Easter 4—Cantate
Dear friends in Christ. As with most Sundays in the Lent and Easter season, today is known by its Latin name Cantate, which is the Latin imperative “sing” and comes from the first word of Psalm 98 serving as today’s Introit. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song. Since we are in the midst of the Easter season, it should be no surprise that a theme of joy, of singing to the Lord is struck. But, like last week, that seems to be out of sync with today’s Gospel reading where we today hear Jesus tell His disciples: But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Why are their hearts filled with sorrow? Because Jesus had just told them, But now I go away to Him who sent Me. Today we see a shift in our Gospel readings. While still rejoicing in Easter and Jesus’ resurrection victory over our spiritual enemies of sin, death, devil and hell, our attention now turns toward Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost, the day when Jesus pours out His Holy Spirit on the Church mightily equipping the Apostles who on Easter were behind locked doors for fear of the Jews [John 20.19] and turning them into bold proclaimers of the Gospel who would go into all the world with that saving message and ultimately giving up their lives. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that He is going away, that He is ascending into heaven but that He is sending them the Holy Spirit: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
That’s where we are now as well. We continue to rejoice in Easter but our attention is now turned to the results of Easter: bringing the message of and the blessings of the resurrection to us and all people. We sing and can sing to the Lord a new song because the Holy Spirit creates a faithful people: the Christian Church.
1. Our text this morning is such a beautiful description in picturesque words of Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit: Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Here we come to an interesting question: what about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament? The Holy Spirit was certainly mightily at work in the OT times. First of all, we think of the creation and that the Holy Spirit as Moses records in Genesis [Gn 1.2], the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. We also remember that in the OT times there were believers in the true God—OT Christians, those looking forward in faith to the coming Messiah and His work to save them from sin; people like Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David—to name just a few “big names.” Wherever there was a believer in the true God and the Messiah in OT times, the Holy Spirit was mightily at work bringing them to faith and preserving them in the faith. Also, don’t forget what we confess in the Creed about the Holy Spirit: that He spoke by the prophets, that is, He inspired them to preach and write, giving them the very words He wanted written. So, yes, there was the Holy Spirit in the OT and He was busy but now, from the day of Pentecost on, the Holy Spirit’s work would be different—now in the NT era, from the days of the Apostles on, the Holy Spirit would work enabling the NT Church to bring the Gospel into all the world. There were many exceptions in the OT, to be sure, but in general the Holy Spirit confined Himself among the Israelites, seeking to prepare a people from whom the Messiah would come and a people ready to receive Him.
But now on Pentecost and until the end of the world, the Holy Spirit would be with the NT Church as she goes out into all the world bringing the life-saving/ life-giving Gospel. Now the Holy Spirit is with the NT Church in a mighty way as “Evangelizer.” That raises the question: Why now? Why did Jesus make this promise to His disciples on the night of His betrayal and arrest: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you? For the very same reason Jesus had said earlier [John7.39]: Now this [Jesus] said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When was Jesus glorified? As He Himself tells us [John 12.23-27: it is the hour of His crucifixion! There you see the work of the Holy Spirit—He gives/ distributes the fruit and blessing of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. Jesus could have died on the cross a thousand times but it wouldn’t at all benefit us unless the Holy Spirit comes to us in the word and Sacraments giving us the forgiveness of sin, life, peace, reconciliation with God that Jesus brought about for us and through that same word and sacrament creating faith in our hearts to believe and receive them. Our Lord set up His NT Church built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, to proclaim that word and administer those sacraments through which the Holy Spirit gives the blessings Jesus won for all people on the cross and creates faith to receive them.
Look at the beautiful image of our text: Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Notice it is something the prophet says will happen in the future—Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high. It wasn’t happening in Isaiah’s day, but now that Jesus has come and has reconciled all sinners to the holy God, He has sent His Holy Spirit—and, dear Christian, what a grace! –He came to us! Just like the Holy Spirit did at the original creation—He brought life—so too now as He comes to us in the word and sacraments and brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life: and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Here is the glorious work of the Holy Spirit—He restores what sin has destroyed!
Notice the imagery: by nature/ as we come into this world, we are all wilderness/ desert with no green lush growth. But through the work of the Holy Spirit God gives us rich and true blessings so that we become that fruitful field. We who were bare and fruitless in the knowledge and love of God in Christ now, by the work of the Holy Spirit, are a fruitful field filled with new spiritual and heavenly life—a life with knowledge of who the true God is—the holy Triune God—and what He is—our almighty God and gracious Savior. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit—Whom Jesus sent on Pentecost and could send because of His suffering and death on the cross—we are now filled with love for the Lord and a desire to do His will. A fruitful field indeed!
