Trinity 2 Sermon: Acts 4:1-21 The audio version of this sermon can be found at: https://soundcloud/james-braun-1/trinity-2-sermon-acts-4-1-21 IN NOMINE JESU Prayer: Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks to You, that through Your holy Word You have called us to Your great supper, and we beseech You: Enliven our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we may not hear Your Word without fruit, but that we may prepare ourselves rightly for Your kingdom, and not allow ourselves to be hindered by any worldly care; through Your beloved Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. Text:: The Holy Ghost has caused to be written in Acts 4,1/21. Sermon: What a dramatic moment that must have been! Peter and John were preaching in the temple after they had healed a man who had never walked. In the middle of their sermon, a group of the temple soldiers came, interrupted them, and took them away to stand trial before the Jewish Council. Then we were taken into the High Priest’s chambers the next day when these two apostles of Jesus were commanded to reveal the source of their power. Then came those stunning words of Peter that condemned those proud men where they sat, telling them that the Jesus they had killed and still were rejecting as their Messiah was the ONLY way to salvation. There’s one short line in this account, though, that almost gets lost in the drama of the rest. We are told by St. Luke: Many of those who heard the Word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. This sentence is important for the very fact that it is for this reason that Peter and John were brought in to stand trial before the Council. It was not just that they were preaching Jesus. It was not just that they healed the lame man. It was not just that they taught that because Jesus rose from the dead, so would they all. It was not just what they said and did that they were arrested and tried. No, it was what happened because of what they said and did that this took place. St. Luke tells us that thousands of people believed in this Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, believed that He rose from the dead. Believed that He was their God and Redeemer…and the Jewish leaders were none of these. You see, if no one believed what these apostles were saying, then the power of the Pharisees and Sadducees would not have been at risk. If people thought that Peter and John were full of hot air and that their miracle was merely a magic trick rather than a display of God’s power, then the Council could have slept securely that night. But the people believed the apostles’ Word, a Word that went against what their leaders had been telling them. They believed this Word that broke them free from the shackles placed upon them by the burdens of the Law and the demands of the priests. How did that Word do this wonderful thing? It told the people that all the requirements of the Law had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. That there was no reason any more to offer sacrifices because the ultimate and final Sacrifice had been made on the cross. That they no longer had to go through the priests to meet God from a distance, because this Word they were preaching and the Sacraments which were drawn from that Word literally brought God right to them (just as it brings Him here to you!). These things and more meant that the end had come for the High Priests’ power. They were no longer needed - just as those 5000 people now knew. These rulers understood this, too, even though they didn’t believe it. Their power over the people had become empty. They could no longer count on the unquestioning obedience of those over whom they ruled and so they became very afraid for themselves. And so in their great fear they lashed out and arrested Peter and John hoping against hope to get things back to the way they were before Jesus…before the crucifixion…before the reports of His resurrection…before Pentecost. It is the same Word that Peter and John preached that is the duty of Jesus’ Church to proclaim. Our Redeemer Lutheran Church does not exist to make people happy with this life. It is not here to fill bank accounts or make membership rosters full. No, this is a congregation, you are a people who have been bought with the great price of Jesus’ blood and by Him you are joined together into a holy Church created to declare His praises no matter the cost, even if that Word should make some angry and hateful toward you. And, as said above, that Word itself gives you confidence to speak of the hope that is in you, because it is a Word that speaks of certainty in an uncertain world, it tells of of salvation because of the love of God In a world whose love has grown cold. It is a Word that tells you, that tells the world that you dare not trust in your own works and promises - these will fail - but only trust in Him who has done all the work that was necessary to save you and who has kept His promise today to forgive you all your sins. This is what causes the real Church of Jesus Christ to stand even in the midst of this earthly life where so many hate Jesus and His people. This is what gives to you “good cheer” even though the persecutions continue and life never seems to get easier despite the faith given you by God’s Holy Spirit. It is not a “good cheer” that comes from the downfall of others, but rather it lives in the hope and prayer that those who hate Jesus will by that Gospel one day love Jesus as He has loved them. This, though, is so hard, isn’t it because you look at all of these things from your perspective and it never seems as though the Church has won any victories at all despite those 5000 who believed Peter and John’s word…despite those of you gathered here today. Over 2000 years and the church still has to endure pain, suffering, loss. And so as you look at the cost you might begin to wonder whether confessing your Christian faith is worth it. Peter and John certainly had some very good reasons to want to be a bit less vocal. First, take note that Luke names for us some of the men on the Council: Their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest (and) Caiaphas. Do you recognize those names? They were the very same priests who tried and sentenced Jesus to death. And these men - as they did with Jesus - had the same power of life and death over Peter and John. But that did not seem to matter. Instead, Peter - being filled with God the Holy Spirit - became all the more bold and accused these men - just as Jesus did - of rejecting the “Chief Cornerstone.” Has your own confession of your faith become weaker rather than stronger? Have you become so complacent, settled as a Christian that you have forgotten why this particular congregation even exists? No, the boldness of your confession is not what it should be...I know mine is not. When we talk to friends and neighbors and even superiors about our faith and our church, do we more often than not make excuses about what we believe and practice? “Yah, my church is ok, but there are some things I don’t agree with.” “No, we don’t have very ‘entertaining’ services I suppose, but that’s the way we’ve always done it.” “Yes, I know that my church teaches against certain lifestyles and practices...but I’m not going to judge others.” Peter and John were very bold, though...and why should that surprise anybody? They had lived with their Jesus for three years. They listened to Him preach, they sat at His feet and He taught them, they saw miracle after miracle performed throughout the land. And though He had been brutally beaten and killed, He was alive again - they saw Him! - and when He ascended into heaven He commanded them to preach and teach all nations beginning right there in Jerusalem. Who could not be so bold as they? It would be nice if we could have seen what they had. Maybe then we could be bolder, more fearless when we went into our community to live our Christian lives and tell others about Jesus Christ. If we could only have one conversation with the risen Jesus to retell or one vision of Him being alive then we might be able to stand firmly against those who would hurt us - just as Peter and John. You need to see, though, that your experiences are really just like those that these apostles had in the same way that you share in their weaknesses. Though you have not seen Jesus with your eyes, you have met Him. Your ears, too, have heard Him speak to you when I forgave your sins in His Name. Indeed, by His very own voice into our presence, into my hand, into your mouth Jesus Himself is with His very body and blood to forgive you all your sins in His Supper. And all of this comes to you by the same Word that caused those 5000 to believe even though some of them, too, may never have seen Jesus. Peter as much confessed this when he said: Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means has he been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. When he says that it is “by the name of Jesus” that he did these things, what he means is that it is as though Jesus Himself had done them. It is Jesus who healed this man, it is Jesus who forgave those people their sins, it is Jesus who baptized them for the taking away of all their sins, it is Jesus – by His Holy Spirit - who created in their hearts the faith to believe even though they could not see Him. It is by the authority of the divine call into the Office of Christ’s ministry that I “by the name of Jesus” forgive you your weakness of confession. It is by His name that I am ordained to preach this, His Word, that takes all your guilt away and gives you hope. It is by His name that I speak what He has commanded me to speak so that He - in fact - comes before you to feed and forgive you. Thus it is He who does these things, not me, and you can trust in them as though Jesus -God Almighty! - were doing them for you - because He is! This is none other than the ‘stone which was rejected by the builders (the rulers of the Jews), which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Though these words of Peter judged the Jewish Council guilty of rejecting Christ, it is interesting to note that he also gives to them – who were directly responsible for Jesus death sentence! - Peter gave to them the comfort that even their great sins could be forgiven through this Jesus whom they killed but who now who lived and who Himself healed that lame man. In this you learn that it is not a hateful thing to confess your faith because some people may be offended because ultimately your faith is all wrapped up in the love of God that you offer to the world as freely as it was given to you. As the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah (58,6/8): Is “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. There is nothing – at all! - to fear by telling others what the Bible has told you. God has promised to protect - not necessarily your life and position here…not even necessarily this grouping of Christians called by the name: Our Redeemer Lutheran Church – but He has promised to protect you until the day your salvation is complete, the day you die finally to met your Savior face to face. Yes, those who hate you may take your spouse, your money, your home, your family, your car...everything you have! But these things are meaningless when compared with what God has given you and what He has in store for you. Today your sins are forgiven you! Today you sit at that feast of love to which God through His servants has invited you, a feast that He Himself has spread out before you. And by eating and “inwardly digesting” the feast of His Word you are filled with Him and are strengthened in your confession of your faith. Freed, as Peter, John and the other apostles were, to witness to the world so that by His holy Word alone many today - as Luke reported did then - will hear and believe! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Forevermore. Amen. SOLI DEO GLORIA
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:27:37 +0000
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