From the Pulpit

Posted on March 17, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

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Lent 5 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
March 17, 2024
Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 5:1-10, Mark 10:32-45

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When you go to a professional sporting event; a football, baseball, basketball, soccer game or a hockey match, there is that magical moment when you walk through the tunnel into stands of and emerge into a bright new world. As you sit and look around during the game, ask yourself, “Who is the greatest one there?” The star player, the coach, the celebrity in the sky box? Who is the greatest? It is an age old question.

Sometimes it seems that being one of Jesus’ 12 disciples would have been amazing, but being a follower of Jesus is really rough on the 12 disciples. This teacher is like no other and it is hard to keep up with all that He is doing and with all that He is teaching and all that he is saying is going to happen. He is amazing. He heals the sick, He raises the dead, He makes the blind see, He feeds thousands with five loaves of bread and a two fish. The movement that started out so small is growing and growing. Jesus is the Christ of God, the Messiah, the anointed one who has come to save His people. His success and influence grows and grows, but then He keeps saying these strange things about what will happen when he goes to Jerusalem.

Mark 8:31 (ESV) 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” The first time Jesus says this is right after Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ. When Peter hears that people are going to hurt Jesus, Peter declares that he is not going to allow it to happen. Peter will protect Jesus. But instead of being grateful for Peter’s care, Jesus rebukes Peter harshly. Mark 8:33 (ESV) 33 … “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

The next time Jesus teaches about what is going to happen in Jerusalem is after His transfiguration on the mountain and driving a demon out of a boy. Mark 9:31 (ESV) 31 …“The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”

This time the disciples do not know what to say — so they remain silent. Although, it seems that as they travel along the road the 12 engage in the age old question, “Who is the greatest?” Jesus is teaching them the ways of God, but they are clinging to the ways of man and Jesus reprimands them. Mark 9:35 (ESV)

35 … “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Now, in today’s reading they are on the road to Jerusalem and Jesus tells them a third time, Mark 10:33–34 (ESV) 33 … “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

This scene is really crazy. Jesus and the disciples are on the road to Jerusalem and Jesus has said that in Jerusalem they are going to condemn Him, mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. You do not have to be a genius to figure out how to make this better. There is an easy answer to this problem. Just stop. Stop going to Jerusalem. Turn around and go the other way. They are going to kill you in Jerusalem. Turning around is the plan that makes sense. But Jesus’ ways are not the ways of the world. Jesus’ ways do not make sense to the world.

So, how do the disciples respond to Jesus’ third description of what is going to happen to Him? Rebuking Jesus for talking like this did not work. Being silent did not resolve the tension. Maybe they should just change the subject. James and John ask Jesus to do whatever they ask — and what is it they want? Mark 10:37 (ESV) 37 … “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” James and John have figured out who is the greatest and it is the two of them.

The issue of greatness is an age old problem. We desperately want other people to know that we are better than them. In the corporate world there are marks of greatness displayed by those who have achieved success and by those who want to achieve. You dress for success. It matters greatly about the brand of your shoes and your wristwatch, the cut of your jacket, the cost of your car, and the color of your credit card. These things are meant to impress others. Where you sit at a sporting event shows your status. Are you in the skybox or right behind home plate, or are you way up top in an obstructed view seat? Your natural, sinful self wants others to see how great you are. Even after being reprimanded earlier for arguing about who is the greatest, James and John still want everyone to know that they are Jesus’ favorites; they are the greatest.

These two disciples do not comprehend what Jesus is repeatedly saying and He tells them, Mark 10:38 (ESV) 38 … “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” The spots to the right and left of Jesus in His glory are already reserved for two lowlifes who will be crucified next to Jesus who has made Himself a lowlife being executed on a cross.

Jesus will pray that this cup might pass, but He indeed will drink the cup of God’s wrath. Jesus will be baptized in his own blood and intense suffering and torment. He will be immersed in God’s wrath as the penalty for the sin of the whole world.

Can James and John drink the cup and be baptized with Jesus’ baptism? They will, but not until Jesus has drunk the cup and been baptized and left the blessing. You also drink the cup and are baptized with Jesus’ baptism. You drink from Jesus’ cup at the Lord’s Supper. 1 Corinthians 10:16 (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?” You have been baptized in Jesus baptism. Galatians 3:27 (ESV) 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath and He was baptized with suffering and death on the cross. His cup and baptism are, for you, a cup of blessing and a baptismal blessing, but there is still suffering attached. To follow Jesus is to take up your cross. James learns this when he is executed by the sword of Herod Agrippa in 44 AD. John is grieved by the death of his brother and the other nine disciples executed for the faith. It is thought that John is the only disciple to have died a natural death, although as an old man he is exiled to the island of Patmos where he receives the vision he records in the book of Revelation.

You are a baptized child of God. You drink from the Lord’s cup of blessing and this marks you as an enemy of the world. The world hates you because it hates Jesus and you are one with Jesus. The ways of the world say you should reject Jesus to avoid the hate and the suffering and the self-denial; to avoid the cross. This is the way of the world, but Jesus teaches, Matthew 5:11 (ESV) 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” God’s way is different than man’s way.

Oh, dearest Jesus, what law hast thou broken? Jesus broke the law of the world that seeks after personal greatness, power, and glory. Despite knowing what will happen, Jesus goes to Jerusalem to give His life as the ransom for you.

Jesus knows that figuring out who is the greatest is the way of the world; declaring your greatness is the way of man. Self-promotion is the how the world operates but that is not how Christians live. Mark 10:42–44 (ESV) 42 …“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

Christianity is radical rebellion against the culture. To be great is to be a servant to others. As you enter the stadium remember the greatest at the sporting event is not the star player, not the coach, not the celebrity, but rather perhaps the security guard or the person grilling the hamburgers or the one sweeping the stands afterward. Christian greatness is very different. It is a very different life to be a Christian — humbly serving others instead of promoting yourself.

Jesus’ life on earth was a life of serving others culminating in the ultimate service of giving His life in exchange for yours. Mark 10:45 (ESV) 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Oh, dearest Jesus, what law hast thou broken? Jesus broke the law of the world that seeks after personal greatness, power, and glory. Despite knowing what will happen, Jesus goes to Jerusalem to give His life as the ransom for you.

The people of the world know how to avoid the difficulties and suffering of the cross. They reject the cross and they are left in their sin. Jesus comes to earth for the very purpose of going to the cross to save you. Contrary to everything that makes sense, Jesus gives Himself for you. The Lord of the Universe is your servant. Take up your cross and follow Him. Amen.

Posted on March 3, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

Ugly, stupid, weak failure

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Lent 3 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
March 3, 2024
Exodus 20:1-17, 1 Cor. 1:18-31, John 2:13-22

My morning routine is when I first get up I turn on the TV news and then pause it. When I get back later to eat breakfast I can watch the news and fast forward through the commercials. I mostly just want to hear about the weather for the day and the commercials feel like a waste of time. Plus they can make me want something that I did not desire before I saw the ad. Advertisers are smart. So often commercials will appeal to our attraction to beauty, intelligence, success and power and they are effective because we like things that are beautiful, intelligent, successful and powerful because we want to be beautiful, intelligent, successful and powerful. The world is all about these things because these things are attractive… it is only natural. As a citizen of the world it is easy to believe these are the most important things of life.

The world tells you that life is all about becoming more beautiful, more intelligent, more successful and more powerful, and then you come in here on a Sunday morning and you are confronted by Jesus on the cross. Jesus on the cross is ugly. There is nothing smart about the brutal violence and humiliation and suffering of the cross. It is utter failure and helplessness.

