Sermon for 3/30/22: Midweek Lent IV (St Mark Passion series)

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Confession and Denial
Mark 14:53-72

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

          When Jesus reveals Himself as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, there are only two possible responses. One can either deny the truth, or one can confess the truth. When the Father reveals who Jesus is at His Baptism and the Transfiguration, saying, “This is my beloved Son,” one can either refuse to believe what God says, or one can confess, “I believe.” The Greek word for confession, homologeo, literally means “the same word:” in other words, it means to repeat what was originally said. So to confess the Christian faith means to say about God what He has revealed to you about Himself. And to confess your sins means to say about yourself what God has revealed about you.

          Confession only pertains to the truth. One cannot confess an un-truth; by its very nature, an un-truth is no longer confession. Think about what St. John writes. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. …If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” Notice that John uses the word “say.” When we claim we have no sin, we are not making a confession, because we are denying what God has told us about ourselves. God has made the diagnosis: we are corrupted throughout by sin. We can either deny reality, or we can confess, “We are by nature sinful and unclean.” In fact, when we make this confession during the Divine Service, it is not because we have come to that conclusion after spending two months of profound introspection and navel-gazing; God has revealed the Old Adam within us, and we can only agree with His verdict: “I [am] a poor miserable sinner…”

          The same thing is true when we confess the Creed. Look at where the Creed appears in the Divine Service: either after the Gospel text or after the sermon. Because we have now heard the Word of God, we reply together with what we have heard in that Word as a summary of the Bible’s teaching. It becomes an “amen” to God’s Word—“I hear what You’re saying, God, and I believe it.” We follow the example of Peter, who listened to what Jesus taught and then confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

          But to confess Jesus as Lord involves more than just saying some words. To confess that “Jesus is Lord” is to confess that He rules over the universe, which means He rules over us—over our entire lives. It means that you follow Him. And so, when Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, and Jesus then predicts His own suffering and death, Jesus tells the disciples, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” That’s why Peter’s denial is so devastating. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, then let your life repeat the confession of your mouth. If you are not prepared to forsake your father and mother; if you are not prepared to give up all your possessions; if you are not prepared to suffer and die with your Lord Jesus—then you are not worthy to be called a Christian, not worthy of the kingdom of heaven. You can see what is at stake; this has real life implications.

          And that’s why the Rite of Holy Baptism progresses the way it does. First the pastor asks, “Do you reject the devil? Do you reject all his works? Do you reject all his ways?” And then we confess our faith in the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. First we reject the lordship of Satan, and then we confess that Jesus is Lord. Why? Because He “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil…” For what purpose did He do this? “…That I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness…” In this way we become attached to this One we confess as the Son of God. The water combined with the Word of God marks us with the name of God which we confess. Marked by His name, we belong to Him.

          In doing so, we confess what Jesus first revealed about Himself. The high priest asked Jesus, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Declaring Himself to be the Christ would mean being accused of blasphemy, a crime worthy of death. Denying that He was the Christ would be a lie. And so Jesus confessed of Himself, “I am.” In doing so, He confesses that He is God. He confesses that He is Lord. He confesses that He has come to fulfill the promises God made to His Old Testament people to send a Savior: the Seed promised to Adam and Eve who would win forgiveness of their sins by the power of His innocent suffering and death and His glorious resurrection. And hearing this Word, we confess it back to Him in thanksgiving for all He has done for us. 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.