Judica Sunday, The Fifth Sunday in Lent, 2019
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
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
I AM - The Name of Jesus
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 #410 Jesus Lead Thou On
KJV Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee, that of Thine infinite mercy Thou hast instituted this Thy sacrament, in which we eat Thy body and drink Thy blood: Grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not receive this gift unworthily, but that we may confess our sins, remember Thine agony and death, believe the forgiveness of sin, and day by day grow in faith and love, until we obtain eternal salvation through Thee, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Background for Sermon
"I am" is misunderstood in many translations and discussions about the statement, because people fail to start with the Gospel of John as a commentary on the Five Books of Moses. Does John start off with the words and theme of Genesis 1? Yes. Does John refer to the events of the Exodus? Yes, the evangelist even makes the bronze serpent story, very strange by itself, the most famous verse in the Bible - John 3:16. This is the revelation of the Holy Spirit, not a simple biography of Jesus.
The Name of God is I AM. The Angel of the Lord is the Son of God, before His Incarnation. The Trinitarian references (God three times) teaches us that "the fulness of the godhead dwelt in Him" (Colossians).
The Burning Bush is the manifestation of the Son to Moses, and it has two natures - the fire and the plant, and yet the fire does not consume the plant, very much like the Two Natures of Christ, not a merger but a union of Two Natures.
When Jesus says, "I AM," He is not saying, "It's me" or "It is I" but I AM GOD.
I AM - The Name of Jesus
KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
The rationalists and sceptics do not like the Gospel of John, because it explodes their claim that Jesus did not consider Himself the Messiah or God. He was just a good teacher. The other Gospels are not silent on this issue, but the divinity and the Messiahship of Jesus are brushed aside anyway.
John riles them so they say the Gospel was written 300 years later. But we know it is the earliest fragment of the Gospels found to this date, and it was circulating in the Apostolic Age.
As one American Lutheran wrote, it is both the external evidence and internal evidence that convinces us of the authority of this Gospel.
John is clearly the supplement of Matthew-Mark-Luke and fills in what we need to know in addition to those Gospels. It is a remarkable accomplishment in human terms alone, as if four members of a family would write biographies with overlapping details, but none of them contradicting the others. The four bio would show the true nature of that person through his speeches or writings. We all know that married couples have two contradictory versions of every event in their lives, so four people in agreement is simply not possible. In fact, many normal books end up with contradictions and lapses - it is the human problem of fallibility.
I was writing Malcolm Gladwell for a class and thought comb - so I wrote Malcomb Gladwell. The computer thought it odd, as if I wanted to write bad comb. I wrote according to sound rather than sense and my mistake was frozen forever in that class announcement.
The entire Bible is without error and contradiction. The "problems" found by sceptics have been explored and answered, often centuries ago.
John's Gospel - I was thinking - is intensely personal and shows the strenth of the animosity toward Jesus. That is a case of telling the truth and also strengthening the faithful against the persecutions they would face in years to come.
This passage emphasizes the hatred and the reason for it. The hatred comes from unbelief in God (on the part of the Jewish leaders) and Jesus' telling them the truth about it - You belong to Satan, as all unbelievers do.
True Judaism is the Christian Faith, one might say, and that began with Adam and Eve hearing the Gospel Promise in Genesis 3:15. So strong was this Promise that Even thought her first son was this promised Savior - "I have begotten a Son - God" - literally in Hebrew. However, Pharisaic Judaism emphasized righteousness through the Law, and worked against the righteousness of faith.
Abraham believed in the Promise of God that his son would begin a line that led to the Messiah and the ever-expanding Kingdom of God. What are we but examples of that Promise being fulfilled? Every birth and baptism by itself shows the expansion of this everlasting and ever-growing Kingdom, unlike any kingdom on earth.
The irony is that Judaism contained all the knowledge of faith in Christ, but like the Biblical scholars of today, hardened its heart against the truth - with notable exceptions - like Nicodemus, John 3.
47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
As we know from Nicodemus, the only way to get through the thick hide of Pharisaical Judaism (Synodical Judaism, as practiced by many Lutherans today) was to shock them into realizing their spiritual blindness, as Jesus did with Nicodemus.
How do you know that you belong to God's Kingdom now? The Holy Spirit dwelling in you hears and loves the Gospel Promises. Also, this Holy Spirit takes to heart those statements of the Law, the foundational one being "sin is not believing on Me." All sins stem from that foundational sin of unbelief, which is what Jesus teachers throughout John and especially here, in John 3, and John 16.
Jesus' words are pure truth, because the best and kindest words of the Gospel annoy unbelievers and they flail away at them with a variety of excuses. Notice the irrelevant rebuttals of the opponents.
48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
This is a typical response. Today it is modernized to "crazy." Every so often, someone lets loose with that today, although the real issue is - what does the Word of God say?
The personal attack reveals that the opponent has nothing relevant to say and responds with "prove to us that you are not..."
This is doubly insulting to Jesus because Samaritan was an insult in that era. (Do we wonder why He chose that term for Himself in the Parable of the Good Samaritan?) So He was a Samaritan and possessed by a devil, twice cursed, twice worthy of condemnation.
49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
Jesus answered them and spoke to us, but also spoke to generations that might side with opponents at first. That is why the Fourth Gospel is so dangerous to sceptics. The Gospel of Faith always teaches faith and always emphasizes faith - there is no escape from its lesson of the righteousness of faith.
As Virginia, one of our Greek students said, it must have been God's plan to have the Fourth Gospel in such easy language (whatever language is native to the reader) because those deep and eternal messages are so easy to understand and so difficult to forget.
Jesus answered the opponents by emphasizing His relationship with the Father. He did not try to soothe their feelings or explain. Instead, He declared the truth. He honored the Father while they dishonored Jesus (and the Father). Jesus is not after His own glory but honors and glorifies the Father. This is an important lesson (often repeated) that Jesus is the human face and Voice of God. There is no separation or difference between the love and mercy of Jesus and that of the Father. They are two distinct Persons in the Godhead, but one loving, forgiving, patient Nature.
As the intermediary, Jesus speaks for God and honors the Father so that what we ask in His Name is marked with approval because of the Son. That is why public groups think prayer (silent is better) is great as long as no one says, "In the Name of Jesus." To omit that ending is to deny Jesus. Unbelievers like that denial.
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
Verse 51 is significant. "Keep My saying" means to guard it, protect it, not let anyone take it away or attack it. It means to guard the way a security guard protects the bank, the vault, the jewels and cash inside. Believing and guarding go together.
Continuous faith in Jesus means eternal life, which really sets off the opponents' unbelief - as they rage.
- It confirms Jesus is possessed.
- Jesus makes no sense - Abraham is dead, but He is promising eternal life.
- Therefore, Jesus is promising something greater than Abraham, their father.
- Who do you think you are?
Luther had the same experience when he embraced the Word alone and rejected the additions and corruptions of the Middle Ages - Purgatory, works added to faith for partial forgiveness, the rule of the pope and bishops over and above the Word.
Luther was alone.
He was crazy.
He should be killed.
14. Therefore Christ proceeds farther and gives the ground and reason why it is just his Word and not the word of anyone else, that giveth life, and says it is because he was before Abraham, or in other words, because he was the one true God. For if the person who offered himself as a sacrifice for us were not God, it would not help or avail anything, even if he were born of the Virgin Mary and suffered a thousand deaths. But the fact that the Seed of Abraham, who gave himself for us, is also true God, secures blessing and victory for all sinners. Therefore Christ speaks, not of his human nature that they saw and experienced; for they could easily see he was not yet fifty years of age, and did not live before Abraham. But with that nature by which he existed long before the time of Abraham, by which he existed also before all creatures and before the whole world.
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Jesus taught the Trinity in this Gospel, not that the Trinity was new to Judaism. The difference was that the people got to see the Son in the flesh, and this provoked the unbelieving opponents. Nothing would cure their blindness, and this conversation showed how clearly effective the Word can be in making people even more blind and hardened against the Word.
It reminds me of the time I said women made better bank tellers because of their dexterity and multi-tasking. One young lady said, "That's sexist!" I looked it up for the whole class - 90% of all tellers in Minnesota were women. She said, "That's just Minnesota." I answered, "Find another survey for us. I will share it." Silence.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
The peak of the confrontation is missed unless we realize Jesus called Himself God - the Voice of the Burning Bush.
- "You are not even 50 years old; how can you have seen Abraham?"
- "Truly, truly I say to you." - that is a way of making everyone pay attention to this teaching.
- "Before Abraham was, I AM."
The Name of God is so sacred that believing Jews often write G-d so they are not writing out the entire name. This is a kindness for Jesus to reveal Himself as plainly as He could. For some it would be the final step in complete trust, which is what happened with such leaders as Nicodemus. That made all the difference at the trail and the burial.
But it also meant revealing the murderous hatred in the opponents. They responded to His revelation by trying to kill Him on the spot. He revealed His divine nature by passing through the midst of them - His divine nature was not hindered by His human nature. No purely human being could have left that way, but His time had not yet arrived. He would fulfill all the sayings of the Old Testament, which would be the basis for teaching the Jews and
Gentiles in early Church - from the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint.
This Gospel takes us back to ancient times when Moses saw the Burning Bush and the revelation of his future work. John 1 takes u back even earlier, showing that the Logos, the Son, created the universe in six 24-hour days. When people followed or opposed the Savior, they were believing or opposing the Creator of all they knew and experienced, from the celestial stars to the abundant fruits of the earth.
