Romans 9:6-30
Romans 9a
Proper 11
I Need Rest
Thorns and thistles. So long ago Adam and Eve went their own way away from the Lord. And the consequences of their sin we share today. Work used to be fun. But after they sinned, work is work. And yet, because it is work and because it wears us down and makes us weary, we need rest. That’s the context to understand as we begin to walk through this part of God’s word in Mark 6. The twelve disciples had been busy. They had worked. They had toiled. They went out two by two. Their legs were worn down as they walked from town to town. Their hearts were worn down as they preached God’s word again and again not knowing if the people would receive them into their homes or drive them out of their town. They needed rest—for both their legs and hearts. And so, we read: “30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”” (Mark 6:30–31 NIV11-GKE)
They need rest. They know it. Jesus sees it. So he tells them, “Let’s get a little rest.”1 Now, notice, Jesus does not tell them to get an overwhelming amount of rest. Instead, he tells them to get a little rest. So what happens next? “32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” (Mark 6:32–34 NIV11-GKE)
They get on a boat to get away from the crowds and get some rest. But the crowds see them and they travel by foot.2 They run around the sea while Jesus and his disciples sail across the sea.3 And then, what happens next is shocking and surprising. What we would have expected is that Jesus would have sent the crowd away or sailed to a different place. Because he had just invited them to get some rest with him. But when he sees the crowds he has compassion on them.4 There are times that you can’t find a perfect word in english to bring out what is going on in the Greek or Hebrew. The word here describes something that disturbs you so much that your guts feel twisted within yourself. It’s that feeling you have when your teenager goes driving for the first time. It’s that feeling you have when your high-schooler graduates and then they leave—on their own. Jesus heart was in turmoil over these crowds. They were sheep without a shepherd. They had wolves—false teachers. But they didn’t have shepherds.
But just for a moment, put yourself in the shoes of those twelve. Jesus invited them to get some rest with him. But then what happens? The crowd comes and Jesus seemingly forgets about them. And here is where they learned a powerful lesson. It is true that those disciples needed rest. But what about those crowds? What about their need for rest? These were people who were so desperate that they traveled on foot, even running ahead of their boat for one reason—to hear God’s word. For they needed rest for their souls. From this, no doubt, they saw their sin. For it is a sin to lift up our own needs and then forget about the needs of others. And the same is true for us. The new mom loses so much sleep because of the little child. And there is the temptation to hate the child because of its needs. You go to work. And at the end of the day you have your keys in one hand and your jacket in the other. And then your boss comes around the corner with some extra work that needs to get done before you leave. And there hangs over you the temptation to hate him because, after all, you need your rest. When we were in school I remember a professor telling us, “When you get that phone call at 2 AM, letting you know that your member is in the hospital, there will be that temptation to ignore it because you need your rest. But when that phone call comes, you answer it, and you get to the hospital. Because they need rest from God’s word.”
This a real temptation to sin, isn’t it? It is a real temptation to conclude that my need for rest is more important than others. And so we see this sin and repent of it. And, as we do for all of our other sins, we turn to Jesus. Jesus had compassion on them. His heart was in turmoil over them. And his guts are twisted in care and concern today for us too. Look at your Savior. Look at the many times and ways that your needs came before his own. There were times that he should have eaten. But he didn’t so that he could teach the people. There were times he should have slept. But he didn’t so that he could teach the people. There were times that he needed privacy, but he didn’t have it, so that he could teach the people.
Jesus went without all these so that you would know that your needs went before his own. And with that perfect obedience in our place he won forgiveness for us. And with his perfect payment on the cross he payed for all the times we made our need for rest a ruthless right.
He has compassion on us to forgive us. But he also has compassion on us to give us shepherds. When we began vacation, we got out to MT in just enough time to arrive there for the installation of a new pastor at my parents’ church. They had been without a pastor for a little less than a year. And you see how much they needed a shepherd. They needed a fellow sinner as they were that God chose to share his word with them. And by sharing God’s forgiveness to them, again and again, they received rest.
Now my dear friends in Christ, this is an important point. Notice what Jesus did not do. Jesus did not show his compassion on the crowds by buying then a timeshare on the Mediterranean coast for a year. Jesus showed his compassion on them by sharing God’s word with them. For God’s word is what gives us rest. What good is it to have time for rest without a soul at rest? All you’ve gained is time. But you have no rest in that time. Every day off and every vacation should be a brief glimpse into our life in heaven, where we will have complete and perfect rest. But without God’s word, all you have is a fearful expectation of hell. Time off should be a time to relax and recharge. But what good is it to have that time off and then be all stressed out because you’re worrying about what will fall apart when you’re gone. Only in Christ, in his word, do you hear and receive these promises that Jesus will watch over all the details while you are away. And with that time off you actually get rest—both for your body and for your soul.
I need rest. There will be those times we say those words. Your Savior and Shepherd, Jesus knows this. And so he has compassion on you by forgiving you and by giving you a shepherd to share God’s word with you. Amen.
1 “ⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲁⲥⲑⲉⲟⲗⲓⲅⲟ̅” (Mark 6:31 GNT-ALEX)
2 “ⲡⲉⲍⲏ” (Mark 6:33 GNT-ALEX)
3 “ⲉⲇⲣⲁⲙⲟⲛ” (Mark 6:33 GNT-ALEX)
4 “ⲉⲥⲡⲗⲁⲅⲭⲛⲓⲥⲑⲏ” (Mark 6:34 GNT-ALEX)
Romans 8c
Romans, chapter 8, (the third part of the chapter)
Proper 7
Teacher, Don’t You Care?
You know who to listen to. Imagine, this morning, that you’re running a 10 mile race. And as you’re running you encounter two people. There’s one guy. He has to stop every 100 feet or so to catch his breath. And then there’s guy two. He passes you like you are a rock on the side of the road. And then he effortlessly finishes the race minutes ahead of you. You get to the finish line. And each of the guys says, “That was a tough race.” Which one are you going to believe—The guy who stopped every 100 feet, or the guy who was fast and didn’t stop. You know who you would listen to. Keep that thought in your brain as we begin these words here in Mark, chapter 4: “35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”” (Mark 4:35–38 NIV11-GKE)
In these words we see Jesus as human as he could possibly be. He is exhausted. He needs sleep. So they get him on the boat. And as soon as his head hits the pillow he is in deep sleep. But then what happens? A storm, a squall falls on them. The boat gets filled with water. And what is Jesus doing? he’s just there sleeping—Amidst all the water and rain, he’s just there sleeping. And as the minutes go by, finally they can’t take it anymore. They get Jesus up.1 Now, before we go any further, before we begin to speak against these disciples for their stupidity, remember there were those in that boat who were experts. There were those who were in that boat who were professional fishermen. They knew the difference between a small sprinkling and furious squall. They knew it, so they cried out, “Don’t you care about us?” So then, what happens next? “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (Mark 4:39 NIV11-GKE)
Jesus gets up. And he does shocking and surprising. He talks to the wind. He talks to the sea. He rebukes the wind. He muzzles the sea. Jesus has complete, perfect, absolute power over creation. And he has this power even when he’s asleep.
There are times in our lives when we find ourselves in the same soaked sandals as Jesus’ disciples. When we see the power of God’s creation, our great temptation, like them, is to panic. I remember when I was a kid, fishing with my dad. We found a fishing hole beside a river. And so we stayed there. But then the rain came. So we packed everything up and went back to our campsite—or at least we tried to. The motor on the boat was chugging as we went, foot by foot, upstream. The wind churned up the waves. And the current made us drift from one side to another. I can tell you, that when you see the power there in God’s creation, you panic. And the wind and waves on that river were nothing compared with this furious squall on the sea of Galilee.
We face the temptation to panic when we see the power of God’s creation. But we face a huge temptation on the complete opposite side too. We face the temptation to exploit God’s promise of protection. Instead of going through life thinking, “safety first.” We think, “Safety…never.” It’s the kid riding down the huge hill with no thought of a helmet and no thought of braking.
So we sin. We either panic at God’s power in creation, as these disciples did. Or we exploit God’s promises, thinking that he’ll protect us despite our stupidity. How is then that Jesus deals with their sin? “He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”” (Mark 4:40 NIV11-GKE)
In their panic they accuse Jesus of not caring. But look at what Jesus does: He shows how much he cares for their souls. He makes them ask themselves a question, “Why am I acting as if I have no faith here inside myself?” Jesus had given to them a promise that they would be fishers of men. It’s kind of hard to do that when their drowned bodies are there at the bottom of the sea, isn’t it? He shows how much he cares for them by strengthening their souls by strengthening their faith. He forgives their sins by trusting his Father completely, perfectly in their place. He forgives them by having his breath crushed out of him, not by cold water, but instead by the burning gravity of the cross as he slowly died for the world.
