September 25, 2016
“Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead [died] and [was] buried. ”
“Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead [died] and [was] buried. ”
Last week Emmanuel sponsored another Film
of Faith for our community entitled, the “Blind Side” at the Sherman
Theater. Though the theme of the movie
was not clearly, specifically nor obviously biblical, it touched upon clear issues
that are contained in the Bible of caring for our fellow man, taking
responsibility when we have the means, and also and most importantly having the
courage to stand up in the face of circumstances.
Christians have done this for centuries
using as the basis of our choice the model of Jesus Christ. Some would look at Jesus Christ and say, the
‘price’ Jesus paid is too high. There
are still others when the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” comes on, change
the channel or refuse to watch it, because of not only the graphic nature of
how the crucifixion was portrayed, but also the reminder or vivid imagery that turns
our stomachs. That is perfectly
understandable. As a parent, I would not
be making a wise choice for even my own daughter Sarah to watch the movie, even
though it shows the biblical events of Jesus Christ ministry, His life, His death
and ultimately His resurrection.
Enter today, this small section of the
Apostle’s Creed that we will confess in a few minutes. We clearly and boldly confess that Jesus Christ,
“suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried”.
With these 9 words we come to the pinnacle of our confession of
faith. By pinnacle, I mean the central
point of our Christian faith that has the event that all of Christian history
revolves around, but also points to. Let
me unpack this concept of the Cross as the pinnacle of our faith.
In Lutheranism 101 and our study of the
Gospel of Mark, I have specifically said many times that the Cross of Jesus
Christ is the one event in all of human history that is looked for from the
Garden of Eden and which we look back to today.
It isn’t just a cross roads, but it is central to our faith, life and
beliefs. Let me explain. You see when Jesus Christ hung on the Cross
of Calvary, this is the most pivotal point in salvation history. If you look from the Garden of Eden and the
eating of the forbidden fruit by Adam and Eve, with their eating that fruit
they set into motion what was ultimately fulfilled only on the Cross of Calvary
by Jesus Christ.
Throughout all of Old Testament history,
every successive generation in the Seder or Passover meal, looked for the
coming Messiah. Yet it was not only the
coming Messiah, but what He would accomplish.
And Jesus Christ ‘suffering, crucifixion and death’ fulfilled all
righteousness for all of mankind. It
completed God’s plan of salvation to bring us to heaven. It was through Jesus Christ willingness to “suffer
under Pontius Pilate” endure the torture and torment of the guards and
the crowds, be “crucified” and nailed to the Cross. Endure the taunts of the crowds and even the pain
of even breathing. And ultimately when
Jesus Christ “died” and the curtain that had once separated the Holy of
Holies was now for all time and place torn from top to bottom that the
fulfillment of the plan of salvation was complete. For with Jesus Christ final words, “It is
finished” signaled salvation history had been fulfilled. For Jesus Christ in His willingness to suffer
and die, Jesus Christ offers us the greatest gift of grace of eternal life.
This is why Jesus Christ death, burial,
resurrection, ascension and the Apostle’s being given the Holy Spirit, they
then continued telling what Jesus did and offered all of mankind. For we who gather here today when we hear read
the Holy Scriptures from the lectern, sing the songs like “We are Marching in
the Light of God”, “We Were Baptized In Christ Jesus” and “I Want Jesus to Walk
with Me”, we remind ourselves that our connection to Jesus Christ isn’t just a
place we come to on Sunday. Our
connection to Jesus Christ and His offer of grace is personal, powerful, and
pivotal for us today.
Our connection is clear, in the font in
Holy Baptism, we are baptized into Jesus Christ life, death, but especially His
resurrection. For this is the promise of
eternal life made to us, not out of our own deserving, but out of Jesus Christ
grace, love and mercy for each and every one of us. Jesus Christ love was clearly made manifest
with His willingness to be nailed to the Cross of Calvary for each and every
one of us. This gift of love and grace
is offered to us in order to set us free from our sin, to set us free from our impending
death and to set us free from the devil that daily tempts us to doubt and deny God.
Yet, why should we boldly confess this
truth? Simply, because it reorients us
back to the truth found in God and His Word.
If you have ever noticed in our sanctuary there are some actions that
are very clearly done in order to reorient ourselves back to God. This is why the candles are lit at the
beginning of the service, to remind us of God’s presence among us. This is why the congregation faces forward
for every part of the service, because we need to keep ourselves focused on
God, not on our neighbors, not the distractions that constantly happen around
us, but only upon God. This is why our
focus should not be on what game we will watch when we get home, or what our
schedule for the coming week will be, but our focus should be on our God Who
meets us here in His house for worship. This
is why our weekly returning to God’s house can be a power that can transform us. It is not a transformation into ‘better than
someone else Christians’. We come to
God’s house, God’s hospital for the hurt, where we find a Savior Who offers us
the salve of the Gospel, freely and without cost, because He paid the ultimate
cost.
For Jesus Christ, “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried”
in order that we might have eternal life.
Jesus Christ offered Himself in order that we may be set free to daily
experience His love and grace. For the
centrality of our confession of this part of the Apostle’s Creed not only binds
us but solidifies God’s grasp on us. For
our personal connection through our Holy Baptism is to the central and core
event of salvation history, the Cross of Jesus Christ. For our connection is made intimately with
our baptism where we are offered eternal life and eternally connected with
Jesus Christ when we confess in the words of the Apostle’s Creed with all of
Christendom that Jesus Christ, “suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried”. AMEN.
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