EASTER SUNDAY SERMON
APRIL 8, 2007
The Rev. Canon John A. Donnelly
The story was first
· Told by 3 women,
· Then told by the slain rabbi’s disciples,
· then told throughout the whole city of Jerusalem.
· It spread like wildfire throughout the Roman world---through Europe & Asia; and later the Americas and Africa.
· Jesus, the man who had been publicly executed—rose from the dead.
· 3 days after he died, his body was no longer in the grave. His spirit transformed his old flesh & He appeared with a supernatural body –alive & well & full of power.
· At least, that’s what the witnesses and the scriptures contend.
The title of this sermon is the 2nd trial of Jesus.
· The court (pound gavel) is now in session.
· The OJ Simpson trial may have been the greatest trial of the last century—but this is the trial of all time.
· Judge John Donnelly, presiding, at the bench.
Before we begin the 2nd trail, we need to quickly review the first. At his first trail, Jesus of Nazareth was convicted and executed on the charge of blasphemy—for he claimed to be the Son of God.
· The evidence against him consisted of lies, made by those who were jealous of his popularity and afraid of His influence.
· However, when it came time to call witnesses for His defense, no one spoke up. No one spoke on His behalf. His followers either denied knowing him, or they were silent—because they felt intimidated.
· Therefore, because of their silence, the accused was found guilty.
· Subsequently, he was battered, beaten, stripped naked, lynched, and executed.
That was the first trial of Jesus.
The 2nd trail of Jesus Christ is occurring today--now, in the court of public opinion. The man Jesus is being charged by pundits, intellectuals, authors, academics, and theologians---all who claim that Jesus did not rise from the dead, as Jesus promised He would.
· According to them, He is not alive. They further charge that Easter is simply a human fabrication—a myth—a lie—and that all who believe that Jesus walked out of the grave are fools.
· The judge and jury consist of the court of public opinion. And that opinion appears to be against Jesus. Why? Because the loudest voices in our nation are the voices that deride, ridicule, and defame Jesus and his modern day disciples.
The scientific and medical evidence says that a dead man cannot come back to life. A dead person has never been brought back to life by the best medicine that money can buy.
In the realm of literature, what best-selling book and recent block buster movie, on this subject, has had the most recent popular success? The answer is… (slide)
· The Da Vinci Code, which claims that Jesus did not really die. In fact, this theory, based on quote, scientific and historical fact, unquote, claims that Jesus married and had children, and that his descendents are among us today, being protected by a secret society. And further, the story is that church leaders have known about this for thousands of years.
Next slide---In archeology, archeologists have recently concluded that THEY found the true tomb of Jesus.
· Now, for thousands of years, most biblical scholars thought that the real tomb of Jesus is located in the old city of Jerusalem, where Christians have been worshipping since the first Century AD.
· But NO, they have all been wrong. Millions and millions of Christians, since the time of Christ, have been wrong. Now they have supposedly found a tomb, where Jesus was buried with his family—and the remains of HIS body are in the tomb. And the advocates claim that they are using DNA testing. Now, they have not been able to satisfactorily explain how the DNA in this tomb relates to Jesus Christ, but lots of people are willing to give their pseudo research some credibility.
And of course, there are many so called academic/ theological authorities, which have come forward with testimony against Jesus.
· They claim that the Bible is not the Word of God, but rather a collection of human thoughts about God and fairy tales. So they recommend that you don’t read the Bible, because it is a dangerous document, which will just confuse you.
· They claim that if you want to Know God, you will not find him in archaic/outdated mythology of the Bible.
So, the prosecution has laid its case against Jesus and his disciples, and the absurd claim to have risen from the dead and to be alive, here and now.
Now it’s time for the defense. If the clerk would please start up the videotape.
The first exhibit to defend Jesus is ancient videotape, which was recently discovered in Jerusalem. This testimony is actually from a video cam, which was at the tomb of Jesus Christ, the day he rose from the dead. Let’s see it:
VIDEO CLIP
Okay, so that’s one piece of evidence. But now, its time for some witnesses to speak. I have been asked to inform the court that Jesus, the defendant, has chosen not to take the stand.
· He has informed his attorney that IF his followers did what they did at his first trial---and are silent---then He believes that there is nothing that He can say that will change anybody’s mind.
So, my friends, the floor is now open for testimony on behalf of the defendant.
· I now speak to those of you who claim to be followers of Jesus.
You can choose to be a witness of the defendant, or you can remain silent.
· If, however, you are a follower of Jesus, you cannot claim the 5th amendment in the court of public opinion—because by your silence, you deny that He is alive.
· So here is the specific issue, on which we are now receiving testimony. I invite you, who claim to love Him, to prove it by answering this question.
If we may see the slide.
“I believe that Jesus is alive because __________________.
Now, we have done this previously…. Some people said that they believed Jesus was alive because they had been healed, or forgiven, or because Jesus had changed their lives, or because they felt a new joy in life, or because they witnessed a miracle, or because they saw faith in the face of a child. These are just a few examples.
You see, whatever reason you have for believing that Jesus is alive is fine. The only inadequate reason is the reason that you are unwilling to share. So, the court will now receive testimony. Fill in the blank. Tell us, “Why do you believe that Jesus is alive?”
[congregational Members interviewed]
Okay—so we have heard a lot of good news here.
I don’t know if you all can fully understand the FULL SIGNIFICANCE of the wonderful thing, which has just occurred here. You see, by daring to share—Jesus resurrection power has been released in this room. You see, by vocally expressing that Jesus is alive, spiritual power is released in at least four ways:
1. First, it certifies our salvation. You see, you may believe in your heart that you believe in Jesus. But believing in your heart, alone, is not good enough.
· Christianity is a religion that requires that we talk about it. Thus, God’s word says,” If you confess with YOUR MOUTHS AND believe in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, you will be saved.”
· It doesn’t say just believe in your heart. Nope. You have to prove it by speaking out loud—by sharing what you believe.
So, it certifies our salvation. Secondly, when we tell others that we believe Jesus is alive, it confirms their beliefs.
· Now, I grew up as a life-long Episcopalian—and no one ever spoke about their beliefs. Now, I believed that Jesus was alive-but since I never heard anyone else say anything, I kept it all to myself.
· God’s word calls us to speak the word of grace, so that we might build up each other’s faith. And that’s one of the reason we so encourage small groups.
So, by proclaiming He’s alive you certify your salvation, you confirm the faith in others, and you challenge skeptics.
On that first Easter, the women returned from the tomb, and told their friends that Jesus was alive. The rest of the disciples did not believe them. But, challenged by what they said, they sought out the truth—and eventually, they met the risen Lord for themselves.
So, you may motivate skeptics in your life to seek out the Lord. And, the Bible promises us that if they genuinely seek him, they will find him.
So, proclaiming that Jesus is alive certifies the truth, confirms the faith of others, challenges skeptics, and finally, it contributes to God’s work.
· You see, God is building his kingdom on earth not with a military operation, but by a gospel proclamation.
· Telling the world that Jesus is alive promotes God’s work, because one day—the court of public opinion is going to shift. One day, the bible tells us, all people will come to believe and the prophecy will be fulfilled that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess the Jesus is alive and that He is Lord of all. And since we know that the Bible is true about His resurrection, we can bank on this being true, too.
So, for two thousand years, Christians have been proclaiming the truth that Jesus is alive—and in so doing we certify, confirm, challenge and contribute. And today, we will continue this holy practice. Let us now stand and proclaim our faith, using words said by millions and millions of believers who have come before us:
NICENE CREED
