“Food to Sustain You in the
Wilderness of Sin”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Today’s Old Testament Reading from Exodus begins, “The whole Israelite
community set out from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin.” What a
great irony it is that the Israelites actually wandered in a wilderness by the
name of “Sin,” “S-i-n”! It doesn’t actually have any etymological
connection to our English words “sin,” “sinner,” “sinful.” But, the
wandering of the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sin is a profound reminder to
us of the parallel these events have to our own lives. Because of our sin and humanity’s rebellion against the Lord, the
entire world in which we live has become an inhospitable wilderness, in which we
all must wander throughout our lives in this world. Just as the Israelites
wandered through the Wilderness of Sin on their way to the promised land, we too
are wandering in the wilderness of this sinful world on our way to the promised
land of heaven. Just as Exodus records, over and over again, how they
rebelled against the Lord in the Wilderness of Sin, we sinfully rebel against
the Lord, over and over again, in our own lives. Just as the first
generation of Israelites, because of their sinful rebellion, were all condemned
to die in the wilderness, and not allowed to enter the promised land, ALL of US
deserve NOT to enter the promised land of heaven, but to be condemned to eternal
death and damnation in hell. The Good News is, instead of the eternal punishment that you deserve,
the Lord promises you will receive eternal life—in the true promised land of
heaven. Because, Jesus your Savior made up for your rebellion by his
perfect obedience; Jesus himself suffered the punishment for your sin, in your
place, on the cross. As Hebrews says, “We have been made holy through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all.” Before their exodus from Egypt, God’s people of old sacrificed for the
first time the Passover lamb, on account of which God would “pass over” their
sins. St. Paul explains in 1st Corinthians, “Christ, our Passover lamb,
has been sacrificed for us.” The Passover sacrifice of the Old Testament
pointed forward to Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God,” who by the sacrifice of his
life, death and resurrection “takes away the sin of the world.” As St.
Peter says, “You were redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect.” Your sins are all forgiven, as St. Paul declares in today’s Epistle
Reading, “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Right now you already have
eternal life—not just a hope and maybe, but sure and certain. For, Jesus
has prepared a place for you in his heavenly Father’s house. Yet, for a
time, you still must wander in the inhospitable wilderness of this world, the
true wilderness of sin, until the Lord takes you to be with him. Today’s Old Testament Reading records how, “The Israelites ate manna
forty years, until they came . . . to the border of the land of Canaan,”
and how the Lord commanded Moses to strike the rock so that water gushed forth
in the wilderness. St. Paul explains in 1st Corinthians the symbolic significance of the
manna from heaven and water from the rock: “For I do not want you to be ignorant
of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that
they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the
cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the
same spiritual drink.” Just as the Israelites passing through the Red Sea symbolized the
Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the manna from heaven and water from the rock
symbolized the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The Lord gave his people of
old miraculous food and drink from heaven to sustain them physically on their
long journey through the Wilderness of Sin to the promised land. In the
Sacrament of Holy Communion, the Lord still gives his people today miraculous
food and drink from heaven, to sustain you spiritually on your long journey
through the wilderness of this sinful world to the true promised land of heaven. Jesus describes saving faith in him like spiritually eating and
drinking: “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the
bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. . .
I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who
believes in me will never be thirsty. . . I tell you the truth, he who
believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your
forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the
bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am
the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he
will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world. . . Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and
I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my
blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in
me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of
the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is
the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but
he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” Just as the manna from heaven and water from the rock sustained the
Israelites wandering through the Wilderness of Sin to the promised land, the
true body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will strengthen and
preserve you steadfast, through the wilderness of this sinful world, in the true
faith, unto life everlasting, in the true promised land of heaven. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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