Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter

ACTS 4:1-12

SALVATION IS FOUND IN NO ONE ELSE.

In the name + of Jesus.

M:    Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C:    He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

     One of the frustrations people have about God is why he acts the way he acts and allows the things he allows.  Why doesn’t God put a stop to all of the wickedness and woe that we see in this world?  You might think of that on a global scale.  Why does God allow war to go on in Ukraine and in Sudan?  You might think of that on a community level.  Why doesn’t God put a stop to mass shootings or poverty?  Or it might hit you on a personal level.  Why doesn’t God alleviate my pain, remove my anxiety, or make my family get along?  Certainly, God could do any of that.  But God lets a world cursed by sin prove to be a world cursed by sin.  God lets bodies corrupted by sin be affected by sin.  God lets sinful people do sinful things.  After all, when you are about to say something unkind or untrue, God doesn’t make your throat swell shut so you can’t say it.  God lets a sinful world remain a sinful world. 

     That explanation is probably less than satisfying.  We recognize that a sinful world and a sinful life are evil.  We want to be delivered from them.  We pray to be delivered from them.  And so, the cry goes out: “Why doesn’t God do something about that?!” 

     Dear Christians, he has!  The Lord Jesus came to deliver you from a world cursed by sin, to free you from a body corrupted by sin, and to rescue you from hearts and minds and mouths that are prone to sin.  Jesus has taken away the curse of your sin by his innocent life and his sacrificial death.  Jesus’ innocent life is credited to you and is applied to you through your baptism.  You do not have to invent arguments to convince God that you are good.  Through Jesus, you are blameless.  And Jesus’ sacrificial death takes away any mark of guilt against you.  Jesus suffered what sinners deserve to set you free from condemnation.  The curse has been removed.  God’s wrath has been appeased.  Salvation is found in no one else.

     While the curse of sin has been removed from you, we live in a world which still bears the curse.  The effects of sin are everywhere, and we suffer under them.  What does Jesus do about that?  He gave us a glimpse of the glory to come through his ministry.  The Bible sums up Jesus’ ministry this way: “(Jesus) went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Matthew 4:23).  Those healings show what is to come.  At the resurrection, Jesus will free us from every ache and affliction, from every disorder and disease, from all violence and villainy, and from every pain, every prescription, and every problem.  Full salvation comes at the resurrection.  Then, we will be forever free from every curse and every effect of sin.  This salvation is found in no one else than Jesus.

     Jesus called his apostles and gave them the same authority.  “He called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 10:1).  In other words, the apostles were given the task of preaching the words of Jesus, and their message was confirmed by them doing the works of Jesus. 

      All of that brings us to today’s reading.  Peter and John had met a beggar at the temple gate.  He was a beggar because he was lame.  He could not hold a job, so he sat at the temple gate and appealed to worshipers for alms.  Peter and John came to the temple for the hour of prayer.  They saw him and had pity on him.  They acted in the stead and by the command of Jesus to restore his legs to their proper function.  This miraculous healing, once again, is a glimpse of the perfect healing we will all receive when Jesus comes again.

     Naturally, this miracle caused quite a stir.  When the crowds gathered to look at it, Peter and John preached about Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus’ resurrection proves that he is the promised Messiah.  It proves that Jesus takes away the sins of the world.  It proves that Jesus delivers us all from death.  It proves that Jesus reconciles us to God.  Jesus will restore all things to perfection at the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day.  This salvation is found in no one else.  Therefore, we cling to Jesus.  We trust in his promises and align our lives with his instructions.

     The religious leaders were greatly annoyed that Peter and John proclaimed in Jesus’ name the resurrection from the dead.  They had Peter and John imprisoned.  Since it was late in the day, they would figure out what to do with them in the morning.  These leaders had orchestrated Jesus’ crucifixion.  They had hoped that the death of Jesus was the end of Jesus.  But Jesus is risen from the dead.  His apostles bore witness that Jesus is the Savior, and that salvation is found in no one else.

     These religious leaders remained stubborn in their unbelief.  And their unbelief made them stupid.  They began interrogating Peter and John: “By what power or by what name did you do this” (Acts 4:7)?  They did not deny the miracle; they couldn’t.  So, they asked about the power behind the miracle.  What kind of answer were they looking for?  What answer would have satisfied them?  And why would they have a problem with the miracle, anyway?  Wasn’t the healing of a crippled man a good thing? 

