Jesus is the Good Shepherd who reveals the merciful heart of the Lord. That’s why, in the One Year Lectionary, this day (though it would actually fall on the Third Sunday of Easter—last week) is called Misericordias Domini, Latin for The Merciful Heart of the Lord. It takes a merciful heart to be a shepherd, and so to call this day Misericordias Domini makes for a perfect image for Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus as the Good Shepherd portrays God’s mercy in the flesh, the heart that God has for His creation that He should become man and gather His people to Himself in His own death. And He does that so that you might have life to the fullest.

But, what a shepherd does—how he tends sheep—is very likely a foreign concept to many, unless you’re from or driving through a certain community up north. What a shepherd in biblical times did is likely even more a foreign concept. The most your average modern person can say about shepherds is also the simplest: they tend sheep.

Sheep, on the other hand, you are probably more familiar with, because pastors like to wax poetic about sheep: stubborn animals that require a lot of care, are prone to straying, eating poisonous weeds, drinking from polluted puddles, butting head with others in the herd, and being downright disagreeable at times. And even with all of that being the case, they are practically defenseless against predators. They’re cute when their little, but an absolute handful when they grow up. That’s not a very flattering picture, but it’s pretty much the way it is with man before God.

That’s what you are being compared to when Jesus calls Himself the Door of the Sheep and the Good Shepherd. That’s the image that you claim for yourself when you recite Psalm 23, the Psalm appointed for today: “The Lord is my shepherd…” To call Jesus your shepherd is to call yourself His sheep. “I am Jesus’ little lamb,” you will sing to close the service today…same thing! And you also know this passage from Isaiah, as it was read just over three weeks ago as part of the Good Friday Chief Service: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6ab) You are like a sheep: stubborn, straying, requiring a lot of care, downright disagreeable at times. It’s one thing to call Jesus the Good Shepherd; that’s likable. The flip-side implication is not as likable: you are a sheep…but you’re His sheep!

It can be said another way: Jesus is the Savior—more precisely, Jesus is my Savior. Again, that’s likable, but that means that I am a poor miserable sinner. You just confessed as much moments ago! So, if you are a poor miserable sinner, then Jesus is your Savior, because, as St. Paul wrote, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15) So, if Jesus is your Good Shepherd and you are His sheep, then it can also be said that if Jesus is your Savior, then you are His sinner.

You confess with King David your sheepiness and being in the flock of the Good Shepherd when you pray Psalm 23. The Psalm starts out as a brag about the goodness of the Good Shepherd: His sheep lack nothing, are made to lie down in the greenest of pastures and drink from still (that is, not polluted) waters. This Good Shepherd even restores their souls and leads them in paths of righteousness for His own name’s sake. For this, the soul of the sheep makes its boast in the Lord (cf. Psalm 34:2): “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

This is how the soul redeemed by God in Christ responds to that redemption. The sheep has confidence in confessing Jesus as the Good Shepherd; the sinner has confidence in confessing Jesus as the Savior. Where does that confidence come from? Again, it is confessed in Psalm 23, even as a sheep, even as a sinner, despite being surrounded by death and decay and evil all around, the Lord is with you!

Look at this, dear hearers: death and decay and evil are all around, beyond these walls and doors. Sometimes they creep their way in here. Nonetheless, up here, the Good Shepherd spreads a table before you where He feeds you with His own body and blood, you who have been anointed in the unpolluted, living waters at the font to be a son of God. Dear saints, because Jesus is your Good Shepherd who is with you always, He anoints you and feeds you, your cup overflows!

And because Jesus your Good Shepherd and Savior is with you always, goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life. No, I’m sorry, that translation is woefully insufficient. The Hebrew word there is better understood as chase. Goodness and mercy shall chase after you all the days of your life, because you have a Good Shepherd—the best of shepherds—who will not let anything snatch you out of His hand and from His care. Because of that, you shall dwell in the house of YHWH forever. “O YHWH, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.” (Psalm 26:8)

Jesus is YHWH in the flesh, I AM as He repeats in today’s Gospel, the same God who revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush and to David as His Lord throughout the Psalms. Abraham saw the day of Christ and rejoiced. (cf. John 8:56) These all looked forward the Christ, the Messiah, whom you now confess to be Jesus. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd of John 10, and since those are both the case, then He is the Good Shepherd of the world, whether acknowledged to be or not. “All we like sheep” from Isaiah 53 is universal. “All have sinned” from Romans 3 is universal. The Good Shepherd is also a universal lamb: The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (cf. John 1:29)—the fulfillment of all of those temple sacrificial lambs.

Jesus is at one and the same time the Good Shepherd and Lamb of God, and He is both in the same way.

In today’s portion of John 10, Jesus uses the image of the sheep pen to make this point. This pen in ancient days was a completely walled off enclosure, likely built against a building or some other structure, with one narrow opening, likely a tight squeeze for an average sheep. There was no other way into our out of this pen. The shepherd would tend his sheep into the pen every night. The gatekeeper guards the entrance to the pen; he knows the shepherd and grants him access. Only the true shepherd enters through the narrow opening; those who try to steal the sheep don’t have access to the narrow opening. The Pharisees who heard Jesus use this figure of speech didn’t understand what He was saying.

In short, here’s what Jesus was saying: He is the true shepherd, the gatekeeper is the Father, and the narrow door is Jesus’ own death and resurrection. This is how it works: The True Shepherd has come to lay down His life in the doorway of the world so that by His dying and rising again He would gather His flock to Himself; the Gatekeeper recognizes no other death than the death of Jesus, so He grants access to no one else except the Good Shepherd and those for whom He gave His life as sacrificed the Lamb of God, who are covered and washed in His blood.

The True Shepherd comes by way of the narrow door of death and resurrection. Death and resurrection mark the True Shepherd. He lays down His life like a sacrificial lamb for the sheep. That’s what shepherds do, too: they put themselves squarely in the narrow gate in order to give their life (if necessary) to guard the sheep at night. As I said, death and resurrection mark the True Shepherd.

Any other way is really no way at all. A savior without death and resurrection is no savior but a thief and robber, a false savior created by the father of lies, the devil. Jesus was referring to the Pharisees specifically, teachers of the Law who were supposed to be teaching the people about sin and forgiveness, but were doing anything but. Instead of pointing to the death and resurrection of the Suffering Servant (cf. Isaiah 52-53), they tried to steal the sheep with legalism and moralism.

Remember what I said about the characteristics of sheep? They will eat on poisonous weeds and drink from polluted waters. That’s what Pharisaism—legalism and moralism—are. Sheep will bite on it because it looks so good, just like the forbidden fruit, you might recall. (cf. Genesis 3:6) Sheep will take a sip because, well, they gotta drink. If you look at all of the religions and philosophies out there outside of Christianity—and real Christianity at that—all they offer is the poisonous weed and polluted water of legalism and moralism; they all show you yourself as the means to work your way to god, heaven, nirvana, paradise, or whatever you might want to call it. They all tell you to look within and follow your heart to find the truth. What did Jesus have to say about that? “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23) St. Paul wrote, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” (Romans 7:18a)

The only way into the sheep pen of salvation, to the greenest of pastures of everlasting life, is the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. He said as much in another of His I AMs: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) The way to destruction is broad, but the way to ever lasting life is narrow and exclusive: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. That’s what saves you and the world from sin and death; no amount of legalism or moralism will work. Isaiah wrote, “[A]ll our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6b)

The good news is that the Good Shepherd has laid down His life for you and taken it back up again. In His death and resurrection He has drawn you to Himself. He has given you faith by His Word, even as in the still (that is, unpolluted) waters of Holy Baptism, faith which apprehends the benefits of His death and resurrection and make them yours. He spreads His table before you whereat He is both host and feast, feeding you with His body as bread and blood as wine, and giving you thereby the forgiveness of all of your sins, life, and salvation.

Now, you as a sheep of the Good Shepherd recognize His voice. You hear Him in His Word proclaimed by His under-shepherd and your fellow sheep who proclaim to you the death and resurrection of the Savior. That under-shepherd in particular speaks certain words at the command and in the stead of the Good Shepherd. His voice becomes for you a soothing, comforting, and strong voice of the One who created you and redeemed you. It’s the voice of Holy Absolution won for you in the death and resurrection of the Good Shepherd, who claimed you in Holy Baptism, who feeds you in Holy Communion. The voices all sound different, but they come from the same Man who is YHWH, the Great I AM, the Good Shepherd, the Door of the Sheep.

Hear His voice, for He has laid Himself down in the narrow gate and gave His life for you, only to take it up again and give you the victory. “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” There is but one way to heaven, one way to the Father, one path to life, and that is the death of the Good Shepherd, who by His own authority laid Himself down in your death to save you.

He went ahead of you, through death to eternal life. Jesus went ahead of you, through the suffering and death of the cross to resurrection and life. He’s done what no one else had ever done. He died and rose again. As His sheep, you hear His voice and by God-given faith, you follow where He leads. He leads you through life to death and back to life again, everlasting life for His name’s sake. As His sheep you hear His voice proclaim to you that for His sake and by His work alone, you are forgiven for all of your sins.

That we may obtain this faith [by which is received justification], the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake. (AC V, Triglotta)

Also [our churches] teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. (AC VII, Triglotta)

Although the Church properly is the congregation of saints and true believers, nevertheless, since in this life many hypocrites and evil persons are mingled therewith, it is lawful to use Sacraments administered by evil men, according to the saying of Christ: The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, etc. Matt. 23, 2. Both the Sacraments and Word are effectual by reason of the institution and commandment of Christ, notwithstanding they be administered by evil men. (AC VIII, Triglotta)

These are three articles from the Augsburg Confession—specifically, the fifth, seventh, and eighth. Do you not also find it amazing that the Confession—indeed, the entire Book of Concord—teaches the Scriptures so faithfully and beautifully. After all of these years—over two decades in the ministry—having studied the Book so much, gone through it so many times, I am still amazed how “in agreement” it is with the Scriptures. The church of the Lutheran Reformation really did get it right.

So, the Lutheran Church believes, teaches, and confesses what is called the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar—that is, that Christ gives His body and blood with the bread and wine in Holy Communion. So, when you receive the Lord’s Supper, you receive both body and bread to eat and both blood and wine to drink. This is what is taught in the Lutheran Confessions…

…And the Scriptures. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his first letter, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation [or communion] in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation [or communion] in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16) Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the cup—and by that he was referring to the contents, the wine—is a participation or communion in the blood of Christ; the bread, likewise, is a participation or communion in the body of Christ. Inspired by God to write of the Lord’s Supper in terms that we would say is Real Presence. Christ’s blood is really present in the wine, and His body is really present in the bread.

Therefore, Philip Melanchthon wrote in the Apology to the Augsburg Confession, “[I]t would follow, if the Lord’s body were not truly present, that the bread is not a communion of the body, but only of the spirit of Christ.” The same can be said, then of the cup: if the Lord’s blood were not truly present, that the wine is not a communion of the bloody, but only the spirit of Christ. Not that the spirit of Christ wouldn’t be enough, but that’s not what God taught through the pen of St. Paul. This is what it means to call the Lord’s Supper Holy Communion, that there is a communion between body with bread and blood with wine. However, there are Christians out there who subscribe only to a spiritual presence when they take Communion.

That said, today’s Gospel lesson also serves as proof of another key doctrine of Lutheranism: God does His work to you and in you through His instituted means, which in short are referred to as Word and Sacrament. You have just heard three articles of the Augsburg Confession which clearly articulate this teaching, so now to examine today’s Gospel.

Two of Jesus’ followers were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus in the late afternoon on the day of the Resurrection. They were recounting the events of the week, and especially that day; how things went from joyous and triumphant to a grisly death and burial. There were reports of a resurrection—angels and an empty grave—but not a word of where Jesus was; not a word of having seen Jesus except from a hysterical Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. It all seemed so unbelievable to them, that had someone else told them that they had seen Jesus, their response might have been similar to that of Thomas as you heard last week: “We won’t believe unless we see Jesus.” They had, after all, lost hope, as they said, “[W]e had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”

It is into the middle of this conversation that Jesus joined them. However, “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” You must note here that these two were not simply blinded by sin that they were unable to recognize Jesus. Like Mary Magdalene in the garden of the tomb (John 20:11-18), they were prevented from recognizing Him at first; Jesus was concealing His identity from them.

“What are you talking about?” this third man asked the two disciples. You might well imagine the bewildered look on the two disciples’ faces: “This man is walking from Jerusalem and doesn’t know what we’re talking about? Where has he been? What cave has he been hiding in?” Cleopas spoke up: “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” He asked.

Now, this must almost seems sadistic, but think about it this way: How often have any of you thought that you’d like to be a fly on the wall, to hear what others say about you when you’re not there. Here’s Jesus doing that very thing; He’s hearing from these two exactly what they believe about Him:

“But him they did not see.” That’s the dagger in the heart of hope for these two.

That’s when this “clueless” man started teaching them: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” It is as if He asked them, “Didn’t Jesus say this was going to happen?” Then, beginning with Moses and the Prophets, He expounded to them all that was written about Him, still not revealing who He really was to them.

And as He spoke to them, their hearts burned within them. It was all making sense. Connections were being made between what had been written and what had happened over the past week, and especially that day, two days after Jesus’ death and burial—the third day. It is as St. Paul wrote, “Faith comes by hearing.” (cf. Romans 10:17) In the hearing of the Word of God, as Jesus expounded it for them, faith in Christ was produced and renewed and strengthened.

At that point, they still didn’t recognize that it was Jesus walking with them and teaching them, but they believed in Him on account of the Word. Faith is still created, renewed, and strengthened the same way: by hearing the Word of God, they Holy Spirit working through this means. That is, Jesus still comes and walks among His people, not recognized or even recognizable in His person, but as His Word is faithfully expounded, giving the Holy Spirit who works faith when and where God pleases in those who hear the Gospel, as Article V of the Augsburg Confession states.

The daylight was almost gone, and Jesus, still incognito, insisted that He had further to travel. “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” Jesus obliged. He went into their house and shared a meal with them. How did He do it? It seems that He took it over, becoming host at the meal; for He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to those around Him to eat. At that very moment, the two disciples who had their eyes restrained, as it could be translated, have them opened, and recognized Jesus, and at that instant, He disappeared from their view. Him they no longer saw.

Things were then different with those two. No longer were their hopes dashed. They had faith. They didn’t need to see Jesus for they now knew where to look for Him: in His Word and Sacrament. They heard Him in His Word and saw Him revealed, with eyes of faith, in the Sacrament. And so it has been done for centuries since then. As already proclaimed, the church of the Lutheran Reformation really did get it right—Word and Sacrament.

From there, armed with Word and Sacrament, the two disciples returned to Jerusalem. It didn’t matter that the daylight was gone or nearly gone. They had to return to the disciples and talk to them. By that time, the ten were locked in the upper room and see Jesus themselves. When the two get back to Jerusalem, it’s possible that the eleven might have been reunited and telling Thomas, “We have seen the Lord,” and others are with them. And they recounted everything that had happened to them. The Word of God has some amazing effects on the heart made faithful.

It wasn’t some cruel game that Jesus was playing on these two followers. He was teaching them that they didn’t need to see Jesus as Thomas wanted to (and a week later would), for following His ascension, no one would see Him again until His return to earth in order to judge it. But, as He has promised, He would be with them and all who believe in Him always, to the very end of the age (cf. Matthew 28:20), speaking to the faithful (and giving faith) in His Word and revealing Himself in the Sacrament.

Still, many Christians don’t get it. They are like the two disciples as they walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. For instance, there was a certain LCMS congregation in a certain city in a certain state where the certain former pastor loved to use a particular song in his created service in place of the Agnus Dei. These all shall remain nameless, except the song, whose words are: “Open our eyes Lord / We want to see Jesus, / To reach out and touch Him / And say that we love Him.” While it is certainly salutary to ask of God for a right faith in order to hear Jesus in His Word and to see Him in His Sacrament, and to pray for the return of Christ, the words of this song express a faulty understanding of today’s text—yet a sentiment held by many in Christendom.

