Easter Sunday: He's ALIVE!

Alive!  John 20:1-18




Over the past six weeks, we have been looking at vital signs from the Gospel According to John: the signs and wonders Jesus performed, and, more importantly, why he did them.  We saw him turn water into wine.  We saw him heal the son of a royal official.  We saw him feed 5000 people with just five small loaves of bread and two small fish.  We saw him walk on water.  He healed a man who was born blind.  And we saw him raise Lazarus from the dead.  Besides their obvious reasons, each of these miracles served an important purpose. They all pointed to Jesus’ true identity.  With several of his miracles, Jesus made some amazing statements:


·         I am the bread of life.
·         I am the light of the world.
·         I am the gate for the sheep.
·         I am the good shepherd.
·         I am the resurrection and the life.
·         I am the way and the truth and the life.
·         I am the true vine.


These are incredible statements from anyone, and if I heard someone saying any of them, I would be instantly skeptical.  Maybe that says more about me than about the speaker. But I don’t think I’m alone in the fact that I want proof when someone makes an outlandish statement, especially about themselves! 

When Jesus made those statements, he was saying a lot more than he even said.  He used the same “I Am” that God used when he spoke his name to Moses through the burning bush.  Jesus told his listeners that he was equal with God.  But of course, he’s not the only one who’s ever said things like that.  Every generation has some wacko who claims to be a god or who claims godlike powers.  I’ve lived in a town dominated by a cult; they truly believed their leader would not die.  When he did in fact die, many of his followers had a crisis. 

You see, the world is full of charismatic leaders who can generate a following.  I read that Ashton Kutcher has 4,703,572 followers on Twitter, and Michael Jackson has 10,478,670 fans on Facebook.  Generating a following is one thing, and making wild statements is another, but when someone can back it up – that’s something completely different.

Jesus claimed to be God, and his actions backed his claims up. He fed multitudes.  He demonstrated power over nature.  He brought Lazarus back from dead.  And then came his crowning moment.  When Satan thought he had found Jesus’ weakness, when the world was shaken, when it seemed like Jesus was defeated, Mary Magdalene and the disciples encountered an empty tomb. 

The tomb is empty, because Jesus is alive!

When I was in seminary, our philosophy professor asked a question.  He asked, “If you heard a news story where an archeologist claimed to have found Jesus’ bones, would you still follow him?” He went further to include not only an archeologist, but the whole religious community: what if the Pope, Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Beth Moore, and all of the prominent pastors and preachers across denominational lines agreed that they were Jesus’ bones?  And what if you were convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they had found Jesus’ bones?  Would you still be a Christian?

The Apostle Paul gave us a good answer for this one.  If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. (I Corinthians 15:14).  This is why Easter is so important.  Jesus’ resurrection is more important than any other miracle.  It’s more important than any other fulfilled prophecy. It’s so important than our entire faith hinges upon it.

You see, while Jesus’ other miracles were powerful, they were limited.  He transformed water into wine, but once those six stone jars were empty, they were empty.  Jesus fed 5000, and they had 12 baskets full of left-over bread, but once they’d eaten it, it, too, was gone.  Jesus healed the royal official’s son and many others and he even brought Lazarus back to life, but all of those people have since died.  Jesus demonstrated power over the sea and nature, but scripture tells us that Jesus said that “heaven and earth will pass away” (as recorded in Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33), so miracles over nature are limited in their scope as well.

There are some who think of the resurrection as allegorical or spiritual.  They say things like “While Jesus died, his legacy lives on in his followers.  We bring ‘resurrection’ by living out the principles he stood for.”  Seriously?  That’s pretty ridiculous.  It would be like me saying, “My grandmother was resurrected, because we still tell stories about her.  And because my sister has carried on her action of sharing the family bad news and tragedies.”

No, it would be worse, because if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then it makes him a liar.  Jesus spoke clearly to his disciples.  In Matthew 16:21, we read this: From this time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

If he didn’t rise again, what he said was a lie.  And if he lied about that, what else did he lie about? Here’s the problem with lies; you can’t trust a liar.  I used to have a friend who told incredible stories, but you couldn’t believe a word he said.  Even when he told the truth, we’d kind of respond with a “smile and nod.” 

Honestly, our entire faith depends on Jesus rising from the dead.  If he didn’t, then what basis do we have to believe that He and the Father are One?  Because He said so?  (This is a good time to remind you that words have power.)

But the power of Jesus’ resurrection is more than just the power to validate his teaching.  It’s not just Jesus saying, “You want to see that I have the authority to say these things?” He already did that.  When some men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing, Jesus said to the paralyzed man Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven. Some of the teachers of the law thought this was blasphemy, but Jesus asked Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat, and go home.” And the man got up and went home.  (Matthew 9:2, 5-7). He has already demonstrated that he is a great teacher who teaches with authority.  But then again, most people would agree that Jesus was a great teacher.

But now Jesus is showing something more.  In dying and coming back to life, Jesus shows his ultimate power.  He defeats death.  In 1 Corinthians 15:26, Paul writes: The last enemy to be defeated is death.

He goes on: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:54-58)

This has powerful ramifications for us.  If the last enemy to be defeated is death, then what can happen to us?  This is important for us as we navigate this world.  Sometimes life seems hopeless. The economy hasn’t been good for a while.  Terrorists are training.  Politicians are politicking.  And your own news isn’t any cheerier. Life is hard.  Diseases like cancer continue to plague you. Friends still stab you in the back.  You’re still the victim of gossip. Life is hard. Sometimes it seems like it’s easier to just allow the world and its cares defeat you.

Jesus’ followers felt defeated.  His disciples had scattered. Then Mary Magdalene showed up at his tomb to mourn and found the empty tomb!  Jesus is alive!  He had defeated death!  And because of this, they went out and changed the world.  Nothing could defeat them. 

Without Jesus’ resurrection, their faith would have been useless, silly even.  Can you imagine them somehow deciding again to follow Jesus, a dead Jesus in the grave?  But they saw a resurrected Jesus, and that changed their lives.

Listen to the Apostle Paul’s words from Ephesians 2:1-10  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Did you get that?  Every one of us was dead.  We all gratified the cravings of our sinful nature.  We were trapped in death.  We had no choice, because that’s who we were.  Dead.  But let’s continue reading.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Every one of us was dead in our sins.  All of us.  Look around you: all you see is formerly dead people.  But because of who He is, because of His grace, He has taken us, dead as we were, and has given us new life.  Grace has been defined as God giving us unmerited favor – giving us something we don’t deserve.  We didn’t deserve to be given life, but God has chosen to do so anyway.  Why?  Because God has prepared good works for us to do.  The Holy Spirit now lives within us, leading us to those good works.  To encourage one another.  To feed the hungry.  To take care of the orphans and widows.  To love one another.

We were made to bring Him glory.  And so, like Mary Magdalene, I invite you to declare the news: I have seen the Lord!  And when we declare this with our words and with our actions, others will see Him, too. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Eve: Jesus is Hope, Love, Joy, Peace

Life Together: Live in Harmony with One Another

The Lord's Signet Ring