Matthew 28:1-10.                               2012 Lenten Season

The triumph of His defeat

¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ 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.”
⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

 As we travel through another Lenten season we are encouraged to focus on the things that are important for our faith: to challenge us to turn back to God, recognising that we fall way short of being the people that he would have us be and that we are in need of major help in our lives. Now here I have a text that has been set down as one of our themes for this series of Lenten devotions and which I have been asked to preach on. It is a wonderful Christian message! In fact for many it is the key to their life as a Christian. The focus is on life and hope. It is an uplifting and positive message that makes us feel good. The Jesus who died has risen again three days later. What an amazing, triumphant message!

 But is it? Here again we have another example of putting the ‘cart before the horse’. We are again getting everything back to front, and then wondering why it is not having the impact that it should be having. The resurrection is meaningless without the cross; and the cross is meaningless without sin, death and hell; and sin, death and hell are meaningless unless it is understood to be the reality of each one of us.

Sadly, these days, we are trying to surround ourselves with feel-good messages so that we can hide from the realities of life, but then left wondering why life is so empty and meaningless. When we do this in regard to the faith then the results are even worse. The more that we fail to take life and sin seriously the more we are left feeling empty and alone and the more the important issues of the faith are overlooked.

Throughout the history of the church Lent has been a time of taking stock of where we are at in our Christian lives. Our church fathers have continually recognised our human tendency to avoid facing and taking sin seriously and so have placed great significance on this time of Lent as a time for us to be challenged to take a good hard look at ourselves and where we are at in our faith and life.

 Now of course this is something we today are very reluctant to do. We don’t like having to admit to the reality that we are deeply sinful and far from being the kind of people that God would have us be. We simply want to hear that God loves and accepts us as we are, and to then to by and large be able to live our lives as we and our society dictate. We want to be able to ignore those parts of Scripture that make us feel uncomfortable and which go against the present whims of our society.

 However, God’s Word is very clear about the fact that ‘all have sinned and fallen short’ of what God demands of us. Not one of us can stand before God in our own righteousness. Nowhere does God’s Word say that sin is no big deal or that we can change it to suit our own whims and wishes. God and his Word has to be taken seriously.

 Again God’s Word is clear that anything short of perfection is sin and deserves the punishment of death and subsequently eternity in hell. So this is a very important issue and cannot be treated lightly: Hence the necessity for us to take time to think deeply on these serious issues; and recognise that this applies to each one of us. It is vitally important that we recognise this and take it seriously, for it is only then that the message of Easter makes any sense at all.

 Jesus death on the cross is the only solution to the problem that we have in the face of our sin. And thanks be to God that he did send his Son into our world to take that punishment that we deserve on himself. Thank God that Jesus Christ died in our place so that we might be forgiven and assured that we are able to once again come into God presence and enjoy eternity with him in heaven. Jesus and his death on the cross alone has ensured that sin, death and hell is not the end of the story for us. Good Friday is of absolute importance to us, for without it, there is no salvation for us at all.

 Jesus’ seeming defeat on the cross is no defeat at all: in fact it is the defeat of sin, death and hell for us. No longer have they power over us. The devil can no longer condemn us; for Jesus took that condemnation on himself. So instead of defeat, Jesus death on the cross is the greatest victory of all time. Through his death, life and salvation is there now for each and every one of us. To him be glory and honour, now and always.

 Jesus resurrection three days later is a triumph in that it is absolute proof and validation of what he has done for us through his death on the cross. Now we can be sure that what he did for us on Good Friday was for real and that we can be certain that there is life and salvation for us, despite our sinfulness. God raised him again so that we can be sure that his death was not ‘just another death,’ but was God’s plan all along.

 Along with that Jesus was raised so that we also are assured that all who are connected to this Jesus will also be raised to be with our Lord in eternity. This Jesus is Lord of life and death; victor over sin, death and hell. Now we can face our sin honestly and openly, for we know that through Jesus there is life and salvation available to us.

 So as a result of Easter we can face up to the reality of sin, death and hell that is before us. We can take it seriously, recognising the enormity of it; and using this time to turn us back to taking God and everything he has to say to us seriously. The more that we understand the seriousness of our sinful situation, the more we will then appreciate his death on the cross and the more his resurrection will be his triumphant ring across our sinful world.

 So let us see these weeks of Lent as a very important tool that our gracious God is seeking to use to help us to recognise the gravity of our sinful human nature. Remember, that instead of being afraid to do so, we can now do so because we know that the Lord Jesus has gone before us. He has done what is necessary for the forgiveness of all who repent and believe the Good News. Through recognition and acknowledgement of our sin we can now turn to God knowing that there is not only forgiveness and salvation there for us, but there is also help for us so that we can have the life that he wants for us also.

 He is here to help us now seek to live more in accord with his Word and so not be dragged down by our sin and the sin of our world around us. As we realise where we fall short of what is expected of us we now find the help to more and more to overcome these problems: But in particular he uses this recognition to help us to turn and seek his forgiveness and salvation; to appreciate the depth of his love for us through his death on the cross; and the triumph that is there in our connection with him and his resurrection. So to him alone then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish