Nativity of St. John the Baptist Sermon -- Luke 1:57-80

June 24, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

When the Lord chooses people to be His prophets, unique things happen. A call to that role takes place, an experience that not all believers have. The Nativity of John the Baptist, which the Church celebrates on June 24, includes several unique events. Prior to John’s birth, his role was disclosed by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

This is no normal birth! An angel reveals John’s existence and his future life as a prophet. John’s role is to prepare people for the Lord’s arrival, the arrival that is meant to bring comfort and absolution to them. John is given something to say. He is the voice that the prophet Isaiah spoke of: “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Lord’s glory—the Son of God, the Promised Messiah—was arriving to bring salvation. It is what the Lord’s people had anticipated for centuries. But those who are impenitent or do not believe do not receive beneficially the glory of the Lord. For such people, the Lord’s arrival would be a matter of woe. So the Lord sends out a forerunner, someone to bring the message of repentance, the words that turn hearts and minds to Him. This is the role that John was given.

Unique things happen when John is born. His father Zechariah had been struck mute because of doubting Gabriel’s message. But when he writes out John’s name on the tablet, “immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.” It caused quite the stir: “And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ For the hand of the Lord was with him.” The recognition that John is no ordinary child is seen.

Even more unique is the blessing that Zechariah gives at John’s birth. John’s father “was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.” He prophesies about his newborn son: “You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Zechariah tells his infant child exactly what he will grow up to be. John is a voice that will prepare the Lord’s ways. He is a voice that will give knowledge of salvation to the Lord’s people. He is a voice that will make known the light that brings gladness to those who are under the shadow of death. Not that John is the Lord or the salvation or the light: no, he is the one that speaks about this.

As the forerunner, John’s speech is not about himself, but about the One who comes after him. That is plainly seen in John’s life. Even Paul speaks rightly about John years after his work was completed: “Before [Jesus’] coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. No, but behold, after me One is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’” As much as John was different from other people, his uniqueness was not a catalogue of idiosyncrasies. His uniqueness was in being a prophet of the Most High, being a herald of the Messiah. Only his relationship to the Promised Christ made John different and worthy of note, so that his words were truth that all should receive.

This is what makes John’s nativity worthy of remembrance on this day. It is why he has relevance to you who live two millennia after his birth. For what John said about the Christ is meant for you to receive. The Lord’s glory has come. It arrived with the appearance of Jesus. It was on display in all the miraculous acts that Jesus performed. The glorious light of heavenly truth shone in the words that Jesus proclaimed. Rising from death, Jesus showed that the Lord’s glory is more powerful than all His opponents.

Salvation came with Jesus, as Zechariah prophesied at John’s birth: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath that He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” That is what Jesus has done. That is what the glory of the Lord has accomplished.

So who receives such salvation? Who benefits from this great and mighty work that the Lord has performed by visiting and redeeming His people? Those who have been crushed by the guilt of their sin and the gravity of their wrongdoing. The message of comfort that the Lord brings is meant for such people: “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity has been pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” But such message is not for those who do not realize that their lives were not righteous. No, it is meant for those who know well the valleys that must be raised, the hills that must be lowered, the uneven ground that must be level, the rough places that must be smoothed.

The message of salvation is clear, just as Zechariah spoke to his infant son: “You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” The salvation is found in the forgiveness of sins that the Lord mercifully grants to those who are convicted of their guilt and turn to Him in order to receive what they do not deserve.

Disclosure of your guilt prepares you to receive the Lord’s glory beneficially. That disclosure is what the Lord’s prophets, including John, give to you. It is the truth that comes from their mouths. The voice cries to you that you are at enmity with God from birth. Your life is full of guilt. You have broken the commandments. You have rebelled against His rule. You have the misguided self-evaluation: “I’m not so bad, there’s really not much wrong with me. And even if there is, I can take care of it.”

But this is what John and others have been sent to speak against and cut down. They cry out to you: “It’s true about you. Repent. Turn back. Hear the Lord’s truth that knocks down the mountain of pride and self-righteousness. Receive the Lord’s truth that straightens out your crooked ways.” That is the unique role that they have been given.

But when you receive that truth which flows from their mouths, the truth that turns the hearts, they have something else to say. Now the comforting word is spoken about what the Lord has done for you: “He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David….” as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us….” They tell you: “Your warfare is ended. Your iniquity has been pardoned. You have received from the Lord’s hand double for all your sins.” You are not lost, but have been redeemed: “God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised.” You have not been left in exile or abandoned: “we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” You are not eternally committed to unrighteousness: “we, being delivered from the hands of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”

All that is what John and the other prophets make known to you: “going before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” It is a unique role, a special role because of the connection to the Lord who has accomplished such things for you. You have received the comforting message that the voice brought. You have heard what John testified concerning Jesus. You have the knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of your sins that Jesus accomplished by His death and resurrection and that He grants you through Baptism, Preaching, Absolution, and Supper. So you also are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak your praises: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David….”

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

LSB Proper 6B Sermon -- Mark 4:26-34

June 17, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

”The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God as something planted. He tells two parables with planting at its heart: the Parable of the Growing Seed and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. That should not be unexpected: the Scriptures are replete with descriptions about the kingdom of God and the members of that kingdom that use planting imagery. The nation of Israel is often described as a vine planted by the Lord. Today’s psalm speaks of the righteous man being “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Jesus has other parables about planting. Following on this, the apostle compares the resurrection of believers from the dead as a seed planted in the ground that is raised imperishable.

All of these usages of planting imagery reveal truths about the nature of the kingdom of God and those who belong to it. First and foremost is that the kingdom of God has its origin in something done to it. The kingdom of God is planted. It does not sprout up by itself. No, the Lord purposely plants it according to His will. That origin must always be recognized. It shows the dependence upon the Lord for existence—not only for earthly life, but for spiritual life also. His good and gracious will is to have a kingdom, to have people under His merciful and benevolent rule and influence.

This is the activity promised in the Old Testament Reading for today. The promise is for divine action to be done for people, a people conquered and afflicted by enemies. The Lord declares that the exile to Babylon will not be the end for the Covenant People He has established. He pledges a restoration that is found in what He will do: “I Myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out…. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.” The Lord declares that this action will testify about Himself: “And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

The Lord’s promise is fulfilled in the appearance of Jesus, the Messiah. His appearance in Israel is the planting that starts the kingdom of God on its way to being the noble cedar with all sorts of birds living in it. The Lord’s promise in the Old Testament is the foundation for Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed: “[The kingdom of God] is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” This is the purposed goal of Jesus’ work: the establishment of a kingdom with people of all ethnicities to be part of it. His obedience to the Father, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection are all done to make individuals belong to Him. It is done, so that you can say: “that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”

But how is this accomplished? How are people brought into the kingdom of God? That is what Jesus’ Parable of the Growing Seed discloses. Jesus says that people are brought into the kingdom of God through a planting that is done. He explains the purposeful act that brings about people who belong to Him: ”The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The key to understanding Jesus’ parable is to know that everything has a purpose. Everything has a particular role that it is meant to fulfill. Jesus speaks about a planter who does what he is meant to do: the planter scatters seed on the ground. That’s what makes the man a planter and not a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker. But the planter only scatters the seed; he does not make the seed grow. Making the seed grow is not the assigned role of the planter. Instead, this is what the planter does: “He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.” But the seed does indeed grow. The seed grows because that is what the seed is meant to do when placed into the ground: “The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” And then the planter can go about doing what he is meant to do: “But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” The planter goes out and harvests what the seed produces: all is done according to the particular role that the Lord has assigned.

What Jesus describes is the way that you are made part of God’s kingdom. This is important to note: you are made part of God’s kingdom. It happens as assigned roles are fulfilled. A planter comes and scatters the seed on the ground: the seed of the Gospel is planted in you. It is planted into your hearts, minds, and souls. You have the testimony and witness about Jesus spoken to you. You hear about who Jesus is. You hear about what Jesus has done. You hear about the purpose of this, the reason why the acts have occurred. Without this happening, you would remain a fallow field, something with no life in it. But since the seed of the Gospel has been planted in you, it brings forth faith and the fruits of faith. That is how you are made part of the kingdom of God.

