LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1965, Page 17

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Pe AMES

CONVENTION SERMON 17

their hearts had hung heavy within them. But this
day, this Sunday, they had heard the electrifying news
of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Peter and
John had seen the empty tomb. The women disciples
had seen it too. Mary Magdalene had actually seen
the Lord alive and had spoken with Him. In fact she
had been given a special message for the disciples by
the risen Redeemer.

As the disciples huddled and talked, the Lord of
glory suddenly stood before them. No doors needed
to be unlocked and opened. He stood right there in
their midst, the same Jesus who had been scourged,
crowned with a sticking coronet of thorns, and fastened
to the cross by stout spikes. He was alive. He had
come forth from the silent sepulcher holding in His
hands the keys of hell and of death, the keys to heaven
and eternal life. He had set at naught all the efforts
of the scribes and Pharisees and the members of the
priestly party. I like to think that Jesus smiled at the
disciples as He said to them: “Peace be unto you.”

The sight of Him and the sound of His voice utter-
ing that familiar greeting made the hearts of the dis-
ciples happy. Their eyes looked on Him. Their ears
heard the friendly sound of His voice. Now they were
sure He was alive again.

Again Jesus said: “Peace be unto you.” Then He
gave them that commission, saying: “As My Father
hath sent Me, even so send I you.” The first word of
peace gave them a new revelation; the second gave
them a summons to service. As the heavenly Father,
the Creator and Ruler of the universe, gave Jesus a
special commission, so the Son of God was giving His
disciples a particular work to do. By His suffering and
death Jesus had secured peace for the world. He had
delivered to His Father the crimson satisfaction for the
sins of the whole world. Now He was sending His dis-
ciples forth on a continuing mission to bring that peace
to the world.

We know what the mission of Jesus was. He stated
it simply when He said: “The Son of Man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost.” He stated it
more fully in the synagog in Nazareth at the beginning
of His public ministry. At that time He read to them
the words of the prophet Isaiah from the scroll that was
handed to Him. Here are the words He read: “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He hath anointed
Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He hath sent Me
to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to
the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the ac-
ceptable year of the Lord.” After He had read these
words, He gave the scroll back to the minister and
said: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
This was Jesus’ commission.

When Jesus said to His disciples and to us: “Even
so send I you,” He gave us the highest honor that can
come to men, the noblest commission possible. Nothing
exceeds it in eminence. Sending us out on our mission
is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, “begotten
of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of

light . . . begotten, not made, being of one substance
with the Father.” As He was sent to preach the Gos-
pel to the poor, even so He sends us. The world is
full of people distressed and troubled by sin. They are
trying almost every conceivable and some well-nigh
inconceivable ways to get rid of their sins. To them
we must bring the truth that “the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth us from all sin.”

He sends us to heal the brokenhearted, the children,
the young adults, the aged who suffer want, disease,
and poverty. For all these we must have a loving con-
cern and a helping hand. He sends us forth to preach
deliverance to those held captive by the prejudices of
their fellowmen, bruised by those who would rob them
of their liberties and keep them in oppression. He has
commissioned us to bring recovering of sight to those
who are blind to the beauty and the glory and the
power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remembering
that God “hath made of one blood all nations” of the
world, we are to go forth to tell as many as we can
that this is the acceptable year of the Lord, warning
them that eternity is closer than they may think.

What a sacred privilege and grave responsibility is
ours, to be the channel through which the divine mes-
sage becomes articulate. What an opportunity is given
us to show in our lives that the spirit of Christ is in
us. What an amazing parallel: “As My Father hath
sent Me, even so send I you.”

This is our work. This is our program. Write your
name in the place of the “you” in Jesus’ sentence:
“Even so send I you.” In his explanation of the Second
Article of the Apostles’ Creed Dr. Luther puts this
word of the Lord in the singular form: Christ “has
redeemed me, a lost and condemned sinner, purchased
and won me from all sin, from death, and from the
power of the devil— that I may be His own and live
under Him in His kingdom and serve Him.” When
Christ says: “Even so send I you,” He means you.

In the chapel of our newest Concordia in Ann Ar-
bor an art-glass window depicts the great commission
of Jesus. It shows Jesus giving His marching orders
to the disciples while they listen intently to what He
says. At one end of the picture there is a disciple
bending down, running away, anxious, eager, impatient
to carry out the Master’s orders. That is the eagerness
we must have.

What we need is more of a sense of urgency in
this work we are commissioned to do. We need a re-
vival among our people. They must be stirred up to
realize the importance of the task God has assigned
to us.

We need a revival in prayer, remembering the
promise of God: “The effectual, fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much.” We need to pray as
did the prophet Habakkuk: “Lord, revive Thy work.”
We need to pray: “Lord, revive Thy church, beginning
with me.”

We need a revival of consecration, yes, more people
who mean it sincerely when they say, “All this Thou
hast done for for me; I give myself to Thee.” Too often