“God’s Gracious Gospel Promise Assures Us of His Heavenly Rest”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear fellow weary and in-need-of-rest saints, grace, mercy, and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord [Amen.]
“O day of rest and gladness, O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness, Most beautiful, most bright;
This day the high and lowly, Through ages joined to bless,
Sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy,’ The triune God confess.
“That light our hope sustaining, We walk the pilgrim way,
At length our rest attaining, Our endless Sabbath day.
We sing to Thee our praises, O Father, Spirit, Son;
The Church her voice upraises To The, blest Three in One.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
906:1 & 4)
Epistle Reading..................................................... Hebrews
4:1-13 [14-16] (esp. 1, 11-13)
1Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear
lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 11Let us therefore
strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of
disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints
and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to
the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Prologue: “Rest implies cessation from work, a laying down of
that which tires. So also with the heavenly rest that Christ brings and to
which he leads. ‘Anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work,’
… .” (Richard E. Lauersdorf in People’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews.
Copyright © 1992 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 58.)
When I Googled “sleep” on the internet, up popped these three
items among a host of others:
#1. “… most healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to
function at their best. Children and teens need even more. And … most
older people still need at least 7 hours of sleep.” However,
#2. “Technically, five hours of sleep is enough to function. ... The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services recommends the average adult clock
in seven to eight hours of sleep per night, but for some people, less is
apparently more.” At the same time, #3. “Too much sleep on a regular basis
can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and death … . Too
much is defined as greater than nine hours.”
Then when I next Googled “sleep deprivation” up popped the
following three items among many others:
#1. “Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep. It can
be either chronic or acute.” In addition,
#2. “… the average adult sleeps less than seven hours per night. … six or
seven hours of sleep may sound pretty good. In reality, though, it's a
recipe for chronic sleep deprivation.” And finally,
#3. “An occasional night without sleep … won't harm your health. ... If it
continues, lack of sleep can affect your overall health and make you prone
to serious medical conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, high blood
pressure and diabetes.”
Well, that should certainly serve as a (are you ready for this?) …
wake-up call especially for us who regularly neglect the amount of sleepful
rest that we need for good health and vitality. It does so by emphasizing
the need for adequate sleepful rest that aids our bodies in having those
qualities.
Speaking about rest, our Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s newest
Catechism contains the following important items in the context of The Third
Commandment:
1st “God invites us to rest, reflect on His Word, and receive His
forgiveness in order to strengthen our faith in Him.”
2nd “In the Old Testament, God set aside the seventh day (Saturday) as a day
of rest for His people to worship and to ponder A. the power and goodness of
God in His work of creation; [and] B. the graciousness of God’s work of
redemption.”
3rd Some features of the Sabbath in the Old Testament include “A. The
Sabbath provided time for physical rest.” And, “B. The Sabbath provided
time for spiritual rest through worship, fellowship, and devotion to God’s
Word and promises.” Finally,
4th “Rest was part of the rhythm that God put in place for His Old Testament
Church. On every seventh day (Saturday), people and animals rested from
their work. Every seventh year, the land was to rest from planting and
harvest. Every fiftieth year (the years after seven times seven years), all
debts were canceled.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright
© Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 74f.)
Well, as you probably already realize, today’s sermon text (the
Epistle Reading) is peppered with references to “rest.” That’s an alert to
whomever hears and/or reads it that “rest” is an important topic. Our task
is to faithfully, prayerfully, and contextually study this text to determine
why or what is that “rest” and why is it so important. As we do so, let’s
keep in mind that …
“God’s Gracious Gospel Promise Assures Us of His Heavenly Rest.”
And with that overall emphasis in mind, we first of all turn our attention
to the fact that …
I. It’s Still All About Jesus, In and Through Whom We Have Eternal
Rest! (2-5)
2For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did
not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who
listened. 3For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I
swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were
finished from the foundation of the world. 4For he has somewhere spoken of
the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his
works.” 5And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”
For these Sundays after Pentecost in October and November, except
the ones when there’s a festival celebration like Reformation next Sunday,
All Saints’ Day the following Sunday, and the Last Sunday in the Church Year
on November 25, the Epistle Readings are from the book of Hebrews. It’s
unique in that its author is unknown. But its purpose is very clear: “To
exhort the brothers [fellow Christians] … that Christ is their High Priest
and all-sufficient sacrifice for sin.” (The Lutheran Study Bible, English
Standard Version. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis,
MO. Page 2102.)
Martin Luther studiously determined: “… it is certain that Christ
himself is the sacrifice—indeed even the altar [Heb. 13:10]—who sacrificed
himself with his own blood.” That is, “our high priest, Christ, by his own
sacrifice and blood, has taken away … that which in its very nature is sin.
He has gone in once for all … to God to make atonement for us [Heb. 9:12].
Thus you should apply to Christ personally, and to no one else, all that is
written about the high priest.” (Ibid.)
Hey! That simply means that it’s all about Jesus, who is at the
same time fully divine and fully human; who “came … to give His life as a
ransom for many” (St Mark 10:45 ESV); who “redeemed us from the curse of
the” (Gal 4:4-5 ESV); who “Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree”
(1 Pet 2:24 ESV); who “died for all” (2 Cor 5:15 ESV); through whom “we have
also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand,” (Rom 5:2
ESV); and who “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but
also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2 ESV). That gracious and
precious rest that was foretold to the Old Testament Israelites and came to
pass in the New Testament Savior is the threefold gifts of forgiveness of
our sins, healing of our sin-ravaged souls, and the certain assurance of
eternal life with Jesus in heaven.
It’s the rest that “God’s people missed … in the Promised Land
through their unbelief.” And now “God calls us to trust Him and to enter
into the rest that He has enjoyed since the completion of creation. In
Christ Jesus, we have rest from the accusation of the Law. The Holy Spirit
leads us to trust in Christ, granting us everlasting peace.” (The Lutheran
Study Bible. Page 2109.) In other words, …
II. God’s Wonderful Eternal Rest Awaits All Who Believe In Jesus. (6-10)
6Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly
received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7again he
appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in
the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your
hearts.” 8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of
another day later on. 9So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people
of God, 10for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works
as God did from his.
Here I remind us of two prominent proof texts at least one of
which should be readily recognized: “For 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 “For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God …”
(Eph 2:8 ESV).
Note well the important role of belief or faith, both of which are
the same thing, namely, confidence in and reliance on Jesus alone for
spiritual rest. Jesus did the work necessary for our spiritual rest and the
Holy Spirit gives it to us through the funnel of faith … which He also gives
us in our Baptism through God’s Holy Word, that’s “living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of
spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions
of the heart” (Heb 4:12 ESV). And that brings us back to where we began,
namely, the topic of “rest” and its related issue, sleep. In fact, we read
in today’s Old Testament Reading: “Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether
he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him
sleep.” (Eccl 5:12 ESV)
So, is God’s attribute of “just” a frightful, terrifying thing?
Are we afraid of His perfect fairness and impartiality? If so, well, let’s
strike it up to His law doing its intended job of convicting us of being
sinners who deserve to be condemned to the tormentuous fires of hell.
However, God gives us evidence of His attributes of mercy and grace when in
today’s Gradual we received the promise: “He will command his angels
concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Ps 91:11 ESV) and in today’s
Introit the comfort: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the
crushed in spirit. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and
delivers them out of all their troubles” (Ps 34:18, 17 ESV). That is, …
“God’s Gracious Gospel Promise Assures Us of His Heavenly Rest.”
And God makes His nearness and assurance real in the reading and hearing of
His Holy Word, the Blessed Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion,
and the declaration of Holy Absolution. In those blessed means of grace God
reminds us that …
I. It’s Still All About Jesus, In and Through Whom We Have Eternal
Rest! (2-5) and reassures us that …
II. God’s Wonderful Eternal Rest Awaits All Who Believe In Jesus. (6-10)
Do Satan, the world, and our own sinful flesh still needle us with
doubts and misgivings? Then pray that portion of today’s Collect that will
say: “Put away from us all things hurtful and give us those things that are
beneficial for us.” At the same time, let’s receive strengthening of our
faith with what we heard in today’s Gospel Reading: “But Jesus said to them
again, ‘Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person
to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were exceedingly astonished, and
said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With
man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with
God.’” (St. Mark 10:24b-27 ESV)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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