The Resurrection - April 21, 2019 - Easter Morning - Text: Psalm 16:10

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

Our text for this morning is Psalm sixteen verse ten: “10For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” This is our text.
 

As you have heard me say time and again, we get it right when we point to Jesus. Over the past weeks, during our Lenten season we have been looking at the prophesies of the Old Testament that pointed to Jesus. We have heard only some of the prophecies of the Old Testament, but there are many more all of which point to Jesus, the coming Savior, Messiah and Christ. Last Friday we witnessed Jesus’ trial. Today we celebrate His resurrection.
 

This morning, this Easter Sunday morning we once again celebrate that we have seen the prophecies of old fulfilled in Jesus especially concerning His resurrection as King David himself, speaking as God spoke through him announce Jesus’ resurrection as he says, “10For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” (Psalm 16:10).
 

As we have been reminded time and again and as we have seen history all of history, what we call B.C. or before Christ and as the attempt has been made to remove Christ from history today we have the designation as B.C.E. meaning before the common era, which simply fails to define the common era, but since the numbers have not changed we know that the common era has to do with the birth of Jesus, thus we see how history points to Jesus.
 

We also see how history with the designation A.D. “anno domini,” translated meaning in the year our Lord or, again as the attempt to remove Jesus from history, today we have the designation C.E. or common era and again we understand that the common era is one which points to Jesus. Our calendar simply will not let us forget that Jesus is the center, the main point, the person around whom all of history points. As I suggested in the early sunrise service the word history might be two words, His story and in particular, and how fitting as we are reminded that all history points to Jesus all history is His story.
 

Moving on into the New Testament, the New Testament begins with the four Gospels which give us a more detailed history of Jesus, who is a true historical person. The Christian faith is not simply one of the religions of the world, rather it is the religion. All other religions, cults and sects are based on tales, myths, lore, fables and the like. The Christian Church is grounded in the facts of human history, Jesus’ story.
 

We rejoice in the fact that God gives us four witnesses of Jesus’ life. The four Gospels speak the truth of Jesus’ life, suffering, death and resurrection. Jewish law, and perhaps, although I am not an expert, I would suggest that most legal systems throughout the world, in order to be fair would rule that a person cannot be convicted simply by the word of one witness. Thus, God gives us four witnesses, four gospel accounts of Jesus’ history.
 

However, unlike any ordinary history book, the four Gospels of God’s Word are filled with power, the power to give the gifts God has to give. Thus we understand that God’s Word is what we call a means of grace. The Word of God is one of the ways, one of the means that He has of coming to us to give to us the gifts and blessings He has to give. Of course we understand that the other means of grace, the other ways and means through which God gives us the gifts and blessings He has to give are the simple ordinary earthly means of water, bread and wine.
 

Thus, we might well proclaim with all confidence that the four Gospels prove Jesus is the Savior. Although it has been suggested that one cannot prove the words of the Bible, we are told in Acts that Paul proved that Jesus was the Christ. I would submit the fact that nothing in history or archeology has ever disproved the Bible.
 

Today we come and we celebrate. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. We celebrate that the resurrection gives us of proof of God’s Love for us. As Jesus reminds us, no greater love can anyone have than this that one will lay down their life for another and that is exactly what Jesus did, He gave His life, His perfect life for us, taking our sins upon Himself in order to pay the price for our sins.
 

Jesus; resurrection is proof of Jesus substitutionary role in our forgiveness and salvation. The price for sin was set in the Garden of Eden and the price was death to the one who sinned. In other words, human death for human sin was the price that was set. The ceremonial laws of the sacrificial system did nothing to gain or earn or pay for that eternal forgiveness, rather they were a reminder of the price for sin, death, the shedding of blood, human blood and pointed to the one ultimate sacrifice of a human, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Jesus Himself.
 

The resurrection is proof of God’s acceptance of Jesus’ life for ours. When God looks at Jesus He sees our sins and Jesus’ death for our sin. When God looks at us, by faith in Jesus He sees us as perfect and holy and He is satisfied.
 

The resurrection is proof that we worship a living God who gives us life. Indeed, as we celebrate today and every Sunday, death and the grave had no power over Jesus. He rose from the dead victorious over sin, death and the devil. We worship a living God.
 

And so we do celebrate. We celebrate that God has and had chosen us even before creation. As an omniscient, all knowing God, He knew what was going to happen even before it happened and yet He created this world and us anyway, because of His great love for us. God chose us from before He began creation. He chose us to create us and to redeem us.
 

We celebrate God’s gift to us. We celebrate His gift of life at conception. At conception we are created by God, given a body and a soul and we are truly living human beings. All life begins at conception. Yet, as we are reminded by David, we are conceived and born in sin, thus we are conceived and born spiritually dead, spiritually blind and enemies of God. Yes, as we have been reminded through the Lenten Season, it was not the Jewish nation, not the Jewish ruling council, not the Romans, but it was us and our sins for which Jesus was punished, suffered and died.
 

And yet, we celebrate God’s gift of new life through Holy Baptism. At our baptism, as God promised, and remember it is His Word which gives the power to the plain water which is poured over us. At our Baptism, God, using the hands of the pastor and the voice of the pastor puts water on us and speaks His name on us. It is at our baptism that God puts faith in our hearts, forgives our sins, writes our names in the book of life and makes us His own.
 

We celebrate God’s gift of Himself in His Word and Holy Supper. As we hear God’s Word read and proclaimed we know that His Word does what it says and gives the gifts of which it speaks, faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. We know that in His Holy Supper it is the Word which gives power to the simply ordinary means of bread and wine. As God speaks His Word in our ear and as we eat the bread and His body and drink the wine and His blood so they are His body and blood given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. His body and blood become a real part of us so that His perfect life, suffering, death and resurrection become ours.
 

We celebrate God’s good gifts and blessings through His Word and sacraments including confession and absolution. As we begin our Divine Services entering into God’s presence in our sin and so confessing those sins so that we might enter worthily, we hear God speak, again, through the mouth of His called servant, the pastor and telling us that our sins are forgiven.
 

We celebrate God’s gifts through Jesus. Again, we get it wrong when we point to ourselves. There is nothing we can do to gain, earn or pay for our sins. We can never be obedient enough, good enough, do enough good deeds, or work hard enough. There is nothing we can add to what Jesus has done. Indeed, to point to ourselves would be to reject what Jesus gives and would be to suggest that what Jesus did was not enough. We get it right when we point to Jesus, just Jesus and only Jesus. Jesus does it all and gives it all to us. Jesus was conceived and born for us. Jesus lived perfectly for our in our place. Jesus took our sins and suffered and died paying the price for our sins. Jesus rose victorious over sin, death and the devil. Jesus gives us faith through the waters of Holy Baptism. Jesus gives us forgiveness of sins through Holy Absolution. Jesus gives, strengthens and keeps us in faith through His Holy Word and through His Holy Supper. Jesus does and gives and we are done to and given to and we rejoice and give Him thanks and praise.
 

Today we celebrate what a great, loving, living, gift giving God we have. We point to Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith. We have our surest confidence knowing that our forgiveness and salvation come from outside of us, from the One to which all of Holy Scripture and all of history points, Jesus, just Jesus. We rejoice and say, to God be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen. He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.