Easter 3B, 2024

Todd Cook

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3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Last week, we heard John’s account of Jesus’ appearance to the apostles post-resurrection. This week, we hear Luke’s version of the same event. You’ll notice there are a few differences. For Luke, there is considerable focus on their fear of Jesus appearance, that he might be a ghost or spirit. John does not mention that.

But let’s start at the first verse in today’s lesson: “As they were talking about these things...” referring to the scene that played out in verses 13-35, commonly known as “the road to Emmaus”. A couple of disciples saw the resurrected Christ on the road between Jerusalem and a nearby village. They didn’t recognize him at first. He interpreted the Scriptures for them explaining everything the Law and the Prophets said about himself, and then they invited him for a meal. At that meal, “he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.” [Lk 24:30–31] These disciples went to find the eleven and tell them what had happened. THAT is what the apostles were talking about.

John tells us that they were behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Luke just jumps right in and tells us that Jesus was just suddenly there with them. This is not natural. And it would have been enough to freak out any rational person. These men were terrified already…I’m sure they were more than a little startled.

So could Jesus have said anything better to them than what He did? I don’t think so. “Peace to you!” (notice the exclamation point!) is not simply meant to keep them calm. Remember: the exchange of peace is a greeting of reconciliation. In Jesus’ case, it’s a statement of forgiveness. The last time he saw most of these men, what happened? They had the Passover Meal together, he washed their feet and prayed for them. He brought them to Gethsemane to pray (and they fell asleep when he asked them to stay awake), and then when he was arrested, almost all of them ran away, except Peter. Peter, of course, kept his distance, but followed, and then denied even knowing Jesus… three times. Denied him, ran away… does Jesus have any right to be mad at his closest followers? You might call these his friends. Should he be mad at them? He would certainly be justified in feeling that way.

“Peace to you!” Emphatic and enthusiastic. I envision a calm, smiling, even compassionate tone in his voice. Luke tells us they were still frightened, thinking this was a spirit. He addresses that directly. Similar to John’s account, he showed them his wounds. Luke doesn’t tell us that they touched him, but I have to imagine they must have. I’m sure he touched them in greeting, shaking hands or hugging perhaps. So in Luke’s account, Jesus goes a step further to prove he’s not a spirit: he eats. A spirit would not and could not eat food. This is a human in the truest form. Flesh and blood. Not dead, but risen.

The second half of this reading gives me GREAT comfort. When I read something in the Bible that I struggle with, that I have to wrestle with, that just isn’t quite clear to me, I think about this section of Luke. These eleven men (Judas is now dead), have been with Jesus every day for the three years of his ministry. They’ve heard every lesson he’s taught. They’ve been able to ask him questions in private. They’ve seen him perform signs of his divine power. They’ve had more access to the Son of God than anyone else. And until this point, they still didn’t quite “get it”. So he reminds 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.” [Lk 24:44] Kind of like saying, “Do you remember everything I taught about the Messiah? Everything in the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms? Everything about the Messiah *has to* come true. It has to ‘be fulfilled’… and now it has.”

Luke 24:45–46 “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...” this part is now complete. So what happens next? Luke 24:47 “and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Guess who’s going to do that? Hint: not Jesus. He did his part. He equipped his followers to proclaim the Gospel. The Greek word for “proclaim the Gospel” is εὐαγγελίζω - the root of our English word “evangelize”.

Repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All sins can be forgiven. This is what Jesus came to accomplish. His purpose. The reason for his death and resurrection… so that all sins can be forgiven. He didn’t say “just the little ones” or “only the recent ones”. All sins can be forgiven. ALL SINS can be forgiven. But notice he didn’t say “confession” either. He said repentance. I submit to you that repentance starts with confession, but it doesn’t end there.

Last week, we focused on the passage from 1 John, which basically told us that we’re all sinners, and anyone who thinks otherwise is only lying to themselves. John also said that you can’t walk close to Jesus - who is light - and remain in the darkness. You can’t be a follower of Christ and continue to sin. It’s not only unBiblical, it’s also logically impossible. But John also gave us hope last week: “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” [1 Jn 2:1–2]

In other words, it might still happen that we sin, but when we do, it’s not the end of our relationship with God. Jesus gives us the opportunity to turn back to God (which is what “repent” means) and receive His divine and perfect mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Thanks be to God! Our reading from 1 John today builds on that same thought. I would draw our attention to 1 John 3:3 “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” When we stumble and sin (and that is a possibility), if we hope to be like Christ, if we trust in his mercy, we are on the path to “being made pure” - we don’t do it; the Holy Spirit does. The fancy word there is “sanctification” - being made holy. Being made like Christ.

