Let
me begin by saying, happy Easter! I say that, in part, of course, because I was
not with you on Easter Day; but, also, because today is the second Sunday of
Easter. There are in total seven Sundays of Easter, and as the church gathers
on these occasions, we will hear a selection of passages from the Acts of the Apostles, the sequel to the Gospel According to Luke. Why these particular
passages? Because they invite us into the ‘so
what?’ of the resurrection, discovering how Jesus’ disciples, led by the
Holy Spirit, came to understand the significance of this incredible event.
There
is a recurring pattern in the early chapters of Acts: Peter preaches in the temple, is arrested, imprisoned, brought
to trial, gives his defence; is later re-arrested, imprisoned, escapes prison with
angelic help, preaches in the temple, is brought to trial again, and gives his
defence. And this is where we find him in our reading from Acts this morning. And the crux of his defence is this: that God
has exalted Jesus as Leader and Saviour.
The
word our Bibles translates as ‘Leader’ is the Greek word archēgon. It is a word that means founder, or author; the first in
a long procession, the captain who pioneers the way for others to follow. It is
used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament—the translation Luke and the
community he wrote for would have used—to speak of the heads of the families of
the tribes of Israel; to refer to men held in high esteem, with this same word
often translated into English as ‘princes’ of the people. They are the men who
give a lead that others follow. When God sends Moses to lead his people out
from slavery in Egypt, it is these princes he must first persuade, because the
people will follow them. When there are gifts to be brought, as for the
rebuilding of the fallen walls of Jerusalem, it is these princes who go first.
The
irony would not have been lost on Luke’s audience that Peter has been brought
to trial before the senate of the sons of Israel [NRSVA ‘the council and whole
body of the elders of Israel’], who demand to know why Peter and the other
apostles have not followed their lead when they had, at the previous trial,
ordered the apostles not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18)? After all, they are the
princes, and where they lead—with strict orders, no less—others should follow.
Peter,
however, does not recognise their authority in this matter. Why not? Well, we
need to remember that Acts is the continuation
of Luke’s account of the gospel, the good news about Jesus. Towards the end of Part
One, at the last supper, Luke records Jesus as saying to his disciples:
‘“You
are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, as my Father
has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my
kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’”
(Luke 22:28-30)
Moreover,
we recall that in his account of the crucifixion, Luke records:
‘And
the people stood by, watching; but the leaders [archontes: rulers, or princes] scoffed at him, saying, “He saved
others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The
soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If
you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription
over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”’
(Luke 23:35-38)
Though
the leaders of the people refuse to acknowledge it, Jesus is the Prince, appointed
by God; and he, in turn, has appointed Peter and the other apostles to be princes.
But Jesus’ rule is made manifest on the cross. The nature of his lead, the lead
he called Peter to follow, bringing others with him, is through trial and
suffering.
Peter
declares that God has exalted Jesus as Leader and Saviour. That is, Jesus is
the one, raised up by God, who goes first leading a long procession of
followers through trial and suffering; saving them from sin and death by
delivering them beyond suffering to freedom and glory. First death, then
resurrection. First suffering, then glory. As the one who has gone first, Jesus
is able to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins ...
...
and this ties-in with another theme of Peter’s early sermons. Peter, and his
companions, see the Psalms as
pointing to the kind of Leader and Saviour Jesus is. They cite psalms 16, and
110, and 2, psalms that speak of a leader set on the throne of David by God,
through whom the nations that surround and threaten Jerusalem will be judged.
Peter’s message is this: the resurrection of Jesus gives the people of Israel a
second-chance to turn back to the God of their ancestors—to accept the gift of
repentance—and so to experience forgiveness of sins, or, having their debts
wiped clean by the prince seated at the right hand of God. Judgement over-ruled.
Consequences, transmuted from death to life. The implication, of course, is
that if the leaders of the people persist in fighting against God, those
surrounding and threatening nations would overthrow Jerusalem.
The
council were enraged, and wanted to kill the apostles, to silence them once and
for all. But one of their number, the Pharisee Gamaliel, stood up and cautioned
that they do nothing, in case they find themselves fighting against God; and,
instead, simply wait and see what would unfold. Tragically, doing nothing was not enough. Repentance was what was necessary.
Within the lifetime of many of them, the Romans besieged Jerusalem and
destroyed the temple. And what survived The End Of The World as they knew it?
The community that confessed Jesus as Leader and Saviour was well-placed to pass
through suffering to glory. In time, after much more suffering, the emperor in
Rome would bow the knee.
What,
then, does his have to do with us, two-thousand years later? Everything, as it
happens. As our sisters and brothers around the world celebrated Jesus’ rising
from the dead last Sunday, churches in Sri Lanka were torn apart. When the dust
settled, and the bodies had been counted, whole villages processed out to new
mass graves. Unimaginable horror; and yet, this is the Way on which we walk,
following Jesus, trusting that The End is not the end.
Here
at the Minster, our brother Abbas is detained at an immigration Removal Centre,
awaiting deportation. If you are Iranian, and you convert from a Muslim
upbringing to Christianity, and refuse to recant, you face imprisonment and the
real threat of the death penalty. Like Jesus. Like Peter and the other apostles—almost
all of whom were eventually martyred for their faith, walking in procession
behind Jesus, the Way made possible because he had pioneered it. It is not
scaremongering but sober reality that some of our sisters and brothers in this international
congregation may experience unjust trial and punishment, imprisonment, and even
execution because of their baptism. And if so, that is normative Christianity.
If we are comfortable, here in Sunderland, we
are the aberration.
Peter’s
message was to the elders of Israel. They did not listen, and died in debt
before God. History has moved on. What ought our Easter message be? That Jesus is still Leader and Saviour, in order that he might give repentance
not only to Israel but—as we shall see as we continue reading through Acts—to the Gentiles also, cancelling
the debts we have incurred against God and our neighbour.
For
now, we find ourselves in England, surrounded by other nations, some of which
are hostile, including fragile peace agreements between uneasy allies. And we
find ourselves in the Church of England, a community that is, in some ways, a
shadow of its former days, once at the very heart of society but now on the
margins, surrounded by other worldviews, some of which are hostile. Nations
rise and fall. Local and even national churches are planted, grow old, and die.
We live in precarious times, for the nation, for the church, indeed for the
future of civilisation as we know it and the planet on which we live. We have
amassed unpayable debts, to those we have wronged in the past, to future
generations, to global ecosystems. Some elders advise caution, that we wait and
see. Other voices advise us to rise up and overthrow our oppressors—whoever they might be.
And
what of us? “God ... raised up Jesus [and] exalted him as Leader and Saviour
that he might give repentance ... and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the
Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
So,
go, Church, and bear witness to these things. Jesus is Leader and Saviour: join
us as we follow him on the Way of Suffering and, on its far side, Glory.
