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Posted on June 4, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

It makes sense that God doesn’t make sense

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Trinity Sunday 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 4, 2023
Gen. 1:1-2:4, Acts 2:14a, 22-36, Matthew 28:16-20

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Ahh, the experience of a brand new, 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. There is a beautiful picture on the top of the box which is sealed on all four sides of the bottom by the paper cover overlapping the joint. You run your thumbnail along the edge to cut the paper and then carefully open the box so you do not drop any pieces. Looking inside it is a jumbled, incomprehensible mass of gray pieces and colorful pieces all in complicated shapes. It is a crazy mess, but you don’t give up and close the box. Instead, you dump out the pieces on the table and start to sort. You turn all the pieces colorful side up and separate the edge pieces from the center pieces. If you are patient and persistent, you can make sense of the jumble and assemble all 1,000 pieces in the proper way to replicate the picture on the front of the box. Now, I hear that it is a great joy to work a puzzle from beginning to completion. I can help for a few minutes at a time, but, having the attention span of a hummingbird drinking espresso, I mostly just marvel at other’s patience. Starting out, the puzzle is a jumble; an incomprehensible mess. But through hard work and perseverance, you can sort it out and assemble it and make it all make sense.

Today is Trinity Sunday. Really, every Sunday is Trinity Sunday as the Trinity is with us every Sunday at worship. In our normal liturgy we reference the Trinity at least six times not counting hymns. Today, however, we think about the Trinity a little more than usual and what we will find is that thinking deeply about the Trinity can give you a headache. The more you think about the Trinity, the more you realize you cannot understand the Trinity and in this lack of understanding you learn a great truth about God.

Today we will confess the Athanasian Creed which is the longest of the three ecumenical creeds confessed by Christians throughout the world. This creed confesses the catholic faith; small “c” catholic, meaning the whole Christian church. The catholic faith is this, “that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another. But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one.” One Godhead… with equal glory and coeternal majesty.

Thinking about how all this fits together is like staring at a jumbled up puzzle, but there are no colors, no straight edges, nothing makes sense.

Three persons, one God. Whoever would come up with a God that is three persons and one God? It does not make sense. It is beyond comprehension.

Then other words are used to describe God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; words that indicate that God is beyond human understanding.

Uncreated

Infinite

Eternal

Almighty

In mathematics, an 8 lying sideways is the symbol for infinity. A line with an arrow at each end indicates an eternal line. We can symbolize the infinite, the eternal, but we cannot understand it. We really, really want things to have a beginning and an end, but with God there are no edge pieces, there is no border. God has always been… and that just does not make sense. Who created God? God is uncreated. God does not make sense.

God does not make sense and a lot of what God is doing does not make sense. People are made disciples of Jesus, God the Son, by being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and being taught to observe all Jesus has commanded. Just water and words. How can water and words do such great things?

Jesus said, this bread is my body; this cup is the new testament in My blood. But how can the body of the eternal, infinite, almighty, God the Son be present in a wafer of bread and His blood in a sip of wine. It does not make sense.

There is a tremendous, prideful temptation to want to make everything make sense. Your pride tempts you to believe that you should be able to understand everything.

Many people have fallen prey to this temptation. Huge groups of Christians have given up on baptismal regeneration and the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion because it does not make sense. They still baptize and have Communion, but they believe, teach and confess that these acts are not something God is doing for you, but rather something that you are doing for God; because that makes better sense. That is something you can understand.

Others have gone much further. Mohammed did not like the idea of the Trinity and so when He made up a new religion in 610 AD he invented a new god without God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. Jesus and the Holy Spirit were reinvented into just prophets. Makes more sense than the Trinity.

More recently, in 1830 in New York, Joseph Smith made up a new god in a religion called Mormonism. Mormons reject the idea of three persons in one God as illogical and contradictory. They teach that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each separate gods along with many other gods and if Mormon men are good enough they can become gods. Makes more sense than the Trinity.

The Trinity does not make sense and yet we confess the Trinity to be the true catholic faith. Because it makes sense that God does not make sense. In fact, it is essential that God does not make sense. Why is that? Why does it make sense for God to not make sense?

Even more recently, in 1872, Charles Taze Russell made up a new god and founded the Jehovah’s Witnesses that reject the Trinity as Satanic. They teach that Jesus is not God but a created being. Makes more sense than the Trinity.

For vast numbers of others they find they cannot comprehend the Trinity and they just give up on God altogether. How can they believe in something beyond their understanding? So they give up on God and follow their own feelings; they follow the desires of their flesh. The desires of the flesh make more sense than the Trinity.

The Trinity does not make sense and yet we confess the Trinity to be the true catholic faith. Because it makes sense that God does not make sense. In fact, it is essential that God does not make sense. Why is that? Why does it make sense for God to not make sense?

Because Genesis 1:1–2 (ESV) 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” And, John 1:1–3 (ESV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. John 1:14 (ESV) 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Now, the puzzle of the Trinity is not completely incomprehensible. The one part of the puzzle of God that we get a bit of a handle on is Jesus, the incarnate Son of God. What we know about God the Father and God the Holy Spirit we learn from God the Son who came to be God with us; Immanuel.

God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the creators. You are a creation of God. God created and in the creation established the ongoing creation of life. The plants yield seeds, the creatures of the sea are to, Genesis 1:22 (ESV) 22 …“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” God created the creatures of the land to multiply and then Genesis 1:27–28 (ESV) 27 …God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God created you through your parents, through their parents, all the way back to your first parents created by God from the dust of the ground. You are the creation, God is the creator. The creation cannot understand everything about the creator. If you have a god you can understand it means it is a god that someone made up; a god with a beginning and an end. A god that acts like you. A god that has demands you can meet to earn salvation. A glorious god enthroned far above the human fray. A god that makes sense.

The true God does things that do not make sense. The true God enters the human fray by taking on flesh and living among us. The true God shows His Godly glory by suffering and dying in bloody, naked, humiliation on a cruel cross. The true God conquers death by rising from the dead. What you know about God you learn from Jesus. You learn God is a God of sacrificial love who breathed life into the first man, and after that man’s fall into sin, it is this God who gives Himself as the sacrifice for sin, and breathes His Spirit, His breath, into you, to give you faith in the true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

You confess the true God to be God, even though it does not make sense, because it is essential that God does not make sense. For He is three persons, one God.

Uncreated

Infinite

Eternal

Almighty

Amen.

Posted on May 28, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Why no umbrella stands in the shower?

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Pentecost 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 28, 2023
Numbers 11:24-30,

Why is there no umbrella stand in the shower? We recently updated our bathtub and it was amazing all the different options that you could choose from with grab bars, and shelves, and soap dishes and curtain rods, but no option for an umbrella stand. What if I want to take a shower, but I don’t want to get wet? Where can I store my umbrella?

Today is the Festival of Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. At Jesus’ ascension, 40 days after His resurrection, He promises His followers that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Ten days later, on Pentecost, the promise is fulfilled with a sound like a rushing wind and tongues of fire coming down on Jesus’ disciples. They receive the power to speak in other languages so all the people can hear the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection and the call to, Acts 2:38–39 (ESV) 38 … “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. 39 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 Holy Spirit is sent to all. All are invited to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Peter then warns Acts 2:40 (ESV) 40 …“Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

That Pentecost was an amazing day. Acts 2:41 (ESV) 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” That is a lot of people who received his word, but there are many, many more people standing around with their umbrellas up, so to speak, in order to stop the living water of the Spirit from raining down on them. They embrace their crooked generation and block the Holy Spirit; they reject Jesus, and the forgiveness of sins.

But why? Why would anyone resist the Holy Spirit and put themselves outside of saving faith? There is a clue in James’ warning to the Jews scattered throughout the Mediterranean world. James 4:4 (ESV) 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:6–7 (ESV) 6 …. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

To submit is to yield to the power or authority of another. Human nature is to rebel against submission — to anyone, including God, and so folks put up their umbrellas to stop the Holy Spirit from raining down on them. There is a word on that umbrella. A five letter word. What five letter word summarizes why people resist the Holy Spirit? P…R…I…D…E. Pride. Pride causes people to stop their ears so as to not hear what God has to say. We see this in action in Acts 7 before the crowd stones Stephen to death. Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, accuses the crowds, Acts 7:51 (ESV) 51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:57–58 (ESV) 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. …” So many do not want to hear what God has to say. Hearing the Word of God hurts their pride.

Pride stops so many from hearing the Word of God because it means having to admit the truth about yourself and that truth stings. The truth means that you are doing something wrong and need to stop. The truth means you need to say you are sorry and mean it.

Hearing the Word of God is convicting. Hearing the Word of God is humbling. Hearing the Word of God means knowing you are not good enough. Hearing the Word of God means knowing you are a sinner. Hearing the Word of God means knowing that you need to be saved from the punishment you deserve. Hearing the Word of God is knowing that Jesus suffered and died on the cross to pay for your sins. Hearing the Word of God hurts your pride.

Pride stops so many from hearing the Word of God because it means having to admit the truth about yourself and that truth stings. The truth means that you are doing something wrong and need to stop. The truth means you need to say you are sorry and mean it. The truth means you are not in control of your own body and your own life. The truth hurts. So while the Holy Spirit rains down from heaven for all people, far too many stand under umbrellas of pride, refusing to be convicted by the Spirit.

Hearing the Word of God is convicting but it is also saving. The truth hurts, but it also heals. The Word of God not only condemns, it saves, and that is its main goal. Hearing the Word of God is knowing that Jesus died for you and rose from the dead for you. Hearing the Word of God is knowing that you are in Christ and Christ is in you. Hearing the Word of God means knowing that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Hearing the Word of God means knowing that your sins have been forgiven. Hearing the Word of God means that you have been set free from guilt and shame. Hearing the Word of God empowers you to live in the freedom of Christ. Galatians 5:13 (ESV) 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Hearing the Word of God makes you a conduit for the living water of the Holy Spirit flowing into you and out of you to others through your love of neighbor. Hearing the Word of God means drinking the living waters of Jesus. Hearing the Word of God means knowing you will rise from the dead and live forever with Jesus.

The Holy Spirit rained down in abundance on that first New Testament Pentecost flowing into the followers of Jesus and then flowing out from them to the others gathered there. Those who heard the Word were convicted and they humbly repented and were baptized. Others proudly resisted the Holy Spirit and remained outside of salvation.

How powerful it is that you gather here together in the presence of God each Sunday, remembering your baptism, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then forsaking your pride you humbly kneel before the Lord and confess that you are a sinner who deserves to be punished now and forever. Kneeling before the Lord, you fold up and throw away that umbrella of pride that stops the rain of the Holy Spirit, and instead you immerse yourself in the Spirit by hearing, speaking and singing the Word of God, and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The Spirit rains down on you with the living water of God and you receive that Spirit and then throughout the week the Spirit flows from you out to others as you speak the truth in love, and as you love your neighbor, and even love your enemy, and pray for those who persecute you. You drink in the living water of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit flows out of your heart to a thirsty world.

There is no umbrella stand in the shower because it would be stupid to put up an umbrella in the shower. It is even more stupid to put up an umbrella of pride to resist the Holy Spirit and reject Jesus in order to worship yourself. Self-worship is still the default religion in this crooked generation. Reject the ways of the world. Throw away that umbrella of pride. James 4:10 (ESV) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” Jesus says, John 7:38 (ESV) 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Amen.

Posted on May 21, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Wait for Jesus with Jesus

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Ascension Sunday (observed)
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 21, 2023
Acts 1:1-11, Eph. 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53

Jesus’ ascension into heaven from the Mount of Olives marks the beginning of a new era for the followers of Jesus. You remain in this era, waiting for Jesus to physically return on the Last Day. Jesus has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. The disciples were waiting and you are still waiting in that pause between Jesus’ ascension and Jesus’ return.

The Bible teaches you to be aware of Jesus’ return. Matthew 24:42–44 (ESV) 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

The devil wants you to forget that Jesus is coming back. The devil wants you to grow complacent and forget about Jesus and all He has done for you and just live for the moment. But Jesus is coming back. And not only is Jesus coming back. Jesus is still here. Jesus has not left you alone.

Backing up 34 years from the day of Jesus’ ascension and traveling 90 miles north back to a house in the town of Nazareth we find an angel of the Lord visiting a young woman named Mary; a virgin engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. The angel announces …Luke 1:31–32 (ESV) 31 … behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,”

Luke 1:34–35 (ESV) 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” The angel leaves and it appears that Mary is alone, but she is not. As Gabriel announced to her Luke 1:28 (ESV) 28 …“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” The Lord is with Mary…and how. Mary is pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus is in Mary’s womb. The eternal Jesus, the Son of God, came down from heaven and is in Mary; the little body of God in flesh is growing inside His mother.

Back on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus is going back to heaven in His body. The disciples are still confused and ask Jesus, Acts 1:6–7 (ESV) 6 …“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”

The disciples are still thinking Jesus is going to drive out the Romans, but that is not what Jesus has come to do. Jesus has come to conquer sin, death and the devil for all people. Jesus teaches the disciples, Acts 1:8 (ESV) 8 …you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Jesus then ascends into heaven and a cloud takes Him from their sight.

Jesus was with the disciples. Then He was killed and buried. It seemed that Jesus left them all alone, but Jesus rose from the dead and He is back with them. He is back, but then, 40 days after rising from the dead, Jesus ascends into heaven and it looks like the disciples have been abandoned, left staring up into the sky to where they last saw Jesus. “Jesus has left us alone again,” they think, but then a couple of messengers in white robes appear and say, Acts 1:11 (ESV) 11 …“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

The similarities between Jesus coming down from heaven and Jesus ascending up into heaven are remarkable. These scenes are bookends to Jesus first advent on earth. Jesus comes down to earth, Jesus ascends into heaven. There are angels and talk of power and the Holy Spirit coming upon you. Afterwards Mary is not alone. The Lord is with her. Afterwards the disciples think they are alone just waiting for Jesus to return, but He does not leave them alone. Jesus promises them they will receive power from on high. The Holy Spirit will come upon them. The followers of Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit and they will receive Jesus. As we heard in our Gospel reading last week John 14:18–20 (ESV) 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

Mary is not alone awaiting the arrival of the Lord in Bethlehem. The Lord is with Mary. Mary has Jesus in her. The disciples are not alone waiting for Jesus to return. They have the Holy Spirit and they have Jesus. They are in Jesus and Jesus is in them. It is not the physical body of the unborn Lord Jesus, but it is Jesus with them as He promised. And like the disciples, you are not alone. You are in Jesus and Jesus is in you.

