Tuesday, April 07, 2015
Devotions
“Jesus Goes Before You”
Mark 16:1-8
The Resurrection of Our Lord
April 5, 2015
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text, the angel declared, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here… he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This last week, as I read two Easter sermons on this text (one by Luther, one by Walther), I had to chuckle when I saw that both say their text is Mark 16:1-8, but neither say more than a paragraph or so before moving on to some loftier themes of the Resurrection. Why? Probably because there doesn’t seem a whole lot to say about these women. They leave so terrified that they don’t even bother to pass on the good news! Not a very festive way to begin this most festive of Christian festivals!
But, perhaps we can learn more from the women and this record of St. Mark. Obviously, we are meant to learn from it, otherwise the Holy Spirit would not have given it to us! But,what are we to learn?
Walther perhaps hints at the answer to this when his sermon includes words we Lutherans aren’t comfortable hearing. He says,“What must a person do if he wishes to enjoy the great comfort of Christ’s resurrection? … He must accept the justification of God that was awarded to the whole world, hence also to him, in Christ’s resurrection.” (Gospels I, 233).
“Accept the justification of God… in Christ’s resurrection” – that’s the phrase of Walther. But, by that he does not mean merely head knowledge (I believe that it happened), nor does he mean some supposed ability of self-surrendering of one’s soul (as the enthusiasts teach who say we must “accept Jesus into our heart” before he can save us). Rather, Walther means that a sinner oughtbelieve this good news to be true for his/herbenefit…
Now, if this is the case, consider what we learn from the women as St. Mark highlights their emotions (an outward expression of faith or the lack thereof). First, we learn how easily and quickly Christian hope can fade when left to our own powers. Their entire hope had been dashed that Friday, their hope of forgiveness,of heaven, of salvation… and a short three days later their biggest concern is, “Who will roll away the stone for us?” Really? That’syour concern? Not, “Am I still under God’s curse? Am I condemned to eternal damnation? Who will save me?” … but, “how will we enter the tomb?” In a short three days, they had completely given up believing in the promises of this Jesus.
When all hope is lost, the small things in life seem quite big to us. We worry about the tiniest of concerns – “How will I spend this week’s allowance? In high school, will I be considered popular? Will my stocks go up or down? Am I as healthy as I was yesterday or will be tomorrow?”… we hope in such things sometimes because we either are uncertain about or have grown complacent toward / taken for granted the answers to the big questions. Either that, or the practical is simply far more important to us… more ‘realistic’ to us. The women had a very real, very valid concern of how the stone would be rolled away – all the same, it appears that the women were either still in stunned disbelief that this had all happened, or they had given up hope that this Jesus was who He claimed to be.
But, the women are shaken from their malaise as they are met with the gospel – an angel says plainly, “Jesus is risen. The Jesus from Nazareth? The one who was crucified? He is risen.” Suddenly, figuring out how the stone was rolled away doesn’t seem so important! Suddenly there are bigger things to consider… such big things that Mark says the women are bewildered, amazed, ecstatic (but not an ‘ecstatic’ faith, but unbelief).
Sometimes, people glory in this type of ‘connection’ with the gospel. They think that if they ‘feel deeply moved’ by it, they will benefit from such experience. But, look at these poor women. So filled with bewilderment and stunned amazement that the Scriptures say, “Trembling and amazement had them /possessed them.”
A glorious encounter with the gospel is not the faith-maker people think it would be. The women were trembling, stunned with the sight.
Our God is so good, the gospel is such good news, it would grip us in a bewildered seizure / almost strike us dead if we received it in its full, unfiltered glory. (I suppose this is why the charismatics cling so intently to their ecstatic outer-body experiences, assuming it is the unfiltered glory of God.) But, such is not what God promises. Even filtered through the words of an angel, the gospel was more than the women could take.
Instead, Jesus speaks to us in Word and Sacrament as if through a still-small voice. And, even in this veiled form, the gospel is still glorious… it still does the work of angels and proclaims to sinners their free forgiveness and their victory in and resurrection with Christ Jesus. And, because God is so good to come to us in a gentleness we can take in without stunned amazement, we hear the comforting news the women missed: the angel promised, “Tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus goes before them (); it literally means, “He leads forth”… almost like leading a procession, just as the Scriptures say, “He led captivity captive.”
