"If Anyone Keeps My Word" (John 8:48-59)

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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: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death” (John 8:51).

 

Today’s Gospel reading picks up in mid-conversation between the Jewish religious authorities and Jesus. These Jewish religious authorities have been bombarding Jesus with question after question as to catch Jesus in a lie. But the problem for them is, Jesus only speaks the truth.

 

Earlier in John 8, Jesus was telling these Jewish authorities things that did not fit into their self-made notions of religion. So, Jesus told them that they were of the world, but He was not of this world (John 8:23). Jesus also told them, “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 8:21).

 

Now, in today’s Gospel text, Jesus tells them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death” (John 8:51). To His hearers, they were likely thinking, “Who does Jesus think he is?! Our Father Abraham died! The prophets died! Everyone dies!”

 

So, who does this Man think He is? Well, since the question has been asked, Jesus is the Son of God, the eternal Son of the Father, the One who was with the Father before all things were made. He is the One who became incarnate, who came into our world, who took on our flesh. He is the One who came so that He could sympathize with our weaknesses, our fears, our illnesses. He is the timeless One, the One who existed before Abraham, and yet He also became Abraham’s descendant. He is the One, the only One who can say, “If anyone keeps My word, He will never see death.”

 

Jesus goes on saying, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). So, what exactly did Abraham believe about Jesus?

 

Well, Scripture gives no record of Abraham saying anything about Jesus, but Abraham certainly believed in this very word of promise. Abraham believed it. He kept it. He held on to it. 

Remember how Abraham saddled his donkey and took his son, his only son, Isaac, whom he loved, to the mountain as the Lord had directed him? Remember how he took the wood and laid it on the back of his son, his only son, Isaac? Remember how he built an altar and then tied up his son, his only son Issac on the top of that altar?

 

Abraham held onto the Word of the Lord. Abraham believed and kept the Word of the Lord, and on that day, his son, his only son Isaac did not see death.

 

God did all of this to test Abraham. God did all of this to test Abraham’s faith. And this test of Abraham served as a preview of another son of Abraham, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself.

 

Jesus is the promised Son who carries the wood of His cross upon His back. He goes up Mount Calvary to make the great sacrifice to rescue us from the infection of our sin. He is the beloved Son who willingly bound Himself and laid upon the altar of the cross to deliver us from death. Jesus is the Lamb provided for the burnt offering. Jesus is the Lamb who is offered for us, who willingly caught Himself in the thicket of our sin and wears the crown of thorns upon His head. 

 

So, on Mount Calvary, it is Jesus who provided our deliverance from everything that infects us: sin and death.

 

So, how can Jesus say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death”? He can say that because He came to see death for us and to give us His life. He came to drink the cup of suffering in order that we may be released from death’s grasp. He came to be our Great High Priest to sacrifice not a sheep or a goat, but His holy precious blood, so that He would purify our consciences.  

 

So, if we keep His Word, by clinging to His Word, we are rescued from the power of sin, which is eternal death.

 

We have His Word. You hear His Word each Lord’s Day. You read His Word through Bible study and devotion. You sing His Word through hymnody and liturgy. Since we have His Word, let us keep His Word. Since we have His Word, let us hold onto His Word with our dear life. Remember, it is Jesus who also proclaims: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though He die, yet shall he live, and everyone who believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26) and “I am the way, and the truth, and life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

So, if you cling to Jesus as your Lord, you will live forever. For St. Paul proclaims, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). So, nothing ever can take away eternal life away from you as long as you cling to Jesus and His Word!

 

But as poor, miserable sinners, how do we keep His Word? For we are so much better at not keeping His Word as we ignore Him, and listen to false voices and our own hearts. We are so much better at dishonoring Jesus. We so often fear, love and trust in created things rather than in God, the Creator. We so often do not fear God’s wrath by avoiding every sin. We often hold grudges and harbor resentment against our neighbor. We have all lied, cheated, and stole what did not belong to us. We have all sinned in thought, word, and deed by our own fault, our own grievous fault. So, we are all not too good at keeping Christ’s Word.

 

So, if we can’t keep His Word, Christ will keep it for us. Jesus is the One who promises: “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 6:54-55). So, that is the answer. That is how we keep His Word so that we will never see death. We keep His Word through the reception of His Means of Grace, His Word and His Sacrament. So, if you are united to Jesus in His Holy Supper of His true Body and His true Blood under bread and wine, you already have the victory over death, because His risen and glorified Body and Blood gives you His life, now and forever.

