"THE 'WHY?' OF EASTER"
Second Sunday of Easter
April 23, 2017
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
These [things] are written so 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 (ESV)
The Sunday after Easter always seems to be somewhat of a letdown, especially for pastors--so much so that many of them choose to take this weekend off. Their problem is this: What can a preacher possibly say or do today that would be a fitting encore to proclaiming the glorious and joyful resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? I even know some people who "affectionately" call this Sunday in the church year "Low Sunday." Today is the day when everything seems to get back to normal, so to speak. Most of the special Easter flowers that adorned our chancel last week are gone. The Christ who rose from the dead is still very much alive, to be sure, but everything after Easter seems to pale by comparison with the great and sudden outburst of joy that marks the day of resurrection. In another month and a half (after Pentecost and Trinity Sunday) we will be in what is called the "non-festival" half of the church year, during which we will observe no special Sundays (with one minor exception) until Reformation and All Saints' in the fall.
The celebration of Easter having come and gone, it can be frustrating to try to sort out just what it all means. Our Savior has suffered and died for our sins and He has been raised from the dead to life again. How can anything get "back to normal" after all of that? The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not just a holiday--not just one day on the calendar; it is the very substance of everything that we are, say, and do as Christians. This is not a myth or a legend, nor is it just some story whose real meaning is merely symbolic. There is a very real and a very important purpose to the story of Jesus rising from Joseph's garden tomb. In the passage before us this morning John the evangelist tells us what it's all about and why he was moved to record the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. He says that it was so "that [we] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in His name."
The resurrection of Jesus and the accounts of it that we find in the Scriptures give us a reason to "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." Think about it: When a person makes claims for himself that are out of the ordinary, how can you know whether or not that person is telling you the truth? It's easy: You wait to see if he can make good on his claims. In His resurrection from the dead Jesus made good on every claim that He had ever made for Himself and every promise that He had ever made to those who believe in Him. He proved that He really is the divine Son of God that He claimed to be; that everything that He did and taught is valid and true; that God has accepted the sacrifice that He made on our behalf to atone for our sins; and that His promise of resurrection and New Life for us is a promise that He can deliver on. The Biblical accounts of the resurrection tell us the story in very simple terms that we can easily understand. Without these reports we could have no faith, because we would have no knowledge of what Jesus did or said or claimed or promised. Having the facts in front of us is essential if we are to understand them and accept them as true.
But even after we know what the Word of God says about Jesus' death and resurrection, and even after we believe that what the Word of God says about these events is true, there is still something lacking. Faith in Jesus Christ is more than just a knowledge of the historical facts and an assent to the truth of these facts; genuine faith also involves trust. You could hear the story of Jesus and believe that it is true, but still not feel that it has anything at all to do with you. When Christians say that they have faith in Jesus Christ, they mean that they trust in Him and in Him alone for their status before God. They mean that if God were to ask them why He should let them into His heaven, they would boldly answer: "because Jesus Christ redeemed me from sin and death by His perfect life and His innocent suffering and death--and His resurrection from the dead proves it." Having faith in Christ means "putting all of your eggs in one basket," as they say, in regard to your eternal destiny with no backup plan--no "safety net.".
The promise of God's Word (and especially the text before us this morning) is that those who have this kind of faith in Jesus have life through Him. And we're not talking here about mere physical life; this is the New Life that is known by many names: the Christian life, New Life in Christ, everlasting life, eternal life. It is the spiritual life of those who belong to Christ through their faith in Him--the life that is ours because we have been united with the slain and risen Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Most people think of this life exclusively in terms of heaven. That is certainly the most comforting part of it, but there is a lot more to it than that. Heaven is something that we have to wait for. It's on the other side of death for us. The life that is ours in Jesus is a life that begins as soon as we are baptized in His name and begin to trust in Him and it goes on forever. It is this life that enables us to respond to the grace of God revealed in Christ by glorifying Him in everything that we say and do, being willing to serve Him by serving our neighbor, often through our active participation in the various ministries of His Church. It is this life that we live to His glory as we spend it sharing with others the same Good News about Jesus Christ, of whom we have heard, and in whom we believe and place our trust.
The New Life in Christ reaches its glorious conclusion when our days here on this earth are ended. It is then that we follow in our Savior's footsteps through death and the grave and into everlasting glory. Death is a frightening thing--for most people it is probably the most frightening thing in all of life. That's why even the Holy Scriptures refer to it as "the last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:26). But it doesn't have to be that way. If our confidence is in Christ we don't have to be afraid to die, because Jesus has led the way for us. He has shown us that suffering can be endured and death can be overcome. It is the Risen One Himself who has promised us: "Because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19). In His own resurrection He has shown us that He is as good as His Word.
When Easter is over many are tempted to ask, "So what?" What difference does it make? It makes all the difference in the world. What is the meaning of it all? It means everything. The real answer to all of these questions is faith and life. The fact of Jesus' resurrection from the dead gives us a reason to believe in Him as our Savior and Lord, and that in turn gives us New Life in Him--a New Life that begins now and carries us through life and death and ultimately to the everlasting life that awaits us. That Easter hope is ours not only on Easter Sunday or for a few days in the spring, but every day of our lives, as the risen Christ Himself, through His Holy Spirit, lives that New Life in us and through us to the glory of the One who has given it to us.
Amen.
May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the everlasting covenant equip you thoroughly for the doing of His will. May He work in you everything which is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.