"United to God Through the Word" (Revelation 22:1-20)

Listen on Spotify

Watch on YouTube (Main Street Living)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“He said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true’” (Revelation 22:6a).

 

The inspired Psalmist David writes, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (Psalm 133:1). God desires unity with us, but we have such disunity.

 

Instead of being united with God, we are more like those outside the holy city: those “dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Revelation 22:15).

 

So, why is there such disunity? Well, obviously, we are not living in the Garden of Eden. So, that is a clue.

 

We have disunity, tension, strife, and conflict because we have always had disunity, tension, strife, and conflict since Adam and Eve declared war against God. And we – you and me – are sinful descendants of Adam and Eve. We were all conceived with their sinful nature. So, it is our natural state to be at war with God. And if we are at war with God, then naturally, we are at disunity with each other. 

 

We all deserve God’s eternal wrath because of our sin, which separates us from God and separates us from our neighbor. So, left to us, there could only be disunity.

 

But God intended for us to be united with Him. God intended for us to gather with Him in unity: around the tree of life.

 

We have such disunity because we have fallen for a lie. Adam and Eve fell for the devil’s lie. They went their own way. And what did it get them? They gave up on the image of God, to be “like” God. They gave up the true worship of God.

 

Adam rejected God’s command for him and his wife to not eat of the tree. They turned away from God’s face. They feared God’s presence because they feared His wrath.

 

You see, our first parents thought they could be independent of God. They believed they didn’t need Him or His Word. They embraced the devil’s lie and the death that came with it.

 

“Did God really say?” The fallen world is captive to that lie. The fallen world says you can handle life on your own without God. The fallen world says we need to be independent from God.

 

We have fallen for that same lie. We have become slaves and victims of the devil’s wicked schemes.

 

May I ask: How often do you actually examine the Scriptures? How often do you take the word of a preacher as gospel truth no matter what he says? Yes, we should respect pastors. They are called and ordained servants of Christ. Pastors are to take the Scriptures reverently and seriously. 

 

But both God-fearing pastors and wolves in sheep’s clothing have something in common. For they both say, “Thus says the Lord.” But in the case of the sham pastors the claim is a lie. Those who claim to have received a revelation apart from Scripture utter only a falsehood, a lie, for with the completion of the New Testament Jesus has the last word, a word that redeems us from sin and death.

 

For God’s Word says, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).

 

So, God doesn’t take monkeying around with His Holy Word lightly. So, the warning here not to add to what He has said and the equal warning not to take away. Add to God’s Word and God will add to you the plagues described in this Book. Take away by cutting from God’s Word and God will take away your share in the tree of life.

 

Now, these false pastors and false theologians will not come to you and say, “We are frauds, and we aim to lead people away from the Savior and His Word.” By doing so, they would defeat their purpose in misleading Christ’s disciples.

 

And what about just a minor error? For Jesus, any false teaching – no matter how big or how small – can undermine and finally destroy saving faith. Every error is dangerous! This is why Jesus gives us this warning, so that we would repent and trust in Christ!

 

For if we keep adding to God’s Word or subtracting from God’s Word, eventually we could lose all of God’s saving Word. We could eventually lose the point of God’s Word as St. John writes in John 20: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

 

Remember, God desires unity. In this Holy Bible, He speaks of His love for unity from Genesis to Revelation. He speaks of our need to forgive each other. He speaks of our need of repentance and faith. He speaks of our redemption in Jesus Christ alone. Every word in His Word, the Bible, is “trustworthy and true” (Revelation 22:6) because He “never lies” (Titus 1:2).

 

And because God never lies by keeping all His promises, He unites us with the truth of His Word. He unites us in faith in the Divine Service and He serves us His grace, mercy and peace.

 

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. It’s the Holy Spirit who brings us to Jesus, who is our “bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16). It’s the Holy Spirit who brings us to Jesus, who is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).

 

The Holy Spirit calls, gathers and “teaches us all things” (John 14:26) through the Scriptures. And through the Bible, His Word is a lamp of truth (Psalm 119:105), which banishes the darkness of sin and unbelief and lies.

