Category Archives: Sermons

His Blood Be on Us

The irony of Jesus’ trial before Pilate is that Jesus, who is Truth, tells the truth, and Pilate can’t deny it. John records that when Pilate asks him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”, Jesus responds characteristically, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” (John 18:33-34). Were it not a matter of life or death, it’s almost comical. He already knows and understands the accusation, but does Pilate?

The Rooster’s Crow

Three times Peter denied his Lord, and three times the Lord reminded him of his love for the Lord. In Christ our identity rests not on our multitude of moral failures but upon the steadfast love and faithfulness of God in the finished work of our risen Lord. The rooster’s crow of our conviction is a divine mercy, revealing to us our sin, leading us to repentance, and restoring us to a right confession. So may our confession always be: “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

Kiss the Son

The purpose of a testimony is to tell the truth, and Jesus tells it. And they hate it. They hate him. Ripping their clothes, they rage at his supposed blasphemy. And yet, false testimony and mendacious rhetoric is not transformed into truth by showmanship and shouting. You can’t shout the truth into existence, but you can convince those who hear what they want to hear. The verdict is unanimous: “He deserves death.”

Thy Will Be Done

Therefore, there is no room for boasting with bravado of what we will do for Christ. Or, as Paul put it, “If I must boast, I will boast of things that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30). The Christian life is not lived by boasting in what you will do for Christ but in what he has done for us. It is not a life of bravado but of submission. As we learn that God’s grace is indeed sufficient and that his power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), we too will learn to pray as our Lord did, and as he taught us to pray, “Thy will be done”!

The Purpose of God’s Favor

Just as God drew the queen of Sheba to Israel to witness God’s favor upon Solomon, so God has bestowed His favor in the gospel of Jesus Christ” in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). While the queen of the South came to behold the favor of God in the son of David, the faithful Son of David, the eternal Son of God commands His Church: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

Prayer from the Depths of Woe

Indeed, salvation belongs to the Lord, for our Lord said, “just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40). Yet, unlike Jonah, the Lord Jesus regarded the Scriptures as the very breath of God, down to the iota and dot.