Realize the Impact of the Risen Jesus!

3rd Sunday of Easter, 4/22/12 Luke 24:36-49 Realize the Impact of the Risen Jesus! I. Peace for frightened followers II. Power for salvation proclaimers For the last decade or so there’s been an emphasis in Christianity on relevant preaching. I learned the other day—and I should have expected this—that there’s a website dedicated to it. With people’s lives being as busy as they are, they don’t feel they have the time to listen to a message simply for the sake of listening. It needs to be relevant. It needs to help them in their daily lives. It needs to make an impact. Preachers have recognized this emphasis. And some have resorted to developing a series of messages they feel will have a major impact on the daily lives of their listeners. They might offer a sermon on dealing with workplace issues, or overcoming low self-esteem, or how to be happy in your marriage, or what it takes to find fulfillment in your life. Others might offer a series of principals to live by. If you’ve come to church today looking for that type of “relevant” message, I’ll tell you right now you’re going to be disappointed. This morning’s text doesn’t offer it. But I hope you’ll rejoice to hear that it offers something far deeper, far more relevant. Today’s text presents us with the risen Lord Jesus and the impact that he and his resurrection had on the daily lives of his followers. Today we rejoice to hear that it still has that impact on us, his followers. As we study this event, may the Holy Spirit lead us to realize the impact of the risen Jesus. May that impact affect us not just for our daily living, but for our eternal life! Part I. Have you ever met anyone who wasn’t afraid of anything? Apparently such a person exists. Researchers at the University of Iowa have been trying to frighten a 44-year-old woman but have failed. She actually suffers from a rare genetic disorder. Apparently the small portion of the brain that controls the fear factor isn’t working in her brain. Can you imagine not having any fears? Our lives are full of them. We’re afraid to undergo that medical test for what it might reveal. The mother of a young child is fearful every day that her child, if left unattended for a moment, might suffer something terrible. We send our children off to school and fear what they might experience. On the other end of life, we fear what might be happening with our aged loved ones. We have fears at school and at work. We hear our vehicle making a funny noise and we fear the worst. I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea. The disciples and other followers of Jesus were together in Jerusalem on Easter evening. The writer John tells us that they were in this room together with the doors locked out of fear of the Jews. Just what did he mean? Jesus’ followers had now had time to process all the ugly events from Thursday evening when Jesus was arrested until Friday at sundown when Jesus was buried. In less than 24 hours his enemies had succeeded in running Jesus through a sham legal process and crucifying him. The thought occurred to them, “What will these same leaders do to us?” Would they be hunted down, arrested and possibly put to death as well? It seemed possible, if not likely. But that wasn’t their only fear. By this time they had heard from some of their own that they had actually seen and talked with Jesus who was alive. Those reports came from the likes of Mary Magdalene, Peter and most recently from two of their men who had eaten with Jesus in Emmaus. They didn’t know what to think other than that his tomb was empty and they didn’t know what had become of him. Was he really even alive? Was he still dead and had someone stolen his body? They feared the unknown. But what if Jesus was indeed alive? If so, how did he feel towards them? Their recent history with him was one they’d sooner forget than remember. The disciples had all fled at his arrest, leaving him alone in the hands of his enemies. Only John could muster up the courage to show up at his crucifixion. They weren’t the supportive cast they had pledged to be when they promised even to die with him. So how did Jesus feel about that? They feared the worst. And now what? What were they supposed to do now? For about three years Jesus had been preparing the 12 to carry on his work after him. Now he was gone. He was no longer with them. What about that work? What should they do? Should they go back to fishing for a living? They had to think about their future, but without Jesus it seemed foggy at best and terribly dark at worst. They were filled with fear. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that the first words out of Jesus’ mouth were, “Peace be with you.” The first thing Jesus did was to assure them that they were not seeing a ghost. He told them to look with their eyes and see him. Look right at the wounds in his hands and feet. It’s the very same Jesus who was crucified for them. And if that’s not enough, he told them to trust their sense of touch by reaching out and verifying that he has flesh and bones. Still not sure? Then he told them to give him something to eat. Ghosts don’t eat. Jesus did. It’s true! He’s alive! And their fears disappeared! Realize the impact of the risen Jesus—peace for frightened followers. So, follower of Jesus, what still frightens you? Does your guilt make you afraid of God? Are you afraid of failure or rejection? Do you fear your funds will run out, that there won’t be anything to retire on? Are you afraid your health is going to deteriorate to the point that you’ll be nothing but a burden on your loved ones? Then again, maybe loneliness is your fear—you have no loved ones. And then there’s death. As certain as it is, maybe you fear it. To all those fears and any others you might have, the risen Jesus declares, “Peace be with you!” His resurrection means there are no more fears for his followers in life or in death. His resurrection had solved all our spiritual and earthly problems. His resurrection means all will be well for us eternally. Jesus died to make it so. He rose to assure us that it is indeed so. That’s the daily impact of the risen Jesus on your life. Part II. Smart managers look for the best possible candidates to fill open positions. Smart managers do a thorough investigation into what they want the position to entail and then list the desirable qualifications they’re looking for in the potential candidates. Then they interview the most qualified candidates. It’s not a foolproof process, but it certainly increases the likelihood of hiring the best possible person. We spoke briefly a few minutes ago about how Jesus was preparing this group of his followers to carry on his work after him. As Jesus stood in the middle of that room that night in Jerusalem, I imagine the potential of this group to the casual observer must have looked rather dismal. Jesus had told them they could expect persecution for doing his work. At the first hint of trouble, these guys fled. He told them they would need to fearlessly proclaim the truth. One of them wouldn’t even fess up to knowing Jesus. Things didn’t look that promising. But Jesus was undaunted. Our text says, “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’” His plan remained unchanged. They were going to be his witnesses starting right there in Jerusalem, the city which had stopped at nothing to nail him to the cross, and going from there to the ends of the earth. There was no regrouping, no brainstorming on what to do next, no change in plans. How could Jesus expect them to do it? He answered that with these words, “You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Jesus would empower them. From other places in Scripture, we know that Jesus had promised to send them the Holy Spirit in a special way. We know that happened on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. The Holy Spirit gave them tremendous faith, enabled them to recall all that Jesus had told them, and even endowed them with gifts, such as the ability to speak in foreign languages, so that they could be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Scripture makes it clear that all this happened because Jesus rose from the dead. Had Jesus not risen, there would be no power from him. There wouldn’t even be any reason to witness to others about him. But the resurrection of Jesus changed everything for his disciples. And the risen Jesus empowered them to proclaim his saving gospel to others. Realize the impact of the risen Jesus—power for salvation proclaimers. Do you think of yourself as one of Christ’s witnesses, as a salvation proclaimer? Perhaps not. But that’s what you are. The risen Jesus has made you his own so that you can proclaim his praises. That task seems daunting. There are so many people in our world. There’s open hostility to the message of Christ. And then there’s you and I. We assess who we are and salvation proclaimer isn’t one of the top options. It might not be on the list of options at all. Lord Jesus, forgive us for our reluctance to be what you have made us! We trust in your death on the cross for our forgiveness. And now empower us by your resurrection for works of service to you, proclaiming your saving name to those near and far, that all may come to know and trust in you, just as we do. What an impact—using us to impact others! Realize the impact of the risen Jesus! Amen.