LSB Easter 4B Sermon -- John 10:11-18

April 29, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.”

A shepherd owns his sheep; the sheep belong to him. That fact forms the basis for Jesus’ statements about Himself that you heard in today’s Gospel Reading. Jesus says that He is a shepherd, One who has a flock. This identity differentiates Jesus from other leaders in Israel. Jesus says about Himself: “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” But then He adds a statement about His audience—the elders, scribes, and priests in the Temple Grounds of Jerusalem: “He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

Ownership is the key issue that Jesus raises. Having it or not having it affects the actions of individuals. The hired hand does not own the sheep, so his concern is not for them. The sheep are put under his watch, but that is all. The sheep are not his assets. They do not define his identity. So when the flock is attacked and the hired hand’s life is endangered, his concern is for himself and his own preservation. But Jesus points out the different relationship that the shepherd who owns the sheep has for his flock. The shepherd is connected to them. The sheep are almost part of who he is. They are his substance. Having the flock under his possession makes him a shepherd. That is a bond that drives him even to protect and defend his sheep.

This is what Jesus wants His audience to know about Him. He is taking the people of Israel back to what the Lord had said in ancient days: that He owns a people and is bound to them. That connection which He has with them drives His actions to work for their benefit. And that action will be culminated in what the Messiah does, what the Promised One will perform for the life of the people. What the Messiah does will stand in great contrast to what the other “hired hands”—the rulers, scribes, and priests of the people—had done through the centuries.

So what would the Messiah do? Jesus declares it: “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” The act is sacrifice. That is what the Messiah will do in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. It is the act that brings salvation by enduring the assaults of the sheep’s enemies, but overcoming it. It is a willful act that the Good Shepherd does in order to keep His sheep alive. Jesus reveals the nature of His work: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”

Jesus’ words are critical to hear. He explains what He is present in the world to do. His sacrificial act is done of His own volition. His choice is to lay down His life, even to suffer humiliation and death that would come from the hired hands that want nothing to do with the Good Shepherd who is fulfilling the charge of the Father. Jesus gives of Himself, so that His flock may live. Not only does He lay down His life; He takes it up again. The wolf attacks and devours the Good Shepherd, yet He rises from death to put down the wolf for eternity. And the hired hands that fled or who themselves had turned on the flock are dismissed and replaced. That is what Jesus is present in the world to do. And as you have heard from Palm Sunday to last week, He has fulfilled that task.

There is another important statement that Jesus makes in the Gospel Reading that you must hear. The matter of Jesus’ fulfilling the Father’s charge in laying down His life for the sheep and taking it up again was what He accomplished for the descendants of Abraham who had the great promise given to them. The people of Israel had been the Lord’s flock, the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. The Messiah’s work was done for them. The sheep who had the Good Shepherd lay down His life for them were all the people in Galilee and Judea and scattered who had Jesus in their midst.

But Jesus also includes an interesting statement in His description about the Good Shepherd: “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” Now here comes the statement: “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.” Jesus’ words indicate another group of people who will be brought into His ownership. His flock is not limited to a particular breed of sheep. No, it will have all types of sheep in it, others who will know Him and listen to His voice. That statement is made concerning you who were not in Israel. The declaration is given that you will have Jesus as your Good Shepherd.

Jesus’ statement about other sheep that would be brought into His flock forms the basis for Peter’s statement before the Sanhedrin. The apostle was “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” When questioned by what authority he was doing so, Peter answers: “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” And then Peter makes clear the universal nature of Jesus’ work and authority in bringing salvation to the world: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus’ laying down of His life and taking it up again was to bring salvation to people of Israel, though most of that people reject their Messiah. But Jesus’ action was done for other nations, too. Gentile sheep are meant to become part of the fold that has Jesus as their shepherd, so that there will be one flock.

This is where Jesus’ statements about Himself begin truly to apply to you. You are called to be part of the fellowship with Jesus. Jesus’ declaration about the relationship that He has with His sheep reflecting the unity He has with the Father is made about you: “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” You are united with Jesus. You know Jesus. You hear Jesus. You belong to Jesus. You are in His flock, the group that has only one Good Shepherd.

