The Greatest Comeback In History
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2019 Masters
2019 Masters
Greatest Comeback
This past Sunday, millions and millions of sports fans rushed home from church to watch the last few holes of The Masters, the first of the four biggest annual tournaments in golf each year that make up what is called golf’s Majors. In years past they didn’t have to rush home because TV coverage didn’t even start until 3pm Eastern time. But this year, due to the forecast of incoming afternoon storms, the tournament officials changed the setup so that the tournament would be completed before the storms hit.
Those of you who are not golf fans may be wondering, what was the big deal with this year’s Master. What made this year’s Master a bigger deal than other years is that after 10 years of golf futility, Tiger Woods was in the final group and only 2 strokes off of the lead going into the last day of the tournament.
Now off of the golf course, I am not a fan of Tiger Woods, but the minute he steps up to the first tee, I am frequently sitting in my chair watching every stroke. From Oct. 1996 through Dec. 2009 his golf game was a thing of beauty. It all fell apart on Dec. 9, 2009, when it was discovered he had had multiple affairs on his wife, much of the next 10 years his life was marked by injuries and personal failures, and there was a point a couple years ago, shortly after his 3rd back surgery that he was unable to get out of bed without assistance. At the time he was certain he would never swing a golf club again. One more back surgery, and some physical therapy, and he began to sense a return to golf was possible. Part way through the year last year, it appeared as if the old Tiger was back and this past Sunday, fans flocked to their TV’s to witness his come from behind victory. When all was said and done, many were calling this the greatest comeback of all time.
As much as I enjoyed watching the last few holes of last Sunday’s Masters, and as much as I was rooting for Tiger, this was not the greatest comeback of all time. It also wasn’t Reggie Miller scoring 8 points in 11 seconds to lead the Pacers in a playoff victory over the New York Knicks in the Madison Square Garden or the 2004 Boston Red-sox coming back from a 3 games to none deficit to beat the New York Yankees and advance to the Worlds Series, which they eventually won. As impressive as these come backs were, this morning we are going to look at one the trumps them all.
To begin with our look at the greatest comeback of all time, I’d like to start by having us watch the following video clip together:
Rightnowmedia.org “He Was” video. 2:04
That, my friends was the greatest comeback in history.
As an avid sports fan, generally most days I look at my ESPN app on my phone, or perhaps go to ESPN.com to look over what is taking place in the sports world. For the past several weeks one of the constant headlines on ESPN was multiple articles on the upcoming Masters, and the first article was always about Tiger Woods. Most of the experts in the golf world gave him a better than average chance at winning and when all was said and done, he proved them all right.
The same cannot be said for Jesus after the Crucifixion! To be honest, on this side of heaven, outside of Himself, I don’t know of a single person on the face of earth who expected to ever see Him physically alive on earth again. This included those closest to Him, some of whom He had told point blank, that He would rise from the dead. You see they all expected what they had seen time and time again, when you die, you don’t come back to life. Sure there was Jarius daughter, the widows son in the town of Nain and His personal friend Lazarus, but Jesus raised them from the dead. With He Himself now gone, they saw no hope in His rising from the dead. Had they expected Him to rise from the dead, rest assured there would have been a large crowd of followers waiting outside His tomb Sunday morning anticipating the greatest event in all of history to take place.
Scripture is pretty clear as to His followers expectations, let’s take a few minutes to look at some. To begin with, we will look at His: Next Slides
Secret Followers
John 19:38-42
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38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.
39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Now perhaps you may be wondering what this has to do with a belief that Jesus would not rise from the dead. Let me give you: Next Slide
3 Evidences they didn’t believe Jesus would raise from the dead
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They were members of the Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin was basically the Supreme Court of Israel. There was no love loss between the Sanhedrin and Pilate. In fact Scripture makes it pretty clear that Pilate did not want Jesus crucified. It was the Sanhedrin that forced him to sentence Jesus to death on the cross. For these 2 members of the Sanhedrin to approach Pilate for the body of Jesus was a huge risk for these 2 men. Really for 2 reasons:
Pilate was not in the mood to have anything to do with any member of the Sanhedrin.
