He isn't here - he has been raised!
9.30am
Easter Sunday 8 April 2007
Readings:
Mark 16:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Easter Sunday is the most significant day on
the Christian calendar. All around the
world Christians greet one another by saying,
"Christ is Risen!" "He is risen indeed!" It is this day more than any other that
makes sense of the events of Good Friday, when Jesus died on the cross. If Jesus had not risen, he would have gone
down in history as just another good person who suffered unjustly at the hands
of evil men. But the fact that he rose again on the third day sets him apart
from every other religious leader in human history. No other religious founder rose again after
death and was seen by their disciples.
What happened to Jesus was absolutely unique. Nothing like this had ever
happened before, or has happened since.
It is, in fact, what makes
history 'His Story.' It is so important that we grasp the
significance of this as it has eternal implications. This event means that we must take the claims
of Jesus seriously. We cannot dismiss
him as being just a good man, a great teacher, a wonderful moral example of how
human life is to be lived. The resurrection
announces that 'He is Lord!' He is the
One to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given. He is the One whom God has exalted to the
highest place. He is the One whose name
is above every name, and at whose name every knee should bow and every tongue
acknowledge as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[1] This is why we sing,
"He is Lord! He is Lord!
He is risen from the dead and he is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess,
that Jesus Christ is Lord!" And
"We
place you on the highest place, for you are the great High Priest. We place you high above all else; and we come
to you and worship at your feet."
The question you need to ask this Easter Sunday is this, 'Is Jesus Lord
in my life?' Because if Jesus holds the
highest position of authority in the universe, it is only appropriate that he
holds that position in your life and mine.
Lets take a moment this morning to consider
the Bible passages we read. The first
was from Mark, his account of the
resurrection. What is important for us
to understand from the outset is that what took place on Easter Sunday, came as
a complete surprise for Jesus' followers.
It had not even entered their minds that this was within the realms of
possibility. The Bible makes is quite clear
that Jesus' resurrection was totally unexpected. Otherwise why did the women take spices to
anoint Jesus' body on that first Easter Sunday?
Why did they wonder how they would move the stone that had been placed
over the entrance to the tomb? Why did
the disciples take so long to cotton on to what had happened? For them the death of Jesus was the end of
story. All they had lived and hoped for
over the past three years was finished.
It was the darkest moment in their lives.
But it was not the end. It was only the beginning, and as they slowly
came to terms with the reality of the empty tomb and that Jesus was alive, the
significance of what had happened on Good Friday began to dawn on them. They remembered the words that Jesus had told
them, not just once but on several occasions, that he would be condemned to
death, but that three days later he would rise to life. It had not made any sense before because they
had dismissed it as humanly impossible.
But along with the two who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus and
to whom Jesus spoke about the necessity of his sufferings before entering his
glory, the disciples now began to see something of the scope of what God
purposed in the death of Jesus.
Is it not like that for us, too, that we are
slow to catch on to what God is doing?
We keep looking at things from a purely human perspective and leave God
out of our reckoning. We fail to see the
amazing breadth and scope of God's plan and purpose for his church and for our
lives. We despair of the future and
become disillusioned and despondent. The
resurrection proclaims that God is a God of new beginnings. He does impossible things! And when we think about it, is not that what
the Bible tells us from Genesis to Revelation.
Story after story relates how God makes a way where there is no way, as
he did when he lead Israel through the Red Sea and across the River Jordan, and
the latter when it was in flood;
[2] how he enables his people
to win victories over impossible odds, such as Gideon with three hundred men
against an army of one hundred and twenty thousand.
[3] There are stories like David and Goliath.
[4] It was ridiculous that a shepherd boy should
even think of taking on a seasoned soldier, and even more so one of whom the
rest of the Israelite army were scared to death. What about Daniel in the lion's den.
[5] Who would have imagined that God could or
would keep the mouths of the lions shut all night while Daniel was there? The same was true of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego in the fiery furnace, that King Nebuchadnezzar had heated seven times
hotter that it usually was, and yet they came out of it without neither a hair
of their heads singed, nor any scent of smoke on their clothes?
[6] Impossible, you say? Not with God it isn't, and people who will
trust him. We need to see the
resurrection in the context of God's actions throughout Scripture, and equally
important, to believe he is risen. This
was the point the young people were making in their drama this morning. It is not just knowing about things, but it
is believing them that is the key. It is
the same with the resurrection. Paul
says in Romans,
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."[7] God does impossible things,
and nothing that is a problem or challenge in your life is too big for God to
handle!
Today can be a new beginning for
you. In this morning's service during
Communion there will be an opportunity for you, no matter who you are whether
you are a regular or a visitor to this service, no matter what age you are,
children and adults alike, for God's Spirit to touch your life to receive his
blessing, his refreshment and renewal.
It is an opportunity for you to be reaffirmed in God's plan and purpose
for your life, and to be equipped for his service. Prayer teams will be stationed around the
church during Communion and you can go to them either before or after you take
Communion to receive prayer. If you have
a specific need either for yourself or for a member of your family or someone
else, those praying with you will be happy to pray for that as well. This is for everyone, children and
adults. I encourage you all to receive
God's blessing on your life, so that as God blesses you, you can be a blessing
to others.
