Third Wednesday in Lent

I would like to welcome you to the Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. This is our third midweek Vesper service for the Lenten season. We're working our way through the Passion Narrative found in the Gospel of John.

And tonight we'll be following the order of Vespers on page 229. And the psalm today is Psalm 6, Psalm number 6, if you want to mark that in your hymnal up at the front. And we'll be using psalm tone F as in Frankenstein, F as in Frankenstein today for our psalm tone.

And we'll be doing that together by half verse. And so let me get to the front and then once I'm up there, if you are physically present here at Kongsvinger, then I'll have you rise. Please rise. O Lord, open my lips.

Make haste, O God, to deliver me. Psalm 6. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing. My soul also is greatly troubled. Turn, O Lord, deliver my life. For in death there is no remembrance of you.

I am weary with my mourning. Every night I flood my bed with tears. My I waste away because of grief. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. The Lord has heard my plea. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.

Amen.

Hymn number 429. You may be seated. Please rise for the reading of the Gospel. The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the 18th chapter, starting at verse 12. So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood outside at the door.

So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?

He said, I am not. Now the servants and the officers had made a charcoal fire because it was cold and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them.

They know what I said. And when he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong.

But if what I said is right, why do you strike me? Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, You also are not one of his disciples, are you?

He denied it and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, Did I not see you in the garden with him? And Peter again denied it and at once a rooster crowed.

O Lord, have mercy on us. We'll sing the response. Deliver me, O Lord, my God. For you are the God of my salvation. In you, O Lord, do I put my trust. Leave me not, O Lord, my God. Deliver me, O Lord, my God.

For you are the God of my salvation. You may be seated. In the name of Jesus. So our text today in our gospel text regarding the passion of our Lord, things have begun to heat up and there's two interrogations that are taking place here.

And we'll note as we read through this text that one interrogation is going rather interestingly, the other one is going rather terribly. And so we read that in our text, the band of soldiers and their captains.

These are the ones Jesus bowled over last week with his word that in his name I am. And then the second time when they asked, you know, whom do you see? Jesus asked them, whom do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.

He said, I am again. But this time, the second time, that didn't result in them being blown.

Backwards.

This time they now bind Jesus and they arrest him. And Jesus, again, is going willingly. One of the things that you can kind of see as a distinction between Jesus and Peter at this point is that Jesus is as cool as a cucumber.

He's completely in charge. He isn't flinching at all. He's completely unflappable. Whereas Peter, on the other hand, is acting in complete fear. And I would note that when we consider this week's text and our look at the Passion narrative, we consider Peter last week when they came to arrest Jesus, he was Johnny on the spot with a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, one of the servants of the high priest.

And one has to wonder, I mean, have you ever had a head wound? Head wounds just bleed, man. It gets everywhere and it gets everywhere quickly. So one has to wonder if Peter had a wee bit of blood on his clothes.

And so he's acting in complete fear. He acted in fear and that's why he acted to defend himself and to defend Jesus. And Jesus said, put the sword away. And now Peter's going to continue to act to defend himself.

And it's important to note here that fear of death is a legitimate thing that all of us face and have to come to grips with. And Peter here is clearly very interested in saving his own skin. And fear of death is something that we have to consider as something that at times can be sinful and other times it may not be sinful.

I always think back to that movie Patton. You've got George C. Scott playing General Patton and you've got that big, rousing speech that he gives to his troops right at the beginning of it. And he says something very interesting.

He says, it is not your job to die for your country. It is your job to make the other guy die for his country. And so you think about self-preservation. There are times when that's a good thing. But when it comes to making the good confession of faith, that if somebody wants to take our life for confessing Christ, then we are not to love our lives in such a way that we deny Christ.

When push comes to shove, one must, as a Christian, not love this world or their own life above their, well, their devotion to Christ. To do so is a form of idolatry. And so we see Peter here acting in an idolatrous fashion, whereas Jesus, he's willingly going to the cross.

He's willingly going to do everything he does. In fact, he's not even going to make any attempt to defend himself. So the text goes on to say that, and listen to this, first they led Jesus to Annas. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas.

So Annas is the older, Caiaphas is the younger, who was high priest that year. And it's interesting to note that I remember reading some skeptical scholars who had been debunked on this back in like the 1700s.

It was way back when. Skeptical scholarship has been around with us ever since really the Renaissance. And there were scholars who were basically saying, see, the Gospels can't be trusted because it says there were two high priests.

And everybody knows the Mosaic Covenant only allows for one. Well, then archaeology dug up some things and confirmed what the Gospel says here. You'll note that over and over and over again, the Gospels, all four of them, give us high-quality eyewitness testimony and details that have been vindicated time and time again when somebody has stuck a shovel into the ground in Israel and dug something up to this effect.

In fact, I would note before we even get to this part, we have the bone box of Caiaphas. His bones were buried in an ossuary, and guess what? They found it.

And it's beautiful.

It's really ornate. It's quite the exquisite bone box. In fact, if you were to type into your Google search, Caiaphas bone box or ossuary, you'll see photographs of it. It's actually quite amazing. And on top of that, I think this was now 10, 15 years ago, they found Caiaphas' house.

They found the place where Jesus was put on trial. They actually know the courtyard itself. And I'll be blunt. It's not that big. If you were to kind of think perspective-wise, the courtyard of the high priest was basically the middle row of pews here at Kongsvinger.

From the back pew to the front pew, that's about as big as it was. It wasn't a very big venue. So keep this in mind. We know where it is. You can actually visit it in Israel if you wanted to, in Jerusalem if they let you there.

So all that being said, it was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Fascinating that he prophesied that. One of the other gospels says that that was a prophecy.

And you'll note that God can even use unbelieving high priests to prophesy correctly. The Holy Spirit doesn't require you to have an activation to actually learn how to prophesy. When God gives you words to speak, you will speak them.

Now, Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. And here we're going to note, when you read the scholarship on this section of the Gospel of John, John clearly wrote his eyewitness testimony in third person.

And this other disciple happens to be John. And you're going to note the contrast between how John is behaving as opposed to the way Peter is behaving. You'll note John knew the high priest. The high priest knew him.

That means the high priest knew that John was a disciple of Jesus. And he had no problem with John being there, and John wasn't acting in any kind of suspicious manner whatsoever. It was like, well, you know, I know the high priest.

He's going to let me in, and so he's allowed in. And you'll note then, the text then says, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door and brought Peter in.

You would think at this point Peter would like, oh, okay, we're cool. I don't have to worry about being murdered tonight because they know John, and John knows the high priest, and the servant girl knows John, and they're all good.

And he vouched for him and said, yeah, let him in. But you're going to note he's still acting in great fear and suspicion. And this is brought on by his fear of death. One of the things I will say publicly now is that as we get closer and closer to the return of Christ, Jesus warns that as we get closer to his return, that Christian brothers would betray each other unto death.

And so I would note this, that if you are good friends with people who attend megachurches where they have their ears tickled, I think of like Lakewood or something like that, Joel Osteen's church, you're going to note that those churches, they legitimately love the world.

And their message is all about and focused on having wealth and prosperity and influence and affluence and great outcomes here and now. It is not an accident that the very first New York Times bestseller written by Joel Osteen was titled Your Best Life Now, which means these people under these teachers are taught to love the world.

And as a result of it, they haven't signed up for persecution. They are not going to church for the purpose of being reviled or to potentially lose their life. And when push comes to shove, and outright persecution occurs within our country, or if there's a global regime that basically outlaws Christianity, who are going to be the people that bail on Christianity and as a result of it betray others who confess Christ?

It's going to be these people. And the reason why is because they're not in it for persecution. They want their best life now. And in order for them to continue their best life now, they're going to have to, well, deny Christ and potentially offer up the names of other people who are Christians.

Beware of Christians who love the world and do not want to die, but instead fear death. We have nothing to fear regarding death. We have already died. The scriptures are very clear that when you were baptized, you were baptized into Christ's death and into his resurrection.