Being far removed from actual crucifixions you can lose the complete sense of how awful crucifixion was and how it was only used against the worst rebels and criminals. By design, it is one of the most shameful, degrading, agonizing ways to die. The one being crucified is completely at the mercy of those around him and little mercy is shown. The arms of the condemned are stretched out and nailed to a beam so that his hands are useless and his shameful nakedness is on display to all. Hanging like that, the prisoner’s chest juts forward and he is forced to work at exhaling instead of inhaling and he will quickly grow exhausted and die of suffocation. So, in order to slow down the process the Romans nail the prisoner’s feet to a board so the condemned can push up against the nails and catch a small breath before being overwhelmed by the pain. They might also perhaps put a small piece of wood under his backside so the one being crucified will squirm in agony against the nails; desperate to catch a breath; feeling always like he is on the verge of suffocation hour after hour. The Romans perfected this horrifying method of execution so they could get prisoner to last two or three days on the cross constantly praying to die. Through this process the condemned one is so broken and humiliated that anyone observing would declare, “Whatever happens, I do not want to die like that.” Crucifixion is utter powerlessness.

When you think about God and what is God like, what words come to mind? God is good, gracious, faithful, eternal, immutable, almighty, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, just, love. When you think about how you expect God to act, it is easy to want to think that God is all about beauty, intelligence, success and power. It is easy to fall into thinking like the Jews that you want God to work signs. Like King Herod you want Jesus to perform at your command. You want to see Jesus’ beauty, intelligence, success and power. It only makes sense… but then there is the cross. The bloody, awful cross slaps you in the face with the truth that God’s ways are not your ways. The ways of the world and the ways of God are different. As you are repulsed by the cross and are tempted to seek a cleaner, more beautiful savior, the words Jesus used to rebuke Peter echo in your mind. Mark 8:33 (ESV) 33 … “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

The cross is awful, but to want Jesus to skip the cross is satanic. The wisdom of God is found at the cross of Christ. The power of God is found at the cross. Jesus’ strength is found in His weakness.

You come to the throne of God in weakness. The world is impressed by beauty, intelligence, success and power, but Jesus is not impressed. Jesus does not care about that. Mark 10:13–16 (ESV) 13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

You come to Jesus as a helpless, needy child. You come to Him not based on who you are but based on who He is. You come to Jesus poor in spirit, empty handed, with nothing but your sin and guilt.

Being a Christian is not about being beautiful, intelligent, successful and powerful. It is admitting that you are an ugly, stupid, weak, failure. This is why Christianity is foolishness to the world. The word of the cross is folly. How could anything good come from something so awful? The world rejects Christ on the cross because it exposes their failure and weakness when trying to be good enough.

So many churches, especially it seems the mega churches, have pushed the cross of Christ out of its center place and instead teach a message that if you are faithful enough God will bless you with beauty, intelligence, success and power. Joel Osteen teaches that you can speak these things into existence by your words. “I am beautiful. I am intelligent. I am successful. I am powerful.” Sadly there was a shooter that came into his church a couple of weeks ago, but I bring him up because he is one of the most prominent preachers in one of the biggest churches in America. But it certainly seems like the cross is foolishness to Joel Osteen.

The message of the cross is foolishness to these folks because they are teaching that the good news of Christianity is achieving the American dream. In a gospel of success there is no room for the cross and often there is no cross visible in their worship space. The people come to church not because they know they are broken and weak, but so they can find out how to be successful in life. What they receive is not the Good News; not the Gospel of Christ. They receive a damning message of “try harder, do more, do better.” Each week they return to hear again how they can improve if they just do better. They hear how they can achieve beauty, intelligence, success and power. The world seeks after these things but they are all temporary things of this life – just fleeting objectives that quickly disappear like a morning mist.

Paul warns Timothy that this will happen. 2 Timothy 4:3–4 (ESV) 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Jesus covers over your ugly, stupid, failing weakness with His perfection. Jesus clothes you in the robe of His righteousness. He gives you heavenly beauty. He gives you eternal wisdom. He makes you His own child, a member of the King’s family. He gives you the crown of eternal life and the unsearchable riches of Christ.

When people make up a new religion they take Christ off the cross or minimize the cross. Muslims teach that Jesus did not die on the cross, only someone who looked like him. Mormons teach that Jesus atoned for sin in the Garden of Gethsemane and not on the cross. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus died on a stake and that the use of a cross is idolatry. They want nothing to do with the cross.

We preach Christ crucified.

You come into the presence of God here, by getting on your knees and confessing that you are a poor, miserable sinner who deserves punishment, now and forever. You come to God on your knees admitting your ugly, stupid, failing weakness. Somehow I don’t think that will make for a very pithy church sign. You come to God in ugly honesty. You come to the cross of Christ and Jesus pours out His forgiveness on you. His weakness is His power. His foolishness is wisdom for eternity.

Jesus covers over your ugly, stupid, failing weakness with His perfection. Jesus clothes you in the robe of His righteousness. He gives you heavenly beauty. He gives you eternal wisdom. He makes you His own child, a member of the King’s family. He gives you the crown of eternal life and the unsearchable riches of Christ.

The cross is offensive to the world, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. And so we preach Christ crucified even though it is a stumbling block and considered foolishness. We have no other option. You called me to be your pastor to preach Christ crucified to you.

Christianity is not a set of philosophical principles to help you get along with others and improve your life. Christianity is not about making you beautiful, intelligent, successful and powerful. Christianity is Christ on the cross for you. It is Christ risen from the dead for you. Christianity is you bringing nothing but sin to Jesus and receiving from Jesus forgiveness and eternal life. It is not about you. It is about Jesus for you. Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. Amen.

Posted on February 25, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

Would You Rather Die, or Die?

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Lent 2 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
February 25, 2024
Gen. 17:1-7, 15-16, Romans 5:1-11, Mark 8:27-35

As a pastor, one thing I get to do is be with people as they are approaching death. This is never easy time. Death tears apart families and those left behind are broken hearted. For those who have gone through the death of a loved one, I think most would agree, it is one of the most difficult times of life.

Is there anything worse than death?

There is a game the kids sometimes play called “would you rather.” Would you rather cut 40 acres of grass with a push mower, or one acre with a scissors. Would you rather gain 75 pounds or lose your job. Here is one for you today. Would you rather die or die?

For there are two deaths we face; physical death and eternal death. Would you rather face physical death or eternal death? For worse than physical death, much worse, is eternal death. Eternal death is to be forever separated from the light and love of God; to be forever in torment and suffering. It is something you do not like to think about because it is too horrible to picture, worse than anything that you can conjure up in your imagination.

You also don’t like to think about eternal death because you know that you deserve it. God demands perfection and you cannot deliver. The wages of sin is death; eternal death. Eternal death is horrible, and it is what you deserve. This is a terrible problem. It is a grave dilemma.

The good news is that God provides the solution to this dilemma. God demands perfection and God provides the perfection. God the Father sends his only Son to become like you; to take on human flesh and live with you, God with us; Immanuel. As true God, Jesus, the Christ, lives a perfect life and is the sacrifice without blemish. He comes as the sacrifice for sin. He comes to suffer and die and rise again. He comes to take your sin upon himself and carry it to the cross and pay your penalty. He then takes His perfection and gives it to you to make you perfect in Him.

Jesus comes to suffer and die and rise again. This is His mission; His destiny. But when he shares this with his disciples, Peter wants to stop him. Peter rebukes Jesus. Peter, the rough, tough fisherman will not let Jesus suffer or die.

Jesus is on a mission to save you and Peter wants to stop him. Jesus doesn’t put up with that and rebukes Peter, “Get behind me Satan. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

You too are infected by the thinking of men. You don’t want to think that Jesus had to suffer and die. You don’t want to think that all people are sinners and deserve punishment. You want to believe that there is another way to avoid eternal death. You yearn for another way. But there is no other way. You are left with Jesus on the cross. You don’t even want to raise your head to look because it is such a horror. And even more horrible than the scene itself is the knowledge that you are the cause of His suffering. You are the cause of his pain. You look up at the cross and see Jesus’ bloody face and his bloodshot eyes looking down and his eyes meet yours. And you see the look in his eyes. It is not a look of anger, or accusation, or bitterness. It is a look of love. He is up there for you. He is suffering and dying for you. He gives up His breath so that the breath of God, the spirit of God, can fill you. He goes into the grave to sanctify your grave, and rises again to enable you to rise on the last day.

