Pentecost 3, 2017 Proper 7
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 25, 2017
Psalm 91:1-10, Jeremiah 20:7-13, Romans 6:12-23, Matthew 10:5, 21-33

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

When I was young we used to have this red and yellow plastic game called Perfection in which you would try to get 25 various shaped pieces into the correctly shaped holes in a depressed game board before the timer buzzed and the game board would spring up ejecting all the pieces destroying all the work you had done.  The goal was to get every piece in the right spot and turn off the timer before it buzzed.  It was a lot of frustrating fun to try to get all the right pieces into the right holes.

Life often feels like trying to get the right pieces into the right holes before time is up and it can be very frustrating and not much fun.  One thing so many of us do is to try to fit Jesus’ cross shaped piece into the square hole of our lives.

We so much want to try to force Jesus to conform to the shape of our lives; to force His will and desires to adapt to our will and our desires.  But there is a big problem.  Jesus doesn’t fit into your life.  You are by nature sinful and unclean and Jesus is, by nature of being God in flesh, holy and righteous.  You cannot fit Jesus into your life.  His cross shaped block won’t fit into a square hole.  But the square block of your life will fit into the cross-shaped space of Jesus.

As a baptized child of God you are brought into Jesus.  You are clothed in Christ.  You put on Christ.  You die to sin and rise to new life.  As we learn from Romans 6:5-7 (ESV) 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. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin.^[1]

In baptism your old self is crucified with Christ.  But the old self, the old sinful self, does not like this one bit.  I am a natural born sinner.  I naturally love sin.  I want to sin.  You are a natural born sinner.  You naturally love to sin.  You want to sin.  But you no longer belong to sin; you belong to Christ.  Your life is in Christ and you are called to struggle to conform your life to Christ.  You are a square peg in the cross-shape of Jesus’ life and you live life to conform to Christ.

You are by nature sinful and unclean and Jesus is, by nature of being God in flesh, holy and righteous.  You cannot fit Jesus into your life.

Sadly, too many people want to conform Christ to themselves.  They want to take the cross shape of Christ and cut it down to size to conform to their own will and their own desires.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about love.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about sin.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about salvation.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about Him taking up the cross and you taking up the cross.

You live in a culture full of people hell bent on cutting Jesus down to size to fit their will and desires.  They break off this piece of Jesus and that piece of Jesus until their Jesus just resembles them.  The world hates the real Jesus, but it may tolerate a spineless, moldable Jesus who teaches whatever they tell him to teach.  People want to transform Jesus’ teaching that we must love one another into a teaching that says it is evil to talk about sin.  Loving your neighbor is very hard, especially when you have to warn someone that they are on the wrong path. The world wants to teach that there is no wrong path.  But Jesus is clear, Matthew 7:13 (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.^[2]

There is a great temptation to trim off Jesus’ teachings about how sexual intimacy belongs only within the marriage union of a man and a woman.  Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV)
⁴ [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”^[3]  We desperately want to adjust Jesus’ teachings so that they fit into our desires, our practice, our lifestyle.  This is such an active battlefront in the world in which we live as the cultural elites try to demand and coerce conformity to their ever-evolving sexual ideas.  It is also an active battlefront in your life as you live as a natural-born sinner in a society with great depravity lurking just beneath the surface.  It seems that everyone is teaching you to do what you want to do and forget about God’s will.  There is an almost irresistible urge to make Jesus’ teachings conform to your own desires.

We urgently want to adjust Jesus’ teaching where He says, “John 14:6 (ESV) ⁶ …“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.^[4]  We want to believe there are many ways to the father.  We want salvation to be about how we can “be good enough” to merit forgiveness and eternal life.  We want to be able to cut Jesus out of the equation and make the cross unnecessary.  Recently a U.S. Senator stated that someone who believes that Jesus is the only way to salvation “is really not someone who is what this country is supposed to be about.”  And that someone believing that Jesus is the only way is unfit to serve in the U.S. Government.  There is great pressure to try to conform Jesus’ teachings to our own desires.

We want to forget about Jesus’ teaching about Him going to the cross and us having to take up our cross and follow Him.  We would much rather go to church and hear about how we can be successful.  We want to hear about living the victorious life not about a life as a servant to our neighbor.  We want to hear how Jesus makes life simpler and easier, not about taking up our cross and following Jesus.

We so very much want to cut the cross of Jesus down to conform to the shape of our lives, but that is not how it works.  Your life is lost in Christ.  In baptism you have died to sin.  Romans 6:12 (ESV) ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.^[5]

Living in the cross-shaped, cruciform way of Christ will make you many enemies.  Confessing Jesus as Lord will get you hated.  They hated Jesus, they will hate you too.  Now, you never want to self-righteously seek out the hatred of others by being obnoxious or hateful towards them, but you also should not be surprised when hatred comes just because you confess Jesus as Lord.  In school, at the university, at work, at family gatherings you can be made to be a laughingstock because you are trying to conform your life to Christ rather than conform Christ to your life.  And persecution can get much worse than scorn and humiliation as we see around the world.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ suffer not only ridicule, but marginalization, abuse, torture and even execution for confessing Jesus as Lord.  It is estimated that 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016.  Matthew 5:10 ESV  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Christians going to their deaths because they will not deny Jesus are living out Jesus instructions in Matthew 10:28 (ESV) ²⁸ And 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.^[6]

The worst that communists and radical Islamists and radical Hindus and radical secularists and organized criminals and drug cartels can do to you is to kill you.  Do not fear them; they can only kill the body.  Fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Now it is easy to say, “Do not fear.”  I cannot imagine my emotions if I were the one facing a gun to my head or a knife to my throat that would be removed if only I would renounce Jesus.

I pray that indeed the Holy Spirit would give me the words to say and I could confess Jesus, and fear, love and trust God despite that I am very much afraid.

Life as a Christian is a struggle; a continuing, difficult struggle against sin, and a struggle to live a cruciform life in a world that hates Jesus.  It is difficult, but you live out your cross-shaped life knowing God cares for you.  Jesus gave His life for your life.  Jesus bled and died to save you.  You are baptized into Christ.  You are fed with the body and blood of Jesus.  You belong to God for eternity.  God the Father knows more about you than you know about yourself.  He knows how many hairs are on your head.  The Father cares about each little bird, how much more then does He care about you?

Confess Jesus as Lord.  Confess God, Father; Son and Holy Spirit.  Live out your cross-shaped life in love and service to others knowing you have already been made perfect in Jesus; knowing you are loved and redeemed by the Lord Jesus.

Too often in life we waste a lot of time playing a game of perfection by trying to get all the right pieces in the right places before time runs out.  You will never get all the pieces in the right places in life, but the most important game of perfection is already finished.  You have been made perfect in Christ.  You have been baptized into Christ.  Your life is in Christ and in Christ you have His perfection.  Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[4]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[5]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[6]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Pentecost 2, 2017  Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 18, 2017
Psalm 100, Exodus 19:2-8, Romans 5:6-15, Matthew 9:35-10:8

Sermons online:
Text:                                      pastorjud.org
Audio:                                  pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                                    bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:            bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

It’s no wonder the crowds gather: they’ve heard about Jesus. He’s going from town to town, city to village. He’s preaching about the Kingdom of God. He’s healing every sickness and disease He encounters. The stories of His miracles spread, as does the Gospel of the kingdom.  The people flock to Jesus.  They are sheep in need of a shepherd. They are weary and scattered, sick and heavy-burdened and the Lord has compassion on them. He desires that all be healed, relieved, forgiven and gathered.

He says to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mt. 9:38).

The disciples probably say, “Amen” to this prayer and Jesus uses them as an answer to the prayer. He calls the twelve to Himself. He gives them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Then He sends them out, saying, Matthew 10:5-8 (ESV) ⁵ … “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

Jesus could do this so many other ways. He could send out legions of angels to declare this message of His kingdom. He could use a voice from heaven for all to hear at the same time. He could just write the message in everyone’s heart. He could sit in the temple and summon all nations to Himself. He could do whatever He wants: He’s the Son of God. But instead, He picks twelve men to go and tell.

They go, and they go knowing two things: they have been given to, and they have been sent. They’re not making up the message as they go along, but they go to proclaim the message that has been freely given to them. They’re not going to perform wonders and healings out of their own closet of miraculous powers: they have none. Instead, they’re going to work wonders because Jesus has given them authority to do so and they go because they have been sent. . Freely has this been given to them. Now they may go and freely give.

Thaddaeus isn’t saying to the sick, “In the name of Thaddaeus, be healed.” Bartholomew isn’t saying, “In the name of Bart, come out of them.” Demons aren’t afraid of Bartholomew. But they are afraid of Jesus, and the disciples are doing these things in Jesus’ name. He’s sent them; and by His Word, He is there with them, too.

So they go, and imagine the reaction of the crowds that gather. There may be disappointment. After, all they want to see the Savior, but they get the understudies instead. Perhaps some leave disappointed or disgusted before the disciples open their mouths. Perhaps they feel like Jesus has let them down by not coming personally, or because the student is never better than the master. Those are typical human reactions, but humans are typically wrong with the things of God. The Lord is not unfaithful. This is His way of doing things. When the disciples heal the sick, the sick are healed. When they cleanse the lepers, the lepers are cleansed. When they raise the dead, the dead are raised. When they cast out demons, demons flee.

Why? Because it’s not them doing it. Thaddaeus isn’t saying to the sick, “In the name of Thaddaeus, be healed.” Bartholomew isn’t saying, “In the name of Bart, come out of them.” Demons aren’t afraid of Bartholomew. But they are afraid of Jesus, and the disciples are doing these things in Jesus’ name. He’s sent them; and by His Word, He is there with them, too. When they preach, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” it’s true because the King is there by Jesus’ authority and Word. And that means when the disciples tell the people that their sins are forgiven; their sins are forgiven. Not because the disciples are forgiving them, but because Jesus is. That’s what He sent them to do. That’s what He gave them to do. Freely they have received. Now they freely give.

Weary pastors take great comfort from the story of Balaam in Numbers 22. As you may recall, King Balak sends the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. However, as Balaam rides his donkey toward the people, God opens the mouth of his donkey and the donkey talks. The donkey speaks to rebuke the prophet Balaam.

Now, why would pastors like that story? The comfort goes like this: “If God can speak through Balaam’s donkey, then He can speak through me, too.”

Beyond the laugh, there’s an important point. In His wisdom, with a world full of lost and wandering sheep, God has chosen to spread His kingdom by having sinful human beings speak His Word. He calls pastors in the Holy Ministry to preach that Word publicly, on behalf of His Church.  And pastors can be weird.  A group of men with greater idiosyncrasies would be difficult to find. But despite all the quirks and personality failings the Lord still uses them as His instruments. And not just pastors: every Christian, despite being tempted by sin and exhibiting all sorts of weaknesses, has the privilege of telling that Word about Jesus to others. That is how the kingdom of God spreads.

Why does this work? It is not the people. It’s the Word. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, is present by His Word: the kingdom of heaven is at hand because the King is at hand. The same Savior who went to the cross to die for the sins of the world, now comes in His Word to give that forgiveness to individual people—to you and me and all who hear. Jesus is present where His Word is. Add that Word to water, and He’s there in Baptism. Add that Word to bread and wine, and He’s present in His Supper.

It’s the Word that’s powerful—not the person speaking it. It’s the same Word with the same power that heals the sick, cleanses the leper and casts out demons in the Lord’s time. By that Word, Jesus comes to give forgiveness and faith and life, to turn wandering sinners into the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. It’s that simple.

Of course, even though the Lord is faithful, sinners are not known for the same; so we need to warn of the dangers that we face because we mess up the gifts of God.

One danger is the idea that the power of the Word depends on the charisma of the preacher. If the preacher’s style is engaging and holds my interest, then the Word is powerful stuff. If he has an off Sunday or he’s just dry as dust, then the Word isn’t so powerful. If this is true, that means that God is only as faithful and powerful as the sinful man who is preaching the sermon. It means that God’s power varies upon how much sleep the pastor got the night before. This is an extremely seductive temptation in our culture and society, because image is emphasized so much. People judge books by covers, and companies spend millions of dollars to make sure that their products have the right packaging and an exciting ad campaign. We want to judge the quality of all things by how well they hold our attention. But despite our judgement, the Word’s power is not bound by the personality of the speaker. Where the Word is, Jesus is. Where Jesus is, there is forgiveness and life.

Another danger is the lazy Old Adam’s notion that the speaking of the Word is best left to professionals. Christians meet and spend time with all sorts of people on a daily basis whom the pastor will never meet, and each believer has the joy of telling of the hope they have in Christ. However, many balk at the thought of doing so.

“I don’t know what to say,” is one excuse, although this raises some accusing questions: well why not? With all the Bibles to read and sermons to hear and Bible classes to attend, what prevents you from knowing?  Simply tell other people about Jesus—about His ministry and miracles, His death on the cross and resurrection; about forgiveness and the hope of eternal life.

“Oh, but I’m not a very good speaker.” Neither were Moses or Paul, and I suspect that Balaam’s donkey wasn’t usually eloquent either; yet God used each of them.

“People won’t listen to me.” Careful, now; because now you’re saying that the power of the Word depends on you, not on Christ. I can assure you that people don’t listen to pastors more than others. After all, it’s the Word—not the person who speaks it.

“I don’t like talking to strangers.” That’s okay. I’m not real big on cold-calls door-to-door anyway.  Talk about Jesus to each other. To your kids. Your grandkids. A good friend who’s curious about your faith. The Lord will provide opportunities.

That’s how the Lord spreads His kingdom on earth: He sends out His Word. He gives His people, you and me, the privilege of telling it to others. Despite our sins and weaknesses, He gives us the honor of being His instruments to tell others of Jesus; and He promises that His Word will not return to Him void, but will accomplish what He sends it forth to do. Where people listen to us and rejoice with us, we give thanks and glory to God. Where people reject the Gospel we proclaim, we remember that people rejected Jesus, too, and we give thanks that He counts us worthy to suffer for His name’s sake.

But as you speak His Word, rejoice most of all in this: Jesus first speaks it to you. Freely you have received; only then do you freely give. Your salvation this day is not based upon how well you evangelize, how many people you tell about Jesus, or how well you tell the story. Your salvation is already yours because Jesus has already died on the cross to save you. By the mouths of people in your life—parents, pastors, friends, and others—the Lord has told you of forgiveness; and in telling you, gives it to you.

So it is again this day, as we gather here. Whether it’s a three-year-old at the children’s message or the pastor in the pulpit who speaks God’s Word, it is God’s saving Word. As the Gospel is spoken, it speaks and delivers forgiveness. So on this day you rejoice: you have not just heard about forgiveness today, but by that Word, you are forgiven for all of your sins. Amen

Ascension
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 28, 2017
Psalm 47:1-9, Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            It is a short Gospel lesson this week; only eight verses, but there is a lot packed into these eight verses.  Today we celebrate the ascension of Jesus into heaven 40 days after He rose from the dead.  Next Sunday we will celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit given on Pentecost 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection.

Before Jesus ascends to the Father He tells His disciples once more that He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament – He fulfills the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.  Jesus says the Old Testament is about Him.  The Old Testament points forward to Jesus.  Jesus fulfills the scriptures and then He opens the disciple’s minds so they can understand this.  The Old Testament scriptures point forward to what happens, “that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.”  This is what was foretold in the Old Testament and what was foretold by Jesus Himself.

In His fulfillment, Jesus’ last words on the cross are, “It is finished.”  Jesus is finished making His sacrificial payment for the sins of the world, but Jesus’ work is not finished.  There is lots of work still to do, “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Jesus gives this work to his disciples.  What Jesus has done is not to be kept secret.  What Jesus has done is to be proclaimed to all nations beginning from Jerusalem.  And this is exactly what happens.  The disciples proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins beginning right there in Jerusalem.

Some receive the message with an open heart and repent and receive forgiveness as we see on Pentecost when 3,000 are baptized.  Others hear the message and seethe with hatred and anger and want to silence the message even if it means killing the messenger as we see with the brutal stoning of Stephen.

There is work to be done and the work is not easy.

Jesus tells the disciples, “You are witnesses of these things.”  The disciples are witnesses in two senses of the word.  The disciples are eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  They saw what happened and recorded what they saw in the words of Holy Scripture.

There is lots of work still to do, “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

They are also witnesses in the sense that they tell others about what they have seen.  They proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  But they do not do this alone.  Jesus tells them that they are to stay in the city until they receive power from on high. They are going to receive the Holy Spirit in ten days on Pentecost.  The disciples who seem to have so much trouble understanding what is happening will receive the power of the Holy Spirit; the breath of God, to understand and proclaim the truth of the scriptures.

Many of the disciples are witnesses in a third way by being martyred for the faith.  The Greek word for witness is μάρτυρες, martyres.  Our English word martyr, one who dies for the faith, derives from the Greek word for witness.  Ten of the remaining eleven disciples, it is believed, died for the faith.  They were killed for proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins found in Jesus alone.

Now you may think the disciples had it easy early on because they were right there with Jesus and should be able to clearly understand what Jesus wants them to do.  While they have the advantage of being right there with Jesus.  You have the advantage of knowing the whole story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and you have had the power of the Holy Spirit from the time of your baptism to give you faith to believe Jesus is God in flesh; the Lamb of God, sacrificed on the cross for your sins.

You have heard the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins.  You know the truth about Jesus and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, making your body its temple.  You are a saint of the Lord washed clean in the blood of Christ.  You are holy in Christ, you are the light of Christ, and yet you are locked in a great struggle with the darkness.  You feel the pressure to sin coming from the devil as he whispers, “it’s no big deal”, “everyone is doing it”, “no one will know”.  You feel the world encouraging you to sin through a flood of temptation and you can feel it trying to make sin become your new normal.  You feel the evil desires coming from your own sinful nature pulling you back again and again into your favorite sin.  You are under great pressure to conform your life to the sinful ways of the world and it is unrelenting.  Resist.  Repent.  Receive forgiveness.  You know the truth.  You are baptized.  You no longer belong to the world.  You know Jesus is Lord.  You know that Jesus is God in flesh who died and rose from the dead just as He promised.  You have the Holy Spirit.  You know the truth about Jesus.  There is great temptation to sin, so struggle against sin each and every day.  Turn away from sin.  Daily repent of your sin.  Let go of the sin that ensnares you.  Eliminate sinful situations.  You resist sin, you fight against sin, you repent when you give in to sin.  Because you know the truth about Jesus.

And you proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all the world beginning close to home among family and friends and the people in your life.  You are salt and light to the world living your ordinary life in an extraordinary way.  You read and study God’s word to know the truth about Jesus.  You remain ready to give a reason for the hope that you have.

You proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in your support of the ministry of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School.  Your time and talents and treasures make it possible for repentance and the forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed here each Sunday morning.  Your time and talents and treasures make it possible to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins at our school throughout the week in the classrooms and in chapel.  You proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in support of necessary growth to reach out to even more students and families with the life giving message of the Gospel.  You proclaim the truth of Jesus through support of missionaries in the field and pastors in training at the seminaries.  You do the work that has been given you to do.

Jesus’ work of the sacrifice for sin is over but work remains to be done to bring the Good News to the world.  You are a witness telling others about what Jesus has done; for you and for the world.  You know the truth.

You know that Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after His resurrection and this is a source of great joy.  Great joy to know that indeed Jesus is God.  Great joy to know that He sent the Holy Spirit.  Great joy to know that all that He said He would do, He did, for you.  Clap your hands, all peoples.  Shout to God with loud songs of joy.

Salvation of the world begins right there in Jerusalem with Jesus and it spreads in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, even to here in Hamilton, Ohio.  What Jesus said would happen, did happen.  You have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.

And so today we remember Jesus’ ascension into heaven and how He has everything prepared for the disciples and you to continue His work.  Next week we will remember Jesus fulfilling His promise of sending the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the people on Pentecost.  We will recall how the Christian Church begins there in Jerusalem as a fulfillment of the Old Testament and Jesus’ words.  And each day we continue to do the work Jesus gave us to do because the ascended Jesus is Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Easter 5 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 14, 2017
Psalm 146:1-10, Acts 6:1-9; 7:2, 51-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

What is truth?  We live in an era with more access to information than ever before.  Time was that if you were in a disagreement with someone about whether or not something was true you would have to wait until you got to the library to look it up in the encyclopedia or something to try to determine the facts.  Now you can just whip out your smart phone and Google the answer.  Except now there is a question as to whether or not you can believe what you read online.  What is truth?  What is fake news?  What is real news?  What is the source?  Can I trust Wikipedia?  Can I trust Snopes?  Can I trust CNN?  Can I trust Fox News?  What is truth?

This is not a new question.  Pontius Pilate famously asks this question, John 18:37-38 (ESV) ³⁷ Then Pilate said to [Jesus], “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” …^[1]

What is truth?

In our Gospel reading today Jesus is with the disciples in the upper room on Maundy Thursday.  He is teaching them about what is going to happen.  He has washed their feet, he has given them the command to love one another, he has told Peter that he will deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows.

The disciples have heard Jesus predict again and again that he will be arrested and killed and rise again, and after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead the opposition against increased greatly and it is no secret that the religious leaders are looking to kill Him.

Jesus tries to comfort his disciples by telling them what will happen.  Despite the current tensions, in the end everything is going to be good.

John 14:1-4 (ESV) ¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”^[2]

No matter what happens, Jesus is coming back for His followers to take them to God the Father.  Not right away, but Jesus will be back.  Where Jesus is you will be too.  And you know the way.

John is not kind to the disciples.  He records throughout the Gospel of John that the disciples are pretty thickheaded; they don’t understand what Jesus is trying to teach them.  John 14:5 (ESV) ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”^[3]

John 14:6 (ESV) ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.^[4]

The disciples have Jesus right with them teaching them, but they do not understand.  They are not too different from us.  We have the whole story.  We have the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection and still we struggle with the truth.

