Sermon -- Epiphany, transferred (January 5, 2025)

ACTS 13:46-49

JESUS IS REVEALED AS THE SAVIOR OF ALL NATIONS.

In the name + of Jesus.

     When St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, he stated, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).  That might sound like God has a preference about who is saved—that Jews are his primary concern and then he might get around to the Gentiles.  To come to this conclusion, however, you would have to ignore quite a few Old Testament prophecies. 

     God chose to work through the nation of Israel to bring the Savior into the world.  Therefore, God sent his prophets primarily to the Jewish people to guide them, guard them, and give them warnings so that they would not lose what God had promised.  Even though God worked through the people of Israel, neither God’s word nor God’s Savior was their exclusive property.  The Savior came through one nation, but he came for all nations.

     Still, St. Paul honored the pattern he had written about in his letter to the Romans.  When he traveled to a new town, his first stop was to his fellow Jews at the synagogue.  Paul’s teaching at the synagogues could be summarized by this verse from Acts: “As was his custom, Paul went to the Jews, and on three Sabbath days he led them in a discussion from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.  He also said, ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ’” (Acts 17:2-3).  Paul would refer to all the prophecies about the Christ—particularly that he had to suffer, die, and rise from the dead.  Then, Paul would reveal that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled every promise and prophecy God had made.  Jesus was revealed as the Savior.

     Our reading from Acts records Paul’s visit to the synagogue in a city called Pisidian Antioch.  It was in modern-day Turkey.  At first, the Jews there received Paul’s message well.  How thrilling to learn that God had finally sent the Messiah they had been waiting for!  They enthusiastically invited Paul back to preach and teach more about the Scriptures and about Jesus.  On the next Sabbath day, the whole town showed up.  Not just the Jews, but even the Gentiles came to hear the Gospel Paul was preaching.  And this is when the problems erupted. 

     “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with envy and began to contradict what Paul was saying by slandering him” (Acts 13:45).  What would fill the Jews with envy?  They were convinced that they were the sole possessors of God’s affection and of God’s revelation.  They believed the Messiah was a Jew who was meant for Jews.  When all the Gentiles showed up in the synagogue, the Jews reacted as if to say, “What are you doing here?  What right do you have to any of this!?  These are our Scriptures.  These are our promises.  This is our church.”  The Gentiles were not welcome to the good news because they were the wrong kind of people.

     This is why the story of the Magi is so shocking, or at least, it should be.  It was not surprising that dignitaries from a foreign nation should come to Jerusalem to consult with King Herod the Great.  Great leaders often make efforts to meet with one another.  The surprise is that these foreigners came to the Christ-child and were welcomed there.  If he was born the King of the Jews, Mary and Joseph could have treated these guests with contempt and demanded, “What are you doing here?!  The angel had clearly told us about this child, ‘He will save his people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21).  Did you get that?  ‘HIS people.’  You are not the right kind of people.”  But there is no one who is the “wrong” people.  Jesus is revealed as the Savior of all nations.

     Unfortunately, the envy and self-centered spirit die a hard death.  It is very easy for us to remain comfortable with the people we know and to be content with our little group.  When we gather for worship, we are quick to greet our friends and ask how our lives are going.  We gravitate to those most familiar to us, but to some it may look like our kindness is reserved for a select few.  If you are newer to our congregation, maybe it feels like you are not quite in the inner circle or that you don’t really belong.  If so, that is a pity.  Long-time members should embrace newer people and encourage them.  Newer people can help themselves immensely by coming to Bible classes and church outings so that we can forge these bonds better and stronger.

     But sometimes strangers come in.  Maybe they look different.  Maybe they have an accent or barely know any English.  Maybe they have come because their lives are a mess and their shameful reputation has been earned.  In theory, we know that they are welcome here.  In practice, our body language might suggest to them, “What are you doing here?!  You are not the right kind of people.”  Then we are like the Jews who had no interest in receiving Gentiles in their midst, suggesting that God’s affection and God’s salvation are reserved for a privileged few.  Repent.

     Jesus is revealed as the Savior of all nations.  All need him because there is no difference in any of us.  There is only one human race and we are all in it.  We all come from the same parents, Adam and Eve.  Even though we have different skin pigments and varying accents, we all bleed the same color and breed the same way.  We were all created in God’s image, but that image corrupted by sin in all of us.  St. Paul reminds us, “There is no difference, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23). 

     There is no difference whether you are a man or a woman, whether you are black or white, whether you are an American or not, or even whether you are a Christian or not.  All people sinned against God.  You have assumed that God thinks and judges as you do, and therefore you have faulted God as unjust because he thinks and acts differently than you.  How easy to forget: He is God and you are not.  All people sinned against their fellowman.  You have looked upon him with scorn rather than in mercy.  You don’t know him or his story, but you judged him anyway.  None of us can claim that we have earned God’s approval.  We all must confess that we have earned God’s judgment.  We all need a Savior to rescue us from a damning judgment and an endless death.

     Jesus is revealed as the Savior of all nations.  This is what St. Paul told the people of Pisidian Antioch.  Unfortunately, it was not received well there.  When the Jews realized that God does not play favorites and that no one has preferential treatment in God’s kingdom, they despised Paul and Barnabas and slandered them.  “Then Paul and Barnabas responded fearlessly, ‘It was necessary that God’s word be spoken to you first.  But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look: We are now turning to the Gentiles!  For this is what the Lord has instructed us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth’” (Acts 13:46-47).  

     At first glance, it would seem that Paul and Barnabas were the light for the Gentiles and that they would be the ones to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.  However, Paul and Barnabas were only preachers.  Their message was useless unless it was true, and their message could only be true if someone else had accomplished this salvation.

     Isaiah had prophesied that Jesus is the light of the world and the Savior of the nations: “The Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant…, the Lord said: It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:5-6).  Jesus enlightens us to see that God’s love is not limited to a privileged few.  God’s love is based on who he is, not on who you are.  God IS love, and he loved the world.  That is why he sent his Son to be the Savior of all nations. 

     Jesus is revealed as the Savior of all the nations.  Jesus did not save us by his skin pigment, language, culture, diet, or wardrobe.  Jesus saved us by becoming one of us.  Jesus is a child of Adam—a human being joined to the human race.  And as a man, he lived and died for all mankind.  While we may despise other people, Jesus lived with a perfect love toward all—from Jewish tax collectors, fishermen, and prostitutes to Roman soldiers, demon-possessed Canaanites, and Greek pilgrims.  Jesus’ perfect life answers for our sinful lives.  And then Jesus offered up his perfect life as the sacrifice which atones for our sins.  He endured the scorn of sinful men while paying the price for the scorn we have had for others.  He bore the curse for the false assumptions and unjust accusations we had made about God.  Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

     Jesus is revealed as the Savior of all the nations.  There is no one Jesus would turn away, demanding, “What are you doing here?” because Jesus came for all.  No sinner is so grotesque or vile that Jesus would chase them away.  No religious person is so pure that Jesus is not needed.  We celebrate the death of Jesus Christ because there we see the love that God has for sinners.  We don’t have to make any assumptions about God’s love or forgiveness.  Jesus has proven it by his death.  He has guaranteed it by his resurrection.  He sends his people to make his salvation known to the world.  The world has no other Savior, but then the world does not need any other Savior. 

     Jesus is revealed as the Savior of all the nations.  “When the Gentiles (in Pisidian Antioch) heard this, they were rejoicing and praising the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:48).  We, too, rejoice.  The Savior who has cleansed our hearts also cleanses our minds so that we do not think evil of anyone or dismiss anyone as a lost cause.  We know that we have what the whole world needs.  Therefore, we pray for all people because we know that Jesus died for them all.  We open our church and our hearts to them because our Lord wants all people to be saved, even if they seem strange or scary.  For, our goal is not to keep ourselves safe in our little group.  Our goal is to serve our Lord for as long as he is pleased to keep us in this world, and then for all eternity.  Besides, if we are in Christ, we are safe; our salvation is secure.  This is the good news of great joy, and it is for all the people.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.