Our second reading was from 1 Corinthians 15. Paul here affirms the certainty of the events
on Easter Sunday and spoke about what it means for us today. He begins by saying that if Christ did not
rise then there is no point in us being here.
We have been deluded and are
"to be pitied more than all others." It is tragic when people are
deluded and led down a wrong path, and we know it has happened many times; like
those people of Jonestown who like sheep were led to the slaughter and took
poison believing it was what God wanted them to do; or like those who believe
that in taking the lives of infidels they will go straight to paradise. Paul is saying that if Jesus did not rise
from the grave, then we are in the same boat.
We may as well eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,
[8] as Paul says later in
this chapter.
"But
Christ has indeed been raised from the dead..." What does that mean for us who are living in
2007? The resurrection teaches us three
things. It tells us that
1.
Life has significance beyond its physical
duration. There
is life after death. Jesus said,
"Because I live, you also
will live."[9] The Book of
Ecclesiastes reminds us that
God "has ... set eternity in the human heart."[10] What we do and how we live here on
earth has eternal significance. We are
here for a purpose. Death is not the
end of our existence, and so how we spend our years on earth is important. We need to know what we are here for, and
what God's will is. This is why the
Bible is such a necessary handbook to life, in that it contains all we need to
know about God our Creator, how to have a personal relationship with him, and
how to fulfil life's purpose.
God has provided the help we need to live
this life in the best possible way.
Before Jesus died he said to his disciples,
"I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you."[11] He
was referring to the Holy Spirit the Father would send after he had gone. He said,
"I will ask the father, and he will give you another
advocate to help you and be with you forever."[12] This
is why the truth is affirmed in many places throughout Scripture that he
"will never leave us or
forsake us."
[13] In his teaching on prayer Jesus encouraged us
to ask, and to keep on asking, the Father to give us the Holy Spirit.
[14] We need God's Spirit in our lives to fulfil
his commands to love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to
love our neighbour as ourself. We need
God's Holy Spirit to live as God would have us live, because it is the Spirit
who produces God-like qualities in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control.
[15] We need his Holy Spirit to be able to witness
to what God has done in our lives and to share God's love with others. God has wonderfully provided for us all that
is necessary to live our lives to his glory and praise, and to experience life
as he intended it to be. After all,
our
chief end "is to glorify God and enjoy him forever."
This was why it was necessary for Jesus to
leave this earth. He said to his
disciples who were upset that he was leaving them,
"...you are filled with grief
because I have said these things. But
very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to
you; but if I go, I will send him to you."[16]
The Prayer
Teams can pray for God's Spirit to touch your life in a fresh way this morning
to bring freedom, joy and hope.
2.
The second thing the resurrection teaches us
is that
Jesus reigns! That is,
Christ is in control over everything that is happening here on earth. We read,
"...he must reign until he has put all his enemies under
his feet."[17] Note the definiteness about
what Paul says. There is no might or
maybe.
"He must reign..." If Jesus is Lord,
then he is exactly that! There can be
only one person to whom all authority is given.
Paul says Jesus is working towards the establishment of God's rule
throughout the created order. The
decisive battle was waged and won on the cross.
It is the mopping up operations that we are now involved in. Jesus' primary concern while here on earth
was to restore the created order under God's reign, and he said it is to the
primary concern of all who follow him.
He instructions were to
"...seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..."[18] It was the kingdom of God that
Jesus spoke about with his disciples over a period of forty days after his
resurrection and before his ascension.
We are to work with God in seeing his reign and rule becoming a reality
in the hearts and lives of individuals, families, communities and nations. This is why he said we are to pray,
"your kingdom come on earth
as it is in heaven." 1 Corinthians 15
implies
that there are battles to be fought and powers to be destroyed
before the end will come. The last enemy
to be destroyed is death, and there is no doubt that that will happen. This is why Paul says at the end of this
chapter, "
'Death
has been swallowed up in victory.'
'Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?'"[19] Christ has removed the sting
of death, which lead us to the third thing the resurrection teaches us:
3.
One day death will be no
more. Saying
good bye, especially when a loved one dies, is never easy, even if we know they
love the Lord and that one day we will be reunited. It is difficult when a loved travels overseas
and is going to be away for an extended period of time. Sometimes we wish we could be together
forever. One day there will be no more
goodbyes. But even greater is the fact
that then we will be with the One who loves us even more than any human being
can love us. Listen to these words from
the last book of the Bible that speak of what it will be like:
"Then I saw 'a new heaven and a new earth,' for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any
sea. I saw the Holy city, the new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband. And I heard a
loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look!
God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will
be with them and be their God. He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of
things has passed away. ... I am making everything new!'"[20]
One the things
we do in 'making Jesus Christ known,' is to help prepare for his return. We are helping to make his bride, the church,
beautiful as more and more people come to know Christ as their Saviour and
learn to follow him. This is why we are
to share the good news so that when that glorious day comes we can be gathered
together to welcome our King, and live together in his kingdom where love and
peace reign forever.