[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Luke 14:15-24, Hebrews 11, 12, Revelation 21:2-23, Luke 23:43, Isaiah 11:6, 65:25, Revelation 7:14-17

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I believe in the life everlasting. How do we know that heaven is real? Well, I love to use the example C.S. Lewis once used where he said that where there’s a desire or a yearning for something, there is a real tangible fulfillment for that desire, or their yearning. People experience hunger. Therefore there is such a thing as food. People experience thirst. Therefore, there is such a thing as water. We experience sorrow. Therefore there must be a perfect joy. We experience brokenness. Therefore, there must be a perfect wholeness.

As Christians, we believe that all of that is fulfilled when God brings us safely into heaven. And though we can use logic to support or defend our idea of heaven, what better place to turn to than the Holy Scriptures? The Bible is full of beautiful pictures that it paints about eternal life and what that will look like for you.

For instance, in some of his parables, Jesus describes it as a banquet. (Luke 14:15-24) In our terms today, we’d say that’s a party. Why do I love parties? Because I’m together with my friends, my family, the people I love the most. When you look forward to eternal life in heaven, yes, there will be relationships. You’ll have your relationships with your family and loved ones who all believed in Jesus in this life.

Another picture of heaven is given in the book of Hebrews, where he describes heaven as the city of God. (Hebrews 11, 12) The Book of Revelation also describes this city. (Revelation 21:2-23) If you think of all the things that you love about a city, the busy life, the arts, theater, music, sports, all the things that you love about a city without all the things that you fear about a city. The darkness, the crime, the danger. Here heaven is described as a perfectly safe place where we can dwell forever.

Another picture of heaven Jesus gives when he’s dying on the cross. To the thief on his right, he promises him today you’ll be with me in Paradise. (Luke 23:43) The word Paradise refers to a garden. You might think of the garden that God created in the first creation. Well, the Bible tells us that after the resurrection of the dead, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, a new creation. And part of that new creation is a new garden. The prophet Isaiah describes it as a place where the lamb and the lion, the wolf and the ox and the small child can all live together in harmony. They will not harm nor destroy on his holy mountain. (Isaiah 11:6, 65:25)

Jesus will also describe heaven as a wedding. When I think to my own wedding, it’s one day, not only do I remember it so vividly, but it’s one day that I can always look back at and say, I wish that day never ended. When the Bible describes the church, it calls us the Bride of Christ, and it paints the picture of us wearing white robes that picture the purity that you have, because through faith you have washed your robes in the blood of the Lamb, in the forgiveness of sins given through Jesus.

Heaven is a picture of perfect purity, a joy that will last forever and ever without end. The best picture of that joy is in Revelation chapter seven. John describes a ten fold blessedness of those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and he ends with the phrase, the Lord will wipe every tear from your eye. (Revelation 7:14-17) Those ten fold blessings all revolve around one figure Jesus, the Lamb who was slain. That’s where you and I find our perfect fulfillment in heaven is the perfect relationship with Jesus, your Savior and the Triune God you were created for.

As often as you confess these words, I believe in the life everlasting. May God fill your heart with joy and hope and yearning for eternal life with him. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

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I believe in the resurrection of the body. Today, as we talk about bodies and why our bodies matter, I want to ask you a silly question. How did you learn how to ride a bike? Did you learn how to ride a bike by pulling it up on YouTube and watching a YouTube channel? Did you learn how to ride a bike by reading a book? The answer is no. You learned how to ride a bike by going through the motions. By getting on a bike and pedaling. And yes, even overcoming that fear of falling. Eventually, if you go through the motions enough, your mind and your heart catch up and you’ll soon learn to love riding a bike.

I say that because there’s this interesting phrase we use a lot in Christianity. I’m just going through the motions, and what we mean by that is that our body is engaged, but our heart, our mind maybe isn’t. Oftentimes what we mean is that God just wants my heart, or God just cares about my heart. So a person won’t go to church because they would just be going through the motions and they’re being true to themselves by not going to church.

Well, if going through the motions is when our body is engaged but our mind isn’t, I want to flip the coin on that and ask, what do we call it when we engage our mind but not our body?

