For the 5th Sunday of Easter, the three chosen readings are Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-7 and John 16:12-22. The selected passage for preaching is Acts 11:9, “But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’”

There was a summary report in USA Today about a survey among Millenialists. It concluded that though many of these young people are spiritual; they are not that religious. This means that they don’t read the Bible often, they rarely attend church, do not belong to a denomination and are unlikely that religion is a high priority in their lives. This does not surprise us at all in light of the anemic preaching that one is forced to listen to in many an evangelical pulpit (or aisle or stage as the case may be). The minimal knowledge of the Bible coupled with law oriented or social ministry content of most sermons is sufficient to drive away most thinking people.

In Acts 11, the apostle Peter almost became a part of such a group. After hearing from God in a vision that he was to kill and eat what the Old Testament ceremonial laws considered unclean, Peter refused to do so claiming that “nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth” (verse 8). I am confident that many millenialists would not understand God’s response, “What I have cleansed you must not call common” (verse 9)

We know from the context that God had prepared this vision for Peter to underscore the revelation that “God has also granted to Gentiles repentance to life” (verse 18). Gentiles were certainly considered unclean and not part of the people of God by many in Judaism. That new religion considered only Israel as worthy of salvation particularly in light of the ceremonial laws barring Gentiles from certain parts of the temple. What God is telling Peter is that just as all unclean food is now considered as worthy for consumption in light of the passion of our LORD, so also the hated Gentiles are to be included as part of the people of God as they come to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

Now that the interpretation of the text is complete using the principle of Scripture interprets Scripture, it is time to move to the application of the text using the principle of the distinctions between Law and Gospel. The sermon can point out that the members of the congregation are not only like Peter in often thinking of others but also of oneself. That is, if you were to ask most Christians today whether they are righteous enough to go to heaven, they would say “no.” How sad. Such a response again makes it clear that God’s work of cleansing the unclean is not relevant to their own sinful lives.

The truth of the Gospel,though, is that in light of the cross of Christ, that suffering and death resulted in the payment of eternal damnation that each of us owe God due to our sin. Forgiveness is God’s way of no longer holding you accountable for your sins. Heaven is your home and it begins right here and now on earth as you have become an adopted member of the holy Christian Church. The goal of the sermon would be to reveal to the listeners that they also, who were once unclean due to the stench of sin, are now cleansed in the blood of Christ. Heaven will not only be the gift they will receive but heaven on earth as part of the Christian Church is the gift they have already received due to the waters of baptism.

The three appointed readings for the 4th Sunday of Easter for Series C are Acts 20:17-25; Revelation 7:9-17 and John 10:22-30. Selected to preach on is John 10:26, “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.”

We live in a religious atmosphere that assumes a person has some kind of will to make a decision to become a Christian either by doing some kind of good work or by inviting Christ into the heart. If the false teaching is not that obvious, most Christians shudder to think if they would miss church on purpose or if they continue to do some kind of sin again and again.

To put it another way, the old Adam of every Christian wants to give you the impression that first you make an effort to believe and then you become a sheep of the Lord. However, Jesus appears to say the very opposite; namely, that those who are rejecting His Word are those who are not of His sheep. That is to say, first you become a sheep of the flock of God and then you believe! (Luke 15 and the parable of the Lost Sheep.)

But then, what does Jesus mean that the works He does in His Father’s name bear witness of Him? Is that not just another way of saying that the miracles He does are the evidence the unbeliever needs to be convinced to believe? The point Jesus is making though, is that because they do not believe, even His miracles are not persuasive. How many times do we look around for some sign from God that our decision is the correct one? We are often like those unbelieving religious leaders!

For you see, the miracles of Jesus never convinced an unbeliever to become a believer. Instead, they were to give assurance to believers that the promises of the Old Testament predicted that the One Who would be doing theses miracles is the promised Messiah. For those with faith in the promises of God as found in the Old Testament books, the miracles were persuasive. But for those who were unbelievers, no miracles would suffice to create faith. Instead, faith is created by hearing the Word of God, not by being convinced through miraculous signs and wonders.

