The Resurrection: Renewal of Hope

⁜ Prayer ⁜

Intro

My friends! It is Easter!

Today we join Christians around the world in celebrating the central holiday of our Christian faith.

On this Sunday Christians have always remembered the great work of our salvation - that the Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross, and died for us. And we also remember that while Jesus died, death could not hold him. We remember this Sunday morning that Jesus rose from the dead - and in doing so he stripped sin and death of their power over us.

But as we celebrate all of this I would like to ask a question. And that is: "What does all of this mean?"

Now to some, that may seem like a silly question. But bear with me.

Think about that question for a moment... What does Jesus' death and resurrection mean? When we hear that Jesus died for your sins and for mine, does that resonate with you? And does the story of the resurrection make sense to us today?

You may feel a tension, as you hear that question, right?

If you are a life long Christian, your automatic response to these questions is likely an affirmation: "Yes, of course this resonates with me! And, yes, it makes sense!"

Or perhaps you actually are struggling to make sense of what the Bible tells us. In that case you may have answered: "Well... I don't know if all of this really makes sense. I am not sure how this sits with me." If that is you, know that those questions are okay... these are hard and strange things to wrap one's head around!

But, let me ask another question - and this is for those who consider themselves convinced. If we really look deep down in our hearts and minds, can we really say with absolute certainty that our answer is given without even the slightest tinge of doubt or a slight disconnection?

Perhaps if we really dive deep in examining our hearts we can notice a small reservation - a slight hint that says: "If I am being honest, I cannot wrap my head around this... I am left a bit unsure about what to do with the claims made by the Bible about Jesus' death and resurrection."

And let me put this out right now... you are not alone, and it is okay to struggle with these truths! In fact, trying to make sense of what the Bible tells us - and being honest about that - is nothing to be ashamed of.

We live in an age where to believe the claims made by our Christian faith is a struggle. We live in a period of history that has placed mathematical and scientific proofs as the defining way of attaining certainty. All of that makes little room for the claims of faith. So what do we do with the claims of Christianity which at their heart are attained not by science, but by faith?

Well, let us explore that in the following three points:

First, let us acknowledge humbly the fact that acceptance of the Bible's claims are ultimately grounded in the gift of faith. Yet, in spite of that, we can also note with confidence that what the Bible tells us about the resurrection is historically grounded!

Second, we need to acknowledge that our culture impacts us more than we may recognize or may be willing to acknowledge. By this I mean that we live in a culture of doubt, and that has a subtle way of forming how we view the world around us and, even, how we interpret our faith.

Third, after we have made those acknowledgements, we can then weigh what we find in the Bible and ask whether what we find there provides a better and more convincing story than what the world tells us!

Historical Foundations

So the first thing that seems important to point out is that what we find in the Bible is not only a faith claim. Yes, the fact that we turn to Scripture and assent to what it teaches us is grounded in the gift of faith. We believe that this book is inspired by the Holy Spirit and that his oversight ensures that its content is infallible, trusty-worthy, and true.

All of those points are faith claims.

Yet, when we read the accounts of Jesus' life and ministry... when we read about his crucifixion and his resurrection, we do not say that these can only be acknowledged by faith. Indeed, Christians have always held that our faith is a historic faith... it is grounded in historic events.

And so, as we look at the story of the resurrection today, as recorded in the Gospel we just read, here too we do not simply grasp this truth by faith. We can acknowledge that it has a historic grounding.

And don't simply take my word for it! For instance, Bart Ehrman, a secular scholar who is actually no friend of Christianity or its claims, wrote the following:

With respect to Jesus, we have numerous, independent accounts of his life in the sources lying behind the Gospels (and the writings of Paul) — sources that originated in Jesus’ native tongue Aramaic and that can be dated to within just a year or two of his life (before the religion moved to convert pagans in droves). Historical sources like that are pretty astounding for an ancient figure of any kind.

What Ehrman is point out for us are two important facts.

First, we have the account of who Jesus is and what he did from not just one source, but numerous, uncoordinated written accounts - all of which agree regarding what Jesus' life looked like, what he taught, that he died on a cross, and that he rose from the dead.

And second he points out that these accounts were not simply devotional writings written far after Jesus' life, but instead were written soon after Jesus' ascension into heaven. These were accounts written either by eye witnesses or by people who had written them after having carefully researched the eyewitness accounts.

(We see this in today's Gospel when Matthew shares the account of the two Marys who went to Jesus' tomb and there encounter an angel who points out that Jesus is not in the tomb, that he has risen. Here we find an early account, that tells us there were two eye witnesses and that they bear witness to their own experience which was also experienced by other people as well… and so their eye witness account ended up being recorded in this Gospel.)

So that alone should give us reason to trust the historical authenticity of what we read today.

But let me suggest another point. And that is, that the early Christians knew that the accounts of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection were truth worth dying for.

Let me ask you a question? If you lied about something, and then someone found out you were lying and told you they were going to kill not just you but your whole family unless you told the real truth... would you be willing to die for that lie?

No of course not! No one in their right mind would do so!