We call that hypocrisy. I’m thinking one thing, but my actions are showing something very different. As Christians, we have to be alert and aware of how dangerous hypocrisy is.

For instance, a person can go to church week after week, but then if they just plunge themselves right back into their sinful life the other six days of the week, their faith is simply imagined. Even though they know the right things about God, they’re just imagining that they believe in him.

Or, for instance, a Christian might say that they trust in Jesus as their Savior, that when they die, they believe that he’ll take their soul safely into heaven. If we say that on the one hand, but on the other hand, don’t show that trust by the physical action of giving offerings to God and showing him that we actually, truly, really trust him, then that trust is only imagined.

A person can say, if I go to church today, I would just be going through the motions because my heart’s not in it. I’d rather just stay at home and listen to the service or sermon while I’m at work this week. But imagine if for a moment, if you’re in a long distance relationship with someone, it’s been months since you’ve seen them, and so you tell them, I’m going to be in town this week. Can we spend time together? And instead they respond by saying, I’d rather not. Let’s just FaceTime later. You would be right in feeling hurt. You would be right. And feeling like that relationship isn’t real.

God cares about our bodies, and every time we confess these words, I believe in the resurrection of the body, we’re saying that our bodies and our life in the body matters. Our life in the body matters so much that Jesus Christ himself assumed a true human body, mind, heart, and soul so that he could live a life of perfect harmony between his thoughts, his words, and his actions. And he laid that life and that body down as a perfect sacrifice for you and me on the cross. And he did that to take your body and your life and make it his own.

Your body belongs to him. So let us live our life and our faith in the body in a way that harmonizes with our faith. And what’s so beautiful about this statement is that your body matters so much that even after your soul goes safely into heaven, God protects and preserves your body, and one day on the last day will raise that body up, glorify that body so that you, together, soul and body, will be face to face with the Lord in eternity.

Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

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I believe in the forgiveness of sins. You’ll often hear Christians say things like, well, why do I have to go back to church? I hear the same thing over and over again. When we hear Jesus died for us every single Sunday. Why can’t we hear something different? There are some things in life that we do need to hear over and over again.

For instance, in my marriage, could you imagine that if I were to tell my wife, “honey, I told you I loved you the day I married you. Why do you need to hear it again?” Oh, that would be nonsense, wouldn’t it? We need to hear that phrase “I love you” over and over again in our relationships. Why? Because I’m a flawed human being and I mess up every day. My wife could tell you that. We need to constantly reaffirm and reassure each other that the relationship is still real, that I’m still committed to you.

How much more true is that in our relationship with God? We sin every day and every day we need to be reminded that God has every right to cast us off forever and disown us forever in hell. But he doesn’t. Again and again and again, he reaffirms his love for you. As a Christian, I need to hear God tell me I love you. The relationship is still real. I’m still committed to you. Your sins are forgiven.

Now a Christian might come back and say, well, but I already know all that. I know God loves me. I know God forgives me. I can pray to God as often as I want and ask for the forgiveness of sins. And that is true. But God isn’t the only spiritual relationship in our lives. The other spiritual relationship is a little bit darker. It’s the relationship with the devil and the fallen angels and the demons that constantly want to tempt and coerce us into sin.

As Christians, oftentimes we think that the devil’s end game is to just get me to commit one sin, which I can just turn around and say I’m sorry for any time I want. But that’s not really the goal. The goal is influence. Every time I listen to the devil, every time I listen to his temptations and his lies, the devil gains a little bit more ground in my heart. And centimeter by centimeter, he tries to take control. And it just makes the next temptation a little bit easier and a little bit easier. You see what the forgiveness of sins does is it causes the devil to relinquish his hold on my heart. The Lord Jesus, when he gave the forgiveness of sins to his church, he meant it to be shared from person to person, to be shared through a handful of water, to be shared by eating and drinking, to be shared by a pastor’s hand on your head, declaring to you your sins are forgiven. Satan must relinquish his hold on your heart and your life.

