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The testimony of the Spirit, the apostles, and all Christians

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Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension

1 Peter 4:7-11  +  John 15:26-16:4

On Thursday, we heard the promise Jesus made to His apostles just before He was taken up into heaven. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. The promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit was a promise that Jesus repeated over and over again to His apostles, beginning on Maundy Thursday, as you heard in the Gospel. So it was also with the instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples just before He ascended into heaven: And you will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. That was also something that Jesus repeated on various occasions and in various ways. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Go and make disciples of all nations. The Spirit’s testimony was promised; the apostles’ testimony was foretold. The salvation of sinners, the entire building of the New Testament Church, hinged on that twofold testimony, a testimony that still goes out into the world today, through those who have believed the testimony of the Spirit and of the apostles. That’s you and I, isn’t it? But there is also a warning label attached to this testimony. So let’s dig into this testimony a little bit and receive the Lord’s teaching about it.

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.

One of our members recently asked why our lectionary seems to be jumping around John’s Gospel, out of order, during these weeks after Easter. The answer is that, the further away from Easter and the closer to Pentecost we get, the more the readings focus on the coming of the Holy Spirit. And that makes sense. Because, for as vitally important as Jesus’ resurrection is for our salvation, the work of the Holy Spirit is what brings the truth of Jesus’ resurrection to the world for this entire New Testament period. That’s why Jesus calls Him the “Spirit of truth.” He testifies to the truth. “He will testify about Me,” Jesus says. The Spirit’s testimony is the truth about Jesus. As the Spirit who proceeds from the Father, as the Spirit whom Jesus sends into the world, the Holy Spirit knows and has witnessed the whole truth about God, and about God’s plan of salvation, which centers on Jesus. And so, after Jesus’ ascension, the testimony of the Spirit would be God’s gift to the apostles, to the Church, and, by extension, to the world.

How would the Spirit of truth testify about Jesus? He would do it in three ways. First, He would testify through the signs and wonders that happened on the Day of Pentecost and that were seen here and there among the Christians of the first century. The miraculous ability to speak in foreign languages, special visions, prophecies about the future, healing miracles, things like that. The Spirit would be responsible for all those outward signs, testifying to the truth that the Gospel of Jesus, preached by the apostles, was true.

There is a second testimony of the Spirit, in the hearts and minds of the apostles, enabling them to teach (and to write!) about Jesus accurately. The Spirit of truth, who understands the truth about Jesus perfectly, guided the apostles into all truth, just as Jesus said He would do. He also emboldened them to preach the Gospel of Jesus with Spirit-worked courage and conviction—just as He had done, by the way, with the Old Testament prophets, as Peter writes: the Spirit of Christ who was in [the prophets] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

Then there is the testimony of the Spirit in the hearts of the hearers of the Gospel as He works through the preaching of the Word, enabling the hearers to both believe and understand the Gospel of Jesus, that Jesus truly is the Christ, the Son of the living God, that He truly died as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, and that He is the one Mediator between God and Man, who reconciles sinners to God through faith in His name. As Paul writes, No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. And again, The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, enabling us to cry out to God as our dear Father.

But the Spirit’s testimony is always, always connected to the testimony of man’s preaching. As Jesus says in our Gospel, And you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. Peter’s preaching, His eyewitness testimony, was the main event of Pentecost. The preaching of the Gospel of Christ was the main event at the house of Cornelius, too, where Peter preached, and then the Holy Spirit testified with miraculous signs, showing that Christ’s salvation was also for the Gentiles.

But notice, these words aren’t spoken directly to all people, or to all Christians. They’re spoken to the apostles who were, as Jesus says, “with Me from the beginning.” The apostles were the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, of His teaching, of His demeanor, of His attitude, of His suffering, death, and resurrection. Theirs and theirs alone is the eyewitness testimony. The rest of the Church is built on that initial, first-century testimony.

You and I are not called by Jesus to “testify” in the same sense, to the same things, because we aren’t eyewitnesses of those things. What we are witnesses of, the testimony we can provide, is the testimony we have received from the Spirit, through the apostles. We can testify to the faith that has been given in that testimony. We can and should tell the world that we have been convinced that the apostles’ testimony is true, and that Jesus is risen, and reigning, and returning. That’s a testimony we give in the world with our words. And it’s also a testimony we give with how we live our lives. But when we invite people to church, when we invite people to know the Lord Jesus, we’re not inviting them to come and hear our personal testimony. We’re inviting them to come and hear the testimony of the Holy Spirit, through the testimony of the apostles (and prophets), because, by the work of the Holy Spirit, we have been convinced that this testimony is true.

