Cantate, The Fourth Sunday
after Easter, 2013
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10
AM Central Time
The Hymn #458 Our Father – Luther 4:50
The Confession
of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The
Gospel
Glory be to
Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #462 I Love Thy Kingom 4:21
This World’s Prince Is Judged
The Communion
Hymn #305 Soul Adorn Thyself 4:23
The Preface p.
24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful
Savior 4:24
Fourth Sunday After Easter
Lord God, heavenly
Father, who didst through Thy Son promise us Thy Holy Spirit, that He should
convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: We beseech Thee,
enlighten our hearts, that we may confess our sins, through faith in Christ
obtain everlasting righteousness, and in all our trials and temptations retain
this consolation, that Christ is Lord over the devil and death, and all things,
and that He will graciously deliver us out of all our afflictions, and make us
forever partakers of eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son, Jesus
Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one
true God, world without end. Amen.
KJV James 1:16 Do not err,
my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of
truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore,
my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to
wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive
with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
KJV John 16:5 But now I go
my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6
But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
7 Nevertheless I tell you
the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8 And when he is come, he
will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin,
because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father,
and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is
judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify
me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All
things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of
mine, and shall shew it unto you.
This World’s Prince Is Judged
KJV John 16:5 But now I
go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6
But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
The context of this sermon
is after the Last Supper. The disciples know that a crisis is looming. Thomas
said that journeying toward Jerusalem would be equal to dying together.
Lenski:
Already in 14:28
Jesus had told the disciples that he was going to his Father. When he now calls
the Father “him that did send me,” the sense is the same save that now the
mission of Jesus is specifically mentioned: Jesus returning to his Sender,
having completed his mission and the visible stay on earth which it required.
He goes to his Sender in order to make report to him of his successful task.
When saying that he is returning to his Sender, Jesus makes a basic statement,
one that governs all that follows in this chapter.
The addition: “and none of you
inquires of me, Where art thou going?” while it is joined with “and,” is
adversative, “and yet.” Strange to say—and Jesus says it with a touch of gentle
reproof and of pain in his own heart—not one of the eleven makes a request of
him as to where he is going.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The
Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing
House, 1961, S. 1078.
There is an interesting
transition in this powerful passage, as Lenski teaches. The disciples should be
asking about where Jesus is going because what follows will comfort and guide
them. In sorrow, they do not ask. That is our normal reaction when we face bad
news – we do not want to hear more. We would rather deny it or put it off a
little longer.
7 Nevertheless I tell you
the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
It would difficult for any
group to think about the world-wide spread of the Gospel at this stage of
sorrow. And yet, that is one theme in this message. Jesus earthly ministry
meant that the Gospel was limited to His travels in one tiny outpost of the
Roman Empire. Soon the Spirit would move the disciples to take the Gospel
around the civilized world, by creating centers of the Faith that would copy
the New Testament and spread it even farther, with local pastors taking over
for the apostles.
In the last century
Christians have neglected the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in many different
ways. For that reason Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement have stepped
in to replace the vacuum.
One Form of
Neglect
The Scriptures have been
treated as an ordinary, man-made book. That is the majority opinion among
mainline, Left-wing denominations. The extent of fiddling with the manuscripts
and the translations has meant the same for the so-called conservative
denominations as well.
Why would someone seriously
study a book written by men, a book with a constantly changing message?
Another Form of
Neglect
Congregations and
denominations have assumed that the Word of God has no power at all unless man
can find some way to make it attractive and appealing to human reason and
emotion. The drive to sell the Gospel by making it a secular coaching tool is
another way of saying that the Word of God must satisfy the carnal appetites of
man – What’s in it for me?
What This Theme
Means
The direct connection
between the Word and the Spirit means that we never question the power of the
Holy Spirit when someone is faithful to the Bible, which is the only book
written, published, and protected by God Himself. No other book has that claim;
therefore, the Bible judges all books.
This truth satisfies the
questions of:
- Do I have the Holy Spirit? Yes – faith in Christ
shows that someone has the Spirit, because faith is a creation of the
Spirit through the Word.
- Do I know the truth even when everyone denies it
and teaches against it? Yes, because the true Word of God never changes,
even though man changes.
- Am I forgiven? Yes – if someone has faith in
Christ alone for salvation, that individual is justified by the
Spirit/Word and saved for eternal life.
