“A New Beginning” Luke 24.44-53 Ascension May ‘24

 

1.                Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word, as we observe the celebration of the Ascension of our Lord, is taken from Luke 24:44-53. It’s entitled, “A New Beginning,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                As I’ve said before, the Christian church today suffers from Ascension Deficit Disorder. Today, we are going to discover once again what the implications of Christ’s ascension has for our lives as Christians. All of us know about endings, but as long as we’re alive and here to talk about them, each one is also a new beginning. Most of us have come to the end of school years, but each one is also the beginning of summer or maybe the beginning of a new level of our education or maybe a transition from school to the beginning of a working career. Some of us have come to the end of our kids-at-home parental phase, but that’s always the beginning of a new chapter, life as empty-nesters. Some of us have reached the end of working for a paycheck, but that’s the beginning of retirement. Nearly all of us have suffered the end of some kind of relationship, always painfully, but, like it or not, the next day is the beginning of a new chapter.

3.                How we feel about those new beginnings depends on how they go—and, often, how well we’ve been prepared for them. Ascension Day marks a very significant end in the church year. Jesus’ earthly ministry, his visible presence among us, ended when, right before the disciples’ eyes, he ascended back to heaven. You know they felt an emptiness inside. But very quickly, really just in the next ten days, they realized that Jesus’ Ascension Is an Ending, but Also a New Beginning. And for them—as for us—Jesus had prepared for it to be the beginning of the best yet!

4.                Jesus’ ascension brings an end to his bodily ministry on earth . . . but he had prepared the apostles well. He had demonstrated by signs and wonders that he was truly alive, still their Messiah. Suddenly appearing to them after His resurrection from the dead (24:36; Jn 20:19). A second miraculous catch of fish (Jn 21:5–6). Now, ascending back to heaven (v 51; Acts 1:9). In Jesus’ resurrection appearances, he had reviewed the truths his apostles were to proclaim. Jesus said in our text from Luke 24:44–47, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” And, just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples in Matthew 28:19–20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In Mark’s Gospel Jesus said, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15–18) And, in John’s Gospel after His resurrection Jesus told His disciples, “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Jn 20:22–23). Jesus encouraged and emboldened his apostles with a promise and a blessing. He did not give up on them because of their failures but forgave them (Jn 20:19; 21:15–17). Jesus officially commissioned his apostles for the most important of tasks (v 48; Acts 1:8b). Jesus promised he would not leave them alone but would send his Spirit (v 49; Acts 1:8a). His exiting words blessed them (v 50).

5.                So, a new facet of Jesus’ ministry began with his earthly departure. Jesus was inaugurated as the ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King. Prophet—still teaching us in Scripture (Dt 18:15, 18; Acts 3:22; Jn 3:2; 6:14; Heb 1:1–2). Priest—his sacrifice on the cross was once for all. Now he intercedes and prays for us and all the Church (1 Tim 2:5–6; 1 Jn 2:1–2; Heb 2:17; 5:5–10; 10:12–14; Ps 110:4). King (1 Tim 6:15; Acts 5:31; Phil 2:10–11; Psalm 47). Christ as King is anticipated in Psalm 110:1, which says, “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” Christ as “King of kings” (Rev 17:14; 19:16) is triumphantly echoed in Handel’s Messiah.

6.                The apostles began their transitions into the ministries for which God had equipped them. They would no longer join together as Jesus’ students to follow him from place to place. They would soon each be about their appointed ministries. They would all preach the one true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But each would utilize his special varied and personal gifts. Two used special literary skills as evangelists. Some adapted to very different cultures and customs. And the continuing work of the Church is always just beginning.

7.                Jesus offers forgiveness to sinners new each day (Lk 23:34; Eph 1:7; Col 3:13). Forgiven sinners, of course, includes each one of us (Acts 2:38–39). You are forgiven by Jesus’ death on the cross! We receive that forgiveness in the Means of Grace. Through the Word of promise, the Gospel of Christ. Through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Each day you have a new beginning! A clean slate!

8.                Jesus still equips his Church through the Holy Spirit. The one true Gospel is applicable to all people of all times. It is centered in the person and work—the life, death, and rising—of Jesus Christ. It is preached in accord with the apostolic Scriptures, part of the apostolic ministerial legacy. The Church enjoys a great variety of spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:27–30; Eph 4:11–13) to be used to the glory of God and benefit of our neighbor.

