The entire life of the Lord Jesus is our redemptive provision, a gift of a merciful God to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, and complete the covenantal promise to the seed of Abraham. Jesus came to set captives free, and to offer a life of peace with God through the salvific activity of His birth, life, death, and resurrection. He brought a message of transformation for all who believed on Him.

The Easter Path Of Peace

The entire life of the Lord Jesus is our redemptive provision, a gift of a merciful God to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, and complete the covenantal promise to the seed of Abraham. Jesus came to set captives free, and to offer a life of peace with God through the salvific activity of His birth, life, death, and resurrection. He brought a message of transformation for all who believed on Him.

Our text is found in the Lukan account of the gospel, and centers around the birth of the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist. His father, Zacharias, has been without speech since a lack of faith when told of a miraculous promise given to his wife, that the elderly couple would have a child. His muted condition was changed when he wrote on a board that the child’s name would be John. He then began this description of the Jewish concept of God’s fulfillment of the ancient promise to provide a redeemer for Israel. Let’s pick up the narrative at the moment when Zacharias is speaking to his son.

Luke 1:76
76. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77. To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins
78. Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79. To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

I like Eugene Petersen’s rendering of these verses in The Message.

Luke 1:73-79
73 What he swore to our father Abraham
74 a clean rescue from the enemy camp, So we can worship him without a care in the world,
75 made holy before him as long as we live.
76 And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,” will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
77 Present the offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
79 Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace

THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR NATURAL BODY

A. The Natural Body = psuchikos
1. Psuche = soul, that part of man that knows, reasons, wills, desires , and feels.
2. Connected to the rudiments of this world, time and space, things of human life as it is lived on earth.

B. The Spiritual Body = pneumatikos
1. Pneuma = spirit, that part of man which is akin to God.

God-consciousness. Worship is offered to God thru the human spirit, energized by the Holy Spirit.

TRANSFORMATION OF CORRUPTIBLE TO INCORRUPTIBLE

A. 1 Cor. 15:53 A corruptible body with disease and injury will be transformed to a body free from disease, pain, suffering dismemberment to an incorruptible body free from all human physical suffering

B. A future body free from emotional maladies such as sorrow loneliness, discouragement, disappointment, etc.

TRANSFORMED TO LIKENESS OF CHRIST’S GLORIOUS BODY

A. Phillippians 3:20-21

1. Flesh and bones Luke 24:39, 1 John 1.1
2. Respond to the sense of touch
3. A body that pleases God. 1 Corinthians 15
4. Death is God’s means of transformation

1 Corinthians 15:35-38
35. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
36. Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
37. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

But Pastor, where in all of this transformation do we find peace? Well, peace has to occur at the point where you are stressed. Deliverance from fear is given to those who can see beyond this veil of tears, and realize that the fear of dying has to give way to the faithful confidence that God has taken away the sting of death through the resurrection of His Son Jesus!

Hebrews 2:15
And deliver then who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

My earnest desire for us this morning is that we would all realize that there are six critical issues connected to the Easter message that I believe are necessary for faith in Christ. They are essential resurrection truisms that relate to every human heart, and I pray that you would see the risen and living Jesus, risen indeed, as the answer to every desire of you heart. If you can experience an encounter with a risen Savior, He will be glorified in you, and you will be satisfied in Him. That encounter, friend, will create within you the greatest peace you will ever know. Let’s look at this passage in I Corinthians 15.

1. Verse 14: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain.” But since Christ has been raised, our preaching is not in vain.

2. Verse 14: “. . . and your faith is in vain.” But since Christ has been raised, our faith is not in vain.

3. Verse 15: If Christ has not been raised, “we are found to be misrepresenting God [literally: we are false witnesses], because we testified of God that he raised Christ.” But since Christ has been raised, the apostles are not false witnesses about the work of God.

4. Verse 17: “If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” But since Christ has been raised, we are not still in our sins.

5. Verse 18: If Christ has not been raised, then “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ” But since Christ has been raised, the dead in Christ have not perished.

6. Verse 19: If Christ has not been raised, then “we are of all men most to be pitied.” But since Christ has been raised, we are not to be pitied.

To continue walking in darkness and fear is to reject the rising sun of God’s heavenly promise of peace. Though the world may be crumbling around you, the peace of His promise can transform you from a frightful bundle of anxiety and hysteria into a confident and calm believer who knows in whom he/she has believed. Yes, there is peace in the storm of the Crucifixion, and it is realized in the empty tomb of resurrection, and a risen Savior walking with you on the pathway of peace.