Concordia Lutheran Church
The 4th week of Easter, April 25, 2010
Let Us Rejoice! He Calls to Us!
John 10:22-30
† IN HIS NAME †
May you and all of those you love hear plainly, that our Father has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. May you hear that He knows you each by name, that He has cleansed you and is your Shepherd, your Guide, your Protector, Knowing this – Let us rejoice! AMEN!
In the Shadows… of Silence…
It would have been a cold day, probably no warmer than 45 degrees, as the wind swept across the temple mountaintop in Jerusalem. Walking in Solomon’s Porch would have kept the blood circulating, as Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God.
It was the celebration of the restoration of the temple after the horrible desecration of a few centuries before, during the time between the Old and New Testament. As Jesus and those with him walked, they would look across the 35 acre courtyard, and they would see the restoration of the third Temple – Herod’s temple occurring. Herod planned, and wanted this to be the most glorious temple of all. Some 90 feet high, built on a raised mound, nearly no expense was spared in its being built – as Herod would style himself in the Roman pattern, and place his family symbol, and eagle, atop the edifice.
No matter how much Herod would try, this temple would be so much less than its predecessors. The most noted occurrence in the temple would not testify to it as the place God has put His name, but instead, just the opposite.
There was no Ark of the Covenant within it’s Holiest place, and no smoke would fill it as in days past, as God’s presence was known among his people. How could the priests simply go through the routines, how could the people have confidence in the sacrifices they offered? How empty, how hollow this edifice would have seemed.
It is no wonder that the Jewish people, as they heard about Jesus, would gather to him, hoping beyond hope, that the long awaited Messiah would restore the glory of Israel, that the beautiful temple would once again be the place where people would come, and know they were in the presence of God. They heart cries out for some hope.
John records it this way, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
They Didn’t Listen
The scriptures had told them clearly, what they could expect of the Messiah. They didn’t grasp the old promises, from the garden, where Eve was promised her descendant would crush the power of the tempter; to Moses’ promise that God would raise up another prophet who would lead God’s people and establish anew a covenant; to David’s psalms, singing praise to the God who would provide for His people; to Isaiah’s promise of the child who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace, who would suffer and bear the sins of all.
To this promise of Jeremiah, found in chapter 3:15
15 And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding. 16 “And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the LORD, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.
Jeremiah 3:15-16 (NLT)
Jesus had told them about himself, as he proclaimed the kingdom of God was there, among them. He taught them, as they noted, with an authority that went beyond anything understood.
The miracles and power demonstrating God’s love told them that Jesus was the anointed one.
Yet, they didn’t hear…. they didn’t see, they didn’t grasp, that what they desired, to know they were in the presence of God, was happening in a way that David and Solomon and Isaiah and Jeremiah could only see as a far off hope.
My question is this morning, do we hear? Do we grasp that we live, moment by moment in the presence of God, or are we too found anxiously wondering where God is?
Why didn’t they hear? Why don’t people today? In the gospel, Jesus claimed it was because they weren’t part of His flock, that they didn’t hear His voice, because if they had, they would have followed, and known that they were given the gift of eternal life. Can the same be said of us today? That we are so distracted by our temples, by the things we are building, that we don’t hear, or even bother to take time to hear the voice of God calling to us? Are we so caught up by the world, and its demand of our lives, that we fail to hear the Voice of the one who spoke us into existence?
What They Should have Heard
What should they have heard? What do we need to hear?
Matthew would write his gospel, over and over he included phrases to establish that what was happened was just as the prophets had promised. All that the temple pointed towards, is seen in the coming of Jesus Christ.
The sacrificial system, the very reason for the building to be build, that people would know their sins are attained for, finds it fulfillment in the sacrifice whose blood would not be poured on the altar, but instead on the hill over there, on Golgotha, where the lamb of God would be slain. A sacrifice so incredible – that over here in the temple – the curtain that divided the Holiest place from the people would be ripped in two, top to bottom, revealing that the blood spilled and pour out there, meant nothing, but the blood spilt here…
The presence of the original tabernacle, and Solomon’s temple indicated that the people of God were not alone, that God dwelt in their midst, that His love and grace protected them, His people. That He would cleanse them of all of their sin, that He would comfort them in the midst of trauma, that He would dance with them with us – as He rejoiced over their redemption, and the eternity we would spend together
That no enemy on earth, that no spiritual power or principality could wrestle us out of His care.
Hear His call- He is all you need…
And come and dine
We have a distinct advantage, over the people gathered in the presence of Jesus that day. We know what would happen, we live, not in the time of God’s silence, but in the time of God’s love being demonstrated with more clarity than ever in History.
We live in Easter time. In the time were as the sun comes up, we realize the tomb is empty, and the cross was a display of the most incredible love, the most incredible commitment.
You see, our Shepherd knows us, intimately. He knows like sheep we wander and stray. He knows what we need to be fed and nourished so well, that we would not ever stray far from Him. He knows we need to hear His voice, to be assured of His care. To be assured of His love and to grasp its height and width and depth and breadth.
We have been entrusted with His word, and with the sacraments to do that very thing.
TO realize that this sacrifice was never hollow, never in vain. To grasp that God hasn’t left the presence of His people, to know He is as present here, as he was in the colonnade, as present as He was on the cross, and in the upper room.
To know He calls to us, and invites us to come and dine, to come and hear His voice, and grasp how well He knows us, and provides for us,
And with us, rejoices in the work accomplished through the cross, and the promise of the empty grave.
He is Risen! Hava Negilah! Let us Rejoice! AMEN!