Jesus’ laying down His life and taking it up again was done for you. That is why you can rightly say about Jesus in the words of the Small Catechism: “[He] 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 may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.” It is why the words of today’s collect were validly prayed: “Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads.” Your belonging to Jesus’ flock is affirmed in such words—an affirmation that comes from belief that through Jesus’ name you are saved.

So as you belong to Jesus’ flock, as He is your Good Shepherd who laid down His life for you, a knowledge is made yours, as the apostle John points out: “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” Your identity as one of Jesus’ sheep comes with a charge, just as Jesus’ identity as the Good Shepherd did: “And whatever we ask we receive from [God], because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in them.”

Your being a sheep in the fold brings responsibilities to you. The first is to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd, believing in Jesus’ identity and work. You are not a shepherd; you are a sheep. Sheep do not lead themselves; they go as the shepherd directs them. So wherever you are wandering away from Jesus’ leading or following voices other than His, you must stop. Repent and turn back and be led again. The second responsibility is to recognize that there are other sheep in the fold who also belong to Jesus, who are bound to Him. You are all united with Jesus and with each other. That means you cannot tell other sheep to find another flock. It means that you can’t be biting other sheep or taking your dirty hooves and muddying up their water or eating all the grass and leaving none for them. No, you are called to love them, just as your Good Shepherd commands and as He demonstrates by His actions. But when all this is happening, then the flock moves in the direction where the Good Shepherd leads them in this life and to life everlasting.

So from what you have heard this day, you can come to the confession of faith that a shepherd owns sheep. It is not just a statement about sheep husbandry, but also a profound statement about Jesus: He has a flock that He has purchased and won for Himself. You are in it. You are part of that fold. Jesus’ bond with you is sealed by His laying down His life and taking it up again, so that you may live. That is the expression of His divine love for you. Receiving it, then you can rightly say: “The Lord is my Good Shepherd. I know Him and He knows me.”

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

LSB Easter 3B Sermon -- Luke 24:36-49

April 22, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“Then [Jesus] opened [the disciples’] minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’”

Jesus’ appearance to His disciples changes things for them. A restoration takes place:  those who ran away and abandoned Him are brought back into full fellowship. His appearance does frighten and startle His disciples, yet Jesus is quick to move them from fear to faith. The beginning of today’s Gospel Reading shows that: “As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed His hands and His feet.”

Jesus’ actions on the night of His resurrection show that He had truly risen from death. That is what changes everything. The movement that had begun in Galilee had not ended in defeat and disillusion, as the disciples had thought on Friday evening. Mourning was not to extend to countless numbers of Sundays, as the women who traveled to the tomb believed. No, the fulfillment of all that the Lord had spoken through the prophets of old had taken place. When Jesus appears among His disciples that Sunday night, He makes that point evident: what was said would happen does happen.

Jesus not only gives His disciples an opportunity to witness Him alive again, though that is vitally important. He does more than that. He speaks to them, summarizing everything that He had done in their midst during the past three years: “Then He said to them, ‘These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’” Jesus’ statement speaks to His identity. He declares that He was the One that the Old Testament writers had foretold. He reveals that His actions had all been done with a purpose. He affirms that He is the fulfiller of promises.

Then Jesus gives the disciples a charge that shows that they are more than just His restored followers, but His authorized ambassadors: “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’” Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, which the disciples had witnessed in Jerusalem, had been foretold. These actions had a purpose: they are the source of salvation for the world. Now these acts are to be proclaimed in His name to all nations, so that others would benefit from them by being brought to repentance and given forgiveness of sins. And just who are the people who would proclaim those acts? The same disciples who had been brought back into full fellowship with Jesus and who would receive the promise of His Father will be the proclaimers.

