“The Crucified and Resurrected Jesus Is Alive and All-Powerful”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our
resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [Amen.]
“Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heav’nly king, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
“But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s king, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
457:2-3)
Second Reading..........................................................
Revelation 1:4-18 (esp. 17-18)
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right
hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18and the living
one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of
Death and Hades.”
Prologue: Well, another exciting and exuberant Easter Sunday
celebration has come and gone with all its trappings: an abundance of
fragrant Easter lilies, an endless array of glorious songs, a dynamic sermon
by Pastor Marks, the Blessed Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, attendances
that almost filled our sanctuary to capacity … not only once but twice,
great musical accompaniment by the instrumental ensemble, wonderful organ
playing by our organist, and an elegant anthem by the Adult Choir. Later
last Sunday, after enjoying a very tasty noon meal carefully prepared by my
lovely wife, I posted the following thought on my Facebook wall, “Wouldn’t
it be wonderful if all our churches were as filled and vibrant every Lord’s
Day as they are on Easter Sunday? Could we handle that?” One of the
responses was, “Maybe they would if we went all out in worship like we do at
Easter.”
Well, be that as it may, we now move forward through the remaining
six Sundays of Easter. As we do so, the second Bible Reading on each of
those Sundays will come from the book of Revelation. Unfortunately, many
preachers and Bible teachers get its message all wrong! They focus on and
emphasize the items in it that describe something very frightening and
fearful. In so doing they miss (or purposely ignore in an effort to
control, manipulate, or have power over their hearers) the grand and
glorious message that it contains, namely, that …
“The Crucified and Resurrected Jesus Is Alive and All-Powerful.”
Consider the following summary statements about this apocalyptic
prophetic book that the Holy Spirit inspired Saint John to write while
exiled on the Isle of Patmos. First, “… John was shown how the Church would
develop, pass through dreadful conflicts with the wicked powers of earth and
hell, and ultimately gain the victory.” (Christopher F. Drewes in
Introduction to the Books of the Bible. Copyright © 1928 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 214.) Second, “It is a combination
of history and prophecy, in which great principles are described, and the
chief weight is put upon the final triumph of the Lord.” (Theodore Huggenvik
in Your Key to the Bible: A Presentation of Your Religious Concerns with the
Bible. Copyright © 1944 Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, MN. Pages
207f.) Third, “Revelation reveals and confirms that Christ was
prophetically promised and that his incarnation, death, and resurrection
happened so that God’s creation could be restored to its original glory and
righteousness.” (Louis A. Brighton in Concordia Popular Commentary:
Revelation. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
Page 1.) Fourth, “It is a book which God gave His people to help them
through the temptations, trials, and afflictions which they experience on
earth.” (Luther Poellot in Concordia Classic Commentary Series: Revelation.
Copyright © 1962 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 2.)
Fifth, “Revelation centers on Jesus and his defeat of sin, death, and the
devil.” (Wayne D.Mueller in People’s Bible Commentary: Revelation.
Copyright © 1997 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 1.)
Sixth, “… it serves for consolation to the children of God in the manifold
trials and tribulations which are the lot of the believers in Christ until
the end of time.” (Paul E. Kretzmann in Popular Commentary of the Bible: The
New Testament Volume II. Copyright © Unknown Concordia Publishing House,
St. Louis, MO. Page 590.) Seventh, its purpose is “To comfort suffering
Christians and encourage their faithful witness with prophetic portraits of
the victory that is already ours in the risen and living Lamb of God, Jesus
Christ.” (Edward A.Engelbrecht in The Lutheran Study Bible. Copyright ©
2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 2,194.) Eighth and
final one, Martin Luther wrote, “If only the word of the gospel remains pure
among us, and we love and cherish it, we shall not doubt that Christ is with
us, even when things are at their worst. As we see here in this book, that
through and beyond all plagues, beasts, and evil angels Christ is
nonetheless with his saints, and wins the final victory.” (Luther, Martin:
Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (Hrsg.); Oswald, Hilton C. (Hrsg.); Lehmann, Helmut T.
(Hrsg.) in Luther's Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I. Philadelphia :
Fortress Press, 1999, c1960 (Luther's Works 35), S. 35:411)
You see, “The Easter season is a fifty-day-long season of joy
extending from Easter to Pentecost. During this time, the Church celebrates
the end of Christ’s struggles and proclaims His victory over death and the
reception of the benefits of His life, death, and resurrection as gracious
gifts of love and mercy for all those who believe in Him. This is the
Church’s great season of joy! [Alleluia!] Christ is risen! He is risen
indeed. Alleluia!” (Treasury of Daily Prayer. Scot A. Kinnaman, Gen. Ed.
Copyright © 2008 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 189.) In
simple summary Saint John’s message is that …
I. The Eternal God Gives Us Grace and Peace through His All-Powerful
Son. (4-8)
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from
him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who
are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the
firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6and made us a kingdom, priests
to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even
those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of
him. Even so. Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and
who is to come, the Almighty.”
It was almost 40 years ago in 1965 that Frank Sinatra immortalized
the song that said, “Love and marriage, love and marriage Go together like a
horse and carriage. This I tell you, brother, You can't have one without
the other.” Even as love and marriage certainly do go together, so also do
God’s grace and peace. His grace is bound up in the undeserved kindness He
shows us by forgiving us all our sins the for sake of Jesus Christ that
results in peace.
