The Amen That Changed the World
TCF Easter Sunday Sermon
April 16, 2006
Lest I disappoint those of you anticipating the sermon I would preach this Sunday from 1 Peter chapter 6, as Jim Garrett told you last week, I invite you first to turn there with me.
Wait! Let this be a lesson to you about Jim Garrett. There is no chapter 6 in 1 Peter. Jim Garrett is the ultimate leg-puller, and you must be careful when you’re listening to him lest he fool you. It’s not April 1, but Jim doesn’t seem to mind making April fools out of us any time during April, or all year round.
Let me start this morning by reading a dictionary definition. The word is:
vin•di•ca•tion n.
1. The act of vindicating or condition of being vindicated.
2. The defense, such as evidence or argument, that serves to justify a claim or deed.
It’s that second definition I want to focus on this morning. When someone promises something, and then they fulfill that promise, that’s vindication. When someone says something has happened, and then there’s proof provided that it has happened, that’s vindication.
Resurrection Sunday is the ultimate in vindication. When Jesus said, in his last moments of earthly life, “it is finished,” He was making a truth claim – claiming something – “it” - was accomplished.
Near the very end of His agony on the cross, Jesus was telling us that His work had been completed. He meant not only that His suffering was over. He meant not only that His earthly life was over, but He meant primarily that he had completed everything, everything that God the Father had given Him to do for our redemption.
As we hear the words, “It is finished,” we realize that God’s great plan for salvation has come to fruition. The penalty for human sin has been paid. The chasm between sinful humanity and a holy God has been bridged by the sinless Son of God, who was fully God and fully human. Now, because of what Jesus has completed, we can be completely whole.
So, when Jesus said on that fateful Friday “It is finished,” He said a mouthful, He fulfilled a promise.
But think about this for a moment. What if Jesus hadn’t been raised? What if He suffered and died on the cross, then was placed in the tomb, and His dead body is still there to this day? Would, then, His words on the cross have still been true? He said, after all, “it is finished.”
Well, the apostle Paul answered that rhetorical question in 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15:17 (NIV) if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
So, in a very real way, Jesus’ death and resurrection are a package deal. One without the other is no good. But, thanks be to God, Jesus was raised. Think of it this way – thinking back to our dictionary definition a minute ago.
When Jesus said “it is finished,” God vindicated that statement with Jesus’ resurrection. It – the work of salvation - was already finished. God just said amen, thus validating, vindicating Jesus words.
The resurrection was The Amen That Changed the World.
I’ve never thought of the resurrection in this way until I began to prepare for this morning’s message, but I believe Jesus’ resurrection was the day God said Amen. He said amen, to Jesus’ statement on the cross, “it is finished.”
2 Corinthians 1:19-22 (NIV) 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
The New Living Translation has the last part of verse 19 like this:
and he (Jesus) is the divine Yes—God’s affirmation.
Let’s develop this idea that the resurrection was God’s amen to Jesus’ words on the cross, “it is finished.”
The resurrection was God’s Amen – vindication, validation, proof – His work of resurrection confirmed God the Son’s Word about the work of salvation. His work confirmed His Word.
John Piper wrote:
"This means that what the death of Christ accomplished was so full and perfect that the resurrection was the reward and vindication of Christ’s achievement in death. The wrath of God was satisfied with the suffering and death of Jesus. The holy curse against sin was fully absorbed. The obedience of Christ was completed to the fullest measure. The righteousness of God was completely vindicated. All that was left to accomplish was the public declaration of God’s endorsement. This He gave by raising Jesus from the dead."
This was God’s amen. This was God the Father’s public declaration that what Jesus declared on the cross, about the work of salvation being finished, was absolutely and completely true.
So when the Word of God tells us, as we just noted in 1 Cor 15:17, that if Christ is not raised, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins, the point is not that the resurrection is the price paid for our sins. Clearly, Jesus’ death paid the price for our sins.
The point here is that the resurrection proves, it vindicates, it endorses, it validates, that the death of Jesus is, in fact, that all-sufficient price. Paul was saying that if Jesus is still dead, then his death is a failure.
He’s saying that if Jesus is still dead, God didn’t endorse, or He didn’t say amen, to those words – it is finished. But we know that Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.
Romans 6:4 (NIV) 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
We know that the cry of success from the cross, it is finished, was vindicated by the resurrection, by the fact that God said Amen to Jesus’ words, in a powerful, visible, tangible way.
It was so tangible that doubting Thomas could touch Him and put His fingers into the living Jesus’ wounds. So tangible that the Word of God tells us more than 500 people saw Him alive, after He was dead and buried. The work of the resurrection confirmed the word of finished salvation.
