4/17/22 Christ Fellowship
Easter Prep -- Part 4 -- Matthew 28
Somebody define the word "miracle" for me. How would you describe what a miracle is? I googled it and it came up with this that I found interesting: "a miracle is a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency". Then it gave this example: "the miracle of rising from the grave." I thought that was pretty appropriate for today.
Now somebody tell me of a biblical miracle that you would love to have seen. The parting of the Red Sea, Daniel in the lion's den, Sampson doing all his strongman stuff, the walls of Jericho falling down, the plagues of Egypt, and the big fish swallowing Jonah are all great examples of miracles. They are all surprising events that can't be explained and have to be attributed to God.
Do you believe those miracles really happened? Now, I know that you would, of course, say "yes" this morning as we sit here with our church family. But do you really believe that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3) were real people that really got thrown into a real fire and walked around in it and never got burned? I hope you do. God is the God of miracles.
Now, this question is maybe a little more difficult. What is the definition of "providence"? I looked that up and it said that providence was "God's power sustaining and guiding human destiny". Give me an example of providence. My favorite example of providence in scripture is Joseph who was sold by his brothers, charged with a crime he didn't commit, put in jail, interpreted some dreams and became second in command of all Egypt and was therefore able to protect and provide for his family -- even those brothers that sold him. Only God could have ordained all those events.
Now, let me ask you if you truly believe in God's providence? Do you truly believe that God is able to accomplish what He wants done even when people sin? I mean, sin is never God's will. Doesn't that throw a wrench into God's sovereign plan of providence? No. It doesn't. That's why it is obvious that God is at work and it's not just fate or destiny or some other man-made term. God is the God of providence.
God is the God of miracles and God is the God of providence and so when God says in Isaiah 55:9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" He is talking about using miracles and providence like only He can. Miracles and providence are things only God can do.
We have been preparing ourselves for this Easter Sunday for the last three weeks by looking at the circumstances and attitudes that led up to the death and resurrection of Jesus. And all through here we see the providence of God. You can literally trace it all the way back to Adam and Eve but it really starts to be obvious in the little book of Ruth that we just got through studying before this.
Do you remember at the very end of Ruth, the last paragraph that is just another one of those "begat" passages that has a bunch of hard-to-pronounce names? If you just read that, you wonder why on earth that is there for. But there we see that Ruth -- in God's providence -- marries Boaz and they have a kid. No big deal, right? And that kid has a kid and on it goes until it says that their great, great grandkid was...David, as in, King David, which is cool in and of itself but who else then comes from the line of David? Bingo. There's Jesus. God's providence.
But I hear ya. "Todd, that's almost interesting but what does that have to do with Easter? What does God's providence and God's miracles have to do with the resurrection of Jesus?" Well, I hope the answer to that question is obvious or, at least, will be obvious as we read our passage this morning. Turn to Matthew 27.
And as you turn to Matthew 27, you may be asking why you hear the same story every Easter. Well, I'm pretty sure that the last guy to preach anything really new was maybe the Apostle Paul or maybe Peter or one of those guys. And like the Apostle Paul, I too will say, "I preach Christ and Him crucified." (1 Cor. 1:23)
So, turn please to Matthew 27 and I want to read verses 45-50 first and then we will read some more and maybe some more after that. Matthew 27:45-50 says, "From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"). 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him." 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit."
Now, don't read any further yet. Stop right there and just know that when Satan saw Jesus die, he had a humdinger of a party. At the moment that Jesus gave up His Spirit, Satan popped some champagne, danced a jig and laughed at what he thought was his victory. The problem was that Satan didn't know God to be the God of miracles and providence. Let's see a few of the first miracles as we continue reading in verses 51-54.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs and after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
At the moment of the death of Jesus, we see miracles and providence. The veil of the temple was maybe as much as six stories tall and four inches thick and it was torn like a Kleenex from top to bottom. Then there was an earthquake. Then the rocks split open. Jesus had said if His disciples didn't praise Him, the rocks would cry out and here we see the rocks splitting open with cries of praise and obedience to the God of miracles.
And as they say on TV commercials, "But wait! There's more!" Dead people long buried came back to life and walked around and told people their stories. Can you imagine? But then we see -- even here -- God's providence that allowed this soldier who was just doing his job guarding Jesus to see what all happened and he believed.
But then...the scene changes. The mood is oppressive for three days. Don't you know it was hard to breathe for the disciples and the friends of Jesus who were expecting Jesus to be their military and political leader? All their hopes and dreams were dead and buried in a grave sealed up with a huge rock and guarded by soldiers and there was nothing they could do.
But let's read next from Matthew 28 and read just the first verse. "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb." Have you ever done that? Have you ever gone to the grave of a loved one? I think it's fine to do. We all know they aren't there but there is something about seeing the grave, even talking to the person that is sometimes helpful to the grief process. Don't spend too much time there. It can get to be unhealthy but you can sure understand why the two Marys went there that morning even if we can't put it into words.
I just imagine that they had hardly slept, hardly eaten anything and they are overcome with grief. Bless their hearts. It was so unfair. The trial was a sham, even illegal. And why didn't Jesus protest more? Why didn't He explain things to the Pharisees? Why didn't He just call a couple of thousand angels to come and smite all His enemies right into the grave like they deserve? This is just awful.
But as you know...and as you would expect me to read...that's not the end of the story. God is not done with being the God of miracles and providence. Verses 2-7 say, "There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
Miracles and providence. The birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus are all full of miracles and providence. Does God still do miracles? Sure He does. But I understand if you are skeptical today. I heard the story of a hospital that was expecting a scheduled visit by Pope John Paul II back in the 80's. The hospital was a flurry of activity getting ready but in the midst of it all, a doctor who was working a long shift and was about to see yet another patient sat down in an unused wheelchair to take a break and read some notes on the next patient. While he sat there, the Pope walked in and immediately saw the doctor in the wheelchair and went over and laid his hands on him and blessed him. As the Pope walked off the doctor got out of the wheelchair and walked to his next patient and all the people that were with the Pope cried out, "Hallelujah!"
Another miracle by the Pope! Now, to me, a baby being born is a miracle. A tree that buds or flowers that bloom are miracles. A rainbow is a miracle. Humans can't do any of that on their own. You say making a baby takes two. I say it takes three. Babies are miracles. But does God still do miracles like He did in the Bible? Well, just remember that miracles in the Bible seem like they happened every thirty minutes but when you study it you see that it might have been years or decades or even centuries between a lot of those miracles.
But God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and He can and still does do miracles. You also need to remember that the reason God did a lot of those miracles in the Bible was to show His power or to validate the power of Jesus. We now have the record of those miracles in scripture that they didn't have and that is part of the reason that maybe we don't see the miracles like they did in the Bible.
I hear some people say that the reason we don't see miracles like they did in the Bible is that we lack faith and that may be part of it sometimes. But the real reason is that God doesn't need to do those kinds of miracles anymore. He doesn't need to part Lake Bridgeport like He did the Red Sea. He doesn't need to give us manna to eat. He doesn't need to make Cody's axe head float or Troy's wall around his house fall down. We have all the evidence we need that God can do miracles in scripture. And if people can't believe that, they won't believe if they saw a miracle with their own eyes.
This truth is explained in Luke 16:19-31. In the story, a man in hell asks Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers. Abraham informed the man, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31).
Jesus performed countless miracles, yet the vast majority of people did not believe in Him. If God performed miracles today as He did in the past, the result would be the same. People would be amazed and would believe in God for a short time. But that faith would be shallow and would disappear the moment something unexpected or frightening happened to them. A faith based on miracles is not a mature faith. God performed the greatest miracle of all time in coming to earth as the Man Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins (Romans 5:8) so that we could be saved (John 3:16). God does still perform miracles--many of them simply go unnoticed or are denied. However, we do not need more miracles. What we need is to believe in the miracle of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
The purpose of miracles was to authenticate the performer of the miracles. Acts 2:22 declares, "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs." (Does God still perform miracles? | GotQuestions.org)
The good news is that we still have all the power of Jesus, all the power of God the Father through prayer. God still does miracles through our prayers. We don't have to see chariots of fire or hear a donkey talk to believe that God can heal our loved ones. We know He can restore our families and He can change our lives and that is a huge miracle.
I heard the story of an alcoholic who came to have a relationship with Jesus. Not long after, he ran into an old drinking buddy and told him what happened. The buddy said, "Oh, c'mon. You don't believe in all those Jesus miracles and stuff now do you? You don't believe Jesus actually turned water into wine?" The man replied, "I sure do. I know He did because in my house He turned the whiskey into furniture."
How many times has the same basic miracle been done just in our church? We have seen God turn meth into a job. We have seen Him turn divorce into marriage. We have seen badly broken legs walk again. We have seen nine people turn into fifty or sixty people -- all by the miracles of God and all to the glory of God and all by the providence of God that has allowed us to all come from different places and different backgrounds with different levels of income and education to be united together as a church family.
But the greatest miracle of all was when our dead Savior Jesus opened His eyes and walked out of that tomb like a Boss. And He did it because God the Father said that where there was sin, something had to die. And we know that we are all sinners. Romans 3:23 tells us that and we all know that. We also know that, as it says in Romans 6:23, that what we deserve for that sin is eternal death in Hell, separated from God and everybody else.
We know that we couldn't pay the price that Jesus paid and God knew it and so God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all agreed before the beginning of time that this was going to be the plan. In God's sovereign providence He ordained that Jesus would come to Earth, heal and teach and make the Pharisees mad. And He used those Pharisees and their pride and disobedience like tools to accomplish what He wanted done, for His glory and our salvation. But because He was God, Jesus overcame death and lives today in glorious Heaven and wants you to join Him there as a co-heir to all the good things the Father has given Him. Do you see God's providence in that? Do you see God's miracles in that?
And it is by His sovereign providence that you are here today. It is a miracle that we are all here since we know that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking to see who he can devour. It's a miracle that some of you are here because I've seen how some of you drive! But we serve the God of miracles and the God of providence.
I say "we" do. Do you know Him today? Do you have a relationship with the sovereign God of miracles and providence? I'm not asking if you go to church or what your parents believe. I don't care what you put in the offering or how good you are. Honestly, I doubt that your good deeds will ever outweigh your bad deeds but thankfully God doesn't grade on the curve and He doesn't weigh your deeds at all. We are saved by grace and through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9) and nothing else.
I heard the great pastor Alistair Begg say that when he gets to Heaven, he wants to look up the thief on the cross. He said he wants to ask him about how it went when he got to Heaven. Can't you just imagine?
St. Peter asks him why he is there. "I don't know."
Why should I let you in? "I don't know."
Do you believe in the inerrancy of scripture? "What's that?"
Have you been baptized? "Nope."
Ever taken the Lord's Supper? "Never heard of it."
Hang on. Let me get my supervisor.
God shows up, smiles and asks him, "Why should I let you into my Heaven?"
The man says, "The guy on the middle cross said I could come in and I believed Him."
That's all it takes! It's that easy and that difficult. All you have to do is believe but that belief will change your life. Submit to Him today. Ask Him to forgive your sins and repent of those sins. Then confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Do it right now as the music plays.
