The Greatest Comeback

SERMON: THE GREATEST COMEBACK

Scripture: Matt 28:1-10

After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move.

The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

“Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ That’s the message.”

The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. “Good morning!” he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, “You’re holding on to me for dear life! Don’t be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I’ll meet them there.”

I want to honor some unknown person for the TITLE of the message for the morning. I was skimming the internet and suddenly, these three words flashed on my screen. I tried to find out who wrote it, but was unable to do so. Therefore, whoever you are, wherever you are, thank you for the Title of the sermon, for today.

THE GREATEST COMEBACK.

Needless to say, there have been many great comebacks in history. In the political arena, in baseball, football, basket ball, and all other sports, there have been some amazing comebacks.

In baseball, for example, let's go to August 5, 2001, and see a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners. It was the bottom of the 7th inning, and Cleveland was trailing 14-2. In that bottom of the 7th, Cleveland scored three runs. In the bottom of the 8th, they scored 4 more. In the bottom of the ninth, they scored an incredible 5 times, making the score 14-14, and putting the game into extra innings.

In the bottom of the 11th inning, a little known player, named Jolbert Caberera's one-out broken bat single scored Kenny Lofton from second to complete the comeback win.

The Utah Jazz's 36-point turnaround against the Nuggets in November 1996 has never been matched nor beaten. Utah trailed the Nuggets 70-34 at home in the final minute of the first half. But, led by Karl Malone and Jeff Hornacek, the Jazz outscored the Nuggets 71-33 in the second half for a 107-103 win.

In football, the current NFL record is in a game between Minnesota and the Vikings. Minnesota gave up return touchdowns from a blocked punt and an interception and trailed 33–0 at halftime. Between 8:22 to play in the 3rd quarter and 2:15 to play in the 4th quarter the Vikings outscored Indianapolis 36–3; they scored five touchdowns in the space of seven possessions. The Vikings won in overtime, by scoring a field goal.

In horse racing, Back in the day, if you were placing a bet on a race with Gary Stevens – who should be given the honorary title of “The Comeback King” – the odds would probably not have been in your favor. However, Stevens’ amazing comebacks were not about his ability to win from behind. Rather, it was about the courage he displayed in overcoming physical adversity. He’s a rider who has suffered injury after injury and managed to come back each and every time – that is, until his most recent accident, which damaged his spine.

Going back to 1985, Stevens was thrown into a rail in a starting-gate training incident and ended up in a coma. In 2013, he finished first at the Arlington Million – now called the Mister D Stakes – at Arlington Park, Illinois, but was thrown into the oncoming riders by his own horse, which resulted in a collapsed lung and neck injuries.

Stevens has had his right knee and left hip replaced and has undergone other minor and major surgeries over the years until a checkup for a pinched nerve revealed a major spinal injury that could spell disaster if he fell again. After finding this out, Stevens announced his retirement in 2018.

I recall, from personal experience, a Babe Ruth League game when I was 13 years old. My team, believe it or not, was called BECKLEY HOTEL GARAGE RADIATOR SHOP. A man with the unlikely name of June Mathena was our coach. He had a bit of a speech impediment, and was not always easy to understand.