"Grieving in Hope and Faith" (Matthew 2:13-18) - The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

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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: 

“And [Joseph] rose and took the Child and His mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’” (Matthew 2:14-15).

 

The days on our Church calendar following Christmas Day can leave us wondering: where has the joy of Christmas gone?

 

What happened to “Joy to the World”? What happened to “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled”?

 

These days following Christmas are very strange. Just one day after Christmas was the Festival of St. Stephen, Martyr. Two days after Christmas was the Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. And that leads us to today: the Festival of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs. It has been said St. Stephen was a martyr for Christ in both will and deed. St. John was Christ’s martyr in will, but not in deed. And the Holy Innocents, to which we observe today, were Christ’s martyrs not in will, but in deed.

 

This is so very strange. Again, just a few short days ago, we were gathered in unbridled joy. But now? Today, we heard of the death of children. Now we are gathered in deep sorrow. Instead of singing “Joy to the World,” we are crying out to God about rescuing us from “the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 71:1, today’s Gradual), and from the strangers who “have risen against me; [the] ruthless men [who] seek my life” (Psalm 54:3)

 

Then in today’s Gospel lesson, we heard of crying and deep sorrow. For the mothers in Bethlehem, they are like Rachel before them as they refuse to be comforted because their children are no more.

 

The pendulum of our life together in the Church has swung drastically since Christmas Day. But this is what life is like out there as we live in a fallen and sinful world. One minute you are living your life in joy, and then the next minute is filled with sorrow.

 

Just look at Bethlehem. At the announcement of the birth of the Christ Child, there were angels singing in the fields: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). Upon hearing this, the shepherds run to see the promised Savior of the world. 

 

Sometime later, wise men came from afar to Bethlehem to see the one “who has been born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). 

 

Then Joseph, as solid and reliable as a husband and father could be, is warned by an angel in a dream that his family is in immediate danger, and he doesn’t waste a minute. He, Mary, and the Christ Child depart before morning to Egypt.

 

To be sure, there was so much joy happening in Bethlehem! But then, in the blink of an eye, there is sudden and unexpected death.

 

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him …” (Matthew 2:1-3).

 

Herod the Great was well known for his social concern and at the same time being cruel and merciless. Herod during a time of severe economic hardship gave back tax money collected from the people. And during a great famine, Herod melted down various gold objects in the palace to buy food for the poor. He built theaters, racetracks, and other structures to provide entertainment for the people. And he began the reconstruction project of the Temple in Jerusalem.

 

But as I said, Herod was also cruel and merciless. Herod was known for being incredibly jealous, suspicious, and afraid for his own position and power. For Herod, any potential threat would be dealt with. He had his wife’s brother drowned. He had his wife Mariamne killed. He had her mother killed. He had three of his own sons killed. And shortly before he would die, Herod had the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and imprisoned to be executed the very moment he would die and just to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem. If not for him, it would be for those men. But there would still be mourning.

 

So, it is not far-fetched that when Herod was troubled, then all of Jerusalem would be troubled right along with him.

As the magi wandered around Jerusalem attempting to locate “he who has been born king of the Jews,” the people began to be concerned.

 

Knowing the past, anyone even suspected of doing Herod harm or threatening his position or power was in considerable danger. In Herod’s sweeping carnage many innocent people were often destroyed. Although Herod’s anger was not vented this time against Jerusalem, it would soon be vented against the nearby town of Bethlehem.

 

I wish I could say that sorrow is only unique to Bethlehem, but I can’t. The slaughter of children two years old and younger by Herod is unique. But not the deep sorrow. That’s what makes this time of year so hard for many.

 

Yes, just days ago, we sang “Joy to the World,” but what happened when that service ended? You either went home or spent time with loved ones, your family and friends. But some of us had people missing from this year’s gatherings – and not because they couldn’t make it because of other gatherings or travel distance – it was because they died.

 

Last Christmas, or some Christmas before, you were spending time with those whom you love: opening presents, talking and eating, singing, and going to church with them. But then, something sudden happened. Something unexpected happened. Something happened to take them away from you: a car accident, a fall, a heart attack, a stroke, cancer. You name it. It happens. Suddenly and unexpectedly, death happens. And now, this Christmas season, you join yourself with those grieving parents in Bethlehem.

 

Now, deep sorrow is bad enough, but when you are shaken to the core, it’s the questions that drive us nuts. It’s those questions that hurt the most. They range from the simple “why?” to the more complex “Why did this happen? Why did God allow this to happen? Why doesn’t God hear my prayer? Why does God allow suffering? Has God abandoned me?”

 

Sometimes, there are clear answers to the “why” questions. Like in our Old Testament lesson. There, God told them directly to love and worship Him only. What did Israel do? They refused. They turned their hearts away from God. They worshipped other gods. And for their idolatry, for their sin of unbelief, they received and suffered a consequence: 70 years of slavery, suffering, pain, and death at the hands of the Babylonians. 

Also, in our Gospel lesson. There, the “why” is answered because Herod feared losing his power. He was also furious that the magi did not return.

 

However, other times, there is no clear answer to our “whys.” Sometimes, there is not a clear cause and effect that we can easily point to. All we can point to is that we are poor, miserable sinners who live in a fallen world, which gives suffering, pain, evil and death. This is the world we live in thanks to Adam and Eve’s disobedience. “Sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

 

And for those “whys” that lack an answer, Jesus teaches us this: “In the world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). So, trouble is to be expected. Trouble is now considered normal.

 

Sadly, as we live in this fallen world of sin, suffering, pain, and death happen all the time. And in just a blink of an eye. One moment you are driving down the road and the next moment a truck turns right out in front of you.

 

Sometimes, we just don’t have the answer to the why question. We still wonder. We wonder where God is in all of this?

 

On this day of the Festival of the Holy Innocents, God gives us real hope for real people in the midst of sorrow.

 

Remember: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is why “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He came down into this fallen world to bear our sin and be our Savior. He came to save those Holy Innocents and He came to save you!

 

And nothing can stop Jesus from accomplishing that goal! Herod certainly tried. He tried to kill Jesus, but Joseph followed the command of the angel. And some years later, a son of Herod – one who lived – would attempt to prevent Jesus from going to the cross. But nothing can stop Jesus from accomplishing His goal! Jesus would finish His course. Jesus would cry out: “It is finished” (John 19:30). 

 

Then, in the blink of an eye, Jesus would bodily resurrect from the dead! And because Christ lives, we – by faith in Him – will live also! For everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him has eternal life, and God will raise him up on the Last Day! In Christ alone there is truly joy to the world!

 

Until that day of Christ’s final coming, you and I will grieve, but our grieving is mixed with hope as our tears are mixed with faith and our sadness is mixed with joy knowing that in the twinkle of an eye, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed as our bodies become immortal (1 Corinthians 15)! In Christ alone, there is true joy! Merry Christmas! Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"In A Little While" (John 16:12-22)

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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:

Jesus said: “A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me” (John 16:16).

 

Are you confused by these words of Jesus? If you thought Jesus only spoke in parables, you would be mistaken. Today, we hear Him saying three riddles. So, what is Jesus saying? What are we to understand?

 

As you may be perplexed by these words of Jesus, His apostles are certainly befuddled. So, they say to each other, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’” (John 16:17).

 

They are perplexed. What is Jesus talking about? Was Jesus going to leave them? Then come back to them? But they just couldn’t ask Jesus what He meant.

 

Just think of this riddle: No matter how smart you are, there is one thing you will always overlook. What is it? The answer: your nose.

 

Yes, riddles can be fun, but they can also leave us confounded. The apostles reacted with puzzlement to the words Jesus spoke to them, “A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me” (John 16:16).

