The Resurrection Story

Good morning! It’s a glorious morning, perhaps one of, if not the most important day in the life of a Christian. This is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Living God. This event is why we come to church on Sunday instead of Saturday.

To get the whole story, you have to look at all four Gospels, so we will. If you give me just 5 minutes, I’ll catch you up to today.

And so the story goes like this. It’s been a week filled with excitement and joy and festivals and celebrations and banquets and an act of love and betrayal and denial and anguish and suicide and mocking and scourging and exhaustion and sorrow and death.

My oh my what a week. We are at the end of what is know as Holy Week.

The week began with the Jews showing up in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Passover was when God told the Israelites who were enslaved by the Egyptians to place blood on their doorposts and when the death angel saw the blood on the doorposts he would passover that house and not kill the first born male in the house.

They were to remember and celebrate that event, like we celebrate Juneteenth with parties and celebrations to remember when we got the news we had been freed from slavery.

Jesus, the Messiah had come to town to join in the celebration and to fulfill his purpose. We’ll get to that later. But he came into town, riding on a donkey. The people shouted hosanna, hosanna in the highest, hosanna to the Son of David. They laid palm branches in the street as he made his triumphal entry. That was the day we call Palm Sunday.

They thought this was the person that was going to rescue them from the persecution they were suffering at the hands of the Romans. He was but not in the way they thought it was going to be. And he wasn’t there for just the Jews, he came to save the lost. All the lost!

Jesus sat down to dinner with his boys, better know as the disciples.

He washed their feet,

he prayed over the dinner,

he served them,

he identified his traitor, the one who would betray him, the one who would sell him out for 30 pieces of silver,

he identified his denier, the one who would deny him not once, not twice but three times before the morning came

he told them again what was about to happen to him—they didn’t get it

he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray

he was betrayed by Judas, with a kiss

he was arrested by Roman soldiers

Peter cut off the ear of one of the soldiers and Jesus put it back on and told Peter put your sword away, those who live by the sword, will die by the sword

Jesus could have called twelve legions of angels to protect him, but how would the Scriptures be satisfied? How would his purpose be fulfilled? How would he finish what he came to do, if he did that?

And as the soldiers took him away his disciples, the men who had walked with him, talked with him, learned from him, seen him perform miracle after miracle, experienced his compassion and love for three years, those men all deserted him.

Jesus stood before the farce of a court, facing some trumped up charges against him, with false witnesses.

Meanwhile, Peter denied he knew Jesus

Judas, overcome with guilt, commited suicide by hanging himself

Jesus was mocked

his beard was yanked out

he was slapped across the face

he was beaten with a cat of nine tails. A barbaric whip with nine tails and in a cruel twist, these tails had barbs on the ends which tore skin off with each strike.

They put a crown of thorns on his head

The abuse went on all night long and then when sentencing was pronounced it was to be hung on a cross, naked, on a hill, in front of anyone who chose to stay and watch. It was a death sentence reserved for the worst criminals.

It was the practice to place a placard above their the accused head that listed their crimes. Jesus had committed no crime and so his placard read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”.

There was an opportunity for the people to release Jesus, but when asked the question those same folks who chanted hosanna just days prior were now chanting crucify him! Crucify him!

Be careful when people are chanting your name, they may be all for you today, but do something they don’t like, tweet something they don’t agree with, post something controversial, say something contrary and those same ones who were praising you yesterday, will be the very ones who crucify you today. You’ll be the next one cancelled, in this cancel culture we live in.

Back at the cross. Those watching included

His mother Mary—Jesus was indeed the Son of God, but her body was the one used to bring him into the world and she was not going to leave her baby now.

The disciple whom he loved, John was there

Mary Magdalene, the woman he had exorcised seven demons out of was there

Salome was there and many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem. They were there because they had something to do, when it was all over.

You see there would eventually be a burial and they were going to make sure it was done right. And so they watched and waited.

And when Jesus had done all he came to do, he uttered the words, it is finished, and he gave up the ghost and died.

Joseph of Arimathea asked for his body, and he and Nicodemus, the man who came to Jesus by night, took him down from the cross, wrapped him in cloth, put myrrh and aloes on him and placed him in a borrowed tomb. You see, he wouldn’t need it but just a few days.

As Jesus hung on that cross, the party was tuning up in hell. They thought, oh we got him now. Satan thought surely I have the victory, the Son of God is dead. But how many know that wasn’t the end of the story?

He stayed there all night Friday night, he was there all day Saturday, but early Sunday morning everything changed. Life as we knew it was no longer the same. Now there was hope for a dying world.

You see, early Sunday morning as the women were headed to the tomb to finish the burial process, they were talking amongst themselves as we women do. They were discussing how they were going to move the large stone that blocked the tomb where they thought Jesus was.

But when they arrived they found the stone was already rolled away. Matthew reported there was a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone aside and sat on it. The guards fainted at the sight and the angel spoke to the women.

He told them Jesus had risen, invited them to come see the place where his body was laying and instructed them to go tell his disciples he was going to Galilee and that they would see him there. The women were obedient and met Jesus on their way to tell the disciples and he reiterated to them, “Don’t be afraid, go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee and they will see me there.”

Mark reports that when the women arrived they went into the tomb, saw a young man sitting, clothed in a white robe who told her Jesus had risen, and to tell his disciples he would meet them in Galilee.

But Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves, they didn’t believe the women. Then they went to tell the other disciples and they didn’t believe them either.

Now, they had walked with Jesus three years, they were closest to him, he told them what was going to happen, yet they still didn’t believe.

How’s your faith. Can you believe for the miracle you need? Can you believe God will keep his promises? Do you know what the promises of God are? Faith is about believing what you can’t see.

Luke reports the women saw two men, who ask them why they were looking for the living among the dead. What situation do you have that you are trying to give life to, but you’re hanging around the dead. Those negative Nancy’s and doubting Thomas’s, those people who have no vision, who speak death to every idea, who can always tell you why something won’t work.

Stop sharing what God has given you to bring life to and allowing them to be dream crushers. There’s a difference between giving you things to think about and telling you why it won’t work. When God gives you a dream, you may need to change your atmosphere to one where people speak life instead of death. You may need to get amongst the living and stop looking for encouragement among dead.

In John’s Gospel, it was just Mary Magdalene and she ran and told Peter and John who ran to the tomb to see for themselves. While they were inside Jesus appears to Mary outside the tomb.

So why the different accounts? Have you ever seen a group of people who witnessed an accident or incident, but they all have a different account of what happened? This is no different.

Before you get all wrapped up in the differences and allow it to become a distraction; here’s the bottom line.

Jesus was crucified

he was buried in a borrowed tomb

a stone was rolled in front of the tomb

angels rolled the stone away

the women came to finish the burial process

Jesus wasn’t there, he had risen from the dead

He went into hell to set the captives free and when he left he snatched the keys to death, hell, and the grave on his way out

The women were told to tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee

Eventually they did

Jesus shows himself to the disciples, proves he’s not a ghost

He sits down and eats with them

He chastises them for their unbelief. He chastises them because he had told them what was going to happen, yet when it did they still didn’t believe it.

Thomas wasn’t there when he initially showed himself and so he still doesn’t believe, declaring he wouldn’t believe until he saw with his own eyes and put his hand in his woulds; hence the phrase doubting Thomas. But eight days later he would see Jesus for himself, he would put his hand into the wound in Jesus’ side, he would see the holes in his hands, and believe.

But Jesus has a message for him and for us. He told Thomas, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Can you believe without seeing? Are you a prove it to me kind of person? Are you a, “I won’t believe it till I see it person? Are you a doubting Thomas? Are you the dream killer? Is it you people need to get away from?

Begin to speak life into your situation. Paul says in Philippians, “…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Where is your focus? What are your thoughts on? What you’re focused on is what you’ll see. If you’re focused on the negative that’s what you’ll see, if you’re focused on the positive, then that’s what you’ll see.

As Christians we celebrate this day, we are excited because this day marks the day when we were saved from eternal damnation. It marks the day when our Savior proved why he is the true and living God.

It marks the time when Jesus showed how he’s different from Buddha and Mohammed and the numerous other false gods out there. But I’ve got some news for you about false gods. In the Old Testament they were easy to identify. Shrines were set up to worship them, sacrifices were made to them. But gods today look a little different.

There was a study done about false gods, the writer, known as the Canadian Bible Guy, defines the term “false god” as someone or something that is highly revered, followed devoutly, sacrificed for, and looked to for meaning in life and deliverance from problems. He names the following as the top 10 false gods of today

#10 - Education - Some believe the problem with criminals is that they lack education and that having better access to it will turn them into decent human beings. We spend tens of thousands of dollars, going way into debt, in order to get an education we aren’t even sure we really want to pursue as a career path. We ignore what anyone has to say unless they have a bunch of letters at the end of their name. Education is not a god that will deliver us from the messy state we find our world in. And while education is important and an extremely valuable thing, it cannot deliver on that promise.

#9 - Beauty — People who are considered attractive are revered, while those who aren’t are dismissed. But who and what determines beauty? Whole racks of magazines are devoted to all the beautiful people in the world and all the insignificant details of their lives. They tell us how we too can lose weight and become like them—you know, people who actually matter. What we fail to realize is those pictures are airbrushed. Overweight people are fat-shamed. Millions of dollars are spent on products that promise slimmer waistlines and smoother skin. People fight back father time hoping to look young forever. Bland or bald people are dismissed, even if they are wise. We put way too much stock in a god that is constantly fading away.

#8 - Comfort — There are those who looooove to take it easy. The reason they work so hard is so they can relax. They cut corners here and there to lighten the load and constantly talk about how they can’t wait for the weekend or the next vacation or the upcoming holiday. They often choose the path of least resistance in many areas of life, doing everything they can to avoid hardship, even if the hard thing is the right thing to do. They want life to be smooth sailing and are apt to complain when instead they hit stormy seas. Somehow we have come to expect that life should be a breeze, enjoying the pleasure and leisure and good things in life without having to earn them with blood, sweat, and tears. The problem is that if comfort is our top priority, we are less likely to do the hard things in life—such as love difficult people, sacrifice for others, and follow through on commitments.

