Easter 5C, 2025

5th Sunday of Easter, Year C

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Why do we continue to say that? Easter was April 20th, and here we are almost a month later, still saying it? We are still saying it, because we are still celebrating it. We celebrate Easter for a “week of weeks” - 7 weeks. So we still have 2 weeks to go. Why do we celebrate it so much? Because there is much to celebrate… Jesus’ resurrection was first a revelation that Jesus had defeated death. That’s arguably the most important thing about His resurrection. But it’s not the only thing about His resurrection that is worth celebrating. Jesus’ resurrection changed many things, and changed them for the better.

This morning I want to focus on our first reading, from the book of Acts. This book tells us what happens to the Apostles following Jesus’ ascension to be at the right hand of the Father, and how they are given the Holy Spirit, and then continue to build the Church of Christ. Then there is the conversion of Saul - later called Paul, which leads to the carrying of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Once Jesus converted Paul to His cause, Paul would call himself the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and it would be a conflict between Paul and the Twelve… but scenes like Chapter 11 and others show that God intended for His Good News to be taken to the whole world, not just to Israel.

In Chapter 10, a Roman Centurion who was a man of faith in God had a vision, and was told to invite Peter to visit him… and Peter did. When Peter preached the Gospel to him and his household (all Gentiles), the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as it had Peter and the other disciples. Peter had them all get baptized shortly after that. Today’s reading is what happens after Peter returned to Jerusalem from that trip.

So he gets back, and everyone there - who by this point has heard Peter give at least a couple of very inspiring sermons in Jerusalem - have heard that Peter is not avoiding unclean people according to Old Testament law. Let’s not forget: the Scribes and Pharisees are still in power in Jerusalem, and all of these people are Jews who live according to Jewish law and custom. This is their culture, and it’s just how you do things in that city. So, for Peter to go and eat with unclean Gentiles, he’s broken Old Testament law (one of those 613 cleanliness laws that require ritual cleansing, some kind of atoning sacrifice, and temple approval to be declared clean again).

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he told his followers that Matthew 15:11 “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” So in that one verse, as far as I’m concerned, Jesus negated all of the Old Testament food laws. Out of those 613 laws, I was a little surprised that only 18 of them related to food and eating, but it’s still a significant portion of the law. And even though Jesus had made his declaration, Peter was *still* “keeping kosher” as our Jewish brothers and sisters call it. He was still eating only “clean” food. These are defined in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

According to these laws, certain animals are permitted, and all others are forbidden. God breaks them down into 5 categories: land animals, sea creatures, birds, flying insects, and creeping things. Very quickly:

Land animals: only animals that chew the cud and have split hooves are permitted (e.g., cattle, sheep, goats; but not pigs or camels) (Lev. 11:3-8, Deut. 14:6-8).

Sea creatures: Only those with fins and scales are allowed (e.g., fish like salmon; but not shellfish or eels) (Lev. 11:9-12, Deut. 14:9-10).

Birds: A list of forbidden birds (mostly birds of prey or scavengers, e.g., eagles, vultures) is provided, implying that others are permitted (Lev. 11:13-19, Deut. 14:11-18).

Flying insects: Only those with jointed legs for hopping (e.g., certain locusts) are permitted; others are forbidden (Lev. 11:20-23).

Creeping things: Most creeping animals (e.g., rodents, lizards) are unclean and forbidden (Lev. 11:29-31, 41-42).

So God brings all kinds of animals from the “forbidden” list in the Old Testament, and puts them in front of Peter. Peter sees this and immediately recognizes a whole bunch of animals that he’s not supposed to touch, let alone eat. But if you’re reading this passage in a Bible, you’ll see that the words “Rise, Peter; kill and eat” are written in red ink, meaning that these are the very words of Christ himself. Peter is then faced with a problem: does he obey the Old Testament or does he obey his Lord and Savior...the Torah or his Teacher and Rabbi?

This is where it’s important for *us* to remember that Scripture never contradicts itself. You may find places where something in one place might *appear* to disagree with something in another place… but we MUST take the Bible as a whole to understand what God is doing that appears to have a conflict. So… what is God doing here in Acts?

