Category Archives: Sermons

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Lent 1–“Tempted” (Luke 4:1-13)

C-31 Lent 1 (Lu 4.1-11)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.

Temptation is something that has been present in creation since near the beginning of time. Adam and Eve were the first to fall prey to temptation and from then on, it’s been downhill into temptation ever since. The apostle Peter writes, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” He is always ready to pounce and tempt people into all kinds of sin. Fortunately, this ferocious lion has done battle with another lion, the Lion of Judah, and he could not overcome Him. As we see in our Gospel reading for today, at the very beginning of Christ’s ministry, the devil attacked Jesus, but our Lord defeated him by resisting all of his temptations, and He did this in order to save us.

The scene that Luke lays out for us today follows immediately after Christ’s baptism and brings Christ face to face with Satan, the very enemy whom He has come to destroy. As was said, temptation faces everyone, including Jesus Christ. He is no different than any other person throughout history. Everyone faces temptation at some point in their life and it was no different for Jesus. The temptation of Jesus was continuous over the period of forty days, but Luke gives us but three examples of the many ways in which Satan attacked Christ. We have no way of knowing just how Jesus was continually tempted. To tempt merely means to put to the test, here with an evil intent, that is, to cause someone to sin. Satan knew very well that Jesus had come to crush his power and if he could succeed just once in getting Jesus to give into temptation and sin, then he would win the victory. This was no sham or pretend temptation that Jesus faced. According to His human nature, Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet He remained sinless.

It would have been very easy for Jesus to give into the temptations of Satan, just like it is easy for us to give in to temptations. Jesus trampled the devil’s real temptation with Scripture. Christ, who has taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” had Himself been led by the Spirit to go where temptation was. He knew its strength and danger. His own temptation, all three of His temptations, stretching over a period of 40 days, were wholly concerned with the choice between right and wrong, between higher and lower means of carrying out the mission on which His heavenly Father had sent Him.

Can we doubt the seriousness of those forty days of decisive conflict? On the outcome hung the whole issue of His mission on earth and every hope of salvation of mankind.

Our Lord was setting out upon the mission of His heavenly Father. His mission was to bring all mankind into the kingdom of God, free from Satan. For that mission, He possessed gifts and powers that were brought to light in fullness at His baptism by John the Baptist when the voice declared from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

The temptations which Jesus faced were great temptations indeed. They were meant for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to give up His divinity, to renounce who He is and to worship Satan. Christ knew what was at stake: us. We were at stake. Our salvation was at risk. Had Jesus given in, there would be no salvation for us. When God looks at us, He would continue to see our utter filth by sin. That is not what God sees because Christ refused to give in to Satan’s temptations for the sake of the Father’s will: that all men be brought to Him so that we might be saved.

Look beside you in this wilderness. There is Jesus. He too is alone. He too is starving. He too is miserable. He too is also stalked and hunted by Satan seeking whom he may devour. This is Jesus on His way to dying too. Why is Jesus here? He has never sinned. His body is pure and holy, so why is He in this barren place – hungry, tempted, suffering like this? You know the answer, don’t you? It’s because you are here.

Jesus cannot stay in heaven’s peace and glory while you are here suffering. If you lose all things, He loses all things. If you starve and sweat and squirm, He too must starve and sweat and squirm. If you suffer condemnation, He suffers condemnation. If you are to die, He must die too. He loves you too much to leave you here in sin’s desert, this fallen world, all at Satan’s tempting disposal. That is why Jesus faced the temptations that He did. That is why He lays down His life on Calvary’s cross, because you are at stake in everything.

The temptations that Jesus faces are temptations that you and I face daily. In looking at all of these temptations that Jesus faces, they all share one thing in common: the testing of God. All of these temptations go back to the very first temptation: “Did God really say…” The devil bends the power of words to his will. He lies. He even bends Holy Scripture in order to mislead. Today’s Gospel shows the devil lifting the words of Scripture out of context. He blasphemes against the very Word of God and omits a small word here and another small word there until the remaining words conform to his lie. In this way, he hopes to mislead and corrupt.

Fortunately for us, our Lord knows Scripture even better than Satan does. While Satan is a master of twisting the Scriptures, Jesus is the master of fulfilling them. He comes to fulfill all that is written of Him in the Law and the Prophets. He goes toe to toe with Satan and using the Word of God to defeat each and every temptation of Satan.

So often in our own lives are we tested, to put the promise of God to a test to see if it is true or not. Do we put our trust in the things of this world or do we put our trust in the Word of God? Do we go the easy way or do we go the hard way of suffering as God has said? The temptations of our Lord are the temptations of all mankind. The temptations of our Lord are the temptations of His Church. The temptations of our Lord are repeated in the temptations that come to you in your daily vocation.

When we are attacked and accused, we trust in Christ, who saved us by His perfect obedience, suffering, and death. When the devil tempts us to sin, we trust in Christ and His Word of truth. When the Law accuses us of sin, we trust in Christ and His perfect obedience. When death demands our life, we trust in Christ and His innocent suffering and death.

Our Savior knows what it is to be tempted. He willingly faced temptation by our enemy, the prowling lion, and He did it for our salvation. He won the battle, and His victory belongs to all who trust in Him. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Transfiguration of Our Lord–“Mountains” (Luke 9:28-36)

C-29 Transfiguration (Lu 9.28-36)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.

Mountains. Have you ever noticed the number of times mountains appear in the Scriptures? At a quick glance in a concordance, the words mountain or mountains appears 335 times. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights that take place on a mountain. Moses received the 10 Commandments on a mountain. Jesus, on several occasions, took His disciples and taught from a mountain. The people would come to a mountain to see or hear Jesus. And today, Jesus is once again on a mountain, this time with three of His disciples to pray. The experience that the three disciples had was a changing experience. The lesson: “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

Verses before our text for today, Jesus told His disciples what was to come: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Hearing news like that would be quite unsettling to say the least. Imagine if a loved one were to share that type of news with us. What would our reaction be to such news? News like this would be hard to comprehend. When Jesus went up to the mountain, He took these three disciples with Him, maybe for that very reason, to help further explain what He had previously said.

While there on the mountain, something extraordinary happened: “And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.” That must have been a sight to behold. They had walked from their last place, up on a hill in the dust and dirt. They were probably dust-covered, sweaty, and just all around dirty, much like we are. In our present state, we are covered in sin and death and all that keeps us from God. We can’t make ourselves clean, we can’t remove our sin, regardless of how hard we try.

The only way to remove all that hinders us from God is to be a part of Christ. This is what God desperately wants of creation, for it to be connected to Him. That is the whole point of Jesus. The only way for you to be connected to God is by Jesus, not by you. That is why God the Father’s words are so important in our text: “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

So it is that as we start today’s reading from the account of Luke, we learn that Jesus led a very confused and bewildered Peter, John, and James up on the mountain to pray. Peter, John, and James did what they usually do when they are alone with Jesus while He prayed: they went to sleep. What they saw when they woke up blew them away. Jesus was shining like the sun. Not only was Jesus lighting up the mountaintop, but He was also having a conversation with Moses and Elijah. This conversation was pretty amazing for the simple fact that Moses and Elijah had been dead for centuries. We have an account of Moses’ death and burial in today’s Old Testament lesson.

But as it stood, here was God’s Word present, from start to finish. You had Moses, the representation of the old covenant and the promise of salvation, God’s ever-present Law. There also stood Elijah, one of the great prophets, taken to heaven. Moses and Elijah together equaled what Christ is: the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. The topic at hand: Christ’s upcoming exodus, for you, for me, and for all of creation. His exodus, His death, marked not a defeat as Satan had hoped, but instead was a triumph, one that would set all of creation free from sin and death.

When Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him, they were unsure of what they were seeing and hearing. Maybe it was because they were still sleepy. Maybe it was because they were not meant to understand just yet. Regardless, there they were on the mountain, with the Law and the Prophets and the Gospel.

When they finally awoke from their slumber and saw what was going on around them, it must have been remarkable. A simple visit to a mountain to pray had turned into a visit between Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Maybe Peter, James, and John happened to be in the right place at the right time. That would explain why Peter exclaimed that it was good for them to be there. And in the event they were going to be there for a while, Peter suggested putting up shelters for them. It was very likely that Peter wanted this moment in time to continue indefinitely, especially after hearing of Jesus’ impending death. It was far better to stay there on the mountain than to leave and face Jesus’ prediction of His death.

Just as Peter declared to Jesus that it was good for them to be there, so it is good for us to be here today. We come today to where God has said He will be found. We come together so that we may hear the words of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus; the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel. We come here today to receive from the Lord’s bounty forgiveness of sins that have been won for us by Jesus Christ on the cross. We come here today to receive the very body and blood of Jesus. We do not come merely because God commands it but we come because He invites us. He invites us to come before Him, to confess our sins and to hear that word of absolution pronounced upon us. We come because Jesus Himself invites us to His Table, feeding us with the bread of life.

A moment like the Transfiguration would not be complete without God Himself being present. He comes with His almighty voice, speaking to the disciples: “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” Hearing the voice of God was usually reserved for those of great stature, such as Moses, Abraham, David and other prominent leaders of the Old Testament. Yet God saw fit to come to Peter, James, and John to tell them to cast aside any fears, any doubts that they may have, both today and in the future.

Just as He did at the Baptism of Jesus, God the Father addresses mankind. This man Jesus is the beloved and chosen Son of God. At that point, God establishes for mankind who they should listen to; not the things of this world, but to the Son of God. How easy it is for us to give in and listen to what the world says because it’s what our itching ears want to hear. We don’t always focus our attention on the things of God, the promised salvation that comes through His Son, the love shown by Christ for the Father, a love willing to be put to death so that creation would once again belong to the Father. But the words that Jesus speaks to us are the words that we need to hear. Today, we boldly say, “Master, it is good that we are here.” In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Epiphany 3–“Shocked” (Luke 4:16-30)

C-22 Epiphany 3 (Lu 4.14-21)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.

In today’s world, we hear plenty of bad news. We hear of war and devastation. We hear about acts of violence and murders. We hear of how loved ones have died due to sickness and disease. Needless to say, our souls are wearied by the world and by our own sinful nature. Surely there must be somewhere we can go to hear good news! My friends, you have come to that place today.

We gather in God’s house to hear good news from Jesus. The word “gospel” comes from the Greek word which means “good news.” That is precisely why we are here today, to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. That is what Jesus says today. As He reads the words of Isaiah the prophet, Jesus says, “The Spirit of The Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” My friends, you are the poor. The good news that Jesus comes bringing is the declaration that you have been forgiven all of your sins on account of He and His actions. He declares that you have eternal life in Him because of His life, death, and resurrection. He declares that this is done for you. What good news this is that our Lord brings!

There were those who thought positive of Jesus and what He had said and done up to this point. Luke records, “And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.” Truly this was amazing that all the people were in favor of Jesus’ words that He had just quoted. These were words of good news, speaking of God’s pardon that lifted the people up. It is a message for the spiritually poor, the captives of sin, the spiritually blind and those oppressed by guilt and shame. This was just what the people needed to hear and they did not disagree with the Lord’s words. After Jesus finished reading and sat down on the platform to give His sermon or explanation, there was a hushed silence of expectancy. Then Jesus shocks the world with the good news that He is the Messiah!

Jesus shocks the people of Nazareth when He fulfills the Scriptures. Luke records only the beginning, which in itself is the core and sum of the whole sermon. His words were shocking: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” This hometown boy returns to church as a guest, and He claims that Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah is now come true – in the person of Jesus. Jesus not only brings good news to the people, He is the Good News of God for every sinner! It’s just a shame that you and I don’t want to hear it.

Just as quickly as the people were enamored by Jesus, they turn against Him. Luke records, “When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.” The people of Nazareth reject the good news that Jesus is the Messiah and with that, everything that comes along with it. The expected response might be for the all to throw up their hands and rejoice in the hometown hero. You can almost see them wringing their hands and licking their chops with greedy anticipation. “Here is the answer to all our problems! Can you believe that this is Joseph’s boy? We really hit the lottery with this one!” Instead, the initial reaction was split. They marveled at the way or manner He spoke of God’s love for them. But then doubt is quickly planted: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” You can almost hear them contradict themselves earlier. Surely Joseph’s son cannot be the Messiah. Eventually, doubt turns into rejection.

Isn’t that just like us? One minute we are in love with Jesus and what He comes bringing and then the next, we’re ready to throw Him out of town and off the cliff. This was the problem with the hometown crowd. This is why Jesus spoke such brutal, attention-getting Law. They were stubborn in their spiritual deafness and blindness. They heard the words of Christ, but they didn’t hear the Word of God. They didn’t listen. That is us to a tee. We hear God’s Word, but we do not listen to it. We hear God’s pronouncement of forgiveness upon us on account of Jesus Christ, but we do listen to the fact that the forgiveness is by Jesus alone. We want to find that forgiveness in anything but Jesus. But there is no forgiveness in anything or anyone but Jesus.

So what does the hometown boy do? Does He leave the people with their desires or something else? He dies. He dies for the people who want to kill Him. The people get what they wanted: Jesus dies. The people should be happy. Everything worked out the way they had wanted it. And you know what? Everything did work out the way it was supposed to. Jesus died. He died for creation. He died to fulfill the Father’s will. And He was successful. He died but did not stay dead. He rose victoriously to again fulfill the Father’s will.

Even after everything that Jesus has done for creation, what is today’s response to the shocking Good News of Jesus Christ? Some reject the Good News to their own damnation. They deny who Jesus is and what He has done. They deny that Jesus is the Messiah, the One who is promised of long ago to bring about salvation for creation. But then you have the other side of the coin as well. God the Holy Spirit creates faith in your heart through the Word of the Good News of Jesus Christ for you. By faith you see Jesus’ mission completed – from Bethlehem to Calvary, from resurrection to ascension for you. By faith you see that all of Scripture points to Jesus for you.

Jesus truly is the fulfillment of God’s promises. He is the Anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah. All this He gives to us through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. God has promised all these things to us and today they are fulfilled in our hearing. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Epiphany 3–“Shocked” (Luke 4:16-30)

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.

In today’s world, we hear plenty of bad news. We hear of war and devastation. We hear about acts of violence and murders. We hear of how loved ones have died due to sickness and disease. Needless to say, our souls are wearied by the world and by our own sinful nature. Surely there must be somewhere we can go to hear good news! My friends, you have come to that place today.

We gather in God’s house to hear good news from Jesus. The word “gospel” comes from the Greek word which means “good news.” That is precisely why we are here today, to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. That is what Jesus says today. As He reads the words of Isaiah the prophet, Jesus says, “The Spirit of The Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” My friends, you are the poor. The good news that Jesus comes bringing is the declaration that you have been forgiven all of your sins on account of He and His actions. He declares that you have eternal life in Him because of His life, death, and resurrection. He declares that this is done for you. What good news this is that our Lord brings!

There were those who thought positive of Jesus and what He had said and done up to this point. Luke records, “And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.” Truly this was amazing that all the people were in favor of Jesus’ words that He had just quoted. These were words of good news, speaking of God’s pardon that lifted the people up. It is a message for the spiritually poor, the captives of sin, the spiritually blind and those oppressed by guilt and shame. This was just what the people needed to hear and they did not disagree with the Lord’s words. After Jesus finished reading and sat down on the platform to give His sermon or explanation, there was a hushed silence of expectancy. Then Jesus shocks the world with the good news that He is the Messiah!

Jesus shocks the people of Nazareth when He fulfills the Scriptures. Luke records only the beginning, which in itself is the core and sum of the whole sermon. His words were shocking: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” This hometown boy returns to church as a guest, and He claims that Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah is now come true – in the person of Jesus. Jesus not only brings good news to the people, He is the Good News of God for every sinner! It’s just a shame that you and I don’t want to hear it.

Just as quickly as the people were enamored by Jesus, they turn against Him. Luke records, “When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.” The people of Nazareth reject the good news that Jesus is the Messiah and with that, everything that comes along with it. The expected response might be for the all to throw up their hands and rejoice in the hometown hero. You can almost see them wringing their hands and licking their chops with greedy anticipation. “Here is the answer to all our problems! Can you believe that this is Joseph’s boy? We really hit the lottery with this one!” Instead, the initial reaction was split. They marveled at the way or manner He spoke of God’s love for them. But then doubt is quickly planted: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” You can almost hear them contradict themselves earlier. Surely Joseph’s son cannot be the Messiah. Eventually, doubt turns into rejection.

Isn’t that just like us? One minute we are in love with Jesus and what He comes bringing and then the next, we’re ready to throw Him out of town and off the cliff. This was the problem with the hometown crowd. This is why Jesus spoke such brutal, attention-getting Law. They were stubborn in their spiritual deafness and blindness. They heard the words of Christ, but they didn’t hear the Word of God. They didn’t listen. That is us to a tee. We hear God’s Word, but we do not listen to it. We hear God’s pronouncement of forgiveness upon us on account of Jesus Christ, but we do listen to the fact that the forgiveness is by Jesus alone. We want to find that forgiveness in anything but Jesus. But there is no forgiveness in anything or anyone but Jesus.

So what does the hometown boy do? Does He leave the people with their desires or something else? He dies. He dies for the people who want to kill Him. The people get what they wanted: Jesus dies. The people should be happy. Everything worked out the way they had wanted it. And you know what? Everything did work out the way it was supposed to. Jesus died. He died for creation. He died to fulfill the Father’s will. And He was successful. He died but did not stay dead. He rose victoriously to again fulfill the Father’s will.

Even after everything that Jesus has done for creation, what is today’s response to the shocking Good News of Jesus Christ? Some reject the Good News to their own damnation. They deny who Jesus is and what He has done. They deny that Jesus is the Messiah, the One who is promised of long ago to bring about salvation for creation. But then you have the other side of the coin as well. God the Holy Spirit creates faith in your heart through the Word of the Good News of Jesus Christ for you. By faith you see Jesus’ mission completed – from Bethlehem to Calvary, from resurrection to ascension for you. By faith you see that all of Scripture points to Jesus for you.

Jesus truly is the fulfillment of God’s promises. He is the Anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah. All this He gives to us through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. God has promised all these things to us and today they are fulfilled in our hearing. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Epiphany 2 – “Delight” (Isaiah 62:1-5)

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 Old Testament which was read earlier.

Think about people you have known who have come through great tragedies in life with the ability to maintain a spirit of hope. That ability or disposition is most certainly a gift from God. It is truly a gift when people are able to recover from grief and despair, when they are able to turn from the pain and suffering of a past event to discover healing in new community life and wellsprings of hope for the future.

As Isaiah writes this portion of his letter, God’s people had suffered great tragedy. But this speaks beyond the people of Isaiah’s day; this speaks of the Church, God’s believers. What wonderful good news this is for the Church, knowing that God has not forsaken His people! This inseparably associates Christ’s righteousness and salvation, granted to us in His means of grace through Holy Baptism, where we are made God’s children.

Look again at the words of Isaiah: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.” In the Lord’s plan for a perfect world, there would never be a situation like this. God had created the heavens and the earth and all that inhabits them to be perfect. He created man and woman to be perfect. Creation was deemed to be “good” in God’s eyes, while man was deemed to be “very good.” As God saw things, this was perfection. Perfection did not last long and as a result, this world fell into sin. And with creation’s fall into sin, so did creation suffer. That suffering that creation experiences trickles down to the Church as well.

As much as we would like it, the Church is not immune to suffering. Even our Lord Himself is called the Suffering Servant. The Church suffers greatly for the sake of Christ and His teachings. The Church suffers for what is right according to God’s Word. The Church suffers as a result of who she is.

For the sake of creation, God sent His Son to earth with the single task of saving creation. God became fully man and lived the perfect life that we could not. That meant that Jesus never sinned. That meant that Jesus never failed to do the Father’s will. That meant that Jesus did what was required of you and me and of all creation so that we are forgiven of the damning guilt of our sin.

The picture that Isaiah paints is one of good times and bad. Leading up to our text for today, Israel had seen better days. But we know that God is faithful and just and because He promised to Adam and Eve a Savior, Israel held out hope for that Savior. Way back at the time of Abraham, He called them to be His own. He brought them out of Egypt. He compared Himself as their bridegroom and called His people Zion, called them His bride. He promised always to be faithful, to provide for them and to keep them safe. But they were not faithful to Him. Time and time again, they turned to other gods. Time and time again, they ran to idols that promised some sort of forbidden pleasure. The Lord pursued them, called them back, repeated His faithfulness and love to them again and again, but they would not have Him. They wanted another instead.

As we look back, we tend to shake our heads and say, “Israel, you should have known better. You should have done what God asked and there wouldn’t be any problems.” As I said earlier, Isaiah is not only describing Israel, but his description is that of the Church. God has called us to be His bride. God has promised to the Church to be faithful and to provide for her safety. But we as God’s people have not been faithful to Him. We have turned to other gods, running to idols and all that we think will give to us the same things that God Himself promises.

All of this sounds tragic for the Church, and it is. But as we know, God does not allow the Church to wallow in its sin forever. Listen again to the words of Isaiah: “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her….” God has a plan to redeem creation. He becomes flesh and takes their place. He takes their sins upon Himself, their guilt and their shame. He bears all their sins to the cross. At the cross, God the Father says to Christ, “I see that you bear the sin, the guilt and the shame. I see on You every last sin that I despise. And because I condemn sin and sinners, I condemn You.”

This is the Gospel, as Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5, “For our sake [God] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” What wonderful news this is for the Church as a whole and for each individual Christian! God did not leave us to our sinful nature but on account of Christ’s atoning salvation were we restored to full honor and glory. For you, the Lord does not keep silent. He will not be quiet as you waste away. Though you feel the bitterness of sin and shame, He declares that He has already borne your sin to the cross. Before God, your sin is gone. Before God, you are righteous for the sake of Jesus.

Jesus’ life, suffering, death, and resurrection have verified once and for all that we are perfectly right with God; holy and just as if we had never sinned. As the vow before the wedding altar states once and for all time a commitment we can always trust, God has taken the vow. We are the Bride of Christ, never forsaken, never desolate and lonely, but married to Him. We are the Lord’s delight.

For your sake, the Lord is not silent. He continues to declare His delight in you, His joy over you. That is why you hear His Word, even when you can’t stand yourself, because there the Lord proclaims His faithfulness, His redemption, His love for you. That is why you run to His Supper for forgiveness, because there is your Bridegroom, present to save. The time will come when sorrow and sighing will flee away—on the Last Day, at the marriage feast of the Lamb. Until then, the Lord is not silent. He will not be quiet. He says, “I delight in you, for I have redeemed you. I rejoice over you, because you are righteous and holy in My sight: because you are forgiven for all of your sins.” In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Baptism of Our Lord–“Baptized” (Luke 3:15-22)

C-20 Epiphany 1 (Lu 3.15-22)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.

As we turn to our Gospel reading for today, we meet John the Baptist again. As Luke records, “the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ….” It must have been a good feeling that John the Baptist had for the people to think of him so highly that they would see him as the Christ. Someone other than John might have let this go to their head, maybe play along with the thoughts of the people. However, John would have none of this. His ministry was to prepare the way for the Coming One, One who would be infinitely more powerful than he was, One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, One who would ultimately be the judge of the living and the dead. John did not feel himself worthy of any of this, not even to untie the sandal strings of this Coming One.

Instead of being the Christ, John was merely the final Old Testament prophet preparing the way for the Messiah, the Christ. His work was to make the final preparations pointing the world’s attention to Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the ultimate and perfect solution to all the sinful acts of Adam and Eve, their descendants, and all the way down to you and me. But people, asking their own questions and inventing their own answers, had their own ideas of what the Christ should be like. They needed the correction that John’s preaching provided.

John responds to the people, “‘He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.” The correction John’s preaching provided came in his famous exhortations to repent of all one’s sin and thus also to receive God’s forgiveness.

Ultimately, that is our problem: sin and forgiveness. If you sin, you need to be forgiven. But if you do not sin, then you do not need to be forgiven. It must be good if you are the person who does not need to be forgiven because you have not sinned. What a good feeling that person must have knowing that they are so righteous before God and not like the lowly sinner. Sadly, there are many who think that way, both Christian and non-Christian alike. But we confess with St. John: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

John came to preach a message of repentance, a message that the Church needed to confess then and one which the Church needs to confess today. The Church is full of sinners. That fact has never changed. John recognized that fact and that was the message that he was preaching and he didn’t hold back any when it came to that preaching. Jesus will come and separate the wheat from the chaff, the sheep from the goats. He will separate those who are true believers from those that are not. The Christian receives eternal life while the non-Christian receives eternal damnation. That is the work of the Messiah and that is what Christ comes on the scene to do. All of that begins today.

John the Baptist has done a good job up to now of preparing the people to receive Christ and today marks that day when Christ begins His ministry. Jesus is baptized. Luke doesn’t record much of the details but Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus came to John in order to be baptized. John was leery of baptizing Jesus but does so at Jesus’ request. Following the Baptism of Jesus, the entire Trinity presents itself. Luke records, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

God the Father and God the Holy Spirit acknowledged the sacrifice Jesus made as He took our sin onto Himself and clothed us in His righteousness. Christ’s mission to open heaven is the will and work of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit puts in a rare appearance in physical form, like that of a dove. The Father declares His pleasure with the Son. While Jesus is the member of the Trinity who became flesh and died on the cross, we see in this reading that all three members of the Trinity are actively involved in opening the way to heaven.

This is not an everyday event. Heaven, where God dwells, opened its door to earth, because there, on earth at the Jordan River, Christ the Son of God stood. Did the bodily form of the Spirit leave Christ immediately? We do not know. Scripture is silent on that. For all we know, there was a dove, the Holy Spirit, perched upon the shoulder of Christ throughout His ministry. But more likely, the form of the dove disappeared soon after the Baptism. Yet, although the bodily form of the dove disappeared, the Spirit remained. He did not depart from Christ; not then, not ever. The Spirit remained on Him so that Christ could baptize His own Church with the same Spirit.

Therefore, Christ’s Baptism was not for Him – it was for you. He received the Spirit so that He could give it to you. The very same Dove descended on you when the waters of Baptism touched you. And so the same Father’s voice was for you. He tells you that you are His child. Everything that is His now belongs to you: forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Here at His baptism, Jesus took our place under the burden of our sin. As our substitute, He carried out God’s plan perfectly. The mission that Jesus began at His baptism was successful. He opened the way to heaven. He offers to join us to Himself through baptism. The Holy Spirit gives us the faith that receives that offer. God the Father adopts us into His family by that faith. When the time comes for us to leave this world, the heavens will open, the angels will carry us home and we will hear the Father say, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Epiphany of Our Lord–“Mysteries” (Ephesians 3:1-12)

C-19 Epiphany (Mt 2.1-12)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.

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? I remember when I was in middle school taking our state standardized tests, all I wanted to do was finish the tests so I could pull out another Hardy Boys Mystery from the library. I was so caught up in the middle of everything, wondering what was going to happen on the next page and how everything would play out. The mystery brought excitement and wonder, and being a young teenager, I never walked away disappointed.

But what about mysteries today? Do they still intrigue us? Do they captivate us in a way that only a mystery can? Do we even want to involve ourselves with mysteries? If you are St. Paul, then you are all about mystery, namely the mystery of God.

As Paul writes his letter to the Ephesian church, he speaks of many things. First, he makes mention that he is a prisoner. Not only was Paul an actual prisoner in jail, he was “a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of [the] Gentiles.” Notice what Paul says there. He is a prisoner on their behalf. Paul wasn’t preaching and teaching for his own benefit; he was preaching and teaching for the benefit of his audience, in this case, the Ephesians. This was a church that was in full need of God’s grace and mercy and Paul sought to bring that saving grace and mercy to them, just as he was in full need of God’s saving grace and mercy.

