Text: Rev 14:6-7
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.
The word of God is truth! It is the essence of Jesus - the word made flesh. It is the word revealed as we learned last week in Paul’s letter to Timothy where he writes:
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17
It is this eternal gospel that Luther hoped in and wrote for our benefit in his Large Catechism about the second article of the creed:
[27] I believe that Jesus Christ, true Son of God, has become my Lord. But what is it to become Lord? It is this, that He has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death, and all evil. For before I had no Lord or King, but was captive under the power of the devil. I was condemned to death and, entangled in sin and blindness.
http://bookofconcord.org/lc-4-creed.php 27
It is this truth that Luther found joy and peace in.
It is this joy and peace that the Reformation blossomed and gave way to.
It is the bondage to sin that Luther felt and was crippled by.
It is the freedom in Christ that brought him peace.
It is a peace that we now share in Christ who made peace with God and has given that peace to you and me by faith in his saving work.
The eternal Gospel spoken of in Revelation is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in our gospel reading in John.
Jesus tells the believing Jews in our Gospel today who had been following Him that:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.
To be a disciple is to be a follower of Christ. One who is connected to God’s very words and who abides in them – who takes rest in them - is one who accepts and acts in accordance with those words.
Martin Luther had this to say about discipleship in his lectures on the Psalms:
“In holy and divine matters one must first hear rather than see, first believe rather than understand, first be grasped rather than grasp, first be captured rather than capture, first learn rather than teach, first be a disciple rather than a teacher and master of his own. We have an ear so that we may submit to others, and eyes that we may take care of others. Therefore, whoever in the church wants to become an eye and a leader and master of others, let him become an ear and a disciple first.”
–Martin Luther, Lectures on the Psalms II, in Luther’s Works, Volume 11 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1976), 245-46.
And as a disciple Jesus tells the Jews and you and I as well:
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
This freedom and liberty of the gospel is what we celebrate today. It is what Luther searched for and why he became a monk – thinking that being locked inside the walls, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimages, and frequent confession would keep him away from sin and the power of the devil.
He said:
"If anyone could have gained heaven as a monk, then I would certainly have done so." He described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailer and hangman of my poor soul."
But later he found the eternal gospel and blessed peace in the words of Romans 5:1 which reads:
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17
It is this eternal gospel that Luther hoped in and wrote for our benefit in his Large Catechism about the second article of the creed:
[27] I believe that Jesus Christ, true Son of God, has become my Lord. But what is it to become Lord? It is this, that He has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death, and all evil. For before I had no Lord or King, but was captive under the power of the devil. I was condemned to death and, entangled in sin and blindness.
http://bookofconcord.org/lc-4-creed.php 27
It is this truth that Luther found joy and peace in.
It is this joy and peace that the Reformation blossomed and gave way to.
It is the bondage to sin that Luther felt and was crippled by.
It is the freedom in Christ that brought him peace.
It is a peace that we now share in Christ who made peace with God and has given that peace to you and me by faith in his saving work.
The eternal Gospel spoken of in Revelation is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in our gospel reading in John.
Jesus tells the believing Jews in our Gospel today who had been following Him that:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.
To be a disciple is to be a follower of Christ. One who is connected to God’s very words and who abides in them – who takes rest in them - is one who accepts and acts in accordance with those words.
Martin Luther had this to say about discipleship in his lectures on the Psalms:
“In holy and divine matters one must first hear rather than see, first believe rather than understand, first be grasped rather than grasp, first be captured rather than capture, first learn rather than teach, first be a disciple rather than a teacher and master of his own. We have an ear so that we may submit to others, and eyes that we may take care of others. Therefore, whoever in the church wants to become an eye and a leader and master of others, let him become an ear and a disciple first.”
–Martin Luther, Lectures on the Psalms II, in Luther’s Works, Volume 11 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1976), 245-46.
And as a disciple Jesus tells the Jews and you and I as well:
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
This freedom and liberty of the gospel is what we celebrate today. It is what Luther searched for and why he became a monk – thinking that being locked inside the walls, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimages, and frequent confession would keep him away from sin and the power of the devil.
He said:
"If anyone could have gained heaven as a monk, then I would certainly have done so." He described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailer and hangman of my poor soul."
But later he found the eternal gospel and blessed peace in the words of Romans 5:1 which reads:
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you felt closed in by the walls of sin? Have you or have your loved ones fled the blessings and Peace found only in Christ and his gifts given in word and sacrament? Are you burdened by the Law and a slave to sin?
33 They Jews answered Jesus, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
The truth is you are all bound to sin and its cravings. You desire to do the will of your sinful nature which is in opposition to God’s will and as a result you fall short daily. The world says, “Deep down he is really a good person” - when the truth is deep down we all are worse and worse. The more you get to the core of who we are in our fallen human condition the more you see the sinfulness of man, corrupted to the core from the beginning by our first parents Adam and Eve.
But Jesus reminds His hearers and you as well that:
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The freedom for the sinner is found only in Jesus. That was the joy that Luther found and what we celebrate in the Reformation. In Christ, true freedom from sin is possible and true liberty for we who are bound with the chains of guilt and despair is broken.
7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” Rev 14:7
Christ has set free those who could not free themselves by his own binding.
The binding of His flesh to the cross in your place;
The shedding of His blood for the forgiveness of your sin;
The death worthy of a criminal for you and I who are guilty;
And the burial in a tomb meant for another;
In Jesus’ case … Joseph of Arimathea, for it was his tomb where Jesus was laid. But, the tomb and death was meant for you!
Jesus took your place, He took your cross, He took your death and He took your tomb and He made them what you couldn't … life, freedom, liberty, salvation and forgiveness because …
… if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
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