The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

The Day of Pentecost 

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2:14-17).

Pentecost is the day that Christians celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles in Jerusalem, manifested by the descent of tongues of fire from heaven, and the speaking of the Apostles in the many languages of the peoples assembled there. By this event, and Peter’s subsequent preaching, we are taught how to understand God’s word. Pentecost also reveals to us the nature and work of God, the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, however, Pentecost shows that God’s saving grace is not confined to one ethnic group of people, but that the Gospel of Christ crucified as the sacrifice for sin and risen from the dead for man’s redemption belongs to the whole world. Moreover, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is something that continues to happen from that day to this, and until Our Lord Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead, through His word preached, and given through water, bread and wine.

First, the opening of Peter’s Pentecost sermon teaches us how to read the Bible. Peter connects the Old Testament scriptures, specifically the words of the prophet Joel that he quotes, to the events unfolding around them. Peter then goes on to use the power and authority given him by the Holy Spirit by preaching to the people repentance and forgiveness of sins in the crucified and risen Jesus. The New Testament is basically a commentary on, or more precisely, an exposition of the Old Testament. When we read the Bible, or listen to preaching, we are to recognize that the Old Testament always points to Christ and is to be explained in the light of the New Testament, and not the other way around.[1]

Consequently, the New Testament scriptures expose in greater detail what the Old Testament scriptures reveal about the divine nature and work of God, and His Holy Spirit, by the events of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune, or “three-person” God, and not just an impersonal force, power, or energy. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit has His own work, that of convicting the world of sin, and leading the disciples into all truth;[2] He tells us that the Spirit proceeds from both Him and God the Father; Also, as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is called God, and speaks to and directs the Apostles Himself.[3] The Holy Spirit operates in perfect harmony with God the Father, and God the Son, to work the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation in man through the word of God. An inanimate object, or an impersonal being, cannot speak and do things as Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit speaks and does; The outpouring of the Spirit on the Apostles at Pentecost, and their preaching to the people shows us that the Holy Spirit is God, and demonstrates His unity with the other divine members of the God-head.

Finally, this outpouring of the divine Holy Spirit is not confined to just the Apostles at Pentecost, but it is continual. The supernatural speaking in tongues by the Apostles is the sign that accompanies the power they received by the Holy Spirit, not the main gift, and not something Christians should expect will always accompany the Spirit’s working. The purpose of this miracle was to show that foreigners, i.e. non-Jews, could hear God’s word, and the Holy Spirit could use that word as His tool to create faith in them.[4] The coming of the Spirit is not a one-time occurrence but something that happens continually when God’s word is preached and His Sacraments, namely Holy Baptism, through which God gives the gift of the Holy Spirit,[5] as Peter preaches, are properly administered. The miracle of Pentecost shows all people that God does not want anyone to perish, but instead wants everyone to come to repentance.[6]

Pentecost is not just some crazy miracle story invented to spice up the narrative of Christianity, or to give legitimacy to the Apostles by endowing them with supernatural tongue-speaking powers. Even though videos of people rolling around on the floor “in the spirit” babbling nonsensical gibberish may provide endless entertainment for viewers of YouTube, Pentecost is about something far more important than the miracle of speaking in tongues God performed that day. The events of Pentecost give us an important instruction as to how we must understand God’s word. It shows us the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. Most of all, Pentecost show us that God’s forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus, won by his atoning sacrifice on the cross, is for all people, and is given as a gift by the working of the Holy Spirit. ###

---

[1] John 5:39

[2] John 16:7-11

[3] Acts 5:1-4; 13:1-3;

[4] Romans 10:17; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 6:11; 12:3;

[5] Acts 2:38-29

[6] 2 Peter 3:9

The Name of Jesus Forbidden

Icon of the Resurrection

June 18, 2019 - Tuesday after Trinity 

Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand... Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it... So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done (Acts 4:1-4, 13-14, 18-21).

Read Acts 4 here.

The Sadducees were offended that the Apostles were teaching the resurrection of the dead. They were the ones whom Jesus silenced, along with the Pharisees and the Scribes, the account of which is recorded in Matthew 22. The Sadducees come up with this ridiculous illustration of a married man who dies, leaving his wife to be married to his succession of brothers. The brothers also die, each leaving the woman a widow. They ask the sarcastic question,

“Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”[1]

The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection, and may have even denied the immortality of the soul; unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees only accepted the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, known as the Books of Moses) as authoritative scripture.[2] Matthew records Jesus silencing the Sadducees saying,

“You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, 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.”[3]

In arguing with Jesus about the resurrection, the Sadducees treat it as an absurd idea. Jesus, using scripture only from the Torah, interestingly enough, asserts the resurrection as a fact: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. He quotes Moses, an authority the Sadducees recognize, to make the point that,

Though at Moses’ time the patriarchs were long dead, God identifies Himself as being their God. Only living people can have a God; therefore, if He is their God, they are alive, their souls are with Him, and their bodies will be raised.[4]

We live in the same world Peter and John lived in. We like to think ours is different and better than theirs, but it isn’t. In terms of hostility to the Gospel, things remain the same. We do not have the Sadducees to mock the resurrection, but there are plenty of others who are just as triggered by any such preaching, and forbid the name of Jesus. 

We tend to think that the ancients were less intelligent than we modern folk; if we are being charitable, we might say they were limited in their understanding of the natural world. The word primitive comes to mind. Our modern life certainly looks different from the life of the 1^st Century Roman Empire; I like my air conditioning and my internet, and don’t want to trade them for life in that society. But modern technology, while it makes life more comfortable and convenient, does not change the nature of man. The Sadducees rejected the resurrection because they didn’t believe the scriptures; they rejected Christ, just like people who are faithless and resist the Holy Spirit today. Peter and John weren’t preaching the resurrection because they had a primitive understanding of science, or were superstitious, or were uneducated. They proclaimed Christ crucified and risen from the dead because they saw Him alive after He died on the cross. They knew it to be true. They knew it was true for them, and for the whole world, that Jesus paid the ransom for sin, and in Christ they would have forgiveness and eternal life. No amount of ridicule, persecution, no threat of beatings, imprisonment, or death by the most horrific means, could dissuade them from making disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching all that Jesus commanded.

That is precisely what happened. The Apostles were all murdered for their faith, with the exception of John, who suffered imprisonment and exile. This is a profound piece of information that strengthens the credibility of Christianity. The fact that a person who believes a religion may be willing to die for that religion doesn’t prove that that religion is true. There are plenty of Muslims who are willing to seek out death for Islam. The Apostles, however, were either first-hand witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, or perpetrators of the biggest hoax in history. I have not met the man who was willing to die for something he knew to be a lie. If the Apostles had stolen Jesus’ body and made up the resurrection, that would be them. Men have been willing to die for causes and ideas in which they believed that were later discredited, like National Socialism, or which way the toilet paper should be put on the roll (the proper way is over the front, as this link will decisively prove once and for all). I have never heard of a man who was willing to submit to a gruesome death by torture for a claim they knew to be false, rather than to renounce it and live.

The Apostles went joyfully to their beheadings, crucifixions, stoning, and burnings. They were tortured and fed to wild animals for the entertainment of the pagan masses. To avoid it, all they had to do was say they were lying, that they made it all up. Sure, they would be ridiculed and ostracized, but if this life is all that there is, wouldn’t that be preferable to a painful death? But they couldn’t deny Jesus. They saw Him, the one who lives, and was dead, and is alive forevermore, the one who has the keys of death and the grave, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.[5] Jesus had conquered sin and death, and promised them eternal life. In the grand scheme of things, for the sake of eternity in a new and perfect creation without sin or death, with a new and perfect body, living in relation to God as man was intended, what is a little bodily suffering here in this veil of tears?

This is the faith created in the Apostles through the Word, by the working of the Holy Spirit. It is the same faith that lives in us by the same means. We look forward to the same things they looked forward to. They saw and believed. We have heard their account, attested to by their signs and wonders, and believed: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”[6]

The world is sorely grieved

Whenever it is slighted

Or when its hollow fame

And honor have been blighted.

Christ, Thy reproach I bear

Long as it pleaseth Thee;

I’m honored by my Lord - What is the world to me![7]

The world with wanton pride

Exalts its sinful pleasures

And for them foolishly

Gives up the heavenly treasures.

Let others love the world

With all its vanity;

I love the Lord, my God - What is the world to me![8]

---

[1] Matthew 22:28

[2] Harrison, Everett F, Geoffrey W Bromiley, and Carl F Henry,. Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1990.

[3] Matthew 22:29-32

[4] Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

[5] Revelation 1:18, 8

[6] John 20:29

[7] Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. The Lutheran Hymnal. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941. Hymn #430, stz. 5

[8] Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. The Lutheran Hymnal. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941. Hymn #430, stz. 6

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jew, “but for blasphemy because you, a mere man, make yourself God” (John 10:24-33 NIV).

Tell us plainly! Are you the Christ? What has Jesus been doing up to this point? Precisely what the Pharisees demand. He has shown them many great miracles from the Father. He has healed many people. He has taught in the temple and the synagogues as one who has authority. He has declared that the scriptures were fulfilled in Him. He casts out demons who testify to who Jesus is. He has called the Pharisees lying children of the devil, and Himself the Son of God. He has called Himself I AM, applying YAHWEH’s divine name to Himself. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd, the one come to search out the lost and scattered sheep, and rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered.[1] In calling Himself the Good Shepherd, Jesus is calling Himself YAHWEH. The prophet Ezekiel wrote that, because those who were supposed to shepherd Israel would neglect the responsibility given to them, God Himself would come among His sheep and be their shepherd Himself.[2] Jesus announces to the Jews here in John 10 that the long wait for their shepherd is over. He has arrived.

