Sunday, April 12 2009
Easter Sunday
Brothers and sisters
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!!! This is what we celebrate today. That just three days after Christ Jesus laid down His life for you, atoning for all of your sin, and was placed in the tomb, that the tomb was empty and that the stone was rolled away. And that stone being rolled away is a result of the greatest news that we, as the church can bring to the world, to our neighbor. For the stone being rolled away, the tomb being empty means that Christ Jesus has risen from the grave-that sin, death and the devil have been defeated for you-that your salvation has been won.
So I ask you this morning, do you believe this?? It is not an easy message to believe in a 21st century post-modern culture. Ever since it happened, the devil has worked through skeptics and doubters to try to cast doubt upon this great and glorious event upon which we base our faith.
It wasn’t long at all before people were spreading rumors that somebody had merely stole Jesus’ body from the tomb. And some actually were convinced by this preposterous theory and some are probably convinced to this day. And maybe you are among the doubters. Maybe the idea of someone stealing the body does not seem preposterous to you.
I mean this with the most sincere love and compassion; if you are among the doubters and skeptics and believe someone did steal the body, then there are some questions that need to be addressed. First, if someone stole it then who?? If it was the apostles then the New Testament would be much shorter. Robbing a grave that bore Pilate’s seal would have been a crime against Caesar punishable by death. The first chapter of Acts would have been limited to a summary of the executions of the 11 remaining apostles.
Some say that Jesus’ enemies stole it. That makes no sense either. Why would Jesus’ enemies steal it? If they were trying to discredit Jesus, they wouldn’t want people to think the tomb was empty. Quite to the contrary, if there was a body in the tomb, Jesus’ opponents would have done their level-best to make sure people saw it. Theories like this have been coming up for 2000 years and time after time they are refuted. Often they have led to the reverse of their intended purpose; skeptics being convinced of the truth of the Gospel. Time after time, we are left with no body and an empty tomb.
Time after time we are left with Christ Jesus actually being who He says He is and who John the Baptist proclaimed Him to be, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Savior of all, the firstborn of the inheritors of eternal life, in whose inheritance those who repent and believe upon Him will share.
But these arguments that have come and gone and will continue to come and go, have led to a new false spirit which has also tried to cast doubt upon this glorious event. This more recent development does not focus so much on trying to cast doubt on the truth of the event of the resurrection but rather on whether or not it matters that we believe that it happened, and in that sense argues whether or not it matters that it did happen.
The argument goes “It doesn’t really matter whether or not the resurrection took place. If believing it did gives you comfort and peace then you should believe it.” On the other hand, the argument goes “If you believe that doing good-works and being a good person saves you then you should believe that.” It doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.
Well lets look at this morning’s lessons in light of this theory. In the Gospel we have Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James going to the tomb so that they can anoint the body of Jesus with spices. Both of these women had placed great faith in Jesus.
If they had found Jesus’ dead body in the tomb then they would have never been amazed at the good news of the resurrection, which is how the end of this lesson describes their reaction to receiving the news of Jesus’ resurrection. They would have not been told to go tell the disciples, and Jesus would have never met the disciples in Galilee so that they could see that He had risen from the dead.
In the account of this scene from the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is actually weeping outside of the tomb. If she had never encountered the risen Lord Jesus, then she would have simply remained in her despair. All of the faith and hope that she had placed in this One who had meant so much to her would have been in vain.
And then we have Peter, who we see in the lesson from Acts, who in spite of all of his slip-ups; denying Jesus three times, worrying about who would be the greatest in God’s Kingdom, failing to stay awake for even one hour when Jesus asked him to stay awake; in spite of all of these slip-ups, Peter still had put his faith in Jesus. But if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, Peter’s last memory of Jesus would have been denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Peter was in perhaps greater misery than even the two Marys.
Peter was hiding in the upper-room, presumably from the Jewish authorities, but perhaps he was also hiding from Jesus. Imagine Peter’s despair; the emotional let-down of wondering if this One in Whom He had put so much trust in, had let him down. But imagine also the despair and guilt of his own denial, and perhaps wondering how Jesus might react to Peter’s denial if He saw Peter again, in case He really was able to rise from the dead.. You see it wasn’t until after the resurrection that Peter really began to understand who Christ Jesus is and what His life, death and resurrection means.
And then of course there is Paul whom we encounter, as we so often do, in our second lesson. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, Paul would never have even written this lesson, because he never would have been converted on the road to Damascus. He never would have encountered the risen Christ. In fact he probably would have been one of the most vicious persecutors of Christ’s followers till the day he died.
