Calvary Lutheran Church

The Ultimate Sacrifice 

Grace and peace are yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our blessed Lord and Savior. Amen.

John 15:13

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

 Dear Christian friends,

Sacrifice is a word with which we are all familiar. We all sacrifice ourselves every day to some degree. We sacrifice ourselves for our children, our spouse, our employer, our elderly parents, our church, and yes, our country—I assume you all pay taxes.

A sacrifice is giving up something of ourselves for the sake of others. It may be our time or money, it may be our convenience or peace of mind, it may be our pleasure or enjoyment. But somehow, someway we give up a part of our own lives in order to make someone else’s better. There are probably hundreds of examples of sacrifice that we can point to in everyday life.

But this morning on this Memorial Day weekend, I want to speak to you about what has come to be known as

THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

that is, giving up one’s own life for the sake of another.

That expression “the ultimate sacrifice” has come to refer especially to the men and women in uniform, who have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up their lives in order to preserve the rights and freedoms that we enjoy as a nation. Every American should visit at least once Arlington Cemetery or the Viet Nam Memorial or the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to gain a greater appreciation of what love for country truly means.

            I was the pastor of a church in Georgia where a lot of our service men and women come from. In our new mission church, which they decided to call Mighty Fortress, almost half of the families had a member who was either active or retired military. I myself was the chaplain for three military bases in the area. And I can tell you that the motto that most military personnel live by is still this: God, family, country, in that order. They even wear it on their t-shirts.

Now I know that the vast majority of those buried in those cemeteries, if not all of them, did not enter the military with the intention of dying of their country. They thought they would come home safe and sound, hopefully, to a hero’s welcome. But when the time came to enter the battle, to fight the enemy, to put their lives on the line and to die, if necessary, they did so willingly.

Some time ago the Portland newspaper, Oregonian, carried the story of a Medal of Honor award given to a soldier posthumously. This soldier with several buddies was in a trench during a Vietcong attack when a grenade was thrown into the trench. Without hesitation, this soldier covered the grenade with his body and took the full force of the explosion saving the lives of the others.

So what would prompt a man or woman to do such a thing? We would have to say that it was love for country and love for their fellow soldiers more than one’s self. Why did so many join the military after 911? Why do so many take multiple tours of duty? It is love for country and love for fellow soldiers.

But why do we take time on a Sunday morning in a Christian worship service to pay honor and respect to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the military? Because Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus, of course, would eventually fulfill those words himself when he went to the cross. But notice he first makes a general statement that is true for all mankind. Anytime any person literally lays down his or her life for another, whether it is a soldier or police officer or firefighter or simply a good Samaritan, Jesus says, there is no greater love than that. That is the greatest demonstration of love that a human being can show. And so it deserves our greatest honor, respect, and thanks.

Representative Bob Latta, a congressman from Ohio, once said, “Let the living give thanks to our honored dead who have paid the ultimate sacrifice that the Constitution of the United States remains our guiding light.” There is only one problem with that statement. It does no good to give thanks to the soldiers, they are dead, they are gone. No, we thank God who raises up men and women in this country who are still willing and still have the courage to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

But besides those in the military we want to take a moment on this Memorial Day weekend to remember another group of people who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The word “martyr” comes from the Greek word “martus” which means simply witness. But for the decades and centuries after Christ’s ascension, Christian persecution became so widespread and so severe that many of the witnesses for Christ experienced physical abuse and even death. If you were going to publicly witness your faith, you were probably going to die for it. That’s how commonplace it was. So the word “martyr” came to mean not only one who witnessed about Christ, but one who died for him doing so.

The first martyr, of course, was Stephen. He was stoned to death at the hands of the same Sandedrin who had Jesus put to death. Scripture also records the martyrdom of James, the brother of John, who became the head of the Church in Jerusalem, but shortly thereafter literally lost his head at the hand of Herod Agrippa I. After that, the floodgates of hatred and persecution against Christians were opened, and they spread to other countries where Christians had gathered. Tradition has it that Peter, Paul, all the disciples except John were put to dead for witnessing. 

This went on for the next 300 years after the time of Christ throughout the Roman Empire. Christians were arrested, their jobs terminated, their properties confiscated, and some were put to death for such simple crimes as assembling for worship, being baptized, visiting Christian cemeteries, owning Christian literature, or simply calling themselves “Christian.” They were crucified, beheaded, thrown to wild animals, and set on fire.

We may say, “That happened a long time ago, it is not like that anymore.” But in Nina Shea’s book, In the Lion’s Den, she asserts that more Christians have died in the 20^th century than in the past 19 centuries combined, and that does not include the 21^st century. Hundreds of thousands, yes millions, have died in just the last century in Armenia, Russia, China, and most recently today in North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan, and just two days ago, Egypt.

But why do we need to be reminded of this? It is kind of depressing? Memorial Day weekend is to be a time of picnics, cookouts, parades, and time at the beach. But we need to be reminded because, first of all, it is a fulfillment of what Jesus said to his disciples in John 15 that if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. He said, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master’” (John 15:18-20). This is the way it has been throughout the history of God’s people, going back to Cain and Abel, and this is the way it will be until Jesus’ return. This world hates Christ, so it hates you.

            But secondly, we take the time to remember the martyrs of the past and present because after the writer to the Hebrews gives his long list of heroes of faith in the Old Testament, many of whom died horrific deaths for their faith, he tells us in chapter 12, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (there is that word martus), let us throw off every thing that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1,2).

When the Christian life becomes too easy, when we are not being criticized and persecuted for what we believe, when our faith is not being tested with fire like Job’s, the tendency, yes, the sin that so easily entangles us, is to get side-tracked with all sorts of petty, insignificant, worldly minutia when it comes to faith and practice.

Some today will say, “Oh, it’s so hard for me to get up for church on Sunday morning.” My friends, the martyrs got up for church on Sunday morning and put their lives in danger to worship Christ. Or, “Someone looked at me the wrong way at church the other day, so I’m never going back there.” My friends, the martyrs received looks of hatred and vengeance just for being Christians. Or, “I don’t want to have to serve or support the ministry of the church with my wealth.” My friends, the martyrs lost their homes, their jobs, and finally their lives professing Christ.

Look, we should be ecstatic that we have fellow Christians sitting beside us this morning who have the same hope, the same Lord, the same faith, the same baptism, the same God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in us all. It is getting harder and harder to hide our Christian faith today. And that is a good thing, because being exposed as Christians creates perseverance. It is creating an endurance for the race that lies ahead.

Which brings us to the highest example of the ultimate sacrifice. The writer to the Hebrews goes on in chapter 12, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus’ sacrifice began already when he left his throne in heaven. He took on human flesh which we say was the start of his humiliation. He humbled himself first by becoming a man and then by becoming obedient to death, but not just any death, death on a cross—the most cruel form of torture devised by man.

Some may wonder why did he do it, and why would his Father demand such a sacrifice from his own Son? Paul tells us in Romans 3, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:25-26). Paul’s explanation is this: God is just, that means he is holy, he is perfect; and as such he cannot allow sin to go unpunished. If he did, he himself would no longer be holy. But instead of punishing each of us for our sins, God the Father punished his Son on the cross. The result is that God’s justice is maintain, after all, sin has been paid for; and mankind himself can be declared just and holy through faith in Christ Jesus.

So Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice is very different from a soldier’s sacrifice. Soldiers do it for love of country and love of their fellow soldiers. Jesus did it for love of all mankind—friends and enemies alike. Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice is very different from a martyr’s sacrifice. Martyrs do it for love of their own souls. Jesus did it for love of all souls—believers and unbelievers alike. And Jesus didn’t suffer just a physical death, but he suffered emotional and spiritual pain as well. Even his heavenly Father forsook him, something that no human being on earth will ever experience. Yes, he was the Lamb of God, God’s sacrifice, who takes away the sin of the world.

            John wrote in his first epistle, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). As Christ loved us and laid down his life for us, so we are to love others, yes even to the extent of laying down our lives for them.

The question this Memorial Day weekend is this: Can we love others to that degree? Soldiers have for their friends and country. Would we be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to remain true to the Triune God for our souls’ sake? Martyrs have, and we have promised to do the same in our confirmation vows, remember that part, “I promise to remain faithful to the Triune God even unto death.” Would we be willing to lay down our lives for family, fellow Christian, neighbor, stranger, enemy if it meant that they would be saved? Christ did. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2). Christ is our example of how far love can go.

There was a very dedicated Christian woman working with the underprivileged people in London, England. I doubt is she is still alive. But the circumstances that led her to becoming Christian is an amazing story. She was a Jew fleeing the German Gestapo in France during World War II. She knew she was close to being caught and just wanted to give up. But a Christian widow-friend came to her home and told her it was time to flee. This Jewish lady said, “It’s no use, they will find me anyway.” The Christian friend said, “Yes, they will find someone here, but it won’t be you. So go with these people to safety—I will take your identification and wait here.”

The Jewish lady looked at her in amazement and asked why she was doing this. The widow responded, “It’s the least I can do; Christ has already done that and more for me.” The widow was arrested and imprisoned in the Jewish lady’s place, allowing time for her to escape. Within six months the Christian widow was executed in the concentration camp. The Jewish lady never forgot her, and through the power of the Word she became a follower of Jesus and dedicated her life to serving others.

Yes, it is possible to live a life of love and ultimate sacrifice for others when we remember Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for us. Amen.

May we pray:

Most eternal God, as Americans, we thank you for those serving and who have served in the military that protect this country. Thank you for those men and women in our military services who were willing to give their lives and who have given their lives to fight to keep this country free. Please hold our service men and women in your strong arms and cover them with your sheltering grace.

Heavenly Father, we come to you and ask for your peace in the middle of the storm. We ask for your deliverance and mercy for all those who have been persecuted for your name’s sake. Those who are facing death, please, Lord, give them your strength and power to finish their race well.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your ultimate example of forgiveness and love. You loved us that much! Let your love transform us to the point that we are willing to show radical love for others, motivated by the powerful revelation: Jesus died for me. In your name we pray.  Amen.