 

God unites us to Him as we are united in the flesh of Christ. Jesus is fully God. Jesus is fully man. God became man through the incarnation. So, Jesus understands all that we go through each day of our lives. He knows our pains and our struggles. And that is why God became man, so that through His atoning death, we would be reconciled and united to God the Father.

 

Today, God sustains us with the river of the water of life. In this water of life, He gave us faith when united with His Word in Holy Baptism.

Today, God sustains us with the tree of life. Instead of a tree with branches and roots, God sustains us through a tree cut into a wooden cross, with nails pounded into Jesus’ flesh and bone. And we receive this fruit from this tree in the Lord’s Supper under simple bread and wine, which begets forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation!

 

Each Lord’s Day, we are gathered in the unity of true worship of Almighty God. Here, Jesus gives us unity in His promises. By grace through faith in Christ alone, we receive His promises from the fruits of His cross, the new tree of life: forgiveness, life, and salvation. 

 

And He says, “Surely I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). His promise, which was given nearly 2,000 years ago, is still as true today. The risen and ascended Lord is coming soon! And yet, He is here with us now through His Word and Sacraments. He is never far away. Soon is not a matter of chronological time, but of “nearness” of time.

 

It seemed so long in human time from the promise of Adam and Eve of one to crush the head of the serpent until Jesus was born. But it was a blink of an eye in God’s time until Jesus came in “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4). He is coming! His words are trustworthy and true! And when He comes, all the faithful will see Him face to face in the holy city and will possess the image of God as they worship Him day and night in His temple. Until that day, let us proclaim God’s Word faithfully and join St. John in saying, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 8: "Competing Voices" (Amos 7:7-15)

LISTEN

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“This is what [the Lord God] showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line’” (Amos 7:7-8).

 

The meaning of this vision is clear. The Lord is picturing Himself as a mason laying brick or stone. The wall represents Israel, the people He created to receive His covenant. The plumb line is His Law, the standard laid down at Mount Sinai for Israel’s life as His covenant people. But this Law, this plumb line, also reveals Israel’s sin. For the people are like a sagging, crooked wall, that is in need of being torn down. 

 

God’s people were crooked as they flaunted their unfaithfulness to the Lord. They were crooked as they abandoned the plumb line of God’s Law. You see, it is only through the Law that we become conscious of sin (Romans 3:20). So, without the Ten Commandments before them, to measure what they thought, said, and did, their lives were “out of line,” like a crooked wall ready to be torn down. So, the prophet Amos pronounces judgment against the perverse worship of the Kingdom of Israel and divine judgment against the house of King Jeroboam. But God’s Word is not heeded but hated. Amos is told to pack his bags and go back to where he came from: Judah. 

 

In our Gospel reading (Mark 6:14-29), John the Baptist has been preaching repentance. He has been calling all people to repent of their sins for the Messiah has come and the reign of God is at hand. Like Amos, John is calling God’s people to repentance. And like Amos, he has called upon a specific person as well, King Herod – to specifically repent of his sin of marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias. But like Amos before him, God’s Word is not heeded, but hated. For his call to repentance, John’s head is cut off and paraded at a party on a platter.

 

Throughout the Scriptures, the triune God reveals an intense concern that His voice, His true and life-giving voice, be heard and heeded. And throughout history, God’s voice has more often not been heeded, but rather hated. Generation after generation, twisted heart after twisted heart, fallen man prefers to listen to any other voice but God’s voice. 

Our fallen nature demands that God’s voice be silenced, be set aside, and moved far off. Our fallen nature would rather see God’s messengers sent back home, cast in a pit, sawn in two, beheaded, and crucified. 

 

Throughout Bible history, God would have His Word be primary and uncontested. In the Garden of Eden, God rebukes Adam, saying, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17).

 

Later on, God covenanted with Israel at Mount Sinai saying, “If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all peoples” (Exodus 19:5). Then what happened? The next thing you know, Aaron is no longer listening to God’s voice, but to the voice of the people, and before you know it, the people are worshipping a golden calf. 

