Writings: Repentance and the Inner Change

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

Let’s return to the upper room, to the disciples in hiding, fearful and terrified of the religious leaders and of what the story of the empty tomb might mean. We often think of Easter as being a time of great celebration ... and it is, for us. Nevertheless, we must not miss the fact that this is an awesome experience, a life changing moment, an amazing encounter with the unknown and unknowable, and, by its very nature, the very center of our faith-universe. For those who haven't yet had an opportunity to become steeped in the faith of the Church, and are wondering about what it all must mean, it had to have been quite terrifying.

There are other accounts of resurrections in the Bible. For example, the resurrection of Lazarus inspired awe and amazement; it inspired wonderment at the authority of Christ to raise the dead; it also inspired fear on the part of the religious leaders, further solidifying their desire to get rid of this troublesome, meddling, rabble-raising Rabbi named Jesus. What was different about this resurrection? What was different about the resurrection of Jesus? Well, fundamentally, it's the one to whom it happened: Jesus, the Messiah ... Jesus, the Christ! Messiahs aren’t supposed to die; they aren’t supposed to apparently “lose” at the hands of those they’re supposed to defeat. And that’s what the crucifixion and death of Jesus looked like: it looked like a loss, it looked like a disaster, it looked like a horrific end. And, from the common folk's perspective, it was exactly that. And, so, it is even more important that it is this Jesus, this Christ, who is raised. It is important that it is this Jesus, this Messiah, who not only returns to life but returns to life victorious, having defeated death, having defeated the power of sin which put him there, having defeated the weight of our finitude and sinfulness with the boundless power, the grace, and the endless life-transforming love of God.

The Disciples were terrified. They were terrified at the thought of what all this might mean; they were terrified at the still-raging anger of the religious leaders and at what they might do to them now that Jesus’ body was gone. It’s into this swirling mess of emotion, fear and anxiety, that Jesus appears.

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. (Luke 24:26-37)

Of course they are terrified! You would be too! We’ve all seen those horror movies where ghosts attack, where zombies climb up out of their graves and lumber through the streets trying to eat people’s brains. I seriously doubt we would handle this any better than they did ... and probably quite a lot worse. They were understandably terrified. They were understandably in a swirl of, at the same time, both wonderment and fear. And we would be too.

Like the Disciples, we wouldn’t yet have had the experience of knowing, deep down inside, that this is precisely what Jesus told us would happen. Unlike us, they hadn’t heard these stories about the resurrection of Jesus for their entire lives. This is totally and completely unexpected, totally and completely beyond their experience or understanding, totally and completely weird. And, so, they were startled and terrified. Their reaction is precisely what I would expect it to be.

Interestingly enough, the later Church didn’t launder their response to make them super-spiritual, cool, calm, and collected. As with Thomas in last week’s account, we get to see their doubt and fear; we get to see their human reaction, unfiltered by later understandings, interpretations, and idealizing. They’re very much afraid, as we would be. They’re very much questioning, as we would be. And, again, as with the story of doubting Thomas, Jesus addresses their fear, their doubts, and their questions.

He said to them:

“Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. (Luke 24:38-42)

Jesus has to work overtime to prove that he is real, that he is not a ghost, that he is not some figment of their imagination or some wild hallucination. Jesus says and does this because the disciples needed it. And we need it, too. We, like the Disciples, need convincing that this is really Jesus, that death has not had victory over him, and that, while he did die, now he’s here with us, today, at this very moment. This realization is huge. As important as the crucifixion was – and it was important, on many levels, both tragic and extraordinary – this moment, this reality, this event: the resurrection and continued real presence of Jesus with us, then and there, here and now, is the crossroads where our life and death meet with eternity. It’s in this context that Jesus then says:

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:44-48)

We often overlook this “opening of their minds.” It’s so very easy for us to read scripture and not really connect with what it is saying. We don’t want to really struggle with it; we’re often happy to misunderstand it, twist it, and go with the easy answers. We do it all the time. It takes being truly vulnerable and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to truly connect with what the Scripture is saying and how the Scriptures are challenging us. That is particularly the case here, with the resurrection and the calling which Christ has for us.

The Scripture that was being opened to them wasn’t, of course, the New Testament; that hadn’t been written yet. Rather, it was the Hebrew Bible: The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

“Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

That last bit often gets glossed over, too. We focus on the message of the death and resurrection – and we should focus on it – but not to the exclusion of the rest. Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in Christ’s name to all nations, to all peoples. The Greek word translated “nations” is ethnos. We get the words “ethnic” and “ethnicity” from it. The message of repentance and forgiveness is to be proclaimed to everyone, without exception, without limit, and without qualification.

What about this message of repentance. The word being translated here as “repentance” means, quite literally, the changing of the mind. Metanoia. Yes, your actions will follow, but first one’s mind has to be changed. It is both as simple, and as difficult, as that. “Well ... I don’t want to change my mind or my way of thinking, my beliefs about others or about myself.”
“Oh, I’ll change how I act around people, I’ll do my best to treat other people nicely, I’ll behave kindly toward others, I’ll not name-call or outwardly judge others. What I yell in my car, while driving, about others might not change, but I’ll be sure that I don’t say or do something in public that will get me cancelled.”

Sorry, but that’s not what God is looking for. God isn’t just looking for an outward, visible, public change. We’re not forgiven because we promise to be on our best behavior, stop doing bad things, and play nice with others. We’re forgiven – the message of forgiveness of sin is received and has an impact upon us – not because we behave differently. Rather, we receive forgiveness when we truly, inwardly, deep down inside, change.

“What? You mean I can’t fake it?”

Nope. God knows if you’re faking it. You can be the greatest actor on the planet but, eventually, your actions will betray your inner thoughts and your true beliefs. Repentance and forgiveness are held together for a reason: without one, the other is impossible; without the other, the first is incomplete.

And, finally, the message goes to, and is for, all. There’s no limitation here. It begins from Jerusalem, and that’s an important point because it nearly happened that the message of Christ was limited to just the Jewish people. It’s good news for us Gentiles that Christ called his disciples to proclaim the message to all! Far from being excluded, Jesus made sure that we would be included, too. Yes ... all of us outsiders.

We Christians like to think of ourselves as spiritual insiders. We like to think that we’re “all that and a bag of chips, too.” Well, we’re not. Similarly, we tend to think that others shouldn’t be included due to racial, ethnic, cultural, social, or ethical concerns. Or, if they are to be included, well, “they’ve gotta change! It’s that repentance bit, preacher, that you were just talking about!”

Well ... Pot, meet Kettle. We are the ones who are outside, looking in, in need of changing. When we exclude, deny, refuse to accept, and refuse to live by the grace and peace of Christ, then we must change. When we exclude, deny, and refuse to accept others who are different from us, then and there we must change ... we must repent ... in order to live by faith and be part of the family of God. We must give up our fear and disbelieving and accept the calling Christ places upon us: a calling to not doubt, but actively believe.

© 2021 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
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