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By joining the tormentors in affecting Jesus' Passion, crucifixion and death, St. Peter asserts, the people of Israel ironically were the means through which "God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer" (Acts 3:18). Loaded down with our infirmities and sorrows, not to mention our sin, as our Substitute, our Sin-Bearer, Jesus was "stricken by God, smitten by him and af-flicted" (Isa 53:4) in lieu of us.
More to the point, "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him" (v 5). Nearer the mark still, bearing our guilt, being made the Guilt Offering (v 10), He bore the curse inasmuch as He was cursed on our behalf, for the Law says cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.
And He suffered the accursed tree for us. He bore the shame, bearing the betrayal, the denial and the desertion of His own, and the kangaroo court of His enemies. He bore the mockery, the buffeting, the lashes and the scorn. Yes, he bore the verdict. "It is better that one die for the people," this innocent One in place of the depraved, "than that the whole nation perish". Guilty as charged! Guilty as hell!
The guiltless for the guilt-ridden, in order that the guilty might go free. Isn't that how it goes? The scale is tipped in our favor with God's favor thrown into the balance. For us Christ bore the cross, the nails, the spear. He bore up under them and was borne up by them and, so, buoys us up, sin saturated, sunken spirits and all.
For us He endured God-forsakenness, the pangs of hell and death. For us lambs too prone to cut and run the Shepherd was struck. For us delinquent sheep all too apt to stray He laid down His life. So bespattered with our sin was Jesus that He became Sin in His Father's eyes. Yet He remained spotless and pure, unsullied by our soiled flesh, purer than the driven snow, one hundred per cent pure and, hence, our Sin Offering, the Lamb of God whose self-sacrifice takes all our sin away and atones for, redeems, justifies and reconciles us sinners.
Indeed, "by His wounds we are healed" (v 5). Writes Isaiah of our perfect, unblemished Lamb and His all-sufficient sacrifice, "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 his shearer is mute, so he did not cry out" (v 7).
Mum is the Word, at least until His death. Remember. By this dastardly business, this horrendous means, God Himself, not the Jewish establishment, nor the Roman Empire, was fulfilling "what He had foretold through all the prophets", also this prophet Isaiah, "saying that His Christ would suffer".
Don't be like the incredulous Jews for whom this was a stumbling block, or the always skeptical Greeks for whom it was foolishness, or the all too practical and accommodating Romans, cynical to the core. "What is truth?" Or even Jesus' thick-headed, dull-witted, hard-hearted disciples who still didn't get it, even after He rose from the dead and stood before them alive, in living, breathing color.
No ghost of His former self, this One, robbing them of their ghost of a chance, but fully fleshed and flushed, fresh from the grave, flushing them out of their darkened wits, at their wit's end, and their darker musings, flushing them out of the shadowland of death and despair, illuminating them, enlightening them and fleshing out their faith, born anew, resuscitated and borne along by their risen and glorified Savior.
"How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things", the very things with which His disciples upbraided Him, the dark happenings in gloomy Jerusalem in those dark days when Jesus broke in on their gloomy conversation and asked what things they were talking about, the very things with which He now upbraided them and which He Himself had to endure for their sakes "and then enter his glory" (Lk 24:25-26).
Mum was the Word, alright, until His death, His "it is finished". And it is finished, thank God. He did die. And He is risen. Praise the Lord! Christ is risen indeed. Hallelujah! Now His tongue is loosed. "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets," that is, the whole of the Old Testament, "he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (v 27).
Thus born anew, borne along by their risen Lord, thus illuminated and enlightened, thus quickened, their hearts burned within them while Jesus talked with them and opened the Scriptures to them and them to the Scriptures, opened their hearts to Him and His great heart to them. Of course, He opened the way when He was at table with them, took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened and they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.
Hearts aflame, what a warm, all-inviting hearth and home His table fellowship is! Hallelujah! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah! Mum's the Word no longer. When Jesus looses the bonds of death, the devil and hell and escapes the constraints of the grave, His tongue now loosened, He unleashes His Word on His disciples and they come unglued.
Tongue-tied no more, they speak freely, beginning with St. Peter, beginning at Pentecost. "Men of Israel, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge", according to His plan broadcast again and again down through the ages, regardless of what come-latelies' hands actually did His handiwork, "and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
"But God" who was in control all the time "raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. [Yes,] God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses to the fact" (Acts 2:22-24, 32). Mum's the Word no longer! Mute no more, tongue tied no more!