#7 - Substances — We infuse our bodies with all kinds of things to forget about our hurts, numb the pain, or spice up our boring lives. There are the big and obvious ones, like hard drugs, whether they be street drugs or pharmaceuticals. But there are less ominous substances we turn to also, such as pot, nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol. Heck, sometimes we even use just regular old junk food because it makes us feel better (aka comfort food). Our bodies react favourably to these things at first because they make us feel good, but in the long run they are addicting substances that harm us in other ways. They promise a better life but can’t deliver on that for the long haul. It eventually becomes self-inflicted slavery to an addiction.

#6 - Family — Wait…What? Family is a wonderful thing—but family makes a lousy god. People often think, If I could just get a husband I would be happy, or If I could just get a wife I would be happy, or once we have kids and a picture perfect family I will finally be happy. But these things aren’t true. Yes, family can bring great happiness, but it is a complicated happiness that is not unconditional. If you are trusting a spouse to bring meaning to your life, to complete you, you will inevitably despise them when they let you down, when you still feel insufficient. If you are trusting in kids to make your life worth living, you will be left empty when they grow up and begin their own lives. You are destined to live in perpetual disappointment if family is where you have placed your hope.

#5 - Religion — Religion and God are not the same thing. Some people trust in God, but other people trust in religion. Trusting God is a sure thing, but trusting in religion is a major mistake. Religion without God is an empty shell. Religion can’t deliver you, but God can and so we want you to have a relationship with him not just come to church.

#4 - Science — It might be true that in our increasingly secular society, more people trust in science than trust in God. They believe that science has all of the answers for us. They believe that if science confirms something to be true, it must be true—despite the fact that science changes all the time depending on recent findings. They trust that science will give us the solutions to all the plagues that face humanity. Science does benefit us greatly. We enjoy the benefits of technology and medicine and physics every moment of every day. But if we think that science is the one hope for mankind we are fooling ourselves. It cannot be counted on to deliver us in the end.

#3 - Sex — EEEwwww did she say sex in church? Sex is everywhere. It dominates music, movies, video games, TV shows, advertising, and even just everyday life. Sexuality is a part of human nature and an important and powerful one at that. But when we take a good thing and make it a god-thing we have gone too far. Sex, perhaps more than any other area of life, is considered to be untouchable by moral restraints. Today the one moral guideline for sex of any kind is consent. Other than that, have at it! But such a sexual free-for-all is also wreaking havoc in the world. Marriages fall apart left and right. STD’s and unplanned pregnancies are common. People are hooked on pornography in increasingly violent forms and at increasingly younger ages. We are destroying ourselves because of our licentiousness.

#2 - Money — Sex and money run close but the writer put money higher since a lot of the sex industry is built on the love of money. Sex trafficking, for instance, doesn’t just demonstrate people’s love for sex but also their love for money. The Bible tells us “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Truer words have never been spoken. People will do just about anything if it means they can make money off it. We are willing to compromise our integrity if it means that profit is possible. While money is a necessary part of societal living, it should not be the dominant influence in our decision making. Unfortunately, it usually is. Money is one of our culture’s greatest gods.

And the number one little g god we have is

#1 - Self

What the writer expresses is that many times we ultimately look to take care of ourselves. We do what’s easiest, what’s best, what’s most satisfying for us. And too often when we do do something for someone else, we make sure others know about it. WIIFM—what’s in in for me.

What have you made a god in your life? Is it on that list? Perhaps you have something else you put before God.

Jesus, God in the flesh, had all power, yet he endured all the suffering he went through, without a mumbling word. Like a lamb being led to the slaughter, he gave his life freely and even as he was suffering he secured the life of one of the thieves on the cross beside him. He did it because that was the reason he came.

Jesus came to be our perfect example.

He came because sin separated us from God.

He came to save the lost.

He came to heal the sick.

He came to raise the dead.

He came to feed the hungry.

He came to give sight to the blind.

He came to be the propitiation for our sin.

He came to do the will of his Father.

He came to give his life so that we would have the chance for eternal life.

But praise God death was not the end for Jesus and it’s not the end for you. There is life after death.

Sure this flesh gets sick.

This flesh has aches and pains.

This flesh gets attacked with diseases.

And this flesh will ultimately die. And there is no age requirement for death.

But you have a soul and that soul is going to live somewhere for all of eternity and if you have not already decided, the choice you make today could mean the difference between eternal life and eternal damnation.

Why are we here on Sundays? What is the purpose of the Bible? John 20:30-31 says, “30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”

We’re here on Sundays and Wednesdays to provide a reminder that Jesus is who he says he is and that he can do what he says he can do. We’re here so that you can be encouraged in your walk, so you will be that one who speaks life, because your source of life is Christ.

We’re here so that you know God is God and there is no one greater, no one wiser, and no one stronger.

We’re here so that you know you are not alone. God built us for relationship and we’re here to say to you if you don’t have a church home, welcome home.

The doors of the church are open. If you’ve never made the decision to make Jesus Lord of your life, there’s no better day than today.