Rev. Charles Lehmann + Judica + John 8:46-59 In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.
These were not the first Jews to debate with our Lord. Nicodemus was polite about it, but his lack of understanding was just as complete. Nicodemus had come in the dead of night because he was afraid that someone might see him talk to Jesus. In our Lord’s response to Nicodemus we see the best way to respond when someone doesn’t understand who Jesus is. Point them to the cross. That’s what Jesus did. He said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” The Son of Man must be lifted up. He must be exalted. He must be crucified. In the Scriptures there is no greater glory than what Jesus chose for Himself. There is no throne more beautifully adorned than the wood of the cross. There is no majesty greater than when the King gives His life to save His people. But the Jews weren’t interested in a king like Jesus. In their eyes Jesus was a simple magician doing parlor tricks. They thought our Lord’s miracles of healing were all show, and they thought that when Jesus called God His Father that it meant He was demon possessed. To the unbelieving Jews it was obvious. No man could claim to be God. It was blasphemy. To them a demon would account for both what Jesus was saying and doing. Blasphemy was a serious charge. If the Sanhedrin got permission from the Roman government, it was punishable by death. Because of the severity of the punishment, the Jews thought that their accusations would silence Jesus. But there were many things these Jews didn’t know. They didn’t know that Jesus had no fear of death. They didn’t know that He had already decided to hand over His life in order to forgive their sins. They didn’t even know the thing that should have been most obvious to them. They didn’t know that Jesus actually was God. They didn’t know that the only way He could have committed blasphemy would be to deny Himself as they were. The Jews thought that if they accused Jesus of blasphemy that it would silence Him. If Jesus were not true God, they might have been right. If Jesus were not true God, the Jews’ charges against Him would have been true. But Jesus was fulfilling all that had been written about Him in the Old Testament. That is what was most tragic about the Jews’ accusations against Him. They had heard the Old Testament all their lives. They had seen and heard about the signs He had worked in Cana and Capernaum, and in all of Israel. But these Jews were like many who sit in churches today. They heard the Word of God every week, but they didn’t listen to it. They had life and salvation preached into their very ears but they had hardened their hearts against that life-giving Word. Then, as now, that you went to church didn’t mean that you were a Christian. There were many who were circumcised but were not children of Abraham. There were many who knew all about the Lord’s mighty acts of salvation but didn’t believe them. The Jews in our text believed that they were entitled to salvation. They had Abraham’s blood in their veins. They were circumcised. They were descended from the people whom the Lord had brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Their ancestors had wandered in the desert. Their ancestors had received the Law on Sinai. Their priests had seen the presence of God enthroned between the cherubim on the ark of the covenant. They were in. The right blood flowed in their veins. Many Lutherans take the same approach. Some of us come from families that have been Lutheran for hundreds of years. Maybe your ancestors once heard Luther preach. Maybe you are descended from one of the thousands who subscribed to the Lutheran Confessions in 1580. Maybe your ancestors risked their lives to come to America so that they could practice their faith without compromise. Maybe you are descended from one of the twenty thousand soldiers who fought under Gustavus the Great when he gave his life at the battle of Lützen and saved thousands of Lutherans from certain death. Certainly it is not wrong to thank God for the faithfulness of our ancestors. It is a wonderful thing that our Lutheran forebears held firmly to their faith. We are heirs of the pain they suffered and the Gospel they struggled to confess. We get to hear the pureness of the Gospel every week because thousands of Lutherans were willing to put their lives on the line so that Christ could be preached, taught, and confessed. There was also nothing wrong with the Jews of Jesus’ day remembering that they were descended from Abraham. Abraham was a giant of the Christian faith. He left all that he knew when he followed God’s command and took his family into Canaan. His trust in God’s promises was unshakable. Abraham was so certain of the Lord’s promises that he was willing to sacrifice his own son. Abraham knew fifteen hundred years before Jesus was born that God could raise Isaac from the dead and give Abraham the descendants that he had been promised. But we are not saved by the faith of Abraham. We are not saved by the faith of Luther. We are not saved by Gustavus’ mighty acts of valor. We are not saved by the courage of Joshua. Our Lord does not look at our bloodlines. He cares nothing for genealogy. Abraham was the father of faithless Ishmael as well as faithful Jacob, and Canaan is filled with the graves of descendants of Jacob who denied the God of Israel. Our Savior is not named Abraham, Martin, or Gustavus. Our Savior is Jesus. Jesus has taken your sin and mine and suffered all that we deserve. He has been exalted and lifted up. Because the Father was willing to kill His only begotten Son, you have life, salvation, and the forgiveness of sins. Jews were not saved by being descended from Jews, and Lutherans are not saved by being descended from Lutherans. In each case, Jesus comes to us and saves us in the same way that he saved our ancestors. The Word is read and proclaimed and we hear it. When by that Word the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts, we hold onto Jesus for life and salvation. Jesus saves. Genetics count for nothing. That is why Jesus said to the Jews who were denying Him, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” Abraham rejoiced because He believed the promise. Abraham rejoiced because he knew that one who has hidden their life in God can never lose it. Jesus didn’t say that Abraham rejoiced that Jesus’ day was coming. Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced that he would see the Lord’s day. Abraham rejoiced because he knew that he would see the day that Jesus went to the cross and won life and salvation for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, you, and me. Abraham rejoiced because he knew that a Savior would come who would fulfill the prophecy he spoke on the day that God delivered Isaac from death. On the day that God tested Abraham, the Lord provided a ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. Abraham called that place Yahweh Yireh. The name Abraham gave the place of sacrifice was a prophecy. Yahweh Yireh means, “The LORD will provide.” It also means, “The LORD will be seen.” In the cross, both parts of Abraham’s prophecy are fulfilled. On the mountain of the LORD, God is seen, and on the mountain of the LORD, He provides. The LORD is seen nailed to the wood of the cross. And on that cross the LORD provides life and salvation for all people. Abraham rejoiced that he would see that day. He saw it and was glad. Abraham rejoiced because he knew that never again would a father be required to sacrifice his son. Abraham rejoiced that God had required of Himself what He had spared Abraham from having to do. The Father afflicted His Son with all the wrath that you, I, and Abraham deserved. In His suffering and death, Jesus won salvation for all people past, present, and future. You, people loved by God, are the true children of Abraham. You, people loved by God, have the same promises that Abraham had. If you come from a Christian family, rejoice. Rejoice at their faithfulness. But do not think for a moment that it is because of the blood that flows through your veins that you are saved. You are saved by the blood of another. You are saved because the holy and precious blood of Christ was shed for you. You are saved because the blood that flowed through His sacred veins flowed out of them when He suffered and died for you on the cross. You are saved because Jesus loves you and has done all that is necessary for your salvation. Before Abraham was born, Jesus was the creator of the universe. Before Abraham was born, Jesus had chosen you to be His own child. Before Abraham was born, Jesus had decided to become your Savior. Rejoice, people loved by God. Your sins are forgiven and you are free. In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in faith in Christ Jesus. Amen. Rev. Charles R. Lehmann Pastor, Saint John's Lutheran Church, Accident, MD http://www.stjohncove.org ___________________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_ _attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster. 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