Easter Sunday

Jesse Jacobsen

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Time-stamp: <Sat Mar 26 21:37:34 2005>

Dear Barabbas, as one Barabbas to another, I have to say that I'm relieved it wasn't me being crucified between the other criminals on Golgotha. I know that I should have been there. I had passed the night Thursday in my cell, knowing that my time was short. There was nothing to prevent my execution. God knows, I deserve it. You deserve it too, don't you Barabbas?

I knew about Pilate's custom of releasing a prisoner every year, but I knew he wouldn't release me. I'm not only a murderer, but an insurrectionist! As for the people, they would never want a murderer to be released back among them. So Thursday night, I stayed awake, waiting and thinking about the terrible sins of my life that brought me to this end. I tried not to think about what it's like to be crucified. Yet the thoughts kept entering my mind unasked, and they magnified the horror of my crimes. It was a wretched night.

It occurred to me that if God were with me the way He seemed to be with this prophet from Galilee, I could easily escape my chains and this prison. I wouldn't have to die such a horrible, humiliating death the next day. But it seemed that God had left me to suffer the fate I deserved, while that prophet Jesus kept escaping the Council's attempts to kill Him. Doom was upon me!

But wonder of wonders! Pilate chose me to be released! I had no idea why at first. Then, I couldn't believe my eyes. That Galilean prophet, Jesus, had been arrested by the Council, and they were trying to make Pilate crucify Him in my place! I didn't understand how they had caught Jesus, after failing so many times. I didn't understand why He didn't simply escape like He had before. He looked me in the eye, and it seemed like He actually wanted to be crucified.

Pilate must have wanted to let Jesus go, or else he wouldn't have chosen me as the alternative. But the crowd was actually asking him to release me instead. This was my lucky break --- a miracle. But it didn't seem right. I deserve to be crucified. Jesus didn't. But I wanted to live, and couldn't have changed anything anyway. I went into hiding as soon as I was released.

Later that day, during that unnatural darkness, I felt the earthquake that shook the whole city. And later, I thought I saw one of the men I had murdered --- alive! That really spooked me. But I heard that all this happened the moment that Jesus died. Darkness. Earthquake. Dead people coming to life. People are telling me that He was the Son of God. I should have been the one on that cross. What will happen to me, if God's Son was crucified in my place?

But now the Sabbath has past, and I've heard whispers that frightened me more than anything else: Jesus has come to life again. And I remember one thing I heard from Him back when He was teaching in the Temple. He said, ``Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'' I didn't hear much more, but you know what? I think He predicted all of this! He wanted to be arrested and crucified. He wanted to take my place, so that what He predicted would come true.

It frightens me to think of it, but He must be the Son of God! And if He let me go, knowing what I deserve.... Can it be that He has forgiven me, the way so many others say He forgave them? It sounds too good to be true. But if He did rise, then I'll know.

How about you, Barabbas? On this happy morning, let's learn what it means for us that God has raised Jesus from death --- the same Jesus who died willingly on the cross that had been prepared for us. So let's now arise and sing together our Exordium Hymn, number 348, ``He is Arisen, Glorious Word.''

Isaiah 52:13--15

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
So shall He sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ Jesus, God's grace, His mercy, and everlasting peace are yours from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus' Resurrection Is God the Father's Absolution for All Mankind

Isaiah was writing to Israel. He was writing to comfort them, and us.

The children of Israel were unfaithful to God, over and over again. They were sinners. It's a disease they had, which we see in Barabbas, the murderer and insurrectionist. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that such a disease afflicts all mankind. We are rebellious. We act foolishly, even when we know better. So the children of Israel needed someone like Isaiah to diagnose their disease, give them the bad news, and prescribe a Savior.

All of this may sound familiar. What infirmities and sicknesses do we carry that we may not even know about? When someone dies, we are troubled, maybe even shocked to think that it could easily have been us. We dread to hear the diagnosis, the bad news. But Isaiah wrote for us too, and gives us the same spiritual diagnosis as Israel. That's why our text is appropriate today, because the Savior of Israel is our Savior too.

Jesus was sent by His Father in heaven to do what was needed for our salvation. He did, but our disease cost Him his life. Jesus died.

The death of Jesus is not surprising. We've been expecting death ourselves. That's what happens to anyone who gets tangled up with our disease. But He was working on the cure --- our cure! That's what He was sent for. So what does His death mean? On Good Friday, there was no answer. On the Sabbath day, there was no answer. On Sunday morning --- O Joy! Jesus came to life again, raised by His Father, who is pleased that Jesus finished the purpose for which He had been sent: He did all that was needed for our salvation.

Jesus' resurrection is God the Father's absolution for all mankind. So that every sinner has a Savior. So that everyone who receives Him is forgiven. So that everyone who dies in Him will live forever.

Every sinner has a Savior.

What is an absolution? It's God's declaration of forgiveness, which justifies sinners in His sight. So when Jesus, who paid for our sins with His life, was raised to life again, God was sending the clear message that our debt of guilt is now paid in full. That message is a declaration of forgiveness for the whole world --- every last human being.

