Justification in Jesus’ Resurrection - April 1, 2018 - Easter Sunrise - Text: Apology to Augsburg Article IV

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
 

This year during the season of Lent through to Easter Sunrise and Easter morning we are continuing our celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation as we did at Advent through Christmas. During Lent through Easter we are covering what is considered the most important doctrine of the Church and the Lutheran Church, Article IV of the Augsburg Confession and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Article IV is the article on Justification and how we are made just and right in God’s eyes. Indeed, this article is the article on which the Church stands or falls, because we are saved either by ourselves, our good deeds, our obedience, and so forth or our salvation comes from outside of us, namely it comes from Jesus, who has earned and paid for our sins by His suffering and death and the cross and which He gives freely to us with out any merit or worthiness within us.
 

Justification in Jesus’ resurrection, what is the question? Why is there a question? Why is there any doubt? Of course there is justification in Jesus’ resurrection, at least as Christians that might be our perspective. So, as you always hear me tell you, we get it right when we point to Jesus so, let us start with Jesus.
 

As we confess in the three ecumenical, or universal Christian creeds we believe that Jesus is true God born in human flesh making Him also true man. We know that Jesus is truly God because He was conceived by God, by God the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to be truly God in order to be born in perfection and in order to live in perfection. Because human DNA had been tainted by sin and because all humans conceived as human are conceived and born in sin the only way Jesus could be without sin was to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and that is what we confess. Jesus is also truly human and we know He is human because He was born of the human woman, the Virgin Mary. Jesus had to be truly human in order to be our substitute, in order to shed His blood for us. As you may recall, all the ceremonial animal sacrifices of the Old Testament truly did nothing as far as earning or gaining forgiveness of sins for those offering the sacrifice because they were animals, not humans. The price for sin was that blood and only human blood would have to be shed. Jesus had to be human so that His shed blood might be for us humans.
 

Very often we speak about the Gospel and yet we only hear mention of Jesus’ death and resurrection and that is good news, that is Gospel, however the fullness of the Gospel is seen in the fact that Jesus lived a perfect life, obeying all God’s laws and command perfectly, fulfilling all the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament. God’s demand on us is perfection and we cannot be perfect. As we said we are conceived and born in sin and so from our very beginning we are unable to accomplish what God demands. Jesus was born in perfection and He did live a perfect life and He lived His life for us in our place. Jesus is true Israel and true us. What was demanded of Israel and what is demanded of us was accomplished in Jesus and He accomplished it for us, in our place.
 

Upon living the perfect life, living in perfect obedience and perfect fulfillment, having been attested by Moses and Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus took all sin upon Himself, all your sins, all my sins, all the sins of all people who have ever lived and will ever live, of all places, and all times and He suffered under Pontius Pilate, as we confess in our creeds. Jesus suffered the price for sin, death, eternal spiritual death and hell for us in our place.
 

And Jesus died on the cross. Yes, our God died. Some religions think it unthinkable that God can die. Some think it unthinkable that God would condemn His Son to die. We revel in the cross knowing that in the cross Jesus died paying the price for our sins. And just as when we die our bodies will go into the ground and our souls will enter heaven, so too with Jesus who is God, His body was placed in the tomb and His Spirit continued to live. As Jesus is truly God Himself He raised Himself from the grave.
 

Jesus rose from the dead defeating sin, death and the devil. He showed Himself to be alive for forty days following His resurrection so there would be as many witnesses as possible. He went and declared victory over Satan himself. We do not worship a dead God, but a living Lord.
 

What does this mean? Had Jesus simply died His death would mean nothing for us. If we could find His tomb and His body we of all people would be most to be pitied as Paul so well reminds us. Had Jesus not risen then there would be no defeat of sin, death and the devil.
 

But Jesus did rise from the dead. His resurrection shows that God was satisfied with His sacrifice for us, in our place. Just as sin entered the world through the one man Adam, so forgiveness has been earned by the one man Jesus. His death paid the price once and for all for all people of all places of all times.
 

Jesus’ resurrection shows He defeated sin, death and the devil. Certainly while we remain in this world we will encounter temptation and we will sin. Certainly the results of the sin of Adam and Eve continue in our bodies in that we will all some day die a physical death, we will pass away, however, we have the certainty that Jesus paid the price for our sins. We have the certainty that our dying in this world is a mere falling asleep, a passing on into heaven. We have the certainty that the devil has been defeated and can harm us none.
 

Jesus’ resurrection shows that He earned forgiveness for us and gives us forgiveness. Jesus paid the price for our sins. Our account, what we owe for our sins, the price has been paid, completely. When we stand before God He will not see our sin, but by faith in Jesus He will see Jesus’ righteousness and He will be satisfied.
 

Jesus’ resurrection shows us that we too will rise again, that death and the grave have no power over us. Indeed, we may pass on, if the Lord does not return first, however we know that our passing from this world will be like our being born. As we moved from our mother’s womb into this world, so when we pass we will be born out of the womb of this world into our eternal home of heaven.
 

How is this done? How are we given the gifts that God gives? This is done, we are given the gifts of God, faith, forgiveness, life, eternal life and salvation in the way and through the very means God has given to give us all His good gifts and blessings, His means of grace. And this is why our making regular and diligent use of His means of grace is so important and why we make time and take time to be where His gifts are distributed, lest we lose the gifts He has to give.
 

God gives us faith through Holy Baptism. In Baptism, as in all of God’s means of grace, God is the one doing the doing. God is the one giving and we are being done to and given to. In Holy Baptism God uses the hands of the pastor to put water, plain, simple water on our head and the pastor’s mouth through which God speaks His name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is the one acting and He is the one giving faith as He promises, “Baptism now saves you.” As we see a helpless infant being brought to the waters of Holy Baptism we get a great vivid image of our helplessness and God’s great doing, and giving.
 

God strengthens us in faith through His Word. Certainly we may not remember every meal we have ever eaten, but we still eat, everyday, more than once a day. We may not remember every sermon we have ever heard, nor every word of the Bible we have ever read, but as Christians, clinging to our Lord, our desire is to be where and when His Word is proclaimed and to read His Word as often as we are able so that He may speak to us through His Word, which is where we are most confident that He speaks to us.
 

God gives us forgiveness through confession and absolution. Because God gives us forgiveness through confession and absolution, that is why we begin most every service with confession and absolution. God hears our confession and speaking through the mouth of the one He has called to proclaim His Words of absolution, when we hear the Pastor speak, “As a called and ordained servant of the Lord, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” then we know that the words God speak through the pastor are sure and certain and that our sins are forgiven. Indeed, it is this word of Gospel, that our sins are forgiven that move us to confess all our sins.
 

God gives us forgiveness and strengthening of faith through His Holy Supper. Just as the ceremonial sacrifices of the Old Testament were consumed by those offering the sacrifice so that it became a part of them and yet only pointed to the one ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God, so when we come to the Lord’s table, as He instructs us and promises us, as we eat the bread, the body of Christ, and as we drink the wine, the blood of Christ, so He becomes a physical, not symbolic or spiritual, part of us. Thus, His perfect life becomes our perfect life. His perfect suffering and death become our perfect suffering and death. And His perfect resurrection and life become our perfect resurrection and eternal life.
 

And He moves in us to respond with thanks and praise. Thanks be to God. Indeed, Jesus’ resurrection brings us back into a right relationship with Himself. Jesus’ resurrections means we are made just and right, we are justified in God’s eyes. God does it all through Jesus. We are passively given to and done to. God does, God gives and He stirs in us our response of praise.
 

Once again we celebrate Easter, the resurrection of our Lord. Once again we are renewed and refreshed in our faith and relationship with Jesus. Once again we have the opportunity to thank and praise, serve and obey Him for His great love and gifts.
 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.