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Confirmation of Daniel Morren
1 Timothy 6:12

The text for this morning’s sermon is 1 Timothy 6:12 and it is directed to everyone here present but especially to you, Daniel Matthew Morren. “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

It’s not every day that your pastor tells you to ‘fight,’ and from the pulpit no less. Your parents may not like me saying this because how often have they told you and your brothers, “quit fighting.” But pastor Paul tells his catechumen whose name is Timothy, to “fight.” What do you think about that? Maybe Christianity isn’t the religion of ‘peace’ we thought it was.

James the brother of Jesus says that fighting is bad. “What causes quarrels and what causes FIGHTS among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you FIGHT and quarrel.” (James 4:1-2) James says, “quit fighting!”

When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was ready to fight. He drew his sword and started swinging, but all he hit was the ear of the High Priest’s servant. (Which tells you why fishermen shouldn’t carry weapons.) Jesus reprimanded him for ‘fighting’ saying, “Enough. For whoever takes the sword dies by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) Jesus says, “quit fighting!”

Pontius Pilate wondered why Jesus didn’t fight back against His attackers and Jesus said, “He could call down a legion of angels from heaven to fight for Him,” but He wouldn’t do it. “No fighting!”

And He says, the same goes for you. “But I say to YOU, if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39).

So what’s going on here? How can Jesus say “don’t fight,” and James say, “what He said,” and yet Paul says, “fight”?

What’s going on here is that Paul is talking about something much different that what I’ve led you to think he’s talking about. When James say, ‘quit your fighting,’ the word is “makomai.” That’s the word for hand to hand combat. Or as James puts it, ‘mouth to mouth’ combat. James says, “quit it,” especially when it goes on between brothers and sisters in Christ.

It’s the same for when Jesus tells Peter to ‘stand down’ and His angels to hold their fire, and you to turn the other cheek. He’s talking about ‘fighting’ that wants to overpower and subdue or hurt or even kill someone… especially not a brother or sister in Christ. That’s “makomai.”

But that’s not the word that pastor Paul uses when he writes to his catechumen, Timothy. The word that Paul uses is “agonidzomai,”and the noun is “agonia.” Or as we would say it, “agonize” and “agony.” “Agonize the good agony of faith.” Paul is talking about the fight that goes on inside of each one of us.

The Christian is constantly surrounded by temptations to deny Christ and live as though he were not a Christian; temptations to let go of “the eternal life to which you were called.”

Paul is talking about those mental and emotional and spiritual struggles that go on within us between that old man that wants only to please himself; and the new man that wants only to please God. One listens to ‘talking serpents’ that are very clever… and say, “you will not surely die.” And the other listens to ‘talking Prophets and Apostles’ who say, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This is the ‘agony’ that Paul knew and described so well. “For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing… For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind…” (Rom. 7:18,23). Oh, what ‘agony.’ Oh, what ‘agonizing.’

On the day that you were baptized, you entered into this AGONIZING AGONY. Before baptism and apart from baptism, there is no agonizing, because there is no ‘new man’ for the ‘old man’ to fight with. There is only the ‘old’… only one voice is heard, because the voice of the Prophets and Apostles is never heard… there’s simply no discussion, no debate, no argument.

A lot of people reject their baptism and quit the Christian faith. A few may disagree with the truth claims that the Scriptures make. But the vast majority “drop out” of the faith simply because they don’t want to “agonize with the agony” that the life of faith requires. They get weary of ‘fighting the fight of faith’ that the Christian cannot avoid as long as he lives in this world. They know what is ‘right’ because they have been instructed and confirmed in the faith just like you have been. But they find the “right” and the “true” to be “difficult,” and “agonizing…” and so they “QUIT FIGHTING.”

So Paul says, ‘don’t you do that.’ “Agonize the good agony of faith.”

This is the “agony” that Jesus “agonized” in the Garden of Gethsemane. “And being in AGONY He prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44).

Jesus was ‘agonizing’ with your ‘agony.’ He was ‘fighting the good fight’ for us, because we are weak and the temptations are strong; because the temptations keep coming and we grow weary and wear down; because we simply do not like the “agony” that this life of faith entails, and which is inescapable as long as we are in this world.

Jesus is “fighting the good fight” for you; because we are weak but He is strong. “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden,” from agonizing the good agony of faith, “and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). And we find our ‘rest’ in His ‘agony.’

If you love Jesus, you will “fight the good fight”… for His sake. You are not ‘fighting’ for your sake. You are not ‘fighting the good fight’ so that you may win your salvation. He has already fought that fight for you and won salvation for you. You have nothing to gain, you already have it all.

You “fight the good fight of faith” for Jesus’ sake, because in His love FOR YOU, He agonized FOR YOU. And so for you to, ‘agonize the good agony of faith’… this IS your ‘good confession,’… yes, in the presence of many witnesses, but even more importantly, in the presence of Jesus. In this ‘agonizing’ you give glory to God who forgives you all of your sins and credits you with all of His righteousness and welcomes you into His Father’s house saying, “well done good and faithful servant.”

Paul says that it is in “fighting the good fight of faith” that you “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” It is in ‘agonizing the good agony of faith’ that you say, ‘this eternal life that Christ my Lord has won for me by “His holy, precious blood and innocent suffering and death” … IS MINE. It is a PRECIOUS GIFT. More precious than anything in this world. Precious, because it comes from God the Father, by God the Son through God the Holy Spirit.

In a few moments Daniel, we will ask you to make “the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” The word for “confession” is “homologia.” “Homo” means “same.” And “logia” as in ‘logos,’ means “word” as in “The Word was with God and the Word was God.” “And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (John 1:1,14). “The good confession” is the word that says that Jesus Christ, who is THE WORD, “is my Lord.”

But I hope that you understand that this “good confession of faith”… is to be made not only made with your mouth, but also with your life. Right words plus right life, equals “good confession.”

And once again, you are NOT making this “good confession” for your sake or for your salvation. Jesus has already made the “good confession” FOR YOU and FOR YOUR SALVATION. Pastor Paul writes to catechumen Timothy saying, I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate MADE THE GOOD CONFESSION…” (1 Tim.6:13).

“His Words plus His Life.” “And God said, “It is good.”

His confession is the only ‘good confession’ there ever was, ever is, and ever shall be. And He made His good confession for you, because our confession is never ‘good.’ Our lips and our lives are never “homologia,” the same as the Word. Our confession is only ever ‘good,’ when it is made through faith in Christ… who is the goodness of God.

You will make your ‘good confession’ in the presence of many “WITNESSES.” We’ve had a lot of New Testament Greek thrown around this morning. Maybe too much for some, but here’s one more. The word for “witness” is “martierea.”

We are all fellow ‘martyrs’ with you. We all “fight the good fight of faith” as we daily put to death the desires of the flesh to give into the temptations that surround us and “make the good confession of faith” by striving, agonizing, to live according to His Word.

Today we welcome you to the Lord’s Table, where we eat and drink the forgiveness for our sins and the strengthening of our faith to go and “agonize the good agony of faith.”

As fellow ‘martyrs’ with you Daniel, we pledge to you, that we will pray for you and encourage you, as you join us in this “fight to the death.” The “death” that Christ our Lord has swallowed up for us. The “death,” that by His victory over death, is now the end of all the ‘agonizing,’ and the end of all the ‘agonizing,’ and the beginning of eternal peace.

“A hymn of glory let us sing! New hymns throughout the world shall ring. Christ, by a road before untrod, ascends unto the throne of God. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.” (LSB #493:1)

Old man Moses led the people of Israel down a dead end road. They came to the edge of the Red Sea and that’s as far as the road went… at least as far as they could see. There was no turning back because hell itself was right behind them, riding on Pharaoh’s chariots. Israel was terrified, and rightfully so. For they were about to be rounded up like cattle and herded back the way they had come to be slaughtered without mercy.

What they do not know… because they could not see it… was that there was another road… actually not 'another road… but the road they were on continued much further than they could see. Presently it was covered in deep water.

But when the Holy Spirit hovered over this deep, just as He hovered over the deep in the beginning… and when He breathed on it, and the mighty, rushing wind blew across it, He “gathered the waters under the heavens into one place and the dry land appeared.” (Gen. 1:9).

A low and behold… there was a road… “a road before untrod…”, a road that God had laid across the floor of the Red Sea “in the beginning…” just for HIS PEOPLE to journey on.

Israel, by a road before untrod, journeyed from slavery to freedom, from death to life, from bitterness to bliss. And as they stood on the other side of the sea, they fulfilled the words of our Psalm this evening, “clap your hands all you peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.”

But of course, the “clapping hands, and loud songs of joy” didn’t last long. What? A day, a week, not much more. Before long they were “grumbling” and “complaining.” As they continued their journey, they walked along a road that HAS BEEN TROD by every man, woman and child since Adam and Eve. It’s the road that we ourselves have laid across God’s good creation… and have paved with our sin. Every single one of us has been down that road. It’s the road that leads to slavery and bitterness and death and ultimately Hell.

And that would be the end of the road for all of us… if God had not laid another road for His people to trod. It is a road that no one would have ever have known was there unless the prophet revealed it to us. “A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness…It shall belong to those who walk on the way; (catch this) even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. (That should make us all feel better!)

No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it… but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:8-10).

This is the road that the John the Baptist, the voice in the wilderness of our sin, directs us to pack our bags and prepare to travel. “A voice cries: “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Is.40:3-5).

This “highway,” as glamorous as it may sound, leads right to the suffering and misery and death of Golgatha and the Cross and the Grave. It does not detour around the slums and ghettos of life but goes right through the middle of them. And it is Jesus Christ alone who sees this road clearly and who walks this “road before untrod.” And He has calls His Israel to walk behind Him. “Come, follow Me.”

And all those who followed Him…, the new Israel…, were terrified and rightfully so. Their new Moses led them down a dead end road that ended at a Tomb carved out of rock. And hell itself was closing in on them and they are about to be rounded up like cattle and led to the slaughter without mercy.

But what they didn't know… because they couldn't see it… was that this was not THE END OF THE ROAD. On the 3rd day, God showed His people a road that He had laid from the creation of the world. “A road before untrod” until Jesus Christ trod it on Easter Sunday. A road that leads from slavery to perfect freedom, from death to eternal life, from bitterness to joy to the full.

And you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, are on that road. This is the road that is paved, not with gold or silver but with the holy and precious blood of Jesus Christ, which makes it the 'Way of Holiness,' because Jesus Christ is holy, and His blood makes sinful men and women like you and me, holy.

This is the road that was opened up for you to travel on… when the road that you were born on… came to a dead end at the Red Sea of your baptism. God opened this Sea of Death… by His Holy Spirit… and you heard the mighty rushing wind that blew across it… “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And He brought you through the water … by the road that Christ Jesus laid when He was baptized in the Jordan River by John.

This is not a “road before untrod.” By the grace of God, many saints before us have already trod this road. And by His unfailing love and mercy, many more will continue to trod it. And with each individual crossing, the people of God fulfill the words of our Psalm this evening: “clap your hands all you peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

This road that runs through Holy Baptism is the “Highway of Holiness.” And this is where it leads.

“Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands, He blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.”

Behold, the road that God Himself has laid from the creation of the world. None of us would have ever seen it if Christ our Lord had not revealed it to us by traveling on it, before our eyes. This is the road that leads from this world to heaven…, which is not the ‘dead end’ as some say it is, but the ‘ever-living end’ that God promises it is.

It is a peculiar thing I think, that in all four gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead on Easter Sunday…, not once is there any mention that those to whom Jesus appeared… responded by “clapping their hands,” or “shouting to God with loud songs of joy!” The closest we come to any hint of joy on their part, is in St. John’s gospel where, while they are huddled together in fear, Jesus came into the room and showed them His hands and side, and John writes, “Then the disciples were ‘GLAD’ when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20). That is as close as the disciples come to “joy” on Easter.

But “joy” is what Jesus promised they would have. As we have heard over the last two Sundays, while they were still in the Upper Room either during or after the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples, “You will sorrow but your sorrow will be turned to joy.” “I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you. Ask that you may receive and your joy will be made full.” (John 16).

Where then is that “everlasting joy that shall be upon their heads” that the prophet had promised and that we would have certainly expect to see in the Disciples on Easter… but that is more realistically nine parts fear and confusion and only one part ‘gladness?’

“While he blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him and they returned to Jerusalem WITH GREAT JOY.” “Mega karas.”

And their ‘joy’ did not fade into ‘complaining’ after an hour, a day or a week. “And they were CONTINUALLY in the temple blessing God.” They were fulfilling the words of our Psalm this evening, “clap your hands all you peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For God has gone up with a shout. The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.”

So, why is it… that they receive this “GREAT JOY” that had been promised them, here at His Ascension? Wouldn’t we have expected just the opposite.. when St. Luke writes, “and He parted from them”? “He left them.”

Those are normally, painful words. “I’m leaving you.” “She left me.” “He left his wife and children and went away.”

Isn’t that just what they had done to Jesus? When the band of soldiers burst into Gethsemane and arrested Him, THEY PARTED FROM HIM. THEY LEFT HIM. And to this day, no one ‘claps their hands’ with joy over that.

But here, they understand that as “He parted from them…” as “He left them…” this does not mean “He DESERTED them.” Or “He ABANDONED them.” It means that He is WITH THEM in a new way… no longer visible.. now invisible. “As they were looking on a cloud took Him from their sight.”

He had promised them, “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5).

Now they understood the impact of those precious words and how they were fulfilled by His ASCENSION. Now, His presence with them would not be limited to the physical confines of time and space as it had been. No longer would He be there but not here.

Now, He will be present whenever and wherever two or three are gathered in His name. Wherever and whenever that may be, He speaks to us through the preaching of the law and the gospel, “I am with you…” “I love you…” “I forgive you…” “I have redeemed you…” “I will deliver you…”

Now, He will be present in the flesh and blood, in and under the bread and wine, on every altar whenever and wherever His Supper is administered according to His Word. “This is my body given for you…” “This is my blood shed for you…”

They understood that He would be present with them in this ‘incarnate’ and ‘invisible’ way, even while He rules the world from the right hand of the God the Father almighty. “And [God] put all things under His feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Eph.1:22-23).

Present with them at all times and all places from age to age, and governing and ruling the world for the protection and benefit of His people, His HOLY Church. And they were filled with “GREAT JOY”?

The Ascension of our Lord is not simply the afterthought to Good Friday and Easter Sunday that we have sadly considered it to be. It is not to be reduced to the afterglow that follows the great victory that was won for us on the 3rd day. The Ascension of our Lord is part and parcel of the victory itself and cannot be separated from it.

It is crowning moment of the entrance of the Lamb who was slain into the throne room of heaven where the angels and the archangels and all the company of heaven, ultimately fulfill the words of our Psalm this evening, “clap your hands ALL YOU PEOPLES. Shout to God with songs of joy! God reigns over the nations, God sits on his holy throne.”

There was a time in the history of Israel, when the Ark of God, the presence of God, was not with Israel. In 2 Samuel, chapter 6, we read that David reclaimed the Ark of God from the Philistines, and as he brought the Ark of God to Jerusalem and the Temple, “[he] and all the house of Israel were making merry before the [Ark of the] Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals… And David danced before the [ark of the] Lord with all his might.”

Here, at the Ascension of our Lord, the Ark of God, the body of Christ, is led into the HEAVENLY JERUSALEM… to the merriment and exuberant of joy of His people on earth… along with the whole company of heaven.

The Ascension of Christ is the place where earth and heaven are joined together forever. It is where the Church that still lives under the cross and in the shadow of death… is united through faith in Christ, to the Church that lives forever under the unfiltered light of the glory of God.

In faith, we eagerly await that day when Jesus will once again travel that road that He has already trod. “This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

“Be now our joy on earth, O Lord, and be our future great reward…
Then, throned with You forever, we shall praise Your name eternally.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.” (LSB #493:5).

Worship on Thursday evening: May 9, 6:00pm.

THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD
After He rose from the dead, the Lord Jesus presented Himself alive to the Apostles, “appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). When He ascended to the right hand of the Father, He did not orphan His Church, but fills all things in heaven and on earth, and gives gifts to His disciples. Even now, through His Church, He continues “to do and teach” (Acts 1:1), preaching “repentance and forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47), even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Though the cloud hid Jesus from the sight of His disciples then, and He remains hidden from sight even now, He remains with His people through His Gospel and Sacraments. He comes to us by the Word of His Apostles, by the promise of His Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, whom He pours out upon “the church, which is His body” (Eph. 1:23). In this holy, Christian Church, we bless God and worship Christ with joy, for in His Church He blesses us with forgiveness, lifts us up in His hands, and seats us with Himself “in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:20).

Worship on Thursday evening: May 9, 6:00pm.

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We call this Sunday, ‘the 6th Sunday of Easter.’ But that is a relatively modern name for the Sunday. For centuries, this Sunday has been known as “Rogate Sunday.” The name comes from the Latin word: “rogare,” which means “to ask.”

The name comes from Jesus’ words to His disciples which He speaks to them in the Upper Room either during the meal or after the Last Supper is concluded; “In that day you will ASK nothing of me. Truly, truly I say to you, whatever you ASK of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have ASKED nothing in my name. ASK, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Ever since that day He had called them saying “come, follow Me…” He had become the center of their life. For over three years, the disciples have ate and drank, walked and talked, lived and breathed Jesus. Every new day was a new day with the Lord. He was their “all in all.” Sounds good doesn’t it?

But now the time had come for Jesus to be taken away from them. And He knows how hard this will be for them. “In that day…” they will be like sheep without a shepherd. “In that day…” they will not know where to find Him. “In that day…” they will think that they have been left all alone among wolves that want to devour them simply because they had been His followers. Just like you are.

“In that day…” they will wonder what it was all about, this LIFE He had called them into, this HOPE that He had implanted in their hearts, this LOVE that He had shown them, this JOY that they felt. At times they had thought that they would explode for JOY.

 As long as they had LIVED in this world they had never known LIFE like the LIFE that they LIVED in Jesus.

 This HOPE that He implanted in them was the HOPE that He was going to give His LIFE to the whole world that everyone might truly LIVE.

 This LOVE that He had shown them, was unconditional LOVE, not based on status or accomplishments or any sense of worthiness, but pure LOVE, LOVE just for the sake of LOVE, and therefore it was LOVE for everyone.

 And so their JOY was nothing at all like those fleeting moments of fun or happiness or escape that they had called JOY. This was a JOY in Jesus. A JOY that He had called them, out of their LIFELESS, LOVELESS, HOPELESS existences, and given them His LIFE and LOVE and HOPE.

But they were about to go from the light into the darkness because the light was about to be taken away from them. And they would surely wonder, ‘what was it all about?’ ‘Was it real or was it false?’ ‘Had they been deceived?’ ‘Confusion, disappointment, resentment, fear,’ all rolled together into one word, ‘sorrow.’ This is where they were headed. And Jesus knew it. And Jesus loved them. And Jesus loves you.

He had tried to reassure them that it would all work out just fine in the end. “Persevere,” “endure,” “be patient,” “wait.” “Don’t get so focused on the ‘now’ that you give up on the ‘not yet.’

He tells them exactly what to expect because He knows them better than they know themselves. “You will have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” “In that day… you will weep and lament while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy.”

Now again He says, “ASK, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

He wants them to know that even though they will not be able to see Him as they had, He had certainly not deserted them. They should continue to ASK just as they always had, but now they may direct their prayers to the Father, “for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

Here is the temptation that Jesus knows that His dear followers will face. It is the same temptation that you and I face every day. “In that day…” when He is no longer among them in the same way that He had been for those three years, they will DRIFT AND WANDER AND BE ENTICED.

 They would drift into a LIFE that they would never have LIVED as long as He was with them and every day was a new day with Him.
 Before they ever realized it, they would find that they have invested all of their HOPE, in things below and lost all HOPE in the things above.
 They will fall in LOVE with the things of this world to the point that they would begin to measure “True LOVE” in terms of how many of those things can they get, and accuse God of not LOVING them the way that He should when they don’t get what they want.
 They will be tempted to believe that the JOY that this world has to offer is what is real and true and lasting and that the JOY that they had in Jesus was just ‘spiritual’ or ‘superstition’ or ‘an opiate of the masses.’

And this is why Jesus so strongly urges them “ASK,” to pray. In “asking,” in praying, you set your hearts and minds, on things above, on what comes from the Father, and that can only come from God.

 “In that day,” which is every day that you “sorrow now” for yourself and “weep and lament” because you have wandered and drifted and been enticed… ASK.” Ask for FORGIVENESS and you will receive.

 “In that day,” that you long to have that LIFE and LOVE and HOPE and JOY that come from God and God alone… ASK.” Ask for REPENTANCE and you will receive.

“Ask, and you will receive that your joy may be full.” “FULL” as in complete, perfect, and ‘my cup runneth over.’ “FULL” as in the end of all sorrow and weeping and lamenting; as in the end of all hunger and thirst and poverty and sin no longer oppresses us; and temptation no longer tempts us; death no longer frightens us; and the name of Jesus is held above every name and to Him every knees bend and all tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Obviously, this ‘joy to the full’ is not experienced in its ‘fullness’ in this world. We all await “that day” and long for its coming when we will experience it in its fullness. As long as we live in this world of temptation and sin, we experience only a droplet from heaven’s reservoir of LIFE and LOVE and JOY. In this world, we receive the fullness of joy, IN TINY SIPS, each sip a foretaste of the joy that awaits us when there will not be even a drop of sorrow or weeping or sadness.

Until “that day comes” we continue to “ASK,” and we continue to “SIP.”

In the “ASKING” we turn from the things of this world to the things of God, even to God Himself. We know that we have wandered and gone astray and fallen into temptation and sinned by seeking from the world the things that only God can give. But Jesus Christ my Lord has told me to “ASK” the Father in His name and to rest assured that the Father will hear your prayer. For after all, this is why He came down from the Father and is leaving to go to the cross and the grave. He is leaving them to bear their sins and ours; to atone for their sins and ours by His precious body and NOT theirs and NOT ours; to reconcile the Father to them and to us, by His precious blood and NOT theirs and NOT ours.

And in the “SIPPING” we receive what our Lord has promised. Just a droplet, a sip, a foretaste of the flood of joy that we have been baptized into. “Ask and you will receive that your joy will be made full.”

The final words that Jesus has for His disciples in the Upper Room are these. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

When we began, we heard Jesus say, “ASK.” Now as we conclude, we hear Jesus say, “listen to Me.” Here is the two-way conversation that Christians and only Christians have with God. To “ASK” is to speak to Him, and what a blessed privilege and honor this is.

But just as incredible is the fact that God humbles Himself to speak to us. And He speaks to us with tender and gracious words. “I know what trials and troubles you face in this world what sorrow and weeping this world inflicts on you. I know because I have ‘come down from the Father and have come into the world.’ “In this world you will have tribulation.” And I have experience this tribulation in its fullness. But “take heart, I have overcome the world.”

The victory has been won – past tense. The LIFE and LOVE and HOPE and JOY that are in Christ alone are yours now – present tense. But so is trouble and tribulation present tense. But the promise is that “in that day” the trouble and tribulation, the sorrow and suffering, weeping will be over – future tense.

St. John writes what he sees lies ahead for the followers of Jesus who persevere and remain patient and wait for the Lord. “He WILL wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death SHALL be no more, neither SHALL there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore…” “Nothing unclean WILL ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” “For the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21)

In the meantime, that is, in the NOW BUT NOT YET, we continue to “ASK the Father in the name of His Son” for forgiveness and faith and guidance and perseverance and patience. And we continue to RECEIVE, a ‘sprinkling’ of water here on an infant named Agnes, a “SIP” of wine and taste of bread there. All of it, a precious foretaste of the ‘full joy’ that is to come.

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“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again in a little while, you will see me.”

How long is ‘a little while?’ When the child is told that he must wait “a little while” after finishing his lunch before he can go into the swimming pool, ‘a little while’ can seem like ‘a long time.’ When a man is told that it will be “a little while” before he recovers from his illness, ‘a little while’ can seem like ‘a long time.’ When a woman is told that in ‘a little while’ she will need surgery followed by chemotherapy, ‘a little while’ goes by very quickly.

The setting for our gospel reading is the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Jesus has humbled Himself and become the servant, washing His disciple’s feet. He says, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

During the course of the Passover Meal, Jesus says, “one of you will betray me.” They don’t understand.

Repeated throughout the course of the evening, Jesus tells them that He is about to leave them. “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Where I am going you cannot come… Where I am going you cannot follow me, but you will follow me afterward.” They don’t understand. “Lord, why can I not follow you? I will lay down my life for you.” (Jn.13:33,36)

Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place for you. You know the way to where I am going.” They don’t understand. “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way.” (Jn. 14:2,5).

Jesus says, “I am going away and I will come to you. I am going to the Father… And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.” (Jn.14:28-29). But they don’t understand.

Once again, Jesus said to them, “A little while, and you will see me no longer and again a little while and you will see me.”

Once again, they don’t understand. “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me and again a little while and you will see me’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’? So they were saying, ‘what does He mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.”

And the Shepherd sees His confused and frightened little sheep. He knows that this is the question that is eating away at them. “What is the definition of ‘a little while?’” “How long is ‘a little while?’”

If they knew how long ‘a little while’ is, then they could deal with it; they could manage it; they would know for how long they must be patient and wait. But patience and waiting is hard to do if you don’t know how long ‘a little while’ lasts.

The Psalmist cries to the Lord, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” (Psalm 13:1-2)

The martyrs who were killed because of their faithful testimony cry out with a loud voice, “O Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10).
A woman in an assisted living center and another in an Alzheimer care unit sob with tears and want to know “How long before I can go home? How long before I can die?”

But Jesus doesn’t define “a little while” in terms of the amount of time that ‘a little while’ lasts. “A little while” is not something that you can set your watch to. “A little while” is not like a missile launch with a countdown, ‘10-9-8-7…’

The way that Jesus defines it, ‘a little while’ is the experience of weeping and lamentation, of sorrow and pain in COMPARISON to what comes after it. “Truly, truly I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

In other words, “a little while” may seem like ‘a long time’ or even ‘forever’ when you’re in the middle of it, but when that which follows this time of weeping and sorrow comes, it will be so good that it will make what we thought would never end seem like ‘a little while.’