But it gets even better. Not only are we that fruitful field, but more than a fruitful field, for the fruitful field is deemed a forest—a forest with rich, luxuriant growth, tall mighty trees. So rich and abundant is that new, heavenly and spiritual life! So different are we Christians than how we entered the world—spiritually dead. By the holy word and sacraments the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts. This faith is our new life; we are now a new creation, as St. Paul puts it [2 Cor. 5.17]: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. We have the Holy Spirit in us; He works together with that new self, that Christian in us that He created in baptism, and leads us into and strengthens us to live a life of good works. Because of the Holy Spirit in us, because of the Christian, the new self in us we desire to live in and for God alone. We now serve the Lord in holiness and grow in both the knowledge of the Lord and in good works. That’s the righteousness abid[ing] in the fruitful field, of our text. We, dear Christian, are the fruitful field; and the righteousness abiding in us is Jesus’ perfect righteousness He gives us and our own imperfect righteousness of our imperfect good works.
2. Our text: Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. Again, the reason why the Holy Spirit could come/ that Jesus could pour out the Holy Spirit on His Church on Pentecost is because of Jesus’ life, suffering and death on the cross for our sins. Because Jesus lived for us a holy, sinless life; because He took our sins upon Himself and endured for us all of God’s wrath over our sins justice…dwell[s] in the wilderness. What this means is that now, there is a change of God’s judgment—in Christ His wrath has changed into grace and favor. The righteous and holy God--a God of justice-- who must punish sin, has! Christ endured that punishment for us as He took our sins on Himself. Now with God’s wrath over sin poured out and emptied on Jesus-- because justice must be done and sin punished, our very sins that Christ took and made His own--His judgment/ verdict on us has changed. We are now the recipients of love and grace. He is now our dear loving heavenly Father. His justice will dwell in the wilderness; His perfect justice, His verdict on us in Christ—His justice now dwells among us sinners—namely that we are in Christ forgiven, reconciled, forgiven; on us rests God's verdict of forgiveness and peace. And among His dear Christians righteousness [will] abide in the fruitful field. Jesus’ perfect righteousness—His holy, sinless life is credited to us; it dwells constantly among and on us.
What then is the result of the Holy Spirit’s coming to us and creating faith in our hearts to receive Jesus and His righteousness? It’s righteousness and peace. Our text: And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. The work/ effect of Jesus’ righteousness is peace—inner peace of conscience. In Christ Jesus we are declared righteous. God declares us righteous/ forgiven, not because we in and of ourselves are righteous but because Jesus was righteous for us and what does Scripture clearly tell us? Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ [Rm. 5.1]. The Holy Spirit comes to us and creates faith in our hearts—faith that holds to God’s word and promise of forgiveness. Where faith grabs ahold and receives the forgiveness of sin, receives the holy absolution there can only be peace of conscience. When we hear the pastor, as Christ’s mouthpiece/ instrument, tell us that our sins are forgiven, faith grabs receives it and says “yea and amen!” Where that divine forgiveness is received, how can there not be peace of conscience? The sin that bothers, that conscience that accuses, is brought to nothing by the divine word of forgiveness of that sin in Christ. How can the devil lead us into despair and guilt when we hear God’s word/ promise of forgiveness and when that promise is grounded on the work of Christ and mixed with/ received by faith worked by the Holy Spirit? How can we doubt that God is our dear loving heavenly Father when we hold to our baptism, where He forgave us our sin and brought us into His holy family, making us heirs of heaven? How can our consciences be troubled and despairing when we can receive in our mouths the very body that bore the curse of our sins and the very blood offered for our forgiveness?
What’s the result/ effect of Christ’s righteousness? Our text: And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. We, dear Christian repose in the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ. That’s why we have peace of conscience, constantly in faith receiving the forgiveness and righteousness of Christ. Our faith is that quietness and trust that firmly relies on our Lord’s mercy and grace—which the Holy Spirit assures us of and gives us in the word and sacraments. His mercy and grace to us in Christ is the only reason for freedom from care and anxiety. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. We have that peace of conscience and rest of soul now and in eternal life we will have it perfectly. What great cause we have now and into all eternity to sing to the Lord a new song. INJ Amen