“Eternal Life Flows Forth from the Crucified Christ,
Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit Are One God.”
In the name of the Holy Trinity—the Father and the X Son and the
Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
Dear fellow confessors of and believers in the Holy Trinity,
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
[Amen.]
“We know that Christ is raised and dies no more.
Embraced by death, He broke its fearful hold;
And our despair He turned to blazing joy.
Alleluia!”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
603:1)
Gospel
Reading..........................................................................................
St. John 3:13-15
13”No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the
Son of Man. 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal
life.”
Prologue: It’s been said that “A man walking along a narrow
ledge on a mountain has only one chance of safety. He must not look at his
feet or at the yawning gulf beneath into which his dizziness will hurl him
if he gazes down. He must look onward and upward. Look onward and upward
at Christ and not at the waves, as Peter did. If you turn your eyes away
from Him and fasten them on your troubles and afflictions, down you will be
sure to go.” (Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations. Compiled by David F.
Burgess. Copyright © 1988 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page
80.)
A few minutes ago we declared: “And in this Trinity none is before
or after another; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three
persons are coeternal together and coequal, so that in all things, as is
aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be
worshiped.” Shortly thereafter we confessed that Christ “suffered for our
salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He
ascended into heaven, He sits at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty,
from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.” In addition,
our church body’s theme for this year of the 500th anniversary of The
Reformation is “It’s Still All about Jesus!” as boldly proclaimed by the
beautiful banners hanging on the light poles in our church and school
parking lots.
Those three items may seem to contradict one another at least a
little bit. But that’s not the case at all! In fact, all three Persons of
the Holy Trinity are, indeed, equal; that is, no one Person is more or less
important, significant, or meaningful than another. Also the three Persons
of the Trinity work not in competition but in concert with each other. That
is, the Father sent the Son to atone for our sins and redeem us from sin,
Satan, and eternal damnation with His holy life, innocent suffering,
crucifixion death, and majestic resurrection from the dead. The Holy Spirit
testifies that the Son is the Redeemer of mankind and gives us faith to
cling to Jesus as Lord and Savior all in and through God’s Holy Word, Holy
Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. And the holy Son of God
humbled Himself and became obedient to the Father’s crucifixion
death-penalty for mankind’s sins and sent the Holy Spirit to comfort and
console us during His physical absence.
Today’s Gospel Reading reveals that the bottom line of it all,
therefore, is that …
“Eternal Life Flows Forth from the Crucified Christ,
Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit Are One God.”
In 1535 the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther began his sermon on
today’s Gospel Reading by saying (of course, in the German language): “Now
if this article seems foolish, what do I care? For if criticism were in
order, I, too, would be able to offer it very well, better, in fact, than
any Turk [his term for Muslim] or Jew. But I thank my God, who has given me
the grace not to dispute about the truth and reasonableness of this article.
Since I see that it is so distinctly contained and grounded in Scripture, I
believe God more than my own thoughts and reason and do not worry about how
it can possibly be true that there is only one Essence and yet that there
are three distinct Persons in this one Essence: God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost. To argue about the truth of this doctrine is out of
place. To determine whether this doctrine is grounded in God’s Word is
indeed in place. If it is God’s Word, do not be frightened. God will not
lie.” (What Luther Says: An Anthology. Compiled by Ewald M. Plass. Volume
III, Prayers-Zeal. Copyright © 1959 by Concordia Publishing House, Saint
Louis, Missouri. Pages 1388f.) The apostle Paul summarized all that in
today’s Epistle Reading: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable
his ways! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him
be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:33 & 36 ESV)
So, if you really want to know more about God (and certainly all
Christians have that desire) then do this: …
I. Seek Knowledge about God from Jesus, Who with the Father and the
Holy Spirit Are One God. (1-8)
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you
are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do
unless God is with him.” 3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4Nicodemus said
to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time
into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say
to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You
must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its
sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is
with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
In his apparent desire to know the only true God Nicodemus did the
right thing … He came to Jesus and conversed with Him. He acknowledged
Jesus’ divine nature (that He is truly God) and based on that foundation
intently listened to and sought clarification about the “born again”
mystery. Jesus proceeded to reveal to Nicodemus the Holy Spirit and His
work of reviving hearts that are dead because of sin. In so doing, Jesus
introduced Nicodemus to the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Baptism that consists
of the application of “water included in God’s command and combined with God’s
word.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 1991
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 204.) For in that sacred
sacramental washing, the Holy Spirit gives the good gifts of forgiveness of
sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation (Ibid. Pages
209f.) as well as the necessary faith in Jesus which receives those gifts
and personally embraces them.
With just a few questions and answers, Jesus catechized Nicodemus
in the one true faith. But he was not yet fully satisfied. His finite mind
desired but was not able to grasp the infinite instruction that can be
grasped only by Spirit-given faith. Sin-stained human reason and
understanding simply cannot fathom that which is higher, deeper, and wider
than, well, human reason and understanding themselves. So, what followed
was the desire of Nicodemus to …
II. Seek Clarification of That Knowledge about God from Jesus, Who with
the Father and the Holy Spirit Are One God. (9-12)
9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him,
“Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to
what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told
you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you
heavenly things?
“Survey data is often relied on to note or to forecast a trend.
Politicians rely on polls and samplings to get a feel of where they stand
with the voting public. But the data is not absolute. It can be misread or
misinterpreted. A good example of this is the story of the lioness and the
fox in a little book called Aesop Without Morals. The fox keeps chiding and
belittling the lioness because she can produce only one cub at a birth. The
lioness replies, ‘Yes, this may be so, but remember, it is a lion.’ The fox
failed to read this simple bit of data correctly. He failed to grasp the
impact of what it means to be a lion.” (Encyclopedia of Sermon
Illustrations. Page 204.)
Jesus had given Nicodemus a fairly large amount of newfound
information about spiritual matters in a relatively small amount of time.
It was understandably difficult for him to correctly process all of it. So
he did the appropriate thing … instead of relying on his own reason and
understanding, he sought further clarification. And Jesus accommodated his
request.
But His accommodation was not necessarily pleasant. In fact, it
was stinging! Jesus applied Law to Nicodemus with His rebuke and accusation
in order to further emphasize to him his spiritual depravity and need for
spiritual awakening. Donald Guthrie wrote the following about his
situation: “Nicodemus was given illustrations from ‘earthly things,’ from
the process of birth and the blowing of the wind; if he was still baffled,
what hope was there for him to understand ‘heavenly things’? Nevertheless,
Jesus proceeded to speak of heavenly things, but it is noticeable that from
this point on the dialogue becomes a monologue. That Nicodemus had no more
to say suggests perhaps that he did not understand, or that he was deep in
thought,—the beginning of the process that led him to believe in Jesus (cf.
John 7:50; 19:39).” (Donald Guthrie in Jesus the Messiah: An Illustrated
Life of Christ. Copyright © 1972 by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand
Rapids, MI. Page 59.)
In like manner, we must never be so self-deceived as to think that
we know all that there is to be known about heavenly things. Our knowledge
and understanding fall far short of what would be necessary if our salvation
rested on what we know and understand. It’s for that reason that “God so
loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life” (St John 3:16 ESV) and “By grace
you have been saved through faith.” (Eph 2:8 ESV) It’s for that reason that
we be faithful in reading, marking, studying, and learning God’s Holy Word,
that the Holy Spirit inspired and reveals the Father’s will for us and that
Jesus Christ rescued, redeemed, and saved us to “be His own and live under
Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence,
and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all
eternity.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Pages 119f.)
So on this, our annual focused emphasis on the Holy Trinity, today’s
Introit reminds us: “Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity.
Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mercy to us.” (Liturgical
Text) as well as today’s Gradual: “Blessèd are You, O Lord, who beholds the
deep, and who dwells between the cherubim. Blessèd are You, O Lord, in the
firmament of heaven, and greatly to be praised forever.” (Liturgical Text)
Let us do so because …
“Eternal Life Flows Forth from the Crucified Christ,
Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit Are One God.”
Today’s Old Testament reading prophesied that redemption
accomplished by Jesus: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled
the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he
covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!’ 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.’” (Is 6:1-3, 6-7
ESV)
So let us ever vigilantly …
I. Seek Greater Knowledge about God from Jesus, Who With the Father and
the Holy Spirit Are One God. (1-8)
and …
II. Seek Clarification of That Greater Knowledge about God from Jesus,
Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit Are One God. (9-12)
As we do so, may we faithfully pray what was included in today’s
Collect: “Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all
adversities.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Holy Trinity—the Father and the X Son and the
Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
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