This is my last sermon in this series. May the dear Lord Jesus, our God, be glorified in it.
Amen. The Book of Jude for Lenten Repentance Good Friday To the Only God, our Savior Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Tonight Jude speaks praise to God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen Dear Christian friends, We should not get the wrong impression when Jude speaks praise to “the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We might draw the disastrous conclusion that, because Jude praises “the only God THROUGH Jesus,” therefore Jesus must not be God. We should NOT think from Jude’s Words that “Jesus Christ our Lord” is not also “the only God, our Savior.” Jude is doing a very important thing for us when He praises “the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” With these Words, Jude draws our attention to the human nature and body of our Lord. Stated somewhat differently: • Jude is NOT denying that Jesus Christ is “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father” (Nicene Creed). Jude is NOT denying these things. • Jude is simply turning our eyes and our ears toward Jesus Christ, “who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried” (Nicene Creed). I cannot emphasize this enough, and none of us is able to study this too closely or ponder it too deeply: whenever the Scriptures sound as though Jesus is less than God—as it sounds in tonight’s reading, where Jude praises “the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord”—whenever the Scriptures make it sound as though Jesus is less than God, we should take it as a hint and clue that Jesus’ HUMANITY is being discussed. As our fathers confessed before us, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man. He is God… equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity (Athanasian Creed). “… less than the Father with respect to His humanity”: That is the sort of image Jude brings to mind for us tonight, when he praises “the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” With these Words, Jude is not denying the divinity of God the Son. Rather, with these Words, Jude is: • Pointing to “Jesus Christ our Lord” as the ONE and ONLY pipeline and hallway through which we may even dare to draw near and speak to God. Jesus is the one through whom we fearlessly ascribe to God “glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.” Jesus’ humanity, His body, and Hus blood make it possible for us to speak to God without fear. This is because Jesus GAVE His humanity and His body and His blood upon the cross for us and for our salvation, richly forgiving all our sins and removing God’s wrath from above our heads. Trust Jesus’ body! Depend upon His blood! • Emphasizing that God the Father still works through Jesus Christ our Lord “to keep you from stumbling” on account of “certain people [who] have crept in unnoticed,” as Jude warns at the beginning of his letter. Jesus’ body and Jesus’ blood will protect you from those “who pervert the grace of God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ [Himself].” Stated another way, Jesus’ body and blood are what God has used to build a strong wall and sturdy support for you, in order to “keep you from stumbling.” Rely upon Jesus’ body! Hope in His blood! • Also emphasizing that Jesus Christ’s Body and Blood now keep you continually blameless, even when you inevitably find yourself guilty of sin. It is “through Jesus Christ our Lord”—in particular, it is through His human body nailed to the cross and through His blood poured out for many—that God will “present you blameless before the presence of His great glory with great joy.” Rejoice in Jesus’ body. Sing praise to God on account of Jesus’ blood! When you do, you add your voice to Jude’s voice, who praises “the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jude speaks about Jesus, born of Mary; Jesus, who suffered under Pontius Pilate; Jesus who hangs on the cross, suspended there in order to display for us God’s greatest “glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
