Sermon for Second Sunday of Easter: "Words and Wounds"

 + 2^nd Sunday of Easter – April 24^th, 2022 +

Series C: Acts 5:12-32; Revelation 1:4-18; John 20:19-31

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

 

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

 

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

John’s words may sound like the conclusion of the Gospel. But John’s not just a closing pitcher. He goes the full nine innings. John ends his gospel the way it begins. Take a listen:

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

So John’s words throughout the gospel are like a the steady fastball delivering strikeout after strikeout. That’s exactly what our Lord called him to do. John is a messenger, a mouthpiece, a megaphone for repentance and the forgiveness of sins. The same is true for pastors in their calling, and all people in your daily lives. Notice, though, that John doesn’t talk about himself. In fact he’s so concerned about not making the gospel about himself that he simply refers to himself as, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” or the” other disciple.” John must decrease. Jesus Crucified and Risen must increase.

 

In a few sentences John not only summarizes Easter and Holy Week, but also every sign, word, and teaching of Jesus. All to deliver Jesus Crucified and Risen for your salvation right into your ears.  

 

As Paul writes, “Faith comes by hearing”(Romans 10:17).  The eyes of faith are your ears. These words are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus’ Word is peace. Your peace. 

Shalom is the Hebrew. It means fullness, wholeness. A perfect, complete, all-is-well kind of peace. That’s what the Lord had intended the Sabbath day to be like before the Fall. Jesus’ death on the cross has restored peace between your Creator and you, His creature. Peace between you and the Father. 

 

On that first Easter night, the disciples needed Jesus’ word of peace. Some denied him, others ran; were afraid and in hiding. Even after hearing the women’s eyewitness report: “He’s risen!” Even after seeing the empty tomb. They were still afraid. Locked behind closed doors. Disbelieving. It wasn’t just Thomas. It was all of them.

 

Sin does the same thing to you and me. We try to run and conceal our guilt like Adam and Eve with the fig leaves. Sin causes us to fear, love and trust in ourselves. And it’s just as foolish. 

“Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.”

 

Jesus breaks into their prison of fear, risen from the dead. “Peace be with you,” He declares. His words give what he says: Peace. His Word with a tangible sign. His hands and His feet, pierced by the nails. This is the very same Jesus who hung dead on the cross. He has the marks to prove it. 

And just as the locked doors of the upper room were no obstacle to the crucified and risen Lord, so too the locked rooms of our sinful lives are no match for Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus breaks into your prison, finds you, rescues you and speaks to you: Peace be with you. 

 

Jesus Words and his wounds bring you peace. 

 

That sin you’ve tried so hard to cover is buried in the wounds of Jesus. That guilt you’ve tried so hard to remove is washed away in the blood of the Lamb. That death that stares you in the face – Jesus died for you. That unbelief and doubt that nags and gnaws at you and never seems to leave, is blown away by a simple, yet life-giving, Word, Jesus’ Word: peace be with you. 

 

Jesus’ Word and wounds bring you peace. That is why even in his resurrection Jesus shows his disciples his wounded hands and side. Jesus is, and ever shall be, the crucified and risen One.

As Jesus proclaims to you in Revelation: “Fear not,” Jesus says, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” 

Even in his resurrection Jesus proclaims His death for you: “See my hands and my side…”  It’s no different in the Church, Christ’s cross marks everything we say and do. 

 

For us – as it was for the disciples - the sacrifice of Christ Crucified is never simply a past event. Christ’s death is always a visible, tangible, present reality. He showed them his hands and his side. He shows you the same thing here in the Lord’s Supper: His Word and His wounds are give you peace. 

 

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 

 

As He once breathed over the waters of creation in the beginning, as He once breathed into the nostrils of Adam turning his lifeless clay into a living being. As He once breathed life into the valley of dry bones, Jesus breaths on His disciples.

Out of Jesus’ death and resurrection flows the apostolic ministry and apostolic church. Jesus sends His disciples as His apostles. Jesus wants you to hear that your sins are forgiven in Jesus’ Name.  He wants to give you something concrete and tangible to believe, something outside of you. His word, water, body and blood. 

 

So He opens His mouth and speaks His Word of peace. Jesus opens His wounds to heal you.  

 

So that whenever you find yourself troubled, afraid, imprisoned by guilt and sin…when you cry out, Lord I believe, help my unbelief, the same Lord who breathed out the Holy Spirit on the disciples, who was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again speaks. Peace be with you. 

 

 

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

 

Sermon for Easter Sunday: "We're Going Home"

 + The Resurrection of Our Lord – April 17^th, 2022 +

Series C: Isaiah 65:17-25; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26; Luke 24:1-12

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

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

 

After a long day at school or work we long to hear, “Let’s go home.” Soldiers returning from deployment or patients from the hospital long to hear; “Time to go home.” “I long to be, homeward bound,” sings Simon and Garfunkel. Dorothy was right… “There’s no place like home.”

 

If Lent is a journey, Easter is the destination. Easter is God’s promise that we’re going home. 

 

Although, when you hear Luke’s resurrection account, and you imagine what was happening form the women’s point of view, home – and all the feelings of warmth and welcome, love and laughter – those seem far, far away. The women weren’t heading home at all. They journeyed to a graveyard. To the tomb where they had seen Jesus laid just three days earlier.

 

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 

They found the tomb. They found the stone had been rolled away. They found the place where Jesus was laid. But they did not find the body Jesus. It’s not hard to imagine their whirlwind of thoughts and feelings. Fear. Amazement. Doubt. Delight. Despair. Joy. Confusion. Hope beyond hope. 

 

That’s often how life in this world goes for us too. Like the women at the tomb our journey is often one of mixed thoughts and emotions and realities. Fear and faith. Guilt and forgiveness. Grief and comfort. That feeling that we’re pilgrims. Strangers in a strange land. Longing for home.

 

It certainly was that way for the Israelites in exile in Babylon. As we’ve been hearing about throughout the season of Lent, the Lord sent his prophet Isaiah to speak words of comfort to them in their lostness. Israel was far from home. Away from Jerusalem.  Away from the temple. No doubt they felt far away from the Lord’s presence. Exiled in Babylon. Strangers in a strange land. 

 

Yet God spoke to his people through the prophet Isaiah. God promises, “We’re going home.”

 

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people;”

God promised a way home. Better yet. God promised a new home. A new heaven and earth. A new creation. Through his prophets God was constantly telling his people, “we’re going home.” And here’s how…Here is the way…

 

The angel at Jesus’ tomb announce the good news of our gracious homecoming in Jesus…

 

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

 

Jesus’ journey to the cross, through the grave, and out again in his resurrection is your road home to God the Father. It has been paved and trodden for you by the flesh and blood of Jesus.

 

This is why God the Father sent His only Son Jesus, who came from his heavenly home to make his home with sinners and for sinners. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not in the comforts of home, but in a manger for you. For three years, Jesus lived and taught as a pilgrim-Savior, traveling in Judea and Galilee. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” So he laid his head on the cross for you and he laid down his life for you. Jesus even buried in a borrowed tomb for you. 

 

This was God’s plan all along. To bring you home. To reconcile you in His Son Jesus. Adam and Eve, and all humanity, were exiled from God in sin, but now Jesus the second Adam has opened paradise for us by his dying and rising. Israel was in captivity and slavery in Egypt, but now, in Jesus’ death and resurrection we are led on the greatest exodus of all through his cross and the grave. Israel was exiled in Babylon, but now, Jesus has taken the punishment for their idolatry and ours upon himself, and returns us home from exile by his own exile on the cross and his return again on the third day.

 

And he did all of this for you. To bring you home. As Paul declares, “Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

 

All that Jesus accomplished on his journey during his earthly life he did for you as you journey here in this life. Jesus lived perfectly for you. Jesus dies and in him all your sin dies with him. Jesus is buried and with him your death is buried. Jesus rises from the dead and him one day you will rise again too. Jesus ascends to the Father to prepare a place for you. A home. 

 

Jesus’ death and resurrection is your way home. And in Jesus’ death and resurrection God’s promise is sure and certain. Easter is God’s promise that we’re going home. 

 

Not only that. Easter is God’s promise that in Jesus’ death and resurrection, God continues to make his home with us. 

 

Today, Jesus dwells with you and for you in the Word he speaks to you from Isaiah, Paul, Luke, and all the Scriptures. 

 

Today, Jesus dwells with you and for you and in you in your baptism, where he has made you a child of God with. You are no longer homeless. You are adopted. Redeemed. A new creation. 

 

Today, Jesus dwells with you in simple bread and wine that bring his same body and blood broken and poured out on the cross for you, buried for you, raised from the dead for you, and he gives it to you freely to sustain you on your journey home.

 

Today, our Lenten journey is over; the last enemy is defeated and we sing: Alleluia! Christ is risen!

 

Today, sin, the power of death the devil are destroyed and the feast of life in Jesus begins. We rejoice. Celebrate. Sing. Praise. 

 

For today, we’re going home. 

 

A blessed Easter to each of you…

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

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Sermon for Maundy Thursday: "He Prepares a Table"

 + Maundy Thursday – April 14^th, 2022 +

Isaiah 49:7-13

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.”

 

These were the words of the Israelites during the dark days of the Babylonian exile. In Isaiah 49, eighth century BC Isaiah is speaking to sixth century BC Israel. And it appeared that Israel was a lost cause. Already in the eighth century, Isaiah knew that the days were coming when Israel would have no temple, no Jerusalem, no Davidic king, no annual pilgrim feasts, no commercial or political significance, and no hope! 

 

In Isaiah 49:9–12, the message of redemption announces the Servant’s release of prisoners. He will gather them from all directions. While the specific word shepherd does not appear in these verses, the words graze, pasture, lead, and guide make it clear that the Servant is the good Shepherd. He leads His flock to find food on barren heights, and in the hottest of weather He gives His sheep unlimited water. Their path is straight, compared with the normally hilly country where it is difficult to graze. This Servant has the ability to tend to a huge number of sheep that are drawn from great distances. He even promises in our text, “They shall not hunger or thirst.”

 

And when the Lord calls his people sheep, it’s not always a compliment. Sheep aren’t exactly intimidating creatures are they. Nor are they particularly smart. They graze on the same hills until those hills turn to desert wastes, polluted with disease. Sheep bend down to drink from a pond, get too close, allow the water to absorb into their wool, fall in, and drown! Sounds a lot like our sinful nature doesn’t it.

 

Sheep are dirty. Their wool is like a magnet. It attracts mud, manure, maggots. It becomes caked with dirt, decay, disease. Sheep absorb the filth around them. We aren’t like that, are we?

 

Sheep are defenseless. They turn over on their back to rest, but then they can’t get up. Canines, coyotes, and cougars all know that a cast sheep is a sitting duck! But we aren’t like that, are we?

 

Israel had been just like that. (Isaiah 1:3 states), “The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, My people do not understand.” Israelites were dirty. (Isaiah 64:6 states), “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” And the people were defenseless. (Isaiah 1:6 states) “From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness, only wounds and welts and open sores.” We’re not like that, are we?

 

But we are, aren’t we. “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” And what is the result? “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1). We’re not all that different from Old Testament Israel. All too often we find ourselves in exile, in a fallen world, and in our fallen flesh; we are exiled—so far from the Father’s will and ways; so far from bearing each other’s pain and burdens; so far from spouses, children, sisters, brothers. 

 

So what’s the Good Shepherd to do? He becomes a Lamb. But not any ordinary Lamb; “A virgin will conceive and bear a Son and you will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). “His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6). This is no ordinary Lamb; “He was led like a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth” (53:7).

 

On Maundy Thursday, events began to unfold that wouldn’t lead Him to green pastures. Rather spit and blood would be caked to His cheeks. There would be no quiet waters; in fact, there was no water at all. His lips would be cracked and swollen and His throat parched from the hot Palestinian sun. He would pass through the valley of the shadow of death as pain twanged her morbid melody. There would be no rod or staff for comfort. The cup would overflow, as He drank from the cup of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. Surely goodness and mercy would be twisted and perverted in the most inhumane way.

 

Reflecting on this great love, Peter writes, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24–25). 

 

Today, Jesus, the Good Shepherd quenches your thirst with His body and blood—in the bread and wine. Today, when you come to this table, you receive forgiveness, mercy, and salvation. Today, in these gifts in the Holy Supper, you will never hunger or thirst again! Jesus the Good Shepherd prepares his table for you. Eat. Drink. You are forgiven by the body and blood of the Lamb.

 

When you are lost and exiled, Jesus your Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and runs after you. When you are confused by the voices of demons and devils, He calls you by name and you know His voice. When you are dirty and full of filth, He is the Lamb of God who takes away your sin. Jesus is your Shepherd who gathers you safe in His arms carries you forever.

 

A blessed Maundy Thursday to each of you…

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for Palm Sunday: "Flora and Fauna of Salvation"

 + Palm Sunday – April 10^th, 2022 +

Series C: Deuteronomy 32:36-39; Philippians 2:5-11; John 12:12-19

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

It seems odd at first doesn’t it. Trimming branches of a palm tree and waving them around in a procession. If Palm Sunday had happened in the NW, perhaps the crowds would’ve waved pine or douglas fir branches. Cedar Sunday has a nice ring to it. 

 

But the truth is, it’s hard to imagine Palm Sunday by any other name. In fact, in the biblical view of things, it had to be palm branches. It couldn’t have been any other plant that was trimmed and cut to celebrate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem.

 

The Palm Sunday palms, you see, were no accident. It’s not just that palm trees were, and are plentiful around Jerusalem. The reason for palms is rooted deeper in God’s saving work throughout the Scriptures.

 

Not only that, so much of God’s gracious work from creation to redemption is surrounded and accompanied by the flora and fauna of his creation. 

 

“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit,” God said on the third day of creation. And it was so. An olive branch was brought back to the ark after Noah sent out a dove. A thicket caught a ram that on Mt. Moriah that was sacrificed instead of Isaac. Hyssop branches were dipped with the blood of the Passover Lamb and used to brush the atoning blood over the doorposts of the Israelites in Egypt. 

 

Palm branches, however, stand out. By Jesus’ day, palms had become a symbol of victory, triumph, and celebration. Jericho was known as the city of palms. On the walls of Solomon’s temple, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, were carved palm trees and other vegetation. 

 

And most significantly, palm branches were used in the Old Testament festival of tabernacles, or the feast of booths in Leviticus 23. It was a seven day feast, the number of completion and fulfillment. For seven days they feasted and on the 8^th day there was a solemn rest. It was a feast of remembrance. Israel went liturgical camping for 7 days, recalling Israel’s time living in booths (we would say tents) in the wilderness. It was a feast of rejoicing, there was food and wine and thank offerings; all celebrating the Lord’s deliverance out of the land of Egypt. Want to guess what kind of plants the Israelites used to cover those makeshift booths/tabernacles/tents? That’s right. Palm branches, among several other kinds of trees.

 

This is why it had to be palms the crowds were waving as Jesus entered Jerusalem. 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”

 

As Jesus sat upon that donkey, as the shouts of Hosanna – Lord, save us – filled the air, as the palm branches were waving, Jesus was fulfilling all of this, every last detail. Deliverance. Remembrance. Redemption. Victory. Triumph. This is what Jesus enters Jerusalem to accomplish. 

 

And when Jesus enters Jerusalem he does the opposite of what people expect. He’s a king, yes, but he rides to his enthronement on Golgotha. He is the Messiah, yes, but he rides a borrowed donkey and conquers by dying. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord to hang upon a cursed tree.

