I AM - Lent Midweek Two - February 25, 2015 - Text: John 18:1-9

Our text for this evening is John 18:1-9: “1When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”  Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” This is our text.
 

This evening we continue our trek through the Lenten Season uncovering the answer to the question behind the question, finding the inner depth of the Words of Holy Scripture. Sometimes when we read a passage of Scripture we might stop and wonder and ask, “I wonder what God means by that?” This evening we will continue to mine the meaning of the words and message of God’s Word and in particular the words of our text for this evening.
 

We begin this evening with the arrest of Jesus and setting the scene. Before gathering in the Garden, Jesus had been with His disciples in the upper room, the guest room as it were, or as we heard during advent and Christmas, the katalooma. He had been celebrating the Passover with His twelve apostles and from the Passover He had given them something new, His Holy Supper, the Lord’s Supper. After the meal they sang a psalm and then made their way to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus liked to go with His disciples.
 

As they reached the garden, Jesus left some of His disciples in one place and took with Him Peter, James and John a little further. He left Peter, James and John, those referred to as His inner circle and He went still further away to be in prayer. As He left each group of disciples He had asked them all to be in prayer with Him. On this particular evening we are told that Jesus had been in prayer with the Father and three times He asked of God the Father, concerning His upcoming suffering and crucifixion that this cup of suffering might pass from Him, but if not, “Thy will be done.”
 

Each time after praying Jesus returned to His disciples to find that they had not been praying but were sleeping. Each time Jesus warned them to stay alert and pray lest they be lead into temptation. As we made note last week, even though Jesus is truly God, as true man He knew the importance of prayer and being strengthened by God the Father.
 

Finally, after the third prayer, after Jesus had been strengthened by God the Father and as He returns to His disciples, to find them sleeping again, we are told that Judas enters the scene and with Judas we are told that he has what we would call a band of temple “thugs.” These were probably temple guards and not associated with the Roman government.
 

As Jesus approached Judas and as they met in the garden the scene was certainly a scene of chaos. It was dark and difficult to see. Faces and people were difficult to identify. Judas and the temple thugs were ready for a stand off, even a rumble. Tensions were high. And yet in the chaos and confusion, Jesus remains calm. Jesus is calm because He had been in prayer and was strengthened for what was to lay ahead.
 

John tells us how the arrest took place. As the band of thugs approach, Jesus asks, “Whom do you seek?” and they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus’ response was, “I am he.” Now, let us compare Jesus response to God’s answer to Moses in the wilderness when God called Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt. When Moses asked God, “Whom shall I say sent me?” God answered, “Tell them ‘I AM’ has sent you.” Notice the similarity. God is the great I AM. And interestingly enough this conjugation of the “be” verb is in the present tense which helps us to recognize that our God is not a God who was, past tense or who is to be, future tense, but our God is a God who is and who lives in the eternal present tense, He is I AM. Jesus is true God and so He answers likewise that He is the I AM for whom they are looking.
 

At Jesus’ response, “I am he,” we are told that the band of thugs fell to the ground. They fell to the ground because they could not stand in the presence of God, the great I AM. And yet, even these events, just as all of Jesus’ signs and wonders did not convince the mob of Jesus’ true identity.
 

And so, Jesus asks again, “Whom do you seek?” and the answer again was, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and Jesus’ response again was, “I am he.” Then Jesus asks that the disciples be let go and we are told this was to fulfill Scripture.
 

What does this mean? What is Jesus claiming by saying, “I am he?” During the season of Advent we follow along preparing ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, in Hebrew, the Christ in Greek. This Christ was promised in the Garden of Eden immediately after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sinned and brought God’s curse on the world. God stepped in and promised that He would take care of the sin of Adam and Eve and of all people. He would take care of doing what Adam and Eve and all people could not do. God promised to send a Christ who would live a perfect life, obeying all God’s laws and commands perfectly and take care of the curse and sin of all people. The only way a Christ could do all this is if the Christ would be born in perfection and the only way He could be born in perfection would be that He is truly God. And the only way He could live as our substitute would be that He is also truly human. And so, Jesus is truly human being born of the human woman, Mary and Jesus is truly God having been conceived by the Holy Spirit. Thus, Jesus is God in flesh. Jesus is the I AM who called to Moses in the wilderness.
 

Jesus is God in flesh who came for a purpose. Jesus was born to fulfill all righteousness. What all mankind could not do, what all the people of Israel could not do, what we cannot do, Jesus came to do, perfectly for us in our place. Jesus was born, lived a perfect life obeying all God’s commands perfectly, fulfilling all the prophecies concerning the Christ, the Messiah perfectly, took our sins upon Himself, suffered, died and rose in order to fulfilled all Holy Scripture. All the prophecies and promises concerning the coming Christ were fulfilled in Jesus. All the law, all the commandments were kept perfectly in Jesus. When Jesus lived He had us, you and me in mind. When Jesus took our sins, it was your sins and mine that He took. When Jesus suffered eternal spiritual death in hell, it was our sins, for us, with us on His mind. When Jesus rose, He rose for us. When we partake of His sacrifice in His Holy Supper, eating His body and drinking His blood, we are identifying with Him and participating in His life, suffering, death and resurrection, so that they are our life, suffering, death and resurrection.
 

And so Jesus fulfills the last words of our text, that none were lost and even more today He continues to work through His means of grace to give, strengthen and keep in faith so that even today He loses none, not you or me. Jesus is I AM, the eternal God in flesh for us. Jesus is God who created us and all things. Jesus is God who has given each of us life at conception, new life through Holy Baptism and all the gifts and blessings He has to give through His means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments. Jesus gives life, faith, forgiveness, even eternal life. Jesus gives because of His great love for us and we are given to.
 

What a great God we have, a God who gives all and neither demands no expects anything from us as if He needed anything from us or needs us to do anything for Him. He gives and we are given to, grace upon grace, pure grace. And He even stirs in us to rejoice and say, to Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Jesus’ Usual Custom - Ash Wednesday - February 18:2015 - Text: Luke 22:39; John 18:1

Our text for this Ash Wednesday service are: Luke 22:39; “And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him” and John 18:1; “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.” These are our text.
 

It is often said that Jesus is an example and it is true that Jesus is an example, He is even the greatest example. And while it is said that Jesus is an example it must never be said, nor implied that the statement and fact that He is an example mean that we are to follow His example in order to be saved. If that fact were true, then we would be totally devastated, because we cannot be like Jesus. Jesus is an example, but even more than being just an example. The fullness of the Gospel is that He lived for us in our place. Everything that is demanded of us by God, that we should be holy as He is holy, that we should fully and completely obey all His commands has been accomplished by Jesus for us. Thus we rightly begin with Jesus’ life and His usual custom, that is that what He usually did He did as an example to us but even more, as a fulfillment for us because we fail.
 

What was Jesus usual custom? What did Jesus usually do? Two important characteristics of Jesus’ life come out quite vividly when one reads through the Gospels. One of the first usual customs we see of Jesus in the Gospels is that we see Jesus in worship. Jesus’ usual custom was that on the day of rest, the Sabbath day, Jesus was in worship. Time and again we read and hear of Jesus being in worship.
 

A second important characteristic of Jesus’ life that we see vividly in the Gospels, is that throughout the Gospels we see Jesus in prayer. The fact that Jesus, who is true God and true man, is in prayer should give us pause to ponder, as we are simple human beings. Perhaps being in prayer might need to be good part of our life as well.
 

Jesus is God. If Jesus is God, why would He need worship and prayer? Jesus is God and He is truly human and thus He needed to be in worship and in prayer especially because of the fact that He is human. Although Jesus is at the same time truly human and truly God He bears the same characteristics of both, except that as a human He was without sin. As human man, Jesus had all the needs we have especially the need to be in worship and prayer.
 

