Luke 1:1–4; 24:44-53

The evangelist Luke summarizes the message of the Christian faith.

1Many have undertaken to compile an account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2an account like those handed down to us by those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word from the beginning. 3For this reason, it seemed good to me also, since I followed everything closely from the beginning, to write an orderly account to you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the certainty of the things you were taught.

44He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

45Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46He said to them, “This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49Look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

50He led them out as far as the vicinity of Bethany. He lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51And while he was blessing them, he parted from them and was taken up into heaven. 52So they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53They were continually in the temple courts, praising and blessing God. Amen. – EHV

Prayer of the Day:

Almighty God, you called Luke the physician to reveal in his gospel the love and healing power of your Son. Grant that, by hearing and believing your Word, we may be healed of all sin and serve you with willing hearts; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Verse of the Day:

Alleluia. These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His Name. Alleluia. (John 20:31)

Sermon Text:

Truth, many in our day and age sound a little like Pontius Pilate as he goes back and forth with Jesus only to conclude that Truth is ultimately an elusive thing, ultimately unknown and unattainable. Such a conclusion is truly depressing. Unmoored from reality, one is left to roam listlessly in this world of our flitting from one theory to another on what can be believed, only to be disappointed again and again. If YouTube can conceive of it, if it pops up on my feed, it must be real, especially if some celebrity puts their stamp of approval on it.

But Truth, real truth, is more than opinion. It is rooted in reality. Interestingly enough, Webster Dictionary in 1828 gave the following as the primary meaning of Truth: “Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be.” Two example sentences showing its use are: “The truth of history constitutes its whole value. We rely on the truth of the scriptural prophecies.” It then quotes two Bible passages: “My mouth shall speak truth (Proverbs 8:7)” and “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth (John 17:17).” My, how a century can change things.

Today in worship, we remember St. Luke, the writer of the Gospel that bears his name. We are about a week early in the church calendar; next week is Mission Festival, and we will use this week’s lessons for it, so we are switching things up a little. That’s the truth. But as we consider Luke, truth seems to be on his mind.

Certainty, like Pilate, the modern world might scoff at such a word. But then so might the modern man, you and me included. Doubt is the opposite of certainty, and let’s face it, our world is full of it. So much so that it is difficult not to be infected with the pervasive plague of it. Does the burger ever really look like the advertisement we see on television? Does that product really live up to all the hype that it is given? Is the person really as trustworthy as they said they were? Will they really accomplish what they said they would? Is it possible that we start thinking of our God in a similar way? What is truth? How can we know?

Hopefully our history classes weighed in on this at some point. If you want to verify the validity of a thing in the past (that’s truth), you need to visit firsthand witnesses of the event. Compile the notes, cross-check and compare, because, well, people can be people after all, and they lie. Firsthand sources are always best. Sound at all like what Luke is doing here? He even uses a word in Greek, the word translated “closely”, that was uncommon in society. Where was it commonplace? In the medical field of his day, Luke was a doctor, after all. It meant “to strictly adhere to a norm or standard”. Luke is doing the checking for Theophilus. In a very modern sense, even while ancient, he wants the verified real truth to be presented.

That’s the apologetic embedded within the lesson today. But there is more than a cold fact check to be considered, dear friends. This we find as Jesus opens His divine mouth at the end of the book. After reminding them again that He had come as the fulfillment of Scripture, another truth point as the probability of one coming and fulfilling all of the prophecies of the Old Testament is slim to none, yet He does it (Check out the book of Matthew if you want to see all of that in detail), Jesus does something amazing again.

The divine truth checker, Jesus opens their minds so that they can see it. He connects the dots for them and allows them to see not only with history but with faith, not only the realities but their significance as well. Luke is often pictured by an Ox. There are a number of reasons for that, but perhaps the most significant is that the doctor had a keen eye for the sacrificial nature of the Messiah, or Jesus Christ. This is where the truth takes on flesh and blood, quite literally, for us.

So Jesus had to suffer, and rise from the dead on the third day … had to. He needed to, as the fulfillment of Scripture; more importantly, he needed to for you and for me. He needed that repentance and the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all. Repentance, for all the times I have doubted the truth of God’s holy Word. Repentance, for all the times I have treated as an uncertain thing the certainty of my God. Repentance, for the lip service I have paid while my heart writhed in doubts and burdens God would have relieved, but fear, love, and trust were flung far from Him and placed on something else entirely. Repentance, that in the depths of my despair over my sin and its consequences there would be forgiveness.

Forgiveness wrought historically on a wooden cross outside Jerusalem. Forgiveness as Roman hands drew holy blood with thorns, whips, nails, and a spear. Forgiveness as Truth breathed its last breath and bowed its head in death, all so that I might know that word was not an empty historical fact, but that it bore meaning for me, sinful me. That in the resurrection I might have the rock-solid certainty that God had not barred me from heaven but had flung open the gates and called me His own in the work of Jesus, my Savior.

Dear friends, I desperately want to talk more about the rest of the lesson. Jesus said, “You are my witnesses.” And so you have become. Eyewitnesses of the realities of this Gospel message alive and well within you because the Holy Spirit has done His work, wringing truth into your hearts. Eyewitnesses talk and share. They announce the truth to the world around them that others may know. But that’s all next week in worship.

So until then, may we live in the blessing of the Lord Himself and worship Him with great joy just as those first eyewitnesses did, continually praising and blessing God for all He has done for us. In other words, run to the source. Run to Jesus, His Word, His Sacraments, that we might be eyewitnesses of His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness!

Truth. It may seem like an elusive thing in our day and age. Satan is an expert in twisting our minds until we seemingly wouldn’t know up or down most days. Truth be told, it’s all he’s got. He has to hide and conceal because if he didn’t, well, the Truth would be so clearly seen … a truth that means his defeat … a truth that proclaims your forgiveness. So brothers and sisters, as we remember Luke, may we remember one who set himself on the task of letting that Truth shine forth in the world around him. All so that You May Know the Certainty of Forgiveness! Amen.

Sermon Blog

Luke 1:1–4; 24:44-53 - That You Might Know the Certainty of Forgiveness