Sometimes it is taught that when you find yourself indulging in sinful behavior you have to ask yourself, “is this what I want to be doing when Jesus returns? Do I want to be dead drunk? Do I want to be surfing the dark side of the internet? Do I want to be in bed with someone to whom I am not married? Do I want to be cheating on a test? Do I want to be lying to my parents? Is this what I want to be doing when Jesus returns?” No, certainly not. But it is really the wrong question. The correct question: Is this what someone who is in Christ and Christ in you should ever be doing? Anytime? Even if Jesus is not returning today. The truth is that Jesus is not just going to see what you are doing when He returns; He knows what you are doing all the time, because Jesus is with you. Christ is in you and you are in Christ.

You are in Christ, Christ is in you. And together, we are Christ in the world. The Church is the Body of Christ. You are united with Christ and you are united in Christ.

Jesus comes to you in the waters of baptism as we saw this morning with little Luna. Galatians 3:27 (ESV) 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You receive Jesus by hearing His Word and His word dwells in you. Jesus is the Word made flesh.

You receive Jesus’ own body and blood into your body. 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 (ESV) 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

You are in Christ, Christ is in you. And together, we are Christ in the world. The Church is the Body of Christ. You are united with Christ and you are united in Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12–13 (ESV) 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

You are in Christ and Christ is in you. It does not make sense, but the fact is that you wait for Jesus — with Jesus. You wait for Christ as a little Christ to the world. You are a little Christ; a Christian. You have put on Christ.

You are a Christian because those first disciples did what Jesus said to do. They were Jesus’ Acts 1:8 (ESV) …witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The Church grew and spread because of their witness and the witness of those who came after them. They were witnesses to the Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. As the Body of Christ, as followers of Jesus, you continue what the disciples began on the Mount of Olives after Jesus’ ascension. You witness to the world, in word and deed, the love and forgiveness of Jesus, as you, a little Christ, struggle against sin and temptation and wait for Jesus to return to destroy evil forever.

Live as a Christian and continue to wait for Jesus, with Jesus. Amen.

Posted on May 14, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Unknown gods

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Easter 6 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Vicar Kaleb Yaeger
May 14, 2023
Acts 17:16-31, 1 Peter 3:13-22, John 14:15-21

Athens was no small city. In the ancient world, it was the center of science, philosophy and art. People would come from all over the known world to see the great city of Athens. The marketplace of ideas was thriving and strong there. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, great Greek philosophers lived in Athens. Nowhere in the ancient world was a more well respected, civilized and depraved city.

Athens was on the cutting edge. It was the center of culture, literature and philosophy. But it was also full of all sorts of vice and excess.

In our modern age, we stand in the legacy of athens. Culturally, we are descendants of that great city. Always advancing, always moving forward, always craving and creating something new. You want to find the marketplace of ideas? Just go online! There, you can find the latest and greatest technology and information well beyond anything our ancestors could have dreamed of. All the philosophy of Athens only makes up a tiny portion of what the internet is capable of.

Yet you will not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than online. The place of all knowledge is also the place of all depravity and vice. All sorts of evil happens on the internet. There, you will find people like the Athenians, only interested in new experiences, even if that experience is full of sin.

But why does this happen? Why does the greatest human achievement always seem to come with the greatest sin?

For Athens, the answer lies in their gods. Every false god is invented by man. Every false religion is a lie that someone is telling to others and themselves. The gods of the Athenians were made by human hands. They sculpted their divinities, crafting stone as they crafted stories about them.

Here’s the thing about making your own gods. You get to make the rules too. After all, these gods are made in your image. So why not allow your favorite sins? Why not allow yourself some freedom? Why not eat, drink and be merry? Let’s make these gods so that you can do whatever you want to do, even if someone else would say it’s evil.

So it’s a good thing we’ve moved past all that. We live in the modern age. Our culture doesn’t have temples, statues, and civic worship. Here and there you might find some little cult or religion that worships in that old way, but by and large, we have advanced from primitive ways of thinking.

But the truth is, even in this enlightened age, we have gods. They just go by a different name. We have forged the world around us. We have given it shape with our hands by our buildings, our roads, and our factories. In America, we have forged this nation. We have connected it with the rest of the world by the internet, a technology made by human hands. Technology is one of our gods. It is the way we understand the world. It is a tool to help us in our work and at our play. The world fears, loves and trusts in technology above all things.

This is clearest when you look at the world of Artificial Intelligence. The hope is that we will be able to create out of our imagination and with our hands a being more intelligent and powerful than we are. To make a god in our own image. Trained on our creativity and logic. Given shape and life by the words we say. When this god of ours is created, we will have oracles who can consult it for advice, look to it for guidance, and let it show us the way to salvation.

AI is certainly powerful technology. But like any technology, it has limits. It is a tool, not a god. No matter what capabilities AI will give, it will never be our creator. We made it. Not the other way around. Fearing, loving and trusting in technology, even one as powerful as AI, will not save you.

In many ways, this is the same as Athens. Their stone statues were not gods. Statues did not create man. Man made the statues. But when man began to fear, love and trust in them, cold dead stone became their god. Cold dead stone, no matter how much you sacrifice to it, will not save you.

The false gods of Athens and the false gods of AI have the same problem. They are creations. They are limited by their creators. They cannot save us. This leads to a lingering question both cultures have to answer. What happens when our gods fail?

Athens had a very clever solution. A big part of their religion was in keeping their gods happy. But what if they missed one? After all, there’s no way the Athenians could know about every god anyone had ever come up with. So, to cover their bases, they put up an altar and labeled it “To the unknown god.” That way, even if they didn’t know about a god, they could still offer it a sacrifice or two to keep it happy.

On this front, Athens was way ahead of our modern age. Something deep down told them that their false gods weren’t quite right. They might have missed something. Or maybe their gods wouldn’t come through for them, so maybe this unknown god would. This is a prime example of the natural knowledge of God, the true God.

Our modern culture has the same sense. The same natural knowledge of God. But the enlightened world ‘knows’ that there’s no such thing. So instead of building an altar to the unknown god, the world just lets Him stay unknown. And deep down, the question gnaws. What happens when our gods fail?

Paul is in Athens. He has seen their idol worship. He has seen the altar to the unknown god. He sees that they are seeking something more certain than gods made with their own hands. So, Paul begins to preach about the true God. He makes such a stir in the city that the people bring him to the Areopagus, or “Hill of Ares”, the Greek god of war. This was the usual place where the Athenians would debate and discuss new ideas. Paul begins by bringing up that he has seen their altar to the unknown god.

“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Here, Paul says, let me tell you about your unknown god. He is the maker of heaven and earth. He is the only true God. Let me take this unknown god and make Him known to you. He is not like your other gods, made of precious metals and cold, dead stone.

…we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

God does not come from the imagination of man. He does not come out of a machine. He is the one who made man. God is the one who set the world into motion. God is the one who created heaven and earth. God is the one who created, so God is the one who can save. What happens when our gods fail? Then we know they are no gods at all. They are but creations of man.

So why would anyone settle for false gods? Because they want to make up their own rules. They like doing whatever they want to do. If God is the one who created us, then we don’t get to make up the rules. God has given us His rules. We don’t get to just decide that good is evil and evil is good because it’s more fun that way. Right and wrong are fixed.

And so, as Paul says to the Athenians,

…[God] commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed

Not only does God make the rules, He also enforces them. Judgment is coming for sin. God will not allow evil to continue forever. He will not allow His creation to be ruled by its own gods. The fact is, God will make Himself known, He will judge the world, and He will punish sin. So He calls all people everywhere to repent. To turn from their false gods and live. Jesus is the only way to salvation, and God wants all people to know this.

But how can we be so sure? We’re not the only religion with a sacred book. Other religions have similar teachings about their gods. What makes us so sure that Jesus is the only way?

God is not silent. He has given you His word. But that is not all He gives. He gives you a guarantee that His word is true.

…and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

We know that Jesus is the only way to salvation because Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed, Alleluia!) There are many religions. There are many holy books. There are many men throughout history who have been crucified. I would guess at least some of them claimed to be some kind of god. But only one of them rose from the dead.

Jesus’ resurrection is God’s seal of approval on all the Scriptures. Jesus’ resurrection is proof that He is the Son of God. It proves His testimony is true. Let the gods of the world fail. Let them crumble into dust and ashes. Let them prove what they really are, lies and falsehoods. They are tools, not gods. Our tools may fail. But God does not. God will not fail you. And when someone asks why you believe it, you can tell them: Because Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed, Alleluia!)

Amen

Posted on May 7, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Confession and Committment

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Easter 5 2023 – Confirmation Sunday
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 7, 2023
Acts 6:1-9, 7:2a, 51-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14

When a baby is baptized we speak together for the infant. We renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways. We declare faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The baby is brought into the family of God through the water and word of Holy Baptism. Many do not understand why we baptize babies. They cannot do anything. They cannot say anything. Why would you baptize them? Because Jesus said so. Matthew 28:19 (ESV) 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Today five of our young people will make a confession of their own, confirming what was spoken for them at baptism. I will ask them if they renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways. I will ask if they believe in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

After they confirm what was spoken for them at baptism I will ask a few more questions.

One of our confirmands let me know that during the elder examination he answered many of their questions with, “Because Jesus said so.” Why do we baptize? Why do we have Holy Communion? Why should we follow the Ten Commandments? Because Jesus said so. How do we know what Jesus said? It is written in the Bible. So I will ask, “Do you hold all the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God?” Do you believe the Bible, written by the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles, is the Word of God?

This is a critical question for all of us in this time and in every time. Is the Bible the Word of God? The devil’s first lie is an attack on God’s word, Genesis 3:1 (ESV) 1 …[The serpent] said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Eve protests that God said they would die, … Genesis 3:4–5 (ESV) 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

You will be like God….. Wow! Eating the fruit will make you like God. And isn’t that the great temptation for all of us for all time. The devil wants you to forsake the true God and make yourself god. Then you can declare things to be true and they are true for you. You can have your own truth. You can take charge of your own life so it does not matter what Jesus says, it only matters what you say. If you are your own god you can forget about what Jesus says because your feelings become the ultimate authority.

So the answer to this question is vital and has eternal consequences. Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?

The next question is, “Do you confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from the Scriptures, as you have learned to know it from the Small Catechism, to be faithful and true?”

What do you believe the Bible teaches? There are many different denominations and church bodies and independent churches out there. There is great confusion. Should we baptize babies or not, is Jesus’ Body and Blood present in the bread and the wine or not. What do I need to do to be saved? 500 years ago, Martin Luther wrote the Small Catechism to give a simple explanation of what we believe. He goes over the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession and Absolution and the Sacrament of the Altar. Our young people will confess that they believe what Luther has written about each of these because it is in agreement with the Bible.

“Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?” This is a question of commitment. In our Gospel reading today Jesus declares, John 14:6 (ESV) 6 … “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no other way of salvation except Jesus Christ. So an, “I do by the grace of God,” answer to this question is a promise to not let yourself be separated from the means by which God delivers grace to you. Why do we go to church? Why do we receive the Lord’s Supper? Because Jesus said so. Do this, in remembrance of me.

In our Epistle lesson today Peter writes about being the Church. 1 Peter 2:4–5 (ESV) 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” The Church is the collection of living stones; the followers of Jesus gathered together. Alone and apart from the Church a stone will cease to be a living stone.

There is a lot of competition for your time and attention. In Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed, the seed that falls among thorns gets choked out by the busyness of life and the deceitfulness of wealth. This is an ongoing temptation. The devil tempts us to allow hearing the Word of God and receiving the Lord’s Supper to fall lower and lower on our list of priorities. So we ask our young people today to commit to faithfulness by the grace of God, because Jesus said so.

The next question is absolutely counter cultural. “Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?” The culture you live in tells you to follow your feelings, do what you want to do, focus on yourself, live according to your own wants and wishes. In answering this question our young people will reject the ways of the world and commit to the ways of God. They will commit to love God and love their neighbor – Because Jesus said so.

Final question, “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?”

Now sometimes the white confirmation gowns can be mistaken for graduation gowns as if something is concluding. Instead, the robe symbolizes the white robe of Jesus’ righteousness that covers all your sin.

What a question. Will you abide in Jesus and His Church even if it costs you your life? We see in our reading today from Acts how the crowd turned on Stephen as he taught about Jesus. They threw rocks at Stephen until he was dead silent. Peter had preached a similar message on Pentecost and the people repented and were baptized. Stephen is rejected by the crowd and killed. Over the centuries many, many people have died because they are Christian, and not just long ago; millions in the 20th Century, and far too many in this millennium. Our young people today will boldly declare that they are willing to join the company of martyrs, if necessary. How can they be so bold? Because Jesus said so. Jesus said, Matthew 10:28 (ESV) 28 … do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” This is not something anyone can do by their own strength. The answer acknowledges our weakness, “yes, by the grace of God.”

As our confirmands publicly answer these questions I encourage all of you to answer along with them and reconfirm your own confession of faith; your own commitment to the Word of God and the Sacraments of God; your own willingness to suffer death rather than fall away from Christ’s Church. Be bold with our five young people.

Now sometimes the white confirmation gowns can be mistaken for graduation gowns as if something is concluding. Instead, the robe symbolizes the white robe of Jesus’ righteousness that covers all your sin. There is a tradition of wearing white for baptism, for confirmation and at your funeral as your casket is covered by the white funeral pall. At a wedding the groom and bride are a picture of Christ and His bride the Church. A bride wears white showing that the Church is made holy by Jesus.

