The First Sunday in Passiontide (Judica)
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Death is the ultimate enemy of mankind, even more so than Satan and the demons. Satan and the demons constantly assail God’s people, but their attacks are limited in power apart from the threat of death and eternal separation from God. Death is the ultimate evil. We know this because we have been made to be eternal: “He has put eternity into [man’s] hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), as King Solomon teaches. As soon as we lose sight of eternity, the wickedness of death begins to fade in our minds. And this loss of an eternal perspective gives rise to the abominable pagan idea of our age that “death is a part of life”, one which should be embraced as beautiful. “You only live once”, so “Seize the day!” God forbid that we fall into this godless, hopeless manner of thinking. And yet, this seems to be the dominant perspective in the pagan world around us. For death is embraced as a public good in the forms of abortion and euthanasia. Life cruelly rolls on as if nothing ever happened when a loved one dies. Death is viewed as a part of life which needs to be accepted so that the economy can continue to produce and those of us who remain can continue to “make progress” for the sake of humanity, whatever that means. But death ought not be thought of as a normal part of life, for Christ has come so that “If anyone keeps [His] word he shall never see death” (John 8:51). Death is the enemy, and Christ has come to deliver His people from this ultimate evil.
And so it is that in our Gospel text for today the Jews reveal how their minds have been darkened by the thinking of this world. They cannot understand how one could live in any other way than living for the here and now. “Death is a part of life”, and they have no room in their minds to comprehend how it could be possible to never see death. And so, they revile our Lord, saying:
“Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
(John 8:52-53).
With these words, the Jews reveal themselves to be utter pagans in their thinking. For one who rejects the clear teaching of God’s Word about eternal life has become an apostate unbeliever. For the Lord said to the Jews during Holy Week:
“Have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32).
These men do not know God’s Word if they believe that Abraham and the prophets are dead, for they are not dead—they are living. Our Lord’s indictment of these men is damning:
“You have not known [My Father], but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word” (John 8:55).
As we heard in the Prophecy on the First Sunday in Lent, death was not a part of God’s good creation. It was brought into this world when the liar, Satan, tempted Adam and Eve, and taking of the fruit, they fell into sin. To embrace the thinking of this age, to reject the reality of eternal life, and to live as if this world is all that matters is to become like these Jews, whom our Lord condemned saying:
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from [himself], for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Let us repent for the ways and the times we have allowed the father of lies to deceive us into rejecting God’s truth and to follow the ways and thinking of this world.
For Christ, our Lord, did not come as a great moral teacher whose sole purpose was to grant reprieve and prosperity in this life. He has come so that we might not see death. The Jews tried to stone Him because they were of their father, the devil, and did not believe in Him. But Christ hid Himself from them. He would not allow Himself to be killed at the whims of these godless men. He would allow Himself to be killed by them, but not at their whims. For our Lord Jesus Christ entered our world of death in order to bring about life. He is the substitute “lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8) in which Abraham hoped. By allowing His head to be pierced with thorns, He has atoned for our sins and died the death that we deserve. For we have so often blindly followed the lies of Satan. We have so often lived as if the things of this world matter most. But out of His great love for you, the God of the living has provided His only Son as your substitute so that you might not see death. Christ is the High Priest of the greater and more perfect tabernacle (Hebrews 9:11). He has atoned for our sins:
“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered into the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of His death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:12, 15).
Though we are not worthy of the gift of life on account of our sins, His life was forfeit so that we might be granted life. Though we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment, He has gone to the cross for us. Though He hid Himself from the unbelieving Jews, and though we, like them, do not deserve to look upon our Savior or receive His benefits, yet He has not hidden Himself from us. Through His Word, He has granted you faith. Through the working of His Spirit, He has opened your eyes to see life rather than death.
It is in the gift of life that we live and move and have our being. For we believe His Holy Word and promises, and by His grace we seek to be those who both hear the Word of God and keep it. We hear His Word and receive His gifts of Word and Sacrament so that we are strengthened to live in the wilderness of this world in a manner that is faithful to the calling by which we have been called. And so it is that we return to those words of our Lord which we heard at the beginning of our Lenten journey:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
In a world of death we have been given the gift of life. And so, we must not allow ourselves to fall prey to the thinking and the ways of this world. The mottos “Seize the day” and “You only live once” are nothing more than veiled attempts to embrace lustful and licentious living. Such a way of living is not befitting of a Christian. For we cannot in thought, word, or deed, allow ourselves to embrace death. The things of this world are destined for destruction (Romans 9:22). Why would we allow the father of lies to deceive us into thinking that the things of this world are worth our investment? God is the God of the living. He has made you for eternity. He offers you the opportunity to store up heavenly treasures which will not pass away. The choice is yours whether you will embrace this gift of life or whether you will live for death. But to choose life has implications for the way in which you live. To choose life means to prioritize that which endures eternally. To choose life means to spend your time training in godliness and pouring into the eternal souls around you. To choose life means to refrain from spending your money on indulgence and “toys” which have no enduring value. To choose life means to embrace the gift of children—your own, if the Lord so blesses you, but also all the children around you—this is so that they, too, might grow up and ever live in the life that Christ has won for them. To choose life means to not grow to love the things of this world, but rather to teach yourself to love Christ and His good and enduring gifts. For whoever repents of evil and clings to this Word of Christ will see the abundant life which He alone offers (John 10:10).
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
