It had been the worst two and a half days of their lives. First the Master had brought them to the Garden of Gethsemane just outside of Jerusalem to pray, but instead they fell asleep, after all it was late. Perhaps if they had been awake and watchful they would have noticed the torches of the crowd coming to arrest Jesus, and they could have warned Jesus and saved him. Of course he already seemed to be expecting them. And who would have imagined that one of their own, Judas, would betray him with a kiss. The eleven all felt betrayed, they felt scared and angry inside, Peter even took his sword out and struck the high priests servant cutting his ear off. Jesus rebuked him and after a very short scuffle every single disciple fled. In a sense they all betrayed Jesus that day. None had the courage to stay and walk the road with Jesus, even though they had just sworn to Jesus they would never abandon him even to the point of death. I remember being in Jerusalem and walking those stone steps up to Caiaphas’ house and wondering, would I have been able to walk this road with Jesus?
Peter managed to muster up enough courage to follow the crowd at a distance to the courtyard of Caiaphas’, the chief priest’s, house where the religious leaders had gathered. Peter saw it all. He saw them falsely accuse Jesus of many things, spit on him, slapped him, that is until someone in the crowd recognized him as being one of Jesus’ disciples, and confronted him, he denied it. Simon Peter, the Rock, the one who walked on water with Jesus, denied knowing Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Peter had disowned Jesus. Didn’t Jesus once say, Matt. 10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven”?
The religious leaders weren’t satisfied with insulting Jesus, they wanted him dead, out of the way, that was their plan all along. So they took him to the Roman Governor Pilate who had him beaten, flogged with lead or ceramic tipped whips, they mocked him, beat him, placed a crown of thorns on his head, and then with the chant of the crowd, “crucify him, crucify him,” they sentenced him to death by crucifixion. They nailed him to a tree, a cross, outside of Jerusalem, a spectacle for all of Jerusalem to watch, yet only one disciple made it to the cross that day, and it wasn’t Peter. Where do you suppose the other ten were that day? Jesus died that Friday afternoon, and along with him their hopes and expectations. Then he was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, sealed with a stone.
How do you suppose Peter and the disciples felt during those long two and a half days? Worthless, ashamed, failures? They had abandoned Jesus, they were afraid (locked themselves in a room in Jerusalem). Peter knew the punishment for his denial of Jesus deserved being disowned by Jesus before his Father in heaven. He did not deserve to be part of God’s kingdom.
The truth is at some point all of us have denied or abandoned Jesus, perhaps with our words, our thoughts, or our actions. As the Bible says “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way (Is. 53:6).” In other words we have chosen to follow our own path rather than following Jesus, doing what he wants us to do. When we follow our own path we are denying Jesus. As a result of our selfish choices we may get what we want out of life, a great career, money, possessions, toys, lifestyle, but anytime the focus is on ourselves there is always a cost. Perhaps not at first but eventually relationships suffer (spouse, kids, parents, siblings, friends), sometimes our health suffers, many times there is empty feeling inside, because we have climbed the ladder of life only to realize the ladder was on the wrong wall. Perhaps like Peter we come to a point where God convicts our hearts and we too feel worthless, ashamed, disappointed, a failure, believe there is no hope for us. We deserve to be disowned by Jesus. Or perhaps the emptiness of our own lifestyle causes us to wonder in our hearts if this is all there is to life.
After winning his third Super Bowl, Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots was on “60 Minutes” and he said this in his interview:
"Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ’Hey man, this is what is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life.’ Me, I think, ’God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be."
Some would claim Tom Brady had achieved what most men dream of, the chance to win not just one Super Bowl but three. Still in his twenties he should have been at the top of his life, and yet he still felt as though something were missing, his life was still empty.
In contrast to this, I’ve been reading Tony Dungy’s book, Quiet Strength. For those who may not know Tony is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts who won the Super Bowl in 2007. He’s a strong Christian and in retrospect to his Super Bowl appearance he wrote this:
“The Super Bowl is great, but it’s not the greatest thing. My focus over the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl was Matthew 16:26 in which Jesus asks, ‘And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul?’ Our guys could gain all the accolades and success of this world yet lose touch with their priorities, their principles, and the God who loves them.”
“That’s what this is all about. Touching lives. Building a legacy – not necessarily on the field but in those places that most people will never see. Trying to be faithful in the position God has given me. I love coaching football, and winning a Super Bowl was a goal I’ve had for a long time. But it has never been my purpose in life. My purpose in life is simply to glorify God. We have to be careful that we don’t let the pursuit of our life’s goal, no matter how important they seem, cause us to lose sight of our purpose.”
Two different Super Bowl winners, two very different perspectives. One feeling empty, the other satisfied because it wasn’t his primary goal in life anyway. Following our way eventually leads us to emptiness, disappointment, and unfulfillment.
Did Peter and the disciples go the rest of their life like this? Feeling like failure? No, if we continue with the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey says) in the book of Acts we notice they aren’t the same people at all. Instead of being frozen with fear, guilt, sorrow, disappointment, something changed in their life, they become bold, fearless, driven, men and women with purpose. What had changed? They encountered the risen Christ.
On that Sunday morning the women went to the tomb and discovered it was empty. In their excitement they rushed back to tell the disciples and the risen Jesus appeared right before them. Their lives were changed. They went and told the disciples. Simon Peter and John rushed to the tomb and saw that it was empty. Peter wondered to himself what had happened. John’s gospel tells us that later that day, Jesus suddenly appeared to all the disciples except Thomas in a locked room. Once they encountered the risen Jesus and were filled with the Holy Spirit, their lives were never the same. They were new people, transformed, because they were forgiven of their past by the sacrifice of Jesus, and given a new future, new life.
If you hear nothing else this morning remember this, people who encounter the risen Christ are never the same. We become a new person, a new creation in Christ Jesus. As the Scriptures say the old has gone and the new has come. NLT Romans 6:4 And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Years later it was Peter, the same disciple who had denied Jesus three times, who would write these words to Christian believers which has been handed down to us in the Bible:
NIV 1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Peter could give praise to God because Jesus’ resurrection from the dead meant new birth or new life and living hope. Peter knew because he experienced it himself. God restored Peter, he was forgiven of his past along with the rest of the disciples. Their life went from being failures to forgiven, Spirit filled emissaries for Jesus. They lived with new purpose and new meaning because they had hope. In fact that’s what we are doing here this Easter Sunday morning, we are praising God, worshipping him because he brings new birth and living hope to us.
1. Resurrection of Jesus means New Birth (born again)/Fresh Start for Us
Two things the resurrection of Jesus means for us: new birth and living hope.
New birth or new life is a gift, just like our first birth into this world was a gift, we didn’t earn it, we didn’t work for it, God offered it to us free. The new life God offers us is free. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus he offers to forgive us, lifting our burden of self-centered sin and guilt, and gives us a fresh start, and puts his life within us.
New life in Christ
An illustration of this new life which recently struck me was a commercial on TV. Perhaps you have seen the allergy medication (Claritin) commercial, which shows a picture of someone’s backyard or a park with lush green lawn and flowers blooming which looks great, but then they peel back this filter and all of a sudden we see everything more vibrant, and colorful.
I think of new birth as being something like that. Our circumstances haven’t necessary changed around us, the people haven’t changed around us, but God does a work within us and all the sudden we see everything with new eyes. Of course I am hoping God will give me eyes so that when I look at all of this snow I will see green grass instead but it hasn’t happened yet. What I am saying is life is more rich, more full, more abundant, because God has lifted our burdens, our selfishness, our pride. It is as though he has peeled away hatred and bitterness and replaced it with love, peeled away anxiety and replaced it with peace, peeled away our failures and replaced them with forgiveness. He has peeled away our sorrow and replaced it with joy. He gives us new life.
Many of you know we will be adopting a new born baby very soon, in fact it is less than two months away. We have had parents tell us over the years that when they had a child they became aware of a love they didn’t even know existed within them. That is like the new life we have in Christ. We suddenly become aware of a love and a new life we didn’t even know was possible or existed.
The beauty of Jesus’ resurrection is to show us that we can have a new life, a fresh start. We don’t have to be limited by our past, our sin, our mistakes, our pains, our hurts, our failures. They no longer need to define who we are. We become new people living for God. Of course that also means us we can’t just go out and live the way we did before, falling into our old ways and habits, otherwise we find ourselves back where we started. Rather we live for God, his way.
2. Jesus’ Resurrection Means we have Living Hope
Jesus’ resurrection also means we have living hope. Hope is a powerful motivator. It keeps us going even when life throws curveballs at us. When we give up hope, we tend give up altogether. Peter was writing to Christians who were suffering for their faith, enduring great hardships. Some were beaten, others arrested and thrown in prison, some even martyred just for being Christians. But Peter reminded them, as well as us, that the resurrection of Jesus Christ brings hope that no matter what happens here on earth, no matter what people do to us, or what circumstances occur in this world, we have the promise of an eternal inheritance that can never be taken away from us, it doesn’t perish, spoil, or fade. The inheritance Peter is referring to is life after death, eternal life in heaven. That is the hope Jesus gives those who trust in him.
Our hope is not just wishful or positive thinking? People hope in things all sorts of things. Some hope they will win the lottery and that will make their life better. Personally, I hope the Michigan State Spartans win the NCAA basketball championship. But we all hope in something. The difference for Christian believers is that we have a living hope because Jesus is alive.
Our hope is based on the solid evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. The Apostle Paul tells us that over 500 people witnessed the resurrected Christ, including the disciples, and himself, and it changed their lives.
How do we even know there is life after death? We are all going to die one day. How do we know that when your die that’s not it, poof you’re gone forever? The resurrection of Jesus is the proof. He died and rose from the grave to prove he had gained victory over sin and death. Therefore we have the hope that heaven is a real place and Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a room just for us. John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. That is our hope. Jesus has gone ahead and will come back for us so that we might be where he is. When we believe Jesus’ words no one can take that away from us.
Conclusion:
My question this morning is very simply this, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, are you experiencing the new birth and living hope he came to give you?
