Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a crucial battle raged between two great civilizations—the Greeks and the Persians. They were among the world’s super-powers at that time. The clash of their armies took place on the level fields near a city called Marathon. The battle went on for hours. In many respects it was a fight to the death. In the end the outnumbered Greeks, the underdogs in the fight, managed to pull off an unlikely victory over the Persians.
But there was a problem. The Senate, the governing body of the Greeks, many miles away in the city of Athens, was about to ratify a treaty of partial surrender and appeasement with the Persians. Knowing what was about to happen, the victorious Greek soldiers sent a runner in full battle gear to cover the twenty-seven miles to Athens to share the good news about their victory. By the time the young man reached Athens he had literally run a marathon. The legends from that time say that he was totally spent, that he literally ran himself to death. In his exhaustion he was able to utter only one word to the Athenians before he died. “Victory,” he said as he collapsed.
That one word made a huge difference in the lives of the people of Athens. Instead of a surrender there was a celebration! In the place of fear there was peace and in the place of tears there was joy. Instead of slavery there was freedom. The good news of a victory changed everything for a people who rightfully expected defeat.
Although it would be a challenge for us Christians to use only one word to summarize Easter, I think you would agree that “victory,” does the job pretty well. Victory is what our celebration last weekend was all about. Through the words of Scripture that were spoken and sung in our services last Saturday and Sunday we were once again reminded that Easter is our victory celebration.
Today as we gather in the afterglow of Easter, we are again going to recall the facts surrounding Jesus great victory and be led to continue to respond to that victory in our daily lives. It is my prayer for all of you that you would:
“LIVE EACH DAY LIKE IT’S EASTER!”
I. Recall the great things your Savior has done
II. Respond to the great things your Savior has done
Psalm 118 is one that Bible scholars rightfully call “Messianic.” In other words it pointed ahead to Jesus—the Messiah. It was a very direct prophecy about his work as the sacrifice for sin and the substitute for sinners. The original context and significance of this Psalm is somewhat unclear. Some feel that it was written as a celebration of one of King David’s victories. Others say that it may have been written later for another king or even for the return of the exiles from Babylon. If you read the whole Psalm (we heard part of it earlier in our service) you will come to the conclusion that it is a hymn celebrating some great victory for God’s people under the leadership of the king whom God had sent them. Although the Old Testament is filled with great victories that the LORD won for his people ultimately, they were just shadows of the great things that the Savior would do for God’s people.
I.
“V-E Day.” “V-J Day.” What do those letters mean to you? A generation ago everyone knew what those letters meant. V-E Day stood for “Victory in Europe Day” and marked the end of World War II in Europe. V-J Day was short for “Victory in Japan Day.” That day marked the surrender of the Japanese and signaled the end of the war. Of course, there were huge celebrations on each of those days. And I am sure that those who fought in the war and those who went through the difficulties here at home remembered those two days for years to come. But over time the importance and greatness of those victory days has faded. Today it might be a challenge to find someone who even knows the actual dates of each. And unless we know the history behind those two days and the sacrifice that went into bringing them about, they really aren’t going to mean that much to us. We would first need to hear some of the history concerning the forces of evil that threatened freedom around the world at that time. Then those of us who didn’t live through World War II would also need to learn about the blood, sweat, and tears that went into achieving victory.
Since nearly two thousand years have passed since V-O-G Day (victory over the grave day) we all need to be reminded of what happened. We need to look at the enemies that our Savior faced and the facts about what went into his victory. That is one of the purposes of the Easter season.
To recall the great things our Savior has done we have to look back at the enemies he faced. In the resurrection chapter of the Bible the Apostle Paul reminds us of the forces Jesus was fighting when he came to earth. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” Sin is the cause of death. We don’t have to look any farther than the second chapter of the Bible to receive a reminder of that fact. God gave one command to the crown of his creation. “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” And there was one consequence attached to that command. God said, “for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16 17) You know the rest of the story because you have experienced it firsthand. There is death in the world. Death entered the world because of sin. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) Sin brings death. It is a calculation as simple as the sum of one added to one equaling two. And yet the empty tomb tells us that Jesus overcame sin and death.
From the Bible we learn that Jesus began crushing the power of sin and death even before his own death and resurrection. He started that battle even before his birth in Bethlehem. The eternal Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Mary so that he would be fully human and able to die. Throughout his life Jesus was tempted to sin. Yet, he never sinned. Not once did he let the power of sin loose in his heart or mind. After living a sinless life he then let death sting him in our place. Hebrews 2:14-15 reminds us of this, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Jesus’ Easter victory proves that he has destroyed death and the devil’s power over it.
In order to live each day like it is Easter we need to look back at the victory Jesus won through his perfect life and innocent death. It is good for us to know what enemies he faced and to remember the facts about his victory. As 2 Timothy 1:10 tells us concerning Jesus, “[he] has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” That is the victory we recall when we live each day like it is Easter.
Although we don’t know the circumstances surrounding Psalm 118 its verses certainly capture a great victory celebration. They can serve as a model for every generation of believers. When we live each day like it’s Easter we shout, “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things! 16 The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!” When we recall the great things our Savior has done those words will capture our feelings. Yes, Jesus is our strength, and song, and salvation! Because sin has been paid for, Satan has been silenced, and death has been conquered we have the strength to live each day! The truth about Jesus’ victory puts a song in our heart and a spring in our step! Friends, let’s start living each day like it’s Easter as we keep those truths in mind.
II.
Just as news of the victory at Marathon changed the lives of the people in the city of Athens, and just as the news of victory in Europe and Japan changed the lives of all Americans, so too the news of the LORD’s great victory in Psalm 118 changed the lives of God’s people. Listen again to their response, “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. 18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.” Wow! The great things that the LORD had done for his people led them to worship him and give him thanks. They led them to proclaim to others what the LORD had done. The people were led to live joyful and confident lives.
Has our Savior’s great Easter victory had the same impact on us? Did the word we heard last weekend change us? Have we been lead to praise God more fully and worship him more sincerely? Did Easter cause us to give thanks to God for what he did for us in Christ? Are we living each day for the LORD and living with confidence in every situation we face?
Last weekend 573 people attended our Easter services. It was “standing room” only at the 7:00 a.m. service. The 10:30 a.m. service was fairly full. And even the Saturday night service saw higher than usual attendance. I am sure that what I am telling you doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Churches always see higher than usual attendances at their Easter services. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a full church every time we gather for worship? And don’t you agree that it would be wonderful to have the same Easter excitement and joy in our hearts every time we come together for worship? That can only happen through a Spirit-filled response to the great things our Savior has done.
A number of years ago during my time as a pastor in Tulsa I met a woman who was looking for a church home. Her name was Chris. After visiting the congregation for a few Sundays she said that she planned to become a member. Then a few months later she suddenly stopped attending. I contacted her and asked her why she had decided not to join the congregation. She said she was going to continue her search for a church elsewhere. She told me that something I said in my sermon on Easter Sunday upset her. I had said that Jesus has defeated death forever. Why did that upset her? Someone she loved had recently died and she didn’t see Jesus victory over death. When I said Jesus’ resurrection crushed death’s power, she said that she couldn’t believe it because she saw that believers still die. She missed the point of Easter and wasn’t living each day like it was Easter. She needed courage to deal with death. Courage that doesn’t deny the pain death causes but that denies that death is permanent. May we receive such Easter encouragement again this morning.
In a poem entitled “How Do I Know He Lives?” a Christian author summarized how Jesus’ resurrection gives us courage to deal with life in this sinful world so often filled with sorrow. “How do I know that Christ has risen? / What proof have I to give? He touched my life one blessed day, And I began to live. // How do I know he left the tomb / That morning long ago? / I met Him just this morning, / And my heart is still aglow. // How do I know the endless life / He gained for me that day? / His life within is proof enough / Of Immorality. // How do I know that Christ still lives, / Rich blessings to impart? / He walks with me along the way / And He lives within my heart.” That is Easter encouragement—courage to deal with whatever live throw at us.
Life without our Savior’s victory is really no life at all. To illustrate the point I want to remind you of a tragic story that hit the news around this time of the year in 2004. A former NFL player, Pat Tillman, was killed fighting in Afghanistan. He had played football for Arizona State University and then the Arizona Cardinals. Then he had voluntarily enlisted with the Army Rangers following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. To do that he turned down a $3.6 million contract with the NFL. Pat Tillman was just 27-years-old when he was killed. At his memorial service he was eulogized by family, friends and celebrities at a 2 ½ hour service in his hometown of San Jose, California. Pat’s father said in his brief remarks at the service: “I miss my son, and it’s not getting any better.” USA Today reported that Alex Garwood, a brother-in-law, opened his comments by pouring a glass of beer, setting it in front of the lectern, and then yelling some angry expletives to the large crowd which had gathered. Richard Tillman, Pat’s brother, stood before the gathering in a white T-shirt and jeans and shocked the crowd when he said with his voice shaking: “It was amazing to be his baby brother. He was a champion. And Pat was not religious, so he’s not with God, he’s just (expletive) dead.” Hopelessness. Despair. That is what death means to people without Christ’s Easter victory.
I don’t imagine any of us would look at death that way. But Satan certainly hopes we will. He wants us to live each day as if Easter never happened. But then our Savior comes to us and assures us that he has taken care of death. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26) When we know that and believe it we are living each day like it’s Easter.
“Victory.” In the history of our world that one word has changed many lives. People were able to live in peace, freedom, and safety because someone won a victory for them. Because of what victory meant to them people throughout the ages have had holidays and traditions to recall great victories from their past.
“Victory.” Yes, that is a good word to summarize Easter. Let’s take one phrase from Psalm 118 and make it our motto for life. “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.” With that truth in our hearts, we will be living each day like it’s Easter. We will recall the great things our Savior has done. We will respond to the great things our Savior has done. Amen.