 

As for us, we live on the other side of the “little while” of Christ’s atoning death and bodily resurrection and ascension, so we know the answer for Christ’s first “little while” riddle. 

 

We all have our own “little whiles.” Some are long; some are short. What are your thoughts when you have to wait in line at the grocery store? What are your thoughts when you wait in line at an amusement park? What are your thoughts when you are caught in traffic? We all treat our “little whiles” differently. 

 

Today, on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we find ourselves back in the upper room on Maundy Thursday. 

 

The apostles were uneasy. The Jewish authorities’ hatred toward Jesus was reaching a boiling point. Later that night Judas Iscariot would betray Jesus with a kiss setting into motion Jesus’ arrest, trial and death.

 

Again, we know what Jesus was talking about. He was talking to His apostles about in “a little while” His coming suffering and death and in “a little while” His coming resurrection from death. 

 

But Jesus isn’t done with speaking riddles. Jesus says to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20).

 

Jesus says, “You will weep.” Well, this is not surprising. When Lazarus died, even Jesus wept. “You will weep and lament,” Jesus says, “but the world will rejoice.”

 

This is the world that hates God, its Maker. This is the world that wants nothing to do with Jesus, its Redeemer.

 

Now, there are reasons why the apostles would weep. First, they did not know what would happen in just “a little while.” They didn’t get it. Yes, they were told several times. But just like us, we don’t always listen and ultimately understand what has been said. Second, the death of Jesus was a good reason for the apostles to weep and lament, because Jesus is killed. The Lamb takes the sin of the world upon Himself and sin kills Him. They don’t see Him, since He’s dead and buried in a tomb. Their sin, the world sin, yours and my sin killed Him. Everyone, the apostles, the disciples, the Jewish authorities and the Roman soldiers all believe that Jesus is dead and gone. 

 

But in this second riddle, Jesus concludes saying, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” So, what would happen? Easter would happen. The bodily resurrection of our Lord would happen. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

 

They saw Jesus again! He appeared in the barred-shut upper room on Easter evening and a week later saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19) and immediately showed them His hands and His side. They were glad when they saw the Lord! 

 

Then, sometime later, Jesus revealed Himself again by the Sea of Tiberias. Despite catching no fish on their own, Jesus’ voice leads them to another miraculous catch of fish and to eating breakfast with Him and Peter receiving the certainty of his forgiveness from Him after he denied Him three times on Maundy Thursday.

 

This sorrow that turned into joy was not manufactured by anything within them. They rejoiced “when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). Their joy came from outside of them. It came from without. Their joy came from the crucified and risen Jesus! He turned their sorrow into joy!

 

“In a little while” Jesus would bring redemption, life, and salvation. But wait, there’s more!

 

Forty days after His bodily resurrection from the dead, Jesus would return to God the Father as He bodily ascended into heaven. So, again, “in a little while,” His apostles would not see Him. But “in a little while,” the Holy Spirit would make it clear to the disciples all the things that had happened. And the Holy Spirit would also point them to things yet to come, and many, including you and me, will come to faith in Jesus as Lord through their apostolic testimony recorded in the Scriptures.

 

But what about you and me? Well, Jesus gives us a third riddle: “So also you will have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you”(John 16:22).

 

We are also living “in a little while.” I bet there have been times when you have not been particularly joyful. In our “little while,” we struggle. We struggle with weeping and lament. We mourn while the world is rejoicing. And just like when Jesus died nailed to a cross, the world today is rejoicing. The world is rejoicing because it has pushed God into a corner. Now, God cannot be shoved away, but the fallen world has pushed God away from so much public consciousness. Why? 

 

Well, the world hates God and His only begotten Son, who has come as the Redeemer of the world. You see, the fallen world hates God and rejoices when we worship money and possessions, falsehood over God’s truth. The fallen world rejoices when love grows cold and when we live in echo chambers by only interacting with others who share your same beliefs.