In baptism you are made one with God. You are sealed in His name. The Holy Spirit fills you and your body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit; you become one with God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. You become His disciple, a follower of Jesus. He is your Lord, you are His servant.

What a glorious thing to be a servant of Jesus, the Christ. But thinking on Jesus’ life you see that being one with Him will not always be easy. Jesus was whipped, they slapped and punched His face, and they hung him on the cross to die. As His follower these things can await you too. The world hated Jesus, the world still hates Jesus. As His follower, the world will hate you because your life is bound to His life. You are one with Jesus.

After rebuking Peter, Jesus calls the crowd to himself along with his disciples and says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Deny yourself? In a world full of people seeking self-fulfillment and self-enrichment, Jesus tells you to deny yourself. Give up on yourself.

Don’t follow every whim of desire for comfort or happiness. Following Jesus means giving up on yourself and looking to serve others.

Jesus says, “Take up your cross and follow me.” If they want to kill me they may also want to kill you. Being my follower means being willing to follow. It means offering your back to those who would beat you; offering your face to those who slap you, opening yourself to mocking and spitting.

Now, in this country, we are blessed with freedom and the persecution of Christians is generally minor, but there are Christians all over the world that are imprisoned, beaten and killed for being followers of Jesus. In Iran, on Sept. 18, 2023, Pastor Anooshavan Avedian, who is 61 years old with a wife and two children, was summoned by police to Evin prison to begin a 10-year prison sentence. Pastor Avedian was arrested on Aug. 21, 2020, when approximately 30 security agents raided his home while family and friends gathered to pray and worship. The group met in his home because the government closed their church several years earlier. Government agents confiscated Bibles and mobile phones and now have taken Pastor Avedian and two Christian converts to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. These things are happening in many countries and as the Western world more and more rejects Jesus, it appears to be getting worse closer to home.

What if it were you in the position to face the choice of physical death or eternal death?

There is a knock at the door; a loud insistent knock. You look at the clock and see it is three in the morning. You pull a pair of pants on over your pajamas and go to see what the problem is. You look out the window and see four police cars out front with lights flashing. They pound on the door again. “Police, open up!” You open the door.

You pray that you have the strength to say, “Yes! I am a follower of Jesus.” Despite the consequences. “Yes!”

Six men rush in and slam you against the wall and frisk you for weapons and then cuff your hands behind your back. Someone spits in your face and you can feel it run down your cheek.

A policeman in plainclothes speaks, “You have been accused of being a follower of Jesus who believes the Bible is the Word of God. No one can be that stupid anymore, but that’s what we hear. Is it true?” You turn to face them. One of them has a taser ready to fire at you. “Is it true?” You know that if you say yes, they will fire the taser and then beat you with batons and take you to jail, and then prison. It has happened to others. Not only will you lose your freedom, you’ll lose your job, your house, all your possessions, you may never see your family again. And the pain… the taser, the beatings, the torture, execution. You’ve heard the stories. You’re very afraid. The man gets right up in your face and you can feel his breath. “Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Tell me now!” The man with the taser gives you an evil smile. What do you say?

You pray that you have the strength to say, “Yes! I am a follower of Jesus.” Despite the consequences. “Yes!”

The fear is that you will be weak. That you will be like the disciple Peter who denied Jesus three times to avoid trouble. You fear that you will fall away. You fear that you have already denied Jesus, not in a direct confrontation, but in smaller ways. Denying Jesus by your actions — going along with the group when you should flee. Denying Jesus by remaining silent when you should speak or saying something when you should remain silent. The fear is you will be weak.

In your weakness, return to the cross, the source of your forgiveness. Remember who you are, not from your strength, but from the strength of the almighty. You are a baptized child of God. You are a follower of Jesus; one of his disciples. Remember, 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.

Get on your knees and pray for strength to persevere through trouble and hardship. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. Cling to the cross of Christ. Be faithful unto death and receive the crown of life; eternal life. Eternal life with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, where there will be no more hardship, no more trouble, no more tears, no more sickness and no more death.

As a pastor I get to be with people as they approach physical death, but I also get to be with people at their baptisms when they receive the gift of eternal life. I get to walk with you on your journey as we follow the Lord Jesus together and await His return. If Jesus does not return soon I may get the privilege to sit at your beside as a fellow disciple as you prepare for death comforted by the peace that passes understanding knowing you will receive the crown of life prepared for you by Jesus. Amen.

Posted on February 18, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

God wants you to endure to the end

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Lent 1 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
February 18, 2024
Genesis 22:1-8, James 1:12-18, Mark 1:9-15

Drops of sweat fall from your face onto the dry grass. You are bent over, hands on your knees desperately trying to catch your breath. You have a side cramp and your legs are burning. The hot August sun beats down and you feel like you are going to throw up. Then the whistle blows again, the coach barks again, another 50 yard sprint. “Last one to finish does 20 push-ups.” Despite your pain you take off at full speed to the 50 yard line. You hate wind sprints, but the coach seems to love them.

Why would the coach put his team through such a painful trial? Is he a monster? No. He is a coach who wants to increase the endurance of his team so that they can persevere on Friday night through all four quarters until the final whistle. The coach wants his team to endure to the end.

Like a coach making you run wind sprints, God sends trials into your life to increase your endurance and perseverance. James 1:12 (ESV) 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him”.

As you know all too well, so many trials will come in life. Sickness, injury, accidents, financial hardship, death of a loved one. Trials like these are difficult. It hurts to go through them. Trials are a constant reminder that life is hard.

Martin Luther says of this verse “… trials keep a man alert, perfect him in humility and patience, and make him acceptable to God as his dearest child.” And also, “Thus it is good for us always to be oppressed with some trouble, lest in our weakness we succumb to the offenses of the world and fall into sin.”

In this life you like to feel like you are in control of things and there are times when everything seems to be going smoothly, but it never lasts. Trials and troubles come and they are God’s way of letting you know that you are not in charge. You do not have everything altogether. You need help. You need Jesus.

This is an intimidating Bible verse because it sounds like you need to pass the test. You read this and think that it means, “If I am steadfast enough, I will receive the crown of life.” If…that is a big if. And you know this “if” is a problem.

You will face trials and tests from God and you will also face temptation to sin. Trials can come from God but God will not tempt you to sin. In this life you will endure both.

James 1:12 (ESV) 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

This is an intimidating Bible verse because it sounds like you need to pass the test. You read this and think that it means, “If I am steadfast enough, I will receive the crown of life.” If…that is a big if. And you know this “if” is a problem.

As a baptized child of God with the Holy Spirit enlightening you to God’s law, you know that you are not good enough. But your natural, sinful self in its pride thinks that it is strong enough to resist temptation. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in his Bible Study on temptation, “Lead us not into temptation. Natural man and moral man cannot understand this prayer. Natural man wants to prove his strength in adventure, in struggle, in encounter with the enemy. That is life. …So moral man calls out evil, his daily prayer is—Lead me into temptation, that I may test out the power of the good in me.”

You want to believe that you are good enough, strong enough, powerful enough, wise enough, all on your own. You want to believe it — but then you face trials and temptations and your true self is revealed.

During World War II, C.S. Lewis gave a series of radio lessons that became the book, “Mere Christianity.” In this he wrote, “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”

You want to believe that, like Jesus, you can stand up to the temptations of the evil one, but the reality of your failures show you, all too clearly, that this is not true. You know you would fail the test.

Thankfully, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,” is not conditional. It does not mean, if you remain steadfast, it assumes you will remain steadfast. Being blessed does not depend on your level of perseverance, but on the promise of Christ. When you remain steadfast you will receive the crown of life that is the promised gift from the giver of all good gifts. You have been saved and God has given you the promise of eternal life. You persevere through trials and tests and temptations as a genuine Christian who knows the need for a savior.

You have the promise of eternal life, but there is danger lurking and you need always to be on of taking sin too lightly or of not take responsibility for your sin and letting sin grow.

As a sinner it is easy to adopt the excuses of our first parents when God confronts them after their fall into sin. Adam blames God, Genesis 3:12 (ESV) 12 … “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

Eve blames the devil, Genesis 3:13 (ESV) 13 ….“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

It is easy to fall into the temptation to blame God for your sin. “If God didn’t want me to act on them, why did he give me these desires? I’m just hot headed, I can’t help it. I’m German so I am naturally stubborn as a mule. I am so good looking the girls just cannot resist me. I can’t help it. God made me this way.

James is clear that sin does not come from God. God has nothing to do with evil. James explains temptation, James 1:14–15 (ESV) 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

James warns. Sin is serious. Sin leads to death. James 1:16 (ESV) 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” Do not be deceived. The devil, the world and your own sinful nature are lying to you trying to let your desire give birth to sin, and sin grow up into death. Flee from sin. Flee from temptation. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Do not let the devil have a foothold in your life. Do not embrace sin. Do not let sin become your lifestyle.

You find out how bad you are when you are trying to be good. You know the struggle. Stay in the fight. Just because you are not good at it is not a reason to give up enduring trials and temptations. You endure because you are God’s own child, you are baptized into Christ.

There are many who claim that God changes with the times and His teachings adjust to fit our desires and the ways of the culture. Do not be deceived. God does not change. God is all good. God has nothing to do with evil. James 1:17 (ESV) 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

God has given you every good gift. He has made you His own child and given you eternal life through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He knows you will struggle with trials and temptations. He knows you cannot pass the test of being good enough. He passed it for you and gives that gift to you. And why does He give you that gift?

Why? Because He wants to. James 1:18 (ESV) 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” Because He wants to, He birthed you by the Word of truth. Sin gives birth to death. God gives birth to life everlasting. God saves you because He wants to. You are blessed for all eternity in Christ because He wants to bless you.

In this life you face trials and temptations. You will endure imperfectly but you will endure because you are God’s chosen child. God will send trials to keep up your endurance so you keep going until the last breath. Life is difficult. Cling to Jesus. You will receive the crown of eternal life. Amen.

Posted on February 4, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

Jesus Works Overtime

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Jesus Works Overtime
Vicar Matthew Kinne
2/4/24
Mark 1:29-39; Psalm 13:3-5; Isaiah 40:21-31;1 Corinthians 9:16-27

Last week we learned about Jesus’ first day on the job in His ministry. We heard about how on a Sabbath day in Capernaum, Jesus was found teaching with authority in the synagogue and healing a man with an unclean spirit. By doing this, Jesus showed His divine rule over creation including Satan and his minions. Pastor Jud preached about how every word that comes out of our Lord’s mouth has authority, especially to forgive sins through His church. In our Gospel reading for today, we hear more about the power Jesus has so He can heal many people from illnesses and demonic turmoil. Jesus had to do a little bit more work as Lord of the Sabbath.[1]

After Jesus preaches and sends out the unclean spirit, He leaves the synagogue and enters the house of His first called disciples, Simon and Andrew. Much happens in the next two verses. In verse 30, Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever. But in 31 she is not. What happened that caused this immediate change? The text only says, “[Jesus] came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left,” (Mark 1:31a). All Jesus had to do was touch her, and her body was healed. And not just healed a little bit; completely! The words recorded after she is revived is not, “she rested a while to gain her strength back before serving them.” No, it says that she got up, and “began to serve them.” Her sickness vanished! It was as if she was never sick to begin with.

Unlike the commands that Jesus shouted at the unclean spirits in the previous verses, here Jesus’ commands are effective even when He does not speak. This is because He is the Word Himself, and that Word is the authority over all the earth. Having this authority does not make Jesus a tyrant or an unjust ruler. Instead, it means that He carries the responsibility of everyone. As Lord of the Sabbath, it is His job to provide all daily bread and means of living and heal the sick. By healing Simon’s mother-in-law Jesus displays to His disciples that He is not only capable but willing to completely heal those who need a physician.

In verse 32, Mark gives us the timestamp of Jesus working overtime. He says, “That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons,” (Mark 1:32). In the Jewish calendar, the days begin and end at sundown. So, this time marker shows that the Sabbath day was over. Since it was against temple law for Jews to walk any further than 2000 cubits or a half mile on the day of rest, people waited until nighttime to bring their sick and demon possessed relatives to Jesus so that He could heal them. Jesus continued working after a long first day on the job. He did not rest. He did not complain. He gave help to those in need.

Could you imagine what Simon, Andrew, James, and John were thinking after witnessing everything that their new teacher was doing? They were obviously amazed and excited to be following Jesus because in the next few verses, it says that they stayed with Jesus until morning. After Jesus woke up, and went to a quiet place to pray, His disciples told Him, “Everyone is looking for you,” (Mark 1:37). But instead of going back for an encore and taking in the praise and glory from the people of Capernaum, He tells His disciples that they must all move on to the surrounding cities to preach and to heal the sick.

That must have been a shocking moment for the disciples! What other teacher can do these things? What man do you know that can do as little as touch a person and take away their sickness? What man do you know that can command demons to leave those who are possessed? And even if someone else had the power to do these things, would they heal people freely as Jesus did? The disciples are probably confused as to why Jesus would not go back and advertise Himself and receive the credit. But that is not how Jesus works. Jesus works where faith is, not popularity. Jesus gives Himself freely to everyone out of love and compassion.

These actions of Jesus are not only confusing to His close disciples, but to many people now days. Do you know a doctor that can heal any sickness on the spot? If so, please tell me. I would like to meet him. Do you know anyone capable of being as humble and willing as Jesus is? I can’t. A big concern we have is why is there still sickness? It is a stumbling block to reason why bad things happen. Didn’t God say He would be with us always? Doesn’t He promise strength and health to those who believe in Him?[2] He does, but the answer to the question “why do bad things happen?” is so simple it makes people angry. I think the anger is not only because of the simplicity of the answer, but because bad things are not God’s fault. The answer is sin, and that is our fault.

We cannot save ourselves. We cannot live a life free from sin. We are not capable of being humble and pure of heart. We are stuck in a state of sickness where there is no escape. That is, unless someone who is free from sin, pure and humble, gives us His life freely and willingly. Jesus is the elixir to life. His blood is completely poured out and His body is brutally given on that cross which unlocks the gate of sin and opens for us eternal life. He does not rest until the work of salvation is complete. He goes to the cross without complaining. And He does this willingly for you. You are now free from sin, death, and hell! Your spirit is revived and is willing to serve the Lord, just as Simon’s mother-in-law did.

But we still must live in a world affected by sin. It seems unfair. But just as Jesus moved on to the next city after healing many in Capernaum, we as the Church are instructed to do the same thing. There are many people in this world who still haven’t heard about Christ. There are people who still deny that Jesus comes to us in His means of grace. These people need to hear that they are set free from the bondage of sin through Christ’s death and resurrection. God established His church on earth so that these lost souls can be found and brought into His fold. He leaves us here, until the resurrection, so that there is a time of grace for people to repent and believe that Christ the Crucified works on our behalf, so the illness of sin vanishes from us.

Just like many cannot understand that the simple answer as to why bad things happen in this world is due to sin, they also cannot wrap their head around the simplicity of how God delivers salvation from the cross to us. Pride and sinfulness causes doubt when trying to understand how God provides us His assurance through His sacraments. But Jesus [who is God] tells us that this [the Church] is the place. Jesus established it in this way. Your pastor is under God’s authority to bring you forgiveness. Just as Pastor Jud said last week, it is not the pastor who forgives, but God who uses him as the vessel to deliver forgiveness. These are the teachings Christ gave His disciples and now He gives them to us.

It may seem confusing, but if a man who is healing the sick, has power over demons, preaching with authority, and gives His perfect life so that we may live eternally, then why should we doubt His words that Baptism now saves? Why should we be concerned of drinking a cup that Christ says His perfect blood is in it? We shouldn’t be afraid because God Himself promises to be there. Faith does not come from the words of complicated men, but by the simplicity of God’s word.

