Just 50 some days earlier the crowd had gathered before the governor s palace

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1 Trinity Sunday 2013 Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio Pastor Kevin Jud May 26, 2013 Proverbs 8:104, 22-31, Acts 2:14, 22-36, John 8:48-59 They have been caught red handed. Just 50 some days earlier the crowd had gathered before the governor s palace and cried out for the blood of Jesus of Nazareth. Let him be crucified! Let him be crucified! Let his blood be on us and on our children. They thought Jesus was some kind of trouble-making magic man or was possessed by a demon or some kind of crazy person and they wanted him dead and gone; buried and forgotten. So, egged on by the Jewish leaders, the crowd cried out for Jesus blood to be shed and said they would take responsibility and then they watched the wretched, beaten, bloody man be led off to be crucified and by that evening he was dead and buried and finished. But then the unthinkable happened. The dead Jesus did not stay dead. The news must have started to spread throughout Jerusalem beginning that first day. The people who saw Jesus body be placed in the tomb on Friday and saw the tomb guarded on Saturday now saw the tomb empty and unguarded on Sunday and it remains empty and unguarded. It is easy to prove that someone is dead. Here is the body. But Jesus body is gone and it is reported by hundreds that they have seen the resurrected Jesus. He was in

2 Jerusalem, He was in Galilee, He was back in Jerusalem. And now folks are saying that 10 days ago He ascended into heaven. The crowd is in great fear. If this is true If it is true that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven If it is true, then it means that Jesus was not crazy. He was not demon possessed. He was not some sort of trouble making magic man. It means that He is who He said He is. It means the crowd killed God in flesh. It means that they have the blood of Jesus on their hands. They are guilty for killing the Christ. What must this guilt feel like? How big a boulder must it be sitting in their stomachs? How heavy a weight upon their shoulders? What must this guilt be like? They have killed not only a prophet of God, but the Son of God. They have Jesus blood on their hands. What are they going to do? God is going to crush them. And now, today at the festival of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus have emerged from hiding and are preaching in public for the first time since Jesus died and rose again. And the twelve men, who don t appear to be scholars, are preaching in many various languages so that all the people gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost can understand what they are saying; that Jesus is the Son of God, crucified, died, risen from the dead and ascended into heaven. And then Peter, one of the twelve, stands up and addresses the crowd of locals in their own language and tells them about Jesus. How God showed who Jesus was through His mighty works and wonders and signs. And what amazing signs and wonders and works. Jesus healed the sick. He cleansed the lepers. He gave sight to the blind. He made the deaf hear. He drove out demons. He fed thousands with just a little food. He even raised the dead; even a man four days dead.

3 Peter is telling the crowd, you should have known who Jesus was from what He did. And yet instead, you killed Him. But since Jesus is God He couldn t stay dead. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Peter shows how King David speaks about his descendent in the flesh, who is also his Lord; the one who wouldn t see corruption. The people know that David was the greatest king. But David died. His tomb is in Jerusalem 2000 feet southwest of the Temple Mount. Peter could lead the crowd over David s tomb and see that it is intact and undisturbed. David s bones still lie there, David is still dead. Jesus tomb, on the other hand, is empty. This Jesus God raised up and there are many witnesses. Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this Holy Spirit on his disciples who now are able to preach the Good News in many languages. The crowd with blood on their hands must be trembling at Peter s words. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is God. Jesus is part of the mystery of the three in one; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. David spoke of his descendant who would be his Lord. The Lord (God the Father) said to my Lord (Jesus), Sit at my right hand, Until I make your enemies your footstool. Who are the enemies of Jesus? Certainly the crowd listening to Peter with the blood of Jesus on their hands believe they are Jesus enemies. What does it mean to make your enemies your footstool? It means the enemies of God will be defeated and

4 forced to kneel at the victor s feet and be completely at His mercy with his foot on their necks. And then to make sure everyone knows exactly what is happening, Peter finishes his little sermon, Acts 2:36 (ESV) 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. 1 The words echo. Whom you crucified. Jesus; Lord and Christ. You have His blood on your hands; His blood on your heads. What are the people of Jerusalem to do? They are in a very tight spot. Thank goodness you are not one those people standing there with tremendous guilt and shame and fear of God. Thank goodness you are not one of them. You don t have Jesus blood on your hands. It s not like you have done anything that would make it necessary for Jesus to die. It s not like you have indulged your sinful, selfish nature. It s not like you have heard God s law and decided that it does not apply to you. It s not like you have incurred the wrath of God deserving to have His foot on your neck. Oh. That s right. You are like me. You too are a sinner. You do have Jesus blood on your hands. You and I, we are no better than the crowd in Jerusalem who crucified Jesus. We, like them, are cut to the heart. We are sinners at the mercy of a just God with His foot on our necks. If you don t believe you deserve God s wrath you are making light of God s law. And the crowd cries out and we cry out with them, What shall we do? And Peter s answer to the crowd there in Jerusalem is the same answer that there is today. 1 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

5 Acts 2:38 (ESV) 38 Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 2 You are a sinner caught red handed standing before God guilty and ashamed with the blood of Jesus on your hands. To whom do you go? You go to Jesus. You are baptized into His death and resurrection. You daily repent of your sins and return to the waters of your baptism. For in your baptism you are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. No longer is Jesus blood a sign of your guilt, but it is a sign of your forgiveness, your redemption. What an amazing, unexpected love shown to you by God. The blood shed on the cross bringing guilt and shame becomes the solution to guilt and shame. In the same way that the lambs blood was painted over the doors of the children of Israel in Egypt so that the angel of death would pass over, you are now marked with the blood of the Lamb of God. You are safe in Jesus. In Jesus you are free to love and serve. Amen. 2 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001