Mid-Week Lenten Service, 2017. The Atonement Is the Gospel

Jesus Before the High Priest, by Norma Boeckler

The Hymn #649        Jesus Savior Pilot Me

The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody                                                         p. 124
The Lections                            The Passion History

                                               

The Sermon Hymn #153   Stricken, Smitten

The Sermon –    The Atonement Is the Gospel

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn # 554   Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadow

16 αλλ ου παντες υπηκουσαν τω ευαγγελιω - ησαιας γαρ λεγει κυριε τις επιστευσεν τη ακοη ημων?
Romans 10:17 αρα η πιστις εξ ακοης - η δε ακοη δια ρηματος θεου

Note above - Greek students - 

who has believed our akoue (sermon, report)?

Faith comes from the akoue, 

and the akoue from the utterances of God.

Isaiah 53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

Long before anyone imagined this, the Jewish people and those attracted to Judaism were taught about the Atonement. Isaiah is one of the most read prophets and has a special status for its great pronouncements, which include the Virgin Birth and the divinity of Christ in Isaiah 7 and 9. What better way to lay a foundation for the atonement than by animal sacrifice, the importance of Passover, and the reading of this chapter?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

What so many forget is this simple truth - the Atonement is the Gospel. Some deny it outright, and they are the mainline theologians of apostasy. The systematic theology of Braaten-Jenson denies and mocks the Atonement, but they were the "conservatives" (don't laugh) trying to keep ELCA talking about theology when others thought it was meaningless. The Gospel is this - Jesus has died for the sins of the world and for yours. There is no other way to be forgiven and saved that to believe in this truth. The wrath of God abides with all those who are unbelievers, but God loves those who believe in the Atonement of His beloved son.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

When we look at the facts of the Atonement, the horrible mockery, torture, and death of Christ, accompanied by mockery and abandonment, we see the full price paid by Christ for our sins. The Gospel says - You are forgiven through faith because those are your sins laid upon Him. He bore your sins and paid for them. You cannot pay for them or pay Him back.

When we look at all the systems, ancient and modern, for self-justification, for righteousness earned by works, then we understand what a great message of grace this is. Faith takes away the payment by works. Faith takes away the abiding sense of guilt fashioned by the works salesmen. When a contrite heart feels no relief, there is the crucifix - the price has been paid.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

The New Testament teaches redemption two different ways. One is based on the marketplace - paying with His innocent blood, suffering, and death. The other meaning of redemption is setting the slave free (based on luo - to loose).

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

This chapter is so important in the New Testament that most of it is reproduced when the various citations are added up. We could easily say this is central for the Gospel in the New Testament, and many use this as the Gospel for Jewish people, because it comes right from their teaching and worship.

That is why I find teaching the Old Testament so easy, since everything is a setting for the Gospel, such as the many Psalms teaching the work of the Messiah and Psalm 22 as the Atonement psalm. If we look at denial of the basic articles of faith by the modernists, the Old Testament is a resounding repudiation of their unbelieving and uncomprehending claims. No better proof can be found of such people blinding themselves and hardening themselves through the efficacious power of the Word. The more they deny the revealed truth, the more they hate and mock it.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The purpose of the Atonement is clear. We are like sheep, going this way and that way, getting lost, messing up so many different things - and yet the Lord placed all those sins on Him.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

This is a perfect description of the trial and death of Christ. He had all power to escape and to destroy His opponents, but He willingly died for us - instead. He warned them so they would know what they were doing. In the midst of this horror, faith bloomed, and the centurion said - Surely this man was the Son of God.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

This is one of clearest examples of how Jesus fulfilled Isaiah many centuries after people heard these verses over and over again. He was crucified with criminals and yet He was buried in a rich man's grave.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

This is the triumph of the Gospel. What seemed to be a horrible tragedy for the disciples and all the followers became a cosmic victory over sin, death, and the devil. No matter how sin grieves us, this cross is the ultimate comfort. God has forgiven and forgotten the sins of all believers. This gives up peace of mind, because we realize that tormenting ourselves is really against the Gospel of the Atonement. It is like saying, "You have not done enough. I will torture myself until I feel I have done enough to deserve forgiveness. In fact, I may never forgive myself." That by itself is a denial of the Atonement. The sin against the Holy Spirit is not an individual sin as such, what we normally name, but denying faith in Christ at the time we die. And of course, any denial of Christ and His Atone is a sin against the Holy Spirit, but many repent. That should always be emphasized.

Not carnal sin, but unbelief is the foundation of all sin, as Jesus taught.

Christina Jackson Recovering Fast

 Photofunia creation by Eric Meyer

The surgeon talked to my wife Christina. They were all astounded that the tests came back all clear. The sentinel cell was clear, and that was not what they expected. The other tests were the same - no movement of the cancer cells.

She is recovering fast, getting some exercise and going out for short trips.

Thank you for your prayers. She received hundreds of responses on Facebook.

That Magical Time of Spring Has Arrived

 "Aren't roses a lot of trouble?"
Yes, if you chemo-bomb them all the time.
Veteran's Honor Rose - in memory of Peter Ellenberger,
military veteran, immigrant, proud American,
one of five in his family who served the US military.

We had a couple of cold snaps and one more seems to be on the way. After a short drought we starting having long, drenching rains, four and five inches at a time.

The mother of all Crepe Myrtles is preparing to bloom again.

Some plants begin to leave out a little later. One is the Crepe Myrtle, which seems to take forever to bloom. Once the blooming begins, the display lasts all summer, especially if it gets a second pruning.

Red-white blooms on the new CMs will be fun to watch.

The old plant was pruned of its seedy branches earlier, and five little twigs were planted at the same time. I bought three CMs on sale, and received five, so I have a row of four on the west side of the rose garden, one in the backyard to serve as the waiting room for the kitchen window birdfeeder. They received another rainfall last night.

I loved seeing the new Crepe Myrtles leafing out. Even though I soaked them in rainwater for 24 hours before planting, I had planter's remorse afterwards. They arrived in early February, so I have waiting for their leafing out for two months. Week after week I saw little sticks in the soil, but now the leaves give hope again.

Soil temperature triggers plant growth. I noticed the opportunistic weeds sprouting and feeding the bees from the beginning. The spreading mints are coloring lawns all over, including my little patch in the back, where it did not grow before. I seem to have a crop of ajuga, which spreads far too easily.

 Mountain Mint is a good mint,
loved by beneficial insects.

Bird Habits
The birds are comfortable with our proximity to their food. I can go to the kitchen sink and have a male cardinal close enough to touch - except for the window between us. He munches on a few more sunflower seeds and flies off, but he gets his food first. The birds are no longer so shy that they escape as soon as we are near.

The finches often line up on the sides of the hanging feeders, all of them feeding at once. They use the two swings all day, so that brings them even closer.

The birds have their favorite baths. Two ponds form near our house, in the street, so we see them splashing there after each storm. I keep three children's swimming pools clean and full in the backyard, plus numerous shallow dishes for birds and other creatures.

Whatever happens with the weather and plants, the creatures share it and make sure the food is used in many different ways. Birds eat and plant their favorite foods at the same time, so gathering places provide extra meals over time. If food is spoiled and not worth eating, smaller creatures will recycle it. Earthworms pull organic matter into the soil. Bacteria attacks soft cells and fungi burrow into more resilient structures.

The soil under the main feeder became so soft from the organic deluge that I placed some concrete blocks there so I could stand and fill the feeders. The earthworms began holding conventions there and moles showed up to eat and gather them.

That is one of the ironies of creature populations. The opponents clear up so many of them that the consumed populations have room to reproduce and re-plenish. Rapid growth of bacteria allows for quick decomposition, so protozoa and others move in to enjoy the bacteria, the staff of life for them. Bacteria have room to grow again because so many become food.

The root fungi reach out to burrow into wood and share the nutrients with plants. The plants demand certain items they need and give fungi carbon in return. Soil scientists realized this about fungi only a few years ago.

Wind in the Willows treated moles well.

In Seattle, everyone is agog about Bertha, the giant earth-moving machine that is boring a hole underground for a new tunnel. What engineering! What genius to create such a machine! And yet billions of earthworms do the same before we even ask how this can be. Inside each earthworm a team of bacterial convert the organic matter - food for the earthworm, food for the plant roots. The earthworm sweetens the soil with its calcium glands and adds nitrogen compounds the plants need.

Funny how people look at Bertha videos, take earthworms for granted, and despise moles. Their moles are also perfectly designed tunneling machines. Their fur allows them to swim forward and backward through the soil. Their digging is Herculean because they are all muscle and claw. By gathering earthworms into banks of a thousand or more, moles provide room for more earthworms and concentrate the nutrition provided by their bodies.

 The birds scatter the seed while feeding,
so they clean up the extra that lands on the window sill
or the ground. "Nothing is wasted" as someone observed
about the fragments gathered after the miraculous feeding.