This was a political death sentence for both of them.
You see the majority of the Sanhedrin wanted Jesus humiliated in every way possible. Not just in the way He died, but in the way His body was treated after His death. Normally someone who was crucified was thrown into a trash heap reserved for the worst of the worse. Joseph and Nicodemus were seeing to it He was buried with honor. This pretty much ended both of their careers.
Why would they take a risk like this if they were certain Jesus was going to rise from the dead?
The second evidence that they did not believe He would raise from the dead is:
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They used expensive spices and linen clothes.
The whole purpose for the linen and spices was to suppress the odor from the decay of a body. Why go through the time and expense of preparing His body using special spices that suppress the odor of decay, if they expected He would raise from the dead before decay would set in?
The third evidence was:
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3. They laid Jesus in a special tomb.
We find out in Next Slide
Matthew 27:60
60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
This was no ordinary tomb. Joseph had purchased this property at great expense, then he had hired a special stone cutter to cut out of a huge rock what is believed to be a family tomb. This was customary for the wealthy. I can’t imagine he would have done this for someone Who was going to raise from the dead.
Ok, so these were a couple of Jesus secret followers, but what about those not so secret followers? Next Slides
Women Followers
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Luke 23:55-56
55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
What we see here is some ladies that were so devoted to Jesus that they wanted to make sure His burial was as perfect as could be. Now Scripture indicates that these women were from another part of Israel and likely were not familiar with either Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus, and even had they been familiar with them, these men were a part of the Sanhedrin, who was largely responsible for the crucifixion. They followed these 2 men at a distance because they wanted to know where His body was to be laid. In another Gospel, we read:
Mark 16:1
1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
Now here they are, very early Sunday morning, heading to the tomb to finalize the preparations of Jesus for His final resting place. The events of the last few days happened so fast, they had no doubt been in a state of shock since they heard about what took place Thursday night. They were approaching the tomb to prepare His body and say their final goodbyes. This was going to be their closure.
None of this would be necessary if they knew He would raise from the dead.
Ok, so we have looked at His Secret Followers, and some Women Followers, now let’s look at: Next Slides
Jesus Closest Earthly Friends
We see this encounter in
John 20:1-10
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.
4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,
7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Had these, Jesus closest friends, believed Jesus would raise from the dead, as soon as Mary told them what she saw, they would have likely responded along these lines;
“Mary, Jesus made it very clear to all of us that He would raise from the dead. Don’t you remember what He said?”
But that is not what we seen in their response, what we see is they immediately jump to their feet and begin to run to the tomb.
Let me tell you what else you don’t see, you don’t see them yelling back and forth as they are running to the tomb;
He is risen! He is risen indeed. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
That brings us to a very important fact that is clear in Scripture: Next Slides
When Jesus followers approached the empty tomb, not one single one of them assumed a resurrection.
Here is what I believe is the reality for virtually all of His followers after the crucifixion. Their hopes for Him had been dashed, actually dashed is not strong enough, their hopes had been crushed, utterly and completely crushed. They no longer believed that Jesus was their Messiah, because surely God would never allow the Messiah to suffer this type of death.
Their plan at this time was to settle into the background and hopefully not be noticed by anyone. And once the dust settled, their intention was to go back to what they did before they met Jesus.
So what changed? What moved them from hiding behind closed locked doors for fear of their lives, to men who in the end were willing to sacrifice their lives for their belief in Him? Next Slides
What transformed them from Underground Companions to Fearless Followers?
For the answer to that question, let’s look at: Next Slides
Luke 24:36-45
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43 and he took it and ate before them.
44 Then he said to them, “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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
We see from these verses that what changed these individuals was this: Next Slides
Their Faith was Resurrected by an Encounter with the Resurrected Christ.