 

Jesus gave you faith in His Word through the holy waters mixed with His Word in Holy Baptism. There, you were born of water and the Spirit. There, you were united to Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. There, you were “united with Him in a death like His” so that you would be “united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Romans 6:5). 

 

Again, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”Jesus is also the One who sends His called and ordained servants to “forgive the sins of any,” and those sins “are forgiven them” (John 20:23). 

 

 

So, when you hear those sweet words, “As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” your sins are removed from you. When you hear those words, you are at peace for Christ has blotted those sins away through His death.

 

On this Holy Trinity Sunday, Jesus also puts the icing on the cake for us. He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). You see, through Jesus, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit is recognized in its fullness. The very Son of God enables us to see the Holy Trinity by Him becoming flesh. So, when we see Jesus and hear Jesus and touch Jesus, we also see, hear and touch the fullness of God. In Jesus, we have the Holy Trinity. And so, we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity (Athanasian Creed).

 

As we confessed the Athanasian Creed earlier, some of you may be thinking about the ending of that creed with its anathemas, its curses. We spoke, “And those who have done good will enter into eternal life” – you may like that. But what did you think about: “And those who have done evil into eternal fire”? What are we to make of that?

 

Well, what does Jesus say? He says to cling to Him. He says to trust in Him. He calls on us to grow in faith. And how do we grow in faith? By keeping His Word. And we can only keep His Word through receiving His gift of forgiveness through His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacrament.

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.” You have His Word. So, keep it and hold onto it. For He who promises is faithful: “Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life … Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him” (John 6:54, 56).

 

So, keep His Word as Christ unites Himself with the Father and the Holy Spirit with you in His Supper! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Given Peace in God's Blessing" (Numbers 6:22-27)

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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:

“The Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

 The Lord bless you and keep you;

 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’” (Numbers 6:22-26)

 

We hear those words known as the Aaronic Benediction at the conclusion of each Divine Service. What do those words mean to you? We hear them Sunday after Sunday, Monday after Monday, year after year.

 

Like so many things, when we get used to it, we may forget its meaning. Yes, you may have the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed memorized, but do you know what you are saying? Or is it just rote memory?

 

So, what about the Aaronic Benediction? What does it teach? What do those three phrases mean? You may think: the service is over, so it’s time to go home! Well, that is technically true, but those three phrases mean more than the service is over. 

 

You see, those three phrases of God’s blessing confront the reality of our sin. And to receive the Lord’s blessing implies that we need His blessing. By nature, we do not want to admit our need for God and for His blessing. So many of us live by the motto: “God helps those who help themselves.”So often, we would rather follow the example of the Israelites in turning away from God’s sure blessing and look instead to our own abilities for “blessing.” 

 

Afterall, who really does all the work as we gather around Word and Sacrament? Now, we all know Who does the work. But we don’t always act as if He is doing all the work! Afterall, we come to the Divine Service. He isn’t literally dragging us in! (Although our parents may have something to say about that!) 

 

So, we come to the Divine Service. We pray. We sing. We listen. We stand. We sit. We stand. We sit. We give. That’s what it often looks and feels like. And you may be tired after a Divine Service with all that sitting and standing and singing and praying. We are so often tempted to think that ourparticipation in the Divine Service is the only good work going on!

 

In today’s Old Testament lesson from Numbers 6, the Lord gave us the words of the Aaron Benediction so that we would not forget who is responsible for every blessing.

 

So, God gave Moses a special blessing for Aaron to pronounce upon God’s people. In referring to Himself, God uses the special name He has chosen for Himself – Yahweh, which is why each letter of LORD is capitalized. Through His name, the Lord presents Himself to us as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). As such a compassionate and gracious God, the Lord reaches out to us to bless us.

 

Also, we see in the Aaronic Blessing, three unique phrases where the LORD is repeated. What we have here is a reference to the Holy Trinity. As each of the Divine Persons carries out His work, the Triune God reaches out to bless all those who trust in the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. So, all three Persons are involved in our salvation. So, let’s look at these three phrases to see what they mean for us!

 

First, “the Lord bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24). This first phrase focuses on the work of God the Father. This blessing from the Father includes all aspects of life. So, wherever you look, you can see how the Lord blesses us through physical and material possessions that He gives to us. 

 

Luther’s explanation of the First Article of the Creed summarizes these blessings from God the Father, noting that the Lord has “given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses.” … He also “gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have.”

 

So, with this first phrase, “the Lord bless you and keep you,” we need only to look at where we live. Look at the food and furniture, the children and cars, the dishes and dresses, the suits and sofas, electricity, natural gas, and water. Count the many ways the Lord blesses you with these temporal gifts!

 

And beyond these temporal blessings, God the Father blesses us and keeps us as He answers our prayer requests! Just think about how often the Lord keeps us by preventing problems and dangers from overwhelming us! How zealously does He work to keep us from going to those places where we will be tempted to sin! 

 

At the same time, how loving the Lord is when He allows tests to come upon us! For He promises that He will also make a way of escape and that all things will work together for the good of those who love Him! 

 

Oh, how much He blesses us as He keeps us faithful to the Gospel to the end of our lives. For it is He who will deliver us from this present fallen world into the perfection of His glory in heaven.

 

Second, “the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you” (Numbers 6:25). This phrase focuses on the work of God the Son.

 

We are all sinful. We were all born into sin. It is our nature to rebel against God. So, the only hope for us is in the fact that God is gracious to us.

 

How clearly we see God’s love for us in the work of our Redeemer, who is called Jesus. Again, Luther does a good job in summarizing the blessings given to us in Jesus, “who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.”

 

This is God’s grace! His undeserved kindness to us. For in Christ, God shows His love to us – a deep, profound love that loves us even when we don’t deserve it because of our sin. In such love, God makes His face shine upon us! So, just as the face of a glad new mother radiates love, so God looks at us, covering all our sins with the perfect redemption that Christ has purchased for us through His atoning death on the cross.

 

Third, “the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:26). To no surprise, this phrase focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

The phrase, “the Lord lift up His countenance upon you” shows that the Lord gladly looks upon each of us as individuals.

 

How sad would it be if God would turn His back on you, ignore you, and leave you to what you truly deserve: eternal death apart from God. Thanks be to God that He does not do that! So, how wonderful it is that the work of the Holy Spirit is to turn us rebellious people into His children by leading us to faith in Jesus Christ!

 

The Holy Spirit gives the spiritually blind – sight by leading them to Christ, who is the Light of the world. As the Giver of life, the Holy Spirit gives life to the spiritually dead in their trespasses and sin. We – you and I – are miracles of the work of the Holy Spirit! As Luther says, for it is the Holy Spirit who has “called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”

 

In this miracle of conversion, the Holy Spirit gives us peace as we know that through Christ alone we are reconciled to God. In this miracle, the Holy Spirit gives us certainty of faith. Now, we have a peace that will stand up to the fiercest trials. With the Holy Spirit anchoring us in faith, we can say with St. Paul, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

 

I also pray that you enjoy this peace each time I conclude my sermons as I say these words: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen” (Philippians 4:7).

 

What marvelous blessings the Lord gives to us in the Aaronic Benediction! The Lord’s Divine power and His love stand behind each of those words!

 

To such a benediction, Christians of all ages have gladly said: “Amen!” So, may you no longer take those words for granted! To this blessing, we can say “Amen” to God the Father, our Creator and Preserver, who blesses and keeps us! We can say, “Amen” to God the Son, our Savior and Lord, whose face shines upon us and is gracious to us! We can say, “Amen” to God the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, who turns His face toward us and gives us peace! May the name of the Lord bless you in this New Year – and all the days of your life! 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 +

"A Glimpse of What is to Come" (Revelation 7:9-17)

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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: 

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no none could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10).

 

This vision is for us. It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ to St. John. Jesus revealed. John looked. And today, on this All Saints’ Sunday, we receive a glimpse of what Jesus revealed to John.

 

This vision helps us see the goal of every Christian currently striving in the Church Militant across the earth today. The goal to be part of this great multitude for eternity that no one can number from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before God’s throne, standing before Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain for our sin, clothed in resurrected glory for eternity.

 

This vision answers so many questions. Like: why do we establish Christian congregations? Why do we seek our prodigal sons and daughters? Why do we seek the unbelievers? Why do we call pastors? Why do we teach the one true Christian faith? Why do we give offerings sacrificially each week? Why do we plan for the future?

 

We do all those things so that we and many others from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, West Salem and the Coulee Region, can be part of this great multitude before the throne of the Lamb!

 

Now, I’d like to give you some background on what led Jesus to reveal this vision to John.

When John wrote Revelation, it was a tough time to be a Christian. If you think today is tough, you have no idea. You see, for just being a Christian, many endured unimaginable pain. They were thrown to lions while onlookers cheered. They were set on fire. They were hurled down cliffs. They were skinned alive. And they were even boiled in oil.

 

If they would have only denied their Christian faith, life would have been so much easier. They would have been liked. They would have been approved of by society. They would have been approved of by this fallen world’s prince. They would be the ones sitting in the stadium seats, rather than the ones facing certain death below.

 

So, Jesus revealed this vision to John. Jesus knew that the faithful saints had struggles in the past, and they were going through struggles in the present, and that they would encounter more struggles in the future. Sin was certainly alive and well in these pagan cities of ancient Rome.

 

To the seven churches of Revelation, Jesus warns John of the forsaking of truth, of false prophets, of false teachings, of sexual immorality, idolatry, death of true faith, Jesus meaning little, going through the motions of religion, refusing to evangelize Christ to others, spiritual lukewarmness, and only finding security in possessions and wealth.

 

This sounds like what we face today. In fact, this is what we have always faced. The Church faces persecution from the outside and the Church faces persecution from the inside. The fallen world and its prince attack us from the outside. And our sinful nature attacks us from the inside.

 

The fallen world and its prince use approval and deception to lead us away from Christ. Our sinful nature enjoys being puffed up. Our sinful nature enjoys being among the crowd. And this fallen world, and its prince most certainly knows that. So, they lead us to deny Christ and His teachings. We get ourselves caught up becoming worldly minded as we may even find ourselves mocking Christ and His teachings.

 

Today, so much of Christ’s bride – the Church – is confused on what marriage is, how sexuality should be experienced, and who created this world in the first place. We begin to doubt Christ’s love for us. We question each other on where our own prodigals have gone, instead of reaching out to them personally to welcome them back into Christ’s flock. The Church is very much confused. 

And Jesus did promise that we would face challenges. As we heard in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12).

 

Jesus gave this vision to John – for us, so that we would be encouraged! For we will rise from death, live forever, worship and sing, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10).

 

We will do what every human was created to do: worship the one true God! Sin has disrupted this natural response. As, often, we would rather have nothing to do with God, since by our own flawed reason, we cannot believe in Jesus Christ or even come to Him. But God doesn’t just leave us in this state, so the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts of Word and Sacrament, sanctifies us and keeps us in the one truth faith, so that in our resurrected state, we continue this pattern of worship already begun on earth, but now is done perfectly and without interruption as we sing, “Salvation belongs to our God …”

 

But how do we receive this future? Is it from service to our neighbor? Is it for our service to the church? No, but those are good things. Things that support our neighbor in his body and soul. The only reason for saints being in heaven is this: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14b).

 

You see, your future is based solely on being clothed in the righteousness of Christ! Your future is based solely upon the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for you and your sin! You and I are saints, holy ones, now and forever, solely through the shed blood of Jesus that was spilled for you as He was nailed to a cross.

 

Now, there is some irony to this. What happens when you nick yourself and you have blood over your clothes? Or what happens if you accidently spill red wine on yourself? You try to get it out, since it will stain permanently. But the blood of Jesus cleanses permanently, because it is a payment in full for sin. It is a blood that continues to cleanse you from sin today as you hear of it here and as you drink it at this altar. 

 

Listen to your future:

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17).

 

Each of our years here on earth has been filled pain and struggle. And you can be sure that you may have many more years left filled with pain and struggle. You and I have shed tears saying our temporary goodbyes to saints who are now with their Lord.

 

But as God’s sure and certain Word proclaims, “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

 

Here, in the foretaste of the feast to come, in this Divine Service, Jesus refreshes us in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments – for our work in this fallen world and in our service to Him in His Church. 

 

But one day, our struggle with sin will be no more – and we will no longer hunger and thirst, since the Lamb will guide us to “springs of living water” (Revelation 7:17b) as He meets all our physical and spiritual needs. Our baptismal garments will be exchanged for the permanent robe of resurrected glory, and He “will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes” (Revelation 7:17c).

 

On All Saints’ Sunday, we receive a glimpse into the bliss of heaven of our ultimate and certain future as forgiven saints through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ! Death will be no more! Mourning will be no more! Pain will be no more!