 

So, where is the joy? Even when we live in a time of intense pain, we are living a time akin to a woman giving birth. For when the birth occurs, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child has been born into the world. For when a child is born, all the pain is quickly forgotten. All that remains is joy. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

 

Today, Jesus comes to us offering forgiveness for your sins in hidden means through His written and preached Word, through the word of absolution, and given to us under bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins, the strength for our faith. But besides the mystery of the Means of Grace, we have not seen Jesus. We have not seen His scarred hands and feet with our own eyes, but we have seen Him by faith. And as Christ says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

 

But we will see Him fully. Right now, we all experience various crosses and trials, but “in a little while,” Jesus “will wipe away every tear from [your] eyes, and death will be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”(Revelation 21:4). So, be patient. God will get you through your trials.

 

Right now, we see a world growing increasingly out of control, but “in a little while” Jesus will return and set all things right. On that Last Day, Jesus will destroy our last enemy: death.

 

“In a little while” we will see the glorified, risen, ascended, all-powerful Jesus with our own eyes. On that day, we will rejoice, and no one can take that joy away from you. Until that day, let us always look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come! 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 +

"The Rejected Prophet Comes to Save" (Luke 13:31-35)

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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:

Jesus said: “Nevertheless, I must go on My way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).

 

Jerusalem has a history. It has a very bloody history when it comes to God’s prophets. You see, whenever a prophet challenges the people to repent of their sins, they want to kill them. Our Old Testament reading from Jeremiah is a great example of this.

 

Nevertheless, Jesus is very determined as nothing can get in His way. He is going to Jerusalem – a city that He has chosen as His holy city, a city He has chosen to receive His special attention and His blessings.

 

But Jerusalem is also a city that has repeatedly scorned God’s special attention and has repeatedly scored God’s blessings. Time and time again, Jerusalem had rejected the men the Lord sent to deliver His messages. Nevertheless, God still longs for His holy and special city, just as He longs to gather all who time and again have rejected Him. Oddly enough when God’s holy city only deserved wrath, the Son of God will still go to Jerusalem, His chosen city, to save His chosen people – the entire world.

 

Nothing can get in the way of God’s saving plan, not even Jerusalem’s own rejection of her Savior. Jesus will not be deterred.

 

However, in today’s Gospel lesson Jesus appears to have received some unlikely friends – some Pharisees. They say to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you” (Luke 13:31).

 

Now, why would some Pharisees wish to protect Jesus? Could they be sympathetic to Jesus? Could this be a genuine warning, or just a trick?

 

Why, all of a sudden, are there some Pharisees who appear to be helping Jesus? Or could it be that Herod Antipas had sent these Pharisees to get Jesus out of his territory?

 

We don’t know. But we do know this: over and over again, the Pharisees have rigorously attacked Jesus by provoking Him. And we do know that Jesus has accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy. So, could this be just another way to trap Jesus?

But it is more likely that the Pharisees are trying to deceive Jesus into abandoning His journey to Jerusalem. You see, if Jesus turns and runs, He would surely lose His credibility with His followers. But perhaps, the Pharisees are even more perceptive as they realize that any man who wants to be a leader of the Jews must establish himself in Jerusalem. So, any ploy that could keep Jesus away from Jerusalem would surely foil His plans.

 

If we are playing the odds, odds are that these Pharisees are not actually being helpful to Jesus.

 

But the Pharisees here have something very correct in their warning to Jesus – the threat to Jesus is real. Jesus does face a real threat of death if and when He comes to Jerusalem. And the threat may not actually be from Herod himself, who previously just wanted to meet with Jesus. Scripture doesn’t say why he wished to see Jesus. Maybe he was just curious about all the hubbub about Jesus? But then again, Herod Antipas was a man who couldn’t be trusted. Now, most likely, the threat was not from Herod himself but from the Jewish authorities who were already plotting against Jesus.

 

But Jesus already knows His fate. He has spoken clearly on His fate with His disciples saying to them following Peter’s great confession: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:22).

