Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:23-25a).
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Are you sure about that? Yes, you heard me right. I know it’s early. You may still be rubbing your eyes.
Are you sure that Jesus is risen? Are you absolutely sure that Jesus is raised from the dead? Are you sure that He has conquered death and the devil? Are you certain of the Easter message? We live in an era of doubt. Are you aware of the various objections to Jesus’ bodily resurrection?
Some say that the disciples hallucinated that Jesus had risen. They say that severe grief struck them to imagine that Jesus was alive.
Some say that Jesus did not die on the cross, so He could not have been raised on the third day. That’s what Muslims believe.
Some say that science rules out the resurrection, and really any miracle of Jesus. For them, they say the laws of nature cannot be violated by miracles that we enlightened people don’t see every day. So, how can we be sure and shout out with confidence: “He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!”?
So, let’s look at these objections. First, those who say that the grieving disciples only hallucinated, or imagined, the risen Jesus. Yes, it is true that some people can become so grief-stricken that they think they hear or see their deceased loved one. But what about if hundreds of people saw a dead person alive? St. Paul tells us: Jesus appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, then to all the apostles, and even to himself (1 Corinthians 15:5-6). How could so many people have the same hallucination? They can’t. They saw the risen Christ.
Now, what about what Muslims claim? They say that Jesus was never crucified. And the Muslims are not alone, other skeptics have picked up on this claim. But there is a problem with this Muslim claim. First, Islam didn’t exist until the 6th century. Second, Islam claims that Jesus is a “Great Prophet,” and if He is so great, why would He lie about dying and rising? This would make Jesus a false prophet.
And what about the scientific rejection? Well, we typically don’t observe miracles. And the laws of nature only describe how things normally work. While they are very reliable, laws of nature can be subject to refinement or modification as new discoveries are made.
And this brings us back to our question: are you sure that Christ is risen? I certainly hope so! Now, God cannot break the laws of nature, since He created them. God simply steps in and exerts His life-giving power from outside the normal system, which He also created in the first place. The Son of God stepped into this fallen world of ours, took upon Himself our flesh, suffered in our place, and has now risen from the grave.
Job was sure. And he lived some 2,000 years before the incarnation of the Son of God.
Job had repeatedly protested that he was innocent of the charges his friends made against him. Unknowingly, his friends had served Satan’s purposes in attacking Job, for Satan had accused Job of selfish motives in serving God. Satan had maintained that if God would stretch out His hand and strike Job, Job would curse Him to His face. Satan boldly accused Job of not being a true child of God.
And Job’s three friends played right into Satan’s hands. They concluded that since Job was suffering so much that he must be guilty of some horrible sin, and so could not be a true child of God. Now, Job never denied that he was a sinner, but Job was convinced that his friends were accusing him unjustly. So, he sought to defend himself. And since he was making no headway in convincing his friends, he wished that his words might be recorded so that his defense of his righteousness might be preserved for future generations.
And since the ordinary writing materials of that day would be subject to the destructive forces of nature and the ravages of time, he expressed the wish that his words could be engraved on a rock forever inscribed with an iron pen.
Job’s wish came true. His words have been preserved for future generations. And Job’s words have become our words.
His words, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25a) are a profound and confident expression of faith in His coming Savior. And his words have become our words.
It was this faith that kept Job from collapsing under his severe sufferings and trials. He looked ahead in faith to his Savior, so that he could forget about his present troubles and in faith see what lay ahead for him after his life on earth would end. Those words of Job expressed his firm hope in his own bodily resurrection and his hope is now our sure and certain hope in Jesus Christ.
Jesus met many objectors and scoffers during His earthly ministry. In a dispute with the Sadducees, who denied the bodily resurrection, He said: “As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32).
Job knew that his Redeemer lives. So, we can be as sure as Job – and even more sure!
Again, Job lived some 2,000 years before the incarnation of Jesus. And we live about 2,000 years after Jesus’ death and bodily resurrection. Job trusted and proclaimed God’s promise yet to come. You get to trust and proclaim God’s salvation accomplished as a real historical fact! You can say with absolute confidence: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25).
And you can say with absolute confidence that “after my skin has thus been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:26-27a).
St. Paul tells of this mystery. “We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51b-52).
Until that day of our resurrection, Jesus is among us now. Since He has resurrected from the dead and has ascended into heaven, He comes to us now through humble means as He forgives our sins and strengthens our weak faith through His Means of Grace – Word and Sacraments.
So, here today, and every Lord’s Day, you join Mary in seeing the Lord as you hear His very Word spoken and proclaimed to you and you behold Jesus at the Lord’s Supper.
So, let us join Job, St. Paul, and Mary Magdalene and announce this good news saying, “I have seen the Lord and I know that my Redeemer lives!”
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
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