[Luke 24:44-46] …Then 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.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead…”
Fulfilling the Scriptures
One way to lift ourselves up is to bring others down, right? Of course, we learn that it never really works. Yet, there are ways in which we do it to the Lord our God.
To lift up our own reason or opinions – our own way of thinking – decisions we’ve made or actions we would like to take – to a higher rung of the ladder, we are tempted to bring the Scriptures, God’s Word, to a lower place than where they belong.
For some, the motive is to cling to traditions or what we’re familiar with. For others, it’s to avoid Scripture’s moral commandments. Others struggle with the severity of God’s judgment as expressed in Scripture. And yet others struggle with the generosity of the Gospel’s free forgiveness as expressed in Scripture.
And, we might remember in the Easter season, that for many individuals, it’s those big, miraculous things in Scripture – like the six-day creation in Genesis – or the flood – or Jonah swallowed by the fish – or the virgin birth of Jesus – His many miracles – or, His bodily resurrection from the dead on Easter – that are hard to believe, and we are tempted to bring the Scriptures lower.
In various ways, to lift up our life-decisions, our opinions, our ways of thinking, or our human reason to a higher rung on the ladder, we are tempted to put Scripture, the Bible, lower than where it belongs.
Why bring this up on the Third Sunday of Easter? Because in our Gospel reading today, the risen, living, resurrected Jesus Himself points to the Scriptures in regard to His resurrection.
As the Church, we can look to the perfect Man, the risen, living Jesus Christ, to see at what great height He holds the Scriptures – and, therefore, at what great height we ought to hold them.
On the evening of His resurrection, Jesus appears to His disciples. He shows them His hands and feet. They handle Him to see that He is flesh and bone. At first, they doubt for fear. Then, they disbelieve for joy.
But Jesus tells them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me – “Scripture” means “the writings” – in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms – a way of referring to the Old Testament Scriptures – must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead…”
At what height does the risen Shepherd of the Church hold Scripture? In reference to His resurrection from the dead, Jesus tells His disciples, “I was fulfilling Scripture.” Jesus, risen from the dead, stands in front of His disciples and points to Scripture, saying, “There I am.”
Jesus then opens their minds to understand the Scriptures. With their minds opened to the Scriptures, then they can understand what they’re looking at in front of them on Easter.
Scripture is held at the highest heights on the day of His resurrection, and Jesus tells His disciples that it was necessary for Him to fulfill them.
In fact, from His conception to the events surrounding His birth – to His preaching and miracles – to the details of His humiliation, suffering, and death – and to His bodily resurrection from the dead – it is repeated again and again, throughout the four Gospels, that He did these things – and that these things happened – in order to fulfill the Scriptures.
The Scriptures had to be fulfilled – they had to be kept and accomplished – because they are God’s Word. Jesus came to do the will of His Father in Heaven, and has done it completely.
Jesus said of the Scriptures, “Scripture cannot be broken” [John 10:35]. The apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is breathed out by God” [2 Timothy 3:16]. The apostle Peter said, regarding the authorship of Scripture, that “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” [2 Peter 1:20-21].
(And in the time of the apostles, they were already regarding the New Testament writings as Scripture – 1 Timothy 5:18; Luke 10:7; 2 Peter 3:16.)
Scripture is the Word of God. And Scripture, all throughout, is about Jesus – “everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms…”
More amazing still, the Bible is God’s Word written – and Jesus Himself is God’s Word made flesh [John 1:1-14]. That’s a mystery beyond understanding. But a lower view of God’s Word in Scripture leads to a lower view of God’s Word altogether, even in the person of Jesus.
What does all this mean? Does it mean we throw out every proper use of human reason? Does it mean we throw out all human observation and thought as worthless? Of course not.
But it does mean we rejoice that in Scripture we have something that is more and greater than everything else. Greater than all other words. Truer than all other knowledge.
The Scriptures are true and reliable in every respect. If they’re not, then we have no reliable record of a single word of Jesus either. But if Jesus is true, then Scripture is also true – because the risen Jesus pointed to the Scriptures to show us Himself.
Every person has very basic questions that need to be answered: “What am I?” “Where did I come from?” “What am I worth?” “I know certain things are wrong and certain things are right, but what is it based on?”
“What about my wrongs, my sins?” “What can be done with those?” “Am I forgiven?”
And, “What about when I die, what happens?” “What happens to my body?”
In Scripture, you are not an animal. You are created. You are made in the image of God. You are accountable to God. You sin, and are not the person you ought to be, because we are all fallen in sin, fallen from that image.
In Scripture, you see that the Son of God, Jesus, died for you – in your place, for your wrongs. You see that He paid with His life for you. That gives you tremendous worth. It means that you are forgiven. Jesus has accomplished it.
And you see in Scripture that your body will not end ruined in the grave. Jesus has conquered death. He is risen from the dead to never die again. He will “swallow up death forever” [Isaiah 25:8; 1 Corinthians 15:54]. “Because I live, you also will live”, Jesus says [John 14:19].
Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” [Matthew 24:35]. No matter what the struggle with faith is, we can never lift ourselves or others up by setting Scripture lower.
Instead, in the Scriptures we have that which is greater than our doubts and struggles, greater than heaven and earth. There, the risen Jesus still opens minds and hearts to know Him and all He has done for us. Amen.
[1 John 1:3] “…that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
That They Too May Have Fellowship with Us
This is said so often that it’s become cliché – but, nevertheless, we’ll say it – the world around us has become increasingly polarized. “Us versus them.” It is true that, in recent years, an “us versus them” mindset has increased and become more entrenched.
Maybe we shouldn’t expect any better from the world, but each of us truly can and should expect better from our own selves. Each one of us has been redeemed by Christ-Crucified to be something different. “Us versus them” is not meant to be the status quo mindset for believers in Christ.
“Us versus them” is not the norm in the baptized child of God. It is the norm in our old sinful nature which still clings to us. Therefore, this is one of those things that we are called to daily repent of and put away. And there is a new way of thinking that we are to daily take up.
The early Christian community which we read briefly about in Acts 4:32-35 is an example for us, both in their mindset toward each other and toward the world around them. “The full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”
This is not a proposal about the economy or politics – but it is a description of a people whose way of thinking changed. “My” and “mine” were no longer the dominant thoughts.
Instead, there was dedication to a common goal. Perhaps, dedication to the “new commandment” of their crucified and risen Savior to “love each other as I have loved you” – and to show the world whose disciples they are by their love for one another [John 13:34-35].
And we see in this reading – and in our second reading [1 John 1:1–2:2] – dedication to the common goal of proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus to the world around them. “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”
They knew who they were and what their calling was. The goal of the gospel – of proclaiming the resurrection of their Savior – shaped their heart and mind toward one another. And – this is the main point today – it shaped the mentality of their hearts and minds toward the world around them.
In the church, you are not alone. The church is the body of those who believe in Christ. In the church, together, you have fellowship with God, your Creator, through Jesus Christ, His Son, your Redeemer.
These early Christians had that fellowship with God through Jesus, and suffered much adversity from the world around them. Persecuted in their homeland, and then persecuted abroad. Hated, and sometimes put to death, for proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.
Yet, by and large, they did not fall prey to the mindset of “us versus them.”
Their hearts and minds were dedicated to winning men and women for Christ instead of saying, “It’s us versus them.”
In the face of a world that was actively persecuting them – and which advanced the same forms of sin and immorality you see in your world – the Christians said, “We are here for them – that they too may gain knowledge of their Savior, be redeemed from sin, and receive this same salvation that we have received in Jesus Christ.”
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands… we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” [1 John 1:1-3]
The Apostle John and all the apostles – and five hundred other disciples – saw, heard, witnessed, and even touched their resurrected Savior. Jesus met with the apostles in the upper room on Easter evening. He showed them His hands and side. He spoke to them, “Peace be with you.”
What they had seen and heard, they went out and proclaimed so that – as Jesus promised – others would also receive the forgiveness of sins in the fellowship of the church, the body of Christ. [John 20:19-23]
What do you hear and see in your fellowship in the church?
In this fellowship here, you are gathered in the name of Jesus, and therefore the risen, living Jesus is in your midst when you gather, as He promised – “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them” [Matthew 18:20; Matthew 28:20].
Here, you have deliverance from darkness and the forgiveness of your wrongdoing – “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” [Colossians 1:13-14]
“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” – here you have fellowship in His light – “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” [1 John 1:5-7]
Here, we find a place to be honest about ourselves, not needing to convince ourselves we’re doing better than we are: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:8-9]
Here, in fellowship with God our Creator, and with His Son, our Redeemer, we have a place where – by God’s power – we are learning how to do better and become better men and women.
At the same time, in the same place, we are met with mercy and new beginnings when we fail or fall: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” [1 John 2:1]
What we have here is the best thing on earth, the best thing in the world – when we remember why we are here, what we are gathered for, and what our mission is.
And what we have here is for us to share: “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” [1 John 2:2]
Not “us versus them”, but “Us for them” with the Gospel, that they too may find salvation in their Redeemer. Amen.
[John 20:1-18] “…Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.”
Believe and See
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
And if I could see it, I would believe it. Right? “If I could see it with my own eyes, then I could believe.” “I want to believe, but I need to see.” Or, more cynically, “I only believe what I can see.”