In order to do so, he was given insight into the mystery of Christ. Just what does Paul mean here regarding the mystery of Christ? He is not speaking of something that is mysterious in the sense of being vague, murky, or hard to understand, but rather, something that needs to be explained. After it has been explained, it’s perfectly clear, but one would never have stumbled onto it without some outside help. Paul indicates that he received such help from God by revelation. Paul says rather clearly what the mystery is: “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” It means that they are included in God’s saving grace and mercy!

What a wonderful thing for a person to hear, that they have been included in God’s saving grace and mercy. What relief that fact should bring to a person, knowing that God has forgiven you all of your sins on account of Jesus Christ. That is the message that Paul was bringing to the Ephesians and that is the message that Paul brings to you today.

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord; we celebrate His being revealed to the Gentiles, that they would become God’s children by grace. We also celebrate His being revealed to us, that we would become God’s children by grace.

According to Matthew’s Gospel, God chose to reveal Jesus to the wise men via a star to follow, leading them to the Child. For St. Paul, he was intent on making sure that the churches to whom he visited or wrote to knew of “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” St. Paul understood well that salvation in Christ means wealth beyond compare or comprehension. No one can put a dollar sign on the riches that come to us in the Gospel. The riches are also unsearchable in that no human mind could ever have contrived God’s gracious plan of salvation. No one and nothing in all of God’s creation could reveal to us the eternal treasure of unconditional forgiveness of sins. Only the Creator of all things could reveal this wealth to us.

It is Paul’s privilege and passion to make plain to everyone that the sins of the world are taken away in Christ. Unlike the sweepstakes offer which tells us we may have already won, he announces that we have already won through the Savior.

For the Church today, God reveals Jesus to us in His means of grace: His Word and His Sacraments. This is where He promised that He would be found. However, for many, that’s not where they want to find Jesus. They want to find Jesus on the lake, in prosperity preaching, the promise of being good and receiving God’s good grace. That is why the Word of God is so important.

We cannot live as the people of God unless He has been revealed, that is, preached to us. Without His Word and Sacraments, not only would our Lord remain unrevealed to us, but His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation also would not have been given to us. Without faith in Christ, we would forever be unable to comprehend this mystery. Even with faith in Him, we are still unable to comprehend the mystery of the Incarnation. We finite creatures cannot comprehend an infinite God becoming true Man, coming hidden in a finite form. We are unable to understand how a virgin can conceive and bear a Son. We cannot begin to fathom how one who was crucified and dead can come back to life.

There is more to Epiphany than a lovely story though of wise men, of a great Old Testament prophecy fulfilled and of an energetic appeal of Paul to the Ephesians. Epiphany is not just to be remembered in the past tense. Epiphany is a present now.

Epiphany is now, even as Christ is now. He continues to come to His Church, to feed her with His precious Word and His saving body and blood. He continues to come to save and forgive His people. He continues to bring people to the cross as their Savior from sin. This is the message that St. Paul came preaching and this is the same message that is preached to the Church today. This is what the Church needs to hear; this is what you need to hear.

Now that the mystery has fully been revealed, we see that the whole message of Scripture was always about Jesus. Everything of the Old Testament pointed to Christ. The New Testament is all about the saving work of Christ. Paul, as a called apostle of Jesus Christ, was tasked with bringing this message of salvation to both Jew and Gentile alike. The salvation that God had promised Adam and Eve of so long ago was not meant solely for them, nor was it meant solely for the Jew. God intended this salvation to be for all peoples, regardless of who they are. This salvation that God grants on account of Jesus has been credited to you.

While we may not know all the ins and outs of this mystery, one thing of this mystery is clear: on account of Jesus Christ and His saving work, we have the forgiveness of our sins, case closed. 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.

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Christmas 1–“Goodbye” (Luke 2:22-40)

C-15 Christmas 1 (LHP) (Lu 2.22-40)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.

Saying goodbye is always a hard thing to do. I remember when I left Indiana in 2005 and made my way out to Wyoming. I said goodbye to family and friends, to my then-fiancée, and all that I knew that was comfortable to me and entered a world that was unknown. It was difficult to say the least. I knew that I would see family and friends and my fiancée again. I would talk to them, email them, see them on the computer. But it would not be the same as seeing them in person and it didn’t make saying goodbye any easier.

As we look at our Gospel reading for today, we see the time has come for Mary to be purified following her pregnancy and also the presentation of Jesus in the temple. It has been 40 days since Jesus was born and so they make their way to the temple for the necessary rituals. A sacrifice had to be made, either “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” For Jesus, if He were to be given into service of the Lord, He was to be consecrated to the Lord. If the child was not given into the service of the Lord, the parents needed to redeem Him by a payment of five shekels. Mary and Joseph did not make this payment since Jesus was consecrated to the Lord in the fullest way possible. On the 40th day of His life, Jesus is presented to the Lord, as Luke records: “And…the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law.”

How ironic this scene was. The Child Jesus is brought into the temple when He Himself is the very Temple of God. St. John writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” When John says that the Word “dwelt” among us, it literally means that Jesus set up His tabernacle or tent among us. This is a close tie-in to the temple. The people went to the temple because that is where the glory of God dwelled. Here is Jesus, who IS God in the flesh!

As the Holy Family was there in the temple, a man named Simeon enters the temple. He doesn’t enter it on his own accord, but he does so at the urging of the Holy Spirit. Luke says, “And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Simeon enters the temple and sees the Holy Family, goes to the Child and “took him up in his arms and blessed God.” This was an unusual thing to do, as it was the custom for the parents to offer the child to God. But now, here is a stranger that takes Jesus and offers Him to God. What kind of a person would do such a thing? But remember, Simeon did not do this on his own, but rather he did this as he was led by the Holy Spirit.

When Simeon saw that poor young couple coming into the temple to offer a sacrifice according to the Law, and the sacrifice, he knew it was not Mary and Joseph who would redeem their Son with the humble sacrifice. Simeon knew that their Son would redeem them, because He was the sacrifice.

As Simeon takes Jesus, He blesses God and says, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” He isn’t making a request of the Lord for Him to bless Jesus. Rather, he is making a statement of fact: “you are letting your servant depart in peace.” Simeon’s service in the temple as a watchman waiting for the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises is at an end. The watch is over; the servant can retire in peace. With the eyes of faith, Simeon sees more than a babe in his arms; he sees a Savior dying on the cross; he sees salvation for all people, both Israelite and Gentile. This is Simeon saying goodbye. For him, this is a not a sad goodbye, but rather a joyful goodbye. He is able to leave this world now, not in sorrow over what may or may not have occurred, but instead leaving this world in joy at seeing the promised Christ.

How is it that Simeon saw all of this in this child, just a little more than a month old? Mary and Joseph were an obscure poor couple and Jesus looked no different than any other 40-day old male child. Simeon could see all of this because “the Holy Spirit was upon him.” He could sing this wonderful song because God opened his eyes.

Joseph and Mary marveled at the words spoken by Simeon, but he is not finished yet. He shows insight that could come only by special revelation of the Holy Spirit concerning the destiny of this Child. Israel would be divided over Jesus – He would cause some to fall and some to rise. For some, Jesus would be a rock of offense over which they would stumble; for others, He would be the living rock of salvation.

What an example of faith that Simeon had. Simeon fully believed that God was going to make good on His promise and save His people from all their sins through the Savior He would personally send into this world. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, Simeon was promised by God that he would behold the Messiah with his own eyes in his lifetime, before God would call him home to heaven. Simeon waited. He was faithfully patient, trusting that God knew what He was doing and was doing it all according to His divine timeline, working all things for the good of His people. Simeon had faith that God would work this promise and plan when the time was right. Now having personally beheld God’s all-redeeming plan of salvation in the flesh, in his arms, Simeon was joyously relieved. It doesn’t matter whether Simeon was 25 or 95 years old. He could now die perfectly happy and content, fully knowing and trusting that God was keeping His promise and actively saving His people from all sin, death, and damnation. He knew what was really important in terms of life and salvation, and he knew that he was holding it right there in his very arms. 

Saying goodbye is always hard. It is often filled with emotion and uncertainty of what is to come. Israel had no idea of what was to come in the years ahead when this Child would begin His ministry. However, Simeon was able to say goodbye without fear of what was to come because he saw God in the Christ child. Today, we are able to say goodbye without fear because we have seen Christ as well, in both His Word and in His blessed Sacrament of His body and blood. We sing this song of faith with all of the Church, both here and in heaven, as we leave our Lord’s Table from where He feeds us. There is only thing left for us to say: goodbye. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Christmas Day–“Light” (John 1:1-14)

C-14 Christmas Day (Jn 1.1-14)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.

There are certain words of our text that leap off the page to get your attention: “In the beginning, the Word, God, life, light.” As you begin to delve deep in John’s writings, you feel you have entered a new level of God’s truth in Jesus Christ. John’s Gospel is unlike Matthew, Mark or Luke’s Gospels. He trumpets the Christ and the glory of God in Him. He switches on the floodlights and opens the drama of God’s work of salvation.

The drama starts “in the beginning,” before anything existed. We are reminded of the opening words of Scripture: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This speaks of the same period when only God existed and all creation was but a page in His eternal plan. But now, we have a new reference point: “In the beginning was the Word….” At first glance, “the Word” is abstract, with no definition of what John means by it. Within a few words of this opening verse of his Gospel, John identifies what he means by “the Word:” “…and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “The Word” is the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity. This is a title for Jesus and tells us important things about Him: it tells us that Jesus is God. Even before John says “the Word was God,” we know Jesus was because He was “in the beginning” when only God existed. Not only was the Word God, He was “with God.”

Today we gather in excitement and joy. After all the waiting, Christmas is finally at hand. After spending weeks in preparation, we wonder if we have done everything or if everything we had done was really worth the effort.

That is precisely why we need a word such as this today. It declares a “no” to the empty routine and darkness of the made-upness that Christmas tends to turn into and return the focus to what this day is all about: the birth of Christ.

Christmas is all about God coming to seek and to save us. He does this through the Child that is born today. This is not just any child that is born, but it is the very Son of God, the Word made flesh. John tells us much in our text today, but a key phrase that he returns to is “light.” He calls Jesus the “light of men” and “the true light.”

God, compassionately viewing His creation, saw humanity cowering in the gloom of sin. He saw us tumbling to our deaths in the moral and spiritual darkness that engulfed us. He who once said, “Let there be light” as the universe was created, echoed that command anew to bring to this planet a Light more powerful than the sun. It was to be His Son, in whom indeed there would be life—life that He would live; life meant for now, and a life that would go on forever. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” He said. “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Because of Him, we need not stumble in the darkness any longer, for Jesus lights the way.

Thus we focus on Bethlehem and that tiny infant who illumined the whole world with a love that never pales. We see the Virgin tenderly holding her child, and Joseph keeping a watchful eye in that cramped stable, filled as it must have been with barnyard animals. The shepherds arrive with the excitement of children to marvel at what the angels had said and to tell their wondrous story of hearing the heavenly hosts praising God and revealing the birth of the Messiah. Through Bethlehem’s dark fields they stumbled toward the one glowing light, that baby called Jesus, whom Isaiah named Immanuel, “God with us.”

There in that manger, the battle between light and dark was joined, the war between life and death encountered. Isaiah foretold centuries before, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” But Jesus Himself put it more simply, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

And so the light is shining in the darkness. The Savior is born this day, revealing to all His purpose: for the world to receive Him in order to become children of God. However, John doesn’t record that everything worked out that simple. He says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Did the world rejoice that its creator came for a visit? Was there dancing in the streets? Was there a proper welcome for the Lord? Sadly, no! In fact, this very Gospel account will go on to tell us that God’s creation reacted to God’s arrival by resolving to kill Him.

In spite of the fact that creation rejected its creator there are some who receive Him by faith. Although the world rejects the Eternal Word who is the light of life, the Holy Spirit does produce faith in some. This faith is a new birth that gives believers the right to call themselves children of God.

How does the Eternal Word do all this? Today’s Gospel has the answer. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Here is Immanuel. Here is salvation.

Here is the glory of God. Here is where grace and truth are found: in the lowly One who is born of Mary, who identifies with sinners, who blesses ordinary things, who calls us to be His servants. Not to see that glory of God is to miss out on Christmas, no matter what we do on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. To see, with John and all God’s people through the centuries, the true glory of Christmas is to recognize that God is among us in the person of Jesus, now and forever.

May the light of Jesus bring life to you this Christmas. May His sparkle gleam within your soul, and may the devilish darkness that threatens us be banished by the true light that never fades. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Christmas Eve Candlelight–“Christmas Facts” (Luke 2:1-14)

C-12 Christmas Midnight (Lu 2.1-14)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.

For Detective Joe Friday, there was only one thing that he wanted: “Just the facts, ma’am.” That is what Luke lays out for us in our Gospel reading this evening, just the facts. Because of Luke’s description, we can be certain that what follows is factual and historical.

From the facts we gather the following: Caesar Augustus was emperor of Rome at the time. He issued a decree that a census should be conducted. The governor of Syria was Quirinius. The Census of Quirinius refers to the enrollment of the Roman Provinces of Syria and Judea for tax purposes. From this we have a date and time in history, showing to us that this not a story of fiction, but rather an historical account.

People from all over were on their way from their current place of residence back to Judea to be counted for the census. Luke records for us one such couple who were on their way to Judea: Joseph and his betrothed, Mary, who was with child. The journey from Nazareth to Judea was about 80 miles. The trip would be about four days for the average person, but with a pregnant woman, the trip could have taken nearly a week.

During their time in Judea, it was time for Mary to give birth to her child. A birth at this time would have been primitive, compared to modern means. There were no nice, sterile hospitals. There would have been no epidural shot for the expectant mother to help ease the pain. Ideally, the birth would take place in your own home. However, for Joseph and Mary, they were far from home.

Upon their arrival, trying to find a room was next to impossible because of the increase in population due to the census. The only place available for them to stay was nothing more than a barn of an innkeeper, the same place where the animals would eat and sleep. This was not the Hilton by any means. In fact, your cheapest budget motel would be a step up from where they were.

There, in an innkeeper’s barn, Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. With no crib for a bed, she used the next best thing available to her, what we call a manger; in reality, probably nothing more than a feeding trough. This is the bed of the Savior. It is not lavish. It is not plush. It is rough. It is crude. It is demeaning to say the least. We would never imagine placing our newborn child in anything short of a nice warm bed and yet we see the Savior in anything but that.

All in all, not a glorious welcome for the Savior: a long journey for His pregnant mother, no room for the parents, no proper place for the Savior to be born. This is not how everything is to happen, is it? Is this how the Savior was to make His grand entrance into humanity?

Why shouldn’t the Savior enter the world like this? The world that He entered isn’t one that is nice and neat. It isn’t one that has everything in good order according to God’s Word. This world is just as rough and crude, if not more, than the manger that Christ was born into. Our Lord wasn’t born into a perfect world. He was born into an imperfect world in order to make it perfect. Mankind’s salvation depended on this little Child that was born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough. The manner of His birth was in keeping with His mission: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” There would be no posh palace on earth for this King. His reign on earth would be marked by humility, from start to finish.

This announcement of Jesus’ birth was not one that was meant to be kept to those in the immediate area. The angel made an announcement to the shepherds in the fields, heralding Jesus’ birth. In reality, the angel’s announcement was a bit of an understatement. The angel said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” This is not good news. This is the greatest news that one could ever receive! This is the news that humanity has been waiting for since God had promised a Savior all the way back in the Garden of Eden. This has been a long time coming, as in thousands of years and now, God’s promise has been fulfilled.

What a truly spectacular sight to behold, an angel of the Lord appearing and delivering such good news. But the evening’s events aren’t over yet. “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”” This song of the angels has a double focus: in the highest heavens there is resounding glorious praise to God for His generous gift of a Savior; on earth, there is peace for people on whom God’s favor rests.

It is unsure how many constituted the multitude of which Luke speaks of, but one thing that we can be certain of is this: this was truly a remarkable and awe-inspiring scene to behold. It was so inspiring that the shepherds left their flocks and immediately made their way to Bethlehem in order to see this Child that the angels had spoken of. Very few people in Bethlehem were aware of the Baby lying in the manger; only Mary and Joseph were in on the secret of His divine origin. All of that changes as God goes public with the good news. The shepherds are the first to hear the good news. King David has been a shepherd out in the same fields as these shepherds and now news of the birth of one greater than David is broadcast to the shepherds. They could not keep this news to themselves. Luke says,

The message that the shepherds spread was not so much about the baby in a manger; rather they shared the angel’s message that the Savior is born. They shared the message that the prophecies of old had now been fulfilled and that the long-expected Messiah was now here.

The promise of the Messiah in the Old Testament is now fulfilled. The Word was made flesh in the form of an infant, and that Word made flesh died so that the gates of heaven would be opened for us sinners. Here is Jesus, our Savior, the Anointed One and our Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.