The key passage to remind us of that is the parable of Lazarus and Dives (Luke 16:10-31). Though the rich man is convinced that if Lazarus would only go to warn his five unbelieving brothers about what is in store for them, then they would believe. Listen carefully to Abraham’s words, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them…If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

And we know that to be true. When Jesus rose from the dead, His resurrection was not something that either the devils or unbelieving Pharisees denied. The Pharisees thought that, as with the raising of Lazarus from the dead, it was a trick of the devil. Pastor and parents should not waste time attempting to “prove” the truth of the Christian faith by means of evidence or signs and wonders. Instead, the Word of God is quite adequate to accuse one of his utter sinfulness and impossibility to do anything to save himself. And the Word of God is quite adequate through the power of the Holy Spirit to make any unbeliever a sheep of the flock of God with all the subsequent benefits of faith, the forgiveness of sins and the robe of righteousness!

For the third Sunday of Easter the three readings are Acts 9:1-22: Revelation 5:1-14 and John 21:1-19. The verse selected to preach on is John 21:7b, “Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.”

This event takes place after the resurrection of our Lord when Peter had seen Jesus in the upper room on that Easter eve. This event takes place later. What is interesting is to compare what Peter did here after the multitude of fish was caught and what he did during the first miracle of the multitude of fish caught. That is found in the 5th chapter of Luke, verses 1 to 9 with special reference to verse 8. “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’”

Do you see the difference in the response Peter makes prior to the resurrection and after? It is a Law and Gospel distinction. When Peter first sees a miracle of fish being caught, he is a lot like Isaiah in the sixth chapter in which he moans that “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips.” When you live under the Law there is a fear of coming face to face with God. Likewise, Peter’s second response after the resurrection is much like Isaiah’s after the angel touches his lips with a burning coal from the altar. When God asks who will go for Him, Isaiah responds, “Send me, send me.”

Under the Law fallen human beings recognize their unworthiness to come before God. But when an angel touches lips or the Lord says on the night of the resurrection, “Peace be to you,” there is a recognition through faith that even sinners are now able to approach God. This difference in Peter can be very helpful to members of the congregation who still feel that their sins are so great that they cannot approach the throne of God, even in prayer. It is a wonderful opportunity for the pastor to comfort and console through the proper distinctions between Law and Gospel.

For the 2nd Sunday of Easter the three assigned Series C readings are Acts 5:12-32; Revelation 1:4-18 and John 20:19-31. Chosen to preach about is John 20:28, “And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God.’”

Tell me the first thing that comes into your mind when I name these apostles: Judas (the betrayer); Peter (the denier) and Thomas (the doubter). Isn’t it interesting that most people think of something negative of these apostles, particularly if you begin with Judas. Today the text focuses on Thomas and because of his refusal to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead when told by the others, has come to be known as “Doubting Thomas.” Of course this is the same Thomas who is quoted in John 11:16 in regard to going to Lazarus who had died in hostile territory, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

Thomas is also the one whose question, “Lord we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” led to Jesus’ well-known answer, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So, one question, one affirmation of faith and one statement of doubt. Is there another to break the tie? And we find that statement also as part of our passage when Thomas sees the Christ and exclaims, “My Lord and my God!”

While there are those who interpret this scene as Thomas finally being convinced when he has the evidence of being able to touch Jesus, it is of some note that no mention is made that Thomas does any touching like he said he would need to do before he believed. For you see, faith does not come by evidence that persuades us of the truth of Christian claims; faith comes about when we are face to face with the Word of God. While we today will not see the Word of God in the Person of the risen Christ standing before us, we see with eyes of faith through the Word of God as found in holy Scripture.

Sadly, even some Christians today continue to long for some kind of sign from God to help us make decisions or know what to do. Yet, there is no sign except that of Jonah in the belly of the fish for three days. So also, our God-given faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead provides all the evidence we need for the truthfulness of not only the words of Jesus but those of the prophets and apostles also. Through blind faith (which means no evidence necessary) we can be assured that our salvation is sure and certain for His promises in the waters of baptism bring eternal life and salvation to even the worst of sinners like you and like me.
In fact, such a Word makes simple water into a washing of regeneration and simple bread and wine into a feeding of the true body and blood of Jesus, the Christ.