Like the disciples, we struggle because we so desperately want to cling to what we can see; what we can touch and feel; what we think we can understand.  We are so enamored with the things of this life.  We are so in love with the things of this world that we can lose focus on the truth.

We can get caught in monkey traps.  It is said that in order to catch a monkey you put a banana or other fruit into a jar chained to a post with an opening large enough for the monkey’s open hand to go in, but not come out when he makes a fist.  The monkey reaches in and grabs the banana, but can’t get his hand out while holding onto the banana.  The monkey will not let go of the banana in order to get free.

Jesus is the truth that transcends the terrestrial.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than anything in this earthly life.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than life.

How many things in life threaten to be a monkey trap for you?  What sin do you just want to hold onto instead of letting it go?  In your life, how are you pursuing momentary pleasure instead of God’s will?  There is a great temptation to hold on tightly to a sinful situation rather than let go and be free.  We are so in love with the things of this life.  This is what we understand.  This is what we can hold onto.  We hold tightly to the things of this world, but the truth is not found in anything we can grasp.

What is truth?  Jesus is truth.

Let go of the sin you cling to and cling to the truth; cling to Jesus.  Jesus is truth.  Jesus is on the cross for the forgiveness for those sins.  The truth of Jesus is more important than life.  Jesus is truth.  Jesus on the cross for you is truth.  We know God the Father through Jesus.  The Holy Spirit dwells in you to give you faith in Jesus.  Jesus is the truth.  As you look at the cross, what letter does it look like?  “T”.  “T” for truth.  Jesus is the truth that transcends the terrestrial.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than anything in this earthly life.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than life.

We see this clearly in our first reading with the account of Stephan.  The truth of Jesus is greater than life and the truth can get you killed.  Stephen speaks the truth, Acts 7:51-53 (ESV) ⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. ⁵² Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” ^[5]

Stephen spoke the truth.  The people did not like the truth.  They were holding on too tightly to the things of this world, their rules and positions and authority.  They did not like the truth and had to stop it.  And so they stopped it by throwing rocks at Stephen until he was silent.  They stoned Stephen to death to stop him from speaking the truth.  But the truth is greater than life.

The crowd threw stones at Stephen because Stephen was testifying about Jesus, the living stone.  The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.  And on that cornerstone of truth you, yourselves are being built up as a spiritual house.

One of those present at the stoning of Stephen is Saul who is zealous to silence the truth about Jesus until the truth about Jesus is revealed to him and he lets go of the things of this world and becomes the greatest missionary of all time bringing the truth of Jesus to the world.  The truth is greater than life.  You pledged this is true at your confirmation; to remain faithful, and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from Jesus.

What is truth?  Jesus is truth.

The truth of Jesus is an eternal truth; anything we cling to in this life is only temporary.  Jesus is the way to eternal life.  So let go of trying to understand eternity with a limited, earthly knowledge.  Seek the truth in Jesus.

As a baptized child of God you live life in the joy of knowing the eternal truth that Jesus loves you.  You live in sacrificial love for one another.  Today we remember the sacrificial love of mothers for their children.  The sacrificial love of a mother is an amazing thing.  A mother will do anything for her child.  A mother will lay down her life for her child.  The love of a good mother is a picture of the kind of love Christ has for you.  A mother’s earthly love is a small picture of Christ’s eternal, perfect love.

What is truth?  Jesus is the truth.  Ponder the rock-solid truth of Jesus giving Himself for you.  Let go of all the earthly things you think are so important and lose yourself in the truth of Jesus.

Jesus is the cornerstone.

Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the truth.  Jesus is the life.

Amen

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[4]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[5]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Easter 4, 2017 Good Shepherd Sunday – Confirmation Sunday
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 7, 2017
Psalm 23, Acts 2:42-47,

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

Sometimes when people want to attack Christians sometimes they will ask the “gotcha” question, “So, is Ghandi in Hell?”  Mahatma Ghandi, the Indian, Hindu civil rights leader, was a good guy.  Ghandi was a peaceful man.  Ghandi did a lot of good stuff.  Is Ghandi destined for Hell?

We so much want Ghandi to be with the Lord awaiting the joys of paradise because Ghandi was a great guy.  We really want it to be true that being a good guy is good enough.  But is it enough to be a good guy?

We live with a very strange way of thinking about being good enough.  We desperately want to believe that being good enough is enough; that we are saved by what we do; that we must have something to do with our own salvation.  And yet, at the same time, we know that we are not good enough.  We know in our hearts that we are indeed natural born sinners.

I wonder if it is sort of like how many Americans look at being poor.  In America, anyone can achieve great wealth given enough hard work and good fortune, therefore poor folks in America often don’t really see themselves as poor but rather as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.

When we find ourselves continuing to struggle with sin perhaps we truly believe that if we just try hard enough we can free ourselves from bondage to sin.  Indeed if we try harder we can become good enough.  Just try harder and you can free yourself from sin.  How’s that working for you?

So, what is the way to heaven?  It really isn’t that difficult.  Jesus explains it clearly in today’s Gospel lesson.

John 10:7 (ESV) ⁷ … “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.^[1]  Jesus is the door.  Jesus is not a door.  Jesus is the door.  And not the door so much as the door way.  Jesus is not shut and locked to keep people out, Jesus is the opening to let people in and all are invited to enter through Jesus, the door.

It’s not about being a good guy.  It is not about being good enough.  It is about Jesus being good enough.

John 10:9 (ESV) ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.^[2]

Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leads His sheep to still waters and green pastures.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Him.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep.

It’s not about being a good guy.  It is not about being good enough.  It is about Jesus being good enough.  It is about Jesus being the sacrificial Lamb of God, offered up on the altar of the cross.

As a baptized child of God you are at the same time a saint made holy and perfect by the blood of Jesus, and a sinner who is locked in a lifelong struggle with the devil, the world and your own sinful desires.  The struggle against sin far too often does not go very well.  The devil is well practiced in tempting you to give in to your desires.  And as you struggle against sin in life you soon realize you are not good enough no matter how hard you try to pretend.  You are locked in a desperate struggle with sin and it appears that sin is winning.  What a great relief it is to know that it is not about you, it is about Jesus for you.  It is about Jesus for everyone.  Repent and follow Jesus.  Jesus is the door and the door is open for all people.

What great comfort there is in realizing that Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  It truly is not about you.  It is about Jesus for you.  You cannot trust your own actions or motivations, but you can rest assured in Jesus’ promise.  What a great comfort to know that you are a sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd.

The 23^rd Psalm brings such great comfort and we often use it at times when we know that we are not in charge.  We speak this comforting Psalm to people who are sick or near death.  Sick and dying people no longer live under the illusion of being in charge of their own lives.  When life is crumbling down around your ears it becomes clear that  of all the things in life, the best thing to be is to be a sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd.  Even as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death the Good Shepherd is there for you.

The 23^rd Psalm shows you it is all about God and what God has done for you.   He is my shepherd.  He makes me lie down.  He leads me.  He restores.  He leads.  You (Lord) are with me.  Your rod and staff comfort.  You prepare.  You anoint.  The major focus of the Psalm is all of what God does for you.  Interestingly the center word of this Psalm in Hebrew is you, referring to God; Thou in the King James.  You are with me.  Thou art with me.  Thou (God) is the center of Psalm 23; twenty-six words before and 26 words after it in the Hebrew.  It is humbling and a great comfort to know that God is in charge and not you.

