An Easter Exodus
Matthew 11:28
Intro: Nearly every Easter I make it a point to take another look at why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And as I look at my own spiritual journey over the years, I can identify several pieces of evidence that have strengthened my belief that Jesus is all He claimed to be and did all that His Father sent Him to this earth to do. First of all, there are a number of historical writings that refer to Jesus Christ as a historical figure who was executed under Pilate, the Governor of Judea. It is very difficult for anyone to argue the fact that such a person lived – at least with any kind of credibility. Obviously, the most complete account of His life is found in the Bible in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
-So as we think about His resurrection from the dead, at least 3 things stand out to me that help confirm the claims the Bible makes about Jesus. First, there is the empty tomb. What happened to the body of Jesus? Did His disciples steal His body as many of the Jews and Roman soldiers claimed? This does not hold up for many reasons. The tomb was heavily guarded by Roman soldiers who would likely have been executed if they had fallen asleep. The disciples would have had to overpower the guards, move a 2-ton stone, and relocate the body somewhere where it would never be found. Why then weren’t the disciples arrested for violating Roman law, robbing a grave, and assaulting Roman soldiers? It just doesn’t make sense. The gospel accounts actually show the disciples needing to be convinced that Jesus was really alive. They didn’t expect it or believe it at first.
-A 2nd piece of the puzzle has to do with the number of witnesses. Over 500 people saw Jesus alive at the same time. Thomas touched the holes in his hands. 2 men walked and talked with Him on the Road to Emmaus. Then Jesus appeared to the 11 disciples and let them touch Him and He asked them for something to eat and ate it right in front of them. Some of the disciples also had a fish BBQ with Him on the beach of the Sea of Galilee. 1 Cor. 15 talks about how many different people saw Jesus after His resurrection. With that many eyewitnesses seeing Jesus in different locations and times, we have overwhelming evidence that He really was alive.
-The last thing that means a lot to us today is the fact of changed lives. Not only did the disciples change from timid, defeated has beens to bold and powerful leaders in the early church. Each of them except for John was put to death for claiming that Jesus was alive. Lots of people will die for what they believe in, but never for a lie. And millions of lives have been changed since the first century AD. Lives are still being changed today.
-So, the resurrection of Jesus is so much more than a fairy tale! In fact, the entire Christian faith rests on the resurrection. Paul tells how to be saved in Romans 10 – Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. No resurrection, no salvation. Why? Because the resurrection was the greatest evidence that Jesus was truly the Son of God – God in flesh who came to save the world from sin.
-I would love to talk with you about these and more pieces of evidence about the Bible and the resurrection. If you have the desire to search out the facts, I’d love to help you with that. But for now, I’d like to move in another direction for the remainder of our time this morning. Jesus came to set people free, and His death and resurrection accomplished that. I’d like to look at a very brief history lesson from Israel.
1. Problems are often a part of everyday life
-Joseph, one of the great-grandsons of Abraham, was sold as a slave by his brothers and taken to Egypt. Later God lifted him up to be the 2nd most powerful man in the kingdom and he saved the lives of his family when a famine hit the land. As a result they all moved to Egypt and lived in the land of Goshen as shepherds. However, a new King or Pharaoh rose to power who did not know Joseph and did not respect God. As he began to build his kingdom, he put the Hebrew people to forced labor to build pyramids and other tributes to himself and to the gods of Egypt.
-The life of a shepherd was not glamorous or easy, but it was really pretty good compared to the slavery the Hebrew people found themselves in. They were driven to work 7 days a week with no reprieve. The only rest they had came each evening when it became too dark to work anymore. Life was oppressive! It was hard! And we don’t pick up the idea that God was punishing them by making them slaves to Pharaoh – it was just the way life had turned out. God knew it was coming, and knew that He would deliver them at just the right time.
-Folks, sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of really hard circumstances that perhaps we did not bring upon ourselves. Though far from perfect, we may have tried to do our best, but it seems like we are being driven and beaten down. Sometimes it’s 3 steps forward and 2 steps back – and that might be on a good day!
-Many people today are hurting from broken relationships and a feeling of rejection. They can’t seem to scrape enough together to make it through the day – let alone the week or month. Others are lost in grief because of the death of a loved one. Some have tried to numb the pain, but ended up in even greater bondage to alcohol or drugs. Life can feel like a prison sometimes. It can feel like slavery or bondage. We didn’t intend for our lives to get here – but here we are in a dark, dreary place with very little hope of rescue. We’ve all got problems and quite often they just come with the territory.
2. Some problems can be the result of our choices
-So sometimes it feels like life just happens to us, but other times we make really bad choices and those choices drive us even deeper into slavery, bondage, trouble, and heartache.
-Israel was in Egypt for 400 years, and then there were about 800 years of freedom – at one level or another. But eventually they became unfaithful to God and totally ignored their relationship with Him. They began to do things that showed utter contempt for God – like worshipping other gods, making idols, oppressing the poor, and pretty much disobeying every command God had given them.
-God was patient with them and continually called them to repentance, but they hardened their hearts against Him and did their own thing. Eventually, God allowed another nation to overpower them and they once again found themselves in captivity. No longer did they have the freedom to do what they wanted to do. They had to do someone else’s bidding.
-We have been known to do the same. Even though we all have access to God and have heard that He wants to do life with us, we have all lived based on our own selfish desires. Here’s how the Bible describes it: Isaiah 53:6 All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.
-Many of our problems relate to our own selfishness and stubbornness. But Jesus took the fall for us so we could be lifted up and be free from our past! And that leads us to this final thought:
3. There is hope in the middle of our problems!
-There is a word that I’ve come to love that is found in the 2nd book of the Bible. In fact, it is the name of the 2nd book of the Bible – Exodus. You can replace it with the word “exit,” but it can also simply mean, “Go forward.” It carries the idea of getting away from something but also that you are moving toward something.
-Israel was getting out of Egypt! However, they weren’t just striking out on their own with their new found freedom. They were following the Lord, and the Lord was leading them to the place He had prepared for them – it was a land of plenty, filled with bounty and blessing.
-God calls us out of our Egypt. Maybe you’ve been stuck in a life of troubles and darkness. Maybe others have used you and taken advantage of you. God is calling you out from that place of disappointment and despair. Maybe you’ve made some bad decisions that have landed you in a place you never thought you’d be – away from God and away from the good life He has for you. God is calling you away from your failures and your sins. But God isn’t just calling you away from these things just so you can try a little harder yourself and do a little better on your own. No! God is calling you to Himself! God is calling you to life with Him!
-Here’s what Jesus said to the people who had been kicked around in life and didn’t have much hope: Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
-I like how the Message Bible puts this: 28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
-Most of you have heard the Easter story. It begins with the only sinless person who ever lived. He helped everyone who came to Him, healing them and teaching them how to live a full life with God right in the center. He made some of the religious leaders mad because He wouldn’t play their games and began to expose them for what they were – frauds with a badge of spiritual authority, but no substance. So, they nailed Him to a wooden cross and sealed His body in a tomb to shut Him up! However, Jesus knew the way out! God raised Him from the dead and He came out of the tomb! He knows the way out of darkness! Jesus knows the way out of an impossible situation! He overcame death itself when He came back to life. And now He offers a way out for you!
-Jesus offers a way out of the darkness that might describe your life. Maybe you need to get out of a situation or a mess that you’re in. He offers a way out of your brokenness and despair. He is not shocked by your weakness or failure or sin. He wants to bring you out of the bondage you’ve been in and bring you close to Himself. Again, He says, “Come to Me… I will help you and give you peace and rest from the slavery of sin and heartache. I will make you laugh again. But you must come to Me.”
-And Jesus didn’t make it real complicated! He didn’t say you had to join a church or learn to recite a certain prayer or creed. He said, “I will not turn away anyone who comes to Me.” So we come just as we are, and we ask Him to help us become all He created us to be! This isn’t something we can do ourselves. First, He forgives us when we tell Him our sins and are willing to walk away from them. Then He begins to lead us as we learn to do life with Him. He doesn’t ask for our best behavior when we come to Him. He asks instead for our willingness. He invites us to come close to Him and get to know Him! The relationship that grows as we begin to do life with Him is what becomes our lifeline. He is our Savior, but it is the connection between us that allows His life to flow to us.
-So Jesus offers a way out and a way in. A way out of our impossible situations that leave us feeling like there is no hope or help. A way out of our sins because His death paid the penalty that was against us. And a way in to God’s family and God’s acceptance. A way into a life that will last forever which we will always share with Him!
-For those who know Jesus Christ as their Forgiver and Leader, death has lost its sting – it is no longer something to be feared. What fear is there when we have the promise that one day we will live forever with Him in Heaven?
-A father and son were traveling down a country road on afternoon in the spring time when suddenly a bee flew in the window. Being deathly allergic to bee stings, the boy began to panic as the bee buzzed all around inside the car. Seeing the horror on his child’s face, the father reached out and caught the bee in his hand. Soon, he opened his hand and the bee began to buzz around once again. Again, the boy began to panic. The father reached over to his son, and opened his hand showing him the stinger still in his palm. “Relax, son,” the father said, “I took the sting, the bee can’t hurt you anymore.”
-Jesus took the sting out of death by His resurrection. Not only can we have an exodus out of sin and bondage in this lifetime, but there will also be an exodus out of this world when we die or when Jesus returns for those who love Him.
-What’s your story today? Do you need an exodus? Are you stuck in some things that are sucking the life out of you? Are you expending all your energies building someone else’s dream, when God has some amazing dreams for your life? Do you need an exodus out of a sinful lifestyle that you know is not pleasing to God? There is a way, and it is found by coming to Jesus and giving it all to Him. He will forgive you. He will cleanse you from the inside out. He will work a miracle of change in your heart if you are willing to let go and ask Him for His help.
-If this is you and you need to call on the Lord to ask Him for His help, would you just slip up your hand as a way of saying, “Jesus, I’m coming to You.?” I’m tired. I’m carrying a lot of burdens. I can’t do this anymore. I need some rest for my soul.”
-One of the best ways to begin a new relationship with God is to talk to Him and tell Him what’s on your mind. Confess your sins to Him and He will forgive you. Tell Him your problems and He will help you work through them. He will even heal you if you come to Him in faith today – heal you of a painful past, help you in the present, and be with you forever in the future. He can be trusted because He is the same faithful God – yesterday, today, and forever.
-As you take this step today, I encourage you not to take it alone. Tell another Christian about it and ask them to help you. Please let me know if you made a decision to do life with God today. I’d love to help you find answers to your questions as you grow in your faith. Let’s pray.
