In the ears of most Christians, the word “resurrection” stands out as a good word, indeed one of, if not the, best of words. It is quite literally for us, “good news”: Gospel. It is a word that is filled with such hope that it has spilled out of history and into the myths and stories told by cultures throughout time. When a hero in fiction dies and returns to life he is often called “Christ-like” in that moment. Whether it be Superman in any one of his returns from death in comics and movies, someone like Gandolf in The Lord of the Rings, or any other example you can think of;—in whatever the story, the resurrection of the hero is good news and reminds of us of the One who truly did triumph over death, not just in the pages of some story, but in a specific moment of history when Christ rose from the dead. That moment is Gospel; it is good news. It inspires us on Easter morning to shout with believers across the globe and throughout time have said: “Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!” But before we go adding any alleluias just yet, it is perhaps worth noting that the news Christ is risen is not always heard as good news.
I know how that sounds, you are used to hearing it as the best of news, but bear with me for a moment. I would contend that while the words Christ is risen are the sweetest, most hope-filled good news, for some it is also bone-crushing, killing Law;—a weight so heavy one cannot stand up underneath it.
Consider for a moment the first recorded sermon after Jesus’ resurrection. Many Christians do not realize that not only do we have this sermon recorded, its central message is that Christ is Risen, and it isn’t good news to the hearers. The sermon is recorded in Acts 2 and takes place on Pentecost. Many of you are likely familiar with this story. The disciples have been waiting in Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit comes upon them like a mighty, rushing wind. Divided tongues of fire appear to them and rest on their heads and they are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in other tongues. Jews from every nation are gathered at this time in Jerusalem and begin to marvel at what is taking place.
In the midst of this Peter stands up and addresses the multitude and says, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know;—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. … Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that He would set One of His descendants on his throne, He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”‘
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
The book of Acts goes on to tell us Peter’s hearers were “cut” to the hearts and cried out, “What shall we do?” Which, when you think about it, only makes sense. The only thing worse than discovering you killed the Son of God is finding out that He didn’t stay dead. Because they know this story, and they know, without a doubt, what comes next. You know what comes next. It is the center of a nearly infinite number of revenge stories throughout TV and literature. It could be called The Crow or Pale Rider, or any number of other things. But whatever the title this time around, you have heard the story told enough times to know how it will go without reading a single page.
The good man is torn from his life, likely from his family and friends. This good man;—he is something more than an innocent man;—often actively bringing good into the lives of those who cannot help themselves. He’s taken, usually publicly, shamed, dragged through the streets, tortured, and left for dead. In some stories he is outright killed, but either way our villains return to the village, the town, the streets, reveling in their wicked deed, confident in the good man’s death. But we, the audience safely watching from the comfort of our couches happily munching on buttered popcorn, see the scene shift and discover he is not dead. Through a montage time passes, some time, not a lot of time, and before we know it our hero is imbued with the health and power to go back into town. And this is the point where we sit forward in our seats in eager anticipation of what is coming, because we know what is coming. And interestingly enough it is not a hug, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Our hero is not coming back into town to heal and solve the problems of the those “innocents” who did nothing to help him, to say nothing of those who actually killed him. He’s not coming to forgive them and heal their marriages or cure their drug problems because they “knew not what they were doing.” No, he comes to exact vengeance; he comes to kill. Yes, we know this story. It is not a new one. It’s very old. In fact, Jesus Himself told a version of this story. You can find it in the Gospel of Luke 20.
To give you some context this is Holy Week. Jesus has come to Jerusalem for what He knows will be the last time. During His triumphal Palm Sunday entry, He pauses to weep over the city. He knows the pain and death He is about to endure, and yet Jesus weeps not for Himself, but for those who should recognize Him, should know He is the Author of peace. “Would that you,” He says, “even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace.”
Jesus comes to the temple and finds that instead of being a house of prayer it has become a den of robbers. And after driving off the those who are selling, (He) begins to spend His time publicly teaching daily in the temple. In the midst of this, Jewish leaders, the chief priests, scribes, elders and principle men begin searching for ways to get rid of Him. To them Jesus is not a prophet, let alone the Son of God, He is someone who is taking away from their prestige, their power, their station. They challenge His authority only to find themselves time and time again stymied by wisdom and calm demeanor.
Then Jesus turns to them and tells the people this parable:
And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. This is the Word of the Lord.
In essence it is the same story: the story of the good man killed, but this time it is the Father who comes back in his place. And the people know what will happen. In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus tells this story the people themselves declare what will happen, Jesus asks them: “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” And they say to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death.” Because what other ending can there be? And the people listening to the story get the point. They know exactly who the people tending the vineyard are;—it is them. That’s why they wait no time at all, but immediately seek a way to get rid of Him “at that very hour.”