In other words, the angel tells the women, “Go forth in courage; have no fear… Jesus leads you, the good shepherd continually leading his sheep so that nothing can harm you.”
But the women don’t accept it because their bewilderment and amazement has turned into fear. The text ends with them running from the tomb “saying nothing to no one” (). Such fear, where there ought be nothing but joy! But, how can there be joy if one does not (as Walther says) accept the reality of the good news and believe it is for your benefit.
You see, we sinners, like the women, go from bewilderment and amazement to fear, don’t we? As the gospel is explained to us – that God became flesh and died for your sins and having overcome death rose from the dead and made sure that repentance and forgiveness would be preached to all nations… that thisrisen Lord Jesus continues to come to and dwell with his people each week to forgive and sustain and nourish them – as all of that is explained to us, our amazement at the possibility of it, our effort to grasp all of it, (as we follow our own devices) drives us to fear so that we say nothing to no one. Instead, we are in turmoil inside, “Is this too good to be true? Can the rest of the world have it so wrong? What will others think? Won’t this offend them, if I claim ‘Truth’? Will I not look the fool? What if this isn’t real? Is this gospel too risky to believe in? Am I not safer in covering my despair in things eternal by focusing on the little things… the ‘rolling away the stone’ things?”
But, let us not forget, everything hinges on the historical truth of this blessed festival we mark again today: Did Jesus rise from the dead, or didn’t he? If he did not, then our hope is in vain; this gathering is useless; this congregation is no more than a ‘religion club’singing to a piece of wood! And, most importantly, if Christ is not risen, then we are still in our sins with no answers to address the hopelessness of this fallen world and death’s ceaseless onslaught upon all nations and generations. If Christ is not risen from the dead, and everything ultimately leads to eternal death, your vocations are useless, your education is useless, your love for one another is useless, your hope for a better tomorrow is useless, because it is all vanity that ends in death that not even God could conquer… ifChrist is not risen from the dead.
But, there stands the empty tomb (and this is an apologetic we need to improve upon making, especially for the sake of our youth, who are so inundated with the influence of an increasingly secularistic society that doesn’t even acknowledge the historical truth of this Jesus and his death and resurrection)… there stands the empty tomb, and with it a deafening silence among Jesus’ detractors… Have you ever noticed that? Nowhere is there widespread denial of the empty tomb until the second century, until all the eyewitnesses were dead and could no longer testify. Only then – only 80-90 years after the resurrection – does the wave of naysayers spring up. But, in the yearsimmediately following Jesus’ resurrection, the chorus of testimony rings forth. St. Paul says, “If Christ is not risen, your hope is in vain… but Christ is risen from the dead” and “he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive (Paul says, ask them!). Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all… he appeared to me.”
And Paul’s confession goes on… some 25 years after the resurrection, Paul continues to write – this time to the Romans – in a manner that implies that everyone knew the resurrection of Jesus to be a fact. Paul says, “Righteousness will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” No need to defend the assertion. It’s a given!
Now, if Christ is risen from the dead, as St. Paul declares, as the angel declares, as the blood of martyrs declares, as the 500 witnesses declare, as the silence of the opposition declares, (as the risen Jesus himself declares!),then Jesus’ words to us are true,– “I have authority to lay down my life and take it up again.” And, if that’s true, then Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And, if that’s true, then you no longer remain in your sins for your Lord and King has shed his blood for you, redeemed you, justified you, raised you with him to be seated in his glory. And, if that’s true, your vocation is useful to serve your neighbor in the afterglow of the Resurrection; if it’s true, your education is useful to learn about a fallen, but redeemed world; if it’s true, your love for one another is rooted in something much more firm than simply saying, “I love you… until I don’t.” And, most importantly, if the resurrection is true… then Christ is the firstfuits of the resurrection; you are the secondfruits. If Christ is risen, you too will be raised from the dead… not just a spirit-filled heavenly peace, but a physical, tangible resurrection… the mortal putting on immortality, the perishable putting on the imperishable. You, living as perfect flesh and blood, forever… if Jesus is risen from the dead.
Everything stands and falls with the resurrection of Christ Jesus. This is even how the Holy Spirit works, isn’t it? The Holy Spirit works by the authority of Christ, and Christ claims his authority with his resurrection. So also, after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit is busy working faith in the hearts and understanding in the minds of many whobefore the resurrection of Christ could not believe:
John’s gospel has repeatedly reminded us of this. When Jesus said “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again,” John’s gospel says, “When he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture.” Andlast week, John told us about the Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem, saying, “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him.” And, this is all what Jesus had promised, saying that the work of the Holy Spirit would come from the authority of the resurrection: “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand” and again, “The Spirit will bring to your remembrance all things I have said toyou.”
How odd is that, when you think about it. Usually, people put their hope in someone untilhis death proves his limitations to deliver on his promises. But, it is after Jesus’ death, with his resurrection, that those who formerly did not understand now remember and accept the promises and believe the benefit, so that their hearts swell with courage at the words of the angel: “Jesus is risen, and He goes before you… just as he told you.”
That should bring encouragement to all who fear – you, the women, the disciples, and especially those stuck in sin, like Peter was. After all, is not Peter singled out specifically for that reason? He had been burdened with his three-fold denial and needed to hear that this all was for him, too. The angel says, “Go tell the disciples and Peter” – and with that all sinners should include their names: “Go tell the disciples and (you)”… tell you what? “Jesus lives, and he goes before you. Be not afraid. Take courage. Christ is risen!”
In the Name of the Father
And of the Son
And of the Holy Spirit.
+ AMEN +
Rev. Mark C. Bestul
Calvary Lutheran Church
April 5, 2015
8
Prayers for the week of April 5, 2015
Lord God, heavenly Father, on this glorious day fill Your people with a holy courage at the resurrection of Your Son, that we might tremble no longer before the grave but rejoice and live in the truth of Your almighty power to save. Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Rejoicing, now, in the eternal alleluias of Your innumerable angels and the assembly of the saints in heaven and in this holy celebration of Your saints on earth, we lay our petitions before You, O Father, trusting in Your mercy through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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“And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him’” Mark 16:6
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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer
“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Lord, “If you would mark iniquities, O Lord, who would stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.” As a Father who deeply loves His children, You promise to freely forgive us as we repent of our sins. To that end, lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:
* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, without You, man has no hope for the sick to be healed or the sinner to be forgiven; yet You have shown Your power and will to do both. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Peg Pflueger, Edna Citizen, Myrtle Stade who are hospitalized with illness and infection and all those recovering from recent hospitalization
* Hear my prayer for Debbie Taylor, Sue Ail and all those who bear their crosses of afflictions ; comfort them with the certainty that – because their sins have been forgiven on account of Christ Crucified and they may be certain that you will provide for their temporal health and their eternal well-being, in accord with Your will.
* For the anxious, lonely: O God, You promise to answer those who call upon You in their day of trouble. Hear my prayer on behalf of Please bless Calvary shut-ins Fern Weddle, LaVerne Andersen, Bruce Morecraft, and Alice Breneman and all widows and widowers of Calvary and forgive them where – in trial and tribulation – they grow weary and doubt your Word. Strengthen them through Your Word of Truth and its promises, reminding them that – because they are forgiven in Christ – nothing can separate them from Your love.
* For the mourning: O Lord, You take no delight in the death of even the wicked, but desire all men to be saved, and have given Your only-begotten Son to bear the sins of all the world. Hear my prayer on behalf of all who mourn the death of a loved ones. Comfort them with the promise that we have been forgiven in Christ, so that all who die in Christ still live with Him in paradise. Comfort them in their time of sorrow, that they would not grieve as those who have no hope, but as those to whom belongs the certain hope of “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”
* For the rejoicing: O Lord, because You have paid the redemption price in Christ, and have forgiven all our trespasses, You also delight in giving us every blessing under heaven. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of Sarah and Will at the apparent quick sale of their house and all who today rejoice at joyful occasions. Grant them and myself thankful heart s that rejoice in the many blessings that flow to us as those forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.
* Bless Michelle L, in Nebraska who requests prayers on behalf of Alexander- for deliverance (from cultic beliefs), and that God would eliminate every obstacle that comes into Alexander’s way that keeps him from knowing and trusting in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
* Bless Joe Hibbs, my niece Roxanne, my daughter Anne, my sons Paul, Kevin, Ryan, and Mark and my wife and myself as we are afflicted with sin and its consequences. Please bless them with faith and trust in Christ for their temporal benefit and for their eternal salvation.
* Bless all Christians throughout the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
* Bless the Church, that she may remain faithful in her confession
Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, in Whom we have the forgiveness of sins and, thus, the right to come to you as dear children who have been taught to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”
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