ONE (UN)BELIEVABLE MORNING

ONE (UN)BELIEVABLE MORNING Luke 24:1-12 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails; John R. W. Stott, The Incomparable Christ; Chuck Swindoll, The Darkness and the Dawn; Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew Easter Sunday April 11, 2004 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] He is risen! He is risen indeed! Introductory One evening every week, just as the sun was beginning to set, old Ed arrived at the ocean pier with a bucket of shrimp. Seemingly in his own little world, he strolls to the end of the pier, sets the bucket down. When he reaches his bony old hand into the bucket and pulls out a handful of shrimp he is suddenly not alone anymore. A thousand white gulls appear overhead. They've come for the weekly handout old Ed has brought them for years. As he pitches the shrimp one at a time out over the water and the gulls fight and flap until one of them gets each morsel, their aged benefactor in the baggy pants is whispering two words repeatedly: "Thank you." With a crooked smile on his face he says over and over again, "Thank you, thank you…" When the bucket is empty, and the gulls start to disperse, old Ed stands there on the pier lost in thought, transported to another time and place. Eventually one of the gulls lands on his weather beaten hat-it's an old military hat he's been wearing for years. He finally turns around and makes his way down to the end of the beach and walks home. But he came back, every week, until the day he died. People who watched this tradition would wonder what it was all about. Then someone would tell them the story about Eddie Rickenbacker, the decorated flying ace of World War II. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, his plane went down with him and his seven-member crew. Miraculously all eight survived the crash and climbed into a life raft.  For days, the eight men floated on the rough waters of the Pacific, doing what they could to shield themselves from the sun, fighting hunger and thirst. Hundreds of miles from land, a week later they ran completely out of rations and water. They needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle. Then they tried to nap. Eddie had leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged and all he could hear was the slap of the waves against the side of the raft.  Suddenly Eddie felt something land on his sun-bleached hat. It was a seagull! The others watched, mouths open, as Eddie sat still planning the snare. With one quick reach and a squawk from the gull, he grabbed it and wrung its neck. The feathers were off in a moment and he and his starving crew made a small but life-saving meal out of the gift bird.  They used the intestines for bat and caught fish for more food and enough moisture to keep them alive for several more days until they were found and rescued. Eddie lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first lifesaving gull. And he never stopped saying "Thank you" with his weekly bucket of shrimp and a heart of gratitude. Reminds me a little of our ritual of Easter. Every year we assemble for such a service as this, say to one another, "He is risen; He is risen indeed" and hear once again the fundamental truth of the gospel proclaimed: Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, He was buried and He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 And it is our appointed way of saying thanks to Him who alone deserves our thanks for saving us from the consequences of our sins by giving Himself as a sacrifice. Do you ever wonder though, if others around us, who do not believe or understand what we're talking about on Easter Sunday don't wonder about us? Maybe like old Ed's accidental audience, they stare at us and wonder whether we are quite right or not. They'd be in pretty good company, you know, because that's exactly the way the apostles once felt. Let's read from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24, the first verses 1-12, paying particular attention to the eleventh verse. 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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In 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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. Verse 11 - "But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense." One man said, "Why that verse could be the married man's motto!" What Seems Like Nonsense is Hard to Believe When I was a child a friend told me his uncle was a fireman and that they had a new fire truck that was black. I knew all fire trucks are red, and I told him he was all wet. A disagreement ensued and he talked me into betting him $50. We were at a Cub Scout event, and guess who came to pick up my friend? His uncle-and he confirmed that he now worked on a black fire truck! One of the reasons I agreed to bet $50 was I knew he was wrong, but the other reason was, there was no way either one of us could come up with $50-after all that was back in the mid- twentieth century when $50 could buy you 200 gallons of gas! Well, my friend really expected me to pay up, and he's been looking for me ever since. The apostles really shouldn't have been as doubtful as I was. After all, they had seen Jesus raise Lazarus, Jairus' daughter and others from the dead. What's more, Jesus had told them He was going to rise from the dead. (See Luke 24:6, 46) But it's a funny thing what trauma can do to you. These guys were emerging from one of the most emotional and spiritually-challenging weeks of their lives. We 21st century movie-goers recently saw Mel Gibson's film version of the passion of Christ and were blown away by the violence and deeply saddened by the painful reminder of what He went through for us. The apostles witnessed live and in person all of that being done to their friend, their teacher, their Messiah. These Christ-followers were spiritually and emotionally decimated. And that distorted their perception of reality. After all, they had seen Jesus die, they probably helped bury Him, it had been nearly three full days. Would you have believed under those circumstances? What were these women talking about? They probably thought they were hysterical or caught up in some wishful thinking. But Peter heard something through the confusion because he ran to the grave to see if someone might have stolen Jesus' body. He found it empty, all right, but still confused, he returned with just as many questions. Then the two Emmaus brothers suddenly returned from their walk home saying they had met with the risen Lord.  