Easter Sunday
Apr. 4, 2010
Intro:
Video: “Blindness” from sermonspice.com
“But then I met Jesus, and He turned everything in my life upside down…”
Today is a day of life. We have walked through death, we have stood once again at the cross as Jesus died, but now we stand somewhere else…
Now we stand outside another place, a place where we expect death, a place where we expect tears, and loss, and grief – dashed hopes, shattered dreams, relationships ended. Now we stand at a tomb. In a graveyard. And what we find is not death, as we expect. In fact, what we find defeats death, tramples on it, crushes it, and instead of fear and hopelessness and loss we find security and hope and life. We find Jesus, who was dead but now is alive. God turns even death itself upside down…
Matt 28:1-10
We read the story at our Sunrise Service at 6:45am, but it deserves reading again, this time from Matthew’s Gospel: Matt 28:1-10
1 Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. 7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. 9 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”
What are we going to do with this kind of Jesus?
As we read the story, we see God turning everything upside down – trampling on death, defeating its power by walking right through it, and turning the grave from a place of mourning into a place of life and hope. What are we going to do with that? Well, you might wonder, what are the options? I suggest that this passage draws a map for us to follow.
First we must face the places of death: (vs. 1)
The story begins in vs. 1 with the women going to the tomb. Now, I’m not sure why it was only this group of women, we know from John’s gospel that there were some men involved in taking Jesus’ body down from the cross and placing it in the garden tomb, and that these men were from among the Jewish leaders themselves. But we are left to wonder about the disciples. Was it too hard for them to face? Were they afraid of the guards at the tomb, that they might be caught and punished also? Was their grief just too much?
This is the first step in deciding what to do with this Jesus – we must go to the places of death, like the women did. And just like in Jesus’ day, this is something not everyone is willing to do. We would rather not face these places in our lives. We think we can ignore them, shove them off to the side, pretend they aren’t really dead like that old movie “Weekend at Bernie’s”. We have all kinds of coping strategies that keep us from actually confronting the places of death in our life – from clearly admitting that they are sucking the life out of us. And perhaps this is one of the main reasons why more Christians aren’t living the kind of life Jesus wants us to life, because we aren’t confronting the places of death and finding out what God can actually do with those places in our lives.
Today on resurrection Sunday our focus is on life, not death – as it should be. But resurrection life only comes after death. There is no shortcut around that. No quick fix. No bypass route. To experience resurrection life we must first embrace death, face it head on, look it straight in the eyes. And I’m not talking about physical death, though that applies. I’m talking about sin. Spiritual death. Rebellion against God. The places in our lives where we continue to feed sinful habits, activities, and laziness that keep us distant from God.
The passage shows us a different way: go straight to the place of death. These women do it as soon as possible – they didn’t wait until it was light out, until the guards had gone away, until the public uproar had completely died down. They went at the first opportunity. And so should we. The moment we recognize sin in our life we need to face it down. The first moment we feel pain and hurt we need to grab hold of it and confront it. The moment we know of something that resembles death we need to get up and go to the tomb so we can deal with it.
God Breaks Down The Barriers: vs. 2-4
The passage tells us a second significant step on this road: let God deal with the barriers. In Mark’s telling of the story, he mentions a detail not included here in Matthew: “On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”” (Mk. 16:3). We know about this stone – it was massive, set in a sloped rolling track, so that to seal the tomb would not take a lot of effort as it was downhill, but to open the tomb would take probably four strong guys. I love that the women didn’t let that stop them – in fact it appears that in their conviction to go to the tomb, it didn’t even really enter their minds until they were already on the way.
There is something critically important in this for us. We can come up with a million barriers – all kinds of things that we believe can and will keep us away, prevent us from experiencing life, stop us from even setting out. Some are real, honest, existing barriers – like a great big stone sealing a tomb. But here is the truth: none of these barriers are strong enough to keep back the life of God. Not a single one of them. When we decide, when we set out to confront death, the power of God deals with every barrier, and nothing can keep that life stuffed up inside the tomb. What happened to that stone? What was the solution to the problem the women realized “on the way”? Who took down the barrier? God. God deals with the problem of the Roman guards the same way, demonstrating the same thing. “What can separate us from the love of God in Christ?” is the question Paul asks in Rom. 8:35. What can keep God from healing, restoring, forgiving, mending, or resurrecting? Nothing; if we will come.
Look and Believe: vs. 5-6
The next step is found in the angel’s invitation: look, and believe. The women are not told to just take the angel’s word for it, they are invited to come right in and examine the evidence for themselves, and then to believe based on what they have seen.
The point here is that our faith must never be second hand. Each of us, on our journey to life, in our responsibility to decide for ourselves what to do with Jesus, receive the same invitation. Come and look – dive into the story, ask questions, search for answers, allow and invite God to work in your life, resurrect your places of death, breathe new life into you, so that you can then decide for yourself what you are going to do with this Jesus. There is no vicarious Christian life; we cannot live only on the experiences and testimony of others, God’s plan is that each of us need to meet Jesus, each of us need to be forgiven by Jesus, and each of us need to be resurrected like Jesus. And then, based on what we see, we believe.
Obey: vs. 7
The final step in the story that provides a map for us is simple: obey. After inviting the women to look and believe, the angel gives them instructions: “And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.”
This is still the case. We are still called to obey, because in this obedience we find life. Now here is a modern misconception: the ultimate goal of life is to “be our own boss”, “call the shots for our own life”, “look out for number 1”… with the assumption being that this way of living is the best, most free, most fulfilling way of life. But my friends, as bluntly as I can, let me say this: that is pride speaking, and it is a lie. We know this, we recognize how when we try to do things our own way it often ends badly (or it will end badly if it hasn’t yet for you), for one very simple reason: we are not in control. As much as we try to be, we are only creating an artificial life, and one accident, one bad diagnosis, one betrayal by a trusted friend, and our lives are completely exposed.
Walking in obedience to God is the road to life, because God is in control. The term is “sovereignty”, and that means that God runs the universe, is the author of life and death, holds the future in His hand, and knows better than we do how to life in such a way that we enjoy the deepest life. Our problem is that we tend to want this life, but on our terms. We want all the benefits – all the life, all the resurrection, all the forgiveness, all the power – but we still want to conduct ourselves as we desire rather than how we have been told to live. And, as we each know, that just doesn’t work. The path laid out by Jesus is different: He is Lord, He shows us how to live the most full lives imaginable, we obey, and then we truly experience the resurrection life and power.
So what are we going to do with Jesus?
So I come back to this central question today: what are we going to do with Jesus? He’s been crucified for us, He’s defeated the power of sin and of death, we’ve been welcomed at His empty tomb, to look for ourselves, and believe, and then obey. What are you going to do with that? There are two simple options: accept it, or reject it. No middle ground, no third way, just a simple choice: Jesus is the resurrected Lord, and we invite Him to be Lord of our lives; or we reject Him. What will your choice be?
Not Just Savior:
I put that question to each of us this Easter Sunday, because each of us needs to choose. It is true that there are moments in our lives where we make significant choices, that stand out as change moments in our lives, and maybe this is one of those for you. Maybe you’ve heard this message of life through Jesus before but never been challenged to accept it for yourself, and maybe today God has spoken, you’ve looked, and now it is time to choose to believe and obey. Then do so! Step into life, forgiveness, resurrection, power, and a way of living that will be full of the closeness and power and hope and joy of the God of the Universe.
But I also believe that there are daily choices we make, alongside those few life-changing moments of decision. Jesus as Lord is one of those – we make that decision constantly: what I want and think is best and know will feel pleasant, or what Jesus wants that IS best and will be good even if it is unpleasant in the moment. So in that context I ask each of us: is Jesus your Lord? Are you living for Him? Will you live for Him?? Will you follow, will you obey, will you go wherever, give whatever, love however He directs?
As we stand this morning at the empty tomb, celebrating the resurrection life of Jesus, know that this life is for us. This power is for us. This message is for our entire world, and the privilege of spreading it has been given to us.
And the result is life, to the full. Will you confront the places of death in your life, allow God to break down the barriers, look deeply, believe, and obey? If your answer is yes, welcome to life!
Concluding Prayer: Eph 1:19-2:10
“19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
