Return to the Lord
Who Claims You as His Own
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jess Christ. Amen.
There is a children’s game called Hot Potato. Most of you have probably heard of it. Everyone sits in a circle and an object is passed around. That object is known as the hot potato. You don’t want to be caught with it. If you are, then you’re out of the game. The action gets pretty fast and furious, as the object is passed on as quickly as possible. To my knowledge, there is no opposite game, probably because it wouldn’t be much of a game. Whoever had the object wouldn’t pass it on; they would just hold onto it and keep it.
For us, the hot potato we don’t want to be caught with is our sin. The good news for us tonight is that Jesus wants it. He takes the hot potato of your sin and claims it as His own. He does not pass it on. He will not let it go. But more than that, He lays claim to your condemnation. He lays claim to your chastisement. He lays claim to your death. He is cut off for you. He is crushed for you. He is wounded and oppressed for you.
When Jesus lays claim to your sin, it He isn’t just holding on to your sin. He’s actually holding on to you. He is taking hold of you and laying claim to you. After all, your sin isn’t just something out there, separate from you. Your sin is in your flesh. And so He takes your flesh upon Himself. The Son of God became man. Your flesh, and all that comes with it, He claims as His own. He wants it. He refuses to let it go, even though holding onto you means He must go to the cross.
We sit in the darkness of night and try to imagine the darkness of that day, when Jesus hung on the cross, when Jesus hung there in the darkness, when the sun stopped shining. But if you really must know, think about whatever sin you are most ashamed of, the sin that—if known—would make your family and friends distance themselves from you, the sin that would ruin your life. Put it in bold print on a sign hanging from your neck, and walk around in public. Write it in English, Spanish, and whatever other languages are spoken by your neighbors. Knock on your neighbor’s door and make sure everyone sees it and knows it. Make sure they know who you are, what kind of person you really are. Even then, you would be getting just the smallest taste of what Jesus did for you.
Judas got a taste of this. After he betrayed Jesus and saw that Jesus had been condemned, he went to the priests and confessed. But the horribly, godless priests said, “What is that to us? You see to it.” This is your sin, they told him. It’s your hot potato. You deal with it. And he did. The only way he knew how: he sentenced himself to death.
It didn’t have to be that way for Judas. And it doesn’t have to be that way for you. Jesus has laid claim to your sins. Your sins are hung with Him on the cross, and He took them to the grave. Jesus flips everything around. So you get to hold onto Him and claim Him and His righteousness as your own. You get His life as your own. Your faith takes hold of Jesus and His death, and in doing so, you also receive His life.
Tonight, you receive in your hand and your mouth the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He grabs hold of you and your sin and claims it as His own. He dies your death. He is buried in your tomb. And the third day is coming: the day when He rises from the tomb, still holding onto you. But the sin is gone, the condemnation is gone, and the death is gone. Jesus is clinging to you and not letting go. Sin, satan, death cannot have you, for Jesus has claimed you as His. “It is finished.” Salvation is accomplished. And because you belong to Him, salvation belongs to you. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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