The Easter Difference – Easter Proof and Peace

The Easter Difference – Easter Proof and Peace lands on Doubting Thomas Sunday.  The cure for any doubt is plenty of proof.  And Easter is about the proof.

Al Capone, the infamous Chicago gangster never killed anyone, did he?  Even though Capone’s business cards said he was a used furniture salesman, I’d say he probably killed someone just conducting business?  He was never convicted of one murder.  Then why was he responsible for hundred of deaths during his life?  Let’s just say for the sake of argument that he never personally pulled the trigger.  All of us would say he is still guilty even though he used hired hit men to carry out the actual murders, like Nitty the Enforcer and Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn.

The Apostle Peter stands before a crowd of his countrymen and says, you put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  The first reaction by a guilty heart is to deny any wrongdoing – who me?  Peter calls them on it – yes you, with the help of wicked men, you used the chief priests, Pontius Pilate, and the Roman soldiers to do it, but you were responsible for his death.

You, my fellow Christians, are guilty of the same crime – don’t give me the “two thousand year excuse.”  Just because you weren’t there doesn’t mean that you didn’t heap your sins on Jesus.  Even when you only thought about the unkind exchange you would have with your worst enemy, your coworker, your friend, your spouse, maybe your God.  Jesus suffered for your sins even though you never actually carried out the hateful thought you enjoyed this week.  For all the times Jesus gave you a golden opportunity to preach Easter – not to get all preachy – but to witness your hope of the resurrection, you kept silent.  Did you think it was silly or shameful to bring up “God stuff”?  I don’t know why I keep silent sometimes.

Remember King David?  He knew all about hit men.  He killed a man using the sword of an enemy army.  He did this so he could take the man wife as his own – mind you there wasn’t a shortage of women.  David already had a large harem.  David was guilty of murder via a hit man, I haven’t even pointed out that his sins were heaped on the back of Jesus too.

For all of the rotten things that David did, he still had hope, so did those Jews in Peter’s audience and so do we.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, ²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  When David penned these words in Psalm 16, he was looking forward to Jesus day, when his Savior would rise from the dead.  Jesus said, Because I live, you also will live.

Want to hear more?  Watch this week’s message taken from Acts 2, The Easter Difference – Easter Proof and Peace.