Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

To be captive is not something that anyone desires. With that being said, you and I are captive to the Law. The Law that Paul speaks of is the Law of God. Jesus, when preaching one of His sermons says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” God’s Law is one of complete obedience to His Word and man proved at the outset that we were unable to keep His Law. However, the Law did serve its intended function.

The special instructions given to the Israelites in order to control their worship life and the laws regarding clean and unclean food that controlled their eating patterns served to separate them from the pagan world. These regulations served as a hedge and protected them as God’s special people. But more importantly, these regulations were a constant reminder of how things stood between the Israelites and their God. Every breaking of the Law, every neglect of the many individual precepts was a testimony to the thoroughgoing sinfulness that marred their relationship to a just and holy God. God’s Law showed Israel its sin and it shows us our sin as well. The Law could teach the need for righteousness, but it could not give the required righteousness. There was the problem: the Law could not provide salvation as the Judaizers and the Pharisees claimed. It could only point to and prepare for the salvation that needed to come from another source, namely, the promised Savior.

We can’t understand what freedom is unless we know what living is like without freedom. St. Paul is writing to the Galatians warning them not to come under the power of legalism. He reminds them that before they learned of the grace of God in Jesus Christ life with God was full of demands they were obligated to fulfill. The law of God was their guide. They had to eat the right foods, marry the right person, offer the right sacrifices, and fulfill thousands of requirements which were their religious code of conduct. God gave these laws so His people would know they were different. They were set apart to worship Him with their whole lives and He would be the God taking care of them. When they were unable to obey all the requirements, they were to ask for God’s forgiveness and look forward to the time He would send a Savior to forgive them.

The Judaizers of Paul’s day, of which he was one in his previous life, gave strict rules for salvation. You had to keep the Law perfectly and you had to be a Jew. But now Paul comes and he brings with him a new message contrary to that of the Judaizers. He says, “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s message was definitely not expected. These aren’t words that he would have uttered as Saul. These are words that speak 100% contradictory to what he and the other Judaizers taught regarding salvation. Salvation was not for the heathen Gentiles, meant to be only for the Jew, but that is exactly who Paul says that salvation is for. Salvation is meant for all people. Unfortunately, that was a point that was missed on the Judaizers.

Things changed when Jesus came. He did not come to abolish the Law of God, but to fulfill it. Jesus lived a life different from all other people. He was without sin. He obeyed the requirements in every aspect as they were originally given. We believe that when He offered up His life on the cross, it was a sacrifice to substitute for us. He kept the Law for us. Every detail was perfect. Salvation was now achieved for all peoples because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, not because of our keeping of the Law.

Because of Jesus Christ, you are made an heir. You are adopted by God the Father. You have full rights of inheritance. This is exactly what Paul talks about when he speaks about your adoption. When he speaks about being in Christ, he is pointing to what happens in Holy Baptism, for it is in Baptism that we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness. It is in Holy Baptism that the “fullness of time” that was brought by Jesus comes to you. Your adoption happens when water is poured on your head along with God’s name. And all that Jesus did in the “fullness of time” is yours.

We are justified by faith, not by the Law. If we are justified by the Law, then we are doomed from the start because we cannot keep the Law in its smallest bit. So what is our faith in? Is it faith in our works? Is it faith in our sincerity? Is it faith in myself? The faith that we have is in the promise of God. It is faith in Jesus Christ. It is faith in that His life, death, and resurrection are all that is necessary for us to be saved. If we have faith in anything else other than that, then we are doomed in our trespasses and sins.

By faith, we are made sons of God, clothing ourselves with Christ in our Baptism. Because we are baptized into Christ’s name, we have all that is His: His holiness, His righteousness, His perfection. That is how God our heavenly Father sees us. He doesn’t see the depravity of our sin, but rather the fullness of Christ’s righteousness. This applies to all who are baptized in Christ.

St. Paul gives to us a blessed assurance that because of Jesus Christ, we have been adopted as sons of God and not by the works of the Law. The Law did its work in preparation for the promise of God to be fulfilled. Now that the promise has been fulfilled, we are no longer a slave and captive, but set free by the salvation that has been won for us by Jesus Christ. We are saved by faith, not works. The reason for our salvation will never change.

Rejoice in this Good News! The Law has brought us to Christ, and Christ has saved us from our sin! He gives us faith: Faith to believe that He has died to redeem us, and faith to believe that we are now His children. We are no longer slaves under the Law – through Baptism, Christ has clothed us with His holiness and made us His holy people. And if we are His holy people, we are heirs of the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel, which was read earlier.

Whenever you deal with a Pharisee, you have to be on your toes. They are ruthless and are only concerned about keeping the Law according to their own standards. No one else is able to keep it as perfectly as they can and they will be the first ones to tell you that. Our Lord had His fair share of run-ins with the Pharisees and they never turned out the way that the Pharisees had intended it to turn out. Today’s Gospel account from St. Luke shows once again the type of people the Pharisees were and where their intentions lie.