So, now look at the accounts of the earliest Christian martyr's - those men, women, and children who gave their lives rather than reject Jesus and what the Bible taught about his life, death, and resurrection. If they had even the slightest doubt that their faith was grounded in a lie or a historical inaccuracy, would they have been willing to be tortured, or cast to lions to be eaten alive, or burned at stakes? Of course not!

And so we find Tacitus, a pagan Roman historian, telling us that in the year A.D. 64 Nero slaughtered thousands of Christians. And did those Christians deny Christ or that the Bible's claims about him were historical... NO! They were willing to die for these truths. That was the astounding fact that the people of ancient Rome saw, and it actually lead to many pagans converting to the Christian faith.

Impact of our Culture

Now, having noted all of that we today still have a difficulty. While we can point to these and other points which authenticate the historic accounts - there is still a tinge of doubt about what we find in the Bible… because our culture impacts how we view life and the world around us!

You see, what we read in the Bible reveals a very different world than what we live in now. For instance, regarding the Resurrection - after Jesus’ resurrection, within the Church there was not a question about whether the resurrection was possible or not… too many people had witnessed the event!

Of course it was possible! They knew that God was at work in this world and could do miraculous things.

This is why, for example, Paul points out in 2 Tim. 2:17-18 an error that arose in the early Church. He wrote there: "...Hymenaeus and Philetus... have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some." What Paul is referring to here is not Jesus' resurrection but the resurrection of the dead, when Jesus returns to earth. These men were teaching that that had already taken place.

Now without going into all of that, what we should notice here is that people used to have no problem with the fact that God could bring people back to life... that resurrection was a fact (not just a belief) and that it could happen. These people had seen it with their own eyes... when Jesus rose from the dead... and all that could be found was an empty tomb and his death shroud.

Today, this is not the case. We live in a culture that says: "When was the last time you saw a person come back to life without the intervention of doctors?" We live in a culture that want's proof. And at this point we are so far removed from the historic events of Jesus' resurrection that it is hard to point out "proofs."

And that has an impact on us! Doesn't it. I would be willing to bet that almost everyone here in this room has at some point struggled with this! It can be hard to see that God is still at work in this world... that the miraculous can happen... that the dead can be raised from the grave.

We live in a world where God seems distant and his work in this world is often difficult to discern. And this is all the more true when we see tragedy strike - for instance when yet another mass shooting has taken place, or when yet another terrible natural disaster takes lives and leaves behind mourning families. Not only does the question arise as to whether the miraculous can happen; but an even more important one arises: Where is God?! Does he care?

The Story the Bible Tells Us

But my friends, I would suggest that it is exactly at that point... when these questions press in on us that what we find in the Bible offers not only facts... but something even more pressing: it offers us HOPE! It offers us a better worldview that what our culture offers!

Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that the Bible is not offering historic facts. Rather what I am pointing out is that those historic facts are meant to impact us. We are not supposed to read the Bible as if it is a dry history book in which we find recordings of long gone events.

As we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit speaks to us in and through the words we find there... and he makes the history and the stories we find there come to life within us. He reveals that the text we read is alive and is interpreting and shaping the world around us. And as that happens, we come to see that what we are reading is not simply a story about what happened 2,023 years ago, but is a story that is still unfolding.

And how does that apply to what we read in the Scriptures we have just read?

Well, follow along with me here. As we read the Bible and then come to the new Testament and the account's of Jesus' life, something noticeable arises. We see history come to a crux point.

And why is that? Because in Jesus God has begun to do something new. God came to dwell among humanity as one of us. Never has the world seen anything like this before. And because of the radical newness of what happens in the Incarnation we must, by necessity, define the life of Jesus as the new center of history.

But it is not just a center. Indeed, as we celebrate Jesus' resurrection we remember that our whole world has been transformed.

Up to this point the whole history of humanity had been one which ended in the inevitability of our march toward death. And so it is not surprising that a sense of hopelessness continually arises wherever death is understood to be the inevitable end of both our personal history and the history of humanity.

However, in Jesus' resurrection something new takes place.

We see Jesus do what no other person before or after him could do. He dies, shedding his blood to redeem us and atone for our sins... and then he does what is impossible for someone who merely human... he rises from the grave, by his own will and power. And prior to his death he himself acknowledged that this is what he would do. So we see him say: "I lay down my life—only to take it up again" (Jn. 10:17).

My brothers and sisters, let us note that this changes everything! Death had been defeated - and not only death, but all of humanity's hopelessness. And Why? Because death and our need to be resigned to its reign over our history has been dealt a death blow. Jesus not only conquered sin and the devil... he has conquered one of the greatest effects of sin, which is death.

How can that fact not completely transform every aspect of our lives and culture!

That is why we see Paul write in 1 Cor. 15:56 - "The sting of death is sin." {Or as the New Living Translation helpfully translates that: "sin is the sting that results in death."} Yet he follows this in v. 57 with some amazing news: "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

And how do we receive this gift? How is the victory made ours? How do we find freedom from a life which seems hopeless because oblivion looms before us?

Jesus' solution is simple... He says in John's Gospel "whoever lives by believing in me will never die" (Jn. 11:25) so "believe in me... I am the way and the truth and the life" (Jn. 14:1, 6).

My friends, we live in a world that once again has fallen into a sense of hopelessness.

We can readily find instances when our culture says, either out right or implicitly, in books, TV shows, podcasts, and cultural commentators - all saying that both we as individuals and the whole cosmos will end in oblivion... that there is a point at which everything becomes simply nothing - that we return to nothingness.

And the conclusion that people draw is - that we must simply create a happy world for us to live in right here and now, since we don’t have anything greater set before us after that. What a deeply disturbing and sad message that is! That is a message that has no hope for it can never fulfill our deepest desires for something greater... for something that can truly fulfill us.

And we all can feel deep down that our hearts long for more than just this present life!

For example I recently read an article which noted that scientists right now are trying to find a way to not just extend life, but to achieve immortality. And how do was this one company trying to do this? Well, their goal is to upload a human mind to a computer where they suggest a person could live on “forever” in a digital simulation! We see there the longing for life to not end in what the world perceives as oblivion.

But that is exactly where we find the Bible offering us a radically different vision of the world as it now is, and where it is headed. The Bible tells us that while oblivion was the trajectory we and the world were headed along, that is not the end. The Bible tells us that God intervened and that by Jesus' death and resurrection - sin, and death, and oblivion have been rendered powerless… we need not fear any of that any longer!

This is why Paul can sing in 1 Cor. 15:55... "O death, where is your victory?! O death, where is your sting?!"

The moment the women discovered the empty tomb, they too recognized this fact! They saw that the whole trajectory of history and the whole trajectory of our individual lives were not sealed by fate. In Jesus death and resurrection, God has shattered fatalism and oblivion. In Jesus we have a savior who not only died for us, but who also lives for us.

It is when that truth is grasped that lives are transformed.

And all that we must do is receive God's gift of grace to us… that we have faith in his Son who frees us from every bondage. When we see that, we come to a joy and hope that is so much deeper and richer and more fulfilling than we can imagine, for in Jesus our heart's deepest longings are fulfilled.

My brothers and sisters, let me finish with a short story.

Some years ago, I encountered a young man who was lost in drugs. He had lost all hope for any future. He told me that he was certain he was going to die on the streets - all he wanted was to be lost in a high when he died so that he didn't need to face death and pain and the black void he was certain would meet him upon dying. He hoped his mind would be lost and elsewhere when he died.

When I asked him why he thought this and what had led him to this point in his life, he told me that he didn't see anyway out. He looked at the world around him and he could not find any hope. He saw nothing but greed, and violence, and pollution. Everything he saw pointed to the end of the world. His heart was heavy. Drugs were the only escape he had.

So he and I continued talking, and as we did our conversation turned to the Bible and the story of Jesus we find there. And in the midst of that he was struck with an insight! The Holy Spirit opened his heart and he could suddenly see something wonderful! He could see that there was a way out of his darkness!

He saw that while there certainly is darkness in this world (even copious amounts of it), Jesus had overcome it. He realized that if Jesus had not only died... but that Jesus had actually risen from the dead, there was no reason to be hopeless.

He saw by the Holy Spirit's guiding that that "if" was not an "if" but an "indeed."

He grasped what the death and resurrection of Jesus means! He could see that on the cross Jesus had freed him, and that in the resurrection there was hope... hope for a future where God's goodness would definitively reign and where all the evil and darkness this world contains would no longer be found. And he could see that he had a place reserved by God in that future - that he would not go into oblivion, but that he too would rise one day and behold a world made new.

But that was not the whole of it... he also saw that already, here and now, Jesus resurrection life could break into his own life and transform it! He got it! He saw that joy and hope was possible - even when everything around us says the opposite.

Needless to say, that young man welcomed Jesus into his life with joy. And what joy it was! And I had the privilege of being there to behold God bring him to new life by the hope he discovered in Jesus resurrection! I had the honor of being able to pray with him as he accepted Jesus into his life.

So you see, my friends, the Resurrection we celebrate today is not simply a nice story. It is a fact of history. But is also something so much more than a mere fact. Jesus’ resurrection is God's dealing with us, it is his promise to us - a promise of a future, and a promise that all that leads to hopelessness no longer has any power.

But it also not just a hope for the future... it is a hope for now, and so it can daily renew us as we face the daily trials of life and the hopelessness that seems to be prevailing in our culture.

Lettie Cowman in her devotional book, Streams in the Desert, tells the story of a minister who "was in his study writing an Easter sermon when the thought gripped him that his Lord was living." Not just that he rose from the grave, but that he is still to this day alive. Well, this pastor "jumped up excitedly and paced the floor repeating to himself, “Why Christ is alive, His ashes are warm, He is not the great ‘I was,’ He is the great ‘I am.’ ” He is not only a fact, but a living fact. Glorious truth of Easter Day!" (Lettie B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, 131)

My friends, the resurrection is not just some fact of of the past... it is a renewal of hope for today. So let us rejoice in that, and find a rich fountain of comfort in the truth of Jesus' resurrection we read in the Bible and celebrate today.

As Paul wrote in today’s reading: “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54)!

⁜ Let us Pray ⁜