Grace, mercy, and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus answered them,
“Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you
will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not
alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me
you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I
have overcome the world.”(ESV )
What
does the word polarity suggest? There’s the North Pole and South Pole, which
are very much alike in cold. There are opposites like the cold and hot,
expensive and free, young and old, true and
false, failure and success. Our text has polarities too, like law and gospel,
the kingdom of the world and of God, our fallen-ness and Christ’s sufficiency.
Is this a polarity: the disciples earlier confidently proclaim faith in Jesus
and He says no, “You will all fall away?”
They’re like a little boy watching his dad groan with severe pain from a
disease. The boy says to himself, if that was me I’d bear it like a man! But
the next moment he stubbed his toe and the world fell apart. We see in the
disciples a polarity like that boy, of a false confidence that so easily
forgets what the love and peace of God do for us. We see that pole in the false confidence of
George Lucas’ myth that a tremor of navel-gazing good saved the soul of Darth
Vader, we see it in Pinocchio’s wistful wish that turned him into a real boy,
and in all the myths that lead us to say “God, I believe, aren’t you proud of
me?” The disciples felt confident. They
would never fall away. Their Lord, our
Lord, pointed out they didn’t even ask what they needed from Him.
That keen observer of men and
Scripture, Martin Luther observed: But ignorance of sin necessarily brings with
it ignorance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit and all things…Indeed no man
can comprehend its power. For we should not regard it as a trivial matter when
it was the reason for which God sent His Son to become a Sacrifice for our
redemption… (Original sin) is a deep
seated poison in the soul and body, in such a way that it even wants to be regarded
as righteousness… (AE 7:279) When self-confidence is put to the test will
we say to God, “Are you proud of me?”
Or, do we typically act as if the world fell apart? What do you do with
little things, like a jammed freeway, unexpected bills, tea with the IRS , or the doctor who says “have you thought about
hospice?” There’s a reason Jesus tells His disciples they will fail him. Pay
attention to why he reveals the actual extent of the disciples’ spiritual
powers, their abilities apart from Him. Jesus tells them what failures they are
so that they may have abiding peace.
I
have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. This seems very odd to us, as it is
completely contradictory to the world’s way of doing things. Where’s
self-esteem, the boot-straps to pull, the upper lip to stiffen, the resolve to
harden, the inner resources to draw upon, the divinity within? Where’s the
politically correct language that squirrels with words so that a physical fault
becomes an enhanced ability? Jesus tells
the disciples their self-faith will crumble for this reason: so that they may
have peace. That’s the same reason you and I have peace, one that endures. Do you understand, do you understand the
reason? Jesus tells us peace doesn’t
come from within.
Rather, he points out our spiritual
deficiency so that we will ask Jesus to do what we cannot do. Jesus says peace
comes from outside us, from Him. In him we have peace. He gives peace. He gives His peace, an abiding and enduring
peace. That’s good news when bills threaten daily bread. He gives peace when
you are powerless to keep what is yours. He gives peace even when facing
death. What is this “peace?” It’s not the Hippie protest signs of the 60’s
bobbing up and down, “make peace not war.”
It is not a Buddhist’s sense of detachment, of not feeling, a practiced
apathy. Properly speaking, it is not something internal to us, like a feeling
of contentment, calm and confidence; although Christ’s peace often results in
that very thing. You can have his peace while you are in turmoil, and even
terror. His peace does not depend on you. It depends on Him.
His peace depends on His cross and
resurrection where He forgave your sins to give you life. Peace with God
transforms your failure, poverty, and meaninglessness into victory, inheritance
and purpose. And it all comes from outside you, from Christ. Listen
to the promise: In the world you will
have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. Jesus overcame
the world to give you the kingdom
of God
So the saints of old received peace
through the promise first given Eve that the deliverer would crush the head of
the serpent. We receive peace as did Abraham, who was given a lamb for
sacrifice in place of Isaac. We receive peace as did Joseph, released from
prison to preserve the seed of the Promised One. We receive peace as did Moses,
called to free God’s people and take them to the Promised Land. Take heart in
your tribulations, as did these trembling saints, because Jesus overcame the
world. He commands, “take heart” because
He overcame and continues to overcome unto the very present in your life.
Unlike the child who stubbed his toe,
Jesus bore infinite pain when upon that dreadful cross. He suffered in body,
but far greater the pangs of hell. His
cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” was no theatrical act. He
didn’t say, “I must say this to fulfill the Scriptures or it won’t look good;”
rather Jesus fulfilled that prophesy to overcome the world. He overcame the world, being born in the
likeness of sinful flesh yet living without sin, living in faithful trust of
the Father. He overcame the world’s deep
seated poison in soul and body by dying to sin, by dying for sin, and by
dying as a substitute for sinners. He overcame all that opposes God. And He overcame all for you. This is our
peace! You don’t have to do what you cannot do. He made peace for you. He
overcame all that deceives the world. He
overcame the devil’s machinations. He
overcame the perversions of our flesh. He overcame the twisted values of the
world. He overcame the Father’s wrath against sin and sinner. So where are your enemies now? Oh you see them often enough, more often than
the price of gas goes up and more often than you see the doctor. Life is filled
with tribulations until our Lord returns. But Jesus the Christ, the Son of God,
the crucified and risen Lord, overcame all these. He overcame the reason you are terrified of
them as well. He overcame the unbelief of sin so that you might have confidence
in His victory.
Because of His victory, listen to what
he invites you to do over and over again:
Truly, truly, I say to you,
whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now
you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may
be full. Ask - you are not orphans
but sons of God. You inherit the kingdom because the eldest brother Jesus
received the inheritance. Jesus received
the inheritance of eternal life to share it with you. Ask - you who need faith, strength for daily
life, who need holiness and ability, who need tribulations to bring you to your
knees causing you to look up. Ask - you, the Bride of Christ, whom He fiercely
loves. Ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the LORD. Ask all that the Lord’s
Prayer promises to give; for He is LORD of heaven and earth, to him all knees
shall bow. He is the Lamb slain who yet
lives, your righteousness and peace. He gives what we do not have. He declares
you holy and righteous in His sight; for in Baptism He made you flesh of his
flesh and bone of His bone, His bride the church.
So He works in our lives that we
boldly ask in His name. And that asking, asking according to his will, speaks
volumes about peace. We have peace with God, God as our Father through the Son
made man. Jesus’ overcame the world to work faith in our hearts, so we believe when our LORD bids us to call
His Father as our Father; it is true. What joy to ask for His kingdom come, His
will be done, daily bread, forgiveness of sins, protection from temptation,
deliverance from evil. What joy asking, knowing he taught us to pray because he
promises to answer. Take heart, you do not have to rely on your goodness or
power or fortitude for any good thing. Jesus Christ overcame the world. Our
confidence is Christ. He is our peace. All our prayers have been answered.
The peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Amen)
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