaven. That’s our natural human instinct, and it comes in various forms: “I’m a good enough person.” “My friend or my loved one who died was good enough. Surely God must reward them with eternal life in heaven.”

That was the thinking of this rich man, that you can be good enough by your works to merit God’s approval. But by telling him to sell his possessions and give to the poor, Jesus was not encouraging him to do more of the same, only harder or better. No, the man already thought that way; he didn’t need Jesus to reinforce it. What he needed was for Jesus to pull the rug out from under him, to remove the thought that by doing something meritorious you earn God’s favor and eternal life. Jesus strips that idea right away from him.

Here’s how he does it. The rich man comes asking, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Already there’s something wrong in this man’s approach. He’s approaching Jesus as though Jesus was just another rabbi or religious teacher, which he’s not. Jesus is not some religious guru who happened to hit upon the winning formula, the teacher with the best advice.

No, Jesus won’t be put into that little box. So he tells the man: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” See, it’s not as though Jesus has some secret formula that everyone else missed, the one good thing you have to do that God hasn’t revealed elsewhere. There is no secret knowledge when it comes to doing the works of the law. God has made that plain. “God isn’t holding anything out on you as far as the law is concerned,” Jesus is saying, “as though I’ve got something hidden up my sleeve that no one else has.” No, if you want to gain eternal life by your works, you’ve got to keep the commandments.

Notice, the commandments Jesus mentions are the ones that have to do with how we treat our neighbor. You see, those are the ones we think we can actually keep: “Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.” And the man responds without batting an eye: “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” The man is disappointed. “I come to you asking for secret knowledge, Jesus, and all you can do is to recite the old commandments? I was looking for something new. I already am careful to keep the commandments. I wanted you to tell me something different, something above and beyond what I already do.”

This man takes it for granted that he already keeps the commandments. But there is his mistake. He thinks he does, but he doesn’t, really. Oh, I’m sure he did a pretty good job of keeping the outward form of the commandments. He avoided the gross violations. He didn’t commit adultery, in the sense of actually sleeping with another man’s wife. He didn’t commit murder, by actually taking another person’s life. On the outward level, I’m sure he practiced a morally upright life. He probably did better at it than a lot of us do.

What he missed, though, was the depth of these commandments, their power to accuse and convict us as sinners. For even if we manage to avoid the gross, outward violations, none of us can keep God’s law as it must be kept in order to please God. Our doing of the law is always imperfect; it always falls short. And this man was no exception. So Jesus must lead him to see it. Because, so far, he doesn’t. He does not see himself as a sinner in need of forgiveness, a sinner who cannot earn or merit salvation before God.

So Jesus puts his finger on where the law will most clearly show this fellow that he is a sinner. He reveals what the man’s god was, the idol that he worshiped. For this rich man, it was his wealth. That’s why Jesus says, “Sell all that you have and give to the poor.” But that was the very thing he was unwilling to do. That was the area of his life where the rich man refused to let go. Money, wealth, possessions–that’s where he placed his security and happiness. It had become his god. Earthly wealth was the treasure he really valued, and it got in the way of his receiving the heavenly treasure, which he would have found in Jesus. The rich man is unwilling to part with his idol. So he walks away from Jesus sad.

It isn’t by selling your possessions that you gain God’s favor and a treasure in heaven. But for this man, that’s what it took to point him to his sin and to show him his need–which Jesus would have then supplied. But this man was not willing to be a sinner before God. He had too much invested in his earthly wealth. People have no need, no desire, to follow Jesus when they’re content with what they’ve got. Whether it’s money or family or friends, popularity or the pursuit of pleasure–whatever your god is here on earth–if that’s what you desire most, you’re not going to be too interested in listening to what Jesus says.

Jesus points this man to his idolatry–earthly treasures–and thus to his inability to keep God’s law. Jesus wanted to show him his need and then point him to his Savior, which is Jesus himself. “And come, follow me.” Don’t miss that in what Jesus tells the man. “Follow me.” That’s how you will find the true treasure. The treasure in heaven, which God gives to sinners as a free gift. You don’t earn it. You can’t exchange your wealth for it in some sort of bargain. No, simply follow Jesus and you will find it in him.

The good things of this life cannot hold a candle to the greater gifts that God gives. The good things of this life are temporary, transient. To focus on them, to obsess over them, to value the things of this life more than following Jesus and receiving the gifts only he can give–that is idolatry, and it is to miss out on what is so much better.

So what does following Jesus gain us? What does Jesus give us as a gift? Treasure in heaven. As he says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. . . Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Jesus directs us to the higher treasures, the treasure in heaven.

Dear friends, let go of your false gods, and let the true God take hold of you! Follow Jesus! That’s how you will find the true treasure. In him. He it is who gave up the treasures of heaven to come down to earth to be our Savior. He who was rich became poor for your sake, so that in him you might become rich by his poverty. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Jesus, the Son of God come in the flesh. Jesus, the only man who ever kept God’s law fully, completely, perfectly. Jesus, who took the punishment for our failure to keep the commandments by dying in our place. Now the judgment against sin has been served. For us, by him. Now the treasure is given. To us, through him. The treasure in heaven. Now it is yours. All who follow Jesus will have eternal life. It is yours as a gift. Receive it from him. There is your true treasure, there is your crown of life.

“Follow me,” Jesus has been saying to us through this series. He calls us, unlikely candidates for discipleship though we are. And we follow him, through the cross, toward the crown. And as we follow Jesus, we find life, new life and eternal life, in him.