“The Miracle that Still Changes Lives”
Luke 24:1-12
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words. 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
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Nine days ago the surgical team had just begun their work on my daughter in law. They were barely into surgery when the procedure had to be stopped. What was expected to be a 10 hour surgery had lasted only one hour. My oldest son, David received a page that we were needed in the consult room to meet with the lead surgeon. We raced to that area, a small sterile room with a small table and 3 chairs……only to be delayed another 15 minutes before the doctor arrived. That time seemed more like hours……. To say that we were anxious to see the surgeon would be a grave understatement. Neither one of us knew what to say to the other. We just waited. We stared at each other not knowing what the news would be. I tried to help David remain calm. But we were both afraid we were about to hear the worst news possible.
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The disciples found themselves in an extraordinary situation. The One whom they had followed for 3.5 years; had sat at His feet and learned all of the great teachings firsthand, had now been crucified on a cross and buried in a borrowed tomb. These 11 men……Judas was gone at this point; had left their families, their jobs, everything behind, to follow Him and now He was dead in the grave. On the first day of the week several women……Mary and several other women went out to visit the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid. And then to their complete surprise, the body was missing. Two men in clothing who appeared to be shining were standing there and the men asked them this question……“Why do you stand here looking for the living among the dead?” In other words why would you come to a cemetery to visit someone who is alive? The scripture tells us that very evening the disciples were so frightened that they went to a house and locked all the doors in hopes that they would not be found, only to face a similar death if they claimed to know Him. And on that day, the first day of the week, the day we mark down as Resurrection Sunday, they were all reminded of several truths. (1) First of all the disciples were reminded of the truths they had learned in the past. Let’s face it, sometimes, we just forget. Parents have to remind their children on a regular basis of many of the things they have taught them. Supervisors have to remind their employees to stay on task, to complete what they start and the disciples had to be reminded of a truth they had been told over and over and over. The scripture puts it this way…..”From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Did you hear that? From that time on Jesus explain to His disciples He was leaving.
It’s hard to imagine why it had not sunk in. But let’s face it. The disciples were human. We refer to them as saints but they were certainly not without sin. Peter denied he even knew Jesus, Judas walked away completely, they lost faith on numerous occasions and the list of mistakes they made goes on and on. They were ordinary men. Just like you and me. And Jesus had to stop many times and say, let me tell you one more time where all of this is headed. Because they had to be reminded.
(2) The disciples were reminded to share their story with others. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ you have a story to tell. A powerful story. You have a past that has been forgiven; completely changed and you have been given a new future. So you need to share that story. Have you ever stopped to think, I wonder what others will have to say about me when I am gone? How will I be remembered?
One morning in the year 1888 Alfred Nobel, awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed by mistake. It was actually Alfred's Nobel’s brother who had died and the reporter by mistake reported the death of the wrong brother. Now all of us would be shocked if we opened the newspaper and read our own obituary. Anyone would be troubled by those circumstances, but to Alfred the shock was overwhelming because now he saw himself as the world saw him. He was referred to in the obituary as the "Dynamite King," because he was the inventor of these explosives and as a result had made a huge fortune from explosives. As far as the general public was concerned, this was the entire purpose of his life. The sum of his accomplishments was that he had created a way to destroy things and kill people. And that was all he would be remembered for. As he read the obituary, he resolved to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life. So he wrote out his last will and testament--an endowment of five annual prizes for outstanding contributions in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. Now this would be how he would be remembered. It is called today, the "Nobel Peace Prize." Because he realized that the world would remember him in a negative way he redirected his life and found new purpose. Now he had a new story to share. What will others have to say about YOU after you are gone from this earth? How will you be remembered? It is still not too late to change your direction in life.
(3) They were reminded there are always those who will view it as nonsense. I spoke at length with a gentleman recently who was one of our Bible teachers in a church I served years ago. We caught up on Facebook and I quickly learned that even though he had been raised in a Christian home, had attended church all of his life and had taught God’s word for many years, he now considered it to be pure nonsense. He openly laughed at the miracles we find in the scripture and he no longer believes they happened. He ridiculed me for believing that the Bible is God’s word without any mixture of error. Which I do believe and make no apology for it. He said you actually believe that X = y? He said X can only = x. One thing can’t be another. One thing cannot become another.
But it can in the hands of Jesus. In the hands of Jesus things change. 5 small loaves of bread and a few small fish can feed over 5000. A man who has never walked gets up and runs down the street. A man who has never heard a sound can suddenly hear a whisper, a woman who was ostracized by society was suddenly accepted and Lazarus who was in the grave for 4 days was up walking around. X can equal whatever God tells it to equal. Death can become life, water can become wine. And we can be taken from a life of sin and running in the wrong direction to a life of serving God.
(4) They were reminded that in this life, questions are always allowed. My wife has often suspected that I may be the most inquisitive person on earth. I ask a lot of questions. For several reasons. (1) I want to learn. (2) I am naturally interested in details. It may even be my spiritual gift. (3) I simply cannot let go of things until I have a good answer.
So I am very pleased when I see that many men and women in the scripture asked questions. I totally understand where the fellow was when He said to Jesus, “Lord I believe….but help my unbelief.” Let me admit something to you as your pastor. I have doubts too. When someone tells me they have zero doubts or questions I generally feel like they have never faced anything that is difficult. Either that or they are simply in denial. We walk by faith. We ask questions. But we never walk away. We grow through it.
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Well the surgeon finally arrived and the first words out of her mouth were, “she is alive. But we had to stop the surgery. Her lungs collapsed and we were afraid we would lose her." The surgery was then postponed and completed several days later. But the most important words she spoke were these: SHE IS ALIVE.
Some of you today have heard the truth many times in the past but you never allowed it to take root. Today you can.
Some of you today have a story to tell but you don’t do it for some reason. Some of you no doubt think the whole story is like a fairy tale. It’s nonsense. Someone made it all up to make us feel better. And all of us, at least those who will admit it, have questions. So let me give you a solution if I could. Take hold of the truth that has been lingering in your heart all of these years. Let the story out. It’s your story. And it’s the best story ever to be told. Allow your faith to outweigh your doubt. Allow your answers to override your questions and do what you have been wanting to do for years. Offer your life to the only ONE who can give you true life. Let me close by asking you a question that was asked earlier....Do you know Him? What better day than today to meet Him for the first time?