It seems that the way we react to sin tells a lot. First, we have to recognize our sin for what it is. If we don’t see it as sin, we won’t see it as a problem. We won’t see a need to confess. We won’t see anything for which we should repent. If you don’t ask for forgiveness, you won’t hear that you’ve been forgiven.

God’s Word will point out our sin to us. (Luther’s Second use of the Law). Then when we recognize it as sin, we are convicted of it, realize we need a savior, we come to HIM. Ask for His forgiveness, and receive it. And allow ourselves to be changed.

If you look in your LBW on pages 196-197, you’ll see the Lutheran version of individual confession. We don’t go into a booth for “anonymous” confession. We do it face-to-face. After the person confessing discusses their sins with the pastor, they recite part of Psalm 51 and then the pastor says this: “Do you believe that the word of forgiveness I speak to you comes from God himself?” This is important. This is why when I offer to all of you at the conclusion of our Corporate Confession, that I put so much emphasis on “as a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ and BY HIS AUTHORITY, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” It’s not my authority. It’s the authority of the office to which I have been called by the Church of Christ.

That forgiveness is from God. God forgives you. I am just blessed to be the one who gets to tell you that. It’s a powerful moment in any believer’s life. And it’s a powerful moment for me to proclaim it to you. If you’re someone who is riddled with guilt, this is where you dump it - at the foot of the cross. If you have skeletons in your closet - this is where you clean that out - at the foot of the cross. If your conscience is bothering you about things you’ve done (or things you have left undone), this is when you unburden yourself of that emotional garbage. You give it to God. You turn to Him and say “I’m sorry. I know I messed this up. I want to do better… but I’m no good at it. I need help. I need YOUR help, God. I need a Savior. Please save me. Help me to do better. Help me to be more of the child you made me to be. Please help me.” If you want to know what I’m doing in that silent time during confession, it sounds a lot like that… but I go into specifics. I’m dumping it out at the foot of the cross. And I trust Him to take it from me and forgive me.

So Jesus tells his apostles that they are going to take up this mission. They are “witnesses of these things” - they’ve seen it all, and now their minds have been opened to understand it. So now, they can teach it. And just to make it fun, Jesus is going to have them start in the city where he was arrested: Jerusalem. The very people who rejected the Messiah are going to be among the first to hear this Good News. From there, they will go to “all nations” - and that means more than just the Jewish people. It means EVERYONE.

Jesus does not send them out unequipped. First, he opened their minds. They had been taught, and now they understand his teachings, and how the Scriptures support all that he has said and done. Next he is going to send the promise of His Father upon them. What is that? Peter explains it in Acts chapter 2, but he’s actually quoting the prophet Joel:

Acts 2:17–21 (ESV)

“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

That is what will happen with the promise of the Father - when He pours out His Spirit. (Which they will receive on the Day of Pentecost…but that’s a few more weeks…) When are the last days the prophet spoke about? Is it now? Is it soon? We don’t know. But God’s Spirit can do wonderful things. He can even get Lutherans to pray out loud…without a script. It’s a sight to see, believe me.

The appearance of Jesus to his closest followers in a closed room was an important part of God’s plan. They weren’t really sure that Jesus was risen. They heard it from Mary Magdalene, but could they really believe her? And Peter and John saw the empty tomb, but maybe the Romans took the body away to punish them? They didn’t know what really happened to him. They saw him die. They saw them pierce his side and take him down from that cross. He was dead. DEAD. No one comes back from that!

Jesus HAD to show himself to them. They needed to be absolutely certain that he was really alive. His resurrection is the foundation of our faith and the focus of our hope. This could not be unsure in any way. And Jesus made certain that it wasn’t. Now, with certainty, the apostles could begin their mission of sharing this Good News.

And that is our mission as well. We are given a gift. The forgiveness of our sins is free and available for all who repent. It can’t be bought or earned. It’s free. It changed the world 2,000 years ago. It continues to change the world today… one heart at a time.

Luther tells us that we should embrace the title “children of God” as John describes us. “It is not enough to say that we are friends. No, John says that we are called children of God. This love could not have been expressed more emphatically.” [Luther, LW Vol. 30, pg 265] Yes, He is our God, but He is also our Father, and we are His children. Our Father loves us with a love deeper than we can possibly imagine, and He is always ready to forgive us. In a world that seems incapable of forgiveness, this is a message everyone needs to hear. Let us always be ready for the opportunity to share it.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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