On Maundy Thursday, after the Lord instituted the Holy Supper and washed his disciples’ feet in an act of humility and service, he spoke to them of things to come. He told them how the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, would testify of him—not only to them, but also through them as his Apostles. Then the Lord issued this warning to them: “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble”—that is, to fall from the faith. “They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.”

Yet stumble they did, that very night in fact, as they fled out of the garden in fear and hid themselves in a locked room. St. Peter, who earlier had boasted he would never do so, stumbled even further as he denied his Lord three times. Of course, they are by no means the only Christians to have done so. Because this is the nature of fallen flesh, you, led by the sin in which you were conceived, also stumble—every day of your earthly life. You stumble when you forsake God, as did the disciples, for that which is unholy. In doing so, you also deny God, as did St. Peter, foolishly believing that this is what you must do to protect your life, when in fact the very opposite is true. He who forsakes and denies God is in danger of losing his life, for he has separated himself from him who is our Life.

But take heart, dear Christian. Even though the disciples stumbled, even though they all forsook him and one denied him three times, in mercy and in grace they were restored. They were, because after our Lord taught them in that upper room, he allowed himself to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, after which he was put on trial and subjected to false accusations, mocking, and even beatings. Though he had broken no law, he was sentenced—not just to death, but to the worst, most painful, most humiliating death ever devised by men. On Golgotha our Lord was crucified, and after six hours—not only of physical torture but also of facing the wrath of his Father over the sins of the world—he gave up his life as the Sacrifice, the one-and-for-all Sacrifice, that atoned for the sins of the world.

It was by the shedding of his holy, precious blood on that cursed tree that our Lord paid for his disciples’ stumbling, for Peter’s denial, and yes, for your transgressions—your stumbling and denials as well. By his death he destroyed him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, as he won your forgiveness. In his emptying of the tomb is the promise that your grave too will be emptied someday. And in his Ascension is the promise that when you are raised, you will ascend, as did he, into heaven to live in blessed communion with your God eternally.

That you believe, and do not deny or even just doubt this, Christ sends the Holy Spirit from the Father to testify of what he has done to save you. He works faith in you by your hearing of his testimony, so that you live no longer for this life, but for the even better one that is to come. This faith-producing Word the Holy Spirit proclaims to you through his Church.

Thus, what Jesus told his disciples in that upper room, he now says to you as ones who were incorporated into his Church by Holy Baptism: “You also are to bear witness.” You bear witness of Christ not through canned evangelism programs or by intruding into people’s privacy when you confront them at their front door, but in what you say to others when the opportunity to speak of Christ arises—and even more emphatically in the way you conduct yourself around the people of this world.

But do you know that from the Greek word for witness, which is “martyrion,” comes the English word “martyr”? For how could you give a greater witness of Christ than to suffer for Christ? And the more clearly you bear witness of Christ to others in both word and deed, the more deeply you will be hated by this world, which flat-out rejects Christ. We’ve seen evidence of this right here in our own congregation. Because Christ is boldly proclaimed and confessed in our services, visitors have walked out, and a significant number of our own members refuse to attend.

But this should not surprise us. Our Lord told us this would happen: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil falsely against you for my name’s sake.” Again, “All men will hate you because of me.” And let’s not forget the words you heard from his mouth today: “The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.”

And don’t think these warnings applied only to Christians in Biblical times. Persecution comes to Christians of every age so long as they are living in this sinful world—and not as punishment for their sins. It’s not a punishment to suffer for Christ, but an honor. In fact, “To this you were called,” St. Peter explains, “because Christ also suffered for us, leaving an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

So, persecution has come, is coming, and will continue to come against Christians—and not only from evil men outside, but also from hypocrites within the Church. Remember, it was the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jews, who handed Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified.

And though, due to the nature of our fallen flesh, we may at times hide our faith or even deny it, as did St. Peter, this is our hope: that when we stumble, our Lord is there to pick us up; when we fall away, our Lord comes after us, and when he finds us, he carries us back into the safety of his Church. There, the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith through his Word, so that we face rather than flee persecution. There he also feeds us the Food that sustains us as his disciples: his Body that was given and his Blood that was shed.

And because he does, you, dear Christian, can live in the sure and certain hope that what was true of Christ will also be true of you. As glory came to him through the cross he bore for you in his life, so through the crosses you bear for him in your life will also come glory—a glory without measure, that lasts forever, in the life to come.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.