From Tragedy to Triumph

Intro:

2 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV

14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The title of my message is [From Tragedy to Triumph].

Easter is a favorite holiday for many. As we sang this morning, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” The knowledge of His resurrection changes everything.

I have thought of various words to describe the emotions and thoughts we have on this momentous occasion.

Easter is a day of hope

peace

salvation

help

joy

family

victory

But the word I want to emphasize is TRIUMPH.

Triumph is defined, a great victory or achievement. In our text we read the affectionate words of the Apostle Paul as He praises God because He always leads us in triumph.

I read this passage at the end of the summer last year. The word TRIUMPH caught my attention. For the word means so much more than victory or success.

The meaning of the word has its origins in Ancient Rome. Whenever the Roman Empire had a victorious battle, their generals would lead a parade called a Roman Triumph.

The Triumph was a celebration that caught the entire empire’s attention. The day of the Triumph began with a speech by early in the morning before breakfast.

Then at the Triumph parade, they would reenact certain episodes of the battle so the onlooker could know the story of the armies victory.

Then at the very end of the procession the star of the show was the commander of the army who won the battle for the people.

The Triumph was celebratory and exciting. But the commander knew how high the stakes were. He knew how a few decisions, a couple missteps, or only one mistake could have turned their potential triumph into a guaranteed tragedy.

He realized the pain and heartache of the war. Sure, it was great to celebrate, but he knew the cost of the celebration.

As I studied this, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus. In fact, in October I wrote myself a note to look at this idea for Easter. For on this day, we celebrate the TRIUMPH of Jesus’ defeat of death, hell, and the grave.

I want us to see the three elements of the TRIUMPH and notice how it connects to the Easter story. For over 2,000 years ago, the first Easter had all the elements of a Spiritual TRIUMPH.

I have three points, [The Triumphant Speech], [The Triumphant Story], and [The Triumphant Savior].

Let’s look at how Jesus made the decisive choices that brought the story from tragedy to triumph.

1. The Triumphant Speech

Let’s try and place ourselves in the position of those who were closest the Jesus. Noticeably absent from His crucifixion were His disciples.

All of them, except for John, hid out in fear. However, the women who followed Jesus stuck with Him until they took Him down from the cross.

Because of the timing of Jesus’ death, He was hastily buried in the tomb. He should have been given a proper burial. However, He died on the Jewish feast of Passover.

It was against the Jewish law to allow a dead body to hang on a cross in public over passover. So he was placed in a tomb. They had plans to come back in a few days to prepare His body for a permanent burial.

Imagine their conversations en route to the tomb. They likely recounted the tragedy of His death. Then they had the obstacle of the stone in front of the tomb.

They wanted in, but they had to be unsure of how they would accomplish this task. Imagine the sorry and heartbreak they felt as they relived His death and their task to prepare His body.

But their tragedy turned to triumph with a simple, yet profound speech.

Matthew 28:1–8 NKJV

1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. 5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” 8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

They day of triumph began with a speech! HE IS NOT HERE, HE IS RISEN! COME SEE THE EMPTY TOMB.

THANKS BE TO GOD WHO ALWAYS LEADS US IN TRIUMPH!

The angelic announcement changed the perspective of the grief-stricken mourners. Once they saw His body was gone, they were instructed to go and tell the disciples.

The angels speech showed how the tragedy turned to a triumph, so they ran to tell...

2. The Triumphant Story

Right up until the speech given by the angel of the Lord, the story of that weekend was filled with tragic details. Jesus’ death was the culmination of a spiritual battle that had physical implications.

Remember the reason WHY Jesus went to the cross. Thousands of years before Good Friday or Easter, God’s people willingly gave into sin.

The consequence of their sin was death. Therefore, from generation to generation, people felt the effects of sin, ultimately leading to death.

But God had a plan. He would systematically set the stage for Satan’s defeat. When Jesus came to earth, the demise of Satan’s stronghold on humanity started.

Luke tells a story of how the tragic story turned to triumph with the knowledge of the resurrection. Two men walked down the road to a village called Emmaus.

As they journeyed, the discussed the main story of the weekend, Jesus’ death. As they talked, Jesus showed up, but they did not realize it was Him. Listen to what He asked them.