Of course, if we do see something very amazing – something spectacular that defies our reason – we say, “I see it, but I don’t believe it!” “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
We, in fact, often deny things that are right before our eyes – or right under our nose – if those things are contrary to what we expect – or contrary to what we would like to believe. Our preconceptions and predeterminations can influence us more strongly than evidence, proof, and sight.
Among the many things we see in our Easter gospel readings from Holy Scripture, one is that even for Mary Magdalene and other disciples, believing in the resurrection of Jesus took more than seeing it.
To start, believing the resurrection of Jesus took more than hearing of it.
It’s Sunday morning, the third day from the Lord’s suffering and death (counting Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in their way of counting days). Jesus had taught His disciples, multiple times, in plain words, throughout their time together, that He would be crucified, would die, and, on the third day, would be raised from the dead.
Yet on the third day, His disciples and Mary Magdalene and others do not go to His tomb expecting Him to be alive. They expect a deceased body.
We know from Mark’s Gospel that when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early that morning, she came carrying spices, along with the other women, to further anoint the body of Jesus – which was their custom for caring for the dead.
We read this morning, that when Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb and saw the stone rolled away, she didn’t say, “He’s risen! He’s risen! Just as He said!” No, instead she ran to the disciples, Peter and John, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” [John 20:2]
Peter and John run to the tomb. They look in. They go in. Only then does it dawn on at least one of them what’s going on – “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead” [John 20:9]. They did not wake up that morning expecting a risen Jesus.
Mary Magdalene, that faithful woman who loved her Lord so much, remained in great distress. She remains at the empty tomb, weeping in sadness. Peter and John go home.
Mary then even sees two angels, dressed in white. The angels ask her, “Why are you weeping?” And again she answers, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
Mary then turns and sees! She sees the resurrected Jesus standing outside the tomb! Sees with her own eyes! Yet, she does not see. She is looking at her Lord right before her eyes but still does not know Him as the resurrected Jesus. “She turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.”
This isn’t unique to Mary Magdalene. Later that day, Jesus will appear to two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus [Luke 24:13-35]. They also will not recognize Jesus. Not until they recognize Him when He breaks bread at their table.
Maybe it’s that Jesus’ appearance is so different in His resurrected glory, as opposed to His humiliation, that they just can’t recognize His looks. But Mary doesn’t confuse Jesus with a mighty king or an angel from heaven. Mary confuses the resurrected Jesus with the gardener, the groundskeeper.
Looking right in the face of her resurrected Savior, Mary Magdalene, “Supposing him to be the gardener”, said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him.”
When does she believe? We remember it: “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’” Then she turns and says, “Rabbi!” “Teacher!” Suddenly her seeing eyes were opened. She could finally see what was already right in front of her eyes.
Coming to faith in your crucified and resurrected savior Jesus Christ is not a matter of seeing something that isn’t already there. It’s a matter of coming to know what is already true. Trusting in the salvation and mercy of your Savior isn’t a matter of seeing better proof.
Believing is a matter of Jesus Himself opening our eyes.
In our Easter day Epistle reading from Holy Scripture, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, the Apostle Paul writes: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that 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…”
In the four Gospels and in this Epistle, we see that many eyewitnesses saw and believed the resurrected Jesus (most of whom were still living at the time the New Testament scriptures were written, and therefore able corroborate the events). All of these who saw with their eyes still had to see with the eyes of their hearts being opened to believe by God’s power.
“In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see” [Isaiah 29:18]. And “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” [1 Corinthians 12:3].
We are all those who must say, “Though I was blind, now I see” [John 9:25]. “I was lost, but now I’m found.” “I was dead, but now I have been made alive.” [Luke 15:11-24]
And we remember the words of Jesus, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” [Matthew 11:25]. “The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name…” They “follow Him, for they know His voice.” [John 10:3-4]
The resurrected Jesus called His disciple by name, “Mary”. She heard His voice and then saw rightly. Jesus called you by name when He made you His disciple in Baptism, “‘_(your name)_’, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
The difference between seeing and not seeing isn’t about evidence, proof, or reason. We all by nature walk in blindness due to sin, not even seeing what we do see of God’s work. Faith, thanks be to God, comes to us by the word and power of the resurrected Lord who does open our eyes.
What we see and believe in Jesus is good news: That the Son of God died for sinners. That in Him we are forgiven of our offenses. And that death, hell, and grave are all conquered by His all-sufficient sacrifice on our behalf.
Death doesn’t hold Him. Death is finished. He is risen, never to die again [Romans 6:9]. He conquered death and grave for your sake, so that, in and through Him, you too will be raised and live eternally. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” [John 11:25]
How am I able to believe? How can I come to believe that which I now doubt? Jesus has promised, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” [Matthew 7:7-8]
Faith in our risen Savior Jesus is from our Savior Himself. It is a surer and more certain knowledge than sight. May the Lord grant each of us this faith to believe in Him. Amen.
