“In Jesus, There Is No Condemnation” Rom 8.1-11 Lent5, March ‘26

 

1.      Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this 5^th Sunday in Lent is taken from Romans 8:1-11 and is entitled, “In Jesus, There is No Condemnation,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.       As we move deeper into the season of Lent, the mood of the Church becomes more intense. In the Sundays closer to Holy Week, the Church begins to focus even more directly on the suffering and death of Jesus. The Gospel reading for today from John 11 shows the growing hatred toward Jesus. After the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the high priest Caiaphas declares, “It is better for you that one man should die for the people” (John 11:50), and from that moment the leaders begin plotting His death (John 11:53). They believe they are condemning Jesus, but in reality, Jesus is allowing Himself to be condemned for the sake of the world. That is why St. Paul writes the remarkable words in our Epistle lesson: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

3.      Those words are striking because Scripture is also very clear about our true condition before God. Paul had already written earlier in Romans, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). In the chapter just before our text, he speaks honestly about the struggle with sin that every believer experiences: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:15, 18). Anyone who seeks to follow God knows that struggle. We know what God’s Law says, but we still fail. Like Paul we are forced to cry out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). If the verdict depended on us, the judgment would already be settled. We would stand guilty before God.

4.      But, the Gospel brings wonderful news. Paul answers his own desperate question by saying, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25). Because of Jesus, the verdict changes completely. That is why Paul begins the next chapter with those comforting words: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The reason for this is that Jesus came to be our substitute. God sent His Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin” (Romans 8:3). Though Jesus Himself was without sin, He placed Himself under the Law and took our place as the one who would bear the punishment for our sin. Throughout the Old Testament, God prepared His people to understand this through sacrifices. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). The sacrifices of lambs pointed forward to the perfect sacrifice to come. That is why John the Baptist declared when he saw Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

5.      Jesus truly became that sacrificial Lamb. The apostle Peter writes that we were ransomed “not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19). On the cross Jesus carried the condemnation that rightly belonged to us. A vivid picture of this substitution appears when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate alongside the criminal Barabbas. Barabbas was guilty of rebellion and murder (Matthew 27:16). But the crowd cried out, “Let him go!” and demanded that Jesus be crucified instead (Mark 15:15). Barabbas walked free while Jesus went to the cross. In many ways that moment represents what Christ has done for all sinners. He took the place of the guilty so that they might go free.

6.      This gift becomes ours through our union with Christ. Paul explains earlier in Romans that “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death… in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4). Through Holy Baptism and faith, we are joined to Christ. His death counts as our death to sin, and His resurrection promises our own resurrection. Because we are united with Him, the verdict over our lives changes completely. As Paul says, “The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).

7.      Christ not only forgives our sins but also gives us the Holy Spirit, who creates new life within us. Paul contrasts life according to the flesh with life according to the Spirit. Apart from Christ we live according to the flesh, driven by sinful desires and unable to please God. But through Christ and the Spirit our lives are changed. Paul writes that God sent His Son so “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Living by the Spirit means living with the confidence of resurrection. Paul assures us, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies” (Romans 8:11).

8.      Life by the Spirit also means that we are children of God. Paul says, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God… you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:14–15). Through Christ we can approach God as our loving Father. Even though we still experience suffering in this world, we look forward with hope to the glory that is to come. As Paul says, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). And maybe most comforting of all, Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from God’s love. “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).

9.      Jesus once told the Parable of the Prodigal Son that beautifully illustrates this grace. A son squandered his father’s inheritance in reckless living and returned home expecting judgment. Instead, his father ran to meet him, embraced him, and restored him to the family (Luke 15:20–24). The son knew he did not deserve such mercy, but that is exactly how grace works. In the same way, through Christ we are welcomed back into the Father’s house. Because Jesus was condemned in our place, we now hear the joyful promise: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

10.   As we continue through Lent and approach Holy Week, we remember what it cost for those words to be spoken. Jesus willingly took our place under condemnation so that we might live in freedom. The cross that should have been ours became His. And because of Him, the verdict over our lives has already been declared: forgiven, redeemed, and children of God. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

 

“The Good News of a God Who Makes a Way for Us” Exodus 14:5–31 Lent.Mid,5

 

1.      Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts, be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word, as we continue our Lenten Midweek series, “Set Free: The Gospel in Exodus,” is taken from Exodus 14:5-31, it’s entitled, “The Good News of a God Who Makes a Way for Us,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.      The people of Israel had a deadly enemy bearing down on them. After the night of the Passover, Pharaoh had said that the Israelites were free to leave Egypt. Soon, though, he had second thoughts. So, he gathered his army and set out in pursuit.

