Crown of Life

“The Crown of Life”

introduction

I remember the first year I was in university and I showed an essay I wrote to my mum. Sometimes I can waffle on about, and I thought mum would see right through that straight away. But quite the opposite, she thought it was so good I couldn't have possibly wrote it, so I must have copied it from something or someone else. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't convince her that I was the author and that it was my work. It seems on that particular occasion scepticism won the day and I suffered a bruised ego as a result. Sometimes the facts are to hard too bear, even for those closest to you. Scepticism won the day.

contemporary scepticism

Probably the biggest stumbling block for people who aren't Christians is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This of all issues seems to be on the nose – and the reason's quite clear – we live in an era where anything beyond the physical is treated with scepticism and we'd rather believe in the triumph of science. We live in a scientific age that wants to test and measure everything. And so if we can't see an event and we can't reproduce it, then we won't believe it. And people rising from the dead - well seriously!

In the "Weekend Review" back in 1996, Phillip Adams wrote an article, "Surf for the Real Messiah". Let me read his opening paragraph to you, "Once a week a religious instruction teacher would visit Eltham High to talk to us about Jesus. This sudden intrusion of the sacred into a secular school was a somewhat schismatic experience. Now suddenly, we were expected to take seriously the reanimation of corpses, walking on water and sundry miracles".

Adams then goes onto engage with two hand picked scholars whose argumentation supports his own personal theses. After attacking anything that remotely supports the integrity of the historical Jesus, Adams concludes the article with the following declaration, "Finally, of course, Christianity will continue to rely on a hybrid Christ, a mixture of tiny amounts of fact with enormous dollops of faith. Jesus will be interpreted and reinterpreted, like Hamlet".

I wonder whether in some sort of way, you support the views of Phillip Adams. Perhaps we've come along to church out of a sense of tradition – it's Easter Sunday after all – and the last thing on your mind is taking the truth of the resurrection seriously. The thought of corpses coming life is about as possible as Pauline Hanson standing for liberal pre-selection at the next Federal election. When it comes to Christianity, Adams says, "forget the facts. We can never know them. Instead, embrace the faith that has inspired people for millennia".

the example of Thomas

But doubting the resurrection isn't just limited to our age. There have been people in all ages who have doubted that Jesus was raised from the dead. Strangely enough the first person to doubt the resurrection of Jesus was not someone opposed to Christianity. It was in fact one of Jesus' closest supporters - a man by the name of Thomas. Thomas wasn't there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples who were hidden away through fear that they might be next on the Jewish hit list. And Thomas' reaction was, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it".

A week later, Thomas was this time in the company of the rest of the disciples. And the report goes like this, "Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

the challenge for today

Well that's all well and good for Thomas, but what about us today? What about the people today who find it hard to believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Well unfortunately we are not in the same position as Thomas. All these events took place some 2,000 years ago. If you are the Thomas type who says, "I won't believe until I see", then you are going to be disappointed because when all this happened 2000 years ago you obviously weren't there to see it. But that doesn't mean you can escape the issue. Saying you don't believe in The Battle of Hastings in 1066 because you didn't see it with your own eyes doesn't make it any less true. What you need do is investigate the facts - check the books, read the papers from the time – and you will actually discover that The Battle of Hastings actually happened.

believing In the resurrected Jesus

And when it comes to investigating the resurrection of Jesus the same principles apply. You won't find physical evidence, you'll find eye-witness evidence and legal evidence.

A couple of years ago I witnessed a head-on crash. There was a car a couple of hundred metres in front of me, and a large oncoming truck. From behind the truck appeared another vehicle with the intent of overtaking the truck. The car in front of me and the other vehicle collided head-on. I saw the impact clearly, I remember glass flying everywhere as the cars bounced off one another. The innocent driver was an elderly lady and the other driver was a young fellow, uninsured and unlicensed.

I was the only eye-witness. The police took the details from me and it looked like it was heading for court, but this never eventuated. But let's assume for a minute that it went to court and the whole incident was brought before a judge. It's unlikely that the judge would say, "let's go back to the crash scene and re-created the accident so I can see what really happened". No-one expects this at all. We expect the judge to consider the evidence from eye-witnesses like myself, and to take into account the expert opinion of the police and other factors like the condition of the road etc. The judge doesn't need to see the original event to make a reliable judgement on the basis that he has sufficient facts before him – particularly the testimony of witnesses.

In the Bible we are given eye-witness evidence about the person of Jesus and the verdict is clear. The life of Jesus, his death and then his resurrection are recorded, "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name".

the consequence of believing

When Thomas saw the risen Jesus he knew immediately what the consequences were, and so he confessed, "My Lord and my God". There was no escaping it. Jesus was who he claimed to be – he truly was the son of God. And when you believe that Jesus is the risen Lord then the consequences are obvious - you believe in him and you trust him.

the reward

John also tells us that believing in the risen Jesus has a reward, for whoever trusts him has, "life in his name". The reward that goes with believing in Jesus is life- real life. Placing your trust in the risen Jesus is a life changing experience. And Jesus has the right to confer life upon those who trust in him because God raised him from the dead for this very purpose – Jesus rose from the grave to take his place as the rightful ruler of the universe.

You may remember that as Jesus hung there on the cross on Good Friday he was mocked and spat upon and whipped. And they put a crown of thorns upon his head, and then he was led out to bleed and suffocate on a cross and die. And the sign above his head read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews". At this moment Jesus looked like anything but a triumphant king – powerful rulers usually don't die as a sign of strength.

The crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the cross in a symbolic way stands for every evil that has ever happened in this world – it stands for the wrong within me that I cannot shake off no matter how hard I try. When that thorny crown that was placed upon Jesus' head, it's as though every wickedness the human heart can muster was placed upon Jesus, and he carried the burden of all our wrong-doing – and as Jesus died he cancelled the debt we owe God for our rebellion against him.

But when Jesus rose from the dead three days later, he rose to wear another crown – not a thorny crown this time, but a golden crown – a crown that is worthy of one who has cheated death and now lives as the ruler of this world and who will come into this world again. And when Jesus comes again he will not be condemned by men as he was the first time - rather Jesus will come as a triumphant king and give life to those who trusted him, and Jesus will judge those who are ashamed of him.

This is why your view of Jesus is important – this is why Easter is important. It's a matter of life and death. The reward for those who trust in Jesus is the resurrected life that Jesus experiences even now. And this is why the fact of the resurrection is so important – for if Jesus didn't rise from the grave – if this isn't an historical truth - then no matter how much faith you have, it has no substance and it's an exercise in self-delusion – it's a lie. Christianity lives and dies on the facts of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The reward of eternal life that goes with believing in Jesus is truly an award only because the resurrection of the Jesus is true.

conclusion

If you have come here this morning as someone who already believes in the risen King Jesus then today is a day for you to be reminded of the hope that you have. Jesus rose from the dead and because he lives you too have the certainty of eternal life. If you have come here this morning like Thomas was - unsure about Jesus being raised from the dead then Jesus is saying this to you: "STOP DOUBTING AND BELIEVE."

Make sure that this Easter you check out the FACTS about Jesus. Amen.