Hebrews 12:18-24 - Blood That Speaks - March 18, 2020

In our reading from the Passion History we heard how our Lord was taken into the palace of the high priest and how he was interrogated, falsely accused and finally convicted for the simple reason that evil men were thirsty for his blood. And we know that they would get their wish. Within a matter of hours Jesus would be convicted, sentenced, and executed. His blood would spill, drop by drop, from a cruel Roman cross. Like Abel, he would die as an innocent victim. But there’s a difference. Hebrews tells us that Jesus’ blood speaks a better message than the blood of Abel. At first, it may strike us as strange that blood could speak. If I cut myself, I might scream, but my blood drips in silence. But doctors and lab technicians might say that blood speaks more loudly and clearly than the patient it was taken from. Through tests, blood can tell them if a person has high cholesterol, diabetes, strep throat – and a whole host of other diseases. Blood speaks. According to Genesis, Abel’s blood spoke so loudly that it reached the ears of God in heaven (Genesis 4:10). Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance. Jesus’ blood also speaks. Not from earth to heaven but from heaven to earth. And not a message of vengeance but a message of good news. And who couldn’t use a little good news right about now? What is this good news?

First, this – for lack of a better term – “bloody sermon” tells us that we have access to true worship of the true God: you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God. Mt. Zion was the location of the temple in the OT. The temple was where God had located his name and his presence. Unlike Mt. Sinai, the mountain of the Law, which was off-limits, Mount Zion was accessible to God’s people. It was where God heard the prayers and accepted the offerings of the people and offered them his forgiveness and grace. After Solomon had finished building the temple, the LORD said to him: I have heard your prayer and the plea for mercy that you offered before me. I have consecrated this house, which you built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time (1 Kings 9:3). “Temple, we can’t even go to church these days,” you might be thinking. That’s not a problem. Paul says in 2 Corinthians you are the temple of the living God, just as God said: I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16). Through baptism and through faith, you are the Church even if you can’t be in church (Ephesians 2:19-22). Here is powerful comfort for us as we struggle with the fact that we can’t come to church to worship. God doesn’t live a building. He lives in heaven and he reaches out of heaven with his forgiveness and grace wherever we are through his Word. You may not be present here with me in this building. But God is present with you as you hear his Word.

Second, the blood of Jesus proclaims that you have come…to the heavenly Jerusalem; to tens of thousands of angels in joyful assembly. Whenever we worship God, whether in our homes or at church, heaven and earth intersect and we, as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, stand with the saints of old and the angels in many ways. But perhaps the best example lies in the songs of our liturgy, like the Sanctus holy, holy, holy Lord God of heavenly hosts: heav’n and earth are full of your glory (CW p. 22). This song was not composed on earth but in heaven! It’s the song Isaiah heard the angels singing in the throne-room of God (Isaiah 6:3). The choir of saints and angels have taught the church on earth the very songs they sing in heaven!

The third part of this bloody sermon proclaims the unity of the church. You have come…to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. All baptized believers have their names written in heaven’s book of life – which means that there are not two churches (one on earth and one in heaven) but one church on earth and in heaven. As we confess in the Nicene Creed, “we believe in…the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church.” We may be compelled to live in relative isolation in this new world of novel viruses and self-quarantines, but know this: you are not alone. You have brothers and sisters throughout our nation and the world who are struggling and suffering and praying right along with you. Paul puts it this way: There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in the one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all (Ephesians 4:4-5). God doesn’t call us to faith and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He makes us members of his family through Holy Baptism. That is why gathering together regularly around the Word is so important – even when we have to make sacrifices and adjustments – like watching pastor preach to an empty church on our computer – to make this meeting together possible. That’s why, even though we cannot meet in person right now, the second the mandates have been lifted we will eagerly obey the command of Hebrews 10: Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing. Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25). After all: is there any time we need the encouragement of God’s Word and other Christians more than when the signs of the end are as clear as they are right now?

Fourth, we have access to the Judge. You have come…to God, who is the judge of all. Hmm. That doesn’t sound good. How should we react to that? No matter where you are sitting…you’re sitting before the Judge of all. You’re not alone, whether they like it or not, whether they believe it or not, all people are going to have to stand before the Judge of all on the Last Day. His judgment will be perfect and his verdict will be final (John 5:30). And there are only two options: guilty or innocent; and two sentencing recommendations: eternity in either heaven or hell. Here’s the good news: when you heard the absolution earlier, you heard God’s verdict ahead of time. In that verdict you heard that God has judged you innocent, has acquitted you, has forgiven your crimes for the sake of his Son.

Part five of this bloody sermon tells us is that we have spiritual mentors. You have come…to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect. What does that mean? Well, in the previous chapter of Hebrews, chapter 11 – the so-called hall of fame of faith – there is a list of believers who have gone before us, beginning with Abel. We do not pray to or worship these saints, nor do we trust in them for salvation. However, with the very first Lutherans we confess: “Our churches teach that the history of the saints may be set before us so that we may follow the example of their faith and good works, according to our calling” (AC XXI:1). The believers who have gone before us have left us a rich legacy. It’s not so much that we should imitate how they lived – for they too, were sinners – but rather, how they believed, how they trusted in God’s grace, especially in troubling times. We made use of this blessing in our Bible class this past Sunday when we considered the words of Martin Luther and C.S. Lewis – Christians who also had to formulate Christ-centered, law and gospel balanced responses to situations where senseless fear and panic were rampant. Their response to the crises of their times inform and guide our response to our own time of crisis.

Sixth, this bloody sermon tells us that we have a real heavy-weight fighting in our corner, on our behalf. You have come…to Jesus, the mediator of a new testament. When people think they have been wrongly fired, been injured in a car accident or found themselves in legal trouble, they often run to a lawyer, a mediator who can argue their case on their behalf. We have something even better; we have Jesus. Jesus is not only our advocate, not simply our defense attorney, he’s our substitute, he’s the one who has taken our sin upon himself and given us his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). On Calvary he pushed us out of the way of God’s wrath, pled guilty to our sin and endured our punishment, and now he stands before God’s judgment seat equipped with the perfect and only argument for our acquittal. He will point to you, baptized believer, as you stand spotless and blameless, covered in the robe of his righteousness and say: “there’s no sin or sinner here, it’s all been paid for and wiped away – I paid for it and wiped it away with my blood, therefore, Father, you must declare them “not guilty.””

Which brings us to the seventh and final message of this bloody sermon: You have come…to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than the blood of Abel. Jesus shed his blood for us on the cross 2000 years ago outside of Jerusalem. But Hebrews says that this blood speaks to us in the present tense. That means that the blood of Jesus didn’t just speak on Good Friday – it still speaks today. Through your Baptism, it still speaks to you, telling you that you are cleansed and blameless in the sight of God (Ephesians 5:26-26; Galatians 3:26-27). It spoke to you in the words of Absolution you heard minutes ago. It speaks to you whenever you receive it in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus’ blood still speaks. It speaks a better message than the blood of Abel. His blood doesn’t cry out for vengeance but for forgiveness, not for the punishment of the guilty but for the justification of the ungodly (Romans 4:5), not for death but for never-ending life. And do you know what the best part of this “bloody sermon” is? No, not that it’s almost over, but that in a time when it seems all we are hearing is bad, threatening, or frightening news, this bloody sermon is packed with good news – and it’s all for you. Amen.