 

This is our bright and glorious future as saints, who come out of this great tribulation – our life now– arrayed in robes made white through the blood of the Lamb! 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 11: "A Different Kind of Bread" (John 6:22-35)

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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 to them: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26).

 

Jesus’ popularity greatly increased following the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. From just five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus fed 5,000 men, plus the women and children. Everyone’s hunger was satisfied, even with 12 baskets left over.

 

However, there is something to be said about the phrase: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Jesus, indeed, gave these 5,000 men their fill of the loaves, but now there is a problem: they want more! The crowd didn’t understand the sign. But they were not alone. As we heard last week in Mark 6: even Christ’s disciples “did not understand about the loaves” (Mark 6:52).

 

Everyone appears to be confused. The crowds want to crown Jesus as their “Bread King.” Jesus’ disciples have witnessed and been a part of signs and miracles, and they still don’t get it.

 

Today, on this 11^th Sunday after Pentecost, the crowds are seeking Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t seem all that impressed at His popularity, since He knows their real motive in following Him – to be their “Bread King,” so Jesus speaks sharply as He informs them and us that He has come to give man a different kind of food, a food that endures to eternal life.

 

Humanity likes stuff. Our fallen nature believes that by having material goods – perishable goods, we would be satisfied. But are we ever satisfied with perishable goods? Would a new smart phone satisfy your wants? Would an 80-inch television satisfy your desires? Would that perfect steak fill your stomach forever?

 

Each year the latest smart phone is released. Is it that much different from the previous phone? No! But so many people believe they need that latest phone. Although your current tv set is fine, that latest 4K Ultra high-definition television with surround sound is so appetizing. And we all certainly need to eat, but even that juiciest steak will only satisfy our stomachs for a matter of hours.

 

You see, these things that don’t last can only satisfy a need and many a want for only a brief time as they always wear off, wear out, go out of style, get lost, get stale, break, or fail to maintain our satisfaction. Sometimes, we are like the rich fool who only focused on his possessions as he built large barns to store all his grain and goods. But God said to this rich fool, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20).

 

So we can’t take any perishable goods with us when we die. Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul? No! St. Paul writes, “We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Timothy 6:7). And Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return” (Job 1:21a).

 

As much as we desire to be filled by worldly possessions and perishable foods to fill our bellies, we must never forget that the triune God has already satisfied us will all of our bodily wants as He has stocked man’s pantry and cellar with abundance to His joy and His delight, since He is the Provider. He is the Giver.

 

As the Provider and Giver, the triune God gives us all things, He gave us all things to produce food and drink, but we must work and cultivate to have that food to nourish us.

 

But even as the Giver of all temporal gifts, those gifts are only temporary. They only last for a time. They will perish.

 

So, Jesus says, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27). This is as if Jesus said: “I will supply you with a different kind of food. Why do you want morsels and trifles from Me? Why don’t you want a different sort of food? A food that never perishes. A bread that endures to eternity. A bread that will not let you die, but preserve you for everlasting life.”

 

So, this crowd asks Jesus, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?” (John 6:30)

 

They had all just witnessed the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. Their stomachs were filled. And even that miracle did not satisfy them. “But what have you done for me lately, Jesus? You know, our fathers ate manna in the wilderness!”

 

That multiplication of the loaves appears to be a sign of the same type as the manna in the wilderness. However, there is a difference. Moses gave the manna for 40 years. Jesus gave bread to 5,000. Moses supplied manna to an entire nation. Jesus gave them ordinary bread, bread such as they ate every day. Moses gave them “bread from heaven to eat” (John 6:31).

 

Jesus had, indeed, done something wonderful in multiplying bread, but could this Jesus, also produce manna? 

 

To that question, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32).

 

That manna was not Moses’ gift to the people; it was God’s gift to the people. That manna came from God. But that manna, though a gift from God, was not from heaven, but was an earthly, material type of bread. That manna, if left over till the morning would breed worms and stink (Exodus 16:20). Manna eventually perished.

 

This “true bread from heaven” given by God the Father is not a bread that someone can just pick up and eat. No. It is a different kind of bread. This bread is none other than Jesus Himself. He Himself is the food, the sustenance that nourishes spiritual life. It is only from this Bread that humanity really obtains life.

 

Jesus is the Gift. He is the true bread come from heaven for us to eat. He is the One that we ought to be grasping, clinging to, grabbing, collecting, and claiming as much as we possibly can of.

 

We must have Him. We must believe in Him. We must trust in Him. We must cling to Him. We must have as much of Jesus as we can. We must say, “Give us yourself always, Jesus!” 

  

So, let us look to the things that last forever, knowing that Jesus provides all the things of this world that we really need. He supplies our earthly needs. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26).

 

Since Jesus gives us all our earthly needs, then we should be of the things that never perish. We ought to labor for the food that endures forever. This means nothing more than clinging to Jesus, hearing His Word, reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting Him, so that we may embrace and ever hold fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life. We cling to Jesus, since He is the Bread from heaven that has secured eternal life for you. He secured eternal life by laying down His life on the cross for you. Through His crucifixion and death, He has graciously given us all things (Romans 8:32): forgiveness, life, and salvation!

 

Today, Jesus, this different kind of bread, comes to you. He comes to you so that you may have Him in abundance in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament. He calls on you to eat Him and drink Him under the bread and the wine. He calls you to not work for the food that perishes, but to work for the food that endures to eternal life. 

 

So, let us hold fast to Christ, this different kind of bread, who is the One thing needful now and forever, the One thing that lasts. Faith in Jesus is how you are sustained, so trust in Him and cling to Him as He comes to you in His Word and His Sacraments and you will be filled. 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 17: "God's Answer To Our Complaints" (Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4)

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:

[Intro]

Why God? Why do You allow evil? Why do You allow all these shootings? Why do You allow Your Church to accept heresy? Why do You allow for murder? Why do You allow children to be abused? Why do You allow the social contagion known as gender ideology and gender-affirming care? Why God? Why do You allow this?

 

We have all had questions such as these. And, I’m sure you have had so many other questions that you demanded answers from God. We all ask God, “Why?” Why do You allow evil?

 

The Prophet Habakkuk also asked many of the same questions we ask God. He, like the Prophet Job, questioned why evil existed and why the Lord permitted evil to afflict His people. Today, on this 17^thSunday after Pentecost, the Triune God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – gives us the answer to Habakkuk’s, Job’s, and our complaints.

 

[Why God?]

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
         and you will not hear?
Or cry to you ‘Violence!’
         and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:1-2)

 

Habakkuk remembers what it was like before the current king of Judah. He remembers this king’s father Josiah, who was one of the few godly kings of Judah. During his reign, he commissioned a remodel of the Jerusalem Temple. Like many remodeling projects, lost items are soon found. Seemingly tucked away in a closet collecting dust was the Book of the Law – the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. They were found by Hilkiah the high priest and when he found them, he didn’t fully appreciate this discovery. You see, they forgot about the Book of the Law. Essentially, each king and their people did what was right in their own eye.

 

When Josiah saw what the discovery was, he called together the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, including the priests and prophets, to hear the Book of the Law read by him. Then “the king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD – to follow the LORD and keep His commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant” (2 Kings 23:3).

 

At that moment, everyone pledged themselves to God and His Law.

 

The Word of God that was seemingly forgotten was now back in plain sight. Following this discovery, Josiah did not want any distractions from God’s truth, so he cleansed the Temple courts of any corrupt religious practices and destroyed all the false idol shrines. God’s Word was certainly working repentance and faith among the people. But then Josiah died. 

 

After his elder son reigned for three months, Jehoiakim then came to the throne. Sadly, he had none of his father’s redeeming qualities. He was godless and his attitude and wicked behavior filtered down to the lesser officials and, finally, to the people themselves. 

 

The people of Judah had God’s Word, but now they chose to ignore it. King Jehoiakim’s behavior filtered down to the people. Still within recent memory was the relative peace under Josiah, since the people agreed on morality. Under Jehoiakim, not so much. The saying, “Culture is downstream of politics” is true. If the culture is corrupt, politics – that is the public, or the people – tends to follow.

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
         and you will not hear?
Or cry to you ‘Violence!’
         and you will not save? (Habakkuk 1:2)

 

Habakkuk has been praying to God since Jehoiakim’s behavior filtered down to the people to stop the violence and injustice in Judah, but he believes that God has not been listening. He cried out:

 

“Why do you make me see iniquity,
         and why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction and violence are before me;
         strife and contention arise” (Habakkuk 1:3).

 

Here, Habakkuk is asking this: “Why, O LORD, do you tolerate wickedness in the first place?” Now, he’s not the first to ask this. Job asked: “Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?” (Job 21:7). The Psalmist asked: “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!” (Psalm 74:10-11).