This same Saint John wrote that Jesus was “the only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth” and “grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ.” (St John 1:14 & 17 ESV) Not only that but also Saint Peter
declared that “we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts
15:11 ESV)
God’s grace is an essential element of His plan and provision for
the salvation of mankind. It’s the divine something that Saint Paul
frequently wrote about and we find in “the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, [and that] will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.” (Phil 4:7 ESV) In fact, he began many of his letters that we have
in the New Testament with the benediction, “Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 1:7 ESV) That peace is the
comforting reality that Saint Paul communicated to the Ephesians about
Jesus, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken
down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of
commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in
place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one
body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Eph 2:14-16 ESV)
We’ve been walking with Jesus throughout this Festival Portion of
the Christian Church Year, in which we have observed His conception, birth,
life, death, and resurrection, all of which was His atoning self-sacrifice
for the sins of all people of all time. The Holy Spirit now gives us what
Christ gained for us in the hearing and reading of God’s Holy Word, the
blessed waters of Holy Baptism, the reassuring message of Holy Absolution,
and the bread and wine of Holy Communion.
So, God not only gives us grace and peace, but also …
II. The Eternal God Dispels Our Fear through His All-Powerful Son.
(9-17)
9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and
the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on
account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the
Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
11saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches,
to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and
to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 12Then I turned to see the voice that was
speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the
midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and
with a golden sash around his chest. 14The hairs of his head were white
like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15his feet
were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the
roar of many waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, from his
mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in
full strength. 17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he
laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
18and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have
the keys of Death and Hades.”
Fear cripples. Fear wastes. Fear enslaves and holds captive.
Fear sends into emotional tailspins. Fear drives to despair. Fear is the
fruit of defiant and rebellious rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
of all mankind. Last weekend we heard about Jesus’ disciples abandoning Him
and Peter denying Him because they were overwhelmed by fear. Fear is Satan’s
tool to separate believers in Christ from Christ and forsake Him. It’s what
was described in today’s First Reading, “But the high priest rose up, and
all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with
jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But
during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought
them out, and said, ‘Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all
the words of this Life.’” (Acts 5:17-20 ESV)
In the face of such crippling, damaging, and destroying fear we
hear and prayerfully sing, “Have no fear, little flock; Have not fear,
little flock, For the Father has chosen To give you the Kingdom; Have not
fear, little flock!” (Lutheran Service Book. 735:1.) When praying The Lord’s
Prayer let’s always remember that “The word Father tells us that God loves
us and wants us to pray to Him confidently and without fear.” (Luther’s
Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 1991, 2005 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 180.) That’s the Easter message that
keeps on keeping on throughout the year, the years, and our lifetime. It’s
the message that Jesus so often spoke to His disciples, even “On the evening
of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the
disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and
said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them
his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the
Lord.” (St John 20:19-20 ESV) As Jesus spoke peace to His disciples He was
telling them that He was with them and would never leave them nor forsake
them. He gives us that same message when receiving His body and His blood
in the consecrated bread and wine of Holy Communion we hear the words,
“Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.”
The author of the Higher Things Daily Reflection this past
December 13, 2012, wrote, “‘Do not be afraid.’ That’s what Jesus said
whenever there was a storm. Whenever death visited people. Whenever the
disciples feared or doubted, Jesus told them not to be afraid. That’s
because Jesus didn’t come to make us afraid but to rescue us from our
fear—fear of sin, death, devil, hell, the judgment of God. All of it. Do
not be afraid. Jesus has paid the price, borne the curse, answered for your
sins and taken them all away. He rose from the dead and is the victorious
Lamb seen on the throne of glory by St. John in the book of Revelation. It
might look scary but the Lord’s own words drive away such fear: ‘Do not be
afraid.’” (Copyright © 2009 Higher Things, Inc.)
In the face of that blessed assurance today’s Introit powerfully
proclaims what our response should be, “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call
upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing
praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let
the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!” (Ps 105:1-3 ESV)
In conclusion, therefore, when you read the book of Revelation
(and I strongly encourage you to do so!) keep in mind and follow these two
basic principles that also apply to reading the parables Jesus told. First,
step back and see the portrait as a whole; avoid being so close up to it
that the separate tangled and gnarled brushstrokes of details that confound
and confuse, baffle and bewilder. Second, avoid the temptation to
allegorize, that is, don’t necessarily attempt to apply specific meanings to
all the items in it unless God Himself … Jesus … reveals the divine
meanings. Where God is silent let silence prevail.
As you apply those principles to reading the book of Revelation
you will more readily discover that the overwhelming message is the Easter
message that …
“The Crucified and Resurrected Jesus Is Alive and All-Powerful.”
After all, as today’s Gradual announced, “Christ has risen from
the dead. [God the Father] has crowned him with glory and honor, He has
given him dominion over the works of his hands; he has put all things under
his feet.” (adapt. from St Matt 28:7; Heb 2:7; Ps 8:6 ESV) With that ever
uppermost in our minds and hearts let’s speak forth from our mouths the
words of today’s Collect, “Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated
the Lord’s resurrection may by Your grace confess in our life and
conversation that Jesus is Lord and God.” Let’s do so because …
I. The Eternal God Gives Us Grace and Peace through His All-Powerful
Son. (4-8)
and …
II. The Eternal God Dispels Our Fear through His All-Powerful Son.
(9-17)
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
God grant it all for the sake of our resurrected Jesus Christ, His
humble Son, our holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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