And so my encouragement to you is one, rejoice in the forgiveness of sins. It’s wonderful. It’s amazing. But also, if there’s sin in your life, if you feel that weight on your soul, go speak to your pastor and find the comfort and reassurance that yes, God still loves you and your sins are forgiven through Jesus.

Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

John 4:23, 8:31-32, 17:22, 1 John 1:5

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I believe in the communion of saints. I met a man once who grew up in Eastern Europe, underneath the Iron Curtain and Soviet rule, where Christianity was illegal. As a small boy, he remembered his parents raising him with a Bible hidden under the floorboards. He remembered nights when his parents would secretly whisk him and his siblings out of the house. They would take him through the dark woods at night and meet with other Christians in secret. He remembered seeing baptisms and secret worship services. To me, it’s interesting that no matter where you find Christians, no matter how dangerous or illegal it is for Christians to worship, Christians will still always gather together for worship. That’s what we mean when we say the communion of saints.

That part of the Christian faith is that we are drawn into, first of all, the communion of the body of Christ through faith and that unity that we have with all believers of all times must express itself in fellowship, a union or unity with a local congregation of believers. But what is the basis for that unity?

Oftentimes, Christians today say it should be love. That love is what joins us together, and our tolerance for one another is what enables us to keep coming together and growing. Others would say it’s our mission. As long as Christians agree on a few fundamental things, then the rest of the stuff doesn’t matter. That enables us to accomplish more working together. Some Christians say that what joins us together is outward purity, and so they can never find a group of believers that is pure enough for them. But what’s the real answer? What actually joins us together? In John chapter 17, Jesus is praying in the garden before his death on the cross. And what’s so beautiful is he’s praying for us. He’s praying for his church. And not once, not twice, but four times. Jesus prays that the church on earth would be one as we are one, Jesus says.

Did you hear that? As we are one? He uses the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in all eternity as the basis for the unity that the Christian Church experiences. The union between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a union of truth. We’re told in Scripture that God is light. In him there is no darkness at all.

Jesus is the truth. He tells us that true worshipers of the Father worship in spirit and truth. Jesus tells us, if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. The truth is what binds us together.

I like to explain it this way. Here in the Midwest, we oftentimes do whatever we can to avoid conflict. Oftentimes, we might even think the health of a relationship is measured by its lack of conflict. But that isn’t true. Maybe you’ve experienced that before, where, where everyone is tiptoeing around the elephant in the room, afraid to talk about the real problem. That isn’t true unity. But rather the health of a relationship is determined by how you deal with conflict, that you deal with conflict with truth and love.

Christians find their unity in truth and love when we come together around God’s Word. There’s really only one thing we have to agree on, and that is that we’ll follow the Bible and what the Bible teaches. So as often as you confess those words, we believe in the communion of saints. First of all, rejoice that the Holy Spirit draws true believers to Christian churches around the world. And secondly, rejoice in the fellowship, the communion of believers that God has brought you to. Rejoice in receiving the word and the sacrament for the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, your Savior.

Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Genesis 11:1-8

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I believe in the Holy Christian Church. This statement of faith in the Apostle’s Creed is a wonderful comfort. It assures us that throughout time, from the very beginning, from the very first promise of the gospel given to Adam and Eve. There’s only really been one true church, one saving faith in the very one Savior that we have, Jesus Christ our Lord. And that same faith unites all of us together into one church.

Oftentimes, people come to me with the question, wouldn’t Christianity be better off if we were all just one church? If we put aside all these different divisions and petty arguments and all joined into one giant mega-church? I mean, just imagine all the work we would be able to do. Imagine the pooling of resources and manpower and how much we would be able to get done if we all just join together. And though that makes sense from a worldly human point of view. When we have a problem, what do we do? We throw a lot of resources at it, and that’s going to solve the problem, right?

Well, the part of the Bible I like to take people to is Genesis chapter 11. There’s this fascinating account of life after the flood, where all the peoples of the world have come together and are working together. They’re living in peace. They’re living in harmony. They say, come, let us build a tower that reaches up to the heavens. And God looks down at this vision of tranquility and people working together in harmony. And you know what God says? He says, if as one people with one language, they all work together, nothing will be impossible for them. Isn’t that interesting? Nothing will be impossible for them. And what does God do next? He goes down and he confuses the languages which cause the people to scatter, to fracture, divide into different nations, and ever since then, we’ve been separated. We’ve been divided.

Why does God look down at this cohesive human organization and say that is not good? Well, through your life, you’ve probably experienced that sometimes the larger mass of people that you all have living and working in close proximity together, doesn’t it seem like evil increases exponentially? Or why is it that the bigger the organization, the more cold and impersonal it can be towards people? Or the more power an organization has, the faster and faster it can become corrupt?

That’s what the sinful human nature does when you have a big group of people all working together. The human assumption is always that bigger is better. But when we look at Scripture, we have to argue that. Since when has God ever needed bigger to accomplish his will or his purposes? Look at little frightened Gideon with his 300 water lapping men. Look at David, who overthrows Goliath or Jesus. One man, the God man who throws down the powers of sin, death, and hell. Look at his small band of frightened apostles and how he uses that group of people to spread Christianity across the globe. God does not need our wealth. God does not need our manpower to accomplish his purposes. What he wants, is faith and faith, even the size of a mustard seed, can move mountains.

No. When it comes to the Holy Christian Church, we’re assured by God that there is one head of the church. It is not a human organization. It is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. And in the body, the church. It has many different members, and these members shouldn’t say to the other, I don’t need you. And they also shouldn’t say we should all be an eye. For where would the sense of hearing be?

See, God wants us to recognize that every church and every church body has its unique function in the body of Christ. And what I like to tell people, do you know what the Lutherans are? We’re the kidneys. We don’t have to be big to do our job. It’s not a glorious job, but someone has to filter out the toxins. Someone has to make sure that God’s Word is taught in its truth and purity. Someone has to make sure that the law and the gospel are clearly proclaimed. God wants each of us to focus on our unique task in the kingdom, and to do that task exceptionally well. Our task is proclaiming the gospel. We do our job well and let the Holy Spirit worry about the rest. Let Jesus be the head over his church, the body.

Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Ephesians 2:1,8-9

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I believe in the Holy Spirit. With these words, we enter into the third and final part of the Apostle’s Creed, where we confess our faith in the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son. These three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together in everything that they do, especially in the work of creation. The Holy Spirit’s special job, his specialty, is to create saving faith in our hearts, making us alive through faith in Christ Jesus.

As we talk about the Holy Spirit’s work today, it’s important for us to discuss this idea called free will. In our life, especially according to our physical life, we experience free will. We have the ability to make our own decisions. When I wake up in the morning, I can decide whether or not I want eggs and bacon or toast for breakfast. And for the record, I always choose bacon. People oftentimes ask the question, well, does that mean I have free will to make my own decisions in our spiritual life as well? And this question was a question that really was at the heart of what we call the Reformation.

There are three different views in regard to free will. I’m going to explain those to you through using a story of someone drowning at sea.

The first view of free will sees God’s grace as a help that he offers to give us. So imagine this person in the ocean, struggling to stay above the water, and a rescue helicopter sweeps in to come and rescue them from the ocean and the rescue divers there. And the guy cries out from the sea. Help me, help me! And so the rescue diver hands him a personal flotation device and says, here’s your help. Here’s your grace. The shore is that way. Start swimming.

This view of salvation is that man has the free will to take and use God’s help, his grace, to swim to shore, so that ultimately one day, when and if they get to the safety of the shore of eternal life, if they were asked by a journalist, how did you get here? They would say, I used God’s grace to help myself.

The second view sees God’s grace as an offer, something that I have to either accept or reject by my own free will. So let’s go back to the ocean. There’s another man in the ocean, and the rescue helicopter comes to pick him up and save him and rescue him. The rescue diver drops down from the helicopter, but right before he reaches the water where the person is at, he stops just above the surface and says, do you want me to rescue you? At that point, the man has to either accept, he has to reach up and grab the diver for himself or he has to reject the offer of grace and drown. When that person is brought to the shore and interviewed by the journalist, how were you saved? That person would say, well, I was saved because I chose to be rescued. As if he had another choice to make.

