Jesus - The Comeback King

I’m really missing sports right now people. Hence the myriad of sports illustrations. In February was the last major sporting event. Super Bowl 54. A great game betwen the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. If you didn’t see the game or don’t remember. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. We had a few of the church members at our house, and with 7 minutes left in the game the Chiefs were losing 20-10. Most people thought the game was over. I specifically remember Mia Mack saying that it was done. There was no way that the Chiefs were going to make a comeback. The 49ers were too good of a team. They had the best defense in the league. It was highly unlikely that the Chiefs were going to be able to score enough points to win in a short amount of time. But I kept saying, this game isn’t over yet. See the Chiefs were had been losing in all of the playoff games, but were able to make miraculous comebacks. With Patrick Mahomes on their team, I knew that the game wasn’t over until the clock hit zero. Sure enough, with 6:13 the Chiefs scored a touchdown and then followed that with two more touchdowns as they came roaring back to win the game.

Everyone loves a good comeback story. We love to hear about a team that never quits, that fights hard through adversity, that overcomes that obstacles, and obtains their victory. Even beyond the world of sports. When someone battles back through cancer or is able to make a full recovery after an accident, it’s uplifting! It’s inspiring! It gives us hope. It makes us feel like we can defy the odds. Miracles can still happen, and that no matter the circumstances, If we can just grit our teeth and fight through that something better is on the horizon.

In the November 2001 edition following following the Arizona Diamondbacks historic comeback victory over the New York Yankees, Sports Illustrated listed their top 10 comebacks of any kind of all time. This list had a wide variety, and, I’m sure that if this were printed today it would probably look a lot different. But here are the top 3. #3 on the list was Michael Jordan coming back from playing baseball to the NBA and winning three championships. #2 on the list was the countries German and Japan who returned to industrial prominence after being decimated in World War 2. And #1 the greatest comeback of all time. Was Jesus Christ. The caption reads, “In 33 AD, Jesus defies the critics and stuns the Romans with his resurrection.”

This wasn’t a Christian publication. This was a sports magazine. I would say that this is the greatest comeback of all time. And maybe you would too. But to see a secular magazine that typically tries to gloss over anything religious declare that Jesus’s victory over death as the greatest comeback of all time was stunning to me. It speaks to the significance and power of the resurrection, not just to Christians. But to all mankind. Someone being dead in the grave for three days, but then miraculously taking his life back. That just doesn’t happen. So I’m here to declare to you that the comeback king is not Patrick Mahomes, it’s not Tom Brady, it’s not Tiger, or Lebron. Jesus is the Comeback King!

You see when Jesus came back from the dead, He didn’t get lucky. It wasn’t a series of fortunate events. This comeback had been carefully orchestrated throughout the course of history to bring hope to mankind. How many of yall know that with our current situation. In the midst of this pandemic, we are all in need of a little hope.

The story begins with the first two humans that God created, Adam and Eve. This is a story most of you have heard before. God placed them in the Garden of Eden and said that they could eat the fruit from any tree in the garden except the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Well Satan came in the form of a serpent and tempted Eve to eat the fruit that God had forbidden them to eat, and she shared the fruit with Adam as well. At that very moment, everything changed. Adam and Eve began feeling things they had never felt before mainly guilt and shame. Now it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. So what? they ate something they weren’t supposed to eat. We probably do that every day, especially when were all at home everyday. But the big deal here is that this was direct disobedience towards God. You see sin is not just something bad that we do. It’s deeper than that. When we sin we are saying to God that our way is better than His. We are declaring that we know what we need more than God knows. We’re saying we don’t care what God says, we can do whatever we want. It’s truly a slap in the face of God. It insults His all-knowing, all-powerful, all-wise character.

God warned them that if they eat the fruit from this tree, they would surely die, and the moment that they disobeyed God, their bodies began to deteriorate. But not only did this affect them physically, it affected them spiritually as well. Their relationship with God had been broken, it was dead as well. God created mankind to have fellowship with Him, but God did not force man to live in obedience and communion with God. God gave Adam and Eve a choice. Fellowship with God or the desires of the flesh. Life or death. They choose to “follow their own heart” and feelings rather than take heed to the commands of God. And they paid for it. We all paid for it. The Bible tells us in Romans 5:12

Romans 5:12 ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

When Adam and Eve sinned it brought in death,evil, disease, heartache, guilt, pain, fear, anxiety all of these negative emotions and feelings .These things were not part of God’s original plan. They are are all the result of sin, and has been passed down from generation to generation. And just like Adam and Eve, our sin separates us from God. It breaks our relationship with Him.

You may say to yourself, “I’m a good person. I don’t hurt anybody, I don’t steal, I don’t cheat anybody. I’m doing my best to be a decent person!” And that’s good if you are comparing yourself to other people. But other people are not the standard. God is the standard. He is holy which means that He is perfect and without sin, and none us can quite measure up. We all for short. We’re all sinners. And because we’re all sinners, all of us deserve death. A death characterized by spending all of eternity separated from God in literal, fiery place called hell.

If the story ended there, we would be without hope. We would all be doomed to suffer the consequences that we rightfully deserve for our rebellion against God. That’s why God orchestrated the comeback. In Genesis 3:15, God made a promise when pronouncing judgement upon Satan.

Genesis 3:15 ESV

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

God promises that through the seed of the woman, there would come a man that would crush Satan once and for all. Satan would bruise his heel. He would do his damage. But ultimately, God would prevail. This is the first mention in the Bible of God’s comeback plan for mankind. All through the Old Testament, the people were looking forward to this day of redemption. They were in search of this Messiah that would finally crush the head of Satan.

Finally, Jesus Christ was born. God’s Son left his throne in heaven. Seated at the right hand of the Father to be born into an impoverished Jewish family. But his birth was not an ordinary birth. Jesus was born of a virgin which means that He did not possess that fallen sinful nature that all us had. He was the Son of God, in the flesh. He lived His entire life without sin.

For most of His time on earth, Jesus lived just like an ordinary person. He worked as a carpenter, but only did those things that pleased God. It was not until the final three years of His life that Jesus began to public display that He was the Messiah that they had all been waiting for. He wen about with His disciples preaching that they needed to repent for the kingdom of God was at hand. He exposed the established religion for their focus on keeping rules instead of relationship with God. He did miracles. He he healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out devils. He gained such a widespread popularity, and people were starting to believe that this was the comeback they all been waiting for. This truly was the Son of God. Jesus was the king that had been promised throughout Scriptures.

Well the religious leaders of that time were not fans of Jesus’s growing popularity and His defiance against the traditions of their religion. He was a threat to their position. He was a threat to their wealth. He was a threat to their power. Jesus had to go, so they devised a plan to have Jesus killed. They had Judas, one of his closest followers betray Jesus, and they arrested Him. The set up a mock trial with fake witnesses to and got the ruling Roman government involved, and eventually Jesus was sentenced to be crucified.

Crucifixion was the most painful, shameful, and agonizing death known to man. Jesus had already been beaten beyond recognition. Bloodied, with his flesh hanging off of his bones, He carried His cross up a hill named Golgatha which means the place of the skull. There, they drove nails through His wrists and His feet and dropped the cross into the ground. People watched as Jesus hung there on the cross struggling for every breath. His accusers mocked Him. His followers were devastated. Satan thought he had won the victory. Eventually, Jesus let out His final words. “It is finished” and He died.

It seemed like God’s plan for the comeback from Adam’s sin was over. But this was part of the plan. Jesus had to die in order to pay the price for man’s sin. This had been prophesied years ago, but somehow, they missed it. Isaiah 53:5-6

Isaiah 53:5–6 ESV

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Realize that this was the physical death that you deserved. Not to mention and eternity in hell after death. Jesus took all of this upon himself. All of our sin. All of our shame. All our rebellion against God, and He nailed it to the cross. Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ’s death was absolutely necessary, but how many of yall know that it wasn’t the end of the story. You see the greater the deficit, the greater the comeback. When a team comes back from 5 points down, it might be a good game. But when a team comes back from 20 points down it’s an all-time classic. Satan thought He was up 50 with no time left on the clock. Death is final. When Jesus was crucified it was literally supposed to be the nail in the coffin. But three days, the greatest comeback of all time! Jesus had laid down His life to pay for our sins, but He took it back up again. He get up out of that grave. He rose triumphant. He rose victorious. He defeated Satan, He defeated sin. He defeated death, and He took His title as the comeback King.

Christ’s death was absolutely necessary, but how many of yall know that it wasn’t the end of the story. You see the greater the deficit, the greater the comeback. When a team comes back from 5 points down, it might be a good game. But when a team comes back from 20 points down it’s an all-time classic. Satan thought He was up 50 with no time left on the clock. Death is final. When Jesus was crucified it was literally supposed to be the nail in the coffin. But three days, the greatest comeback of all time! Jesus had laid down His life to pay for our sins, but He took it back up again. He get up out of that grave. He rose triumphant. He rose victorious. He defeated Satan, He defeated sin. He defeated death, and He took His title as the comeback King.

But wait, this is still not the end. Because Jesus has one more comeback up His sleeve because Jesus is coming back again! And this time, He is not coming a suffering servant, but as a sovereign King. The Bible says that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I know it seems that Satan is in control right now. There’s so much hatred and murder and deception and just pure evil in our world today, and honestly, it will probably get worse as the years go by. But this is only for a season. Jesus is coming back again as king and He will set in all things in order when He comes.

Because Jesus is the comeback king, it gives us hope this morning. Let’s look together at 1 Peter 1:3

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Through the Resurrection we have living hope. Our hope is alive because our hope is alive in Christ. And if you are watching this morning as a true follower of Christ, you have something to celebrate today. I know we are going through this pandemic. I know there is uncertainty. I know that we have some fears. But understand this. When Peter wrote this, He was writing to believer who going through a time of suffering and persecution. He was writing to believers who were being tortured and killed for their faith in Christ. And I want to in no way minimize Peter lists the hope that we have as followers of Christ . First in verse 1 Peter 1:4 He says

1 Peter 1:4 ESV

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

We have an inheritance waiting for us in heaven that is eternal. We will receive a new body free from the scars of sin, pain, and disease. We walk with the streets of gold with with the saints of old, we have a place that’s being prepared for us in heaven. That hope is alive.

Then in verse 1 Peter 1:5

1 Peter 1:5 ESV

who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

God says that we can take hope in the God will constantly keep us till we reach our home in heaven.Unless the Lord comes back, we all have to face death. But we can trials and even death knowing that we have the hope of life through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:6-8

1 Peter 1:6–8 ESV

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

So Peter encourages the saints by saying even though you may endure some tough times. You may be like gold placed in a fire for purification. Testing the authenticity of your faith. But you can still rejoice, because you are just being prepared for the day when you meet God face to face. There’s so much more in this passage that I would love to get to, but I’ll just read the last two verse. 1 Peter 1:24-25

1 Peter 1:25 ESV

but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

We love comebacks because we want to be inspired. We want to have hope. We want to know that there is a better tomorrow.

And there’s nothing that gives us more hope. There is nothing that is more inspiring, than the gospel or the good news of Jesus Christ the comeback king.

Perhaps you are watching this morning and you have been in search of hope during this time. Maybe you have never began your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you listened carefully, you heard everything that you need to know to begin your relationship with Jesus. John 3:16

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

If you believe that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again to pay for your sins, you must choose to follow Him. Romans 10:9-10 says

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Will you make today the day of your salvation?

Maybe you are just skeptical. Maybe you’re not sure if all this really happened the way that it was laid out to you this morning. Consider this. If this is all untrue, and you choose to follow Christ, but it wasn’t real. Than you lose absolutely nothing. You live, you die, that’s it.

But if what I said this morning from Scripture is true, and you choose to reject Christ - you lose everything. You spend an eternity in punishment and torment. Just something to think about before you completely write this off.

If you would like to follow Christ this morning you can pray something like this right where you are. “Lord, I believe that you died on the cross for my sin. I believe that you rose again in victory. This morning, I would like to place my full faith in you. I repent from my sins, and I look to you and you only for salvation. Thank you for saving me.” In Jesus name, Amen.

Now saying that prayer doesn’t save you, but if those words match what happened in your heart, then welcome to the family of God. If you made the decision to follow Christ or you are still unsure about what it means to follow Christ and would like to learn more. Please just drop us a message on the facebook page and we would connect with you to help give you clarity about your relationship with Christ.

Maybe you’re a Christian, but you’ve really been struggling. I hope that you will be encouraged this morning to make a comeback. Return to God’s Word. Return to holiness. Return to a Bible preaching church. Return community with Christians who will walk with you in your faith. If God is still giving your breath in your lungs. He’s not done with you yet. Make your comeback through the power of Christ.

Christians, let’s make sure that our hope is in nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. We can’t depend on the government, or our jobs, or the stock market - We must have our hope in Jesus. He died and rose again to give us the hope of salvation that we may live in joy inexpressible in whatever circumstances that life throws at us.

And finally, I want to issue a challenge to churches. To our church members at Unashamed or if you are a member of another church listening. Let’s make a strong comeback. It should be that we are staying in touch with your brothers and sisters and Christ and continuing God’s mission during this time of social distancing, but there’s no doubt that it’s different. When all these restrictions are lifted and we assemble back together, let’s make our churches stronger than ever. Let’s be more focused than ever to share the gospel with those around us. Let’s be more faithful to serve. Let’s be committed to loving one another level. We serve the come back King, so let’s show the world the power of God through our churches.