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

Lent 2
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
March 12, 2017
Psalm 121:1-8, Genesis 12:1-9, Romans 4:1-8, 13-17, John 3:1-17

Sermons online: 

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

There is something sort of addictive about the home improvement shows.  They show you the horribly outdated condition of a house before and how wonderful it looks after and you realize that your house looks an awful lot like the before pictures.  And then you start to wonder.  Where can I put ship lap in my house?  Can I too have an open concept living space?  What would my house look like if I were to tear out a kitchen wall and put in an island and new hard wood flooring?  Would that work?  Can I tear out a wall?

Apparently there are some walls in the house that hold up the roof and there are some walls in the house that just divide rooms.  Which is which?  Which walls are load bearing and which walls are curtain walls, just separating space?  One way to find out is to simply tear down the wall and see what happens.

Our scripture readings today are all about God’s grace through faith brought about because of Gods’ love.  What kind of love is this?

We have trouble understanding God’s love because God’s love is different from our love.  Martin Luther speaks of God’s love in the Heidelberg Disputation, “God’s love does not find its object but rather creates its object; human love finds its object.”

God’s love is different from our love.

We are drawn to and love what we find lovable, for example we order French fries because we like French fries; we hang out with friends because we like them.  Understanding this kind of love we think we can do something to make God like us.  We think we can do something that God will find lovable and he will accept us.

The problem is that by ourselves we have nothing to offer God and are nothing before the creator. But God, in His love, creates what He wants to love.  God makes new creatures out of the nothing we are and nothing we have to offer. God operates in a way so different from how we operate and so we can sing. “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to the cross I cling.”

A Pharisee named Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night seeking answers.  The Pharisees are generally enemies of Jesus and throughout the Gospels we see them try to discredit Jesus, trick Jesus, destroy Jesus, and kill Jesus.  Nicodemus is different; Nicodemus is curious about Jesus.  How can Jesus do such great signs unless God is with Him?  Nicodemus approaches Jesus for answers, but Jesus’ answers defy logic.

John 3:3 (ESV)  ³ … “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”^[1]

Born again?  Nicodemus is confused.  How is a man born again?  Can he enter into his mother’s womb a second time?  That makes no sense.

Jesus continues, John 3:5-6 (ESV) ⁵ … “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^[2]

Nicodemus is thinking about biological truth but Jesus is talking about spiritual truth.  Nicodemus is thinking of earthly things; Jesus is teaching heavenly things.

Nicodemus wants to build his spiritual house out of things that he can feel and see and do.  Like all of us, Nicodemus wants to understand everything and this spiritual talk of being born again in water and the spirit makes no sense.

Jesus gives Nicodemus another mind blowing thought.  John 3:14-15 (ESV) ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” ^[3]

The Israelites in the desert were dying from snake bites and were told if they looked to the bronze serpent on the pole they would live.  How does that help?  How on earth does a bronze snake on a pole do anything for someone dying of snake bite?  God does not work according to earthly ways; God’s ways are not our ways.  God’s way to save the Israelites was a bronze snake on a pole.  God’s way to save you is Jesus lifted up on the cross.  There is a new way of salvation; the Son of Man will be lifted up.  God taught through Moses in Deuteronomy that anyone hung on a tree is cursed by God.  Jesus becomes the curse for you.  Eternal life now comes to all who believe in the Son of Man lifted up on the tree.

Jesus on the cross is the source of eternal life.  Salvation comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The only thing to trust in for Nicodemus is Jesus on the cross.  The only thing for you to trust in for salvation is Jesus on the cross for you.  How does that work?  How can this be?  That makes no sense.  “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to the cross I cling.”  Only Jesus.  Jesus alone.  Faith alone.  Grace alone.  We have heard these things before.

Your spiritual house is not built from anything you have done, it is built entirely from what Jesus has done for you.

But the trouble is that there is a great temptation to want to build your spiritual house out of things you can feel and see; things that you can do for yourself.  You want to know that things are good between you and God because of the things that you do and the things you can see in your life.  I know things are good because I get good grades, because I am a good athlete, because I have a good job, because I have money in the bank, because I have a great family, because I have good kids, because I have my health, because I am a pretty good person and not like those other people.  You want to build your house of faith on all these things that you think are solid; things you can feel and see.  You can start to believe that these tangible things bear the load of your salvation; it only makes sense. For logical people it makes logical sense.  You lean on the things you can see for security.