The third view. The Lutheran view. We have to go back to the ocean, and instead we find that person in the water, floating face down in the water. They’ve already drown. The rescue diver drops down from the helicopter, grabs him, picks him up, takes him into the helicopter, resuscitate them, and brings them safely to the shore. When they’re on the shore, the interviewer comes up and asks him how were you saved? The person that was rescued simply points to the rescue diver and says, that’s the person who saved me.

You see, when it comes to our free will, at least spiritual free will, the Bible is very clear we’re already dead in the water. Paul says in Ephesians chapter two,

You were dead in your trespasses and sins, … Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:1,8-9)

And when you look at that statement, grace isn’t a help. It isn’t an offer we have to accept or decline. Grace is God’s saving power to reach down and save us completely. This grace is yours through faith in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit brings you to life, resuscitating us so that we can joyfully respond to God’s gracious activity of rescuing us through Jesus.

When it comes to free will. The question isn’t what makes the most sense or what’s true to my experience, but rather what does the Scripture clearly teach? Start there, as we confess, I believe in the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Romans 4:25, Romans 4:3, Hebrews 9:27, Acts 16:25-24

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I believe from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. This statement in the Creed confesses that Jesus Christ Himself will return on the last day. He will be publicly seen by all the world, and after he has raised all flesh, they’ll stand before him, divided as sheep and the goats, the living and the dead, the believers and the unbelievers. And he will pronounce judgment, or as we say, final judgment.

For me, growing up as a Christian, I think this was a moment that always kind of scared me a little bit. God would stand up in front of the whole world and then read your life story in front of the whole world. And then I would be standing there in front of so many people and, and what if God says something different? What if I’m not worthy? What if I don’t measure up? Well, today I want to tell you to not be afraid, because that is the final judgment. And there’s actually three other judgments that happened before that we’re going to look at that grant you a wonderful comfort.

So first of all, the very first Judgment Day over the whole world that happened on Easter when God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul says in Romans four,

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

So Jesus resurrection on Easter morning is God’s proclamation over the entire world, all sinners everywhere, that your sins are already forgiven through Jesus. That’s the first comforting Judgment day.

The second Judgment Day you’ve experienced is the day you first came to faith in Jesus as your Savior. Just as the Bible says,

“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)

Through faith in Jesus, the righteousness, the perfect life that Jesus won for you through his perfect life on earth, his death and resurrection. They were credited to you. You’re covered with Jesus’ innocence the moment you came to faith. In that moment, God declared you personally forgiven. Justified. Not guilty.

The third Judgment Day we’ll face is the day we enter eternal life in heaven, when our mortal life comes to a close, instantly, that soul faces judgment. We’re told that in Hebrews nine

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)

Here we think of Paul’s words to the jailer of Philippi, a man who, in fear and uncertainty, believing he was about to die, said, “sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And Paul comforted him and said, believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. (Acts 16:25-24) And for every Christian in their hour of death that believes in the Lord Jesus, who looks on Jesus like the thief on the cross, looked in faith on Jesus will be saved.

Because of those three judgment days that the Christian will already have experienced before the final Judgment Day, that means that you and I, we approach that final judgment with confidence. You already know what the verdict will be. You’ve already been judged three times, not guilty, innocent, forgiven through faith in Jesus. And notice how on the last day, God has already divided the living and the dead, the believers and the unbelievers.

This final judgment is for your benefit. It gives God that opportunity to publicly lift you up and exonerate you before all flesh. If you think of all the people in this world that have looked down on you for your faith in Jesus, who have mocked you because you have spent so much of your life worshiping in an invisible God, going to church, dedicating your life and your faith to someone you’ve never seen and never met. And they might have laughed secretly, but on the last day, the Lord Jesus will lift you up and in front of all flesh, say, well done, my good and faithful servant. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Ephesians 4:10, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5

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I believe he ascended into heaven. Christians are familiar with the major festivals in Jesus’ life. We celebrate Christmas, a time we love where we remember Jesus’ birth on earth. And we love the hymns, don’t we? Or there’s Easter. Every Christian celebrates Easter, Jesus’ victory over death. And again, we love the hymns. But what about Ascension? People will ask, what is Ascension?

Ascension happened 40 days after Easter, a 40-day period where Jesus appeared to his disciples, proving to them that he was truly alive from the dead, teaching them. And then at the end of those 40 days, Jesus takes him to the Mount of Olives, and before their eyes he’s lifted up into heaven and is hidden by the clouds. Ascension day is the capstone of Jesus work on earth. It’s the culmination. It’s the proof that he’s done, everything he came to do is now completed, and he’s returned to his father in heaven. I love how the Apostle Paul says it in Ephesians chapter four.

He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. (Ephesians 4:10,)

Jesus’ Ascension Day is essentially his coronation day, where he ascends to be seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and all things, all powers, everything is put under his feet. But why is that any different than before? Wasn’t Jesus already true God? Didn’t he already have all power in heaven and earth and all dominion over all things because he’s true God? The answer, of course, is yes, he did already have that power. But what makes the Ascension different is that now Jesus, as true man, has ascended to the very right hand of God the Father Almighty in heaven. Jesus, as a true man, rules over everything in the universe. And why that’s a comfort for you and me is, first of all, when we look at our world today and we see the chaos, we see the confusion. People ask who’s in charge, who’s driving this? What’s going on in the world? You and me know, we know that Jesus is in charge. Jesus is in control.

The very same brother who suffered and died for you, the very same one who loves you and gave his life for you, is ruling all things for your good. The other comfort we have is that as we go through this life and we feel alone, we feel isolated, and we live in a time where people will feel more isolated and lonely than ever before, but we have such a special comfort as Christians because of Jesus’ promise.

And surely I am with you always until the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus, your brother, the same one who lives and reigns in heaven, who fills the whole universe, is also personally by your side every day to help you carry through, to help you carry your burdens, to assure you that you are not alone. He promises,

I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.(Hebrews 13:5)

And so my invitation to you today is actually take time to mark your calendars. May 14th (2026) is Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter. Celebrate that wonderful festival, that capstone of Jesus’ life on earth. He ascended into heaven. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Matthew 12:40

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I believe that on the third day Jesus rose again from the dead. Today there’s two common questions I get that I want to answer regarding this statement in the Creed.

The first one is this. If Jesus was placed in the tomb on Friday evening, just before 6 p.m. and he was in the tomb all day Saturday, and then rose again from the dead early Sunday morning, at most, that only puts Jesus in the tomb for maybe 36 hours? Far short of the 72 hours that it would take to be in the tomb for three whole days. Well, does this contradict Scripture? Because so often we talk about Jesus being buried for three days and rising from the dead on the third day.

But notice just that. Whenever Jesus anticipates or predicts his own resurrection, he almost always uses the phrase on the third day. However, there is one time in Matthew chapter 12, where Jesus says this, he says,

For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

Well, there do we have a contradiction? Well, the answer is no. I like to explain it this way. Have you ever done long term airport parking before? I have. And what you do is you pay by the day whether or not you’re there for full day or not. So imagine if I check my car in late on Friday night, and it sits there all day Saturday, and I come back and pick it up on Sunday morning. Even though my car sat there for 36 hours, I’ve paid for three whole days, 72 hours of parking.

Think of Jesus resurrection the same way. Jesus paid for three days and three nights in the tomb. But boy, once he hit day three, he was free to check out anytime he wanted to.

The other statement that oftentimes gets questions is the word, again. He rose again from the dead. People will ask, well, does that mean that Jesus rose twice? The answer, of course, is no. But rather when we use that word again in the English language, it doesn’t just mean to do something over like making my bed again. It can also mean to return back to a previous state of being. For instance, he went off to war and returned home again. He didn’t go to war twice, but rather when he comes back from war, he returns to the state of peace and tranquility that he was in before getting shipped out overseas.

In Jesus’ case, it’s the same way, he rose again. In other words, he returns to the state of power and life he had before his death. Now, as we think about this, it’s all important because so often as I talk with Christians, as we picture the end goal of our faith going to heaven when we die. And don’t get me wrong, that is a wonderful comfort, a wonderful joy. Think about it this way, heaven is the five-star resort on our way to a final vacation, a final destination.

But the ultimate goal of our salvation is for God to return this creation again to the state in which it was before the fall. And while we’re up in heaven, we’re just waiting for God to do that, for Jesus to come back and raise the dead again and restore creation so that once again we may walk with God, as Adam and Eve did in the garden. Once again the world is a perfect bliss, a Paradise. Once again we return to a state of eternal peace and rest. That’s something so exciting that I would be willing to check out to go see. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

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I believe Jesus descended into hell. You’ll soon see all the back-to-school supplies replaced with Halloween decorations, ghosts and witches, skeletons and scary monsters. The scary movies will start coming out in the theaters or on Netflix, and the theme parks will all change over to haunted experiences. The question is, why do people get such a thrill out of being scared?

Psychologists say that it’s called the safety net experience, that you get this moment of fear and terror when someone with a mask jumps out at you and scares you, but then in your mind, you realize that, oh, they’re not really out to get me. They really can’t hurt me. And this safety net experience gives a person a sense of empowerment, even euphoria, as they feel empowered over their fear. When we talk about ghosts and monsters and people with masks, scary movies and things like that, of course those are just gimmicks. It’s not real. But we do live in a real fallen world with real terrors that prowl around real spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The devil and his fallen angels are powerful. They are terrifying, and they are not to be trifled with. In fact, when we think of fear, this is how they’ve controlled most of humanity for most of human history. By keeping people enthralled by fear, keeping people offering sacrifices to appease evil spirits and these gods all out of fear. And if there’s one thing the devil wants for us, it is to live in fear. In a sense, we’re in his playground, and he and his companions are the biggest, strongest bullies on this playground. And for most of human history, we were at his mercy until the stronger man came. Until Jesus Christ came into this world.

And that is what so neat about this moment in the Creed, when we confess that Jesus descended into hell. This is actually Jesus first step in his exaltation. He’s done with suffering. He already suffered hell on the cross. Now he is taking back his full power and glory. And the very first thing Jesus does with that is he marches right down to the devil’s own kingdom, right down into the midst of his own playground, his own throne room. He puts his foot on his head and tells him, you have no power here anymore. I’m in charge. Your reign is done.

For the Christian, when we see Jesus’ victorious descent into hell as our crucified and risen Savior, that is your safety net experience. Every time we say those words, he descended into hell. We’re looking at fear in the face and saying, we’re not afraid of you because I worship the one who made fear afraid. I worship the one who defeated the devil and death on the cross and rose victoriously Easter day. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Romans 6:4

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I believe he was buried. Of course, we talk about Jesus’ death and his resurrection. But why is Jesus’ burial important for our faith as Christians? It is certainly important to establish the resurrection. That Jesus was buried in a tomb that he later broke free from. But Jesus’ burial also says a lot to us as Christians for how we treat the worldly remains of our loved ones after their soul has gone into heaven.

In Jesus’ day, after a loved one died, their body was always treated with the utmost reverence and respect. As is the case with Jesus, his body was taken down. He was wrapped very carefully, covered with fine perfumes and incense, and then his body was placed on a slab in a family tomb. These tombs are often caves cut out of the rock. They would have a large bench where a body would be placed, and around that bench you would have these niches carved into the stone. And what would often happen is that the body, once it was placed on that bench, would be left there for about a year. And in that time the body would decompose. As we say, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The body that was given by the creator has now returned to the creator.

After that year had passed, the loved ones of that family member would come and reverently gather up the bones, place them in a stone box called an ossuary, and that box would be placed in one of those niches in the family tomb. And therefore the whole family would in a sense be buried together. When we come to funerals today, oftentimes, there’s a lot of question and doubt. What to do with the remains of our loved ones after they’ve passed away? Because the expense of funerals, it’s very common and understandable that bodies will often be cremated. And then through all the busyness of planning the funeral and dealing with everything else that comes around death, oftentimes the final burial is delayed. Or maybe it doesn’t happen at all. All too often, you’ll hear about someone’s ashes that are in a box in an attic somewhere, or maybe left on a mantelpiece somewhere as a decoration.

It’s really important to understand that grief is real, and death is a horrific experience to have to see someone that we love die. It’s very difficult to let go of them and to put them in the ground, because that feels so final. It’s important for us as Christians to understand that how we treat the body after death is a confession of our faith in Jesus. A confession of the sacredness of the body and what ultimately will happen to that body. It’s so important for us to understand that, that even though our loved one’s soul is in heaven, that the ash, their worldly remains, are sacred. They have been redeemed by Jesus that belongs to Jesus.

Think about that beautiful comfort we have in baptism. Paul says we were therefore buried with Christ through baptism into death. (Romans 6:4) It is a beautiful picture how baptism makes you part of the family of God. How through baptism you spiritually die and rise with Christ through the forgiveness of sins. But it also means that through baptism you have a burial place, each Christian has a burial place in Christ’s family tomb. We’re in a sense, buried with Christ.

When each Christian is laid to rest in the ground. The importance of that is that where the head goes, so does the body. Just as Jesus rose from the dead to leave his place empty and that bench empty in his tomb, the same will happen with every single one of our loved ones. The day will come when Jesus raises them from the dead and they leave that place empty. That’s our faith and our hope when we confess Jesus was buried.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Luke 23:46, Psalm 31:5

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I believe he died. At the moment of Jesus’ death he said these beautiful words. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46, Psalm 31:5) Those words were a bedtime prayer for Jewish children. And what a beautiful, appropriate way for Jesus body to surrender his Spirit into heaven and into His Father’s keeping at his own death.

When we think about the death of Jesus, we say that so often it’s easy for us to be desensitized to how important that moment is for our salvation. In fact, like every important moment of Jesus life for our salvation, even Jesus’ death is a moment that is under attack. You see, because there’s so much evidence for Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, many skeptics will go back and say, well, then perhaps Jesus didn’t really die on the cross. And what they posit is what’s called the swoon theory. That Jesus, because of his physical suffering on the cross just passed out or fainted. And this deceived the people into thinking he was dead. So they took him, place him in a tomb, and later he revived and everyone thought that he had come back to life. And so they were convinced that somehow he was also their Lord of life.

So whenever we come up to speculation, we have to compare it to real history. Here’s some real history about three men that we know of who are taken down from a cross while still alive. This happened in 70 A.D. the historian Josephus had a number of friends that were captured and later crucified after the fall of Jerusalem to General Titus. And so Josephus goes to General Titus, the Roman general, and ask him to take his three friends down from the crosses. Titus immediately complied. He sent men to bring Josephus his friends off the crosses, and they were given the best medical treatment available in the Roman Empire at that time. And despite that, despite even their short time on the cross, two of his friends still died just from the physical trauma of having been crucified. The last friend of Josephus did manage to survive, but he remained a cripple for the rest of his life.

Now let’s apply what we know to the swoon theory. The idea that somehow, after being crucified, Jesus was able to revive by himself with no medical treatment at all. That after his arms and legs have been pulled out of joint, he somehow, crippled and maimed, though he would have been, would be able to roll that heavy stone from the inside, be able to roll that stone away, and somehow escape the tomb. And if we grant all those other things, can you imagine this broken, crippled person trying to convince his disciples that he is the Lord of life, the way, the truth, and the life?

That would be nonsense. You see, we have eyewitnesses that were there at Jesus crucifixion who saw that he was crucified and that he died. And the Roman soldiers in charge of the crucifixion, they had one job. They were not allowed to leave their post until they knew that their charges were truly dead. In most cases, they would break the legs. Other cases, they would light a fire at the base of a cross to speed up asphyxiation. But in Jesus’ case, he found he was already dead. But just to make sure, they took their spear and thrust it through his side, bringing a flow of blood and water, proof that Jesus heart had been pierced, that he was truly dead.

Jesus’ death on the cross is one of the foundational truths of the Bible. It means that by his death, he has truly redeemed us from death. And because of Jesus’ tender moment prayer before his death, giving his soul safely into his Father’s keeping, now every Christian on their deathbed can approach death, being no more afraid than we are to fall asleep. We too can say that same prayer. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit, because Jesus truly died. Amen.