These still seek a Jesus-experience as Thomas wanted. These still have hearts like the two disciples as they walked to Emmaus—hopes dashed because Jesus was not seen, as reliably as they would have liked, at that moment following His resurrection. These, to put it quite bluntly, refuse to hear Christ in His Word, where He walks with His people in lives assaulted by the devil, the world, and the sinful flesh. And many of these refuse to recognize the Savior in His Supper, where He feeds with His own body and blood. Instead, many look for visions in toast, cheese curls, reflections in windows, and the shape of the clouds. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see Jesus, now, with your own eyes of flesh, before He comes again and reveals Himself to all flesh as He has promised to do? It seems that’s what many of those like these want.

Despite what people like these want, they need to hear the constant preaching of the Gospel. For, as has been mentioned, faith comes by hearing, and “through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel.” This is what Jesus gave the two followers on the way to Emmaus, revealing Himself to them through Word and Sacrament. Jesus does does the same to you when doubts have their way with you, coming to you through Word and Sacrament to forgive your sins and strengthen your faith. “Go, and do likewise…” (cf. Luke 10:37)

So, dear Baptized, you have been gathered here by the Holy Spirit, who was given to you in Word and Sacrament. You have been beaten and bloodied by the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh, and so you are gathered here by grace and mercy to receive your Lord who comes to you in His Word and body and blood hidden in bread and wine. These you believe and receive by God-given faith. These are effective for the simple reason that they are the very means that Jesus used as He walked and spoke in His own flesh and blood to His disciples, as He instituted and commanded—His word which endures forever (cf. Matthew 24:35, 1 Peter 1:25), and He did say, “Take and eat, this is My body…Take and drink, this is My blood.”

This is the truth confessed in the Lutheran Confessions and taught in the Scriptures: wherever two or more are gathered in Christ’s name, where the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered, there is Christ present. And you can rejoice like the two followers on the way to Emmaus, that the same thing that happened to them happens here, God help me: The Scriptures concerning Jesus are interpreted to you, and as that happens, and His Sacrament is given to you, He is truly present with you here and now to give you His life and salvation and the forgiveness of all of your sins.

The open tomb, the empty bench, the unoccupied grave cloths, the folded handkerchief—these are all negative evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. They don’t necessarily prove that Jesus rose from the dead. They merely prove that Jesus is not in the grave.

One can assume that Jesus rose, given the negative evidence, but there needs to be more to make such an assumption. You can add to the negative evidence all the times that Jesus predicted His Passion. “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:21) Jesus predicted His Passion three times. Thereafter, Jesus suffered many things: He was rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes; He was killed. Furthermore, He was buried in a tomb and a large stone was rolled in front of it.

All of that stuff happened, as Jesus said. He also said that He would be raised on the third day. Adding Jesus’ predictions to the empty tomb, you now have circumstantial evidence.

Early on the first day of the week, the women made their way to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away and an angel sitting in there telling them that Jesus had risen, just as He said. The angel told the women to tell the disciples, and Peter, that Jesus was going before them into Galilee. At first, the women ran away in fear. For some reason, the evidence just didn’t add up for them. Even though Jesus had said all of this would happen, and even though they found an empty tomb, and even though the angel told them that Jesus had risen, they just didn’t get it.

Eventually, the women do find Peter and John and tell them. These two run to the tomb to see for themselves. They look in; they go in; they see the negative, circumstantial evidence. John wrote that when he went in and saw, he finally believed, “[F]or as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” (John 20:9) Once again, even though Jesus had said all of this would happen, and even though they found an empty tomb, and even though the women relayed the angel’s message, as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.

So, the disciples were in the upper room, and the doors were locked. They were afraid. They were afraid for the lives, in fear of the Jews, that they would storm down their doors and accuse them of grave robbery. They were afraid that Jesus wasn’t really raised from the dead.

But into this room Jesus came to them, despite the locked doors. He spoke to them, “Peace be with you.” He showed them His hands and side. Here is some positive evidence! Jesus was standing among them, flesh and blood. He breathed on them, something only a real person would do. Jesus has risen, just as He said.

A week later, He did the same thing, this time with Thomas present. The disciple had remarked that He would not believe unless He had some real, tangible, positive evidence. I guess he was only asking for the same things that the others got, but maybe it’s the way he said it—maybe there was a hint of defiance when he said, “Unless I see…I will never believe.” “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.” I like to imagine a stunned Thomas as Jesus was talking to him. The defiant doubter stood before Jesus in all of his resurrected glory, frozen as the Lord bids him to touch His hand and side. I like to talk about the Caravaggio painting because it depicts what I like to imagine: the incredulous, frozen Thomas having his hand thrust into Jesus’ side by the Man Himself; He didn’t just bid Thomas to touch His wound, but did the work for him. This is an image which fits in nicely with the Lutheran doctrine of grace alone, but it is purely speculation on my part…and Caravaggio’s, I assume. Nevertheless, with grace-only-filled words, Jesus bids Thomas, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

“My Lord and my God!”

The women and disciples had seen the negative evidence. They rejoiced to see the positive evidence. Hallelujah! Jesus is risen, just as He said!

The question might as well be asked now. What is it that John (and perhaps Peter) didn’t at first believe? What is it that Thomas refused to believe unless he touched Jesus’ wounds? If you are of the mind that they didn’t believe in the resurrection, or perhaps better put as a resurrection, remember that these men all witness Lazarus being called out of the tomb. (cf John 11:38-44) It seems that John gave the answer. After he went into the tomb, John saw the burial cloths but no body and believed, because to that point, they didn’t understand the Scripture, that Jesus must rise from the dead. (cf. John 20:8-9) The concept of resurrection is fine, but that Jesus had to rise was, for some reason, unbelievable to them.

Maybe they were just coming to terms with the fact that Jesus is God or still wrestling with calling Him a prophet mighty in deed and word who then died. Perhaps the same thought was going their minds as went through the minds of the men on the road to Emmaus who unknowingly said to Jesus that they had hoped that he would be the one to redeem Israel. Jesus called them foolish and slow of heart to believe, reminding them that it was necessary for Him to suffer these things and enter into His glory, that is, rise again. (cf. Luke 24: 19b-27)

So, seeing the empty tomb and remembering His words, hearing Jesus open their minds to the Scriptures concerning Himself, finally seeing and touching Jesus’ wounds, they finally believed that Jesus HAD to rise from the dead—just as He said.

So, He asked Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The resurrected Jesus appeared to many more who believed. In addition to the Emmaus disciples, He appeared to seven of the disciples once again as they fished along the Sea of Tiberias. (cf. John 21:1-14) He appeared to Saul on the Damascus road. (cf. Acts 9:3-8; Galatians 1:15-17) He even appeared to over 500 disciples at once. (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:6) These all were granted positive evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. These all spoke to others and declared, in one way or another, “We have seen the Lord!” And their testimony is recorded for your benefit.

You do not have the positive evidence of the Lord’s resurrection. The tomb still exists, and it is still empty, so you may have the negative evidence, but after all this time, such evidence cannot be trusted, except that you also have the words of Jesus Himself, that He had to suffer, die, and rise again. The tomb is empty because Jesus rose on the third day. You also have the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples, and they declare to you that they have seen the Lord! Therefore, you can also believe that Jesus HAD to suffer, die, and rise again, and that He did so for you.

Still, you do have other evidence, though it is unseen. Jesus appears before you, even today, to do just as He had done that evening on the first day of the week, and the night the week after. He comes to you, here, and gives Himself to you. He breathes on you and gives you the Holy Spirit. He gives you His own body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar. And all of this He does for your benefit, that you have have forgiveness, life, and salvation.

These He earned for you by His life of perfect obedience, both as He kept the Law perfectly in every single precept, but also as He fulfilled it for you in His sacrificial death on the cross in your place. He rose from the grave, as He said, to seal these to you, and that you would have victory over death and the grave. You have His word on it. You have heard the evidence, both positive and negative, through the eyewitness accounts. Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. In fact, you could say that He MUST come again.

In the meantime, He gives you His Word and Sacrament.

