Advent I (Year A) [Matthew 24:36-44] (1-Dec-2019)

This sermon was preached at St Paul's Lutheran Church, Ferryden Park, 10.30am.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

But concerning that day and hour no one knows.

Prayer: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Today we begin a new church year, and we’re celebrating the first Sunday of the season of Advent. And the season of Advent has a particular focus on Jesus “coming”. We especially look to Jesus coming as a tiny baby in Bethlehem at Christmas, all those many years ago. But our Gospel reading today has a different focus. In this reading, Jesus is talking not about when he came as a baby, or when he comes to us constantly in the church, but when he will come at the end of the world to bring the whole of world history to a close, to a finish—and when he will judge the living and the dead, and those who believe in him will share eternal life with him.

Now, before we get to our reading—it’s very important for us to have a think about what this means: that the end will end. Many people in our country and in our world today don’t really think too much about this. I think it’s also the case that they never really think that the world ever began in some way.

Now, if we go back to many ancient peoples, like the Ancient Egyptians, or the Ancient Greeks, they were people who essentially believed that the world was eternal. They believed that it never really had a beginning, and it’s never really going to have an end. I think many people today believe this, even many of us Christians in the church. But I don’t think it’s necessarily that a lot of people have any serious convictions about it – it’s just that they don’t think about it too much. For example, people might think that life as we know it as evolved over millions and billions of years, all the way back to some kind of primeval blobs, some single-celled organisms. But you know, those things were supposed to have happened so long ago, that I don’t think people really care or bother to think about whether the earth had some kind of beginning, because it something that happened so long ago. So I think that it’s fair to say, that many people in our world today, don’t really believe that world had any kind of beginning.

But also, I think there are many people who don’t really think the world is ever going to end. People think that things are going to carry on as we know it for ever and ever, and people are just going to keep getting better and better. Some people, though, who have very strong views about climate change, think that the world very well might end soon, and that the way to stop it ending is to confront the problem of pollution on a national and world-world scale. But apart from these people, I think there are many people who just go along on their every day life, and don’t really think about what it might mean that the world could have an end.

Now, if we go to the Scripture, to the Bible, this matter is dealt with very clearly. If we open to the first page of the bible, we find it speaking about the beginning of the world. If we open to the last page of the bible, we find it speaking about the end of the world. And these two events, these two facts—the creation of the world which happened in the past, and the end of world which will happen in the future—have always been a part of the church’s confession of faith. So, when we come to church and say together the Apostles’ Creed, we start by saying: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. We start by saying that God existed before the world, and that he made it—the earth had a beginning. And we also say in the Apostles’ Creed, that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Now, if the world didn’t have a beginning, and if the world will have no end, then people have no choice but to believe that the world is eternal. But here’s the problem: the world isn’t God, only God is God, and only God is eternal. Mother earth isn’t the eternal God, only God is God. So we are also told in the Scripture that there is only one thing that had no beginning, and that has always existed: and that is the God who made us, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And over the whole course of the history of the world, God has been calling people into his kingdom. And so, when the world has ended, those who have been saved, who have trusted in God, and believed in his promises, will live with him in his kingdom. And what do we say about Jesus’ kingdom? We say: His kingdom will have no end.

In the verse before our Gospel reading today, Jesus says: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. He is talking about the signs of his coming: He says: Then will appear in the heaven the sign of the Son of Man. We know from what Jesus is saying here, that the world will have an end, and that when the world ends, Jesus will appear.

So Jesus says in our Gospel reading today: But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Now, this is a very important principle for our Christian faith. There have been many people throughout history, and many people still around today, who think that they know when the end of the world is going to be. So far, all of them have been wrong! How do we know this? Well, the world is still here! And Jesus doesn’t say that the when the world ends he’s going to come quietly, and we might miss it—he says, he will appear on the clouds, with power and great glory. There are some groups—like the Seventh Day Adventists and the Jehovah’s Witnesses—who have made prophecies about the end of the world, which didn’t then happen. When I was the pastor in Gippsland, I heard about a group of people who had moved to far-east Gippsland, at a place called “Noorinbee North”—way out in the middle of pretty much nowhere. They had thought that when the year 2000 struck, that it was going to be the end of world, so they went out there, bought property, built underground bunkers, to prepare for the end. They even built a church out there. But of course, since that time, many people have moved away, and the church has now closed, and been sold.

The thing that we must know about all these things, is that if we know someone who says to us that they know when the end of the world is going to be, we can immediately know for certain in our own minds that they are wrong, and that they are not telling the truth. How can be so sure of ourselves? Because, in our reading today, Jesus says: Concerning that day and hour no one knows. So if someone says that they do know, we know that they can’t be telling the truth, because Jesus says: no one knows.

But perhaps, someone might be particularly spiritual—you know, a real guru, a real holy person, someone with great spiritual insights. And this person says, “Listen, I had a very significant dream the other night, and an angel said to me that the world is going to end on such-and-such a day.” What do we made about this? The person claims that an angel spoke to them about it! Well, Jesus says: Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven. If an angel did speak to the person, it can’t have been an angel of heaven, but an angel of hell instead, an evil spirit trying to trick the person with lies. Remember, St Paul says that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Perhaps, someone around the time of the apostles went around saying that they had met Jesus personally, and that Jesus himself had told him personally, that the end of the world was such-and-such. Maybe, someone claims to have met Jesus himself on the side of the road one day, just like Paul had met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Well, Jesus says: Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Now, why am I making such a big point of this? Throughout my ministry as a pastor, I’ve often come across people who think that the world is going to end on such-and-such a day. Often people come to these conclusions from astrology—from trying to predict the future from looking at the stars. They think, there’s a strange moon on this day, Mars or Jupiter is going to be in a special position in Aquarius, or something like that. It takes up so much of people’s energy and time, and it’s such an embarrassment to them when nothing happens. There is such a simple answer to this: it’s all rubbish, because Jesus has told us ahead of time, that it’s all rubbish. No-one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Now, there’s a little question that comes to our mind when we hear these words, which says: “Hang on, I thought Jesus was true God, and I thought God knows everything. If Jesus is true God, how come he doesn’t know?”

This is a very good question. In many passages, Jesus is said to know all things. For example, Jesus says: All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. In John, it says that Jesus knew what was in the heart of man. Well, also remember, that Jesus is alive, and is the giver of life, and he is the Resurrection and the Life! But then he also dies. He is the King of King and the Lord of Lords, and yet, in the wilderness, he experiences hunger and thirst and weariness and temptation. So also, Jesus really does know everything, but he also during his earthly life is limited in his knowledge.

You see, Jesus came from heaven as true God, to become a human being. And even though he knew everything, he chose, by becoming a man, not to know some things. For example, he didn’t know how to talk, until Mary and Joseph taught him, and yet he was still God, and knew all things. As he grew up, he only spoke his mother tongue—he didn’t know or speak English, and yet he was still God, and knew all things. In stooping down to our human level, and becoming a human just like us, he also chose to put away certain knowledge from himself.

So for example, let’s say, a father buys some chocolate for his kids, and the children say: “Dad, dad, give us some chocolate.” The dad puts the chocolate away at the back of a shelf, and hides it. Then he says, “I don’t know where it is.” If the dad tells the children, “I’m not telling you where it is”, then the children would just keep pestering him, and say, “Come on, dad! Tell us!” until he gives in and tells them.

Now, in a similar way, Jesus says: No one knows…not even the Son. He has every right to know, but when he became a man, he chose to put certain knowledge away from himself. It’s a bit different from the dad with the chocolate, because the dad would be telling a little white lie. But Jesus is not telling a lie, he is telling the truth—he has chosen not to know this, by virtue of having become a man. And also, imagine if Jesus had said, “I do know, but I’m not telling you.” This would either make the apostles and the disciples sad, as if Jesus didn’t think they were any good, or they would think to pester him. Remember the Canaanite woman who asks for a healing for her daughter, and Jesus says: It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. Here Jesus is treating her almost a bit mean, but not because he doesn’t want to heal the woman’s daughter, but because he wants to draw out from this lady her great faith for the benefit of everyone, so that we can all learn how to pray like her. But when it comes to the end of the world, it’s as if Jesus says that this is an issue that you’re not going to know, if you ask me, I won’t tell you. If you ask me, and you think that I did tell you, then you know it wasn’t me, but the devil pretending to be me. No one knows.

Even though no-one knows the day or the hour, there are certain things that Jesus does let us know. He says: For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the one left.

What is Jesus teaching us here? He that before he comes, things will be like the days of Noah. Well, have a think—why did the flood happen, and why did Noah and his family have to go on the ark? Was it because everything was going so well in the world? No—absolutely not! Everything was going terribly. The world was corrupt, it was evil, and people were doing terrible things to themselves and to others. Now, in the same way, as the world gets older, and we get closer to the time when Jesus will return, do you think the world is going to get better or to get worse? Many people think that the human race is always evolving and getting better. It’s not the case at all! The human race is only getting worse and worse. The world is only getting worse. And as the world gets worse, we are called upon to ask ourselves: who are our friends? Do we want to be friends with Jesus, or the world around us? Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, but the world is corrupt, and decaying, and is just getting worse and worse. There will come a day when there will people next to each other—one will be taken and the other left. Perhaps it means that one will be taken up to heaven to be with Jesus. Or perhaps it means the one will be swept away, just like the evil people at the time of Noah.

Also, at the time of Noah, people scoffed at him, and mocked him. They thought he was an idiot. So also, as the world gets older, and we come closer to time of Jesus’ return, people will scoff at Christians, and mock them, and call us idiots for believing in that old-fashioned stuff. They will say: we are so much more enlightened than they are! We know better, we are not so stupid! One will be taken, and one will be left.

So, if you see around you and feel that the world is getting worse, then don’t be discouraged, but it means that you are coming closer to seeing Jesus with your own eyes—either when you die, or if you live long enough, to see Jesus when he returns. Jesus says: Straighten up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near. If you see around you a constant pressure from people not to be a Christian anymore, and to give up on Jesus, because people are mocking you, or scoffing at your beliefs, or calling you an idiot, also, don’t be discouraged, because again it means that you are coming closer to seeing Jesus with your own eyes. Jesus says: Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

In the last part of our reading, Jesus says: Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

So, what do you think it means when Jesus says, “stay awake”, or when he says, “you must be ready”? What does it mean to be awake and ready?

Sometimes, I think people often think about this as being busy. We can’t rest, and we must always be active. We must always be doing good works, and working really hard. It’s like, if a mum says to her child, “sweep the floor before I come home”. Then the child forgets about it, and when they hear mum driving up the driveway, they get the broom, and pretend as though they’ve been working for hours!

