Jesus Was Born With A Body. Rose With One Too.

Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Grace.  Mercy.  Peace.  Each of these is yours through the death and resurrection of Jesus, who was, “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” and, “born of the virgin Mary.”  In other words, from egg to embryo to birth, Jesus was conceived miraculously and born normally, spending nine months in Mary’s womb. 

Jesus’ incarnation is central to our salvation.  It was with His body that he bore our sins.  (1 Peter 2:24) He was fully human so he completely understands our weakness.  (Hebrews 4:15)  And even now He retains his humanity, for after his crucifixion, Jesus bodily rose from the dead.  (Luke 24:36-43)  And He never left His body, but ascending into heaven in the state of being fully human and fully divine.  And He will bodily return on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead.  (Acts 1:9-11) 

God gives us life in these bodies of ours, and the body matters.  In the normal course of things, it is while we are in the body that we are able to hear the Gospel and receive salvation.  It is with these bodies that we love, speak words of salvation, serve, do both good and evil, receive Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and so much more.  No wonder, then, that God chose to protect our bodies with one of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not murder.”  (NumberFive, as we number them.)  And Jesus extends the connection of this command to our entire selves – body, mind, and soul – saying that even anger and name calling violate God’s command.  (Matthew 5:21-22) 

Now, if you are keeping score, you have realized I just called you a murderer.  At least if you’ve ever gotten angry and called someone names you are. 

Actually, I didn’t call you a murderer.  Jesus did.  He called me one, too. 

This past Sunday was Life Sunday, and churches all across the U.S. remembered the 40^th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade.  Since that date over 50 million babies have been aborted in the U.S. – a sad statistic at best.  That being said, Life Sunday, while begun as a focus regarding abortion and the sanctity of life in the womb, has expanded to deal with all sorts of issues dealing with human life. 

Life issues are a major dividing point in our nation.  They are issues that rile people up.  To be very forthright, the Church has not always handled these issues very well, and sadly the major message the world hears from God’s people is condemnation instead of God’s love for people and passion for life.  I confess that my words on this topic over the years have not always been a loving reflection of my Savior. 

This is our goal, however, as God’s people.  Living in Jesus’ forgiveness – even forgiveness for the sin of murder – we extend God’s love and forgiveness to everyone in the hope that they would believe in Jesus.  Dealing with people who are walking through the painful situations regarding unwanted pregnancies, suffering and terminal illness, guilt from previous life-ending decisions, and the like requires that we humbly recognize our own place in God’s presence – we are sinners saved by Christ’s death.  Ours is not the place of judgment.  God will handle that with far more wisdom than we are capable of.  Ours is the place of confessing God’s Word – both Law and Gospel.  Ours is the place of pointing to Jesus and saying that all sins are atoned for at the cross: yours, mine and all people in the world.  Ours is the place of loving God and neighbor by our actions, because God loved us by His. 

Questions to Ponder

-          Look at some of the verses sited above.  Why is it important that Jesus is truly human? 

-          How did Jesus demonstrate His physical resurrection to the disciples?

-          Jesus says that love is at the root of the Ten Commandments.  How does the Fifth Commandment demonstrate God’s love for you?

-          How do we know about God and His will for us?  How do you know that He loves you?