Easter Sunday, 2018
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #188 Hallelujah
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #188 Hallelujah
Eternal Life Wherever the Word Is Proclaimed
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior
KJV 1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
KJV Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
Easter
Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst deliver Thy Son for our offenses, and didst raise Him again for our justification: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that He may rule and govern us according to Thy will; graciously keep us in the true faith; defend us from all sins, and after this life raise us unto eternal life, through the same, Thy beloved Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Eternal Life Wherever the Word Is Proclaimed
KJV Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
This text begins with an example of faith, though mixed with grief. Like many women's groups in congregations today, they had some duties. Thinking only about honoring the death of Jesus. these three ladies set out to perform those acts, giving dignity to their Teacher and Lord.
Here is a paradox. They began with the assumption of grieving followers, but they also showed great faith in setting out to honor someone tortured and executed for being a criminal in the eyes of Rome and a blasphemer in the eyes of Israel. We know how people shun those accused of heinous crimes, even when falsely accused or only suspected.
They were buoyed up by their sense of duty to Jesus but also by faith. The disciples were locked in a room, but the women were out walking to the tomb, not even thinking about the impossibility of rolling the stone door to the side. Another consideration would have been the Imperial guards and the fear they caused with their weapons and armor. But no matter, they women set out early before sunrise to reach the tomb. That made it Sunday for us, but still the Sabbath for Jews, who counted the change by the sunset and sunrise.
Every so often some genius will say, "Jesus was not in the tomb three days, 72 hours, so the Bible contradicts itself." So the apostates, sceptics, and academics rush to expose their opposition. Jesus died on Friday, was dead on Saturday, and rose on Sunday. That means He was in the tomb part of three days. Calendars are culture, so we have to translate calendar dates just as we translate the languages spoken.
And it is true that Oster is the pagan god of fertility, Easter eggs connected with that figure. But that might be a reason to resist "Pat the Bunny" advertising for Easter, even though it helped on man become District President (Don Patterson) and another become a missionary professor to Asia (Matt Doebler). However, cultists at the door show alarm about Easter because they deny the Trinity and the Atonement of Christ, which are scandals to them.
When Did Jesus Rise?
Jesus rose before the tomb was blasted open. Some (like Pastor Steve Witte) portray Jesus being let out of the tomb by the angels who opened the tomb door. He is president of that Asian seminary! What does that painting say about the divinity of Christ? Answer - That is the totally erroneous view that His human nature limits His divine nature.
O Love, how strong Thou art to save!
Thou beddest Him within the grave
Whose Word the mountains rendeth.
Paul Gerhardt, A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth, verse 3
Likewise, John Calvin taught that Jesus came into the locked room by a secret entrance, embracing the same wrong view of the Two Natures in Christ.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Note - the women got together, gathered their equipment, and headed for the tomb before the sun was up. There were no streetlamps to guide them, only the light of the stars and the moon. They came to the tomb just as the sun was rising, so Jesus rose before that time. That is why in ancient times and now, Easter is recognized with sunrise services.
That honors the time and also the experience of those first followers. It was all darkness to them, the moment Jesus was arrested, tried, insulted, tortured, and killed. The Apostle John was there to witness the final stroke, the sword piercing the side of Jesus. That observation of water and blood leaving the wound reminded Christians of the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion, which convey Christ to us. But they also confirmed that Jesus truly died a mortal death. There was no sleep, no swooning (an early bogus theory), no coma and awakening.
The first day of the week -
There have been attempts to make the week longer, to increase the total work days in a year. It is a clever and greedy thought, but mankind always returns to the days of Creation - six - and the day of rest, now deemed Sunday for the Christian world. Thus the week begins on Sunday, the first day, with worship, singing, grace through the Means of Grace, the Word and Sacraments.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
The women were almost there when they finally asked among themselves, "Who will roll the stone away?" It was not a boulder, which would have been difficult for several men to shove aside. Instead, it was a shaped lid of stone that rolled in a groove in the ground. Three women did not have the strength to shove the lid aside. If anyone is curious and lives in a rocky area, try moving a stone that is only knee high. Do not try too hard. One cubit foot of granite is 160 pounds.
4. The great longing and love of the women for the Lord must also be particularly noted here, so that unadvised and alone they go early to the grave, not thinking of the great stone which was rolled before the tomb.
They might have thought of this and taken a man with them. But they act like timid and sorrowing persons, and therefore they go on their way without even thinking of the most necessary things. They do not even think of the watchers who were clad in armor, nor of the wrath of Pilate and the Jews, but boldly they freely risk it and alone they venture on their way.
What urged these good women to hazard life and body? It was nothing but the great love they bore to the Lord, which had sunk so deeply into their hearts that for his sake they would have risked a thousand lives. Such courage they had not of themselves, but here the power of the resurrection of Christ was revealed, whose Spirit makes these women, who by nature are timid, so bold and courageous that they venture to do things which might have daunted a man.
5. These women also show us a beautiful example of a spiritual heart that undertakes an impossible task, of which the whole world would despair.
Yet a heart like this stands firm and accomplishes it, not thinking the task impossible. So much we say for the present on this narrative, and now let us see what are the fruits and benefits of the resurrection of Christ.
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
We know this story and look at how concise it is. Because the Holy Spirit is so stingy with words, we should pay special attention to each phrase. For example, the entire Gospel of John, in 12 point Arial font, is only 35 pages. I bought booklets of John to give away in Spanish and English. They can be put in a purse or large pocket.
Once they realized they had to cope with the stone, the saw that it was away from the door, and that astonished them. Should they be afraid, hesitant, run away? No, their faith blossomed in the tutelage of Jesus, and it bore fruit in love. That is why they did not hesitate to do what was impossible for three women, because faith and love drove them to do this.
The same can be said for anything done in faith. How is it possible? That is not asked when the need is there and faith moves people toward that goal. When people thought of marriage and children as part of God's Creation, they did not ask how two young people at the bottom of the employment pyramid could do such a thing or have children or even have a household. But now people wait until they have lots of security, income, maturity, and so forth - and often find there must be another, better foundation than material goods and economic security.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
The short version of the resurrection is told in a few words of identification:
7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
My Yale professor was impressed that I pointed out how Peter was singled out and named in this angelic charge. Peter denied Jesus three times, but he was not rejected or left out. He was included in this great news of the resurrection. Thus Peter is the example of one who exuberantly promised never to betray Jesus yet denied Him three times, in spite of the warning given directly to him. Peter is the example of denying Jesus but also the example of contrition and forgiveness, recorded in the last chapter of John's Gospel.
One of the big lies about the Bible was easily seen by the Greek New Testament class. There we dealt with conjunctions in every lesson. While we moderns like punctuation, the Greek NT uses words for punctuation. An important one is gar - meaning "for." Because it is always the second word in a clause, the word is never an ending, but an important transition. Books did not end with gar.
The grandees of scholarship decided verse 8 was the end of Mark's Gospel and would not accept the traditional ending. They also used their own theory to say, "Look at how the manuscripts contradict each other! Let's do more editing." And they edited even more away from the New Testament. Soon they discovered creative translating, adding and subtracting words and inventing phrases to make the New Testament say what it should have said from the beginning. Their apostate leader Nida inspired them, in a demonic way.
Fruits of the Gospel of Eternal Life
Most of Protestantism treats God's Word as something we learn and believe, and that part is true. But they downplay or deny the efficacy of the Word, its divine power.
God's Word does not merely teach us about Jesus our Savior. The Word brings Jesus to us, with all His benefits and blessings. In the background is always that non-biblical idea about us doing what we should with what we know. However, the Gospel is the divine energy that drives us forward in doing those things and enjoying those benefits.
Luther:
But when I come to understand the fact that all the works God does in Christ are done for me, nay, they are bestowed upon and given to me, the effect of his resurrection being that I also will arise and live with him; that will cause me to rejoice. This must be brought home to our hearts, and we must not merely hear it with the ears of our body nor merely confess it with our mouth.
That is what drew the women to the tomb, beyond all reason, transcending their fears. When they realized their unique position, they hardly knew what to do and ran back in silence, speaking to no one. But of course, they told the disciples, who began to witness the resurrection in person.
We cannot avoid the loss of friends and family. One of our Moline friends finds people saying, "Don't bring up your loss." My wife and I respond, "No, tell us about your husband. We enjoy the stories and the photos."
As Paul wrote, "He was raised for our justification." Romans 4:25. That is not an emphasis upon Justification without Faith OJ, but what precedes in Romans 4:24 - "if we believe" - Justification by Faith. The Gospel teaches us not to fear the one great fear - death itself.
No one by his intellect, strength, or will could defeat this fear on his own. Even the most hardened criminals are afraid of dying. In fact, the more crooked a politician is, the more he fears death and judgment. He can be perfectly groomed and highly praised, but he knows the truth about all the betrayals of trust, all the bribes, even the convenient deaths.
Only one thing can give us enough faith to face death itself - that is the risen Christ and His Gospel. That is also what gives us confidence in being declared forgiven, because that is impossible on our own. We cannot do enough to make up for the smallest sin, let alone for great and terrible sins. But the resurrection of Christ teaches us that the perfect, innocent Son of God took all that upon Himself and gave us His righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness.
That confidence has moved Christians to send missionaries to foreign countries - America for starters. We were in the wild land bereft of culture when missionaries came to build congregations, then colleges and seminaries. Obviously, that Gospel energy is gone, because the colleges are secular, often anti-Christian, and the seminaries are as empty as gourmet menu at McDonalds.
But the answer is not institutions but faith in the Gospel Word.
In our own lives, anything is possible, given God's power, but that is always proportionate to the use of His Word. If people choose to live according to man's wisdom, they will not see Gospel fruits. However, nothing keeps us from making that true among ourselves, as many have shown.
Funny how the Pietists teach cell groups as essential. God did not create cell groups but husbands and wives, children, families as the essential unit where Christian character is taught and the Gospel is practiced.
The Gospel will always bear fruit. We do not know how, because only God knows, but we do know that planting and nurturing the Word will be following by the the design of God's Creation.
I got our Easter lilies late, and ended up with two pots, only one bloom, many buds. I thought, "How do I make them bloom overnight?" I decided to copy Creation and feed them with rainwater, time after time. In a few hours the closed buds began to open.
So each believer has a chance to nurture God's Creating Word by studying and applying the Gospel.
They might have thought of this and taken a man with them. But they act like timid and sorrowing persons, and therefore they go on their way without even thinking of the most necessary things. They do not even think of the watchers who were clad in armor, nor of the wrath of Pilate and the Jews, but boldly they freely risk it and alone they venture on their way.
What urged these good women to hazard life and body? It was nothing but the great love they bore to the Lord, which had sunk so deeply into their hearts that for his sake they would have risked a thousand lives. Such courage they had not of themselves, but here the power of the resurrection of Christ was revealed, whose Spirit makes these women, who by nature are timid, so bold and courageous that they venture to do things which might have daunted a man.
5. These women also show us a beautiful example of a spiritual heart that undertakes an impossible task, of which the whole world would despair.
Yet a heart like this stands firm and accomplishes it, not thinking the task impossible. So much we say for the present on this narrative, and now let us see what are the fruits and benefits of the resurrection of Christ.
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
We know this story and look at how concise it is. Because the Holy Spirit is so stingy with words, we should pay special attention to each phrase. For example, the entire Gospel of John, in 12 point Arial font, is only 35 pages. I bought booklets of John to give away in Spanish and English. They can be put in a purse or large pocket.
Once they realized they had to cope with the stone, the saw that it was away from the door, and that astonished them. Should they be afraid, hesitant, run away? No, their faith blossomed in the tutelage of Jesus, and it bore fruit in love. That is why they did not hesitate to do what was impossible for three women, because faith and love drove them to do this.
The same can be said for anything done in faith. How is it possible? That is not asked when the need is there and faith moves people toward that goal. When people thought of marriage and children as part of God's Creation, they did not ask how two young people at the bottom of the employment pyramid could do such a thing or have children or even have a household. But now people wait until they have lots of security, income, maturity, and so forth - and often find there must be another, better foundation than material goods and economic security.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
The short version of the resurrection is told in a few words of identification:
- You seek Jesus of Nazareth;
- He was crucified;
- He is not here;
- Look at the empty place where he once was laid.
Two angels were present but one spoke. My Harvard-trained New Testament professor from college spent his entire career offended by one angel versus two angels. Only one needed to speak. It does not say "they only saw one angel." They saw one clothed in a long white garment and they were afraid. And he spoke to them.
How would two angels speak such a short proclamation? Besides all this, the expert in evidence at Harvard Law (Simon Greenleaf) looked for contradictions and found only evidence in harmony with the risen Christ. This is a personal example of someone knowing the Scriptures in Greek, studying at the best school, and yet blinding himself through the efficacy of the Word. And yet he went to church and sang the hymns all his life, citing the one angel of proof the Gospels disagreed.
That needs to be said, because too many people like and respect professors - as they should - but then refuse to believe they could be wrong about anything - and that is very bad. Obstinate rejection of the Word will blind and harden someone, just as playing around with powerful energy sources will lead to injuries and death. Do we blame electricity for burning someone who cuts into a live powerline? Do we accuse the inventor of microwave radar because it is so dangerous at close range.
