Life-Giving Hands of Jesus

There was a knock at the door of my study at church.  The man on the other side was so sad and wanted to sit and talk.  His wife had just left him and he was crushed.  He had a job, but it wasn’t a job he enjoyed and was having a tough time even going to work.  Maybe you know people like that, too.  You run into old friends whose marriage is on the rocks, or they’re at a job they hate.  People are scared, angry and even feel trapped.  Maybe you’ve even thought that you’d like to start life all over again!  You know, really start living!

Sometimes it’s a midlife crisis, or burnout from a 40-year grind at work, or even the idea of entering into the golden years of retirement and really start living!  People tell themselves they need to go backpacking through Europe, or rent an expensive German convertible and travel the Pacific Highway, or go on Cruises in the Mediterranean or along the Alaskan coast.  They think these adventures will help them really start living.  But, when those same people return home from their feel-good trips and realize their souls are still empty, afraid, trapped or feel guilty.  They still wonder what it means to really start living.

The Bible has something to say about really living.  It doesn’t involve backpacks, expensive cars or beautiful ships.  To make really worth living they just need Easter.  They need the empty tomb.  They need the happy shouts of, “He is Risen!” and “He is Risen Indeed!”  There were plenty of people on that first Easter is this situation.  The disciples were afraid in the upper room, the women felt empty on their way to the tomb, and Peter was feeling so guilty having betrayed his Lord.  They needed Jesus who appeared to them on that very first Easter and showed them his

Life-Giving Hands

That Make Life Worth Living

If you had been with those disciples in the room and asked them how they were doing, you would have caught an ear-full!  “¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews.”  For the past week they were witnesses of Jesus walking and teaching people in crisis in the streets and temple at Jerusalem.  He called out the religious leaders who were so corrupt they devised a plan to have an innocent man condemned and crucified.  What would stop those evil men from coming after them next?  The disciples knew who Jesus was yet they abandoned him in the Garden of Gethsemane, denied him while on trial before the High Priest, and coward as Jesus carried his cross to die.  And, despite the fact that Jesus had been preparing them for this moment for months, they still seemed shocked to see Jesus put to death on the cross.  They were acting as if Jesus were dead.  They were afraid, felt guilty, trapped in a room and probably wondering if their life was worth living.

That’s when Jesus changed everything for them.  Jesus knew what they were thinking.  They were upset, sad, confused and afraid.  Some of these disciples had gone out to visit the empty tomb.  They head the reports of the women and the Emmaus disciples about Jesus being alive.  But, they hadn’t seen him with their own eyes.  Jesus showed up and didn’t say, “How’s life?”  “Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!”  It was Easter! Jesus showed himself to be alive. We know from the other accounts that even then they were stupefied to grasp what they were seeing.  It was Jesus.  He was alive.  He was standing right there with them very much full of life. “²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.” Jesus’ bodily presence together with the sight of his Life-Giving Hands convinced the disciples that they were looking at their resurrected Lord.  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!  Jesus’ Life-Giving Hands Made Life Worth Living!

Dear friends, this world is broken.  Our lives are filled with doubt about sickness, disappointment about treatments, guilt about past sins, grief over lost jobs, family issues, relationships that we thought we could trust but found out they were hollow.  Add to that the heart-break of death, watching our loved ones get older, seeing young people go down the wrong path and it is easy to fall into despair.  Our world continues to be a dark place to live and we might as well join up with the disciples in the room and lock the doors!

But, today marks three days from Good Friday.  It’s Easter!  Christ is Alive!  It took a moment, but the disciples finally grabbed hold of the meaning of Easter that evening, “So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”  The Easter Joy to see Jesus’ Lifegiving hands made life really worth living. What Jesus did on the cross worked.  Jesus died to pay the penalty of all our sins and Jesus rose from the dead because what he did declared us not guilty before our Father in heaven.  Jesus’ Life-Giving Hands Made Life Worth Living, and  

That Makes Life Have Peace

The easy part of Jesus’ visit was done.  He showed himself to be alive.  Jesus had more in mind that evening that simply showing himself to be alive.  Easter Joy is not just a state of mind, but it spills over to create a life of real peace. “²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” Look what Jesus just did!  He said he would die and rise again, and he did just that.  Jesus’ words are trustworthy.  Jesus said he would pay the penalty of everyone’s sin, and he did just that.  Jesus’ words are powerful.  Jesus said he would fulfill his Father’s mission, and he did just that.  Do you see?  Jesus didn’t just hear the word of God, he did what his Father said to give us peace from forgiveness of sins, eternal life in heaven, and deliverance from the devil.   In the same way the Father sent Jesus to give us a life of peace, he now sends us out into this broken, afraid, guilty and trapped world to bring the Good News of real life from the Life-Giving Hands of Jesus.  St Paul makes this clear in 2 Cor 5:19-20: “And he has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, inasmuch as God is making an appeal through us. We urge you, on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”  Do you really want a life worth living?  Do you really want to bring peace to people who are hurting?  Serving as a witness for Jesus Christ does just that!  It makes our life really worth living to show people the Life-Giving Hands of Jesus that bring true peace.

When we think of sharing Jesus with the world, you might be tempted to think that this is such a huge job, that it might also be an impossible job.  And it would be overwhelming if we didn’t hear what else Jesus said to the disciples.  Remember, they were sitting scared, then they saw Jesus, then Jesus told them to go and tell people.  But, Jesus assured them that they weren’t going alone.  “²² After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus didn’t say, “Do you need a new backpack?  Keys to a new Roman Chariot?  Tickets for a Mediterranean Cruise?” Jesus didn’t just give them the promise of the Holy Spirit, but he “breathed” the Holy Spirit on them.  The Holy Spirit would empower each of them to have a Life of Peace connected to Jesus Christ, but they also received the power to carry out God’s call!  We know the Life-Giving Hands of Jesus would come into fulfillment 50 days later when at Pentecost the Holy Spirit came so powerfully upon them, that they boldly proclaimed the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection in languages that Galilean fisherman didn’t learn at school.

Jesus used his Life-Giving Hands to give them peace, and then he used them to train his disciples for service.  “²³ Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  It’s a big day in the life of our kids when we give them a key to the house.  It’s a big day when they get their first keys to a car!  With these words Jesus was giving Life-Giving Hands to every believer to forgive the sins of the repentant, afraid, trapped and guilty; and withhold forgiveness from those who are plainly impenitent.  This forgiveness unlocks the door to heaven.  Unrepentance due to unbelief locks the door to heaven.  The risen Lord Jesus uses his Life-Giving hands to give this special power to you to share real peace.

How are you going to use these keys that you’ve received from the Life-Giving Hands of Jesus?  When life gets boring and unfulfilling I suppose you could go backpacking or on a cruise.  But if you want real purpose and excitement for life, then find someone who doesn’t know Jesus’ love for them.  Make Life Worth Living for others by pointing them to the resurrected Jesus!   What a great purpose for living to share the peace we have from Jesus Life-Giving Hands.  Those disciples thought they had nothing to live for and acted as if Jesus was dead.  But, Jesus showed them his Life-Giving Hands. 

So, if you don’t think life is worth living, if you don’t have real peace in your life, then stop acting as if Jesus was dead.  Jesus is alive!  Let’s act like it!  Let’s pray like it.  Let’s behave like it.  Let’s embrace his call and bring the gospel to people one by one.  Let’s live life like there’s no death, because Easter means Jesus is alive.  See his Life-Giving hands that make life really worth living, that makes life have real peace.  Amen.