VICTORY IN JESUS CELEBRATED BY SHARING THE GOOD NEWS
A recent visit to the Waffle House found me sitting at the high counter next to a gentleman whose Viking ancestors no doubt fought many a battle against my Anglo-Saxon ancestors.
We remarked at how our ancient forebears, and in some places even their descendants today, would be unhappy with us for sharing time together engaging in a normal conversation without getting into an argument about the superiority of one of our “clans” versus the other.
Common sense, and especially maturity of thought on the part of Christians, tells us that, in the sight of God, none of us is superior to other humans created in the image of God. Neither is any of us in less need of God’s love and mercy than any other person on the face of the earth. The Bible tells us:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and need the salvation God our Creator offers to all mankind in the person of His Son Jesus Christ.
The Bible from beginning to end points to Jesus as the Christ, and, since all Scripture is God’s Word (God’s revelation of His plan and purpose for all people regardless of ancestry, national origin or DNA),
Scripture is to be interpreted in the light of God’s grace and in keeping with all that is written in the Scripture about who Jesus was (is) and what He did (does) for all who will repent of their sins and accept Him.
Thus, our focus in this session is on Luke’s Gospel account of Jesus helping His disciples simply understand who He was and what He came to do, and how He is counting on His disciples to simply share Gospel – Luke 24:44-49 . . .
Victory in Jesus is too grand and glorious to keep to ourselves. Share it we must so that “all who will” may come to know Him whom to know is life eternal.
There is simply nothing to be gained by remaining silent, either in word or in deed. Jesus shares (the results of) His victory with all who believe, so why not share the Good News with friends, family, strangers who may not know Him? In His last meeting with His disciples, Jesus sought to simply instruct them in the basics of the Gospel by reducing all that He had already taught them to its lowest common denominator. So,
He challenged them: to understand . . . and to proclaim the essence of the Gospel explicitly . . . and to point to the evidence of the Gospel’s authenticity . . . and, as He had earlier demonstrated, to partake of two elements for the Gospel’s perpetuity.
The essence of what people need to know about Jesus is:
*Jesus was the Messiah (promised . . . long expected . . . longed for).
*Jesus died for our sins (saved us) according to the Scriptures (a Savior prophesied . . . prayed for . . . proclaimed by the heavenly host)
*A sinner’s response to Jesus’ atoning sacrifice must be repentance for the remission of sins and acceptance, by faith, of Him as Savior.
Of necessity, mankind needed a Savior. . . Of necessity, the Savior suffered, bled and died (“it behooved Christ”) . . . Of necessity, sinners must repent of their sins and accept Christ as personal Savior and Lord.
The Necessity of a Messiah dying for the sins of the world “that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”- What a contrast to a popular expectation that a Messiah would be a military conqueror to establish an earthly kingdom!
But no earthly kingdom was ever envisioned by Jesus! Sin had to be atoned for; a perfect sacrifice had to be offered if sinful humanity were to be justified and then sanctified for receiving the inheritance of a glorified existence with God their Father forever. Of His heavenly kingdom, there shall be no end!
Victory over Satan, sin, death and hell had to be won! And Jesus the Son did just that by His death, burial, and resurrection!
This is the Gospel message we are to proclaim explicitly – no short cuts, no watered-down version, no ifs, ands or buts! The evidence of the authenticity of the Gospel is the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead – as He said – which we celebrate not only during Easter but every Sunday. More about Resurrection next Sunday!
Suffice it to say today what Paul said to the Corinthians in his day:
“For what I received I passed on to you of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to
James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also.” (I Corinthians 15:3-8) We, as did Paul, proclaim the essence of the Gospel explicitly. We point to the evidence of the Gospel’s authenticity – Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Furthermore, based on our Lord’s institution of it, and Paul’s instructions regarding it: We are to partake of two elements for the perpetuity of the Gospel. “For when you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (I Cor. 11:26)
Victory in Jesus we celebrate today by partaking of the two elements Jesus used to symbolize His atoning sacrifice on the Cross - an act to be replicated by us on special occasions to commemorate and forever remember the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood for the remission of our sins.
Hear what the Bible says: (I Corinthians 11:23-26) “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is broken for you; do this (partake of this bread) in remembrance of me.’”
Then “he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant represented by my blood; do this (drink of this cup containing the fruit of the vine) in remembrance of me.’”
To which Paul added this explanation, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
Here we have the two elements that represent our Lord’s broken body and shed blood.
You are invited to participate in observing this Lord’s Supper with us, not only as an act of devotion, dedication and the commemoration of our Lord’s atoning death on the Cross but, as Paul put it, to proclaim the Lord’s death.”
After we pray, music will be played, the elements will be passed to you for your participation and meditation. First, the bread then the fruit of the vine will be served.
Please partake of the two elements as you are served, then you may use the remainder of the time in personal meditation until the observance is concluded.
Let us give thanks to God our Father:
For the atoning sacrifice of thy Son Jesus, who was willing to offer himself in our stead for the remission of our sins, we offer the gratitude of our hearts, praise from our lips, and the witness of our lives.
Thanks, be to thee, O God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! In these moments of devotion, dedication, commemoration - and always - may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer! Amen.
