Howard Stern (who’s not really a nice man) has a popular program on Sirius radio where interviews politicians and movie stars and so on. About 5 years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a guest on his show and during the interview, Howard Stern asked Schwarzenegger “Tell me, governor, what happens to us when we die?” To which Schwarzenegger replied “Nothing. You're 6 feet under. Anyone that tells you something else is a (curse word) liar. We don't know what happens with the soul and all this spiritual stuff that I'm not an expert in, but I know that the body - as we see each other now – we will never see each other again like that.” (https://people.com/arnold-schwarzenegger-says-heaven-is-a-fantasy-we-won-t-see-each-other-again-after-we-re-gone-7508587)
Essentially, Schwarzenegger was saying (pause) “I’ll NOT… be Bach.”
Down thru the ages, various people have struggled with the idea of life after death. For example – in Israel there were Sadducees (who were usually the Priests at the Temple) rejected the idea that anybody would … come back. Acts 23:8 tells us “The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection...”
And the Greeks of that day also rejected the idea of a physical resurrection. When Paul was at Athens he preached about Christ crucified/ risen from dead. And in Acts 17:30-32 we read that Paul told them “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
(And then we’re told) “Now when (the Athenians) heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.”
Why would they mock? Well, let’s face it… it does seem a bit unbelievable.
ILLUS: Several years ago, one of Newsweek magazine’s religious editors (Lisa Miller) put an article on the magazine’s blog the week before Easter. And in that pre-Easter article she summed up her view of Resurrection. She said “For my part I don’t buy it… This story (of Christ’s resurrection) has strained the credulity of even the most devoted believer. For, truly, it's unbelievable.” Several times in her article she said that the idea of a physical resurrection was “Unbelievable.” It “presented credibility problems.” And, she concluded: “For my part, I don’t buy it.” (Newsweek – Lisa Miller March 25th April 5, 2010 On Blog)
Now to be fair, she’s not the only one to have had problems with the idea. A few years back, Scripps Howard News Service, along with Ohio University, asked a cross-section of America this question: “Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected?” 54% of those surveyed said they did not believe they’d be resurrected and 10% were undecided. So, nearly 2/3s of Americans said “We don’t believe it’s possible. Dead people tend to stay dead.” (http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RESURRECTION)
And in the days of Jesus, there were lots of people who had problems with this concept. Not only did the Sadducees reject the idea that people could rise from the dead. So did Jesus’ disciples. When Jesus spoke to His disciples and told them that He would die, be buried and rise again Peter DIDN’T believe it. “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Matthew 16:22
And neither could the other disciples: When the other disciples heard the news “they were filled with grief” Matthew 17:23.
And finally, after Jesus rose from the dead, Peter and John raced to the tomb and found it empty. And when they arrived at the tomb “They STILL DID NOT UNDERSTAND from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.” John 20:9
Even Peter and John didn’t believe Jesus would rise from the dead. BUT HE DID!
ILLUS: There’s a little tidbit from history that adds to this truth. If you recall, the Jews spread the rumor that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His body (to explain the absence of Jesus’ body from the tomb). After Christ’s Resurrection, Claudius - emperor of Rome issued a decree demanding people stop stealing bodies from Judah’s tombs. (Normally, grave robbers of the time stole valuables, not bodies!)
But archaeologists found a marble table called “The Nazareth Inscription”. It was a decree mandated a death penalty in Israel for anyone caught robbing bodies. So why pass a law NOW, in Claudius’ reign? Well, apparently A BODY turned up missing… the body of Jesus.
(https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/even-caesar-confirmed-resurrection/?utm_source=facebook-aig&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebook-aig&fbclid=IwAR2BdhgvsVvnS1Wu2ZuFcLLQEf_gIxSsOSXrh2lG9FH6H5hk3gtl85_ivq4)
But the body wasn’t missing for long. Paul tells us of 100s of witnesses to the risen Christ. In I Corinthians 15:3-8 we read “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than FIVE HUNDRED BROTHERS at one time, MOST OF WHOM ARE STILL ALIVE, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”
So – Jesus rose from the dead. But now, the question is – what difference does that make to you and I? Why should we care?
Well first, it proves that there IS life after death. If Jesus rose from the dead it proves that we can rise from dead as well. In 1 Corinthians 15: 20 we’re told that “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
ILLUS: That reminded me of a poem by Aretta Loving, that quoted a verse from Acts 2:24. “It was not possible” for Him. What is this I read? Not possible for Jesus? Heresy! Creator. Mighty God. Ruler of the universe. “Crippled one, get up!” “Blind eyes, open!” “You dead, come forth! Live again!” He spoke. They did. So what is this I read? Not possible for Jesus? Heresy! Ah, but read on: It was not possible for Him… to be held by death. It was not possible for Him to be held by that last enemy. Jesus lives! And because He lives, I live. Now - and Eternally. Oh glad message, the message of Easter – It was not possible for death to hold Him!”
IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE… FOR DEATH TO HOLD JESUS! And so He rose from the grave to live for all eternity! But why? Why did Jesus rise from the grave? I mean, did He do it just to prove that He could? Well… no!
I got to thinking about that this past week and something occurred to me! This is the Easter weekend. Everything started (on Friday) with Jesus dying on the cross at Calvary. But then, on the 3rd day (Sunday)… Jesus rose from dead! Calvary and the Empty Tomb – it’s like a package deal. Two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one without the other. And yet they are two DISTINCTLY different events and they accomplish 2 distinctly different things.
Romans 6:3-5 points this out. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
Not long ago, it occurred to me that our baptism makes TWO promises. The first promise is that – when we die to our sins and are buried in the waters, our sins are completely removed. They don’t exist anymore. We leave our past (with its sin, shame and guilt) right there in the water. And… that’s the first promise. Our sins are washed away.
The 2nd promise is that if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. When we were buried with Christ in baptism… and we rose from those waters, the promise was THIS – death can’t hold us. Just like we rose from those waters, in the same way we will RISE from the grave to meet Him in the air.
(PAUSE) Then something else occurred to me. Without the resurrection… Jesus’ death on the cross was incomplete. You see, Calvary was where Jesus died for our sins. In 1 Peter 2:24 we’re told “(Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
Jesus died on the cross FOR our sins so that we might die TO our sins and live for Him. Without the cross… there is NO forgiveness of sins.
And the empty tomb of Christ is a guarantee of OUR resurrection. Because Jesus rose from the dead… we will too. Like I said – that’s the promise. But, if Jesus had not risen from the grave, then - when you and I were baptized into Christ’s death - without the resurrection… we would (literally) be DEAD IN THE WATER.
Now… how do I know that? Well Paul wrote: “If the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR SINS. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” I Corinthians 15:16-20
If Jesus had NOT risen from the grave, His death on the cross would have been an empty sacrifice because we would STILL BE IN OUR SINS. (I never saw that before!) The Cross And the empty Tomb are 2 sides of same coin. You can’t have one without the other.
ILLUS: A couple hundred years ago, there was a man named Thomas Jefferson (you may have heard of him). He went through the GOSPELS and cut and pasted together his own version of the life of Christ. The only problem was Jefferson refused to believe in the miracles of Jesus. So his gospel left out all the miracles - the healings, and the casting out demons, and bringing the dead back to life. So, it’s not surprising, that the last sentence in the “Gospel According to Jefferson” (actually it was called “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”) reads: “There they laid Jesus. And rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.”
According to Jefferson… Jesus lived a good life… and then He died. And Jefferson’s Gospel left Jesus in the grave. Jesus would NEVER BE back. And as a result, WE would never be back!
But Paul wrote: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O grave, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 15:51-57
Thomas Jefferson was wrong… and so was Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Jesus returns WE will be back - You will BE back and I will be back, because the grave will not hold us.
CLOSE: Kathryn Foust was a member here years ago, and she shared in Sunday School that one of her sisters had died while she was still a young child. This devastated her father. Every year, on the girl’s birthday, Kathryn said her father went out to the graveside and cried inconsolably. However, when the father became a Christian, that all changed. After his baptism, he still went out to the graveside every year, but his grief was no longer overwhelming. He would lay flowers at the grave, but he no longer wept as he had before. He believed in the resurrection. He believed his child would be back… and He’d be back. This left such a powerful impression on Kathryn that it led her to become a Christian.
WE WILL BE BACK!