What an eternal blessing to know that Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  But this also means that there is only one way.  We want to believe that there are many ways to the Father, but there is only one way and that is through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  That is why we preach this Good News.  This is why we reach out to others.  This is why we have our school.  This is why we support missionaries.

Today is confirmation Sunday for our sister in Christ, Molly Risner.  Molly today will herself confess the promises that were made for her at her baptism July 13, 2003.  Molly will confess that Jesus is the Savior.  Molly chose for her confirmation verse, Psalm 27:1 (ESV) ¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?^[3]

What an appropriate verse for Good Shepherd Sunday and confirmation Sunday.  It’s a good one for all of us to memorize.  ¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Life is hard in this walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  We are sorely tempted to give up on Jesus being Lord and making something else the most important thing in our lives.  But what else could possibly replace the Lord in Psalm 27 or Psalm 23.

¹ Money is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

Pride is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?^[4]

Lust is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Hatred is my light and my salvation?

My good works are the stronghold of my life.

No.  The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

The Lord Jesus is the shepherd of the sheep.

Jesus is the door for the sheep.

God is in charge and salvation comes through Christ Jesus.  What an everlasting security it is to know that God is in charge.

The way to the Father is through the door that is Jesus.  That is true for you and it is true for all people.  Jesus is the way.  This is the Good News that we confess.  This is the Good News that we bring to this community and to a world that is still looking for the way.  Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[4]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Easter 3
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 30, 2017
Psalm 116:1-14, Acts 2:14, 36-41, 1 Peter 1:17-25, Luke 24:13-35

Sermons online:
Text:                pastorjud.org
Audio:             pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:             bit.ly/pastorjud

Have you ever let yourself get caught up by the influence of others and found yourself doing the wrong thing?  Then, afterwards, you struggle with guilt for having gone along with the crowd.  I have a number of examples from my own life, but I better not share since I don’t know all the laws about the statute of limitations.

There is an equation about boys doing stupid things.  One boy = one brain.  Two boys = half a brain.  Three boys = no brain at all.  What happens then with a mob?  A mob completely loses its mind.

On that fateful Friday morning the crowd of people assembled outside of the Governor’s palace were likely, at first, minding their own business, but then they got caught up doing what mobs do; they played follow the leader, they egged each other on and encouraged one another.

The Jewish leaders got the crowd outside of the palace that Friday morning all stirred up demanding that Jesus of Nazareth be crucified.  The crowd shouted for Barabbas to be released.  They cried out about Jesus, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”  The mob was not placated by seeing Jesus whipped and abused but cried all the louder, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”  Having found nothing in him deserving death, the governor wanted to release Jesus but the crowd insisted on death.  The governor then washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves,” to which the crowd cried out, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

The mob was worked up into such a frenzy that they demanded the guilt of Jesus’ blood be on them.

Fast forward 50 days.  The crowd is back together in Jerusalem but everything is different.  It is Pentecost and there are people in town from all over the Mediterranean; many likely came for the Passover and stayed on for Pentecost.  There have been lots of rumors flying around about Jesus of Nazareth.  Folks are saying that He rose from the dead and many people claim they have seen the risen Jesus.  And now the followers of Jesus have suddenly gained the ability to speak in many different languages.

The people in the crowd start to wonder, “What did we do?  How could we have cried out for Jesus’ blood?  Who is this Jesus?”  One of Jesus’ disciples, a man named Peter, addresses the crowd and lets the crowd know that Jesus is from God.  Jesus was raised from the dead by God and has been exalted to the right hand of God and now God has poured out the Holy Spirit on the followers of Jesus.

Acts 2:36 (ESV)  ³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”^[1]

Jesus is indeed Lord and Christ and the crowd crucified Jesus.  Pilate wanted to release Him, but the crowd insisted on Jesus’ death.  These people killed Jesus. They insisted that His blood to be on them, and on their children.  What have they done?  They crucified the Lord and Christ.  They are guilty of the blood of the Christ.

The crowd has gone from the blind fervor of a blood-thirsty mob egged on by the religious leaders on that Friday, to afterward having a deepening pit in their stomachs over the unfolding reality of what they have done, to now experiencing full-fledged terror and panic because of their sins.

They have not offended an earthly ruler; they have offended the creator of the earth.  They have crucified God.

“Brothers, what shall we do?”

The crowd has no hope.  Where do you turn when you have crucified the Lord and Christ?  Judas felt the burden of this guilt and he despaired and hung himself.  What do you do when you have committed such a terrible sin?  “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Repent and be baptized.

There is no maximum age limit.  There is no minimum age limit.  No geographical limit.  The promise is for everyone.

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.”^[2]

From the depths of despair Peter gives the people living hope.  Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  And this is for all people.  This is not just for men, not just for women, not just for Jews.  Repent and be baptized.  As the crowd cried out for Jesus’ blood to be on them and their children the promise is for them and their children.  The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off.  There is no maximum age limit.  There is no minimum age limit.  No geographical limit.  The promise is for everyone.

What an amazing promise to this guilty crowd.  The crowd that day has Jesus’ blood on their hands.  They crucified Jesus.  They put Jesus on the cross.  You can look at them and think, wow!  They are terrible sinners.  But you too are guilty of Jesus’ blood.  Your sins also put Jesus on the cross; He is there to die for you.  Your sins killed Jesus.  As you look at the cross there is the horrible knowledge that you too are guilty of the blood of Jesus and there is nothing you can do, by yourself, to fix it.  It is a powerful guilt and the devil knows it.

Far too often you find yourself mired in guilt, the devil gets up in your ear and whispers in an almost audible way, “This time it is just too much.  You say you’re a Christian but look at what you do.  God can’t forgive you.  You are too far gone.  Your sin is too bad.”  What do you do?

Repent and be baptized.  Repent and remember that in your baptism Jesus made a promise to you that you belong to Him and you are in Him.  In Christ you have forgiveness and eternal life.  In Jesus you have been freed from the guilt of your sins and set apart from the multitude of unbelievers to live in the Kingdom of God.

When the devil accuses you of being a sinner you tell the devil, “It is true.  I am a sinner.  But Jesus paid for my sins.  I am baptized into Christ.  Jesus made a promise to me and He doesn’t break His promises.

Alone, the enormity of your sin would be overwhelming, but in Christ you have been set free.

Set free by Jesus.  Set free by baptism, set free by confession and absolution, ,set free by the Lord’s Supper.  Your sins have been forgiven.  Those who cried out for Jesus to be crucified found forgiveness in ; 3,000 were baptized that day.  You, whose sin put Jesus on the cross, have found forgiveness in the same Jesus.  In Jesus there is forgiveness.  Apart from Jesus you are still in your sins.

The message of salvation is simple and straightforward.  Peter does not sugar-coat some message about how the people need to dream big dreams or have their best life now. Peter confronts the people with their sin and points them to Jesus for forgiveness.

Peter continues to bear witness to Jesus and to exhort the people, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

The ways of the world then were opposed to God’s way.  The way of the world now is opposed to God’s way.  The faithful church will find itself more and more outside the mainstream of thought in this world and so Peter’s warning is still true today, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”  There is great pressure to conform your life to the ways of the world; to adopt the world’s ways as your ways.  But as a baptized child of God you no longer belong to the world.

You have heard the message that Peter preached that first Pentecost.  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.”^[3]

All are sinners who need forgiveness freely offered by Jesus.  This is the message that brought you to faith in Jesus Christ.  This is the message we bring to a world that still struggles with sin.  This is the message we bring to a world that still needs forgiveness.  The promise of Jesus is for you and for your children and for all who are far off.

Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Easter 2017
April 16, 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
Acts 10:34-43, Psalm 16, Col. 3:1-4, Matthew 28:1-10

Sermons online:
Text:                pastorjud.org
Audio:             pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:             bit.ly/pastorjud

The devil won.  It was a close one, but the devil pulled out a victory.  After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead so many people believed in Jesus, but Satan had a lot of people on his side too. Satan had the Jewish leaders who were more worried about their positions and influence rather than a man raising people from the dead.  Satan had the Roman governor who was just scared enough of the local people he would not stand up to them.  He even had one of Jesus’ own followers who loved money a little bit more than he loved Jesus.  A midnight trial followed by an early morning appearance before the governor combined with enough people willing to lie and threaten to report Pontius Pilate to Caesar and the plan came together.  Before most people could figure out what was happening that morning Jesus had been whipped, crowned with thorns and led off to be crucified.  He died Friday afternoon and was put into a tomb which was sealed with a stone and guarded round the clock to prevent anyone from stealing the body.  Jesus is dead.  Satan has won.

In C.F.W. Walther’s Easter Hymn “He’s Risen, He’s risen” we hear about Satan’s triumph:

2      The foe was triumphant when on Calvary
The Lord of creation was nailed to the tree.
In Satan’s domain did the hosts shout and jeer,
For Jesus was slain, whom the evil ones fear.

How often in your life does it feel like Satan wins the victory?  How many times do you find yourself struggling with the same stupid sin?  How many times have you promised yourself that you’ll never do it again and the devil, that great deceiver, pulls you right back in leaving you in a puddle of guilt and shame and failure?  You lose, Satan wins.

The darkness and deep sorrow of Good Friday are pretty overwhelming.  Satan celebrating his victory over Jesus and his victory over you, and his victory would be complete, except…Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Jesus’ story doesn’t end at the tomb and Walther’s hymn doesn’t end with verse 2. Verse 3 brings word of the victory:

3              But short was their triumph; the Savior arose,
And death, hell, and Satan He vanquished, His foes.
The conquering Lord lifts His banner on high;
He lives, yes, He lives, and will nevermore die.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  So, asking that good catechism question, what does this mean?  It means everything.

1 Corinthians 15:14 (ESV) ¹⁴ … if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:17 (ESV) ¹⁷ … if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.^[1]

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  All of your hope hinges on Jesus rising from the dead.

A few years ago, a well-known church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan died. It was reported that he spoke these as his last words: “If Jesus has not risen from the dead, nothing else matters; if Jesus has risen from the dead, nothing else matters!” “If Jesus has not risen from the dead, nothing else matters; if Jesus has risen from the dead, nothing else matters!”

It is because of the resurrection of Jesus that we call ourselves Christians today. It is because of the resurrection of Jesus that we call out to God in confidence. It is because of the resurrection of Jesus that we look forward to eternal life in the age to come!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

“If Jesus has not risen from the dead, nothing else matters; if Jesus has risen from the dead, nothing else matters!” Jaroslav Pelikan

When God created the world he created for six days and rested on the seventh.  The eighth day is the first day of the new creation.  Jesus rose on Sunday.  The first day of the week.  The eighth day.  The first day of the next new creation.  Eight is a Biblical number of new beginnings.  On Noah’s ark there were eight people.  Jewish boys were marked with the sign of the covenant on their eighth day.  This is why baptismal fonts often have eight sides to mark the number of new beginning.  It is at the font that you died with Christ and were raised with Christ and were born again in Christ and given life in the new creation.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

At a baptism the one being baptized is often clothed in white; at confirmation the youth are dressed in white robes, at your funeral the casket will be covered with the white pall showing that you have been clothed with the white robe of Jesus’ righteousness.  You are a new creation in Christ. You have been baptized into Christ and because Jesus rose from the dead you too will rise from the dead.

As the winter weather warms and the first crocuses start to bloom it is a sign that soon will come the daffodils and the tulips and all the other flowers to follow.

As you see Jesus rise from the dead you know that you too will be raised from the dead because Jesus is the first fruit of the dead. The cemetery is not the end for you but just a quiet resting place for a while.  Because Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Just as God raised up Adam from the dust of the ground, so you too will be raised from the dust of the ground.  Adam and Eve were barred from the tree of life but, in Christ, you again have access to the fruit of the tree of life; the body and blood of Jesus shed on the cross for your sins.  The serpent who overcame by the tree of the garden is likewise by the tree of the cross overcome.  We still live in the valley of the shadow of death, but we need not fear death because we know, Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

4      O, where is your sting, death? We fear you no more;
Christ rose, and now open is fair Eden’s door.
For all our transgressions His blood does atone;
Redeemed and forgiven, we now are His own.

You are baptized into Christ.  You belong to Christ.  In Christ you have been forgiven and in Christ you have eternal life.  Even though you die, yet shall you live.  And after you have been raised from the dead all creation will be renewed and restored.  You will be the first fruits of the new creation on the last day.

Now this doesn’t mean that everything is going to be easy just because you have been baptized.  Living is still hard.  Dying is still hard.  Knowing that you will rise again on the last day is a stern dose of reality about death because it takes away all your attempts to redefine the nature of death.   Oftentimes funerals are said to be a celebration of life, but it is still so hard, still so sad.  Your loved one has died. Lutheran theologian Hermann Sasse once said, the message of Easter is not, “Jesus lives”, but rather, “Jesus has risen!”

The resurrection makes dying hard. The resurrection makes it clear that death is not a friend and that death is not natural. Death is an enemy to be conquered.  We know this instinctively as we fight against death our whole lives.  Death is the enemy.

That is why Jesus’ resurrection is such incredible, amazing good news.  The enemy death is conquered in Jesus.  As Jesus said to Lazarus’ sister Martha , “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?”^[2]

Unless Jesus returns soon, your body will die, but it will not stay dead.  Your body will rise again on the last day because.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  And because Christ rose from the dead, you, who are baptized into Christ, will also be raised.

You have been redeemed, body and soul, by the blood of Jesus.  As a baptized child of God you live out your life in the new creation.  Life is hard and each day will be a struggle and there will be many times when it seems that the devil has won.  But you know the truth.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  And each Lord’s Day, each eighth day of the week, as a child of the new creation, you gather to receive the word of forgiveness and the fruit of the cross; the Body and Blood of Jesus.  Satan has been defeated.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Palm Sunday Meditation

Let us take a moment and review all of what Jesus did from his entry into Jerusalem until his crucifixion.  How do we get from waving palm branches to the cruel cross of Calvary?

Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of Hosanna to the Son of David!

Jesus cleansed the temple of money changers and those selling animals.

Jesus heals the blind and lame at the temple.

Jesus spends the night in Bethany.

Jesus curses the fig tree on His way into Jerusalem the next day.

At the temple the chief priest and elders question Jesus authority.

Jesus teaches at the temple against the Jewish leaders.

He tells:

The parable of the two sons.

The parable of the tenants in the vineyard.

The parable of the wedding feast.

The Pharisees challenge Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar.

The Sadducees ask about the Resurrection.

Jesus teaches the Pharisees and Sadducees the greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV) ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” ^[1]

The Pharisees question Jesus as to how he can be the son of David.

Jesus proclaims seven woes against the Scribes and Pharisees

Jesus laments over Jerusalem and how he wanted to gather “your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.”

As He leaves the temple Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple.