A complete shift happens for the disciples. They are restored to right relationship with God Himself. The disciples are no longer doubters or unbelievers in Jesus and His acts, but witnesses and proclaimers of Him and them. They have been turned back to the Lord’s promises and covenant. But even more: the disciples are made the instruments through which whole nations are turned back the same way. That is what they will do in their task that Jesus entrusts to them: “that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

This task is what you heard being done in Jerusalem in the First Reading for today. You heard a record of Peter’s proclamation about Jesus. He testifies about Jesus’ identity, even if his audience did not first believe it: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” Peter boldly confesses who Jesus is and what He had done. He declares that what had been written about Jesus was accomplished: “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He thus fulfilled.”

Peter also completes the task given to him by his Master: he proclaims repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name. That is clearly seen in his words: “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers…. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago.” Peter is calling the people to be recipients of divine favor. Everything had changed for them because of Jesus’ actions. The disciple is leading them to obtain what he first received from Jesus: restoration to right relationship with the Lord through belief and trust in His divine covenant promises. The gracious acts of God performed by Jesus were done for the people of Jerusalem, just as they were also accomplished for people of all nations. Peter desires for his kinsmen to receive them, just as he was brought from denial to faith.

What you see in this act is the same event that occurs in the Church today. Jesus’ disciples have not lost the commission that He gave to those whom He visited on the night of His resurrection. No, the charge still remains: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” What happened in Jerusalem doesn’t stay in Jerusalem. No, the acts are disclosed to you. But this is not just a matter of information or educational interest. The gospel accounts are not ancient minutes of a Jesus Society; the apostolic proclamation is not a lecture in First Century Ancient Near Eastern Studies. No, they are a speaking of what the Christ accomplished for salvation, a speaking that carries His authority and power to forgive sins and to raise from death.

That is why you heard the words of the apostles this morning. You heard a declaration with divine commission behind it. Through it, the almighty and everlasting Lord is addressing you. He speaks about your sin, everything that you have done to violate His Law. Even the indictment spoken against the people of Jerusalem is directed at you: “But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.” Were you there when they crucified the Lord? No. Were you calling for His demise and desiring a murderer to go free? No. But your guilt drove Jesus to that end. Your natural desire to be lawless, to be the determiner of your own morality, to be practitioners of evil is a reason for Jesus’ death. It is why Jesus suffered and on the third day rose again, as His apostle John wrote: “You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.”

The Father’s desire is to remove your guilt: “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He thus fulfilled.” He calls you to receive the result of that fulfillment. That call comes to you in the same words that Peter spoke in Jerusalem: “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out….” Stop what you are doing! Acknowledge the unrighteous nature of your actions! Recognize the guilt that you have incurred! That’s what the Lord is telling you. But those two words—“turn again”—point out the way of salvation. They direct you to the Lord’s statements of promise, to His covenant that He has fulfilled for you. He has glorified His Servant Jesus. He has raised the Author of life—your life—from death. So the Lord says, “Come and receive what I have done for you.”

Like the disciples on Easter Night and the people of Jerusalem, you need Jesus to declare the words of forgiveness to you. His actions have put an end to the enmity and divide between God and Man. So Jesus says through those He commissions: “Peace to you!” He opens your minds to understand the Scriptures, so that you may see how they speak about what He has done for your salvation. He continues to exhibit the Father’s love by making you children of God, giving you the Spirit of adoption through Holy Baptism. Jesus grants you to eat of the Bread of Life in His presence. These are the acts of restoration that are done for you who have turned again to the Lord and His promises.

Everything has changed for you because of Jesus’ acts, just as it did for the disciples and the people of Jerusalem. Now you are in full fellowship with the Lord. Now you are God’s children. Now you are recipients of His favor. Now you are forgiven. Now you are righteous. Now you are alive. That is what the Lord promised in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. What He said would take place has happened. Jesus has accomplished it through His death and resurrection.

This day, you have had repentance and forgiveness of sins proclaimed in Jesus’ name to you. You have turned again to Him and had your sins blotted out. You have purified yourselves by participating in the ways that Jesus delivers pardon to you. He has made Himself present and said: “Peace to you!” All that the Father foretold by the mouth of all the prophets has been fulfilled, so that what Jesus is—pure, without sin, eternally living—is what you also will be. So do not be troubled or doubt, but turn again and receive this day the benefits that Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One, has made to be yours.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

LSB Resurrection of Our Lord B Sermon -- Mark 16:1-8

April 8, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“[The angel] said to [the women]: ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”

The angel’s words bring an unexpected message to the women. Their trek to Jesus’ tomb had a particular intended purpose: “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him.” They came to finish a task that could not be completed right the first time. The women carry spices and oils to place on a dead body, the corpse of an honored and loved one. But all this changes when they reach the tomb.

