“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17

Prayer of the Day O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou almighty Son of God: We beseech Thee, send Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, through Thy Word, that He may rule and govern us according to Thy will, comfort us in every temptation and misfortune, and defend us by Thy truth against every error, so that we may continue steadfast in the faith, increase in love and all good works, and firmly trusting in Thy grace, which through death Thou hast purchased for us, obtain eternal salvation, Thou who reignest, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. (KJV)

Our meditation is based on Peter’s first sermon, delivered the Day of Pentecost. You will see that God sends His Spirit out upon the worst of creation, that you might have no doubt the good news of Jesus belongs to you. To this end, I offer these words of the Savior: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

O Spirit of God, bless Thy Word that we may trust in Thee. Amen.

The feast of Pentecost, known in the Old Testament as the “Festival of Weeks,” was one of three times each year when a great number from far and wide were to gather together in Jerusalem. The Passover brought in many from all across Israel, but Pentecost, most years, could have brought in more. It brought in Jews from across the Roman Empire.

It was a celebration of the grain harvest, the firstfruits of the land. You brought along wheat from your field to present in thanksgiving to God. As with other Jewish festivals, opportunistic vendors sold cheap, old, dried wheat to those unable or too lazy to bring their own. So, you could imagine, as people tramped and celebrated through Jerusalem with their wheat in tow, it left the city littered with debris, like edible confetti all over the floor. According to both historical records and common sense, it was a pesky time of year for mice.

The city of Jerusalem, by its own attempt to abide by Moses’ cleanliness laws, layered with the ingenuity of Greek and Roman invaders, had developed an intricate sewage system. And the vermin that dwelled below the earth could come creeping up to eat what was lying about above.

The Lord Jesus had commissioned His disciples: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” What a way, Jerusalem riddled with vermin, for the disciples to begin carrying this mission out.

This mental image might make you a bit squeamish, the thought of heaps of mice all around on Pentecost. And yet the command to “preach to every creature” might make us even more squeamish. Imagine heaven filled with people you might want to be around even less than mice or snakes. People whose annoyances make you shiver like a mouse up the pants leg. Those who have so disappointed, cheated, or hurt you that it might be more comfortable to be around a literal rat or snake. Those you haven’t seen for years by their choice. Sometimes you know why; other times you wish you knew.

If heaven were filled by the sinner’s standard of picking and choosing, who would be there? And shouldn’t the holy, righteous God be far pickier than we are? How striking it is, then, that the apostles are commanded to preach the Gospel to “every creature,” even humans who are more vile than hordes of rats and snakes.

The Spirit of God made Himself known in the streets of a city riddled with wheat and the critters that so naturally and opportunistically accompany the mess. This was a situation not unique to Pentecost, as the streets of Jerusalem were accustomed to litter and debris.

Just weeks earlier, less than two months prior, these same streets had been strewn with palm branches and garments, ground cover that, in that case, had attracted not mice but a thronging crowd of men, women, and children, and their natural and opportunistic praises: “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

They bought and sold for this feast too. But Jesus revealed the filthy den they had made of His Father’s house by turning over their tables. They scrambled to pick up all He had strewn, their consciences gnawing against the Word made flesh. Those streets once gladdened with garland and praises became spotted with His holy, innocent blood.

That brings us to today. What a peculiar place and time to publicly announce what Christ had accomplished for all mankind. The mice weren’t the vilest creatures within earshot. The people filling the streets had just weeks prior crucified their Lord. As Peter’s first sermon that day reminded them, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The point of Peter’s sermon, though, was ultimately not to shame them but to save them, to reveal how it was all for their benefit and yours: “Repent, and be baptized… for the remission of sins.” A promise for them, their children, “to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

How could they, the audience of Peter’s first sermon, not have been the vilest of men? Yet the Gospel had the power to make them righteous in God’s sight. The rustle of mice and bustle of unbelief were deafened by “a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,” and the power of the Spirit in Peter’s Gospel message created faith in the heart. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” The life-giving news of Jesus spread from there out across the globe.

Who would do something like this? Forgive the sins of your worst enemies, those who killed your only Son? You’d have to be drunk, some might accuse. But your God isn’t drunk. No, quite the opposite. In His boundless love for you, He knows exactly what He’s doing.

It’s the foolishness of grace, which has been from the beginning. Remember the first Gospel proclamation: “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” In the same breath that God made the serpent so visibly vile, God promised a descendant of Eve to offer Himself in our place to make eternal life yours: He “shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.”

Jesus, having crushed sin, death, and the devil in full, descended first into hell “and preached unto the spirits in prison,” proclaiming His victory in the filthy den of demons. Jesus proclaimed His victory even there. It was too late for them, but Jesus thus began the preaching of the Gospel to every creature. We are told to continue preaching it to all who live. It is not too late for anyone who still has breath.

It is God’s desire “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.”

On the final day, all will bow. Not all, though, will bow to their liking. The unbeliever who despises Jesus today will bow under duress that day, while you, those who believe, will receive in Him the fulfillment of all things you’ve longed for with true thanksgiving, bringing in your sheaves of eternal fruits and joy.

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature!” Yes, every creature does include the worst of people. All creation is what Jesus said, so that none might be left out.

That thought, at first, might make the sinner take a deep breath, as our minds wander to that last person we’d like to see there. But as God’s Law guides the mind to true self-reflection, God’s Gospel guides the soul to praise the Savior, because the chief of sinners, the filthiest of creatures He came to save, was me.

For if the first public proclamation of forgiveness, mercy, and grace was to those who had, with their own voices and hands, put Jesus in the grave, then there is no barrier, no resentment, no filthy act this Gospel cannot overcome. Through Christ’s blood and merit, any despicable thing you could possibly have accomplished in your short life is now washed away, wiped clean. Whatever sin separates you from your God or from any other soul in your life is now gone and vanished from God’s sight.

Herein lies the true resolve to preach to every creature. The Gospel is the power of God to conquer sin, death, and all things. Herein lies what transforms our recoiling at sharing heaven with certain people into a desire to stand hand in hand with them in the world to come.

Even if an outward reconciliation can’t be accomplished here in time, faith trusts the Spirit of God to make happen what we cannot. At Christ’s return, by grace alone, so it will be. But as for you, don’t wait till then. Love them today. Repent first yourself. Forgive in the heart, even if you are never given the chance to speak it. Make the effort to talk with those you find it so hard to talk to. Invite into your life those who make it a little less comfortable.

Echo the Gospel to every creature before you with a love so boundless, so foolish to this world’s standard, that they might say of you, “Are they drunk?” No, quite the opposite. Filled with the Spirit of God.

Now the peace that passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

—Pastor Timothy Daub

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Hecla, SD

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Ministry by Mail is a weekly publication of the Church of the Lutheran Confession. Sermon archives, and subscription and staff information may be found online at www.clclutheran.org/ministrybymail. Audio Sermons are available at: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the King James Version.