Jubilate – May 11, 2025Psalm 66; Isaiah 40:25-31; 1 Peter 2:11-20St. John 16:16-22
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The primary application of Christ’s
words this morning concerns the apostles, however, Christ also intended them
for you and for the Church of every age. His words have two main parts: 1) “a
little while, and you will not see Me;” and 2) “again a little while, and you
will see Me.”[1]
In the immediate application, Christ is
speaking to His apostles concerning His death and resurrection. He spoke these
words on Maundy Thursday, the night of His betrayal. It would only be a little
while before He was taken from them, handed over to the Jews and Pilate, then hung
on a cross until He died. Because of these events, the apostles wept and
lamented while the world rejoiced in the death of Christ. Satan and his brood
claimed victory over God when Christ breathed His last, believing they had
overcome the Church and her head. The apostles wept because they still thought
of the Kingdom of God as an earthly kingdom, whose victory would be defined by
growth, property, and riches. Now that their King was dead, the death of the
kingdom was sure to follow.
Christ’s words to His apostles even
hold true after the resurrection. It was only a little while that He remained
with them before they did not see Him after the ascension. Almost immediately
after Pentecost, the enemies of Christ began to wage war on the Church.
Persecution and martyrdom followed. It became the policy of the Roman Empire to
stamp out the “Christian Pagans” who followed the words of the Crucified
Christ. All but one of the apostles would meet a martyr’s death, along with
countless others. The weeping and lamenting of the Church did not end.
There is an idea among some Christians
that before Christ returns, the Church will conquer the earth. What that means
is that the Church will gain prestige on the earth such that all false teachers
and unbelievers will at least be brought under the temporal authority of the
Church, and Christianity will govern the world. This will usher in a golden age
where righteousness and blessedness will rule the world and then Christ will
return. This thinking is sometimes summarized in the phrase, “We win down
here.” It is also called Post-Millennialism.
But we don’t need to believe in such a radical departure from God’s Word to be deceived by the same thoughts. More locally, we are tempted to believe that if only we could get a few more members, we wouldn’t need to worry about finances. Or, more money in the church will mean less problems. Or, more people in the pews (or even more names on the roster) means a more faithful congregation. Or, more light-hearted hymns, easier liturgy, less doctrine, more events, or anything similar will solve the problems of the church.
Such thoughts might have practical
value. More money in the offering plate means making decisions about repairs to
the church are less difficult. More people in the pews means more hearts are
being converted by the Gospel of Christ. Yet placing your trust or value in any
of these endeavors is contrary to God’s Word. He has promised that the Church
will always be outnumbered by the unbelieving.[2]
The Church will always be despised by the world. Finances will always be a
struggle for the faithful. There will always be weeping and lamentation among
us.
Personally, and as an institution, we
will always be weeping and lamenting because we are the body of Christ, the
body that was betrayed, smitten, afflicted, and bore a cross to the mountain of
Calvary.[3]
Most of the world will always be on the side of our persecutors. The tares will
remain until the harvest which is the return of Christ at the end of time.[4]
Seasons of feast and famine will continue to turn but the feasts will seem
shorter and the famines will grow longer. The faith of those precious to us
will turn cold. Your body will continue to decay until it is returned to the
dust from which it came.
Days of peril, violence, and
persecution will increase. The preaching of false Christs will echo more loudly
in your ears. Just this week, a new man ascended to the throne of the
antichrist who, from what I’ve read, could be even more damaging to Christians
than his predecessor. Idolatry, Atheism, Infidelity, perverted Science, false
philosophy, worldly pride, heresy, schism, and turmoil from within and from
without have marred the prosperity of the Church and will continue until Christ
returns. A little while and you will not see Christ, and during this time there
will be weeping and lamenting. Open your eyes to the state of the world and it
is impossible not to see the fulfillment of Christ’s words.
But there is another, brighter side to
Christ’s words. “And again a little while, and you will see me.” That is to
say, it will only be a little while before you will see Christ. The suffering
of this present time is nothing compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us when Christ returns.[5]
What may last a lifetime on this side of glory, 70, 80, 90 years or more, is a
blink of an eye compared with the eternity Christ has promised to His beloved
disciples. “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in a petty pace from
day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time,” yet all our yesterdays pale
in quantity and quality when compared to the joy of Christ’s eternal presence
with you.[6]
The apostles were confused by Christ’s
words because they could not imagine joy outside of being with Christ. Yet He
was taken from them precisely to fulfill their joy, to fulfill their salvation.
It was necessary that He fall victim to the betrayal of Judas and the death of
the cross that they would see Him again. And then, after a little while, it was
necessary that He ascend to the Father, that He would prepare a place for them
in eternity. It was also necessary that He ascend so that the Apostles would go
out into all the world, proclaiming salvation in the Name of Christ. The
unavoidable agony of birth was necessary so that the joy of a child would
follow.
And though we might focus on the
“little while,” what comes after that little while is of greater importance.
You will see Christ! That doesn’t mean He is absent right now. He is not gone. He
is present with us. He has promised His Church to be present always, even to
the end of the age, and especially wherever two or three of His disciples are
gathered.[7]
And yet He is not manifest in such a way that we could draw an outline of His
body. So too is Christ’s True Body and True Blood present in the Holy Supper
and yet you cannot discern a thigh from a forearm in the Eucharist.
To the disciples’ great relief and joy,
they did see Christ again when He rose from the dead. They saw Him in the
flesh, shared meals with Him, were absolved by Him, talked with Him, and heard
more of His teachings. By the time of His ascension, the Apostles could stand,
watching Him depart, yes with some apprehension but a greater understanding
that what the Lord has promised them will come true.
In that same joy, we can trust the Word
of Christ that no one can take His Word, His joy, from us. The sins of man can
harm you in body and soul. He can take your life, but He can’t take Christ from
you. He can’t take the promise of eternal joy with Christ away from you. This
world can take your confidence, your health, your home, even your life, but no
one can take the joy of Christ from you.
The joy of which I speak is not the
same as “happiness” or even an emotion at all. It is the sure and certain
promise that you have been declared right with God. As a pledge of this
certainty, Christ has given you His Word, His seal in Holy Baptism, and fed you
on His own flesh and blood. ‘There is not a fortune that will not be scattered
and disappear. There is not a kingdom or nation that won’t fall into the
obscurity of history. There is not a home that won’t crumble into nothing. Even
prophecies shall fail, tongues cease, and knowledge vanish away.[8]
But there is one thing which shall live on unharmed amid all changes, undamaged
by disaster and calamity. The dampness of the tomb cannot extinguish it. God
has stamped His own immortality on it. It is lit for everlasting years. It is
the joy which the believer has in Christ Jesus.
That, no man can take away.’[9]
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
[1]
St. John 16:16.
[2]
St. Matthew 13:3-9.
[3]
St. John 15:18-20.
[4]
St. Matthew 13:24-30.
[5]
Romans 8:18.
[6]
Cr. Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5.
[7]
St. Matthew 18:20; 28:20.
[8]
1 Corinthians 13:8.
[9]
Joseph August Seiss, Lectures on the Gospels, Volume 2 (Philadelphia,
PA: Lutheran Bookstore, 1888), 591-592.
