Quinquagesima

Qunquagesima
3/6/11
Luke 18:31-43
Bror Erickson


[31] And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. [32] For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. [33] And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise." [34] But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
[35] As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. [36] And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. [37] They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." [38] And he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" [39] And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" [40] And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, [41] "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me recover my sight." [42] And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well." [43] And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Luke 18:31-43 (ESV)


“And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise. But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what he said.” And on the third day he will rise! On the third day he will rise!

Absolutely amazing, so amazing that I don’t know we always fully understand it ourselves. We may be worse off than the disciples here. They couldn’t believe it before it happened. Now that it has happened, we have a hard time believing it, much more we have a hard time understanding what it means for our lives, for us, for our friends, for our families. On the third day He will rise. On the Third day He rose!
On the third day He conquered death. On the third day, He left the tomb, walked out, reveled in the victory with his friends for forty days, before Ascending to the Father, His Father. He conquered death FOR US.
Death, ever notice the hold it seems to have on our lives? No, really, I don’t care who you are, what your thoughts are on death, they determine almost everything you do in this life. Some think this life is all they have, so they attack it in a blind rage of drunkenness burn the candle at both ends.
Some of us live our lives, wondering what people will say about us at our funerals. You know it is true? We probably worry more about what our peers will think of us, than we do God. Will they say I was humble? Will they say that I was generous? Will they say, fill in the blank: (handsome, beautiful, fun, serious, a good father, a good mother) for your own obituary. Working hospice, I run into this all the time. People who no longer believe in God, let their friends and family become their god and gods, and what judgmental tyrants they can be! These whom you’d allow to be your final judge. At least God is feared because with Him there is forgiveness, which is something a bit to rare among friends and family and the company of fellow sinners. Sin doesn’t know how to forgive, it only knows how to kill.
Some try to preserve this life for as long as they can afraid of what will or won’t come when this life is over. Medicine is constantly looking to prolong life, and people are constantly looking to see if they can live longer and longer. Most of those types don’t believe in hell. They are afraid of the nothingness they will become according to their belief in scientific naturalism, or the belief that this is all there is, the material of this world. They fall victim and prey to con artists posing as Drs. selling snake oils and calling them stem cells and so on. And don’t get me wrong. I see nothing wrong with medicine, I see nothing wrong with preserving life a little longer. Though at some point, I think I’d rather go to be with Christ in heaven. For as Paul says: when he explicates the Christian conundrum facing death for us: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philip. 1:21 (ESV)
To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” To live is Christ. What does that mean? It means as long as we live in this world, we Christians, we live as Christ’s, as servants, we live for Christ as we live for our spouses, for our children, for our bosses and coworkers, for our neighbors, friends and families that they might know Christ, because our lives are not our own. Our lives now belong to Christ, because He went up to Jerusalem to be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked and shamefully treated, spat upon, flogged and killed. Crucified for us on the cross. Beaten for us. He did it for us. He did it to pay our ransom. He did it to atone for our sins. And on the third day, HE ROSE!
To Live is Christ! Every day we live is Christ! Oh think about that. You beloved children of God, think about that. Everyday you live is a day you live as Christ, in his love, in his forgiveness, your life is Christ, because you no longer live for yourself. For you it would be much better to die, because He who has claimed you, He who has purchased you, He who has made you His own and forgiven you all your sin,…. He ROSE, and He gives you life with Him in heaven, a life you can’t imagine. What we have waiting for us in heaven is beyond our wildest dreams. It is more than this life will ever have to offer. Should we be thinking of ourselves and only ourselves, than to die is indeed gain. Yes our death will be gain, for to live is Christ.
To live is Christ, that is what the resurrection means for you, for me, for us. It means to live is Christ. But if to live is Christ, then our lives will be like that of Christ. What we suffer in this world, we suffer as Christ. We now suffer it in love. We now suffer it as Christ suffered it, not for ourselves but for others. To live is Christ, that isn’t as easy as it first sounds. Christ was rejected. Christ was mocked. Christ was spat upon. Christ knew what it was to be hungry and thirsty, to have no home, to be betrayed by friends, handed over to Gentiles, flogged and killed. Should we be spared the same? And often what we suffer is not that different than what the world itself suffers. Who alive in this world has not suffered all these things, perhaps even to the point that they wished for death to end it all. How many find that it doesn’t end it all? When hell is a reality, when hell is the future than the suffering of this life is nothing but a foretaste of the feast to come. But for us to live is Christ and to die is gain. What we suffer in this world, we suffer only to let others know of the love and forgiveness of Christ.
Everything we do we do to the glory of God! When we go to work, when we eat and drink, When we get dressed, when we wash our hair, brush our teeth and put on clean clothes, when we take a vacation with our family, take a mid marriage honey moon, (which makes more sense to me that renewing the vows you made before your first honey moon) We do it to the glory of God. No longer for ourselves, but for those we love, those who Christ loves, those who God forgives as He forgives us. And here is the real kicker, we even do it to the glory of God when we do it for ourselves, because we do it as beloved children of God, enjoying the gifts He gives us to enjoy. Because God loves us, God loves you, He wants you to enjoy this life too. He wants you to enjoy it with friends and family, enjoy it by loving them and loving yourself, because He loves you. He loves you which is why He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and buried.
But on the Third day He rose! On the Third day He conquered death, so death has no hold over us. On the third day He rose to give us life! On the third day He rose victorious, which victory He now celebrates even now, which victory feast he invites us to partake in here at his table, to eat the flesh that he sacrificed for us, that rose from the dead, to drink the blood he shed for us, that gives us life in the forgiveness of sins. So that for us who were buried with Him in baptism and now enjoy the newness of life in Him who was resurrected, it is not the suffering of this world that is a foretaste of the feast to come, but the love of family, the love of friends, the gifts enjoyed in this world that give us a foretaste, a tiny foretaste of the feast to come! Because He rose from the dead!

Now the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.