Worthy is the Lamb

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Laetare

Revelation 5:1-14

As I alluded to last week, the main content of the Book of Revelation can be outlined as seven visions that the Apostle John saw, beginning with the vision of the seven letters to the seven churches. But as we’ll see, they aren’t seven different ages of the world, progressing in order from the early Church to the end of the world. No, each vision seems to deal with the whole New Testament period, like seven grand paintings depicting the same general scene, but each one focusing on a different part or a different detail of the scene. All seven visions deal with the state of the Christian Church in this world, always surrounded (from without and within) by sin and temptation, always facing one disaster after another in this world, always persecuted by the devil and the world, always plagued by false prophets within the Church, always having still some faithful Christians and faithful preachers of the Gospel. The whole New Testament period is characterized by the apparent victory of evil. But the victory actually belongs to Christians even now, and will be fully revealed at the last day.

Chapter 4 introduced us to the picture of the heavenly throne room that we’ll keep coming back to throughout the book. You remember the main features of the throne room? There was the throne, representing God’s reign over all things. There were the 24 elders, representing all the believers of the Old and New Testaments. And there were the 4 living creatures, apparently representing the ministers of the Church, who, together with the 24 elders, are always praising God.

Chapter 5 continues in the throne room and is the beginning of the vision of the seven seals:

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Before we talk about the seals themselves, let’s say something about the numbers as they’re used in the Bible and throughout the Book of Revelation. The main numbers that are used are multiples of 3, 4, 7, 10, and 12. Last week we talked about 12 as the number representing the Church. Let’s focus for now on the number 7. The number 7 is one of the most commonly used numbers in the Bible, from the days of the Creation week to so many things having to do with the feasts, festivals, and observances that God ordained for Israel. The simplest explanation of seven is that it’s the number that represents perfection and holiness, that which comes from God. We’ve already applied that to the Holy Spirit, who is represented as seven Spirits or by the seven burning lamps before the throne. Now let’s apply it to the scroll with the seven seals.

You’ve probably seen pictures of how seals were used in ancient times. Some document was either rolled up or folded up or placed in an envelope of sorts. And instead of using glue or some adhesive to protect the secrecy and the integrity of that document, wax or some other substance that starts out soft and later hardens would be poured over the opening of the document. Then the author would have a ring or another stamp of some kind which he would press into the wax, leaving his unique impression there. Only the author or the intended recipient was supposed to break the seal and look inside.

As we see later on, this sealed scroll is the perfect and holy plan of God for His Church until the last day. Wouldn’t you like to know what’s coming? Wouldn’t you like to know what’s written on that scroll? John certainly did. It’s why God had brought him up (in spirit) into this heavenly vision in the first place. But there was a problem.

Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.

Who is worthy to look into the hidden and perfect plan of God? No one. No one in heaven. No one on earth. Not even the holy angels are allowed to know what is coming for the Church and for the earth. As Jesus once said about knowing when the last day will be, But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

In other words, only Jesus is worthy. During His state of humiliation before His death and resurrection, Jesus only knew about the future what His Father gave Him to know. But now that the Lamb has been slain and has taken up His life again, He is worthy, as the Son of God and the Son of Man, to know all the secrets of His Father and to reveal them to whomever He chooses.

Jesus is called three things in these verses: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, and the Lamb. The lion was the symbol of the tribe of Judah, going back to Jacob’s prophecy about Judah being a “lion’s cub,” combined with a Messianic prophecy. Jesus, descended from Judah, was the true Lion, the powerful conqueror and king. He is called the root of David, or the “root of Jesse,” King David’s father, as Isaiah called Him in chapter 11, that is, the Branch who grew up from Jesse and David’s line, after the kingship was removed from David’s family. Finally, He is called the Lamb who had been slain, identifying Jesus as the fulfillment of all the Old Testament sacrifices, which were summed up, as it were, in the Passover Lamb. He’s said to have “seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Seven horns—perfect strength from God—and seven eyes—the perfect knowledge of God—represent the Holy Spirit of God whom Jesus sends out into the world. As He once said to His disciples, But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me…and He will convict the world.

Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

The whole Church is pictured falling down before Jesus in worship and praise. The harps symbolize beautiful music. The incense in the golden bowls stands for the prayers of the saints, even as we sing at every Vespers, Let my prayers be set forth before You as incense.

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

Christ is worthy to know and to reveal the future of the Church, because He bought the Church. He loved the Church and gave Himself for her, cleansing her by the washing of water by the word. Even as He once redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt by the blood of the Passover Lamb, so He has redeemed us from slavery to sin, death, and the devil, redeemed us to God by His own blood, not only from the people of Israel, but from every nation on earth.

And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.

Believers in Christ have all been made kings and priests, as Peter also says in his first epistle. We all have the right to make sacrifices of thanksgiving to God, to pray to God, and to sing His praises. And we are all royal sons and daughters of the king who will reign with Christ in the new heavens and the new earth.

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Finally the angels themselves come into the vision, a vast number of them, joining together with the Church of men in praising Christ. Even the holy angels, who don’t share in our flesh and blood and who didn’t need redeeming, sing them praises of Christ as they contemplate His willingness to suffer and die for sinful men. They’ve always praised God, but His plan of salvation for mankind has won Him even greater praise from the angels as they marvel at His grace, goodness, humility, and love.

The rest of creation then joins in the song: And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” As the Psalm says, Let all that has life and breath praise the Lord! God has always deserved the praise of His creation. But that worthiness has been magnified—infinitely!—by the redemption He accomplished for sinners by shedding His own blood for us.

Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

The Church adds its Amen to the praise of the angels and to the praise of all creation. As well we might! Because we are the ones who sinned against God. We are the ones who brought the curse upon the creation and upon our race. We are the ones who were lost and condemned creatures, but who had our Creator join us in our flesh and blood that He might give His flesh and blood for us so that we could join Him in that glorious celebration in heaven! This is exactly why we join together in worship even here on earth, before we join that heavenly choir. It’s also why we will gather even more often during Holy Week, to watch the Lamb as He went to be slain, so that our faith in Him may be strengthened, our love for Him increased, and our hearts inspired again to add our voices to the voices of the heavenly worshipers who sing an endless, Worthy is the Lamb! Amen.

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Each Day in the Word, Wednesday, March 22nd 

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Tom and Karen Klumb

Matthew 26:36-75

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

57 And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.

59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, 60 but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”

62 And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! 66 What do you think?”

They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

69 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”

70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”

71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”

73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.”

74 Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We see this in all the disciples, but especially Peter. He is bold in spirit. On their way to Gethsemane, Peter tells Jesus, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (v.35). Yet, he lacks the strength to watch even an hour with Christ. His spirit briefly revives when Judas arrives with an armed multitude to arrest Jesus, he drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear (see John 18:10). Yet when Jesus submits to arrest to fulfill the Scriptures, all the disciples—including Peter—forsook Him and fled. Instead of remaining with Jesus, “Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard and sat with the servants to see the end.” When a servant girl—not a soldier—confronts Peter, he denies his Lord. Sin begets more sin, so one denial cascades into three. Peter, whose spirit had been so eager, lapsed into more and more sin because he let his sinful flesh’s desires reign over him.

Like Peter, our spirit—the inward man of faith which the Holy Spirit creates in us—is eager. We say with St. Paul in Romans 7:22, “I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.” But like Peter, we live in the sinful flesh, so that we can say along with Paul, “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Rom 7:23). Compared to the spirit God renews in us, our flesh is weak. But if we consent to the flesh’s desires, like Peter, we sin. And if we sin, we, too, should weep bitterly as Peter did, sorrowing over our sin, seeking forgiveness from God, with the desire to amend our lives. Like Peter, we comfort ourselves with the gospel that if we truly confess our sins, God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). The gospel fortifies our spirits so that we may be not only be eager and willing to confess Christ and live godly lives, it gives us the power to do so.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, strengthen us with might in the inner man through Your Holy Spirit, so that we may not consent to the desires of the flesh, but, fulfill our spirit’s eager desire to live holy lives according to Your Word. Amen.

Posted in Devotion | Comments Off on Each Day in the Word, Wednesday, March 22nd 

Each Day in the Word, Tuesday, March 21st

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Tom and Karen Klumb

Matthew 26:1-35

26 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

17 Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

18 And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ”

19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”

23 He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?”

He said to him, “You have said it.”

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”

34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And so said all the disciples.

The woman who anointed Jesus’ head with this costly perfume valued Jesus very highly. John 12:5 informs us this perfume was worth three hundred denarii. If a denarius is a day’s wage, then this perfume was worth nearly a year’s wages. Yet this woman pours it on Jesus’ head out of love and devotion to Him. She believed His Word that He would die, so she wanted to anoint him for his burial.

Judas, on the other hand, despises Jesus. Again, it is John who tells us that it was Judas who pointed out that this perfume could have been sold and the money given to help the poor. He indicts not only the woman but Jesus, who accepted the woman’s costly worship. Jesus corrects Judas and those who agreed with Him. She did a good work for Him in preparing Him for burial. Judas then goes to the chief priests and agrees to hand Jesus over to them in exchange for thirty pieces of silver, the price paid as a penalty if one’s ox accidentally killed a slave in Exodus 21:32. Judas tried to serve two masters, God and money, and it happened just as Jesus had said in Matthew 6:24. Judas hated Christ and His teaching—that is, he despised and thought little of Jesus—while he was loyal to His true master: money. By letting greed rule in his heart, he cast out his faith in Christ. Then he willfully betrayed him.

The amounts of money aren’t important. What seems like a little to one may seem like a lot to another. What is important is how the woman and Judas thought of money. The woman used money to worship Christ while she had the opportunity. Money was her servant. Judas set his heart on riches, no matter the amount, thinking that more money equals more security.

St. Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 7:30-31 that we are to use this world as not misusing it. Setting our hearts on money is one way we misuse of what God gives. This is the path of Judas. Using what God has given for the worship of Christ and for the sake of others, however, is a good work of the heart that finds its security in Christ and His promises.

Let us pray: Keep us from misusing the good things of this world, O Lord, so that we may set our hearts on You, trusting in Your promises and helping others as we are able. Amen.

Posted in Devotion | Comments Off on Each Day in the Word, Tuesday, March 21st

Each Day in the Word, Monday, March 20th

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Tom and Karen Klumb

Luke 23:26-56

26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ 31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

And they divided His garments and cast lots. 35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.

47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

The cross of Christ predominates today’s lesson. Roman soldiers enlist Simon of Cyrene to take up Jesus’ cross and follow after Him. When they came to the place called Calvary the soldiers crucified Him upon the cross. From the cross Jesus intercedes for those who crucify Him. He absolves the penitent criminal, opening paradise to him that very day. He dies, and is taken down from the cross, wrapped in linen, and buried.

The cross of Christ predominates to the Christian Faith. By suffering and dying upon the cross, Christ made full satisfaction for the sins of the world and acquired forgiveness of sins for all mankind. Since the forgiveness He acquired must be applied to individuals, He intercedes for those who crucify Him, praying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” They acted in ignorance, “For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8). By praying, “Father, forgive them,” Jesus asks that the Father would bring those responsible for His death to repentance, so that they might receive the forgiveness He earned for them and they, too, might be with Him in paradise. The Father answers  this prayer on Pentecost when Peter preaches to the Jews who crucified Jesus. Many ask what they should do, and Peter responds, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-28). The Father continues to answer Jesus’ prayer as often as we repent and believe the gospel, since we, too, were responsible for Jesus’ death. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Is 53:5).

The cross of Christ predominates the life of the Christian as well. Receiving the forgiveness of sins by faith and the promise of being received into paradise when we die, we take up our cross and follow after Jesus. We put to death the sinful flesh in us each day, reject temptations, and live as Christ lived,—in self-sacrificing love for others.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, grant us repentance each day so that we enjoy the blessings Jesus earned on the cross for us and willingly take up our cross and follow after Him. Amen.

Posted in Devotion | Comments Off on Each Day in the Word, Monday, March 20th

Bread, yes, but not bread alone

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Lent 4 – Laetare

Galatians 4:21-31  +  John 6:1-15

We began this Lenten season watching the Son of God go without bread—or any food—for forty days at the beginning of His ministry. You remember His reply to the devil when the devil tempted Him to turn the stones into bread for Himself? Man does live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The body needs bread. But man is more than the body. We’re body and soul creatures, and the soul needs to eat, too. Physical bread for the body, and spiritual bread—the Word of God—for the soul.

In today’s Gospel we see that God is well aware that, yes, man does live on bread, and we see God graciously providing it. But man does not live on bread alone, and yet, tragically, the people in our Gospel, like so many people today, wanted nothing but bread from Jesus, who wanted to offer them so much more.

Jesus was trying to get away from the crowds for a little while. He got in boat with His disciples and crossed the sea to a deserted place. But the multitudes saw Him leave and left on foot to meet Him on the other side of the lake. It tells us why: Because they saw all the signs He was doing and they wanted to see more. And they wanted to have their bodily illnesses healed. Mark’s Gospel tells us that Jesus had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, wandering aimlessly, attracted by the flashing lights—by the miracles Jesus was doing.

So, as the other Gospels tell us, Jesus spent the rest of the day teaching them and healing their diseases. And when evening came, Jesus had one more lesson to teach, both to His disciples and to the crowd—a lesson that centered on bread. After all, as John tells us, Passover was near. Passover—and with it, the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

People’s minds should have been wandering over to that important annual celebration, just as most of us think about and plan ahead for Christmas, and (hopefully) also Easter, weeks in advance. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread—a reminder of God’s physical providence in redeeming Israel from slavery in Egypt, and of Moses leading them through the wilderness where God provided bread for them every day in the form of Manna, teaching them to rely, not on their own strength to provide for themselves, but on God and His Word, for everything. But the Passover was also a reminder of God’s spiritual providence in His promise to redeem Israel by the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, the Prophet who is greater than Moses, who offers the true Bread from heaven: Himself as the one Mediator between God and man. There it is again: bread for the body and spiritual bread for the soul.

First, Jesus tests Philip and the other disciples. Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat? It wasn’t an urgent need or anything. Jesus had spent 40 days without food. These people would manage just fine without food for one day. The question was, would Philip and the other disciples rely on themselves to come up with this bread for the people, or would they put all their trust in the word of Jesus and put it back into His hands? We know what they did. They focused on their own ability and (rightly) despaired. They did find a boy who had five loaves of bread and two small fish, but they gave up. “What are they among so many?”

Jesus didn’t scold them. He showed them what He was able and willing to do. He had the people sit down on the grass—5,000 men, plus women and children. Jesus took the boy’s bread and fish, gave thanks to the Father, and then started handing out bread and fish to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes, and the food just kept coming. All 5,000 ate their fill, with twelve baskets of broken pieces left over, not just barely enough to get by, but more than enough to satisfy.

Yes, man does live on bread. That’s how God designed us. But who provides it? Where does it come from? It comes from God the Father; it comes through Jesus, the Son of God and the Word of God. It comes from God usually through parents or through hard work. But God can also rain bread down from heaven or multiply what’s in the pantry, if that’s how He has to keep His promise to provide for His people. Recognize God as the source of your bread. Recognize Jesus as the Giver. And receive your daily bread with thanksgiving. Receive it with gladness. Enjoy it while you have it, and share the leftover pieces with those who need it.

But recognize that man does not live on bread alone. Go ahead and eat your bread. Eat it every day. Eat it for years to come. But you know very well that eating bread every day—doing everything possible to care for your body—still won’t keep you alive on this earth for more than a few more decades, maybe less. Your body is dying, no matter how healthy you are at the moment, no matter how much bread you have on hand. You were conceived in your mother’s womb with an expiration date, known only to God, with death already programmed into your genes and cells, not because of some evolutionary mechanism, but because of sin. Eating bread regularly just means prolonging the time until your death. It does nothing for your soul—for your eternal well-being.

Your soul lives on “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” as Moses and Jesus said. God’s word is what keeps your soul alive, God’s teaching about sin—your sin, and the sin of everyone else, and the sin that has corrupted even nature itself, the sin that will result in the death of your body and the destruction of this earth. Your soul also needs to feed on God’s teaching about His grace—His gracious plan of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, His gracious acceptance of all who believe in Christ, His gracious gift of His Holy Spirit to begin a new obedience in the Christian, His gracious help in bearing the cross each and every day, until you reach the goal of the undying life.

Tragically, the multitudes in our Gospel today wanted bread alone, like most of the rest of the Jews, who wanted to stick with Hagar, if you recall the Epistle today from Galatians 4. They wanted to stick with “Jerusalem below,” with the First Covenant of the Law instead of the Second Covenant of grace and of the Promise of forgiveness through Christ. The people in our Gospel believed that Jesus was the Prophet who was to come, but all they wanted from and expected from the Christ was an earthly king to fill their bellies with bread, to fight their battles with political opponents, to give them social justice, a pleasant and comfortable earthly life. As it says at the end of the Gospel, the people who ate the bread were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king. “This is the kind of Savior we want! One who can give us bread for our bodies, every day, as much as we want!” And so, as we learn from the rest of John 6, those very multitudes pursued Jesus to the other side of the lake on the next day, and then immediately walked away from Jesus that same day when He refused to perform miracles on demand, when He insisted on offering them Himself instead, not as an earthly bread-king, but as the living Bread who came down from heaven who would give His very flesh and blood to reconcile them with God and to bestow on them, not an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly one.

Like those crowds, people today are happy to follow Jesus, if it’s the Jesus who gives away free things—material things, who gives them a better life, who makes them feel good. They’re happy to have a Jesus who didn’t create the world, who doesn’t demand any sort of obedience or worship. They’re happy to follow a Jesus who does only the things they think He should do, who works together with other religions to solve social problems, who would never pass judgment. Such a Jesus the people of this world might have for a king.

But the real Jesus appeared, teaching that He is the Creator of all and the Judge of all, the only true God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the One who came to call poor sinners to repentance and to terrify the impenitent with the fiery judgment that awaits. The real Christ came to suffer the judgment we deserved for our sins and to offer forgiveness of sins and eternal life to the penitent and believing. The real Christ calls people to repent and be baptized, and to sit at the feet of the pastors whom He has sent, to be active in a church that teaches His truth purely, to receive His very body and blood in His Sacrament, and to recognize His Word and Sacraments as the true food for the soul and as the source of a life that’s so much bigger than what we can see here.

That Jesus was not accepted then, and He still isn’t accepted now—not by most of the world, even by most of our neighbors, even by many churches that bear His name.

But you know better, don’t you? Look to the Lord Jesus for daily bread and receive it from Him with thanksgiving. But don’t look to Him for bread alone. Look to Him for the things that last: for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation which He earned for you through His suffering and death, and which He now hands out for free in His Word and Sacraments. Then and only then will you be able to “rejoice with Jerusalem,” not with the earthly Jerusalem that rejects Jesus’ word, but with the Jerusalem above, which is the home of all the blessed who are saved by faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. Amen.

 

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