St Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Lent 5 – April 2^nd, 2006

Dear followers of the saving cross. Amen

Have you ever noticed that there were only times that God the Father spoke to Jesus while he was on this earth where others could hear him --at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of His public ministry. The first time was at his baptism. The second occasion was at the time Jesus’ transfiguration, The final time was on Tuesday of Passion Week, towards the close of His blessed ministry. At this time, God the Father spoke and said, "Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." This was his answer to Jesus’ prayer.

As you think of these three occasions where the Father spoke to Jesus you may have noticed that on each of these three occasions the sufferings and the death of the Savior were being talked about. At the waters of Jordan, John the Baptist had called Jesus "The Lamb of God." On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were speaking about Jesus’ departure, which would be fulfilled at Jerusalem. The words of our text speak about Jesus as he tells his followers, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." Each of these three instances came in connection with the Lord's sufferings and death on the Cross. This was not by accident – For the Cross is the beginning, the middle, and the end of Jesus’ mission. That is why we will mediate on the theme this morning:

Just a little background concerning this text. The Lord had just raised Lazarus from the dead. This tremendous miracle naturally attracted wide attention. The astonished Pharisees were quite disturbed over the outcome. They were disturbed because many people were listening to this man, called Jesus The people, in their enthusiasm, were ready to make Him king. On Palm Sunday a large group met Jesus with branches, singing: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" I’m sure that people were talking all over about what he did and what he said.

The words of our text tell us that certain Greek Christians among them who had come up to worship at the feast approached Philip, and asked if they could see Jesus. Jesus uses this time to announce again what his purpose was for coming into to this world, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified".

It was his words, "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" that set the tone of how great the cross really is. The cross is like a magnet. To some the cross is like a magnet when it repels things. As we think about the cross we think of those who nailed Jesus to the cross both by their words and their actions as they shouted, crucify him. We think of those who mocked him and ridiculed him. We think of those who rejected the Savior who was right in front of them. To these people the message of a Savior dying on the cross was foolishness and the cross was convicting them in their sins. It was a stumbling block. In much the same way, many people in the world think the cross is powerless and therefore want nothing to do with the cross.

However, the cross is quite different for those who look at it through eyes of faith. When we look at the cross through eyes, which have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we gladly say: "Christ Crucified is the answer to all of my sinfulness and the destruction my sins have brought me. We know that the cross is the only answer that we have for our sins. The cross is now a magnet that draws us to see the love that our God has for us.

As we look at the cross we also realize that Jesus knew this was the perfect plan. From the very beginning our blessed Lord knew that Calvary was the work for which He had come. He knew that His love would have failed the world, unless he gave his life on the cross. He regarded His death, not as a minor part of his work, but as the center of it; not as the end of his work, but as its climax. His Father’s will and His own will drew Him to the Cross. He willed to die in obedience to His Father and out of love for his lost children. "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die."

Later on, men would ask Him to come down from the cross, but He would not. His body was not to be taken down from the Cross until the eternal purpose of love was finished, the prophecies fulfilled, the wages of sin paid, death defeated, God appeased, hell destroyed, and atonement made. The cross drew Him and held Him fast like a magnet until his labor of love was completed.

But take the Cross out of the Gospel, and its magnetism is gone. The Cross is the cornerstone, the keystone, the capstone, and the touchstone of the Christian's faith. The Cross is the moral crisis of the world and of the universe and of eternity. Remove the Cross, and what is left? A dazzling example which it is impossible to follow. A system of morality too high to ever attain. The Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule! But all these are primarily Law. The Cross is grace. The Cross is God's love in the concrete. The Cross is God's way of reconciling His justice with His love. The Cross is God's way of tearing down the middle wall of partition, which separates Him in His holiness from man in his and sin.

Certainly we rejoice in the purity of Christ's life. We are inspired by His example, but the greatest point of view is His sacrificial death. Men who offer pretty, complimentary phrases about Jesus and His life and then turn around and deny His sacrifice on the cross will find that their labor is in vain. If you do not believe in Jesus’ death, you do not understand His life. The magnetism of the Cross is this: "God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8). We love Him because He first loved us. We are drawn to Him because He first drew us to Himself. He drew us to Himself by the Holy Spirit through the message of the cross – the Gospel. The preaching of the Cross not only draws us to him, but it also has the power to control our hearts and motivate us to serve him.

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed, but if it dies, it produces many seeds." (v. 24). The vision of Jesus was that of the throne, but it must be by way of the Cross. He would be glorified, but only through suffering and death. That is why Jesus spoke the words we just read. Take a seed, carry it out to an island, keep it treasured up in a bottle as a precious thing; what happens? Year after year it abides alone, perfect in itself, but fruitless to mankind. Jesus was that Kernel of wheat. If He had remained on the Mount of Transfiguration and then been transported like Enoch so that He should not see death, He would have remained alone, without a ransomed Church on earth or a triumphant Church in heaven. His bright and beautiful example, taken by itself, would have founded no kingdom.

But, now, take a kernel of wheat, and bury it in the ground. If you truly think about this, it is absurd, unless you know the mystery of the growing of seeds. If a seed dies that would seem to be the end, but from its apparent death, life will spring. From the natural point of view, death is the unlikeliest road to life, yet experience teaches that death is necessary for the reproduction of seeds. True, the substance of the grain dissolves, but it nourishes the living germ which, when warmth and moisture are added, brings forth the signs of life as it grows.

What a beautiful picture this is to describe the work of our Savior. His life of labor and weariness was closed by a death of shame and suffering. He gave His body to the Cross. Men laid the Virgin-born in a tomb. A chance bystander might say: "This is the end of the miracles and works of Jesus." But the Cross produces much fruit. As expressed in the words of Jesus: "If the seed dies, it produces many seeds." Through His death and resurrection He became the Savior who produces many seeds.

Though the picture of Jesus' death stands alone and apart, yet it is reflected in those that are his servants and live to serve him. For Jesus said: "The man who loves his life will lose it; while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (v. 25). We should be aware of this picture as we live our lives of day-by-day struggling. If we truly wish to live, then must we die to self, to sin, to the flesh with all of its evil. That means that we are to put off our old self and drown the old Adam. The heart of our response to the Christ who sacrificed Himself for us is sacrifice on our part as we place Christ above all that this world has to offer

It is through the Gospel of the Cross that all this happens. Every time you and I speak well of Jesus we glorify God. A sermon may be ever so poorly constructed or delivered, but if it is a Gospel sermon, God through His Holy Spirit works. No Gospel message falls to the ground and is lost. It will accomplish that which God wants it to accomplish. It is this power that leads us to follow and serve Christ. Martin Luther often spoke about this power of the cross. He grasped the heart of the Gospel, namely, forgiveness of sin, through the atoning blood, to every believer. Luther's grip on the Gospel truth was so firm that the devil himself could not wrench it from him. With the Gospel in his hands, Luther could stand firm among all that was attacking him. Martin Luther was mighty because he declared the Gospel of God's grace in Christ, and with this he shook the world and brought about the Reformation. Never lose faith in the Gospel's power. Remember that the! re is no power in a church or person which has gotten away from the Cross, and know also that the power will come back as soon as the church returns to the truth of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. This is our power, which came to us by the love of our Lord and Savior.

May we always keep focused on the great power of the cross. The power, which has drawn us to God’s saving grace. May we also remember that the cross is the only power that we have as we seek to serve and follow our Lord while on this earth. To God be all praise and thanks. Amen