We know the story well, but it is so good it must be told again!
It seemed death had won.
It seemed hope was gone.
It seemed the dream had died.
It seemed that evil had triumphed, and that perhaps Jesus was not who we believed Him to be. Maybe He wasn’t the Messiah. Maybe He wasn’t the son of God.
After all, we saw Him die. His tortured, beaten, bloody body was taken down and put in the tomb, and the tomb was shut and guarded.
It seemed life would go back to what it had always been. Matthew can go back to collecting taxes. Cleopas and his companion have hit the road to Emmaus. Simon the zealot can find the next revolution to join. And Peter is already getting the nets ready and heading back to the fishing boat.
Just one last task to do, and the women have that under control. They have the burial spices and are going to the tomb to finish with Jesus’ dead, lifeless body.
Luke 24
But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.
5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”
8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
Truth or Nonsense?
Christ is risen from the dead. It sounded like foolishness, like fantasy, like “nonsense”. To many people, it still does. People don’t come back to life after they have died on a cross and been laid in a tomb for 36 hours or so. It is crazy talk.
Until you meet Him.
Here is the core of Christianity – it is not a set of ideas which we intellectually agree with. It is not a set of moral rules we choose to live by. It is not an emotional crutch we lean on because we feel we cannot handle life on our own. It is a living, daily relationship with the living, daily present Jesus.
Truth is in the encounter. Christianity is a relationship with the God of the Universe, revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, and made possible through the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not a long-distance relationship. It is not a relationship built on memories of things in the past. It is not a relationship that is meant to lie dormant for years and years, to be pulled out when and if we suddenly need help. Being a Christian – being a follower of Jesus – is about a living, breathing, daily, consistent relationship with the once-dead-but-now-resurrected King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Encounter Births New Life:
This encounter – this experience – of the living Lord Jesus, results in such a change in us that Scripture calls it a “new birth” – the old self is completely gone, crucified, put to death; and the new life is come. That is how drastic the change should be.
To try and grasp some of what this means, I want to take you to 1 Peter 1.
1 Peter 1:3
Remember Peter. Jesus’ first disciple, called to become “a fisher of men”, the one on whom Jesus said He would build His church, promised to follow Jesus to death and then when things got dangerous swore he never knew Him, and was then restored by Jesus after a great fish bar-b-que on the beach. He became the leader of the church in Jerusalem, and many years later he wrote these words:
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
It starts with an explosion of praise. Even though it is many years since Jesus rose, it is still foremost on Peter’s mind, and it still results in this explosion of praise. Does it still for you? Does the story still captivate you, still motivate you, still determine your way of living day in and day out?
The next line is packed: “In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Begins with God’s great mercy – beautiful, precious, undeserved. “given” – not earned, not purchased, not bartered for, not required; but given freely, a gift. “new birth” – Here is the completely fresh start. Birth is brand new, starting over, naked without baggage, and it is the gift God gives us out of His great mercy. How many times have we all thought “if only I could go back to do it again…”. How many times have we dreamt of a clean slate… How many times have we ached to have the pain of the past wiped away… Here it is. “In his great mercy he has given us a new birth”.
So the gift is offered. But it must be accepted. It is not forced or coerced or imposed. You and I are free to accept or reject the offer. And furthermore, for those of you thinking “yes I accepted that gift in the past”, it is a continued offer, not a one-time thing. It is a constant newness, a continual re-birth, a fresh start each and every day we walk in relationship with Jesus. We aren’t “done and good” after a one-time experience. We will see that as we travel through.
And then Peter tells us more – it is a “new birth into a living hope”. I love that phrase! A “living hope”. We are born into something that is alive, that has activity and purpose, that is responsive and dynamic, that moves and responds and initiates. It is something that doesn’t stay put in a corner where we placed it, it is living and real. It is a key part of this whole concept of relationships. And Peter names this “hope”. Not hope like we use the word, as a vague but unlikely fulfillment of a remote wish, “I hope it doesn’t rain on my parade”, but rather hope in the Biblical sense of a sure and certain future which will come but just hasn’t yet arrived.
This is a hope that we live in that nothing can shake.
This is a hope that we live in that nothing can undermine.
This is a hope that we live in that makes any situation we face today, even up to the worst possible circumstance, not overwhelming, not debilitating, not victorious over us.
Because this hope is alive. It comes and meets us. It grabs us by the soul and says, “this circumstance does not control you, does not define you, and will not defeat you. Let this world throw the worst it possibly can at you, while you hold on to this: Jesus rose from the dead, you have “a new birth into a living hope.”
When Jerome Groopman diagnosed patients with serious diseases, the Harvard Medical School professor discovered that all of them were “looking for a sense of genuine hope—and indeed, that hope was as important to them as anything he might prescribe as a physician.”
After writing a book called The Anatomy of Hope, Groopman was asked for his definition of hope. He replied: “Basically, I think hope is the ability to see a path to the future. You are facing dire circumstances, and you need to know everything that’s blocking or threatening you. And then you see a path, or a potential path, to get to where you want to be. Once you see that, there’s a tremendous emotional uplift that occurs.”