The chief priests, the scribes, the leaders have been given a vineyard to tend, and not only have they kept it exclusively to themselves, they did not head the call of the prophets when they came. And now that the Son of God is in their midst they refuse to hear their call the obvious conclusion to that the owner of the vineyard will put them to death. Outraged, still refusing to believe Jesus is who He claims to be, they will live out the next beat of this story and in just a few days’ time put Jesus to death.
Which brings us back to Peter’s sermon on Pentecost. Is it really any wonder that Peter’s hearers where terrified at the news that Christ is risen? When you realize that you killed the Son of God can there be any more terrifying words than “He is risen indeed”? They have awoke to find themselves in the middle of a story they know all too well;—a story that does not have a happy ending for them.
Thank goodness we are not them. Thank goodness we are not the chief priests and scribes and leaders who, in the words of Peter “crucified Jesus and killed Him by the hands of lawless men.”
And yet, and yet when I consider my own sins, when I consider that Jesus died for the sins of the world, including sins of all of those who came before Him, all those who came after, including my sins, including your sins …when I hear the words Peter writes in 1 Peter 2 that Jesus “bore our sins in His body on the tree” I shudder. Can these words … Can these words “He is Risen” ever be good news for me?
Sure, He’s the Messiah, but is He my Messiah? Yes, He is the Redeemer, but is He my Redeemer? I know that Jesus lives does not sing as sweetly as I know that my Redeemer lives. Is there any wonder then that the people on Pentecost turn to Peter and ask, no, I suspect begged, “What can we do? We killed the Son of God, His blood is on our hands, and now He lives. Certainly, we are doomed.”
On that first Pentecost Peter turned to them and said: “Repent, repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.” The promise has been given to all of us. It was given to them for the forgiveness of sins, but it was also given to you and your children and all who are far off. Everyone whom the Lord calls to Himself. So Repent. Repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. We live in the miracle of Baptism; we live in the miracle of being baptized into Christ’s death and His resurrection; we live as adopted children of God, and yet so rarely recognize the power, the significance, the hope, that comes with it. It gives us the words: “My Redeemer.”
This is not the story we would expect; it is not the story of vengeance; it is the story of forgiveness, mercy, and love. The good Man has come back from the dead, and in so doing shows that He always had all the power. But rather than be terrified of His anger, Jesus invites us to live in His love. In the words Peter would one day write in 1 Peter 2. Jesus “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”
In Jesus there is healing; there is forgiveness. You, dear brother and sister in Christ, need not fear His wrath. For you, the words “Christ is Risen” are good words, they are the best words. They are words so good they should not be contained but shared with the world. They are pure Gospel.
Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed. Amen.
Reflections for March 27, 2022
Title: What Shall We Do?
Mark Eischer: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. For FREE online resources, archived audio, our mobile app, and more, go to lutheranhour.org. We’re joined now by Lutheran Hour Speaker, Dr. Michael Zeigler.
Michael Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. We’re visiting with Dr. David Lewis, who is a professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Along with specializing in New Testament interpretation, David’s also one of our local expert film critics. He’s had a special focus and interest in Jesus films. Welcome back to the program, David.
David Lewis: Yeah. Thank you, Michael. It’s great to be here again.
Michael Zeigler: David, last time we talked, we started discussing Jesus films and also this new internet-based mini-series focusing on the life of Jesus and his first disciples called The Chosen. it’s had over 350 million views, which is pretty impressive. Can you just give us a brief recap and analysis of what you’ve seen so far in season one?
David Lewis: When it comes to a Jesus film, my first concern is how is Jesus portrayed? And I think The Chosen has done a very good job of portraying Jesus as a strong character. If you recall, my warning is if you make a Jesus film, don’t put too much Jesus in the film. This is a film where there’s a lot of Jesus and yet I have not experienced any cringe yet or any time where I’m like, “Hey, that’s not right.” I’ve liked the portrayal of Jesus. And I’ve also then liked the portrayal of the various disciples of Jesus in particular, Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and Matthew, the tax collector. Those are three sort of standouts that I think they’ve done a really good job. They’ve created back stories for these characters that are not necessarily in the Gospels, but I think it works in this narrative, all the backstories behind all three.
Michael Zeigler: What are some of the most important or thoughtful criticisms of The Chosen that you’ve heard?
David Lewis: There are people out there who I think will not like it ever if you portray Jesus as a character in a film. They would consider that blasphemous. If anyone is so inclined, it doesn’t even matter if you go out of your way to create a high Christology, where you have a strong portrayal of Jesus. The mere fact that you’re having an actor portray Jesus and the actor is not Jesus, they would consider that blasphemous. I’ve heard those critiques and then it really becomes a matter of do you personally believe it’s permissible to have an actor portray Jesus in a film or in a play, or not? My own view is I think it is permissible. Jesus was a true Man, and therefore we can portray Him. We could have actors portray Him in film. It’s really the goals of the filmmakers. What are they trying to do? And so then we have to ask, “Can a director adapt stories from the Gospel into a new setting?” And my answer would be yes, as long as his goals are worthy.
Michael Zeigler: Yeah. That helps classify what The Chosen is and what it isn’t, and it puts it in class with other Jesus films.
David Lewis: Yes.
Michael Zeigler: So they’re adaptations of Gospel account material. And then maybe to the left of that, you would have a film like Jesus Christ Superstar, which is not really trying to portray Jesus any way as the Gospels do. And then maybe to at the right of that, you have these word-for-word depiction movies like, for example, I think I’ve seen them on YouTube. They’re two, three hours, or four hours long in some cases, where it’s a word-for-word depiction, and there’s actually a narrator reading the Gospel word for word, and then people acting out what’s happening. So, could you just comment on those three classes of Jesus films?
David Lewis: I have to give credit to the author for which I got this classification from, Barnes Tatum, wrote a book called Jesus at the Movies. You have what I would say the better Jesus films do is what he calls “harmonization,” where they take all four Gospel accounts and take their favorite stories from those four accounts and then harmonize them into the story that they’re putting on film. So, this would be Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson. The Chosen would be a harmonization approach. Jesus of Nazareth from 1977. The Greatest story Ever Told. And King of Kings from the 1960s. These are adaptations of the four Gospels. The idea here is I want to make a Jesus film, but I want to use a story from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Then, as you mentioned on the far right, you’ve got movies like The Gospel According to John that came out in 2004, which is the entire Gospel according to John set on film with a narrator reading. What’s interesting is you can say that’s an objective way of presenting the Gospels. However, still there’s subjectivity there, because the actor who portrays Jesus, one of the critiques of the film is that he’s always smiling; they call him the “smiley Jesus.”
Then on the far left, you have shows like The Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus Christ Superstar, that admit that they’re not based upon the Gospels. The directors actually admit, this is the story of Jesus, but we’re not telling the same that the Gospel accounts tell. What’s interesting is those films tend to present what I call a low Christology, where it’s not clear who Jesus is. It’s not clear why He dies upon the cross, and it’s not clear that He’s going to rise from the dead either.
Michael Zeigler: And this brings us back to this question: Should we ever try to do this? Is this a worthy goal? And this wouldn’t just be film. This would be, say, Jesus in paintings. Even reading the Gospel out loud, you have to make decisions about tone of voice. So is this still a worthy goal to try to depict Jesus in an artful way?
David Lewis: What it really comes down to in the end is what is the motive of the artist? Is he trying to promote a high portrayal of Jesus? Is he trying to promote faith in Jesus? And is he trying to promote discipleship, following Jesus? Then I would say that’s a noble goal.
While Last Temptation of Christ, I think that was an attempt to a show Jesus I think in a negative way. And I don’t even think it’s a good film. I just don’t think Last Temptation of Christ is really a good film. Scorsese made it, but it’s not among his greatest hits. I think it’s a bad film and it’s got bad motives. I think King of Kings from the sixties as a bad film that had good motives. I think they wanted to portray a high portrayal of Jesus and they failed.
Michael Zeigler: A lot of cringe-worthy moments.
David Lewis: A lot of cringe-worthy moments. But I think The Chosen, you see artistry meeting good ideals. That’s my thinking.
Michael Zeigler: And I appreciate how you bring in the incarnation into this discussion. Because as followers of Jesus, we are not simply communicating ideas or ideals.
David Lewis: Yes.
Michael Zeigler: But an event in history that continues to have echoes and impacts throughout every story of humanity, every culture, every nation. We’re called to be His witnesses, including art and the way we do art. Of course, the art never replaces these inspired inerrant accounts, the Gospel narratives that we have. We always want to be returning to these, as you and I have both encouraged our listeners to do so.
David Lewis: There is no substitute for reading the four canonical Gospels, which are the inspired Word of God. The Chosen is not the inspired Word of God. That distinction should be kept in mind. In other words, I would encourage people, check The Chosen out, and if you like the artistry, I think you’ll enjoy the experience of binge-watching season one. But it’s no replacement for reading the four inspired accounts that God has given to us in the New Testament.
Michael Zeigler: Yeah. Go binge Luke. Binge Mark.
David Lewis: Yeah. Binge Luke.
Michael Zeigler: Binge John and Matthew.
David Lewis: Yeah.
Michael Zeigler: Thanks for joining us. Dr. Lewis.
David Lewis: Oh, you’re welcome, Michael. It’s great to be with you.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure Eternal” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“God Loved the World So That He Gave” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)