Well, actually, we Christians should be busy with good works without even really thinking about it! If there’s someone in need, we should help them—and all that kind of thing. But actually, to be awake and ready for Jesus, simply means to trust in him for eternal life. It means to completely despair of our own actions, our own thoughts and words, and to completely despair of ourselves and all of our efforts, and to trust completely in him for everything, because he is the one who has taken the burden of every single one of our sins upon his shoulders, and has died for it all on the cross, and has risen again on the third day. We can trust in him for everything, and we are awake and completely ready when we have the total forgiveness of our sins. And we can be sure of this, because Jesus has said it, and has promised it.  He says: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but have eternal life. Or as Peter says it in his letter: Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

So, be encouraged, friends. Don’t worry about when the end will come, because no-one knows. It could come at any time, like a thief in the night. Therefore, we should always be ready to meet Jesus. Don’t be discouraged by the world getting worse in which we live, or by people mocking or scoffing at you. Stay awake and be ready to meet your Lord, and trust in his wonderful mercy and forgiveness which he won for you, and which he pours out into your lap even today. Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for coming to this dark world as a tiny baby so many years ago. We thank you for the way in which you still come to us today—speaking to us in the church through your word, through preaching, through the absolution and forgiveness—coming to meet us and save us through baptism, coming to encourage and strengthen us with your body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. And we also look forward to wonderful and joyful day when you will bring this world to an end, and bring us to be with you in your kingdom. Amen.

Advent IV B [Luke 1:26-38] (24-Dec-2017)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

In our reading today, we read about the events which are spoken about in the Apostle’s Creed, where it says: He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The reading today begins by talking about an angel, and not just any particular angel, but the angel Gabriel. In the bible, there are only two angels who are named: Gabriel and Michael. And strangely enough, both of these angels are mentioned in the book of Daniel. Michael’s name means “one who is like God” and is called the great prince who has charge of your people. Gabriel’s name means “strength of God”, and brings to Daniel an answer to his prayer in the temple. Gabriel also was the angel who brought a message to Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, when he was in the temple, while he was performing his duties as a priest. Here in our reading, Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary.

In our reading today, we read that the angel Gabriel goes to a virgin betrothed to a man. On one hand, the text calls Mary a virgin. And on the other hand, she is betrothed to a man. “Betrothed” is basically what we would call “engaged”. It’s important first of all that when a man and a woman want to live together and share a home and raise a family that they get married. And it’s important when people want to get married, that they enter into a period of engagement. This is a time for preparation, and also for testing. Sometimes an engagement doesn’t lead to a marriage, and it’s much better to call of an engagement than to get married and divorce later. This was the situation that Mary and Joseph were in: they were engaged, or betrothed, and preparing to get married—it was a time of preparation, and testing. It was not the time for sexual relations yet. In those days, particularly, one of the things for testing was to make sure that the woman wasn’t getting married as a show to cover up for the fact that she had become pregnant with someone else’s baby. It would be as if she said, “Oh no! What am I going to do? I know—I’ll marry the first man I can find.”

Now, to stop this from happening—which would have been pretty rough for the men involved—engagements usually lasted around nine months. Nine months was the length of a pregnancy, so if there was any funny business going on, it would give enough time to demonstrate whether she was an honest woman.

So this was the situation that Mary and Joseph were in. She was a virgin betrothed to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. Now all these details are extremely important. If Mary had become pregnant outside of marriage, she would have been in very serious trouble. But the fact that she is betrothed means that Joseph would be able to care for her as her future husband, but also he would be able to testify that the child was not his.

Now in the wider church today, there are many people who simply deny what we call “the virgin birth”. However, as you will see in our text today, the fact that Jesus’ mother was a virgin is a central teaching of Christianity. In the Creeds we say every Sunday that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. It is not a side issue, or something that we can laugh off as if it’s not important. The “virgin birth” is not some conspiracy of men in the church to put down real women and mothers. This teaching is not really about Mary at all—it is about who Jesus is. It is about who Jesus’ mother is, and who his Father is. The Virgin Mary is his true human mother, and God the Father is his true Father. This is what we read about in our reading today.

So the angel says to Mary: Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you! We read: But [Mary] was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. Just imagine—Mary has just seen an angel appear to her, and yet she is not troubled by what she sees, but by what he says. She is greatly troubled at the saying. You see, it is important that Mary discerns. Who is this angel? Why is he coming to me? Is he telling me a lie? Is this the devil in disguise? And so, it says that she tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. If this is a greeting from God, then all well and good. But if not, then she wouldn’t want some angel flattering her, or deceiving her, or leading her down the garden path, away from God.

So what did the angel actually say to her? He said: Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you! The word there “greetings” is a standard greeting, like “hello”, or “Good morning”. But literally, the word is Rejoice. The angel is wanting to give her encouragement, joy. He is giving her a blessing. And he calls her: O favoured one. This could also mean: a woman who has been shown grace, or a woman who has received God’s favour. These words are also where the Catholic prayer comes from: Hail, Mary, full of grace. The expression “favoured one” is translated “full of grace”. However, in John 1, it is said that Jesus is full of grace and truth. Here in this passage, it is more correct to say that Mary has been shown grace or shown favour, rather than being full of grace. It is a wonderful gift of God that He chose Mary to be the mother of his Son. It is not as if she earnt it by being full of grace. The angel also says to her: The Lord is with you! This is very similar to the greeting we say in church every Sunday before we say a prayer, where the pastor says: The Lord be with you, and the people respond: And also with you, or in older times, the response was: And with your spirit. The Lord is already with Mary, and the Lord now sends Mary an angel to tell her. The angel then reveals to Mary the presence of the Lord. In Mary’s situation, the Lord is with her in a special way—she is about to be the mother of the Son of God. Nobody has been greeted like this before, and nobody will ever be greeted like this again. And so, it’s no wonder that Mary was troubled, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

And so the angel says to Mary: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Listen to those wonderful words from the angel: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. We human beings are all sinners. We are all members of one sinful human race, and we have received and inherited sin from our parents. Just as we get all kinds of blessings from our parents, so also we have inherited the family debt. We know that even right from childhood, we don’t need to teach children to be naughty; they do it all by themselves! And God has every right to completely wipe out every single one of us with one wave of his hand. He is a righteous judge, and loves what is right, and good, and pure, and holy. And we know that we are not righteous, right, good, pure and holy in and of ourselves. And yet, because of Jesus, and his sacrifice for our sin on the cross, because of his atonement, and payment for our sin, justice was paid for us, and our debt was cancelled. And so, because of this, if we ever find ourselves standing before God, knowing our sin and fearing his presence, then we can be comforted in the fact that we have a Saviour, who has paid for our sin, and has earnt on our behalf the favour of God. It is a wonderful thing to believe that when God looks at us, he doesn’t look at our sin, but he looks at Jesus. And because of Jesus, he shows us his favour. He doesn’t blaze his anger at us, but he shines the light of his face, and forgives us every single one of our sins. And when we have this forgiveness, we have God’s favour, his good pleasure, and there is nothing of which to be afraid. This is the same wonderful gift here that was given to Mary, when the angel said: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. She found favour not because of anything that she was, and not because she was sinless, or because of anything that she had done or not done, but purely as a gracious, loving gift of God.

The angel says: And behold—in other words, listen to me, I’m going to tell you something very important—you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Mary is going to be this child’s mother—the Son of God will take his human nature from her womb, from her flesh. She is going to be his mother. She will conceive in her womb, she will bear a son, and she will call his name Jesus. In this sense, Mary is going to have a normal child, in the normal way, and like every other mother, she will give this child a name.

But there is some things that about this conception and birth and this child that are not normal, but are special, supernatural, wonderful. The angel says: He will be great. We can talk all day about all the wonderful ways in which Jesus is great! The angel says: And [he] will be called the Son of the Most High. This is very important: this child will be Son of Mary, but he is also going to be the Son of the Most High. The “Most High” is another way of speaking about God. This child is not going to be a child of God, in the sense that all people are created by God, and are God’s children. But this child will be the only begotten Son of God. He is the Son of the Most High, in the sense that has always existed as true God together with the Father before the beginning of time. This Son of the Most High is one with the Father, and equal to his Father. The angel says: And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. This means that Jesus is going to be a king in the line of King David. He is going to rule over the house of Jacob, or the house of Israel. He will be a king, and he will rule over all of God’s people. And unlike the kings of the Old Testament, and the kings and politicians of our time, who only reign for a set number of years, Jesus will reign over the house of Jacob forever. Even today, Jesus is alive, he is seated on the throne as a king descended from David at the right hand of the Father, ruling over the whole of creation, and ruling his church, his kingdom here on earth through his powerful word, and there will never be a time when he will not be ruling. The text says that he will reign…forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. This is no ordinary boy who is to be born—this is not just Mary’s son, but the Son of the Most High. This is just as when Jesus says to Peter: Who do people say that the Son of Man is? And Peter says: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Son of Man is the Son of the living God. The Son of Mary is the Son of the Most High.

Mary asks the angel: How will this be, since I am a virgin? Literally, in the Greek, the question Mary asks is: How will this be, since I do not know a man? In the bible, “know” often refers to sexual relations, just as at the beginning of the bible where it says: Adam knew his wife and she conceived. Mary realises that there is something being promised to her that is not normal, and not the ordinary way things are done. And so the angel says: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. It says: The Holy Spirit will come upon you. These words are the basis of what we say in the Creed that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel says that this will take place by a special act of God, by an overshadowing of the power of God. We can also see here a wonderful picture of all three persons of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Who will come upon Mary? The Holy Spirit. Whose power will overshadow her? The power of the Most High, the power of God the Father. And who is this holy child who is to be born? The Son of God.

The angel also wants to strengthen and encourage Mary and increase her faith so that she doesn’t worry and doubt what is going to happen. The angel says: And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. Elizabeth is John the Baptist’s mother. And the angel shows to Mary that another miracle has taken place: Elizabeth is old and she was also barren, and yet she also has a child. In a similar way, the angel says: you are young, and a virgin, and you will also have a child. And Elizabeth’s baby was conceived six months ago, so that you will be able to see her round tummy with your own eyes. And the angel says: For nothing will be impossible with God. The angel says that this is a miraculous event. It will happen in a way that no human being, no inventor, no scientist, can come up with. It is purely a miracle and an act of God. This is an important word to all those who ridicule the virgin birth. If we don’t believe that there is a God who can work outside what we think are the normal laws of nature, then of course we won’t believe in a virgin birth. But there is a God, and nothing will be impossible with God. This is a wonderful word for us to encourage us in our prayers too. When we think things are impossible, we should remember that we have a God with whom nothing is impossible.

And so right at the end of our reading, we read where Mary says: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. This is a very encouraging word, and shows the wonderful power of God at work in Mary, and the great faith that he had worked in her. On one hand, she agrees with the word of the angel. God does not force her to comply, but she agrees with the whole plan. She says: I am the servant of the Lord. And also she says: Let it be to me according to your word. This word that the angel has said from a human point of view seems impossible, and yet she says: Let it be to me. The angel has spoken a word, and she has become impregnated through her hearing. In a similar way, when we hear the word of God, and read it, and think about it, it takes root in us, and grows in our hearts and begins to shape us from within. Let’s also pray that the Holy Spirit may work that humble attitude in us that we seek to submit to God’s gracious will for us in our lives in every day of our lives, every day and every minute.

Sometimes we have some bad news or something bitter in our life we need to contend with. There is an old Russian prayer that says: Whatever news I may receive during the day, teach me to accept it tranquilly, in the firm conviction that all eventualities fulfil your holy will. I know from my own experience that sometimes I don’t have the strength of faith to think like that. And yet, the alternative is always to be putting our will above God’s will. God is a very gracious Father to us, and sometimes we don’t understand why he gives our deepest sorrows to us. But he also promises to show you his loving face again. Jesus says: A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me. This life is not the only existence that God has made for us—this is a valley of the shadow of death. There is a better country to come yet, a kingdom that will have no end, as our reading says. The king is Jesus, and the future is bright with him. And so, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and not in our own strength, we can look to him and say with Mary: I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. Amen.

Lord God, our heavenly Father, we thank you for the conception of your Son, and we pray that you would lead us to trust in your word, knowing that nothing is impossible with you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Midweek Advent Service III [On the personal union of the two natures in Christ] (20-Dec-2017)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 5.30pm.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. (Matthew 17:1-2)

Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Tonight we’re finishing our series of three midweek services about Jesus. The first week, we were particularly looking at the fact that Jesus is true God, his divinity, or his divine nature, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Last week, we were looking at Jesus’ humanity, or his human nature. Today, we’re going to talk about the fact that Christ is one person, and how his divinity and humanity are united in one person.

Let’s read again the summary of this in Luther’s Small Catechism: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. The first week, we were looking at the fact that Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. Last week, we focused on the fact that Jesus is true man, born of the Virgin Mary. But this week, we’re looking at the fact that Jesus is my Lord, or the fact that there are not two people who are called Jesus, but one person who is called Jesus, who is both man and God.

Often when people look at children, they often make comments about how they have their father’s blue eyes, or their mother’s red hair. It’s amazing when a mother and a father have a child how the child looks like both of them, and yet is not a copy of either of them. I once heard a story about a child who said, “I’ve got my dad’s face, my mum’s hair, but I have my own teeth!” When an individual child is born, there are not two children, but only one child, who has both their mother and the father’s features. In a similar way, Jesus has a very special, particular Father. He has God the Father as his true Father. And he also has a particular mother, the Virgin Mary. He has the Virgin Mary as his true mother. Jesus’ divinity, or his divine nature, comes from his Father. Jesus’ humanity, or his human nature, comes from his mother. But how many people are there called Jesus? Is there a human Jesus and a divine Jesus? No – there is only one Jesus. Luther says in the Catechism:  I believe that Jesus Christ, true God…and true man…is my Lord. Not my Lords, but my Lord.

Now, it’s a wonderful mystery when we think about who Jesus is, and just how it works that someone should be true man and true God. He’s the only person who is like it! And so, it’s important that we talk about it in the right way. For example, Jesus is not some kind of God-and-man salad. There’s not bits of God and man all chopped up in him all over the place. It’s not like his feet are human and his brain is God. It’s not as if he has a human heart, but his eyes are from God. That’s not right. Also, it’s not like he’s some kind of God-and-man sandwich, like two pieces of bread stuck together, that you can just pull apart. Also, he’s not like some kind of God-and-man mixture, like if someone mixed flour and water together to make something new, like wallpaper-paste. Wallpaper paste isn’t flour and it isn’t water—it’s a mixture of both.

One of the most helpful ways in which Christians throughout the centuries have traditionally spoken about how Christ is both true God and man in one person is the picture of iron which has been put in the fire. Just imagine the old days in Maryborough or some other place in Australia where you had blacksmiths. They had to put pieces of iron into a red-hot fire, and then when they pulled it out, what did they get? They got iron which glowed red hot from the fire. Now let’s say you want to brand a cow. If you poke it with a metal rod, it would just jump. If you just got a blowtorch and blew fire at it, you would end up with roast beef. But if you want to brand a cow, you have to put the iron in the fire, so that the iron pokes and burns at the same time, and it burns in exactly the right place where you poke the iron. Or let’s take something from your everyday household kitchen: Maybe you need to cut some butter, but you forgot to pull it out of the fridge. The butter is too hard to cut with a knife. But if you put the butter in the oven or the microwave, it would go all sloppy or runny. What you need to do is turn the stove on and heat up your knife, so that the knife gets hot. Then the knife will cut and melt at the same time.

Now, let’s compare this to Jesus. We might say that Jesus’ human nature is like the iron, and his divine nature is like the fire. Just as iron is put in the fire and becomes red hot, and makes the iron burn, so also Jesus is like fiery iron. Right from the moment of his conception, he is both man and God in one person, just like iron and fire are united together. Everything that Jesus does is a human act and an act of God, so that when Jesus touches a person and heals a person, who touched them? Was it God, or man? It was both, just like a fiery iron burns in the exact spot where it touches.

In Isaiah chapter 6, we also have the picture of a fiery coal, which touches Isaiah’s lips. We read about how he saw a wonderful vision of the Lord and the angels and we read: And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Can you see here what the flaming coal does? Isaiah confesses that he is a man of unclean lips, and the angel touches him with a burning coal. God wants to purify him with fire, but also he wants to touch him right on the place where Isaiah confessed his sin: his lips. So the angel touches Isaiah with a burning coal. The coal goes right to the spot, and the fire burns and purifies at the same time. Jesus humanity is a bit like the coal, and his divinity is like the fire. But Jesus is one person, who touches people with his human hands, and heals them with all the power of God at the same time.

We see a wonderful picture of this in the Transfiguration. When Jesus took Peter, James and John on the mountain, what do we read? It says that Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Do you see how Jesus body shines with the light of God? He is still a human like us, and has a human face like us, and is wearing normal human clothes. But the fact that Jesus is true God means that his face and clothes shine with divine light. This gives us a wonderful picture of how Jesus is both true God and true man in one person.

Now, let’s just compare Jesus for a moment with us. We Christians also say that God dwells and lives in us. Peter says that we are partakers of his divine nature. But also at the same time, as St Paul says in Romans 7, we say that sin dwells in us. In us we have a daily struggle between the new person at work in us, and our old person which is at work in us. But things are different with Jesus, because he has no sin dwelling in him. Every thought, word and action that he does is the thoughts, words and actions of God.

St Paul says on one hand that it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Also at the same time, he says: I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. On one hand, we have Christ living in us, and sin dwelling in us. We struggle with sin and Christ forgives our sin, and works in us despite our sin. But with Jesus, all of his actions are one: they are 100% God’s works. Everything that this iron touches, the fire also burns.

With us, we begin our lives separated from God. St Paul says that we are by nature children of wrath. Sometime later in our life, we are baptised and become Christians and children of God and are converted. But with Jesus, he never needed to convert—right from the very first moment that his human body existed in the womb of the Virgin Mary, right from when he was the tiniest group of embryonic cells, he was always true God. The human body of Jesus didn’t become God sometime later, for example, at his baptism, or earlier, when he was born. The Virgin Mary had the one Jesus, true man and true God, in her womb.

So let’s come back to this picture of Jesus as being like fiery iron, and let’s think about a few examples about how this works. What this means is that there are certain things that make people human. On the other hand, there are certain things that make God God. But with Jesus, we believe that this man is God. Also, we believe that even though he is God that he is man. God is man, and man is God. This is an amazing thing. No other human being is God. And the Father and the Holy Spirit are not man. Only both come together in Jesus. This is so important, because in the bible, we see people worship Jesus. In the book of Acts, we read about an event where Paul and Barnabas turn up in a town called Lystra. And what happens? The people begin to worship them. And we read that Paul and Barnabas tear their clothes, and say: Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you. Jesus is also a man, but when the people worship him, there is no problem. Because the same Jesus who was nailed to a cross is called My Lord and my God by Thomas. There’s no problem. This man is God, and so he should be worshipped.

Now let me read a few very interesting passages. In 1 Corinthians 2:8, Paul says that the rules of this age crucified who? He says they crucified the Lord of glory. Now calling Jesus “the Lord of glory” is really a way of calling him God. But when Jesus died, did God die? Was the Lord of glory crucified? Or was it just Jesus the man who was crucified? But you see, who is the Lord of glory? The Lord of glory is this man Jesus Christ. Who is your Lord and your God? This man. And so they didn’t just crucify any old man, they crucified a man who was also true God. And so St Paul says: They crucified the Lord of glory. It was our God they nailed to the cross. Remember the iron and the fire—Jesus is both true man and true God.

Another passage is early on in the book of Acts where Peter and John get in trouble for healing a man, and they say that the people killed the Author of life. When they call Jesus the “Author of life”, they are saying that he created the world, that he was truly God. And so because Jesus was both true God and true man, Peter said that the Author of life was killed. Peter is not confused here—he understands that this was not just anyone who was killed, but the Author of life who became a human being who was killed.

Later on in the book of Acts, in chapter 20, St Paul says that God obtained the church with his own blood. Paul’s not talking about God the Father or the Holy Spirit because they have never had any blood. Even before Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb, he didn’t have any blood either. To have a blood is a human thing—God doesn’t have blood. But you see, Jesus is both true man and true God in one person. And so, Jesus’ blood is the blood of God. The blood of Jesus, is like iron on fire, or it is like liquid metal that is red with fire. Jesus didn’t bring his blood from heaven with him—he got it from his mother’s womb. But because Jesus is not just human but also God, St Paul calls his human blood “God’s blood.” Isn’t this an amazing thing?

Now, let’s go through the Apostle’s Creed, and ask the question: Who was it here? Was it Jesus the man, or Jesus who is God? It says: he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Who was conceived? Man or God? Both. He was born of the Virgin Mary. Man or God? Both. He suffered under Pontius Pilate. Who suffered? Man or God? Both. He was crucified, dead and buried. Man or God? Both. He descended into hell. Man or God? Both. On the third day, he rose again from the dead. Who rose? Man or God? Both. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from thence he will come to judge the living and the dead. Who ascended? Who sits at God’s right hand? Who will come to judge? Man or God? Both. The answer is always both, because there is only one Jesus who is your Saviour, your Redeemer, your Mediator, your Advocate. There is only one Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But this Jesus is both man and God. He is always like the iron and fire working together. The fire never switches off, so that the iron goes cold, and never burns up the iron so that he is just like a naked flame. The two are always together. He is always both true God and true man.

What this also means is that because he is true God, Jesus human body is given particularly special gifts and qualities. Jesus’ human body does supernatural things and things that human bodies wouldn’t normally do. We read before that at the transfiguration, Jesus’ face and body and clothes shone with divine light. When Paul was travelling on the road to Damascus, Jesus came and met him. We read a light shone around him, and this light was so bright that Paul couldn’t see anything for three days. But it was Jesus who spoke to him, saying: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

In John 6, Jesus teaches the people: I am the bread of life. And he says: The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Normally, nobody’s flesh gives life to anything. But Jesus’ flesh is empowered and glorified and transfigured by the fact that he is also true God, and so his flesh gives life. His flesh is God’s flesh. When his flesh touches someone, it is God who touches them.

This is also very important when we talk about the Lord’s Supper, because Jesus says: This is my body. This is my blood. Many people don’t believe that Jesus can give his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, because people think that it’s impossible that human flesh and human blood can actually be in many different churches all around the world at the same time. But Jesus’ body and blood is not the body and blood of simply just anyone. Jesus is also true God, and so the fact that Jesus is also true God means that he can enable his body and blood to be in places and to do things that everyone else’s body and blood can’t be and can’t do. Remember this is the same body that walked on water. This is the same body that walked through closed doors to visit the disciples on Easter Sunday night. But at the end of the day, we can explain things all we want: the reality is, that if Jesus is God, and he says: This is my body and blood, he can cause his body and blood to be wherever he wants it to be and to do whatever he wants it to do, just because he said it. That’s the power of his word, and his word created the world.

So as we prepare for Christmas in a few years, and as Advent draws to a close, let’s thank our Jesus for entering into the world as one of us, and for living a life among sinners like us. And even though Jesus died for us as our Saviour, and is our human brother, he also made the most powerful sacrifice that could be sacrificed, because he is also true God. And so at the end of your life and at the end of the world when you meet your Saviour, a real human being just like you, and you see the wounds in his hands and feet, you can say together with Thomas: You are my Lord and my God! Amen.

Midweek Advent Service II [Humanity of Christ] (13-Dec-2017)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 5.15pm.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus says: See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. (Luke 24:39)

Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Tonight we’re following on from where we left off last week, and continuing our series of three midweek services about Jesus. Last week, we were particularly looking at the fact that Jesus is true God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Tonight we’re going to be looking at Jesus’ humanity, or we might say, his human nature. Next, we’re going to talk about the fact that Christ is one person, and how his divinity and humanity are united in one person.

Let’s read the summary of this in Luther’s Small Catechism: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. Last week we were looking at the fact that Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. And so this week, we’re going to focus on the fact that Jesus is true man, born of the Virgin Mary.

Last week, we were looking at a verse in the book of Hebrews, chapter 1, which spoke of Jesus as truly God. It says that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Now what we believe as Christians is that this Son of God, who existed right from the beginning of time—in fact, before that: who existed from eternity—took on human flesh, and a human body, and human nature. He took on something that he didn’t have before, and joined himself to it. One of the most well-known passages that we have about this is where it says in the first chapter of John: The Word became flesh. This action where the Son of God took on human nature is what we call the incarnation. The word incarnation means taking on flesh. This is what we mean when we say in the Creed on Sundays that he was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

In Hebrews, chapter 2, we also read a couple of other things about this. It says: Since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things. It says that human beings, like you and me, share in flesh and blood. And Jesus partook of the same things. Jesus partook of something that he had never partaken of before—he shared in flesh and blood. Also, it says in Hebrew 2:16, that it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. That word “helps” can also mean that “he took on their nature”. We might say that Jesus did not take on the nature of the angels, but he took on the offspring of Abraham. And so, these verses clearly state that on one hand, Jesus took on flesh and blood, partook of these things, and shared these things, and did not become an angel.

Another passage from the book of Hebrews which tells us about Jesus’ human nature is in chapter 4:15, where it says: We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. This little verse has all kinds of wonderful things in it, but I’d like to focus on one part of it, where is says that Jesus is one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. What this means is that when the Son of God took on a human nature, he took on everything about us. But there was one thing he didn’t take on and that was sin. But then even though Jesus was not a sinner, he lived with the full effects of sin, and suffered the punishment for sin, and atoned and died for sin. And so, last week we were talking about how Jesus is just like God the Father. This week, we are talking about how Jesus is just like us.

For the rest of our sermon tonight, we’re going to look at all kinds of different aspects of what it means to be a human being, and how Jesus took on all these things in becoming a man.

The first thing we’re going to look at is that fact that Jesus had a family tree. Every human being on this earth has a family, and we all have parents and ancestors. Jesus, as a true human being, also had a family and a family tree. In fact, if you open up the beginning of the New Testament, at Matthew chapter 1, this is the first thing we are confronted with: Jesus’ family tree. We read: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Jesus’ family tree is traced all the way back to David, and all the way back even to Abraham. In Luke, Jesus’ family tree is traced all the way back to Adam. So, like all humans, Jesus is a descendant of Adam. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, God says to the serpent: I will put enmity between and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. There is a wonderful prophecy here of Jesus that says that the woman’s offspring will crush the devil’s head—and this is exactly what Jesus did when he died for the sin of the world. But it is important to remember that Jesus is Eve’s offspring, and so is a true human being just like everyone else.

But also, Jesus is called a descendant of Abraham, and a descended of David. There are many passages where Jesus is called the son of David, and David’s offspring. We could look at many passages about this, but let’s leave it here, that Jesus like all members of the human race has a family and a family tree.

Now, Jesus also became a human being in such a way that he took on every stage of life that everyone goes through, until his death. So Jesus did not simply enter the world at age 30 when he was baptised. Instead, he entered his mother’s womb at his conception, and took on human life as a tiniest little human embryo. He grew in his mother’s womb, just like every child, until the time of his birth, and he was born as a normal baby. He grew from being a baby and into a toddler and into a young child and became a teenager and a young man and reached adulthood. This is a wonderful thing to think about, because we can see that in all these stages of life, that Jesus went through exactly what we have gone through.

So right from the beginning of his human life on this earth, Jesus is called that which is conceived in [Mary]. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and had God the Father as his true Father. But Jesus was also conceived in the Virgin Mary’s womb, and took his flesh from her flesh, and had Mary as his true mother. When the angel Gabriel went to Mary, he said: You will conceive in your womb. We learn here as well that conception is part of what it means to be human. Some people today in wanting to justify the practice of abortion say that a child is not really a child until it’s at a certain stage: until it’s heart beats, or until it looks like a baby, or until it can feel. But we know here that when Jesus was conceived, this was the beginning of his incarnation, and the beginning of his human life. This was where he entered in the world. And so, just as we were conceived in our mother’s womb, so also Jesus became like us, and was conceived in his mother’s womb. The only difference with Jesus is that he had no human father and that his mother was a virgin.

Like all of us, Jesus was not only conceived but he was also born. The angel Gabriel said to Mary: You will… bear a son. And like every baby, when he was born he was given a name: You shall call his name Jesus. In Luke 2, we read: And while they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for [Mary] to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Later, we also read that Jesus was a boy. We read about him going into the temple and talking with the teachers there and asking them questions. And we read: Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man. We can see here, that Jesus grew, like all human children. He grew in wisdom, but he also grew in stature. He grew taller—he was a real young growing lad, just like every other young growing lad in this world. And of course, we read about him mostly when he was an adult.

Now there are also a couple of interesting passages that I’d like to mention. Firstly, let’s read Philippians chapter 2:7, where it says that Jesus took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being in human form, he humbled himself… Also, in Romans 8:3, it says that God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. In these passages, it says that Jesus was in the form of a servant, that he was in human form. And that he was born in the likeness of men, in the likeness of sinful flesh. Now sometimes when we hear the words “form” or “likeness”, we might think: Maybe Jesus wasn’t really a true human being, but he just had the appearance of one, or he just looked like one. Maybe he was just had human form or likeness, but that he wasn’t really a true man. Now, this is not what the bible means when it uses these words. When it says that Jesus had human form, and human likeness, it means that he was a truly human. Let’s have a look at a couple more passages which back this up.

It’s very important that we realise that Jesus was a true man, and not some kind of spirit that looked like a man. Sometimes people have visions or apparitions and they are so real, that they think it looks like someone is standing before them. There are a couple of places in the bible, where the disciples had to learn that Jesus was not a spirit or a ghost, but a true man with real flesh and blood. One of these instances was when Jesus walked on the water. We read in Matthew 14 that the disciples were in a boat and there was a storm. We read: In the fourth watch of the night [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. Do you see here that the disciples thought they could see a ghost, or maybe we would say a spirit, or an apparition, or a vision. Many people who take hallucinogenic drugs or who practice Eastern forms of meditation sometimes go into their minds and think that they can see real spiritual beings. Now let’s see what Jesus has to say about this. We read: But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” The disciples say: It is a ghost, but Jesus contradicts them and says: It is I. It’s me! I’m not a ghost.

Also, after Jesus’ resurrection, it was also important for Jesus to demonstrate that he was really him, and that it was his true human body that was standing before them. There are many false preachers in the world today who believe that Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead. If he didn’t rise from the dead, then they can only worship his ghost. Instead of worshipping the living Son of God who sends the living Holy Spirit, they are worshipping a dead Jesus with a dead spirit. They turn the church of the living God, into a religion of the dead, or a kind of séance. So when Jesus rose from the dead, Thomas wanted to be absolutely sure that it was him, and said: Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. And then what happened? Jesus came to Thomas and said: Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. This was real—Jesus showed to Thomas his real human body, with the real wounds and scars still there. Jesus wanted to demonstrate to him that he was a real man, and not a spirit or a ghost.

But also, we read in Luke, after Jesus rose from the dead that they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a…what? A spirit. Now let’s look at how Jesus contradicts this idea. We read: And [Jesus] said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Jesus says that to think that I am a spirit and not a real man is doubt. Then he says: See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. This is as if to say: If you touch me, you will see that your hand won’t pass through me like air. Jesus says: For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And as if that weren’t enough, Jesus wants to show them further that he is a true human being, and not a spirit. We read: And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They have him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. The fact that Jesus eats a piece of fish shows to the disciples that he is not a spirit, but a true man.

So we can see that Jesus had real flesh, real bones, real wounds, real scars, and ate real food. Also, just like all of us, Jesus really got tired, and slept, and woke up again! We read in Mark chapter 4, where the disciples were in the boat and Jesus calmed the storm. It says: A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. Yes, even Jesus need to take a nap, just like all of us!

Now, we’ve talked a lot about the physical aspects to being a human being. But humans are created by God not just as a body, but we also have a soul. Did Jesus have a human soul? Let’s look at a few passages. In John 12, we read about after Jesus had rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday where he is talking to his disciples and says: Now is my soul troubled. Jesus speaks here about his own soul. Later on, we read where Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and we read that he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” This is a wonderful passage, where Jesus talks about his soul again. I remember studying this passage once, and on the following Sunday, a man came to me at the church door and said: “Pastor, I’ve been feeling really depressed.” And I said to him, “Just like Jesus, hey?” And he said, “What?” And I quoted to him where Jesus says: “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” He went away quite encouraged, because he realised that Jesus had been through something similar to what he had been through.

But also, we read when Lazarus had died and he went out to the tomb, we see another reference to his soul, where it says: When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. Even we read that he shared in their grief and their emotions, where it says: Jesus wept. These two verses are the shortest verse in the whole bible, but what a wonderful way in which it shows the depth of Jesus’ human nature. So we read in these passages, which are about sorrow and trouble and grief, that Jesus had a true human soul.

What about his will? Did Jesus have a human will? In John 5:30, we read that Jesus says: I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. Also, once again in the Garden of Gethsemane, we read where Jesus was praying and he says: My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. You can see here from the fact that Jesus submits himself to his Father’s will, means that he also has a true human will, just like us.

We could go on, and talk about all the passages about Jesus’ suffering, which shows how he experienced true pain, and truly suffered. He received real whippings which had the normal effect on him that it would have on us, real beatings, real nails were nails were nailed through his real hands, a real spear was shoved into his real side. The most important thing we believe here is that he shed real blood. Let’s leave it here for now, but we there are so many other passages we could look at that demonstrate that Jesus is true man.

Let’s ask the question though—what difference does it make? So what that Jesus is true man? Well, we are humans, and when Jesus became a true man, he became just like. He is a perfect mediator between God and man, because he has entered into the depths of human existence. He is our brother, and he is just like us. He is flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. He is our Redeemer, and he has delivered us with the price of his own blood, and his own death. And what a wonderful thing it is to know that we have a high priest, and a helper, and a Saviour, who is not unable to sympathise with us in our weakness, but who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. What a wonderful comfort this is for sinful human beings like us! What a wonderful thing that Jesus entered into this world and took on our human flesh, our human sufferings, our human problems, our human sorrows and griefs, and died for all of it! Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for taking on human flesh, for partaking of flesh and blood, and for being made in the likeness of human flesh. Amen.