The King and the Messenger

The King and the Messenger

Exaudi – 5/17/2026

John 15:26-16:4

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters with special emphasis on chapter fifteen verses twenty-six and twenty-seven which read as follows:

[Jesus said,] “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

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

After His resurrection and before Pentecost, Jesus prepared His disciples for something important. He knew that He would shortly ascend to the right hand of the Father. In doing this, He took up openly and publicly the reign and authority that already belonged to Him as the crucified and risen Lord. Christ is King. This is not a title that merely has meaning in some symbolic or poetic sense, but truly. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him, the crucified King of kings.

But kings seldom rule from the front lines so to speak. Usually they rule through messengers. Throughout history, kings have used emissaries, heralds, and ambassadors to make known their wills. A king sends these officers to his people, bearing his authority and carrying his message. When the herald of the king relays this message faithfully, the people do not merely hear the messenger; they hear the king himself through the messenger. To reject the herald is to reject the ruler who sent him.

Christ our ascended King rules His Church in this manner as well. And in today’s Gospel He speaks of His chief Messenger, His great Emissary sent forth from the Father: the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth… He will bear witness about Me.”

Look at what Jesus says the Spirit does. The Spirit bears witness about Christ. He does not come to glorify Himself. He does not draw attention away from Jesus. He comes to proclaim Christ crucified and risen. He comes to deliver Christ and all His benefits to sinners. This is an important distinction of the Spirit. It is essential that we know it because there are many false ideas about the Holy Spirit. People often speak of the Spirit as though His primary work were emotional experiences, private revelations, inner feelings, or dramatic signs. But Jesus tells us plainly what the Spirit actually does: He testifies to Christ.

Where Christ is preached, there the Spirit is at work. Where sins are forgiven in Christ’s

Stained glass window in a chapel beside St. Joseph's Church in Zabrze, Poland.

Name, there the Spirit is at work. Where Baptism grants the new birth and where the Supper of Christ is given according to His institution, there the Spirit is at work. The Spirit’s gifts always serve this purpose; they direct sinners to Jesus.

Any supposed spiritual gift that draws attention away from Christ is not from the Holy Spirit. Any spirit that minimizes Christ’s death for sinners, ignores repentance, or obscures the forgiveness of sins is not the Spirit sent by the ascended Lord. It does not matter how ecstatic the experience or beautiful the messenger. These are not what we judge the work of the Spirit by. No, we judge whether He is present by this simple truth: the Spirit’s task is not to replace Christ, but to deliver Christ. Through this work the Spirit creates faith.

As Ezekiel prophesied the Word of the Lord: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” The Spirit removes the heart of stone and gives a living heart of faith. By nature, we resist God. We fear men more than God. We love sin more than righteousness. Left to ourselves, we would fall away entirely. But the Holy Spirit preserves us in Christ.

Jesus said these things to the disciples because He knew that hardship was coming. Persecution was coming. Hatred from the world was coming. “They will put you out of the synagogues,” He said. Some of them would even be killed for confessing Christ. In the end, however, they endured. This was not because they were naturally courageous men, but because the Spirit sustained their faith through the Word of Christ.

It is the same for you. The Christian faith is not maintained by your own strength, intelligence, or determination. The Spirit keeps you through the Gospel. He continually places Christ before your eyes and ears. He reminds you who your Savior is. He calls you to repentance when you stray. He comforts you when you suffer. He strengthens you to confess Christ before the world.

He does all of this openly and publicly. Christianity is not a secret religion. The Spirit does not whisper hidden truths to a select spiritual elite. The Apostles did not disappear into caves to discover mystical revelations accessible only to specially enlightened people. Quite the opposite. Christ sends His Spirit publicly through preaching, teaching, Baptism, and the Sacraments. This is a foreign concept in our age which increasingly treats religion as something only subjective and private. People say things like, “What matters is simply that you believe something sincerely,” or “Truth is different for each person.” But the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. Truth has content; teaching and doctrines matter. It does not vary from person to person or age to age. It remains solid and uniform because it is rooted in Christ, the everlasting Lord. The Spirit delivers definite promises concerning Christ. The faith is not self-created spirituality. It is trust in the actual crucified and risen Jesus who truly forgives sins.

The same Spirit who speaks through the apostolic Word continues to send messengers today. Pastors are not apostles, nor do they receive new revelation as Peter and Paul did. But they are called and sent by Christ through His church. As St. Paul says elsewhere, pastors are ambassadors for Christ. Their task is the same fundamental task given by the Spirit: to make Christ known. Pastors preach repentance and forgiveness, proclaim Law and Gospel, and are to bring to mind all that Christ has said. At times this means admonishment, that is, being discouraged to sin and false understanding. At times it means exhortation, that is, being encouraged and convinced about what is good and true. At times it means rebuke for things done wrong. At times it means comfort for terrified consciences. But in all things the faithful pastor is not speaking his own opinions or wisdom. His task is to deliver the Word of Christ.

That Word is to be heard seriously. This is not because pastors are personally superior men, but because Christ rules His Church through His Word. When the Word of God is faithfully preached, Christ Himself addresses His people through the office He established. This is why the rejection of faithful preaching is such a serious matter. For the issue is never merely about personalities or preferences. The question is whether Christ’s Word is being heard.

The ascended Christ has not abandoned His Church. He reigns even now. And from His throne He continues to send His Spirit. The Spirit continues to create faith, forgive sins, strengthen believers, and preserve the Church in the truth of our Lord Jesus.

One day the same Lord Jesus who ascended will return openly in glory. Until then, His Spirit keeps pointing sinners to Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

[1] John 15:25-27 English Standard Version. All further quotations of the Holy Scriptures are ESV.