Everything begins rather innocently in our text. Jesus receives an invitation to a meal. It seems that Jesus did not turn down many invitations to a meal. He went to the wedding at Cana. He accepted the invitation of the tax collector Levi to attend the banquet in his home. At that banquet, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law found fault with Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This was the complaint against Jesus voiced by many of the people of His generation. What makes this one unusual is that the invitation comes from a Pharisee. If you are receiving an invitation from a Pharisee, all sorts of red flags should be going up.

It does not surprise us that Jesus was willing to have dinner at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Rather, one is more surprised that Simon would extend such an invitation. There is the likelihood that it was not out of love for Jesus or with the desire to learn from Him. Rather, he may have wanted to add to that list of items for which Jesus might be criticized. The unsocial reception that Jesus received from Simon indicates that he felt no deep affection for Jesus.

Instead of giving us more of a glimpse at Simon’s real reason for inviting Jesus, Luke tells us that a “woman of the city,” after hearing that Jesus was going to be at Simon’s house, decides to crash the party. Rather than immediately throw out this woman, Simon uses this to his advantage. Don’t forget, Simon is a Pharisee and trapping Jesus in word or deed is at the top of the list.

Luke identifies her for who she is, a sinner. If Jesus were smart, He would have insisted that Simon kick her out of his house right away for her lifestyle. Instead, Jesus does nothing except sit there. As far as Simon is concerned, that’s strike one against Jesus. She proceeds to cry and wash the feet of Jesus with her tears and anoint them with expensive oil. Simon knows that Jesus will surely act now, perhaps in rage because a sinner touches Jesus. Instead of going off in a violent rage, Jesus wants to tell Simon something. This is the second strike against Jesus. One more and He’s out.

Knowing what Simon was thinking, Jesus tells him a story of two men who owed money, one five hundred denarii and the other fifty denarii. Both men shared the same problem: they couldn’t afford to pay off their debts. While the amounts might not sound so bad, you have to know what a denarii represented. This was the equivalent to a day’s wage. So for the man who owed 500 denarii, this was about a year and half’s salary and the man who owed 50 denarii owed nearly two month’s salary. Do any of you guys have an extra year and a half’s salary laying around collecting dust? Yeah, me either.

Fortunately for these men, they weren’t dealing with the modern day Las Vegas loan shark who demanded their debt be paid or else. The moneylender was a compassionate man and forgave both men their debts with no questions asked. Jesus asks Simon a simple question: “Now which of them will love him more?” This was a no-brainer. Obviously the man who owed the larger debt. Simon caught the point of the parable, but missed its application to his own life.

Jesus now addresses the sinful woman in the room. Up until now, Jesus makes no acknowledgment of her. He tells Simon of the loving acts that this sinful woman did to Him while highlighting the fact that Simon has failed to show any act of love toward Jesus. By her love she demonstrated the abundance of the forgiveness that she had received.

Jesus is beginning to grow even more unpopular with Simon and the other guests, presumably other Pharisees. So to drive home the point to Simon and the other gathered guests, Jesus tells them, that even though her sins are many, she has been forgiven much. Here it comes. This is going to be the nail in Jesus’ coffin. He says to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” There it is, strike three! Jesus is out! Those gathered begin to argue amongst themselves, saying, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” Jesus isn’t anyone except a rebel rouser. Only the priest has the authority to forgive and Jesus isn’t a priest. But Jesus isn’t done yet. He adds insult to injury for the Pharisees. He tells the woman, who is a sinner, lest we forget, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” That’s strike four. Jesus was already out but he’s not ready to leave just yet.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has granted forgiveness to all persons, not some as the Pharisees thought. Jesus granted forgiveness to the rich and the poor, the young and the old, those who have sinned a little and those who have sinned a lot. Our sins are many, just as are the sins of the woman at Simon’s house.

Jesus left His throne and took on our humanity because, even though we are sinners, He still loves us and extends to us His forgiveness. He knows that if He were to do nothing, we would all suffer the condemnation required by God’s justice. Because He loves us, He took all of our sin onto Himself. He took the punishment of God’s justice onto Himself as He suffered and died for us on the cross. With His suffering and death, He took away all of our sins. This is the Gospel for all sinners. This is the Gospel for the sinful woman and this is the Gospel for you and for me. It is the message of a forgiveness that far exceeds and surpasses anything we could ever imagine.It is the message of a loving Father who His one and Son to die so that you would have life and have it abundantly.

The message of Jesus is most important: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” It is not our faith in ourselves that saves us. It is not our faith in our works that saves us. It is solely our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us: namely His saving act on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

You sins have been forgiven. The act of forgiveness has already been declared in heaven and applies to you now. The free gift of forgiveness is there. You receive it by faith that has been granted to you. Christ’s word of absolution makes you sure of that. This has already been done and given to you. You may now go in peace, knowing that your sins do not separate you from God.No greater words can be spoken than knowing that our sins have been forgiven, and because of that, you have I have peace with God forever. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Gospel which was read earlier.

Two large processions are slowly moving toward each other. The one was the parade of life as Jesus walked into the city. The Master, who taught both by His marvelous, life-giving words and by His amazing, life-sustaining deeds, led a large throng along the way. His disciples walked with Him, for that is what disciples do. He was also accompanied by a great crowd of people. At the gate of the city there was joy, life, and excitement in this royal procession, for Jesus had, just the day before, healed a centurion’s servant. Prior to that a leper had been cleansed at Jesus’ Word. A paralytic rose up and walked, having been both healed and forgiven by the Son of God. Jesus had demonstrated the power and authority of His own divine nature when He cast out demons on one occasion and helped bring in a full net of fish on another. The other procession, the parade of death, has at its head the coffin of a “dead person,” the only son of his widowed mother, who followed with a crowd of fellow townspeople.

An important event was about to take place. Two processions met at the gate of the town. In those days the towns were often surrounded by a wall, and people had to go in and out through a large gate. Was it by accident that the two processions happened to meet at this place and at this time? Jesus knew that this meeting would take place just this way.

Don’t you wish that would happen to you when you are on the way to the cemetery to bury your loved one? Where is Christ then, when you so desperately need Him? Why doesn’t He do as He did here, suddenly appear, halt the funeral procession, command the funeral director to open the hearse and bring your loved one’s coffin forth so that He might speak the reviving words: “I say to you, arise.”

At that moment, the boy was called from death to life. At that moment, the boy had new life in the name of Christ. We too, have been called from death to life by the waters of Holy Baptism. We who were spiritually dead have been called to new life in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, when the water, combined with the Word of God touched our forehead.

Shortly after creation, Adam and Eve sinned, and in turn, we sinned. We became children of Satan, eternally separated from God. It could be very easy to stop the story right there and say, “Woe is me.” But the story doesn’t end there. What Jesus tells the weeping woman He tells us as well: “Do not weep.”

We remain children of Satan until we are called by the waters of Holy Baptism to become children of God. We are strengthened as children of God by His Word and His Sacraments. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel, enlightened us with His gifts and sanctified and kept us in the true faith for no other reason than that we are God’s beloved creation.

Jesus’ words, “Do not weep” seem to be strange to whoever hears them, for there was no more appropriate time for weeping than at the time of death. Jesus’ words imply that there is no cause for grieving, for the young man will yet live. These are strange words to our ears, as well. It is only natural that we mourn the loss of a loved one when they pass away. Now, Jesus is telling the woman not to mourn. But the reason why she should not mourn is because Jesus is going to raise her son.

At that moment, the funeral procession stopped and Jesus touched the coffin “and the dead man sat up and began to speak.” The joy of all this is that what happened here is not a single isolated event but the glad pledge and promise of things to come. St. Paul writes, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Remember that famous self-designation of Jesus, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Notice, He does not call Himself the “resurrector,” but the “resurrection.” In Him, in His Easter conquest of the coffin and triumph over the tomb, the resurrection of all men has already begun. And what God begins, God finishes.

The people are so amazed by what Jesus has just done that “fear seized them all, and they glorified God.” The miracle of Christ had the effect upon these people that they were filled with awe and reverence. They cried out that “God has visited his people!” Why don’t we cry out like that today? Instead we put Jesus on the shelf, we ignore Jesus or we change Jesus to fit our wants and needs. Indeed, God has visited His people through His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He visited His people when He came in the form of a baby. He visited His people when He grew up, only to die for you and for me. He visited His people when He rose again and joined our Father in heaven to prepare a place for you.

The visit was redemptive. He comes to bear the burden of a cross to the little lonely hill of Golgotha; there to die that God might blot our offenses from His sight and mind forever. Christ visits Calvary and God does not visit us for our sins. God now comes to visit us who have been made clean by the blood of the Lamb. For three days, He visits a garden grave and then bursts the bonds of death by His Easter rising. And now we are but temporary visitors in the prison of the tomb. For His is coming for a final visit, to free and liberate us from our shut and sealed coffins, to give us new and immortal bodies and to take us to God’s presence and a new world where all sorrow and sighing will have departed forever.

It is no wonder that fear – proper, Godly fear, came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. The Parade of Death stopped that day. For there was absolutely no more reason for it to continue. The son is risen; risen indeed. Death was defeated and stopped dead in its tracks. “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” Death has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christ’s death and resurrection opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. It opened the kingdom for the widow’s son who was dead. It opened the kingdom for Adam and Eve and it opened the kingdom for you and me.