 

Jesus is and does the opposite of everything we are and do, and have done. Remember how Adam and Eve sewed fig leaf clothing to hide their nakedness and shame. Now Jesus will go to the cross to be the sacrifice that clothes and covers their shame, and ours. Remember how Adam and Eve were overcome by the devil and the fruit of the tree. Now Jesus goes to hang on the tree and be overcome by all the times we’ve fallen into temptation; and he bears the fruit of all our sin. Remember how the ground itself was cursed as a result of the fall, producing thorns and thistles where life and abundance once reigned in creation. Now Jesus enters Jerusalem with palm branches waving as he goes to remove the curse from us by becoming the curse for us; the thorns and thistles are twisted, wrapped, and fashioned into a crown fit for a king who makes us a new creation on the tree of the cross; to graft us, dead branches, into him the true, life-giving vine.

 

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem the palm branches give way to his passion. His death on the tree for you. And in doing so he rides to victory. Triumph. Deliverance. Rescue. Redemption. Everything that God did in the Old Testament, all of God’s gracious, saving work that was surrounded by the flora and fauna is fulfilled in Jesus as he is surrounded by palm branches, and the shouts of Hosanna.

 

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he reveals that he – the Messiah, the Son of God in human flesh – he is the one who is greater than Solomon and his temple, for He is the new temple where God is with us to save us.

 

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he reveals that He is the one to whom all Old Testament feasts point. Jesus is the tabernacle of God in human flesh. Seven days from Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem he will take his Sabbath day rest in the tomb. This time, however, on the 8^th day, solemn rest gives way to Jesus’ resurrection. Instead of an 8^th day rest there will be seven weeks of Easter, a perfect 7x7 of rejoicing and celebrating Jesus’ resurrection from the dead for you. 

 

Like the OT feast of Tabernacles or Booths, Palm Sunday is a day of remembrance and rejoicing. We remember our Lord’s procession to the cross. And we rejoice in his triumph over sin, death, and the devil. And we do it with seemingly ordinary things. 

 

Isn’t it marvelous how God takes something as simple as a palm branch, and turns it into a great image of his saving work in Jesus. God has a habit of doing that. He takes ordinary bread made from countless grains of wheat and says, “Take, eat; this is my body, given for you.” Jesus takes the fruit of bunches and clusters of grapes and says, “Take, drink; this is my blood shed for you.”

 

Today, palm branches give way to Jesus’ passion on the tree on Good Friday. Good Friday gives way to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday. And Jesus’ resurrection gives way to your resurrection where you will stand with a great multitude which no one can number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, and you will stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in your hands, and cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

 

A blessed Palm Sunday to each of you…

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

Sermon for Lenten Midweek 5: "One Little Word"

 + 5^th Midweek Service – April 6^th, 2022 +

Isaiah 49:1-6

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

When God speaks, things happen. It only takes a word. God says, “Let there be light,” and there is light. Jesus declares, “Lazarus, come out,” and he rises from his grave. Jesus commands the wind and waves to be still, and they obey his word. Yes, God’s word does what it says. 

 

Here in Isaiah 49, the Servant of the Lord declares, “He made My mouth like a sharp sword.”

 

In a world in which the rise and fall of nations appears to be determined not by prophetic pronouncements but by imperial armies, words may seem like a feeble piece of equipment. But in Isaiah 40–55, there is no doubt that there is a greater power in God’s Word than any other word or work of man.

 

Isaiah 40:8, “Grass withers, flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 55:10–11, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” And from Isaiah’s third Servant Song: “The Sovereign Lord has given Me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary” (50:4).

 

Writing in the eighth century BC, Isaiah presents the Servant to those Israelites who were exiled in Babylon in the sixth century BC. Their temple had been burned and demolished. Their king Zedekiah had his eyes gouged out at Riblah after witnessing the butchering of his sons. Judah’s entire way of living had come to a brutal end by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar and his captain Nebuzaradan. The exiles only knew defeat. Their liturgy is summarized in these words from 40:27: “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God.”

 

If you’ve ever been divorced by a spouse or abandoned by a parent, you’ve echoed these words. If you’ve ever been hurt so badly that you couldn’t reach deep enough inside to express the pain, you’ve lived this nightmare. If you’ve ever fought horrifying demons from your past, you know this chaos.

 

Overcome by life in Babylon, the exiles turned to the fleeting, the temporary, the quick fixes. They were so bold as to say in 56:12: “Come, let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer!” In the agony of defeat, so often you and I get sucked into what is shallow, superficial, cheap, and dirty. The result? We find ourselves in the despair of exile: “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God.”

 

Enter Yahweh’s Servant, who says in our text, “He made My mouth like a sharp sword.” Just one word will set right what is so wrong with our lives. To quote from the Ethiopian eunuch who speaks to Phillip about this same Servant, “ ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ Then Phillip told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:34–35). Jesus is the Servant in our text who needs only one word to accomplish His Father’s mission and bring order to a fallen and shattered world.

 

Anointed by the Holy Spirit at His Baptism, Jesus is thrust into the wilderness to meet the enemy. He goes to battle with a thunderous gegraptai, which, although one word in Greek, means “It is written” in English. To “bruised reeds and smoldering wicks” like the man with leprosy, His word was katharistheti, which is, again, just one word in Greek; we translate it, “Be clean.” He rebuked the chaotic wind and waves with siopa, “Be quiet.” To the deaf and dumb man He cried out, ephatha, “Be opened.” Luther put it this way: “Ein Wörtlein kann ihn fällen” or “One little word can fell him!” The centurion in Matthew 8:8 gets it right when he says to Jesus, “But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

 

Climactically, Jesus would marshal just one word. Isaiah’s third Servant Song sets the stage: “I offered My back to those who beat Me, My cheeks to those who pulled out My beard; I did not hide My face from mocking and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6). Arrested, bound, tried, slapped, beaten, stripped, scourged, abandoned, spiked, forsaken—He uttered one more word, tetelestia; in English, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

 

All that the Old Testament had foreshadowed, foretold, predicted, prefigured, and promised is now complete, done, finished. The serpent is crushed, the Lamb is slain, the atonement is made, the Passover is complete, and the banquet is ready. From the cross, He speaks one-word descriptions over us—forgiven, washed, cleansed, justified, loved!

 

And the same Lord Jesus who spoke that word – it is finished – on the cross for you, delivers His saving word to you still. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword.” His Word, connected with water, bread, and wine—placed upon our foreheads and into our mouths—delivers restoration, healing, and forgiveness. We are bought in the blood, sealed with the Sacraments, and abounding in hope and joy!

 

And Jesus the Servant of YHWH who came in the flesh to live and die and rise for us will also come again in glory. At His second coming, the Servant will return as a rider on a white horse. His name will be called Faithful and True and King of kings and Lord of lords. On that day the ultimate one-word victory will be uttered and we will finally come home. John records it in Revelation 21:6, gegonan—“It is done!”

 

To the student who holds defeated dreams, He speaks. To the couple with a barren womb and fervent prayers, He speaks. To the Christian who daily fights with his flesh only to lose time after time, He speaks. To any person who has felt the sting of death, the power of the Law, or the torment of guilt, He speaks.

 

And so we speak back to Him, “Lord, only say the word, and we will be healed.” 

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for Lent 5: "Parable of the Merciful Vineyard Owner"

 + 5^th Sunday in Lent – April 3^rd, 2022 +

Series C: Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:4-14; Luke 20:9-20

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

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

 

Some of Jesus’ parables are simple, other are complex, but many others, have shocking turns and twists of the plot – remember last week’s parable where the father graciously runs to his lost son.

 

Today we hear another parable, the parable of the wicked tenants. Jesus intention with this parable is clear. Israel is the vineyard. The people are the tenants. The servants that received repeated beatings are God’s prophets. Finally, God the vineyard planter sends his Son, Jesus. And Jesus knows what happens next. He knows the Pharisees are plotting to kill him. So he tells this parable. 

 

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

 

Jesus’ warning is clear. Don’t reject the Beloved Son as the religious leaders of Israel were about to do to Jesus during Holy Week. Fall upon Christ the Cornerstone in repentance, not rebellion. Don’t lose the vineyard.

 

Jesus delivers the same message to us as well. It’s the message of Lent, and the Christian life: repent. And this message is for all. For pastors, it’s a reminder of what God calls us to do. We’re not land-owners in the Church, but tenants. Servants of the Word and stewards of the mysteries of God. 

 

And Jesus warns us as a congregation too. What kind of tenants are we to be in the vineyard? Are we a country club, where, like the Pharisees, we pat ourselves on the back and bask in God’s favor? No, we’re an outpost and oasis of Christ’s mercy and grace for all. We’re called to be a safe haven in the stormy world around us. And so, the goods news of Christ crucified and risen for you is the center of all we say and do. We live like Israel of old – by mercy, not by merit. 

 

Jesus’ parable also calls us to live in humbly. We’re tenants, not owners. Everything we have is a gift. And yet, we’ve been wicked, violent tenants. We imagine that we’re the owners. “It’s my money and I can spend it as I please.” “It’s my body and I can do what I want with it.” “It’s my time to use it however I wish.” “It’s my life and I don’t need God or the Church or anyone to tell me how to live it.” “I can worship God in my own way on my own time.” 

 

Yes, Jesus tells this parable for us too. That we would fall upon Christ the Cornerstone in repentance, not rebellion. Our place in the vineyard can be lost too. That’s the warning. 

 

But that’s not all that’s going on in this parable. Yes, there’s warning and judgment. But above that, and greater than God’s judgment is his mercy. Once again, this parable reveals Christ’s shocking forgiveness. Even after the tenants beat, shame, and wound his servants, the Lord of the vineyard still sends his Beloved Son. 

 

What’s truly shocking in this parable isn’t the perversity of the tenants but the patience of the Owner; not their evil, but his good. This parable reveals the heart of God—the God of second, third, and, fourth chances and even more: 70 x 7. For God isn’t a Lord of commerce but a Father of compassion.

 

The Lord of the vineyard sees things completely different from us and the Pharisees. 

 

“What shall I do? I will send my beloved son.” What a marvelous picture of God’s patient, relentless mercy. What sort of father would send his beloved son to a lot of murderous deadbeat tenants? What would you do? I know what I’d do! 

But…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
            

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

Jesus is that beloved son in the parable, cast out of the vineyard. But he who was cast out brings you back in, alive with him. He is not ashamed to call you brother, sister, and heir of his kingdom. 

 

That’s why he came. Not to die for those who have perfect lives, but for those whose lives are full of one failure after another. He came to die not for the clean, but for the dirty. And his blood washes away even the filthiest of stains embedded in your soul. He came to seek and find and rescue those who hide in the darkness of their doubt and unbelief, to find you no matter where you are, to give you hope in place of despair, faith instead of doubt.

 

While we were still His enemies, cut off from God, turned against Him in rebellion, the Father sent His Son into the world, to take on our humanity, to become one with us, to save the very world that rejected him. This is who God is. Merciful. Gracious. Loving. He keeps coming back again and again, hounding you with mercy, seeking the fruit of repentance and faith, risking everything to save you. This is God’s way of forgiveness. He keeps no record of how many chances he’s given you. For in the end, it’s not about how many times you’ve messed up, but how constant, how unwavering, this Father’s love is for you in Christ. 

 

That’s what Lent is all about, God’s gifts of repentance, redemption in Jesus, and rejoicing in Christ the Beloved Son who goes to die for you, to be rejected for you, to be buried and raised for you. The Son who brings his life-blood and his holy body for you to eat and drink as faithful tenants. The Son who invites you to live in his vineyard and rejoice.

 

That’s what the Pharisees missed. Instead of rejoicing in the Cornerstone, they rejected him. Instead of falling upon Christ, broken in repentance, they were crushed in judgment. 

 

And the same rock that breaks our sin, has broken our chains and set you free. Jesus stands under the rock of judgment for you and lets all the weight of God’s wrath fall upon him so that you might have his inheritance.

 

It’s a shocking parable for sure. But it’s true. The Lord of the vineyard sent his beloved Son for you. And in Jesus you are true heirs. You are faithful tenants. You bear good fruit: the fruit of rejoicing in the Lord’s promises. The fruit of repentance and forgiveness of sins. The fruit of reckless, relentless compassion. And that’s something I am sure your friends and neighbors will find just as shocking, and joyful as well.

 

 

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