Your being part of the kingdom of God is dependent upon His will for you being fulfilled. Membership in the kingdom of God is given to you. Various planters have come doing what they are supposed to do here. You have had Planter Paar, Planter Lindenmeyer, Planter Kraus, Planter Nemoyer, Planter Nickel. You have had fathers acting as spiritual heads of their households who handed down the Gospel to you. You have had your own Eunice and Lois, mothers and grandmothers who spoke of the gracious acts of Jesus. Other planters have been present doing the same thing: scattering the seed of the Gospel on you. That is how you entered the kingdom of God, how your sins were forgiven, your life created, your salvation bestowed. The same Gospel was proclaimed by the planters, just as the first apostles spoke: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that One has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.”

But none of the planters made that seed grow. No, they just scattered the seed. Then they slept and rose night and day. The Spirit of God caused the growth. It looks automatic: there is no method, no process, no strategy that the planter designed to make the seed grow into plants. The only command followed was the one that came from Jesus who gave the seed to be planted: “Scatter the seed of the Gospel. Baptize people. Teach them to observe what I told you. Give them to eat and drink for forgiveness of sins. Tell what I have done. That is how the field will bring forth plants.” And so what was purposed came to pass. For what do you see around you? All that the seed of the Gospel has brought forth—the members of the kingdom of God, those who confess Jesus as Lord and follow. You see all the plants that the seed has produced in all the various stages of growth: “The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.”

This is how the kingdom of God came to this place. Speaking in the language of Jesus’ parable: this is not a fallow field; there is a field of corn here at Calvary. You are it. It has come as the Lord willed it. He gives purpose to your lives here on earth, even as the kingdom of God strives toward the goal of life everlasting. The Lord means for a crop to arise and be gathered: “When the grain is ripe, at once [the planter] puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” It is as Paul wrote: “For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” Even now your lives have a purpose: “Whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him.” You are different because of the planting that has happened to you: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” This is the path of growth that all of you are on. It is the role that you are meant to fulfill.

But note this well: you did not determine this purpose for yourself. No, it has been given to you. It has happened according to the way that the Lord determined. You have been made members of the kingdom of God by the scattering of the Gospel seed. You cannot explain how it worked, but you know the truth of what has happened. You know the activity that the Lord has done in and for you: “I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” He has done it for you, taking you from being a fallow field with no life to being the vibrant, living plants that produce the fruits of faith. You have been planted by Him. That gives you your identity. This is what Jesus desires you to know with His parable: “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground….”

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

LSB Proper 5B Sermon -- Mark 3:20-35

June 10, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.”

The fallout of the first sin is great division. That is what you heard this morning from the Lord’s mouth. Speaking after the man and woman ate the Forbidden Fruit, the Lord addresses the serpent. The woman had spoken of its culpability: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord renders judgment against it: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Enmity. The word means a condition of hostility and hatred. The woman and the serpent are now enemies. There is a feud between them. She had been deceived and sinned; now she suffers the punishment that her iniquity brings. And all the days of her life, she will remember and hate that serpent for it. But the hatred not only exists between the two individuals, it extends throughout the generations. It is a feud much deeper than that between the Hatfields and McCoys. The woman’s descendants carry a legacy of her being deceived and led into sin. They also are deceived and sin. It brings remembrance of what the serpent had done to their mother. So her offspring and the serpent’s offspring both stand as antagonists against each other.

It is that way for you. You have descended from the woman. You carry the legacy of deception and sin with you. What happened in the ancient days has effects now. The serpent’s question is posed to you: “Did God really say…?” The deception leads to doubt. The doubt leads to sin. You do not keep the Lord’s Law. Your sin leads to death. And that is the serpent’s desire for you. He is not an ally, but an enemy. The state of division between you that began in Eden is found here, confirming the Lord’s words: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring….”

But the Lord’s statement about the enmity included a promise of a particular Child of the woman: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” There is hope for those who had been deceived. The dishonorable act that brought down your matriarch would be rectified. An act of retribution would take place. The serpent’s head, the mouth full of lies and deceit, will be crushed, never to open again. The Lord’s promise declares that the One who brings that retribution will be of your clan, one of your fellow descendants. The sons of Adam and daughters of Eve will be vindicated by one of their own.

So when that Promised One appears, what does He do? The Gospel Writer records His acts. He comes bringing forgiveness of sins, absolving the paralytic and making him walk. He comes bringing healing, restoring the man’s withered hand. He comes casting out demons, causing them to bow at His feet and silencing them.

