Sermon 1-7-24

Pastor Ray Lorthioir

Trinity Lutheran Church

W. Hempstead, NY

The Baptism of Our Lord

Made Alive

In an online interview Bishop Mar Emmanuel of the Ancient Assyrian Church of the East said something well worth repeating. He set up a comparison between Jesus of Nazareth and all the other religious figures of the past, saying “[let’s assume that all the religious figures of the past] had bestowed upon humanity the most wonderful morals, principles, ethics and values. The ultimate they would have been able to achieve with the human race was changing a bad person into a good person.” He repeated it again. The ultimate these religious figures could have achieved was changing a bad person into a good person. Then, he went on to say, “The Lord Jesus did not come to change a bad person into a good person. He came to change a dead person into a living one. No other religious figure comes anywhere near [what] Jesus Christ of Nazareth [did]. The ultimate miracle the Lord Jesus performed is changing the human condition and the human heart. No one can [do that]. Only God can.”

In His three year ministry, Jesus of Nazareth resuscitated several people from death back to life. The most spectacular incident occurred in the 11th chapter of the Gospel of John. Jesus had a friend named Lazarus who lived in a town near Jerusalem. Lazarus got sick and his sisters sent for Jesus to come. But, Jesus waited until the fourth day after Lazarus had died to make an appearance. When He came, He went out to the tomb where Lazarus had been buried and ordered some who had gone out with Him to open the tomb by pushing the stone to the open position. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, warned Jesus not to go into the tomb because the odor of decay would be intense after four days. This tells us that Jesus had delayed to make sure that Lazarus was dead and rotting. But instead of going into the tomb, Jesus cried out in John 11:43-44, 43. . . ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” Who else but God can resuscitate a human body four days dead into perfect health?

Now, according to tradition, Lazarus has another grave — on the island of Cyprus. He had to die again. So, as spectacular as this miracle was, it was not the ultimate miracle. The ultimate miracle was Jesus Himself. He was born in a mortal body — a body doomed to die, just like our bodies. Although innocent of all wrong doing, Jesus was put to death on a Roman cross as a common criminal. This was prophesied of Him in the Bible centuries before He walked the earth. But that was not His end. On the third day after His death, Jesus was resurrected from the dead in an immortal body — a body that can never die again. This also was prophesied long before He walked the earth. Then, for forty days after His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself alive in that immortal body to about 600 hundred chosen people. It’s on the testimony of these eye witnesses, as written in the Bible, that Christianity stands.

Jesus’ enemies also had a testimony given to them. They didn’t see Him alive. But Jesus’ tomb was empty. And the guards that had been sent to prevent anyone from stealing Jesus’ body reported to Jesus’ enemies that an angel from heaven had rolled open the stone covering Jesus’ tomb with dazzling power and an earthquake. Jesus’ enemies refused this testimony. So, they remain in rebellion against God to this day. But they had a testimony given to them by God.

On the fortieth day after His resurrection, Jesus’ disciples were with Him when He ascended into heaven in their presence and they saw Him no more. However, two angels came and stood by the disciples telling them that in the same way they saw Jesus go into heaven, He would be seen returning from heaven. And when He returns all the dead will be raised in immortal bodies that will never die. He will separate them into two groups. All those who believed in Him, He will call into eternal righteous life with Him forever.

All His enemies who have spoken against Him in various ways He will send into eternal unrighteous life with the devil and his angels. This is because they didn’t want Jesus who is the righteousness of God. Therefore, God will give them the evil they want.

The greatest miracle is that Jesus makes hearts that are dead to God alive to God and alive to Him. Those alive in Jesus Christ will also transform into good people. But that only happens when Jesus makes those dead to God alive to God.

So, how does Jesus make those who are dead to God alive to God? He does it through faith in Him. How does anyone gain faith in Jesus? It’s through hearing about what Jesus said and did. How can we hear? There are several ways. One is through hearing preaching and teaching about Jesus, like we do here every Sunday. The other way is through reading the Bible — especially the books that are about Jesus. No one can believe in what they don’t know. So, this is why the main task of the Church is to spread the news about Jesus. As the Apostle Paul put it in Romans 10:17, “. . . faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” The more anyone listens, reads and comprehends what is written about Jesus in the Bible, the more faith in Jesus grows.

Here’s what one of the great Christian teachers, the Apostle Paul had to say in the letter he wrote to the church in the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesians 2:1-10, “1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. [That would be the devil] 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

These words tell us that no one is born into this world alive to God. No one can make themselves alive to God. We’re born dead to God. That’s why from birth we follow the ways of the world and the ruler of this world, the devil.

But, Yahweh, the God who created us, the universe and everything in it has had mercy on us. Out of His great love, He sent us His Son, Jesus, so that all who believe in Jesus might have eternal righteous life in Him. By Yahweh’s gift of faith in Jesus we can be made alive to Yahweh Himself. And it is from this new birth in Jesus, that we can live righteously even in this world. And in the resurrection from the dead, those who are in Christ are guaranteed to live in perfect goodness for all eternity.

This is how much the entire human race is loved by Yahweh. He wants to make us all alive to Him in Messiah Jesus so that we can live with Him forever. Today is as good as any day to repent of being an enemy of God. Today is as good as any day to be made alive in Jesus. Amen.

All Bible quotes are from the NIV.