søndag 16. april 2017

The story of Easter: the Death of God and the gift of Eternal life.

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The meal was over. Jesus looked with love at his disciples, his companions, his friends. “Brothers, it is time,” he said. “The hour has come.”

Then he looked at Judas and said: “Do what you must.”

Judas, troubled, got up abruptly from the table, and fled out into the night towards the Temple.

Then Jesus rose from the table, and asked the eleven to follow him. They went up to a grove just outside Jerusalem called the Mount of Olives, and there Jesus asked them to wait for him and keep him company as he prayed, for he was deeply troubled in spirit.

In the grove Jesus knelt to pray. It was a dark night, the moon pale and faded. The shadows were dark and foreboding. The trees were gnarled and knotted, and seemed somehow to be grasping at the frightened and confused band of disciples. An evil presence filled the grove.

Jesus looked up towards heaven, his face a picture of agony, and cried out “Father!”

The cry of anguish echoed in the night sky.

“Is there another way?”

There was silence.

Then he bowed his head and whispered “Your will be done”, as the soldiers emerged from the shadows to arrest him.

Jesus stood up to meet the traitor Judas and the soldiers who followed him.

“Are you Jesus of Nazareth?” shouted the captain of the guard.

“I am,” said Jesus.

As he said this, the soldiers and all those with them fell backward, struck by the power inherent in this solitary man.

Encouraged, Peter lunged with his sword at one of the men closest to him and cut off his ear.
I can imagine a cheer rising up in the heavenly realms amongst the angels, as they stood poised to strike down the enemy! The Host of Heaven rising up with one voice “For the Lamb!”. And then they hear Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, the Lion of Judah, rebuke Peter. “Put away your sword!”

There would be no rescue tonight. Because this is God’s great plan of salvation. Jesus was led away, chained, alone.

Why?

Well, Jesus had explained this time and time again in the months and years before his arrest. Because he looks upon us with compassion, he told us about the stain of sin that grips the heart of every human.

“All men have turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there are none who do good, not even one.”

He said this to the Jews, God Holy people. People shifted uncomfortably, recognising the quote from the 14th Psalm. But surely Jesus was not implicating them? This was not what they were accustomed to hearing in the marketplace or the synagogue!

Then Jesus spoke again “The Pharisees tell you to perform ceremonial washing rituals in order to make yourself clean before God. But I tell you that it is not what is outside a man that makes him unclean, but what is inside a man.”

The crowd began to murmur and stir restlessly.

“Indeed, it is what comes out of the heart of man that defiles him. For from within, out of your heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

There was silence, as each stood and pondered the words of Jesus. What he was saying was true! And if even they as God’s people were not safe from judgement, then who is?

“Repent and believe in the one that he sent!” said Jesus!

And then he continued, warning about the reality of Hell - separation from God. There will come a time when God will give people what they want! For we say to him “I do not want you”.
And that is Hell. We are cut off forever from God, the source of all light, all happiness, all joy.
So Jesus warned of the terrors of hell – but at the same time told them the way out “trust in me, follow me and you will live!” He held out the hope of redemption, in hands that would soon be pierced to pay the cost of that redemption.

And that is why he was lead away. That is why he said to Peter “put away your sword”. Because every one of us is facing Hell. Every one of us is in deep, deep trouble, and none of us can save ourselves because what makes us unclean comes from within. Our sin comes from within us, and condemns us to death.

And the only way to save us is to swap places with us. It is to die our death in our place, so that we can live, and then remake us from the inside out. So that is what Jesus did. That is why Jesus died. That is why he came. For you and for me.

First he appeared before the Pharisee council, then before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The trials were full of false accusations, fake witnesses, lies, deceit and cowardice.
Yet, amidst all this, Jesus’ innocence shone out all the brighter - so much so that even the Roman governor declared “This man has done nothing wrong.”

But the priests, the leaders of Israel, those who should have been saying “there is the Messiah”, instead shouted “Crucify him!” And the crowd followed their lead. “Crucify him”! And Pilate bowed to their will, instead of to the truth, and condemned Jesus to death.

Pilate had him whipped to the point of death. Then beaten and torn, Jesus was forced to carry the cross from the Roman palace to the place of execution. There he was stripped naked, and strapped to the cross - the shorn lamb awaiting the sacrifice.

Then the Roman soldier picked up a hammer and some nails. He grabbed Jesus’ arm, held the nail in place, and lifted the hammer.

Bang!

The nails pierced His skin, and He cried out in agony.

Then the soldier nailed his other arm to the cross, and then his feet.

There was no respite from the pain - and then with a shout and a heave, the cross was lifted into the air. Jesus’ tendons in his arms and feet began to tear as they took the full weight of his broken body. And as the cross of wood slammed into the ground He shuddered and shook. “Father, forgive them” He cried out as He paid the price so that He could forgive them.

And the sky grew dark, and the sun gave no light.

Creation mourned, and God the Father turned His head.

For a brief moment, the Universe stood still....

And then all of the sins from all of the people in all of time – all who were and who are and who will be covered by the blood of the Innocent One – all their sins, all our sins, were poured out on one concentrated spot: the Lamb Himself on the Cross of Death.

A dreadful cry was heard of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” as Jesus felt the unbearable pain of facing the wrath of God. His body trembled and shook. Then he prayed: “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit”, the prayer of the innocent dying for the guilty. And then raising himself up he took a deep breath and shouted “It is FINISHED!”. His body slumped down. And he was dead.

God the Father looked towards the Temple and tore down the curtain of the Most Holy Place, the symbol of the barrier between God and Man. The barrier was broken! The way to God was open. In Jesus we have access to God.

But at what a cost! The Lamb - the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the King of Israel, Jesus, the Christ... was dead.

Creation mourned, the skies were black, and the sun was dead. The curtain was torn, but the Lamb was gone. Heaven waited for a sign from the Father....

But none was given.

Dusk was approaching. The women wept as Jesus’ broken body was taken down from the Cross. He was wrapped in linen cloths and laid gently in a tomb. A great stone was rolled in front of the tomb, and a guard of four placed outside the door.

The stars came out. The night was quiet. And the tomb was empty, but for the corpse of Jesus.

The Lamb’s broken body lay sadly on the floor: a testament to sin. A testament to a world in rebellion. And a testament to the love and mercy of the Father, who would slay the Lamb to rescue the many... even us here today.

The tomb was cold and devoid of life. The body of the Lamb lay alone.

His body lay broken, and the sun rose. Saturday dawned. Sabbath. A holy day. But Israel had killed their Messiah.

His body lay pierced, and dusk encroached on the day and consumed it.

His body lay fallen, and the second day passed away in silence.

The Lamb was dead.

Yet we know that death is a result of sin. And we know, too, that Jesus had never sinned. How could death hold him?

The King is dead. Long live the King. Is what they shout when a king dies, and the new king is crowned. But in Jesus’ case, it really was The King is dead, long live the King. For death could not hold him. Death had no right to hold him. And so Jesus broke the bonds of death. We pick up the story in John 20.

Jn 20:1–18 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home. 11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” 16 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). 17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” 26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” 30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Death is gone! He was defeated. And the Lamb, Jesus, is alive! As if a star had fallen to the earth and was burning with joy! His great work was finished.

I can imagine on that Easter Sunday the whole of Heaven exploding into a chorus of praise and joy: The Lamb, the Son of God, the Master - He was alive! How would the angels celebrate? Speeding through the heavens in great joy, weaving their way through the galaxies and the stars and planets and moons. Blurs of clean light, weaving an intricate tapestry of praise to our Lord.

Don’t you want to join in? Don’t you want to feel the power of God, the joy of Heaven flowing through you? He is alive! He is alive! I want to praise Him with my whole body, with my whole life!

One day we will see him face to face. He is alive. One day we will see him and dance a cosmic dance of joy like the angles danced on that first Easter Sunday so many years ago. We will speed through the heavens, past cosmic wonders, our bodies leaving a trail of pure delight, dancing to the praise of the Lamb. And even those of us who can’t dance will dance! And above all, we will hear the pure rich laughter of the Father, a laughter that speaks of a holy joy, a laughter that makes all who hear it giddy with delight. His laughter rings out through the Universe, making every atom tingle, every star burn brighter, every galaxy turn faster out of sheer joy. The Lamb is alive! Death is defeated! Creation will be restored. Satan is defeated, and his plague will be destroyed. Hope is won!
Praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit! Praise Him for His grace and power and wisdom and love. He is worthy of the praise of all Creation!

Praise Him!

So let’s do it. Let’s praise him with everything we are right here and right now. If you don’t know him – get to know him. Say God, I need to know you. If you do know him, live for him. Delight in him. Let he be your joy and heartbeat. Love him! Do everything for him. He is our all in all. He is our great delight! He is our joy! He is all, for he was dead, he died for us, he died to make us whole, to restore us, to bring us into relationship with him. And today he rose again from the dead. Today he lives! And we live for him. Amen.

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