Sermon Acts 10:34-43 We are Witnesses

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon Acts 10:34-43 We are Witnesses

April 5, 2015

            Easter is a day for colorful baskets, new outfits and, my favorite, chocolate Easter bunnies.  But on the very first Easter there was none of that.  A group of women were scared to death by a mystery they couldn’t solve.  They had gone to anoint Jesus’ body in a tomb, but found the tomb to be empty.  We will attempt to solve this mystery today, but first let’s pray.

            May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

            We are faced with a mystery.  In our first reading this morning from the Gospel of Mark we have a group of frightened women running away from an empty tomb, and we are not certain at this point what happened.  All we know is that the body of Jesus is not where it should be.  We need someone like Sherlock Holmes to assemble all the facts and deduce what it all means. 

            Let’s review what we know so far.  Jesus died on a cross.  That was last Friday.  Before sunset and the beginning of the Sabbath Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret follower of Jesus, asked the Roman Governor for Jesus’ body.  Pilate, the Roman Governor at the time, then ordered that Jesus’ death be confirmed.  After he was absolutely certain that Jesus was dead, Pilate released the body to Joseph.  Joseph then removed Jesus’ body from the cross, wrapped it in a linen cloth he had purchased, and placed it in a tomb he owned.  He then sealed the tomb with a large rock and went home to celebrate the Sabbath with his family.  So far, so good.

            While Joseph was doing all this there were two witnesses watching him.  One was his own mother.  The other was a woman from Magdala.  Both were named Mary.  The Sabbath began at sunset on Friday night.  It ended at sunset on Saturday.  Then early Sunday morning these two women plus another named Salome went back to the tomb.  They knew exactly where it was because they had been there Friday afternoon.  They went to Jesus’ tomb with the purpose of anointing his body as was the burial custom at the time.  So far, nothing unusual.  Their only concern was how they might roll the stone away.

            Their first hint that something happened was when they arrived at the tomb and saw that the stone had already been rolled away.  They proceeded with caution knowing that something was odd.  When they looked inside things got a little stranger.  There was a young man in a white robe sitting inside.  This was too much for the women.  They didn’t know who rolled away the stone.  And they had no idea who this man was.  They were just about to run home when he spoke to them.  And here is what he said:

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

            That was it.  The women fled in terror.  Someone had rolled the stone away.  Jesus’ body was missing.  And some stranger was babbling nonsense about Jesus rising from the dead.  What’s going on here?  This is a very strange story.  And Mark gives us no explanation.  Like the women, we have no idea what all this means.  It’s a mystery.  Let’s try to solve it.

            We know from the man in the tomb that Jesus has gone back to Galilee where he expects to find his disciples and Peter.  Possibly Peter has some idea what this is all about.  Let’s see what he has to say.

           

            Acts 10:34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

            Peter is speaking to a Roman soldier living in a Gentile city in Judah built by Herod the Great on Mediterranean Sea. The soldier’s name is Cornelius.  Peter certainly remembers how angry Jesus got just days before he died when he saw Gentiles excluded from the temple and quoted Isaiah that it should be a “House of Prayer for All People.  And Peter must remember how the Gentiles started coming to Jesus triggering the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth when his hour had come.  So now Peter, at the urging of the Holy Spirit, has entered into a gentile house to witness to the good news.  And he is about to tell us what happened in that empty tomb. One clue we have already is that Peter speaks of Jesus in the present tense.  Jesus is Lord.  Could Jesus be alive?  Let’s go back as Peter continues his testimony.

Acts 10:37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.  39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross,

            Peter has told Cornelius about the historical Jesus he knew.  This Jesus came from Galilee, was baptized by John, healed the sick and cast out demons with the power of the Holy Spirit.   Lots of people knew about this Jesus from Nazareth.  And Peter knew him better than most.  But so far Peter hasn’t told us anything we didn’t already know.  We still have no idea of what happened in that tomb and why it is empty.  Let’s go back to Peter as see what else he has to say.

Acts10:40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

            So now we know a little more.  It was God who raised Jesus from the dead, and brought him back to life.  And God had ensured that there would be reliable witnesses who not only saw Jesus, but had meals with him too after he was raised from the dead.  And so Jesus was no ghost.  His physical body came back to life after it had died.  This is interesting news, but not totally unexpected.  Jesus had brought several dead people back to life.  So it was certainly possible for him to come back as well.  We are uncovering some surprises.  Let’s keep going.

Acts 10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

            And now we know what the resurrection was all about.  Jesus came back to life in order to judge the living and the dead.   This should scare us to death.  Jesus came to earth to get to know us, who we really are.  And now he is alive, in heaven as our judge.  With all the stuff we have done in our lives we have no hope.  We are condemned.  We put Jesus on the cross and we deserve to be punished for it.  But Peter has one more thing to say.  And here it is.

            Act 10:43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

            Talk about some good news.  Yes, Jesus is our judge, and we certainly deserve punishment.  But Jesus is ready to judge all of us as forgiven if we just believe in him. This is the meaning of Easter.  Jesus was resurrected from the dead to new life to be able to judge us and to forgive us so that there is no punishment.

            Whatever you have done in your life to displease God will bring God’s wrath upon you.  All the little lies you have told, all the little things you have stolen, all the people you have hurt are all remembered by God and you will be punished.  God’s justice requires it.  But if you believe in Jesus Christ, you will receive a full, unconditional pardon.  God will forgive you.

            As an ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament, I have been empowered by God to make you this offer.  Believe in Jesus Christ and all your sins will be forgiven.  You will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  You will experience transformation to new life.  And you will be assured of eternal life in the resurrection.

            Cornelius heard this offer from Peter and to him it sounded really good.  He and his entire family accepted Jesus Christ that day and were baptized into the faith.   They were filled with the Holy Spirit and became disciples of Jesus Christ.  I urge you to do the same. 

            Our mystery is solved.  We now know why the tomb was empty on that Sunday morning.  God had raised Jesus from the dead to be the judge over all people those living and those who had died.  Everyone will receive this judgment.  But those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will also receive forgiveness.  Believe in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. 

            And so we rejoice on this Resurrection Sunday.  Jesus Christ is risen from the dead to forgive you.  Celebrate with your families and friends.  Dress up, and eat those eggs and Easter Bunnies.  This is a glorious day.  Thanks be to God.  Let’s pray.

            “Glorious Lord of life, by the mighty resurrection of your Son you overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him.  Grant that we who celebrate with joy Christ’s rising from the dead may be raised from the death of sin to the life of righteousness; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Book of Common Worship p.323)