Death and Taxes
ILLUS: If you go back to 1700 and all the way up through to the year 2100, a day like today will
only happen 12 times. Oh, I’m not talking about Easter. What is unusual about today is that
Easter and “Tax Day” fall on the same day. On the same day we celebrate the Risen Savior, we
have to “render unto Caesar.....”.
You’ve probably heard the saying - “The only things guaranteed in life are death and taxes.” I’m
not so sure that statement is absolutely true, though. I’m guessing that with enough deductions,
loopholes, and a “creative” accountant, you can avoid paying most, if not all, of your taxes. So,
there’s no guarantee there. That leaves us with death to deal with. When we’re done here today, I
think you’ll agree that death is not guaranteed, either.
ILLUS: Four friends were talking about death. One of them asked the other three, "When you are
in your casket and people are mourning you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"
The first man said, "I’d like to hear them say that I was a fine physician in my time and a great
family man." The second fellow said, "I’d like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and a
school teacher who made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow." The third man replied,
"I’d like to hear them say, ’Look, he’s moving!’"
You know, I think most of us can relate to that last fellow, but I can think of something far
better I’d like someone to say if I were lying in a casket. I’d like to hear the words that Jesus
spoke to Martha after her brother Lazarus had died. He said, "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." Friends, the resurrection, death being defeated, is at the heart of Christianity. We
Christians absolutely believe that our faith makes a difference in this life. I think the best thing
about Christianity is the hope it gives that physical death will not be the end, but thanks to Jesus
we can and will experience eternal life. I’m thankful that when I do a funeral service for a person
who believed, I can say to the grieving family, "Death has not won. Death was defeated on the
cross and this is just the beginning of life eternal for this person in heaven.
ILLUS: A three-year-old girl, Nicole, was as anxious for Easter to come as she had been for
Christmas to arrive. One day as Nicole and her father stopped at a store to buy her a new pair of
shoes…she once again said, "I can’t wait for Easter Daddy!" Her dad asked, "Do you know what
Easter means, honey?" She replied, "Yes." "Well, what does Easter mean?" In her own sweet
three-year-old way, with arms raised, a smile on her face, and at the top of her voice she said,
"Surprise!"
What better word could sum up the meaning of Easter! Surprise, death! Surprise, sin! Surprise,
mourning disciples! Surprise, modern-day people! Surprise, powers of evil! Christ is risen! He’s
alive!"
Death has been defeated. Q: What is the date of death’s birth? A: The moment Adam & Eve
sinned. Scripture tells us: “...by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world and death by sin.”.
And today we celebrate the date of death’s demise. In Genesis we are told the nature of death’s
death as well. “he will crush your head.....” is what God tells the serpent.
ILLUS: A recent Easter morning B.C. comic shows a tomb. It’s night and the stone covers the
opening of the tomb. In the second frame you see light shining around the edges of the stone. In
the next frame you’re in Peter’s cave. There’s a rumble as the stone comes rolling through the
door of Peter’s cave only to crash with a loud "bang" which wakes up Peter.
Peter steps out of his cave and sees the tomb. A cross shaped star is shining overhead. You can
see the trail that the rolling stone left. Peter heads up to the tomb. When he gets there he sees
footprints in the dirt and begins to follow them. The sun is starting to rise. Peter follows the
footprints down the hill right up to a small lake. The sun is fully risen and the footprints go right
across the water. When Peter looks across the lake he sees a snake obviously mad and recovering
from some sort of trauma. The snake says, "Well, that was rude! . . .Some guy just stepped on my
head."
Had the stone not been rolled away; had Jesus been left in the tomb to rot; had Jesus not risen
from the dead, then sin would have won. I’m here to tell you that the stone has been rolled away.
Jesus did step on the head of the snake. He not only stepped on it but he crushed the life out of it.
Sin no longer rules our lives. Sin has been defeated. He is risen.
ILLUS: One little boy whose Daddy was a mortician heard the story of Jesus on Easter Sunday
and asked, "Do you mean that Jesus really rose up from the dead?" "Oh, yes," his Sunday
School teacher said. The boy shook his head. "I know my daddy didn’t bury Him or He’d
never get up again!"
