April 24, 2023

Today's Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 33:1-23. Luke 7:1-17

“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”” (Acts 2:38–40)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's amazing what a little water can do, especially when it is combined with the Word and promise of God. In our reading for today the law has had its way with the people Peter is preaching to. They have come face to face with the reality of their sin. They have rejected the promised Messiah. They have crucified the Son of God. How can you possibly atone for a sin like that? How can you pay back God for the life of HIs Son? Nothing in the law of Moses, nothing in the traditions of the Pharisees gave them any recourse. They are left only with the question, “What shall we do?” 

In the face of the accusations of the law and the reality of their sin Peter gives them the Gospel. The solution is Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. What they could not do, God will do for them. The atonement they could not make has been made for them. The law they could not fulfill, has been fulfilled for them. In the waters of Baptism they will find release from their sins and be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the waters of Baptism they will be given faith in the one that they rejected. In the promise of the Gospel they will be saved from their crooked generation. 

The promise that was for them was not limited to them. It is a promise that was for their children, and all who are far off. It was a promise that covered all sins for all people for all time. In other words, it is a promise that is for you. In the waters of your Baptism you received the forgiveness of sins and God called you to himself.  No accusation of the law even if brought by Satan himself can take away what God has done for you. In the promise of the Gospel you have been saved from this crooked generation. You are a child of the promise and have nothing to fear from the accusations of the Law.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Satan, hear this proclamation:  I am baptized into Christ!  Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve traveled, All your might has come unraveled, And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me!  “God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It” LSB 594, st 3. 

-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.