St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran church
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Easter 2 – April 24^th and 27^th, 2003

I remember that when I was about 10 or 11, my best friend came to school and said that he had the autograph’s for the whole Philadelphia 76’rs Basketball team. He had Darryl Dawkins and George McGinnis as well as future Hall of Famer, Dr. J. (Julius Erving) along with the rest of the team on a sheet of paper. What would be your reaction to friend who told you this? It sounds impossible doesn’t it? I wanted proof. I had to see the paper with the autographs on it. I had to touch it and look at the words written in ink to believe it. I remember going over to his house and he hauled out this piece of paper and sure enough it did have the autographs just as he had said. As I came to find out his Grandpa a long time employee of Schlitz Brewing was asked to give the 76’rs a guided tour of the Schlitz brewing plant and he got their autograph’s while doing this tour. Who would’ve believed it?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the keystone of our Christian religion. Without it our faith is useless and our message an empty thing. There was lots of evidence that Jesus had risen, but we find the disciples of Jesus not really paying attention to the words of honest men and women who had reported that they had seen Jesus with their own eyes.. On Easter evening they still didn’t believe it was true. They wanted proof. They wanted to see and touch him and then they would believe. They sat in this room full of fear and the sadness. There was no peace in their hearts, souls, and minds.

Jesus suddenly appeared to them and demonstrated that He had risen indeed. He completely changed these fearful disciples into joyful children of God. Our Lord spoke words of eternal peace to them, and their sadness and fear was changed into divine peace. Let us consider these words of our risen Lord:

Before we actually look at these words from Jesus on that first Easter Evening, let’s back up a little. "And God saw all that He had made, and it was very good." Holiness, peace, and happiness were the characteristics of God’s work of creation. But with the entrance of sin into the world a gulf of separation between the holy God and sinful man resulted in man’s being sent out from the perfect peace of the Garden of Eden and the from the perfect peace of being without sin.. By this one sin, all was ruined.

But before the world was ever created, God knew that this would happen and had made a perfect plan to save mankind from its ruin. God’s one and only Son was going to enter this world as true man and true God so that he could restore sinful man to his original state of holiness and a peaceful relationship with his God and Creator. Beginning with the first promise of a Savior from sin in the Garden of Eden, we notice throughout the Old Testament a gradual unfolding, from the general to the specific, of the everlasting promises of God for the redemption of mankind.

It was only four short months ago that we gathered around a simple manger in the town of Bethlehem to worship the Christchild. At Christmas we heard, "Today ...a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." We heard the choir of angels sing about "and on earth peace to men" This was not an earthly peace, for Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, but a peace between our holy God and sinful man. The peace that the angels sang about was the peace that was restored in our hearts as our sins were paid for and Jesus’ death and resurrection gave forgiveness to us.

Doing his Father’s business was what Jesus came to do. He proclaimed Himself to be the promised Messiah and gave proof to this with His many miracles. Patiently Jesus taught His followers that His mission could be fulfilled only by the way of the cross. But they were slow to believe all the things that Jesus was telling them. In sadness they accompanied their Lord to Calvary, and then they all fled for their lives. — The joyous Easter message "He Is Risen" fell on deaf ears. They hid themselves "for fear of the Jews" lest they be captured and even put to death.

Certainly they had themselves only to blame if their hearts were sad and their spirits apprehensive. Hadn’t Jesus been very open concerning all these things? It was, therefore, a special gift from God that Christ appeared to these doubting disciples in the words for our text, and we are grateful that He did. Locks and doors could not keep Him out. Though frightened as they were at the moment, when they realized that their Lord was risen and alive, when they saw the nail prints and His wounded side, when they heard Him say, "Peace be with you," their sadness was turned into joy, their fear into faith. Then they realized that "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him; and by his wounds we are healed." (Is 53:5)

Their risen Lord stood before them as visible proof that God had accepted the sacrifice on Calvary. Their sins, too, had been paid for. Christ had finished the work. Their joy was complete.

As Christ had filled the hearts of the disciples with the "peace of God which transcends all understanding" through the knowledge that all their sins had been forgiven through faith in their risen Savior, so they and all children of God were now commanded to bring the peace of Christ to others. "Peace be with you; as my Father has sent Me, I am sending you."

The work begun by God, proclaimed by angels, and fulfilled by Christ was initially given to his disciples and apostles. They were doing God’s work by preaching the peace of forgiveness in word and life to all with whom they came in contact. Once fearful of the cost, they now risked everything, even life, so that others might share with them the eternal peace of Jesus’ forgiveness. On Pentecost these same men proclaimed this message boldly. All except John suffered martyrdom for the Gospel of Christ. Their souls were full of God’s peace, and they sought to bring this peace to a sin-stricken world. The joy of Easter made them eager to bring the forgiveness of sins, wherever they worked.

The guilt of our sin was completely removed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The proclamation of this joyous message is the business of all whom God has called. When the disciples announced the forgiveness of sins in Christ, it was just as if Christ He had announced it. He sent them to proclaim in His place this saving gospel message. The forgiveness of sins! Not a flattering topic, to be sure, but it is man’s greatest need! Let mankind speak of about all his good virtues and overall goodness, but God’s Word says, "There is not a righteous man on earth." It is our privilege and life to share God’s harsh Law with those who are uninterested in learning or hearing God’s diagnosis of their spiritual condition. We need to preach the Law so that they can see that they need to know that they had sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Their work was finished many years ago, but still our Savior says to you and to me, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

He has given us the commission to preach this Gospel peace to all people. That means you and me. Through us Christ says: "Peace be with you." We who are called and enlightened through the Gospel are to share this joy with others. We are to use the means of grace, the Word and the Sacraments, that men may believe that all their sins have been forgiven through Christ. The souls troubled by their sins are transformed into the peace of knowing they are forgiven children of God. The honor and privilege of proclaiming the forgiveness of sins is given to all Christians. It is not the possession of a chosen few, but the business of all believers.

We begin our worship services with the confession of our sins and leave the service with the peace of God upon our soul. In Holy Baptism the same gracious work is performed. It is gracious water of life. Through the Word which is in and with the water Christ’s peace, the forgiveness of sins, and faith which accepts such forgiveness is wrought in the heart. Christ takes the child, or adult, as the case might be, into His arms, as it were, and says unto them, "Peace be with you." When in the Lord’s Supper prepared the believer who is troubled by his sins comes to the Table of the Lord and receives under the consecrated bread and wine Christ’s true body and blood which was given and shed for him for the forgiveness of his sins, the peace of God fills his heart, and he goes on his way rejoicing.

What the world needs is the joyful message of our Savior’s redemption. Christ has told us to devote our energies completely to the message of peace, peace between God and man through the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from all sins. Many are the temptations to dwell on other and more popular topics, but let us never forget that man’s most important question, "What must I do to be saved?" is to be answered by Christ’s Church and people with the only correct answer: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." When we do this, Christ’s peace fills our hearts. For when God forgives, He forgets. Nevermore will sins rise up and successfully condemn us. That is the peace of God.

May Christ’s joyous message "Peace be with you" bring joy to our hearts this day and always. May we triumphantly carry this banner forward until the day dawns when we shall dwell with Him as redeemed, forgiven saints of God in our heavenly home. There we shall join the celestial choirs and sing praises and hallelujahs to Christ, the Prince of Peace, forevermore. Amen