Luke 24:17–19 NKJV

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

Think of it, Jesus saw they were sad because of His tragic death. When He asked why they were sad, they answered His question with a question, are you the only one who does know the TRAGEDY of what occured?

Jesus was a prophet. He was the one we hoped would become our Savior. But the religious leaders had him convicted, sentenced to death, and crucified.

NOW, as far as we knew He was dead. Then they explained to Jesus, who they still did not recognize, that some of the women are saying He is alive.

Clearly these men were confused. They found it difficult to comprehend that Jesus, who they knew for certain was dead, could now be alive.

However, their conversation with Jesus would continue and by the end they would understand, THANKS BE TO GOD WHO ALWAYS LEADS IN TRIUMPH.

The tragedy of His death turned to triumph. People heard the speech, they knew the story, but they wanted to see...

3. The Triumphant Savior

As these men walked with this stranger on the Emmaus road, they discussed the scriptures. Then they invited Jesus, who they still did not recognize to their home, and when they passed the bread to eat, Jesus blessed it and gave it to them.

Then something amazing happened:

Luke 24:31–32 NKJV

31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Suddenly, it was no longer a good speech from an angelic being, the story became real as they SAW the TRIUMPHANT SAVIOR.

His presence confirmed the rumors, HE IS ALIVE. They moved from tragedy to triumph seeing how EVERYTHING changed with the resurrection of Jesus.

It intrigues me that the women knew Jesus was alive. The two men on the Emmaus road saw Him, but disciples had not yet seen the Jesus.

Think of what went through their head. They followed Jesus for over three years. They longed for Him to fulfill His promises in their lifetime.

They heard from the women He was alive, but they hadn’t seen Him in person yet. For them, they were somewhere in between tragedy and triumph.

They had hope that the story was true, but was it too good to be believed?

Consumed with questions and concern, the disciples hunkered down unsure of what to do. Then came their TRIUMPHANT moment:

John 20:19–20 NKJV

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

The speech was true. The story was confirmed. Jesus was alive because they saw the TRIUMPHANT Savior standing before them. However, one disciple was missing.

Thomas came later and heard what the other ten saw, but he did not believe. The tragedy was too great, he had difficulty comprehending the triumph.

John 20:25–29 NKJV

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

His tragedy turned to triumph when He saw Jesus. He reached and touched the His nail scarred hands and knew, He is RISEN. He declared Jesus to be His Lord and His God.

Seeing Jesus confirmed, THANKS BE TO GOD WHO ALWAYS LEADS US IN TRIUMPH!

Close:

Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection changed everything. When He rose from the dead, humanity turned a page. We moved from Tragedy to Triumph.

No wonder, over twenty years later as Paul wrote the book of 2 Corinthians, he announced THANKS BE TO GOD WHO ALWAYS LEADS US IN TRIUMPH.

I can imagine Paul thinking of an illustration people will understand. So he chose a Roman Triumph. It was a day of great fanfare where people celebrated their hero for defeating their enemies.

Today, we celebrate our HERO, Jesus Christ who overcame sin for us so that we might have eternal life.

We Hear the triumphant speech, He is Risen.

We Believe the triumphant story, He is alive

We Meet the triumphant Savior by asking Him int our hearts

But there is one final component to a Triumph Parade. At the end of the Triumph Parade, which often lasted up to three days, the Commander would give gifts, the spoils of war, to those He led.

Paul said it this way:

Ephesians 4:7–8 NKJV

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

When we come to the realization that Jesus’ resurrection changes EVERYTHING, and we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we move from Tragedy to Triumph.

Now, God LEADS US IN TRIUMPH. One version says, “But THANK GOD! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession.”

No longer are we captive to sin, we are captivated by God’s love. Through Jesus we can move from slaves to sin and become sons and daughters of God.

And when we follow His lead, He will take us from tragedy to triumph and give us gifts. On this easter, we celebrate that through Jesus we have:

The gift of salvation

The gift of eternal life

The gift of the Holy Spirit

The gift of healing

The gift of peace

The gift of righteousness

Or as James wrote:

James 1:17 NKJV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Today God can help us turn the page. We can move from tragedy to triumph. Why? Because Jesus is ALIVE!