But then bad things happen.  You lose your job, you retire, your health fails, you get a bad grade, you get injured, your family has troubles, you child rebels, your finances crumble, your secret sinfulness becomes public.  All the things that you leaned on are taken away and you are left, it seems, with nothing.  You think that everything is destroyed and yet, miraculously, your spiritual house is still standing.  “When every earthly prop gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”  When all the earthly supports are taken away you still have Jesus on the cross for you.  When all your works have been exposed as faulty and fleeting, you realize that all these things you thought were holding up your faith were not the load bearing walls at all.  All of these can crumble and yet salvation remains.  Your spiritual house is not built from anything you have done, it is built entirely from what Jesus has done for you.  All your earthly props give way and you are left with Jesus holding up your spiritual house.  Jesus saves you independent of anything you have done.  Trust Jesus alone to bear the load.  Trust Jesus alone on the cross to be your spiritual support.

Jesus has done it all, for you, all out of love.  Not because you are attractive or lovable in yourself, but because Jesus has made you loveable by washing you clean in the waters of baptism.  Jesus has made you a perfect, holy saint.  How on earth does that work?  It isn’t an earthly thing; it is heavenly. God saves you because He loves you even when you were not lovable.

John 3:16-17 (ESV) ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.^[4]

Now, at home, it is probably not a good idea to tear out walls to see if they are load bearing, but it is precisely what you need to do in spiritual matters.  Walk by faith and not by sight.  Tear down your trust for salvation in anything you have done, and trust only in Jesus.  Jesus bears the load for you.

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

First Sunday in Lent 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
March 5, 2017
Psalm 32:1-7, Genesis 3:1-21, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11

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

There are a lot of jokes about the relationship of husbands and wives.

One night a man walks into a bar looking sad. The bartender asks the man what he wants. The man says “Oh just a beer”. The bartender asks the man “What’s wrong, why are you so down today?”.  The man says “My wife and I got into a fight, and she said she wouldn’t talk to me for a month”. The bartender says “Oh, that’s tough.”  The man says “Yeah, the month is up tonight”.

Ladies, if a man said he will fix it, he’ll fix it.  No need to remind him every 6 months.

Marriage can be difficult; it is challenging for two people to blend their lives into one.  Relationships are tough.  There are so many forces trying to drive a wedge between you and others and between you and God.

It wasn’t always like this.  There was a time when man and woman got along perfectly with each other and with God.  There was complete harmony between the two each caring for and serving the other; husband and wife in complete agreement trusting God for everything.

God created man and woman for each other and everything was perfect in the Garden of Eden until the serpent slithers in to ask Eve, “Did God actually say?” The Father of Lies asks, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”  Satan is tricky.  Eve replies, Genesis 3:2-3 (ESV) ² … “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”^[1]

Then the serpent tempts Eve that she can be like God.  Genesis 3:4-5 (ESV)
⁴ … “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”^[2]

Eve is tempted to give up trusting God and so Eve eats the fruit and gives it to Adam and he eats…and the rest, as they say, is history.  Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

The perfect relationship in the Garden between man and woman and between humans and God is broken.  Adam and Eve were put to the test and they failed.

Later, the children of Israel have been rescued from slavery in Egypt and are being led to the Promised Land.  They have passed through the waters of the Red Sea and are now in the wilderness being tested by difficult circumstances.  The Israelites do not trust God to provide what they need and deliver them to the Promised Land.  The children of Israel are put to the test and they fail.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

You are in the wilderness of life between your baptism into Christ and your entrance into the Heavenly City on the last day.  Life is hard.  There are a lot of temptations.  The devil is forever whispering to you, “Did God really say?” to try to get you to do things that drive a wedge in your relationships with each other and your relationship with God.

Did God really say you can never do anything you want to do?  See, you can disobey your parents.

Did God really say you can never look at another woman?  See, you can have an affair.

Did God really say you have to be poor?  See, you should lie, cheat and steal in order to get more money.

Did God really say you cannot enjoy things in life?  See, you can make those things your idol.

You have been put to the test.  And you have failed.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

After Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan God the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  In our Gospel reading today we find Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and there is a new voice speaking to Jesus; the voice of the Tempter.  Matthew 4:3 (ESV) ³ …“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”^[3]

Does Jesus trust God the Father to provide for Him, or will He take a short cut?  Jesus answers Matthew 4:4 (ESV)  ⁴ … “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”^[4]

Jesus answers with a Biblical quote from Deuteronomy where Moses is instructing the children of Israel about their unfaithfulness during their 40 years in the wilderness.

The devil then sets Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple and tempts Jesus to test

God, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written…”.  Now here we see the devil quote scripture.  A good indication that just because someone quotes scripture does not mean they are teaching the truth.

Matthew 4:6 (ESV) ⁶ … “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”^[5]

Jesus again quotes from Deuteronomy about the faithlessness of the children of Israel.  Matthew 4:7 (ESV) ⁷ … “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”^[6]

Finally the devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And the devil says to Jesus, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

The devil wants Jesus to take a short cut.  Skip the cross.  Skip the beatings and the humiliation.  Skip the pain and suffering.  Skip all of the hard stuff and go right to the glory of being Lord over all the kingdoms of the world.  Sounds tempting.  Jesus knows what He is facing with torture and crucifixion.  But this is His mission.  The cross is Jesus’ destiny.  The cross is why Jesus came to earth to take on flesh and dwell with us.  Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

    Jesus on the cross will defeat Satan and so the devil wants to stop Jesus from going to the cross anyway he can.

Jesus replies, “Be gone, Satan!  For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’”

Jesus quotes Moses’ rebuke of the children of Israel in the wilderness as Jesus in the wilderness is the faithful Israel reduced to one…and the rest, as they say, is history.

Peter also tries to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross and Jesus rebukes Peter, Matthew 16:23 (ESV) ²³ … “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”  ^[7]

Even while Jesus is on the cross we hear echoes of Satan’s temptations.  Matthew 27:41-43 (ESV) ⁴¹ …the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴² “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”^[8]

Jesus on the cross will defeat Satan and so the devil wants to stop Jesus from going to the cross anyway he can.  Anyone who wants to stop Jesus from going to the cross is working for Satan.  Now, Jesus on the cross is horrifying.  Horrifying because of what happened to Jesus and horrifying in that He is there because of our sin.  We are tempted to think it was unnecessary; we are tempted to believe there is another way.  We are tempted to want to think that the cross is not why Jesus came.  That he has some other purpose.  But Jesus needs to go the cross.  On the cross we see Jesus’ faithfulness.  Jesus is faithful.

Where Adam and Eve are unfaithful, Jesus is faithful.

Where the children of Israel are unfaithful, Jesus is faithful.

Where you and I are unfaithful, Jesus is faithful.  And the rest is history.  Jesus not only wrote His own history.  He rewrote the history for Adam and Eve.  No longer are Adam and Eve convicted by their failure and sin.  Jesus rewrote their history and now Adam and Eve are restored.  Now they are righteous in Christ.

Jesus rewrote the history for the children of Israel who were unfaithful in the wilderness.  Jesus rewrote their history through his faithfulness of going to the cross.  He has made the children of Israel faithful.  Jesus’ faithfulness rewrote their history.

Jesus has rewritten your history as well.  While you have written a history of sin and guilt Jesus has rewritten your history to make you a saint.  In Jesus you are righteous.  In Jesus you are right with God; you are holy and pure.  Jesus is faithful even to the cross.  Jesus rewrote your history and made you a redeemed child of God.

You can now live in this fallen world as a beloved child of God.  As Jesus has restored you so you live in this restoration in your relationship with others.  Knowing that Jesus has declared you to be righteous you live out life in righteousness.  Knowing you are loved by God you live in love for those around you.

So, for now, relationships are hard and that is no joke.  But you live in relationship with each other and with God knowing that you have already been made holy in Jesus.  Jesus is faithful and has rewritten history for you.  You are holy and righteous.