When a person has finally received faith and is Baptized by the Holy Spirit in the font, no longer does the soul latch onto sin and the sickness of this world. Instead of being pummeled in fear by Satan’s grasp, they hear their saving physician’s voice, and their soul sings a similar song to our introit today:

“I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” (Psalm 13:3-5)

Jesus has healed you. You are made complete again in the work of His life, death, and resurrection. You have been set free from the everlasting illness of sin. This is a bigger and better gift than being healed of any physical sickness in this sinful world. You are free! Free indeed! Amen.

[1] And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28

[2] “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:7-8

Posted on January 28, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

Thanks be to God!

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Epiphany 4 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
January 28, 2024
Deuteronomy 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Mark 1:21-28

It is just another Sabbath day in Capernaum, a busy little city of about 1,000 on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. There is a bridge in Capernaum over the Jordan River where they tax anyone traveling from the territory of Herod Philip to the area of Herod Antipas and vice versa. Today, for the Jewish population, it is the Sabbath and all the Jews gather at the Synagogue in the center of town. The men sit in the main lower level and the women and children are up in the balcony area. The men and women each talk amongst themselves and the children play underfoot as everyone waits for Sabbath services to begin. It seems like just another ordinary Saturday, just like the Saturday before, and the Saturday before that.

It is an ordinary Sabbath except that there is a new visitor in town. Lots of visitors pass through Capernaum, but this guy is different. His name is Jesus and He is from Nazareth but he has come up from the area of the Jordan River north of the Dead Sea where the wilderness preacher John was baptizing people before he was arrested by Herod Antipas. This Jesus is apparently starting some sort of movement and has recruited some of the local fishermen, but no one is really sure of who He is or what He is up to.

On Saturday, Jesus, and His fishermen followers, enter the Capernaum Synagogue and Jesus walks to the center, to the scroll stand, unrolls the scroll and starts to teach. Who does this guy think He is to just waltz into the synagogue and start to teach? Apparently He does not know His place. But then He starts to teach and the people are listening and mouths drop open in astonishment. His guy does know His place. He is not like the regular rabbis. This Jesus is a great teacher and He teaches with authority. It is like He is the author of the text and knows it inside and out. This Jesus is really causing some kind of buzz.

And then all hell breaks loose; literally. While this Jesus of Nazareth is teaching and the people are silently listening in astonishment, suddenly a man cries out, Mark 1:24 (ESV) 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” The man has a demon and the demon identifies Jesus of Nazareth. What a bizarre scene.

The teacher stops teaching and rebukes the demon, Mark 1:25 (ESV) 25 …“Be silent, and come out of him!” Who does this guy think He is? He is yelling at a demon that possesses a man. Who has authority over a demon?

But then the unclean spirit obeys Jesus’ command and comes out of the man. Mark 1:27 (ESV) 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

Jesus and his four fishermen followers exit the synagogue and head south toward the sea. The people left behind are stunned. You’ve got to think that there are a lot of mouths hanging open in amazement at what they just experienced. Could it be true? Could this Jesus, who teaches with authority, and commands demons, really be the Holy One of God? It is an astonishing morning at the synagogue in Capernaum. The people are astonished and they do not really know who Jesus is.

Today is a regular Sunday here at Immanuel. You got up this morning, brushed your teeth, had your coffee, got everyone ready and came to church. Most everyone is sitting in about the same places they sat last week. It is just another Sunday at Immanuel. Nothing too special.

But what if we had a visitor? What if a new teacher was here to teach with authority? What if Jesus Himself would come into our midst to be here with us in this place on this ordinary Sunday morning? That would be astonishing; Jesus arriving with authority.

Now, we do not have Jesus here in the flesh, but He is still here with His authority. Jesus gave authority to forgive sins to the Church through the apostles. On the evening of the day of Jesus’ resurrection He appeared to the disciples and commissioned them, John 20:21–23 (ESV) 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus’ Church has the authority to forgive and retain sins and here, at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Hamilton, Ohio, you have called me to be your pastor and to announce Jesus’ forgiveness to you as the one you have called to act for the Church under Christ’s authority. By Jesus’ authority your sins are forgiven.

And then, remarkably, the Lord God speaks to you in His Word. “This is the Word of the Lord,” and you respond, “thanks be to God.” Now, you can get kind of used to hearing God’s word, and familiarity may reduce your amazement, but it is truly astonishing that God speaks to you through His authoritative Word. Thanks be to God!

And then comes the reading of the Holy Gospel and you hear Jesus’ own Words in your own language and you begin by declaring, “Glory to You, O Lord.” Afterwards you exclaim, “Praise to You, O Christ.”

Pondering how astonishing it is that God is speaking to you, respond with astonishment in your voice, thanks be to God! God is speaking to you, with authority, at this ordinary Sunday gathering. All authority in heaven and on earth is given to Jesus and He gives us His Word and tells us to make disciples; baptizing and teaching. At this weekly gathering of the baptized, recognize the astonishing authority of God’s Word. Praise to you, O Christ!

Jesus astonishingly transforms the Passover meal into the Lord’s Supper and declares that this bread is His Body and this cup is His Blood for the forgiveness of sins, and commands, “Do this in remembrance of me.” It does not make sense but Jesus says that it is true and so it is true.

Unlike that Sabbath in Capernaum, Jesus did not, this morning, walk in here in His body that ascended into heaven, but He is here. He sends His authorized representative to forgive your sins. He gives you His divine Word. He gives you His Body and Blood in, with and under the bread and wine. He dwells in your heart, and your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is astonishing.

By rejecting Jesus’ authority as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, they reject His baptism, they reject His declaration of forgiveness, and they reject forgiveness offered in the Body and Blood of Jesus in Communion.

Jesus is astonishing, but so many are unimpressed. There are so many who reject Jesus’ authority and His teaching because they want to control Jesus’ narrative. They want to pick and choose what they take from Jesus and what they reject. They are not astonished at Jesus’ teaching; instead they are offended by Jesus’ words and substitute their own ideas. Just like what is taught in Jude 8 (ESV) 8 … these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”

By rejecting Jesus’ authority as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, they reject His baptism, they reject His declaration of forgiveness, and they reject forgiveness offered in the Body and Blood of Jesus in Communion.

Repent of the times you have rejected Jesus’ authority, and the times you did not marvel at His authoritative teaching. Ponder how amazing it is that Jesus comes to you to deliver the forgiveness of sins earned for you on the cross of Calvary, and eternal life won for you at His resurrection. And when you hear, “This is the Word of the Lord,” respond in astonishment, “Thanks be to God!” Amen.

Posted on January 21, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

Don’t Get Distracted by the Fish

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Epiphany 3 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
January 21, 2024
Jonah 3:1-5, 10, 1 Cor. 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20

What do you think of when you hear about the prophet Jonah? What image comes to mind? Is it that great Sunday School story about a man being swallowed alive by a great fish and living to tell about it?

Now our friend the great fish only gets mentioned in three verses in the book of Jonah, but I worry he distracts us from the greater message in this short book. Although, in a way I think we are okay being distracted by the fish because Jonah is a rather disturbing figure.

Jonah is a prophet of God living in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. God comes to Jonah and says, “Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it, because their wickedness has come up before me.” Jonah gets up and Jonah goes, but he does not go toward Nineveh on the Tigris River in what is now northern Iraq. Jonah gets up and goes to the port city of Joppa, modern Tel Aviv, and hops on a westbound ship headed for Tarshish which is probably in modern day Spain, as far away from Israel as he can get on the Mediterranean. Jonah really does not want to go preach to the Ninevites. And it is not because Jonah doesn’t know God; Jonah knows God. Jonah knows God too well. Jonah knows that God is gracious and compassionate. Jonah knows that God is slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. Jonah knows that God wants Nineveh to be saved, but Jonah doesn’t want the Ninevites to be saved. Jonah would prefer they are destroyed because Jonah hates the Ninevites.

Now Jonah is not without reason for hating the Ninevites. He is not just being a bigot who only likes his own kind. Nineveh is an important city in Assyria and the Assyrians are a fearsome people bent on the destruction of Israel. The Ninevites are Israel’s enemy. They are known for being especially brutal in war and remarkably cruel to the prisoners they capture before they execute them.

This account of Jonah is probably recorded between 800 and 750 BC. God will use the Assyrians to overrun Israel in 722 BC and the 10 northern tribes will be taken into exile, never to return as punishment for their ongoing idolatry.

At the time of this account of Jonah, the Assyrians have overrun Damascus and are now threatening the Northern border of Israel so Jonah has good reasons for not wanting to help save the Ninevites.

This is why Jonah is a disturbing character. Jonah is troubling. We want to think, I would never act like Jonah, but we do not really want to look at Jonah too closely because it is a little too much like looking in the mirror. Jonah knows that God is merciful, but he does not want God to show mercy to the Ninevites.

Who are your Ninevites? Who are the people you do not want forgiven? Is it those idiots in the other political party and their media toadies spewing propaganda? Who is it that you do not want forgiven? Is it evil groups and countries and leaders like Hamas, Iran, the Houthis, Kim Jong Un? Is it the cultural influencers who want access to your children in order to push their godless, hedonistic infertility agenda that rejects marriage and babies and families in order to indulge their every perverse desire?

Or maybe your Ninevites are closer to home. Perhaps it is that former friend who betrayed you, hurt you and, you fear, will hurt you again. Or the next door neighbor that you have been feuding with for years? Or your estranged brother or sister? Or your ex-husband or ex-wife? You don’t want to forgive them. You don’t want God to forgive them. You want them to be punished and prevented from hurting you. Perhaps it is the one who abused you. You have every right to hate your abuser, and Jonah has every right to hate the Ninevites and yet God’s grace extends even to them.

Jonah receives instruction from God to go to the Ninevites. Does Jonah get on his knees and pray, “Thy will be done?” No. Jonah thinks, “my will be done,” and he high-tails it out of there figuring if God can’t find me, he can’t make me go. But that plan is flawed. God is, of course, omniscient; all knowing. You can’t run away from God.

God knows exactly where Jonah is going and once Jonah is on the boat headed for Tarshish, God sends a great storm to shake up Jonah and the men sailing with him. After trying unsuccessfully to outrun the storm, Jonah tells the sailors to throw him overboard and the sea grows calm. We see here that Jonah is not against all foreigners. Jonah is willing to die for these Gentile sailors. Jonah is brave, but he is full of hate. Jonah would rather die than have the Ninevites saved.

As Jonah is sinking, a great fish swallows him and he is inside the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah prays a prayer put together from different Psalms and in that prayer he agrees to fulfill the original mission on which God has sent him. Then the fish vomits Jonah up onto the beach.

God gives Jonah a second chance. He tells him, “get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach to it.” So Jonah goes to Nineveh, about 500 miles inland and when he gets there he preaches to them this simple message, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed;” a simple message from a reluctant preacher.

And the reaction is utterly amazing; miraculous. The Ninevites believe Jonah. They immediately repent of their evil ways. They put on rough goat hair sackcloth worn during times of grief and mourning. The king declares a general time of repentance and fasting for both humans and animals. The Word of God is powerful. “Nineveh will be destroyed,” this is a harsh word of law, but it is preceded by a bit of Gospel. “Forty more days.” The destruction is not going to be immediate. There is a chance. God’s law and gospel drive the Ninevites to immediate and deep repentance. God sees their repentance and He turns from His anger and does not destroy Nineveh.

Jonah wants limits on God’s mercy and grace. He wants mercy and grace for some but not for others. Jonah wants his enemies destroyed. We see here how God’s mercy and grace…God’s love… is boundless. God’s mercy and grace is not limited to our understandings and desires. God mercy and grace is truly for all.

We marvel at the Ninevites’ immediate reaction of repentance and obedience. It is truly a miracle of God, like the people responding to John the Baptist’s preaching in the desert, or like the first disciples, Andrew, Peter, James and John answering Jesus’ call and immediately leaving their fishing boats and following Him. We marvel, because our contrition and repentance is so often slow and hesitant. Contrition is sadness and mourning over our sin, and repentance is a change of heart; turning from sin and turning back to God. We can be slow of heart and so we marvel at the Ninevites’ unhesitating obedience to a message from God.

Now, you’d think that Jonah would be happy that he is such an effective preacher with his short sermon. But he is mad. He is really mad. Jonah wanted Nineveh destroyed. He knows he is being used as a mouthpiece of God and he does not like it. After Nineveh repents and is saved, Jonah sits down outside the city and pouts. He tells God, “This is why I ran away in the first place. Why did you save them? I’d just as soon die.”

Jonah wants limits on God’s mercy and grace. He wants mercy and grace for some but not for others. Jonah wants his enemies destroyed. We see here how God’s mercy and grace…God’s love… is boundless. God’s mercy and grace is not limited to our understandings and desires. God mercy and grace is truly for all.

It is hard for your sinful side to understand how God can love someone that you hate. But when you take a genuine look inside of yourself, you have to wonder how God can love you, and yet he does. His love is beyond comprehension. He loves you so much that he turns his anger away from you and your sin, and turns all of that anger onto Christ on the cross. Jesus is your Savior. He paid the full price for your sin and took upon himself the anger of God. His grace is overwhelming and it comes to you in the power of God’s Word just like it came to the Ninevites.

So when you hear about Jonah, do not get distracted by the fish. The fish swallowing Jonah is interesting and it is a picture of Christ emerging from the tomb, but the great fish is only a supporting character in this story. When you think about Jonah think of his reluctance to bring God’s grace and mercy to his enemy and let that convict you of your own unforgiving tendencies. Then think of the Ninevites’ incredible repentance and God’s amazing grace. Remember God’s lavish gift of forgiveness offered even to the worst of sinners. The fish swallowing Jonah is amazing, but even more amazing is the power of God’s word and the miracle of God’s love and forgiveness for you. Amen.

Posted on January 14, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

Baptism: Clean or Messy?

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Baptism: Clean or Messy?
Vicar Matthew Kinne
Texts: Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11

Back in November I witnessed the baptism of eight students from our day school. It was moving to see these young people drawn to the font by faith. But I will say, it was also very messy. As each student leaned over the font, Pastor Jud would scoop out water and drench their heads while proclaiming that these children are baptized in the triune name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While some of the water fell back into the font, a healthy portion of the water rolled off the side and onto the stone floor. By the time all eight baptisms were completed, most of the water was no longer in the font. The scene showed that something messy happened here.

When we think about baptism, we usually think of something elegant and clean. The color white is often used to show the righteousness and purity God offers to the baptized. Sins are washed away and the name of Christ is put on. A burning candle is lit to show the world that the light of Christ is now in this believer. The new life of the baptized is started. It all seems clean on our end. But what about to God? Is baptism clean or messy from His point of view?

Let’s begin with the man who baptizes Jesus. In our Gospel reading, we hear John proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Nothing seems clean about his ministry. For starters, he preaches in the wilderness. According to the custom of the Jews the only sacred and holy place to preach was in the temple in Jerusalem or in local synagogues. John is in the wilderness where wild animals roam and where everything unclean resides. He wears camel hair, and he eats locusts and wild honey. Not only does the man look messy, but he is also baptizing in the muddy waters of the Jordan River. Nothing about what John is doing seems sanitary, yet despite the lack of cleanliness, people believe John’s teachings. Our text says in verse five, “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going to him and being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”(Mark 1:5).

Somehow the preaching of John lures so many people into the water. Something about John was different that makes people confident God is working through him to forgive sins. Yet his ministry confuses the temple officials.

Later in Mark, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, which is the beginning of His passion walk to the cross. At the temple Jesus is tested by the scribes and priest. They asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” (Mark 11:28-31) After much discussion, and fear of being hated by the Jews, they answer Jesus saying, “We do not know,” (Mark 11:33).

The temple officials are blind to what John’s baptism is teaching. They think that this immersion in the Jordan is nothing more than a scam to ruin their business. They are scared that John is taking away their customers and putting their temple up for foreclosure. They would essentially be out of a job.

These blind priests and scribes do not realize that this man, John, is the last of the Old Testament prophets. The clothes John wears are the same clothes worn by the men before him who proclaimed God’s word to all nations about the coming Messiah. The food John eats, though a seemingly odd diet, is food provided by God in the wilderness. This is similar to how God provided meat for Elijah at the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan River nearly 900 years earlier (1 Kings 17).

Not only is John’s lifestyle similar, but his message is also the same. Jonah proclaimed to the city of Nineveh, “‘Yet forty days, and Ninevah shall be overthrown!’ And then the people believed in God and repented of their evil ways” (Jonah 3). When Jeremiah was commanded by the Lord to prophecy to King Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, he said, “Thus says the LORD: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth,’” (Jeremiah 26:4-6). Just like Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jonah and all the other prophets, John’s message is, “Repent, for the Messiah comes!” And like many prophets before him John suffers imprisonment and death.

Yet even though the prophets, including John, suffer many afflictions and sometimes even death for preaching God’s truth, none of what they suffer compares to the pain and hardships Christ would suffer through His baptism. Before Jesus is baptized, He is already clean. He is God. He doesn’t carry any sin with him into the water. The message of John, “Repent and be baptized” seems obsolete as there is nothing to wash away. But if we remember what the will of God is throughout the Old Testament it makes a lot of sense.

God had to send His Son to earth so that there would be a sacrifice large enough to atone for all the sins of the world. When the heavens open at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit comes down and the voice of the Father thunders from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased!” This voice from the Father is not just a “hey son, I’m proud of you” like some dads may say after their son’s team wins a basketball game. This word pleased points out that this body of Jesus, that was just washed in the Jordan, came out of the water ready to take on the wrath of the Father and be a sacrifice for all. God provides this sacrifice to save His creation from the bondage of death. In baptism Jesus puts on your sin, my sin, the disciples’ sin, the prophets’ sin, the sin of all people, and He takes it to the cross. This baptism makes Jesus’ life and death messy and miserable.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus gets His hands dirty. After He is baptized, He goes out to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness while never sinning once. His first disciples come from low social classes. His first miracle in Mark is healing a man with an unclean spirit. He heals many others with diseases, eats dinner with criminals, gets called out by the temple staff for being a hypocrite, and is arrested. He is then beaten, spat on, mocked, and killed. Yet, while all this is happening to Him, He knows that He suffers these things for all men. He dies even for the ones who are putting Him to death. There is nothing clean about what Jesus has to do by taking on the Father’s will.

His baptism, that ends with His death, is the only way He could make you clean. The will of the Father is completed when you are washed clean in the blood of Jesus at your baptism. In baptism you are united with Christ in His death, yet the work of the Son is not done if Christ stays dead. St. Paul writes, “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.” (Romans 6:5). If we only hear that Christ died there would be no hope for life eternal. He went through all this messiness of death on a cross to make atonement for the sins the world and then rises out of the depths of death three days later to life. This is the work that pleases the Father. This is the work that fixes the gap between us and God.

When the baptized pray, “Thy Kingdom Come” and we eat of that body and drink of that blood in His Supper, we get a glimpse of the unity of heaven and earth. We look forward to the day of the resurrection of the dead when we will forever be in His presence, and we will never again be lost to the messiness of this world. Jesus did the dirty work for you, so that you could be washed whiter than snow. He completed the work of the Prophets, took on all sin, and freely gives you His living water of everlasting life. He has chosen you, saved you and set you free! You are clean in the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Posted on January 7, 2024 by pastorkevinjud

Arise, Shine, Your Light Has Come

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Epiphany (Observed) 2023
January 7, 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

Are people by nature, good or evil? Are folks naturally selfless, or selfish? What about you?

We would like to believe that if we were left alone to live together everything would be fine. We would like to believe that people are, by nature, good, and that people would naturally share with each other, help each other, and love each other.

This is some of the foundation behind the ideas of communism. What a wonderful place this world would be if everyone worked together for the common good. Each person contributes according to their ability and everyone shares equally in the fruits of the labor; a worker’s paradise.

But there is a flaw in the system. Communist governments have to maintain brutal control over the people and ruthlessly squash any dissent. It turns out that collective farms and factories do not produce as much as individually owned farms and factories. What is the problem?

Children sometimes fantasize about how great it would be if kids ran everything; families, schools and government. Everything would all be better if there were no adults around with their stupid rules and discipline. William Golding wrote a book about this, it’s called “Lord of the Flies.” For those who haven’t read it yet, Golding portrays self-government among British school boys. It does not go well.

We want freedom to just do what we want to do. But is that really a good idea? What would the world look like if you just did what you wanted? I don’t want to get up and go to school. I don’t want to brush my teeth. I am going to drive as fast as I want. I want money and you have some, so I will take it. I don’t want to be tied down to one woman. I don’t want to take care of my kids. I just want to get drunk and forget about life. I want… I want…

What would your life be like if you simply let your desires rule? You can see what happens because there are plenty of examples all around you. You see the disastrous consequences. You see how terrible this is in your own life and in the lives of those around you. You see the destruction of families. You see people self-destruct as they ignore all the warnings. You watch lives fall apart because of selfishness.

You really, really want to believe that people are, by nature, good, but you know this is not true. You just confessed that youare… by nature…sinful and unclean.

Your heart is darkened by the sin of selfishness from which flows all other sins and this is not just you, it is a universal problem. It is a selfish world, and a selfish world is a dark world and this is the world you live in. This is the world into which Jesus arrives as that baby born in Bethlehem. Jesus, the Light, comes into a dark, selfish world and this is the Good News for all eternity. “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Jesus is the light of the world. He comes to bring the Good News of the Reign of Heaven. He is the light that illuminates the darkness. He is the glory of the Lord and yet it is a hidden light, a hidden glory. The baby Jesus is the light of the world and yet veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Peter, James and John see the glory of God burst through only for a moment on the Mount of Transfiguration, otherwise the Light, hidden as it is in the body of Jesus, needs to be revealed. Just as the light was hidden in the flesh of baby Jesus, the light is now hidden in the Word of God, hidden in the waters of Baptism, hidden in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. The light is here with us, but it is hidden for now and needs to be revealed.

The light is revealed to the shepherds in the field by one angel and then by an army of angels. The light is revealed to the Magi from the east by a star guiding them to the child. The Magi come seeking the one born king of the Jews. The star reveals the Light of the world to these unlikely people from the east who journey to find and worship the newborn king.

But even with the bright star in the sky showing the way to the Light, the inky darkness of selfish sin hovers about. Herod tries to use the Magi to find the Christ so he can kill the newborn King. Herod wants to snuff out the Light because he fears that the Light will impinge on his own power. There is power in darkness and dark power brings increasing evil.

We look at Herod and see him as a notorious villain for wanting to snuff out the Light; but Herod is not unique. “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” People still want to snuff out the light of Christ because they worry that the Light will reduce their own power, their autonomy; their control, their selfish pursuit of doing what they want to do, not caring about others.

The darkness hates the light and tries to snuff it out by forbidding people to reveal the Light to others. For 2,000 years and still today, Christians are imprisoned and beaten and executed for being the light of Christ. In North Korea you can be executed for possessing a Bible and your family will be thrown in prison. The darkness hates the light.

The darkness denies that the Light has come into the world. The darkness pretends that the Light is a tamer, more palatable, less offensive light that plays well with the darkness. But true light will not mix with darkness.

Darkness distracts you so you ignore the Light. Darkness wants you to not hear about the Light, not read about the Light, not speak about the Light, not pray to the Light, not gather to worship the Light. Darkness wants you to get so busy with things of this world that you just ignore the Light. The darkness goes after individuals to get them to reject the light because the darkness cannot extinguish the Light of the world.

