He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
This year during the season of Lent through Easter Sunday morning we have been continuing what we started during our Advent season, that is we are looking at some of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah, passages including His life, trials, suffering and crucifixion and finding the New Testament passages that confirm their fulfillment in our Savior, Christ Jesus. Today we rejoice in Jesus resurrection.
By inspiration of God, King David prophesies of Jesus resurrection in the Psalm as he says, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). David spoke of Jesus resurrection, not outright saying Jesus would rise from the dead, but speaking of the fact that His body would not see corruption, that is His body would not rot in the grave.
We know, as we confess in our creeds that after His resurrection, before He showed Himself to be alive that Jesus descended into hell. His descent into hell was not to suffer because He had already suffered complete suffering and hell on the cross. Jesus descended into hell to declare victory over the devil, over sin, death and the devil.
And so, as David prophesied, Jesus’ body did not see corruption, it did not rot in the ground, it did not return to dust as we hear on Ash Wednesday, that we are dust and to dust we shall return. No, Jesus body did not see corruption because He rose from the dead.
Thus, David speaks of our own resurrection. Indeed, we have the promise that by faith in Jesus as our Savior that although we may pass on from this world, although we may die and our bodies may be put in the ground and return to dust, we will not be abandoned to Sheol or hell and our bodies will not see corruption. Our bodies, as promised by God, will be resurrected and made glories, perfect as was originally intended by God.
In his account of these events of Jesus’ life Matthew tells us, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matthew 16:21). Contrary to what some may say or believe, Jesus did speak about His suffering and death. As you read through the Gospels there are times that the disciples did not understand Jesus’ plan and there are times that He was rebuked by His disciples, especially Peter because they did not understand His plan of salvation. Here in this reading from Matthew Jesus again speaks of the events because they are at a place where they can understand and accept what will happen.
But notice that when Jesus speaks of the events to take place, of His suffering and dying, He always also speaks about His resurrection. In other words, Jesus always leaves His disciples and us with confidence in Him and in our eternal well being.
In his account of the events of this Easter morning, the Gospel writer Luke tells us, “36As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ 37But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate before them. 44Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high’” (Luke 24:36-49).
Although the doors are locked, for fear, Jesus, true God in human flesh enters the room because doors and walls are no match for His infinite nature. Just as an aside, for those who do not believe that Jesus can be locally present with His body and blood in His Holy Supper, as He promises, because they would suggest that He is in heaven and cannot be at two places at one time, this event of Jesus appearing in the room with His disciples shows that although we believe that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, in His body, because He is God, He can still be omnipresent, that is He can be locally present in all places, including His Holy Supper. He is God after all and He can do whatever He wants!
The disciples were afraid. Jesus was hung on a cross. They witnessed Him die. They had heard that the body was missing and they were prime suspects. Of course they were afraid. Yet, Jesus appears to them, in the flesh, though the doors were locked. And the first thing that Jesus does is He gives them peace. The peace He gives is true peace because the peace He gives is the forgiveness of sins. Without forgiveness we would be lost and in despair, but with forgiveness is peace and a renewed relationship with God.
Jesus gives them peace and He shows Himself to be alive. Actually, beginning with this appearance on Easter He will spend forty days showing Himself to be alive so that as many people as possible will bear witness of His resurrection. He shows the marks from the crucifixion so that there is no doubt that it is He.
And Jesus opens their minds to understand all that has happened. Even so, we know that it will not be until fifty days later, on the morning of Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit that all these events, as we say all the dots will be connected, but now they are ready to understand all that Jesus did and said. They will be able to understand God’s plan for their salvation and for the salvation of the world.
And finally, Jesus sends them out. Just as we come here on Sunday morning and are given the gifts of God, so that we are strengthened in our faith, we are not to keep the faith, that is keep it to ourselves, but we are to take the faith out with us into the mission field, always being ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in Jesus which we do in our vocations.
What does this mean? As you have heard me say many times, God’s Word is a word of power and authority. God’s Word effects, does and gives what it says. In the Garden of Eden, immediately after Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned, God stepped in and promised a Savior who would pay the price for sin, the price of death, hell.
God’s promise of a Savior, reiterated throughout the Old Testament was fulfilled in Jesus who was born as our substitute. What Adam and Eve could not do, what the whole nation of Israel could not do, what we could not and cannot do, live in perfection and be perfectly obedient to all of God’s laws and commands, Jesus did. Jesus, conceived in perfection by the Holy Spirit, true God and true man, born to be our substitute lived, obeyed, suffered, died for us, in our place.
Jesus fulfilled all Holy Scripture. He fulfilled all God’s promises, prophesies concerning the coming Messiah. He fulfilled and fully obeyed all of God’s laws and commands, perfectly. Of His own free will, not under compulsion nor by coercion He took our sins, all our sins and the sins of all people, of all places, of all times on Himself and paid the price for all sins, once for all.
Jesus earned and paid the price for sin by His suffering and death. And now He gives us what He earned, forgiveness and with forgiveness true peace. The peace Jesus gives is not simply a few moments or hours of calm in our world of chaos. His peace is a peace that comes only with knowing our sins are forgiven. In our sinful state we would be like the disciples, in fear, fear of the unknown, fear of God and punishment, fear and despair. But with forgiveness there is true peace. A reconciliation between God and us. A peace of the gift and promise of eternal life.
And so, with peace, Jesus sends us out. How can we not be sent? How can we not have the desire to share the good news of forgiveness, peace, life and salvation with others? Indeed, Jesus sends us out, not alone but with His authority to tell others, with His promise to be with us and His promise to give us the words to speak, words of forgiveness to the world.
As we celebrate on this Easter morning we are reminded of what a great God we have, what loving God we have, what a gift giving God we have a God who gives us peace through the forgiveness of our sins, and we are moved to rejoice in His gifts and in His means of giving us His gifts. We are constantly reminded of our Baptism and our being brought into His church with His name being put on us and faith being put into our hearts at our Baptism. We are reminded of the forgiveness we are given as we confess and hear those most wonderful words of Holy Absolution, that our sins are forgiven. We are reminded of all our Lord has done for us and all he will do through His Word read and preached. And we are reminded that as we come to His table, as we eat His body and drink His blood, in, with and under the bread and wine, that He becomes a part of us so that His perfect life becomes our perfect life. His perfect suffering and death becomes our perfect suffering and death. His resurrection becomes our resurrection and His eternal life in heaven becomes our eternal life in heaven. How can we not rejoice and declare, to God be the glory, for Jesus’s sake.
He is risen! He is risen, indeed, Alleluia! Amen.
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