Ezra 1:1–7
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.7 Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, stir our hearts through Your Holy Word, so that through repentance and faith, we will be ready when You call us home, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
When the Lord Calls us Home
I. What will it be like?
II. He wants us to be ready.
In Christ Jesus, the Bridegroom who will soon call us to the wedding feast of heaven, dear fellow redeemed!
I’d like to share with you a letter which Martin Luther wrote to his six-year-old son, named Hans or Johannas. In this letter, Luther encouraged him to continue in his prayers and to be a good boy. He tells his son about heaven, described as a garden, which awaits him.
GRACE and peace in Christ, my dear little son. I hear with great pleasure that you are learning your lessons so well and praying so diligently. Continue to do so, my son, and cease not. When I come home I will bring you a nice present from the fair. I know a beautiful garden, where there are a great many children in fine little coats, and they go under the trees and gather beautiful apples and pears, cherries and plums; they sing and run about and are as happy as they can be. Sometimes they ride on nice little ponies, with golden bridles and silver saddles. I asked the man whose garden it is, “What little children are these?” And he told me, “They are little children who love to pray and learn and are good.” When I said, “My dear sir, I have a little boy at home; his name is little Hans Luther: would you let him come into the garden, too, to eat some of these nice apples and pears, and ride on these fine little ponies, and play with these children?” The man said, “If he loves to say his prayers and learn his lessons, and is a good boy, he may come; [his friends] also; and when they are all together, they can play upon the fife and drum and lute and all kinds of instruments, and skip about and play with little crossbows.”
I’ve always appreciated this letter from Martin Luther to his son because he describes heaven as the best thing that his son could imagine. Today, Martin Luther might have used a picture of an amusement park or bouncy house with plenty of candy along with our favorite people. It’s helpful for us to think about the best activities, food, and places we can imagine for heaven, because that is what it will be—a truly perfect place with joy and laughter. As a child, I remember thinking heaven didn’t sound that exciting standing around singing all day in choir robes. Sometimes even adults can struggle to grasp what heaven will be like—but it is only because of our flawed and sinful thinking that causes us to think of heaven as less than best place we could possibly imagine.
The Holy Spirit has chosen the most joyous earthly festivities with the most splendid language to stir up our hearts with longing for heaven. It is a great feast, banquet, and wedding, a new heaven and a new earth, a holy city, with mansions or rooms for you and me. It is a place without the sorrows of this world—like sickness, sadness, loneliness, or hurt because there is no sin. It is a place with all the joys we long for—like peace, joy, happiness, fellowship, and laughter because we will finally be with our gracious Triune God, singing his praising and being in his presence, which is the greatest part of heaven. So, Paul says of this indescribable joy, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Corinthians 2:9).
And to think, you and I don’t deserve any of it. We didn’t do anything for it. All we have done is sin against God who planned this for us before the foundation of the world. He restored Paradise and more after mankind sinned against him. This was no easy task. God couldn’t save us by simply snapping his finger—by divine fiat. While he is merciful, he also is just. Our sin against God’s Holy Law incurred the punishment of death and hell. In order for that payment to be made—for God’s Law to be satisfied—it took more than gold and silver; it took the precious blood of God’s own Son shed on the cross to atone for the sins of the world. It was only through Jesus that we could be given the holy life needed to stand innocent before God. It was only through his sacrifice for sins, that we could be freed from death and hell and brought into his kingdom. So, Christ lived for us, died for us, and rose triumphantly so that death would have no power over us! Jesus gladly did it all, so that you and I wouldn’t have to suffer hell but enjoy eternal paradise with him forever. He wants to take us away from this world of sin to his kingdom of glory which he has prepared for us.
This is the future that God promises to believers. Yet, the challenge for the Christian is not only to wait, but to trust that it is true—that Christ will come and that one day we will be with him forever. But whether it be God’s warning of judgement or his promises for the future, people can have a hard time waiting. Last week we heard about how King Zedekiah doubted and ignored the Lord’s warning of judgement, but then Jerusalem was destroyed and they were taken into captivity just as the Lord foretold. While the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon those 70 years, I am sure that even those who were faithful to the Lord doubted and wondered if they would ever be able to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple and worship as God had promised. As we wait, doubt creeps in. But in our lesson, God proves that his Word never fails. He shows how he uses pagan kings to serve his purposes—bringing about the completion of his plans. There is no evil, no nation, no king who can thwart God’s plan. The Lord foretold almost 200 years earlier through the prophet Isaiah that he was going to use King Cyrus to bring the captives back (Isaiah 44:28). This was before Persia had even come into power as a nation! Cyrus hadn’t even been born! But it all came to be.
This is why the Old Testament is so important for us to study. It is living and historical proof—that God keeps his promises. The moment God makes a promise—it is as if it is already done. It is true. This faithful Lord promises that he has prepared a place for you. He rose and so shall we. He will come back for you so that where he is you may be also. He has eternal joys prepared for you and me!
Despite Christ urging us to be ready for his return, many are not. It is a sad commentary in our lesson this morning to hear, “Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.” Not all the Jews’ hearts were stirred to return and rebuild the temple. While the Lord had told them to build homes and communities while in exile, many wanted to make it permanent. Though in exile, the stability of the empire made them want to stay. Some no longer wanted to return to Jerusalem. They liked where they lived. They had good jobs. Some had been raised to very prominent positions. In some ways, they forgot where they truly belonged. They attached themselves to a foreign land and people.
When the Lord calls us home, where will the affections of our hearts be? Will the Bridegroom find us watchful and ready? Or will we have forgotten that this earth is temporary? Will we have oil in our lamps—that is, will our faith be brightly burning? Or will our Lord find us unprepared, with minds and hearts set on earthly things?
The most sobering words in all of Scripture are the ones we heard in our Gospel lesson today when the bridegroom says to the foolish virgins, “I do not know you.” The saddest part of this parable is that these virgins were part of the wedding party. They were invited. They were supposed to be there. But they were unprepared and missed the bridegroom. You and I are invited to a heavenly banquet—the marriage feast of heaven. But while we wait for our Lord’s return, the devil, the world, and our own flesh seek to squash the fire of our faith.
Now, the devil may be evil, but he is not stupid. He is willing to do whatever he can to make us unprepared for Christ’s return. Are you aware of what things he is using to distract you from being ready? Has he simply surrounded you with people who have been leading you astray and caused you to ignore God’s warning that bad company corrupts good character? Has the devil made you start to think that a particular sin in your life—is not that bad? At least not as bad as others? Has your browser history been godly or used to numb your conscience and damage your faith in Christ? Have you been tricked by the devil to think of this life as your true home and not a foreign land? Has he been making you use your time, resources, and talents to store up earthly treasures—for an earthly paradise? Has he led you to neglect the Word, which is the only thing that keeps us ready? Or has he puffed up your pride to cause you to think that you would never be so foolish.
Our sinful flesh is quick to fall for the devil’s tactics. Our Lord knows this, which is why he warns us. He seeks to stir our hearts through his Word to lead us to repentance, to be sorry for our sins, so that we cling to Jesus, who is our life and salvation. He warns us now so we turn away from the things which would rob us of the heavenly banquet.
The Lord wants you to be ready. He knows how fickle we are, which is why he warns us. But we have comfort, that God doesn’t just warn, but gives us the forgiveness and strength we need to endure until the end. He is our defense. He is our oil of gladness. He comes to weak and weary sinners to give them the victory that he won on the cross through his Word and Sacrament. He makes us coheirs and victors with him, by forgiving us our sins and strengthening our in the faith in him. That’s why we gather as a church to hear his Word. We come as hungry beggars to receive forgiveness and strength in the table he has prepared for us so that we who feast with him now, may feast with him for all eternity. And we have the Lord’s great comfort, that he will see us through this life. If you are worried about your faith, that is a good thing. It means that God has been working in you. And you have his word, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3).
While there are some who turn away, there are those who love Christ. Those who wait for him will not be disappointed. When the captives finally returned to Jerusalem, they rejoiced. The Psalmist writes, “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Psalm 126:1–3). This is but a glimmer of the joy that we will have when our Bridegroom calls us home to be with him forever.
So, be faithful dear children of God. Love your Lord, hear his Word, and trust his promises. As Luther wrote to his son, so “that you may all come to the garden.” Amen.