"WHAT HAVE WE WITNESSED?"
Easter Day, the Resurrection of Our Lord
April 16, 2017
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
"We are witnesses of all that [Jesus] did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree, but God raised Him on the third day and made Him to appear."
Acts 10:39, 40 (ESV)
Not to make anybody feel guilty, but through the years I have often commented to people that you can't fully appreciate the festivities of an Easter service unless and until you have also experienced the somber mood of a Good Friday service. I say this because the contrast between the two observances is truly striking. What makes Easter so joyful is that it stands next to the mournful observance of our Lord's suffering and death on the cross. That stark contrast between life and death (which makes Easter burst forth with such great joy) is expressed so eloquently in our closing hymn for this morning:
"Christ is risen! All the sorrow
That last evening 'round Him lay
Now has found a glorious morrow
In the rising of today"
(Lutheran Book of Worship #131, stanza 3).
The danger in the unbridled joy that we celebrate today is that it can tempt us to forget all about the suffering and sadness that precedes it. It would be a great tragedy if we fell victim to that temptation because Easter is about the death of Jesus Christ just as much as it is about His resurrection. These two great historical events go hand-in-hand. The resurrection of Jesus doesn't cancel out His suffering death; it validates it. Without the suffering and death of Jesus, His resurrection means nothing, and without His resurrection, His suffering and death are also without meaning. But together these two events are the climax and culmination of the whole ministry of Jesus Christ on earth. In this morning's text the apostle Peter speaks of the disciples of Jesus as being witnesses of everything that Jesus did. He refers in particular to Jesus' death and His resurrection. And what he says challenges us to consider what we have witnessed.
And what have we witnessed? Like the disciples, we have witnessed the death of Jesus Christ. Maybe not in the same sense that they have--we weren't physically present as they were, nor did we actually see it with our own eyes as they did. But we are certainly familiar with the accounts given by those who were there. We know from those accounts that Jesus was put to death not in the fashion of the ancient Jews' exercise of capital punishment, which was stoning; Jesus was crucified according to Roman law. That may seem like a minor detail, but it becomes terribly significant when you bear in mind that God's Law required that sin be paid for by the shedding of innocent blood without the breaking of any bones. Jesus' death wasn't just a Roman execution; it was a blood sacrifice offered to God to make atonement for sin, so stoning just wouldn't fit the bill.
We are also witnesses of who it was that killed Jesus. The text before us says that "they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree," but it doesn't specifically identify just who "they" are. The context almost seems to suggest the Jews, and to this day many misguided people who call themselves Christians still blame the Jews for Jesus' death. Others place the responsibility for this miscarriage of justice squarely on the shoulders of Pontius Pilate, the cowardly Roman governor who handed down the death sentence out of fear. But I can tell you whose fault it really is. If you want to look at the guilty one face to face, just look in a mirror. You put Jesus to death and so did I. We put Him to death because it was our sins that put Him on the cross. Oh yes, He went willingly. He went because His love for us was so strong that He was determined to save us from the judgment and condemnation that we deserve at all costs, and the only way that He could do that was to bear the sentence Himself--the Innocent One suffering and dying in the place of the guilty.
But we have witnessed more than just His death. Through the testimony of those who were there we are witnesses also of His resurrection from the dead. Because of this testimony we know how it happened that this dead Man came back to life. Peter says in the text before us: "God raised Him on the third day." It was God who caused Jesus to return to life. And do you know why? It was to confirm in no uncertain terms that this was indeed the Son of God who fulfilled His purpose. The resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday is so important because it is God's stamp of approval on everything that Jesus did to accomplish the salvation of sinners. It is God's way of publicly declaring that He has accepted the sacrifice that His Son made for us. It is God's "Amen" to the Gospel of Jesus Christ--His approval of the forgiveness and New Life that Jesus promised to gain for us through His perfect life and His innocent suffering and death. That's why the resurrection is so important and that's why Easter is so special.
We are also told in the text that "God . . . made Him to appear." God not only raised Jesus from the dead; He also provided for the testimony of witnesses so that you and I, living some twenty-one centuries later, might hear and believe this Good News. To me, one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that Jesus really did rise from the dead is the existence of the Christian Church today. In looking at the original disciples of Jesus, you're not looking at a refined group of clever marketing experts. These were uneducated people who were so frightened and so timid that they went into hiding after Jesus was arrested and put to death. They were so skeptical that they didn't even believe their own friends--the women who first reported the news of the resurrection to them. And yet, as far as we can determine, within a few decades all of these men (except for one) died martyrs' deaths because they wouldn't shut up about this story of Jesus dying and rising again. Something had to have happened that convinced them beyond a doubt that it was true. That something, I believe, was the fact that the risen Christ Himself had appeared to them, comforted them in their grief, and raised their spirits.
Easter is a very special and glorious day. But it's not special and glorious for the reasons that many people ascribe to it. It's not merely a celebration of spring and the return of life to nature. It's not about warmer weather after a cold winter. Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His suffering and death accomplished our salvation and His resurrection confirms and proclaims it. By the power of the Holy Spirit we who believe in Him never cease to find that joy in Easter, especially when we face times of trial, confident that the One who overcame death and the grave for us can and will strengthen us to overcome whatever obstacle may cross our path as we live our lives to His glory. His victory is ours. That is His promise: "Because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19). All of it is ours because He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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