     In our sinful stubbornness, we are no better.  Rarely are our sins done in ignorance.  We know what the Commandments say.  God has revealed his will—what is good and what is evil.  That word has been given to us plainly.  But how often do we neglect his word, ignore his word, or find ways that it does not apply to us?  Yes, others are wrong to do this, but I have a good reason for it.  I have a right to hold my grudge.  I refuse to make other people’s problems my problems.  I am too busy to pray or have devotions with my family.  God’s word just doesn’t work in 2023.  If we are not persuaded by words from God, what on earth would do it?  We cannot restrain ourselves from our sins.  This shows us the depth of our sinful condition.  Our problem is not that we don’t know what is good; our problem is that we don’t do what is good.  We confess and lament with St. Paul: “I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  …For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  …Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Romans 7:15,19,24)

     Salvation from all of our wretchedness is found in no one else than Jesus Christ.  If Jesus brings salvation, then we should consider: Saved from what?  First of all, we are saved from our sin.  Jesus has saved us not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent sufferings and death.  Jesus saves us from being condemned by being condemned for our sins for us.

     Jesus saves us from death.  Yes, the grave might hold us for a little while, and we will sleep in the dust of death.  But Jesus has conquered death.  Death and the grave are subject to Jesus.  When he returns on the Last Day, he will awaken us from death and raise us up from the grave to live in glory.  We have no need to fear death, for death is not the victor.  Jesus is.  Salvation is found in no one else.

     We are also saved from the devil.  The devil relentlessly torments us over the sins of the past.  The name Satan means ‘Accuser.’  That is what he does.  He accuses you of your sins and inflicts guilt upon you.  But the devil is a liar.  You may, indeed, have done what the devil accuses you of.  But your sins have been taken away by Jesus.  They do not stand against you.  The devil has no claim on you.  His kingdom has been destroyed, and you are free from him.

     And there is even more.  Peter and John restored strength to the legs of the crippled man by the authority of Jesus.  The day will come when we will all be delivered to a perfect existence.  Jesus not only saves you from the curse of sin, but also the effects of sin.  You will know it with your body.  Heaven does not have blind, deaf, or lame people.  Heaven does not know broken bones, pulled muscles, or birth defects.  Heaven is free from anxiety, stress, and depression.  All those things find perfect healing in Jesus.  You will also know it with the community of saints.  There will be no acts of violence or villainy.  There will be no jealousy or rivalry.  There will be no harsh words or hateful thoughts—not in you and not in anyone else.  We will all be completely free from sin.  We will never again experience frustration with ourselves or aggravation from others. 

     This salvation is found in no one else than Jesus.  Whatever other religions or gods there are will tell you that you must do better and be better to be saved.  I won’t argue that we don’t need to do better or be better.  But that is the very problem.  We don’t do better.  We are sinners.  Jesus does not threaten or bully us into better behavior.  Jesus delivers us out of our sins.  He makes us a new creation that simply wants to love and to serve and to honor God—not to be saved, but because we are saved.  That is why he is the cornerstone of our faith and the basis of our salvation.  Apart from Jesus, there is no hope.  With Jesus, all of God’s promises stand firm.

     If you get frustrated in this world because of all the evils you see in it, you are not alone.  Everyone sees the problems.  We are all victims on one level or another.  The problems only prove that the world remains under the curse of sin.  It proves that people are wicked.  It shows that we still bear the effects of sin—in our faulty hearts and minds and in bodies that suffer diseases, disorders, and are dying.  As these problems all pile up, we cry out to God: Lord, why don’t you do something about this?!

     We are right to call upon God in our distress.  But then listen to God’s reply in his word.  The Lord has done everything to rescue you from this cursed world, this crooked generation, and these corrupt bodies.  Jesus is your salvation.  He lets you live in this troubled existence so that you can connect with your friends to assure them that there is hope.  Like Peter and John, you get to confess the very promises that comfort you.  You get to talk about the resurrection which comes through Jesus.  It is the only hope for sinners, but it is the guarantee of everlasting peace and glory.  Salvation is found in no one else, but it is given completely in Jesus. 

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