The Gospel Writer captures the women’s initial shock: “And they were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.” Their eyes behold a disturbed tomb, one that has been opened. But there is more; the tomb is occupied by someone unanticipated: “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.” And then the capper; the expected body is not there: “And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.’”

The angel was correct: the women were seeking Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. They sought Him in the tomb, because that is where dead people are meant to be. Those who have died are to be found where they were laid to rest. But that is not what was meant to be for Jesus. In fact, He had declared it so. That is what the angel reveals to the women and instructs them to remind Jesus’ disciples: “But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.” While the resurrection of anyone is unexpected, Jesus’ rising had been foretold—not only by Him, but prophesied centuries before: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let Your holy one see corruption.”

This resurrection of Jesus means a reversal of what is expected. That is so not only for the women who traveled to Jesus’ tomb, but for you. There is a new end to expect, a new fate to anticipate. This is what the Lord has revealed in word and deed. His promise was made through the prophet: “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

The Lord’s words allude to what people normally expect and experience: death, sorrow, shame. They are the result of sin—people’s own sin, other people’s sin, just the plain old imperfection that is found in the world. That drives what happens in the world. It is why you anticipate your own death, even if you don’t spend hours dwelling on it. You know well the sadness that comes from the events of life, even the sorrow of going to tombs where you have laid your loved ones. All of you encounter shame in some way: shame at what you’ve done, shame at what others think of you, shame at what family and friends do, even some shame at what you believe. These form your experience in this world. But the Lord’s word of promise says that this is going to come to an end—death will be swallowed up, tears will be wiped away, reproach will be removed.

Yet the Lord does not simply make a promise; He gives an action that shows its validity and possibility. That is what Jesus’ resurrection achieves. Had Jesus remained deceased, there would be no reason to put trust in the Lord’s promise. How could He swallow up death, if He was powerless over it? How could He wipe away tears from your faces, if He could not even end the grief of His closest followers? How could He take away the reproach of His people, if all the claims of lying and deceit made against Him were shown to be true? But the Lord is shown to be trustworthy through the raising of Jesus. It establishes that He can do what He says He will.

So now there is a new expectation for you. That is what Jesus’ resurrection shows. It is the heart of your faith, what you anticipate to receive from the Lord. This is what the apostle means with his statement: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.” Jesus’ resurrection takes place in accordance with what the Lord has said. It is the way that salvation is given to you. You hold fast to what is of first importance: that Jesus’ death atoned for your sin and that His raising from death has provided life for you.

What the Lord has revealed in word and deed is now the object of your faith. Your trust is put in Him, believing what He promises and relying on what He does. So now you look forward to receiving what He has said He will give. Your eyes are not only focused on what you see here and now—death, sorrow, shame. No, you look up and see the empty tomb of Jesus. Because of that, you look forward to what is yet to come: the time when the Lord will prepare the feast of victory for you to experience forever. You expect what the Lord has said about you: “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’”

Why do you wait on the Lord? Because He has acted for you and has promised more. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the way He has brought you forgiveness, life, and salvation. It is a proof of what He will do for you in the future. Your faith, hope, and trust are put in Him. So you can pray the words of the psalm, believing that it is so: “Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You.’ … I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let Your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

With the resurrection of Jesus, those words become your own. There is a change in expectations. Hearing about empty tombs is not unexpected. Hearing that Jesus is raised from the dead is not unexpected. Hearing that He goes before you and that you will see Him is not unexpected. No, this is what you now anticipate. It is your great expectation. That is the great news of Easter Day for you to carry all the days of your life. That is the message of first importance received by the women and the apostles that they have delivered to you: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.”

