2nd Sunday of Easter – Sermon 175

13th February 2011 Off By Derek Buckthorpe

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the glory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction

‘Why look among the dead for someone who is alive’ – He is not here – He is risen-

To the women and to the disciples – that message from the two men dressed in white – must at first seemed like – stuff and nonsense –

Yes Jesus talked to them about His resurrection – He told them He was going to die and rise again in three days – but their understanding of the resurrection would have been quite different to His

To them – its a large scale event – that happens after Israel’s great and final suffering – when all God’s people will – be given new life – new bodies

to suggest that one man can die – and then to rise again – while the rest of the world carries on as before – well – that would have been – just stuff and nonsense!

As Christians we know that the resurrection is fundamental to our faith – that through it – Jesus confirms everything that He said and did on this earth –

With the help of our readings – we are going to look again at the evidence – the events and promises surrounding those three days – to see if helps our understanding of what Jesus really did for us on that first Easter

Point 1 Women at the Tomb – the empty cross

“It was early morning when the women arrived –
the taste in their mouths was bitter –
Everything was unbearably heavy – with the sickness that comes with death

Where lay the trust
Where was the promise
Why and how had everything gone wrong?
If only He’d stayed in Galilee
If only they’d not gone to the garden
If only the men had had their wits about them-

Why hadn’t they fought for Him
Why hadn’t they begged them to take someone else
Instead – they all stood and watched
While His broken body slowly died
Silently watching the end – and in the ending – they died too.

It was a dreary light – as they turned the corner
It took a moment to register – the stone had been moved
They stopped – uncertain – terrified of the yawning hole before them – where were the soldiers? –

Feeling alone and vulnerable – they plucked up the courage to go inside – there was no mummified body – no stink of death – just the cold air of a new day – and a pile of folded grave clothes –

Then they heard a voice – and there stood two heavenly figures

“Why search among the dead for one who is alive? – Remember what He told You –

The Son of Man must be given into the power of sinful men and be crucified – and must rise again on the Third Day”

“Go and tell the others what you have seen and heard!”

The women who went to the tomb – knew Jesus was dead – and they were sure it was the right tomb

They could even point out the blood stained cross He died on – the cross was now empty – like the tomb – empty of Jesus’ body –

But for us today that empty cross and empty tomb is – full of hope – full of the promise of forgiveness – and resurrection –

Jesus made some staggering claims about Himself – He said He was the Son of God – able to forgive sins and offer people a new life –

He told His disciples – that His coming death on the cross was important – for God – and for them

“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains that and nothing more; but if it dies it bears much harvest”

He told them at the last supper how the bread had become His body – and it had to be broken – to be shared –

Jesus loved us so much that He died on the cross in our place – He paid the penalty for our sins – so that our relationship with God can be made right again –

When Jesus went to the cross – God transferred our sins over to Him – and wrote them against His name – and against ours – He wrote in Jesus’ blood – forgiven –

The only way we know that His death was effective – and that forgiveness is possible – is that Jesus rose from the dead

through His resurrection – Jesus showed us His power – and gave us proof that His promise of forgiveness and new life – has been kept –

Jesus’ death and resurrection has bought us freedom here today – as well as in heaven tomorrow –

unless forgiven – our sins – and the sins of others – can result in pain and anxiety – that can sometimes last a lifetime – but because of Jesus’ sacrifice – we are forgiven – and we too can forgive others –

There will be many things in this world that will hurt us – but we choose the scars that we carry – with the way of Jesus there will be – no scars – only love

 
Point 2 The disciples response

The eleven disciples were behind closed doors –Fearful that the next arrest and execution might be theirs

Like the women – they were numb with grief and shock – struggling to carry on – even with the routines of daily life – trying to make sense of it all a few days earlier – they had been eating and joking with Him – now He was dead – cold in a tomb –

The hands that had healed the sick were pierced and lifeless – the mouth that had spoken words of authority was silent –

What the women came to tell them – was the last thing they expected

How can Jesus be alive – they had just seen Him die!

That first proclamation by the women – sounded too good to be true – even from one of their own –

Too often people get taken in – and then let down – and don’t know what we believe – We know that the world is full of empty promise – but not God –

Jesus promised His disciples that – death is not the end – that through faith in Him – they will receive everlasting life –

He demonstrated His power over death to them – when He raised Lazarus from His grave –

Now through His resurrection – He gave them the final proof of that promise – by coming back – and appearing to them – even allowing them to touch His wounded scars –

The only way we know that the promise of life after death is true – is through the resurrection of Jesus

For Peter – he had an extra sadness – because he believed he betrayed Jesus more than the others – not just once – but three times –

Luke tells us that after hearing the women – Peter went to see for himself – and saw the wrappings and nothing more – and went home amazed at what had happened

God knew Peter would be hard on himself – but when Jesus was raised – forgiveness would follow – and he would have a second chance – to start again and follow Him –

Because of the resurrection – we all have a second chance to follow – and renew our relationship with Jesus
After His death Jesus appeared alive on twelve separate occasions to at least 550 people – and over those coming few weeks – something extra-ordinary happened to the disciples – they changed from being a group in hiding, frightened of the authorities – to one publicly declaring that Jesus was alive – and that they had seen Him – some of them accepting death rather than deny the presence of the risen Christ

Ending

So What is our view on the resurrection?
Is it stuff and nonsense or as the disciples came to realise – the greatest event in our human history?

Jesus’ resurrection is central to the Christian Faith
– it tells us we are following the right person – that Jesus is who He claims to be – The Son of God –

The tomb was empty because Jesus is alive – alive for us today – because of the resurrection – we have hope beyond the grave – and a way to salvation –

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus – God made us three promises – forgiveness of our sins – promise of eternal life – and of a personal relationship with Jesus –

Are we prepared to take Him at His word and accept His promises?

The disciples didn’t believe the women at first – but later because they met the Risen Christ for themselves – they believed.

The message of the early church is that we can meet Him for ourselves – we can experience His presence with us today – see Him at work – in others – giving them a new start and transforming them into a new creation

Someone once wrote about the resurrection;
“There’s no evidence – only witnesses”-
No one can tell us what to believe – we have to look at the evidence and decide for ourselves – and if we believe – Go and tell the others what we have seen and heard!”

Prayer

In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit

AMEN

Video of Sermon 175 on You Tube