9.                Empowered by the Spirit, let us cast out sin, for it hinders us in God’s glorious mission. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord and his perfect wisdom and plan, praying for his guidance. Let us reflect the light of Christ abounding in good works that glorify God (Mt 5:16). The work of the Church, first entrusted to the apostles, is always only just beginning . . . until Christ returns to conclude it.

10.             An often-neglected part of the account of Christ’s ascension is the aftermath of that great event (Lk 24:53). Many pastors can say that when they attended seminary, they learned as much outside of the classroom (for example, from dormitory discussions and those in the cafeteria) as they did inside the lecture rooms. The apostles spent a fair amount of time together in Jerusalem after the ascension, before the persecution of Christians in that great city caused them to split up and be about their special Spirit-appointed missions to preach the Gospel and disciple all nations. During their time in Jerusalem, they compared notes and shared insights with one another about the things they had been taught by Jesus.

11.             This happens today when Christians join in congregational fellowship for worship, Bible study, group prayer, and informal gatherings. When we gather together at the Lord’s Table, we have a special benefit both from the vertical fellowship that we enjoy with God in Christ’s own body and blood and from the horizontal fellowship we enjoy with our brothers and sisters who also share in our Lord Jesus Christ. Often in hindsight we can realize how God equipped us for key moments in life by events, people, and conversations that did not seem significant when we first experienced or encountered them.

12.             At Christ’s ascension, an angel of God announced that Christ would return: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). When that day comes, Christ will inaugurate his perfect, eternal kingdom. In the meantime, we should, like the apostles, be joyfully about the work God has given us: “They worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:52–53). “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15)! “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4)! Live in the joy of his love, forgiveness, and blessing. Praise and enjoy his ongoing presence in worship. And live in anxious anticipation of this new beginning, for the best is yet to come (Rev 19:1–9)! Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

“Overcoming the Last Enemy” 1 John 5.1–8 Easter 6B May ‘24

 

1.                Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word for this 6^th Sunday of Easter and also this day we celebrate Confirmation Sunday is taken from 1 John 5:1-8. It’s entitled, “Overcoming the Last Enemy,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                One can only imagine how overwhelmed the apostles of our Lord must have felt from time to time. Men who had been called from the simplicity of fishing nets and a tax table and other ordinary trades to be preachers and teachers of the faith who would turn the world upside down. Positively overwhelmed by the miracles Jesus had done right before their eyes. Overwhelmed by his resurrection and ascension.

3.                And they weren’t only overwhelmed by the positive events they experienced as the disciples of our Lord. They were overwhelmed by what they perceived as the down times as well. The time when they were at sea in the storm, convinced the boat was going to capsize and sink. The time when they heard the pace of the soldier’s feet approaching the garden to arrest Jesus. The time in the courtyard when Peter denied Jesus three times. The trial and judgment and horrible crucifixion of their Lord and the following week of hiding in the upper room, overwhelmed by fear and, of course, Judas, overwhelmed by his sin and guilt.

4.                As one who knew what it was to be overwhelmed by such things, the apostle John in today’s text writes to his “little children” at Ephesus and to the other congregations with which he had an apostolic correspondence. He writes them so that we would not be overwhelmed by the world. Rather, he wants us to trust that the love of Christ, who is the object of our faith, overcomes all that would overwhelm us in this world.

5.                Be not overwhelmed by the world. Be not overwhelmed by false claims regarding Jesus Christ, made by the false teacher Cerinthus: Who taught that the man Jesus was not born of the Virgin Mary, but was the natural-born son of Mary and Joseph. Who taught that the man Jesus and the Christ had to be distinguished from one another since the Christ only descended upon Jesus at his Baptism and then left him at his crucifixion. Who taught that Jesus was buried and will only be raised with the rest of mankind when Christ comes again at the end of time to initiate a one-thousand-year kingdom on earth. Of whom Polycarp, a disciple of John, recalled a time when the apostle fled an Ephesian bathhouse when he learned that Cerinthus was there as well, shouting: “Let us flee, lest the build­ing fall down; for Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is inside!”