But such actions are hurtful to those aligned with the serpent. The serpent’s offspring hate it. They see the end of their domination. So they attempt to deceive, to cause doubt in what the Promised One does. This is what you heard from the mouths of those present in Jesus’ hometown after He had begun His work of bringing retribution against the serpent. They attempt to explain His acts: “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘by the prince of demons He casts out the demons.’” Their explanation is actually deceit. Those who would believe them will be led away from the One whom the Lord sent to bring deliverance and redemption.

But this time, the lies and deception are not met with doubting by the woman’s Descendant. He does not travel the same path that leads to sin. No, Jesus opens His mouth and answers the deceiving and blasphemous words: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.” The reasoning of the scribes is exposed as unbelievable and false. Jesus’ answer reveals the deception, so that others will not follow.

Then Jesus does something more. He discloses His purpose for being in the world. He speaks of His mission: “But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.” Jesus provides an image of what He has been doing. The serpent was strong, able to deceive the woman and her offspring. But now the serpent is being bound. The Promised One has appeared, the One who would “bruise [the serpent’s] head.” Jesus had begun that work by casting out the demons. He is taking the strength of the strong man away. By doing so, Jesus takes away his ill-gotten gains.

With Jesus’ presence, the enmity between the woman and the serpent, between the woman’s offspring and the serpent’s offspring comes to a head. It reaches its conclusion. The hostility ends. But it does not end by a declaration of truce. Nor does it end by the woman’s children surrendering. No, it ends much differently. Jesus’ acts bind the serpent’s strength. The truth that Jesus speaks answers the serpent’s power of deception. Jesus’ casting out demons breaks the serpent’s power of possession. Jesus’ raising people to life reverses the serpent’s power of death. Then Jesus brings the feud to and end by crushing the serpent. The beam of the cross lands squarely on the serpent’s head. The Risen Jesus treads on the serpent’s brow.

This is what Jesus has done for you, the children of Eve. The promise made to you long ago has been fulfilled. His work is done to bring retribution for your mother. But He has also done it for your benefit. Jesus’ binding of the strong man has brought freedom for you. His crushing of the serpent’s head has brought victory for you. The collect’s words summarize Jesus’ work: “Almighty and eternal God, Your Son Jesus triumphed over the prince of demons and freed us from bondage to sin.” So now you have a different knowledge and understanding in your life. You know how to consider the serpent: as an archenemy, but one who has been conquered no matter how much he attempts to look otherwise.

This understanding reveals the point of Paul’s words that spell out the results of Jesus’ work to the Corinthians: “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence.” The resurrection that Jesus experienced is meant to be yours. You are not lost to death, destined to be eternal victims of the serpent. No, you are fated for much greater: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

Jesus, the Promised Descendant of Eve, has come as foretold. He has come, making His dwelling place among us, for the purpose of dying and rising again. Satan has not risen up against himself, but has been conquered by Jesus work. The serpent has been crushed for you. The promised retribution has come. Your sins have been forgiven. The presence of the Lord has become something not to be feared and hidden from, but something to be anticipated and awaited. You have been taken from the house of the strong man to being members of the household of God, those who do His will. You have been moved from the curse of death to the promise of everlasting life. Jesus has done all this for you, the offspring of woman. He has done it just as the Lord said: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

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

LSB Holy Trinity B Sermon -- Acts 2:14a, 22-36

June 3, 2012 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

“Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally. And the catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance…. But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believes the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man.” Those are the two key statements from the Athanasian Creed, the confession of faith that we in the Western Church make concerning God. The point of the statements is clear: salvation is found through belief in who God is and what He has done.

While the statements from the Athanasian Creed are from the Sixth Century, what they confess is as old as the nascent days of the Church. The Creed repeats the same message that the Twelve Apostles proclaimed on Pentecost Day, the same message handed to them from Jesus Himself. Such proclamation is what you heard in this morning’s Gospel Reading and the Second Reading.