So you are not alarmed at what the angel said; instead you expect it. You are not full of trembling and astonishment; instead you are glad and rejoice greatly about it. Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, is no longer in the tomb. He has risen. He has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel for you to receive. And He goes before you—through death and the grave to resurrection and Paradise, where you also will see Him—just as He said. That is now what is meant to be.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

2012 Easter Vigil Homily

April 7, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today…. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.’”

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Moses’ words point to the actor of salvation for the Hebrews. They will not save themselves. The Lord will act for them. The Lord will be their Deliverer, their Conqueror, their Redeemer. He will bring victory over Pharaoh and his army. Through the prophet’s statement, the Lord says: “Move over. Step aside. Let Me do it.”

That is what we see in all the readings for this night. You have heard the Scriptures’ testimony about the Lord’s actions, His doing things that humanity could not. His words: “Let there be….” bring creation into existence. The Lord discloses the flood to Noah and shuts him in the ark to keep him safe. He gives Isaac to Abraham as an only son, then He supplies the substitute for Isaac, leading Abraham to call the mountain in Moriah, “The Lord will provide.” Only the Lord’s words and His Spirit bring Israel’s dry bones to life. The Lord’s presence protects the Three Young Men from Nebuchadnezzar’s fire. Each time, the Lord’s actions bring life, save the day, work salvation, grant deliverance.

So it has been through time. History is a timeline of the Lord’s action, especially for His people. You belong to that group. You belong to that history. That history culminates with the appearance of the Promised Christ and the actions that He performed, when He told you and all humanity about salvation: “Move over. Step aside. Let Me do it. You cannot keep the Law, but I will. You cannot offer anything to atone for your sin, but I will. You cannot free yourself from slavery, but I will. You cannot defeat death, but I will.”

That is what this night is about—to remember and recall what the Lord has done for you. It is a night, when you are exhorted: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today…. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” You weren’t present at the events described in the Scripture Readings, but they speak about the Lord who is present now for you. Christ’s work that accomplished salvation—His death and resurrection—was in the past, but is effective and active in your day.

So tonight, you participate in the acts that deliver the Lord’s salvation to you. The Lord has renewed your baptismal covenant with Him, uniting you again with Christ’s death and resurrection, drowning all sin in you, separating you from the multitude of unbelievers, and keeping you safe and secure in the holy ark of the Christian Church. The Lord’s herald has proclaimed the great news of Christ’s rising from death: “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here.” The Lord prepares a paschal meal for you to eat, so that you receive the salvation accomplished for you by the all-availing sacrifice of Jesus’ body and blood on the cross.

In each of these, you are passive; the Lord is active. You are recipients; the Lord is the Giver. You are freed; the Lord is the Deliverer. You are saved; the Lord is the Redeemer. What Moses describes about Him is true: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” And what he says about the people’s reaction is also true: “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously.” The war has been waged and won. Christ has died, but He has risen. Your enemies—sin, death, and Satan—lie eternally defeated. The victory has been accomplished for you, bringing great joy. That is the message of this night.

The Lord has fought for you, while you remained silent. But receiving the benefits of His actions, you need not be silent anymore. So you with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Ezekiel, the Three Young Men, the Women at the Empty Tomb, and all the Lord’s people who have received His salvific acts will again sing to Him:

“The strife is o’er, the battle done; Now is the victor’s triumph won; Now be the song of praise begun. Alleluia!

Lord, by the stripes which wounded Thee, From death’s dread sting Thy servants free That we may live and sing to Thee. Alleluia!”

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Good Friday 2012 Homily -- Isaiah 53:3-10; John 19:1-42

April 6, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘See, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the man!’”

Judgment is rendered on Good Friday. Not guilty is the verdict. It is applied to Jesus. That is the decree from Pilate, the one who carries authority on that day. Throughout his treatment of Jesus’ case, the prefect comes to the same conclusion: “I find no guilt in Him.” It is an acquittal, the statement that a person on trial wants to hear: “Not guilty. No reason to punish, incarcerate, or condemn.”

