Month: April 2020
Our reading from Acts begins with a very powerful statement by Peter and the apostles: “We must obey God rather than men.” What was the occasion for such a bold statement by the followers of Jesus? Well, just prior to this, the apostles had been arrested by the high priest and the Sadducees for preaching and teaching about Jesus. They had put them in jail, but that night they were set free by an angel of the Lord who told them to go and speak “the words of this Life” (that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ) to all the people. The next day, when they didn’t find the apostles in prison, they found them in the temple and brought them before the council and charged them strictly not to preach about Jesus.
The command not to preach and to teach about Jesus was impossible for the disciples to follow. They had been sent to do exactly that by Jesus himself, and to disobey Jesus was to disobey God. And so they answered, “We must obey God rather than man.” They even teach about Jesus to the council by telling them about Jesus’ resurrection!
Now notice, why should anyone listen to the apostles? Well it says right there in Acts 5:32, “And we are witness to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” The testimony of the apostles is trustworthy because they were witnesses. They were there. They saw Jesus with their own eyes! The whole Church is founded on the testimony of these eyewitnesses and their teaching.
This is what we discussed this week with St. Thomas. He and the other apostles were all given the gift of seeing Jesus resurrected before his ascent into heaven. And they saw Jesus raised from the dead so that they could then go and tell others about it. But what does Jesus say? “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). We believe because of the testimony of the eyewitnesses, and we receive the Holy Spirit who gives us faith, and that is our blessing!
But there is more to it than that. A wise man of the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, pointed out all the other people who claimed to be something special. Yet all those others died, and after they died their followers dispersed. But not Jesus! Jesus’ followers continued to preach and teach his message after his death, because he rose from the dead! And so Gamaliel says, somewhat prophetically, “if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” (Acts 5:38–39)
Indeed, no one was able to overthrow the teaching of the apostles. It still continues to this day. It continues with all of us. Their undertaking was not of man, but it was from God, and God has preserved his church through the teaching of the apostles. Even as the years passed and nearly all the apostles were killed because of their faith, their witness and their teaching lived on. God has established his church, and he preserves his church.
So today, we know that Jesus has been raised from the dead because of the testimony of the apostles who witnessed it. And believing in Jesus, we have received the Holy Spirit. We have life in His name! We thank God, therefore, for the gift of the apostles and their testimony which points us to the Son, which gives us the word of life.
Just a few weeks ago, we never would have imagined that things would turn out the way they have today. As a pastor, I never would have expected to suddenly cancel church services for two weeks as the result of a virus. I certainly did not expect to have to make the heartbreaking decision to cancel church for the entire month of April—for Holy Week and Easter too! These are certainly strange times that the new corona virus has brought upon us. No one alive today can remember times like these. Strange times, indeed!
This week I have been reflecting on the fact that the first Sunday in April is Palm Sunday, the day we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. If we were in church on Sunday, we would read John 12:12–19 together, and we would hear about the crowds who went out to meet Jesus waving palm branches and shouting out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” It’s a fitting text for these strange times.
The word the people cry out is, “Hosanna!” We sing this word every communion Sunday when we sing the Sanctus right before the Lord’s Supper. Since we hear and sing this word so frequently, it’s easy for us to forget that “Hosanna” is actually a Hebrew word with a very specific meaning. The word “Hosanna” means, “Save us, now!” in Hebrew. It’s the perfect word for today!
At a time where stability has been replaced with uncertainty, we can certainly resonate with the people of Jerusalem as they shouted out to Jesus, “Save us, now!” When we’re going stir-crazy at home, when we’re having a hard time finding enough groceries to feed our families, when we here reports of more and more people afflicted with a virus, we can all cry out, “Save us, now!”
But in a time like this, we can also remember the words of the prophet quoted in John 12:15: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” Those are words of comfort for us today. “Fear not.” Even in times of trouble, we know that the Lord is in control of all things. We know that God’s wisdom is greater than our wisdom, and that nothing can snatch us out of His hand. Fear not.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, in an unexpected way. He didn’t ride a magnificent horse or a chariot, but a donkey. We may find in the near future that the Lord continues to come to us in ways that we don’t expected. Instead of hearing God’s word at Church on Sunday, it may be on the radio or TV. Or it may be on the internet through Facebook or something else. Maybe it will arrive in the mail, like this newsletter! But even if God comes to us in strange ways in this strange time, fear not! For he is the king of Israel, He is the king of the Church, and He will work out all things to His Glory.
We know that God will do this for us because He has sent His Son, Jesus Christ into Jerusalem where he was handed over and suffered and died for our sins. And we know that God will lead us through this uncertain time because He raised Jesus from the dead, and that resurrection is our resurrection!
So, as sad as it is, we will not see each other in church on Easter Sunday this year. But fear not! We will still have our Easter celebration! For every day we remember Christ’s resurrection. And we will celebrate that resurrection all the more when we are able to worship together and see each other face-to-face once again. And at all times, we sing “Hosanna!” “Save us, now!” as we wait for Jesus to do just that, to come and restore this fallen creation and put an end to all sickness, and virus, and suffering. On that day he will draw us to himself and we will see Him face-to-face!
I am confident that the Lord who has called each of you to faith will preserve you in that faith, and that he will bring you with himself and all the saints on that great and glorious day, no matter what happens between now and then. Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!