This is what St. Paul points us to when he wrote to the Romans saying, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Rom.8:18).

Luther has this to say, “Here on earth, Christians experience an ever-recurring alternation of ‘a little while and again a little while.” Now it is dark night; soon it is day again. Therefore the lamenting does not have to last forever, even though it seems and feels that way when we are in it. But even though we cannot see or determine the end, Christ has already done so. He points out to us in advance that we must bear this suffering, no matter how bad and unpleasant the devil makes it. Even though we do not see the end, we must wait for Him who says, ‘I will put an end to it and will again comfort you and give you joy.” (LW 24:382)

Here is the way through this life that Jesus has opened up to His disciples. It is the way that leads to ‘joy’ through the cross and not apart from it.

For Jesus, the “little while” of weeping and sorrow and suffering was about to begin. He ‘sweat drops of blood’ in anticipation of the bitter agony that would be unleashed on Him in “A LITTLE WHILE.”

The treatment that the Lord and Creator of the world would receive at the hands of those whom He came to save, would make the treatment that the Boston bomber, who came to mame and kill is receiving, seem like ‘the royal treatment.’

Publicly mocked and ridiculed. His flesh torn open with whip and nails and spear. Hunger and thirst; heartbreak over the betrayal of unfaithful friends; and worse of all, the desertion of God the Father. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He doesn’t understand. And His ‘little while’ would not end until death itself had closed every last door of escape.

How long must it have seemed to Him that His “little while” lasted? How slowly the seconds and the minutes and the hours and the days go by when we are in distress. And the greater the distress the slower times seems to move. Even “A LITTLE WHILE” feels like an unbearable ‘forever.’

“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who IN EVERY RESPECT has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15).

Here in the Upper Room, Jesus is not concerned for Himself. He knows the outcome of His ‘LITTLE WHILE.’ He knows that the victory that He will win… for these disciples whom He loves… for His disciples of every age and every place whom He loves…

He knows that the victory that He will win for them will make all of the suffering and sorrow and pain and agony seem like ‘a little while’ compared to the surpassing greatness of opening the gates of paradise that had been closed, and leading His beloved flock back into the sheepfold where the cycle of ‘A LITTLE WHILE AND AGAIN A LITTLE WHILE’ is once and for all broken, and unending and eternal time of “joy” begins. “I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you.”

Here in the Upper Room, Jesus is concerned for His disciples. They’re faith is weak. They are easily confused. They do not yet understand. They cannot see past their ‘LITTLE WHILES’ to the other side where the victory that He has won for them is waiting for them.

“A little while and you will not see me…” Jesus is going to be taken from them. They will be like little children separated from his parents in a crowded department store, panicked, afraid, confused.

And the world that they live in will confuse their confusion. “You will weep and lament and the world will rejoice.” The world will say, ‘a great thing has happened. A new way has been opened. There is no more need to go the way of the cross.

Are you lonely? Do you desire companionship and sexual intimacy? No need to sorrow and suffer for ‘A LITTLE WHILE.’ You can put an end to your “LITTLE WHILE” when you say it should end.

Are you pregnant but don’t want to be? No need to suffer and sacrifice your goals for “A LITTLE WHILE.” You can put an end to your “LITTLE WHILE” when you say it should end?

Are you tired of being sick and in pain and depressed? No need to weep and lament for “A LITTLE WHILE.’ You can put an end to your “LITTLE WHILE” when you say it should end?

Which of us hasn’t had our own “ever-recurring alternation of ‘a little while and again a little while”? Which of us is content to say, “My times are in your hands…” (Psalm 31:15).

Following both our Lord’s instruction and His example then, we must learn that when our “LITTLE WHILES” come, we are not to think about how we can get out of them or end them. Our loving Lord will help us in His own time. We need only be faithful and patient and wait for the Lord. We are to have patience based on the sure and certain hope that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia! And the victory that He has won for us will make our time of tears and sorrow, seem like “A LITTLE WHILE” by comparison.

By His resurrection from the dead, Jesus has turned the wisdom of the world on its head. He directs us to go the way of the Cross, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” And to those who reject the way of the Cross, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” (Luke 6:21, 25).

St. Peter, who was so confused during those three days of Jesus’ absence, was “led by the Holy Spirit into all truth.” Listen carefully to what Peter says to the Church that lives in a world that has no patience for those “little whiles” of suffering and sorrow and that lives only for immediate gratification. In fact, take out your bible and turn with me to 1 Peter 1:3-6, page 1014 and read together with me.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? According to this great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now, FOR A LITTLE WHILE, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…” (1Peter 1:3-6).

The setting for our gospel reading this morning is the Upper Room in Jerusalem. What difference do you think it would have made for the disciples if they knew what you and I know? That their “little while” of sorrow and suffering would last for three days only to be followed by the victory of all victories in which they are included? You see, we know more than they did. They did not understand… but we do. “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again in a little while, you will see me.” “Your sorrow will be turned to joy.” “And no one will take your joy from you.”

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Of the 150 Psalms in the Psalter, it is number 23 that the vast majority of us know the best and call our favorite and can probably know by heart. Parents who have already taught their little children to recite the 10 Commandments, Lord’s Prayer and Apostles Creed will probably move next to the 23rd Psalm. It serves as an excellent prayer to be prayed together at the dinner table or at bedtime… no matter how young or old you may be.

The image of the Lord as ‘Good Shepherd’ is an easy one for us to embrace. It took a long time for the Christian church to warm up to the crucifix as the icon of its faith and hope. Before sanctuaries were adorned with crosses, the eyes of the Congregation were directed to images of a Shepherd carrying lamb on his shoulders. And very often the lamb was terribly oversized and out of proportion, almost as big as the Shepherd Himself, not because they didn’t know the proper relationship of lamb to Shepherd, but because they wanted to show the enormous weight that the Good Shepherd must bear to bring His straying sheep back to the flock.

A. The Lord is my Shepherd
“The Lord is my Shepherd.” The first and foremost thing to always keep in mind, not only with this Psalm but with the 149 others as well is that this is “God’s Word.” This is “God’s Word” that He gives to us to speak. And so we speak these words to the Lord as if to say, “According to Your own Word, I am one of your little Lambs and You are my Shepherd. I belong to Your flock. Shepherd me according to Your promise.”

This is the same thing that we do at the beginning of every Divine Service when we “invoke” the Name of God that was given to us by God in our Baptism, as it was just given to Anderson, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We come before the Triune God saying, “According to Your own Word, we are your people and You are our God. We have come to the house of the Lord to receive the precious gifts that you have prepared to give to Your people.”

“The Lord is my Shepherd.” What a remarkable privilege to be blessed to make such a statement. The Lord has made us one of His sheep. It is certainly not that we choose Him to be or Shepherd. Sheep do not choose their Shepherd. He chose us. And the choosing took place in our baptism, just as it did for Anderson today. As of today and for the first time, Anderson can pray the Lord’s Prayer, and join his voice to ours saying “Our Father.” As of today and for the first time, he can pray the 23rd Psalm and say, “the Lord is my shepherd.”

What a blessed privilege and gracious gift this is.

B. I shall not want
That this Shepherd who is MY Shepherd is none other than the Lord of heaven and earth of course means that “I shall not want.” Or to put it in the positive, “I shall have all that I need.”

Actually, the whole rest of this Psalm is simply a list of all that the Lord provides for His Sheep. He leads me; He feeds me; He comforts me; He anoints my head; He prepares a banquet table for me; He fills my cup to overflowing; and He chases me through this life and wherever I go with His goodness and mercy.

Let me remind you again that this is the “Word of God.” And the Word of God never fails to do exactly what it says, it never fails. And so when we use this Word of God, we are confessing both to God and to our own hearts and minds, and to one another what is most certainly true. We have all that we need. We lack nothing.

And isn’t just at this point in our favorite Psalm, before we even get past the 1st verse, that something doesn’t feel quite right. These words which God has given us and put into our mouth, are not really in harmony with our actions or our desires are they? We speak back to God the very Word that He has given us, “I shall not want.” But we do, and so we use God’s Word to lie back to God. We tell ourselves that “the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” But we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, because we do, don’t we?

“He makes me lie down in green pastures.” But we’re convinced that the grass is greener someplace else. In fact, almost any place else than where He has brought me.

“He leads me beside still waters.” But what He calls ‘still’ we call ‘stale.’ There’s a hundred other bubbling springs out there, more exciting, more thrilling that I’d rather drink from.

“He restores my soul.” But frankly, I’m not interested in ‘restoration.’ I think I’m just fine the way that I am. Sure I’ve got a few rough spots that could use some touching up, but nothing serious.

“He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” But really, I’m much more interested in making a name for myself. I want to choose my own path and whatever it is, I’ll call it ‘righteous.’

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” But not because “you are with me.” In fact, now that I think about it, if You were really are leading me like You say You are, why am I in this valley in the first place? I expect that if You are going to be MY SHEPHERD that you would steer me away from these valleys and not let me wander into them.

Which of us can speak the words of our favorite Psalm without having these precious words turn against us to condemn us? We say with our lips, “The Lord is my shepherd,” but in our hearts we know that we also follow other shepherds because we love the sound of their voice and we are enticed by their promises.

When we say, “the Lord is my Shepherd,” shouldn’t we also say, “and we all like sheep have gone astray, each to his own way”? (Isaiah 53:6) Or sing as we just did, “Perverse and foolish oft I strayed….”

C. My sheep hear my voice
Why then do we love this Psalm so much when what it really shows us is what ungrateful people we really are and how unworthy we are to be a part of this flock and to call the Lord, my Shepherd?

Maybe we should let our Good Shepherd answer that question for us, after all, He’s the One who has given us this Word to speak. He says, “My sheep hear my voice.” (John 10:27). Not like the ‘voices’ we sometimes hear in our head or on the Web. His voice is heard in Holy Baptism and in the Holy Scriptures and in Holy Communion. Those who are not His sheep do not hear His voice simply because they aren’t there.

But His sheep know the sound of His voice when they hear it. It is the sound of grace and mercy and love and forgiveness and acceptance and reunion and joy, all rolled together into one voice.

His voice goes out to the ears of His sheep and they hear it. It says, “All you like sheep have gone astray, but the Lord has laid your iniquity on ME.” “All you like sheep were being led to the slaughter but I humbled Myself and become a Lamb and was led to the slaughter IN YOUR PLACE.”

“That was MY BLOOD that was painted over the doorframe of your houses so that the angel of death would pass over you.” “That was MY BLOOD that was sacrificed and poured out over the altar in the Temple that atoned for all of your sin.” “That was MY BLOOD that washed your filthy rags and turned them into white robes.”

“My sheep hear my voice.” “I do not say that you must pay for all of your sins. I say to you, I forgive you all of your sins.”

“And all of this I say to you, not because you were good or worthy or better than the rest. But because I choose you, and I gave you My Word, and My Word cannot be broken.” “I will be your Shepherd and you shall be my sheep,” “and no one will pluck you out of my hand.” “My sheep hear my voice.”

D. The Comfort of this Psalm
Isn’t this why we love this Psalm so much? Knowing in our heart that we have jumped the fence countless times for greener pastures, God gives us His Word, both to hear and to speak. It is a Word that is filled with forgiveness and acceptance. Now, to say “The Lord is my Shepherd,” becomes a confession of faith that My Shepherd has taken away my guilt and RESTORED MY SOUL and I SHALL NOT WANT.

No matter how far down those thousand paths of unrighteousness that we have wandered, we never go so far that we cannot hear His voice, ‘repent and believe the Gospel,’ and turn and follow Him who “leads me in paths of righteousness.”

When trials and troubles and even death itself casts a deep shadow over us; God gives His Sheep His Word that we may HEAR IT and BELIEVE IT. “YOU ARE WITH ME.” Remind me that this is only a ‘shadow,’ for you have overcome this evil by Your cross. And you have conquered this death by Your resurrection from the dead. Strengthen my faith so that as walk through this valley “I will fear no evil.” Let “your rod and your staff,” Your Word and Sacraments, that blessed ‘table that you have prepared for me,” comfort me.”

And as if all of these ‘temporal’ blessings in this ‘earthly’ life were not enough for ignorant and thankless sheep, this beloved Psalm concludes with the promise of eternal life. In our Gospel this morning, we heard the Lord our Shepherd say, for all of His sheep to hear, “I give them eternal life and they will never perish.”

In our Epistle reading from Revelation of St. John, the curtain was lifted and we saw the holy flock, an uncountable number, led by the Good Shepherd out of the Great Tribulation and who “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

All of the wandering and going astray is over forever. ‘They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in His temple.”

All of the hunger and thirst for forbidden fruit is gone forever. The scorching heat of hell can no longer threaten them. “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

“My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.” “If you say so Lord. If you say so.”

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I. “The Call to Discipleship – Sea of Galilee
It all began while they were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. First, it was the brothers Peter and Andrew who were casting their net, hunting for fish. Jesus called to them from the shore, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And “immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

Their partners, James and John were also fishing a short distance away. Jesus called to them too and they “immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.” (Mat.4:18-22).

St. Luke writes, “On one occasion…” Peter and Andrew, James and John were washing their nets. Jesus said, “put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter whined about having been fishing all night unsuccessfully, but condescendingly said, “at your word, I will let down the nets.” And when they did so, so many fish jumped into the nets that they had to call in backup for help.

It was then, probably for the first time, that it dawned on Peter just whom this Jesus might actually be. In utter fear he said, “depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man.” But far from “departing” from him, Jesus said, 'Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men.' And as soon as they got their boats back onto the beach, 'they left EVERYTHING and followed him.' (Luke 5:4-11).

These 4 and 8 had “left everything behind and followed Him,’ for three and a half years. What a ride it had been.

The things they had learned from this man. Not just interesting facts and information but wisdom; wisdom that was contrary to the wisdom of the world. They had been taught, “blessed are the happy, for they have life by the tail.” But Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.” They were convinced that, “blessed are the strong for they shall conquer the world.” But Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” “Blessed are you when you hunger and thirst for wealth for you shall be satisfied” was countered with “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied…” (Mat.5)

And the things that they saw this man do. Not just amazing things that make you go 'wow, how did He do that?' But amazing things that were frightening and disturbing and made you go, “depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

He healed the sick and gave sight to the blind and cleansed the lepers and even raised the dead solely by the command of His Word or the touch of His hand. He commanded the stormy sea to be still; five loaves of bread to feed a multitude; demons to depart; and they all obeyed.

Over time, they grew to love this man. And over time, they grew to believe that He loved them. He said to them, “As the Father loves me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:9). Over time, they grew to believe that He had loved them long, long before they had loved Him.

You know how it is when you love someone. You rejoice when they rejoice and suffer when they suffer. And how much they suffered when He was arrested and was taken from them and falsely accused and flogged and executed. And there was nothing that they could do to save Him. How their hearts were broken.

I can not believe that they were huddled together behind locked doors ONLY out of fear for their own lives. Surely it was also out of grief and sorrow and mourning for the death of Jesus.

And what confusion. The questions they must have had. You know them because you’ve had them too. Questions like, 'was it worth it?' 'Is the pain and sorrow and the broken heart that they now feel and the fear of what lies ahead, worth what they had experienced with Jesus?' Because, make no mistake, this predicament that they were in was all because of Jesus who called them and Whom they “left everything behind” to follow.

They had to have been asking themselves, 'what if I had not left the nets and not followed him?' Or, 'what if I had not left everything behind and followed Him from a distance like the multitudes did?' They weren't suffering like the disciples were suffering because they didn't have as much invested in Jesus. They weren't afraid for their lives like the disciples are afraid for their lives because they hadn't committed themselves so completely. 'Was it all worth it?' 'What if they had just stayed in the boat?'

Don't misunderstand. This is not a question of being loved by Jesus. Jesus would have loved them just as much if they had stayed in the boat or followed at a distance. If there was one thing that they had learned about Jesus it was that His loved was purely unconditional and He loved everyone.

Nor is it a question of being cared for by Jesus. He would have taken care of them and protected them just as thoroughly if they had kept Him at a distance and not allowed Him to become so “all in all” as He had become for them. How many of those 5,000 and 4,000 were there simply out of curiosity? Yet He fed them all.

And it's not a question of being saved either. If there was one thing that they had surely learned it was that if this Jesus really was the Savior that they had thought Him to be, He saved men and women, boys and girls because of His love and devotion for them and not their love and devotion for him.

No, the question here is not about Jesus and His fidelity to them. The question is about themselves and whether or not their fidelity to Jesus was worth the sacrifice that they had made. And the answer is most certainly “no.”

At least it most certainly would be “no,” if Jesus hadn't come into the room and said, “Peace be with you,” and showed them His hands and His side.

The apostle Paul, whose conversion we heard about today puts it like this, “if Christ has not been raised then your faith is in vain…we are of all people most to be pitied.” If Jesus is not raised from the dead, then what was it all about? “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (1 Cor. 15:14,19, 32).

But if Christ IS raised from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, doesn't that just change everything? Doesn't that make the question of whether or not following Jesus is worth it altogether ridiculous if not altogether sinful?

Since Jesus IS raised from the dead, who would even think that it might have been better to have stayed with the boat or simply followed from a distance?' Aren’t we at least a bit ashamed for even having the thought or pondering the question?

And isn't there a 'flip side' to all of this? What about those who were reluctant to “leave everything and follow Jesus” and who remained at a safe distance? What kinds of questions must they be asking themselves after the resurrection?

What kind of questions must that 'rich young man,' whom Jesus had invited to follow Him, but who would not “leave it all behind,” be asking himself now that Jesus is risen from the dead? “What did I miss?” “What a fool I was to let that “abundant life” that Jesus promised to give to me, slip through my fingers because I wouldn't take the risk, I wouldn't let go.”

After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus doesn't ascend into heaven for another 40 days. What did He do during those 40 days? The gospels seem to say that He did not have that daily contact with the Disciples that He had had for the three plus years before. Instead, He ‘appeared to them’ from time to time.

One of those appearances happened in Galilee on what John calls, “the sea of Tiberius” which is just another name for the “Sea of Galilee.” Several of the disciples, probably those who were from the region of Galilee went there from Jerusalem. Peter said, “I'm going fishing.” The others said, “we will go with you.”

They fished all night and didn't catch a thing. Sound familiar? Just as the sun began to rise, the same time of day that the women went to the tomb, a man on the shore called out to them, “Children.”

“With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our dear father and we are His dear children.”

John says that “they were not far from land, about 100 yards.” They don’t recognize who it is who is calling to them, not because they’re too far away, but for the same reason that Mary didn’t recognize Jesus until He called her by name. And the disciples in Emmaus walked with Him yet never recognized Him. He is no longer recognized by sight as He had been.

“Do you have and fish?” As if to say, “Do you have anything to show for all of the work that you have done?” “Has it been worth it?” And they answer, “No.” “He said to them, ‘cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” “So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.” And suddenly they realized that all of their questions and doubts were ridiculous, absurd, sinful.

It’s déjà vu’ all over again and one of the disciples puts it all together. “It is the Lord.”

“When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, (we’ll just that little detail go. More than we want to know), “and threw himself into the sea.”

What a strange reaction. Did he expect that this time, he would walk on the water without falling in as he had done on that stormy night? Or was this more like Jonah, who ordered the sailors to throw him into the sea to atone for his guilt of not following as he should have, of denying Jesus as he had done, or questioning whether or not it was all worth it?

The others bring the boat with the fish onto the shore. 153 of them, which means nothing more than this was such an incredible catch that they counted them. Even for professional fishermen, this was an astonishing catch of fish. Sound familiar?

The man on the shore had a fire going. He was grilling fish and had some bread. “Come and have breakfast.” Bread, fish, eat. Sound familiar?

When Jesus came to Saul, Saul asked, “Who are you Lord?” But here, “none of the disciples dared asked him ‘who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.

Sometime later, Saul would come to know Jesus not as One who desires not the death of the sinner but as the One who has died so that sinners would receive forgiveness and life in His name.

Reflecting on all that following Jesus had cost him, and answering the question, ‘was it all worth it,’ Saul now Paul writes, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Phil. 3:8).

Jesus is arisen, everything is accomplished, your sins are forgiven, your guilt is atoned for, heaven is open and a banquet is prepared.

We are not far from the shore. We cannot yet see the One who is standing there. But we do recognize His voice. “Children, Come and have Supper.”

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I. A Disappointing Easter Celebration
I don’t know about you, but the way that the disciples of Jesus spent that first Easter Sunday has always struck me as more than just a bit strange. Wouldn’t it be much more along the lines of what we expect to hear if we read that “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the day that Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples and the women who were so devoted to Him, dyed eggs and hid them for the children to find and ate lots of candy and killed the fatted calf and poured the best wine and the banquet was frequently interrupted by one then another shouting, ‘Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!’”?

What I expect to read is that the disciples organized an Easter Parade and marched right through downtown Jerusalem and through the Temple, carrying pictures of the risen Jesus and singing, “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today, Alleluia. (Join me) Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia. Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia. Suffered to redeem our loss, Alleluia.”

That’s the way you spend Easter, right?

But instead of this, what DO we read? “On the evening of THAT DAY, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS…” And they weren’t even all there. Thomas was not with them.

What were they thinking? What were they doing? What were they talking about?

For quite awhile they had found themselves on the wrong side of ‘politics.’ The ‘governing authorities,’ the chief priests, the council, the Sanhedrin, had done all that they could do to interfere with their freedom of speech and freedom of religion; false accusations, rumors, intimidation. And then, just in this last week, they witnessed politics at its worse; bribery, false arrests, blatant lies, rigged trials, stirring up the crowds. And then the ultimate injustice, they had Jesus, an innocent man, put to death.

It’s hard to tell if they still didn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, or if they were simply too intimidated to go public with the news.

II. Jesus Among Them
And then, suddenly, there was Jesus, standing in the middle of the room. “Peace be with you.” He had promised them, “A little while and you will see me no longer; and again in a little while you will see me.” Jesus never fails to keep His promise.

And the disciples turned to see the voice that was speaking to them, and on turning they saw “seven gold lampstands, and in the midst of the lamp stands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, his voice was like the roar of many waves. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” (Rev.1:12-18).

Now that’s the way you celebrate Easter, right?

No, He showed them His hands and his sides. This was no mirage or cheap trick or a ghost. “Ghosts don’t have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” There were the holes made by the nails that pinned Him to the cross. And that was the gash where the Roman spear had stabbed Him in the side to be sure He was dead.

As long as we are on this side of heaven, these are the identifying marks of the resurrected and victorious Jesus; marks of utter weakness and failure and death and “folly to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1Cor. 1:18).

“Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” Their world had fallen apart. All of the danger and disappointment is still there. But Jesus is alive and Jesus is here, with me, for me. “Then the disciples were glad…” What an understatement that is.

A second time Jesus speaks His Word of peace. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.” With His first word of “peace” He sets them free from all of their fear and fills their heart with joy. Now with the second word of “peace” He sends them to feed others with His forgiveness and love and life.

“As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” The Father sent His only begotten Son into the world, not to condemn the world but because He so loved the world. “So I am sending you.”

This faith is not meant to be kept private. It meant to be public, because there’s a world of people who live in darkness, and who will perish in the darkness, whom Jesus died for and rose for and whom He loves.

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” Here, in this ‘little Pentecost,’ 50 days before the ‘big Pentecost,’ Jesus gives them the authority and power of the Holy Spirit to preach and to speak in His name. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

III. The Disciples at the Temple
Fast forward just 50 or 60 days from that first Easter and this little Pentecost and what do we see? Now instead of huddled together in fear behind locked doors, too intimidated to go public, “They were all together in Solomon’s Portico.” “Solomon’s Portico” was one of the several porches that surrounded the Temple where Rabbis would teach. It was one of the places where Jesus taught in the Temple.

“They were ALL together.” “Peter and John and James and Andrew, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James and Mathias, who was chosen to take Judas’ place, and Philip AND THOMAS. The ‘one, holy, Christian and apostolic Church,’ in the public square. “And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.”

Politically speaking, nothing has changed. Same corrupt politicians and dirty politics as ever. Out of “jealousy” they arrest the Apostles for speaking about Jesus. They’re thrown into the clink, all 12 of them, Thomas too.

But if they couldn’t keep Jesus locked up in His tomb, how much less can they keep the Apostles locked up in a public prison? “During the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out…” (Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia.)

The angel gives them instructions on what they were to do. “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”

“Speak ALL the words of this Life.” That includes all those words that no one really wants to hear, like, “you shall have no other gods besides me.” And “you shall honor the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” And “you shall not murder or commit adultery or steal or lie or covet.” And “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

A. False Sense of Security
One of the greatest deceptions that the common religion of our time has foisted on people is a FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY. The message is clear, ‘do you best,’ ‘try your hardest,’ ‘do good,’ ‘don’t do anything that everyone agrees is really bad,’ and you will be saved. “Just as I am without one plea” means that I’m just fine the way that I am and I have nothing before God to apologize for.

Fallen man is always tempted to think that his condition before God is better than it actually is. The word on the street is that what God really wants is for everyone to be good citizens and get along with one another. The critical question of the day is ‘what harm does it do?’

Far from embracing THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE that convict us of our sin before God, they are ignored and resented and those who are willing to speak them in the public square should expect to be intimidated and told to keep their religion private.

B. God in General.
A second great deception of our day involves the danger of believing in a god in general. If asked, ‘do you believe in God,’ the vast majority of our friends and neighbors and co-workers and classmates would say ‘yes,’ they believe in god. And then they would quickly tell you how they define ‘god’ and add that, in the spirit of maintaining peace and harmony in society, no matter how you define ‘god,’ all gods are basically the same. It doesn’t really matter which god you believe in. The important thing is that you believe.

To speak ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE is to speak of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who ALONE is the One, True God. This One, True God became Man in Jesus Christ, and He suffered, died, was buried and rose from the dead to atone for the sin of the world and save sinful men and women. He is the Only way that God has given by which men may be saved.

Again, these are words that are bound to be received poorly if not with at least some hostility. Who doesn’t feel the pressure of SPEAKING ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE in a culture where such public speaking is strictly taboo?

Confronted by the Council, the Apostles were threatened, “We strictly charged you onto to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood on us.”

“And Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” What a stunning response from men who had celebrated the first Easter Sunday in hiding, “behind locked doors for fear of the Jews.”