Sitting on the Mount of Olives Jesus teaches His disciples about the end times.

He teaches:

The lesson of the fig tree.

No one knows the day or hour.

The parable of the Ten Virgins

The parable of the Talents

The sheep and the goats

Jesus predicts again he will be crucified.

The chief priests and the elders meet to plot how to kill Jesus.

Jesus is anointed at Bethany

Judas goes to the chief priest to agree to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples

Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper

Jesus foretells Peter’s denial

Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane with the disciples.

Jesus is betrayed by Judas with a kiss.

Jesus is arrested.

Jesus is tried before Caiaphas

Peter denies Jesus

Jesus is taken to Pilate

Judas returns the money and hangs himself.

Jesus is tried by Pilate

The crowd chooses Barabbas

Jesus is delivered to be crucified

Jesus is mocked

Jesus is crucified

Jesus dies.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Lent 5
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 2, 2017
John 11

Sermons online:
Text:                pastorjud.org
Audio:             pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:             bit.ly/pastorjud

A cemetery is a bleak place to visit in the winter. There are a lot of trees and shrubs and plants, but life retreats in winter: green disappears, the lawns turn brown, leaves fall, and branches look like deadened sticks hovering over the gravestones standing silent sentry.  It all seems dead, but looks can be deceiving. Spring will come and the warmth will cause the cemetery to bloom and grow.  Those winter trees and shrubs and lawns are not dead forever; they are merely dormant, waiting for the sun to bring them back to life.

With Spring, the Lord teaches us an important lesson: what is true for the trees is also true for the people of God who rest from their labors. The Son of God comes to bring them back to life.

The Son of God arrives at Bethany late. His friend Lazarus has been ill for a while, but Jesus has delayed coming. Now Lazarus is dead, buried in the tomb for four long days. Ancient rabbis taught that the soul of the dead hovered over their bodies for three days, then departed for good. Lazarus isn’t just dead: he’s gone.

Lazarus has two sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha goes out to meet Jesus; and she gives a curious confession of faith. She says, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” She’s absolutely right: she knows that Jesus has the power to heal, and that He could have saved Lazarus while he was still alive. At the same time, though, it appears she sees Jesus’ power as weaker than death: she thinks that while Jesus can heal people who still have life, He cannot give life where there is none left. She goes on to say, “But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You;” but her words throughout this text indicate she’s put limits on the “whatever.” She does not believe that Jesus can bring Lazarus back to life.

Jesus tells her otherwise. He says, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha thinks she knows what He means, so she says, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Here is something that we too may say in error: the Last Day will raise nobody from the dead. The Last Day is simply the last day. It is Jesus who raises from the dead, because Jesus is the Conqueror of death. The dead will rise on the Last Day because that is when Jesus raises them.

This is what He proclaims to Martha: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She responds, “Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” She doesn’t know what all that means. But she trusts that Jesus is the Savior.

Jesus goes to the tomb, deeply moved and weeping. This is your Savior, who weeps with His people. Even though He knows that He will soon raise Lazarus from the dead, He still hurts with Mary and Martha because they hurt, and they are His beloved children—as are you. He arrives at the tomb and commands that the stone be taken away. Martha objects—Lazarus is dead, and his body has begun to decay over the past four days. Why make that any more evident?

Jesus’ answers: “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Jesus cries out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus comes out of the tomb. Just like that; just because Jesus spoke and told him to.

That’s the glory of God on display: Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Where He is, life is, because He gives life; and He gives life by His Word. He speaks and tells Lazarus to live, and Lazarus lives again.

Of those who hear and see the miracle, many believe; but some go and tell the Pharisees what Jesus has done. The Pharisees ask “What are we to do?” They are afraid: “If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him.” Can’t have that: sinners just can’t put up with people believing in the Son of God, who gives them eternal life. The Pharisees think they have a legitimate fear, though: they’re afraid that if everyone believes in Jesus, it will provoke the Romans to wipe them out as a nation. Jesus might have proven that He’s greater than death, but that doesn’t mean He’s greater than Caesar and his armies. The Pharisees are blind: if Christ is greater than death, wouldn’t he also be greater than Rome?

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Where He is, life is, because He gives life; and He gives life by His Word.

And even if it were God’s will that Rome level Jerusalem, wouldn’t it be better to give up a city on earth in order to follow the One who raises the dead to everlasting life?

No. Not to the Pharisees, anyway. They would rather sacrifice Jesus in order to hold onto a place that they’re eventually going to lose anyway. That is the nature of sin, to clutch at what you can’t keep in order to rob you of what you can’t lose.

It’s Caiaphas who voices this: he says, “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” Sacrifice the One to save the many. That’s their decision. It’s very practical.

Unwittingly, it’s also very prophetic. From here on out, the Pharisees actively plan to put Jesus to death, believing that they’ll save the nation by killing the man. They have no idea. God will use their evil for the good of all.  When their plan is finally carried out on the cross, the death of Jesus won’t serve to get Him out of the way, dead and gone. The death of Jesus will be the Sacrifice for the sins of the people—all the people, both Jews and Gentiles. Because He dies on that cross for the sins of the world, and because He rises again on the third day, His promise rings out to all the world: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.”

Many of you mourn right now. This past year, we’ve said goodbye to so many here at Immanuel and in our families.  I pray this text brings comfort. Christ has died and Christ is risen from the dead. He is the Conqueror of death. He is not the Resurrection and the Life only in the past, as if He retired from that after raising Lazarus from the dead. He is not the Resurrection and the Life only in the future, on the Last Day. He is the Resurrection and the Life now. Now, and forevermore.

Where Jesus is, life is. That’s what Jesus is about: and whenever He is present forgiving sins, He is also present giving life. At your baptism, Jesus declared, “Come out! Come out of the bondage of sin, for I make you My beloved child this day! Come out of the darkness of sin, for I am the Light of the world! Come out of death, for I am the Resurrection and the Life—and I make you alive forever by water and the Word.” Your resurrection at the font was a greater miracle than the one of Lazarus at the tomb: Jesus gave physical life back to Lazarus’ body, but Lazarus’ body would die again. Jesus has given eternal life to you and you have it forever. Unless the Lord returns, your body will eventually die. Your soul will not: you are alive forever, and on the last day the Lord will raise your body up, too.

Where Jesus is, life is. And whenever He is present forgiving sins, He is also present giving life. His Word gives life. He spoke to bring Lazarus back from death. He put His words in Ezekiel’s mouth, and those words made dry bones alive. This day, He speaks to you, “I forgive you all your sins.”

Where Jesus is, life is. And whenever He is present forgiving sins, He is also present giving life. This is true at His Supper. He is present, giving you His very body and blood—and He gives it for the forgiveness of sins. He gives it to keep you alive—for where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

This is true for you. It is also true for those you mourn who died in the faith. Those who died in the faith are not dead, because the Lord is not the Lord of the dead but of the living. Their bodies rest in the grave, but they live even now with Christ in heaven. You have His promise: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” It is true for the saints who have gone before us, and it is true for you.

Be on guard, then, against the devil’s temptations. Beware of the error of Martha, who thought that Jesus’ power was great but limited, really only good for working wonders where life remained. She thought Jesus weaker than death instead of greater; and she thought Jesus weaker than life rather than being life.

You are forever tempted to think Jesus is only good for helping you out in this life.  Thinking Jesus is only good for this life robs you of hope for eternity and will bring disappointment because this life is hard. Jesus did not come to make life a little sweeter on your way to eternal death and the grave. He has come to deliver you from eternal death and the grave.

Beware also the sin of the Pharisees, who would rather kill Christ and forfeit life in order to cling to a nation they couldn’t keep anyway. There is a great temptation to hold on to sins rather than repent and be forgiven.  Sins like greed, lust, pride and immorality can make you believe it would hurt too much to give them up.  You’d rather hold on to the sin than to follow Jesus. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”  Repent, because the Lord of life has died your death and is risen again to forgive you. He is present to forgive you.

Where Jesus is, life is. Do not despair, repentant people of God. Whatever sins you have clung to in the past, He has died for them all; and He promises “everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” This promise is for you and it is for all the penitent people of God who have died in the faith.

In the springtime, a well-managed cemetery can be a pretty place. The lawns turn green, the trees leaf and the flowers bloom as the sun restores life with light and warmth. It can be a lovely garden. But the renewed foliage is only a hint, only a shadow. Martin Luther once said that, for the Christian, a cemetery is not the final resting place of the dead; it is not a place of dry bones. It is a place of planted kernels, sown seeds. Those who died in the faith are alive with Christ even as they await the resurrection of their bodies on the Last Day when the Lord will call His people from the grave. For Christ will return in glory; and where Jesus is, life is. He is the Resurrection and the Life, and He has given that life to you, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.  Amen.

Lent 4 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
March 26, 2017
Psalm 142:1-7, Isaiah 42:14-21, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41

Sermons online:
Text:                pastorjud.org
Audio:             pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:             bit.ly/pastorjud

Close your eyes for a moment.  Try to imagine what it would be like to have been born blind.  What things would you not be able to comprehend?  No idea of color.  No way to understand the beautiful intricacies of a flower.  No way to appreciate the amazing diversity of plants and animals, mountains and lakes, sun, moon and stars.  It would be a very difficult thing to be blind from birth.  Go ahead and open your eyes.  Now here is the truth.  You were born blind.

For not only is there physical blindness, there is also spiritual blindness.  There are people whose eyes work just fine and yet they are blind to the way of salvation; they cannot comprehend being saved by grace.  There are so many people who can see every color in the world but do not know the truth about the gift of forgiveness found in Jesus Christ alone.  There is physical blindness and there is spiritual blindness.

Jesus is leaving the temple in Jerusalem after he was threatened with stoning by the Jews because he said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”  As he walks away Jesus sees a man blind from birth.  Jesus sees the man; the person who is blind.  The disciples don’t see the man; they don’t see the person, they only see a problem; they only see his blindness.  At first a physical problem and then they quickly turn it into a spiritual problem; a theological problem, John 9:2 (ESV) ² … “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”^[1]  The disciples see only sin and punishment.

The disciples look past the person and see a problem and in this way avoid helping him in any way.  They don’t listen to him, they don’t give him something to eat, they don’t lead him to Jesus; they just want to discuss who is to blame and avoid having to deal with the person.

How often do we do this ourselves?  We see someone well dressed.  We see the nice shoes, nice watch, nice car and look past the two broken marriages and estranged children and think this person has it made.  Or we see someone who looks kind of rough, poorly dressed, covered with tattoos and piercings, and we just dismiss them as undeserving of our care or consideration never seeing the pain and abuse they endured as a child.  We want to look at someone with trouble in their life and conclude that they must deserve it.  They sinned and they are being punished.  But their story; your story, doesn’t start with sin and end with punishment.  Their story, your story begins with creation and ends with redemption.

Jesus sees the man born blind and brings the man into Jesus’ own story.  Jesus goes to the man and brings light into the man’s darkness.  Jesus helps the man and gets his hands dirty in the process.  Jesus kneels down before the man and spits in the dirt and mixes up some mud and anoints the man’s eyes.  The man’s story begins with creation and here we see the creator of the world who created Adam out of the dust of the ground now use the dust of the ground to bring light to this man.

Jesus tells the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam.  The man does as Jesus instructs and comes back seeing.  His eyesight is restored.  You would think this would be cause for great celebration and rejoicing for everyone who knows this man.  This man has been blind from birth and now He can see.  It’s a miracle! It is incredible!  How wonderful!…but wait.  People are confused.  Is this really the man born blind?  He tells them, “I am the man.”  He tells them the story.  John 9:11 (ESV) ¹¹ …“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”^[2]

They take this man to the Pharisees because this is the Sabbath Day and Jesus made mud in violation of the rule about kneading dough on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees question the man and the man tells his story and declares Jesus is a prophet.  The Pharisees now doubt the man was really blind and bring in the man’s parents for questioning and the parents disown their son out of fear of being kicked out of the synagogue.  This great thing that Jesus has done has turned the man’s life into a mess.

Then the Pharisees call the man in again to test him.  The man tells them the story again, “I was blind, now I see.”  He says that Jesus is from God.  The Pharisees get angry John 9:34 (ESV) ³⁴ They answer him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.^[3]

The man has lost his family and has been cast out of the synagogue.  Jesus hears this and finds the man and brings the man into the full light; full sight both physical and spiritual.  Jesus asks, John 9:35-38 (ESV) ³⁵ … “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” ³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.^[4]

Every time the man tells the story he becomes clearer as to who Jesus is.  First the man called Jesus, then Jesus the prophet, then Jesus from God, and finally, he worships Jesus as Lord.

In the waters of baptism Jesus brings you into His story of salvation and gives you a story to tell; the same story that the blind man tells.

Jesus brings the man into Jesus’ story and then gives the man a story to tell.  I was blind, but now I see and every time the man tells the story he grows in his understanding of who Jesus is.  The mess of the man’s life becomes the message.  The test becomes a testimony.  His weakness becomes a witness.  The trials of the man’s life allow the works of God to be displayed.

In baptism the light of the world brings that light into you.  After a baptism I give the newly baptized a lighted candle with these words, “Receive this burning light to show that you have received Christ who is the Light of the world.  Live always in the light of Christ and be ever watchful for His coming…”  In the waters of baptism Jesus brings you into His story of salvation and gives you a story to tell; the same story that the blind man tells.  I was blind, but now I see.  Jesus has taken you from being spiritually blind, dead and an enemy of God to living in the light of Christ and knowing that Jesus of Nazareth is God in flesh; the Son of God and Son of Man.  Jesus is the Lamb of God who sacrificed Himself on the cross of Calvary to pay the price for your sins.  Jesus brought you into His story and gave you a story to tell.

The messiness of your life becomes the message.  Your tests become testimonies.  Your weakness becomes your witness.  The trials of your life allow the works of God to be displayed.

Jesus brings the man born blind into His story and gives the man a story to tell.  His physical sight and his spiritual sight have been restored.

The Pharisees think they see things perfectly clearly and yet they are blind.  They believe they are saved by following God’s commandments and their own interpretation of those commandments.  They see sin and punishment.  But they are blind.  They do not see Jesus for who He really is.  They do not see their Lord and Savior.

So many folks today believe that have perfect spiritual vision; they think they are so smart; so clever; so altogether insightful.  They say that Jesus cannot be God in flesh; it makes no sense.  Jesus dying on the cross is just some kind of divine child abuse.  They say that the Bible must be molded and shaped to fit our newer, clearer, modern understandings.  But they are blind.

You were born blind, but now you have been given sight.  You have the light of Christ.  You are a part of the family of God as a child of God through Holy Baptism.  You have a story to tell.  I was blind, but now I see.  Jesus is Lord.  Tell your story.

Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[4]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001