If confirmation is like any type of graduation it is like graduation from military boot camp. When you graduate boot camp you are not finished; you are just getting started. Now you are ready for the fight, and life as a Christian is indeed combat. As the confirmands come forward, picture for a moment that their robes are not white, but rather camouflage as they confess their faith and prepare to do battle with the forces of evil. Ephesians 6:12–13 (ESV) 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Today, these five young people will renounce the devil and confess their Christian faith. This brave confession will put them at odds with the prevailing culture. This confession will make them enemies of the mainstream forces of power and influence in our nation. It would be easier for them to go with the flow but they know, the flow leads to destruction. So they will take the difficult way, because Jesus said so. Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV) 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Jesus’ way is not the easy way, but it is the way to eternal life. So confess the faith and live life clothed in the white robe of Christ’s righteousness. Live life, wearing the armor of God, standing your ground against the devil and his lies. Live life as living stones in Christ’s Church. Wield the sword of the spirit; the Word of God. And forever proclaim the greatest good news of all time, Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia. Give thanks that you are a forgiven child of God because Jesus said so. Amen.

Posted on April 23, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

You were not there…

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Easter 3 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 23, 2023
Acts 2:14a, 36-41, 1 Peter 1:17-25, Luke 24:13-35

It is Sunday afternoon and things do not look good. Their leader was arrested late Thursday night in the olive grove where He was praying. An armed mob tied Him up, abused Him and marched Him up Mt. Zion to the High Priest’s house where they assembled a late night crowd of religious leaders and others to put Him on trial in the middle of the night. They convicted Him, sentenced Him to death, abused Him some more and then turned Him over to the Roman authorities in the morning. The Romans continued the abuse and even though the governor knew it was wrong, he gave in to the crowd’s demands and allowed Him to be taken away for crucifixion. By Friday at 3 PM their leader was dead. The one they had hoped on, the one to whom they looked for guidance and inspiration, the one who had done such amazing miracles, the one who held so much promise, is dead, His lifeless body is wrapped in a death shroud and is lying in a tomb. How could this have happened? Why did this have to happen? What is going on?

It is Passover and there are so many people in Jerusalem and everyone is talking about what happened. There are rumors and half-truths and outright lies all swirling around. So much anger, so much grief, so much turmoil, so much confusion. Some of the women in their group were even claiming that their leader rose from the dead and the tomb is empty, but this seems like an idle tale. How can that be true? They must just be seeing things, or making things up wishing it was true. The whole situation is just… too… much… and so a couple of followers of the leader, Cleopas and a friend, decide to leave town and make the three or four hour walk to Emmaus just west of Jerusalem.

And this is where the story gets good. The two are walking and talking about all that has happened over the last week. And as they are walking a man comes up from behind and joins them and asks what they are talking about. They stop walking and stare at the man with their mouths hanging open. They look back at the way they came from and can still see Jerusalem in the distance. How can anyone coming from Jerusalem not know what they are talking about? How can this man be so ignorant? So since they know what has happened and this guy does not, they tell the man about all that has gone on with their leader in Jerusalem. After they tell everything to this ignorant man, He looks at them and probably shaking His head in disappointment says, Luke 24:25–26 (ESV) 25 …, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Cleopas and his friend are in shock. Who is this guy? As they continue their walk, the ignorant man begins to interpret to them from Moses and all the prophets all things concerning the Christ.

As they get near to Emmaus the man acts as if He is continuing further, but Cleopas and his friend urge Him to stay with them since it is almost evening.

It is time for dinner and the man takes the bread and blesses it and gives it to them. In the breaking of the bread, Cleopas’ and his friend’s eyes are opened and they recognize that the man at dinner, the man they have been walking with and learning from, is indeed Jesus, the Christ, risen from the dead.

These two followers of Jesus whom Jesus called “foolish and slow of heart” now say to each other, Luke 24:32 (ESV) 32 … “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” They knew something special was happening, but they didn’t know what, until Jesus reveals Himself to them in the breaking of the bread.

It is like a great Hollywood script. As we read it, we know what is going on, but Cleopas and his friend do not. The emotional roller coaster that they have been on over the last week has been intense — from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to His arrest and trials and condemnation and crucifixion and burial. And then came the rumors of Him rising from the dead and then Jesus Himself opening the scriptures to them to show that the Bible teaches that the Christ must suffer and die. And then, in this great Lutheran moment, Jesus reveals Himself, at the table, in the breaking of the bread.

We can get kind of jealous of Cleopas and his friend and this incredible experience that they have with Jesus. All of the confusion and frustration and education and their hearts burning within them and then the big reveal of who Jesus is. They are right there with Jesus.

Here, on Good Friday, we have a series of readings about the horrible events of that first Good Friday interspersed with solemn hymns and increasing darkness. There is a deepening gloom as we remember what Jesus went through because of us — and for us. It can be an emotional service of remembrance and at the end we sing, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Were you there when God raised Him from the dead? These are rhetorical questions which try to get you to imagine what it was like to actually be there watching Jesus die, watching Him be buried and seeing Him raised from the dead. For us, “Were you there,” is a rhetorical question. For Cleopas and his friend these are straight questions and their answers would be yes, yes, yes. They were there, perhaps at a distance, but they were there at the crucifixion, at the burial and seeing the resurrected Jesus. They experienced things first hand. And so we rejoice with them that they got to see Jesus and have that amazing experience that was meant for them.

We rejoice with them for their experience with Jesus, but for us, the burning of their hearts and the big reveal is not the highlight of this passage. These are not the most important messages for us. This reading is not about encouraging us to have our own “Road to Emmaus” experience. The important message for us is, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!” Jesus appears to two of His followers after His resurrection from the dead and walks and talks with them for hours. “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!”

And because Christ is risen, you too will rise from the dead. You too will be raised, because in baptism you died with Jesus and therefore you also will rise with Him. On the road to Emmaus Jesus is showing eyewitnesses that He is indeed raised from the dead. These eyewitnesses tell St. Luke and Luke records their words in his Gospel writing.

These are not the most important messages for us. This reading is not about encouraging us to have our own “Road to Emmaus” experience. The important message for us is, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!”

Jesus disappears from their midst in Emmaus and so Cleopas and his friend hurry back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven disciples all of what has happened, and while they are there, Jesus appears to all of them and shows them His hands and feet and invites them to touch Him and then He eats with them, and He teaches them, and opens their minds to understand… Luke 24:46–48 (ESV) 46 [He] said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.”

Eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection wrote down what they saw or their testimony was recorded by others. Matthew, Mark, John, Peter, Mary Magdalene, the other Marys, Cleopas and his friend. They provide us written eyewitness testimony that, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!” You do not get a road to Emmaus moment with your heart burning as Jesus teaches you. You were not there… and yet Jesus’ promise is still for you. At your baptism Jesus gives you His righteousness, His holiness, His perfection. In Christ you are a Saint of God. You have the risen Lord Jesus with you in His Word and Sacraments. Jesus comes to you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Jesus teaches you through the Words of Scripture. Jesus brings you forgiveness through the words of absolution, and Jesus continues to reveal Himself in the breaking of the bread as He has promised to do.

This is why you gather together each Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection, to celebrate again and again that, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!”

This is the most important message from our Gospel reading today and it is the most important Good News of all time.

You do not get to walk on the road to Emmaus with the resurrected Jesus, but Jesus is most certainly walking with you through this life and into eternity. You have eternal life with Jesus because “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!” Amen

Posted on April 9, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Christ is Risen!

