The Lutheran Hour
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"Behold Your Savior"
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Text: John 19:25-27
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The words of resurrection victory proclaimed by angels before the Savior’s empty tomb have been labeled as foolishness and falsehood by a world which will not believe. Even so they stand as God’s truth and the cross remains the power of God to save all who believe.
Today is the first of April – April Fool’s Day – a 24 hour period which has no great significance other than the playing of practical jokes. But for many Christian congregations, today – April 1st – is the beginning of Holy Week; a special time when believers remember the suffering and death of the Savior who sacrificed Himself so they might be forgiven of their sins and be saved from eternal damnation. For many Christian congregations, today – April 1st – is Palm Sunday, when pastors speak about, and the people sing about, the Christ’s triumphal entry into the ancient city of Jerusalem. But since The Lutheran Hour will not be broadcasting before next Sunday, today – April 1st – is the day when I must speak to you about the Savior’s death.
Today is April Fool’s Day. It has been over 20 years since Joseph Boskin, professor of history at Boston University, explained the origin of April Fool’s Day. According to Professor Boskin, April Fool’s Day began when the Roman Emperor Constantine was receiving some harsh criticism from inside and outside his court. When one of the jesters said he could do a better job of running the empire, Constantine took him up on the offer. He allowed a jester by the name of Kugel to be ruler for one day. During his brief rule, Kugel passed an edict calling for everyone to indulge in great jocularity; asking everyone to play the part of the fool. According to the professor, the custom caught on, and soon became an annual event. The professor explained, “In a way (April Fool’s Day) was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.” I first read the explanation of April Fool’s Day way back in 1983, when it was carried by a major news agency and a great many newspapers. It’s a story that I have shared with you now. I will add only this: in 1983 Professor Boskin made the whole thing up as an April Fool’s Day joke upon the press. It is an April Fool’s Day joke that I have now played upon you.
Over the years there have been some cracker jack April Fool’s Day jokes. In 1957 the BBC, on a very respected news program (Panorama), showed film footage of Swiss farmers harvesting strands of spaghetti from trees. The commentator shared that due to a mild winter and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil, there would be an abundant crop of spaghetti.
In 1996 Taco Bell told the world that they had bought the Liberty Bell from the US government and were renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” When White House Press Secretary, Mike McCury was asked for his opinion about the sale, he said the Lincoln Memorial had also been purchased. From henceforth it would be called the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.One more? How about the USA Today full-page ad taken out in 1988 by Burger King? The ad announced a new “Left-Hand Whopper” would now be featured on their menu. Designed for the 32-million left-handed Americans, the new Whopper was much the same as the regular Whopper, but all the ingredients were turned 180 degrees. Burger King confessed to their joke after thousands of customers had gone to their restaurants and demanded they be served a left-handed Whopper.
Now I am fully aware that there are those Christians who are listening today who think I have spent entirely too much time talking about fools and foolishness. To you, the story of the Savior’s passion is serious business, and should be treated with dignity and respect. Let me tell you, I couldn’t agree with you more. God’s story of promises fulfilled in the cross of Calvary is the most soul-saving message any of us will ever hear. But I believe that fools and foolishness are very much a part of the message that I am sharing today.
Allow me to explain. I would like you to go back with me to our first ancestors in the Garden of Eden. Take a look at Adam and Eve. To them, God has a proven track record of kindness. They knew nothing else. God had made them and placed them in a location where they were surrounded by all that was beautiful and joyous. There were no weeds in the garden; no pulled muscles when they worked; no family squabbles at the end of the day. They had no fear of wild animals, terminal illness, or global warming. Living as beneficiaries of God’s goodness, they were absolutely sure that today’s gladness would be followed by tomorrow’s laughter. It was a wonderful time, at least until the day of temptation. On that day Satan slithered into their lives and suggested they commit the smallest of sins. Look at them as they debated. On the one hand they had God who was the giver of every good and gracious gift; on the other hand they had a snake who could speak. Who would you believe; who would you follow? If I gave you a thousand years, you would never, could never guess what an illogical, irrational, what a foolish choice Adam and Eve made. They turned their backs on God and hitched their eternal hope and everlasting future on the suggestions of a serpent. Don’t tell me April Fool’s Day doesn’t belong in today’s message. The Scriptures are filled with fools and foolishness.