But as the apostles were about to go out and testify before the world, Jesus wasn’t about to deceive them. He told them plainly what would happen as the result of their testimony. And what He told them wasn’t pleasant.

They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming, when whoever kills you will think he is rendering service to God. They will do these things because they have not known the Father nor Me.

Jesus knew that the majority of the Jews would not believe the Spirit’s testimony, or the testimony of the apostles. He knew that the Sanhedrin would haul them off to prison and beat them. He knew that Stephen would be stoned to death by the Jews, that James would be put to death by Herod’s sword, and that His apostles, and His Christians in general, would face opposition and persecution by the hands of both Jews and Gentiles. And maybe the most bitter pill to swallow was the fact that they would do it in the name of “service to God.” They would think that God wanted them to put these Christians to death. Why? Because even though they claimed to believe in the God of Israel, their actual god was a false god. Because, as Jesus says, They have not known the Father, nor Me.

And yet, the apostles, knowing the hardships and the suffering that lay ahead of them, still waited for the promised Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended into heaven, still testified in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, still went into all the world and preached the Gospel to every creature, because they had the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus is Lord, and that, even though they would die for that testimony, they would receive a greater prize in eternal life.

Now, you and I won’t be put out of any synagogue, because we don’t attend a Jewish synagogue. But the testimony about Jesus that we believe, the testimony about Jesus that we confess in the world, with our words and with how we live our lives, still draws hatred from Jews and Gentiles alike (if we’re doing it right!), and sometimes even from those who claim to be Christians. What’s popular in the eyes of the world, what seems nice in the eyes of the world, is almost always the wrong way, the wrong thing. So prepare to suffer.

Maybe you remember one of the confirmation questions that our confirmands are always asked to answer: Do you intend to continue steadfast in the confession of this Church, and suffer all, even death, rather than turn away from it? That’s a serious question, and it deserves a serious answer. As Jesus says often in the Gospels, He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

What will the result be if Christians don’t testify to the truth about Jesus, both with our words and with our lives? Well, some Christians will always be out there providing that testimony. You can be sure of that. The Holy Spirit will see to it that the Gospel is never completely silenced in the world. But when other Christians fail to testify, or testify to one thing with their words, but to a different thing with their behavior, then the world, and even other Christians, will be exposed to conflicting testimonies, and that’s always harmful. It’s tragic how many young people have been raised by Christians who only give lip-service to the truth of Christ, but whose lives conflict with what their lips confess, leaving the young Christian susceptible to the false doctrine of those who seem to be more “genuine,” but whose teachings actually lead away from the Lord Jesus. So guard your testimony, both for your own sake and for the sake of those whose lives you touch. Daily repentance, faith in the Lord Jesus, who has rescued you from sin, death, and the devil, and lives that honor Him. Hearing the Word and receiving the Sacraments. Being the same Christians at home and in society that you profess to be here in church. Let these things be your daily concern, your ongoing testimony, if indeed you have received the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

And what will be the result when Christians do give such a testimony? God will be glorified, the name of Jesus will be exalted, and the Church of Christ will be built. And you will suffer, but only for a little while. May the Helper, the Spirit of truth, grant you all the help you need, to believe in the testimony about the Lord Jesus and to confess Him before the world, no matter what the earthly consequences may be. Amen.

 

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The testimony about Jesus and its consequences

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Sermon for Exaudi – the Sunday after Ascension

1 Peter 4:7-11  +  John 15:26-16:4

For forty days the Paschal candle was lit during our services here, until it was extinguished this past Thursday when we celebrated Jesus’ ascension into heaven. As I said after the service, it seems a little strange, not having it lit anymore. Imagine how Jesus’ disciples felt during those strange ten days between Jesus’ Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. It was a strange time of limbo, a time for those 120 Christians to do little else but pray and wait.

The eleven apostles didn’t know how long they’d have to wait, but they knew, more or less, what they were waiting for. They were waiting for the Helper, for the Holy Spirit to come to them. They were waiting for what Jesus’ promised: for the testimony of the Holy Spirit—the testimony about Jesus!—and for the beginning of their testimony, too, and for the terrible consequences of it that Jesus referred to in today’s Gospel. That testimony now belongs to us, to the Church that’s built upon it and that still holds it out to the world. That means that the consequences of the testimony also belong to us. But so does the help of the Helper.

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.

Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit after His ascension. He would send Him “from the Father,” because that’s how it works in the Holy Trinity. The Spirit proceeds from the Father, but also from the Son, as we confess in the Nicene Creed, in the sense that the Son is responsible for sending Him into the world from the Father. The Spirit’s work is to testify. But this is important: Notice what the content of His testimony is: “He will testify about Me.” The Spirit’s testimony is about Jesus. He tells what He has seen and heard about Jesus, and, as a Person of the Holy Trinity, the Spirit knows Jesus perfectly. He testified about Jesus throughout the Old Testament and throughout the New. When He spoke by the prophets in the Old Testament, the focus was always on the coming Christ. Now it’s on the Christ who has come. Any supposed testimony of the Holy Spirit that doesn’t focus on Jesus, or that doesn’t tell the truth about Jesus, isn’t coming from the Holy Spirit, but from an unholy spirit.

How would the Spirit of truth testify about Jesus? He would do it in three ways. First, through signs and wonders and various miracles, starting with the miracles of the Day of Pentecost which we’ll consider next week. It was about Jesus, because those signs were always connected to the apostles’ preaching about Jesus, the message that He was the promised Christ, that He suffered for our sins, that He was raised to life for our justification, that He has ascended on high and reigns over all things at the Father’s right hand, that He will return one day for judgment. This outward testimony of the Spirit was important as the apostles began to spread the Gospel throughout the world. But it was temporary; that testimony has been given. It’s done.

There is another testimony of the Spirit, in the hearts of the apostles, enabling them to teach (and to write!) about Jesus correctly. He guided them into all truth, as Jesus said He would. He emboldened them to preach the Gospel of Jesus with new-found courage and conviction—just as He had done, by the way, with the Old Testament prophets, as Peter writes: the Spirit of Christ who was in [the prophets] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

Then there is the testimony of the Spirit in the hearts of the hearers of the Gospel as He works through the preaching of the Word, enabling the hearers to believe and understand the Gospel of Jesus. As Paul writes, No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. And again, The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, enabling us to cry out to God as our dear Father. You can be confident that, whenever the Gospel is preached, the Spirit is there with His divine testimony, working to convict, to convince, to comfort, and to strengthen our faith in Jesus.

But the Spirit doesn’t testify alone. It’s always connected with that preaching. Jesus goes on in our Gospel, And you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. These words aren’t spoken to all people. They’re spoken to the apostles who were “with Jesus from the beginning.” Theirs is the eyewitness testimony, the testimony on which the Church is founded, together with that of the Old Testament prophets. And, just like the Old Testament prophets, the apostles recorded for us the very words that the Holy Spirit gave them and has faithfully preserved for us in the holy Bible.

You and I cannot offer such testimony. We were not eyewitnesses to everything Jesus said and did, or to His death, or to His resurrection. We can testify to the faith that each of us has in that testimony. We can and should tell the world that we have been convinced that the apostles’ testimony is true, and that Jesus is risen and reigning and returning. But when we invite people to church, when we invite people to know the Lord Jesus, we’re not inviting them to come and hear our testimony. We’re inviting them to come and hear the testimony of the Holy Spirit, through the testimony of the apostles (and prophets), through the Church that has been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief Cornerstone.

The testifying that the apostles would do was essential. Without it, there would be no Christian Church. But their testifying would not be without consequences. And Jesus wasn’t about to hide those consequences from them.

They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming, when whoever kills you will think he is rendering service to God. They will do these things because they have not known the Father nor Me.

If the Holy Spirit was testifying about Christ in the Old Testament, and if He would continue that testimony in the New Testament era, then you see that the Old Testament Church is really the same Church as the New Testament Church. But, as Jesus predicts here, most of the Jewish people would reject Him and His apostles after Him, proving that they never really knew God the Father rightly, that their version of the Jewish religion was a sham. And they would keep up the sham. They would keep their synagogues. They would hold onto customs and rituals and traditions of the Old Testament. But their Christ-less religion would not tolerate the preachers whom Christ sent out. The synagogues should have naturally turned into Christian churches when the Spirit and the apostles testified there, but instead, the Christ-less Jews would excommunicate the Christian Jews from the synagogues. And they would go further than that. They would persecute and execute the apostles and many who believed the testimony of the apostles, thinking they were serving God as they did it. But they weren’t serving God, Jesus says. They have not known the Father nor Me.

Now, you and I can’t be put out of the synagogues. We didn’t grow up attending one like the apostles did. (Like Jesus Himself did!) But the testimony about Jesus that we believe, the testimony about Jesus that we confess in the world, still draws hatred from Jews and Gentiles alike.

I recently read about a Christian pastor in a foreign country (somewhere in Asia, I think) who requires people to answer a set of questions prior to being baptized. The first question on the list was, “Are you willing to be put to death for being baptized as a Christian?” Another question: “Are you willing to be mocked and ridiculed in the marketplace for being a Christian?” Another: “Are you willing to lose your job for the sake of Christ?” Another question: “Are you ready to be disowned by your father?” I want you to really think about those questions, and your answer to them. Because, over the centuries, Christians have had to face some or all of these consequences for their testimony about Christ. It’s not unexpected. It shouldn’t be unexpected. Remember that I told you beforehand, Jesus says. And when it happens, we shouldn’t be like the student protesters this week who went on a hunger strike…and then complained about how unfair it is that they’re hungry. No, when it happens, before it happens, before you spend another day calling yourself a Christian, you should know what it is you’ve signed up for (or will sign up for).

Who would testify about Jesus, knowing that consequences like these will follow? Only those who believe that Jesus rose from the dead and lives and reigns forever at the Father’s right hand. Only those who believe that heaven is our home and that even death can’t rob us of our eternal life with Christ our Savior, who suffered the same things for us, that we might be saved from sin and death. Only those who know that the consequences of not testifying about Jesus are far worse than the consequences of testifying about Him. Because if we don’t testify, who will? And if no one does, who can be saved?

It’s a lot to ask, a lot to expect. If only we had a Helper to guide us, to strengthen us, to comfort us through it all, to testify along with us and to shore up our testimony? Ah, but we do. The Helper has come, and He is still here. And next week we’ll celebrate the day of His coming. May the Helper, the Spirit of truth, grant you all the help you need, to believe in the testimony about the Lord Jesus and to confess Him before the world, no matter what the earthly consequences may be. Amen.

 

Source: Sermons

Don’t worry! It’s just the cross!

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Sermon for Exaudi – Sunday after the Ascension

1 Peter 4:7-11  +  John 15:26-16:4

Before He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, Jesus told His disciples up front what things would be like for them after He had returned to the Father. You heard it in the Gospel today, how He forewarned them about the persecution they would endure, the cross of suffering for the sake of their testimony, their confession of Christ. The same holds true for those who have believed the apostles’ testimony, because it’s the nature of a Christian to confess Christ before the world, and it’s the nature of the world to hate Christ and those who confess Him.

But the message of Jesus in the Gospel isn’t one of despair. It’s one of hope—not the hope of avoiding persecution (the only way to avoid it is to join the world and deny Christ), not the hope of avoiding suffering, but the hope of a King, reigning on His throne, telling His people beforehand that they will suffer for His sake, but assuring them that even this is part of His good plan to build His Church. And to help us to face the world that will hate us, He again promises to send a Helper, the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says, when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father… We talked a few weeks ago about this word “Helper.” It’s the One who is called to your side to speak up in your defense. Jesus promises to send His disciples such a Helper or Advocate. He is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father. In other words, He is the Creator-God, together with the Father and the Son.

What does He come to do? How does He help? Jesus says, He will testify of Me. Jesus’ disciples had no strength, no courage, very little understanding of Jesus before the Spirit came on Pentecost. Before the Spirit came we find them running away from confrontation. We find them hiding behind locked doors. We find them asking Jesus if now is when He is going to restore the kingdom to Israel, which shows how little they grasped His purpose. But the Spirit would testify to them about Jesus and build up their faith and kindle courage in their hearts as He enlightened their eyes to know Jesus better, and to trust in Jesus more firmly.

This is the gift Jesus promised to send His disciples and did send on the Day of Pentecost, and through their preaching and baptizing, the same Spirit was given to all the baptized, and is still given to all the baptized, as St. Peter proclaimed: “The promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And how does He the Lord our God call? Always and only through the preaching of the Word of Christ—through the Holy Scriptures which were given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Now St. Paul says that The Spirit Himself bears witness (i.e., testifies) with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. He testifies about Jesus—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He testifies about Jesus, that He is the true God and the Savior from sin—your Savior from sin—and that there is no other God or Savior besides Him. He testifies about Jesus, who died and rose again and washes you in His holy, precious blood in Holy Baptism, making you a child of God and a coheir together with Christ. That’s the testimony of the Spirit. It’s a testimony that enters through your ears but penetrates all the way to your heart, so that you believe it, so that you’re comforted by it.

And so that you confess it. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. Those eleven apostles had a special task, a special, direct calling from Jesus. They were with Jesus from the beginning of His earthly ministry. They were eye-witnesses of all that Jesus had said and done. So their testimony would be unique and would serve as the very foundation of the Christian Church. As we confess, “I believe one holy Christian and apostolic Church.”

You and I have believed the Spirit-inspired word and testimony of the apostles, that Jesus is the only Savior from sin and the only true God. And if you believe, then you must also confess. As St. Paul writes: For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. You not only believe in Jesus, but if you believe in Him, then you confess Him with your mouth. You confess Him with your mouth, and, to an extent, with your actions, in every area of your life as you confess Him to be the only God and the only Savior. You confess Him at work. You confess Him at home. You confess Him in the grocery store. You confess Him before your friends.

You, as Christians, as royal priests of God, confess Christ in your daily life, proclaiming the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. —which means that it will go for you like it went for Jesus apostles. He told them ahead of time. The cross is coming.

These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

This is the kind of reception the true Gospel has in the world. Some will believe, but most people won’t. Most will persecute. Most will cling to their manmade doctrines and reject you for telling them they shouldn’t. Most reject the testimony about Christ, including those, Jesus says, who claim God as their Father. In fact, He says, after they have excommunicated you and shunned you and killed you, they will sing praises to God and rejoice that they finally got rid of the “troublemakers.”

Welcome to the Christian life! It’s a life of rejection, both by non-Christians and by false Christians. It’s a life of bearing the cross.

And the cross takes many shapes. For confessing Christ before men, you may be killed or beaten or imprisoned, all of which is happening to Christians right at this moment in some part of the world. For confessing Christ before men, you may struggle to get or to keep certain jobs. For confessing Christ before men, you may be disliked by your peers, looked down upon by the scholars, even rejected by other so-called Christians who believe and teach false doctrines. You may be made to feel abandoned by practically everyone. But more burdensome still is when Satan presses down on these crosses, and on all the hardships of life, and attacks your faith, and tempts you to question everything and to despair of God’s help.

But Jesus knew it would go this way and told you about it ahead of time, which is why He promised to send the Helper, from the Father’s side to yours, divine help in the face of the cross. For as heavy as the cross may be, if the Creator-God is standing by your side as your Advocate, what creature can be more powerful than He? And as the divine Encourager, He speaks to your heart and says, “Don’t worry! It’s just the cross! Remember, Jesus was hated and abandoned, too! Remember, Jesus conquered the cross after He bore it, and so will you! Remember, Jesus told you all this would happen. He lives and reigns at God’s right hand on your behalf. Don’t worry! It’s just the cross! It may be heavy, but it can’t hurt you—not permanently. It can’t crush you, because even the cross has been placed under Jesus’ feet, to serve His purposes for building His Church, of which you have been made a part.”

So instead of getting depressed or angry, instead of complaining when you or your fellow Christians are suffering under the cross, remember that Jesus said that these things would happen. They’re part of His testing of your faith so that you persevere in it until the end. They’re also part of His judgment on the world, so that it may be clearly seen that you belonged to Jesus, the Suffering One, the Cross-Bearer.

Remember Jesus’ promise. The Helper will come, and we will celebrate His coming and His help next Sunday on Pentecost. Stay close to where He does His work, to the Word and Sacraments. And hear your God telling you, in Baptism, in preaching, in the body and blood of Christ, don’t worry! God is on your side. And even more, God the Holy Spirit is right here by your side. Amen.

 

 

 

Source: Sermons