A witness can ill afford to be tongue tied. On the contrary, tongue loosed, a willing party to all the tongue wagging party favors, what eyewitness can keep his tongue still and his mouth to himself? What avid participant won't rather shoot his mouth off and give vent to his pent up lips? So with Peter. "Therefore let all Israel", no, all the world, "be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (v 36).
What follows flows from this as from a dammed-up stream dammed up no more but grown to a mighty flood, an overwhelming tidal wave, an ocean of relief. Dull wits are sharpened. Dead hearts are quickened. As dark souls are enlightened, more than tongues are set loose, as seared consciences are soothed. Cut to the quick--cut to the chase!--Peter's countrymen react.
"Brothers, what shall we do?" (v 37). What indeed! And here is the Balm from Gilead for seared hearts and sore consciences. Here is the Stint that staunches a flood of regret and a tidal wave of remorse. Here is the soothing Ocean of relief. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ".
Quench the fires of hell in that baptismal flood. Repent and remember your baptism, born anew, buoyed up and borne along on that High Tide of regeneration, every one of you who have been baptized, and walk in it and live by it "for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (v 38).
Along with the forgiveness of sin you will obtain life and salvation from this gifted Gift-Giver. For where there is forgiveness, there also life and salvation abound and abide. "The promise is for you and your children", for those near at hand and all those far off--"for all whom the Lord our God will call" (v 39).
"Why do the nations rage and conspire and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One" (Ps 2:1-2), the psalmist writes predicting the Passion of our Lord. Besides trying to silence Jesus and rid themselves of this menace, now they were attempting to do the same thing to His disciples.
But all in vain, all to no avail, all for nothing, all their vile machinations, in fact, only serving to further God's agenda, as Jesus' followers bore witness, applying this Old Testament citation to their present predicament. "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen" (4:27-28).
And just as God turned their evil back on their own heads and actually turned it to His own good, the disciples appealed to Him to do the same in the present instance. "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness" (v 29). Now that they themselves were unleashed, no longer hobbled with one foot in the grave. Now that their tongues were untied and their lips were on fire for the Lord.
And the Lord answered their plea in the affirmative. "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly" (v 31). More than this, moreover, more than merely affirming their petition, God confirmed it. He blessed them. "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all" (v 33).
Through this preaching the Holy Spirit affects oneness of heart and mind and makes believers of one accord, one in Christ, the same now as then. Great generosity of spirit accompanies our common faith as Christians, yours and mine, and the common life which grows therefrom, as together we share and share alike all things in common.
This is an identifying mark, a further fruit, of our union and communion. Then as now, this astounding attribute distinguishes our fellowship. "There were no needy persons among them" (v 34a). Lackluster though we are, no one lacks. God meets all our needs in Christ Jesus. Mum is the Word no longer.
This Easter our dull wits have been sharpened, our blunt tongues too, even if it took the Lord's own blunt force trauma to accomplish it. Our dead hearts are quickened and our dark spirits, dispirited no longer but enlightened. Our lips have come unglued. Our mouths are in gear.
Thus illumined, we can even shed light on a dark passage like this. "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants?" (Acts 8:32-33a).
We can, you and I, insofar as we are His descendants. Having broken the bonds of the grave and the shackles of hell and the death grip of the devil--no holds barred in this rock 'em, sock 'em, knock down-drag out brawl--and having risen from the dead, His tongue let loose, mute no longer, Jesus sounded off and sounded out the Good News of His resurrection.
Up from the eight count, He delivered His knockout blow, His smack down, a one-two punch, this Lamb of God led uncomplaining forth, this atoning Sacrifice, this Propitiation for sin and Expiation of divine wrath, slain from the world's foundation, Victim and Priest, this Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us waylaid sheep so fond of traipsing footloose and fancy free, before taking it up again and gathering us, His scattered flock, and enfolding us as one, one in Him.
We can solve the riddle, "Who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" (v 34). We can name the mysterious Subject of this age-old prophecy. As clued-in Philip did for the clueless Ethiopian eunuch, beginning with this very passage of Holy Writ, tongue tied no more, our lips unglued and our motor mouths in gear, we too can unleash God's Word, mute no longer. We too can rattle off the Gospel of Jesus.
And if there is water handy and a prospective candidate wonders what there is to prevent him from being baptized, we can take the preventive measure and he can take the plunge and the cure. We can do both of us a good turn and baptize him.
And if we happen to be spirited away by the Holy Spirit forthwith, he can help us on our way and be on his way rejoicing, in the words of our Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter, like a baby Christian craving pure spiritual milk, so that by it we may both grow up in our salvation, now that we have tasted that the Lord is good. Yum! His mercy endures forever. Alleluia! Amen.
- Pastor Erickson