God Is Good And Faithful

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God Is Good And Faithful

Easter Sunday (Luke 24:36-49, Isaiah 53, etc)

Mari Ikeda

Today is Easter, the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. There are many ways to describe the meaning of the event that Jesus, who suffered and died on the cross, rose from the dead after three days. In the second half of today’s message, I would like to talk about those meanings, but if I were to encompass them all, I would say that Jesus’ resurrection is an event that proves that God is faithful and good. We have nothing to fear if we can believe that God has not forgotten us, but loves us and will guide us in the right direction, no matter how hopeless our situation may be. It is the event of Jesus’ resurrection that showed us the proof and made it possible for us to believe.

Today we will read many Bible passages. In the first half, we will read from Luke 24 in the New Testament about the reunion of the resurrected Jesus and his disciples. First, verses 36-43.

A. The event of Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24)

1. An improbable thing (36-43)

36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.

It is impossible for common sense to believe that a dead person can come back to life. So it is a natural reaction for the disciples to be scared when they saw Jesus come back to life, thinking he was a ghost.

I think we are like the disciples, when we first hear Christian teaching, we can accept that “Jesus Christ died on the cross,” but it takes time to accept that “and he was resurrected three days later.” That is something that cannot be proven scientifically, which is not possible by common sense, so we can only believe it or not.

But if we do not believe in Jesus’ resurrection, we will remain sinners who killed Him and will never experience God’s forgiveness and mercy. And we can only live in regret and lamentation, not being free from sin and death, not knowing the joy of deliverance. That is not God’s desire for us.

God resurrected Jesus from the dead. Since Jesus is also God Himself, we can say that although God died once, He was not ruled by death, but rose again. Jesus was not defeated by the power of our sin or the power of death. He did it so that we could live without being controlled by the power of sin or death.

Let’s now read verses 44-49.

2. What was prophesied (44-49)

It is this part that I would like you all to keep in mind the most today. That is, Jesus’ death and resurrection were prophesied in the Old Testament and came to pass as prophesied. In other words, Jesus’ death was not an unexpected and unfortunate incident, and His resurrection was not God’s necessary response to an unforeseen accident. Rather, Jesus’ death and resurrection were God’s plan of salvation that He had planned and promised to people since the beginning of the world.
What does it mean? It means that God knew from the beginning that we would kill Jesus and that we would reject Him. And yet, God forgave us for betraying and tormenting Him, and He never stopped loving us, and He wanted us to remember Him and seek Him again.

Now, in the second half, let us read specifically the prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. First, Isaiah 53.

B. Promises fulfilled by Jesus’ resurrection

1. Deliverance from sin and suffering (Isaiah 53)

1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Here is a prophecy of what kind of Savior God will send to free us from sin and sickness and to take away our pain and suffering. What is said overall is that that Savior will suffer sickness and pain, be treated as an evil person, be despised and abandoned by people, and die and be buried in a tomb. It is also said that none of his contemporaries would recognize him as their Savior. Because he was the opposite of dignified and gorgeous, looking shabby and miserable. But this was exactly what Jesus looked like, and he walked in accordance with this prophecy and saved us.
What did Jesus save us from? It is from “the sin of not needing God.” We easily tend to think that we are God, that we can always make the right decisions about what we need and where we should go, and that we can lead our lives accordingly. We also do not realize that sometimes we act in a controlling manner toward others, or that we take or hurt others for our own benefit. That was why “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus showed us with his own body the suffering we are causing by living arrogantly and not needing God. He also showed us that there is a different way to live, and that God wants us to live relying on Him. For Jesus did not just die and be buried in a tomb, but He did indeed rise. God is not accusing us of sin, but is speaking to us through Jesus’ resurrection, asking us to realize our sin and begin a new way of life free from sin.
Please recall again, this prophecy of Isaiah was recorded hundreds of years ago, long before Jesus was born. Jesus has fulfilled God’s desire, just as it was prophesied, “the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.” God has indeed fulfilled His promise through Jesus.

2. Liberation from loneliness and despair (Psalm 22:1, Mark 15:34)

Now, the second of the Old Testament prophecies that I would like to share with you today is Psalm 22. In Japanese, we read verse 2, and in English, verse 1.

(Psalm 22) 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

Psalm 22 is a song that cries out for God’s help in the midst of suffering. In particular, this first verse can be said to be a cry of despair in a situation where we are asking God for help but He is not responding. Jesus Himself cried out in this cry of despair on the cross. Let’s read Mark 15:34.

(Mark15) 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When Jesus cried out this cry on the cross, God Himself was experiencing the despair of being abandoned by God, something that should not have happened. Psalm 22 is a song left by people in Old Testament times, words of human loneliness and despair. But when Jesus, God, cried out for it, the song did not end with human lamentation, but became God’s words that cried out together with human lamentation. It proved that God certainly knows the loneliness and despair of being abandoned by man and by God. It also proved that God never abandons or forgets anyone.

3. To give strength and hope in any situation (Isaiah 40:27-31)

The last word I want to share with you today is from Isaiah 40. Let’s read.

(Isaiah 40) 27 Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

God has not forgotten us. He certainly hears our cries. Even if it seems to us that God is silent and does nothing, that is not true. He has loved us since the beginning of the world, and He has continued to love us unchangeably through many years that we cannot even begin to imagine. People in Old Testament times died without knowing about Jesus, but still believing in God’s promises. We know about Jesus and we know that God has fulfilled his promises. And we also can get to know who Jesus is through the many testimonies of the New Testament. So, in the midst of all circumstances, we can continue to have hope, believing that God does not change.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

The power and hope that Jesus gives us is always new. It doesn’t matter how old we are, how many years we have ignored Jesus, or how many years we have believed in Him. You can count on Jesus.

(Prayer) Let’s pray. Dear God, You know the arrogance with which we forget about You and try to live our lives selfishly or think we can. Teach us that our hearts are never truly at peace except by living in trust in You. Help us to believe that no matter what situation we find ourselves in, You still love us and guide us. Lord Jesus, just as You rose from the grave, may we take a new step forward today with the new strength You give us. Show each of us what that means exactly. Lord Jesus, we celebrate your resurrection and pray in your name. Amen.

Summary

Jesus’ death and resurrection signified the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation as prophesied in the Old Testament. It proved that God loves us, forgives our sins, removes our suffering, and wants to live with us forever. In all circumstances, God is good, He loves us, and He never changes. The basis for believing this is Jesus’ death and resurrection, which is the source of our strength and hope.

For Discussion

How did you believe in the event of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead?
What part of the Bible verses we read today stuck with your mind?