Easter Sunday

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Easter Sunday

March 27, 2016

The Proof of Life Matthew 28:1-15 Introduction: No one likes to get scammed. Whether its buying a lemon of a car off Craig’s list or a report on social media about a political candidate, it is disconcerting, annoying, and consequential when we read or experience something that ends up being a lie. It causes us to be wary of all information and distrusting of anything that:   

Sounds too good to be true - "Take this pill, lose weight Too simplistic to answer complicated issues - "just send $10 for answered prayer, solving hunger, ___________ Too mythical to be real - Can you say, "Ponzi Scheme"

This is especially being felt in the world of mass media, of viral content connected to the internet, where facts no longer have to be verified before they are posted, reposted, and sent to countless accounts and countries, without having to have the slightest notion of fact to be swallowed, hook, line, and sinker. The editor of Buzzfeed, an internet media company that focuses on viral content and is nearly a billion dollar company, and where you’ve probably taken a survey or two on Facebook, said: “It’s a real challenge to get the true stuff out there because 1) there is so much information and often the false stuff, there is just more of it. 2) The second piece is just the lies are much more appealing to us than often a truth that is much more complicated. And so when journalists are trying to get the truth out about something they often lose out because they take a very bland facts oriented approach where as people making up misinformation use shocking images, use provocative language, and tell a better story because they are not constrained by facts.” Notice a few key things here: the false facts outnumber the true. This is a brilliant ploy. Instead of hiding the truth, simply flood the market with false, half, and seemingly plausible lies, and the truth is hidden among the debris field. 2) Lies can be more compelling, appealing, and do not play by the rules as truth is compelled, so they seemingly tell a better story. This is immensely important to understand when we consider the factual truth of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will consider a passage where there was a deliberate, intentional, and perpetuating lie that was spread about Jesus for the express purpose of compelling people to disbelieve truth. Before we look at that passage, we have to clarify a few things: Easter is rooted in history All of Scripture is historical. These stories we consider happened in real locations, at points of history, with real people. In the story of the resurrection, we can read Roman historians (particularly Josephus), verify archaeology, and find people like Pilate, Caiaphas, and Herod (the Great, Antipas, Phillip). The Bible speaks historically about actual, real, verifiable events. Easter is rooted in reality When we hear versions of a story, be it Christmas or Easter, where fact and fiction are intertwined, we can easily think about the Bible as a myth, a story that is disconnected from reality (especially our own), and it no longer has any power. Sure, its a nice story, but has very little bearing on my life.

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Easter Sunday

March 27, 2016

Easter is rooted in faith However, the story of the resurrection in particular, and thus the marrow of Easter, is not only powerful, it is a matter of life and death. The resurrection is what we bank our life on - if it did not happen, our faith is in vain, our faith is futile, and we are to be the most pitied (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). In other words, we are to be looked down on in the most regrettable ways if this whole thing is just the stuff of legend. Make no mistake, though it is based on history and reality, we are dealing with the supernatural - someone being raised from the dead - and we take that by faith, which by nature is assured of things hoped for, and convinced of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). So what is it that we understand: We need to start with the death of Jesus. Why was the death of Jesus so important? The Easter story starts before the world began, as God in infinite goodness and grace, loved us in such a way that even though sin would enter the world, He would provide a way through Jesus to save the lost (Eph. 1:3-14). That is why we see an early promise when sin entered in Genesis 3:15 that Jesus would come. We have spent time last week to show how Jesus, in his humanity, orchestrated the exact moment that He would come into the city of Jerusalem and the exact moment He would hang on a cross as a Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). This reminds us of:   

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Our immense, infinite need - We are all sinners (Rom. 3:23). All of us, and stand condemned in and because of our sin - no one here is righteous, but all stand condemned (Rom. 3:10) The overwhelming expression of love - of Father and Son, of Deity for humanity (Rom. 5:8 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us) The Atoning work of Jesus on the cross - He became sin to save sinners, and God treated Him like us on the cross, pouring out the wrath that we deserved (2 Cor. 5:21). At the cross God maintained ultimate love and holiness, pouring out the former and never compromising the latter The offer of forgiveness and righteousness to those without hope - Through this work on the cross, we not only receive forgiveness, but righteousness, and that means we no longer are objects of God's wrath but are now viewed as sons (1 John 1:9; Rom. 8:1, 15)

Why was the resurrection so important: 

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Jesus’ death without resurrection: o Makes Him a martyr – not a savior – he is more William Wallace than the Christ o A folk hero who took on the establishment – and lost – not the Lord of the universe o An inspirational figure – with good teachings and ethics – not one who has the power to overcome sin and death His resurrection means that God accepted His sacrifice - (Eph. 1:20-23) – He is seated at the right hand of the Father – putting all things under His feet His resurrection means that His sacrifice is complete and final - (Hebrews 10:11-13) – This is an event that never has to be repeated His resurrection means He conquered sin and death’s finality, and signals our resurrection (Hebrews 9:27-28; 1 Cor. 15:20-26)

Why was the cover-up so significant, or, why people don't believe the resurrection:

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Easter Sunday

March 27, 2016

We not only see the importance of the resurrection in positive ways, we see it in the attempts by Satan and man to first kill Jesus, and then do everything possible to keep Him in the grave. 

