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Hebrews 10:1–14 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;  with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.’ ” First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews made it very plain that our efforts, our offerings, and any sacrifices we make do not earn our forgiveness. It just isn’t possible for us to make ourselves right with God by what we do. If it were, Jesus would not have had to come down here. But He came and it was for that very purpose: to make us right with God.

‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.’

He sacrificed Himself for the sins of all people. We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus once for all.  He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Powerful statements that should have a profound impact on our lives.

I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.”

 Refrain:
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

 Lord, now indeed I find Thy pow’r and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots And melt the heart of stone. [Refrain]

For nothing good have I Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb. [Refrain]

 And when, before the throne, I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,” My lips shall still repeat. [Refrain]

I really like this recording of that song by Fernando Ortega

Easter Sunday I was driving to Dallas to pick up my mother so we could take her to worship with us. We were going to the church where our son-in-law is pastor on the Ft. Worth side of the Metroplex. It normally takes about an hour to get to my mother’s house, and it is another 30 minutes from there to the church where we were going.

We encountered an unexpected delay on the way to mom’s house. The power company was working on a line that crossed the six-lane road we were on. Traffic was being funneled down to one lane. It was quite a delay. We were going to arrive at my mom’s house late. It was made even less pleasant by the people who were driving around cars and cutting in front of those of us who were trying to wait patiently. There seemed to be an abnormally high number of rude drivers.

I must confess that I was getting upset with those pushy, rude drivers. Cheryl noticed it, and she grabbed my hand and offered a quick prayer asking God to keep me calm, bless those other drivers, and not let this distract us from what we were celebrating that day. I needed to hear that.

I remembered something I heard on Good Friday. The preacher was talking about how Jesus loved people. He mentioned Jesus’ love for His mother, Peter, John and the thief on the cross. The thought that entered my mind was that He also loved the other thief, the one that was mocking Him and did not ask for mercy. He loved the soldiers who were killing Him. He loved the scribes and Pharisees and the Sanhedrin who wanted Him executed. He loves those who cut people off in traffic. He loves those who don’t know or believe in Him.

1 Timothy 2:1–4 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Lord, forgive my impatience with others. Help me to live and speak and act in ways that will help those who don’t know or believe in you to see what a good, kind, loving and forgiving God you are. Amen.

By the way, we made it to worship in plenty of time and had a wonderful celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. I hope you did, too, and continue to celebrate that Good News.

I ended yesterday’s devotion with these words: “This is the confidence of those who have put their faith in Jesus as their Savior: “I have seen the Lord!”

Have you seen the Lord? I have. Obviously, I have not seen Him as the disciples did, a physical being standing before me. But I have seen Him. And He spoke to me. In fact, I see Him everyday, and He speaks to me everyday. I see Him in His Word. I see Him in His goodness to me. But, perhaps most clearly, I see Him in the lives of others who know that He is alive. I see Jesus in those who trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins. Christ is alive and visible in those who believe that He is their Savior and Risen Lord. He is alive now. He is here now. He is with us, just as He has promised.

I am completely serious about this. The testimony of the eyewitnesses tells us that we can see Jesus in this way.  Paul had such confidence in the Resurrected Christ that He could declare I NO LONGER LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME  (Gal 2:20).  John wrote that THOSE WHO OBEY HIS COMMANDS LIVE IN HIM, AND HE IN THEM  (I John 3:24a).  Christ is alive! That is a fact!

Is He alive in you? Or, to put it another way, are you alive in Christ? Jesus spoke about this before He died, trying to let His followers know what was happening:

Before long the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:20).

With Christ living in you, you will be showing Christian care and concern to all around you. And there is no better way to show your care and concern than to declare to others that CHRIST IS ALIVE!

Do you believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again so that you might have the forgiveness of all your sins? The effect of this message in your life is staggering–at least it should be. The petty problems of day to day life fade into insignificance. And even the most traumatic things in life can be taken in stride. With this confidence, Christians face death differently. You know that the Jesus who was dead is now alive. He promises that you will also conquer death. Because He lives, you will live also.

To say that Christ is alive in us is not just saying that His memory lives on–He lives on.  My faith is founded upon the conviction that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and that He lives still today. I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in my flesh I shall see God.  He has promised that He died and rose again so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will also rise to eternal life with Him. This has been and still is the faith of millions of people. May this be your faith as well. Jesus Christ died to pay for sins, but He is not dead,He is risen! He is risen indeed! Declare this with your lips and with your life:  CHRIST IS ALIVE!

JOHN 20:11-18  …but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.  As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.  They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”  “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”  At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.  “Woman,” he said, “Why are you crying?  Who is it you are looking for?”  Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary.”  She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means teacher).  Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.  Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and to your God.'”  Mary of Magdala went to the disciples with the news:  “I have seen the Lord!”  And she told them that he had said these things to her.

We spent the Lenten season remembering that Jesus suffered and died for us, knowing all along that we would celebrate His Resurrection on Easter. We sometimes forget that Peter and John and Thomas and Mary Magdalene and the others did not have that constant reminder of the joy of Easter during Christ’s Passion.  When they went to that tomb on Easter morning, they were still mourning His death on the cross on Friday.  They did not expect to find Him alive–He had died–they had watched Him die–they had seen it with their own eyes. The women, knowing He was dead, were on their way to the tomb to make the final ritual preparations of the body for burial. Jesus was not alive.  They knew that with their minds, but they probably had not had enough time to fully comprehend it.

When someone close to you dies, you hurt, and you do not always think clearly. Jesus had told them that He would die and rise again, but His followers were not thinking about that now. All they felt was profound grief at His loss. He was dead! Their Master was in the tomb.

It is interesting that the enemies of Jesus took His claims seriously. They wanted the tomb sealed off so that no one would say that He rose from the dead, as He claimed He would. But Jesus made His enemies look foolish and ridiculous. There was no way they could keep Him in that grave. He burst forth from the tomb as the Lord of Life, the one who conquered death forever.

That Christ is Alive is your guarantee that He has made payment for your sins. It shows that God accepted His payment for sins as complete. It proves that He is the Son of God, and that all His teachings are true. And the Resurrection from death to life of Jesus means that you will also rise. Because He lives, you will live also! Can you imagine the joy that filled Mary’s heart when she realized that it was Jesus standing there talking to her?  You can almost hear it in her words–I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!

This is the confidence of those who have put their faith in Jesus as their Savior: “I have seen the Lord!” May we all continue to bask in the joy of Easter in the days ahead.

HE IS RISEN. HE IS RISEN INDEED. ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS ALIVE.

That is the message you expect to hear on Easter. That is the message I want to share with you today. But this means nothing to you if you don’t also know that Jesus was buried. To say that “Jesus is alive” provokes little reaction unless you realize that He was dead. To preach and proclaim the Easter message to people who have not heard what preceded the Resurrection is like telling the punch line of a joke without the previous set-up. A lot of people who go to church on Easter are like a theater-goer who arrives for the last five minutes of a movie, and then complains that the story doesn’t make sense. They don’t know and appreciate the whole story, so of course it doesn’t make sense. It is only by fully realizing the fact that Jesus was truly dead that we will ever experience the full joy of the statement CHRIST IS RISEN.

If you are going to be able to rejoice in the knowledge that CHRIST IS ALIVE, not only do you need to know that He was dead–You also need to understand why Jesus died.  The reason Jesus died has been proclaimed over and over again, but it will never be declared too often. 

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18). 

Through His perfect obedience to the will of His heavenly Father, through His suffering at the hands of the ones He came to save, through His agony and death on the cross, He made complete payment for the sins of every single person–once for all. The Biblical record sums up our situation very clearly: All people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death.  What could you do to make it up to God? Nothing! What has Jesus done to make it up to God for you? Everything! He did that by dying. His death paid your penalty. Jesus was dead. He was not alive. And then this happened.

Matthew 28:5–7 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

That is why we celebrate this day. Christ is Alive. Risen from the dead, assuring all who believe in Him of forgiveness and life everlasting with the Risen One.

Happy Easter!

On this full day that our Lord spent in the tomb, I share two different hymns that speak to my heart powerfully. One has been around for centuries, the other is fairly new. May they be a blessing to you as we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord tomorrow.

O sacred Head, now wounded, With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded With thorns, Thine only crown.
O sacred head, what glory What bliss till now was thine.
Yet, though Despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine!

What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever! And should I fainting be,
Lord, let not me never, never, Outlive my love for Thee.

Be Thou my consolation, My shield, when I must die.
Remind me of Thy Passion, When my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfold Thee, Who dieth thus dies well.

The Lutheran Hymnal # 172, Stanzas 1, 8, 10

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The Lamb, the Lamb, O Father, where’s the sacrifice?
Faith sees, believes God will provide the Lamb of price!

Refrain:
Worthy is the Lamb whose death makes me His own!
The Lamb is reigning on His throne

The Lamb, the Lamb, One perfect final offering.
The Lamb, the Lamb, Let earth join heav’n His praise to sing.

The Lamb, the Lamb, As wayward sheep their shepherd kill
So still, His will On our behalf the Law to fill.

He sighs, he dies, He takes my sin and wretchedness.
He lives, forgives, He gives me His own righteousness.

He rose, He rose, My heart with thanks now overflows.
His song prolong Til ev’ry heart to Him belong.

Lutheran Service Book #547 

If we had been with Jesus through the betrayal, arrest, trials, beatings, crucifixion and death, it would have been devastating. How could things change so quickly? Instead of the conquering King we lauded on Sunday we now have just another promising leader who was put to death.

You and I were not there. We have the advantage of hindsight. We know His horrible death paid for our sin and the sins of everyone else. We also know that Sunday is coming.

Good Friday is a reminder of the overwhelming price our sin demanded, and that Jesus went through all that cruel punishment for our sake. That should produce a profound sense of gratitude. And we anticipate the joyful celebration of His victory on Sunday, along with our entry into His presence one day because of His gracious love and mercy.

Go to dark Gethsemane, ye that feel the Tempter’s power;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see, Watch with Him one bitter hour;
Turn not from His griefs away, Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

Follow to the judgment hall, View the Lord of life arraigned;
Oh, the wormwood and the gall!  Oh, the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suff’ring, shame, or loss; Learn of Him to bear the cross

Calvary’s mournful mountain climb;  There adoring at His feet,
Mark that miracle of time, God’s own sacrifice complete.
“It is finished!” hear Him cry;  Learn of Jesus Christ to die.

Early hasten to the tomb Where they laid His breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom,–Who hath taken Him away?
Christ is risen, He meets our eyes!  Savior, teach us so to rise

The Lutheran Hymnal #159

On this day of Holy Week Jesus was celebrating and remembering the Passover, God’s deliverance of His people from their bondage in Egypt. At the memorial meal, Jesus instituted a new meal, a way for us to remember and share in the payment He made for the sins of everyone. We receive His body and blood with the bread and wine to assure us that His death for sin was our death for sin.

Although it may sound strange to “celebrate” a death, knowing what the death of Jesus did for us is truly worth celebrating.

The death of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
We celebrate with one accord;
It is our comfort in distress,
Our heart’s sweet joy and happiness.

He blotted out with His own blood
The judgment that against us stood;
He full atonement for us made,
And all our debt He fully paid.

That this is now and ever true
He gives an earnest ever new:
In this His holy Supper here
We taste His love so sweet, so near.

His Word proclaims, and we believe,
That in this Supper we receive
His very body, as He said,
His very blood for sinners shed.

A precious food is this indeed,
It never fails us in our need,
A heavenly manna for our soul
Until we safely reach our goal.

Oh, blest is each believing guest
Who in this promise finds his rest;
For Jesus will in love abide
With those who do in Him confide.

The guest that comes with true intent
To turn to God and to repent,
To live for Christ, to die to sin,
Will thus a holy life begin.

They who His Word do not believe\
This food unworthily receive,
Salvation here will never find,
May we this warning keep in mind!

Help us sincerely to believe
That we may worthily receive
Thy Supper and in Thee find rest.
Amen, he who believes is blest.

 The Lutheran Hymnal #163

Mark 14:1–11 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”  While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

After being welcomed to Jerusalem as a conquering hero, cleansing the Temple, and spending time teaching the people with parables, the Jewish leaders had it with Jesus. They wanted Him dead and gone.

On Wednesday, Jesus was in the home of Simon in Bethany. While at the supper table with His followers, one of the women named Mary anointed Jesus with very expensive perfume. The disciples thought it an unwise use of resources. Judas wanted the money for himself. It was on this day that Judas made arrangements to hand Jesus over to the Sanhedrin in exchange for money. He would carry out his plot the next day.

Do you see the irony that it was a sin that handed Jesus over to the Jewish leaders to be crucified so that He could pay for the sins of everyone? Jesus’ death paid for the sin of Judas’ betrayal as well!  He could have been forgiven for Jesus’ sake, just as everyone else in the world has the opportunity to be forgiven, no matter what their sin might be.

You and I need to rejoice in that good news today.

Alas, and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head,
For such a worm as I.

Was it for crimes that I had done,
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut His glories in;
When Christ the mighty Maker died
For man, the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt mine eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
‘Tis all that I can do.

The Lutheran Hymnal #154