A second reason Jesus needed to be in worship and prayer was so that as a human He might be able to fulfill all righteousness for us in our place as our substitute. Jesus did everything we are supposed to do and He did it perfectly. Where we fail and have failed, He accomplishes perfectly.
 

So, we might ask, when Jesus is in prayer, is He talking to Himself? After all, we understand that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, undivided. Jesus is true God and as true God He has all knowledge, thus He knows all and even in His humanity He has all knowledge. You might recall that after His resurrection He was no longer bound by time and space even in His humanity, but He was as He is now, always and everywhere present.
 

Yet, even though Jesus is true God, in His state of humanity, as true man He wills Himself not to know, and that is the best Lutheran explanation and understanding as we have. In other words, Jesus as true God, in His humanity allows Himself to make a disconnect, not for Himself, but for us, in order to help us to see Him in His humanity and as a man to see His need to be in worship and in prayer. Remember, the reason Jesus took on human flesh was for us, in order to fulfill all righteousness for us, in our place.
 

As an example, Jesus continually demonstrated to His disciples and us, how we are to be, how we are to live and move and have our own being. Thus, Jesus was seen by His disciples in prayer and worship, so that they might know and understand their need to be in prayer and worship. If the Savior of the world, who is truly human and truly God, needs prayer and worship, would we not all even more so need prayer and worship?
 

But not only was Jesus an example to His disciples as to how to be in worship and prayer, He also taught His disciples how to pray. Remember the Lord’s Prayer as we call it. After watching Jesus in prayer and when His disciples asked Him how to pray, Jesus taught them and gave them the most wonderful prayer of all, His prayer, the Lord’s Prayer. For those who would suggest the only real prayers are those we make up in our hearts, I would refer them to the Lord’s Prayer and ask if they did not learn anything, for indeed the Lord’s Prayer is the greatest prayer. I cannot make up a better prayer than Jesus Himself and I know Jesus’ desire is to hear me say back to Him the very words He has given me to prayer in His prayer.
 

Indeed, Jesus taught His disciples especially as He modeled for them as an example what they are to do. He regularly went to the Mount of Olives to pray with His disciples. His usual custom was to be in prayer and worship, modeling for us and demonstrating to us our need to have as our usual custom to be in prayer and worship.
 

Yet, even Jesus disciples were like we human beings. When Jesus left them to be in prayer they fell asleep. Jesus struggled in prayer the night of His betrayal and His disciples slept. How often do we find ourselves in worship or in prayer struggling to keep from falling asleep. It is not that we are tired or bored, but that the devil, the world and our own sinful nature continue to tempt us to refuse and reject the gifts God gives, especially the gift of conversation and the gifts offered in worship.
 

What does this mean? We are not gods, but humans alone, thus we need worship, that is we need time where the Lord can and does come to us to give us the gifts He has to give through His usual means of giving His gifts, His means of grace. We need times of Bible study, personal and family devotions, reading God’s Word on our own and with others, and especially we need times of worship. Through the very Word of God, the Bible, through our being reminded of and remembering our baptism, through confession and absolution and through the Lord’s Holy Supper our Lord comes to us to give us all the good gifts and blessings He has to give. He loves us first. He gives to us first. He movers in us first.
 

Again, we are not gods, but humans alone, thus we need prayer, that is we need time to speak to our Lord in prayer. In this way we have a conversation with our Lord. He speaks to us through His Word, we speak to Him in prayer.
 

As we begin Lent we begin by looking at and to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. We look to Jesus who gives, strengthens and keeps us in faith. We look to Jesus as our model, our teacher, our example and even more the One who accomplished everything for us in our place because we cannot. As we have been given faith and as our Lord works in and through the very means He has given to give, strengthen and keep us in faith, so our faith is shown in our desire to be where the gifts are given out. Our desire is to be in worship whenever offered so that we might be given the gifts God gives, faith, strengthening of faith, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. And truly, a lack of the desire is indeed a sign of a lack of or no faith.
 

Jesus is our example, but even more, He is the One who accomplished all that He demonstrates to us. Jesus’ usual custom was to be where the gifts of God were given out, even as He is the One giving those gifts. Jesus’ habit, what He usually did, was to be in worship and in prayer, not because He needed to, but because of our need, to demonstrate to us our need and fulfill our being given to. And now He stirs in us to rejoice and say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Christ Removes the Veils - February 15, 2015 - The Transfiguration of Our Lord - Text: 2 Corinthians 3:12-13 (14-18) 4:1-6

Today we celebrate Transfiguration Sunday, the day we are reminded of Peter, James, and John’s mountain top experience as disciples of Jesus Christ. It was fitting that these disciples had this experience when they did and that we celebrate this event today, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Jesus was preparing for His crucifixion and His transfiguration served to strengthen Him as well as His disciples for the events which were about to take place. So, I pray that our Lord’s Word this morning will serve to wake us up and to prepare us for our up coming Lenten Season.
 

Before we get into the text for this morning I would like to take a moment to look at the other readings for today. Our Old Testament lesson for today is the historic account of Elijah’s ascension into heaven and his leaving Elisha to take his place. Elijah was indeed a man of God and the Lord allowed for him to not die, but to ascend bodily into heaven. As the lesson goes, we read that “chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them (Elijah and Elisha). And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (v.11). And please notice, it was not as we so often mistakenly suggest when talking about this event, that Elijah was taken to heaven by a chariot of fire, but as we go back and check the text we are told that he was taken into heaven by a whirlwind. A chariot of fire and horses of fire is what separated Elijah and Elisha.
 

In our epistle lesson Paul mentions Moses who, as we remember because he struck the rock instead of speaking to it, was not allowed to enter the promise land with the rest of the children of Israel but died and was buried by God Himself. Then as we listened to our Gospel lesson for today both Elijah and Moses appear, being with Jesus who was transfigured on the mountain. Obviously Peter was frightened and did not know what to say, so he suggests that they build three tents, or booths, to shelter Elijah, Moses, and Jesus. This was not the reason for the transfiguration, to have booths or tents built so they could permanently stay.
 

Although we may not be completely certain of the reason or reasons for this event, we might make a couple of suggests. Remember, Jesus came to be Israel and us for us, that is He came to be perfect for us in our place. He came to fulfill all righteousness. He came to do what we and all of Israel could not do, live perfectly. So, understanding why Jesus came, one suggestion for this transfiguration event is that Jesus was conferring with Moses, the law giver, to make sure that He had completely and actively obeyed all the laws of the Lord, for us and in our stead. And He was conferring with Elijah, who is held by many to be the greatest prophet in Israel, to make sure that He actively obeyed all the prophecies, the promises concerning Himself as the Messiah, again, for us and in our stead. And most certainly, this transfiguration event was meant to strengthen Jesus’ resolve to take our sins upon Himself, go to the cross and suffer for us. I believe it also helped strengthen the disciples belief in the resurrection, because here was Moses who had died many years ago, alive. Interestingly enough, the disciples were given orders by Jesus not to tell anyone about what they had seen until after Jesus’ resurrection.
 

Today is Transfiguration Sunday and as you can see, the scripture readings all fit very well together. I believe the main theme running through these lessons is the cloud, or veil as our text says, that covers us from our understanding of the Gospel message and that Jesus and faith in Him is the only way to remove this veil. According to our sinful human nature we resist the Gospel, instead we look to the law to justify ourselves and it cannot be done. The law serves to veil the Gospel even more and it is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that the veil is removed and we see the Gospel message and its freedom.
 

Our text tells us that for the Israelites still today there is a veil over the old covenant, that is the Old Testament, so that they do not understand the freedom of the Gospel. Before we stand in judgement of them, however, we need to look at ourselves and see how the gospel remains veiled to us today because of our own resistance. Of course we would never admit to having our eyes clouded over by these veils, but take a moment to give, as Paul would say, sober judgment as I talk about the veils we have over our eyes and see if one does not perhaps cover your own eyes.
 

The first veil with which we cover ourselves is the self-righteous veil. This veil includes work righteousness and dependency on the law. And the first thing that pops into our mind is, what are you talking about? I am not self-righteous, I do not think that I can get to heaven by my own works. But is that true? Do we always remember that it is Jesus who is the only way to heaven. Why is it then that we compare ourselves with others? “I am no worse a person than my neighbor.” It is because we can always find someone worse than we are. Instead of comparing ourselves to others we would do well to begin by comparing ourselves to Jesus who was perfect and that is how we find out just how bad we really are. Yes, we are self-righteous people and we often look for ways to justify ourselves and why Jesus should let us into heaven.
 

The second veil with which we cover ourselves is the “I’m not good enough” veil. This is the woe is me, self-pity veil. We think that if we condemn ourselves enough that God will feel really sorry for us and He will have to let us into heaven. We have had it so rough here on earth that we are not deserving of hell.
 

The third veil with which we cover ourselves is the intellectual veil, that is we think we are smart enough either that we do not need any further Christian education, or that we can answer any questions God might have for us. For some this veil has evolved to the point that they do not even need God anymore because their world can be explained by science or by any number of theories. For others, they think confirmation was graduation and see no further need to study God’s Word. And for too many we believe that one hour a week on Sunday, or every other week on Sunday is enough “God” time, instead of hungering and thirsting after the Word of the Lord every Sunday, even desiring to be in Bible class and have personal reading of God’s Word, personal and family devotions and the like.
 

The fourth veil with which we cover ourselves is the philosophical veil. This veil tends to lead us to a very watery faith. We come to the belief that God is love and He would never really send anyone to hell, so we become very universalistic in our belief, that is, that everyone is going to heaven. It does not matter what you believe, as long as you believe something or as long as you are sincere in your faith. And this tends to lead to a very humanistic point of view, that is that man is essentially good and there again deserving of heaven. We forget that we human beings are conceived and born in sin and are naturally enemies of God and that God is a just God and has promised to punish sin.
 

The fifth and last veil with which we cover ourselves is the religious veil. This is another of the obvious work-righteous veils, which by the way all of these really are. This veil says that I always go to church and therefore I deserve heaven. Or, I have been a member of this church all my life. I have taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School. I have been a member of the LWML or LLL, this board, that board, and on and on. I am sorry, but none of these good works will get us into heaven. And this type of thinking clouds over the real Gospel message.
 

Which brings us to what I call Christ’s veil removal service.  His veil removal service works first with the plow of justification. That is, through the working of the Christ’s death and resurrection we are justified and through the Holy Spirit working in our hearts we are brought to faith. The word justification means to be made right. It is a very fitting legal term used because not only do we stand accused, but we are also found guilty in God’s court. We are conceived and born in sin and there is no way we can save ourselves, and we have seen from the previous examples of how we try to do so. It is only because of God’s grace, His undeserved love toward us that we are saved. Because of His grace for us He sent Jesus to take all our sins upon Himself and to suffer for all of them. He died and He rose so that we might stand before God and be declared justified, right in His eyes. It is His justification for us which frees us from the bondage of the law so that we are no longer veiled and can see the freedom of the Gospel. Working through Word and Sacrament, what we call the means of Grace, He is the one who gives us faith. We cannot even claim our own faith as something we do, because it is only through the Holy Spirit working in our hearts that we are given faith.
 