God’s plan is to expand the
Gospel message throughout the world, so the departing of Christ will mean the
sending of the Spirit. And this includes, as we know, the actual resurrection
of Christ.
He was raised for our
justification - His actual rising from the dead, before the Tomb was opened,
shows us the reality of our own eternal life. When we grieve for someone who
has died before us, we always keep in mind the risen Savior. How can this be,
that we are promised eternal life? We remember the resurrection of Christ and
that strengthens our faith.
James 1:21 wrote:
receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
This half-verse is a classic
passage on the efficacy of the Word. Receive is used as a synonym for believe,
and it expresses the Biblical concept of faith/trust very well. Faith or trust
is not a decision and not a merit or virtue. Faith means receiving what God
offers as the truth (with abundant Promises and prophetic evidence).
Engrafted is a fine
agricultural word. When we splice two plants together they have the nature of
both. Most roses are a hybrid graft on a wild rose root. That give the rose the
staying power of the wild rose and the beauty of the hybrid. Most roses have
that lump which betrays the graft.
The Gospel Word is grafted
onto us, received in faith. This Word is the Holy Spirit’s power behind faith
and justification, forgiveness and salvation.
The arrogant, proud, and
self-righteous do not have faith. They reject faith and have no meekness. By
not receiving with meekness they deny to themselves the grace that comes from
the Gospel Promises.
The Holy
Spirit’s work in three Words
8 And when he is come, he
will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness,
because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the
prince of this world is judged.
Some time ago, these verses
really tied me up in a knot. They were so simple and yet I had to struggle to
see the complete message. Luther said in one of his sermons about this lesson –
it is a fine lesson but it takes fine readers to understand it.
As he realized, most of the
world reading this passage rejected its meaning. How can something so simple on
the surface be so complex and powerful? That of course is the strength of
John’s Gospel – a profound message expressed in child-like simplicity, with
many repetitions.
9 Of sin,
because they believe not on Me;
What is sin? Most people
will define sin as actions. And they have a hierarchy of sins. The worst is
criticizing the synod, according to various synods, because that is a sin
against the Holy Spirit (no forgiveness!) I am not kidding. One parson said, “I
cannot disagree with the circuit pastor, because the Holy Spirit put him in
that office.” The same is said about other political functionaries, who have no
trouble arguing against the Word. Because. They. Know. Greek.
The world knows what sin is.
All the messages of this age are about sin. Do you fail to recycle? Sin. Do you
oppose every kind of marriage? Sin. Do you own a gun? Sin. Do you believe in
traditional values? Sin.
Christians have quite a few
definitions too, all based on actions and attitudes. Did you play the pipe
organ of a non-WELS church? Sin.
But all this is thrown aside
in a few words from Jesus. And John gave us these sermons as essential
supplements to Matthew-Mark-Luke. Essential – not extra credit read. So
essential that we should especially take the Johannine words to our hearts as
the elder Apostle’s final testimony, for the salvation of all who believe.
Sin is not believing on
Jesus. I am going to use the old wording because too many people think
faith is just thinking Jesus is a good Teacher and perhaps even the Savior.
They have some knowledge of Jesus but also hedge their bets with their trust in
their own righteousness.
In those few words Jesus
rejected the world’s definition of sin and the false teacher’s version of sin.
If your church is not growing, you are sinful!
But those words also toss us
into the abyss when we realize their complete meaning. When we harbor doubts
and anxieties about past sins, we fail to believe on Jesus, who has taken all
sins upon Himself.
Continuing regret, remorse,
sorrow, and anxiety is making a side-bet. I will show my true contrition by clinging
to the thought of not being completely forgiven until I am perfect and free of
sin. But that fulfills the meaning of this verse. That is THE sin – not
believing in God’s complete, full, free forgiveness through faith in Christ.
Were you not a perfect child
or a perfect parent? Sin is not imperfection, a weakness we all have. Sin is
not believing in our complete forgiveness. We cannot lay a side-bet on our
future perfection, which really paves the road to repetition. All the gurus
have proven this by making their law the savior and driving people right back
to the same thing (food, addiction, etc). And when people come back for another
dose of the law, the guru says, “See, you need me.”
10 Of
righteousness, because I go to my Father and ye see me no more
I had a lot of trouble with
this. What is the connection? The constant debate over justification and many
great Scriptural insights from others have helped me see the connection.
Righteousness is God’s
forgiveness or justification by faith. This is the great comfort to be offered
by the Paraclete (Advocate). The Gospel will be declared across the world and
spread as the first social network came into being. Jesus designed it, saying,
Take advantage of
hospitality. When you are invited into a home, speak about the Gospel. If they
receive you and listen to the Word, they receive Me, since I am conveyed by the
Word of God. If they reject you, they do not reject you but Me, the One who
sent you. Knock the dust off your shoes and move on.
The Spirit will convict the
world of forgiveness because the teaching of the Resurrection will plant faith
in the hearts of people across the world.
The risen Savior was seen
and heard by hundreds of people, who established the Gospel everywhere, found
themselves persecuted, and traveled on to establish it in new places, often in
world ports where the Gospel would travel even faster. In essence, Jesus
friended 500 people in addition to the Twelve, and He certainly had believers
among those He healed. Since all of them witnessed to the resurrection, the
Christian faith spread across the Roman Empire in one generation.
Luther is one who was
convicted of righteousness. As he said in one sermon, the entire world would be
forgiven IF every single person believed on Jesus Christ. But they do not. So
we can preach about the possibility, due to God’s Promises, but not about the
reality, because many do NOT believe, and many fall away from faith in Christ.
Righteousness comes to us
through faith, and Jesus is consistent in all His teaching about that truth.
Therefore the wisdom of the
world and all the teachers is thrown aside in a few words. That is why there
will always be great hatred about faith in Christ, constant disruption and
anger, especially among the self-righteous religious leaders, whether they are
the Pharisees of the past or the synodical drones of the present.
John 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
This message can be treated
under the topic of faith but it is especially good here at the end of the
triad.
Christ is teaching – Satan
may rule this world and define all that is good, holy, honored, and worshiped,
but he is judged, condemned, and nearing his final destruction. Do not adhere
to those things he honors and upholds. He is condemned for eternity.
And yet – I see this in the
church – members and pastors in larger churches think they are really something
based on material measures – money, local prestige, synodical honors, and so
forth. And they brag about everything except being faithful to the Word of God.
Only in America could a
church brag about being 150 years old. In Europe some are 1,000 years old. Some
are so big that one can hardly see the altar from the balcony. So much marble
and gold that tourists gasp.
All wordly wisdom is Satan’s.
All the best scientists trust in evolution, not Creation. Don’t you want to be
among the best, the wisest, the most up to date?
25. But now, since the prince of this world and the Holy
Spirit, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the devil, are directly
opposed to one another, and the Holy Spirit is not willing that anyone should
parade his own deeds and praise himself on account of them, the holy cross must
soon follow. The world will not consent to be reprimanded for its blindness.
Therefore one must willingly submit and suffer persecution. If we have the
right kind of faith in our hearts, we must also open our mouths and confess
righteousness and make known sin. Likewise we must condemn and punish the
doings of this world and make it known that everything it undertakes, is
damned. For this we must be considered heretics, and must pass through the fire.
They say: This is against the holy councils and the canon of the holy father,
the pope. Then you are to answer: How can I help it? Here it stands — the text
does not say the Holy Spirit is to convict them and say their doctrine is
error, blindness and the government of the devil. This, of course, they will
not endure, but would have us call them gracious noblemen. Therefore, one must
here risk his neck.
26. These are the three parts we have in this
Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the
judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider
everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned, and
afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of
it. Now follows in the Gospel further: “I have yet many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
shall guide you into all the truth.”
So many people say, “I would speak the truth and not hedge
it, but my family would be angry. My church friends would stop speaking to me. My
ecclesiastical bosses would shun me.”
“I must have said something wrong or said it in the wrong
way, because everyone wants my scalp.”
That is a measure of the truth. In one setting the truth will
make convicts cry and repent. In another setting it will make the self-righteous
furious and full of vindictiveness.
12 I have yet many things
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of
truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of
himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will
shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine,
and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine:
therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto
you.
This is another great
section, because we can see the wisdom and compassion of Christ. He is not
going to tell them too much because their capacity is not great enough to grasp
all of it.
How did they record such
harmonious Gospels, four in all? The Holy Spirit came to them as promised and
stirred up their memories so that their words were divinely in accord. The
Gospels and Letters became the foundation of the Church, an unchanging standard
or norm for the Christian faith.
Jesus received from the
Father and taught it to the apostles. The apostles received from Jesus and the
Holy Spirit and taught it to the early church in preaching and teaching, to us
in the written Word of God.
