Easter 2009: Our Belief Dictate Our Action
Scripture: Luke 24:1-11; 1 Peter 3:18-20;
Introduction
I want to say to each of you this morning, Happy Easter! This is the time of year when we celebrate life. The trees and flowers shake off their slumber and the grass wake up. The birds begin to sing again and there is a smell of spring in the air. But this is also the time when we celebrate the “waking up” of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When Christ rose from what believed to be His last slumber, not only had His life changed, but the lives of all those who knew Him and would eventually accept Him, including each of us.
When Christ died on the cross everyone thought that His life was over. They believed in their hearts that what they had witnessed and experienced for those three years was over and there was nothing else for them to do. They did not understand that their lives was about to change drastically forever. But what they understood, they believed and what they believed they acted on. You see, whatever we believe will dictate our actions. Let me give you a few examples. This weekend we went to see the movie “Knowing.” The main character in the movie was traumatized after his wife died and he lost his belief in almost anything. He took the stance that everything that happened did so by chance and with his belief he stated that there was no way to prove that heaven existed. Well, he acted on what he believed. As the story moved along, as he begin to see some things (I do not want to ruin it for those of you planning to see it), as his belief changed his actions changed also. Think about some of the things you have done in your life. How many times have you acted based on something you believed, even if what you believed was actually proven to be wrong? You see, at this point it is not always about the truth, but it is always about the belief. This is what we find when we read the story of Christ’s resurrection. The disciples believed He was gone forever, an untruth, and yet even though this was not true, this is how they acted. So this morning I want to ask you to put aside all of your religious thinking and focus on the one real question: “Did Christ truly rise from the dead?” Whatever you believe in response to the question, regardless of what you may say outwardly, you actions will line up accordingly.
Have you ever thought about where would we be today if the disciples had been right? Where would we be if the report by the Roman guards were right when they, under instruction (Matthew 28), reported that His disciples had stolen the body? (There are Jews today who believe the disciples stole Christ’s body.) If Christ had not risen from the grave, everything we believe – everything we practice – would be a lie because we believe that through his death and resurrection, He conquered sin and death and is now sitting on the right hand of God interceding for us. If we do not really believe He rose from the dead then we can’t believe He is interceding for us!
The thief was the first to learn that Christ was Lord and that His life didn’t end with His crucifixion. He was saved on the cross; he believed. Everyone else – the disciples, His mother and all the other followers – had to wait to find out. Yet they were not really waiting because they didn’t think He would rise. Again, they acted on what they believed and what they believed was that Christ was dead. So let’s consider the question of if they would have responded differently if they knew that in three days Christ was going to rise from the grave. Put yourself in their shoes and think of your response if you thought He was gone forever or if you knew in three days you would see Him again. Let’s start with enemy #1, Satan.
I. They Responded According To What They Believed
Satan: It may be easier for some of you to picture yourselves in his shoes than others, but I want all of you to try. Imagine that you, as Satan, are sitting on your throne in hell. You have just returned from witnessing and celebrating the death of your greatest enemy – Christ. You had won; Christ was gone and now you can get back to doing what you do best, leading men away from God. As you remember all of the things that Christ did to hinder you, now you are able to really focus on your work – getting even with God. Your greatest accomplishment ever was killing the man who thought Himself to be the Son of God. You had tried to get Him when He was a child and failed, but you had Him now. As you sit there, you also reflect on the time you tempted Him and failed. You also remember all of the people who had stopped believing in God because of how you were using the religious leaders whom Jesus was able to turn back to God – but in the end, you won. In all of your thinking, you would be thinking that this was a done deal – Christ was forever out of your hair. Believing this you began to make plans for a future where Christ did not exist and His disciples were so afraid that they could do little to hinder your plans. In your mind killing Christ was the only way to ensure that your kingdom would continue to exist and believing this, you acted accordingly. Feel the smile on your face as you’re thinking about your victory. Christ is dead and there is nothing more to be done. Right now you are a very happy camper until there is a knock at the door.
Look at 1 Peter 3:18-20: “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patient of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.” Some scholars believe Christ actually went to hell and preached to the spirits held there while others believe it’s a metaphor of Noah’s ministry. I personally believe that Christ indeed went to hell during the time between His death and His resurrection. David said in Psalm 16:10 and restated by Peter in Acts 2:27 that “Because you will not abandon my soul to hell nor allow your Holy One to see corruption.” Until Christ’s death on the cross, that is where all the Spirits went. “His body not seeing corruption” refers to the resurrection and the fact that His body didn’t stay in the grave long enough to start decaying. Now thinking about this, let’s go back to Satan as he answers the knock at the door and greets one of his demon-servants.
The demon rushes in and is in a panic. He tells you that Christ, the one you had just killed, was now preaching to the others you were holding captive. He was even telling them that soon they would be set free! The demon was beside itself with fear and utter astonishment! As you thought about it, first you couldn’t believe it and then you began to ponder the Scriptures that you knew so well. You thought about what David wrote in Psalm 16:10 and all of the other prophecies that were written by the prophets of old. As you thought about this, you asked yourself “What if this is all true?” “What if David and the prophets were right?” After considering this, your final thought was “What have I done?” as it dawned on you the reality of your situation. You immediately leave your room and rush to the place where Christ was now having Church. As you stared on in amazement, you heard Christ say, “All power is given unto me. I have overcome sin and death and all evil – including you, Satan.” Once you hear this you look on in shock as Christ leaves hell with the saints of old taking them to paradise. You stand their with your mouth open as the truth settled in on you. Killing Christ did not end His ministry, it fortified it and made Him that much more powerful. Had you believe this was possible, maybe you would have allowed Him to live to be an old man. You see, it was the manner in which He was killed that fulfilled the prophecies and gave Him His power – He had been sacrificed for the sins of the world. Now you realize what you had done and there was no going back. If only you had believed this at the beginning could you have made a different decision. If you had known what killing Christ would do to your kingdom, you would have stationed demons around Him day and night to ensure that He stayed alive and would not die for the sins of the world.
Disciples: Now I want you to move from thinking like Satan and being extremely happy that Christ was dead, to thinking like the disciples, those who loved and walked with Jesus. When Jesus was arrested, all of you disciples fled and went into hiding. You are scared for your life and you do not have a clue about what you will do in the days ahead. Some of you are thinking about going back to our former occupations while others of you are reflecting on the things you accomplished while in Christ’s presence. Regardless of what you are thinking, all of you share one point, that your lives as they were for the last three years is over and you know that your names are on a list to be arrested and possibly killed also. You are sad, depressed, scared and without any of the confidence you’ve recently had. You are so depressed and scared that when Mary comes and tells you that Christ is alive you do not believe her. Look at Luke 24:10-12: “Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.” When you heard that Jesus was indeed alive, you did not believe; you did not accept the report; and you looked at the women as if they were crazy. This is not the response of someone expecting Christ to return. You were acting on your belief that He was dead and would remain that way. But what if?
What if you had known Christ was going to return in three days. What if you knew come Sunday morning, you were going to the grave to make sure He got out okay? Instead of grieving and being depressed, you would have been planning the next stages for the ministry. You would have completed the first stage and now was making the necessary preparations for Christ’s return as you only had three days until everything would change. You would be ecstatic as Mary Magdalene and the others rushed into the room to let you know He had arisen and was alive. There would have been a praise service unlike anything that you had participated in before because now the ultimate had happened – Christ had conquered death and death no longer held any fear over you. If you had known, can you see yourself saying, “Jesus, I know this is going to hurt you physically, but we will definitely be waiting on you come Sunday morning.” Can you see yourself asking Him, “Okay Jesus, what you need us to do while you’re in the grave dealing with Satan and stripping him of his power.” Their attitudes and their actions would have been totally different had they known and believed. In every case, they acted on what they believed and so it is with us.
II. We Have The Proof
Our lives are based on what we know and believe. We date and we marry based on what we know and believe. We make purchases based on what we know and believe. We eat foods based on what we know and believe. We attend Churches based on what we know and believe. We choose a career or a job based on what we know and believe. You see, almost everything that we do starts with us knowing and believing something and the two are not the same. If you know something and do not believe in it, that knowledge will not make you act any differently from the way you act. However, if you know something and you believe it, then you are empowered to act differently. It goes back to the belief. The things and/or information that we give credibility to become what we often believe. If the person who tells us something has been “right in the past”, we tend to believe them”. Our lives are based on what we believe. Our beliefs act as a filter to how we process the world around us.
So this morning I know all of you know that Christ was raised from the dead. You have an intellectual knowledge of this event, but do you believe it? You see, I recognize that you know about it, but if you do not believe it with your hearts, you may not act on it. Do you believe the Scriptural account or do you believe that it is probably true but could also be a story made up by His disciples? What you believe will begin to impact how you act. If there is room for doubt in your mind, Satan will exploit it to his benefit, not yours. Remember Thomas, the one we call “doubting Thomas?” He believed in Christ, but even though others told him that Christ had been resurrected, he would not believe unless he was able to witness it for himself. Thomas needed proof, do you?
In Matthew’s account of the resurrection the guards were told to say that His disciples had stolen Christ’s body. Some still believed this lie two thousand years later. When Christ rose from the dead, would you have been like the disciples and rejoiced when you heard or would you respond like Thomas who had to see for himself? Would you be like the religious leaders and make up a lie about what took place or would you choose not to get involved in those “religious discussions” that are inappropriate for discussions outside of the home? Be honest. Would you be a believer, a doubter or an unbeliever? The answer to this very personal question carries the weight of our faith walk on it. What do you believe? Everybody has an opinion, what is yours? Is Christ the Son of God? Did He truly die and rise from the dead with all power in His hands? Are your sins forgiven when you repent & ask for forgiveness? What do you believe?
When Jesus was placed in the tomb, the Roman guard placed a seal on the rock. Rumors had already been circulating that Christ would rise again. Roman guards were placed outside the tomb to make sure the disciples couldn’t steal the body. His body lay there although His spirit was preaching in hell. Early on Sunday morning, as the sun was rising and before Mary arrived, His spirit “reconnected” with His body and His body woke up. When the angel appeared and moved the rock out of the way, the Roman guards stood there motionless, not being able to move. The angel didn’t move the rock to let Jesus out; he moved the rock to let everyone else in. Jesus had His glorified body; He could come and go as He pleased. When the disciples got to the tomb, they didn’t see the body. Later when Jesus appeared to His followers, they began to understand – He was never supposed to stay in the grave.
Where would we be if Christ had not risen from the dead? What about our sins and the life after this? Before Christ died, death was the end, not the beginning. But we have two beginnings; one of love, peace and joy in paradise and another of torment in hell. What do you believe? I will close with this – regardless of what you believe, what you accept, Jesus is real and He died for our sins. But it didn’t stop there for it was love that held Him to the cross. Love placed Him in the tomb and love raised Him from the dead. It was His love for us that made Him go through what He went through.
Easter is when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We remember why He chose to die, because we could not earn the right to be in God’s presence when we die. We celebrate Jesus. Easter is not about the baskets, eggs hunts, or new clothes. Easter is about remembrance. We remember and celebrate what Christ did for us at Calvary, but more importantly that it did not stop there. Are you celebrating or did you come to church today because it was expected of you?
What do you believe – now that you know He’s risen from the dead and sits at the Father’s right hand? Happy Easter! May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