And so you've heard me say in the past when we've had baptisms here at Kongsvinger that what we're going to do with the person who's going to be baptized is we're going to kill them. They're going to die.

There's a death that occurs every single time we have a baptism. And so that person's sinful nature is killed, crucified with Christ. And so since we've all already died with Christ, we've already got death out of the way.

There's nothing to fear. That means when somebody comes up to us in the future and persecutes us and says, do you believe in Jesus Christ? And if you say yes, you're going to die? You say, of course I believe in Jesus Christ, and there's no way I'm going to deny that.

Well, then you're going to die. No, really I'm not. I'm already dead. You can't really hurt me. That's the attitude of one who has faith in Christ and knows the truth. But Peter at this point, he's hanging on to his life.

He was slashing and cutting and cut off the ear of Malchus, and now he's acting all shady and sus here in this text. But John is behaving like it's no big deal. He's got his connections. They know exactly who he is.

So they brought Peter in. The other disciple who had known the high priest went and spoke to the servant, a girl who kept watch at the door, brought Peter in. And then the servant girl at the door said to Peter, Hey, you also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?

And note the word also.

Okay.

What is she asking here? Think this out with me. She knows John is one of his disciples. She knows that because the text says this. So she's asking Peter, hey, you're one of his disciples also, aren't you?

Also means like, you know, who's the other disciple there? Like John is. And what does Peter say? I am not. This stands in complete contradistinction to what Jesus said when he said I am. You know, Jesus said I am.

Peter says I am not. Something is really bad going on here. And it's this fear of death that's kicked in. Now he's denying who he is. And I would note he's probably not convincing anybody. We learn from the other gospel text that his accent has given him away.

They know he's a Galilean. And the servant girl knows that it was John who brought him in. And he's a disciple. He has no problem admitting that he is such. But not Peter. I am not. So the servants and the officers then made a charcoal fire because it was cold.

And they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them standing and warming himself. Now this might seem like a throwaway detail. But this is a weather detail. You'll note the gospels contain weather details.

And in this time in Israel, it's late spring. But it's still spring. It's not summer yet. That being the case, we would expect it to be cool at night. And a charcoal fire is a good way to warm yourself back in the day.

And I think that detail that it's a charcoal fire comes back then in chapter 21 when after the resurrection Jesus asks Peter three times do you love me and restores him to his apostolic ministry after his great fall here.

So because it was cold, they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them standing and warming himself. And so then the high priest questioned Jesus. And listen to the line of questioning.

Questioned Jesus about one, his disciples, and two, his teaching. So his disciples come into play at least in the first line of questioning which makes you wonder if Peter at this point is even more fearful as a result of the line of questioning that had to do with him.

But they ask Jesus about his teaching. And you're going to note Jesus doesn't defend himself here. Jesus, again, is willingly laying down his life. In fact, the book of Isaiah describing Jesus' being on trial said that he was oppressed.

He was afflicted. He opened not his mouth. And like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep before its shearers of silence, so he opened not his mouth. In no way is Jesus defending himself.

In fact, what I think is fascinating about what Jesus is saying here is Jesus knows the scriptures like inside and out, which you would expect. After all, he's God in human flesh. And he is the word made flesh.

It's that Jesus is reminding them it's their duty to provide the eyewitnesses. It's like you've got your responsibilities. It's your job. You want to bring a charge against me? You bring the eyewitnesses.

You provide them. Charges have to be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. And we learn from the cross references that they were seeking to bring charges against Jesus, so they were asking people to give false testimony.

But here's the problem with that. You've got to get two false testimonies to agree with each other. That seems like a task of futility. So Jesus says to them, he says, Listen, I've spoken openly to the world.

I've always taught in the synagogues and in the temple where all the Jews come together. I've said nothing in secret. And you'll note before Jesus' crucifixion, the whole week before, Jesus was openly teaching in the temple, and I'm sure the high priests were able to hear them, as well as the people and the rabbis and the scribes and the Pharisees.

They were all able to hear Jesus. And note here, Jesus said, I said nothing in secret. Let these words sink in. Have you ever seen books titled The Secret Message of Jesus? The Secret Teachings of Jesus.

There are no secret teachings of Jesus.

Not one.

Jesus always taught out in the open, in public, with multiple witnesses. He said nothing in secret. If somebody comes up to you and says, Listen, I have teachings from Jesus that are secret, that are not recorded in the Gospels, but come to us through a different tradition.

Don't believe it. Jesus said nothing in secret. And the people who traffic in secrets are called Gnostics, and they are the archenemies of Christ. I have said nothing in secret, Jesus said. So why do you ask me?

Ask those who heard me. What I said to them, they know what I said. In other words, I ain't going to assist you here. You need to do your job. That's a polite way of putting it, right? And so the implication is actually quite clear as to what's going on.

And so when he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong.

If what I've said is right, why do you strike me? Completely in control. Cool as a cucumber and reminding everybody what their role is in all of this. He's not going to defend himself, but he's also not going to give them the ammo to shoot at him.

They've got to provide that himself. So Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Now, Simon Peter was standing and warming himself, so they said to him, You also are not one of his disciples, are you?

Here we go again. He denied it and said, I am not. And one of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, that's a little awkward, don't you think? Didn't I see you in the garden with him?

You're the guy who cut off Malchus's ear, right? And Peter again denied it, thrice now, and at once the rooster crowed. Brothers and sisters, we need to repent of our love of this world and our love of this life.

The world that we live in is passing away. And if you haven't figured it out, so are you. To value your life above Christ is to lose Christ. The one who denies me before men, Christ will deny before the Father.

So put this into your thinking now. As things are getting crazier and crazier out there, I do not think it takes a prophet or a rocket surgeon to see the trajectory that we're on and recognize that we're not that far away from open persecution of Christians.

And so as part of our Lenten repentance, we need to repent of loving this life. Loving it to the point where we would deny Christ like Peter has done here. And recognize that we are capable of falling as greatly as he fell as well.

It is not a small thing to deny Christ. And when the time comes, we need to ask God, the Holy Spirit, to give us the strength to love not our own lives, but to make the great confession regardless of the cost.

That's what we're called to do. And Jesus here, you're going to note, he hasn't defended himself, and there's a reason why he hasn't defended himself. And that is because when we read again the prophet Isaiah, it says this.

But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. And upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep, we have gone astray.

We have turned everyone to his own way. But Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Christ knows full well that he is the sin bearer. He is bearing your sin and mine and going to the cross and dying in our place.

God has made him, the innocent one, to be the guilty one. He is standing in our place and suffering God's wrath so that you and I can be forgiven. He is not defending himself in this kangaroo court so that ultimately he can be our advocate and defend us in the heavenly court so that we can hear from him, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You are forgiven of all of your sins. Enter into the rest of your father. That's the idea here. So that being the case, Jesus will not defend himself and doesn't. And he's going to be in charge the entire way.

And it's fascinating here how that is bearing out. But he's not putting up any resistance. He's not defending himself. He is willingly laying down his life because he knows full well this is the only way that you and I can be forgiven and pardoned of our sins and be reconciled to God.

And for the joy set before him is enduring the cross, it's shame and all of the scandal that goes along with it so that we can be forgiven. So note then, in this Lenten season, consider these two interrogations and consider how the one leads to eternal life and how the other has resulted in a lot of shame and the need to be forgiven.

And thankfully Christ, knowing full well that Peter would deny him, has already prayed that his faith would not fail. And let us pray also then to Christ, who is our advocate, that when the time of testing comes and it comes time for us to make the great confession, may he give us the strength so that our faith also doesn't fail.

In the name of Jesus, amen. Please rise for the canticle. Let my prayer rise before you as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. The Lord be with you. Let us pray. O Lord God, the life of all the living, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, the repose of the blessed dead.

Grant us a peaceful night, free from all the disturbances, that after a time of quiet slumber, we may by your goodness be endued in the new day with the guidance of your Holy Spirit and enabled in peace to render thanks to you through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels and just works. Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Closing hymn, 431.