Jesus shows how much he cares. He does this by caring for their souls. But he also does this by caring for their bodies. In our final verse, we read: “They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”” (Mark 4:41 NIV11-GKE)
Jesus has absolute control over all of his creation. And he uses this for you, to protect your bodies. Whenever I read these I can’t help thinking of the words of our final hymn. The writer of that hymn is Horatio Spafford. He was a man that God had blessed financially. He planned on helping an evangelism effort in England. But he was delayed because of his work. So he put his wife and four daughters on a boat. And he planned on getting on another boat and following later. The ship his wife and four daughters were on was hit by another ship. The wife survived. The four daughters did not. When he found out, he sat down and wrote these words:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll—
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Don’t you care? That’s the question that crushes the disciples just as much as the waves did. And in these words we see that our Savior does. He cares for our souls by forgiving our sins and preserving our faith. He cares for our bodies by preserving them. But my dear friends in Christ, If he delays in coming, he will care for us in this world in one final way. He will care for us by taking us from this world of panic and pain. And he will do this through death.
With all of this in mind, be at peace. Be content. For your Savior who is in absolute control of every sprinkling of rain and every furious squall will watch over you. And he will care for you finally by taking you from this world into the next. Amen.
1 “ⲇⲓⲉⲅⲉⲓⲣⲟⲩⲥⲓⲛ” (Mark 4:38 GNT-ALEX)
Romans 8b
Romans 8:18-30
Proper 6
Listen To How God’s Kingdom Grows
Blessings and curses. All around you are blessings and curses. If you do take the right action, you will be rewarded. If you do what is wrong, you will be punished. You are a child in school, and all you have to do is look at the wall. And there in so many classrooms are the rules. Do these rules, and you will be rewarded. Don’t do them, you will be punished. You walk into a hospital and the same is true. There on the wall is a list of actions you can take and actions you can’t take. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, why? Why are there blessings and curses all around us? They are there to emphasize an important point. These words this morning begin with blessings and curses: “23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and more will be added to you. 25 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”” (Mark 4:23–25 CSB17)
Jesus starts our saying, “if anyone has ears.” That’s his way of speaking about faith. Unbelievers do not understand the heart and soul of what the bible is about. But you do. God has given to you the gift of faith to understand what is in the bible. So listen! And he attaches a blessing and a curse to make sure you realize how important this is. If you listen, you will be given more wisdom. If you do not, the wisdom you have will leave you. And so then, just what is it that we are supposed to listen to with all of our attention? Jesus says: ““The kingdom of God is like this,”” (Mark 4:26 CSB17)
Jesus want us to know what the kingdom of God is like. When Jesus uses the phrase, ‘the kingdom of God’ he is not speaking about brick and mortar, boundaries and borders. He is speaking about how he gets his work done here, in our hearts, and here, in God’s word. And with the words that follow, Jesus invites us to listen to how God’s kingdom grows: “26 he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. 28 The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head. 29 As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”” (Mark 4:26–29 CSB17)
If you understand where Jesus is coming from, this is actually a very funny story—but a true one. It’s the picture of the farmer throwing down seed onto the field. The farmer doesn’t know when the plants grow because he’s asleep. And even more important, he doesn’t know how they grow. All he knows is that when they are ready, the time for the harvest has come.
Listen then to the point that Jesus is making: the Holy Spirit gets his work done through his word secretly, silently, stealthily. God’s kingdom grows invisibly. And here is where we come face to face with our very own sin. God’s kingdom grows invisibly.
But our great temptation to sin is when we expect the invisible growth to happen visibly. When God’s word is shared with you, you have the great temptation to say, “I’m not getting anything out of this.” You hear a sermon. And at the end of it you say, “I guess there was nothing wrong with it. But it didn’t move me as much as the other guy’s sermon did.” You didn’t see the growth, so you concluded that it didn’t exist. You go to a bible study and, after one class, you have this temptation to say to yourself, “I’m not getting anything out of this.” I’m not gaining and gleaning knowledge that I can use. Again, notice the sin: God’s word isn’t a manual to fix your car. If you go to this page, you’ll learn this thing and you can fix this problem. No, God’s word is our Triune God causing growth in you. All of this growth happens invisibly. And our great sin is that we expect this invisible growth to happen visibly.
We see this as the sin it is. And we repent of it. And our good and kind Savior does what we don’t deserve. He gives us a harvest—and it’s a visible harvest. We hear one sermon after another throughout our long lives and what does our Triune God give to us: forgiveness. Yes, even forgiveness for the times we expect the invisible growth to be visible. And through that forgiveness we receive peace and confidence. And as we come to bible study class, what do we receive: wisdom. And there will be those times when a tough question or problem comes to us and then, right there, we will remember an answer from God’s word. Just like that farmer who doesn’t have a clue when and how the plants grow, but then sees and receives a harvest, the same is true for us.
But Jesus continues with a second parable: “30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it? 31 It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. 32 And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.”” (Mark 4:30–32 CSB17)
Listen to how God’s kingdom grows. It grows invisibly. But here what do we learn? God’s kingdom grows visibly. How so? Look at the picture: There’s this small mustard seed. And what happens to it? It goes into the ground. It grows and peaks above the ground. It grows a stalk, a stem, and branches. And its growth is big and visible that birds can make their home in the branches. Yes, God’s kingdom grows invisibly. But it also grows visibly.
Think of the history of this congregation. There was a time when this church was not here. But the Lord caused Christians to want this plot of dirt and want to worship here. And as they shared God’s word, he caused this church to grow visibly. And still to this day, as you gather together around God’s word, it still grows, even as people pass away and move away.
What a beautiful lesson to listen to. But also, what a great temptation to sin lies in front of each of us. There is this great temptation to conclude people don’t need to see you and that you don’t need to see other people here in these pews and there in those seats in bible study. You need each other. Visitors need to see you. What good is it for new people to show up on Easter Sunday, hear the truth of God’s word, and then yearn to come next week. And then what happens? The next week, the same people who were there on Easter are not there the week after. And it’s not just visitors who need this, older, more veteran Christians need this too. I remember a couple in my last congregation. They were in their 80’s. They had severe health problems. And every week they would show up early and pew by pew climb their way to their spots. What great encouragement this gave to the other members. The teenager complains that he has to come to church because he stayed up too late on Saturday. But when he sees this elderly couple that didn’t get any sleep because they have chronic pain—and yet they are still there in those pews, all those complaints are washed away. What a great sin it is to conclude that the visible growth that God gives us in a Christian congregation is something we can ignore and neglect. You need each other—you need to see each other.
This is a sin we repent of too. And look how kind and caring our Lord is to us. Just as the Lord gives rest to birds in the branches of a mustard bush, so also he gives rest to us. And he gives this rest to us through what is visible. Baptism is visible. All the invisible power contained in God’s word he connects to something earthly and visible so that you would know your sins are forgiven. The \textsc{Lord’s Supper is visible}. For the times you have ignored the visible growth in your congregation, God gives you visible forgiveness there in Jesus’ body and blood along with that bread and wine. And through all of this, like birds on branches, he gives you rest.
These words conclude where they began: “33 He was speaking the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.” (Mark 4:33–34 CSB17)
They had ears to hear. They were able to understand. So do you. Now listen, ponder, and take to heart the point of these two parables: God’s kingdom grows. It grows invisibly. And it grows visibly. Amen.
Holy Trinity
We Are Children Of The Triune God
Ididn’t see it. One of the difficulties of being in MN is that there are deer around—but you don’t see them. You can be driving along, and not even too fast. And you only notice these huge eyes staring back at you as you look to the side. And that deer was there all that time. But you didn’t see it. As Christians, we have a God that is not seen. And this morning in God’s word we see so very clearly that we are his children—but not with our eyes. We are children of the Triune God. But like that deer at the side of the road, it’s not something we can see with our eyes or smell with our noses. So it’s easy to forget what it really means that we are children of the Triune God. So, in Romans 8, we read: “12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Romans 8:12–14 NIV11-GKE)
We are children of the Triune God. And that means that the Holy Spirit leads us. Look at how God’s word describes the sin in our lives and in our hearts. Either sin puts us to death, or we put sin to death. We are in a death-struggle against our sin. And in this context it is so vitally important for us to realize that we are children of the Triune God. For the Holy Spirit is the one who leads us. As we came into this world, we did not know who God was, so the Holy Spirit revealed the Triune God to us. We did not trust in him, so he gave us faith in him. And, as Paul points out here, we don’t just need the Holy Spirit to make us Christians, we also need him to keep us in the faith. We need him to lead us to carry on this fight against our sin. And day by day, that’s exactly what the Holy Spirit does. He leads us to put to death our sins, repent of them and wage war against them every day.
But, my dear friends in Christ, there too is where we see our sins. One of the traps and temptations we can so easily fall into is that we forget. We forget that the Holy Spirit is the one who gave us the ability to hate sin and wage war against it. And where there are those times we resist the sins that confront us, there is the temptation to conclude that we were the ones, by our own power, who were able to get this work done on our own. Or, to put it differently, we forget that we are Children of the Triune God and that the Holy Spirit is the one who leads us every day to put sin to death. And that’s why what Paul says next is so important: “15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:15–16 NIV11-GKE)
We are children of the Triune God. The Spirit leads us. But here in these words we learn that the Father adopts us. And that’s a very beautiful and interesting picture. We are not God’s children by essence and genetics. We are adopted children. Last summer we stayed for a little while with some friends in Texas. They have three children—all of whom are girls. But one of them is adopted from China. All you have to do is take one look at them and see that as far as blood and genes go, that little girl born in China doesn’t have much in common with that family. But also, all you have to do is take one look to realize that she is part of that family. She is treated with the same love and dignity as the other two daughters.
We are like that. We are not children of God by blood and genes. But we are still children of the Triune God. We are his children because the Holy Spirit leads us. We are his children because the Father adopts us, declaring that all our sins are forgiven—even those sins we commit when we take credit for ourselves for putting sin to death, when that credit should to to God alone. And because the Father adopts us, we are able to call the Father those small, little, precious words: “my father.”1 And that leads us to the final words of this section: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17 NIV11-GKE)
We are children of the Triune God. The Spirit leads us. The Father adopts us. And Jesus, the Son of God—what does he do? He forged friendship with us through his own suffering. Jesus is the one who died on the cross, suffering miserably and mercilessly for us. And because he did this, our sins are paid for and we have every right to call ourselves children of God.
But notice the point that Paul makes with this. We share in Christ’s suffering. We do not share in his sufferings so as to somehow pay a little bit for our sins. For Jesus paid for them all. Why do we suffer now, since are we children of the Triune God? One of the reasons we suffer is so that we can find proof that we are Children of our Heavenly Father. How so? If your Father cares for you, he disciplines you. One saddest things you see when you grow up is that there are Fathers out there who do not care for their children. And they show it by doing nothing. When their children need to be corrected, they ignore them and let their children continue to do what is wrong. Your Father in heaven is just the opposite. He disciplines you. He shows you what is wrong and how wrong it is in his word. And he even allows you to suffer. Why?—So that you would have proof that you are children of the Heavenly Father.
And so, my dear friends in Christ, you are children of the Triune God. The Holy Spirit leads you. The Father adopts you. And the Son suffers for you. But, like that dear on the side of the road, it’s not something you can see with your eyes. So all that much more so, on this day I’m not asking you to go home and do works of service with your hands. No instead, I’m inviting you to go home and ponder this in your heart. If you look at our hymns, there are so many of them that end with a final verse praising the Trinity. And these are the verses, that when we cut down the hymns to save time, are the first verses that are cut. But they are there for a reason. They are there so that the people singing these words would stop and ponder this amazing fact that they are children of the Triune God—not by blood, but by faith. The Holy Spirit led them. The Father adopted them. The Son suffered for them. They took these words, sung them and then throughout the week and throughout their lives, they pondered them. That is what these words invite you to do this morning. For you are children of the Triune God. The Spirit leads you. The Father adopts you. The Son suffers for you. Amen.
1 “ⲁⲃⲃⲁⲟⲡⲏ̅ⲣ” (Romans 8:15 GNT-ALEX)
Romans 8a
Romans 8:1-11
The Coming of the Holy Spirit—The Day of Pentecost
What Does This Mean
There’s something you don’t see everyday. Every day I travel to the church along Bavaria road. And, over the weeks, there are certain sights I have gotten used to seeing. I’ve gotten used to seeing people walking their dogs, people biking, and people jogging. One day though, I was on my way to church, and there on the sidewalk was a guy riding a unicycle. It was such a jarring, shocking sight that I had to slow down and have a look. Finally then, the only conclusion I could reach was, “Well, there’s something you don’t see everyday.” This morning, in these words here in Acts 2 we very quickly arrive at the same conclusion. We read: “1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven.” (Acts 2:1–5 CSB17)
Every year it was commanded in God’s word that every male present himself to the Lord at the temple three times a year. On of those holy days was the feast of unleavened bread. And so, Jerusalem mushroomed and ballooned into a place where there were hundreds of thousands of men. And I deliberately mention the word, ‘men’ because it was the men that God’s word commanded to present themselves at the temple. And they weren’t just men. They were devout men.1 You don’t travel all the way across the Mediterranean Sea because you don’t care. These were devout men who knew their Lord and they knew their bible.
But what did these devout men see? They saw flames of fire resting on the heads of the apostles. They saw the apostles speaking in languages that they knew. So that’s what they saw. But what then did they say? “6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” 12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”” (Acts 2:6–13 CSB17)
They see fire on the apostle’s heads. They see the apostles speaking in their own dialects. So then, what do they say? “what does this mean?” Peter then stands up and lifts up his voice. And first he tells them what all of this does not mean: “14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.” (Acts 2:14–15 CSB17)
The flames on their heads and the dialects coming out of their mouths did not mean that they were drunk. Now here is where we need to pause for a minute. What kind of men were these? These were devout men. These were men who learned, cared for and studied God’s word. And without knowing it they ended up despising the Holy Spirit fulfilling God’s word. That was their sin. But we too sin when it comes to the question, “what does this mean?” One of the huge temptations we face is to make the one-time event of Pentecost into an everyday event. It is ever-so tempting to say to ourselves, “I want proof that I’m a Christian inside of myself.” We can say that we can proof that we are Christians by what we say or by what we do. And indeed, we are not alone. Sad to say, there are entire church bodies out there, who if they are asked the question, “how do you know that you are a Christian” they have an answer: They do what Christians do. They conclude that they are Christians because they have earned Jesus with their hands—they have done good works that everybody can see. Or they have earned Jesus with their hearts—they have decided to become Christians. And when they made that decision they felt different. Or even worse, there are those who conclude that they are Christians because of what comes out of their tongues. They can speak in unknown languages.
But what’s the problem? The problem is that both that these were known languages, not unknown one. And the other problem is that this was a one-time event. Or to put it differently, For all those people who say that they have proof that they are Christians because they babble in weird, unknown languages, how many of them can make real, true fire rest on their heads whenever they want? But we too can fall into the same trap and temptation—every time we want to find proof for our faith inside of us, by what we say or do.
So Peter gives a “not” answer. This does not mean. But then he tells us what these signs did mean: “16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy. 19 I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:16–21 CSB17)
What does this mean? The Holy Spirit provides a one-time event to prove an every-day fact. The one-time event is the flames of fire and the many known languages. And the everyday fact is that whoever and whenever a person calls on the name of the Lord, that person will be saved. Look at the amazing work the Holy Spirit does. First, because we could not know God, he reveals God. Because we could not choose God, the Holy Spirit chooses us. Because we could not come to God, the Holy Spirit comes to us. He gives us this amazing gift of faith. Second, he brings salvation to us. Jesus died for our sins. Jesus rose to prove that they are forgiven. And whenever anyone repents of his or her sin, again and again, the Lord forgives them. What good news that was for these devout men—that they forgot what they should have known, and they are forgiven. What great news that is for us—for those times we try to find proof that we are saved with proof inside of us instead of promises from God’s word on the outside. And not only is that sin forgiven. But again and again, throughout our lives we continue to call on him. And he forgives us and gives us even more promises of his forgiveness in his word.
Now there’s something you don’t see everyday. They saw fire resting on the apostle’s head. They saw them speaking in their own dialects. So they asked, “what does this mean?” And now you know the answer: The Holy Spirit provides a one-time event to prove an everyday truth. What is that truth? Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Since the Holy Spirit has done his wondrous work in you to give you faith, call on him. Every day we sin. So let us call on him to forgive us. And he will. Amen.
1 “ⲁⲛⲇⲣⲉⲥⲉⲩⲗⲁⲃⲉⲓⲥ” (Acts 2:5 GNT-ALEX)
Seventh Sunday of Easter (Confirmation)
Which Path Are You On?
Which path are you on? Aidan, Camille, and Hannah, imagine a wreck at the side of the road. It’s one of those big semi-trucks. And its trailer is one of those huge tankers. And all around that huge tanker is a massive spill of something that looks like oil or gas. What would you do if you were driving by that? I hope that you would drive by that as far and as fast as you possibly could. You don’t want to be the guy who slows down, stops and then gets caught in the blast-radius, right?
This morning God’s word starts out with the same sort of picture: “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers!” (Psalms 1:1 CSB17) Notice here that there is a progression from bad to worse. There’s a guy walking down a road. But instead of a turned-over tanker at the side of the road there’s a group of God-hating, Christ-despising unbelievers. When you see them at the side of the road, what should you do? You should keep going and not stop. But notice what the guy does here in these words. First, he slows down and walks. Then he stands around and talks with them. Finally then he sits down and joins them and becomes one of them.
That, my students, is the bad path. And that is the path you need to avoid at all costs. But just how is it that today you can end up on the same path as the stupid guy pictured here in God’s word? It happens in a slow progression. First, you say the words to yourself, “I don’t have to.” You say to yourself, “I’m confirmed. I don’t have to come every Wednesday night to class. I don’t have to memorize parts of the bible anymore. I don’t have to.” After that, you end up saying, “I don’t want to.” This middle stage is a sneaky one because it you can so easily replace God’s word with something fun. So, for example, some of the fun parts of being a confirmed member of a church replace the fun you have found in God’s word. You the bell choir or the voice choir. You sign up to mow the lawn or care for the flowers. But very quickly your joy turns to sadness and anger. Why? You replaced the fun of growing in God’s word with the fun of service. And the same can happen at home. it is not a sin to have games to play at home. But when the fun at home is more fun that the fun you have in reading God’s word by yourself and for yourself—that is a problem. So, “I don’t have to” becomes “I don’t want to.” And finally where does it lead to? “Don’t tell me to.” You end up mocking and despising those who invite you to receive the Lord’s Supper often and grow in God’s word often.
Which path are you on? That, is the bad path. What then is the good path? We read: “2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.” (Psalms 1:2–6 CSB17)
The good path is meditating on God’s word. The word here describes something that is so much a part of you that you talk about it under your breath.1 It’s like that song you can’t get out of your brain that you heard on the radio. You spend so much time in God’s word that it flows off of you and oozes out of you.
And know that right now you are on that good path. For so many years you have been drenched and saturated with God’s word. It started when you were tiny children. And your parents carried you forward to a baptismal font where Jesus performed an amazing good work. He washed away your sin and made you his child. It continued when, week after week, your parents brought you to church to hear God’s word so that you could sink your roots into that deep, rich soil of God’s word and grow. And it continued in these last two years as you have had the opportunity to move from milk to meat in catechism class.
That is the good path. And that good path leads to good fruit. Being drenched and saturated with God’s word leads to trust. These years that you’re going through are years of working and waiting. You do your homework year after year and then what do you do? You wait. And through God’s word, God causes you to trust that he is good and kind and that he knows what is best for you.
God’s word bears the fruit of trust. But it also bears the fruit of joy. One of the saddest rotten fruit I’ve seen over the years is the anger and panic I’ve seen in leaders of the church over many years. There’s this great irony. They are doing fun activities. They sing in choirs. They mow the lawn. They plant flowers and bring yummy food to church. What fun this is. But very quickly they become sad or mad. Why? The promises they made when they were confirmed, they forgot. They forgot that the source of their joy was not serving Jesus, but instead Jesus serving them. They forgot to receive the Lord’s Supper often. They forgot to read their bibles at home and come to bible study at church often. But you, right now, are on the good path. You have the great joy of seeing your Savior, Jesus so clearly because you were brought to those waters of baptism and taught in these years of catechism.
God’s word bears fruit. It gives you trust and joy. But finally, it gives you defiance. Who would have thought that saying, “no” would be a good fruit? But it is. And being drenched in God’s word gives you the anger against the Devil enough to say “no” when death comes to you. When you die the Devil will be there to say, “See, Jesus doesn’t love you. And here’s proof: you’re dying.” And now, being drenched and saturated in God’s word, you can sing out and cry out, “No.” You can say, “I may die, but Jesus died for me. I may die, but I will never die because Jesus rose for me.”
Aidan, Camille, and Hannah, you are on the good path. Now stay on it. Amen.
1 יֶהְגֶּ֗ה