Do you know how richly blessed you are as a member of God’s royal family?
I once asked the people who attended a seminar that I led on worship what part of the service was most helpful for them in their Christian life. Most people said that it was either the forgiveness of sins at the beginning of the service, or the reception of Christ’s body and blood in Holy Communion. But one woman surprised us by saying that it was the blessing at the end of the service. When I asked her why this was so, she told us that she would find it hard to make her way through each new week without it. But with it she could face each new week confidently and joyfully, without distress and anxiety, because she knew that no matter what happened she would have Jesus with her to bless her and bless others through her. For her the blessing was the high point of the service each Sunday. It gave her strength for her work and confidence for her vocation as a wife and mother, friend and employee.
Like this woman, the Israelites came to the temple in Jerusalem to receive God’s blessing on them for the daily lives. They did not do so every week, but only two or three times a year on the great festivals, when they met with God, presented their offerings to him, and prayed for help from him. The climax of the service came when the high priest stood before the altar, faced them with upraised hands, and spoke the blessing that God Himself had given over them, the same blessing that we have at the end of our service of worship. In this so-called Aaronic Benediction the high priest, or one of his sons, put God’s name on them three times to convey his blessing to them just as he himself had promised: the priests shall put my name on the people of Israel, and I will bless them. The priest put the Lord’s holy name on them, so that He would go with them as they returned home and remain with them to keep them holy and continue to bless them. By that benediction God conveyed his presence to them and offered his gifts to others through them.
At the very end of his Gospel Luke shows us how this applies to us as God’s people. He tells us this about the risen Lord Jesus: Then he led the disciples out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. This account of the ascension of Jesus into heaven is the climax and conclusion of Luke’s gospel. In it he shows us that the risen Lord Jesus is our new high priest who now mediates between God the Father in heaven and us coheirs with him here on earth. He now brings us heavenly blessings for our life on earth as a foretaste of our heavenly inheritance as the children of God. He speaks the words that don’t just tell us what God promises to give us, but actually convey his blessings to us.
Well what does Jesus give to you through the blessing that the pastor speaks at the end of each service?
Through it Jesus reaches out to you in three ways: to bless each of you, to welcome you, and to show his approval of you.
First, he actually blesses you. He speaks his word of blessing to each of you personally. He does not just promise to bless you, but actually blesses you. His words convey what they say; they provide what they promise. They are performative words that do what is said. So when you hear that blessing at the end of this service, picture Jesus standing before you, with hands that are stretched out to reach you, and speaking this blessing to you personally in this holy place.
Second, he makes his face shine on you and looks at each of you as he addresses you face to face. He does not hide his face from you, or frown on you. He does not overlook you as an unimportant person, or disregard you as unworthy of him. But he looks at each of you kindly and notices you personally. He is interested in you and cares for you. He pays close attention to you as someone who is very precious and dear to him, someone that he likes and wants to help. So his face is like the sun that shines on you on a cold, cloudy, wintry day and gives you lovely light and warmth and joy. As he speaks he shows you an open friendly face, an attentive face that does not just look at you but actually sees you as you are, a warm face that shows that he understands you better than you know yourself and loves you better than anyone else, a face that shines into your heart and fills it with much happiness. So when you receive the blessing at the end of the service, picture Jesus looking at you like a good friend who values you and wants to the very best for you.
Third, he looks on you with favour as he addresses you and notices you. Here God uses a vivid illustration from our face to face interactions with others to describe his deep affection and warm regard for you. He turns his face to engage in eye to eye contact with you and smile at you. He looks at you and smiles at you to show how pleased he is to see you and be with you. He looks at you with eyes that accept you and welcome you, eyes that approve of you and delight in you. So when you receive this blessing, picture smiling at you as he speaks and welcomes you with open arms.
In the Aaronic Benediction Jesus reaches out to you personally in three ways to give you three wonderful gifts: divine protection, divine approval, and divine peace.
First, by blessing you he protects you and keeps you safe. He serves you as your body guard who travels with you and protects you in all your troubles. He gives you his own armour, so that when bad things happen they do not harm you. By putting his holy name on you, he covers you with his holiness, so that the devil cannot hurt you when he attacks you. He delivers you from all evil and keeps you safe in your journey through life.
Second, by blessing you he assures you that he approves of you and is gracious to you. Since he has forgiven you, he sees nothing wrong with you. Since he covers you with his righteousness, you are faultless and blameless in his eyes. Through him you have access to God’s grace and favour. Through him you can approach God the Father, with boldness and confidence, just as dear children speak to their parents and confide in them. You can ask him for whatever you need and be sure that he will hear you and deal well with you.
Third, and best of all, by blessing you Jesus gives you peace, his own peace. That is what he promised to do for his disciples just before he died. He said: My peace I give you. Not as the world gives I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 14:7; 16:21). Since you are justified by grace, you have peace with God the Father through our Lord Jesus. You have the peace that comes from God the Father and his acceptance of you, the peace that comes from a good conscience, heavenly peace for your life in this troubled, troubling world, the peace that equips you to be a wise peacemaker and skillful peacekeeper. You receive the perfect peace that passes all understanding and keeps your hearts and minds safe from overwhelming anxiety and free from crippling stress. So since Jesus himself blesses you, you can expect peace from God in 2023. It will be a year of divine grace and heavenly blessing for you and all God’s people.
My dear fellow saints, if you are like me and the people I know, you are all somewhat anxious and apprehensive as you face at the prospect of 2023. Since we don’t know what will happen, we hope for the best and fear the worst. So we have come here today to get guidance and help from Jesus for this coming year. But Jesus does not do what we expect. He does not tell us what will happen, or give us advice on what we should do to make sure that 2023 turns out well for us. No, instead of that, he comes to us here and blesses us today.
Yes even better than that, he joins you as you travel on your way, so that he can bless you every day, no matter where you may go, or what you may do, or whatever may happen to you. He puts his name on you to show that you belong to him. He helps you out with his supernatural protection, his divine grace, and his heavenly peace, so that you can live heavenly lives with Jesus here on earth. He blesses you, so that you can be a blessing to others. You can face 2023 confidently, joyfully and fearlessly, because he offers you daily safety, daily mercy, and daily peace.