As Herod found out, even as his sword dripped with the blood of Bethlehem’s baby boys, the Light cannot be overcome. The Light has come into the world and the revelation of this Light, the Epiphany of the Light, the understanding of the Light, continues even to this day as news of the light of Christ is proclaimed in this dark world from pulpits and lecterns and dinner tables and bedside talks with children. The Light is here. At the temple, Simeon calls Jesus, “A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Let the Light shine. This is the mission of the Church. We proclaim the truth of the Light. We announce the Good News; Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We baptize and teach. We forgive sins and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The Church shines forth the Light that shines for all people. In this Light, sin and guilt disappear, washed away by the love of Christ. In this Light you live in love and forgiveness.

The Light comes into the world, is swaddled, and laid in a manger in Bethlehem. The Light escapes Herod’s sword by fleeing to Egypt. On a dark Friday, thirty three years later, outside the walls of Jerusalem, it looks like the darkness will finally smother the light. From the cross, the Light, declares, “It is finished,” and the life goes out from His eyes. Life is gone from the Light and it appears that darkness has won. The Light has died, but the Light rises from the dead and continues to shine forth forever. Darkness will never overcome the light.

You still live in a dark, selfish world. People are, by nature, evil. By nature, you are selfish and dark, but you have been rescued from the darkness. Colossians 1:13 (ESV) 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…” You have been born again in water and the Spirit just as you got to witness here this morning with the baptism of our little brother Everett.

And just like Everett, you have received Christ who is the light of the world. You are a child of light in Jesus Christ. Isaiah 60:1 (ESV) 1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Amen.

Posted on December 25, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

No Detour Ahead

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No Detour Ahead!

Vicar Matthew Kinne

Bible Readings: John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-12; Isaiah 52:7–10

Most of my family is from Wisconsin. Up there we have a saying that there are only two seasons throughout the year. There is winter and then there is road construction season. It is quite frustrating when you are traveling to see friends or family and you come upon that unwanted sign saying, “Road Closed Ahead”. As much as the sign also says, “Follow Detour”, there is an unwanted, unsettling anxiety that builds up in every driver. What if the detour is not marked properly and I miss a turn? What if the detour takes me in the opposite direction of my destination? What if the detour adds over an hour of traveling and I do not get to my family Christmas reunion in time for Mom’s famous banana bread?

Detours can be frustrating, but they can also be necessary. Without planned detours, defects in the road cannot be avoided. Without proper signs, no one would know the dangers that lie ahead. Without proper instruction, no one would know how to turn around and follow the better path. Looking at it this way, detours can have a more promising outcome that outweighs their annoyances.

If a regular road closing seems annoying, imagine what patience it would require in order to travel a detour that takes many generations to get back on the course of God redeeming His people. For all the people in the Old Testament waiting for the Messiah to come, it probably seemed like God took many long and agonizing detours. Adam and Eve never saw the Messiah promised when God cursed the serpent in the garden. Genesis 3:15 (ESV) “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” All their descendants died in the great flood except for Noah and his family. Abraham never saw how many descendants he would have through Isaac, but as we can see in the Old Testament history of the children of Israel, God saves those from the line of Abraham repeatedly all the way down to Mary and Joseph. God saves Israel from the bondage in Egypt, brings them through the Red Sea waters, saves them from the hunger and thirst of living in the wilderness for forty years, and finally brings them to the promised land. God continued to guide His people even though they put their trust in earthly kings. After Babylon takes over Israel and spreads its citizens throughout the ancient world, God continues to send prophets to pave the way of the Lord.

The Old Testament tells of a long and twisted and tiresome road from Eden to the manger in Bethlehem. We hear about how God had to make so many detours because of man’s sin. Yet God made sure every detour led to the Christ child that first Christmas morning. He made sure that His promises were kept and that His plan to save all mankind would come into fruition.

Before Adam and Eve’s fall into sin there was only one straight path from God to His creation. Because sin entered our world, the pride of man made everyone blind to the truth that we need God’s grace to live. Sin cut off that narrow path to the Father, thus condemning everyone to a worthless life without God. Because this disease of imperfection is handed off from parents to children, the history of sin continues to repeat itself. That is, it continues to repeat until God intervenes by sending a baby in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Since God is love, He has compassion on His creation. God establishes a way in which His children will know Him. He sent messengers, the prophets, to prepare the way of the Messiah. God sent these watchmen in the hopes that His people would hear His voice and follow it. But instead of waiting for Christ’s birth they follow the paths of the world and kill the prophets. If they did not honor the prophets, what will they do to God’s Son?

Today we celebrate Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God. John 1:14 (ESV) “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.” This is the end of the detour! The Messiah has come! But the world does not listen to the warnings. They do not heed the signs. The world turns off the straight path to the Lord and seeks the wrong destination. Now it is up to God to reprogram everyone’s GPS to the correct destination. The Holy Spirit shows us the way. And what is that destination? It is the glory of Christ on the cross where He takes away the sin of the world. This cross is where He shines in our darkness so that we can also become Children of the Light.

Since God is love, He has compassion on His creation. God establishes a way in which His children will know Him. He sent messengers, the prophets, to prepare the way of the Messiah.

John the Baptist was the last sign on the detour pointing directly at this destination. He proclaimed the words of Isaiah saying, “prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God”. Since Israel was lost in their sinfulness, John taught repentance and baptism so that the nation of Israel was ready for the Kingdom of God. This kingdom was found in no other place but the body of Jesus Christ. God’s kingdom is not of this world, but it entered our world for our benefit.

The Word of God becomes flesh and dwells among us. He knows our world. He understands our pain, our frustration, and even temptations. But unlike all men born in sin, this Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He receives His flesh through Mary, but He receives His perfection by His divine nature as God. Therefore, He never sins once. He never gives into the detours and temptations of sin. His path is clear!

This Man was sent to start a new path, one that brings the whole world back to its Creator. This path was to fulfill all the words of the prophets in the Old Testament. He lived a perfect life. He healed the sick and the dying. He preached the ways of God in the temple and synagogues. But ultimately, He completed the covenant given to Abraham and fulfilled the promise made to Adam and Eve in the garden by shedding His blood in exchange for their sin and the sin of all their children.

But the path does not end there. He did die, but He did not stay dead. He is God. He was with the Father and the Holy Spirit before creation. Jesus is everlasting. Therefore, death cannot hold its grip on Him. He is the God of the living, and He gives everlasting life to you! He gives you His righteous life in your Baptism. In this Baptism, you are born of the Holy Spirit. This is the same person, the Holy Spirit who put life in Mary’s womb, who gives birth to new life in you in the baptismal font. This way before the Father in heaven, you are covered by Jesus’ righteousness. The sin you received from your parents has no effect on your eternal salvation. Jesus took the effects of death on Himself!

This new path we are walking is the path of the Baptized. Jesus leads us through this desert of a sinful world by His pillar of light. We are children of the light and need to comprehend that there is no detour ahead outside of Christ. Avoid the detour of thinking your good works will save you. Avoid the detour that because God will always forgive you, that you can keep on living in sin. These are deviations from the true path! Christ is the path and establishes where you can find Him. That is, you can find Him where sound teaching of the Word of God is preached and where His body and blood are offered to you for the continuous repentance and forgiveness of the many detours you take away from His light.

Christ is the straight and narrow path to the Father. He gives us eternal life in exchange for our detours from Him. He found us while we were lost. Through centuries of faithfulness and unfaithfulness God showed His frustrations by refining His people in the Old Testament by various trials. He even puts us to the test as a people who fall into the trap of sin, yet He locates us and turns us back in His direction. He shows us His path because He loves us and wants us to be allowed into His family reunion. When He comes back to be the judge, He will separate the evil doers—those who did not follow the straight path—from His children who were led by His light. He will again establish a new path, one that we will travel together for all eternity in the heavenly glory of our Father. We will never again be lost because we will always be with Him. His path is always straight and has no detours. He gives us the light that the world could never give, and we find that light in the newborn child, Jesus Christ. Amen!