Second Sunday Of Easter April 6-7, 2024
“I Have Something To Tell You” I John 1:1-2:2
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
Vanity license plates can be quite creative. Here are some:
- A Tesla that read: SKIP GAS
- A nice black BMW: WAS HIS
- Two cars parked next to each other: 2 BE; NOT 2B
A week ago, I was visiting one of our folks and I noticed the license plate of one of their neighbors. It was a Colorado designer plate. All black background with white letters. It read NTGUILTY. Not Guilty. I wonder what the story is behind saying that on your license plate. Maybe the person was taken to trial and the jury came back with the verdict that changed their life. “Not Guilty.” Maybe it was something of a much lesser charge, but they wanted the world to know that they were innocent of whatever was spoken. Whatever it was they were shouting the verdict – they had something to tell the world.
The first chapter of the epistle of John is as interesting as the first chapter of the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2) I John 1:1-2 reads, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared, we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life.”
In our reading from I John, in the 12 verses that we read, you are going to hear the phrase, “We proclaim to you”, “We declare to you”, “I write this to you”. John’s license plate says, “I have something to tell you.” The something that he has to say is:
- Jesus is Real
- Sin is Real
- The resurrection is Real
- We are Blessed
How do you know if something is real and not simply the imagination of your mind? You touch it. You can see it. You listen to it. John writes that Jesus is real. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched…” We read about Thomas and his doubts concerning the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. He spoke to the other apostle’s and demanded, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” (John 20:25) Touching, seeing, hearing was demanded by Thomas. He would not be convinced in any other way.
John, ever the evangelist, ever the one trying to convince the unbeliever to become a believer, says that he has something to tell others – that Jesus is truly real. At the end of his Gospel John writes, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)
Jesus is real. His life, His ministry, His death, His resurrection, and all the gifts that He wants to bring are real. John also wants those he wrote to, to understand that sin is real. Listen to his argument:
- If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
- If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
- If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Did you know that it is easy to live without sin? All you have to do is to deny that your actions are sinful. Whatever sin we have done just gets reclassified. We provide a good reason why we should have gotten even. We have an excuse why we should have cheated or lied. We think we can justify any and every action of thought or word. Sin then makes sense. If you ask a kid “Why did you punch your sister?” They’ll tell you a good reason – “They took the toy I wanted to play with.” OK. No problem. Right?
That is not how God looks at it. John would say – “I have something to tell you – sin is real.” If we deny the effects of sin we deceive ourselves and find ourselves running from the truth. If we claim that we haven’t sinned we call God a liar. If sin is not taken seriously then the crucifixion cannot be taken seriously. If the crucifixion of Jesus is not taken seriously then the resurrection has no reality either. The sinner’s deception is deadly. It runs from the truth and silences our conscience. It gets us nowhere.
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ for sinner’s – for you and me – is real. And that is good news. Paul says this about that, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (I Corinthians 15:3-4)
Jesus is real. Sin is real. Crucifixion is real. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ is real. Jesus, that week after Easter showed Himself physically alive to Thomas, the one who didn’t believe that the resurrection was real. After speaking the word of “Peace” to them, Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)
The greatest thing that John wanted to share with his listeners and readers, the greatest thing that he shares with us all these years later is the news that the resurrection of Jesus brings a forgiven heart.
What happens to us when we have an overwhelming sense of guilt? What can we do when we are hit with the reality that our soul is covered with hypocrisy and lies? I have something to tell you. Listen. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:8-9) He begins the next chapter, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2:1-2)
You know that license plate that I saw last week? NTGUILTY. That is our plate. Jesus gave it to us. Wear that sign around your neck. It isn’t that you’re denying your sin, nor are you running away from your responsibility. No, it is because you have someone who speaks in your defense. You have an advocate. You have someone whose sacrifice was given for you. Not Guilty.
The Old Testament prophet Micah ends his book with a word of grace, “Who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19)
God has one more thing to say to us – We are blessed. Jesus is real. Sin is real. The resurrection is real. We are blessed. Too many people in this world have no connection to the goodness of God. Too many people have no connection to other believers. They are isolated from Him and isolated from others. That is not how God has made us to be. In this section John has something to tell us, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (I John 1:7) Earlier John speaks, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” (I John 1:3-4)
If you wander into Mike Zehnder’s office, you won’t find his license plate on his desk, but you will find a name plate with his hashtag. It is this – #BLESSED. It isn’t copyrighted by Mike – it is yours too.
God has something to tell us today. You’ve got a new license plate and a new hashtag. Gifts from Jesus. Amen!!
