Cantate Sermon

 

You Are My Son,
Today I Have Begotten You!
Acts 13:26-33
Cantate – Easter 5 – 05.18.2025

(Please note that I am using alternate texts for this Sunday - I have substituted the texts for the Tuesday after the Resurrection of our Lord. Those texts are: Daniel 3:8-28 – Acts 13:26-33 – Luke 24:6-49.)

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

 Our text is about the middle of what might loosely be called a sermon being preached by the Apostle Paul in the synagogue in Antioch. A synagogue was/is where the Jews gathered for what we would call worship. Scripture was read and some rabbi would deliver a message based upon that text, what we today would call a sermon.

 Paul begins his message – at the beginning of this chapter – saying, “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.” He proceeds to call to their memory the history of Israel as God’s chosen people from their Exodus from Egypt to the present. Jesus is the One promised throughout the ages who would come a Savior.

 And then, when we get to our text.

“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize Him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. And though they found in Him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of Him, they took him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days He appeared to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

 Paul is delivering the message of salvation that was foretold through the prophets. Guess what, the church leaders did not recognize Jesus. They did not understand the prophets – although they are read every Sabbath.

 Yes, those in Jerusalem, the rulers – that is, the Chief Priests, Scribes, and Elders – heard the prophets every week. They heard but did never understood. Just as John recorded in His Gospel, But one of the Council, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation. (Jn 10:49-51)

Dear friends, God prophesied through Caiaphas. Caiaphas had no clue – the lights were on, but no one was home. Jesus was not what they wanted God’s Christ to be. But that was exactly what needed to happen. They could not understand that Jesus was the One Promised, for if they had understood, would they have fulfilled the word of the prophets?

 As Paul declared, they did not understand the prophets. But in condemning Jesus, they fulfilled the prophets. It was as it had to be! The sacrifice had to be made! But would they have had the will to crucify Jesus if they understood Jesus to be God – the very Incarnate Word which spoke all into existence?

I doubt it!

 Sure, they did not understand the Scriptures – they did not understand the prophets even though they heard them read every week. Even though they knew the Scripture, they had their own way of understanding them. Their way was not God’s way! It was the way that appealed to them, that felt right to their hearts.

 Are things all that different today? How many claim to teach the faith – but have no understanding of the Scripture? How many church make the claim to be God’s people – but set God’s Word and God’s will aside?

 How many claim that our Missouri Synod is too conservative, and so they do not like us for what we believe, teach, and confess. Is it because we are too conservative? Truly?

Maybe more to the point is the fact that they have followed in the steps of their fathers – those who also did not understand the Scriptures at the time of Christ and crucified Him.

 These in our time do not desire what the God declares in His Scripture. They listen to the siren voices of the world, the culture, and the especially the desires of their flesh to teach them the things they claim to be of the faith. In so doing, they deny the will of the Father and therefore really have no need for Christ.

 Indeed, where do you stand?

What do you believe?

Do you see the testimony of all the prophets clearly?

Do you hear Caiaphas’ prophecy as truth?

Do you understand that One had to die?

Do you see God’s merciful love for you in the Christ the Crucified?

 Do you think that the Christ on the cross is a vile evil! That it is disgusting and horrific that One had to endure such torment and pain? But it happened because of your sinfulness and mine.

It is true, neither your hands nor mine gripped the nails which pierced His hands and feet! Nor did the hammer blows fall by the strength or our arms. Our saliva was not in the spit that was hurled from numerous mouths, nor were our particular voices raised in mockery that day He suffered.

 But Jesus had you in mind when He declared from the cross, “Father, forgive them!’

 We do not like a bloody Jesus hanging before our eyes because it is gruesome. The black banner at Zion with the Lamb’s legs bound and the blood He spilt forming the continents of the world is something we would rather not have to look at.

Why? Because we, like the Jewish leadership in Jesus day, think we’re pretty good. At least we are not bad enough to be the cause of THAT kind of suffering to our Lord!

 

If not, why did God’s prophets foretell exactly that kind of suffering and death?

Why did the sacrificial system point to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?

 

Why did Jesus declare – after His resurrection no less – “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with

you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day

 rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

 

The resurrection without the crucifixion is does not make any sense. If Christ did not need to die, then He need not be raised.

 Today, three young people will be confirmed at St. John. Levi, Clayton, and Addison have been taught the faith which was confessed for them at their baptism. They now know that they were baptized into Christ’s death. They have been raised to new life in Him, just as Christ was raised.

 How do they live out this faith they confirm today? How do you live out the faith into which you are baptized? They live it out by gathering with God’s people. They know that without Christ – their lives will be meandering in the wilderness.

 What a great text for today. It ends with this glorious proclamation. We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

 

This is meant for your ears. You are one with all those who have gone before us. The forefathers had faith in the One promised to come by the prophets. Paul spoke of that One having come and fulfilled what the prophets had spoken – doing so as one of those who was a witness of His coming.

 You and I are begotten of that same One. He has come to you in the water of baptism and made you His own sons – calling you by name and making you His own.

He comes to us in the Word you hear proclaimed into your ears, building you up in Him as that Word takes root.

He fills you with Himself – He gives you to eat of the very flesh of His Son pierced for us. He gives you to drink of the very blood of His Son shed for us. Christ fills us so that the Father says of you, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”

 Begotten of the Father, in the Son, you are His now and forevermore. Thanks be to God. In the name of Jesus.  Amen.