A renowned artist in the 1800s lost his passport while traveling in Europe. When he came to a border crossing, he explained his predicament to one of the guards. Giving his name to the official, the artist hoped he would be recognized and allowed to pass. The guard, however, said that many people attempted to cross the border by claiming to be persons they were not.
The artist insisted that he was the man he claimed to be. "All right," said the official, "we’ll give you a test, and if you pass it we’ll allow you to go through." Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby. The artist did it so quickly and skillfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed who he claimed to be. His work confirmed his word!
God’s work of the resurrection, His practical, tangible amen to Jesus’ words, it is finished, confirmed His Word, vindicated and validated His promises. Amen is an interesting word. In Isaiah 65:16, the Lord Himself is called “the God of truth.” The Hebrew literally says in that verse, “The God of Amen.”
This is Isaiah’s way of telling us that the Lord is the One who is eternally true, the One whose Word can always be relied on. In the New Testament, Jesus is given the same title.
In Revelation 3:14, Jesus is called “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness.”
The word Amen was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the New Testament Greek. It was also made directly into a Latin word, and into an English word. So, unlike some words, for example our English word love, which can be agape, or other words, in Greek, and is ahab in Hebrew, and is amor in Latin, amen is amen in Hebrew, it’s amen in Greek, amen in English and in many other languages, with perhaps only a slight difference in pronunciation. It has been called the best-known word in human speech.
The word is almost identical to the Hebrew word for believe, or faithful. So it came to mean “sure” or “truly.” It came to be an expression of absolute trust and confidence. So, when we believe God, we indicate our faith with an amen.
When we hear truth expounded from the pulpit, we might say, to ourselves, or out loud, amen.
Amen signifies something as certain, sure and valid, truthful and faithful. It’s sometimes translated “so be it.” Of course, when God the Father says it, or Jesus says it, it takes on added authority. Jesus used the word on nearly 70 occasions that we have a record of, and in the NT, often when Jesus uses the Greek word amen, the word is translated “truly…,” as in “truly I say to you.”
The original Greek in those nearly 70 times is the word amen, as in “Amen, amen, I say to you…”
Baker Bible Dictionary notes:
Jesus says “truly (amen) I say to you” dozens of times, asserting that His words are certainly true because He says them. In this way, whenever Jesus says “amen” he shows awareness of his authority, his deity.
So, I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to assume that when Jesus said, “it is finished,” heaven waited a few days, which is nothing in the scheme of God’s eternity, and then heard God’s amen in the resurrection of Jesus.
It was an amen – a validation of truth, a proof of something accomplished, that literally changed the world.
There are so many things the resurrection of Jesus signified, and even more that was accomplished. And it’s also true that there are many things where it’s hard for us to say if it was actually His resurrection or His death that accomplished these things. They are so intertwined as to be inseparable – we’d have to say that there are many things that were accomplished by both His death and resurrection, as one package of spiritual power.
So, this morning, let’s look at just a few things that changed when God said amen to Jesus’ words – “it is finished,” by raising Jesus from the dead.
First, and perhaps foremost, at least from our perspective, Jesus’ resurrection gives us the chance for life in the next life, secures our resurrection from the dead, and conquers death eternally.
The resurrection, that amen that changed the world, changed the power of death. It was God’s gift, and God’s proof, that Jesus’ death on the cross was completely successful in wiping out the sins of His people, and removing the wrath of God.
Remember, Jesus said – it is finished. By means of the resurrection, God the Father said, “Amen – it is finished indeed.”
One thing that was finished is the power of death.
John Piper wrote:
"The keys of death were hung on the inside of Christ’s tomb. From the outside, Christ could do many wonderful works, including raising a twelve-year-old girl and two men from the dead-only to die again (Mark 5:41-42; Luke 7:14-15; John 11:43-44). If any were to be raised from the dead, never to die again, Christ would have to die for them, enter the tomb, take the keys, and unlock the door of death from the inside.
Then, in the grave, he had the right and the power to take the keys of death and open the door for all who come to him by faith. If sin is paid for, and righteousness is provided, and justice is sat¬isfied, nothing can keep Christ or his people in the grave. That’s why Jesus shouts, "I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades" (Revelation 1:18)."
Belonging to Jesus means we will be raised with Him.
Romans 6:5 (NIV) If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 (NIV) We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
1 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV) By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 (NIV) 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.
What these scriptures affirm to us is that those who believe in Christ will not be sentenced to everlasting death, but instead, as it says earlier in 1 Corinthians 15
1 Corinthians 15:52 (NIV) the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:54 (NIV) 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."
