2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost Sunday, November 13, 2022 “God’s Righteous Verdict Will Be Revealed”
“The waiting is the hardest part.” So says singer-songwriter Tom Petty in his 1981 hit. Whether it is the hardest part or not, waiting can be very difficult. When we wait for something about which we are excited, the waiting seems to take so long and just delay our joy. When we wait for something we fear, the waiting fills up with dread and anxiety. And then there are times when we don’t know what the result will be. We are waiting for an answer. What did the medical tests show? Did I get the job I applied for? We don’t know whether the result will make us happy or sad, and the waiting remains a challenge. Perhaps you were one of many who watched the news on Tuesday evening and followed along with incoming election results. The people had voted, but we had to wait to learn what the result of the vote would bring. Even those who stayed up late into that night ultimately needed to sleep without knowing some of the answers. Which party would have the majority in the House? Which in the Senate? And one of the most common criticisms I heard in the past few days was “Why does it take so long to find out?” You have heard already today that the focus of our service is on the Last Day. On that day, Jesus will return in a visible and physical way to the earth on which he once lived. Only this time, he will come as Judge. And there are many unanswered questions for us. When will that be? How long before he comes? Will it be in our lifetimes? Will it be many years after our deaths? And perhaps at times you wonder “Why does it take so long?” The waiting was hard for a group of Christians long ago in a town called Thessalonica. The Apostle Paul had once visited there. He had shared with them good news about Jesus Christ. That’s when many of them, Jews and Greeks alike, became believers. But others were jealous. They started a riot hoping to capture and at least get rid of Paul if not kill him. They didn’t succeed, but they did cut short the time that Paul spent in that city before moving on. Paul went to additional cities on his missionary journey, but he left behind a congregation of believers. And some time later he wrote to them. The opposition he had faced in Thessalonica would be, he warned, opposition that they would face in Thessalonica. They were persecuted and would continue to be. Paul also encouraged them to remain faithful in spite of that persecution. And they did. Our Second Reading today comes from the next letter that Paul and his missionary associates sent to the Thessalonian congregation. They had heard the report about the Thessalonians remaining faithful in spite of continued persecution, and he wrote to encourage them again. And right in the very first chapter of this book of the Bible, Paul points these believers to the Last Day. He reminds them that even in their present suffering, they can look forward to that day when Jesus will be revealed and his righteous verdict will be fully known. The Last Day, Paul says, would mean trouble for those who trouble God’s people. Those Thessalonians had faced a lot. Paul was forced out of their town on false pretenses after he had given them so much. They had lost the personal contact of their mentor and friend, the one who had first shared with them the good news. And the trouble just kept coming. Even after Paul was gone, even after the missionaries had continued their journey far away from Thessalonica, the persecution continued. Perhaps these Christians faced some of the same accusations Paul had: that they were opposing Caesar by claiming Jesus as their King, that they were not good citizens of the Roman Empire or patriotic enough. Perhaps they were physically beaten or threatened. They certainly suffered. They may have wondered whether it was worth it. They may have considered how much suffering would go away if they gave in and abandoned Jesus, if they gave in to the pressure they were facing. They must have wondered about how any of this was fair or just, that they suffered while their enemies prospered. And no doubt at times they thought that perhaps they should fight back or seek revenge. But Paul’s answer was to point the Thessalonians to God’s justice. The time would come when the enemies of God’s people would receive the trouble that they deserved for the trouble they brought. “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels, he will exercise vengeance in flaming fire on
those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” The Thessalonians didn’t need to seek revenge. They didn’t need to worry that God wasn’t in control. They didn’t need to concern themselves with the fairness of the situation at all. They needed to wait. They could trust that God would carry out justice. They could trust that he was still and was always in control. In fact, God’s justice as the Last Day reveals it is fierce. About those who do not believe the good news of the Gospel, our text explains, “Such people will receive a just penalty: eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious strength.” The Last Day is the final cutoff. Between now and then any individual may face his or her death and judgment. And that time is coming for all. Jesus will return as judge, and the punishment he brings for sin and unbelief is an eternity of suffering. That is what God warns about in the Word he has revealed to us. We can understand that trouble for those who trouble God’s people could be a comforting thought. But the prospect of eternal destruction and God’s fiery vengeance is a terrifying one. The Thessalonians must have known in their hearts that they deserved no better. When we look honestly at our lives, we have to come to the same conclusion. What we deserve is destruction. We have not loved God, not the way that he calls us to. We have not loved our neighbors in the same way we love our selves. Not even close. And that is exactly why God brought the good news of Jesus to the Thessalonians and to us. He lived that perfect life of love. He took the punishment that sin deserved. He died for us and rose again. And he will come again, not to bring destruction to us but to bring relief. The last day will reveal trouble for those who trouble God’s people, but it will also bring relief for those who are troubled. The righteous verdict mentioned in our reading is that on account of Jesus, God says we are not guilty. He took our sin and our guilt and our punishment away. But that is not always obvious now. Just like the Thessalonians, there are times that we face opposition for our faith. Perhaps it is some degree of ridicule from those who think Christianity is unscientific or backwards or too ancient to serve any purpose today. Perhaps it is peer pressure to do what we know is wrong or to act cruelly when we have opportunity to be kind. And even the suffering that just comes naturally in the world in which we live, the pain of loss, the sicknesses, the struggles. All of that could make us question “Does God really love me? Is he really with me? Is everything really going to be OK?” God’s Word regarding the Last Day sounds a resounding “Yes!” to all those questions. Yes, God does love you. He sent his own Son to die for you, and Jesus is coming back to take you to be with him. Yes, he is with you now and keeping you strong for that day. Think of the opportunities he gives you just on a Sunday morning like this one to hear his Word and to study it together and to offer praises. Think of the precious gifts he pours out in his sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. Think of these amazing promises: your suffering and your endurance right now provide evidence that God has declared you not guilty. He has made you worthy of his kingdom. Just as Jesus faced suffering, so his followers may and do. But the Last Day promises relief. It promises that Jesus will “be glorified among his saints” and “be marveled at among all those who believe.” In the words of Malachi, “the sun of righteousness will rise, and there will be healing in its wings. You will go out and jump around like calves from the stall” (Malachi 4:2). Every problem and every pain we face now is solved by this promise, the promise of Jesus and the promise of the Last Day. Politics and election results are not the answer. And even though there are times when it is difficult and painful to wait for results like those, the waiting is not the hardest part. It’s not the hardest part for those who trouble God’s people, because they will face something much harder, trouble on an unimaginable scale. Meanwhile, for us who are troubled by sin, unbelief, persecution, this is the hardest part, this waiting for relief. We are waiting for glory. We are waiting for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to return and to reveal what we already know: his righteous verdict. We are not guilty because of his work. Heaven is our eternal home. Come, Lord Jesus.
The Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10 (EHV) 5This
is evidence of God’s righteous verdict that resulted in your being counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also suffer. 6Certainly, it is right for God to repay trouble to those who trouble you, 7and to give relief to you, who are troubled along with us. When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels, 8he will exercise vengeance in flaming fire on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9Such people will receive a just penalty: eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious strength, 10on that day when he comes to be glorified among his saints, and to be marveled at among all those who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.