Sermon for Lent 5 Midweek Vespers

LISTEN (coming soon)

Jesu Juva

“Icons of Repentance: Peter - Restoration”

Text: Jeremiah 31:1-6, 10-14; Revelation 21:1-7; John 21:15-19; Psalm 80

 

In the Name of (+) Jesus. Amen.

I don’t know if you heard it or not, but there was an absolutely ridiculous phrase in the readings we heard tonight. A phrase that makes no sense at all, and is not just complete un-reality, but about as far from reality as it is possible to get! Did you hear it? O virgin Israel! 

Do you know how unfaithful, how absurdly adulterous, Israel was to God? How far from a virgin she was? When you get home tonight, read Jeremiah chapters two and three, and this is what you’ll hear . . .

That no other nation changes its gods; only Israel. She welcomes them all, takes them all in. One after the other. The gods of the Egyptians, the gods of the Canaanites, the gods of the Syrians and the Assyrians. In fact, Jeremiah says so picturesquely, Israel is like a she-camel in heat, putting her nose in the air, sniffing for suitors, and turning no false god down. She sits by the side of the road and welcomes all comers. There is no green tree in all of creation under which she is not willing to have a false god. She puts all the other nations to shame. And it’s not even close. Israel is not only wicked, she could teach wickedness. And she is so wicked and spiritually adulterous, that she puts Egypt and Assyria to shame! And there’s more, but I’ll stop there.

Jeremiah is devastating in his preaching, his accusations, laying Israel low. And yet we heard tonight - from the very same prophet! from Jeremiah! - a few chapters later, O virgin Israel. 

That, really, tells you all you need to know about forgiveness. What forgiveness is, and how powerful it is. That when you are ransomed and redeemed by the Lord, when the blood of Jesus washes away your sin, your cleansing, your restoration, is so full and complete that you are not just restored, but renewed. Re-newed. Made new again. Really new. 100% pristine, sinless, and perfect in the eyes of God. 

Which sounds too good to be true. Way too good. But that’s what God’s Word says. That’s how great Jesus’ atonement is. And it is for you. And once you know that, why wouldn’t you repent? 

This is what we heard in the reading from Revelation tonight as well. New. New heavens. New earth. New Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And do you remember how St. Paul described the Church in the same way? That

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, - and here it is - without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).

And then - now back in the reading from Revelation - Jesus says: Behold, I am making all things new. And that all includes YOU. You sanctified, you cleansed, by the washing of water with the word - Holy Baptism. You redeemed, you restored, you made new. Whatever your sins, they are no more. You may remember them, but God does not. And so because of Jesus, Jeremiah can say that Israel will be a virgin again. 

As is Peter. He is our fifth and final Icon of Repentance. It may seem strange, lumping Peter together with adulterous Israel - surely, he wasn’t that bad! And maybe you think you’re not as bad as Israel. I mean . . . that description by Jeremiah . . . that’s pretty out there! 

But adultery is adultery, and adultery is a First Commandment thing. And you’re either faithful, or you’re not. It’s not just taking up with the false gods of the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Syrians and Assyrians. Our false gods are all the people and things in this world we fear, love, and trust more than our heavenly Father. All the people and things in this world we look to for our good, our security, our comfort, our approval, our contentment, our life. To give us what we think we want, to take us where we want to go. The latest thing we chase that the world says is the end-all, be-all, cure-all. Our false gods are whatever takes our hearts and minds off of God and leads us into sin.

For Peter, it was fear. Fear of being found out as a disciple of Jesus. Fear of even being identified as being from the same place as Jesus - from Galilee! So he trusted his lies and denials, denying even knowing who this Jesus fella was three times. Who? Never heard of Him. Never laid eyes on Him before tonight. Don’t know who you’re talking about. And after it was all done and the rooster crowed, he went out and wept bitterly. What hope did he have now? Maybe he remembered what Jesus had said before: Whoever would save his life will lose it . . . (Matthew 16:25). Well, he lost it. He never got a chance to say I repent, or I confess, or even I’m sorry, (at least, not that are recorded in the Bible). But though those words may not have come out of his mouth, they came out of his eyes.

But in the reading from John we heard tonight, the resurrected Jesus restored him. Three times he denied, so three times Jesus graciously gives him the opportunity to confess his faith and profess his love. This didn’t earn him his forgiveness. Jesus had already done that on the cross. But it was part of his restoration. He was already restored and new in the eyes of God, but not in his own eyes. He needs to see, he needs to hear, what Jesus has done for him. And he hears it not just from his own mouth, his own confession and profession, he hears it also from Jesus, who entrusts to him the care of His own lambs and sheep! 

Why would you do that, Jesus? Give this important task and responsibility to such a one as Peter? A fearful denier? A sinful man? Unless . . . unless that was all gone now. Unless that had all been taken away. Unless Peter had been made new. Which is exactly what Jesus had done. 

And it is what He has done for you. As St. Paul told the Corinthians: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old - or the old you - has passed away; behold, the new - a new you! - has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). And you are in Christ Jesus. So you are new. Not good as new, but really, truly new. Holy and without blemish. Virgin Israel.

And how appropriate is that title and that teaching this night, for today is March 25th. March 25th is exactly nine months before December 25th, which, you know what that is. So March 25th is the day the Church commemorates the Annunciation of our Lord. The day when the angel Gabriel came to the virgin, Mary, and told her she would be the mother of God. And by the Spirit, working through the Word, the Son of God was made flesh, conceived in her womb. And so the one born from a virgin of Israel is the one who will make Israel virgin again.

And this is what we prayed for in the Psalm tonight as well. Three times in this Psalm we sang: Restore us, O God of hosts, let your face shine, that we may be saved. And the word there for restore in the Hebrew is to return or turn back. Return us to the way we were, without sin. Turn back the clock to the Garden, before sin. Which is exactly what Jesus has done for us. 

Now we’ll go back to St. Paul again and what he told the Corinthians. Notice how he says that what we prayed for in the psalm has been done for us in Jesus. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That is to say, the light and glory of God shine forth for us in the face of Jesus. The one who makes all things new. And so you are. It is done, Jesus said in Revelation. It is finished, Jesus said on the cross.

Which is a fitting conclusion to our Icons of Repentance and the journey we have taken this Lent. From the no excuses tax collector, to the no-more-covering-up David, to the Lost Son and the Father’s love, to the forgiven woman and the fruit of repentance, to Peter and the restoration of repentance. This is what our heavenly Father desires and what His Son has come to accomplish, and what we will remember once again all next week. Holy Week. Restoration week. The week that makes us new again. Not good as new - for Jesus doesn’t nothing good as or good enough. New. Really new. 100% pristine, sinless, and perfect in the eyes of God. To live new. A new life. An above-and-beyond sin life. That is who you are. Now. In Jesus. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Congregation at Prayer

For the Week of Lent 5 (March 23-28, 2026)

Invocation: In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speak the Apostles’ Creed. 

Verse: Psalm 118:22-23 – “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Hymn of the Week:  Lutheran Service Book #438 “A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth”

Hymns for Sunday: 442, 422, 438, 454 (vs. 1-4 ONLY), 619, 421, 444, 441, 440

Readings for the Week: [The readings for Thursday-Saturday are the Scriptures for this coming Sunday.]

Monday: Hebrews 9:11-15

How did Jesus fulfill the old covenant and usher in the new?

Tuesday: Psalm 118:19–29

List all the ways Jesus fulfills this psalm! How is He the gate, the cornerstone, the sacrifice, and the steadfast love of the Lord?

Wednesday: John 12:12-19

What does “hosanna” mean? Why did the people yell that? What did they expect Jesus to do? Did He? How yes and no both?

Thursday: Isaiah 50:4–9a

How does Isaiah describe what happened to Jesus in His passion? How was He helped, vindicated, and not put to shame?

Friday: Philippians 2:5-11

How can we have the mind of Christ? Is this even possible? Can you make yourself nothing? How? What confidence do you have to be like Christ? 

Saturday: Matthew 26:1 - 27:66

Caiaphas, Peter, Judas, Barabbas, Pilate, the twelve – as you through this account, put yourself in their places. What did they do? Why did they do it? Have you ever done the same? Why?

The Catechism - The Ten Commandments: The Eighth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

Collect for the Week: Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, Jesus, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Prayers:  Please pray for . . .

+ yourself and for all in need (remembering especially those on our prayer list).

+ God’s blessing, wisdom, and guidance for our congregational treasurer, Logan Hansen.

+ the Lutheran Church in Korea, for God’s wisdom, blessing, guidance, and provision.

+ God’s blessing, guidance, wisdom, and provision for Concordia Ev. Theo. Seminary, St. Catherines, ON.

Conclude with the Lord’s Prayer and Luther’s Morning or Evening Prayer from the Catechism.

Now joyfully go about your day (or to bed) in good cheer, child of God!

Collect for the Week © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.

Lutheran Service Book Hymn License: 110019268

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Life Is Now the End of Death”

Text: John 11:1-53; Romans 8:1-11; Ezekiel 37:1-14

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dying is just a part of life. You hear that little phrase bandied about a lot these days. From people trying to cope with death.

What an insidious lie of the devil. For nothing could be farther from the truth.

Death is not a part of life. Death is the very contradiction of life. It is the absence of life, the end of life, the destruction of life. 

Death is just a part of life comes from an evolutionary mindset, that death enables life to progress, to get better, to get stronger, to adapt, to weed out the weak, to overcome. And it is a lie.

Death is not a part of life, it is the result of sin; it is the wages of sin. In the beginning, in the Garden, there was no death, only life. Things had not evolved to that point; it is the way God created them to be. Death came only when our first parents decided they needed to evolve, to improve themselves, to progress, to get better than God created them to be. As if they could. And so separating themselves from God and His Word of life, they died. And we died. 

And with that, death was still not a part of life. We will not accept death! But it did become our reality.

And so it was in Bethany. Surely they had seen death before, this family, these siblings, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Maybe a parent, grandparent, or child had died. Surely they knew the grief of death. 

But this time was different. This time they had hope - Jesus! He was their friend, and He wasn’t far away! He healed so many people of so many diseases, surely, He would come and help. So they sent for Him. And Jesus had said, This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Surely the messenger sent to Jesus had taken this word back to the family. And how relieved they must have been to hear it. 

But something happened. Jesus didn’t come and Lazarus did, in fact, die. And Jesus knew it. After a two day delay, He finally decides to go and tells His disciples plainly: Lazarus has died. But Jesus, I thought . . . I thought you said this illness would not lead to death. Why? In fact, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Both sisters say that.

So what’s going on here? Was Jesus just wrong? Well, THIS illness does not lead to death. Because it is sin that brings death. Real death. Spiritual and everlasting death. As horrible as cancer, ALS, Alzheimers, AIDS, or any other disease can be, the disease of sin is worse. Sin ravages life like nothing else. Maiming life, embittering life. Killing babies in the womb, killing in the name of so-called mercy, killing for amusement, causing people to even kill themselves. 

And that is the disease Jesus has come to do something about. All His other healings - of fevers, or leprosy, of dropsy, of deafness, blindness, and lameness - all were just signs and pointers to this greater work. Lazarus’ illness, whatever it was . . . did it kill him? According to our sight, our knowledge, yes. But what did Jesus say? Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.

Jesus had said something similar before, with a little girl, and they laughed at Him (Matthew 9:24). Turns out it was true. Jesus woke her up. The eyes of the Creator see differently than we do. We think we know so much, and more and more all the time. Science, technology, AI. Maybe we don’t know as much as we think. Maybe we should listen to Jesus. He was right with the little girl . . .

And He is right with Lazarus. So He says, Your brother will rise again. Martha assumes He means on the Last Day. She believes that. Which is good. But Jesus has something else in mind . . .

Martha then calls her sister Mary. And did you notice what she said? The Teacher is here. Not Jesus, not Master, not Lord - the Teacher. At the end of this story, Caiaphas didn’t know the truth of what he said. Maybe Martha didn’t either. But she is spot on. Jesus is about to teach them something about life and death. And it is this: While both sisters say, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, the truth is that their brother will not die precisely because Jesus is there! It is why He was there in human flesh and blood. This is why Jesus came - not just for Lazarus, but for all people. To do battle against sin, death, and the devil, and win. To win the battle of life and death.

Where have you laid him? Not buried him or entombed him, laid him. Like a baby in a crib. He might as well have said, where is his bed? It’s time to get up. 

So Jesus tells them to open the door to his bedroom. Take away the stone. And He calls to Lazarus, and just as in the beginning, His Word does what it says. Let there be light, and there was light (Genesis 1). Lazarus, come out! And Lazarus comes out. And there is life, and joy, and faith.

But this is not the main act. That is coming very soon, as is our remembrance of it. When it would be Jesus Himself sealed in a tomb, and Jesus Himself breaking open that tomb. Jesus dying the death that is the wages of sin, the wages of all of our sin. And then vanquishing it! So that St. Paul could so confidently say, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation, no spiritual and everlasting death. There is only life for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Which doesn’t mean that you and I aren’t going to die. We will. The wages of sin is still death, and you and me, we’re sinners through and through. Born with sin, committing sins by thoughts, words, deeds, and desires, committing sins by what we do and fail to do. But in Christ Jesus, baptized into Him and His life and His victory over death and the grave, our death and been transformed into sleep. And though we die, yet shall we live, and awaken at His call in Paradise again. The Paradise thrown away by our first parents, now restored by Jesus. 

But we’re not there yet. Though Jesus has won the victory, which we will celebrate in two weeks now, for now, we’re like Ezekiel - we look around and all we see are dry, dead bones. Lots of ‘em! In all different stages of death and decay. And we wonder: Can these bones live?

We do. We struggle with this, just as Martha and Mary did. Lord, if you had been here . . . We wonder that, too. Lord, why weren’t you here - why aren’t you here, when I need you! Why are you dragging your feet? Why aren’t you helping? Why are you too late? And not just with death, but lots of things in life. Things that are ravaging us, killing us. 

Well, whose to say He’s not here? Maybe He is, just not how we think or expect. Or maybe if He delays, it is on purpose, like He did with Lazarus - in order to show us, teach us, something more, something greater. But it’s been four days, four weeks, four months, four years. It’s too late! . . . Is it? Maybe things are not as they seem to us. Maybe there’s more going on than we know. But this we know: Jesus will not leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He’s not going to leave you to sin, death, or the devil. He came to rescue you from them. And He does. And He is. And He won’t stop. And a few days or a few years are nothing to Him for whom a thousand years are like a day, and a day as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). It’s still tough for us, and so by faith we say with Martha and all the faithful: Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. Who has come into the world, for us and for our salvation. And is coming again. All to rescue and to save. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24).

For as John told us, what Caiaphas said was true: It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. But actually, he’s not quite right. It is better that one man die for the world, than that the world perish. So Jesus did. Caiaphas thought he was saving the nation by putting Jesus to death. He was really just helping Jesus save it. And the world. For what men intend for evil, God uses for good. Over and over we see the truth of that in Scripture, and still it is true today, for you and me. We may not know how or why, but we believe.

And believing, we repent. Repent for thinking we know better than God, more than God. Repent for doubting the love of our Father. Repent for thinking that our way is better than His way, and so doing what we want rather than what He wants. Repent for trying to save ourselves. 

We repent so that we can hear what He wants to say to us more than anything else: I forgive you. Words that still today do what they say. Just as the words I baptize you and this is My Body, this is My Blood. Like Jesus’ words spoken to Lazarus, these are words that give us life. We who reek of sin. We who are bound by our sins and trapped in death. But when Jesus says I forgive you, that is Jesus saying to you, come out! Come out of your sin, come out of your fear, come out of the life that you are living that leads to death. Come out of that tomb, and walk in the way that leads to life. Come, follow Me.

This Lenten season, and this Passiontide now upon us, we follow Him to the cross. And we see Him there in all His glory, in all His love. For He is there for you. They wanted to put Him to death, and they did. But they couldn’t keep Him there. He rose to life, for life. For the life of the world. 

Because death is not a part of life. It is the enemy. The last enemy to be destroyed, St. Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:26). And since Jesus has, has destroyed it, there is nothing left. Nothing left to keep you from life. Life in Jesus. So no more if onlys. If only you had been here. Jesus is here, and there is life. 

You see, for the Christian, death is not a part of life, and death is not the end of life. Because of Jesus, life is now the end of death.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.