And then Jesus appeared to the apostles. "They still did not believe because of joy and amazement" (Luke 24:42). Even after Jesus spoke with them, showed them His wounds and ate fish in their presence, they did not fully accept the resurrection until He "opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." (Luke 24:5) We understand why Jesus said such things to His followers as "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" (Luke 24:25) What Makes the Unbelievable Believable? What finally led the apostles out of unbelief into faith? How were they finally convinced? Maybe as we learn the components of what convinced them, we can get some insight into how we have come to believe and how others with whom we share the gospel come to believe in the resurrection of Christ. You know the Bible is very explicit about the resurrection as the foundation of the Christian gospel. New Testament scholar, Michael Green, wrote: Without faith in the resurrection there would be no Christianity at all. The Christian church would never have begun; the Jesus Movement would have fizzled like a damp squib with His execution. You see, Christianity stands or falls with the truth of the resurrection. Once disprove it, and you have disposed of Christianity. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15 - "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…if Christ has not been raised your faith is futile, you are still in your sins…we are to be pitied more than all men…But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (15:14-20) One of the elements of their faith was the predictive prophecy about the resurrection. Review verses 6-8 "He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they remembered his words." Not only did Jesus tell the disciples explicitly that He would rise from the dead, but He taught them that the Scriptures taught that "The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day…" (Luke 24:46) But, apparently, prophecy alone didn't make the unbelievable believable to the apostles. It was Halloween night, 1936. A s?nce called by the ten-year widow of Harry Houdini, the great magician/escape artist. As they had done for ten years, several men and women sat around a table holding hands waiting for a message from the  dead man who had promised to break the bonds of death and return; but the message did not come. Finally Bess Houdini rose from the table and announced to a radio audience, "Houdini did not come through. My last hope is gone. I do not believe that Houdini can come back to me, or to anyone… The Houdini Shrine has burned for ten years. I now, reverently…turn out the light. It is finished. Good  night, Harry!" The man no jail could hold could not escape from death as he had predicted. But Jesus did, exactly as He predicted! They needed time and further experiences in order to process the truth of the resurrection. Most people are not ready to fully accept the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus when they first hear it. They need time-some more than others. The women encountered the empty grave and heard about the resurrection from the angels and it was enough for them. The apostles had to hear it first from the women, then from the Emmaus brothers finally from the risen Christ himself. Maybe if they'd seen the angels first it would have saved them considerable doubt? Most people need a little time and space and repetition to come to faith in the resurrection. The third component of Resurrection Faith is evidence. The apostles needed more than prophecy, time & experience in order to come to faith in the resurrection of Jesus. They needed hard evidence. They needed to see Jesus, alive and physically present with them; and He obliged them. Perhaps most famous of all the doubters is Thomas who wouldn't even believe a quorum of his fellow apostles. He insisted that he feel the wounds of Jesus before he could believe. And that is precisely what Jesus gave to him! (John 20:19-29)  Jesus appeared to the apostles as they were listening to the testimony of the two from Emmaus. Even then they thought Jesus was a ghost, they had to touch Him, watch Him eat and hear His teaching. Were they hardened agnostics? What did they need, anyway? To their credit, verse 41 says they did not believe "because of their joy and amazement." A few short years ago, our daughters organized a conspiracy to surprise Charlotte and me. We were completely surprised when we arrived at Ryan's for lunch with them and were greeted by 60 or 70 of our closest and dearest friends and family. What I remember was the rush of everything coming at us all at once, it seemed. Flower leis, hula skirts and airline tickets to Hawaii. Cards, smiles and hugs from everyone; dinner and a beautiful cake. It was almost an hour into the affair before I realized exactly everyone who was there-we hade family from Tennessee, South Carolina, Arkansas and all over the Midwest. The disciples were so overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of Jesus-wouldn't we all be?-that they didn't know what to think. All they could do was to experience joy and amazement that Jesus seemed to be back with them. But they really weren't sure if this was real, if this was an apparition or a ghost or if they were having some kind of collective dream. Even stark evidence isn't enough sometimes. There was one more component which would help the apostles believe-and that was spiritual understanding. Just like He'd done for the Emmaus Road brothers (Luke 24:27, 31-32), verse 45 says, "He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." This is something only God can do for us. That makes it tricky. But it is important to understand that He does open the eyes of any and all who will seek Him. He is determined for us to understand what it means that He has risen from death. So He releases spiritual insight through His Spirit to those who believe as much as they can, so they will understand more. This is a major part of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Once a person opens his heart to Jesus, new understanding begins to flow. He understands scripture in a new a profound way. Truth no longer seems mysterious to him. This is God's work in a person's heart. It is the illumination that the Holy Spirit brings to those who come to faith in Him. If someone says to you, "I just don't understand Christianity," you can mark it well, they probably don't want to know more than they already do. If they did, the Spirit of God would meet them with conviction and insight. Time after time I hear new believers say, "It's weird, but all of a sudden I can understand the Bible-I never could before!"  Coming to believe in the resurrection of Christ is a process. For some, like the three women who first visited the tomb on Easter morning, it is quick, decisive. For others, like the apostles, it takes more. But God is always faithful to provide what we need to trust Him. Prophetic fulfillment, time & experiences, evidence, spiritual understanding. There are many who today are in churches as members, and have been for years, but do not believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ as the basis of our salvation and our hope. In fact, George Barna's research from a few years ago reveals that 35% of self-confessed Christians do not believe He was resurrected bodily, even though the Bible is quite explicit about it. Why is that important? Moving Others From Unbelief to Belief On one level, the resurrection is at the root of our full experience of salvation. The hope that we have in Christ is predicated on His bodily resurrection. Without that hope we are "of all men most miserable" (Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:19, KJV). Without a belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, Christians are stripped of the very driving motivation of the church. Paul's logic is this: we live for the hope of one day being raised from the dead like Jesus promised. If Jesus has not been raised, our hopes are empty. And wouldn't it be crazy to live for this world only? Consider the apostles and how they were transformed by the resurrection. After they witnessed the death of Jesus they were completely demoralized. They were apprehensive and disillusioned. They were scared. The denied, they doubted and they fled. But just weeks later they were turning the world upside down for Christ (Acts 17:6). What happened? From wimpy, clueless followers to dynamic witnesses to the resurrected Christ. The Bible gives two reasons: they were filled with the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised they would be and they witnessed the resurrected Christ. Here's how Chuck Swindoll said it: Imagine it. Just a few days before they had walked with Him and eaten with Him and slept beside Him and talked with Him. Then came that horrendous betrayal in the darkness of Gethsemane-that turning point, after which nothing was ever the same again. Death-the most horrible form of death-came between them and their beloved Master. All they had hoped for and planned were lost. Their dreams were dashed, leaving them frightened and filled with doubt, until . . . In a flash, as though time and space have been suspended, he has come back, bringing all sorts of new dimensions to their attention. Jesus was raised by the power of God to once and for all ratify the salvation He brought to you and me, to establish with certainty that it was all God's work-that He was God, so that we could live with confidence. Because of the resurrection we can be empowered by the same Spirit that raised Jesus to life forever! John Stott wrote in his Basic Christianity: It's no good giving me a play like "Hamlet" or "King Lear" and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can't. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and then telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can't. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like that. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like that . . . to have Him as our example is not enough; we need Him as our [risen] Saviour. 1. Fulfilled predictive prophecy - PREACH & TEACH 2. Time and experience - PRAY & WAIT  3. Evidence - LIVE RESURRECTION LIFE 4. Spiritual understanding - SPIRITUAL WARFARE Empowered by the same Spirit who raised Jesus-that's how the Bible pictures the genuine Christian life. The book of Ephesians describes it as "his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead…" (Ephesians 1:19-20) People who believe in the risen Christ, who are driven by the hope of their own resurrection, these are the people who follow Christ. They are the ones who testify to others of the salvation and resurrection of Christ. But what evidence do we have to offer those who need evidence to believe the resurrection? Like the apostles, we have changed lives as evidence. We have encountered the living Christ and now we can share His life in the power of His Spirit dwelling in us. Here's how we do it. We share the message of Christ's death and resurrection and how it is the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies. We pray patiently for people to come to faith. We live our lives in ways that testify of the power of God. And we pray that the blinders of disbelief and the strongholds that stand against the knowledge of God would be destroyed, so they can see and respond to the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:1-6) Conclusion Those who believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ are called Christians. They not only give assent to these truths, but they submit their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Though not yet perfectly, they commit to living their lives for His glory and the dissemination of the gospel so others can come into the blessed hope of the resurrection. And one day, we will enter that perfect rest of the resurrection. Meanwhile, you'll find us, like old Ed, coming regularly to this place of worship and saying to the Christ of the resurrection, "Thank you, thank you!" [Back to Top]