Friday, May 6, 2011
On Easter night, Jesus not only assured the disciples that He was alive, proving that He was the Son of God and their sins were truly forgiven and all of God's word is true, Jesus also gave them a divine mandate for their own mission in life. He said, "It was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46-47).
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION -- OUR PROOF: OUR MISSION IS FROM GOD
The news of Jesus' resurrection is news that everyone needs to hear. Notice that the preaching of this message of forgiveness in Christ was to "begin at Jerusalem." The people of Jerusalem had sinned against the Father in the worst way: they crucified His own Son. Yet this message of forgiveness was meant for them. Beginning on the day of Pentecost, the disciples proclaimed to the people of Jerusalem that God raised Jesus from the dead, the one they had crucified and that forgiveness is available to them all.
That was such joyous news that 3000 people were baptized into Jesus' name for the forgiveness of their sins on that day and thousands more in the months to come.
Then the disciples brought that message "To all nations." They went to great lengths at great cost to themselves. For many, it cost them their lives to bring the message of repentance and forgiveness to all people. Thousands throughout the world came to faith and were saved because of their preaching.
Now we are the disciples who are to carry this message to the world. Many people today suffer from the torment of guilt. They don't even understand what is wrong. They don't understand that their guilt comes from having sinned against the Eternal Father. Most try to escape that guilt by trying different tricks to deny their guilt or by making excuses for themselves. Others try to deny that there are any real consequences of our sin. All such attempts only cover up the reality of one's guilt.
You can give them the one thing that actually removes guilt, the good news of Easter. You can tell them, "You know, there is a solution for your guilt. Jesus died to take it away. In Christ, the Father has forgiven you. Repent and believe the gospel." We can do that with confidence because we have a divine mandate for our mission -- certified with Christ's resurrection. Hallelujah!