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

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

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

Transfiguration 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
February 26, 2017
Psalm 2:6-12, Exodus 24:8-18, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9

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

There may be some danger talking about this at the beginning of a sermon, but often we have a problem with listening.  I’m sure that none of you have this issue, but I have heard that some folks have trouble sitting and paying attention for 15 minutes or so to listen to a sermon.  We are not always very good at listening.

I once had a training where one of things we were taught to do was to sit and listen to someone tell their story for ten uninterrupted minutes.  We were not allowed to say anything while the person was speaking; just listen and nod to let the person know you are hearing what they said.  It was incredibly difficult to stay quiet and just listen.  It was also incredibly powerful to have someone simply listen to what you have to say.

In this busy, busy society where we often live with a smart phone in our hand it is very hard to pay attention to someone.  I have watched children desperately try to get their parent’s attention but the parent is too involved on their phone to listen to their child.  There are likely times I could observe this by looking in the mirror.

We are in such a hurry in life that we have no patience for listening.  If someone is speaking too slowly we want to complete their sentences so we can get on with more important things.

I want you to try this when someone is talking to you.  Silence your phone, set it aside and listen to the other person without interrupting to make suggestions or to try to talk about something similar that happened to you.  I know this is very, very hard for me.  I need to try harder to listen.  I know that far too often when someone is talking to me I interrupt to add something or make a suggestion or try to offer a solution to their problem.  I need to try to do like mom used to say.  Just keep your big mouth shut.

Peter, James and John are up on the Mount of Transfiguration.  They are seeing the glory of God radiating from Jesus as his face shines like the sun and his clothes become white as light.  They are seeing the glory of God shining from Jesus.  This is overwhelming; what a sense of awe they must have standing there seeing this transfiguration.  Alleluia!  Praise the Lord.  And then to add to this magnificent Alleluia moment, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus.  The law and the prophets and Jesus all together in glory talking with each other.  How awesome; how overpowering, to be so close to the presence of God.  What a great time to just watch and listen and take it all in.  But Peter cannot do this.  Peter cannot be still and know that God is God.  Peter thinks he has something to add.  Peter just has to talk.  “Lord, it is good that we are here.”  Really?  Jesus is there with Moses and Elijah, but Peter thinks it is good that he is there with James and John because he can be helpful.  “If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  Peter cannot just listen; he has to offer a suggestion.  It is hard for us to keep quiet and listen.

Peter cannot listen; he has to talk, but not for long.  Peter is interrupted.  God the Father speaks from a bright cloud, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”  This gathering on the mountain is such a bizarre scene.  Jesus, who always looks like a normal man, is shining brightly and talking with Moses and Elijah but this is not enough to keep Peter quiet.  Jesus shining is not enough to quiet Peter, but at the voice of God the Father Peter, James and John are driven to their faces in terror; speechless and petrified.  God is a God of consuming fire and His voice brings great fear.  But then Jesus takes all the light and glory and tucks it back away into His flesh and He comes to the three and touches them and tells them, “Don’t tell anyone.”

I fear that too often we don’t listen to God.  We’d rather take the almighty God and tell Him who He is.  We try to make him more manageable; less challenging, more compatible with our way of thinking and living.  We want a safe god, a meek god, a god we can control, a god we can take or leave depending on our mood.  We are so tempted to turn the true, fearsome, powerful God into a helper god, a god who is there to make life easier.

When we don’t listen it is hard to remember that God is truly an awesome being who created the universe with just His word.  God has fearsome power.  God is terrifying and dangerous.  We rightly fear God.

We like to think about God’s love.  And God is love, but God is also just.  And this justice is seen in the dark valley between the Alleluia moment on the Mount of Transfiguration and the Alleluia moment of Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus, Peter, James and John come down from the mountain and Jesus makes His way toward Jerusalem to the cross waiting there for Him; the cross where the punishment for the sins of the world will be paid.  Jesus is going to Jerusalem where that robe that glowed white with light on the mountain will be stained with blood and stripped off of Jesus and be torn up and divided amongst the soldiers that crucify him.  From the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary it seems that everything has gone terribly wrong.

            We are so tempted to listen to the world.  We need to listen to the Word; we need to listen to Jesus through the Word of God.

