“All the
Proof I Need”
Easter
Sunday, April 8, 2007
(Mark 16:1-14; John 20:29)
(Mark 16:9-20) After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared early
on Sunday morning to Mary Magdalene... She went to his former
companions, now weeping and carrying on, and told them. When
they heard her report that she had seen him alive and well, they
didn’t believe her. Later, he appeared, but in a different form,
to two of them out walking in the countryside. They went back
and told the rest, but they weren’t believed either. Still
later, as the eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took
them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing
to believe those who had seen him raised up.
Previously:
THE WRONG
KINGDOM. Death of Jesus was a major problem for the disciples.
Resurrection was not the message they had heard from Jesus.
They wanted the kingdom, crucifixion wasn’t the plan; an empty
tomb hadn’t crossed their minds.
THREE QUESTIONS:
1)
Can we actually believe this story?
Didn’t see...no living witnesses...lots of skeptics...(like
O.J., Scott, no
DNA on the shroud of Turin?
2)
Does it actually matter to God that we believe it or
not?
3)
Does it actually matter to you and me?
1. HOW BELIEVABLE IS IT?
► Did Jesus really die?
75 pounds of spices (too smart to wrap the body in
expensive spices if he was not dead)
Wrapped and
in the tomb without medical care for three
days
Five major
wounds
Pilate wasn't sure either
(Mark 15:44-46) “and Pilate wondered
if He was dead by this time, and summoned the centurion, he
questioned him as to whether Jesus was dead. And ascertaining
this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph (for
burial).
► Was his body stolen by the disciples?
Soldiers had to be bribed (Matthew).
WHY? Just
locate the body! NEVER FOUND IT (disciples martyred; if they had
stolen it?)
Disciples weren’t expecting resurrection (reason for
their commitment was gone - Jesus had to open their
understanding...
► Was what the disciples saw a vision or ghost?
Flesh and blood, eating, touching, walking along
unrecognized – 40 days (history records no ghost that hung
around in bodily form for that long!)
► Are the
witnesses reliable?
500 people saw him alive – not one recanted
Witness received with enough confidence to justify
martyrdom for centuries
Outrageous
claim, easily disregarded
Most verifiable fact of human history!
65% of non-Christian believe!
2.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GOD?
Luke 24:44-48 – Then (Jesus) said, “Everything I told you
while I was with you comes down to this: All the things
written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in
the Psalms have to be fulfilled.
He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God,
showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You
can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises
from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change
through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in His name to all
nations – starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first
to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses.
3.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO US? (Corinthians doubted it)
I Corinthians 15:1-9 – Friends, let me go over the message with
you one final time – this Message I proclaimed and that you made
your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which
your life has been saved. (wow!) (I’m assuming now that
your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that
you’re in this for good and holding fast.)
The first thing I did (NIV says “for I delivered to you AS OF
FIRST IMPORTANCE) WAS PLACE BEFORE YOU WHAT WAS PLACED SO
EMPHATICALLY BEFORE ME: That the Messiah died for our sins,
EXACTLY AS THE SCRIPTURE SAYS; that he was buried; that he was
raised from the dead on the third day, AGAIN EXACTLY AS
SCRIPTURE SAYS; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then
to his closest followers, and later to more than 500 of his
followers all at the same time, most of them still around
(although a few have since died); that he then spent time with
James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him;
If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was
indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re
doing is wandering around in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s
even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection,
because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of
Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a
pretty sorry lot. BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT CHRIST
HAS
BEEN RAISED UP, the first in a long legacy of those who
are going to leave the cemeteries.
SINKER:
John
20:29
(Jesus
to Thomas, AFTER showing him) “So,
you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better
blessings are in store for those who believe WITHOUT SEEING.”
All the
proof I need
For God,
“everything comes down to this…”
For us:
“we’re the witnesses” (is your belief the real thing or is it a
passing fancy, are you in this for good and holding fast?.)
SO WHAT? (Gal. 2:20)
“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, YET NOT I –
CHRIST LIVES IN ME and the life I now live (in the flesh) I live
by faith in the One who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Man’s lifelong friend dies; travels to attend the funeral
“We were sitting in a chapel, numbed by three days of grief and
sadness, the weight of death bearing down upon us. What would it
be like to walk outside to the parking lot and there, to our
utter astonishment, find Bob. Bob! With his bounding
walk, his crooked grin, and clear gray eyes.
That image gave me a hint of what Jesus' disciples felt on the
first Easter. They, too, had grieved for three days. But on
Sunday they caught a glimpse of something else, a startling clue
to the riddle of the universe. Easter hits a new note, a note of
hope and faith that what God did once in a graveyard in
Jerusalem, he can and will repeat on a grand scale, for the
world. For Bob. For us. Against all odds, the irreversible can
be reversed.
“Even better blessings are in store for
those who believe WITHOUT seeing!”
