Sermon for the 5th Sunday in Lent - The Raising of Lazarus and other Miracles

Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 26^th
Year of Our + Lord 2023
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD

Hymn 496: 1 - 2

Holy Spirit, light divine,
Shine upon this heart of mine;
Chase the shades of night away,
Turn the darkness into day.

Let me see my Savior’s face,
Let me all His beauties trace;
Show those glorious truths to me
Which are only known to Thee.

OLD TESTAMENT                           Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV) 

    The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. [2] And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. [3] And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know." [4] Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. [5] Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. [6] And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord."

    [7] So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. [8] And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. [9] Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." [10] So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

    [11] Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.' [12] Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. [13] And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. [14] And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord."

L:  This is the Word of the Lord                 C:  Thanks be to God

Preaching

     It was just a vision.  We think.  Maybe.  But as we consider the whole of Scripture, it becomes clear that this vision of dry bones becoming living, breathing people, by the power of God’s Word, doesn’t have to be just a vision.  Such a miracle would be no greater than the other miracles the Bible describes.  In fact, it is quite similar to the main miracle that God has promised to perform for His chosen people: to re-create them from fallen sinners to eternal saints.  Many modern people struggle to accept that a giant fish swallowed Jonah, and also, oddly, they ask how it was that Jonah survived.   Jonah’s story is definitely not presented in Scripture as a vision, but rather as an historical event.

      All the amazing occurrences of the Bible are rightly understood as interventions by the Almighty Creator God, through the power of His Word.   We call such interventions ‘miracles,’ God, for His saving purposes, intervening in the normal course of earthly events.  We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and nothing is too hard for the LORD who can call the Creation into existence out of nothing. 

     Much of the world today denies the possibility of the miraculous, ridiculing anyone so backward and foolish as to suggest that God works miracles.  This rejection of miracles is the very shade of darkness, the denial of God.  Such dark lies may even cloud our own thoughts from time to time.  So we sing, and pray for the Holy Spirit to chase these shades of night away, by the power of His Word. 

Hymn 496:3

Holy Spirit, pow’r divine,
Cleanse this guilty heart of mine;
In Thy mercy pity me,
From sin’s bondage set me free.

EPISTLE                                    Romans 8:1-11 (ESV) 

    There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3] For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [5] For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

   [6] To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7] For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8] Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

    [9] You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10] But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11] If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

L:  This is the Word of the Lord            C:  Thanks be to God

 Preaching      

   This is what it’s all about.  The Creation, miracles, the power of God, these are all necessary facts of the Christian faith.   But here in Romans 8 St. Paul reveals the heart and center.  Here is the purpose to which God applies His divine power.  Here is the thing the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see:  Sinful, dying human beings freed from sin and death in and through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

   Jonah’s three days and nights in the belly of the great fish foreshadow the three days Jesus spent in the clutches of death and the devil, as He suffered to wash away the sins of the world.  The prophesying of Elijah to give flesh and breath to the valley of dry bones is a foreshadowing of the resurrection to eternal life of God’s faithful people.  The Ten Commandments help believers, still struggling with the sins of the fallen flesh, helping us to know and remember how God desires us to live, and reminding us to rejoice that we are saved by Christ, not by our own works.  Because they always fall short.  Baptism is the joining of Christ and His Spirit to the believer, so that led by Christ, we can live to righteousness, free from the fear of condemnation, free from the fear of death.  Christ is the center, for He is our salvation. And so, above all songs, we sing His story.    

 Hymn 496:4-5

 Holy Spirit, joy divine,
Cheer this saddened heart of mine;
Yield a sacred, settled peace,
Let it grow and still increase.
 
Holy Spirit, all divine,
Dwell within this heart of mine;
Cast down ev’ry idol throne,
Reign supreme, and reign alone.

INTROIT                          Ps. 116:1–4, 8; antiphon: Ps. 116:15

P:  Precious in the sight of the LORD

     C:  is the death of his saints.

P:  I love the LORD, because he has heard

     C:  my voice and my pleas for mercy.

P:  Because he inclined his ear to me,

     C:  therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

P:  The snares of death encompassed me;

  the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

     C:  I suffered distress and anguish.

P:  Then I called on the name of the LORD:

     C:  “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”

P:  For you have delivered my soul from death,

     C:  my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

P:  Precious in the sight of the LORD

     C:  is the death of his saints.

 

L:  The Holy Gospel, according to St. John, the 11^th chapter.

C:  (Spoken) Glory to you, O Lord

 GOSPEL                         John 11:1-57 (ESV)

Verses 1-16 

    Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." [4] But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

    [5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. [7] Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." [8] The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" [9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. [10] But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." [11] After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." [12] The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

   [13] Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. [14] Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, [15] and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16] So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

 Hymn 543:1

What wondrous love is this,
O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!

 Preaching:   Christ is the heart and center of Christian faith.  But there is no shortcut to this center.  We can learn the promises, we can be told the contours of faith, we can know that God forgives and saves sinners who are sorry and desire to turn from their sins. 

     But faith is not merely knowledge.  Faith is dyng and rising.  Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ, which kills the sinner and raises a believer to new life.  Faith lives in and from Christ.  Faith needs to hear, again and again, of the words and actions of that one man, that unique man, the One who is both God and man, Jesus Christ.  Because His life is our salvation.  His perfect loving service takes the place of our failures to serve. His wisdom drives out our foolishness.  He dies our death.  Our faith in Him is kindled and fed and kept alive by the Spirit telling us His story, again and again. 

     Today, then, is an excellent day for your faith, because we have a whole bunch of John’s Gospel in front of us, a wonderful window into the work of Christ.  Today we are reminded that Christian faith is no easy thing, not easy grasp, or embrace.  Because the Savior hides Himself and His love under things that seem the exact opposite.  Jesus loves Lazarus, Mary and Martha, by waiting two days before going to them in their distress.  Jesus, loving them, delays His response to their prayer, so that Lazarus can die.  Strange love, from One who has shown many times that He has the power to heal the sick.  Mary and Martha, like us, want Jesus to heal every illness.  But Jesus loves Lazarus, Mary and Martha, by letting Lazarus die. 

     In this we learn that faith in Christ is more important than earthly life.  We love our lives and are frightened of losing them, or even of facing struggles.  But through the story of Lazarus, we learn that life comes from Jesus.  So being connected to Him is literally more important than maintaining our earthly life.  For our true and eternal life is hidden in Christ Jesus. 

Verses 17 - 27

     Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, [19] and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. [20] So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." [24] Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

Hymn 543:2

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
Beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.

Preaching

     Jesus used the death of Lazarus to draw a crowd, and reveal the truth to them.  He is still doing it.  Funerals are very often important evangelistic opportunities for the Christian Church, a chance to speak of Christ to people who normally stay away from Church.

     And yet, at a funeral the first concern is always for the family.  That’s why most people come.  Many, maybe most people, try to keep their ears firmly shut during the service; they are just there to show support for the wife, the sisters, the children of the dead.  This concern is fine.  Jesus Himself showed similar concern, as He tends to Martha.  But notice Jesus speaks no pious platitudes about what a good fellow Lazarus was, or how he’s “in a better place.” 

    Jesus wants to comfort her, but only with a true word.  And so His Word to Martha, while it is about Lazarus, is also about Jesus: “Your brother will rise again.”  Martha acknowledges that this is a promise of God:  "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."   Jesus, having guided the conversation to where He wants, declares that He Himself is the promise of God:  “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever  believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” 

   Now, that is a good Word.  So good, we use that line in our funeral service, two times, in fact, including right before we head to the graveyard.  We want to make sure the focus is, at the end, on Christ.  These words are good, so good that Jesus’ proclamation creates faith in Martha.  “Do you believe?” asks Jesus.  "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

Verses 28-44

     When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. [31] When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. [34] And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Jesus wept. [36] So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?"

     [38] Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. [39] Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." [40] Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" [41] So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. [42] I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." [43] When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." [44] The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

L: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: (Spoken) Praise to you, O Christ.

 Hymn 543:3

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM.
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing.
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

Preaching:  Believe, and you will see the glory of God.  This is the promise Jesus makes, that all who believe, all who, even in the face of death, confess with Martha that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, coming into the world, all such believers will see the glory of God.  And Jesus is not just promising the minor peek at glory given to those gathered around Lazarus’ tomb.  That was quite a reversal, quite a testimony.  There had not yet been time for the bones to dry, so their noses tremble in dread expectation of a foul odor proceeding from the corpse of the four-day-dead Lazarus.  Miraculously, they instead smell the breath of life, as the Word of Christ raises Lazarus from the dead.   

     And yet, the miracle God promises His people is even greater than this.  Lazarus was unbound from his funeral clothes, but not yet set free from evil, forever.  Lazarus was blessed, but not yet with eternal blessing, not yet with the final victory.  But it was coming, very soon.

Verses 45-57

     Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, [46] but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47] So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. [48] If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." [49] But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. [50] Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." [51] He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, [52] and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. [53] So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

    [54] Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

    [55] Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. [56] They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?" [57] Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Hymn 543:4

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on;
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from death I'm free,
I'll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I'll sing on, I'll sing on,
And through eternity I'll sing on.

Preaching:  Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead.  So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."   

     Wow.  What’s it going to take?  Why won’t the Jewish leaders believe in Jesus?  Earlier in His ministry Jesus declared:  "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”  Here we see this Word lived out.  Despite that Jesus had raised the dead man Lazarus back to life, the Pharisees and the Council and the High Priest Caiaphas will not believe in Jesus.  They will not believe, because they do not think they need a Savior from sin. 

   Oh, they don’t deny they are sinners, but they don’t take sin seriously.  They truly believe that they are on balance good people, so much more good than evil that God must accept them.  They reject Jesus’ word that all who sin, even just a little, are slaves to sin, and must be set free by the Son of Man.  This is the law of Moses and the warning of the Prophets, the first, condemning Word from God, that sinners must believe before Jesus can help you.  Sadly, the Pharisees, Elders and Priests will not hear this message, because it insults their religion and their pride.  And so they hatch their plan to kill Jesus, before things get altogether out of hand.   Lord have mercy.

     Through whom can God speak eternal truth?  Through whomever He wants, even through unbelievers, even through demons.  In the midst of this wicked council, God was causing His truth to be declared.  The High Priest Caiaphas is quite right, it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.  Caiaphas at this point is displaying exceptional wickedness, but his words are true.  It is even better for Caiaphas.  An expert in God’s Word, Caiaphas knows that Jesus is fulfilling prophecy after prophecy.  But in his pride and desire for comfort and prestige and power, in his love for his religion of works, Caiaphas stubbornly rejects Jesus.  But Jesus dies for him too.  Jesus’ pleads to His Father to forgive even Caiaphas.  If only he would repent of his wickedness and confess Christ like Martha.  Lord have mercy. 

     The table is set, the pieces are all in place.  The evil plans of the priests and Pharisees are set in motion, and without knowing it, they serve the forgiving plans of God. 

   What they did to Jesus was wicked.  But I cannot claim innocence, and neither can you.  This is a great danger for us church-going, religious people, to see Christ’s death as coming at the hands of “those” wicked people.  To fail to see your own guilt is to be like Caiaphas.  It is to cut yourself off from the Cross, and the Cross is your salvation. 

   So go ahead, marvel at the ignorance and evil that killed Jesus, but also confess and fear your own sin.  Know that in your sin you are just as deserving of God’s eternal punishment as Caiaphas.  Confess the Cross for what it says about your sin, so that Jesus can confess what His blood says about you.  For all who see Christ crucified and repent of their sin will hear His blood declare, in heaven and on earth, that you are forgiven, washed clean, accepted by the Father, beloved children of God, for Jesus’ sake.  In love, God has destined you for the resurrection to new and glorious life, by the power of His Word, Amen. 

Blind Jesus - Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Lent

Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 19^th, anno + Domini 2023
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, Custer and Hill City, SD
Blind Jesus - St. John 9:1-41, Isaiah 42:14-21

Jesus refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer whom we love,

Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above: 

Often have Your eyes, offended, Gazed upon the sinner’s fall;

Yet upon the Cross extended, You have borne the pain of all. 

      How could He stand it?  How could Jesus, Holy God from heaven, now entered into human flesh, endure looking around Himself, to see the people who had polluted and scarred the good world that He created?  Often have Your eyes, offended, gazed upon the sinner’s fall.  So wrote the hymnwriter Savonarola, wondering out loud how Jesus put up with seeing the likes of us.  

     Isaiah tells us how Jesus did it, in our reading from his 42^nd chapter:  Jesus was blind.  Jesus, the Servant of the Lord in the book of Isaiah, does all sorts of strange things to bring Israel back to the Lord, and today we hear this about Him:  “Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, …  blind as the servant of the Lord?”

     Jesus was not literally blind.  He was not literally deaf.  But, as Isaiah continues, “He sees many things, but does not observe them;  his ears are open, but he does not hear.”  Jesus had to overlook the sin that surrounded Him as He walked the so-called Holy Land.  Jesus had to shut His ears to the constant lies and evil talk that polluted the air all around Him.  

     “Who sinned?” asked the foolish disciples, “this man born blind, or his parents?”  Who, they want to know, is God punishing with this blindness? 

      Who sinned?  How did Jesus resist shouting back at them, “You all did!  You all do, all the time!”?  Jesus could have asked: “Why are you worried about the sin of this poor blind man, when you yourself are filled up with sin, through and through?”  Their question is ridiculous, and suggests two lies: first, that we can connect each particular problem a person suffers to particular sins they have committed, and second, that suffering people are less important to God.  Their suffering is surely just punishment from God, unlike the rest of us normal, healthy people. 

     None of us are normal and healthy, as God originally created us to be.  All of us are sinners, deserving far worse than being born blind.  God has been holding back on our just punishment, ever since the Fall into Sin.  But the disciples are blind to these truths.  They are more interested in dissecting the sins and woes of another, rather than facing their own.  The Lord averts His eyes from the offense of their pointing fingers, which single out the blind man in his suffering, reducing him to a subject for their religious debate.  Jesus covers His ears, ignoring the foolish pride of their words, which suggest they are better off than this man born blind.  “Nobody sinned,” says Jesus, “this was all so that the glory of God could be revealed, through the works that I will do.” 

   It had to be hard, teaching the Twelve.  Jesus, the lone professor at God’s traveling seminary, is trying to prepare the Twelve to be the foundation stones of His Church, to be spiritual leaders and builders.  But they don’t even grasp the most obvious points of Scripture:  “No one is righteous, no, not one…  All have turned away, all our righteous deeds are as filthy rags…  The intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”  The great King David, and everyone else, was conceived in iniquity.  Humanity is shot through with sin. 

     From Genesis through Kings, from the Psalms through Isaiah, through story, poem and straightforward declaration, the Old Testament Scriptures, which the disciples had heard many times, make it quite clear that our fall into sin was complete.  Our whole being is infected, all of humanity, no one escapes, no one is righteous in and of himself.  

     And yet, they ask Jesus, “Who sinned?”  These future Apostles, the future architects of Christ’s Church, His future missionary preachers, show no compassion for the suffering, no concern for the wretched life of this poor blind man, no focus on the needs of people.  But they do want Jesus to tell them who sinned, this man who was born blind, or his parents?  And so, as He had to do ever since the Fall, God’s Son again makes Himself blind and deaf, temporarily blind to the sinful ignorance of His chosen disciples, deaf to their ridiculous questions.  

     The disciples, like we also tend to be, are the ones who are truly blind: blind to our sin, blind to our predicament, unwilling to see or hear the hardest truth of all.  Unwilling to believe just how lost in sin we poor children of Adam truly are.  God ever since the Fall has held off, delaying the punishment we deserve.  We sinners like to interpret this mercy to mean we are really not so bad, really not poor miserable sinners.  

Differences over the nature and depth of human sin are what create much of the mischief within Christianity.  Such differences and disputes are common, because no one wants to believe what God has to say about sin.  It’s just so painful.  Our Lutheran Confessions, over four centuries old and still full of contemporary wisdom, get sin right.  I quote:

“In spiritual matters the understanding and reason of mankind are ‹completely› blind and by their own powers understand nothing, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” 2. Likewise, we believe, teach, and confess that the unregenerate will of mankind is not only turned away from God, but also has become God’s enemy. … Just as a dead body cannot raise itself to bodily, earthly life, so a person who by sin is spiritually dead cannot raise himself to spiritual life. ^[1]”

     End quote.  Ugh.  Who wants to talk about that?  Let’s not talk about our sin.  Let’s instead ask who’s to blame, the man born blind from birth, or his parents.  Let’s talk about the weather.  Let’s talk about anything, rathr than deal with the reality of sin as the Scriptures do.  Just like us, the disciples prefer to avoid any real conversation about their sin.  And amazingly, Jesus lets it slide.  He overlooks the foolishness of the Twelve, turning a blind eye to their arrogance, humoring their ridiculous question.  “Neither this man, nor his parents, are to blame,” explains Jesus, “This blindness is so the works of God may be shown in him.” 

     One of the most surprising parts of God’s plan of salvation is that, for a time, for a very long time, God purposely overlooked our sins, in order to bring Christ.  God would have been completely just to have immediately and fully punished Adam and Eve in the Garden.  The same goes for all the rest of us, each time we sin.  But God had another plan.  For God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our trespasses against us, overlooking former sins, waiting for the right time to reveal the truth. 

      The disciples, like us, prefer to talk about the sins of other people.   How much easier it is to talk about how bad things are, rather than take action to improve things. 

     Jesus, on the other hand, ignores His disciples foolish arrogance, and acts.  Jesus 
works, spitting and making mud and rubbing it on the man’s eyes.  Jesus heals.  Jesus teaches, slowly revealing Who He is to this man born blind, to open the eyes of his soul.  

     And, at the very same time Jesus was healing the eyes and creating faith in the heart of this man, He was also arranging the ultimate solution to human sin and sinfulness, the greatest of all God’s works.  Jesus broke the Pharisees’ rules by giving sight to this blind man on the Sabbath Day, the day of rest.  Even more, through the bold confession that He inspired in this man, Jesus was enraging the Pharisees.  Jesus elsewhere calls these the religious teachers of the Jews ‘blind guides,’ who were misleading the people of God down the path of trying to work their way into God’s favor.  Jesus now directly confronts their lies and challenges their authority, so that they would seek His death.  

   Soon, Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead, the final straw that hardened the religious establishment in their plan to have Him killed.  Jesus could see into their evil hearts.  All along He could see their plans, better than they could.  But God’s Servant overlooked even this.  Jesus acted to help the man born blind.  But He takes no action to protect Himself from the Jewish leaders’ murderous plans. 

     Jesus turned a blind eye to the Jews’ schemes against Him, so that He could magnify
the Law of the Lord, and make it everlastingly glorious.  But Jesus does not make the Law glorious by dishing out punishment to evildoers.  That’s what I would do.  I would really stick it to the wicked, if I wasn’t one of the them, that is. 

But Jesus, who is not like me, makes the Law glorious by meeting the full measure of the its requirements, keeping the Law every moment of His life.  Then He accepted from His Father the full measure of the Law’s punishments against sin.  These he accepted, in His own Body, even the punishment deserved by the Pharisees, even the punishment deserved by your sins, and mine. 

     This is the path Jesus makes for the us blind sinners.  This is the path we would never find for ourselves, the way of righteousness that runs through the shed blood of the Righteous One, the Lord’s Servant.  He bore our sins, because we could not.   He died our death, because only He could destroy death.  He rose to new life, so that all who believe in Him might not perish, but live, through Him, and in Him, and with Him, forever. 

     See Christ, magnifying the Law of the Lord.  See the pain in His eyes, as He suffers for the wickedness of the Pharisees.  See Him, as He suffers for you.  See your sin, poured out on Jesus.  Confess it.  He suffered in your place.   

     See, on the very same Cross, Christ loving you.  Meet His merciful gaze, which sees you as a beloved child of God.  Jesus is looking at you, seeing you in His resurrection light, loving you by the forgiveness of your sins. 

     See Christ, risen from the dead, bringing light and life, illuminating the darkness, with His Word, seeking the lost, feeding His Sheep.  See Him, and, like the man born blind, suddenly your whole world will look different, new, full of hope, in the light of Christ. 

     In the Light of Christ, the insults, problems and injustices of this life are trifles; they have no power to ruin your future.  You don’t even need to let them ruin your day. 

     In the light of Christ, you begin to see all those sinners all around you as other souls for whom Christ died.  They are, just like you, men and women, boys and girls, all born spiritually blind, but to whom Christ wants to give saving sight. 

     Live with your eyes wide open, seeing the frightening reality of your sin.  But even more, see the limitless grace and mercy of God, the light of Christ, which shines on you, forever and ever, Amen. 

 

---

^[1]Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions. 2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (477). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Salvation is Worshiping the Father in Spirit and Truth - A Sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Lent

Third Sunday in Lent
March 12^th, Year of Our + Lord 2023
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
Salvation is Worshiping the Father 
       in Spirit and Truth - John 4 

   There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."…  The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?"

    It's the sixth hour, that is, about noon.  It's probably hot, and dusty.  Jesus has been walking
all morning, and Jesus is human.  So He’s thirsty.  This is all straightforward, but this encounter at Jacob's well is also packed with tension and subplots. 

    In the ancient world, wells were meeting places.  Everyone had to go there.  Watering holes could even be places of courtship, where a man and a woman might meet, places even of romance.  At a well Abraham's servant found Rebekah, the wife for Isaac, the woman Isaac would love, (Genesis 24).   At a well Isaac's son Jacob met his beloved Rachel, (Gen 29).  At a well the exiled Moses protected his future wife Zipporah and her sisters from a mob of male shepherds who were harrassing them, and so Moses was taken in by her father Jethro, while he unknowingly awaited God's call into service, (Exodus 2).

      Just given the role of wells in ancient culture, this meeting of Jesus and the Samaritan woman has a hint of impropriety to it.  No devout first century Jewish man, let alone a religious teacher like Jesus, would normally want to be seen alone with a woman who was not his wife.  And Jews generally avoided dealing with any Samaritans, whom they considered almost sub-human.  And that Jesus speaks with this Samaritan woman, who we will learn has a history of messy relationships, makes the whole encounter at the well very unsettling. 

      Jesus creates social tension, by asking this woman to give Him a drink.  The Samaritan woman is surprised and questions Jesus about the propriety of His request, Jewish man to Samaritan woman.  And yet she is drawn to Him.

    It’s hard not to wonder if, given Jesus’ forwardness, she might have hoped that He could be a new and better man for her.  And, of course, Jesus is the Man she needs, just not in the romantic sense that she might be thinking.  But, as we will see, whatever direction the Samaritan woman trys to turn this unexpected conversation, Jesus will turn it to His own purposes. 

    He replies, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."    The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."  Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

     That was abrupt.  Jesus doesn't spend time building a relationship, getting to know this Samaritan woman.  He unexpectedly asks her for water, she questions the propriety of His request, and then He immediately turns the conversation to God, and life with God, and His own identity.  She doesn't get it.  Her mind is stuck on literal water in a literal well.  But Jesus doesn't worry about her temporary confusion.  She wants to see what trick Jesus will perform to draw water out of a deep well.  Jesus ignores her question and instead speaks God's Word of truth, words about spiritual realities, and eternal life. 

   The woman replies, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."  The idea of a perpetual water source is very appealing to this woman who has never even heard of indoor plumbing.  She has had to work hard all her life to get the water she needs to live.  So, perhaps half-mocking and half-hoping, she asks for the eternal water Jesus describes.  The woman, without realizing it, asks Jesus to save her, to give her His eternal water of life. 

    We might expect at this point that Jesus would gently encourage her and explain to her all about the salvation that He was bringing.  But repentance for sin must come before faith.  So, Jesus applies the Law, exposing her sin.  Jesus says, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."

     Ouch.  Several things are happening at once.   Jesus demonstrates His divine knowledge by telling this woman about her sins, which He couldn’t possibly have known through earthly means.  Jesus also lays bare the central struggle of this woman's life:  trouble with men.  Suddenly the propriety of this one-on-one encounter, between a man and a woman, out in the countryside by themselves, becomes even more suspect, because this woman has been going through men at an alarming rate: five marriages, and now a relationship with a sixth man without the benefit of public marriage vows. 

     Jesus is unconcerned with our sensibilities, unconcerned with what people will think
or say.  But He is concerned to remind us that to truly preach the saving Gospel, we must proclaim both Law and Gospel.  We sinners must be brought to repentance over our sin before we even understand the need for a Savior, let alone believe in a Savior who dies on a cross.  So, Jesus applies the Law, and exposes her sin.  It's never pleasant, but it must be done.   

     Who are the people in your life that you would like to see drawn to Christ's living waters?  As we think of the outreach of this congregation, we must remember that we cannot skip the proclamation of the Law.  Now, we are not all-knowing like Jesus.  So preaching true law is harder for us, and we need to be gentle, to tread carefully.  We do need to build relationships.  And also, we should notice this: even though Jesus knows all her sins, see how gently He preaches the law.  Jesus doesn't beat this woman over the head with her sins.  He simply reveals the truth, and stops.  He doesn't tell her to fix her life, to straighten up and live respectably.  She already knows what she is supposed to be doing, but she has been failing.  She doesn't need more directions for overcoming her sin; she needs to be rescued from her sin.  She needs to be washed clean, in Jesus’ living water. 

   The woman, her sin revealed, changes the subject:  "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." Amazingly, this woman doesn't seem to take offense that Jesus has laid bare her sin.  Perhaps she is just dodging the painful topic of her past, but she acknowledges that Jesus has special knowledge from God.  Finally the conversation reaches the topic Jesus really wants to discuss:  the relationship between God and sinful man, as it is created and sustained in true worship. 

   "So, Mr. Prophet,” she asks, “How should we be worshiping?  You Jews say Jerusalem, we Samaritans, who also claim the books of Moses, say here in Samaria, at Mt. Gerizim.  Who is right, the Jews, or the Samaritans?" 

     Finally Jesus has reached His desired topic, so for the first time He gives her a direct answer.   "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

     Now we can see why Jesus is willing to break so many societal taboos by talking with this Samaritan woman: He has come to this well to proclaim God’s salvation.  Yes, explains Jesus, there is a difference between Jews and Samaritans, and yes, by God’s election the Jews are closer to the truth.  But now all that is changing.  The walls of separation, erected by God around Israel as a necessary part of the plan for bringing the Messiah, are now coming down.  Now true worship no longer is tied to one people or one place, but rather true worship of God the Father is tied only to Spirit and Truth. 

    Spirit and Truth.  Here we have a clear prescription for right worship, straight from the mouth of Jesus.  But what are Spirit and Truth?  Well, Jesus tells us that God is spirit.  Paradoxically, our worship begins in God.  That is why we call it Divine Service, for true worship begins with God serving us.  If you come to worship thinking you are doing God a favor, that first and foremost He is looking to get something from you, then you misunderstand the spirit of true worship.  The first and most important thing in worship is us sinners receiving God's service to us.  Only then can we do something in response.  Only by first receiving His grace and forgiveness can we then serve Him, with our confession of faith, our thanks and praise, and our lives of service to others.  

     God is spirit, and of course the third person of the Holy Trinity is the Holy Spirit, the Helper as Jesus names Him.  The Holy Spirit's work is to remind us of what Jesus has taught us about the Father.  In John’s Gospel we also hear Jesus flatly declare:  I AM the Truth.  True worship, then, is Trinitarian, the Spirit leading us to the Father through the Son, Jesus Christ. 

   The Church wisely constructs her worship using this Word of Spirit, arranged in faithful and memorable forms.  For we have the very mind of the Spirit, handed down to us in the words of Holy Scripture, the Word of Truth.  This is why true worship in the Spirit is Biblical worship.  This is why good liturgy is mostly Scripture, and entirely Scriptural. 

   This is also why, in our hymnal, the various parts of our liturgies have, in small italic print, Bible references that show us from where in Scripture they come.  It wasn’t some committee in a room who made up these words we say in worship.  We worship by primarily using the Word that God has given us.     

     True worship agrees with the Spirit's Word of Truth, which reveals Jesus to us, who is Truth in human flesh.   So true worshipers are careful to ensure that the things we say, the words we sing, and the confession we make are true, and never lies.  For this is the true worship that the Father desires, the true worship that saves our souls. 

   The woman said to [Jesus], "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I AM, the one who speaks to you.”   

     The woman is impressed by the words of this prophet.  She does not yet fully understand, but she is encouraged by Jesus’ preaching.  So, she expresses the Promise that has sustained her faith throughout her troubled, sinful life.  She declares the promise of the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior who was to come and reveal all things.  Jesus now has her right where she needs to be, eager for the Messiah.  And so He closes the deal.  He replies to her hope for the Messiah by saying, literally, "I AM, the one who is speaking to you."  

   Jesus identifies Himself as the Messiah, the Christ, and He does so by answering with God’s Old Testament name: I AM.  It’s awkward to translate it literally, but that’s really the point.  No more confusion.  Jesus has brought this woman to the heart and center of true worship, which is the revelation of Jesus Christ as I AM, God in the flesh, the Messiah, come to save us from our sins.  True worship brings us to Jesus, even as He is coming to us, reaching out to save. 

     If you read on in John chapter 4, you will see that this story continues from the conversion of one woman to the salvation of many, as she brings her neighbors to meet Jesus.  God works through this sinful woman to draw many to His living water.  There is a great deal for us to learn in this.  We will do well to meditate on the Truth that God works through forgiven sinners to draw more sinners to Himself.    

   

But for this morning, we will end our meditation with our sister-sinner at the well, standing with Jesus, worshiping the One who gives the Water of Life.  He is the One who gave His own life for ours, atoning for all the sins of this woman's messy life, and all the sins of our messy lives. 

   By the leading of the Spirit, we too are blessed to stand before the One who gives us
new life, through His True Word, in the waters of Baptism, and at His Table. 

    God grant that His Spirit keep us in the Truth, worshiping our Savior Jesus, both now and in eternity.  Amen.