The Jews still reject Him. They are not His sheep, and therefore, do not hear His voice. They are the false shepherds who eat the fat, clothe themselves with the wool, slaughter the fat ones, but do not feed the sheep. They rule the sheep with force and harshness.[3] They try to charge Jesus with breaking the Law when He heals on the Sabbath.[4] After hearing Jesus read the scriptures and teach, they try to throw Him off a cliff.[5] They ignore the casting out of demons, and the restoration of people possessed by them, and say He colludes with the devil to cast out devils.[6] They have eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear. They have hearts, but do not understand.[7] Here, as He did just a short time before, Jesus tells them exactly who He is. He is one with the Father. Not merely one in will and work, but one in being and essence.[8] Jesus is telling us that He and the Father are one in essence, or nature, but they are not identical persons. As the Scripture says, the Jews understood exactly what Jesus was saying. They took these words to be blasphemy and tried to impose the penalty for blasphemy prescribed in the law, though without due process.[9]

Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd and, in so doing, gives us an indication of the intimate relationship He has with His followers, and the love that moved Jesus to die for them all. Sheep who do not listen to the voice of the shepherd are bound to wander away from the safety of the flock and be devoured by wolves. Like the shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep, the God-man’s love for His own moved Him to endure the humiliating death on the cross to be the sacrifice for their sins.[10] Jesus’ declaration that He and the Father are one, and that no one can snatch His sheep from His hand should give all believers hope, no matter what they face. Believers can rest secure that they belong to Jesus Christ and will never perish; all of Jesus’ works affirm this truth.[11] Consequently, to reject Jesus as the Pharisees did, even in the face of the miracles Jesus did and the testimony of the Law and the Prophets, is to reject God Himself and His gift of forgiveness and everlasting life.

---

[1] Ezekiel 34:11-12

[2] Ezekiel 34:1-4; 11-12

[3] Lenski, R. C. (1942). The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Columbus: The Wartburg Press.

[4] Matthew 12:9-14

[5] Luke 4:16-30

[6] Matthew 12:22-30

[7] Matthew 13:10-17

[8] Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible, English Standard Version. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. John 10:38

[9] Leviticus 24:16

[10] Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible, English Standard Version. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. Philippians 2:8

[11] Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible, English Standard Version. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Trinity Sunday and the Athanasian Creed

By Rev. Joel A. Brondos

This past Sunday, Trinity Sunday, our congregation made its annual pilgrimage to the Athanasian Creed. Sure, there was an explanatory paragraph in the bulletin. That paragraph was not only intended to be informational, but to buck up the congregants for plunging into the thing with gusto.

Modern Christians (both clergy or laypeople) seem to need the reminder that the size of that ecumenical creed is commensurate to the size of its historic significance. And yet, the reading in unison of this confession no doubt left many members with the painful thought that on some occasions, the spirit might be as unwilling as the flesh is weak. And that is precisely the point.

On these Trinity Sundays, the credal behemoth is juxtaposed with the appointed Gospel reading for the day: the account of Nicodemus visiting Jesus by night in John 3. How appropriate. From the lectern the people hear “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.” From the nave they then respond with “it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Whether Nicodemus and Jesus or Athanasius vs. Arius, it’s all about flesh and spirit: Was Jesus God incarnate, true man and true God, the Word made flesh? Are the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve nothing more than the dust of the ground? Can flesh be reborn of the Spirit?

Before continuing, a brief aside: the word “flesh” is used in at least two ways throughout the Scriptures. In some instances, “flesh” means skin and bones, body and blood. In other passages, it refers to the sinful nature. While the Scriptures describe a constant war between flesh and spirit, still, the one cannot ultimately be divorced from the other.

Without this crucial distinction, some have been led to imagine that God is to be blamed for creating sinful flesh and blood, while others have opted for mystical asceticism, trying to divorce their pure spirits from sinful physiques.

It would be a worthwhile investigation to track how flesh and blood became so closely identified with the sinful nature (or to ponder whether body and soul can be equated with flesh and spirit . . . but while you are catching me in flagrante delictu exceeding the 500 word limit for this article, I admit that, even without a license for prolixity to match the 660+ word quantity of the Athanasian Creed, I cannot even begin to approximate its quality.)

All this is especially significant for those who claim to be spiritual, but not religious -- by which they mean that their carcasses will never be found taking up any space and time located physically in a church pew. They never seem to take the time to contemplate and embrace the grace and gravity of the incarnation. Spirits are neither crucified nor baptized. Spirits seem quite impervious to thorns and nails. While it may flow quickly off a duck’s back, water doesn’t even do that much to spirits.

The wondrous and marvelous thing, however, is the coming together of flesh and spirit in Jesus Christ. In Him, the God who is spirit (who must be worshiped in spirit in truth, John 4:24) becomes the incarnate, body-and-blood Word made flesh for our forgiveness, life, and salvation in body and soul. In Christ the Spirit of truth comes to the sinful nature. All this happens where Christ gathers the bodies and souls of His people around Word and Sacrament, incarnational means of grace: water, Word, and Spirit; body and blood joined to bread and wine by word and Spirit. In the Divine Service, religion is never divorced from spirituality.

And so, the Nicodemus who learned by night about being born again by water and Spirit was one who came to remove the body of Jesus from the cross (John 19:39). This grisly act was no spiritual reverie, but one which has Nicodemus with angels, archangels and all the company of heaven joining with us in the confession of the Athanasian Creed, not as tedium but as Te Deum.