Jesus has tried to tell the disciples that He must go to the cross but they don’t want to listen.  The disciples do not want to hear about the cross.  They do not want to hear about suffering and death.  Before going up to the mountain Jesus told the disciples that He will be killed and rise again and Peter told Jesus, “Far be it from you, Lord!  This shall never happen to you.”  Peter wasn’t listening to Jesus.  Peter knew better.

The voice of God the Father speaks to Peter, James and John.  The voice of God speaks to you, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

In the great busyness of your life listening is a difficult spiritual practice.  In your hyperactive life it is challenging to be still and listen to God.  God speaks to you in His Word.  Listen to His Word.  Spend time with God’s word.  Hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word of God.  Jesus tells you that you are to take up your cross and follow Him.  But we don’t want to listen.

We are so tempted to listen to the world.  We need to listen to the Word; we need to listen to Jesus through the Word of God.

The world says that god should be all about you and your comfort and your success.  This is a very popular idea.  Preaching about how to be successful can really get people in the doors to listen to the wisdom of the world.  Jesus’ message is a not the message of the world.  Jesus’ message is strange in this world.  Jesus’ message is a message of humble service.  A message of turning the other cheek.  A message of loving your enemy.  A message of forgiving others.  A message of selflessness.  It is a message of sacrifice.  And Jesus doesn’t just teach these things, Jesus lives these things.  We see Jesus live out love and forgiveness and service and sacrifice; even to the point of giving His life.  It is not a message about how God just wants you to be happy.  Jesus message is not a message of personal fulfillment.  It is not a message of success.  Jesus message is a message of love and forgiveness and sacrifice.

Lent is a journey through a dark valley from the Alleluia of Transfiguration to the Alleluia of Easter.  Your life is also a similar journey.  You were on the mountain of alleluia as you came to the baptismal font to be washed into Christ and were clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness which covers all your sins.  In Christ you are now able to approach the fearsome Father through the mediation of his Son.  You were on the mountain of Alleluia as you were brought into the Kingdom of Heaven and you will be on the mountain of Alleluia again on the day of the resurrection when you will be raised from the dead and clothed in the white robe of Christ’s righteousness and you, with all the saints, will march into the heavenly City of New Jerusalem.

The day is coming when the full Alleluia will be back, but in the meantime you live in the valley of the shadow of death.  You live in a world full of sin and suffering and sickness and violence and abuse and death and it seems at times that everything has gone so wrong.  You stand at the bedside of a sick or dying loved one and you wonder, why is God allowing this to happen.  Life is hard in this world.  Listen to Jesus.

Life is not all about the Alleluia’s but we know that the great Alleluia is coming again on the last day.  For now you live in the shadow of God’s glory, for now you do not see His glory fully.  For now you are in God’s presence where two or more are gathered in His name.  For now, at the altar of the Lord, you get a foretaste of the feast to come.  One day you will be seated at the heavenly feast with Jesus shining as the light of heaven.  And knowing the great day of Alleluia is coming, you listen to Jesus.

Amen.

Epiphany 7, 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
February 19, 2017
Psalm 119:33-40, Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18, 1 Corinthians 3:10-23, Matthew 5:38-48

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

Did you hear the news last Thursday about the strange weather phenomena in Washington D.C.?  Every time a Republican stepped outside he would be drenched by a pouring rainstorm, but the Democrats could walk outside and remain dry; it only rained on the Republicans.  Or on Friday when, at noon, it was all gloom and darkness for the Democrats, but the Republicans all experience bright sunshine?  Did you hear about these happenings?  Of course not.  That would be ridiculous.  That is not how things happen.  When it rains it rains on everyone.  The rain does not distinguish between political parties or people’s backgrounds; it rains on everyone.  The sun shines on everyone; the evil and the good; the just and the unjust.  The sun rises on all people.  The rain falls on all people.  Jesus tells us in our Gospel reading today that your love for others should be like the sun and the rain.  You should love all people.  This is a hard teaching.

Jesus says, Matthew 5:38 (ESV) ³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’^[1]

If I am in a heated disagreement with someone and they raise their voice at me, what is my natural reaction?  I want to raise my voice even louder; make sure they know I am not backing down.