It is the Word that declares to you that when the Word of God is combined with water, it is for you a life-given flood, full of grace, and a washing of regeneration in which you have been given the Holy Spirit. In Holy Baptism, you have been washed, made clean and pure, and claimed as a son of God, co-heir with the One who has given His life for you on the cross and rose again. In Holy Baptism, you have died and were buried with Christ, so that on the last day, you will rise in a resurrection like His. You have His Word on it!

It is the Word that declares to you that when the Word of God is spoken over you by the one placed in your midst by God, He speaks in the stead and by the command of Jesus. In His stead, this man declares to you that you are either forgiven or that your sin is bound to you, and in both cases it is as valid and certain as if Christ your dear Lord had dealt with you Himself. This man is under orders to forgive the sins of the penitent, and withhold forgiveness from those who see no need nor have any desire for forgiveness; he does not forgive or withhold forgiveness on a whim. This man’s forgiveness is God’s forgiveness, won for you on the tree of the cross, and apprehended for you by the faith and Holy Spirit that you have been given in Holy Baptism. You have His Word on it!

It is the Word that declares to you that when the Word of God is spoken over some bread and wine, they are for you the very body and blood of Christ given and shed for you on the tree of the cross. You take and eat and drink the very wounds of Jesus, which He showed to the disciples, and into which He shoved the hand of Thomas. In them, you receive forgiveness, life, and salvation. You have His Word on it!

Jesus Christ reaches out to you with His Word, entrusted to men to proclaim and speak into your ears. He reaches out to you, grabs you, and places you into Himself. He gives you Himself in Word and Sacrament, placing Himself in you! You have been gathered here, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, receiving Him. You have His Word on it!

You have His Word on it: those most sacred Scriptures. Of them, St. Paul declared: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) When he wrote, “…in accordance with the Scriptures…,” he’s telling you that Jesus does as He must, that He keeps His Word. His Word declares to you that He must return, and that He will do so for you, members of His Bride, the Church. Do you believe this?

Peter, James, John, and even Paul, among many others, believed because they saw. Blessed are you who have not seen and yet believe. You believe because they saw—because they heard and saw. They heard that Jesus had to suffer, die, and rise again. They saw Him suffer, die, and rise again. He also said that He will come again. They heard Him say that. They reported to you that He said that, just as they reported that He suffered, died, and rose again, just as He said, in accordance with the Scriptures. The question is, do you believe this?

Jesus Christ has died, risen, and ascended, for you. You have His Word on it! Though you do not see, as Thomas and the others saw, you believe, because the Word of God declares it to you, and by grace you believe it. The Word of God also declares this truth to you: you are forgiven for all of your sins. Therefore, by grace and the indwelling of Christ and the Holy Spirit, you can confess and believe the three-fold truth: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Having gone through another Holy Week, you have witnessed again the Lord’s Passion. He rode into Jerusalem as a king, to His coronation of thorns and to take His place on the throne that is His cross, upon which He died. He rode in knowing full well what would happen to Him.

He knew He would be captured. He often gave glimpses of His hidden majesty when He avoided capture walking right through the midst of His enemies, but this time, He went into Jerusalem for the very purpose of being captured. He knew He would be beaten and flogged and spit upon. Again, there were many times when the Jews wanted to cast stones at Him or throw Him over a cliff, and He, quite divinely, passed right through the midst of them without a scratch, but this time, He went into Jerusalem for the very purpose of being abused and killed.

And His death was quite the injustice, at least from a worldly perspective. His only crime was to teach the people how God really was over and against the law-oriented religion of the Pharisees. He sought no earthly power—in fact, He turned down as much when Satan offered it to Him. (cf. Matthew 4:8-10) He sought no insurrection against the Roman occupying force—in fact, He commended paying taxes to Rome (something that is probably difficult to hear at this time of year)! (Matthew 22:17-21) Yet all kinds of false accusations were leveled against Him, even in the face of contrary and true evidence. He was innocent, and on top of that, He was sinless.

Still, His death was quite the blow that Justice demanded—Divine Justice. Inasmuch as He knew what He was riding into Jerusalem to accomplish, He also knew why. For the supper He would celebrate, the false accusations He would endure, the beatings He would suffer, and that inglorious death He would die were all for you. As St. Paul declared, and I have repeated over these past few weeks, “[God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) So what one could say, then, is that the worst sinner died on the cross, receiving the blow that Justice demanded, as commanded through the prophet Ezekiel: “The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4d) And this, as learned from the rest of Scripture, is eternal Death (with a capital d)—an eternal separation from God and His blissful glory.

So, as you look back at this past week, recalling what your ears have witnessed, you should see His Passion for you in everything that Jesus endured. More than that, you should see in His suffering and death the full wrath of God, every single last bit of it, leveled against one Man for the sin of the world. When Jesus hears those false accusations leveled against Him without saying a word back, He is receiving the condemnation due you, for those accusations are true of you. When Jesus receives the blows from the temple guards, as representing the heavenly kingdom, and from the Roman soldiers, as representing the earthly kingdom, those are the blows rightly due you for your sins against God and your crimes against the state (no matter how big or small). When Jesus was nailed to the cross and there was forsaken by God and died, He died forsaken for you, died the death you rightly deserve for having forsaken God and ignoring His Law and statutes, as it is written, “The soul who sins shall die.”

Where does that leave you? In a word: forgiven. If Jesus took the sin of the world away, then the world is left with no sin, and that includes you. It is removed from you as far as the east is from the west. In another word: alive—sort of. If Jesus died your Death for sin—for which He was sealed in a grave—and since you have no sin left for which to Die, then Death no longer has dominion over you. Oh, you will still experience death—a bodily death in this Vale of Tears—so long as Christ does not return first, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

And, to seal that to you, He is raised from the grave. The work of your salvation was completed in the death of God on the cross, and your eternal life in Christ was sealed to you in His resurrection from the dead. Death and resurrection—you can’t have one without the other, and without the other, the one is meaningless and pointless—that’s why here was celebrated the whole of it in one event the past three days, as the Body of Christ, His Church, has done for many generations. That’s why to this point, I have reiterated the Lord’s Passion and death on this day, the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord.

And so, it is as was heard, the angel rolled the stone away from the mouth of Jesus’ tomb, revealing an empty grave. And, he sat on it—no one was going to roll the stone back over the tomb and cover up what is the greatest blow to Pharisaism and Roman rule—indeed the greatest blow to the ways of all men. Death, the greatest enemy of man, for which no man is a match, is itself no match for God, who in the person of His Son defeated Death by His own death and resurrection. He makes of death a captive enemy.

For, as I said, until the Christ returns in glory, all men will die. But, for those who have true faith in God, who trust solely in the Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of their sins and their own bodily resurrection, death is nothing to be feared. Quite the contrary, you can meet death willingly, whenever God pleases, knowing full well that on the day the Christ returns to judge the earth, you will be raised to everlasting life. You can say with St. Paul, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), as taken up by a poet anonymously:

Or even as was sung just two nights ago:

Now, God uses that captive enemy to bring you from this mortal body and into His glorious presence, transformed in a twinkling of an eye; a flawless body to go with a flawless—that is sinless—person.

Jesus said, as you will recall from two weeks ago,

By a God-given faith, you do believe this, for that God-given faith, as mentioned, trusts solely in the Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and resurrection from the dead. He who dies in the faith dies well!

However, there are some who refuse to believe this, some who reject God’s grace. These still try to cling to their sins, refusing to believe that Jesus died for them, either because they believe that they can atone for them themselves (that “I’m a good person” statement is indicative of one such as these) or because they deny that Jesus’ death was for the forgiveness of sins (believing Jesus was simply a good teacher is indicative of one such as these). Either way, they cling to sin, for which they cannot atone, which kills them. Oh, to be sure, Jesus’ resurrection also means that they will be raised from the dead, should they die before His return, but they will be raised to eternal Death—that eternal separation from God and His blissful glory, because they want nothing to do with God and His grace. Oh, they may claim to believe in Jesus, but the Jesus they believe in is a false god erected in their own image—one that does their bidding.

But not you, dear hearers. For you are here on this Resurrection morning by the grace of God, to receive the strengthening of your faith by Word and Sacrament. To you, as to Mary, the Word of the Lord as from the angel is this: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified…He is risen, as He said…he has risen…you will see him.” Then, as you heard from very lips of the risen Christ, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers…they will see me.” That message is also for you, for you too, by faith will see Him. You, too, can rejoice, for the Lord is pleased to call you brothers—despite the sins and crimes you have committed, despite the wrongs you have done—because He has taken these things from you and destroyed them, and because you have received faith and by the waters of Holy Baptism, you have been made a son of God, and if a son, a brother of Christ and co-heir with Him of eternal life.

So, yes, you will see Him. Today, you see Him with your eyes of faith as the Word of God is proclaimed into your ears by His called minister, forgiving your sins as certainly as Christ Himself were standing here in His own resurrected and glorified body and speaking these things to you. Today, you will see Him with your eyes of faith as He comes to you in His body and blood, though hidden in, with, and under bread and wine; for in that most sacred meal, you feed upon the resurrected body and blood of Christ, and you receive His life.

Yes, you will see Him, because one day He will return and raise all the dead to judgment. Those who have believed on His name—that’s you, dear Baptized—will be raised to eternal life. There, will be fulfilled in you the words of Job, who said, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19:25-27) “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

You will see Him, because He is no longer dead; He is risen as He said. So, “Hallelujah! Christ is risen!” [leave time for congregation to respond] “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus says, “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” By God-given faith, your answer is, “Yes”; and so, you, too, will live eternally and see Him, though you may die, because you will die well, in the faith, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.

The nails are gone. The crown of thorns removed. The body of God is wrapped in linens and spiced, and laid in a new, rock-hewn tomb.

He descends into hell and proclaims victory over all of your foes. St. Peter wrote, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” (1 Peter 3:18-20) How long did this take? Well, I doubt He spent an entire day telling the imprisoned spirits, “It is ended; I won,” but did so before the end of that day. So, there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (cf. Genesis 1:31)—a very Good Friday.

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” As you heard last night, “It is finished,” τέτελεσται. (John 19:30) So, on this seventh day, the Sabbath, He rests. God the Father looks back on all the Son had done, culminating on Friday, and says, “It is good”…Good Friday.

He rests, dear hearers, for you. Oh, I know how much you like to get some rest in. A vacation is always desired. A day off is appreciated. But there’s still this proclivity to be busy-bodies. That is to say, you get antsy when you are idle for too long. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” the saying goes. Not long into vacations, you look forward to getting back to work. A day off is often spent doing something—tasks that need attending around the house or errands that need to be run. And none of this counts those who work endless 7-day weeks. Rest is an unknown commodity; relaxation an unfamiliar friend—perhaps even an enemy; peace, simple peace for one’s life, is unrecognized!

So, Jesus rests in His tomb…for you! What comfort, even in your hectic busy-ness: the Third Commandment is ultimately and completely fulfilled for you, even in the death and especially burial of your Savior. There was evening and and there was morning, the seventh day—your Sabbath Rest in Christ!

Now, a new day dawns. It’s the first day of the new creation. The stone is rolled away and the tomb is empty. It’s the Eighth Day, dear hearers—the day of eternal peace and rest: peace with God because the death of Jesus Christ makes satisfaction for the sin of the world—for your sin—and rest because it is finished—there is no work to do to save yourself!

It is the Eighth Day, a fact that is celebrated on this evening when the Church take the earliest opportunity celebrate the Lord’s resurrection. As She does so, on this evening, Her members have baptisms in mind; at least, you should have been reminded of yours—you rehearsed the Rite of Baptism this evening, dear hearers, in order to remind you of your own baptisms. St. Peter continued after relating Jesus’ proclamation of victory to the spirits in prison that in the ark built by Noah, a few, eight souls in all, were saved by water: “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” (1 Peter 3:21-22) So dear hearers, direct your eyes to the font. In this or one similar you were likely baptized. There, by water and the word, you have put on Christ and the Holy Spirit has worked faith in you as He has pleased. There, you first died to your sin and, just as Jesus rose from the grave, a new man arose from the water to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

It is no coincidence that the font here, and many the world over, are eight-sided. The eight sides hearken you back to two biblical truths. First, as baptism is the New Testament sign of the covenant corresponding to Old Testament circumcision, as that took place on the newborn’s eight day, the font is eight sided. Second, in addition to all of the stuff you are taught regarding baptism in the Small Catechism, a right and true exposition of Holy Scripture, at the font, when you were Baptized according to the institution of Jesus Christ, you were granted entrance into the Eighth Day of creation—the first day of the new creation. In your baptism, you are made a part of the new creation. Two eighth days bound up in the symbolism of an eight-sided font, and both of those eighth days so very much related: a covenant which promised eternal salvation.

But, as concerns the Eighth Day of creation, the eternal day in which you now reside but not yet realize, you are a new creation, created in Christ Jesus’ image by water and the Word, given the benefits of His passion, death, and resurrection. No longer do sin and death have dominion over you, because Jesus died for your sin and rose again for your life. This, He proclaimed to you as you were baptized, clothed with a robe washed white in His blood, when He called you by your name, and the Father called you His son. You are made a co-heir with Jesus Christ of His heavenly things. Salvation is yours! Redemption is yours! Freedom from sin and death is yours! You are baptized! You have been placed into God’s covenant of salvation.

At the font is given to you the self-giving love exemplified in Jesus’ foot washing and finished at the cross. There is declared of you, as Jesus said on the night when He was betrayed, that you are clean. (cf. John 13:10) Jesus called out τέτελεσται and won for you, in full, the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. This is Jesus’ self-giving love, that He lived and died for you, and grafted you to Himself by way of your being baptized into His death and resurrection.

Therefore, His peace and rest are yours. Jesus Christ won these for you by His death for your sin. You are made right with God through the satisfactory death of the Son, and this is given to you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Peace with God is yours! You can rest secure in the knowledge that you are saved because the Christ died, rested in the grave, and rose again in victory for you. These are yours by way of your baptism, and they all are summed up in one, small sentence: You are forgiven for all of your sins.

Jesus told a parable of man who owned a vineyard. He had a hired vinedresser. In his vineyard was a fig tree. Over the course of three years, day after day, in season, the man went to the tree looking for fruit. He never found any. He told his man to cut it down; “Why should it use up the ground?”

To the man, this tree was a waste of space and resources. He let it live and grow for three years, hoping that it would produce fruit—that it would do what it is supposed to do. It never did. Why should this tree continue to take the time and land away from some other tree or plant that would actually produce fruit? Why should the man bear with it any longer waiting for this fig tree to do the thing for which it was planted.

But the vinedresser had another idea. Give it another year. He would dig a trench around it and fill it with fertilizer. He would pay it some extra special attention, give it some extra care. And if, at the end of that year of more and better care it still did not produce fruit, cut it down. The vinedresser told his master, “Let it alone this year also.”

Now, this seems like an odd text to bring up when you’ve just heard of the Passion of Jesus according to St. John. As you know, however, Jesus spoke seven times from the cross before He died. John gives three of those words. The other four come from Matthew and Luke. The parable of the fig tree is related to the first word: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Now, I could go into how characters are related. On the outset, the man who owned the vineyard would be the Father and the vinedresser would be the Son. That connection can be made, despite Jesus at one time referring to the Father as the Vinedresser because when He did so, He called Himself the vine, so for the sake of this parable, the characters are different than in that I AM from St. John’s Gospel. (cf. John 15:1ff) In the parable of the fig tree, the man in righteous wrath wants to cut down the tree, but the vinedresser pleads the case for the tree. That would mean that the tree is representative of those for whom Jesus prayed on the cross.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the parable and it’s relation to the first of Jesus’ seven last words is that when the vinedresser said, “Let it alone,” he used the same word in Greek as Jesus did from the cross when He begged, “Forgive them.” The plea for mercy is the same in both cases.

So, when the vinedresser pled for mercy, he sought to stay the wrath of the owner of the vineyard. Likewise, when Jesus pled for mercy, he sought to stay the wrath of the Father against those who were crucifying Him.

It’s an odd request, if you really think about it. First, that Jesus would beg the Father’s forgiveness for those who are crucifying Him, putting to death an innocent man, convicted in a sham trial—this punishment only had the appearance of being proper and righteous. Such an act would most certainly draw the ire of God the Father. Yet, it had to be done. That God would use such an evil act—a murder—is a mystery, apart from the need for shedding of blood toward the remission of sins. (cf. Hebrews 9:22)

Did Jesus’ executioners know what they were doing? I would say not. Jesus said as much. I’m sure they had no idea that they were playing a part in their own salvation, and that of the world. I suppose, however, that Jesus’ words meant more than they didn’t know that they were pawns in the execution of an innocent man, even including those who knew that His trial was a sham. Jesus once told his opponents that they were children of the devil, and they would not hear it. (cf. John 8:44) These knew that they were doing that which was evil, but I’m of the mind that they believed they were doing it for some greater good, even if they only had to convince themselves that what they were doing was right, even if it involved an evil act. In short, they were deceived, so they didn’t know what they were doing, and Jesus pled for mercy.

And Jesus shed His blood and gave His life in order that they would receive mercy. Who knows, maybe some of them repented and received that which was spoken before Pilate: “His blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25) Leave it alone, the vinedresser begged. Perhaps in a year the tree will bear fruit. Who knows about Jesus’ executioners, right? But this I do know, had any of them repented and confessed the faith, the angels and the whole company of heaven rejoiced over him. (cf. Luke 15:7, 10)

Doesn’t it seem like it would be a good thing if Jesus’ prayer as He hung on the cross could be extended to you? After all, you do find yourself afflicted by times of doing things that, in hindsight, you know you ought not to have done, sometimes even things which you didn’t even think evil or sinful in the moment—you did not know what you were doing You know that God, in His holiness and righteousness, ought to exact His wrath against you. So, the desire for mercy makes sense.

The good news, dear hearers, is that Jesus Christ is your shield, your sure defense. In giving His life on the cross, Jesus received all the wrath due you, because He placed Himself between you and the wrath of the Father. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many, including your ransom.

So, He has pled on your behalf. He implores the Father for you, as the vinedresser did the owner of the vineyard, to have mercy on you because you are one for whom He has died. “Father, forgive them, let them be…” And you are—you are forgiven for all of your sins.

On this night on which the Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, on which He instituted the Supper of His body and blood, it would do well to review Lutheran doctrine as it regards the Lord’s Supper.

I’ll begin simply with what the Sacrament of the Altar is. As just said and heard, in fewer words, “it is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink.” What Luther taught here is confirmed in the words of Christ Himself. Again, these are words you have been taught, the primary text of the Sacrament, and which you hear every Sunday:

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When you eat and drink the Sacrament of the Altar, you are eating and drinking Christ’s true body and blood. But these are still bread and wine, and this St. Paul teaches: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16) The cup—the contents thereof—is a participation or communion in the blood of Christ and the bread of the body. The bread and body of Christ are united in a way incomprehensible to fallen man—participation or communion St. Paul called it—likewise the wine and blood of Christ, so that when you receive the Lord’s Supper, you are eating bread and body in one bite and drinking wine and blood in one sip. This is exactly why another name for the Sacrament is Holy Communion.

Why eat and drink Christ’s body and blood? Because there is life there, the life of God, eternal life. Jesus Christ gave His body to death and shed His blood as a propitiation for sins—the wages of which is death (cf. Romans 6:23)—so that men would not perish, but have eternal life. (cf. John 3:16) His body He gives you to eat and His blood to drink that you would remember Him, and, as St. Paul put it and you’ve been repeating all Lent, to proclaim His death till He comes again (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:26), and that you may have the forgiveness of your sins. Taste and see that the Lord is good (cf. Psalm 34:8); He gives you His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. These words, “for the remission of sins,” St. Matthew recorded Jesus saying as He instituted His Supper. (cf. Matthew 26:28) So, you eat and drink the Sacrament, recalling and proclaiming the sacrifice of Jesus for your forgiveness, and you eat and drink the forgiveness of your sins. “And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.”

Those words from Matthew, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes them, and why doubt them since Jesus said them, has exactly what they say: the forgiveness of their sins.

Now, there are those who want to make the Sacrament compulsory. The intention is well-and-good, but doing so turns the Gospel into the Law. Jesus gives His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and commands and invites you to receive Him in His Supper. His command and invitation should be enough; there is no need for the church to add anything to that. Furthermore, when Jesus says, “Do this,” there is no “or else,” attached to it, much as there almost is with Holy Baptism. Therefore, there is no place for His Church on earth to compel the members of Christ’s Bride to receive the Sacrament.

As my old professor often liked to quip, “The opposite of an error is an error in the opposite direction.” As much as the church cannot force members to receive the Sacrament, it cannot force them not to take it, except in cases of manifest, unrepentant sin, or where the proclamation of the Lord’s death differs between person and congregation. This is the error in the opposite direction of compulsion, and it is exactly what happens in those places which reduce the number of times the Sacrament is offered to once a quarter, certain Sundays, or every other week. In essence, this practice tells the communicant, “You may earnestly desire Jesus today in His Sacrament, but you will not receive it.”

So, what is the church to do? Teach the Sacrament in all of it’s purity. Jesus invites you to eat His body and drink His blood for the forgiveness of sins. Teach the people how much they need Jesus, and the forgiveness that He won on the cross and gives in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. And offer the Sacrament often, “every Lord’s Day,” as the saying goes, and even on other occasions—often.

What Luther preached regarding the Sacrament of the Altar, as recorded in the Large Catechism, speaks volumes in this regard:

“If you could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are every moment aimed at you, you would be glad to come to the Sacrament as often as possible.” The Sacrament is defense and antidote against these knives, darts, and arrows. There, Jesus gives you Himself, who overcame the assaults of the devil and conquered him who would throw these knives, darts, and arrows at you. So, then, if Jesus gives Himself to you and has overcome and conquered the devil, then you can be assured of this: you are forgiven for all of your sins—that is the “you” you put yourself into.

YHWH met with Moses on the mountain where He gave him the Ten Commandments. Moses could have taken the dictation in several ways. He could have written it on a papyrus scroll; after all, he just came from the land of papyrus, so the Israelites could have possibly had some. He could have written on clay tablets; clay isn’t a difficult resource to come by. He could have even written it in the sand as a means of helping him to memorize what God had said. But he didn’t record the Ten Commandments on paper or clay or even in the sand; they were carved in stone.

That phrase “carved in stone,” should give you pause. It conveys a kind of permanence. Stone represents endurance, so something written in stone—carved in stone—is longer-lasting than something written on paper, clay tablets, and sand. Something carved in stone is supposed to last. That’s what Job was saying when he spoke about his redeemer living:

Consequently, when you carve something in stone, it conveys an importance because of its permanence. The Ten Commandments are carved in stone.

This is God’s everlasting covenant with His people. His people will obey His will and keep these commandments. These laws are not only for His people, however, but for all mankind, as they are all His creation.

When Moses came down from the mountain, He found the Hebrews worshiping an idol. He dashed the stone tablets in their presence, an object lesson in the people’s brazen denial of God’s Law—they had broken God’s everlasting Law. No, that didn’t mean that the Law wasn’t permanent; it was, and it is—Moses would get a second set of stone tablets. First or second, it doesn’t matter, the Word of the Lord endures forever (VDMA), whether it is actually carved in stone or not, and that includes His Law.

The Law was given, and God expects you to follow it. God expects you to stand upon these stone tablets as your own will—this you will do and not do. You are to stand on these stone tablets because they are important—they are the will of God—much like you should build your house on a stone foundation, and not sand. (cf. Matthew 7:24-27) Do you, though?

Well, not really. Instead you write your will on lifeless and fragile paper, you take your finger to sand and write one thing while you say another and do yet something else. The winds change, and so does your will except for one point: that which God had carved in stone is to be avoided. This is your bound will: enslaved to sin and bound in chains.

So, what would you expect God to do? He who is greater than you, mightier than you, holier than you, reveals His will to you and you would rather do something else. What’s God to do? Well, right along with revealing His will, He also reveals what He will do: “…I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me…” (Exodus 20:5) Throughout the Word of God, you can find God speaking of His wrath, and even showing it, to those who sin again Him, and the result is always the same: death.

Jesus stood on a stone pavement—Gabbatha, it was called in St. John’s Gosel (19:13). He stood there before the Roman governor. As He stood there, He was bound and bloodied, having been captured the night before as He prayed in the garden. That night, He stood before the Sanhedrin whereat He was accused of all manner of evil. The next day found Him before the governor, where accusations were made against Him again. He stood on stone, being accused of not standing on the stone tablets which came down from Sinai. The chief priests and elders, speaking on behalf of the people—on behalf of you—accused the Son of God of sinning, and He didn’t respond one word, just as it was before the Sanhedrin, just as it was prophesied of Him: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

Oh yes, you were right there along with those despicable priests and elders. Remember, your will is bound—that which God declares as holy, that which He tells you is His will, you are at work to contradict and countermand. God’s Law says, “Do this,” and your will says, “Hell no!” And your bound will delights in accusing the Son of God of lies—just as is the will the father of lies, the devil. (cf. John 8:44) Your sinful life—your sinful nature—is in contention with God, and it is that which was standing with the crowd before Pilate accusing innocent Jesus, standing on Stone Pavement, of breaking the Law carved into stone tablets.

So, you see, while you accuse Jesus of sinning through the voices of the priests and elders, they were speaking your evil against Him. And Jesus’ silence spoke volumes! He received the guilt and the shame—your guilt and shame—without a word. He received it because He was becoming your substitute. He who became one with you in His conception and birth—a man in every respect as you are, except without sin—stood before the Sanhedrin and Pilate and received your sins and the sins of all into His perfect flesh. He who once stood in your place in the Jordan River, to fulfill all righteousness with John (cf. Matthew 3:15), has also stood in your place before the Sanhedrin, receiving the sinful accusations due you.

Listen closely to His silence, dear hearers, because the Great Exchange is happening right before your ears!

Or, as St. Paul put it, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) He stood at Gabbatha becoming your sin for you, but He wouldn’t remain at Stone Pavement for long. Later that day, He would be led to Place of a Skull—Golgotha—and there become the sacrifice for sin. Like the goats at the Temple on Yom Kippur, He would shed His blood as a propitiation for many—as your propitiation—and die with your sins for your atonement.

At Sinai, the Law was given on stone tablets. At Gabbatha, the accusations were made and the guilty verdict pronounced. At Golgotha, the sentence was carried out. Jesus, with every one of your sins and every bit of your sinfulness, gave His life, crucified in your place, your substitute, died the death that the Law demanded for sins. And for His sake, you live.

Gloriously, however, His stay in death did not last long. His agony and forsaken-ness lasted only three hours; his death spanned across only three days. Dead and buried, on the third day, He rose again from the grave. Jesus is victorious over death, and as much as His death is for you, He gives you the victory too. Death is swallowed up in victory! (cf. Isaiah 25:8; 1 Corinthians 15:54)

There was another goat present on Yom Kippur—the scapegoat. Here is the goat upon which the sins were confessed, and, despite that confession, it is allowed to live. Yes, in the Yom Kippur ritual, it was led out into the wilderness and abandoned. In so doing, the sins of the people were removed from them as the scapegoat was led out of the camp and into the wilderness. Yet it lives for the sake of the sacrificial goat.

In one sense, Jesus is the fulfillment of the scapegoat as He removes sin from you as far as east is from the west. (cf. Psalm 103:12) But there is another sense in which to understand the scapegoat: it lives, despite it sinfulness, because of the goat that is sacrificed for sins.

That day before Pilate, Jesus stood on Stone Pavement as the sacrificial goat, but there was another goat, too. Jesus stood before the governor, having done no wrong, and accepts all guilt and blame on your behalf. But, as was the custom of Pilate, he presented a criminal to the people, one he thought would surely be considered a worse offender than Jesus, in order to release Jesus, for His custom was to release a man of the people’s choosing at this time of year. But, Old Adam’s hatred for the Son of God won the day, and Barabbas was set free.

He was allowed to live for the sake of Jesus. He was cast back out into the wilderness while Jesus was sacrificed in His place. Jesus’ cross might have been meant for Barabbas, to be crucified right between his compatriots. Dear Baptized, you are Barabbas! For the sake of Jesus and His sacrifice, you are allowed to live, despite having committed the sins. Jesus died for Barabbas, and He was redeemed. Jesus has died for you, and you are redeemed.

And this, by grace, you believe and receive. Therefore, as St. John wrote, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:12) You are Barabbas, the Son of the Father as His name means, spared death and given life for the sake of the only-begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. From the manger to the cross, to Gabbatha and Golgotha, to the grave and the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ is your atonement, standing on the Stone Tablets and Stone Pavement, hanging on the cross, and seated in glory for you; therefore, you are forgiven for all of your sins.

If you’ve broken one, you’ve broken them all. That’s what St. James taught. (cf. James 2:10) A reverse of sorts is also true. If you’ve broken any of them, you’ve broken the first.

Luther taught,

• You shall have no other gods.
  We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

So, how does that work? If you look at how Luther taught all of the other commandments, they all begin, “We should fear and love God so that…” By doing this, he intended to remind you of the First Commandment. Furthermore, he is teaching that every commandment is a requirement—a do not do this, do that instead—which gives you a method by which you can fear, love, and trust in God above all things. In other words, how do you fear love and trust in God above all things?

2. Do not misuse His name, but use it properly, as in prayer, praising, and giving Him thanks.
3. Remember the Sabbath by not despising His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
4. Do not despise or anger your parents or others in authority, but honor, serve, obey, love, and cherish them.
5. Do not hurt or harm your neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.
6. Lead a sexually pure life in what you say and do; husband and wife love each other.
7. Do not take your neighbors possessions or income, but be of service to him in keeping and improving it.
8. Do not tell lies about your neighbor, nor betray, slander, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.
9. Do not scheme to get your neighbor’s inheritance or house, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.
10. Do not entice or force away your neighbor’s wife, workers, or animals, but urge them to stay and do their duty.

Now, why would you do all of these things? Well, simply put, it is God who created you and still takes care of you. This is His Law. So, if the One who made you, and can probably take you out of this world, tells you not to do something or tells you to do something, you best not do what He tells you not to do and do what He tells you to do. This is nothing new. Parents have been telling their children something like this for ages in an attempt to keep them in line: “I brought you into this world, I can bring you out of it.” Well, for God, this is most certainly true.

Of course, He also says as much: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Luther taught it, thus:

• God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. But He promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands.

So, not only does God say, “Don’t do this,” and, “Do that,” but He also promises grace and every blessing when you don’t do what He says not to do and do what He tells you to do. If that’s not reason enough to love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands, I don’t know what is.

So, what gives? Why is it that every time you hear any of these Commandments explained, you are reminded of times when you didn’t do what was expected? Why is it that these Commandments chiefly show you just how much you don’t fear, love, and trust in God above all things? Well, why is it that no child is perfectly obedient to their parents? Apart from the child psychology answers, mainly because there is a little rebellious streak in everyone such that when you are told not to do something, your first thought is of doing it, or when you are told to do something, your first thought is of doing the opposite.

There’s that little part of everyone that just likes to show the authority figure just how in charge you can be instead. “Your rules be damned; I can get by just fine without them!” Try as you might, you just can’t quell this voice which tells you to, “Go for it, because one time won’t hurt,” or, “This time won’t make things any worse,” because, “You’ll be just fine, anyway.” Ever since Adam and Eve took that bite of forbidden fruit, man has been grazing of the fruit of that tree—which breeds all kinds of lawlessness—and suffering the consequences. As God told Adam (who in turn told Eve), “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17b) Therefore, as St. Paul instructs, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,” He says, “punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me…”

Elsewhere, Luther taught, “We daily sin much and surely deserve nothing by punishment.” That little rebellious self—the Old Man which is always at work to set himself up against God, your Creator—is going to get you killed because by him you earn God’s wrath and punishment. If only there were some way that you could keep the Commandments and earn God’s grace and blessing.

You see the thing about the wisdom and knowledge of God—of His grace, mercy, and blessing—is that He is fully aware that you are completely, perfectly incapable of keeping His Commandments. So, He has given them chiefly to show you your sin and need for a Savior. So He has revealed by way of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans:

It is that Savior by whom you then have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.

For, at just the right time, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. (cf. Galatians 4:4-5) God Himself assumed flesh like yours and subjugation to His own law in order that He would perfectly keep it, as only God could, and also suffer His own wrath for every sin against it and yet live again, as only a Man who is God could. So, this Jesus kept His Law perfectly…for you. And, this Jesus suffered the full wrath of God…for you. And since the full wrath of God was suffered for you, then there is none left for you, unless you want to snatch it back from Him. On the other hand, the love to the thousand generations is shown to you for the sake of Christ. He perfectly loved the Father and kept the Law of God on your behalf, and you reap the benefits: forgiveness, life, and salvation.

As St. Paul put it in the letter to the Galatians, you receive the adoption of sons. You are all sons of God by way of your baptisms into the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Therefore, you are all heirs of God’s grace and mercy. For He made Jesus who knew no sins to be sin for you, that you might become the righteousness of God in Him. And if you are the righteousness of God—that is the perfect law-keeper in Christ—then that means that you are forgiven for all of your sins.

The season of Lent is coming to its conclusion, and as has been done throughout the season, you are being confronted with your own mortality and new life, whether you realize it or not: the temptation of Jesus, Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the man born blind. This time, you see your mortality in the events of the little town of Bethany. The wages of sin is death, and Lazarus has received payment; he was lying in the tomb, his body rotting and decaying as the physical effect of sin took its toll—lying there four days, a bad odor had no doubt formed.

Yet, it is not only Lazarus’ life that flashes before your eyes. Jesus was nearing the end of His life on earth. As chapter 10 of St. John’s Gospel comes to a close, the Feast of Dedication had just taken place—Jesus was in Jerusalem for Hanukkah; it was December by today’s calendar. In about three months, Jesus would return to Jerusalem to be “delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.” (Matthew 20:18b-19a) He went to fulfill the will of His Father, Who desires all men to be saved (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4), and die as the once-for-all sin offering.

As I’ve been saying, in the death of Lazarus and the sacrifice of Jesus, you see your own mortality. Like Lazarus, you are sinners, and the wages of sin is death. One day, these bodies will return to the dust from which they were created. Following that, you are confronted with the gut-wrenching truth that the sin which will claim these mortal bodies is the same sin that condemned Jesus to death. Jesus bore the full wrath of God for you, in your place, on your behalf—however you may want to word it—so that you would not have to.

Still, there is hope, because Jesus is present. There is hope because of who Jesus is! And that was the case in Bethany, too.

After spending some time in the wilderness where John used to baptize, Jesus made His way to the little town of Bethany. He was met on the way by Lazarus’ sister, Martha, who heard that He was on His way. What she said is astounding: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” It’s sounds like a round-about or sugar-coated way of asking for a miracle—a resurrection. However, I would suggest that she was praying a portion of a petition of the Our Father? “Lord, you could have kept Lazarus alive, but your will be done!” Or, fast forward to the night in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36) “Lord, I wish you could have been here to keep Lazarus alive; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Here’s the hope since Jesus was present—these words of Jesus: “Your brother will rise again.” And Martha, who was once concerned that Mary was not helping her serve a meal (cf. Luke 10:40), understood what He was saying, though not completely: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Recall that Jesus had previously told His disciples, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” No, Lazarus will not only rise at the last day, but He would be raised back to life that day, to the glory of God the Father and God the Son.

In a few months, Jesus would return to Jerusalem to give His life as a ransom for many. Like Lazarus, He would be wrapped in linens and perfumed. Like Lazarus, He would be placed into a rock-hewn grave. Like Lazarus, He would be sealed in His grave by a large stone laid across the entrance. But as you well know and will no doubt be reminded of again in two weeks, Jesus did not remain dead and in the grave. Like Lazarus, the Son of God would be raised to life. The Son of God would be raised back to life and give hope to all who believe on His name!

So, what can be said of His glory? To quote Him: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” So, what Jesus asked Martha can be asked of you, as well. “Do you believe this?”

It’s time for some personal honesty. One can easily become discouraged, even to the point of despair, doubt, and unbelief; to the point of hopelessness. “Do you believe this?” The trials and events of the sinful life can lead you to the point when you say, “I’m not sure anymore,” or, frightfully, “No.”

One need look no further than right here, in the church., in this congregation There are many Sundays and especially Wednesdays here that the congregation could fit comfortably in a building half this size…or smaller. You can look at all the empty seats and wonder if there must have been a time when many more of them were filled—and some of you may remember when there were regularly fewer empty seats There had to have been a time when there was a need for as much room as this.

What's the reason? Well, I'd be lying to you and myself if I even assumed to have the answer, for there are almost certainly many reasons. But these could be but a few of them: older members die and there just aren't the number of youth that there used to be because they have moved away, left the church, or simply because families are smaller these days than just 50 years ago. It is certainly easier to stay home an extra day—sleep in two days a week—given the hectic work week many people have these days. There is unresolved conflict between a member and the pastor or a previous pastor or another member and the member refuses to come to worship as a result. Illness and infirmity can also have an effect. The list can, undoubtedly, go on an on.

Of course, the effects of this are easy to see. It becomes more and more difficult to fill council positions. Constitution and by-laws may need to be overlooked and amended with regard to term limits just to keep positions filled. Offering numbers decline as attendance declines. Sunday school classes are combined, or may have already been reduced to one or none. Ultimately, the congregation may have to close. And before anyone here succumbs to PLOM disease—poor little, ol’ me—I’m not singling out this congregation or trying to predict the path down which this congregation will be going; these are issues facing a great number of congregations, within and without the LCMS. Consequently, you should draw some consolation from that.

And it is certainly not only church matters that can cause one to become discouraged. Look at the political and moral climate of the country…of the world. Or there are personal setbacks such as the loss of a job, the loss of a family member or friend, or the loss of your health. With the loss of so much, it is easy to lose all hope, and once again, your own mortality becomes all the more apparent.

You live in a world torn apart by sin, and you struggle with that sin all the time. On your own, that struggle is un-winable.

But there is hope. Jesus lives; He may have been crucified, dead and buried, but on the third day He rose again from the dead, and He lives and reigns to all eternity! He is present here, right now, in this place. There may be more empty seats than filled today, but there are still two or more gathered in His name. His Word is faithfully proclaimed in its purity here, God help us. His Sacraments are administered in accordance with the Gospel here. Since all of that is true, and Jesus is truly present in these means of grace, then He is truly present here and now, and He’s present for you!

It is the by the grace of God that the Word of God was proclaimed to the dead man—“Lazarus, come out"—and he was raised to life. And it is by the grace of God that the Word is proclaimed to men dead in sin—“I forgive you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”—and where there is this forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

By the grace of God, the Word of God was proclaimed to the dead man in the tomb—“Lazarus, come out”—and he was given life. By the same grace of God, the Word of God is proclaimed to the dead men in the font—“I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”—and they are raised to newness of life.

By the grace of God, the Word of God called to His friend for whom He will die—“Lazarus, come out”—and he received the Life of the world. By the same grace of God, the Word of God calls to His friends for whom He died—“Take and eat…take and drink...”—and they receive the very Body and Blood of the life of the world.

Jesus is alive; He is risen, and He is among you! He is come to bring forgiveness of sins and life and salvation. He is come to bring hope to a hopelessly discouraged people. What is that hope? He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” In other words, “Yes, the wages of sin is death and you are mortal, but I come that you may live, for I have conquered death and given you the victory. Though you may die, yet shall you live by grace through faith.” He therefore asks, “Do you believe this?” By the grace of God, despite the worries and sorrows which can discourage, you can answer with Martha, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” He has come and is come to give you hope and peace, peace which the world cannot give, for He has forgiven you or all your sins!