And yet, the one who exonerates Jesus hands Him over to death: “Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ So he delivered Him over to them to be crucified.” Handing over an innocent man to be crucified: that is an act of injustice. It is not right. Who does such a thing? An unjust man does. But the events in Jerusalem are much more than a human act of injustice, as Jesus discloses: “Pilate said to Him, You will not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above.’”

What is happening in Jerusalem? Why is sentence pronounced against Jesus, though the judge declares, “I find no guilt in Him.”? An exchange is taking place; a substitution is being made. It is the fulfillment of all that the Lord had promised in days of old, as you have heard in the responses interspersed between the Scripture readings tonight: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Guilt—your guilt—is placed on Jesus. He is condemned for your sin—not by the human judge in Jerusalem, but from the One who carries authority from above. Guilt is placed on Jesus, so that you might have the innocence that He always possessed. That is the exchange, the substitution. Pilate sends out Jesus, saying: “Behold the Man!” The Father sees Him carrying the guilt of mankind. The divine condemnation for that sin is doled out against Him. It is the condemnation deserved by the first man, Adam, to the last man that shall ever walk this earth.

So Jesus dies, just as the Lord promised for those who break His commandments and incur His wrath. Not that Jesus broke them, but since He bore your iniquity. Jesus dies, suffering the judgment visited upon your unrighteousness: “They made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief….”

And yet, there is divine promise of restoration, as the prophet declared: “When His soul makes an offering for sin, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” Jesus shall see what His offering achieves, what it attains for you: forgiveness, life, and salvation. He serves as substitute for you, receiving the Lord’s condemnation. But what is said about those who receive it? “Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.” Just as Jesus was torn and struck down for the sin of mankind, so He was healed and bound up. And as it was done to your Substitute, so it is also done to you.

Judgment is rendered on Good Friday. Not guilty is the verdict. It is applied to you. This is not the decree of a Roman prefect, but the decision of the Lord God Almighty. Throughout the treatment of your case, the Lord comes to the same conclusion about you: “I find no guilt.” It is an acquittal that you want to hear. But it comes because of the condemnation delivered against Jesus. The exchange, the substitution is made—innocence for guilt, guilt for innocence: “For our sake [God] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

So the Lord God Almighty sends out the Crucified and Risen Jesus and says: “Behold the Man!” First see your guilt borne by Him and the condemnation visited upon Him. But then see His innocence that is made yours and hear the acquittal that is declared for you. See the result of that great exchange—resurrection and everlasting life—and ask for it to be yours: “Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession…. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

This is what Jesus has accomplished for you as your Substitute. It has been earned for you, made to be yours. Divine healing, binding, and raising are yours. Jesus declares it to be full and complete. He says: “It is finished!” And His Father, the Lord God Almighty, makes His declaration about you. The Just Judge renders His verdict on this day: “I find no guilt in them.”

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

LSB Holy Thursday B Sermon -- Mark 14:12-26

April 5, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples said to Him, ‘Where will You have us go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?’”

“Where will You have us go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” That is the question posed by Jesus’ disciples to their Master. This night was unlike any other nights. It was the time for the Lord’s faithful people to remember what He had done for them so many centuries ago. A prescribed meal was to be prepared and eaten: lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, blessed wine. Through these means, the belief in the Lord’s activity that brings salvation would be reinvigorated.

So the disciples ask: “Where will You have us go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” They want to know where Jesus wants to eat this meal. Their expected task is to make it ready for their Master. It is the role of disciples. And that task is given to them: “And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, “The Teacher says, ‘Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’” And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.’ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.”

The disciples are sent with their expected assignment. They have the room ready and the meal prepared. All is as it should be. But this night would truly be unlike any other nights. Remember the question that the disciples asked: “Where will You have us go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” A place was determined, and Jesus’ disciples made it ready. A meal was eaten, food prepared by Jesus’ disciples. But Jesus does something unexpected: “And as they were eating, He took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is My body.’ And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’”

What is happening here? The roles are reversed from the norm. The Master is preparing a meal for His disciples. He is making it ready and distributing it. Though He is greater than the Twelve, Jesus serves them. This is not expected. And Jesus gives this meal a significance equal to the Passover. He states that it is part of a covenant, just as the Passover of old was linked to the promise that the Lord made to His people and His relationship to them.

That is why we commemorate this night. Jesus’ action establishes a meal for His disciples. This meal brings benefits as His people participate in it and remember His activity for their salvation. That is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper. The food is lamb—not a sheep from some shepherd’s flock, but the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The drink is the fruit of the vine—not a plant from some vintner’s garden, but the Vine to which we belong as branches. So Jesus says: “Take; this is My body…. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

Why do we eat this meal? To participate in the covenant that has been made with us through the sacrifice that Jesus offers for us. So the apostle writes: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” Eating and drinking this meal—the body and blood of Jesus—we have the confirmation of our belonging to Him as His people: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” That is what we do, as we have become part of the Church, united as members of a body with Christ our Lord.

The Lord’s Supper gives us the opportunity to remember what Jesus has done for us. We are confronted with the sacrifice of Jesus every time we partake of this meal: “As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” His words are spoken to us—the words that make the bread His body and the wine His blood, as well as tell us what He has done: “My body given into death; My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” Jesus’ sacrifice is unavoidable. It is how He has prepared salvation for us. This is the Passover that He accomplishes for us. Jesus’ meal makes it clear that He has done it. It shows that we are in a covenant relationship with Him, so that we are kept safe from sin, death, and Satan.

So we eat and drink, believing what Jesus has said about this meal—that it is His Body and His blood given to us. We eat and drink, confessing that “the Son of Man goes as it is written of Him”—that was betrayed, was rejected, was convicted, and was crucified to fulfill the Lord’s promise of salvation. We eat and drink, receiving the service that Jesus provides for us—forgiveness, life, and salvation. And we eat and drink, anticipating that day when the Risen Jesus will feast with us in the kingdom of God.

This is why we prayed: “O Lord, in this wondrous Sacrament You have left us a remembrance of Your passion. Grant that we may so receive the sacred mystery of Your body and blood that the fruits of Your redemption may continually be manifest in us.” Again on this night, our Master Jesus has prepared this meal for us. Our Lord again serves us. Here is where He wants us to eat it.

So what shall we do? “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” We will eat and drink, just as He tells us. Come again this night and partake of the meal that the Master provides. Hear His description of it and believe it is true, just as He has told you. Receive the benefits of His redemptive acts that He performed. For whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup, confidently believing this Word and promise of Christ, dwells in Christ and Christ in him and has eternal life.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

LSB Palm Sunday B Sermon -- John 12:12-43

April 1, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“[Jesus said]: ‘Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.’”

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” For centuries, the Lord’s people had heard these words proclaimed to them. Zechariah’s prophecy had spoken of a king who would come to the capital city of Israel. Kings had come and gone in Jerusalem throughout the centuries. But the level of monarchy and regality had been on a downward angle. The kings of Israel had started with Saul, soon followed by David and Solomon. That was the zenith. After that, a series of kings ruled over a divided nation, one that had devolved into rivalries and religious indifference and impiety.

By the time Zechariah came with the message about a coming king, Israel was no more. Samaria, the Northern Kingdom, had been absorbed into the Assyrian Empire. Judah, the Southern Kingdom, had fallen to Babylon. There was no king in Jerusalem. The line had ended with the exile. Only the foreign, pagan rulers of the East exerted authority. The kings that the descendants of Israel knew were tyrants, conquerors who had to be served. And yet, the Lord’s divine promise remained. A pledge that an heir to David’s throne would arise had been given.

It is that divine promise which is the foundation of Zechariah’s prophecy. He calls the exiled people of Israel and those who were left under oppression in the homeland to rejoice: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” A king is coming! But not just any king—“your king,” your ruler, one who belongs to you. He is bringing benefits for you: “righteousness and salvation.” He is not a tyrant full of pompous glory, but is “humble and mounted on a donkey.”

The prophet reveals more details about this coming king. His rule is going to be great and restorative as he fulfills the Lord’s will: “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” The exile will be brought to an end: “As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.” All things will be made good, right, and whole again: “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.” That is the king whom the Lord’s people were to expect and receive with great joy.