Observe the builders of Babel’s tower. They had learned nothing from the flood which had shown the omnipotent might of an angry God. With no respect for the Lord, and a fool’s confidence in themselves, they dedicated themselves to circumventing God with the building of a structure which will reach into heaven, surpassing even the Taipei Building of Taiwan or Chicago’s Sears Tower. Foolishness. Follow the Children of Israel through 40 years of wilderness wanderings. They had seen God’s hand visit the Egyptians with ten terrible plagues. Their path had been led by a cloudy column during the day, and their nights had been illuminated by a fiery pillar. Still, almost every step they took was made with rebellion in their hearts, doubt in their minds and complaints on their tongues. Fools and foolishness.
Read through the book of Judges. God had situated the people in the land He had promised to their forefathers. He asked only that the people whom He had so richly blessed, remain faithful to Him. What did they do? You would not be able to guess this one, either. Rather than offering their thanks, they rebelled in disobedience, worshiped idols, and adopted heathen ways. God, as He had promised, punished their disobedience; and when they repented, He forgave and restored them. Now you might think that this would be the end of the matter. You might think a rational people might learn a lesson. But we are talking here about foolishness. As soon as God forgave His people, they rejected Him, and the cycle repeated. It repeated again and again and again. Fools and foolishness.
Nor are fools and foolishness confined to the pages of the Old Testament. Look at King Herod who was monarch when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. For his political savvy and building programs, history has called him: “Herod the Great.” That may be so, but I believe any man who thinks he can defeat the plans and promises of God through the murder of infants is to be pitied. Fools and foolishness. Judas thought he would be better off if, for 30 pieces of silver, he betrayed his Master with a traitorous kiss. Fools and foolishness. The priests thought they were doing God’s work when they arrested God’s Son and brought Him to illegal trials. They believed they were doing God’s business when they purchased the false testimony of liars; when they invented new and ever-changing charges; when they bullied the governor into consenting to the Christ’s crucifixion. Fools and foolishness. Pilate thought he could have peace by permitting an innocent man to die. The crowds thought they could please their leaders if they shouted for the death of the one person in the world who loved them best.
Fools and foolishness. The Scriptures are filled with stories of fools and foolishness.
Maybe that’s why the 53rd Psalm sadly records, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from the heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one” (see Psalm 53:1-3). As God in His perfection looks at sinful humanity, it must appear that every day is April 1st; every day is a day for humanity’s fools.Fools and foolishness. Look at us. We say we want peace, but all around the globe we see hatred, prejudice, and war. We demand fairness, but think not a moment about stepping on someone else so we can get ahead. We want love but are afraid to give it, and don’t know what to do with it if we ever receive it. We want happiness, but we can’t hold on to it.
Fools and foolishness – that is who we are; that is what we do. Fools and foolishness – that is what I think God sees when He looks down on us from heaven. He sees fools and foolishness, and He sees one thing more. God sees His own, dear, foolish children: helpless, hopeless, lost.
Because the heavenly Father knows we are foolish children, because He is aware that sin has made us incapable of erasing our sins, changing our hearts, reshaping our eternal destinies, He entrusted His Son with the job of reconciliation and sent Him into this world. You and I cannot begin to comprehend how difficult, how painful Jesus’ job must have been. The Being whose Word had brought the universe into existence had to live with those who are pitiful, unpredictable, and painfully powerless. When Jesus wished to pick up the little children in His arms and bless them, His disciples tried to order the tiny tots and their mothers away.
When Jesus tried to tell people about His mission, they refused to listen and tried to talk Him out of the sacrifice He was committed to make. The religious leaders who should have understood Him, plotted to take His life. The disciples who were closest to Him, made brave boasts and then ran away from His side. The government which made proud claims about its legal system, crumbled like a house of cards. Fools and foolishness.
Because He was surrounded by fools and foolishness, Jesus, the only sinless man this world has ever seen, was condemned to die. On Calvary’s cross, as He suffered and shed His blood, the very people whose sins He carried, laughed and taunted and jeered. Not knowing what was happening, a thief who hung next to the Christ called out, “Save Yourself and us.” The man never understood Jesus was, with His sacrifice, saving us. Jesus had been declared guilty of false charges, so we might, on the day of our judgment, be declared innocent of our real sins. Jesus suffered and died on the cross so that when we face eternity, we who know Him as our Savior, might live forever. Fools and foolishness. So few people understood that God’s Son was carrying their sins so those iniquities would never again burden their souls.
Jesus died to take away our sins. In His last hours, He looked down, and saw His mother. He looked into the eyes and heart of this woman who had given Him life; who had nursed Him and taught Him; who had followed Him to His death. Jesus looked into her eyes and knew that she could not understand all that was happening, all that He was doing; the sacrifice He was making. He looked at Mary and, through His pain, saw hers. To her, and the only disciple who was there that day, Jesus said words which basically meant: Mother, I will not be able to help you in the future, but John, My good friend, will. Let him take My place. Then, to John, Jesus said: Take care of her; take care of My mother as if she were your own. Jesus, the victim of hatred, and injustice, and unbelief, and prejudice, and envy, continued to love and give. On the cross He gave His life for you and me. Three days later, a dead Jesus would take back that life and show to the world that His work had been accepted as payment for our sins. Three days later, at His empty grave, He would tell the world that death has been defeated, and Satan’s curse, which has held us captive for so long, had been crushed.
In April of 2000, the Romanian newspaper, Opinia, gave its readers some wonderful news. It told of how the prisoners at Baia Mare detention center were going to be released. The prospects of a reunion brought great joy to the families of those who had disappeared so many years before. Gladly these families made their plans, purchased their tickets, and went to the jail. With eagerness they anticipated the moment of reunion. The moment of reuniting never came and those families never heard the voices of their loved ones. What they did hear were the words: April Fool’s! No one is being released! Opinia, the newspaper which had originally carried the story, eventually published an apology.
Fools and foolishness. Can you imagine anything more cruel than to tell people there will be a reunion when there is none? Can you conceive of anything more heartless than to offer people hope when the situation is hopeless? I can. Right now, throughout the world, voices are being raised to say God and His church are liars. They say God and the church have lied when they tell you Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. They say God and the church are lying when they say that Jesus was anything more than a misunderstood carpenter’s son. They are vehement in saying God and His church are lying when they say your sins were paid for that day on Golgotha.
These voices want you to believe that Jesus was just a man. A good man, a kindly man, a wise man, a brilliant man, a loving man, but only a man. They want you to believe that Jesus didn’t die; that Jesus was buried and then He revived in that cold, damp tomb. They want you to believe them when they suggest Jesus recovered from being whipped, beaten, crucified, and stuck in His heart with a Roman spear. They want you to believe that Jesus managed to escape, had children and lived happily ever after. Other voices want you to believe that the Scriptures have lied and Jesus, along with His bones, will someday be found in some Jerusalem excavation. These voices want you to believe that your forgiveness is unfounded; your hope is based on falsehood and your belief in heaven is nothing more than a cosmic April Fool’s Day joke.
I am not surprised. Satan whispered the same foolish words of doubt into the ears of our original ancestors. They believed the snake and not their Creator. They succumbed to his suggestions and lost their souls. Don’t be foolish and make the same mistake they did. Don’t be foolish. Hear the Holy Spirit and turn a deaf ear to Christ’s critics and detractors. This week, in Christian churches around the world, pastors will take their parishes to the foot of the cross. Go with them. Look at the cross. See the suffering, the sacrifice of your Savior who takes away your sins. Look at His cross, repent, believe, be saved. Look at His cross and hear the words of the Bible which 1900 years ago said: “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” My friends, don’t be foolish. Go to the cross and see your Savior. Go to the cross, and if you need some help finding the way, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR: 74-28
AIRS: April 1, 2007
TOPIC: God UnjustANNOUNCER: And now, Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hello, Mark. And what is the question for today?
ANNOUNCER: One of our listeners emailed us and asked this question: The Bible says in Deuteronomy 24:16 that children won’t be punished for the sins of the parents. Why, then, are we being punished for the sins of Adam and Eve?
KLAUS: OK, I think we can tackle that.
ANNOUNCER: But there’s more. This person also wants to know: If Adam and Eve didn’t really understand the difference between good and evil, why are we punished for something of which they were apparently ignorant?
KLAUS: I think we can probably handle that one, too.
ANNOUNCER: And they’re still not done. They finally want to know: Do you think the courts of North America are fairer than God because they are willing to show mercy to those who can’t tell the difference between right and wrong?
KLAUS: OK. So what you’re saying is: Now Pastor Klaus will attempt to answer questions from our listeners.
ANNOUNCER: Well, no one ever said it was going to be easy.
KLAUS: Let’s deal, Mark, with that Deuteronomy passage. What was it again?
ANNOUNCER: That was Deuteronomy 24:16, which reads: “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.”
KLAUS: First, the person who asked the question actually misquoted the Bible. The passage is talking about a legal court where parents and children might be put to death for a family member’s sin. That’s not what God does. God finds us guilty for our own sin. The sin we were born with, which we call original sin, and the sin we do ourselves, which we call actual sin. Nobody is going to hell because Adam and Eve chomped down on the forbidden fruit. Without faith in Jesus as their Savior, people today are condemned because they are sinners, all on their own.
ANNOUNCER: You’re saying that God holds each of us responsible for ourselves.
KLAUS: Exactly.ANNOUNCER: If Adam and Eve didn’t really understand the difference between good and evil, why didn’t God give them – and us – a break?
KLAUS: OK. We can answer that question one of two ways. First, you don’t have to understand the law to break it. I don’t understand, or even know about, most of the laws in our country. Because I’m ignorant of those laws, does that mean I can’t be found guilty of breaking them?
ANNOUNCER: Well, no, because ignorance of the law is no excuse.
KLAUS: Right. Just because I don’t understand that it’s wrong to pass somebody when there are two yellow lines on the road, that doesn’t mean I won’t get a ticket. Adam and Eve weren’t required to understand the difference between good and evil. They were told to be obedient. Obedience is different than understanding. For example, suppose a father shot a drug dealer who’s selling drugs to his ten-year-old child. Would you be able to understand why he might want to do that?
ANNOUNCER: Well, I could understand, but I would also understand if the judge then found him guilty of assault, or murder, or whatever.
KLAUS: I agree. It is not necessary for me to understand why I shouldn’t take the law into my own hands. I only have to obey that law. In the case of Adam and Eve, God gave them one single command: don’t eat from this tree. They didn’t have to understand why God would ask that… they only had to listen to Him and obey Him.
ANNOUNCER: OK. That helps. Now there is that third question: Do you think North American courts are more fair than God because they are merciful when they take into account the inability of a person to understand the law?
KLAUS: First, true fairness would make the law apply the same to everybody. In that respect, nobody is more fair than God. His commandments apply to everyone equally. Second, are the courts being merciful when they take into account someone’s particular situation or their lack of understanding? They are certainly being merciful to the criminal; however they are not necessarily being merciful to the victim of the crime. God, on the other hand is merciful to sinners because He forgives them… but not at the price of setting aside His laws. He is merciful because His Son fulfilled those laws for us and became the victim when He died on the cross.
ANNOUNCER: So you’re saying that God is, at the same time, just and merciful.
KLAUS: Right. Both are possible only because Jesus substituted Himself for us. He took our guilt and punishment upon Himself and rose again to give us life.
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
“Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow” by W.J. Sparrow-Simpson & John Stainer, arr. Henry Gerike. From Jubilee by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (©2000 International Lutheran Laymen’s League)
“Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Only Son” by J.S. Bach. From Bach for All Seasons by the Holy Trinity Bach Choir (© 1999 Augsburg Fortress)
“God Loved the World So That He Gave” by John Behnke. From For All Seasons, vol. 1 by John Behnke (© 1996 John A. Behnke) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“All Glory, Laud and Honor” by Michael Burkhardt. From Hymn Improvisations, vol. 1 by Michael Burkhardt (© 1993 MorningStar Music Publishers)