The specific issues may be different, but the general culture in which the Christian church was born is very similar to the situation of the Church today. And it should not be too hard for us to compare the fears and doubts of the Apostles and the pressure that they were under to remain silent and keep their religion private, with our own fears and doubts and temptations to do the same.

We are blessed to have their example for our encouragement. And we are blessed by the same Holy Spirit whom Jesus breathed on us in our Baptism. And we too “must obey God rather than man.” And God has commanded us to ‘To stand in the public square, and SPEAK ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE.”

The disciples did the same for others as Jesus did for them. They stood among them and proclaimed His peace and showed them His wounds through their speaking. They showed them the mortal wounds of the immortal Christ that speak the light of the world into the darkness of this age. They spoke words like, “In Him was life and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:4). “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have LIFE in himself.” (John 5:26)

They quoted Jesus. “He said to us, “I am the Resurrection and the LIFE. Whoever believes in Me, even though he die, yet shall he LIVE, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25). And He died and rose from the dead to prove it.

And they certainly wanted to bring the blood of Jesus on everyone who would be wetted by it. For by His blood He gives His forgiveness and life and salvation.

“And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.” (Acts 5:14).

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In the 14th chapter of his gospel, St. Luke tell us that Jesus turned to the crowds following Him and said, What king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.” (Luke 14:31-32).

We may not expect to hear advice on military strategy from the lips of Jesus. This is the sort of instruction you go to West Point for – not the scriptures. Yet, here it is. Jesus, sounding more like commander-in-chief than good shepherd.

Which of us who has read the bible – especially the Old Testament – has not been a bit shocked if not a bit turned off by the amount of warfare that contains? And even more shocked to find that most of the time, it is God Himself who is leading the charge?

It may surprise you to learn that every Sunday in the liturgy, this Sunday included, we sing with the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to the “Lord God of power and might.” In the older liturgy we sing, “Lord God of Sabaoth.” “Sabaoth” literally means “warfare.” We sing to the ‘war Lord.’

So, maybe it shouldn't surprise us to hear that Jesus talks to us in terms of military strategy. Only a fool goes against an enemy without a plan. And Jesus is no fool.

I'm certainly no military tactician, but I happen to know that there are several different strategies that may be used in a confrontation with an enemy. There is the frontal attack, the surprise attack, the barricade strategy and the divide and conquer strategy. And you can find all of these being employed in the Scriptures. But there is one military strategy that God uses against the enemy of His people that is the most spectacular and memorable of all of them. And it is the strategy that is called the ‘feint retreat.’

A ‘feint retreat’ is when you retreat from the battle and give your enemy the appearance of being trapped or wounded or weak – only to lure him into an ambush.

I. The Red Sea Victory
The most spectacular and memorable military battle in the whole Old Testament is the one between Israel and Egypt. It is the battle that Israel remembers and celebrates every year to this day. From a military strategy point view – it was the classic ‘feint retreat.’ Recall the course of events.

The people of God were being held captive in Egypt under Pharaoh who would not let them go. There had been Pharaohs in the past that had been benevolent towards Israel, but there arose in Egypt a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph and who turned Egypt into a work camp and a death camp for Israel.

God called a man named Moses to be His general to ‘deliver my people from the hand of Pharaoh.’ Moses was a humble man. He was a shepherd by training, not an army officer. And so when this lowly servant of the Lord laid down his demands to the powerful potentate of Egypt saying, “Let my people go,” Pharaoh just laughed and made life for Israel even harder.

A series a plagues, which Pharaoh chalks up to natural coincidence and finally, Pharaoh tells Israel to pack their bags and get out. In their Exit, called the Exodus, they follow Moses who follows God who leads His people in a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.

Strangely, rather than leading Israel into open country, God leads them to a place where they are “hemmed in.” They are hemmed in by the Red Sea. It’s not good military strategy to let yourself get hemmed in – unless – you’re conducting a ‘feint retreat.’

You know how the action goes from here. Pharaoh reconsiders the wisdom in letting Israel go. “What will we do without this immigrant labor?” He sees that Israel has foolishly allowed themselves to be hemmed in, they’re trapped. Pharaoh pursues with all of His chariots and horsemen. Israel is totally outnumbered and out manned. And when they see Pharaoh and the Egyptian army bearing down on them, they are filled with fear.

And their general Moses issues the strange and unnatural command – “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the salvation of the Lord which He will give you today. The Lord will fight for you. You have only to be silent.” (Ex.14:13-14).

A successful feint retreat depends on knowing a way of escape that your enemy doesn’t know of, and then ambushing him in that escape when he pursues you. Like a secret passageway that He had known was there all along, God reveals shows His people a path that runs right through the middle of the Red Sea. He opens the Sea with a strong wind, Moses says, “move out,” and Israel passed through the Sea on dry ground – with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left.

And Pharaoh, seeing his prey slip away, gives the command – “Charge!” And into the Sea after God’s people they march – right into the ambush – with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left. And when they get about half way across the sea, suddenly the wind stops blowing. And they realize that they are standing on the bottom of the Sea, and as the walls come crashing down, they are all drowned – not one survives.

And Israel, standing safely on the other side, rejoices with a “song of victory to our God.” “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” (Exodus 15:1).

What a victory it was. They had been filled with such fear and doubt and despair because they couldn't see what God had in mind, what He was up to. But now they saw the plan of God open up before their eyes, and it was marvelous to behold.

Never has there been a ‘feint retreat’ carried out so effectively as this. Never, that is, until the one that we celebrate today. The victory over Pharaoh was just a preview of coming attractions. This was just a battle won – the war would go on.

II. The Death Victory
God’s people would continue to be oppressed and held captive by Pharaoh’s Pharaoh, the devil himself. The Devil holds us in captivity to our own sin. Constantly telling us that we have not done enough, not worked hard enough, not produced enough. God cannot love someone like you. But if you just try a little harder and do a little more and improve on your sincerity, then God will love you.

But no matter how hard we try to meet the demands of the law, the devil accuses our conscience and reminds us that we could have done more and better. We could have given more. The harder we work to meet the quota the higher the bar is lifted. And then one day we decide we’ve had enough, we can’t take it, and we renounce the love of God and cut all ties to Him and go our merry way all alone. And the devil rejoices in acquiring another captive for his kingdom, one more deserter crossed over to the dark side.

But when the time had fully come, the time set before God created time, He sent a Savior. There was nothing in His appearance that would suggest that He was a military man. He called Himself a Shepherd. He had no army, no military weapons, not even a place to lay his head.

But the Devil knew who this One was. And He knew that He had entered onto this battle field to reclaim the captives and convert the deserters and to set His people free. The devil knows that this is the One Whom God had promised long ago, in a garden called Eden, would crush the his head.

These two first meet in a desert. How easily Jesus could have called down a legion of angels from heaven to fight for Him. Later, He would command the demons to flee and they would obey and jump into pigs and drown themselves in the sea just as Egypt had been drown long ago. He could have broken the Devil’s neck with His baby finger right here.

But no. “He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man He humbled himself…” (Phil.2:8). How weak and defenseless and vulnerable He is. Now just watch now how He executes the ‘feint retreat,’ and lures His enemy into the ambush.

He is betrayed by one of His own men, apprehended, bound with ropes, taken captive, severely beaten, unmercifully flogged, bleeding from a hundred wounds. Look at this wounded and weak Israel. See how helpless He is. He is hemmed in. Hemmed in by the rough wood of the cross on one side and the nails of steal on the other.

And the disciples of Jesus are terrified. They are sure they too will be swept up in His defeat and that they will all likewise perish.

How many times had He told them His little secret? “And on the third day He will be raised from the dead.” But they did not listen.

“Aha!” cries Satan, with delight. “Now I’ve got you. Now I will finish you once and for all and your people will be my people and I will be their god.” He hears Jesus cry from the cross, “It is finished.” And Satan thinks that this is a cry of defeat and surrender.

But strangely at that moment, Satan feels a splitting headache coming on. He gives the command. “Hem Him in. Seal that stone over the entrance of the tomb!”

But it's too late. Jesus has lured Satan into death by entering into death Himself. It was a perfectly executed ‘feint retreat.’ A prepared ambush, prepared before the creation of the world. God had known this way of escape all along. God raised Jesus from the dead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Do not ever fall for that ridiculous idea that God and Satan are equally matched forces that go at each other like a ying and yang that is never settled. Do not be fooled by appearances, such as the “weakness of a crucified Christ” or “the foolishness of the gospel.” “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is strong than men.” (1 Cor. 1:25).

Within three days, the living Lord Jesus, descended into hell and announced His victory over Satan, who is now the one in captivity. “O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

The disciples look into the empty tomb with the same incomprehensible joy that Israel looked at the Red Sea. They sing the victory song! “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

That's right; the victory has been given to us. We did nothing. At best, we “stood firm and were silent.” At worse, we whined and complained and deserted the love of the one true God for false gods which are all the masks of Satan.