His second plow is the plow of sanctification. That is, through the working of the Holy Spirit we are transformed. The word sanctify means to make holy, to make special. Even though we are made right before God we are still sinners. We are now in the process of becoming saints. We are no longer what we were before, that is completely lost and condemned persons, but we are not yet all that we will be, that is completely saints in heaven. We are on our way to become more and more Christ-like. We are becoming more and more holy with His help. Of course we continue to understand that we will never be completely holy until we reach our home in heaven.
 

Our sanctification is our response to our justification. First, we are justified and this is all done by God. Next God works on our sanctification. Again, this is something God works at within us. God works at our sanctification through our worship and Bible class attendance, through our daily family and personal devotions, through our remembering our Baptism, through our Confession and absolution, through our daily reading of God’s Word, through our attending the Lord’s Supper as often as we can. And with our Lord working through our daily Christian example we bear witness of the faith that is in us.
 

We are much like the Corinthians to whom Paul was writing. The Transfiguration of Jesus has already occurred. Christ has already lived, suffered, died, and risen for us. We can read about these historic events in the Bible. Now the Holy Spirit is working in our hearts, 18And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (v. 18). May the Lord continue to work in you that transformation. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

For the past twenty-three plus years or so, as a pastor I have listened to various people discuss their personal difficulties, and one main theme seems to be at the root of the afflictions we so often bring on ourselves.

When people share with me their financial difficulties, my first question, which may sound a bit odd and perhaps even rude is, “How is your giving?” In other words, have you faithfully responded to all the good gifts and blessings the Lord has given to you by stepping out in faith and giving or rather returning your first fruit tithes to the Lord? Indeed, when we understand, realize and believe that all that we have in one way or another first comes from our Lord, instead of asking how much should we return we perhaps might ask, “How much should I keep for myself?” Because we cannot out give God, especially since everything comes from Him first, we show our thankfulness to Him for all His gifts by returning our first fruit tithes to Him. It is only as we fail to recognize God as the gift Giver that we fail to respond in faith with our first fruit tithes. And then we usually wonder why God is not blessing us as we think He should.

I cannot tell you how many people, who after learning the joy of first fruit tithing have said that before they were first fruit tithers they had no idea where all their money went and why they never had any left, but after they learned the joy of first fruit tithing it seemed they still did not know where all their money went, but they always had some left over. Mathematically speaking it did not seem to work out as it was all the same money and bills, but God made it work. The point is, we cannot out give God and He is the one who gives to us in the first place. I will continue to challenge anyone who is having money “problems” to step out in faith and learn the joy of first fruit tithing and see what happens, how much more God will bless you as He is the One who gives the first, the best and the most.

The great thing about first fruit tithing is that it is so simple. The first money spent from money earned is returned to God and the amount is simply 10%, or a less percentage with a goal of the Biblical tenth. With percentage giving of first fruits, if you did not earn anything, you do not give anything, and the more you earn the more you may have joy in returning.

The second affliction that is often shared with me as a pastor has to do with relationships, especially husband and wife relationships and my first question is, “How is your church attendance?” More often that not those with relationship difficulties are those who do not have a good relationship with Jesus. Now, understand, just being in church does not guarantee a perfect relationship or marriage, but it goes a long way in helping. Very often the response to the question of church attendance is that it is not very good to which I then ask, “And do you suppose you would be in this difficulty had your attendance been better?” and the response is very often, “No.” You see, a good relationship, a good marriage begins with a good relationship with Jesus. It is only as we have a good relationship with our Lord and are being given His forgiveness and love that we can reflect that forgiveness and love to another person. And the first and best place to be given forgiveness and love from our Lord is the place where His gifts are distributed, His Divine Service.

Our problems all stem from sin, the curse in the Garden, and our own sin. Indeed, we daily sin much and are in need of forgiveness. As we say on many Sunday mornings, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8,9). Our greatest need is forgiveness of sins and that forgiveness is poured out most generously in Divine Service. Thus we are continually encouraged to make regular and diligent use of the means of grace, especially being in Divine Service.