7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
My Yale professor was impressed that I pointed out how Peter was singled out and named in this angelic charge. Peter denied Jesus three times, but he was not rejected or left out. He was included in this great news of the resurrection. Thus Peter is the example of one who exuberantly promised never to betray Jesus yet denied Him three times, in spite of the warning given directly to him. Peter is the example of denying Jesus but also the example of contrition and forgiveness, recorded in the last chapter of John's Gospel.
One of the big lies about the Bible was easily seen by the Greek New Testament class. There we dealt with conjunctions in every lesson. While we moderns like punctuation, the Greek NT uses words for punctuation. An important one is gar - meaning "for." Because it is always the second word in a clause, the word is never an ending, but an important transition. Books did not end with gar.
The grandees of scholarship decided verse 8 was the end of Mark's Gospel and would not accept the traditional ending. They also used their own theory to say, "Look at how the manuscripts contradict each other! Let's do more editing." And they edited even more away from the New Testament. Soon they discovered creative translating, adding and subtracting words and inventing phrases to make the New Testament say what it should have said from the beginning. Their apostate leader Nida inspired them, in a demonic way.
Fruits of the Gospel of Eternal Life
Most of Protestantism treats God's Word as something we learn and believe, and that part is true. But they downplay or deny the efficacy of the Word, its divine power.
God's Word does not merely teach us about Jesus our Savior. The Word brings Jesus to us, with all His benefits and blessings. In the background is always that non-biblical idea about us doing what we should with what we know. However, the Gospel is the divine energy that drives us forward in doing those things and enjoying those benefits.
Luther:
But when I come to understand the fact that all the works God does in Christ are done for me, nay, they are bestowed upon and given to me, the effect of his resurrection being that I also will arise and live with him; that will cause me to rejoice. This must be brought home to our hearts, and we must not merely hear it with the ears of our body nor merely confess it with our mouth.
That is what drew the women to the tomb, beyond all reason, transcending their fears. When they realized their unique position, they hardly knew what to do and ran back in silence, speaking to no one. But of course, they told the disciples, who began to witness the resurrection in person.
We cannot avoid the loss of friends and family. One of our Moline friends finds people saying, "Don't bring up your loss." My wife and I respond, "No, tell us about your husband. We enjoy the stories and the photos."
As Paul wrote, "He was raised for our justification." Romans 4:25. That is not an emphasis upon Justification without Faith OJ, but what precedes in Romans 4:24 - "if we believe" - Justification by Faith. The Gospel teaches us not to fear the one great fear - death itself.
No one by his intellect, strength, or will could defeat this fear on his own. Even the most hardened criminals are afraid of dying. In fact, the more crooked a politician is, the more he fears death and judgment. He can be perfectly groomed and highly praised, but he knows the truth about all the betrayals of trust, all the bribes, even the convenient deaths.
Only one thing can give us enough faith to face death itself - that is the risen Christ and His Gospel. That is also what gives us confidence in being declared forgiven, because that is impossible on our own. We cannot do enough to make up for the smallest sin, let alone for great and terrible sins. But the resurrection of Christ teaches us that the perfect, innocent Son of God took all that upon Himself and gave us His righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness.
That confidence has moved Christians to send missionaries to foreign countries - America for starters. We were in the wild land bereft of culture when missionaries came to build congregations, then colleges and seminaries. Obviously, that Gospel energy is gone, because the colleges are secular, often anti-Christian, and the seminaries are as empty as gourmet menu at McDonalds.
But the answer is not institutions but faith in the Gospel Word.
In our own lives, anything is possible, given God's power, but that is always proportionate to the use of His Word. If people choose to live according to man's wisdom, they will not see Gospel fruits. However, nothing keeps us from making that true among ourselves, as many have shown.
Funny how the Pietists teach cell groups as essential. God did not create cell groups but husbands and wives, children, families as the essential unit where Christian character is taught and the Gospel is practiced.
The Gospel will always bear fruit. We do not know how, because only God knows, but we do know that planting and nurturing the Word will be following by the the design of God's Creation.
I got our Easter lilies late, and ended up with two pots, only one bloom, many buds. I thought, "How do I make them bloom overnight?" I decided to copy Creation and feed them with rainwater, time after time. In a few hours the closed buds began to open.
So each believer has a chance to nurture God's Creating Word by studying and applying the Gospel.