But God gives us the victory. While we were captives, He liberated us and set us free. The power of the Law *that threatens your conscience is now silenced by His more mighty word of forgiveness. The sting of death that strikes fear in your heart has been relieved by the soothing balm of His resurrection from the dead.

No matter how hemmed you may feel you are, fear not! “The Lord God of power and might” has opened the way for your deliverance. It is a way that runs right through His body and blood, hemmed in by this bread and wine on the altar.

Even if you may not be able to see or understand where the Lord God of Sabaoth is leading your life right now, fear not. “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” Knowing how the journey ends makes all the difference in how you travel.

“Therefore my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.”

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I. The Lamb on a Donkey
A Lamb riding on a donkey. Now there’s something you don’t see very often. But this is Palm Sunday and this is what Palm Sunday is all about.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Passover and on Passover, Israel must choose its Lamb for the sacrifice. It must be young, male, and without blemish. Lots of lambs may be ‘young,’ and ‘male,’ but only One is “without blemish,” “holy,” “pure,” “perfect,” “without sin.” And that One Lamb is riding on the donkey.

So what about all of those other lambs that were sacrificed on Jewish altars throughout the Old Testament? What was all that about? Every single one of those lambs, sacrificed for sin, was only a meaningful sacrifices insofar as they pointed through faith to THIS LAMB, riding on a donkey into Jerusalem.

The first time a lamb is mentioned in the Old Testament is in Genesis 4 where we’re told that Abel “was a keeper of sheep.” And God was pleased with Abel’s offering, because when Abel offered a lamb to God for his sin, he did so in anticipation of that Lamb that would take away the sin of his mother and father, Adam and Eve. Why else would the Lord be pleased with Abel’s sacrifice? It’s not lambs and sheep and goats and bulls that God is pleased with, but faith in that One Lamb that is riding on the donkey.

You don’t hear the word lamb or sheep mentioned again after Abel until you get to Abraham. Abraham raised sheep and would, no doubt, offer many of them to God as sacrifices of atonement for his sin and for his family just as Job had done for his. One day, God told Abraham to sacrifice HIS SON, HIS ONLY SON, WHOM HE LOVES. As father Abraham led his Isaac to the place of sacrifice, it is the son who carries the wood that he will be sacrificed on. And the son goes in perfect obedience to his father. There is no sign of resistance. And yet doesn’t seem to comprehend what is about to take place. He asks, “Father, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb?”

And Abraham responds with prophetic words of faith so deep that we can only marvel at them, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son.” Abraham’s prophesy was immediately fulfilled by a ram with its horns caught in a thicket, but only much later was it fully realized on Palm Sunday by the Lamb that is riding on the donkey.

This is the Lamb that the prophet Isaiah saw, riding over the horizon of history, “who bears OUR griefs and carries OUR sorrows… who is wounded for OUR transgressions, who is crushed for OUR iniquities.

Listen to this. “Who bear our GRIEFS and carries our SORROWS.” What is it that causes us GRIEF and SORROW? What drains your spirit and breaks your heart and weighs so heavy on you that it drains every ounce of energy for living from you?

Isn’t it the sin of others that is inflicted UPON US? Isn’t it the rejection of a friend, the betrayal of someone we trusted, the breaking up of a relationship, ‘you have stolen my dreams.’ Isn’t it just having to watch because there’s nothing you can do to relieve his pain, or take away her suffering, or prevent their death? Aren’t these the arrows that pierce our soul and the poison that fills us with GRIEF AND SORROW?

The Lamb riding on the donkey BEARS that, all of that. He CARRIES that upon Himself. There isn’t a drop, spec or atom of it that He does not BEAR and CARRY upon Himself.

Listen to this. “Who is wounded for our TRANSGRESSIONS and crushed for our INIQUITIES.” Here is where things shift from the ‘passive’ to the ‘active.’ This is not about stuff that is inflicted on us, but stuff we inflict on others. The self-absorption of being so wrapped up in ourselves and our own little world, that make us blind and deaf to our neighbor in need; our neighbor who is Jesus, who was hungry and we gave no food, who was thirsty and we gave no drink, who was a stranger and we gave no welcome, who was naked and we gave no clothes, who was sick and in prison but we were too busy with our life to visit and say, ‘take heart, Jesus BEARS YOUR GRIEF and CARRIES YOUR SORROWS. He was WOUNDED FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND CRUSHED FOR YOUR INIQUIES.

The Lamb is WOUNDED with every wound that every single one of our transgressions, either by commission or omission, has inflicted. For every time we have CRUSHED someone’s spirit, either by the things we have said, like “I hate you,” or the things we should have said but failed to say, like “I forgive you,” He is CRUSHED.

And how does the Lamb respond to all of this? “HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH, like a lamb led to the slaughter, like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH.” (Is.53). After all, what would He say? “Father, save me from this hour?” No, “but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:27).

“A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth, the guilt of sinners bearing.
And laden with the sins of earth, none else the burden sharing;
Goes patient on, grows weak and faint, to slaughter led without complaint,
That spotless life to offer, He bears the stripes the wounds, the lies,
the mockery, and yet replies, ‘All this I gladly suffer.” (LSB #486 st.1)

“What wondrous love is this, Oh my soul?”
“Uncomplaining forth.” We should think about that the next time we are about to complain that life isn’t fair.

He’s like Isaac, who obeys his father Abraham without complaint and lies down on the wood without resistance. And yet, GREATER THAN ISAAC because He knows, He knew from all eternity before the world was created, before He left the right hand of God the Father, that He is the Lamb to be sacrificed for the sin of the whole world.

He goes ‘uncomplaining forth’ to the cross because He knows that the offering that He carries in His own body atones for your sin, and heals your wounds, and bears your griefs, and comforts your sorrow, and makes you “without blemish,” “holy,” “pure,” “perfect,” “without sin” before the Father.

He goes “uncomplaining forth” because He loves you.

II. God on a donkey.
St. Paul says that this Lamb that is riding on the donkey is the one, true God. ‘He does not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” So, if you think that the picture of a Lamb riding on a donkey is a bit absurd, how about the picture of God riding on a donkey? But this is Palm Sunday and this is what Palm Sunday is all about.

God, who is everything, “made Himself nothing.” We should think about that the next time all that we can think about is how you can make something of ourselves.

Literally it’s “He emptied Himself.” He emptied Himself while His disciples were arguing amongst themselves as to who was the greatest. He emptied Himself while we were still full of ourselves.

It’s not that He stopped being God. If there’s one thing that God cannot do is stop being God. It’s just that He didn’t use the power of His divinity to save Himself when He perfectly well could have.

He could have turned those stones into bread. He could have jumped safely from the Pinnacle. He could have foiled Judas’ plans for betrayal. He could have named those who struck Him. He could have called a legion of angels to fight for Him. He could have saved Himself and come down from the cross. But He didn’t. He emptied Himself.

He who is in the form of God, the omnipotent and omniscient and omni-present God, took the form of a human servant. Literally it’s ‘a slave.’ One who takes orders and does what He is told and ‘opens not His mouth in protest.’

And all because God is FAITHFUL, and GOOD and MERCIFUL and GRACIOUS and LOVE. These are the divine attributes that He did not EMPTY HIMSELF OF.

He emptied Himself of the power that was rightfully His to fill you with the faithfulness and goodness and mercy and grace and love that is rightfully His. Sometimes we get that mixed up don’t we. We think that Jesus gives us attributes of power and knowledge. But He doesn’t. No matter what the T.V. evangelists may tell you.

He gives us only those attributes of His that can only be used by humbling ourselves and emptying ourselves. “Have this mind among yourselves that is in Christ Jesus.”

Standing before the cross of Christ, we see Him who did not humble Himself or empty Himself for His own benefit. There was no profit in the cross for Him. He who by nature is SINLESS became sin to set us free from sin. He who IS LIFE, DIED, so that we may not die but live. He who is ‘ALL IN ALL’ made Himself nothing because… YOU ARE EVERYTHING TO HIM.

“Yes, Father, yes, most willingly I’ll bear what You command me.
My will conforms to Your decree, I’ll do what You have asked me.
O wondrous Love, what have You done! The Father offers up His son,
Desiring our salvation. O Love how strong You are to save!
You lay the One into the grave Who built the earth’s foundation.” (LSB #438:3)

“What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul.”

III. The Lamb of God on the Bread and Wine
Today, this Lamb, this God, this Lamb of God, rides to you, on a small wafer of unleavened bread and on a tiny sip of wine. Hard to picture, I know. But this is why He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. To BEAR the GRIEFS and CARRY the SORROWS that we have carried with us here this morning; to FORGIVE the TRANSGRESSIONS and PARDON the INIQUITY of our sin that we confess before Him this morning.

And so, how appropriate is it that we should join our voices to those who welcomed Him on that first Palm Sunday, “Blessed is He, who cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”