The Lutheran Hour
-
"The Name of Jesus"
- Download MP3 No bonus material MP3
-
Text: Acts 4:7-12
-
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in this world, we constantly face the lie of this life; that if we work hard, try to do the right thing, have a basic belief in God, in the end life will turn out all right. Graciously remind us today, O Lord, that there is only one way to being right with You in this life, and to live with You when we die. That’s through faith in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, O Holy Spirit, enable our hearts to give full attention to Your Word, that we may see Jesus and have life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
I want to talk to you today not generically about “God” or “the Lord,” nor about “Almighty God” or “Lord of Heaven and Earth,” not about “Jehovah” or a “Higher Power;” I want to talk to you today about Jesus. Honest talk about the name of Jesus.
There’s less and less of that anymore in our world. Even among Christian people, in Christian music, to talk about “God” or “the Lord” in general is much more common than the name, “Jesus.” You and I know it personally from the places we work and among friends, it’s much easier to talk about how “God is Good,” or how “I’m abundantly blessed and highly favored by the Lord,” than to talk about Jesus. In fact, diminished conversation about Jesus has led in our world to even a diminished belief that Jesus is vital. More and more people today are satisfied with just a basic belief in God. Those of us who are parents are very aware of this even with our own children. When our son or daughter has left the church, the temptation is for us to be satisfied if they simply are “spiritual” (whatever that means) or believe in some being bigger than themselves. Now that may make for peace with other people, but there is only one way for us to find peace with God and that’s through Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins and raised to bring us life. Why is it often so hard to talk about Jesus? Because the name of Jesus will often bring you trouble in this world.
Our text, Acts chapter 4, records that very experience for two disciples of Jesus – Peter and John. In Acts chapter 3, it says that Peter and John had been used by God to do a good thing – to heal a man who couldn’t walk. In the midst of this good thing, the Jewish Church leaders got very angry with Peter and John, even threw them into prison! Why? Was it just because they healed a lame man? No. Was it because Peter and John were preaching and teaching the people in the streets? I don’t think so, not in and of itself. What brought Peter and John trouble from the church leaders was who they were teaching about and in whose name they had healed the man who couldn’t walk – in the name of Jesus!
Stop there for a moment… not in the name of just “any” Jesus. Acts chapter 4, verse 7: “When the Jewish church leaders had placed Peter and John in the center (on trial, as it were), they began to inquire, ‘By what power, or in what name, have you healed this man?'” Maybe they thought Peter and John were magicians or had called on demonic power. Listen to Peter’s answer, verse 10, “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by Him this man stands here before you in good health.” Did you catch it? Peter and John’s message wasn’t just about any Jesus – not Jesus, an amazing healer; not Jesus, teacher extraordinaire; not Jesus who will bless me with whatever I want; but the Jesus who was crucified; and the Jesus who rose Easter morning; the Jesus who gave His life as payment for the sins of the entire world for all time; the Jesus who came to save you and me; the Jesus who gives us eternal life one day; the Jesus who gives us a right relationship with God the Father right now, through faith.
What is it about Jesus that is so troublesome for so many people? Well, it’s all in His name. Remember the birth of Jesus? Matthew chapter 1 verse 21: An angel of the Lord told Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, “Mary (your wife) will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus (the name Jesus means Savior), because He will save His people from their sins.” The name Jesus uncovers a problem in us. Sin. Sin is a picture of who I am and the trouble I’m in; but that I am powerless to do anything about. Don’t get me wrong. I’m good at sin – I’m good at telling people off with cutting words. I’m good at looking at a situation and seeing very quickly what’s in it for me, and ignoring everybody else. In fact, that kind of selfish, sinful living comes naturally for me. David was right on the mark when he said, Psalm 51, “In sin my mother conceived me.” I’ll bet it’s the same way for you. The problem is – I can’t fix my sin. I can’t get myself to be right with God but Jesus can; and in His death and resurrection, Jesus has.
Though the name of Jesus divides people in this world; though some people will reject you and me because of our faith in the name of Jesus; let’s be honest, the name of Jesus is confrontational, it doesn’t let you sit on the fence. “Those that are not for us are against us,” said Jesus Himself. Especially in the times in which we live, the name of Jesus is not politically correct, it’s not sensitive and inclusive of all religious thinking. So why would any of us want to follow Jesus? Because verse 12 (Acts 4:12) says, “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
You know who pictures this truth in a marvelous way? Rural America. Farmers. Let me explain. I live in the city, and if you want to come to my house there are three different ways that you could drive to get to my house. You can come from the north. You can come from the east. You can come from the south. Take your pick, any one of those three roads will do. But when you go out into the countryside and see the house of most farmers, that’s not the case. Their house is usually set back a little ways off of the road, and there’s only one road in to get to the house. No other way to get there but the one road.
The farmhouse is a lot like our Heavenly Father’s House – only one way to get to it. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, except through Me.” Peter said it this way; “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven [but the name of Jesus], given to men by which we must be saved.” “No other name given to men …” Translation: The name of Jesus is for you today. Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that the name of Jesus is magical. The name simply designates the person behind the name. The person Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior. He had only one reason for coming into this world – you.
When I was little boy, Christmas Eve at the Schmidtke house, was the time that we opened up all of our presents. The procedure was as follows: while we were at church for Christmas Eve service, Santa, (also knows as Bob Schmidtke, my father) would somehow get to our house before us and leave a living room filled with presents under the Christmas tree. When we would first come into the house, almost without fail, one of my grandmothers would say, “Oh my, look at all the presents.” Let me be honest with you. I didn’t care about all the presents. I was concerned only about the presents for me. You know it’s great that there is salvation in no other name, but the name of Jesus. It’s great that there is power in the name of Jesus. It’s great that there is healing in the name of Jesus. It’s awesome that there is hope in the name of Jesus. It’s incredible that there is life and forgiveness in the name of Jesus. But there’s something better than all that – and that is: Jesus came for me. God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for me, so that through faith in Him I am forgiven. God raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead, to bring eternal life to the world. I like better the more personal promise of Jesus. “Because I live,” Jesus said, “you will live also.” Life for me. And life for you.
Listen to me you who are hurting and are right now staring in the face of an impossible situation of life. Do you know who is on your side? The Jesus whom “God has exalted and has given Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus, who sits on the throne of glory, loves you and loves me. Listen to me, you who are in the midst of pain and suffering in your life because of following Christ; you’re trying to hang on in the faith and not give in to the ways of the world. 1Peter chapter 4 verse 14 says, “If you suffer for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” Listen to me you who are overwhelmed in life right now and don’t know where to turn, the Bible says, “Anyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus, will never be put to shame.”
When I got married to the former Sharon Farmer almost 23 years ago, I did something to her – I put my name on her. Everything that is of Schmidtke, for better or worse, she has a right to and access to. If you’ve been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, even though it might have been years ago, the name of Jesus has been put on you. And that means, out of His amazing kindness, we have access and right to eternal life, because of the name of Jesus. We can come to God, confess our sins and have them forgiven, because of the name of Jesus. We know that right now God will hear and answer our prayers because of the name of Jesus. We have the protection of God on our lives because of the name of Jesus. We have the promise of God going with us in our lives because of the name of Jesus. The poet was right when he said, “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear. It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds and drives away all fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole, it calms the heart’s unrest; it’s manna to the hungry soul; and to the weary, rest.” Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for April 30, 2006
TOPIC: The FuneralANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Good morning, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: Last week, you responded to a question from a young lady who was getting married.
KLAUS: Yes, she wondered whether the church had the right to make up certain rules about how weddings should be conducted, especially her own.
ANNOUNCER: Well, during the course of that answer, you said weddings were part of congregational worship.
KLAUS: That’s right. Corporate worship that is directed first to God, even though it might have special meaning for certain individuals.
ANNOUNCER: Now, do you remember the part where you talked about the song “Home On The Range?”
KLAUS: Sure… I said I didn’t allow “Home On The Range” to be sung at a funeral that I did early in my ministry.
ANNOUNCER: Well, that really leads us to our question today. I’ve heard you say that funerals are for the living. Now, if a group of mourners wants to sing “Home On The Range” at the funeral of their loved one, if that will somehow bring them comfort in their time of sadness, why should the church object? After all, “Home On The Range” -you know, that’s not blasphemous; it doesn’t have dirty words in it: “Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam, and the skies are not cloudy all day.” What’s wrong with that? Why does the church have to make up rules when it doesn’t have to? And, isn’t that the kind of thing that just drives people away from church?”
KLAUS: Well, let me see what I can with that. First of all, a funeral is for the benefit of the survivors. A Christian funeral, however, is something just a little bit different. In a Christian funeral, we are bringing the comfort that comes only through the redeeming work of Jesus.
Pastors are never totally sure of God’s final judgment of a specific individual, but we are able to say that believers are forgiven and saved because of what Jesus did in His life, His suffering, death, and resurrection. We share the comforting message that the grave is not the end; that there is eternal bliss for all who die in the Lord; that there is a reunion in heaven for the family of faith.
ANNOUNCER: And that’s what makes a Christian funeral different from others.
KLAUS: And not just different, but special, very special. Only Christianity has that wonderful good news of great joy that comes from Jesus. Because that message provides the greatest comfort; because it is so very important, we want it to permeate every part of that service.
ANNOUNCER: Which means that it should also permeate the music as well.
KLAUS: Absolutely. I would like a home where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play as much as the next guy. But that hardly compares with, well here’s a hymn, it was sung at my father’s funeral: “I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever-living Head. He lives triumphant from the grave, He lives eternally to save, He lives all-glorious in the sky, He lives exalted there on high. He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears He lives to calm my troubled heart, He lives all blessings to impart. He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death: He lives my mansion to prepare; He Iives to bring me safely there.”
Now, I ask you, which one of those, and there are many other songs and hymns that could be used as examples here… which of those would best point people to the joy of Jesus?
ANNOUNCER: No contest there.
KLAUS: Yeah, absolutely. I wouldn’t think so.
ANNOUNCER: But there’s still a question for us to address that isn’t merely rhetorical.
KLAUS: And the question is?
ANNOUNCER: Why does the church make up rules that serve only to drive people away?
KLAUS: Mark, I was a parish pastor for 28 years and I can’t ever remember making up a rule just to drive somebody crazy. I never saw any other pastor or church do that, either. I have seen rules that were made, the reason for which was no longer there. I’ve seen rules that once made sense, but no longer do. I’ve seen rules that were made for reasons which once were very real, but were not readily apparent to the casual observer. All I can say is, when you see a rule that you don’t like or understand in your church, ask somebody who might be able to give you an explanation. Now, you may get that rule changed or put away, or may understand it better. It may possibly enrich your understanding of all the great love that God has for us in Jesus Christ.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds” by Kenneth Kosche. From Christ Be With Me by the Kammerchor (© 1998 Concordia University-Wisconsin) Coronet Press
“How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds”arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission
“God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It” From With High Delight by the Children’s Choirs of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (© 2002 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Ft. Wayne, IN)
“At the Name of Jesus” by Michael Burkhardt. From Hymn Improvisations, vol. 1 by Michael Burkhardt (© 1993 MorningStar Music Publishers)
“Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won” by John Behnke. From For All Seasons, vol. 3 by John Behnke (© 2004 John Behnke) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC