Judica

Near the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, as the time of His great sacrifice drew near, the unbelieving Jews and chief priests gathered together against Him. The conversation recorded in John chapter 8, though not the last time that Jesus would engage the Jewish leaders, is something of a last chance offer for them. But they reject Jesus, attempt to kill Him, and seal their own fates in their hardened unbelief. Jesus had come to save them, but they regard Him as a threat and an enemy. And in rejecting Him, they reject their own salvation.

The Pharisees and chief priests had many things to support their claim to be in the right. They had authority. They were the religious leaders of Israel, with the support and backing of the Roman Empire. Of course, they hated the Romans, but they loved power more, so they hade worked out an uneasy peace deal in exchange for their positions of leadership. They also had tradition on their side: “We represent the custom and traditions of our fathers. To question us is to question our tradition.” And if anyone dared to ask whether the traditions they followed were actually in accord with the Law of Moses, they kept an army of religious lawyers on the payroll. Finally, the Jews had the temple: “How could we be wrong? We have this beautiful building. Of course, it’s not as beautiful as Solomon’s original temple, which was destroyed. It’s not even as nice as the replacement built by Nehemiah and Ezra. Ok, so our current temple was built by the wicked King Herod, who was an enemy of God. But even so, we have the temple, the temple. We offer sacrifices in the name of God. We represent the center of Jewish worship. We represent God Himself. To question us is to question God!”

But Jesus did question them. He questioned their authority, calling them blind guides and hypocrites (Mt 23:16). He questioned their traditions, saying, “You reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mk 7:9). And though Jesus called the temple “My father’s house,” at the end of this encounter with the unbelieving Jews, Jesus would walk out of the temple, signifying that it had ceased to be the house of God.

What gives religious leaders true authority in the Church? The Romans? The government? No. Wherever you see religious leaders with the backing and approval of the secular government, you can be sure they represent a false church. The secular world hates the Word of God. If a religious leader has the support of our sinful world, it’s only because he abandoned God’s Word a long time ago. Some leaders will appeal to their own authority: “You must listen to me because I’m the pastor.” Wrong. St. Paul, said, “Follow me, as I follow Christ” (1 Cor 11:1) The only authority the Church recognizes is the authority of Christ and His Word. If your pastor speaks the words of Christ, then he has true authority. Listen to him! But if he speaks his own words, then he is a false authority. Remove him from office, or find a new church.

Does tradition give religious leaders authority? Just like the Jewish leaders, many will say, “We are the leaders because we uphold the status quo. We carry on the traditions of our grandparents and forefathers.” But religious traditions only have value in-so-far as they help to teach us of Christ. That, by the way, is the guiding principle of the Lutheran Reformation. If a tradition helps to illuminate the Gospel, then it’s good and ought to be kept. If a tradition obscures Christ and hinders the Gospel, it is harmful and must be removed. This is the standard by which every custom and tradition ought to be judged.

Does having a beautiful building give a religious leader authority? The Roman Church says, “Yes. We have more cathedrals. We have more land. We have more money. Therefore, we must be in the right.” This happens within Protestant churches as well: “Look at this new church over here. They have hundreds of new members. They just built a new campus. This must be the true Church!” If having a big building and a large membership is where it’s at, then we should all get season tickets to the nearest NFL stadium. They have bigger buildings, more money, and higher attendance on Sundays that we do.

Jesus rejected all the claims of the religious leaders. He rejected their false authority. He rejected their false traditions. And He rejected their false building. The true Church of Christ is not built on any of these false foundations. What then is it built upon? Jesus tells us. He told the religious leaders, but they refused to listen. Their hearts and ears were closed to the truth. May the Holy Spirit grant us to hear these words. Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death” (Mt 8:52). The foundation for the Church is the Word of Christ—the writings of the Apostles and the Prophets. He who builds on this foundation will never be put to shame. He who keeps Jesus’ word shall never see death!

To keep the words of Jesus does not mean to obey a set of rules. To keep means to guard and protect and treasure. The Church that treasures the Word of God shall never die. The man who fights to protect the teachings of Scripture will never taste death. As members of the true Church, we must be willing to gladly give up our positions, our traditions, our buildings, yes, even suffer death, rather than fall away from the words of Jesus. If we have this foundation, we can never be shaken. If we lose this foundation and have all the honor, power and riches, we have nothing. If we lose the Word of God, yet have the most beautiful building in the world, we are no longer a church.

Abraham had no church building, yet by faith He saw the coming day of Christ, and rejoiced. The prophets scarcely had honor or authority in their lives, yet they were saved by faith in the promised Savior of whom they spoke. And the faithful Church today may appear small and frail. We do not have the numbers, the signs of outward success. We do not have the praise or admiration of our fallen world. And yet, because we have Christ and His word, we have riches beyond compare and eternal life.

The unbelieving Jews could not answer Jesus. Lies cannot answer truth. So, they resorted to name-calling, just as the wicked world does today: “You are a Samaritan! You have a demon! Abraham is our father—who do you think you are?” Jesus told them, “Before Abraham was, I AM. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush. I AM WHO I AM.” At these words they took up stones to kill Him.

But Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. What good is a temple if God no longer dwells there? What good are traditions, if they persecute and drive Jesus away from our midst? Never again would true sacrifice for sin be offered up within that temple. Jesus would be crucified outside the walls of the holy city. In order to sanctify us with His own blood, He would suffer outside the gate, mocked and reviled by the very people He had come to save.

On Judica Sunday, a week before Palm Sunday and the horrific events of Holy Week, we veil the images of our Lord Jesus, hiding them from our own eyes. As sinners, we are not worthy to look upon His cross. And yet, our Lord invites us to look anyway. And so, we do. We gaze upon the veiled cross and are reminded of how Jesus allowed His glory and splendor to be veiled. He hid Himself, went out of the old temple, and was led meekly to His cross. As we look in faith upon the veiled image of our God, we see the true image of everything that was hidden from the eyes of the unbelieving Jews. Here, upon the cross, is the only One who has claim to true authority, though He laid it aside for the sake of His enemies. Here is the source and focus of every one of our traditions. And here, hidden from the eyes of the world, is the true temple, God in human flesh, offering up His own life as the one great sacrifice for sin. By faith, the Holy Spirit removes the veil that hides Him from our once unbelieving eyes, and we recognize Jesus as the God of Abraham and confess Him as Lord and Savior. Amen.