6.                Be not overwhelmed by those of our day who, like Cerinthus, have been conquered by the world, partly or entirely renouncing the historic Christian faith: Denying the virgin birth, as did famous Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong (Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus, [San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992], 3). Denying God became man and insisting, as did Princeton-educated theologian Bart Ehrman, that church councils made Jesus into God. Denying that Jesus rose from the dead. Denying that Jesus was and is God in the flesh, as do Jehovah’s Witnesses, teaching that he is but the incarnation of the created archangel Michael. Putting “new faces” on the same heresies which once attempted to overwhelm the Christians in Ephesus addressed by St. John. Men and women conquered by the world.

7.                Be not overwhelmed by the “burdens” borne by confessors of the faith as we live out our confession in a hostile world—burdens such as: Our sin of having ever entertained these deviations of the faith. Our sin of complacency, which refuses to counter misrepresentations of the faith. Our sin of compromise, which weakens our confession of the faith. Our sin of being silenced by the fear of conflict with—or rejection by—those to whom the love of truth would have us confess the faith.

8.                Rather, be overcomers of the world. Overcome through our Spirit-borne faith in Jesus as the Christ and our love of him and his people. The overcoming believer is “born of God” and loves the Son even as he loves the Father (1 John 5:1). The overcoming believer who is “born of God” and loves the one “born of him” (Jesus) also loves the “children of God” (brothers and sisters in Christ) (1 John 5:2). Overcome as we love and live out the commands of God in our lives with one another.

9.                These instructions are not “burdensome” (1 John 5:3), for they don’t justify us in God’s eyes. Jesus did. By his perfect keeping of the Law on our behalf (Rom 8:1–2). By his sacrifice on the cross for our sins of doubt and complacency and compromise and silence regarding our confession of him. This faith in Jesus as the Law-keeping, sin-bearing Redeemer of the world is the “victory that has overcome the world” (1 John 5:4–5). The world, which, Luther says, is “the devil, the flesh, and everything that is evil” (AE 30:313). Which was made by Christ but would “not know him” (Jn 1:10). That God so loved that “he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). That is “passing away along with its desires” while the one who “does the will of God abides forever” (1 Jn 2:17).

10.             Be overcomers by the Spirit, the water, and the blood. This overcoming faith has as its only object Jesus Christ, who secured that victory for us by “the Spirit and the water and the blood” (1 John 5:6–8). The Holy Spirit unites us by faith to Jesus when we are baptized into his death and resurrection. The life-giving Holy Spirit, by the cleansing water of Baptism, connects us to the redeeming blood of Jesus, who has overcome the world. Jesus is God in the flesh coming to us today in his body and blood here in the Sacrament of the Altar, as he nourishes his Bride, the Church, and all her children that they may overcome the world.

11.             So it is that in Christ we have overcome everything in the world that—if we were without him—would overwhelm us. Victory in Christ—that’s the theme by which St. John lived and with which St. John died! Christ breathed that divine theme into the Revelation to John, his last testimony to the churches John so loved, as seven times he speaks of what awaits all who, in Christ, overcome the world. Rev 2:7 (NKJV): “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life.” Rev 2:11: “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” Rev 2:17: “To him who overcomes I will give . . . a new name.” Rev 2:26: “And he who overcomes . . . I will give power over the nations.” Rev 3:5: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” Rev 3:12: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” Rev 3:21: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

12.             Martin Luther greatly loved his father and mother. Unable to be with either during the days of illness preceding their deaths, he wrote each a beautiful letter, knowing it was likely his last words to them on this side of heaven. His last letter to his mother is especially touching. After telling her that he had learned of her illness from his brother Jacob and urging her to be thankful for the pastoral care she had received, as well as the caring love of family and friends, he leaves his mother with this assurance of overcoming the world (1 Jn 5:4–5). Luther writes, “He who has begun the good work will graciously finish it. For we are powerless to help ourselves. We cannot conquer sin, death, and the devil by our own works, but there is One who can, and who says, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” And again, “Because I live, ye shall live also; and your joy no man taketh from you.” The God of all consolation grant you a firm, joyful faith, so that you may overcome this, and all other distress, and at last experience the truth of these words, “I have overcome the world.” I commend you, body and soul, to His mercy. Amen. All your children pray for you, also my Katie. Some weep, others eat and say, “The grandmother is very ill.” May the grace of God be with us all. Amen. Your dear son, Martin Luther.” (The Letters of Martin Luther, translated by Margaret A. Currie [London: Macmillan and Co., 1908], 266)

13.             We are not overwhelmed by the world—or whatever may happen to us in it—because we are, as St. John says, those who, in Jesus Christ, are overcoming the world. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.