On the Last Day, the Lord’s Word will touch this coffin known as Earth and the dead in Christ will rise with body and soul then re-united. For the Lord God Almighty, the One Who created you in the first place, will, on the great and wonderful Day of the Resurrection, raise up the bodies of all and reunite them with their souls. There is no reason for us to weep, because our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given to us forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith until life everlasting. Amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

What makes a person popular? Is it the clothes they wear? Is it what they say or do in their lives? Is it the way they look? Popular people tend to become popular because of some achievement in their lives. Once a person becomes popular, they tend to amass some sort of following, what we call fans. But should that popular person slip up and say or do something out of character, they lose their popularity and some of their followers. As we turn to today’s Epistle, we see that Jesus suffered the same fate, losing popularity amongst the people.

Paul was amazed and astonished that the Galatian church was so quickly deserting the Gospel. Paul had recently been with them at the start of his second missionary journey. He had strengthened them with Gospel preaching and teaching. It seemed that all was well, and he moved on to new places, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But barely beginning his work in Corinth, the bad news came from Galatia: they were deserting the One who had called them by Christ’s grace and were turning to a different gospel!

As bad as things were in Galatia, Paul had not written off the Galatians. They had not yet totally and completely rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul is letting them know that they are flirting with something very dangerous by listening to a message that is contrary to that of Jesus Christ. They are listening to a message that downplays the grace won for them by Jesus Christ. He reminds them that it was grace that moved Christ to give Himself for their sins. They had been rescued but now were in danger of reverting to being captives to their sin. They had been freed but now they were toying with the idea of giving up their liberty from sin, even giving up the Gospel itself!

For one reason or another, Jesus Christ and His message of salvation were no longer popular among the Galatians. Unfortunately, Jesus Christ and His message of salvation is no longer popular among us today either. We are quick to turn away from Jesus Christ and latch onto the latest and greatest fad of salvation, to have that fad replaced with another fad to have it replaced with another fad. At the end of the day, we’re left with fads that leave us empty and looking for more.

For the Christian faith, Jesus is more than just a passing fad. In “this present age,” as St. Paul speaks of, there are many philosophies of the world that will promise salvation. If one avenue of salvation doesn’t do it for you, then pick another one that will better fit your wants or needs. For us, we need rescue from the false ways of salvation and a return to Jesus Christ, the sole means of our salvation. That was the case for the Galatian church and that is the case for the church of today as well. We need rescue from our contemporary evil age with its confusing and seductive claims to truth, propagated by deceptive false religions such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, New Age religions and the like. We need rescue from the easygoing selfhelp gospels which appeal to the passions and appetites of the flesh. We need rescue from the wide-spread philosophy of materialism, success and other emotional appeals. But namely, we need rescue from the penalty of our sins. The penalty that we deserve is death. However, when we turn to the false means of salvation, sin no longer is talked about, matters, or is even an issue.

Paul made a point to the Galatian church that has been lost on today: “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Paul here uses some very strong language with regards to those who preach a gospel other than that of Jesus Christ. He says that they should be anathema, that is, cut off and treated as an outsider. He doesn’t merely mean treated as an outsider from the community, but rather as an outsider of Jesus Christ. This person does not receive the gifts that the Christian does, that is, the gift of eternal life. The reason that Paul makes such an emphasis of this point is that the work of the false preachers are not only undermining the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it also leads Christians into doubting the promises of God through Jesus Christ and a falling away of the faith into the false preaching that was prevalent of the day in Galatia.

Unfortunately, Paul’s warning is not as strong today as it was in his day. False gospels of the day are a dime a dozen and we have no problem buying into any or all of them, all at the expense of our salvation. The false preaching and preachers of the day are slick and sound good, promising us great earthly blessings. What you don’t hear or what you hear very little of is Jesus Christ. That fact should raise red flags for us, but we like to hear that we’re good people, that we will be blessed with earthly riches or any of the various other promises they make.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ gives to us something that the false gospels cannot give and that is grace. Paul asks in Romans, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” He knew His rescuer – “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” We know our rescuer, for He has rescued and redeemed us from the dominion of darkness. He does this all by His grace. By grace, we are baptized into His name. By grace, we have our sins forgiven. By grace, we receive the gift of everlasting life.

This grace is what the Galatians were willing to give up. However, Paul was not willing to give up on the Galatians. Just as Paul was not willing to give up on these Christians, so Jesus is not willing to give up on us, not willing to give up on you. In order to redeem you, our Lord willingly goes to the cross to give His life in order for you to have life. The false religions that Paul was dealing with at Galatia, the false religions of today cannot give what Jesus Christ gives. Only this Gospel has the power to rescue you from sin. For that reason, we cling to Jesus Christ and His Gospel, for there is no other Gospel. There is no other Savior, for only He could die for the sin of the world and rise again.

Popular religious ideas and philosophies that sound pleasing and easy are tempting. But adding or subtracting anything perverts the Gospel and causes us to desert the only one who is capable of our salvation. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ rescues us from the present evil age and ushers us into the coming age of salvation. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is from Acts, which was read earlier.

Isn’t it a good thing to be you? I mean, here you are this morning, gathered among other brothers and sisters in the faith, listening to the Word of God and receiving the gifts that He brings in Word and Sacrament. It really must be good to be you. If only it were like that for everyone.

As the day of Pentecost drew near, Jerusalem found itself flooded with an influx of people for the festival. Every pious Jew tried to be in Jerusalem for the feast. Those who could not come to Jerusalem observed it in the synagogues throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Freewill offerings were brought and there was great celebrating. That Sunday came as it came every year, but God had special events in mind for this Pentecost. What Jesus had promised concerning the Holy Spirit would now take place.

They were all together in the same place at the same time. This probably included the 11 disciples, and possibly others mentioned earlier in Acts, namely the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers. They were gathered for worship and prayer, as was their normal custom. There, in an instant, the Holy Spirit came and rested upon them in the form of tongues of fire. Here was the fulfillment of John the Baptist’s prediction: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Loudly and clearly, they all spoke in languages other than the language they normally spoke. This was not babbling or incoherent speech; it was perfectly understandable to those who knew the languages. They were now equipped and prepared to begin carrying out the assignment that the Lord had given to His church – to go and to spread the Gospel.

What took place here was truly amazing; in fact, one could call this a miraculous act of God – sending the Holy Spirit upon the people who are gathered on that fateful Pentecost. However, for as amazing an event this was, it was just as easily seen by others and dismissed without a second thought.

As I said earlier, Jerusalem was bursting at the seams with people coming for the festival. This included many people from many nations, each with their own dialect. But now they were able to hear and understand what the apostles were speaking and teaching. The apostles were charged to go into all the world, but on this day, people from all over the world were gathering around them in Jerusalem.

The Holy Spirit had equipped the apostles to proclaim God’s saving work in many languages. The confusion of tongues that resulted at Babel when men tried to glorify themselves by building a great tower was reversed on Pentecost. On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit moved men to glorify God in languages that were understood by all who heard.

What took place here in Jerusalem was unheard of. It was natural for everyone who heard to inquire about the significance of such an event. But some of them refused to believe either the message or the miracle. They preferred to discredit both by an explanation that slandered the Lord’s spokesmen, accusing them of drunkenness.

Herein lies the problem of that Pentecost – a lack of believing in the work of God. Why believe in a miraculous act when you can discredit it? Why put your faith in the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when you can easily dismiss everything as drunken behavior? The problem here was one that has plagued the Church throughout the ages: rationalism. This says that unless I can explain it, then it must not be true. This is how the miracles have been dismissed. This is how accounts such as creation, the crossing of the Red Sea, Jonah and the fish and other accounts have been dismissed. That was precisely what took place here. This was such an odd occurrence that took place, the only way to explain it was by drunkenness. However, Pentecost was not a random, drunken occurrence, but rather, it was the Holy Spirit making Himself known among the people.

As Peter answers the charge of drunkenness, he quotes from the words of Joel as to explain what was happening and why it was happening. The speaking in other languages was the sign that the Holy Spirit was being poured out. The presence of the Holy Spirit was especially evident in the miracle of languages. Not everything else that Joel prophesied was going to happen in detail that day, but the gift of speaking in other tongues was a sign that the entire prophecy would be fulfilled in God’s good time and in His way.

For some who were present, this might have been the first time they heard of the saving work of Jesus Christ. On that day, all hear of “the mighty works of God” in their own tongue. They hear of Jesus Christ, of His life, death, and resurrection; of His giving Himself on the cross for the forgiveness of the people’s sins. The message which the Holy Spirit delivered that day has been and continues to be delivered today: the message of salvation that Christ has come. The message which was proclaimed in every tongue is one which we all understand: “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The outpouring, which began on Pentecost, continues today wherever the Gospel is preached.

The Holy Spirit draws hearts to faith. For one to call upon the Lord’s name is to call Him to our aid. It is through faith given to us by the Holy Spirit that we recognize that He alone can rescue us from all that assails us. The message of Joel that Peter quotes can be reduced to one simple statement: salvation is available to everyone. That was the message of Pentecost, that Jesus came to save all peoples from their sins. The fact that this message was delivered and heard in all languages is not just a random circumstance – it was intentional, so that all would hear of the saving work of Jesus Christ for them.

With the Holy Spirit’s work, God now stands in immediate relationship with His people. A new world was presented to those devout Jews in Jerusalem and to all who were present, just as a new world is presented to all who have been called by the Holy Spirit in faith. Christians were confessing and continue to confess what they have seen and heard: the clear message that in Jesus Christ do we find forgiveness.

It truly is a good thing to be who you are, to be where you are – a people called by the Holy Spirit, a people called to faith, a people with God’s name placed upon you. What more can we ask for than that? In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Forgiveness. It is a wonderful thing to receive. We can’t get enough of forgiveness. It just makes us feel better to know that we are forgiven. Now, granting to someone else forgiveness, well, that’s another story. That one is harder to do. However, regardless of the cost, we are called to forgive others. That’s what we pray: “and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Forgiveness was the role of the priest. He would make the sacrifices on behalf of the people all in order to forgive them of their sins. These sacrifices forgave sins, but not forever. Atonement would be needed in the future in order to have your sins forgiven again. The people knew that. The priest knew that. They knew exactly what was necessary and would do what was necessary in order to be forgiven, time and time again. Daily, the priest would perform the same sacrifices. He would offer a one-year-old unblemished male lamb, along with a grain offering of 1/10 ephah of fine flour mixed with 1/4 hin of olive oil, plus a drink offering of 1/4 hin of wine. Twice a day, the priest stood there, day after day, with the same sacrifices. What clearer indication could there be that such sacrifices could never take away sins?

But now comes a new Priest onto the scene. His name is Jesus. He is not like the priests of old, for He is our Great High Priest. While the sacrifices of the priests of old would need to be repeated, the singular sacrifice of Jesus would not need to be repeated. The writer to the Hebrews says in our text, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” By Jesus, He has perfected man. This is man being brought to the completeness that God had in mind for him. Peace and pardon, harmony and heaven were God’s goal for man. “Those who are being sanctified,” that is, all believers, have been brought to this blessed goal of forgiveness, of salvation, because of Jesus.

If Jesus isn’t enough to testify of His work, the Holy Spirit also testifies to what He does. Quoted from Jeremiah 31, the writer showcases what happens in this new covenant of God: “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Here is what you receive: forgiveness. This forgiveness is not like forgiveness granted by the priest that is granted following each sacrifice. This forgiveness is granted because of Jesus Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice of Himself. Notice what is said: “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” Once sin has been forgiven, no one has the right to demand additional sacrifices and no one can offer any sacrifice for sin either.

When God has totally sent away our sins, when He has forgiven and forgotten them because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, why talk any more about them or look for additional sacrifice for sin? Instead, the talk should be about hearts that are rejoicing for what He has done, with grateful praises for what we could not do ourselves. That is what the writer to the Hebrews wants to emphasize to the Church. We need not focus on our sin but rather rejoice in our forgiveness.

As we turn our attention to the end of the Church Year, we are ever reminded of the return of Christ and His final judgment. Instead of focusing on what we have done and what we have left undone, we should focus on what has been done for us and what that means for us. This New Covenant established for us by Jesus Christ is for all nations. As God has promised to remember ours sins no more, this gracious attitude of God the Father toward us is now written on our hearts. We are His people who know Him, our iniquities are forgiven, and our sins are remembered no more. In Holy Baptism, we are His sons who are presented to the Lord “with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

We already know that Jesus was the great sacrifice. Now we see Him as the great High Priest, who made the sacrifice. He offered Himself. What encouragement we have because of Christ’s sacrifice and offering. Because of Christ, “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.” We are able to enter the holiness that is heaven. This was something that we could not do because of our sin, but through Christ, all sin that we have inherited from our first parents and which we have committed has been forgiven and now we are able to enter heaven, the dwelling place of God. And notice what allows us to enter: “the blood of Jesus.” It isn’t what we do; it isn’t what we earn. It is only what Jesus does for us that we can enter heaven and receive that wonderful gift of everlasting life; there is no other way.

Looking at what Jesus did, He opened heaven to us. This indicates that heaven was closed to us but is no longer. It was closed because of man’s sin, closed to you and me. The sacrifices of old gave glimpses into heaven but were not enough to forever forgive the sins of the people. But now, heaven stands opened; opened by Jesus with His death on the cross.

As a closing to this portion of his letter, the writer to the Hebrews says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” These are not just some trite or empty words that he speaks. Nothing strengthens our hope for heaven more than the fact of God’s faithfulness. How can God lie or change His mind? He promised the eternal crown of glory, and He will place it on our heads. To such a hope we are to hold to without wavering, holding it near and dear as a promise of God – and we know that if God makes a promise, He keeps His promise.

We spur one another on in the faith that has been granted to us by the Holy Spirit, coming together as the body of Christ centered on His Word and His promises of forgiveness and eternal life. From the heart filled with love, God-directed actions will flow from faith. Those who neglect or avoid coming together with other Christians remove themselves from the influence of those who can spur them on. This may explain why some people stay away from assembling together. They do not want to be spurred on to action. Just as a body needs food to stay alive, we too need the heavenly food which feeds us: Christ’s body and blood and His Word. When we join with fellow Christians, we continue to be spurred on to remain faithful to the Word of God, both in worship and in Bible study, to remain faithful of our need for the continued assurance of the forgiveness of our sins proclaimed when we confess our sins and that sweet absolution knowing that our sins are forgiven.

The focal point that the writer to the Hebrews is centering on for the Hebrew Christians and the message that resounds today is the need to remember our Lord’s death. We are to draw near to the death of Jesus, because in the death of Jesus, we are reminded of the words which Paul wrote to the Romans, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” We are to hold on to the death of Jesus, because His death gave to all who believe everlasting life. Finally, by remembering Christ’s death, we consider others. For believers, that means that we continue the Great Commission, by making disciples, by sharing the Good News of the Gospel to others. It also means that we extend care and compassion for our neighbor, both in their needs of body and soul.

We stand to lose more when we absent ourselves from worship, from the Word and Sacraments and when we absent ourselves from other Christians. In those times when we lose our faith, we should not fear, because our heavenly Father has given us His Son who promises that “[He] will be you always, to the end of the age.” In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Trials and temptations are nothing new for the Church. They have been and will always be a struggle for the Church this side of heaven. The devil’s goal is always the same, to lead believers away from pure devotion to Christ. We have seen the struggles with church councils throughout history. We have seen splits and divisions of the Church, time and time again. We have seen doctrine surrendered for numbers and programs. We have seen faithful churches bow to society and forsake God’s Word, all in order to appease man. All of this is Satan’s attempt to, as Luther says, “wrest the kingdom from [God’s] Son and bring to naught all He has done.” This is nothing new; it is Satan’s same bag of tricks. Each time, the Word of God has defeated Satan and it always will. However, that doesn’t stop him from trying to attack the Church.

The one and only answer to Satan’s attacks against the Church is Christ. Jesus came into this sin-filled world in response to the trickery of Satan to Adam and Eve. He lived the sinless life because of our sins. He died once for all to sin so that God’s creation would not die eternally to sin. For us 2000 years removed from Christ, we can understand this, but for those living at the time of Christ or shortly after, this was a hard concept to grasp.

Prior to Christ, man was cleansed from sin by the sacrifices they made and the yearly sacrifice of the high priest on behalf of the people. These sacrifices would make atonement for their sin but only for a time; they were not a once-for-all sacrifice. This is what the people knew and understood. This is what they practiced. This is what they were comfortable with. Now that Christ has come, everything has changed.

In our text for today, the writer to the Hebrews speaks about that which was old and how it has been replaced with that which is new. He speaks of Christ entering “not into holy places made with hands… but into heaven itself.” Instead of the high priests offering a bloody sacrifice for the people, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ has given Himself to be our Sacrifice.

Christ has come to fulfill the Old Covenant and establishes for us a New Covenant, one that is not made by human hands or requires human intervention, as did the Old Covenant. The Old Testament Covenant relied upon action by God and action by man. Man was required to make the sacrifice, either the people themselves or the high priest. Man had to keep the Law of God and keep it perfectly, for that is what God said to do. However, man cannot keep the Law of God in any aspect. There is not a single bit of God’s Law that we can keep because of our sin. In order for the Law to be kept perfectly, something had to change. A new Covenant had to be made. That Covenant was made by Jesus Christ and what He did for us.

The prophet Isaiah declared about the then-future Messiah, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” Jesus’ own disciple, St. John, comforted his readers then and us today with the firm pledge that “…the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Jesus is the fulfillment of God and all that was promised of old, all in order to make good on God’s promise of salvation from so long ago. Instead of the priests of old making sacrifices on behalf of the people, Christ is the Great High Priest making the sacrifice for us, and not only is He the One making the sacrifice, He is the sacrifice. He is the One who gives Himself for God’s creation in order that it would be restored and we would be able to stand before God once again in the way that we were meant to: as God’s holy people and without sin.

So what must we do to become part of the New Covenant which Jesus speaks of? That question is our first mistake, for there is nothing that you or I could do to become part of this New Covenant, for it is Jesus Christ who has established the New Covenant for us. It was established by His life, death, and resurrection. It was established by His enduring death on the cross so we would have eternal life. It was established by Jesus Christ living a life perfectly which we could never do. This New Covenant has been established for you, with you in mind; not because you are a good person or have lived a good life. Rather, it was established for you because of the love which the Father has for His creation. God is not content with seeing His creation living in a world of sin. For that reason, he sent His Son as a sacrifice which no person could make themself, no sacrifice a high priest could ever make. All of this was done “to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” When Christ our great High Priest entered the sanctuary of heaven, He fulfilled the role of the Old Testament high priest who went every year into the Most Holy Place. The priests of the Old Covenant entered a sanctuary made by human hands.

The reason Christ appeared before our Father in heaven was to show Himself to be the perfect and acceptable sacrifice for our sins. Christ did this once for all, meaning there would be no more need for sacrifices because His sacrifice would be all-sufficient. There would be no more need for Old Testament Law because Christ has fulfilled the Law in our place. That means there will be no more death. Yes, there will be a physical death, but there will no longer be a spiritual death as there was for Adam and Eve because of sin because Christ has died to sin, your sin and mine.

The words of our Lord Jesus Christ call upon His church to face boldly the reality of our own sin, death, judgment, eternity. While the world ignores such talk or pretends that these truths do not exist, we believe and confess that Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many. Whether we want to admit it or not, the many include us. That is why Paul said, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” We are the ungodly. Even though we are the ungodly, Christ died for us. Paul goes on to say, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Even though we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The New Covenant, established by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has been done by Him and will bring us to what He has won for us: the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel, which was read earlier.

Today’s Gospel tells us about a man who came to Jesus for advice. He wanted something very good – eternal life. He thought he knew how to get eternal life, but he wanted some assurance, some sign that he was on the right trail. From all outward appearances, this man seemed to be an example of righteous living, but something was still nagging at him. Something about eternal life still left him uneasy. He wanted Jesus to tell him what was missing.

How many of us ask that same question that the rich young man asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Our society today has any number of answers to that question and the answer always involves us. It requires that we do something or that some sort of contribution on our part be made and then, if by magic, eternal life is ours. It’s one of those “If this, then that” equations. The equation reads, “If I do this, then I receive that.” It sounds good, doesn’t it? It sounds good that you do something to inherit eternal life. The problem is using the words “I do” with the word “inherit.” You do not inherit anything because of what you do. You inherit something because of what someone else did. You inherit something because someone else included you in their will. The heirs really have no say in the inheritance. The person who makes the will determines who inherits what.
The problem this man had was that he thought that if he dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s, he could force God to love him enough to put him in the heavenly will. This man felt he had done everything he was supposed to do, but he still felt uncertain. He wanted Jesus to assure him either that he had already done enough or tell him what sort of task or behavior he still needed to do to guarantee eternal life. Like many people, this man thought that he just needed some special knowledge or that he needed to do some special task. If he could just learn the secret, he could guarantee his place in eternity.

Herein lies the problem. There is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life. To go back to the earlier equation, “If this, then that,” we need to fill in the variables to see how the equation works out. If we fill it in where it reads, “If I do this, then I inherit that,” what is the “that” that we inherit? The “that” that we inherit is hell, because there is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life. Everything we do is tainted by sin and so we can do nothing to earn eternal life. The rich young man deceived himself into thinking that there was something that he could. In fact, he had done everything that Jesus had said. Jesus had laid out Commandments 4-10 as that which needed to be upheld. There is God’s Law clearly presented, something that none of us are capable of keeping. However, the rich young man is the exception, as he has kept them from his youth.

It must have been good to be this man, since he had done something that no one since before the Fall has done – keep God’s Law perfectly; in other words, not sin. When we properly understand the full meaning of these commands, the proper response is to realize that we have broken them all. When we understand that the Bible considers hatred to be a form of murder, we must admit that we are all murderers. When we realize that even the smallest lustful thought about someone who is not our spouse amounts to adultery, we must admit that we are all adulterers. The least bit of laziness makes us into thieves. Even if all we do is listen to gossip, we are liars. The number of ways that we can break these commands is limited only by our creativity. As God Himself said, “The intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”

The man in today’s Gospel did not understand that. For when he heard Jesus’ response, he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” The context of this passage leads us to believe that this man truly believed these words. Jesus had piled up a collection of commands that should have had this man begging for mercy. Instead, this man actually thought he had kept these commands.

It is at this point in the conversation that Jesus pointed out the man’s true failure. Jesus said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” With these words, Jesus revealed the man’s heart. He did not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Instead, his fear, love, and trust were all based on his money and possessions. In spite of all his good works, this young man had gold for a god.

When we come to the honest understanding that there is nothing that we can do, then we hear these words from God: “In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” “The blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.” We are justified by faith apart from works of the law. This is the central teaching of the Christian faith. All the doctrines of the Bible depend on the doctrine of justification. Everything in the Bible points to the fact that we do not inherit heaven based on what we do. Instead, we inherit heaven based on what God has already done.

Through that faith we constantly receive the forgiveness of our sins, God declares us holy in his eyes, and we inherit eternal life. We stop asking the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Instead, the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus and declares, “Look what God has done to give you eternal life.”

For us, the equation is and always will be “If Jesus died for us, then we inherit eternal life.” What we do know is that we – like the rich young man – have an empty place inside of us. We hunger for the assurance that we have eternal life. If we try to find that assurance on our own, we will fail. Only the Holy Spirit can fill that empty space inside of us. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the faith that receives the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation that Jesus earned for us on the cross. He does this by convicting us of our sin with the Law and then comforting us with the good news of the Gospel. In this way, the Holy Spirit makes us children of God and heirs of eternal life.

For us, we don’t have to ask the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” because it’s the wrong thing to ask. For us, it’s not about what we must do, but it’s about what has been done for us, all because of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.