Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Rev. 6: 9-10)

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6: 3-4)

When King Herod heard of it (news about Jesus’ ministry of repentance to the crowds), he said ‘John whom I beheaded, has been raised.’ (Mark 6:16)

This morning, once again, we remember and give thanks to God for the faithful ministry and martyrdom of a most faithful and prominent servant of the Lord, John the Baptist. John was one who was chosen for the pivotal role of carrying out a ministry in preparation for that of our Lord with a baptism unto repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Like Jesus who followed, he had a ministry to the remnant of Israel, often in wilderness settings - drawing large crowds of mostly the curious rather than the devoted - and like Jesus to follow, John’s life was cut short by a civil ruler who allows the execution of an innocent one for the sake of expediency.

What is important for us to understand and appreciate, is that in both instances, the death of John and the death of Jesus were all in accord with the will of the Father who directs all things according to his will and according to his plan of salvation for our sakes. John’s ministry reached its climax when the two met and John baptized Jesus to cement His identity with sinners and inaugurate a three year ministry that would end at a cross in Jerusalem. Shortly after the baptism of Jesus, John ministry was all but over as he was put in jail, and then later beheaded at the whim of Herod’s daughter. It may seem to many that the promising work of John was cut short prematurely and that he must be seen as joining so many others who were victims of the forces of evil in a way that they were simply done too soon. Jesus, of course, is seen in the same way.

The specter of death, especially when it comes early in life, and at the hands of evil doers always raises questions about where is God in all this and what does it mean. Is there ever going to be any justice for the faithful who have suffered and lost their lives at the hands of fallen forces of evil? Our lesson this morning from Revelation 6 reveals a throng of martyred saints around the throne of grace asking how long it will be before their innocent blood is avenged. We might join in their chorus, asking how long it will be before all of the injustices the followers of Christ have suffered will be avenged; and perhaps we have some stories we can tell that add more to the urgency of the question. The concern for justice against evil doers who have persecuted the faithful of the Lord is well marked in the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament. David often prayed in the Psalms for the Lord to vindicate him and his just causes against his enemies. Habakkuk, the prophet complained to the Lord about how long it seems to be that the Lord is both silent and inactive when it comes to dealing with the evil nations and rulers who have persecuted the children of Israel. It seemingly took 400 years for the Lord to have heard and responded to the cries of his people where many generations died in slavery at the hands of the Egyptians.

The fact of the matter is this: When we see the innocent suffering and dying at the hands of the guilty, when we see the people of God being killed because of their faith, when we witness the lives of our loved ones, especially those who are young, suffering and dying from disease and destructive forces in the world - the problem of evil, the whereabouts of God, and the question of a day of justice seem to be issues in search of answers again and again throughout the history of God’s people. It is especially when the death problem is put square before us and then pushed in our faces that provokes such anxious questioning about the presence and purposes of God. Sometimes we are interested in God being merciful, but it is in these instances when we see how evil forces bring death and destruction to those who matter to us, those who are victimized, whose lives are cut short by raw injustice . . . it is in these instances when we are more interested in justice . . . we are more interested in seeing that the perpetrators get what is coming to them. It is then that we are interested in revenge and vindication. We want the bad guys to get their just deserts.

The question is this: Does God feel the same way? Does He think that justice is required for those who are doers of evil? The answer is, of course, yes. He told Habakkuk that his day of justice against all perpetrators of evil would be coming soon, but that in the meantime, the righteous must live by faith (Hab. 2:4). The enemies of God will be dealt with, but in a most outrageous way. God’s day of justice has already occurred, but His sense of justice has turned ours on it head. Everybody gets what they do not deserve. The Innocent One is punished and the guilty one’s go free. God’s vindication of all the injustices in the world took place on calvary’s cross where the innocent Jesus dies for ALL the human beings who have done evil. And there is the offense - God was not selective. He sent his Son be the innocent sacrifice for ALL, not some, of the perpetrators of evil in the world - young and old, rich and poor, powerful and powerless, ancient and modern, religious and irreligious, moral and immoral. The real rub is this: While we were enemies of God . . . while we were enemies, Christ died for us.

There is a real paradox here that escapes so many when considering the matter of the identity of the innocent and the guilty, when it comes to evil and injustice in the world and naming the victims and the perpetrators. We are ALL the victims. And we are ALL the perpetrators. Who treats others unjustly? Who wrong others? Who causes them pain and suffering that they do not deserve? We do! Who are those who trample on the rights and dignity of others? Must you not raise your hand as among that number? If the Lord should mark iniquities, which of us here can stand? But then, who are those who suffer at the hands of others - who are treated unfairly and unjustly? Who are those who suffer disease, disability, and sometimes destruction? Are we not the people of God who have been persecuted and destroyed in so many ways simply because we bear the name Christian? Yes that is us as well. Think of those again before the throne of Grace who are looking for justice against those who have shed their blood because of the faith. Is St. Paul among the number of the persecuted or the persecutors? The answer is, of course, yes. And so it is also with us. Therefore if the wages of sin is death, then all must die.

But here are the options: you can either die to sin with Christ, or you can just die. You can either die with Christ or you can die without him. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the justice of God is to be found in your baptism. As Jesus died to sin so have you. As He was raised from the dead, reckon yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, as St. Paul tells us in Romans 6. We have all been placed under the throne of Grace in the cross of Christ. God was in Christ reconciling all the perpetrators of evil to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. That includes King Herod, Pontius Pilate, all the persecutors of the faithful, including Saul of Tarsus . . . and it includes each of us. The day of justice and the day of vindication are the same day - both events are wrapped up in the Good Friday of Christ the crucified. And it is in our baptism of water that we have joined to Jesus’ baptism of blood and there our scarlet sins have been washed clean and made white as snow.

It is for the sake of this day of justice and what it means for us, that martyred saints before us have died. But before they died at the hands of persecutors of the faith, they died to sin in Christ Jesus and were made alive to God and counted among that number seen in Revelation who are under the throne of grace. John the Baptist is among that number. . . so is the Apostle Paul and all the other apostles and servants of the Word, and all the faithful who have gone before us. When Jesus was baptized by John, he identified and connected with the perpetrators of evil, the sinners who are dead in their unjust trespasses. And in your baptism, you identified and connected with Jesus, dying to sin and rising unto new life with God covered with his righteousness. And outrageous as it is: John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, all throughout history who have died for the sake of the Gospel, and all the perpetrators of evil against them. . . and yes, each of us here this morning . . . we all get what we don’t deserve.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A-men.