 

Habakkuk, Job, and the Psalmist each wondered why the Lord seemingly has His hands in His pockets. They ask, “Lord, why do You take no action against those who revile You and ignore Your will? Lord, how can You permit the wicked to slap You in the face?”

 

[Violence and Destruction]

In our reading, Habakkuk sees “violence” and “destruction” all around him. Now, “violence” is the immoral and criminal behavior evident everywhere in Jerusalem: murder, robbery, theft, fraud, embezzlement, rape, adultery, and other violations of God’s moral Law. These are sins that destroy the lives of individuals and ruin the fabric of society. These acts of violence look much like the things that fill our society today.

 

As for “injustice,” Habakkuk observes that the courts are corrupt, that the processes of justice have broken down to a two-tiered justice system. Justice is perverted to favor the wicked intentions of the godless, and the godly who play by the rules are taken advantage of. The wicked escape punishment, and the godly find that justice eludes them. The godly are ridiculed because they refuse to condone evil.

 

The way Habakkuk pictures the Law in his society is memorable: “The Law is paralyzed” (Habakkuk 1:4). Now, a paralyzed person cannot move, so he is unable to work or defend himself. This is how the Law is in an immoral society. The Law is ineffective. The Law is easy to circumvent. The Law is so crippled that “justice never prevails.” When the Law is paralyzed, there is no agreement on what is right or wrong. Thus, there is no willingness to punish those who break laws. As a result, the Law ceases to function. It becomes unable to dispense proper justice.

 

An immoral society is a lawless society. Where the Ten Commandments have become paralyzed, the breakdown of Law and Order in society is the inevitable result. This is what Habakkuk saw all around him, and he wondered why a just God did not act. Why is God tolerating this? Why did God let it get this bad in the first place?

 

[The Answer]

But like a watchman standing on the walls of Jerusalem, alert and waiting for a messenger to come bearing news, Habakkuk waits patiently for the Lord’s message. He waits because he is not alone in wanting an answer.

After cry after cry to God, Habakkuk finally receives a reply. The LORD answered him: “Write the vision;
         make it plain on tablets,
         so he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2).

 

Habakkuk then wrote what God spoke to him on large posters – similar to a billboard today – that could be easily read by all who passed by. God’s message is clear: He wants this message to get out. He wants others to hear and read it. He wants this message to have the broadest possible audience.

 

So, what was God’s message of reply?

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
   but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

 

God is telling Habakkuk that He will use the Babylonians to punish Judah for its wickedness. Wait? What? Aren’t the Babylonians even more wicked? Yes, they are, but 

due to their wickedness Judah will soon be taken into exile by the “puffed up” Babylonians, but in sharp contrast to the arrogance of the Babylonians, the Lord says, “But the righteous shall live by his faith.”

 

Faith is holding firm to the one true God who can be trusted, even though we cannot always understand His ways. Faith is trusting in God’s promises. For the people of Judah, their lives were about to radically change as they would be taken away from their homeland and sent into exile in an unknown place. So, throughout all the “why’s”, God gives them the answer: “I will never leave you or forsake you. Trust in Me, for I will deliver you salvation.”

 

When all was looking grim, God encourages His people that He will deliver them exactly what He had promised. It may look bad now, but in time, He always delivers.

 

So, what “why questions” are you asking God? At each Divine Service, God delivers peace to our “why questions.” He delivers forgiveness of sins and strength for our faith through His Word and Sacrament. He reminds us that despite the craziness of this fallen world, He is still in control.

 

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul, much like Habakkuk here, as he wrote: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:31, 32). What things? Paul is acknowledging that God has done everything for our salvation. It is finished. Salvation is ours by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

 

For Habakkuk, he was awaiting deliverance. In time, he was delivered. He was not able to see it during his life, but he trusted in his deliverance. All of the world was delivered when Jesus died to pay for our sins. And nothing separates us from the love of Christ.

 

As we leave this place today, we will still face challenges, confront difficult circumstances as we face wicked unbelievers in society, but no matter what “the righteous will live by his faith.”

 

Now, the Lord’s answer may not completely satisfy our sense of fairness, but remember this: God’s ways transcend our ways. Salvation, though delayed, will surely come. This salvation is received in God’s justification of the sinner by grace through faith: “For the righteous shall live by his faith.”Amen. 

 

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

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +