Seventh Sunday of Easter – May 24, 2009

Acts 1:15-26 - In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) - and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,” ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’and, “‘May another take his place of leadership.’” “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they drew lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Dear fellow Christians,

What a mess for that young Christian church! One of its leaders had betrayed the world’s Savior. To make matters worse, when he was caught, he didn’t trust God’s ability to forgive. When he couldn’t stand the pain of a guilty conscience any more, he committed suicide - betrayal from within; suicide of a leader; and now public disgrace. How could a young church survive? Add to that the fact that Jesus, the head of the church, who had undone Judas’ betrayal by rising from the dead, had now withdrawn his visible presence from them. How could a young church survive? It would survive because the risen and ascended Lord provides for his church. He does so with his Word, with his resurrection, and with the public ministry.

Have you ever felt like that? With the world going in the direction it is - how are the true Christians within it going to survive? Perhaps your concern is more directed. The bulletin insert this morning presents the two budgets being brought to Synod in convention this summer. They both include drastic cuts. How is our Wisconsin Synod going to survive? Maybe it is right here at Emanuel Redeemer. With the way things are going, what is going to happen to the school? How many people will move away from here in the next few years? How is Emanuel Redeemer going to survive? Or maybe, there is even concern about our own lives. How far will this economic downturn go? How much will it affect me, my children, and my life? How am I going to survive? It is because questions like these are on the minds of believers that the words of our lesson are so appropriate – because they show to us that the risen and ascended Lord provides for his church.

Jesus had commanded his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). He had told them “Go and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). But had Jesus left his disciples empty handed in doing this work. It is true that he wasn’t going to visibly teach them anymore while walking the roads of Judea or sailing the Sea of Galilee. But he had not left them empty handed, instead he left them his Word. And in the midst of this trying time, it was the Word to which they turned. Peter says, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.” They recognized that it was God himself who had foretold that one of Jesus’ inner circle would betray him. Jesus himself confirmed these words when he said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me’…‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him’” (Matthew 26:21,23-24).

This was important because it underscored the truth that nothing had happened that wasn’t supposed to happen. Jesus had to be betrayed so that he could die. Jesus had to die to pay for sin. Jesus had to pay for sin to win our forgiveness. Jesus had to win our forgiveness so our relationship with God could be reestablished. The Word that Jesus left them directed them to Him who had walked and talked with them. It directed them to what he said and won for them. It was the answer to life’s problems and the strength to make it through. It was what would keep this young church alive.

Two-thousand years later this fact has not changed. Jesus has not left us empty handed. He has left us his Word. And that Word is all the power we need. It provides the way for us to survive, because it provides the answer to our biggest problem – SIN. You see, right now, the economy is not our biggest problem; nor is the fact that we might be out of a job; or that GM and Chrysler are bankrupt; or that our school is struggling; or that our Synod is struggling to make ends meet. Our biggest problem is still, and always will be, sin. Sin is what separates us from God. Sin is what bars the way to heaven. And sin, if left unchecked and unpaid for, is what condemns to hell.

But the Word tells us sin has been paid for. The Word tells us the way to heaven has been opened. The Word tells us we have once again been brought into a proper relationship with God. Jesus has done it all. With his perfect life he won the holiness we need to stand before God. With his death on the cross he paid for our sins. It is ours by faith. Knowing this, we see that the problems of this world pale in comparison to joy of the forgiveness of sins. We know that we will survive, no matter what happens, because this life is not the only thing we live for. Then, we realize that because God did not spare his Son, but sacrificed him for us, it is true that he will graciously provide us with what we need. So his promises in the Word jump off the page right into our hearts, “Never will I leave you and never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). “Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). “In all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). How comforting these words are! And we know they are true because Jesus has provided us the proof – his resurrection.

Read through the New Testament and you will see how much the resurrection meant to the early Christian church. It is frightening for us sinners to think of the consequences we would face had Christ not been raised. Our sins would not be forgiven. We could not be declared “not guilty.” We would be hopelessly lost in the condemning, controlling power of sin. With a Christ who did not rise, sin wins the victory, and the defeat of damnation is our sure eternal destiny.

But wait, He lives! The manger, the cross and tomb are empty. In our place he suffered all, absolutely all, that our sins deserved. Now we are declared righteous, set free from sin, guilt and death. He lives! Right now he is our constant protecting, gracious, almighty King in this life, through death, and forever. On Good Friday, Jesus proclaimed his victory with the loud shout: “It is finished!” That victory was confirmed by the mighty signs immediately after Jesus’ death. That victory was given an even mightier, more unmistakable confirmation – Jesus came back to life. By that deed God the Father was saying: “Yes and Amen! It is finished. My appointed substitute for men has won an eternal redemption for them!”

Not only that, but throughout the Bible the proof which is given that Jesus is the Son of God is always his resurrection. If Jesus is the Son of God, then there is no doubt that what he says is true. If there is no doubt about what he says being true, then we can know that the Word he provides to sustain the church will be sufficient. We can confidently do as Paul encourages, “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…stand firm with the belt of truth…with the breastplate of righteousness…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…take up the shield of faith…take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:13-17).

But the Lord’s grace in providing for us did not stop there. We also see that he provides for his church with the public ministry. But what do we mean by that? Well, let us go back to our lesson. That young Christian church gathered in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension and before Pentecost decided to replace Judas. But by what right could the church call to replace Judas? To help us understand that, let us begin with a concept that is called “the priesthood of all believers.” In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter writes, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Every Christian is a priest, and we became a priest when we were brought to faith.

What is a priest? Well, to understand that we look back at the priesthood in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the believer could not approach God. Only the priest could do that. Only the priest could offer sacrifices for the people. Only the priest could announce God’s blessings on the people. Therefore, the priest was the mediator between the holy God and sinful mankind. In the Old Testament, to become a priest you had to be a descendant of Aaron. But now in the New Testament we are all priests. We are holy to the Lord.

But perhaps you are thinking, “Wait a second! I can’t claim that I am holy to the Lord!” After all, haven’t there been times that we, like Judas, betrayed Jesus by our lustful thoughts and bitterness and anger? Haven’t we, like Judas, doubted God’s mercy and struggled to believe that he loves us and cares for us when our lives seem to crumble around us or we have failed him so badly? How then can we possibly be priests who are holy to the Lord?

We are priests because of Jesus. When Jesus died, that barrier separating the holy God from sinful people was removed. He took our betrayals and doubts to the cross. He paid for them there. His holiness has been charged to us. God sees us as holy to the Lord - holy because our sins are removed. Now, we are set apart for God’s work of declaring the praises of the One who saved us. This is the priesthood of all believers. All of us have the privilege of serving as a priest privately.

But what the congregation in Jerusalem was doing was not simply giving someone the right to carry out this private ministry. They were calling someone to carry out this ministry publicly along with the rest of the apostles. The church in Jerusalem recognized that if they were to proclaim the gospel like Jesus commanded them to do, they needed a replacement for Judas to serve for the benefit of God’s church. And that was the way Jesus intended it. The Apostle Paul wrote, “It was he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastor’s and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11).

It was Jesus who provided that early Christian with apostles, to be his eye and ear witnesses of his death and resurrection. They were to go to Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth spreading the message of salvation. Some he used to write His Words on the pages of Scripture. Today he still provides for the church. Not apostles who have received direct calls from God, but preachers and teachers who have received calls from the Christian congregation of priests. And when the church calls a person to serve them publicly, whether it be Matthias as an apostle, our church called a teacher or pastor, we have the confidence that it is the Holy Spirit who has issued that call through the church and the Lord who has provided that worker. And for what purpose, “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12,13).

That early Christian church in Jerusalem survived because the risen and ascended Lord provided for their needs. We too can be certain that the Holy Christian Church and its individual members today will survive. After all we have Jesus Word, we have His resurrection, and we know he will provide what we need. Amen.