 

Clearly, Jesus is not afraid of death. He has come to die. He knows His holy city will reject Him just as they rejected the true prophets He sent before Him. Nevertheless, Jesus is undeterred as He will go to Jerusalem to die.

 

So, certainly, those artificial threats of Herod will not deter Him. And neither will those real threats deter Him. Although Herod is certainly capable of killing Jesus, as his beheading of John the Baptist attests, but it would be Pontius Pilate who would be the one responsible in sentencing Jesus to death.

 

Undeterred, Jesus has set His face toward Jerusalem, a city with a long history of killing the prophets sent to it. Jesus will go to Jerusalem because it is His duty. Jesus will go to Jerusalem because it is the will of His Father.

“Nevertheless,” Jesus says, “I must go on My way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).

 

The Passion and cross are in full view as Jesus describes His destiny of being rejected. The goal is death. Nevertheless, Jesus’ passion must happen as it is Jesus’ divine mission.

 

You see, Jesus’ prophetic destiny of rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection must take place in Jerusalem, His holy city, the place where God dwells and atonement must take place.

 

“O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem,” Jesus says, “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” (Luke 13:34a). Jesus’ lament here over Jerusalem embraces both the tragedy of Jerusalem’s sin of unbelief and spiritual bankruptcy. Yes, they had all the trappings on looking outwardly religious, but Israel was only going through the motions – with no faith behind it. They abandoned and ignored God’s Word and His Name.

 

Now, Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem also serves as the way of life for every Christian. You see, a Christian cannot be deceived when life seems to offer an easier, safer way. Now, we’d all like to avoid confrontation, embarrassment, and sacrifices for our faith in Christ. But that is not an option. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

 

So, if you remain faithful to Christ, you will face confrontation. You will face hostility from family and friends. You will face embarrassment. You will have to make sacrifices for your faith. And all because God’s Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His teachings and His commandments do not change with the times.

 

Now, the world we live in today is far different than the world of twenty years ago. Today, Christianity is no longer viewed positively by the culture at large. Today, Christianity is treated negatively and even skeptically. When society changes for the worse, it affects us. Our changing culture puts pressure on Christians and that can affect us economically. Our changing culture can lead to confusion on core issues, such as marriage and sanctity of life, even among devoted Christians. The pressures from our culture do affect us physically, mentally, and spiritually.

 

God’s Word takes these temptations of this fallen world seriously and encourages us to keep the faith. Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

 

So, even as we live in this fallen world, we should be encouraged as we continue to press on just as Jesus did on His way to Jerusalem.

 

But as we march toward the goal, we must be realistic. And the reality is this: to be a Christian requires carrying crosses. We must go on Christ’s way today and tomorrow and the next day until He brings us to His goal.

 

Jesus is not afraid to go to Jerusalem. Now, shouldn’t He reject Jerusalem, just as they rejected Him? God had tried and tried and tried to love His rebellious people. How many times can God be hurt and not give up on loving? And we’ve been there. We understand. I’m sure you have reached out to loved ones in inviting them to Prince of Peace or to another Lutheran church if they are not in the area. You have put your feelings on your sleeve. You have offered love and have been rejected. And after so many times, you have pulled back. Besides, what good is going to Jerusalem anyway? They will just reject my invite again.

 

Do we really understand? Now, how often have we rejected Christ’s love extended to us? God has made us His chosen people. He has given us eternal life and all by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. But how often have you rejected Christ’s love by skipping the Divine Service in search for something more exciting? Jesus comes to us here today, and every Sunday or Monday, in His Word and Sacraments. Do you understand how deserving we are of God’s wrath by rejecting His grace?

 

But Jesus suffers rejection for your sake, so that you aren’t rejected by God the Father. Jesus laments at the unfaithfulness of Jerusalem saying, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Luke 13:34). Jesus’ stern judgment is painful to Him as He came to gather the entire world. He doesn’t desire anyone to be lost.

