David Bahn – Reflections

My Podcast is on hold this week. You can listen to past podcasts here, including the sermon I preached at Angaza Igoma Lutheran Church in Mwanza, Tanzania

Acts 2:22-36

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. ³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
³⁵ until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

The young man sat in my office in deep distress and crisis of faith. He had none. He was railing from an experience he witnessed with his sainted grandmother. She was a woman of deep faith and devotion. She had copied the entire Bible by hand into notebooks she kept and read faithfully year after year. Then she developed fatal cancer. He saw her suffer terribly. It so impacted him that he could not believe in God. In fact as we talked, I learned that he couldn’t even allow that there was such a person as Jesus of Nazareth.

I got right to the crux of it all, and learned that it wasn’t a matter of whether he died for the sins of the world. It wasn’t a matter of whether he rose from the dead or not. It wasn’t a matter of whether He was God in the flesh. He could not acknowledge that Jesus had been an actual real historical figure. He wasn’t sure there ever was someone who claimed the things Jesus did, who actually walked the face of the earth.

We talked several times and slowly the Holy Spirit worked in his heart. He had deep struggles in his life. His beautiful wife had rejected him. He had suffered a brutal mugging. Add those things to seeing his grandmother suffer as she did, and it left him bereft of any faith or comfort in God’s love. Should it have surprised me? The one thing I did to help him along the path to faith and healing was simply to listen, encouraging him to admit his deepest doubts and fears. I offered no judgment. I just listened.

One day God worked a miracle in his life. The Saturday before worship we had talked and I had led him to confess his faith in Jesus, and even to acknowledge the mystery of the real presence of Jesus’ body and blood under the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper. I asked him if he would like to receive communion. He wasn’t sure. I told him he would be welcome to do so. I wondered how it would unfold the next day.

When that Sunday came, I saw him come to the altar rail for Holy Communion. I told the elder serving along side of me, “You may be about to witness a miracle.” And we both did. He received Holy Communion that Sunday. The angels rejoiced. We praised God. And it all started with Jesus.

When Peter begins his sermon on Pentecost, he begins with Jesus. Whatever else you might want to ask, debate, or talk about – where did the dinosaurs come from? How old is the earth? – it all comes down to Jesus. Without him we have no hope. Without him we have no faith. He is the key to all of life. His death and resurrection are essential to our faith. The other issues all need to be sorted out. But without Jesus they make no eternal difference. With Jesus, they all form together a beautiful faith of life, grace, forgiveness, and true hope.

NOTE: Diane and I are in Tanzania, teaching pastors and their spouses about discipleship (following Jesus). If you want to track our experiences in Tanzania, you can check my Smugmug photo website. I’ll include photos there throughout the week.