Easter Tuesday - Devotions in Exile

Easter Tuesday - Devotions in Exile

The lection for Easter Tuesday:
Daniel 3:8-28
Acts 13:26-33

Our last lesson, is also our text for today's devotion:
Luke 24:36-49

Yesterday, our devotion focused upon the events which took place between Jesus and the two He encountered on the road to Emmaus. That Scripture lesson from Acts of the Apostles ended with those disciples hurrying back to Jerusalem, to the eleven and those gathered with them, and related to them their encounter with the risen Christ. It was especially noted that they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.

Our text for today begins: While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. (vs. 36-37) Jesus proceeds to show them it is truly Him – He specifically shows them His hands and feet. They are so overjoyed and amazed that they could not truly believe it, so Jesus asks for, and eats a piece for broiled fish so that they know he is not some spirit or figment of their imagination.

It was after doing this that Jesus gets down to the nuts and bolts of why He appeared to them. He is going to give them a task! What exactly is that task, it is a specific task. Let us read exactly what happens:

Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (vv. 44-48)

Jesus tells them that the things that went on for these last few days were exactly what was foretold in the entire Old Testament. He is explaining, and opening their minds to understand, that as He has said before, that the entire Scripture is not a set of rules to get into heaven, but they testify about Him. Or, as His words are recorded, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” (John 5:39)

The Scriptures testify about Him because they foretold what He, in the last few days, accomplished - that He suffered, died, and rose again on the third day so that repentance FOR forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed (the Greek is κηρυθῆναι – the connotation is “would be preached”) in His name to all nations.

Christ came to purchase and deliver forgiveness to sinners. He did it by sacrificing His holy, perfect life unto His innocent suffering and death. That redemption price was sealed, stamped “paid-in-full” with His resurrection the third day.

Repentance for forgiveness of sin… that is what is to be proclaimed. Repentance, that is sorrow over our sinfulness and the desire to amend our sinful life – which leads into and for forgiveness of sins. You might say that repentance has those two parts; 1) sorrow over sins unto an amendment of life, and 2) trusting the work of Christ for forgiveness of sins.

God’s law is proclaimed to show us that we are indeed sinners and how we are to live as Christians – in love toward God and our neighbor. Forgiveness, purchased by Christ’s atoning work, and delivered in Word and Sacrament free us from the weight of our sin, fill us with Christ, in Whom we now love God and our neighbor. All is accomplished for us and in us by Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia!