MPC 16th April 2006.April 16 - Luke 24:36-47 - "The Resurrection"
Garnet Swann MPC 16th April 2006.
It's Easter, it's holidays - so I want to begin by talking about the essential things to take away for a holiday. I looked up a website and it gave me a very complete list of essential things. It's actually very thorough and I imagine a friend of mine used this very list as they were preparing for their overseas holiday a couple of years ago.
The list has things like - aspirin and other medicines, ear plugs, towel, spare pair of glasses, shoes, wet weather gear. Very thorough. I reckon my friend did use this website because when she got to the airport with only a few minutes to spare - she didn't bring the one thing that the website didn't mention either - and that was her passport.
Her holiday became one day shorter - because she had to come back to the airport the next day.
Now, the point of that is just to say there are some so-called essential things, but there are other, really essential things. There are important things, but there are some things you absolutely can't do without.
So I want to pose the question - what's the one thing we can't do without in Christianity? If you had to pin it down - what would you say is the critically important, top of the list, essential thing that makes Christianity what it is?
There's a range of answers that people might give. Some will say that the essential thing to Christianity is loving one another. Some will say the essential thing, the thing that we can't do without is the church traditions. There's some who may think that the most important thing is the church building with its stained glass windows and ornate furniture and the religious mood we create. If that's the case - Mitchelton Presbyterian Church is in a lot of trouble!
But I want to put it to you - that the thing that Christianity can't do with out - the thing that's absolutely essential - is the resurrection of Jesus. Without the resurrection - Christianity doesn't make sense at all. We may as well pack up our bags and go home now.
Now I know as soon as I say the resurrection of Jesus is the essential thing, I know I've just raised the bar in terms of people's likelihood of accepting Christianity. If the essential thing to Christianity is loving one another - that's something people can swallow! If the essential thing to Christianity is church traditions or church building - it sounds a bit more normal. But the actual raising to life of a dead man - that's the essential thing you say? That sounds a lot harder to take!
I want to raise the issue of the believability of the resurrection - we'll talk about that, first up this morning. But I also want us to see why the resurrection is so essential to Christianity - why it's so critical and what it means for you and me today.
And to do this we're going to look at the account we have in the bible - one of the four biographies we have of Jesus there - the biography known as the gospel of Luke.
I first want to address the issue of the believability of the resurrection of Jesus. The likelihood of it actually taking place.
Now, if you think the resurrection didn't happen - you've got to have an opinion of what happened instead. And I guess the obvious option, the only other option to take is that Jesus didn't rise - he stayed dead. It's not too rash a position to take is it? That's what happens with everyone else - once you're dead, you stay dead.
But if you take that position towards Jesus - that Jesus remained a corpse - you've then got the next step and that is, to give an explanation of why the earliest Christian people claim that Jesus was alive again. And really this has been debated and theorized for the last 2000 years. See, you've got to come up with a theory for why did they claim Jesus was resurrected, if he wasn't.
There are plenty of theories out there, but by having a look at what we read earlier from Luke chapter 24 - I want to address two of these theories. And I want to show how the reality of the resurrection is believable given the data that we have. That's sounds a bit strange doesn't it? Let's keep going.
As we consider the believability of the resurrection, we first need to be clear on the fact that the disciples doubted. They doubted.
It's there from vs 36 right through to vs 41. We're told they were startled and frightened when they saw Jesus. They were surprised. They doubted that it really was him. Vs 41 tells us that after seeing Jesus they still didn't believe because of joy and amazement. And Jesus eats some food in front of them to prove the point.
Now it's important to realize that they doubted - because one theory goes that the disciples must have been so hopeful of seeing Jesus again, they experienced some religiously induced hallucination.
But let's be clear on this - from their doubt we know they thought like every other person - once you're dead, you stay dead. They had no expectation of seeing Jesus again. They'd followed Jesus for three years - thinking he was a great leader - but then he'd been crucified by the Romans and they ran for their lives. They were now hiding in fear of what might happen to them. Jesus was dead - end of story for them.
So to say they were such religious people - they tricked themselves into seeing something that they were hoping for - doesn't fit. They were not naïve about the reality of death. They didn't expect to see Jesus again - because he'd been killed. See, they doubted when they saw him - they could have been knocked over by a feather. So it seems there was no pre-condition in them to want to believe and create some vision of the Jesus who had been raised to life again.
Well, that's the first thing that this passage brings out for us as we think about the believability of the resurrection. The second thing this passage brings out for us is that the disciples become convinced of the resurrection of Jesus and confidently proclaimed that message wherever they went.
We see a hint of it there in vs 47 and 48. The command is given to proclaim the message of Jesus - the resurrected Jesus - to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem. And it's a fact of history that's precisely what they did - proclaim the message everywhere.
Now another theory against the resurrection goes - well, they knew Jesus hadn't been raised to life; but they went around anyway, starting at Jerusalem, speaking about the resurrection - because they were keen to start a new religion and inspire people and gain kudos and glory along the way.
Now that theory sounds possible - until we realise that history shows us that the disciples didn't become rich and famous at all. In fact they were considered heretics and traitors by fellow Jews. They were taken to court. They were thrown into prison. Many of them were executed for what they said. But no danger or threat could force them to renounce their teaching - that Jesus had been raised to life. If they had made it up - with such pressure, wouldn't they have finally cracked and confessed that it was all make believe?
Let me put it this way... Imagine I claim that I was down at Brisbane city hall the other day and I saw those two metal lion statues come to life, do a handstand each, dance the waltz together then run away. Now imagine after a thorough search of the city, the statues aren't found. And so within weeks I'm made a national celebrity for seeing this miracle. Talk show hosts invite me along and they praise me for the amazing thing that I saw. Book companies want to pay me millions for publishing my story.
But suppose things go the other way - and I gain nothing from my lie. The talk-show hosts grill me for being a scam artist. The reporters expose me as a fraud. My family disowns me. Newspapers print articles about the stupidity of my belief.
See, if it had went that way - and I'd stolen the statues - how long do you think it would take before I confessed my lie? Probably not long at all.
The disciples claimed to have been witnesses to the resurrected Jesus. They suffered and sometimes died for doing so. But they would not give up on speaking this message. What does that seem to tell you?
So that's our little look at the believability of the resurrection. We've just looked at a couple of theories against the actuality of Jesus being raised again. Two things to think about - the disciples doubted - they had no psychological precondition to want to see the resurrected Jesus.
And secondly - the disciples suffered greatly for insisting on the resurrection. Would they do that if they'd made it up?
On the issue of whether the resurrection of Jesus took place or not, people have long investigated the claim. And by looking at the evidence - many people have decided that it's the most likely event. Perhaps you've not thought about it in that way before.
A guy by the name of Pinchas Lapide - I love that name, Pinchas Lapide - he's an orthodox Jew, not a Christian - but he investigated the phenomena of these claims to the resurrection of Jesus. And at the end of his investigation he said this:
When these peasants, shepherds, and fishermen [talking about the disciples], who betrayed and denied their master and then failed him miserably, suddenly could be changed overnight into a confident mission society, convinced of salvation… no vision or hallucination is sufficient to explain such a revolutionary transformation… In a purely logical analysis, the resurrection of Jesus is 'the lesser of two evils'.
Again - Lapide is not a Christian - which is amazing given what he's concluded. But by looking at the data available - he's decided the resurrection of Jesus is the likely option of what took place back then. It's worth considering yourself.
Well, that's our look at the believability of the resurrection. Let's now have a look at why the resurrection is so essential - what it actually means. See, the resurrection of Jesus isn't just some freak curious event that belongs in Ripley's Believe It or Not down at the Gold Coast. How could a man - dead for three days and then be raised to life again - ever just be a curious, strange event in history. It's got to mean something.
And the meaning comes from the lips of Jesus himself.
I'll read from v. 45:
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
Firstly - Jesus' resurrection means that Jesus has the authority to demand repentance.
Now, what do I mean by authority to demand repentance? It's that Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, has the authority, the right, to demand from you allegiance and commitment to Him.
Now that's what leaders do - they call people to follow them. They say I'm the way to go - do it my way.
But the question then is raised - why should Jesus tell me how to live? He doesn't have any claim over me.
But think about it - death had no power over Jesus. With Him, the very nature of physics was put aside. Jesus exerts his authority over the most fundamental thing in reality - death and life. Jesus in his resurrection was showing he is the king, he is the Lord of all. Including you and me.
You know - when Jesus was hung on a cross - a plaque was put above him which read 'The King of the Jews'. And for a while during his life he might have looked like some local miracle-worker leader-type figure who lived in the middle east in the first century AD. Well, with his resurrection to life a new plague should be written - He is the king of everything and everyone.
That's why Jesus can say of you and me - repent.
The resurrected Jesus has the authority to demand repentance.
Just to be clear on this - repentance means stop going your own way and start going Jesus' way.
We repent of things all the times. Maybe how much chocolate you ate at Easter time last year. You've repented, you've decided to stop eating as much this year and eat much less this time round. Good luck.
But that's what repentance is. Stop going one way - start going another way. The resurrected Jesus calls people to stop living their own way and start living his way.
And can I say, when you look at the life and teachings of Jesus, for him to ask you and me to repent - it's not a call to be oppressed and live some dowdy religious life; it's actually a call to live the good life, the right life - a life that makes sense. Check out Jesus. Read Luke's gospel. He was a man who called for justice. Who talked about how to live as a husband and wife. How to relate to those who don't like you. How to respond when tough times in life come along. Repentance certainly does mean stop living selfishly and sinfully, stop ignoring God, treating him as irrelevant - but it's a call to live the right way. And many people here this morning could give us their own testimony on how repenting - living Jesus' way, has been the best way over many many years.
Ok - The resurrected Jesus has authority to demand repentance.
The second thing from this passage is that the resurrected Jesus has authority to give forgiveness. And we see it there in v. 47 - forgiveness of sins will be preached in Jesus' name.
And this really is the other side of the coin. If He called just for repentance, Christianity would look like a religion which is just about having to live a certain way. A religion which is about having to do things. There are plenty of religions like that.
But Jesus - brings forgiveness.
Now we looked at this on Good Friday. Jesus died on a cross and he died for us. His death was our punishment. On the cross - in death - he absorbed God's anger and judgment that should've been for us. But Jesus rose again. Jesus shows death to be defeated. He now shows, not only has he absorbed that anger and judgment from God, he's done away with it. And so God's forgiveness can come to us.
Christianity really is different from every other religion. In Hinduism you have karma - which is basically the good or bad you do will eventually catch up to you. And I think that fits with how we normally think. We naturally operate in terms of justice, and pay back, and fairness, keeping the balance sheet even between right and wrong. I think we generally find forgiveness hard. It doesn't come naturally.
But God is a God of forgiveness. Yes - Jesus demands repentance. Stop living your own way and live his way. But it's not payback, it's not about fairness. It's just that he wants you to live the right way. And Jesus brings forgiveness. And it's something that is free and unconditional and absolute.
Years ago - I saw the musical Les Miserable - much easier than reading the book. But it's a story about forgiveness. In it Jean Valjean is sentenced to hard labor for the crime of stealing bread, and he gradually hardens into a tough convict. At last Valjean earns his release. But no innkeeper would let a dangerous felon like him spend the night. For days he wanders the village, seeking shelter, until finally a priest has mercy on him and allows him to stay.
That night once Valjean is convinced the priest has drifted off to sleep - he sneaks out - rummages through the family silverware and creeps off into the darkness.
The next morning three policemen knock on the priest's door with a tight grip on Valjean. They caught the convict with all the silverware in possession. All they need was confirmation from the priest and they'd lock him up forever.
But the priest responds in a way that no one expects,
"So here you are!", he cried to Valjean. "I'm delighted to see you. Had you forgotten that I gave you the candlesticks as well? They're silver like the rest, and worth a good 200 francs. Did you forget to take them?"
Jean Valhean eye's widened. He could not believe his ears.
"Valjean is not thief", the priest assured the policemen. "The silver was my gift to him."
When the police withdrew, the priest gave the candlesticks to his guest, now speechless. And the priest said, "Do not forget, do not ever forget that you have promised me to use the money to make yourself an honest man." And that was the life changing moment for Valjean.
See - forgiveness comes as the sweetest gift of all. It cuts across retribution and fairness and payback. You can think of the worst things that you've done. Think of the hurt you've caused. Think perhaps of those things you can barely forgive yourself. In the end - those are sins against God. But through Jesus - you can be forgiven.
The resurrected Jesus has the authority to demand repentance. The resurrected Jesus has the authority to give forgiveness.
This is why the resurrection of Jesus is the most essential thing in all of Christianity.
When Jesus came to life again - it was the day that everything changed. I remember they were saying that about 9/11 - the day that changed the world. But Jesus being raised to life - really is the event that changes the world.
And it was like a huge bolder being thrown into a lake and the ripples of that have been flowing through history - century after century to finally come to us. Century after century - people have come to know this Jesus and repented of their sin and begun a life of following him. And they are people also who've come to know forgiveness.
Please consider further, please investigate and read about this Jesus who was raised to life again