The Resurrection Today
based on Luke 24:36-49
3rd Sunday of Easter – May 4, 2003
Pastor Richard Mau
Immanuel Lutheran – Des Plaines, IL
Today’s Scripture
Psalm 139:1-12 Acts 4:8-12 1 John 1:1-2:2 Luke 24:36-49
This Sunday is Confirmation Day for Matthew, Elena, Nathan and Mark. They have completed a year of intensive studies and survived the evening of questioning by the Board of Elders. These studies take them back to the day of their baptism and now bring them to stand alone as adults in their confession of faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, who is their Savior for forgiveness of all sins and life everlasting.
Confirmation is not something that happens to them. Confirmation is stating that they firmly believe in what already happened to them in faith in their baptism. They were called by the words of the Gospel to faith in Jesus, baptized in the name of the Triune God, and are sealed in that faith in the washing and regeneration that baptism brings.
In two weeks a number of adults will stand before this congregation and publicly profess this same faith as new members of Immanuel Lutheran. As these students and the adults do this, each one of us also reviews those vows we made at one time and continue to live by that faith in which God has called us as his own dear children. It is an important day for those who make this public profession, their families and loved ones, and for the entire congregation and the angels who are rejoicing in heaven as well.
As exciting and emotional as all of this is, how will life then go on after this day? For the youth, they are completing 7th grade. Although they have dreams, do they really know what they are going to do as adults in life? How is this faith thing going to apply to me as I pursue education, training, social activities, pursuit of jobs, families, etc.? As adults, how does this faith thing affect me day-to-day in my job, with family, my recreational activities? I believe in Jesus. I confirmed my faith on that day. Does that day stand alone in the days of my life or does it continue?
What is life in Christ for the day-to-day guy and gal? What does the resurrection have to do with today? Wasn’t Easter over a couple of weeks ago? There is no more basket grass and bunnies and eggs at K-Mart!
In today’s Gospel we have Luke’s account of Jesus’ appearances to the disciples from Easter on. In each account from the Gospels we see that Jesus is real. It is not a vision or a “spiritual” apparition. He walks and talks on the road to Emmaus. He eats. You can touch him. The nail prints and pierced side are the crucified one. But he comes and goes in strange ways. The tomb, doors, distance, time and space no longer limit him. As real as he is, he is also outside of our dimension at the same time. The disciples are startled and frightened. They do not know what to think. They are joyful that Jesus is no longer dead. But there is a great fear about who he is now in this new way. They are startled and bewildered and frightened like Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds when Gabriel and other angels first appeared to them.
Jesus appeared to them in these ways then so that you and I can believe today that he can and does appear miraculously as he does in his Word, in baptism, and in the bread and wine we are about to receive. It is the same Savior pierced and sacrificed on Calvary who came to the disciples then and comes to you today.
When appears to the disciples he retrieves them from the trauma of his capture, suffering, crucifixion and resurrection. He prepares them for day-to-day life as his disciples, even after he ascends into heaven. Even though Jesus had spent three years preparing and teaching the disciples, he continued to teach them in the room and throughout the forty days up to the moment he ascended back to his heavenly throne. There is no stopping to that teaching as the disciples carry it out (as recorded in Acts) and as we practice today. Jesus reminds us that even though intensive studies prepare young students and adults to confidently profess their faith, each is to continue to review the familiar passages and accounts and open new chapters in continued study of his word. Each time one reads and studies and discusses his word, minds are opened to understand his words more and more, just as Jesus demonstrated with the disciples in Luke’s account today.
Jesus went back to the teachings from home, synagogue, and his own instruction, and renewed it so they would understand. It is no different than you and I today.
In that teaching Jesus gives us the four “To Do’s” he was sent to accomplish for your salvation. They are:
- The first “To Do:” Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies of Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets. Everything he came to do was foretold by God. The Old Testament people were saved by faith that God would send this Savior. New Testament people are saved by faith in the Savior who was sent to fulfill these prophecies.
- The Second “To Do:” Jesus came to suffer and die. That is the price that had to be paid for the forgiveness of sins. When you receive his body and blood in the bread and wine, you receive the forgiveness of sins purchased by that very body and blood given and shed for you on Calvary.
- The third “To Do” is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. In your baptism you are baptized in that resurrection too, knowing that Jesus’ suffering death were accepted by God as payment for you, and that he will come to raise you up on the last day renewed in his righteousness too.
- The fourth “To Do” is Jesus’ command to preach this Gospel to all people throughout the entire world. “As the Father sent me, I am sending you.” [John 20:21]
Jesus knew that neither the disciples nor anyone else could carry on this work by human efforts. That is why he instructs not to carry on this work until “you have been clothed with power from on high.” We see the evidence of that on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes in full force. We see evidence of that when once timid disciples stand confidently in the presence of the temple rulers and rightly declare who crucified Jesus. We know that no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. [1 Corinthians 12:3] We confess that we cannot come to faith or proclaim his glory by our own power as stated in the explanation to the Third Article of the Creed; “I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” And that the Holy Spirit also “calls, gathers, enlightens the whole Christian church on earth.” Although it certainly feels like our decision, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that faith occurs.
Jesus then sends his disciples out, generation after generation, his body the church, as an extension of himself to bring this news to others. As the word is sent out, it is not you or I that people hear, accept or reject. It is Jesus Christ and God our heavenly father whom they hear. "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." [Luke 10:16] God sent Jesus who is his word, into the world to save the world. It is Jesus’ name alone that is instrumental in baptizing, teaching, and healing broken and wounded souls today.
We live in a difficult world, but no more different or difficult than the one the disciples were hiding from when Jesus entered the room that first Easter evening. The world is like this:
Today it is popular to “keep you in my thoughts and prayers.”
Today it is “OK” in the world to pray to anyone and anything that you think will listen.
- Today it is not popular to “pray in Jesus’ name alone.”
- Today it is popular to have religion or a spiritual relationship.
- Today it is popular to “belong” to a church.
- Today it is not popular to put fellowship with Christians in regular worship and Bible Study as a priority as the menu of other things crowds out even the significance of today.
- Today it is not popular to live your Christian faith according to God’s will and commands.
- Today it is not popular to profess faith in Christ alone for salvation.
We learned in the first chapter of John’s gospel that Jesus is the Word. Jesus calls each one of you to remain in his word saying, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” [John 15:5]
Jesus, “the word,” is the only way to God the Father as he said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6] Jesus who is sent by the Father now sends you to proclaim the good news of forgiveness of sins and life everlasting to others. "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." [John 20:21]
You are the church – the body of believers in Jesus Christ. It is that church that Jesus gives the keys to the kingdom, the call to repentance and the pronouncement of forgiveness of sins. It is through you that others will hear the love of God through Jesus. "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." [Luke 10:16]
As Jesus entered this room with the Disciples, he never leaves those who are his. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [Matthew 28:20b] He is always with you as you remember that you are baptized in his name. He is always with you in word that you keep in your heart where no one can touch it, and as he comes miraculously each time in the bread and wine, bringing that same body that died on the cross, rose from the grave, appeared convincingly to the disciples during those forty days.
The natural faculties of sinful humans are unable to perceive that Jesus is the Christ and that he has accomplished their salvation. But Christ has opened the minds of believers to know and understand and to trust through faith that comes from hearing his word. The natural man cannot understand justification by God’s grace alone. “There has to be something that I do.” No, God does it all for you in Jesus. The apostle John wrote the purpose of Scripture in his Gospel account, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” [John 20:31]
See you in church. Amen.
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