But Paul’s conversion shows us not only does it matter that the resurrection happened but that you believe in it and that you believe that it was for you. Paul’s conversion shows that it matters who our faith is in.
For Paul was a very faithful Jew. He believed that his good works earned him favor with God. And he would have continued to believe this had he never been converted. And so nearly half of the New Testament would have not been written.
That the resurrection happened matters. And that you believe in it and that it was for you matters. Paul knows this for certain and he wrote this in today’s lesson where he speaks of passing on to the church in Corinth that which was of first importance; that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, also known as Peter.
And indeed He did appear to Peter and He declared unto Peter the entire forgiveness of all of his sins, even the denials. And Peter, having finally begun to understand Jesus would proclaim, as we read in today’s lesson from Acts that he understands that God shows no partiality. In light of his past mistakes this sounds like a confession of repentance as much as a bold confession of faith. That Christ is risen, and that you believe that it happened for you matters. Paul later says that if Christ is not risen from the dead our faith is futile. But it happened and you can rejoice that it happened for it means that the price has been paid for your sins, the sacrifice has been made on your behalf. It means that God loved you enough to take upon Himself the burden of your sin. And the devil and the world will continue to try to tempt you to believe that it doesn’t matter, but through the continuous and repeated hearing of this good news, the receiving of the sacraments, and fellowship with each other you are armed for battle as your faith is strengthened.
On this morning we celebrate nothing short of the triumph over death itself. And it is not some story that we hold to to make us feel better, it is real. There is only one name under Heaven through Which you can receive the faith, hope and promise which sustained Peter, Paul and the two Marys. It is name of Christ Jesus-the One, praise God, who’s glorious resurrection led to the stone being rolled away and the tomb being empty.
The resurrection happened and it matters that it happened. For when you hear it’s call through Word and sacrament and believe that it happened for your salvation from sin and the devil, you are able to bask in the light of the empty tomb knowing that because death could not contain Christ it will not contain you either, and that you are no longer moving from life to death, but from death to life-the death of your sin to the glorious eternal life that awaits all of us in our Lord’s eternal Kingdom. He is risen!! He is risen indeed!!
Amen
Brothers and sisters
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!!! This is what we celebrate today. That just three days after Christ Jesus laid down His life for you, atoning for all of your sin, and was placed in the tomb, that the tomb was empty and that the stone was rolled away. And that stone being rolled away is a result of the greatest news that we, as the church can bring to the world, to our neighbor. For the stone being rolled away, the tomb being empty means that Christ Jesus has risen from the grave-that sin, death and the devil have been defeated for you-that your salvation has been won.
So I ask you this morning, do you believe this?? It is not an easy message to believe in a 21st century post-modern culture. Ever since it happened, the devil has worked through skeptics and doubters to try to cast doubt upon this great and glorious event upon which we base our faith.
It wasn’t long at all before people were spreading rumors that somebody had merely stole Jesus’ body from the tomb. And some actually were convinced by this preposterous theory and some are probably convinced to this day. And maybe you are among the doubters. Maybe the idea of someone stealing the body does not seem preposterous to you.
I mean this with the most sincere love and compassion; if you are among the doubters and skeptics and believe someone did steal the body, then there are some questions that need to be addressed. First, if someone stole it then who?? If it was the apostles then the New Testament would be much shorter. Robbing a grave that bore Pilate’s seal would have been a crime against Caesar punishable by death. The first chapter of Acts would have been limited to a summary of the executions of the 11 remaining apostles.
Some say that Jesus’ enemies stole it. That makes no sense either. Why would Jesus’ enemies steal it? If they were trying to discredit Jesus, they wouldn’t want people to think the tomb was empty. Quite to the contrary, if there was a body in the tomb, Jesus’ opponents would have done their level-best to make sure people saw it. Theories like this have been coming up for 2000 years and time after time they are refuted. Often they have led to the reverse of their intended purpose; skeptics being convinced of the truth of the Gospel. Time after time, we are left with no body and an empty tomb.
Time after time we are left with Christ Jesus actually being who He says He is and who John the Baptist proclaimed Him to be, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Savior of all, the firstborn of the inheritors of eternal life, in whose inheritance those who repent and believe upon Him will share.
But these arguments that have come and gone and will continue to come and go, have led to a new false spirit which has also tried to cast doubt upon this glorious event. This more recent development does not focus so much on trying to cast doubt on the truth of the event of the resurrection but rather on whether or not it matters that we believe that it happened, and in that sense argues whether or not it matters that it did happen.
The argument goes “It doesn’t really matter whether or not the resurrection took place. If believing it did gives you comfort and peace then you should believe it.” On the other hand, the argument goes “If you believe that doing good-works and being a good person saves you then you should believe that.” It doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.
Well lets look at this morning’s lessons in light of this theory. In the Gospel we have Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James going to the tomb so that they can anoint the body of Jesus with spices. Both of these women had placed great faith in Jesus.
If they had found Jesus’ dead body in the tomb then they would have never been amazed at the good news of the resurrection, which is how the end of this lesson describes their reaction to receiving the news of Jesus’ resurrection. They would have not been told to go tell the disciples, and Jesus would have never met the disciples in Galilee so that they could see that He had risen from the dead.
In the account of this scene from the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is actually weeping outside of the tomb. If she had never encountered the risen Lord Jesus, then she would have simply remained in her despair. All of the faith and hope that she had placed in this One who had meant so much to her would have been in vain.
And then we have Peter, who we see in the lesson from Acts, who in spite of all of his slip-ups; denying Jesus three times, worrying about who would be the greatest in God’s Kingdom, failing to stay awake for even one hour when Jesus asked him to stay awake; in spite of all of these slip-ups, Peter still had put his faith in Jesus. But if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, Peter’s last memory of Jesus would have been denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Peter was in perhaps greater misery than even the two Marys.
Peter was hiding in the upper-room, presumably from the Jewish authorities, but perhaps he was also hiding from Jesus. Imagine Peter’s despair; the emotional let-down of wondering if this One in Whom He had put so much trust in, had let him down. But imagine also the despair and guilt of his own denial, and perhaps wondering how Jesus might react to Peter’s denial if He saw Peter again, in case He really was able to rise from the dead.. You see it wasn’t until after the resurrection that Peter really began to understand who Christ Jesus is and what His life, death and resurrection means.
And then of course there is Paul whom we encounter, as we so often do, in our second lesson. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, Paul would never have even written this lesson, because he never would have been converted on the road to Damascus. He never would have encountered the risen Christ. In fact he probably would have been one of the most vicious persecutors of Christ’s followers till the day he died.
But Paul’s conversion shows us not only does it matter that the resurrection happened but that you believe in it and that you believe that it was for you. Paul’s conversion shows that it matters who our faith is in.
For Paul was a very faithful Jew. He believed that his good works earned him favor with God. And he would have continued to believe this had he never been converted. And so nearly half of the New Testament would have not been written.
That the resurrection happened matters. And that you believe in it and that it was for you matters. Paul knows this for certain and he wrote this in today’s lesson where he speaks of passing on to the church in Corinth that which was of first importance; that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, also known as Peter.
And indeed He did appear to Peter and He declared unto Peter the entire forgiveness of all of his sins, even the denials. And Peter, having finally begun to understand Jesus would proclaim, as we read in today’s lesson from Acts that he understands that God shows no partiality. In light of his past mistakes this sounds like a confession of repentance as much as a bold confession of faith. That Christ is risen, and that you believe that it happened for you matters. Paul later says that if Christ is not risen from the dead our faith is futile. But it happened and you can rejoice that it happened for it means that the price has been paid for your sins, the sacrifice has been made on your behalf. It means that God loved you enough to take upon Himself the burden of your sin. And the devil and the world will continue to try to tempt you to believe that it doesn’t matter, but through the continuous and repeated hearing of this good news, the receiving of the sacraments, and fellowship with each other you are armed for battle as your faith is strengthened.
On this morning we celebrate nothing short of the triumph over death itself. And it is not some story that we hold to to make us feel better, it is real. There is only one name under Heaven through Which you can receive the faith, hope and promise which sustained Peter, Paul and the two Marys. It is name of Christ Jesus-the One, praise God, who’s glorious resurrection led to the stone being rolled away and the tomb being empty.
The resurrection happened and it matters that it happened. For when you hear it’s call through Word and sacrament and believe that it happened for your salvation from sin and the devil, you are able to bask in the light of the empty tomb knowing that because death could not contain Christ it will not contain you either, and that you are no longer moving from life to death, but from death to life-the death of your sin to the glorious eternal life that awaits all of us in our Lord’s eternal Kingdom. He is risen!! He is risen indeed!!
Amen
posted by Steve at 9:38 AM
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