SID
convention
Lk
24:36-49
2/22/25
It
is difficult to fathom what was going through the minds of the disciples on the
morning of Easter. They had followed
Jesus during his ministry. They had
heard his teaching which demonstrated such remarkably profound understanding of
the Scriptures – a teaching which had an authority that others perceived. They had seen the dramatic miracles he had
worked as he cast out demons, healed the sick, fed thousands, and raised the
dead.
Peter
had confessed before the disciples that Jesus was the Christ of God, and certainly
the thoughts of the other disciples were the same. Even though they didn’t believe it, his opponents
had drawn the conclusion that Jesus carried himself as if he was the Christ.
There
was a variety of expectation in first century Judaism about what the Christ –
the Messiah – would be like. But the
point that held all of them together was the assumption that the Christ would
be mighty, powerful, and victorious. He
would break his opponents with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel. He would strike
the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips he would kill the wicked, as Psalm 2 and Isaiah 11 stated – the two
verses most frequently quoted about the Christ by Jews of this time.
There
was one sure proof that a person was not the Christ. A person was not the Christ if the Romans
killed him. And on Friday, they had killed Jesus. He had not died gloriously fighting in a
great battle. Instead, the Romans had tortured and executed him as a criminal
by crucifixion. They had hung him on a
tree in the most humiliating and shameful form of death.
The
hopes and expectations of the disciples had been dashed. They had experienced sorrow on Saturday, the
sabbath. And then on the first day of the week, strange things had begun to
happen. Women had gone to the tomb where
they did not find Jesus’ body. Instead, they reported that they had seen angels
who announced that Jesus was alive.
Peter and John had run to the tomb, and they too found it empty.
Later
on, Peter announced that he had seen Jesus raised from the dead. Then two disciples returned from Emmaus with
news that they had seen Jesus as he was known to them in the breaking of the
bread. Our text tells us that as they
were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said
to them, “Peace to you!”
The
disciples were shocked. Their first conclusion was that they must be seeing a
spirit – a common belief in the ancient world. But Jesus said, “Why are you
troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See 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.”
The Lord showed them his hands and
his feet. He showed them the evidence
that this was the same body that had been nailed to the cross. Then he even asked for some food as he ate a
piece of broiled fish before them. The Lord demonstrated beyond any doubt that
he had risen from the dead.
Christ
then said to the disciples, “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.”
Our Lord declared that his life and ministry had been a fulfillment of
God’s revelation in the Old Testament.
Next
Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said, “Thus it
is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise
from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”
Jesus
said that his suffering, death, and resurrection had been foretold – had been
directed – by the Scriptures. His death had been no tragic and unjust
mistake. Instead, it had been a
necessary part of God’s plan. As Jesus
had said earlier to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, “O foolish ones,
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not
necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter
into his glory?”
At
the Last Supper Jesus had said, “For I tell you that this Scripture must
be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’
For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” At his baptism, Jesus
had been designated as the Servant of the Lord of Isaiah’s prophecy. He was the suffering Servant upon whom the
Lord laid the iniquity of us all. His
death had been necessary because on the cross he had been wounded for our
transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He received God’s judgment
against our sin.
Jesus
had died on the cross, and had been buried.
But death had not been the end for Christ. Instead, he had passed through death in order
to defeat it. God had raised Jesus on
that day of Easter. Jesus’ death on Good Friday seemed to prove that he was not
the Christ. But in the resurrection, God
had vindicated Jesus. He had shown that
suffering and death was Christ’s saving work for us. And now he had entered
into his glory as the risen Lord.
Jesus
had died and risen from the dead. And
now in fulfillment of Scripture, repentance and forgiveness of sins were to be
proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. The disciples were to go forth in this work
because, as Jesus said, “You are witnesses of these things.”
Repentance
and the forgiveness of sins. The
disciples were to proclaim this, and it continues to be the message of Christ’s
Church today. It is the message of Law
and Gospel. It is a word that we
continue to need – a word that we will always need. When St. Paul spoke to the pastors at
Miletus, he summarized his ministry by saying: “I did not shrink from
declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public
and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks
of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
We
face the ongoing struggle against the old Adam in us. The proclamation of God’s Word continues to
confront the sin present in our lives.
It reveals our false gods. It shows how we do not love our neighbor as
ourselves. It causes contrition and
repentance as we confess this sin to God.
And
in the Gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection for us we receive the comfort of
forgiveness. We hear the word of
absolution that the risen Lord speaks to us through his called servant. We
return to our baptism in faith, for there we have shared in the saving death
and resurrection of Christ. We receive
the true body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of
sins.
Repentance
and the forgiveness of sins in Christ.
This is the word that Christ’s Church has been charged to proclaim to
the world around us. Now, more than
ever, we live in a culture that wants nothing to do with repentance. It bristles at the notion that God has
ordered life and creation according to his will – that there is a right and
wrong way to live. It often responds
with indifference to the message about Christ.
The
temptation for the Church is to follow the way of the culture – to try to fit
in. But this is not what the risen Lord says in our text. And this is not why he has sent his
Spirit. Jesus says at the end of our
text, “And 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.” Christ fulfilled his promise on
Pentecost. Ascended and exalted to God’s
right hand, the Lord Jesus poured forth the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
The Spirit of Christ enables us to continue to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins. He strengthens us to be faithful in calling people to repentance – to speak God’s law. He leads us to preach the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Through this word he calls people to faith in Christ where and when he wills in those who hear the Gospel.
On
Easter, the risen Lord appeared in the midst of his disciples. We rejoice that Jesus who was crucified, has
been raised from the dead. His death and resurrection was the fulfillment of
all that was written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. Now, by his Spirit, the Church proclaims repentance
and forgiveness of sins in Christ to all.
We proclaim this as we look for his return in glory on the Last Day when
he will raise the dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment