From Here to Eternity

Good morning and Happy Easter! And Happy Spring!

I have a spring tradition, every year right before baseball season starts, to watch my favorite movie of all time – Field of Dreams. It’s a baseball movie but more than that. It’s about fathers and sons. Family. Second chances. Dreams. Heaven. It is an old movie from 1988 and I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen it. At least 25 times. I can almost quote the dialogue. Even though I’ve heard the story so many times, it still captivates me and I think it will for years to come. Every year I tell myself I won’t cry at the end but every time Kevin Costner says, “Dad, want a catch?” the tears flow.

Maybe you have a movie like that. Or a book. You know every line but you go back and back to it. There’s something about the story that just connects with you. There are some stories like that. Stories you can hear over and over again.

This time of year we tell another familiar story. One you’ve heard over and over again. One you’ve heard from your childhood. It’s the Easter story.

It starts with Jesus’s joyful entry into Jerusalem on a donkey on what we call Palm Sunday. It turns into a story of betrayal as Judas, one of the apostles tuns Jeus into the authorities. And no less, he betrays hm with a kiss! Then we have the story of Peter, one of his first and most loyal (or at least most vocal) apostles, denying knowing Jesus three times. There’s a trial before Herod the king, Caiaphas the high priest and then before the Roman Governor, Pilate which ultimately leads to his crucifixion. The cries from the crowd, “Crucify him!” And imagine this – nails being driven into a man’s hands to secure him to a piece of crude wood. Can you imagine that – the pain, the inhumanity. And then nailing his feet to the cross and putting the dying body on display! Crucifixion is horrific! Even the heavens seem to respond as the sky goes dark for three hours. And then Jesus is buried in a tomb.

But the culmination of this story is what we celebrate today. Here is how Luke records the resurrection story.

Luke 24:1–6 (NIV) — 1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen!

Later on, Jesus will appear to the apostles who have heard the rumors and are talking about the possibility:

Luke 24:36–39 (NIV) — 36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.”

It's an amazing story and today more than 100 million people across the United States are in church hearing this story. It’s the highest attended church service for almost every church.

The resurrection is one of those stories that people love to hear over and over again just like those movies and books we love so much. The resurrection is the Field of Dreams of the Bible. But there are some important differences I must point out.

The resurrection is a true story.

Shoeless Joe Jackson didn’t really walk out of a cornfield in Iowa and play baseball. As wonderful and inspiring Field of Dreams is, it’s not a true story. But the resurrection of Jesus is. All four gospels record it and it is told as an historical event, not a myth or a legend or a feel-good story. In fact, the account we read earlier was written by a doctor, Luke, and listen to how he prefaces his gospel:

Luke 1:1–4 (NIV) — 1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

Luke presents his story of Jesus as a well-documented account, not a work of fiction. And all the other references in the New Testament handle it the same way – as a historical event. Perhaps the greatest evidence of the historicity of the resurrection is the amazing change in the apostles and their willingness to preach the resurrection at great risk. Some even gave their lives proclaiming the reality of the resurrection.

Author and speaker J. Vernon Wallace puts it this way:

Many of us, as committed Christians, would rather die than reject our Savior. Around the world today, Christians are executed regularly because they refuse to deny their allegiance to Jesus or the truth claims of Christianity. But their deaths, while heartbreaking and compelling, have no evidential value. Many people are willing to die for what they don’t know is a lie. Martyrdom doesn’t confirm the truth, especially when the martyrs don’t have first-hand access to the claim for which they’re dying. But this wasn’t the case for the disciples of Jesus. They were in a unique position: they knew if the claims about Jesus were true. They were present for the life, ministry, death and alleged resurrection of Jesus. If the claims about Jesus were a lie, the disciples would have known it (in fact they would have been the source of the lie). That’s why their commitment to their testimony was (and is) so compelling. Unlike the rest of us, their willingness to die for their claims has tremendous evidential value. In fact, the commitment of the apostles confirms the truth of the resurrection

J. Warner Wallace

I know it may be hard to accept, but there is no way we can take the Bible in the least bit seriously unless we affirm the resurrection of Jesus. It is THE story of the Bible.

Author Brennan Manning says this:

The central miracle of the gospel is not the raising of Lazarus or the multiplication of the loaves or all the dramatic healing stories taken together. The miracle of the gospel is Christ, risen and glorified who this very moment tracks us, pursues us, abides in us, and offers Himself to us as a companion for the journey.

Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child

Christianity falls without the resurrection. As Paul says,

1 Corinthians 15:14–17 (NIV) — 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

We proclaim with confidence that Jesus is risen!

There’s another important difference

The resurrection changes our lives.

As much as I love Field of Dreams I would be just fine if it were never made. It may inspire me to be a better person, but it doesn’t fundamentally change the world I live in. But the resurrection does. The truth of the resurrection means that there is not only this life, there is a life after this one. The Bible speaks of it as eternal life. Never ending. The Bible teaches that because of Jesus’s resurrection I can experience the same thing. I can experience life after this life.

Scripture ties together the resurrection of Jesus with our own resurrection:

Romans 6:5 (NIV) — 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

1 Corinthians 15:42 (NIV) — 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.

That’s huge! So when we hear the resurrection troy of Jesus it is not just Jesus’s story it is my story as well. It is your story. Jesus’s resurrection and our resurrection dramatically shift the way we think about our lives.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the axis around which our faith revolves. When Jesus rose from the dead it radically changed reality.

Mark Batterson, The Grave Robber

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

How does it change reality? The resurrection means that here is not just a “here”; there is an “eternity.” And the beautiful thing about that is that this eternity will not only be infinitely longer than here. It will be infinitely more beautiful than here.

We get a little glimpse of the infinite beauty of eternity in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 21:1–7 (NIV) — 1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Whatever is wrong here will be made right in eternity.

Here there is pain and crying but in eternity there is No more death, mourning, or crying. What has brought you the most pain in this life? What has brought you to your knees in sadness? That’s all here but it will be no more in eternity.

He will wipe away every tear.

Whatever is good here will be better in eternity.

All things will be made new in eternity. Nothing will wear out. Nothing will become outdated. Here we constantly experience things wearing out, needing to be replaced. Think of all the things you have had to replace here – the appliances, the cars, the clothes, the homes. In eternity everything will be eternally new. There will be no repairmen in heaven because everything will work just like new.

Listen to what Jesus says:

Matthew 6:19–20 (NLT) — 19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”

Think of the times when you were most happy. Think of the time when you felt your very best. Think of the most beautiful place you have ever been. Think of all the good things here and imagine how much better they will be in eternity.

Unmet desires here will be met in eternity.

In eternity Jesus says, “To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” Our desires will be always met. Jesus made this clear when he was talking to a women by a well.

John 4:13–14 (NIV) — 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Think of your deepest unmet desire here on earth. In eternity that desire will be met and so much more. Every desire will be met in eternity.

The resurrection changes our lives as it takes us from here to eternity.

JRR Tolkien states it so beautifully:

The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus means that one day everything sad will come untrue.

J. R. R. Tolkien

But sadly, not everyone will experience resurrection. From that same scripture that talks about the glory of eternity, it also says this:

Just after this beautiful description of eternity Jesus points out that it’s not for everyone. He makes this somber statement:

Revelation 21:8 (NIV) — “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Not everyone has an eternity of joy to look forward to. So, today if you are not a believer, Jesus invites you to receive him. We would love to talk to about that. We love to talk to you about confessing your faith in Jesus. About repenting of your sins and committing to walking with the Lord. About being baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. We’d love to talk to you about your eternity. Jesus came so you can have that hope.

In the well-known Scripture we are reminded that’s why Jesus came – to take us from here to eternity:

John 3:16 (NIV) — 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Because of the resurrection you can have an eternity of joy awaiting you.