Isaiah wrote, ``Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently.'' In other words, Jesus would know and do exactly what was needed to make atonement for us. He had to be crucified. He had to be crucified. While everyone who has ever lived was born in order to live, so that death in an intrusion in our lives, Jesus is different. Jesus was born to live for a while, but His purpose was to die. When you learn about Him from the Gospels, you see that He always had that purpose in mind. He came to bear His cross, and in exactly this way to become the world's Savior.

Well, He succeeded. That's our joy today. This is how Isaiah described His resurrection: ``He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.'' No greater exaltation could be described. Paul wrote about the same thing in Phillipians 2:9, ``God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.''

Now, there are two ways to doubt this. You can doubt whether Jesus truly rose again, or you can doubt that He rose for you. The evidence for His resurrection --- miraculous as it is --- is overwhelming. If you think you can disprove it, I challenge you to try, because you won't. But did He rise for you?

Jesus said, ``And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.'' Are you part of ``all peoples?'' Or do you think your sins are different? Jesus said, ``For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.'' Jesus speaks of saving the whole world. Where, pray tell, were your sins committed? Do you think that you are too far gone, and will be lost? Jesus said, ``the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.''

You can be sure that you also have a Savior, because the same Jesus who said these things and died was raised to life again. Every sinner has a Savior!

Everyone who receives Him is forgiven.

Jesus' resurrection is God the Father's absolution for all mankind. So that everyone who receives Him is forgiven. It's one thing to have a Savior, and another thing to receive Him. How can you receive Him? Believe what He says, that He is your Savior.

Can it be so easy? Isn't there something that God demands from us, some penance we have to serve? No, there is nothing for you to do at all. Receiving Jesus Christ is simply trusting what God's Word says about Him.

Jesus said, ``Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'' There are others who would gladly tell you what you must do to receive God's forgiveness, but not Jesus. He speaks the truth: it's a free gift, based entirely upon the merciful goodness of God. ``For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.'' The name of this church is grace, and that's why: God's grace alone has provided everything necessary for our salvation.

But without some miracle from God, this idea is impossible for the human heart to accept. We want to do something! We want to see the evidence that we are doing something right. Even after a Christian is given faith in Jesus, it's hard not to trust in good works. We must return to Jesus' Words again and again, and let Him take our sinful burdens in exchange for His yoke of pure grace. He invites you every day and every week to make this happy exchange with Him. We need it, you know. And He's ready to forgive.

The other reason it's hard to receive Jesus is our old denial that we are sick to begin with. Jesus said, ``Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.'' He didn't mean that some of us are already perfect and have no need to be forgiven. Rather, there are many who refuse to admit that they need a physician like Him.

Some today reject the idea that God requires an atonement of blood for our guilt. In the first century after Christ, many were repulsed by the idea that our Savior had to be crucified and numbered with transgressors. Isaiah wrote, ``Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men.'' We ask, Did God really require this for my sins?

If you struggle with this question, then reconsider your own life. Read through the Ten Commandments again, maybe even using the Small Catechism so you will be sure to understand all that they require. Know that you have failed to keep even one of them. You have sinned against God and against your neighbor. And God, who searches the heart, has seen that ``every intent of the thoughts of [man's] heart is only evil continually.'' The diagnosis is accurate. God also said, ``The soul who sins shall die.'' But Jesus died instead. Everyone who receives Him is forgiven.

Everyone who dies in Him will live forever.

Jesus' resurrection is God the Father's absolution for all mankind, so that everyone who dies in Him will live forever. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, ``This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.'' And again, in Romans chapter 6: ``Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.'' To the Thessalonians, Paul described the Last Day, ``For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.'' So you see, the fact that Jesus lives means that we will live too.

Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, which means that the final resurrection of the dead began on Easter Sunday. We live in the last age, which is to say the age of Easter. Soon, Jesus will complete the resurrection by waking all the dead, so that those who belong to Him will live with Him.

What I have said is not necessarily news to you. You may have heard it before. But it doesn't diminish the fact that it's true. Jesus predicted His own resurrection even before He died. Then He went on to lay down His life and to take it up again. But you know what, at the same time He was predicting His own resurrection, He was also predicting ours. He said, ``I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.'' And again, ``A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.''

You can see why Isaiah wrote, ``Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.'' Here is a man like us, and yet so much greater that He defeated death for the rest of us. In His humble obedience to the Father and His inglorious suffering and crucifixion, Jesus seemed weak and unworthy of our consideration. People still see His cross and despise Him for it. Yet by that very cross, He has conquered. By spilling His blood, He has sprinkled many nations with the forgiveness of sins. Here we see most deeply into the heart of God Himself. Even the greatest kings and princes must bow before our risen Lord in awe and wonder, for He is their Redeemer too.

Therefore let us join the angels of heaven and sing the praises of our risen Lord Jesus as we worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped. He said, ``As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.'' So we gather today, and the same day every week, to feed upon our Lord Jesus. Let's hold fast to His Word and make the best use of His Sacraments. Don't neglect your own salvation, but come often.

Every sinner has a Savior. Everyone who receives Him is forgiven. Everyone who dies in Him will live forever. Jesus' resurrection is the Father's absolution for all mankind. Amen, Amen! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Soli Deo Gloria!

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.