The doctor confessed, “I think hope has been, is, and always will be the heart of medicine and healing. We could not live without hope.” Even with all the medical technology available to us now, “we still come back to this profound human need to believe that there is a possibility to reach a future that is better than the one in the present.” (sourced from http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/a-living-hope-freddy-fritz-sermon-on-easter-resurrection-120327.asp?Page=2)
And there is more (1 Pet 1:4-5):
As if that “living hope” isn’t already incredible enough, Peter continues:
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is 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.
I like the idea of an inheritance. It is set aside, it is waiting, it is secure. And it provides a great deal of security for us, as well, knowing that there is something good, something waiting, something we can count on. And in this context we are not talking about money; here Peter is talking about something far better: salvation.
See, our “new birth” is into God’s family, as His own children, and as His children we become God’s heirs, Paul calls us “joint heirs with Christ”, and our inheritance consists of this thing that Peter calls “the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time”.
Now I want you to notice the future tense Peter uses. He talks about salvation that is “ready to be revealed in the last time”. Earlier we talked about a gift that has already been given, in the past tense, and it is this truth of new birth. So we might experience some confusion here – is salvation something we received in the past, or is it something we will inherit in the future? Can’t answer that yet, there is one more part (and don’t worry if it seems even more confusing at the start…)
The “more” is coming now (1 Pet 1:6-9)
1 Peter continues,
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
There is lots there, but I want to zero in on verse 9: “you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” So now we have the present tense – “you are receiving”. Confused yet?
- “he has given us a new birth” – past tense
- “salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time” – future tense
- “you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” – present tense
Which is it? Jesus rose from the dead, and that changes everything for us. We can now be saved. But are we saved in the past, when we first meet Jesus and experience Him and accept Him as our Lord? Is our salvation something to come when we die? Or are we being saved?
The answer is yes. And the “yes” must also be “all”. And the biggest part of the “all” is the last one, the present.
It is true that we were saved the moment we received Jesus. But that is not all, that is not the end of the story, this adoption into God’s own family secures our identity but in no way means we can then take off and run away and live however we please, in control of our own lives. Sadly, far too many people even in the church believe this and continue to live like this. Far too many people believe they once prayed a prayer so now they are good; that was all they had to do; we got some “fire insurance” and so now know that God has to let us into heaven when we die. That misses the entire heart of Christianity as a relationship with the God of the Universe. It is like saying that I once met Warren Buffet and he liked me, so now he owes me an inheritance when he dies. There is no relationship with someone I just met once. (and by the way, that is just an example, I never met Warren Buffet!).
It is also true that we will be saved (the future tense). Here is the “living hope”, here is the “inheritance” that is promised. We have something to look forward to, something secure, something that gets us through any and every situation of this life. This is a key theme running all the way through Scripture and through the lives of the saints of history – no matter what happens in this life – even violent death at the hands of ruthless enemies – we have this sure and certain hope that God will be faithful to us and lead us to the room in the Father’s house that Jesus has prepared for us. But again, just believing this future reality undermines relationship. This is like saying we don’t have to visit grandma or grandpa, or call them up, or have any kind of relationship with them because we’ll receive the inheritance anyway. That attitude is repulsive to us.
The greater truth, and the bigger challenge, is in the present tense: “you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” See, true salvation is not a one-time cleansing at the beginning when we met Jesus. Neither is true salvation a “get into heaven free” card that we hold until that moment when our earthly life ends. True salvation is a daily result of an active, living relationship with the risen Lord Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are being saved, each and every day. Saved from hopelessness. Saved from the meaningless pursuit of all the stuff our world screams we need to be happy. Saved from our selfish desires that promise momentary pleasure while actually sucking the life out of us. Saved from insignificance. Saved from monotony, and the mundane humdrum of just another day getting up, trudging through life, going to bed and then doing it all over again tomorrow.
Salvation is something to be received today. Each and every today. If, and only if, we are walking with Jesus each and every day. “Being saved”, in the present tense, is about a daily relationship with Jesus. Every day, not just once a long time ago or once at some distant time in the future, not even just once a year at Easter or once a week at church. Each and every today.
On Friday we stood at the cross and watched Jesus die for us. Today we stand at the empty tomb – overcome with praise and joy that Jesus rose from the dead and we see the triumph of love and power and we accept that it is for us as a gift.
Let me tell you what God asks in return. Today. Each and every today. If you’ve never met Jesus and encountered Him and experienced “new birth”, then I urge you to do that today. And if you’ve never lived with a living hope for the future, then I urge you to grab hold of that today. Then the past and the future will be taken care of. But what matters most is today. What is your relationship with Jesus like today. Each and every today! Are you walking with Him daily? Is it part of how you live, how you work, how you spend your time and money, how you make decisions? Are you walking with Jesus, speaking with Him through prayer and listening to Him as He speaks through His Word (which He can only do if you open it and read it!), are you obeying what He says to do, are you serving Him and His Kingdom or spending all your time on your own interests?
Salvation is for today. For each and every today.
Conclusion:
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. With her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!"
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00 If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere -- Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess -- the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She’s my favorite."
"That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"
"Daddy, you know I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?" Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It’s for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.
What are you holding on to today? What keeps you from walking in vibrant, steady, daily relationship with Jesus each and every day?? Whatever you think you can do with today, Jesus can do better. Whatever joy or purpose or significance you think you can find on your own today, Jesus can give better.
If only you will give Him today. Every today.