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Easter 2023 – Festival of the Resurrection of our Lord
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 9, 2023
Acts 10:34-43, Col. 3:1-4, Matt. 28:1-10

The nails are pried out of His hands and feet. Jesus’ dead body is taken off of the cross, the crown of thorns is gently removed and his naked body is covered. He is carried away to a nearby garden be cleaned, anointed with perfume and spices, and wrapped in a clean linen shroud for burial. Joseph of Arimathea has gotten permission from the Roman governor to make arrangements for Jesus’ burial and He has Jesus’ body taken to Joseph’s own new tomb in that nearby garden. Joseph’s people stoop down to carry the body through a low door into a cool, dark, chamber, and lay the body flat on the rock surface carved out of the stone inside a hollowed out cave. They exit the chamber and push a heavy rock over the small low entranceway. All those gathered outside are weeping and mourning the death of Jesus of Nazareth; the one they believed to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. They had such great hope in Jesus, but now with the rolling of a stone all that hope is dead…sealed in a tomb. Jesus caused people to have such great confidence that the Messiah had finally come and everything would be fulfilled and that He would bring forgiveness and eternal life. He would bring victory over sin and the grave. He would restore all things. But now He lies dead in a tomb sealed with a stone. The people begin to disperse. In a year or so, someone will have to come back to collect Jesus’ bones and put them in a bone box so another body can use the tomb.

This is what happens to people. The Bible is clear. Isaiah 40:6–8 (ESV) 6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

At a tomb, at a grave, it certainly seems that death has the final say; that death has the final victory. Death is so hard. It is so, so final. Most of you have been there, standing by the graveside of your loved one with the casket ready to be lowered into the ground and sealed in a vault. It feels like the end.

It has been a difficult few weeks for our family as Jeannette and I have spent a lot of time at the bedside of my dying father. It is a difficult thing to do as many of you know all too well. But as I sat there I was not filled with crippling grief or overwhelming sorrow. Those in Christ know that death is not the end. Christians grieve, but not like those who have no hope. And why is that?……. Why do we have hope in the face of death? St. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 (ESV) 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! ‘

The women go back to the tomb on Sunday morning just before dawn. They approach the group of guards surrounding the grave wondering what they are going to be able to do about the large stone. Suddenly there is a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord shining like lightening with snow white clothing descends. He rolls back the stone in front of the tomb and the guards faint from fear. Matthew 28:5–7 (ESV) 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

The angel rolls the stone away to show everyone that the tomb is already empty. Jesus has already risen and He is no longer there. Jesus has done what He said He would do a week earlier in Jericho when He told the disciples. Matthew 20:18–19 (ESV) 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

And that is what He did. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

People often dispute about who Jesus is. They want to make Him to be anything but the Christ, the Son of the living God. They want Him to be just a teacher, a prophet, a helper, a coach, an advisor, a friend. By rising from the dead on that Sunday morning in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, Jesus silences all the doubters. If Jesus did not rise from the dead then He is just another guy… worse, He is a liar. If He did not rise then He lied about who He is and what He will do. But Jesus did not lie. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We know this is true because we have eyewitnesses to His resurrection including Peter whose words are recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts in our first reading today. Acts 10:39–41 (ESV) 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

What Jesus told Peter and the disciples to do, is what we continue to do to this day. We proclaim the resurrection. We preach and teach that Jesus is the Christ who was crucified, who died for the sins of the world, and who has risen from the dead just as He said He would. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Jesus appears to the disciples after His resurrection. And what does Peter report that Jesus tells them to do? Acts 10:42–43 (ESV) 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

What Jesus told Peter and the disciples to do, is what we continue to do to this day. We proclaim the resurrection. We preach and teach that Jesus is the Christ who was crucified, who died for the sins of the world, and who has risen from the dead just as He said He would. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Jesus takes your sin…all your sin… upon Himself. He pays the price for your sins proclaiming from the cross, tetelestai, it is finished. It is finished. The payment for your sins is complete. Jesus’ body rests in the tomb on the Sabbath and then Sunday morning the angel rolls away the stone from the tomb to show that Jesus has risen from the dead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

You are baptized into Christ. You have put on Christ. This changes everything for you. Romans 6:1–5 (ESV) 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

The disciples spend the rest of their lives proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead and because Jesus rose from the dead, those in Christ will also rise on the Last Day. The disciples proclaim the truth.

I teach my children and the students in catechism class and at school that not only is it right to tell the truth, but it is easier to tell the truth. It is easier to tell the truth, because if you lie once, what do you almost always have to do? You have to lie again to cover up the first lie and you have to try to remember all the lies. If you tell the truth you do not have to remember what you said.

Chuck Colson who founded Prison Fellowship after being incarcerated for his involvement with the Watergate scandal wrote this, “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”

After Jesus ascended into heaven the disciples and other followers of Jesus began to be arrested, beaten, and killed for proclaiming the truth about Jesus. They continued anyway. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

As Christ’s church we will continue to proclaim the truth about Jesus no matter what opposition we may face because this is the truth that brings eternal life. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

Posted on April 8, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

The Price of Mercy

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Good Friday 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Vicar Kaleb Yaeger

O Lord, have mercy. O Christ, have mercy. O Lord, have mercy. This has been the fervent prayer of the church since she first began. We have always cried out to God for mercy. Mercy is the foundation of the faith. God is merciful. He does not repay evil with evil, but repays evil with good. He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. It is no wonder, then, that you cry: O Lord, have mercy!

But have you considered the price of mercy?

O Lord, have mercy. O Lord, you pray, do not deal with me according to my sins. O Christ, have mercy. O Christ, you pray, do not deliver me over unto death. O Lord, have mercy. O Lord, do not let your just and holy wrath come against me. With this three-fold cry, you beg that God would not come against you in righteous anger, but in peace. You get down on your knees and beg that God would not do justice to you. That God would not give you what you deserve. O Lord, you cry, have mercy!

But have you considered the price of mercy?

Mercy is when someone does not get what they do deserve. Mercy is shown to a man on his knees. Mercy is the opposite of justice.

God is just. God is righteous. In His justice and righteousness, God is wrathful against sin. He may be slow to anger, but His anger does come. In the end, justice must be done. It is to this just God that you cry for mercy. O Lord, do not deal with me according to your wrath. O Christ, put my sins away. “O Lord, have mercy”

But have you considered the price of mercy?

Consider it now. Your king stands before the crowd. He is clothed in purple. Dark streaks of blood stain the fine fabric. The crown He wears is made of thorns. His face is covered in crimson streaks. Already, His body is striped with wounds. Wounds that He does not deserve. The wounds He bears in His body are your sins. The thorns that crown His head are your sins. The blows that the soldiers lay upon Him are your sins.

Yet this is not the full price of mercy.

The crowds get their way. Jesus is delivered to be crucified. He staggers under the weight of the cross. He staggers under the weight of your sin. He carries the cross on His wounded back. He comes to the place of the skull, the place of death. Your king is laid on the cross. A Roman soldier places the nails. You hammer them in with your sins. Every evil thought. Every wicked word. Every vile deed. With every strike, the Lord of all cries out in pain.

Yet even this is not the full price of mercy.

The Son of Man is lifted up. Raised high on the cross. Suspended by nails. A slow death by suffocation. Every breath is a labor. Below the cross, the Roman soldiers cast lots for His garments. Jesus suffers there for some time. His body is in immense pain. The wounds on His back scrape against the rough-hewn cross. The nails in His hands and feet hold Him in suspended suffering. Jesus hangs on the tree of the cross.