3.      With the Red Sea ahead of them and the chariots of Pharaoh’s army rapidly approaching from behind, it appeared that the Israelites were trapped. They didn’t have time to go around the sea, they didn’t have a way to get across it, and they weren’t prepared to face the Egyptian forces in battle. They had no way of saving themselves, and there appeared to be no way out. But where there seems to be no way, the Lord makes a way.

4.      The Lord told Moses to raise his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea—and he promised that as he did so, the waters would be parted and the Israelites would be able to pass through the sea on dry ground. Just as the Lord had said it would be, so it was. Moses lifted his staff, the Lord parted the waters, and—with the water like walls on either side of them—the people of Israel safely made their way through the Red Sea.

5.      When they had made it through, the Lord told Moses to stretch out his staff again, and as he did, the waters fell back into place, pouring over the pursuing Egyptians and stopping them dead in their tracks. “Thus,” as Moses wrote, “the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians” (Ex 14:30). Seeing that they had been saved by the Lord’s power, Israel trusted in the Lord as their God and in Moses as their divinely appointed leader (Ex. 14:31). So, embarking on their new life as God’s redeemed people, they set out to go where the Lord would lead them. A long journey still lay ahead. But, through God’s gracious deliverance, a new day had dawned for Israel.

6.      Looking back to the miraculous Red Sea crossing, we marvel at what God did for the Israelites that day—and all the more so when we see that he did it not only for them but also for us! By saving the people of Israel from Pharaoh, God preserved the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And in doing that, he kept alive his promises to them—including the promise of an Offspring of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed! More than that, not only did God preserve his promise to send us a Savior, but, as he delivered Israel through the waters of the Red Sea, he also gave a preview of how that promised Savior would ultimately deliver us.

7.      Apart from Christ, we all face mortal danger from deadly enemies. The devil desires and seeks our destruction. Our own sinful nature plays right into the devil’s hands. And because of our sin, death is like a dark shadow following us, an enemy pursuing us. Many of us struggle with sins on a regular basis. We sometimes tell lies or are dishonest, get angry or hold grudges, and think only of ourselves instead of others. We may not always listen or obey our parents, teachers, or God, and at times we can be unkind, mean, or hurtful to others. Jealousy or envy can sneak into our hearts, and we might want more than we really need. We can also be lazy or neglect doing what we should, and we worry instead of trusting God. All of these are ways we fall short, but God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus cover our sins and set us free.

8.      Threatened by these dangers on every side, we would seem to be trapped. We cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition any more than the Israelites could have saved themselves from Pharaoh’s armies. Whatever direction we look, the way is blocked. But again, where there seems to be no way, the Lord makes a way. The God who gave Moses to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt gives his own Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from sin, death, and the devil.

9.      To make a way for Israel, the Lord directed Moses to lift up his staff of wood and stretch out his hand over the sea. To make a way for us, Christ is lifted up on a cross of wood, with his arms stretched out over Mount Calvary. Like the people of Israel, we are safely delivered from our enemies. But while Moses, too, passed through unharmed, Christ secures our safety only at the cost of his own life.

10.   To save us from sinking down into the depths of judgment for our sin, Christ makes a safe path for us to the shores of freedom. And as he cuts off the devil’s pursuit of our souls, Christ himself is crushed as the waves of judgment crash down and flood over him. By his death, he saves us from death.

11.   But this exodus wasn’t done just yet. With Christ crucified, dead, and buried, it certainly appeared that the way of Christ had come to its end. But once again, where there seems to be no way, the Lord makes a way. In vindication of this self-sacrificing Savior, God lifts him up out of the miry depths and delivers our Deliverer! Christ is raised to life, never to die again—and by his resurrection, he opens to us the way of everlasting life!

12.   In fact, not only does Christ open a way to us—not only does he make a way for us—but he himself is the way. This way is trustworthy, for Christ is the truth. And in him, we find life, for Christ is himself the life. He is the one true way to life, and In Christ, God Makes the Way That Saves Us from All Threats and Gives to Us Everlasting Life. So, he now comes to us to bring this life to us personally, that in him we may have life and have it abundantly.

13.   And to do this, he again works in a way that bears a striking resemblance to Israel’s exodus! As the Lord once delivered the Israelites into a new life through the waters of the Red Sea, he now delivers us personally to new life through the waters of Holy Baptism. The sinful nature is drowned, and we emerge safely on the other side.

14.   Martin Luther makes that connection in a baptismal prayer as he says to the Lord, “Almighty and Eternal God, . . . You drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea, yet led Your people Israel through the water on dry ground, foreshadowing this washing of Your Holy Baptism” (LSB, p. 268; cf AE 53:97).

15.   By water and the Word, we are baptized into Christ, and the saving benefits of his death and resurrection are applied to us personally.  Through the waters of Baptism, we are delivered to a new life in Christ. Even though we struggle with sins like: lying, anger, selfishness, disobedience, unkindness, jealousy, greed, laziness, and worry, God forgives us because of Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment for all our sins so that we could be made clean and right with God. So, you can think of your baptism as your own personal exodus. In Christ, you have been set free, and the fullness of life is yours. May you rejoice in your Redeemer from this time forth and forevermore. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

“The Good News of a God Who Passes over Us in Mercy” Ex. 12.1–14 Lent.Mid 4 March ‘26

 

1.           Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word, as we continue our Lenten Midweek Series, “Set Free-The Gospel in Exodus,” is taken from Exodus 12:1-14, it’s entitled, “The Good News of a God Who Passes Over Us in Mercy,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.           It’s early spring, 1446 BC. A man is out in the fields in the Goshen region of Egypt, looking through a flock of sheep to find a lamb for his family. This lamb needs to be young and healthy, with no visible defects. Having found an unblemished lamb, he takes it home. Over the next four days, he and his family keep a close eye on the lamb to be sure it really is healthy and whole.

3.           Then, on the fourth day after selecting the lamb—on the 14^th day of the month, in the early evening—the man sacrifices the lamb. He takes care not to break any of its bones. Its blood he uses to mark the sides and top of the entrance to the family’s home. The lamb is roasted that same night and eaten by the family, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. This is also done in the homes of all his fellow Israelites.

4.           During the night, beginning at midnight, wailing is heard throughout the land. In each Egyptian home, the firstborn son dies that night. Meanwhile, not a single Hebrew household—not a single home marked by the blood of a lamb—experiences any loss.

5.           The next day, Pharaoh sends word that the Israelites are, at last, free to leave Egypt. Through 9 previous plagues, in the hardness of his heart, he had refused to let them go. But now their time of slavery has ended. They are free at last.

6.           And it all happened exactly as the Lord their God had said it would. In judgment, he had struck down the firstborn of Egypt. And in mercy, he had passed over the homes of his people. Wherever the blood of the lamb was seen, no harm came.

7.           The centuries rolled on, and year after year, on the anniversary of the original Passover, the people of Israel observed a weeklong feast that included the sacrifice of Passover lambs and the eating of Passover meals. Moving forward nearly 1500 Passover celebrations: In about the year AD 33, on Sunday of the week of Passover, a man enters Jerusalem, riding humbly on a donkey. He has come to present himself as the true Passover Lamb. Over the next four days, this man, Jesus of Nazareth, is repeatedly questioned, challenged, and tested. Each time, he proves to be faithful and free of guilt. He shows himself to be unblemished.

8.           That Thursday, he celebrates the Passover with his disciples. Later that same night, he is taken captive. And the next day, on a hill outside Jerusalem, Jesus offers himself up on a cross as our Passover sacrifice. Like the earlier Passover lambs, not one of this perfect Lamb’s bones is broken. Jn 19:31–36 says, “31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.”

9.           Unlike the first Passover, only one firstborn Son dies this time—the Lamb himself, the firstborn Son of Mary and the only-begotten Son of God. There is weeping over the death of this Son. But because of his self-giving sacrifice for us, all who are marked with his saving blood are untouched by God’s righteous judgment. For our countless sins of thought, word, and deed—for the evil we have done and the good we have left undone—we justly deserve God’s present and eternal punishment. But instead, just as God passed over the Israelite homes marked with the blood of a Passover lamb, God passes over us in mercy, for Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed, and we are marked by the blood of the lamb.

10.        Jesus is the true, final, perfect Passover Lamb—of whom all other sacrificial lambs have been merely a shadow. By his blood, we are saved, for we have been redeemed once and for all “with the precious blood of Christ, . . . a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet 1:19). In Baptism, we have been washed clean in the blood of this holy Lamb of God (Rev 7:14b). By the Gospel, his cleansing blood purifies us of all sin (1 Jn 1:7–9). And in the Lord’s Supper, a new and better Passover meal, we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation through his body given for us and his blood poured out for us (1 Cor 11:23–25).

11.        Marked by the saving blood of the Lamb, we are forgiven and set free—free from sin, free from the fear of death, free to live as God’s redeemed people. And it all happened just as God said it would, as what he previewed in the Passover he accomplished on the cross.

12.        For all of this, may Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, be praised forevermore. For as John heard sung in heaven and recorded for us in the fifth chapter of Revelation, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! . . . To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever” (Rev 5:12–13). Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.