Sermon for April 24th (Easter Sunday)

You already know. You already know about Jesus. You’ve heard about Jesus before today whether it was in Sunday school a long time ago or on the radio when you were flipping past and heard some funny preacher talk about him. You’ve heard about Jesus on some news show or read about the latest religious fads in Time magazine. You’ve heard. You know about him. But in book of Acts this morning, Saint Peter speaks to people who even though know a lot about Jesus are still missing something important in their lives. Is that you?

He starts of by saying, “We are witnesses”. Not you or me today, but the disciples, back 2000 years ago, they were actual witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. I know that you know it all, but do you believe that it is true? You know that Jesus was supposed to have died on the cross, you know he was supposed to be raised from the dead, but do you believe that it’s true? There is no reason to believe it except that we believe the eyewitness accounts. There were witnesses to it. They told about their experience. They wrote it down. Our faith rests on their witness. If they were lying, then we are all to be pitied for our faith would then be in some made up story. But what if they are true witnesses? What if they saw what they saw and heard what they heard? What if they really experienced what they experienced. What if Jesus really did rise from the dead?

Why should you believe them? In the book, “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel he explains why. He writes, “People will die for their religious beliefs if they sincerely believe they’re true, but people won’t die for their religious beliefs if they know their beliefs are false. While most people can only believe that their beliefs are true, the disciples were in a position to know without a doubt, whether or not Jesus had risen from the dead. They claimed that they saw him, talked with him and ate with him. If they weren’t absolutely certain, they wouldn’t have allowed themselves to be tortured to death for proclaiming that the Ressurection had happened. Nobody knowingly and willingly dies for a lie.”

You and I could presumably die for a lie, but the disciples could not have. We were not eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. They were. If even one of them would have given in and said, “No! Don’t kill me! I was just making it up! You know, trying to start a new religious movement he-he!” don’t you think that someone would have picked up on that! They didn’t have anything to gain as this world sees it and everything to lose. And yet, we know that they all died still maintaining that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Jesus commanded these witnesses, his disciples, to tell people who already knew all about him two things that would make all the difference in their lives. Tell them about judgment he said and tell them about forgiveness.
There will be a judgment day. A day when Jesus judges the living and the dead. We will all stand before God and hear our verdict. We will have to answer for every word, thought or deed in this life. There is no escaping this judgment. Christians and non-Christians will be judged.

Do you think you’ll pass the test based on your actions in this life? I’m sure that you act pretty nice in public, pretty spiritual most of the time, but if people knew how your mind works, how badly you act at home with your family, or maybe on the internet, the kind of thoughts and desires you have swirling around in that head of yours all the time, well, you’d never let anyone find out! You don’t even like to think about it if you don’t have to. And yet God knows. The Bible tells us the truth we all knew: we all fall short of the kind of person God wants us to be. We are not even the people WE want to be.

But Jesus commands his witnesses to tell even more. Saint Peters says, “All the prophets testified about Jesus and everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Do you understand what this means? The prophets were saying, “The kingdom is coming, the kingdom is coming, the kingdom is coming!” And then when Jesus Christ was born God says, “It’s here! The kingdom of God is here!” That “thing” you ‘ve been waiting for? That meaning in your life your been looking for: it’s here! It’s Jesus! Your reason for living! Your reason for dying! His name is Jesus and, get this, he adores you. He cherishes a relationship with you so much that he died on a cross for you. There will be a judgment, but Jesus is basing your verdict NOT on your good deeds or bad choices, but on your faith in his power to forgive. You may already know about Jesus, but you don’t know anything if you don’t know that your sins are forgiven. That’s what Jesus is all about.

What does it mean to have your sins forgiven? It means that you can stop pretending . To have your sins forgiven means that you are a sinner with no hope of recovery. You need to hear that truth every chance that you get. You are stuck making the same hurtful decisions against those you love day after day and not only CAN’T you stop, but you WON’T stop. You don’t even WANT to! That’s what being a sinner is. To be forgiven is to be told that even sin won’t stop Jesus from loving you.

What if you don’t believe it? Well, then, you’ll be forced to trust in something else. When you hurt your wife, you’ll feel like all you can do is send flowers and hope for her pity. When you feel your life spinning out of control, you’ll self-medicate with ice cream, or alcohol or drugs. You’ll hide your bad behaviors behind a mountain of good deeds hoping to convince others, and maybe even yourself, that you’re lovable. Maybe people will like you for how hard you work even if they wouldn’t like the kind of person you are on the inside. But will God be so easily duped?

I’m sure that the vast majority, the vast majority of you, know about Jesus. What I’m saying is, “Who cares if you know about Jesus if his death and life doesn’t affect your life?” Why call yourself a Christian if that name doesn’t actually say anything about what’s happened to the way you live? Why bother with the whole rigamarole of coming to church once or twice a year, or even every week, if you don’t believe the simple message that “your sins are forgiven”? It’d be like having to show up to your own birthday party and not eating any cake. Or being gifted a brand new sports car without ever feeling the engine rev up beneath your body. If you think you know Jesus, but don’t trust his forgiveness, you’ve missed out on the biggest gift of all.

You see, if your sins are forgiven you are free. Free from having to look good in the eyes of the world. Free from having to do enough “good works” to please God. “Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. It’s not about what you know. It’s about who you know. The question today is: do you know Jesus? Because he knows you, he loves you and he has forgiven your sins once and for all.

You’ve probably heard it before a dozen times. But what if it’s true? Believing in Jesus doesn’t mean you have to “do” more or “understand” more, but that you’ll stop “doing” anything and become a pure receiver of his grace. You can stop trying so hard and believe that when he said, “It is finished” on the cross that his death really did finish everything for you. You don’t have to “do” anything to please God, Jesus has already done it all for you. Everything? Yes, everything. Is there just a little bit left for you to do? No, not even a little bit?

Today you have the opportunity for freedom. Not because you know enough, but because forgiveness is a free gift for you. There’s nothing left to do. Only believe. Just fall back on God’s mercy and trust Him. You might already know a lot ABOUT Jesus—but it’s time that you come to know Jesus. There is a reason that you came here today. You’ve been missing something. God has brought you here to find it. God has brought you here to find him. Amen.