+Points to ponder

1. Bloody sacrifices such as those in the Old Testament seem so foreign to our modern ears – how to you grapple with the fact that it is the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that delivers and sanctifies you?
2. What does it mean for your present life that you are written in God’s book of life?
3. How can we at Redeemer “stir up one another to love and good works”?

+Sermon Transcript

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto each of you from God our Father and our Lord and King, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Let us pray: Suffering God, when in whose we seek glory for ourselves, cast down all our idols and direct our hearts to Him who bears our wounds and is our peace, Jesus Christ, the true God and servant of all. Amen.

For those who remember Lawrence Welk, you may remember him saying, “There are good days and there are bad days, and this is one of them.” We may chuckle at that, but it rings true, “There are good days, and there are bad days.” But, why? Why are some days better than others? Sometimes we know. Sometimes we do not. What kind of day is today? According to our reading in Hebrews, today is kind of a bloody day. But it is not the first or the last of its kind.

There will be a bloody day and blood, violence, and destruction will mark the Last Day and even the days before it. Daniel in our Old Testament reading says, “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been …” Jesus, in our Gospel reading tells us, “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains… And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.”

This is what the world has coming on account of sin! This is what you and I have coming on account of sin as St. Paul reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death …” With such a stark forecast we cannot help but wonder, will anyone be delivered from this bloody destruction? Even in the seeming despair which looms, Daniel tells us, “But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” The book of which Daniel speaks is “God’s Book of Life, listing those who remain faithful.”

But who are these that will be delivered from this terrible destruction? Our Psalm today gives some description: “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight… For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

They will be the “saints,” “the excellent ones” in whom the Lord delights, who will not “see corruption” but walk “the path of life.” Are you a saint?

Daniel picks up on the description of these rescued ones. “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Are you wise? Have you turned many to righteousness?

These who are delivered from destruction are “the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” And so, this “includes the faithful from every nation and every time, [and] it is appropriate to see those who yet live faithfully here on earth as part of that gathering. In fact, when Christians gather for worship in this world, they may be understood as participating by faith in the ongoing heavenly praise.”

And so, will you be delivered from the bloody destruction?

Beloved, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes,’ for there has already been a bloody day for you! Yes, there was a bloody day. A day when Jesus sacrificed Himself.

On the day of his bloody destruction, Jesus fulfilled all prior sacrifices, the whole priesthood, and even the temple destined for destruction with “a single sacrifice for sins.” And how wonderful is that as none of our sacrifices or our self-justifications have any power to save me or you.

Jesus was delivered over to a bloody death and destroyed in order to deliver you and me from the coming destruction that each of us deserve, the righteous for the unrighteous. As St. Peter puts it: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God …” Beloved, “Christ made atonement for us by His cross. His resurrection gives absolute certainty that His sacrifice was effective.”

Not only has Jesus delivered you, but Jesus has also sanctified you. The writer of Hebrews tells us: “For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

Jesus has cleansed you by His blood and forgiven you all your sins. Jesus has claimed you by His blood to be His holy one, His saint. Jesus has opened for you by His body and blood the “new and living way” to approach God and stand before Him in holiness now and forever.

But Jesus’ flesh did not “see corruption.” He rose and lives and reigns to all eternity. He is present now by his Word and Spirit.

Therefore, this is a bloody day. Jesus is present with you, in His body and blood, as your “new and living way” to enter the presence of God in “confidence.” Therefore, you “draw near” and joyfully walk “the path of life.”

The processional cross provides a picture of God and His Church. God calls His Church to “draw near with a true heart.” But, “before [we] may approach God in the heavenly sanctuary, [we] must be true to God the Father in confessing [our] sins and receiving His absolution through Jesus Christ, [our] great High Priest. Then forgiven and cleansed from sin, [we] can come before God the Father with a good conscience along the holy way that Christ provides, the way from earth to heaven that is symbolized by the aisle that goes from the nave into the sanctuary, the open way that Christ has prepared for [us] by His death and resurrection. The Father’s word of pardon opens the door for entry into the heavenly realm and admits pardoned sinners into God’s holy presence.”

And beloved, the Church does not walk down that aisle alone. The processional cross leads and accompanies [us]. It is by Jesus’ blood and with Jesus Himself that the congregation enters the presence of God. Once there, the Spirit shapes the Church in conformity to Christ and His cross, filling the Church with faith, hope, and love by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus calls you to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” He calls you to live as one who has been cleansed by His blood. You enter here by His blood, and you will enter His heaven by His blood.

Jesus calls you to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” You then are confident to stand before God on the Last Day because of Jesus’ blood. Christ calls you to live toward the future He has prepared, not against it, in attitude or action.

Jesus calls you to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” He calls you to forget yourself and remember others, not neglecting them, but being compassionate for them as he has had compassion for you by his blood.

As you “draw near,” the Holy Spirit descends to destroy you and to deliver you through Jesus’ blood.

Yes, He destroys you. It is not necessarily bloody, but the Spirit aims to destroy every idol, including your own righteousness. The Spirit aims to “release us from the bonds of our sins, which by reason of our weakness we have brought upon ourselves.” The Spirit aims to put to death self-centered ways in you and me by writing his laws on our hearts and minds. There is destruction today.

And then, Beloved, He delivers you. Just as He delivered you on the day you were “washed,” when your name was “written in the book,” He does so today. Just as He has forgotten your sins through absolution many times before, he absolves you today and forgets them again. Just as He has brought you near to Him “by the blood of Jesus,” He does so again today by Jesus’ blood in His Supper.

Today is a bloody day as the Spirit sanctifies you, makes you holy by Jesus’ blood, and gives you all the gifts Christ won for you by His sacrifice on the cross.

Therefore, every day is a bloody day. By the blood of Jesus, you, God’s Church, are the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31.

By His blood you are “the saints,” “the excellent ones” in whom the Lord delights, who will not “see corruption” but walk “the path of life.”

By His blood you will “shine like the brightness of the sky above . . . like the stars forever and ever.”

Now, every day is a day to be the Church by the blood of Jesus. Every day, you are cleansed by Jesus’ blood. Every day, you are confident by Jesus’ blood. Every day, you are compassionate by Jesus’ blood.

So, then, you might have good days and bad days. But

EVERY DAY, EVEN THE LAST DAY, IS A BLOODY DAY, A DAY DEFINED BY JESUS’ BLOOD FOR YOU.

Amen.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

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Background and Study notes from Rev. Jonathan W. Rusnak, STM, pastor, Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Concordia Pulpit Resources