“Jesus Finishes the Battle for Your Salvation” John 19.28–42, Lent Mid6 March ‘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 continue our Lenten Midweek series on St John’s Passion is taken from John 19:28-42, it’s entitled, “Jesus Finishes the Battle for Your Salvation,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Behold his hands and his side, and do not doubt, but believe. Behold his last breath. We come, tonight, to the end. Jesus announces it: “It is finished” (John 19:30). But what is he talking about? What is finished? His life? Certainly. But there’s more. His suffering? Yes. But there’s more. His work? Yes, this is what Jesus is talking about. This cry, “It is finished,” is a cry of triumph, a shout of victory. The battle to save sinners is finished on the cross.

3.                But to understand what is finished, we must go back to where it all began. Which takes us to the Garden of Eden. On the sixth day, God created Adam and Eve, in his own image and likeness. It was very good. And God planted a garden for this first family and gave them every kind of fruit tree for food. There was only one exception, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That tree was not for eating but for believing. God attached a dangerous promise to that tree: “On the day that you eat of it, surely you will die” (see Gen 2:17). But Adam and Eve did not believe that promise. The devil tempted them to doubt God’s word and then disobey that word. They took the fruit, they ate, and with that faithless and rebellious meal they started a war between creation and the Creator. There was enmity between God and man. Sin, corruption, death, the devil—these now ruled over Adam and Eve.

4.                But the Lord wouldn’t have it. Even though they justly deserved his temporal and eternal punishment, the Lord does something astonishing. He comes down from heaven, comes into the garden looking for Adam and Eve, finds them wrapped in fig leaves and hiding in the bushes, and the Lord promises deliverance.

5.                “I will put enmity,” the Lord says to the devil, “between your seed and her Seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.” This promise (see Genesis 3:15) is the first promise of the Gospel. The Lord, standing in the Garden of Eden, looks at the enmity between himself and Adam and Eve, and says, “No. I will not be at war with humanity. I’m putting the enmity between humanity and the devil. And I myself will take up the battle. I will fight for Adam and Eve and all their children. I will become a Man, the Seed of the woman. The devil will crush my heel, but I will crush his head.”

6.                It turns out that it is not just Adam and Eve who will die because they ate the fruit. “Because you have eaten the fruit, I also,” says the Lord, “will die. And my dying will be your rescue and salvation.” Jesus’ “It is finished” recalls all this. Back when the Lord declared war against sin, against death, against the devil. Back when the Lord planned the devil’s overthrow and his grand rescue of Adam and Eve and their children. It started in the garden and continued through Noah and Babel. The promise came to Abraham and Isaac, to Jacob and Judah. The Lord was working this promise though Moses and David and preaching this deliverance through the prophets, through the generations who were waiting and praying and watching, until at last, in Bethlehem, the Savior is born.

7.                Jesus, the Son of God, becomes flesh, the Seed of the woman, to destroy the works of the devil. He preaches, he works, he prays, he performs signs and wonders, he declares that the kingdom is come. He lived the perfect life. He is betrayed, arrested, beaten, mocked, accused, convicted, stripped, pierced, lifted up. All the sins of all the world, from Adam and Eve to you and me, are all placed on him. He is stricken and smitten, afflicted and forsaken, cursed and crushed in our place. The curse that Adam and Eve and you and I invited and deserved is taken by Jesus so that we might be blessed. But now, “It is finished.” His suffering is our salvation. “It is finished.” His sorrow is our joy. “It is finished.” His death is our life. And our peace. And hope. And confidence as our last hour draws near.

8.                Johann Sebastian Bach, in his marvelous St. John Passion, meditates on the dying of Jesus, and especially the moment when Jesus’ head drops in death. Bach sees this as a silent nod. Imagine it! We sinners are watching the King of glory breathe his last, wondering if this is our salvation, and Jesus, bowing his head, nods his head to you: “Yes!” My beloved Saviour, let me ask you, Since you have now been nailed to the cross And you yourself have said: “It is accomplished,” Have I been set free from death? Through your pain and death can I inherit the kingdom of heaven? Is this the redemption of the whole world? You can indeed not speak for anguish; But you bow your head And silently say: “Yes!” Your deliverance? Your forgiveness? You salvation? “It is finished.” God be praised! Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

“Wisdom Has a Friend on the Cross” John 19.16b–27 Lent Mid5 March ‘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 our 5^th Lenten midweek service as we focus on St. John’s Passion is taken from John 19:16-27, it’s entitled, “Wisdom Has a Friend on the Cross,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.      We come at last to the cross. Pilate hands Jesus over to the soldiers. They put the beam across Jesus’ shoulders and drive him outside the city to Golgotha. It’s nine in the morning. There are two others to be executed with him, one on either side.

3.      In the midst of all the affliction and suffering of crucifixion, the Holy Spirit with this reading wants our attention on three things: Pilate’s inscription, the soldiers’ gambling for Jesus’ clothes, and Jesus’ care for Mary. We’ll consider each of these—how they give us wisdom and courage, how these three scenes of the cross strengthen our faith in Christ’s kindness for us.

4.      First, the inscription of Pilate. Crucifixion was a cruel punishment. Its brutality was a deterrent to crime. This is why criminals were crucified along the road on the way into a city, and why their crimes were written on a placard above their heads. Above the head of Jesus, Pilate wrote, in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19). This caused some controversy. The Jews wanted to edit the sign, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” But Pilate responded, “What I have written I have written” (John 19:21–22). This, by the way, is where the INRI, often seen on a cross or crucifix, comes from—the Latin Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum. (What in English would be J’s in Latin are I’s.)

5.      It’s difficult to determine what Pilate was up to. Did he really believe that Jesus was a true king? Probably not, since he condemned him to death. Was Pilate crafting a warning to anyone else interested in starting a spiritual rebellion? Maybe. Was he mocking the Jewish people, sticking his thumb in the eye of the chief priests?—“This is what a Jewish king looks like.” Probably. But just like Caiaphas, who unknowingly uttered truth when he said it is “expedient that one man should die for the people” (John 18:14), so the Holy Spirit here uses Pilate to preach the truth.

6.      Jesus is the King of the Jews, and more: the King of kings and Lord of lords. This is wisdom—to know that this mockery is true, this inscription stands, Jesus is King. His cross is his throne. He is lifted up and draws all people to himself. The crucifixion is a coronation.

7.      This is so because Jesus, by his suffering and death, overthrows all the tyrants that stand against his kingdom of life and salvation. Jesus faces his enemies, your enemies, on the cross, and he overcomes them. The world, the sinful flesh, and the devil and all demons are undone. The kingdom of darkness is toppled. Sin and death no longer rule, but rather forgiveness, life, and salvation. The cross is a throne because the cross is also the battlefield, where Jesus has the victory. Behold Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

8.      The second scene to which the Holy Spirit directs our attention is the gambling for Jesus’ clothes. John, who seems particularly interested in all the prophecy being fulfilled in the crucifixion, tells us how the soldiers divided most of the clothing, but the tunic was seamless, so for this “they cast lots” (John 19:24). This prophecy comes from Psalm 22, that profound prophecy of Jesus’ suffering, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It’s not just the first verse. The entire psalm belongs to Jesus and his suffering on the cross. He is surrounded by enemies, mocked, derided, and ashamed. His tongue clings to the roof of his mouth. His strength is dried up like a potsherd. His hands and feet are pierced. You can count his bones. And they gamble for his clothes.

9.      This reminds us that Jesus hung on the cross naked, or very close to it. The shame of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and realized they were naked, now belongs to Jesus. There was no shame in nakedness before sin, but now, sinful as we are, we try to avoid even hearing this detail of Jesus’ suffering. There are no fig leaves. He is the sacrifice that covers our sins.

10.   Hebrews tells us that Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb 12:2). He did not want the shame, the humiliating mockery of crucifixion, but he did want you, whatever the cost. We are the joy set before him. While the soldiers put their greedy eyes on the seamless tunic, he has his eyes on your salvation.

11.   Third, even from the cross Jesus cares for his family, especially his mother. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there at the foot of the cross with her sister (also named Mary) and Mary Magdalene. The apostle John is there too. First he ran away, but now he ventures to come near. From the cross, Jesus looks down to see John and Mary, and he gives them to each other. “Woman, behold, your son! . . . Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26–27).

12.   What love! If there was a time when we could excuse a little self-pity, crucifixion would be that time. But even as Jesus is hanging from the cross, his thoughts are not for himself but for those he loves. He will not leave Mary without a son but gives John to care for her. Even while he passively suffers, he actively keeps the Law. He fulfils the Fourth Commandment. On the cross and in his suffering, Jesus honors his heavenly Father and his earthly mother. He is faithful and loving to the end.

13.   All this, dear Christian, for you. Jesus is not on the cross for himself. For us men, and for our salvation, he hands himself over to Pilate, to the soldiers, to the shame, to the cross. When we “survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died” (LSB 425:1), as we read the inscription, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” as we see the soldiers gambling for his tunic, and as we see John embrace the weeping Mary, we remember and rejoice that this Jesus is our Jesus, our Savior, our brother, and our friend. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

“True Love” John 3.14-21, Lent 4B, March ‘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 on this 4^th Sunday in Lent is taken from John 3:14-21, it’s entitled, “True Love,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                Everyone enjoys a good love story. Crowds are drawn to movies like The Sound of Music and The Notebook and Gone with the Wind or to classic tales like Romeo and Juliet or TV shows like This Is Us. There’s something about a love story that makes everyone feel good about themselves.

