"Following The Voice of Living Shepherd!" 1 Peter 2:21-25

Misercordias Domini, The Third Sunday Of Easter 18-April-2021

Sermon Text: 1 Peter 2:21-25

Sermon Theme: “Following the Voice Of Our Living Shepherd!”

I.N.R.I. “On the third day after Misercordias Domini Sunday (April 16) Doctor Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk by profession, traveled to Worms in the year of our Lord 1521, summoned by Emperor Charles V, king of Spain, archduke of Austria, etc., who in the first year of his reign held his first royal assembly in this city.” So begins the historical account of Dr. Martin Luther’s call to appear before the Holy Roman Emperor at the Diet of Worms five hundred years ago. Luther prayed, heard, and studied the same Epistle and Gospel lessons that you heard this morning. He would have prayed the same Psalms we did in today’s propers, although in Latin. This is the strength of the historic one-year lectionary it links us back to those who have confessed Christ centuries before us.

On April 17th, 1521 Dr. Martin Luther was summoned to stand trial before Emperor Charles V and the diet. Imagine if you were called to stand accused of hate speech, intolerance, and racism before the congress and senate in Washington, D.C.. Luther’s trial was to be short and to the point. Those in power already had convicted him of being guilty. Pope Leo X had issued Exsurge Domine giving Luther sixty days to recant of his teaching and retract his writings. When Luther burned the Pope’s writing, the Pope writes Decet Romanum Pontificem a Bull of Excommunication and declares Luther an enemy of Christ’s Church in January of 1521. Luther is brought into the court where his published writings and books have been gathered. Among these are a commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, and the first thirteen Psalms, a sermon on preparation for death, a book on good works, the Freedom of a Christian, the Babylonian Captivity of the Church and others – 22 published books or pamphlets. The Small and Large Catechisms were not among them – they would be written and published in 1529 (8 years later.) Luther was asked to acknowledge that these books were his. Then he was asked to recant – renounce all that he had written and taught. Luther acknowledges that the writings are his, but begs a night to pray before answering the second question. Luther knew his life was on the line – although given “safe conduct” to the diet by Charles V – the Council of Constance in 1415 had established the precedence that the emperor doesn’t need to honor his word to a heretic. Jan Hus would suffer imprisonment and final be burned at the stake at Constance for appealing to the Holy Bible.

Now Luther faced the same reality before a court that had determined his verdict ahead of time and wasn’t interested in debating the truth on the basis of the Holy Bible. Luther spent the night in prayer. Our Lord Jesus would comfort him through His promise that as our Good Shepherd He will not leave or forsake us. St. Peter would echo the words of Jesus preaching that we are called to follow Christ into suffering and death as sheep led to the slaughter. David in the 23rd Psalm would strengthen Luther with the truth that Jesus walks with us through this world of shadowy death. The 33rd Psalm would echo the power of God’s Word creating and filling our world with His goodness.

On April 18th, the fifth day after Misercordias Domini Sunday, after four o’clock in the afternoon Luther was summoned to stand before the emperor and given answer. Luther answers that he cannot renounce his books for they are not all the same. Some contain accepted Christian teaching – to renounce them would be to renounce the faith. Others expose the tyranny and lies of those in power – to renounce those would be to cover evil. When pushed for a simple answer Luther responded, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me, Amen.” Charles V gave Luther three weeks and then he would be declared and enemy of the Church and State free to be hunted down and put to death at will.

Dr. Martin Luther could not recant for he was : “Following the Voice of Our Living Shepherd!”

When Jesus was on trial before the Roman Empire, Pilate asked what had He done. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I should not be delivered up to the Jews: but my kingdom is not of this world. So Pilate said to him, You are a king then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice. (John 18:36-37 [RKJNT]). To follow the voice of our living Shepherd is to walk in the Truth of absolute truth found in Jesus alone, in the Holy Bible alone. Our dying culture labels this hate speech, racist, and seeks to ban Christians from public discourse. It de-platforms them from social media for speaking the truth of natural law that marriage is between a man and a woman. It screams against Christians speaking the biological scientific truth that human person-hood begins at the moment of conception, and that gender/ sex is written into our very chromosomes and not chosen by fickle feelings. The world living in the lie fears ecological catastrophe and will not acknowledge that the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord – for it rejects the Creator – it rejects the knowledge of God rejecting His revelation of Himself in creation, the human conscience, and especially in the Holy Bible.

Peter writes to Christians who would face persecution. Rome was tolerant of religions, as long as those religions acknowledged Caesar as divine and worshiped him also. Christianity was labeled “atheism” for it would not worship the panoply of man invented gods for Jesus preaches, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Our Good Shepherd has laid down His life for us straying wondering sheep. He became a sheep for us – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by His sacrifice on the altar of the cross. His wounds and words alone bring healing to our fallen world. On the top of our altar, five crosses are carved into the stone – they remind us of the wounds in Jesus’ hands, feet, and side – the price of our redemption – the guarantee of our future filling us with hope as we feast on His living body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins.

Peter begins this letter reminding us that we are elect by God’s foreknowledge, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and sprinkled with the blood of Christ Jesus. We are baptized and begotten again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are aliens, whose inheritance cannot be taken away from us by any earthly government – it is incorruptible, undefiled, unfading , reserved for us in heaven. Peter echoes Jesus’ Words that the world will treat us as it treated our Savior. (1 Peter 2:21) He writes encouraging us in our vocations to serve our neighbor and live our faith where we have been called. If we suffer for doing good - God is glorified. The world may hate us for speaking the truth in these dark ages of the lie masquerading as “wokeness.”

Follow the Good Shepherd. (1 Peter 2: 22-23) Peter echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah chapter 53, who spoke of the Suffering Servant Messiah – Christ Jesus. When the world accuses us of hate speech, we speak the truth of the Holy Bible – clearly – we echo the voice of our Living Shepherd. How? Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32 [RKJNT] Dear parents before the storm breaks – teach your children Christ’s Word and doctrine. As Moses directed - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And you shall love the LORD your God with all yours heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in yours heart: And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in yours house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon yours hand, and they shall be as frontlets between yours eyes. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 [UKJV]. Teach your children the Small Catechism, pray it, memorize it, live it – for when they are arrested for having thoughts not in line with our dying culture – the Voice of their living Shepherd Jesus will sustain them.

Teach them also to pray – to echo the voice of the Living Shepherd as they pray the Lord’s Prayer – morning, evening, and at every meal. Teach them the truth of their redemption – (1 Peter 2:24-25) Salvation is found only in the flesh and blood of Jesus. He alone bore our sins in His fully human body to redeem our human bodies – we are not mistakes of evolution – teach them the truth of creation, redemption, and the sanctification of their bodies – teach them to confess The Truth – The Apostles’ Creed every break of day and sunset. The world calls the Truth and lie and seeks to enslave us under a promise of security. Study history – over 100 million have been sacrificed for the lie of a man made utopia in this world in the name of progressivism / communism. We stand on the graves of 60 million unborn in our nation and have shattered marriage, the family, and now carve up our bodies in the name of sexual freedom.

Return to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls – Jesus Christ. He calls us straying sheep to daily repentance, healing our sins through His wounds. He makes us whole again as we live our baptism by daily drowning our old sinful nature and rising to live a new life – living our faith in loving service to our neighbors and enemies – speaking the Truth in love. Listen: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. (John 10:27-30 [UKJV])…. Do not compromise the Truth – Christ’s Word and Teaching for friendship with the world. If we are called to stand on trial, Christ Jesus will strengthen us by His Holy Spirit giving us His Word to speak. Like Dr. Luther at Worms we can confess: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason ..., I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me, Amen.”