This prophecy speaks about Jesus, the Messiah. He is the fulfiller of the divine promises made through Zechariah. Those promises set the agenda for what He accomplishes on earth. So as Jesus goes up to Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, He acts according to what the Lord had spoken: “The next day the large crowd that had come to the Feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’” The actions of that day were signs given to draw people’s minds back to the divine promise that had been made. The people were to recall what the expected Messiah was to bring to them: joy, righteousness, salvation, an end to war, a proper rule, restoration.

But Jesus does not limit Himself to signs. He also speaks about what He is going to do: “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” This is the fulfillment of the divine promises. It is the purpose of Jesus’ presence in the world: “Now is My soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.”

So what is it that Jesus is meant to accomplish? What is this matter of casting out the ruler of this world? What is the lifting up that He speaks about? Jesus is discussing the matter of His death for the life of the world. He is talking about what His act of redemption is meant to achieve. Jesus brings judgment to the world: with His presence, righteousness is now standing in direct contrast to the world’s evil. Jesus is bringing order to the world: with His presence, the rightful King of heaven and earth is taking back authority from Satan, the ancient usurper. Jesus is bringing faith to the world: with His presence, people are led away from the wandering into the ways of unrighteousness and are drawn to Him.

But how is this accomplished? Jesus’ words speak to that: “when I am lifted up from the earth”. The Gospel Writer provides the understanding of this statement: “He said this to show by what kind of death He was going to die.” And there is the unique nature of Jesus’ work: His rule begins with an act that looks impotent and weak. He brings righteousness and salvation, but it is accomplished by acting in full humility. It is described in the apostle’s words about Jesus: “who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

A marker is put down at Jesus’ crucifixion: here is the true Ruler of all things and He is reversing the damage that had been done to His world. The damage had been done from early days. Death had been brought into Creation, where only life had been. Exile from Paradise was imposed. Mankind was removed from being the Lord’s steward to Satan’s serf. An impostor was exerting rule. Enmity runs through the generations of humanity. But this was coming to an end with Jesus’ presence: “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” It is done through His crucifixion, the act of redemption for which we praise Jesus “who accomplished the salvation of mankind by the tree of the cross that, where death arose, there life also might rise again and that the serpent who overcame by the tree of the garden might likewise by the tree of the cross be overcome.”

In the humility that is shown in Jesus’ crucifixion, divine glory does shine through. He dies. And yet, that is how life is given. He serves. And yet, that is how His rule begins. He is victimized. And yet, that is how victory is achieved. So Jesus says: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Jesus comes as humble king, but He does bring righteousness and salvation with Him, just as Zechariah had promised. It is how He delivers the promised benefits to the people.

This is how you are delivered. Jesus’ dying is cuts off the assaults of sin and death from you. You suffer from these, but Jesus gives you victory over them in everlasting life. Jesus’ atoning sacrifice brings divine peace. You are no longer ostracized from God. His redemptive act achieves freedom for you. You are set free from bondage from sin and slavery to Satan. His serving as substitute for all mankind restores you to your rightful place. You are again declared to be recipients of the Lord’s favor that grants both temporal and eternal blessing. The fruit that Jesus’ death bears are all the benefits of salvation that are given to you, the citizens of His eternal kingdom.

That is what the promised king has brought to you. He came in humility, but bringing righteousness and salvation for you. It was accomplished by His obedience unto death, even death on the cross. He was lifted up from the earth, a few feet from the ground in crucifixion. But Jesus has also been glorified much more—in His resurrection and ascension: “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That’s the rule that your humble King now possesses in His glory.

What was promised has come to pass. The seed was planted and died, but it bears much fruit. Jesus’ soul was troubled, but He has brought comfort for yours. Jesus was lifted up on the cross, but has drawn you to Himself. The darkness of death seemed to snuff out the light, but it still shines so that you may be led by it. The hour for Jesus’ glorification has come and you are called to share in it. So rejoice on this day and this week, even as you hear of the suffering that your King has undergone for your sake. For your now Risen and Glorious King is still coming to you—righteous, having salvation, and giving you a place where He rules for eternity.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.