“What God has made clean, do not call common” Jesus says. Peter’s vision is about food and animals, which the Torah is very clear about. Because God gave Peter this vision - which was first described in chapter 10 (verses 10-16) - Peter could explain to the “circumcision party” of legalistic Jewish Christians why it was permissible for Peter to fellowship and eat with Gentiles.

“The authorization for Peter’s action is unmistakable. He had received a vision from God which called him to minister to all people—there are no unclean people. The words of the risen Jesus, recently spoken to the apostles, provided confirmation that Peter’s baptism of these Gentiles was in accordance with the will of God. The Gentiles who had gathered in Cornelius’s house were not only baptized with water, but they also received the Holy Spirit just as had these Jerusalem Jewish Christians. Peter drew the obvious conclusion, ‘God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ’ (v. 17). Peter would not, and he could not, [‘stand in God’s way.’]” [Walaskay, Acts, Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), 113.]

And God put a seal on the whole episode when He sent His Holy Spirit to these Gentile listeners. “Peter had scarcely begun to speak… when God did the decisive thing as far as putting the Gentiles on an equality with Jews in the matter of receiving them into the church was concerned: he gave them the charisma of the Spirit, namely to speak with tongues, exactly as he had done [in the beginning for the original disciples], namely at Pentecost.” [Lenski, 444]

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead changed many things about the world. To tell a devout and faithful Jewish person that they don’t need to worry about eating clean food anymore would be a huge shift in their worldview. Cleanliness is as much a part of their faith as most other things. It would have been a hard concept to grasp, and not an easy transition to make. Just the same, to tell a faithful Jewish person that “it’s ok to hang out with Gentiles” would have been a shock. But even more shocking is to tell a Jew - one of “God’s Chosen People” - that the Gentiles are also now the recipients of God’s love and grace? I have to imagine that would also have been a massive shock to their worldview.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead changed many things about the world. For those Jews, they were being taught that they no longer needed to keep those cleanliness laws, in who they ate with, and in what they ate. Yes, even livermush. Probably. The point Jesus is making to Peter and the other new Christians is that you no longer have to worry that your salvation is determined by your obedience. Your salvation is determined only by Jesus’ obedience. Following rules is not to earn God’s favor. Following rules is now simply a way to show God that you love Him and are grateful for the love He has already given you.

For Gentiles, Jesus’ resurrection opened the door for the Gospel to be brought to them. Over the course of Jesus’ ministry, he was leading his followers to the realization that salvation was for EVERYONE and not just Israel...but the Apostles didn’t quite understand it yet. Jesus’ resurrection CHANGED things. Even those “unclean” Gentiles could receive God’s gift of eternal life. And we should be VERY thankful for that - because that’s who all of us are. Unless some of you have been keeping kosher… if so, please correct me.

Jesus’ resurrection changed many things about the world. Jesus’ resurrection is central to our faith and our identity as Christians. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” Without Christ’s resurrection, there is no Christian church - Lutheran or otherwise. The very fact that He walked out of the tomb, alive and “glorified”, validates everything we believe about Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. If the resurrection actually happened, then we have every reason we need to believe God’s Word - every single word, jot, and tittle. And Jesus’ resurrection changed the world. It transformed our understanding of God and His Will for us. And it cemented our salvation and our eternity.

To be honest, what I’m covering here this morning is really just scratching the surface of what Jesus’ resurrection really means for us. So I hope you’ll remember that one of the reasons - in fact, the primary reason - that we have our worship services on Sunday is because Sunday is the day of resurrection. Every Sunday is a celebration of Easter. And that means that we don’t just celebrate it for a week of weeks; we celebrate Easter every week. But for this time of the year, we pull out all the stops and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection in special ways for this week of weeks… to remind us of just how important, and special, and world-changing Jesus’ resurrection truly was… and is.

And because it’s so important, and special, and world-changing, we can say with confidence:

Christ *is* Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.