 

Here, we see the darkness of sin through the rejection of Jesus. But Jesus would die for the very ones who rejected Him. Again, Jesus is persistent. He desires all to be saved and He is delaying wrath for the sake of repentance. 

 

Today, Jesus gathers the true Jerusalem wherever Christ’s people are gathered around Him in Word and Sacrament. Here, you receive His blessings!

Jesus would be rejected in Jerusalem and crucified outside God’s holy city. But this is why He came. He came to fulfill Jerusalem’s purpose: to be the place God and man would be reconciled. Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets would become the place of salvation, so that all who turn from sin and to Christ are all gathered “together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Luke 13:34). By Christ’s rejection, we are saved, despite our all too frequent rejections of Him. By Christ’s rejection in Jerusalem, He has atoned for yours and my sins. The Final Prophet who fulfills the prophets’ prophecies has paid our punishment, our ransom, for our sins. Despite our unfaithfulness, Christ is ever faithful even to those who reject Him. So, may we repent of our unfaithfulness and receive God’s grace won for you and me through Christ’s atoning death through which He gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments. 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 Pentecost 13: "Hard Teachings" (John 6:51-69)

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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:

Jesus said: “I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51).

 

Imagine yourself among this crowd in Capernaum. You have been a disciple of Jesus for some time and then, suddenly, the Man you have been following calls Himself bread and He calls on you to eat Him. What would be going through your mind? Would you be thinking: What a fool! This guy must have lost His mind! This Man is preposterous!

 

How could Jesus say such a thing? Now, for sure, this crowd had recently had their fill of the loaves. They had just eaten physical bread. But now Jesus is calling Himself bread! On top of that, Jesus is now saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him” (John 6:53-56). If the crowd was thinking Jesus was possibly crazy before, now most see Him as a nut! To most in the crowd, this teaching was too hard to accept. Jesus’ words make no sense to human reason. So, Jesus says, “Do you take offense at this?” (John 6:61) – “Do My Words offend you?”

 

By Jesus saying that His followers must feed on His flesh and drink His blood, He was teaching the importance of continuing to nurture faith in Him. He says this later in John 8: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”(John 8:31-32).

 

So, when faith is nourished by Jesus in His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments, the believer remains in Jesus and Jesus in the believer. So, in our faith, we are united with Christ. Now, this is something that we cannot explain. We just know it because Jesus said so. So, when a person eats of, that is, clings to Jesus, that person lives because of Jesus. 

Jesus is bread. He is the bread, come down from heaven, sent from the Father. Whoever eats the bread, that is, trusts in Jesus, has eternal life. And He will raise that person up at the Last Day. This is what Jesus is saying. But what is the crowd hearing?

 

For most in the crowd, they took offense at Jesus’ words. They grumbled at Jesus’ words. “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60).

 

For the worldly minded, they could not understand Jesus’ teaching. And this is not surprising, since they were depending on their flesh, trusting their own reasoning for understanding. They were looking for a “bread king” to give them more food to eat. They were not expecting Jesus to call Himself bread and that they must eat of Him to have eternal life. This teaching was just too hard for many of them to swallow, so many decided to just spit Jesus out and walk away and no longer walk with Him.

 

Jesus referring to Himself as the Bread of Life, the Living Bread come down from heaven, is just one of His many difficult teachings to swallow. Jesus never avoided hard teachings as to avoid upsetting His hearers. There are so many more Biblical teachings that upset people: from homosexuality, to abortion, to cohabitation, to divorce, to close (or closed) communion, to forgiveness, to suffering, and on and on.

 

As your pastor, it would be much easier if I avoided those difficult Biblical teachings, but if I avoid those hard teachings, I would not be doing my pastoral duty. Jesus calls upon all of His undershepherds to “preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience in teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). As Christians, as disciples of Christ, we should not be ashamed of Christ and His teachings. 