Yet even this is not the full price of mercy.

His physical suffering is immense. His spiritual suffering is beyond understanding. God the Father looks down on Jesus. All He sees is sin. Your sin. God’s wrath falls on His Son, His only Son whom He loves. On the cross, Jesus drinks the wine that has become vinegar. With it, He drinks the cup of God’s wrath, down to the dregs. The full punishment for sin is laid upon Jesus. From the sin of Adam to the sin of the last man who will ever live, Jesus bears it all.

When all was accomplished, Jesus said:

“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Behold the price of mercy.

It only cost Him everything. The Son of God laid down His life for you. He has drunk the cup of God’s wrath and left it empty. The debt is now paid. Justice is done. The wrath of God against sin is satisfied.

Jesus bore all of your sins to the cross and when He is buried in a stranger’s tomb, He committed your sins to the grave. They are sealed away forever. They are cast as far as the east is from the west. All out of nothing but love for you. Your sins are what drove Him to the cross. His love for you is what held Him there. Behold the love of God! Behold the price of mercy. Cry out, cry out with the whole Christian church on earth,

O Lord, have mercy

O Christ, have mercy

O Lord, have mercy.

Amen.

Posted on April 2, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Who is Jesus and What did He do?

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Palm Sunday 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 2, 2023
Zechariah 9:9-10, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 21:1-11

Matthew 16:13–18 (ESV) 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

There is great confusion about who Jesus is and what He has come to do. Peter seems to get it as to the who, but then right after Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God Jesus tells the disciples for the first time the what. … Matthew 16:21 (ESV) 21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Peter rejects this and tells Jesus, Matthew 16:22 (ESV) 22 … “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Even Peter does not understand what Jesus has come to do.

Jesus tells the disciples a second time Matthew 17:22–23 (ESV) 22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

Now, down in Jericho, Jesus tells His disciples for the third time, Matthew 20:18–19 (ESV) 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” Jesus is down in Jordan valley, on His way to Jerusalem traveling with His 12 disciples, a crowd of people, two formerly blind men that He just healed, and likely Zebedee’s wife, Salome, the mother of James and John. It is a hard, 18 mile desert wilderness hike from Jericho to the Mount of Olives going from 800 feet below sea level to 3,000 feet above. The Good Shepherd likely leads this strange parade through Wadi Qelt also known as the Valley of the Shadow of Death on His way out of Jericho.

Jesus walks the 18 miles up hill to the top of the Mount of Olives and then he gets a donkey to ride downhill into Jerusalem. What sense does that make? Well, riding the donkey is not about transportation, riding the donkey is about fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 (ESV) 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

This is a ridiculous looking spectacle. A full grown man is riding a small donkey down a steep hill covered with clothing and palm branches. He then rides the little donkey through a gate into the holy city of Jerusalem. What must be going through Jesus mind? He alone knows all of what is coming that week and along the way there are little signs of what is to come. On the back of the donkey there is a pattern of dark hair in the shaped of a cross. As Jesus rides down the Mount of Olives He rides past the Garden of Gethsemane which, on Thursday, will be the place of His passionate prayer and betrayal and arrest. Jesus rides His little donkey down the hill from the east and likely enters the city through the Eastern Gate; the Golden gate into the temple grounds. This is the gate spoken of in Ezekiel’s prophecy of a new temple, Ezekiel 43:1–2 (ESV) 1 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. 2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.”

Surely now the people of Jerusalem clearly know who Jesus is and what He has come to do. They will know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the King of the Jews coming to be crowned. He is the Savior coming to be the sacrifice for sin. Surely they will see and they will know.

Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the King of the Jews. He tells this to the people. He shows this to the people in His miracles and signs. He basically declares, I am the Christ and I am now fulfilling prophecy. And the people welcome Him by waving palm branches as a sign of victory and shouting, Matthew 21:9 (ESV) 9 “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Hosanna means, “Please Lord, please save us!”

Surely now the people of Jerusalem clearly know who Jesus is and what He has come to do. They will know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the King of the Jews coming to be crowned. He is the Savior coming to be the sacrifice for sin. Surely they will see and they will know.

Matthew 21:10–11 (ESV) 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” As the disciples reported earlier, “some say He is a prophet.”

Jesus is showing and telling His disciples and the crowds who He is and what He has come to do, but they do not understand. People are confused. After Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey colt as Messiah and King the people think He is just a prophet from Nazareth. The week will continue with confusion. Jesus teaches that tax collectors and prostitutes have faith because they believed John the Baptist’s teaching about Jesus. He teaches that the religious leaders have rejected John’s teachings and they have rejected Jesus. .

Jesus teaches the crowds and warns the religious leaders but confusion continues. What would it take for people to understand who Jesus is and what He has come to do. Jesus does what He said He would do. He goes to Jerusalem, He suffers many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes, He is killed. On the third day He is raised from the dead. Surely, this will be such a clear sign it will cause all to believe. But, tragically, so many people are so caught up in their own situations, their own power and money and control that they miss Jesus. The busyness of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out their faith in Jesus. This is so much of a problem today in our world…in our lives. There are so many forces pulling for your time and attention and money that Jesus can be bumped from being Savior and Lord, down to a holiday tradition, down to helper, down to buddy, down to jewelry accessory, down to irrelevance, down to an enemy. The devil, the world and your sinful nature conspire to rob you of faith in Jesus as your Savior and King. This evil triad works to confuse your understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for you.

And so, because you are aware of all the forces working against true faith, you come here each week to confess your helplessness, to remember your baptism, to receive the gift of forgiveness in Jesus’ words, and in His Body and His Blood. You come here because you know the truth. Jesus is your King. Jesus is your Lord. Jesus is your Savior from sin. Jesus is who He says He is and you are His cherished treasure. He went to Jerusalem riding on the colt of donkey to sacrifice Himself… for you.

Today you remember Jesus’ entering Jerusalem to the waving of Palm Branches in victory and shouts of Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest! As the week ends with Jesus on trial, sentenced to death and crucified you will see more clues to His true identity. He is crowned, He is given royal robes. Pilate declares Jesus of Nazareth to be the King of the Jews. As Jesus breathes His last the Roman centurion and his guard witness the earth shake and all that is happening and they are filled with awe and declare, Matthew 27:54 (ESV) 54 …“Truly this was the Son of God!”

And even this clear confession is still a bit confused because, as we will see next Sunday, it is not that He “was the Son of God!” Jesus is the Son of God. He is the resurrected Son of God from eternity to eternity and He has given you eternal life with Him. Amen.

Posted on March 26, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Yelling at Dead People

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Lent 5 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
March 26, 2023
Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 8:1-11, John 11:1-53

Unless you were paying close attention, you would have missed it. Jesus’ first sign in the Gospel of John is done very quietly. At His mother’s request He turns 120 gallons of water into wine at a wedding in Cana a few miles north of Nazareth. Jesus does the miracle discreetly. Only Mary, the disciples and the servants know what happened. It was the first of Jesus’ signs of who He really is, but He does not make a big deal out of it.

His identifying signs become less discreet as He interacts with the Samaritan woman at the well and tells her all about herself and she shares it with her whole village. Then, back in Cana, Jesus heals the son of an official from Capernaum. Down in Jerusalem on a Sabbath, Jesus heals a crippled man at the pool of Bethesda and the man tells the Jewish leaders it was Jesus who did it. Up in Galilee Jesus feeds 5,000 and then walks on water. In our Gospel reading last week Jesus heals a man born blind in Jerusalem causing a great stir among the people and the religious leaders. The number of people following Jesus grows, and the opposition to Jesus grows. There are plans to arrest Jesus and plots to kill Jesus, especially in the areas around Jerusalem. It is a tense situation. Despite the danger, Jesus visits Jerusalem for the winter Feast of Dedication, which is now called Hanukkah, and while He is there the Jews pick up rocks and are ready to stone Jesus to death but He escapes and goes down across the Jordan where it is calmer and safer.

Jesus starts out discreetly doing signs, now He is going to do a sign with audacity. Jesus is going to take bold risks. At Jesus’ first miracle in Cana He tells His mother, John 2:4 (ESV) 4 … “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Now, Jesus’ hour has come. He is across the Jordan at the place John had been baptizing. He is hunkered down with his disciples. People come to Jesus saying, John 10:41 (ESV) 41 … “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” Into this riverside place of peace and safety comes a messenger from the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. Jesus’ friend Lazarus is sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, want Jesus to come and heal Lazarus. The disciples must really tense up to think they will have to return to where Jesus was almost killed. They don’t understand that it is now Jesus’ hour. Jesus is going to be audacious and He strategically sets everything up just right. He delays their return to Bethany by telling the disciples, John 11:4 (ESV) 4 …“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.” It sounds like they are staying put so the disciples relax. Two days pass and then Jesus announces John 11:7 (ESV) 7 … “Let us go to Judea again.”

The disciples had been relieved, but are now concerned and protest, John 11:8 (ESV) 8 … “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” It is kind of cute how the disciples, just like us, feel the need to remind Jesus of the “reality” of the situation as they second guess his decisions. Jesus declares that it is time to act while it is day and that Lazarus is asleep and Jesus will go awaken Him, and then has to explain to the disciples that when He said Lazarus is asleep, He meant…Lazarus is dead. Thomas, knowing the risks of Jerusalem, bravely declares to the twelve, John 11:16 (ESV) 16 …“Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus and the disciples go to Bethany and meet Lazarus’ sister Martha on the road. Martha is distraught with grief over her brother who has been dead for four days. She is upset that Jesus was not there to save Lazarus, but still retains faith in Jesus. John 11:21-22 (ESV) 21 Martha [says] to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

John 11:23-24 (ESV) 23 Jesus [says] to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha [says] to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Martha has good, solid faith in God. She knows, perhaps better than many Christians today, that the dead will be raised on the last day. What she doesn’t know is she has the resurrection standing in front of her.

Jesus is truly audacious. He confronts death and declares, John 11:25-26 (ESV) 25 … “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus is the resurrection and He declares victory over death right there in Bethany to grieving Martha with Lazarus lying dead nearby in a tomb. Jesus declares authority over death and now He will demonstrate that audacious authority in front of a crowd of witnesses so there will be no denying what He has done.

Martha goes to get Mary, and Mary quickly gets up and departs and the Jews at the house follow her and they all meet Jesus on the road. Mary is crying, the Jews are crying, everyone is torn up by the death of Lazarus. Death is tragic. Death is the enemy. Death is not part of God’s original plan in creation but is a result of sin. Jesus is deeply moved and troubled by death and asks to be taken to the grave and then Jesus weeps. Even knowing what is about to happen, death troubles Jesus; death saddens Jesus.

I think this is an important point to remember when Christians mourn the death of loved ones. There is some social push lately to not have a funeral or memorial service but instead have a celebration of life. I fear that this can make folks feel guilty that they are sad at the death of a loved one; as if their grief is somehow denying the resurrection of the dead. Jesus shows us here how there is absolutely a resurrection of the dead, and, at the same time, death still brings tears.

There is murmuring in the crowd as there was with Mary and Martha, “Why didn’t Jesus keep Lazarus from dying?”

Jesus, Mary and Martha, and the crowd of Jews go to the tomb and Jesus, with great audacity, demands that they take away the stone from the front of the tomb. And at this point Martha, dear, practical Martha, really must protest. Okay, all this raising of the dead talk is fine and dandy, but this is real death, there is a real dead body in that tomb, and it has really been in there for four days, and real dead bodies decompose and start to smell like…well, they smell like death.

Jesus, however, is not worried about the reality or stench of death because Jesus has real authority over death and with great audacity John 11:40 (ESV) 40 Jesus [says] to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Jesus’ audacity is greater than practical concerns about the stink of death and they roll away the stone. Jesus prays out loud so that people will hear him and know that Jesus is the one sent by God the Father. And then Jesus does something so audacious it is really ridiculous. Jesus yells at a corpse. Jesus gives an order to a dead man. John 11:43 (ESV) 43 … “Lazarus, come out.” How stupid is it to yell orders at a dead man? It is ultimately stupid, unless…unless…you are the resurrection and the life…unless, you have authority over death…unless, you are God in flesh.

The dead man obeys Jesus’ command and Lazarus comes walking out of the tomb wrapped in grave clothes. Jesus orders that he be unbound and freed.

In front of a crowd of onlookers Jesus raises a man from the dead who has been dead for four days. The people are amazed by what they see. Some believe that Jesus is the Christ sent from God. Others are horrified, because Jesus is their enemy, and they run off to the Pharisees to report what has happened. Jesus purposely does an audacious miracle that cannot be explained away or ignored, and the Jewish leaders are stirred to action. Jesus must die. He must die as soon as possible. The Jewish leaders lament, John 11:48 (ESV) 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” You just can’t let someone live who is audacious enough to command dead people to live and they obey. It is time for Jesus to die. Jesus’ hour has come.

John 11:49-50 (ESV) 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

Caiaphas is more right than he knows. Truly, truly it is better for one man to die to save the people. This is what Jesus has come to do. This is Jesus’ mission that will soon bring Him in front of Caiaphas to be questioned, found guilty, turned over to Pontius Pilate, flogged, crowned with thorns, paraded through the streets, and crucified at Golgotha, the place of a skull. Jesus’ audacity in raising Lazarus from the dead leads to Jesus’ crucifixion and death and burial in a tomb. Jesus trades places with Lazarus. But Jesus has authority over death.

It is with great audacity that even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death you fear no evil. In the face of the death of a loved one; in the face of your own death, you are saddened, but you do not grieve as those who have no hope. You have great hope. You have Jesus.

This is quite an Easter Gospel reading here in the middle of Lent. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus can raise the dead. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Jesus Himself is raised from the dead, and Jesus will raise you from the dead.

And so it is with great audacity that each week you confess in the creed that you believe in the resurrection of the dead. You believe in the resurrection of your body on the Last Day. It is with great audacity that at funerals we declare Jesus’ words, John 11:25-26 (ESV) 25 … “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. …”

It is with great audacity that even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death you fear no evil. In the face of the death of a loved one; in the face of your own death, you are saddened, but you do not grieve as those who have no hope. You have great hope. You have Jesus.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. You have the audacity to believe that you have eternal life, and you know it is true, because that is what Jesus has promised you. Amen.