Revealed True intentions –

The Attempt by the Sanhedrin (religious leaders of the Jesus' day) - This group reacted against Jesus raising His friend Lazarus from the dead after 4 days, and they realized that if people believed Jesus, they would lose their power and control John 11:48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." The Attempt of Satan through the man Judas Iscariot (Luke 22:3: John 13:27) - Satan entered an angry, disappointed thief in Judas to betray Jesus apart from the crowd. Satan's seemingly great victory was actually his greatest downfall and defeat. Satan, in his delusion, rebelled against God and hoped to damage redemption itself, all the time being an instrument to fulfill it. REASON #1 - Disbelief is based on the desire to keep control, no matter how artificial or miserable, of one’s' life, refusing to yield to Christ in faith and repentance. 

Revealed True motives –

We come back to the story of the resurrection itself. The Sanhedrin could not figure out how to kill Jesus since He was wildly popular with the crowds. He entered in Jerusalem as a King on Palm Sunday, Cleansed the corruption of the Temple on Monday, and put all religious leaders to shame in open debate on Tuesday. He was a folk hero and loved, but the people's commitment was as shallow as water on a plate. Judas gave the religious leaders the means to arrest Jesus on Thursday night, and after a series of 6 quick, illegal, and insidious "trials", Jesus was egregiously nailed to a cross, a death that was meant to be lengthy, painful, highly visible, and a warning to anyone who was thinking of going against Rome. On the cross the Father treated Christ as a sinner, a curse (Gal. 3:13), and forsook His Son for the first time in all of eternity. It was this death that made the veil in the temple tear (Matt. 27:51), caused darkness to fall, and soldiers proclaim that this was truly the Son of God (Matt. 27:54) Jesus was laid in a new tomb with a large stone, which was not for as much for security but for the smell of a decaying body. Jesus was wrapped in cloth and spice, laid down, and the stone was rolled in front. .It was here that those that executed Jesus had a special session (Matt. 27:62-66) to make sure that no one took the body. They remembered (more than the disciples) that Jesus said He would rise after 3 days, and if that happened, it'd be worse for them than before. They got permission to seal the tomb and set out a guard, to guarantee these fisherman and tax collectors didn't pull the ultimate deception, apparently having a dead Jesus in their possession (maybe holding up His arms to convince people He was still alive! - crazy) Now the story of the resurrection is as straightforward as it is amazing. On Sunday morning a group of devoted ladies went to the tomb, hoping to finish the burial with spices (Luke 24:1). On their way, there was an earthquake, an angel coming down, rolling the stone, and sitting on it. We note that this was not to let Jesus out since in His resurrected body doors could not stop Him (John 20:19), but as a sign to everyone else! The angel caused the soldiers to become like dead men, allowing these ladies to see the empty tomb, talk to the angel, and commissioned them to get the other disciples. The boys came later, 3

Easter Sunday

March 27, 2016

saw the tomb, met Jesus, and were told to wait in Galilee to meet up with Him. This led to a mixture of fear, joy, and worship from those who saw Jesus. But this is not what I want us to see. Notice the next section that is often missed: Matthew 28:11-15 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' 14 And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Notice what took place. The soldiers faced strict penalty or death for letting their guard down. But knowing they had little choice, told the religious leaders what happened: no embellishment, but simply laid out the facts. Notice too that the leadership did NOT DISPUTE the facts, but instead came up with the same ploy that goes on today: to make sure people do not know the truth, we must create a lie. This lie was incredible, implausible, and unreasonable, but it created a great story: a small band of dedicated followers found a way to get their Rabbi out of a tomb, even though it was heavily guarded. That lie percolated and perpetuated 30 years later as fact, and even is in play today. If those who knew the truth, why is it that they refused to believe that Jesus was who He said He was? Why did they choose to believe a lie instead of yielding to the truth? The same reason we do this today. REASON #2 – Disbelief is based on choosing to believe the lie, not a lack of knowledge of the truth 

Reveals our True Stumbling Blocks

1 Corinthians 1:22-25 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. The reality and truth of Jesus is either a stumbling block or foolishness. A stumbling block for some that can't imagine the Savior King dying instead of leading to national revival, while others the whole story is absolute foolishness, a lie, a simple story for simple people who can't intellectually deal with the complexities of life. A quant story that helps the weak minded, but not something that can be believed by solid thinkers. REASON #3 – Disbelief is based on our version of the truth and what makes rational and logical sense to us, making us king or Lord. If that is the case, we will always try to find truth from within, and will always be found wanting. So here is the rub, both for people in Jesus day and for us today. Jesus calls us to a decision, a point where we are going to believe or choose to disbelieve. God never forces this upon us, and so we don't either. This is not a decision based on sentimentality, emotion (alone), or coercion. This is a consideration in our mind as to whether Jesus is who He says He is, and whether we will follow Him or not. And that is the point of Easter. Will be believe in Jesus, recognizing our sin, our need, repent of our sin, asking for forgiveness, and following Jesus, yielding our lives to Him in freedom and joy. This is the type of decision that each individual needs to make, and a lack of decision is a decision against Jesus. 4

Easter Sunday

March 27, 2016

This is a compelling story, or to put it a better way, the compelling story. This is real. This is powerful. But it means losing your life as you know if for something far greater. Let me leave you with the story once more, because this is the proof of life: That Jesus died for sinful man, satisfying the wrath of God, so that we might believe in Him, turn from our sin in repentance, receiving forgiveness, and following Him with our whole life. 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

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