1-12-2020 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Pastor Tim Patoka

1st Sunday after the Epiphany January 12, 2020 The Anointed One Brings Peace For All Acts 10:34-38 1) Jesus Is The Anointed One 2) His Peace Is For All People

We tend to put a lot of stock into the beginning of important events because it sets the tone of what is to follow. When a country hosts the Olympics, they put countless hours and resources into the opening ceremonies. They have to decide how to best blend the traditional elements along with their unique culture in a fitting and appropriate way. We also do this when beginning churches. When Grace celebrated it 100th birthday, its voters decided to become a multi-site by opening up its location in Vail. I’ve seen pictures of the Grand Opening service we had which some of you probably attended. And as we prepare for our new church and Child Learning Center at our Sahuarita site, we are also planning a Grand Opening service. Stay tuned for those details once we have them.

We care about how such things begin because it sets the tone of what is to follow. And we have that going on with Jesus’ baptism which was the public start to his work here on earth. As Matthew’s Gospel recorded for us, Jesus’ baptism was an amazing sight. But when we include what Peter says in Acts chapter 10, we see that Jesus’ baptism is also his appearing as the Anointed One who brings peace for all people. Jesus alone has this status for he alone is the Anointed One. And the good news of peace through him which he brings is for all people.

1) Jesus Is The Anointed One Since we are talking about anointing this morning, I thought I would start us off by defining what this word means in a biblical context. To anoint means to pour oil on someone or something to show that it is being set aside for service to God (my paraphrase from the definition in Luther’s Catechism). We see examples of this in the Old Testament where kings, priests, and even objects get anointed to show their service or connection to God. When Jesus got baptized, he received a different kind of anointing. It wasn’t with oil, but rather as the Apostle Peter tells us, “with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). If you remember from Matthew’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit made his presence by landing on Jesus in the form of a dove. Even though Jesus has always had power since he’s always been God, it wasn’t until after his baptism that we see him use his divine power on earth. As Peter tells us, Jesus’ baptism 1

1st Sunday after the Epiphany January 12, 2020 serves a twofold purpose – it’s the public start of his work here on earth and when God presented him to us as the Anointed One. Pastor Tim Patoka

Not everyone sees Jesus in this way. Some people see Jesus as simply a guy from the town of Nazareth who had larger-than-life things written about him.

These people would not call Jesus the Anointed One, but rather a product of man’s imagination. Some people give Jesus a bit more credit. They say that Jesus started off as a normal guy. But when he got baptized, God imbued Jesus with divine power that transformed him into a god. These people make Jesus to be no more than an example of ancient mythology or a modern-day superhero story. Or perhaps they see Jesus as the Anointed One, but they consider others as valid as Jesus because they view all religions as legitimate paths leading to the same heavenly abode.

We need not entertain these delusions. We know that Jesus is more than a guy from Nazareth. He has always been God since he was with God the Father at the creation of the world and through him all things were made. It is Jesus alone who received God’s unique anointing. As such, it is Jesus alone who can be called the Anointed One. We see that at his baptism and continue to see it later on when he shows his power by doing good, healing those who were oppressed by the Devil, and other miracles. And in the verses after where we stopped in Acts chapter 10, the Apostle Peter continues to summarize what all else Jesus did as the Anointed One with his death and resurrection. Just as Jesus alone is the Anointed One, so he alone has paid the price with his very own life so that we can be free from sins. No one and nothing else can offer this assurance because Jesus, and he alone, is the Anointed One. 2) His Peace Is For All People The Apostle Peter had no doubt if Jesus was the Anointed One. But what he did need reminding of was who this Anointed One’s peace was for. Peter was a child of his Jewish culture that generally viewed the world in one of two categories – you were either a Jew or a Gentile. You either came from Abraham’s family line and therefore probably practiced the Jewish religion or you didn’t. Now, God has always wanted Gentiles to believe as seen in the book of Jonah. But it was primarily only the Jewish people who believed in God’s Word. And early on in Peter’s missionary efforts, he too exclusively focused on the Jewish people.

All that would change in our verses. Peter had been asked to come down to Cornelius’ house. Although Cornelius was a Gentile, he and the people who 2

1st Sunday after the Epiphany January 12, 2020 worshiped in his house were already familiar with Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Listen to what Peter said when he entered Cornelius’ house and saw the faith of these Gentile believers. “Now I really am beginning to understand that God does not show favoritism, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). God’s good news of peace isn’t just for the Jews. It’s for people of every nation under the sun!

Pastor Tim Patoka

We probably couldn’t be accused of restricting God’s good news of peace to the Jewish people. But might we, like the Apostle Peter, also need a reminder to share God’s good news of peace for all people with all people? Might we too fall victim to being children of our culture? There are plenty of people here in Tucson who aren’t like us. People who live in a different part of town or shop at a different grocery store. People who spend their free time doing things that mystify us.

People who fall under our judging eye because they don’t measure up to our standards. If we’re unlikely to associate with these people, doesn’t that mean we’re unlikely to include them in our faith-sharing efforts? Aren’t we, as a result, holding back God’s good news of peace from all those this peace is for?

While we may unintentionally withhold God’s good news of peace from all the people it’s for, our God is not guilty of that. He sent his Son to be the Savior of people from every nation. And he gives that peace to whoever has saving faith, or as Peter says in Acts chapter 10, to “anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:35). This description of saving faith might sound a little strange, perhaps even a little alarming given the part about doing what is right.

Here’s what Peter means so that we may understand who all is included in God’s good news of peace. To fear God means to have a faith-fueled respect for God’s power and compassion. I say faith-fueled because while we recognize that God is far greater than we sinners are, we also trust in his promise of forgiveness through his Son Jesus. If a person has this faith-fueled respect for God, then they will naturally try to live a Christian life. To say that we are children of God and to purposefully live against God’s wishes is to be a hypocrite whose words and actions don’t line up. But if anyone has this description of saving faith, then they are acceptable to God. Their sins have been washed away. They have God’s good news of peace. And this promise isn’t only true for certain subsets of the human race. It’s God’s promise for each and every person from every nation under the sun.

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1st Sunday after the Epiphany January 12, 2020 We here are proof of that. Even though most of us draw our ancestry from Europe, we are all unique individuals who come from different walks of life. One of the few things we all share is our faith as described by the Apostle Peter. But before we get busy sharing this good news of peace for all people with all people, let us first ground ourselves in this peace. Praise God that he did not restrict his peace to those whose ancestry once lived in Israel. Instead, he has included you in his peace so that you can live without the guilt of your sins hanging over you.

Pastor Tim Patoka

With our feet grounded in God’s peace, let us then consider how we might share this peace for all people with all people as Peter did. Take a look over your existing social networks and see who could benefit from you sharing or reminding them of this peace. Consider how you might meet new people whether it’s through Grace or on your own. In addition to these, or if you know that these ideas aren’t realistic right now, remember what your offerings to Grace are supporting: our mission to reach the lost, our ministry to offer God’s Word to our community, and our ministers who give their part and full-time energy to do all that.

But no matter how we go about sharing God’s good news of peace for all with all, let us remember why we are doing this. It’s not to build ourselves up or to have people owe us eternal favors in heaven. It’s to share the peace we already have. We know how wonderful it is to have this peace reigning in our hearts, assuring us that we free from sins and bound for heaven’s eternal joys. So how can we not want others to have this same peace, this same joy, this same guarantee? Of course we do! And it is you and I whom God has given this blessed privilege to so that we may let them know about the Anointed One who has brought peace for all people.

When we begin important things, we put a lot of thought into its beginning because it sets the tone for what is to follow. Jesus’ baptism was the public start to his work on earth. And as the Apostle Peter pointed out to us in our verses from Acts chapter 10, this is also when God presented Jesus as the Anointed One. No one else has this honor or can offer us the forgiveness he won for us on the cross.

And thankfully God did not restrict his good news of peace to only certain groups of people. He has opened it to all people of every nation so that whoever practices saving faith may have it in full measure. And it is you and I, like the Apostle Peter, who have joyfully received this peace and the privilege to share it with all those it is for. Amen.

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