"The WHYs of Easter: Jesus Came to Claim You!"

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text this morning is from the New Testament lesson for today, 1 Peter 1:3, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

Christ is risen! Alleluia! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

For three months now we have been concentrating on the WHAT of the life of Jesus. We’ve been reflecting upon WHAT He did while He was on earth. We celebrated His birth. We read of His teachings. We heard about His miracles, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection. All of this is WHAT Jesus did.

But, now that we have celebrated WHAT Jesus did, I’d like to consider with you WHY Jesus did all of these things. Why did Jesus come? Why did He teach? Why did He suffer, die, and rise again? Another way to ask this question is to ask, "What does Jesus have to do with me?" Good for Him that He was born. Good for Him that He preached and performed miracles. Good for Him that He rose again from the grave. But, what does this have to do with me? WHY did He do all these things?

It’s a very good question. Many people ask it, and conclude that Jesus really DOESN’T have much at all to do with me personally. Many people conclude that what Jesus did was good, and admirable–amazing even. But what Jesus did doesn’t apply to me much at all, doesn’t have much effect on my life, on my decisions, on my perspective, on my attitude. Many people conclude that Jesus earned Himself a place in history, but He has very little to do with the present, especially my present. Therefore, Jesus is ignored for the most part.

Maybe you’ve met people who have this attitude. Even many Christians have this attitude. Maybe in some ways YOU have this attitude.

And if you DO have this attitude, you’ve been sorely misled. You’re missing out on at least 50% of what the Bible has to offer you. The Easter message is not just that Jesus has provided A cure for sin and death, the Easter message is that Jesus has provided a cure for MY sin and death! It’s not just that SOMEONE who was lost and wandering around confused and hopeless in life; it’s that I was lost and have been found! It’s not just that A blind person was made able to see; it’s that I was blind and now can see. I can see hope. I can see purpose. I can see forever. And so can you. That’s why Jesus did what He did.

Luther’s Small Catechism deals with our question this way. After spending 25 pages or so explaining WHAT Jesus did, the Catechism finally asks, In conclusion, then, WHY has Christ redeemed you? Then, the Catechism gives three reasons from Scripture why Jesus redeemed you. Today we’ll focus on just the first reason. Jesus came "that I may be His own": that is, He came so that I am now righteous and blameless in the sight of God. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

In other words, Jesus came to claim you.

Okay, well, so what? Jesus came to claim you. Claiming doesn’t sound like that big of a deal. Last week I went to the dry cleaners and claimed my suit. I gave the lady my claim check. She gave me my suit. I walked out of the store. Not a big deal. Why should the fact that Jesus came to claim me be any different?

Well, sometimes, claiming things IS a big deal. If, for example, I went to the dry cleaners and someone else was there making a claim for my suit, then there could be trouble. Or, if two different people claim to have won the same lottery prize, there’s definitely trouble. And, it wasn’t that long ago in this part of the world when two different parties sometimes laid claim to the same piece of land. In that case, claiming something could result in somebody getting shot. Sometimes, claiming things IS be a big deal.

Which was certainly the case when Jesus set about to claim you. See, the problem was, there were other parties also claiming you. Three other parties who claimed that you belonged to them and not to God.

One of the things that claimed you was sin. You could say that sin owned you. God is a perfect God who demands complete perfection from you. And, God is a perfectly just God who will not tolerate any imperfection, any sin, and will in fact punish eternally anyone who does sin. You and I have been sinful from birth. You and I sin every day. Therefore, because of our sins, we stand condemned before God. In that way, sin claims us. Sin says to us, "You belong to me and not to God."

But Jesus came and claimed you from sin. He took your guilt and your punishment upon Himself and suffered and died in your place. Now, because of Him, your sins are paid for. They’re gone. All of them! And you are now free in the forgiveness He gives. Free to praise God. Free to look forward to heaven. Free now to live your life in grateful service to the God who saved you. Sin had you. But not anymore. Jesus has you now.

But something else claimed you, also. Death claimed you. Death owned you. Because death is the end of life. Death is the end of a relationship with God. Death is the punishment we justly deserve for our sins. There is no avoiding death. In that way, death claims us. Death says to us, "You belong to me and not to God."

But Jesus came and claimed you from death. He took your guilt and your punishment upon Himself and suffered and died in your place. But, on the third day, He rose again! He didn’t just suffer death, He defeated it. He overcame it. And He gives that victory freely to you and me and all who believe. And you are now free in the eternal life He gives. Free to live your life with hope, with joy. Free now to live your life in grateful service to the God who saved you. Death had you. But not anymore. Jesus has you now.

But one more thing claimed you. The devil claimed you. Satan owned you. Satan loves to accuse you of your sins. Satan loves to tempt you away from God. Satan’s goal ultimately is to destroy you, eternally. Satan claims us. Satan says to us, "You belong to me and not to God."

But Jesus came and claimed you. He claimed you from Satan. Jesus fully and finally defeated the devil when He rose from the grave. And we, who belong to Jesus, are conquerors with Him. Therefore the devil can no longer accuse you or me of our sins. And you and I are now able to resist his temptations. And nothing now, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, not even Satan himself, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, you’re free. Free to live your life in grateful service to the God who saved you. Satan had you. Death had you. Sin had you. But not anymore. Jesus has you now.

Why do you think we get so excited at a baptism? Why do you think the angels in heaven rejoice when even one sinner repents? Because at that moment, Jesus is laying claim to that soul. At that moment, Jesus is telling death, and sin, and Satan all to take a hike. Jesus is saying to that individual, "you, now, are mine." Galatians 3:26-29: "You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Why did Jesus do what He did? He came to claim you. And that’s exactly what He has done.

But be aware--beware--of one more thing. Sin, death, and Satan are all very sore losers. They’re stubborn. They don’t give up. Until at last we’re delivered safely into our heavenly homes, our three enemies will continue to pursue us, inviting us to go back to what we were, tempting us to live as the rest of the world does, to put ourselves first and God last.

But we have been claimed by Christ! In John 15, Jesus said, "You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." Therefore, let us live as those who belong to Christ. We don’t belong to the world. We don’t belong to sin and selfishness. We don’t belong to hopelessness. We don’t belong to Satan. We don’t belong to death. We belong to Christ. So the Catechism asks, What do you therefore confess about Jesus Christ, the God-man? Answer: I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Redeemer, whom I love and serve with my whole life.

Christ is risen! Alleluia! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.