ILLUS: There was an item printed in Newsweek magazine a few years ago. It was a letter from
the Greenville County, South Carolina, Department of Social Services. The letter was written to
a dead person. It said: "To whom it may concern: Your food stamps will be stopped effective
immediately, because we have received notice that you passed away. You may reapply if there is
a change in your circumstances."
I don’t know about you, and regardless of what that little boy thinks about his daddy, there’s only
one person I know of who has had that kind of "change of circumstances," and that is Jesus
Christ! That first Easter morning the two Marys saw the same Jesus who had been dead on Good
Friday and He was ALIVE! I’ll tell you, I probably would have felt "fear and great joy," too.
Notice that Matthew says the women experienced "fear and great joy," NOT great fear and joy.
The great joy enabled them to overcome their fear and run to tell the others what they had seen
and heard, because they also had faith. Without faith, who could believe this incredible story?
Even with faith, sometimes our fear keeps us from experiencing great joy.
ILLUS: Two Roman soldiers are guarding Jesus’ tomb on the first Easter morning. Each has a
cup of coffee in his hand, and the sun is just coming over the horizon. One is encouraging the
other. "Cheer up, it’s Sunday morning. Way I see it, we’ve got one more day of guarding the
tomb. By Monday this whole thing will blow over."
The world is amazed that millions of Christians still celebrate Easter with such joy. Like those
guards at the tomb, the world assumes that "By Monday the whole thing will blow over." But it
doesn’t. You see, we have good reason to be joyful. God loves us, we are forgiven.
For many people, Easter is just another holiday, another day off work. For others, it’s bunny
rabbits and hunting Easter eggs. For others, it’s just another ghost story they don’t believe.
BUT WE KNOW BETTER! For believers in Christ, Easter means the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead! It means the promise of life after death because Jesus conquered the grave!
It means hope of a better life. It means joy, not sorrow.
ILLUS: In 1989, an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened Armenia, killing over 30,000 people in less
than four minutes. It’s hard to imagine the pain, and suffering. In the twinkling of an eye, worlds
were shaken and lives crushed. Surprisingly, such tragedies often bring out the best in people-- at
least they provide a wide open window to peek at the contents of each heart. Let me show you
the loving heart of a father.
In the midst of chaos and destruction, he rushed to his son’s school. But instead of a school, he
found a shapeless heap of rubble. Imagine what went through his mind. What would have gone
through your mind? Perhaps, shock? But in the case of this father, the sight of rubble and ruin
only made him spring into action. He ran to the back corner of the building where his son’s class
used to be and began to dig. Why? What real hope did he have? What were the chances that his
son could have survived such destruction? All he knew was that he had made a promise to
always be there for his boy. It was this promise that animated his hands and motivated his heart.
As he began to dig, well-meaning parents tried to pull him out of the rubble saying: "It’s too
late!" "They’re dead!" "You can’t help!" "Go home!" "There’s nothing you can do!" Then the fire
chief tried to pull him off the rubble by saying, "Fires and explosions are happening everywhere.
You’re in danger. Go home!" Finally, the police came and said, "You’re angry, distraught, but it’s
over. You’re endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!"
But he continued to dig for eight . . . 12 . . . 24 . . . 36 hours. Then, in the 38th hour, he pulled
back a boulder and heard his sons’ voice. Immediately, he screamed, "ARMAND!" Back came
the words, "Dad!?" I told them! I told the other kids that if you were still alive, you’d save me!
You promised me, you’d always be here for me! You did it, dad!"
A determined father, a promise kept, and a stone rolled away to reveal life and give freedom.
The story of Armand’s dad reminds me of the events of that first Easter when the Heavenly
Father kept a greater promise by rolling away a much more difficult stone. With the rolling away
of that stone, came eternal life, and true lasting freedom in Christ! And you know what? Our
Heavenly Father is still in the business of rolling away stones.
The decisive event in human history was the resurrection of Christ, where death and evil were
defeated
Hallelujah! Christ is risen.