 

Eventually, God’s people desired to be like their pagan neighbors with a king. They demanded God give them a king. They thought a king would surely fight for them and give them desired unity. But by swearing loyalty to an earthly king would only be breaking covenant with their Lord, who was already fighting on their behalf as their King. God warned them that an earthly king would only be for earthly gain, but He grants them an earthly king.

From the start, King Saul feared the people more than he feared God. Saul ignored God’s voice and listened to the voice of the people.

 

Prophet after prophet warned God’s people as they proclaimed God’s Word: “‘Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by My servants the prophets.’ But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God” (1 Kings 17:13-14).

 

This theme continues into the New Testament times. When Jesus’ teachings became too difficult, many of his followers turned back and no longer walked with Him. Jesus then asked the Twelve: “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67). Then Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

 

So, why is it so difficult to heed God’s Word? Why is it that we would rather hate God’s voice? 

Well, that answer has to do with our evil foes: our sinful nature, the fallen world, and Satan himself. You see, Satan uses our sinful nature and this fallen world to lead us sinners away from hearing the Word of God. He wants to keep you from hearing and taking seriously what God has to say. Satan’s agenda is to prevent you and others from hearing the life-giving voice of your Maker and Redeemer.

 

So, how does Satan do this? Well, just look at today’s reading from Amos. One of Satan’s approaches is to fill the arena with an umpteen number of false voices to drown out or marginalize the true voice of God. Throughout the Bible, we read of false prophets, counterfeit voices. In fact, these false voices outnumbered the true prophets. These false prophets would tell sinners what they wanted to hear, and as a result, they were popular. That way sinners would basically only listen to themselves. The true Word of God is never the only voice in the arena. It was – and still is – a competitive environment. 

 

Besides drowning out God’s voice, another approach by Satan is to silence God’s life-giving and life-saving Word. That is what Satan led Herod to do with John the Baptist. Satan, the ruler of this fallen world, strives to prevent sinners from hearing the true Word of God. He leads people to discount it, to trivialize it, to ignore it, to dismiss it as only human speech and human opinion.

 

In fact, in Amos’ time, the northern kingdom of Israel was more political than religious. The Israelites were only loyal to King Jeroboam. They listened to the voice of their earthly king, rather than to God’s voice. And like that golden calf in Exodus, Jeroboam erected a golden calf at Bethel where he told the Israelites to come and pay their homage. Israelites pilgrimed there to show their loyalty to King Jeroboam.

 

To this false worship, Amos prophesied God’s judgment upon Israel and its king. Would God’s Word be heard and heeded? No, it would be hated, because to proclaim judgment against Bethel was to oppose the king. You see, the king of Israel and the temple at Bethel were united. So, to proclaim against one was to proclaim against the other. The Kingdom of Israel supported and promoted this perverse religion as the false priest Amaziah of Bethel said to Amos: “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom” (Amos 7:12-13).

 

In other words, “Get out of here Amos! You don’t belone here! You are disrupting the peace! Let us do what we want! Go back where you came from!” Does this sound familiar? 

More and more today, Christians are demanded to keep quiet. To keep our faith secluded from public life. Those who preach and confess God’s Word often face opposition. Christians are opposed by political means and by public opinion. Jesus too, warned us, saying: “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).

 

So, as Christians, we must always be prepared to face opposition in heeding God’s voice. We must always heed the Lord’s voice in studying, hearing, and applying His Word in the Bible. Faithfulness to God’s Word should be every Christian’s concern as we train the next generation of Christians. And we must be ready to heed God’s Word against earthly authorities and popular opinion. But all too often, we’d rather listen to competing voices, including your own voice, and refuse to hear God’s voice. We may find God’s voice of Law and Gospel to be irrelevant and boring.

 

So, why does God say that His voice must be heard? Because through His voice, we hear His promises. And His promises are trustworthy and true. The promises of false voices, the promises of this fallen world, only mislead. They direct us to believe in illusions. But only the one true God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – fulfills promises. Those are the promises to actually listen to, take to heart, inwardly digest, believe, and trust in. They are true promises given by the Lord God Almighty Himself. 

 

In the fullness of time, every promise that God’s prophets foretold was fulfilled when “God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).  Jesus embodied Israel and went through death just like the Kingdom of Israel. But Christ’s death was more severe as He suffered the just punishment of God against all sinners. God the Father laid upon His Son the iniquity of us all. Jesus suffered in place of sinners and for sinners. He suffered and died in your place. But He conquered the grave three days later!

 

Where we have failed, Jesus has prevailed! Where we have been foolish and slow of heart to believe all that God has spoken, Jesus prevails. So, let us heed God’s voice, not hate God’s voice. Let us not be proud and foolish, but humble and wise. That chastening rebuke of the Law along with His resurrecting Gospel is what this fallen world hates. But let us heed by God’s grace with repentance, faith, and joy. Let us heed His Word and feast on His promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 + SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for The Holy Trinity: "Made Holy" (Isaiah 6:1-8)

LISTEN

Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

 

Isaiah had a tough assignment as God’s prophet for at the time of his calling, the Kingdom of Judah was well on its way to destruction and captivity. By including, “In the year that King Uzziah died” (Isaiah 6:1), this signaled the end for Judah.

 

However, the people had no inclination of destruction. For, under Uzziah’s son Jotham, Judah extended her boundaries to their ancient frontiers. Commerce and agriculture flourished. This created a sense of national pride. And it was a time of prosperity and peace. The kingdom was flourishing!

 

The Kingdom of Israel to the north also experienced a period of national power. Under King Jeroboam II, Israel achieved military dominance in the area. But when Jeroboam II died several years before Uzziah, Israel plunged into an age of chaos. Four of Israel’s last six kings were assassinated. Then Assyria invaded Israel and then demanded tribute.

 

Just as the death of Jeroboam II became the sunset for the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the death of King Uzziah marked the beginning of the end for the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Peace and prosperity would soon disappear.

 

As this was all happening, God never ceased sending prophets to warn of the judgements that He would send upon His people for their unbelief. Israel refused to listen to the Lord’s call to repent. In spite of the warnings, God’s people remained ignorant of the scope of the coming disaster. Worse yet, they were defiant, believing they could control their own destiny without God. The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian invaders in 722 B.C.

 

You’d think that the Southern Kingdom of Judah would be well aware of what happened to the north. I’m sure, they had family and friends in the north. They were all well-aware of what had just happened. But did they repent? No! They just kept on getting more and more wicked.

 

Since the Judeans refused to repent, God would use the upcoming Babylonian Empire as His judgment on Judah and Jerusalem because God’s people had forsaken Him. One century after the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell, the Southern Kingdom of Judah would fall in 586 B.C. The Babylonians ground Judah to dust and carried the Southern Kingdom into captivity.

 

Now, God never desired to punish His people. This is why He continuously sent prophets to call His people to repentance. But God’s people persisted in their rejection of the Lord and His promises. The Kingdom of Judah decayed into gross idolatry, human sacrifices, temple desecration. They turned away from God’s help and preferring only worldly help.

 

The death of King Uzziah signaled the beginning of a new era for Judah. Prosperity and peace would disappear. Judgment was on the way. This is the world Isaiah was living in. And he was the one called by God to proclaim God’s coming wrath to a people who wanted nothing to do with God at all.

 

Throughout all this coming destruction, we hear about God’s calling of Isaiah. Some have wondered why Isaiah includes his calling here in chapter 6 rather than at the beginning. One answer suggests that Isaiah first presented the heart of his message and then underscored the message with his calling. Isaiah presented in a visual way the triple phrase that we sing at each Divine Service: “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3). You see, Isaiah’s prophecy comes from the Holy One of Israel.

 

Whatever the reason, Isaiah sees the Lord seated on His throne. The prophet notices the Lord first. What a sight! Isaiah identifies the One seated on the throne as the Lord, using a name that emphasizes His authority, superiority, and power. This is no ordinary king. He is the Lord of the Church who rules all things for the benefit of His Church. This is not just an ordinary temple in Jerusalem. Isaiah looked into the heavenly sanctuary, where God may be seen by saints and angels. Isaiah had the rare privilege of standing in the presence of the Lord.

 

Isaiah heard the angels sing to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). This is the truest worship of God in its simplest praise and confession. This sound of the angelic hymn shook the foundations of the thresholds.

 

The One seated on the throne is holy, times three. He is set apart, infinitely separate and above all creation. In Hebrew, repetition expresses a superlative; God is supremely holy! He is perfect in power, wisdom, and majesty.

 

God’s holiness also means that He is separate and opposite from all sin. God hates sin and because of His holiness, He must destroy sin like an antiseptic must attack bacteria. God would cease to be holy if He did not oppose sin and its consequences.

 

So, where does this put us – you and me? Are we any better than the Judeans? Do we – you and me – actually fear God’s wrath more than man? Do we show any fruits of faith in our daily living? Do you despise God by neglecting the Word of God? If we are all honest, we all deserve the same wrath God put forward upon the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. We all deserve to be grinded to dust.

 

But God’s holiness is also a positive for us poor, miserable sinners. Because of God’s holiness, He found a way to destroy sin and make sinful humanity holy. Isaiah, too, believed he should also be punished for his sin. He believed he was no better than any other sinner. He believed he deserved punishment. “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).

 

In his vision, the Lord is responsible for the purification of Isaiah. And in his vision, those lips receive forgiveness via a means of grace.

 

The seraph obtained a burning coal from the altar in heaven. As Isaiah’s lips were touched, the seraph explained what this meant: “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7b). As the coal touched Isaiah’s mouth, Isaiah experienced the relief of the forgiveness of his own sins.

 

This sin purging is not just for Isaiah, but for the entire world. Throughout his prophecy, Isaiah would also tell of God’s gracious plan of salvation. And like the prophet Isaiah, we are in dire need of the salvation that God alone by grace alone has accomplished and provides for us. 

 

Since God cannot be among unholiness, sinfulness, uncleanness, and darkness, He would make us – who are unworthy – worthy of being holy. Now, this is not done by our own doing. This holiness is only done as a gift from God. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). 

You see, the Lord purged the entire world of sin through the suffering and death of Jesus! This declaration that all the world is holy and righteous because of Jesus is an act of this holy God.

 

Those who believe and trust in Jesus are called “saints” – that is, holy ones. As “saints,” we are to be separate from the fallen world with its sin and death. As “saints,” we are set apart for the Holy God and receive all His blessings.

 

God has indeed provided the only answer to sin, rebellion, and perversion that plagues humanity. He has provided us Jesus. Sin is only purged in Jesus. For those who do not believe God’s answer to sin, they refuse God’s solution. They stand in opposition to God, choosing to offer their own solution to sin and death, and they can expect the holiness of God to execute judgment on the Last Day.

 

Until the Last Day, God is still a merciful God. He could have just let Israel and Judah fall to their own demise, but instead He sent prophets, like Isaiah, to warn them of their sinful condition. And even when His people were conquered, He gave them the promise of the Savior, who would atone for the guilt of their sins. God is still showering us with His grace and mercy as He continues to send spokesmen to carry His message of Law and Gospel to those who worship Him as the only true and triune God, who still provides visible Means of Grace, the bread and wine that touches our lips to give assurance of forgiveness.

 

Today is Holy Trinity Sunday, so why did it take me this long to speak of the triune God? Well, I have been. God is always in His fullness in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. In that triple phrase, “Holy, holy, holy,” we also see the nature of the thrice holy God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Just as Isaiah was cleansed when the coal from the altar touched his lips, so our Father cleansed us in the waters of Holy Baptism by joining us to Christ in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:1-14). In Christ, we were made new creations who love God, trust in God, and have His power to live holy lives. Through the Holy Spirit, we are made aware of Jesus and our need for Him as the propitiation for our sins. We are forgiven and made holy! Being holy, we live a life dedicated to Him, serving the triune God in our various callings. Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity! Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Advent 2: "Double Your Comfort" (Isaiah 40:1-11)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2).

 

This is a text that God Himself desires you to hear. In fact, He demands that you hear His words: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”

 

When Isaiah first uttered those words from God, God’s people were in desperate need of comfort. They were in need of hope. They were in need of peace.

 

You see, in 587 BC, Babylon unleashed an attack against Jerusalem. This attack included the destruction of the Temple. When Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Judah, it looked to the Jews that the Babylonian gods had triumphed over the God of Israel. It appeared as though Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, was no match for these foreign gods.

 

For many of the Jews, they thought the situation could be even worse. Could it be that Yahweh did not defend His people, because they had spurned Him too many times. Maybe Yahweh chose not to defend His people because they had by and large rejected Him? Worst of all, what if Yahweh did not even exist? What if their trust in Yahweh had all been in vain?

 

Whichever way the Jews were thinking, they saw the same future. They saw a future without any hope. They saw a future without any comfort. The only thing reasonable was to face the facts. Jerusalem was destroyed and they were now exiles. It was time to forget about Yahweh and just move on without Him.

 

After the fall of Jerusalem, the Prophet Jeremiah lamented, “She – Jerusalem – weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; … she has none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:2). “She has no comforter” (Lamentations 1:9). “For a comforter is far from me” (Lamentations 1:16). “Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:17). “There is no one to comfort me” (Lamentations 1:21).

Israel was alone. Israel was in utter darkness.

 

Then, just as all hope was lost, Yahweh, their God, speaks: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). Yahweh was not done with His people! To the pain, He commands His heavenly messengers to “comfort, comfort My people.” It was time for Israel to step out of darkness and into Yahweh’s marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9).

 

Israel’s hurt was deep, but Yahweh’s comfort was deeper. The people were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). So, Yahweh, the Lord their God, “being rich in mercy, because of His great love” (Ephesians 2:4), takes the initiative and speaks the Gospel. This comforting Gospel comes before Israel responds in repentance and faith. This comforting Gospel comes before Israel makes any effort to repent and return to God. This comforting Gospel comes only when Yahweh turns back to Israel. This comforting Gospel comes when God promises His coming!

 

Yahweh, the Lord of Hosts, is coming! And why is that good news? Why is that comforting? God appeared to have left His people before. What could stop Him from abandoning His people again?

 

But something is different. Yahweh is announcing that He is coming back not to faithful people, but to a weak, unfaithful, failing, and failed people. They are, as Isaiah proclaims: “a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly” (Isaiah 1:4). Yahweh is coming back to a people who have forsaken Him. He is coming back to a people who have despised Him.

 

Due to their rebellion against God, Israel was struck by the Assyrians. Did they learn their lesson? Nope. They continued to rebel against God. Their “whole head [was] sick, and [their] whole heart faint” (Isaiah 1:5).

 

So, due to their evils against God, warfare would engulf them. And God Himself pronounced their doom. So, why is this good news?

 

It is good news because God is coming to a weak and sinful people, such as them. He is coming to a weak and sinful people, such as us – you and me. He will never abandon us. This is the greatest comfort. God is coming because of His amazing love and mercy. He is coming because we are His people.

 

And we have seen who this God is in His coming: in His manger, in His preaching, in His miracles and healing, in His sin-atoning cross, in His mighty resurrection, and in His reign at the Right Hand of God the Father.

 

In Isaiah 40, God demands that His coming be heralded as comfort upon comfort. He is doubling your comfort. He is calling sinners, like you and me as “My people.” To poor and miserable sinners, He is describing Himself as “Your God.”

 

Yahweh speaks of “making straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). He says, “every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain” (Isaiah 40:4).

 

So, there will be no mountain high enough and no valley low enough to keep Him from coming to you. Yahweh is coming to bring double comfort. He is coming to bring an end to warfare. He is coming to bring an end to suffering. He is coming to provide atonement for your sin. He is coming to reveal His glory to theirs and your own eyes. You will see it.

 

When Isaiah first spoke of God’s double comfort, he was pointing to the end of their exile and to their return from Babylon. But in the fullness of time, these words of Isaiah speak of the coming of Yahweh in human flesh as Emmanuel – God with us. In “the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

 

In the fullness of time, we received double our comfort in Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins through His suffering and death. The “glory of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:5) was revealed in the Advent of Jesus. By His atoning suffering and death, Jesus brought you back to Him. He paid the price for yours and my sin. Your iniquity is pardoned. And now, through Christ, you have received from God’s hand double your comfort. At the cross, Jesus was pierced for your transgressions. He was crushed for your iniquities. You have peace with God. Through Christ’s death alone, you are healed.

 

Remember, God chose the Hebrew people as His chosen people. Abraham didn’t choose Yahweh. Yahweh chose Him. He didn’t choose Abraham by his merit. He chose him out of His love, so that through him and his descendants, the Hebrew people, others would see God’s love in them. 

 

Likewise, God chose you. He chose you not by your merit. He chose you who are too weak and too helpless to save yourself. Jesus said to the His disciples: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). No one chooses God, God chooses you. And this is double comfort knowing that God’s love is for you. And to show how certain God’s love is, He shows His love when He chose you as His own in the waters of Holy Baptism. And if you ever doubt His love for you, remember your baptism by saying, “I am God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ! He, because I could not pay it, gave my full redemption price. So, there is nothing worth comparing to this lifelong comfort sure!” (God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It, LSB 594)

 

God doubles this comfort again, as He forgives us through confession and absolution. God doubles this comfort even more as He gives us forgiveness and strength through Christ’s Body and Blood under the bread and wine.

 

So, be comforted! Through Christ alone, your sins are forgiven, and since they are wiped away, there is nothing that could separate you from Him and His love for you in Jesus Christ. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). He is with you forever to give you comfort upon comfort.

 

Since we have been doubled our comfort through Christ’s coming, God calls us to speak of this comfort of God’s forgiveness to those around you. God’s comfort is for everyone, so speak of His comfort saying, “God has come in Jesus Christ!” Christ alone has fulfilled your comfort in His first coming. The consummation of His comfort will come at His final coming. And He continues to double your comfort now in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament – as we look to the future. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.   

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 3: "Just the Right Time" (Romans 5:6-15)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

 

At the right time. At the right time, Christ Jesus died for you! God’s Word speaks much about His timing. In Mark 1, following the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Through the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul proclaims in Galatians 4: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

 

The Triune God is above time. He controls time. So, He knows the right time for everything, since He is in control of the seasons.

 

At just the right time “God show[ed] His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

 

That’s the right time? Shouldn’t the right time be when humanity follows His Word? Shouldn’t the right time have been when all of humanity chooses to serve God? That’s what we, in our sinful nature, may believe. We, in our sinful nature, think that it is possible to love God and obey His commandments. That’s what the Israelites believed at Mount Sinai who said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). How well did they do in keeping God’s commandments? Not too good.

 

Now, most of these Israelites were eyewitnesses of all the power and majesty of God. They witnessed God’s power in bringing them out of bondage in Egypt. They witnessed God’s power in bringing them safely across the dry ground of the Red Sea.

 

But before all of that, how many of these Israelites truly trusted in God? Yes, there was Moses and Aaron, but how many of God’s chosen people would have rather remained in Pharoah’s bondage than be saved? I would say most or close to all. They were used to their condition. They disliked it, but they didn’t know of any way out, so they just continued in slavery.

All the while, God cared for them. When it was just the right time, God rescued His people through His miracles, signs, and wonders. The Israelites did nothing. God did it all.

 

Even after all of that, the Israelites made a promise to God that they would do all that the Lord commanded them. Did they fulfill that promise? No. They were weak. They were sinners.

 

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

 

This is love. God loved us while we still hated Him. When Christ came, it was just the right time. Humanity was weak, powerless, sick, feebled. Humanity didn’t care at all about God. Despite that, God cared for humanity. When we were powerless to save ourselves at just the right time, Christ died for us.

 

Today, we may feel the same. How could God care about me? I am a poor, wretched human being. I can’t do any good. I try to do good, but I mess it up. Why would God care about this country? We have turned from Him. We worship man rather than God. We worship nature rather than God.

 

Despite what we may think, God still cares for you, despite your unfaithfulness. So, just when we don’t care at all about God, God shows His love for you “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God is not against you. He is for you. God is not out to get you, but to have you as His own. The cross reveals that He is your friend.

 

In our reading from Romans, we see God’s grace beautifully explained. Despite all of our faults and being sworn enemies to God by doing what we want, when we want to do it, Christ came according to God’s timetable, and not in response to any human choosing or planning.

 

Christ came when we were powerless. Even if we had wanted Him to come, which was not the case, we couldn’t have done anything positive to bring it about. But the infinitely worse situation was that by nature we didn’t want anything to do with God and His promised Savior, because we were “ungodly.” And yet, for such ungodly people as us, the Father sent His Son to die.

 

This is one-way love, the kind of love that is so hard to find in the human experience. It could happen. But it’s so very rare. We hold our lives dear. We don’t want to let our life go. If we would die for someone, we would like to first make sure they were worth the sacrifice of your life – a person we cared about so much to risk your life to save them. Think of those pregnant women who are struck with cancer and refuse cancer treatments in order to save their child. They risk their life, so their child could live.

 

We could have gone on in our weakness of sin, but God couldn’t have that, He wants everyone to love Him and be with Him forever. So, at just the right time, when humanity would have nothing to do with God, God would have everything to do with us.

 

But what caused man to get this way? What caused man to turn away from God? Well, it was all through one single man named Adam. Adam is the earthly father of humanity. As the father of humanity, all of his descendants share his fallen human nature. So, as Adam sinned and turned aside from the good to which God called him, human nature became corrupt, despising God’s righteousness, pursuing sin, and suffering shame. This is the experience of all mankind, since we are all descendants of Adam.

 

Due to Adam’s fall, we became children of wrath. We would rather follow our depraved desires than what God has called us to do.

 

This is also why the birth of Jesus from the virgin Mary is so significant. Through the virgin birth, Adam’s nature is bypassed by Jesus since Jesus is not begotten of a man, but of the Holy Spirit. Although Jesus receives human nature from Mary, He avoids the particular corruption of this human nature by being conceived not of Adam or of one of His descendants, but of God. Thus, Jesus is made like us in every way, even temped as we are, yet without sin, without enmity toward God, without corruption of the human nature.

 

As sinners, death is our lot. Death enters the world through sin and spreads to all men because all sin. Thus, we are weak and have no power to keep ourselves alive. We are sinners with only one destination: eternal death.

 

Yet, the free gift of salvation is not like the trespass. When Adam sinned, he brought all into sin. But at just the right time, Jesus dies and rises on our behalf as He has no need to save Himself. All that He does is on our behalf. All that He does is for you!

The free gift is not like the trespass, imprisoning all in eternal death. No, this free gift releases all into the joyous, reconciled life with God in which Jesus already abides.

 

For sinful man, this seems so unnatural. Afterall, if we want to get paid, we must do the job. If we want someone to love you, we have to be loveable. If we want groceries, we have to pay for them. But with God, we don’t buy our way to His love. We only receive. Jesus says salvation has been accomplished. It is not something that you do, because it is done. It is finished. It is finished for you.

 

There is nothing for us to do but to receive God’s free gift. There is nothing we must earn. Everything is paid in full on the cross.

 

But how do we receive this free gift? Well, Jesus spreads His salvation through a spiritual and supernatural way. He spreads His free gift of salvation through Baptism. In Baptism, you are born again of water and of the Spirit. In Baptism, you become a child of God. You are begotten of God. He communicates to you His nature, that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit. By God’s Spirit, your old nature is put to death, and you are born again into the immortal nature of the Son.

 

All who believe and are baptized are begotten of God, receive His nature, and live eternally. In this way, just as the children of Adam all sin and all die, and all are enemies, so the children of God have sin put to death in them daily through repentance and faith and are restored to life and reconciled to God.

 

Christ’s death shows us God’s great love for us. Although we were enemies going against His will, at just the right time, Christ died for us.

 

So, if you ever wonder if God still loves you. Look at what He has been willing to do for you. When you were weak and powerless and totally opposed to Him, at just the right time, He reconciled you back to Him through Christ’s death.

 

If God justified us by His grace when we were all against Him, just imagine how much He loves us now that we have been won by Him. So, let us all rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +