Readings: Ezekiel 36:22-28 | 1 Peter 4:7-14 | John 15:26-16:4
Text: John 15:26-16:4
Following the format which Martin Luther taught to his barber, Peter, in the tract known as “A Simple Way to Pray”
This is the Sunday after the Ascension of Jesus, and what it must have been like for the disciples! Their final face-to-face interaction with the Lord went like this:
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:6-11)
With these words running in their ears, St. Luke tells us they go back into Jerusalem and get to work filling the ranks back up after Judas departed. Now mind you, what the disciples do is not necessarily what the Lord plans—whether it’s thinking the kingdom would be restored to Israel now that Jesus is risen from the dead, or to pick by their own wisdom a 12th replacement apostle. So, for our commemoration of the Sunday after the Ascension, with Pentecost near on the horizon, we return to the Upper Room when Jesus is with them. Let’s hear what the Lord Himself says:
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
16 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
Instruction:
- He will send the Holy Spirit from the Father, who will bear witness to the Son.
- By His witness (that of the Holy Spirit), the apostles also bear witness.
- Persecution is going to come. The Kingdom of Heaven is still a matter of faith in the heart, not visible rule. In fact, the enemies of God, who oppose Jesus’ reign, will think they are doing the righteous thing by destroying you.
- In truth, those who reject Christ’s people and the Gospel they bring do not know God, no matter how enlightened they claim to be.
- All of this has been written for the day when our faith is slandered, and our Lord is spit upon in history books and popular culture.
Thanksgiving:
We can thank God that He sends His Holy Spirit, the Helper. Without His counsel, the Christian Church would be in ruins. If it were up people like us, it would have been stamped out long ago (like Bill Nye boasts, that Christianity will not exist in 100 years[1]).
Jesus and His Word do not come without witnesses, without verification even by hostile sources—Josephus the Jewish historian, Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius who bear witness to the events of the life of Jesus and the Apostles. As Peter would later put it, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16). Those who berate us are actually the ones who have cleverly devised myths. Darwinist evolution which says human life is no more than a complex accident, and insisting on the unscientific claim that life came from non-living things. Those today who champion the unnatural claim that gender is no more than a social construct, disfiguring people to prove it. Who is really following a myth?
We thank the Lord Jesus for this, because His promise is fulfilled that His Church shall not fall no matter how the “gates of hell” attack it (Matthew 16:18) We also thank Him for upholding the faithful witnesses of the truth, who would rather give their lives than deny their Lord and Master, together with the truth of His Word. This witness is strong in our generation, despite the loud boasting of atheists in universities, political powerhouses, and popular media. The amount of truth available is staggering enough to strengthen Christ’s faithful people by His Word and Spirit, and by the bare evidence which confirms the truth for all who would receive it.
Confession:
It is also true that we have many times relied on human effort to bear witness to Christ. If only we try the latest marketing or psychological trends, that’s the ticket that will bring in droves of converts. We have erroneously trusted in evidence-based apologetics, thinking that their unbelief was just a matter of misinformation. But it was the darkened sinful heart, and we too have the same disease.
In our congregations, we have hoped in our own calculation to uphold our communities. If we just call a pastor with a young family, that will be the “secret sauce” that the Church or our congregation has been missing! In these times, we have been found trusting in ourselves rather than the Holy Spirit who bears witness through the Apostles’ word.
There are also many times when we have fallen back from Christ, and sometimes even fallen away, stumbling out of faith. We have feared the reproach of people, or even their approval over faithfulness to our Lord. In times of confession, we have rather sought to save our own hide.
For all this, we see that we have been no wiser than the apostles, and we have no leg up on other people. We repent of our unfaithfulness, because we ought to know better.
Prayer:
Send us Your Holy Spirit from above. Without His help, our labors are useless. Without His counsel, our study of Scripture is in vain. We must rely on His ministry to remain Christians and to remain the Church that bears His holy Name.
Invigorate us with the love of your Word, which is the living witness of Christ our Lord. This is the faithful testimony of the Prophets and Apostles (Ephesians 2:20). Just because it is ancient does not mean it is obsolete. He, personally, will be a very present help in time of need (Psalm 46) to confirm this truth in our lives today.
When persecution touches us on account of His Word—be it at work, in family ties, social pressure—may He grant us perseverance. May it be His strength and grace that enables us to “suffer all, even death, rather than fall way from [this confession] and Church.” (LSB 273, Confirmation rite)
The Lord has given us His Word, penned by the holy Apostles by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit [2 Peter 1:21], so that now we can be confident that this is the Word of the Lord, and we gladly reply, “Thanks be to God.” Even though Jesus is not visibly with us, support your faithful people by the means You have chosen—the Word of God and the holy Sacraments. In His glorification, He is among us, even to the end of the age [Matthew 18:20, 28:20]. We walk by faith, not by sight, and blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed [John 20:29].
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHbYJfwFgOU and the “correction” issued a few days later, which is no longer available.
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