Sermons

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+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +

Please join me in prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who among us has not had an experience where we were left behind, or forsaken, by someone close to us? Perhaps by an older sibling? Possibly by a spouse or a child? Maybe by someone we at least thought was a close friend? In our own experiences of being left behind, or forsaken, we can at least on some level begin to relate to what our Lord Jesus Christ experienced when, as part of His Passion, He was forsaken by His disciples. Tonight’s third of eight sermons with the general theme “Passion Prophecies fulfilled for you!” has as its more‑specific theme: “Forsaken by His disciples”. God made this specific prophecy through Zechariah (13:7), and its fulfillment He reports through St. Matthew (26:31, 56). On the front of your service outline again tonight, you again have an illustration related to the prophecy by French artist J-J Tissot.

In last week’s reading of “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ” as “Drawn from the Four Gospel [accounts]”, we heard Jesus, on the way out to the Mount of Olives, Himself prophesy that all the disciples that night would fall away because of Him. “For it is written,” Jesus said, quoting the prophecy from Zechariah: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But, Jesus added, “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee”. You may remember how Peter said that, though others might fall away, he would never fall away, how, even if he had to die with Jesus, he would not deny him. And all the disciples said the same. (Matthew 26:30-35; confer Mark 14:26-31; John 16:32) Then, after Jesus’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and His betrayal by Judas, as He is being arrested, He spoke twice about the Scriptures being fulfilled (Matthew 26:54, 56), and the next thing St. Matthew tells us is that “all the disciples left him and fled” (Matthew 26:56; confer Mark 14:49-50). Maybe after realizing that escape no longer was possible, that Jesus was giving up voluntarily, and that all was being done according to the Scriptures, those who had once left, forsaken, everything to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:27) now leave, forsake, their discipleship. They show themselves to be utter failures. They add to Jesus’s suffering, and they make Jesus’s teaching seem to be without effect.

We all may have had experiences where we were left behind, or forsaken, by someone close to us, but who among us also has not been the one doing the leaving behind, or forsaking? Perhaps forsaking a younger sibling? Possibly a spouse or a child? Maybe someone who at least thought of you or me as a close friend? In one way or another we no doubt have also forsaken Jesus as His disciples did. Like Peter we may think of ourselves as better than others, but by nature we are just as prone not just to doubting but also to falling away (or losing faith), being scattered, denying or betraying Jesus, leaving Him behind (or forsaking Him), and fleeing away, seeking what we think is safety apart from confessing the faith and suffering this world’s consequences for that confession. We show ourselves to be utter failures, we add to Jesus’s suffering, and we make His teaching seem to be without effect. In Zechariah’s original context, the scattering of the sheep was the fulfillment of curses brought down on the people because they disobeyed the covenant. On account of our disobedience and sin, we likewise deserve both to be scattered and to suffer the inevitable death such scattering brings about—physical death here in time and torment of body and soul for eternity.

Tonight’s penitential psalm (Psalm 38) speaks of David’s, ultimately Jesus’s, and even our own being forsaken by friends. As we voiced the psalm, we pleaded for God not to forsake us. We confessed our iniquity, said we were sorry for our sin, and expressed our faith that waits for God’s answer, His deliverance. When we so repent and believe, then God forgives our sin. He forgives our forsaking Him, He forgives our forsaking others, He forgives whatever our sin might be and even our sinful natures. He forgives it all for Jesus’s sake.

Strangely enough in Zechariah, God calls for striking both His worthless shepherd and His True or Good Shepherd (Zechariah 11:17; 13:7). And, strangely enough in Zechariah, His striking or cutting down the Good Shepherd brings salvation to the flock (Zechariah 13:8-9). Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). Jesus is in control and following a foretold plan that defies rational explanation and can be understood only in light of divine revelation. Out of love for you and for me, Jesus died on the cross in order to save us from our sin. There, He is struck dead for you and for me. But, He did not stay dead. As He Himself prophesied, He rose from the grave, showing that God accepted His sacrifice on our behalf, and He went before the disciples to Galilee. Bible interpreters may debate whether the prophecy Jesus at His arrest said would be and was fulfilled included more than the forsaking and fleeing of the disciples, but, even if those particular statements of Jesus refer only to that prophecy, on the basis of Scripture as a whole, we still can say safely that Jesus fulfilled all the passion prophecies for us.

I mentioned that the prophecy from Zechariah makes clear that God’s striking His Good Shepherd brings salvation to the flock, for it describes how the remnant of the flock will be re‑gathered. We believe, teach, and confess that the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith by the Gospel and with His gifts. In the Church, through the Word and Sacraments—through Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion—the Holy Spirit daily and richly forgives your sins, my sins, and the sins of all believers. And, having so forgiven us by water, a pastor’s words, and bread and wine that are Christ’s body and blood, the Holy Spirit brings forth from us the fruits of faith, according to our various vocations.

Now, I do not want to mislead you: the prophecy from Zechariah makes clear that God’s striking His good Shepherd brings salvation to the flock, but the re‑gathering of the remnant of the flock is not without its pain and suffering. Through Zechariah God describes how the flock will be put into the fire, refined as one refines silver, and tested as gold is tested. In such time of trial, Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede with the Father on our behalf, that we remain faithful. Their prayer, as we will sing in tonight’s Closing Hymn, is that we never fail to see God’s hand in whatever sorrow, toil, woe, and pain His mercy sends us on our earthly paths. Of course, we have His sure and certain promise that unless we forsake Him, He will not forsake us (see 2 Timothy 2:11-13). Jesus not only has gone ahead of the disciples into Galilee, but He has gone ahead of them and us into Heaven, where He has prepared a place for us, and from where He will come again to take us to Himself, that where He is we may be also (John 14:2-3).

Jesus has fulfilled all the passion prophecies for us, including the prophecy that He would be forsaken by His disciples for us. At times we may forsake Him and others, but when we repent and believe, God forgives us, for Jesus’s sake, through His Word and Sacraments. Finally, we pray in the words of the Office Hymn (Lutheran Service Book 647:2):

O Lord, let this Your little flock, / Your name alone confessing,
Continue in Your loving care, / True unity possessing.
Your sacraments, O Lord, / And Your saving Word / To us, Lord, pure retain.
Grant that they may remain / Our only strength and comfort.

Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +