Midweek 6 LSB #’s 436, 348
Text – Luke 23:43 And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” THAT DAY & TODAY “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” It’s our Lenten theme. With the war in Ukraine we’re seeing this truth: evil is often louder than good. In news reporting, people say, “If it bleeds, it leads.” That is, you take a story that is sensational, even bloody, & you make that the main story. It catches people’s attention. It leads. Evil often is louder than good. Another example. Criticism & negative comments tend to be more powerful, “louder” than positive comments. What sticks with us longer is the complaint or the criticism or the insult – we keep hearing those long after the kindness or the affirmation has faded. This is why so many people carry around in their head & heart a truckload of negative commentary. We play those sound bites in our heads even when we are not consciously aware of it. Evil is often louder than good. It’s true in the reading for this evening from Luke 23. It starts with “the rulers,” members of the Sanhedrin: “they scoffed,” our translation says. It might be better to say, “They kept on continually scoffing” – because when evil speaks, it is loud & long in its sin. Without realizing it, they say true things about Jesus, hanging there on the cross. Jesus is God’s Messiah, His Christ, His chosen one. But He’s not there to save Himself. He’s there to die for all people. The rulers don’t see this, they can’t see it. All they can do is scoff & ridicule. How loud was it? Pretty loud. Then, there are soldiers, the troops directly under Roman control; the executioners who actually kill Jesus & the two criminals. They know the charge that Pilate has settled on, the charge against this perfectly innocent man – the only perfectly innocent man ever. The charge? “King of the Jews.” It’s written on a piece of wood & posted over Jesus’ head. But that’s not enough. In their blindness, the soldiers mocked Jesus: “Don’t kings look out for themselves? If you are the king of the Jews – you even have a sign above you! – if you are the king, save yourself.” Laughter, mockery, insults – loud, evil words. And there’s more. One of the dying criminals actually finds it within himself to rail at Jesus, to blaspheme Him, & once he starts, he keeps on doing it: “Aren’t you the Christ? Well, aren’t you? Do something!” I wonder how the rulers & the soldiers reacted when one of the men who was dying beside Jesus joined in the noise, the mockery. They’d already taken His clothing. The Lord has no dignity left at all. And now this criminal’s voice adds to the din. It’s loud, & it’s long, & it’s evil – the way that evil often is. But then – there is one voice. He speaks to his fellow criminal, & then speaks to Jesus. This solitary voice speaks not out of blindness, or ignorance, or hatred, or mockery. This believing voice speaks honesty & truth & hope. Honesty, truth & hope. We’re going to listen carefully to this voice, to the believing criminal. We need to understand what he said in faith, even with all the noise around him. And then, Jesus answers him! Jesus hasn’t replied to any of the noise around Him, but He speaks to this man. We’ll listen carefully to Jesus’ voice, too, as He promises a gift. This believer – for that is what we have to call him – this believer 1st speaks to his fellow criminal. We don’t know what these two have done, whether they committed a crime together, or if it was just their turn to die. But his voice of faith is, in the 1st place, astonishingly honest, about himself & his “fellow.” “Don’t you fear God?” The unbelief all around him is ignorant, they don’t even know that something more is going on here. Something mysterious ... God’s justice is at work ... & something more. The criminal goes on. “Look – you & I are dying here because we deserve what we are getting. But this man has done nothing wrong!” In a way, these words don’t quite prove that this man is a believer – but how does he know this about Jesus? He’s right, of course. He’s very right & he has been hearing the evil voices around him, saying things that are actually true: “If you are the Christ, if you are the king” & Jesus is the Christ, the king of the Jews. He is king over everyone. Jesus has done nothing wrong, yet He is dying on a cross. Can He really be the king? The believing criminal’s next words show the depth of his faith, & remember, this isn’t the 1st time that God works powerful faith in what seems to us to be an “unlikely believer.” There was a centurion in chapter 7, whose beloved servant was sick unto death. The synagogue elders in Capernaum pleaded with Jesus to help the man: “He is worthy for you to help. He is worthy – help him.” But before Jesus gets to the man’s house, the soldier sent word & his faith shines: “No, I am not worthy, not worthy for you to enter my home. But I know who you are, & I know what sort of authority you have & how it works. Don’t come to my house; I’m not worthy for you to enter it. Just stop where you are & speak. I know my servant will be healed.” Jesus marveled; the Son of God was amazed. He’d never seen faith like this in any of the sons of Abraham; only from this Gentile. Luke tells us about other believers like this: a sinful woman who knows Jesus & His mercy. She loves Him & anoints His feet & wipes them with her hair. There was a bleeding woman who believes that all she has to do is touch Jesus’ clothing. There’s a short, rich tax collector whom everyone hates for one reason or another, but when Jesus comes to his house – transformation! And Jesus says, “Today is an unexpected day. None of you saw it coming. But today, salvation came to the home of this unlikely believer, Zacchaeus. Today.” So, does this criminal really know who Jesus is? Does he believe that Jesus, dying on the cross next to him, can still be the king? Yes, he does. Let’s carefully consider his words to Jesus. He speaks the truth, & he speaks in hope. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42 ESV) We have to be clear about what this man is saying. He knows the truth. He knows that Jesus is the king, the King, surrounded by evil, as evil destroys Him. He also knows the truth that gives him hope. You see, if Jesus is that King, this will not be the end of Jesus! If He is God’s true King, no evil can stop God’s plan through His Chosen One. If Jesus is the King, then the day will come, the day must come when evil is undone, & injustice overthrown, & the world put right. The day must come when Jesus enters into all the glory of His kingdom. While he himself is dying, the believing criminal looks for that day. Remember me, Jesus, on that day. I deserve everything I am getting, but You can save me. That is the truth & the hope, so, remember me, Jesus, when you come into Your kingdom. Friends, you & I have the privilege of being able to read Luke’s Gospel, & we know that Jesus Himself nails down the meaning of these words. Just hours before, in the upper room, Jesus made a promise to the apostles who were about to betray Him or run away. He promised to restore them after He was raised from the dead. You could say “He promised that He would remember them.” Here’s the promise He gave them: “that you may eat & drink at my table in my kingdom & judge the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:30 ESV) Jesus’s promise will come true because after sin & evil have done their worst to Jesus, He will rise in victory. And Jesus’ promise to the apostles just hours before will come true on that day, the day of final victory, over every enemy, even over death itself. Somehow, the believing criminal has come to know this; God has revealed it there at the end of his life. The believing criminal knows the truth about Jesus, & has his hope set on the day of King Jesus’ final victory, & all he says is this: “Jesus, remember me on that day. I don’t know when, I don’t know how. But remember me on that day.” And Jesus will. And that believer will have a place at the table with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, & with the apostles themselves. Honesty – he knew what he deserved. Truth – he believed who Jesus is. Hope – he looks forward to that day. But there is more, because Jesus answers him. With Zacchaeus, Jesus had a gift for that dying believer before anyone expected it: “Today salvation has come to this house!” With Christmas, in Bethlehem, before the shepherds expected it: “Today there has been born for you in the city of David a Savior.” Likewise, for the criminal who trusted that the true king would remember him on the great day, King Jesus has a gift already now, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Paradise is the place of rest & safety, in the presence of the living God. When death comes to that believing criminal, his body & soul are torn apart for a time; that’s what death does to us. This will happen to Jesus, too, in the great mystery of the death of God. But paradise, rest, safety & peace, will be the portion of that believer, even as he continues to wait for that day. Death will bring a time of waiting, a time of resting, in paradise. Jesus will remember him when He comes into His kingdom, but Jesus gives a gift, already now: “Today you will be with me in the presence of my Father, in paradise.” Friends, listen to the voice of faith, not unbelief, when evil is around you – even when your own evil wants to rise up & deafen you with its noise. There are lots of mockers & scoffers today. Their voices seem so loud. There’s plenty of evil in our world right now, & it can feel like the noise will crush us. But we have seen the strange & unexpected salvation of God. The evil came against Jesus & crushed Him, yet, when that Sabbath began long ago, no one living was able to hold on to the promise. Nevertheless, victory came & death was undone, when the King rose from the dead. We are still waiting – with the church on earth & the church at rest – still waiting for Jesus to come into His kingdom with all His glory. Let that quiet voice of faith long ago shape & guide how you think & speak with honesty, truth & hope. Let your voice speak honesty. “We are getting what we deserve,” the believing criminal said. And we say as well, that we deserve nothing but wrath & death if left to our own goodness, our own strength. If God left us alone with ourselves, we deserve the same. Let your voice speak truth – the truth about Jesus, the true King. On that afternoon long ago, He was King when He gave up all His royal privilege & power. He emptied Himself, as Paul says, & became obedient to God’s plan to save the world. But He was still the King. That’s why the dark day did not last. That’s why our Lord rested in the tomb only for a time. That’s why there was a “today” that no one expected – the today of Easter! Let your voice speak honesty & truth. Let there be hope, unshakeable hope built on & based on the King. This king has a great memory so no one who calls upon Him will be put to shame. It’s Lent again, & that means that the final Easter has not dawned, not yet. There is evil around us & within us, but hope that is built on the King does not listen to the clamor of evil. We hear that voice of faith from long ago, & we speak as that believer spike: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 22:30 ESV) Your King will come, & He has a great memory. That’s why we’ll sing an Advent hymn this evening: “The king shall come when morning dawns, & light triumphant breaks, when beauty gilds the eastern hills, & life to joy awakes.” He has claimed you, & He will remember you on that day. And if you die before Jesus comes again in His kingdom – because we don’t know when that will be, it’s possible that you might not! – but if you die before that day, then Jesus’ words long ago become words for you, too. Today, you will be with me in paradise, resting in peace & joy with Jesus, as with the whole church we wait for the day. These two hymn stanzas may be familiar to you; they are a perfect way to end our meditation this evening. Stanzas 6 & 7 of “For All the Saints” – with a slight paraphrase inserted: “The golden evening brightens in the west; soon, soon to faithful warriors ... & believing criminals ... cometh rest; sweet is the calm of paradise the blest. Alleluia. But lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day! The saints – you, me, & a believing criminal – the saints triumphant rise in bright array. The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia.” LSB 677:6-7. In the name of the Father & of the Son, & of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 5th Sunday in Lent – C LSB #’s 803, 420:1-2, 6-7, 427
Text – Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness & rivers in the desert. PLAY BALL “Lo, the winter is passed, the rain is over & gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time for the singing of birds has come. And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.” (Song of Solomon 2:11-12 KJV) Are you aware that those words are from the Bible? They’re certainly not as well-known as John 3:16. Yet, prior to 2010, those words of Holy Scripture were read for over 40 years on the 1st day of Spring training. They were an Ernie Harwell tradition as he worked the radio broadcast from baseball diamonds across Florida. Even then, if you were a Tiger’s baseball fan, you may not have been aware of the fact that those words come from the Song of Solomon. It’s one of the least known books of the Bible, & making its meaning even more obscure, Mr. Harwell was quoting the King James translation. What is clear from that text is that spring has sprung. That’s why Mr. Harwell quoted it every year at the 1st game of spring training. For baseball fans at least that always marks the beginning of spring, even if you live somewhere that’s still cold – like Michigan. Hope springs eternal with baseball fans & spring is the season when none of their hopes & dreams has yet been crushed. For God’s people from the nation of Judah, their hopes & dreams were going to be crushed because they no longer centered them in Yahweh. They had long since abandoned any real allegiance to their Creator. False gods had drawn their attention & devotion, so Yahweh’s chosen people were lunging headfirst toward death & destruction. God’s chosen nation could no longer interpret the meaning of Yahweh’s warnings against the damage their sins would cause. They did not hate their sins nor did they flee from them. God’s heart is broken over their refusal to repent & turn back to Him. As long as they continue to follow false gods they will walk into eternal destruction, therefore Yahweh will send Babylon to destroy their earthly city that they might finally return to God’s heavenly city. The people’s hopes & dreams, of life as their parents had it, would be crushed through the destruction of Jerusalem & their captivity. This is how the previous chapter of Isaiah ended: “So [God] poured on him the heat of His anger & the might of battle; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.” (42:25 ESV) Isaiah had been commissioned to warn them, but the people ignored him. Eventually they killed him, yet his words lived on in the scroll of Isaiah, to guide the coming generations that were held as captives & slaves in the foreign land of Babylon. There are many similarities in our nation today with Israel & Judah thousands of years ago. The people of our land do not hate their sins, but flaunt them, & the last thing they’ll do is flee from them. All the mainstream churches today are complicit in this, encouraging people to go on sinning because conservatives have been misinterpreting the Bible forever. What Paul wrote to Timothy is certainly the case today in the United States: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” (2 Timothy 4:3 ESV) For God’s people thousands of years ago & for God’s people today, Isaiah gives warning & offers hope. After the destruction of God’s punishment has passed by, a new thing will spring forth from God’s hand: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness & rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19 ESV) I saw a robin in the backyard yesterday. Onions are sprouting in my garden & the asparagus will not be far behind. Spring is arriving in Michigan, & it is a yearly reminder to us of the newness that our Creator offers with His love. What Isaiah is writing about as the new thing that God is doing, is the exodus from their exile in Babylon, yet the ultimate new thing is the fulfillment of God’s old covenant with the advent of the new Israel – who is Jesus Christ. In the time of Isaiah, the birth of Jesus is still 700 years off, but ultimately that will change eternity for all who trust in Him as their Savior from sin. However, people are easily tempted to resist turning back to God while still claiming to follow Jesus. You probably recognize these words even if you don’t realize that Jesus was actually quoting Isaiah 29: “Because this people draw near with their mouth & honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me…” (29:13 ESV) Sinful human beings are simply not capable of keeping any kind of covenant with the Great I Am, no matter what awe inspiring signs He gives us. The rescue of ancient Israel culminated with their exodus through the Red Sea & the destruction of the Egyptian army in that same Red Sea. Not four days later the people of God were grumbling against Moses about having no water to drink. Isaiah’s promise of the new thing Yahweh will do is going to address the deep brokenness of humanity & the entire creation. Just as spring takes us from the deadness & cold of winter to new growth & warmth, so the exodus from Babylon foreshadows the exodus of Jesus from the tomb on Easter morning. What the promise means for us is that we will go from the deadness & cold of our sinful self-centeredness to the life & warmth of perfect harmony & community with all other life. You’ve probably heard this definition of insanity. It’s doing the same thing over & over, but expecting different results. Sin had us trapped in that cycle of insanity, constantly trying to break free in the same way, over & over, & always finding ourselves still chained to evil. Jesus has come to set us free, but that process won’t be complete until our bodies are raised in power, perfect & new. In the meantime, you & I have been set on a new path, as God said, “I will make a way in the wilderness & rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19b ESV) That verse is important, because many times in this sinful life we wonder if we can make it even one more day. The brokenness caused by sin weighs so heavily upon us. Remember, just three days in the wilderness, after crossing the Red Sea, the people were complaining against Moses about the lack of water. Jesus rose from the dead that we might have rivers in the desert. He is promising that He will sustain us, & angels sent by God will watch over us. The Holy Spirit will guide & direct us, even when we cannot imagine that He is with us. Sometimes, that is simply seeing the 1st robin of spring. At other times it’s the first bloom of a crocus. This world we live in now is a desert & wilderness compared to heaven. That’s how much sin has corrupted things. What’s important to realize is that the first Exodus, out of Egypt, was not just a one-time historical event. It is also a pattern for all of Yahweh’s future acts of deliverance, which have occurred already in many small & large ways in each of our lives. All of them are ultimately connected to the great exodus to occur when our decayed bodies or dust or ashes will finally be forever freed of the chains of sin at the final resurrection. For now, the season of spring can be a reminder to us of new life & new growth in our walk with God. The Bible reinforces that thinking from beginning to end, in many different ways. The season of Lent is a type of winter & the season of Easter is a type of spring. The key point is to always work towards keeping our hopes & our dreams centered in Jesus. Amen. Christ, the life all the living, Christ, the death of death, our foe, Who, Thyself for me once giving to the darkest depths of woe: through Thy sufferings, death & merit I eternal life inherit. Thou hast suffered great affliction & hast borne it patiently, even death by crucifixion, fully to atone for me; Thou didst choose to be tormented that my doom should be prevented. Then, for all that wrought my pardon, for Thy sorrows deep & sore, for Thine anguish in the Garden, I will thank Thee evermore, thank Thee for Thy groaning, sighing, for Thy bleeding & Thy dying, for that last triumphant cry, & shall praise Thee, Lord, on high. Amen. LSB 420:1, 6-7. |
AuthorPastor Dean R. Poellet Archives
April 2024
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