Jesus’ words to Nicodemus speak about His identity and work. Conversing with the Pharisee, Jesus tells of what His purpose is in the world. Nicodemus is correct in his assessment about Jesus: “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” But there is more to Jesus’ identity than that. The more is what Nicodemus—and all—need to know. That is why Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus moves into a discussion about what is needed to enter the kingdom of God: being “born of water and the Spirit.” Even more, Jesus’ words reveal His purpose: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

But just who is this Son of Man? What is known about Him? Why is His identity unique? The answer is found in what the Gospel Writer explains: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” The link is made. The Son of Man who must be lifted up is the Son of God who has been sent into the world. Not any faith will do; belief in Him is necessary for eternal life. This is the point the Athanasian Creed puts forward: “Therefore, it is right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man.”

The necessity of right faith in this Jesus is also the point of Peter’s proclamation in Jerusalem. Empowered by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the Twelve Apostles begin their witness about Jesus. They bear witness to the mighty works of God that Jesus had done. They bear witness to His being lifted up in crucifixion. And they bear witness to Jesus’ resurrection.

What you heard from Peter’s mouth, just as the Pentecost Pilgrims heard, records that witness: “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.” This testimony that Peter gives ties into Jesus’ self-identification statements spoken to Nicodemus. Peter echoes Jesus’ words: “so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” He confirms the truth behind this act: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Peter’s proclamation concludes with the confession of the right faith. What must his audience believe? What must they know for salvation? “Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” That is right faith to be believed. It is the basis for the statements made in the Athanasian Creed that not only declare the necessity of having right faith, but which also confess it: “For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.”

This knowledge and confession was not kept concealed or secret, but has been made public. It is the Triune God’s desire, so that the sinful be forgiven, the unclean be made pure, the unrighteous be made holy. It is the reason for Jesus’ appearance and work. His being lifted up in crucifixion and being raised from death are done so that “whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” So Peter speaks publicly about it: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” That is the proclamation that carries the words of life to those mortally wounded by their own sin.

But this speaking is not just a First Century event. No, it went on for centuries before the events of Pentecost and has continued for nearly two millennia since. For what the Apostles did in Jerusalem is the continuation of what the Prophets of the Old Testament performed. Both spoke so that the Lord would give salvation to those who are undone because they have unclean lips and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. The unclean mouths of the Prophets and Apostles are purified, so that they may speak the life-giving testimony concerning Jesus. Unclean ears hear and believe, so that their guilt is taken away and their sin is atoned for. Salvation is granted because of the divine action that has been done for them. That is the content of the right faith.

By the outpouring of the Spirit on Prophets and Apostles, they have made public this testimony concerning the Godhead. So you have been made to hear it. The same proclamation has come to your midst, so that you know the identity and work of Jesus. The same confession of faith has been entrusted to you, so that you worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. It is the Divine Will that you have this given to you, so that you are born from above and can see the kingdom of heaven. It is the Divine Will that you are born of water and the Spirit, connected to the Crucified and Risen Jesus in Holy Baptism, so that you enter the kingdom of heaven. The love that the Father has shown to the world in the sending of His Son is not meant for one people, but for all. You are recipients of that work which the Son of God performed, so that the world might be saved through Him.

What you yourselves see and hear today is the fulfilling of that Divine Will. You have been summoned to gather before the Lord. But your gathering is not meant solely for the purpose of giving adoration to Him. That is what the seraphim and the other angelic beings do, as the Psalmist exhorts: “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.” Instead, you have been gathered to hear what this glorious, strong, and holy Lord has done for you. You are called to be taken from woe to salvation, from iniquity to atonement. For that is the way the enthroned Lord bestows His favor to you: “May the Lord give strength to His people! May the Lord bless His people with peace!”

Summoned to receive divine favor, you are gathered to receive the benefits that the Crucified and Risen Jesus bestows to you because of His Father’s love for the world. Hearing the testimony of what Jesus has done, you have the salvation He accomplished. Through His absolving words, you have the forgiveness He has won. Born of the Spirit, you have the life that He has brought into this world of death and decay. Why is this done? Because it is the definite plan and foreknowledge of God for you. It is the effect that His divine love shown to the world through the sending of His Son has accomplished for you.

And what is necessary for you to receive all these benefits? To hold the right faith, the right belief in God and what He has done: “And the catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance…. It is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man.” That is the testimony given to you about God, His Person and Work. It is what Jesus made His sent ones to understand and proclaim. Receive it, believing the heavenly things done for your salvation: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing…. Therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

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