This is clearly the most marvelous news we can celebrate. We have eternal life, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We will experience our own resurrection, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Another way God’s Amen of the resurrection changed the world:
The resurrection gave us, and equips us with, the ability to live Godly lives in this life.
2 Corinthians 5:15 (NIV) And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Romans 6:5-14 (NIV) If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Now, why did we read that whole passage? If we read just verse 5, which says:
"If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection"
we might be tempted to think that the resurrection only refers to the advantages we gain in Christ in eternal life. And as we’ve just noted, that’s perhaps the most significant benefit to us, that we clearly gain from Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s a wonderful thing to celebrate about what Jesus accomplished for us.
But Paul’s thought in this letter to the Romans doesn’t end there. Clearly, the rest of this passage refers to this life… the here and now. Beginning with verse 9:
since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death He died, he died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus….
We won’t need to count ourselves dead to sin in eternity. But we can count ourselves dead to sin in this life.
God’s amen of the resurrection also changed the way people are able to respond to sin. If we have received Christ, and identified with Him, what is true for Him can be true for us. We can consider ourselves dead to sin.
In other words, just as a dead body cannot respond to temptation, we, as dead to sin, are no longer powerless to resist, and we need not respond to these temptations either.
Because of this, we are enabled to live for the glory of God, through Jesus. In Christ, we have a new life, a new lifestyle, and the sure promise of eternal life. Because our old self was crucified to Christ, and because we’ve been raised with Him, sin no longer owns us. We were slaves to sin, now we’re free!
Again, looking at a part of Romans 6:
"death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God"
Life Application Notes says this:
"Believers have died to sin, but as long as we live in our mortal bodies, we will have the compulsion to sin. But only because we have died to sin do we have the power to no longer let it control us. We are, in fact, free from our slavery. But each day we must reject our old slave ways."
—Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary
We can fully identify with Jesus in His death and resurrection. We can do that when we receive Christ, and we can daily choose to continue to identify with Him.
We cannot overcome sin without that identification. A great scholar has suggested this analogy for that phrase.
We cannot live our physical life unless we are in the air and the air is in us; unless we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, we cannot live the life of God. —Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
But thanks be to God, we can be in Christ, and Christ can be in us. That’s one of the things that was made possible by God’s amen that changed the world.
Even though these things are important to us, in the scheme of things, the most important thing brought about by God’s great amen to Jesus words – “it is finished,” is that Jesus is glorified.
The resurrection brings justified, absolutely appropriate, glory and honor to Jesus. In this world, people are often honored, they are in many ways glorified. People do it themselves, and sometimes others glorify them.
How else can you explain the Elvis phenomenon, where people, 30 years after his death, still visit the home where he lived and died. Many of these aren’t mere fans – there’s nothing wrong with being a fan of Elvis or any other musical star – enjoying his or her music.
But in a very real sense, some of Elvis’ fans worship him. I know – I lived in Memphis for a year and some of these worshippers are scary. That’s just one example.
But think about this. Is any human being truly worthy of glory? Being glorified?
When we exalt ourselves or someone else, puff ourselves up, when we make much of ourselves, any of us, no matter how good or great we may be, or think we are, we are exalting imperfection.
But when Jesus is exalted by others, or when He exalts Himself, or when God the Father glorifies Jesus, or when He does things for the express purpose of glorifying Himself, He’s the only One who can say He’s truly exalting perfection, truly glorifying something worth true glory, truly deserving of glory and honor and praise.
So, when we say that Jesus was raised to glorify Himself, it’s not the same as it is when we say that we do something to glorify or exalt ourselves.
Here’s the big difference. He deserves the glory, we don’t.
John Piper said:
"Paradise will not be a hall of mirrors. It will be a display of majesty. And it won’t be ours.
If this is true, and if Christ is the most majestic reality in the universe, then what must his love to us be? Surely not making much of us. That would not satisfy our souls. We were made for something much greater. This means that to love us, Jesus must seek the fullness of his glory and offer it to us for our enjoyment."
That is why he prayed, the night before he died,
John 17:22 (NIV) 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
And then in verse 24:
John 17:24 (NIV) 24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
And that’s the same glory that we can not only witness, in some way not only see, but share in for eternity. That’s another thing that was made possible by the resurrection of Jesus, the amen that changed the world.
Let’s close with this passage, and listen carefully, or follow along as I read, and we’ll see these themes we’ve been exploring this morning….these things about the great Amen that changed the world:
2 Cor 4:13-18
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