Too much of their faith in the past rested on circumstances, they had walked with Jesus, watched Him do miracle after miracle, watched as huge crowds hung on every Word that proceeded from his mouth. In their misguided eyes they could see Him establishing His kingdom on earth right then and there. In fact, one week earlier than this appearance from Jesus, they journeyed down the hill into Jerusalem, Jesus riding on a donkey, palm branches waving in front of Him, cloaks and palm branches laying on the streets as sort of a red carpet of entry. The crowds shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who comes in the namer of the Lord!” This, this was the coronation of the Messiah in their eyes.
When their circumstances changed, their faith was decimated. But now, as they encountered the resurrected Jesus, their eyes were opened to the fact that Next Slide
God’s sovereignty reigned supreme even in the tragedy of the cross. In fact the tragedy of the cross was actually not tragedy at all.
The more time they spent with the resurrected Jesus, the more the cross was transformed from a horrid picture of cruel punishment, into a beautiful Masterpiece of God’s immeasurable love. And that transformed them from Underground Companions into Fearless Followers.
I want to close out our time this morning by looking briefly at one of Jesus key followers. With the death of Jesus, this individual was now the leader of these Underground Companions who had been transformed into a Fearless Followers. His name is Peter, and Peter understood what it meant to be transformed! What transformed Peter was his encounters with the resurrected Savior. I want us to look at something he wrote around 30 years after his encounters with the resurrected Jesus. He is writing here to 1st Century Christians who were experiencing unimaginable persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire. He writes: Next Slide
1 Peter 1:6
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
Peter, who 3 times had denied Jesus the night of Jesus arrest, fearing that he too would be arrested, no longer doubted God’s existence because of pain and suffering in the world. And I’ll tell you why, because he saw Jesus suffer and he saw Jesus die, and 3 days later he begin to have encounters with the resurrected Jesus.
(The following is from Andy Stanley-Easter Matters Easter Sunday 2019)
Peter’s faith was no longer tethered to the imaginary God, Who doesn’t allow bad things to happen to good people. That wasn’t his God!
And if you have lost faith because of the evil in the world, if you have lost faith in God because of the pain and suffering in the world, or your pain and suffering. I want to invite you to reconsider. Because the men and women who bring us the story of Jesus, saw pain and suffering we cannot even imagine and many of them experience pain and suffering that we cannot even imagine, and yet they believed, and here’s why. Because Peter and his friends, Peter and the other men and women who followed Jesus: Next Slide
They saw the worst thing imaginable happen to the best Person they had ever known, and they believed anyway!
Because their faith was not in the imaginary God, Who never allows bad things to happen to good people. Their faith was in the God introduced to them by Jesus. The God Who invites you and invites me to address Him as heavenly Father. You see it wasn’t necessarily the teaching of Jesus, it was the resurrection of Jesus that completely reframed all of Peter’s life. And the invitation on Easter for me and for you, is to allow the resurrection of Jesus to reframe our life as well.
The point of all this is simply this, that: Next Slide
We know God is for us,
because Jesus died for us,
not because things
always work out for us.
This was the power of the resurrection. This was the power of the resurrection in a culture that was dangerous. That is why we say the foundation of the Christian faith is an event. An extraordinary event, with profound implications for your life.
You know what this extraordinary event means? It means forgiveness is available because you are loved by God. Loved by God so much that He didn’t spare His own Son, no, He sent Him to die on a cross to pay the price for your sins. But it didn’t stop with His death, not at all. You see in His resurrection, Jesus conquered the power of death and opened up Heavens gates for all who surrender their life to Him.
Where are you this morning in regards to the resurrected Jesus? Have you been transformed by the power of the resurrection, or have the circumstances of this life, the troubles of life, the pain of life, left Him on the outside looking in, or shattered the faith you once held firm too?
If I just described you, I’d like to invite you to join me in our closing prayer this morning. I’m not asking you to repeat a prayer after me, just pray with me, and if yo do, somehow, after the service, let me know. Let’s close in prayer.