 

For many new Christians, they have gotten the wrong idea that the Christian life is an easy life. This false teaching is quite popular with televangelists who say things like: “Suddenly things will change. Suddenly, God will bring your hopes and dreams.” But Jesus never said that. In fact, Jesus warns us that we fill face trials and tribulations throughout our life, especially since we are in Christ. He says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

 

Forgiveness, too, is a hard teaching. St. Peter came up to Jesus and asked Him, “‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times’” (Matthew 18:21-22). Forgiveness can be a hard pill to swallow, but forgiveness is a continuous and essential part of being a follower of Christ.

Something as simple as worshiping together can be considered a hard teaching. I have heard it many times, “I can worship God in my own way. I don’t have to come to church.” Yes, it is possible to worship God in nature, but what is missing? Fellowshipping around the Means of Grace and community. We cannot face life’s challenges alone. We are meant to lean on each other, to build up each other, and encourage each other in the faith.

 

Another hard teaching is suffering. No one likes to suffer. It’s uncomfortable and painful. But God uses your sufferings to make you stronger in the faith. St. Paul writes, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

 

Now, quite possibly, one of the hardest teachings of all is close or closed communion. So, let’s dive into the deep end! You know it’s a hard teaching when it’s right there for all to see and read inside our service folders. Over the years, I have heard some say: “The LCMS acts like the Lord’s Table is an exclusive club!” “Holy Communion should only be between yourself and God.”

 

Today’s culture is all about individualism and autonomy, and the Lord’s Supper is no different. For many, the Sacrament of the Altar has become a matter of personal entitlement. But the issue of admission to the Lord’s Supper is not a matter of personal entitlement or of being a welcoming and affirming church. The issue is the nature of the Sacrament and the character of the church. The issue is if we take Christ seriously or not. 

 

As unloving as close, or closed, communion may sound to our sinful hearts, this is a loving practice. And practically every Christian church abided in this practice until the last century. God’s Word teaches that those who receive the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner eat and drink to their harm and not their blessing. Unworthy participation is not discerning our need for forgiveness in the Sacrament and the shared confession and faith of the Sacrament (Acts 2:44). 

 

So, we would be unloving to commune those who would receive the Lord’s Supper to their harm. Afterall, Jesus gives His Supper as a blessing, not a curse. So, abiding in Christ can cause pain among family and friends, but where we have differences, we pray for the day when those differences cease.

 

There are so many hard teachings. God’s Word says that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. So, for those who remain in their sins, by not seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with God and with one another, they will reap what they sewed as Jesus says, “They will be thrown into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:50).

 

For many people, these teachings are just too hard, too difficult, and to their sinful hearts, they sound so wrong, so they choose to just walk away from Jesus. 

 

On that day Jesus said He was the Living Bread come down from heaven, most walked away. But then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked them, “Do you want to go away as well?” Now, Jesus expected them to abide with Him, but He allowed them to answer for themselves whether they too would now leave. You see, Jesus does not coerce people to follow Him.

 

Simon Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Christ’s apostles could not imagine leaving Jesus. And the reason was simple: Jesus had the words that gave eternal life. The words of Jesus about the Bread of Life, His descending from heaven, His flesh and blood, conveyed the blessing He promised for them. The disciples believed and had eternal life from God. 

 

Yes, following Jesus is tough; abiding in His teachings is tough. But as Christians, we are to be like Peter and say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Yes, many of Christ’s teachings are not what our sinful nature would like to hear, but it’s what we need to hear, since He is the Living Bread come down from heaven who alone gives eternal life. So, where else can we go to receive eternal life? Where else can we go? Jesus alone is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life!

 

In many ways, this is the hardest teaching. For it is only Jesus who would suffer the wrath of God for us sinners. He suffered and died the punishment that we all deserve. He substituted Himself for you so that you may live forever! You are forgiven and may we always seek more forgiveness by abiding in Him as you grow closer to Him in His Means of Grace! For He who said it is trustworthy and true, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +