A new form of TV program has taken both the airways and us by storm - reality TV. Shows such as Survivor, The Batchelor, The Batchelorette, Married By America, The Mole, and Fear Factor, have created thousands and even millions of loyal fans.
Survivor seems to have started the trend, but I suggest this morning that another reality show, which happens to be one of my favorite TV shows, is the one that got it all started. It has been on the air for at least ten years. And it is truly a reality show because it deals with life and death and conflict in everyday life as experienced by law enforcement officers everywhere. The show is COPS.
(“Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do, when they come for you?”)
It never ceases to amaze me that so many people use denial in their attempt to escape the very real possibility of arrest. So many episodes have officers in either on foot or in a car chase of people who, after they are caught, admit to running because they have violated parole and they are wanted. Or they deny that they have a warrant for their arrest.
Denial is as old as human history. Denial is part of the opening chapters of the Bible. After doing what they are forbidden by God to do, Adam and Eve use denial and blame to minimize their guilt. “She gave it to me.” “The serpent deceived me.” And it continues to this day.
Denial was a part of the Resurrection that first Easter morning as well. And it still is a response to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ today.
In the Resurrection story the denial takes place in those who were threatened by it as Matthew records in chapter 28 and verses 11 through 15:
“As the women were on their way into the city, some of the men who had been guarding the tomb went to the leading priests and told them what had happened. A meeting of all the religious leaders was called, and they decided to bribe the soldiers. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’ If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you and everything will be all right.” So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say.“ (NLT)
What motivated this denial? Fear. They feared that they would lose something of great value and importance if the word got out that the tomb was empty.
Isn’t it interesting that the soldiers who had personally witnessed the Resurrection went to the religious leaders instead of their commanding officers to tell what happened? Why was that? Did they understand the spiritual and religious significance of what they had just experienced far more than perhaps they were given credit for? Or maybe they understood the political implications as evidenced by the decision described in Matthew 27:62-66 between Pilate and the religious leaders.
The next day—on the first day of the Passover ceremonies —the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will be raised from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.”
A major motive for denial is the fear of losing something - a relationship, power, influence, or the ability to choose. We become fearful of losing something of great value and importance to us so denial becomes a means to keep fear of loss at bay.
What is the thing that you fear the most? Take a piece of paper and pen and write it down. Now, what is it that you fear you will lose in this situation? Write that down.
Can we then understand the fear in the Pharisees and the Roman soldiers? I think that we can. For if Jesus had come back from the dead, (and he did!) and the people would have found out about the empty tomb, (which they did via the disciples) then their whole world would come crashing down. (which happened as we read in the early chapters of church history.) There would have been riots and accusations and incriminations. Their power and their authority would have come under siege.
But, just as denial has been, and continues to be a part of the human story, and the Resurrection story, so does disbelief. Now what is disbelief?
Some would say that disbelief is the suspension of belief. It is not a deliberate choice to reject belief like denial is. Disbelief is more of a skepticism or sense of amazement than an outright rejection of something.
We see disbelief at work in Thomas as he hears the reports of Jesus’ resurrection. John records his response in chapter 20 and verses 24 and 25.
“One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Thomas gets pretty specific in what he is looking for in order to believe, doesn’t he? He knows what happened to Jesus. And so he says, “I am not going to believe it until I can see and touch his wounds.”
“Eight days later,” notes John 20:26, “the disciples were together again and this time Thomas was with them.” Jesus shows up and presents himself to Thomas. Thomas sees and believes. And then Jesus makes this interesting statement in verse 29, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen me and believe anyway.”
Jesus accepts Thomas’ profession of faith. But He goes on to honor the faith of those who will believe even though they have not seen Jesus. Thomas struggled to believe. Can you relate to Thomas? I think that most of us can.
What is the hardest thing for you to believe in? Is it an event? Is it a person? Is it the Resurrection? Write it down. Now why is it hard to believe? What’s the reason for your disbelief about whatever it is that you wrote down?
I asked several people this question, “Why do people find it hard to believe in the Resurrection?”
Here is what some of them said, “I have been raised to believe this [but] I have a friend who says he doesn’t believe because there is no scientific proof of people dying and coming back to life.”
“It’s hard for some people to believe in something that they’ve never seen personally or experienced. I think that people need to not see Jesus as a fictional person, but know that there is historical proof of his existence. [I] f we can’t believe in the Resurrection, there is no reason for religion or faith at all- because Jesus would have been just a man like every other man.”
“Our mindset is that death is final. No one or nothing in our lives shows us that resurrection is possible. All comes back to trust and faith in God. “ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.”
“It is easier to ignore this belief than it is to deeply examine one’s own beliefs in faith.”
“CNN wasn’t there to distort the reporting of the event.”
“I do not find it hard to believe in the Resurrection. The Resurrection is the key to believing.”
“In America, at least, life is so good here that there is no need to believe in a better place. Whereas in some of the Third World countries, where Christians are being persecuted, they live life knowing full well that their only hope is in the Resurrection through Christ.”
“The first thought that pops into my head is that [the] Resurrection can be hard to relate to. We know from a personal experience when a loved one dies, they are dead, gone. This is because we “think” in the natural.”
“The idea that life could come back to a lifeless body is amazing.”
I am glad for these responses. We can probably relate to some of them can’t we?
Where does disbelief come from? I would suggest that it also comes from more that just a “hard to believe” attitude in a dead person coming back to life.
Some disbelief comes through a disappointment. Perhaps a relationship did not work out and therefore trust is low or nonexistent. Could this describe how Peter felt when he examined the empty tomb?
Closely allied with disappointment is cynicism. Maybe it is a response that comes after a long period of repeated disappointments. Something was promised and it never happened. This could have describe Judas’ motivation for his betrayal.
We don’t know the source of Thomas’ disbelief, but we know that he had trouble believing that Jesus was alive. And yet he moved beyond disbelief to believe when confronted with the Risen Christ.
Which leads us to the final response to the Resurrection. And that response is belief. We see it in the responses of the women who went to the now empty tomb. Here is Luke’s account from Luke 24:1 – 11.
“But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead! Don’t you remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?”
Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. The women who went to the tomb were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others. They told the apostles what had happened, but the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn’t believe it.”
Here were people of strong faith who believed and began to rejoice in the Resurrection. Now, the other accounts have them believing but they are a bit bewildered by all that has happened.
Why did they believe? Why did they choose to believe the angels who said, “Don’t you remember what he said back in Galilee?”
That’s a hard question to answer. Why do we believe in anything? Isn’t it because we choose to? We listen, we think, and we evaluate on a wide variety of things related to our lives. For example, buying a car.
We have a need for a new car. (Granted some of us “need” a new car every year especially when that new car odor gets into our nostrils!) But, our old form of transportation has become unreliable and costs us more and more to operate. So we realize that we have a need for better and more reliable transportation and we buy a new car.
When buying another car, we go through a process of decision-making that if we could put it down in writing would go somewhat like this:
· Decide what we can afford
· Decide what kind of car we need
· Ask others their opinions about cars
· Search car ads
· Search car lots
· Select one or two cars to test drive
· Make final decision
Now there maybe more to it for you than that but, that’s pretty much the basic approach. Information from a salesperson or brochure may aid us but we have pretty much made a decision about what we are going to buy. And in that choice we have chosen to believe certain things in order to make the choice.
· We believe that we can afford the car.
· We believe that a particular type of car is for us.
· We believe that the car we have chosen is the car for us.
Then, when we take the car off the lot as its owner, we still operate by faith - faith that the car will be reliable and give us many years of good service.
Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a choice that each one of us must make on our own. And by your presence here this morning, I believe that you have some kind of belief and in the Resurrection.
I respectfully ask you this morning: Is it a kind of faith that enables you to allow the purpose and power of the Resurrection to become a part of your everyday life?
I believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am willing to stake my life on it. It’s power and purpose has made a difference in my life. Now, I am not perfect and I admit that. But, when I look back I see how my own personal commitment to Christ through the confession and repentance of my sins that the Resurrection has made possible, has made life better for me. Not perfect, not 100% easy, but very purposeful. I believe that the Lord desires it for each one of us.
There was a second-grade teacher named Doris Miller, who had a disabled student named Jeremy in her class. As Easter approached, Doris gave each child a large plastic egg. "Take this home," she instructed. "Bring it back with something inside that shows new life."
The next morning, the 19 children in that class placed their eggs on Miss Miller’s desk. She found a flower in the first, a plastic butterfly in the second, a mossy rock in the third, and commented approvingly on each contribution. Opening the fourth egg, she gasped. It was empty! Realizing it must be Jeremy’s; she set it aside, and reached for another.
"Miss Miller," Jeremy spoke up, "Aren’t you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, she replied, "But your egg’s empty!" Very softly Jeremy said, "Jesus’ tomb was empty too." Three months later Jeremy died. Those paying their respects were puzzled to see 19 eggs on the casket—all empty.
The Resurrection is about a new life. A new life that has meaning and purpose beyond the everyday grind and the disappointment that we all face and deal with. We have been created by God to live a life that includes God and also all the blessings and benefits, as well as the responsibilities from God, which come with this new life.
You have sat patiently this morning and I thank you for it. But, as we conclude I would like to ask you four questions to think about. Please be honest with yourself this morning.
“Do you believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?” Then keep believing! Keep trusting God! Don’t give up! Ask God to help you strengthen your faith!
“If you struggle with disbelief, are you willing to ask God this morning to really help you believe that Jesus died for you to give you eternal life?” God wants to help you believe. One of my favorite personal passages of scripture is about the honest man who confesses to Jesus, “I believe! Help me with my unbelief!”
“If you struggle with denial and even out right non-belief, are you still open to the possibility of a God who cares and loves you?” God comes to us as we are. He respects us and our right to believe or not believe. But, He also won’t wait on us forever.
“Finally, do you need to make some changes in your life and that you need to make those changes now?” The Resurrection is about change. If we believe in the Resurrection and in Jesus Christ and in God and in the Holy Spirit, then what this belief requires is a whole different way of life that begins when we confess our sins for which Jesus hung on the cross.
The point of the Resurrection is not just about the ability of Jesus to come out of the tomb. It is about God breaking the bondage of sin. It was the Passover season when all of this took place. The Passover was a reminder of God’s deliverance from a life of slavery. We are slaves to a part of us that causes us to hate, rebel, resent, and generally antagonize other people. The only real way to be free from this slavery is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Which of these three responses is your response to the Resurrection? I trust that it will be one of belief because God’s great desire for all of us is that we experience a life free from guilt and shame that was made possible when Jesus came out of the tomb. Amen.