What if, after I raise my voice at the other person, they shove me to show they’re not backing down?  What is my natural reaction?  I want to shove them back; harder.

We naturally want to escalate anger and violence to show that we are right; to show that we are not going to back down; we are not going to give in.  We want to let folks know, you can’t push me around.  Our natural way to retaliate is to strike back quickly with increased intensity.  And this brings a constant escalation of trouble.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth from Exodus 21 was meant to put a cap on that escalation.  If someone hurts you, you cannot intensify the trouble.  The attacker should be punished in the same way they hurt you; no escalation.  This is meant to keep a lid on violence.

One kind of television commercial is the type that has a head to head competition that shows one product to be better than another.  Some of the clearest are those for paper towels that show how one brand can really absorb a lot more liquid.  After defeating the competition, the paper towel is then shown working all over the house absorbing mess after mess after mess.

Think of all the sin and evil in your life and all the messes that sin creates.  Jesus is the one who comes to clean up all the mess.  In the waters of Holy Baptism Jesus washes you clean from all your sin.  Jesus absorbs all the sin from your life into Himself and carries that sin to the cross.  Jesus gets your sin and gives to you the gift of perfection, forgiveness and eternal life.  Jesus forgives you all your sins and He calls you to follow Him.

To His followers Jesus gives a new command, Matthew 5:38-39 (ESV) ³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.^[2]

This is a radical teaching.  If someone slaps me in the face I want to punch them back; that is my natural reaction.  Jesus calls me out of my nature.  Jesus says I should turn the other cheek to them.  I should not retaliate.  I should not resist evil.

To be clear, a slap on the right cheek is most likely done with the back of someone’s right hand.  This is an attack, but it is not a danger to your life or a threat to do you great bodily harm, it is a painful insult.  In the face of a painful insult, you, as a follower of Jesus, are to give in to evil and turn the other cheek.  This does not come naturally.

By nature we want to be mirrors for anger and violence, we want to reflect and amplify the hurt when someone hurts us.  Jesus calls on you to not be a mirror, but rather to be a sponge.  Absorb the evil that people do to you, don’t return it; just let it die with you.  Be a sponge for evil.  Be a sponge, so that wherever you are, by the time you leave there is less evil; less anger, less hatred.  Go through life absorbing evil.  Be a sponge, not a mirror.

This is a radical teaching.  If someone slaps me in the face I want to punch them back; that is my natural reaction.  Jesus calls me out of my nature.  Jesus says I should turn the other cheek to them.  I should not retaliate.  I should not resist evil.

This is a difficult teaching.  This is not the normal way to live.  But this is how Jesus teaches you to live.  Matthew 5:43-44 (ESV)  ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”^[3]

The sun and rain come to all people.  God’s love and forgiveness is for all people.  Your love and forgiveness should be for all people. “So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus comes to earth to bring forgiveness and life to all.  Jesus life, death and resurrection paid the price for the sins of the world.  This gift is offered to everyone.  While many reject the gift it does not mean the gift is not offered.  God loves all people and you are called to love all people.  Even your enemies.  Even those who do harm to you.  This is a call to radical love.

If someone oppresses you, you are to return to them good rather than evil.  Be generous with those who beg and want to borrow.  Give in to those who want to oppress you.  Being a follower of Jesus means that, at times, you let people take advantage of you.

Jesus sets a high standard; an impossible standard.  You are called to a level of love that is beyond your ability to fully accomplish.  Love anyway.  When you fail, confess your failure and try again.  Knowing that you are a sinner saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, live out that love in your dealings with others.

You are wrapped in the love of Jesus.  You wear the robe of Christ’s righteousness.  You are in Christ.  You are righteous in Christ, but as a follower of Jesus there is no place for righteous indignation.  There is no place for hating others because they disagree with you.

Sometimes I fear social media can be a catalyst for negativity.  It is easy to get upset with things you see posted.  When you get all fired up about something someone has written on Facebook try this.  Before you write some kind of a response, take a moment and pray for the person who wrote the post.  Pray for those with whom you disagree.  Pray for those who hold a different point of view.

Pray for those who attack Christianity.  Pray for those who are opposed to God’s will in their lives and in the world.  Love those who hate you.  Pray for them.  It is an amazing thing that by praying for someone it takes away the hate.  There is still going to be disagreement, but the disagreement does not take away your love for the person.

Live your life letting the love of Christ spread from you to those around you.  Like the sun rises on all people and the rain falls on all people, let your love be for all people.  Don’t be a mirror; be a sponge absorbing the messes of life.  Love like God, because you are a child of God.

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

Epiphany 6 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
February 12, 2017
Psalm 119:1-8, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Matthew 5:21-37

There is a phrase that children hate to hear.  It is one that children promise that they will never say to their own children, but then they do.  It is that terrible answer to the question, “Why?”, when a parent asks a child to do something.

What is this terrible, awful phrase?  “Because I said so.”  “Why should I clean up?”  “Because I said so?”  “Why do I need to go to bed?”  “Because I said so.”  It seems so random and arbitrary.

Why do we follow God’s laws?  Because God said so?  That should be enough.  Why do we try to follow God’s law?  Or why should we try to follow God’s law?

Do you try to follow God’s law in order to be a Christian?

Is that the purpose of God’s law?  So you can achieve salvation?

Today’s Gospel reading is a lot of law.  Sometimes we try to simplify the Bible by saying that the Old Testament is law and the New Testament is Gospel.  Well, these passages from Matthew are pretty stern law coming to us from the New Testament right from the lips of Jesus who is speaking with authority.

And Jesus is not just reiterating the Old Testament law; he is cranking up the law to a point of being unachievable.  Most of us as we study the Ten Commandments get to the fifth commandment, “You shall not murder” and we think.  Okay, I may not be so good on a lot of these commandments, but at least I haven’t murdered anyone.  I have this commandment down.  I can check this one off the list.  Until Jesus speaks.

Matthew 5:21-22 (ESV)  ²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.^[1]

Anger is a sin like murder?  Insults are a sin like murder?  But anger is just human nature.  It is just human nature.  But human nature has been corrupted.  I am, by nature, sinful and unclean.  If anger is a sin, then I have no hope of being good enough.

And indeed, anger is an acid that eats away at your relationships.  Anger is a cancer that eats away at your soul.  Anger burns destructively from within.  Murder itself begins in the heart with anger.

And the Sixth Commandment.  “You shall not commit adultery.”  That’s another commandment that for many we think we can say we have done it.  I may not be perfect, but I have not had an affair.  Another commandment checked off the list.  Until Jesus speaks.

Matthew 5:27-28 (ESV)  ²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.^[2]

Just looking lustfully is a sin?  In this oversexed world you can’t even drive down the highway looking at billboards or watch a little television without being prompted to lustful thoughts.  If lust is a sin, there is no hope to be able to be good enough.  And indeed, lust is a powerful tool of the darkness that takes what God has made good and twists it and perverts it into a force for abuse and exploitation and destruction.  Lust is powerful and, like anger, it comes to us quite naturally.

If anger and lust are sins then I truly am, by nature, a sinner.

Jesus addresses these sins and others, tightening up the commandments beyond just the letter of the law to the spirit of the law.  Tightening up the commandments to a point where every honest person has to admit they are indeed a sinner who needs a savior.  This leaves people in a bit of a quandary.  The law is so strict I cannot be successful in keeping the law, so what do I do?  What does Jesus want me to do?  He has set up an impossible situation.  What do I do?

One option is to simply view your failure to be able to keep the law as permission to abandon the law and become a law unto yourself.  This is what is known as antinomianism.  Nomos is the word for law.  An antinomian says the law does not apply.  Antinomianism is our natural state.  We do not like rules.  We do not like the law.  We don’t like anyone telling us what to do.  Because of the fall into sin we naturally want to rebel against God’s law and do our own thing.  That’s one option.

Another option is to find in your failure to keep the law your great need for a savior.  You cannot keep the law, but someone has kept it for you.  Your inability to keep the law shows the need for someone who can keep the law.  It shows your need for Jesus.  You cannot control your anger.  Jesus does.  Jesus does not lose his temper and He endures the anger of those who will kill him.  You repeatedly fall into the sin of lust; Jesus loves perfectly, untainted by lust, even to the point of offering himself as a sacrifice for your sins.  So in your failure to keep the law you see the great of love of Jesus who kept the law for you and has covered over your sin with his perfection.

And so what do you now do with the law of God?  Why should you try to keep God’s law?  It is not to achieve salvation; that would be impossible.  Rather you should follow the law of God because God loves you so much He sent His Son to die on the cross for you.  You follow the law of God because God loves you and wants the best for you.  You follow God’s law because He said so.  He is God.  He is your Lord and Master.  He is your Savior.  God is God and you are not.

You are a follower of Jesus; you are disciple; you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world.  You live out your Christian faith in your various vocations living your ordinary life in an extraordinary way.

And so if you find anger in your life toward another, go to that person to be reconciled before coming to the altar of the Lord in repentance to receive His Body and Blood.  We actually have this as a part of our worship service; a time set aside to show you are at peace with those around you.  The sharing of the peace is not so much a time to say, “good morning,” as it is a time to demonstrate unity and reconciliation.  If you are harboring anger toward another, this is the time to let the anger go and be reconciled.  If you cannot let the anger go then that is a sin to confess.  You don’t want to pretend that everything is good between you and God when you harbor anger or hatred toward another child of God.  This is a hard teaching from Jesus.  It is contrary to our human nature that wants to hold on to hurts and anger.

The Gospel reading today is a hard one with a lot of law.  You want loopholes to excuse your behavior but there are no loopholes.  You are left knowing you are sinner with your only hope being Jesus on the cross for you.

Jesus warns about the dangers of lust using exaggerated ideas of tearing out your eye and cutting off your hand if they cause you to sin.  Nowhere do we see anyone practicing this kind of mutilation in the Bible, but we can all agree that it would be better to give up an eye than to go to hell.  It would be better to give up a hand than to go to hell.  Is there something you need to give up before it pulls you away from God and into the depths of hell?  Like other sins, sexual sins pull you in little by little.  It begins in your mind and heart and then works its way to your eyes and your body.  The Lord Jesus warns about the danger of sexual sins and yet you live in a world that says if you don’t partake in sexual immorality then you are repressed; there is something wrong with you.  The devil tempts you with the same lie he used in the Garden, “did God really say that intimacy is only between a man and woman in lifelong marriage?”  “Did God really say?”  The world tells you to just follow your desires; go with your nature.  But you know that by nature you are a sinner.

You follow God’s law because you are Christian blessed now and for eternity.  You follow God’s law because God is God and you are not.  Jesus has some stern teaching about divorce.  There was a practice at Jesus’ time that a man could divorce his wife for any and every reason just by giving her a certificate of divorce.  Today, in our country, we have the practice of no fault divorce where you can get divorced for any and every reason and people do.

Jesus teaches that divorce is wrong.  Divorce breaks down a basic building block of society; marriage.  Divorce always brings great trouble as we try to separate what God has joined together.  Trying to pry apart two boards glued together will not make for a clean break.  Divorce is sin and divorce is caused by sin.  At times divorce may be the lesser of two evils due to the great trouble and sin in the marriage but divorce is never God’s plan.

As a married follower of Jesus you are called to live out married life in humble service to one another and to your children if you are so blessed.  Humble, loving service and day to day perseverance is not exciting or flashy but it is what marriage is.  Marriage is living out your vows day by day, choosing to love each other.

The Gospel reading today is a hard one with a lot of law.  You want loopholes to excuse your behavior but there are no loopholes.  You are left knowing you are sinner with your only hope being Jesus on the cross for you.

God’s law is good even though you chafe against it.  You follow God’s law not in order to be a Christian, but because you are already a Christian.  You already are blessed by God.  You already have eternal life in Christ.  You know Jesus is God in flesh and you know that He speaks the truth.  You know God is God and so you do what He says because He said so.

And when you fail, do not let the devil twist that failure around so you give up on the law, but rather when you fail, look to the one who has fulfilled the law for you.  Look to Jesus on the cross and know your sins are forgiven in Him.  Repent.  Turn from sin and walk once more following Jesus because you are in Christ.

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