The Faithfulness of Jesus: Easter message

Intro

Captain Robert Campbell was a British POW captured by Germany during World War I. When his mother became gravely ill, he begged to visit her.

He promised Kaiser Wilhelm II that if he would be allowed to leave captivity and see his mother, he would voluntarily return to be imprisoned again.

Campbell was granted his request, and he was a man of his word. After traveling through the Netherlands by boat and train he arrived in time and spent a week with his mother before she died.

Though he could easily have decided to take the easy route and not return, he kept his promise and after his mother passed away he went on the long journey by boat and train through the Netherlands to return to Germany simply because he gave his word that he would.

He chose to willingly become a POW because he felt honor bound to be faithful to his word.

Many remember singing the popular hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness in Church.

The song is a celebration of the unchanging nature and promises of God. Essentially, if he promises to do something, he always follows through. Why? Because he is always faithful.

We have spent the last 4 weeks going through a series called The Great Betrayal. Each week we have looked at the denial, betrayal, and abandonment that Jesus experienced by those who were closest to him. From those whom you would think he could trust.

And as we find ourselves here today to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus I want to look at the way he responded to the betrayal he experienced.

Power in the Text

I think sometimes when we think about Jesus we think mostly about his divine nature. Especially at Easter because it is the day we celebrate his power when he overcame death by raising himself from the dead, therefore establishing his divinity and defeat over sin, evil, and death.

We imagine his resurrected appearance and all of the supernatural things he did and eventually his ascension back to his throne in heaven.

But we also need to remember that while Jesus is divine, he also has a human nature. Mind you a human nature not under the curse of sin, but a human nature nevertheless.

In theology we call this the Hypostatic Union of Christ. That he is one being that is both fully God and fully human at the same time. And continues to be until eternity.

Now I don’t know about you, but if I think about that too long, my brain starts to hurt a little because I don’t believe in this life we will ever fully understand this union.

But what I do understand, and what we need to remember is that in Jesus’ humanity he would have felt all of the emotions we feel.

Meaning he would have known deep pain and hurt from the betrayals he experienced.

He would have also been tempted to react the way many of us would and often do react when we are betrayed.

And in all reality he would have been justified in doing so. You see Jesus did not have to do what he did. He willingly chose the cross out of his obedience to the Father and his love for his broken creation.

Even after leaving Jesus behind in the garden to be arrested, some of his disciples tried to stay near him throughout his trial and crucifixion. Peter followed from a distance after Jesus was arrested.

John (the beloved) was seen at the cross of Jesus’ mother Mary.

John 19:25–27 NLT 25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

The disciples still loved Jesus and were ashamed they ran. They hid in fear of the Jewish leaders until Jesus found them after his resurrection. The human temptation would have been to say...

They had their chance

I am starting over with a more trustworthy group

They don’t deserve what I have done for them

They are never going to change

John 20:19–22 NLT 19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus comes back to life and rather than doing what he would have been completely justified in doing, how goes back to the very ones who denied and abandoned him and not only forgives them but commissions them for service and breaths on them and they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

This changes everything because now they have been made new. They, as the bible says had be made alive in Christ. Not because they deserved it, but because of the loyalty and faithfulness of Jesus.

Big Idea

If the resurrection teaches us anything about God’s character, it is that he is always faithful, even when we are not. If his willingness to endure the cross was on the basis of our faithfulness, we would still be lost in our sin.

Why it Matters

It is really easy in today’s world, when we look at all of the pain, all of the suffering, all of the hurt, all of the chaos to think that God, if he is even real, at best does not care or worse yet, is causing all of this.

Because ultimately that is the world’s response isn’t it. We want someone to blame when things go bad, but we want all the credit when things go good. The truth is, we are our own worst enemy.

Throughout the Bible we can see this play out over and over again. People in their wisdom believe that they get to a place as a culture where they have evolved and no longer need the crutch of a supreme being to be successful.

They view God as a restriction on their ability to grow and thrive. They treat him like an outdated and archaic concept that is no longer needed. And so they begin to abandon his word and his principles in favor of more progressive ideas.

They begin to worship other gods in the form of actual idols, or not so obvious ones like sex, money, and physical gratification.

And every time it ends up destroying that culture rather than benefiting it. God brings judgement, but not to hurt or to even punish, but to discipline.

Why, because he is faithful. If God was not faithful he would just destroy, move on, and start over.

As followers of Jesus we are truly blessed because we serve a God who is eternally faithful. Even when we sin, mess up, disobey, deny, and even abandon him.

The greatest showing of grace and mercy was Jesus seeking out the disciples who abandoned him, denied him publicly (Peter), and doubted his love and power (Thomas).

2 Timothy 2:13 NLT 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

Jesus on the cross and in his resurrection displayed the ultimate example of faithfulness, loyalty, love, and friendship.

Application

Easter is a reminder of his faithfulness. It also presents us with a choice to make. Not just whether we believe in the resurrection, that is part of it. But also whether or not we will remain equally faithful to him.

This is no easy thing, especially living in the world we live in. So how do we commit to that. How do determine to be faithful as he has been faithful. I believe there are a couple things that we need to be willing to accept if we are going to be able to do this.

Accept that people will not accept your beliefs.

What do I mean by this? Well, simply put. You and I have to decide what is more important? Making those around us like us, or serving Jesus. Because the truth is, if you choose Jesus you are choosing to be abandoned by those around you.

John 15:18-19 NLT 18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

Jesus himself said that he did not come to bring peace but a sword. Why? Because to accept him and his word, to include the truth of his word would mean the rejection of the world’s belief and understanding of truth.

The world hates the truth because the truth exposes the evil that it has embraced. No one wants to believe that they have embraced evil and accepted a lie. So their only response is to accuse those who claim to know the truth. To do all they can to remove them from the culture.

If you make the decision to be faithful as Jesus has been toward you then you must accept that people will turn on you, even those whom you care deeply for because your way of life is a threat to their way of life.

But as long as you try to walk that tightrope between the truth and the lie, Jesus and the world, you will struggle to remain faithful because the fear of losing the people in your live will be stronger than your desire to serve God.

Accept that suffering will not be the exception, but the norm.

God loves his children and loves to bless his children. He is a God who answers prayer and who provides for all of our needs. And sometimes I think that knowing this, combined with the fact that we have the great fortune of being born in a country that despite its many flaws still, when compared to the rest of the world, is truly a great place to live, can cause us to develop an inaccurate picture of what life as a follower of Jesus should look like.

When asked by his disciples how they would know when he would return this is what he said.

Matthew 24:9-14 NLT 9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

When you read that, how can we think that life for us as followers of Jesus is going to be easy and comfortable?

If you are looking for comfortable, if you are looking for easy, if you want to blend in and avoid suffering then following Jesus isn’t for you.

But if you are looking for forgiveness, freedom and victory over your past and hope for your future, then you have come to the right place.

But if you want to remain faithful, then you have to be willing to accept these realities.

People will reject you

You will suffer

Closing

Jesus demonstrated in his death and resurrection that he is faithful. We too must commit to being faithful to him. The world will not make it easy on us, but then again, it certainly didn’t make it easy on Him.

Allow me to leave you today with the words of John...

1 John 2:24-25 NLT 24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.