3.                Love is a wonderful gift, given at creation, from our heavenly Father. Love is something that we as human beings all desire. We want to feel the warmth, security, and tenderness that comes from being loved or being in love. We want to be loved by our parents, our spouse, our children, our friends, and our coworkers.

4.                But no matter how great our love story is, it pales in comparison to the unconditional love that God the Father has shown to us through his only-begotten Son! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life,” Jesus said (John 3:16).

5.                Often, we think of love as an emotion, a good feeling, or sweet words. There’s nothing wrong with those things, and they certainly can be a legitimate part of love. But at some point, if love is to be a genuine love, it must be willing to be more than just words. True love needs to be willing to become tangible.

6.                Sure, it’s easy to love that cute little baby or that little puppy in the window. But what about loving the unlovable? When was the last time you were confronted by a filthy homeless person, a pesky drug addict, someone you totally disagree with, or one of your enemies—and showed them true and genuine Christian love?

7.                The opportunities for us to show love are not just circumstantial. True love is found in the people that God has intentionally put into our lives, that he has asked us to care for. God’s unconditional love now sets our agenda, guides our decisions, and determines our actions through the same kind of true love that he has first shown to us.

8.                I want to remind you that most of the time true love is hard work. Love is not always romantic comedies, Hallmark cards, flowers, and Hershey’s chocolate kisses. True love does not always make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. Often, true love means rolling up our sleeves and giving up all that we have. It is important to note that when we give up our life in service to love others, this is not the end of our life. It is, instead, the beginning of a new life. A genuine life focused on and centered in Christ and the love he wants to share.

9.                True love sometimes means saying, “I was wrong, and I am sorry.” Sometimes true love means that you love your neighbor enough to call them out on their sins and hold them accountable, reminding them that they, too, need to repent.

10.             Not only is this kind of love hard work, but it can also be painful work. True love sometimes includes sleepless nights and uncontrolled anguish. How painful is it when your love is not returned? Friends, this is when you find out what true love is all about. For it is at those times when love is more than an emotion. It is an action. An action that requires you to give up yourself for the sake of others.

11.             So, what does love have to do with Lent? Everything! God’s love for humanity became tangible in the actions of the life, death, and resurrection of his only-begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This intimate, unconditional, true love that Jesus has for us is at the heart of Lent.

12.             Today, we are inching closer to the day when Jesus shows the ultimate true love by dying on the cross to save us from our sins. I am sure you are familiar with John 3:16, but do you know John 3:17? “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.” You see, no greater love can be expressed than what Jesus did for us. Jesus has not been sent into the world to condemn it. No, he has been sent to save the world. It is only through Jesus that we can truly know what this true love looks like.

13.             Christ has shown the ultimate true love for you and me by fully giving himself up for us and to us. Jesus has not only given us his love, but he has also given us all that he is, in his very body and blood shed for us, on this very altar. He has given us all that he has and all that he is, so that we may love one another as he has first loved us.

14.             Today, out of true love, Christ makes us his very own. That is the kind of true love we see in the waters of Holy Baptism, a love that is rich in grace and full of forgiveness. It is our Epistle for today: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:4–5).

15.             This love that our heavenly Father has for us did not come easy. His love for us cost him a great deal. Matter of fact, it cost him his only Son. It is in the triune God that we see the fulfillment of what true love looks like.

16.             In God the Father, we see a true love that is modeled by Christ and his Bride, the Church. In God the Son, we see a true love that spreads out his arms and dies for us. In God the Holy Spirit, we see a genuine love that does not let us live apart from God but calls us back home into his holy house.

17.             Now, if you think you deserve God’s love, you are wrong. Let’s be honest—most of the time, we really are not all that lovable. You and I are the rebellious children who have not returned our Father’s love but instead have chosen to love how and what we want to love. But, even in our sin, we are reminded that God is love (1 Jn 4:8b) and that he continues to love us unconditionally, even though we do not deserve it.

18.             The problem with earthly love is that it is all over the place. One moment I love you, and the next I don’t because I’m mad at you. In effect, Jesus is saying, “Forget about yourself, what you think, how you feel, and don’t judge my love by the fickle ways that the world judges love. Instead, look to me, and I’ll show you true love.”

19.             Here is your one takeaway: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him has eternal life.” What that means is, that Jesus put His true love into action for you by dying on the cross for your sins. Even though we offer him nothing in return, the Lord says, “This is not the end of your story: I want to write a new, true love story just for you.” He did just that for us by giving up his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.