Easter Sunday 2018: Jesus is God’s solution to our real problem.

Mark 15:1-16:8

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Everyone knows that there’s a problem with the world.

Sportspeople cheat. Politicians lie and cheat their way into power. Bureaucrats misuse their power for dishonest gain, or just because they like power. Lovers, “Samboer” argue and fight and hate the ones they’re with. Marriages end in divorce. I see lots of men spending so much time “working” or fixing their garden or tinkering in the garage – avoiding the woman inside the house. People don’t love the one they’re with. Why?
An older brother sexually abuses his younger sister. Children are neglected and not loved the way they should. Children are used as pawns in a power game between two divorced parents, bounced between houses like ping pong balls. A terrorist kills 77 people, mostly teenagers. A man chops the head off another man in Maxbo. Many suffer from depression. Many are addicted to drugs, to alcohol. Anything to dull the pain.
All this just in Norway, one of the best, safest, most moral, most wealthy, most educated, technologically advanced, with some of the best labour laws and the longest holidays in the world.

Never mind the horrors that go on in the rest of the world! War. Terror. Brutality. No freedom. No peace. Fear. Slavery. Abuse. Poverty. Horrible working conditions.

If we stop and think for a moment, open our eyes and look around, really look at what is going on. We cannot help but admit that there is a problem. Why can’t we all just get along. Especially here in Norway? We have every advantage under the sun and yet we still fail to love each other like we should. In my daughter’s class nearly all the parents have split up. Unable to love each other even for 10 years. Why?

There is a problem. And our problem is not lack of education. Education just makes us cleverer at making weapons to kill each other like machine guns mowing down kids at school. Or at manipulating people to subvert democracy – like the Facebook scandal. Or making nuclear bombs or chemical weapons.
Or using psychology to designing adverts to create needs in us and make websites and apps to distract us as much as possible because when they have our eyeballs they can suck the most money out of us.
Education can be used for great good. Or terrible evil.
Technology likewise.

Lack of education is not our problem.

Maybe it’s morals that we need. A moral teacher. If we just TELL people what is right and wrong and force them to obey… well that doesn’t work.
Because who watches the watchmen? Whose morals are the right morals. What if the enforces become corrupt. Because that’s happened every time we’ve tried moral enforcement.
And if you’re thinking “put the church in charge, then there will be peace.” Sorry, but church leaders become corrupt and people then join the church for power, not to serve Jesus, and history shows us the terrible consequences of church and government being too close. That’s why the US has separation of church and state. Not to protect the state from “religion” because that’s just dumb. No. It was to protect the church. To ensure there was no state religion where the church becomes just a wing of the state.

You know if the problem was lack of education, wealth, democracy, morality, or any of these other things then Norway would be a paradise. A problem-free haven filled with the happiest people on earth.

But we’re not. Something eats away at us and destroys us from the inside out. Like a cancer it rots our best efforts makes them fail.

And the Bible calls that sin. Sin is ignoring God. Rejecting him. Disobeying him. That’s sin. And it’s the root cause for all our problems. Sin is what causes us to self-destruct. Because we reject God we can’t work right, and we end up turning on each other.

And that’s why Jesus came.

If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Saviour. – Don Carson.

I want to make just two points today.

1. Jesus died on the cross to solve the world’s greatest problem.

2. Jesus died and then rose from the dead - for you.

1. Jesus died on the cross to solve the world’s greatest problem.

Mk 15:22–24 And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). 23 They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it. 24 Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece.

The cross.

Why a cross?

Have you ever wondered about that. Crucifixion was the worst form of punishment the Romans could devise – perhaps the worst in all of history. So why did God choose that? Jesus could have died any way. Why such a brutal, horrible, cruel and degrading way?

I’m not sure of the answer. But I can think of two possible reasons.
One is that it reflects our nature as human beings. Our worst selves are there put on display. Our cruellest method of torture, where we nail someone to a cross of wood so that they eventually suffocate to death because they can’t lift themselves up. Strip them naked and watch them die over days, jeering and mocking them, until their strength finally gives out and they sink down to die. That is what we use our brilliant minds for. Cruelty. It is the worst part of us on display.

Mk 15:17–20 [The soldiers] dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

The cross is the worst part of humanity on display.

And it is the best part of God on display. Because he takes the worst part of us, our brutality, our violence, and turns it to good!
The cross cries out that there is hope even for the worst of us, hope of redemption.
And the cross shines out in glory for those of us who have suffered, those locked in the darkness – we are not beyond God’s reach. Even our suffering can be redeemed, turned to good, in God’s hand.
Look to the cross! Rampant hatred and cruelty which God turned to the greatest act of love the world has ever seen. The cross is emptied of its hatred and cruelty and is now a beacon of hope. That’s power. That’s love. That’s what we celebrate at Easter.

Mk 15:37–39 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

The Temple was were you went as a Jew to get forgiveness for your sins. You had to bring an animal as a sacrifice. That animal was killed in your place, a substitute. Its blood was splashed on you to symbolise that you were covered by its blood – it died in your place. It was a powerful picture of the seriousness of sin – rebellion against God, saying no to God, ignoring God. Sin means death!
But also a powerful picture of redemption and forgiveness. There was way out. You could come to God through the sacrifice.

And all that only pointed the way to Jesus. That’s why Mark tells us about what’s going on in the Temple at the moment of Jesus’ death. The camera suddenly zooms from the Cross on Golgotha, outside Jerusalem, and into the city centre, right into the Temple – and then back again. Because the “curtain” in v38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. was a massive, thick piece of cloth 20m high, 20m wide, and 10cm thick that blocked off the “Most Holy Place” where God symbolically “lived”.

Torn down when Jesus died.

Why? Because God is no longer found at the Temple. Sacrificing an animal there is no longer needed. That just pointed to Jesus. He is where we find forgiveness of sins now.

It also means that the way to God is now open. And open for everyone. Not just the Jews, or the priests, or the High Priest – but everyone. The way to God is open. No barriers.

And we see that immediately. Camera zooms back and
39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

The statement in verse 39 is utterly incredible: “This man truly was the Son of God!” What is it that turned this man around – from abusing Jesus to worshipping Jesus? V39 says when he “saw how [Jesus] died”. I wonder what he saw? Perhaps he saw in Jesus’ eyes, through the spiritual and physical pain, the love that drove him to the cross? Perhaps Jesus looked at him with eyes so filled with forgiveness it pierced even this rough Roman soldier’s heart? Perhaps it was something else. We don’t know – but it was the death of Jesus that brought him new life, as it has been for every Christian since.

Our world can be dark and brutal. Our lives can be filled with pain. But in that dark the light of God’s love displayed on the cross shines all the brighter. And in our pain we hear him say “I am with you”. He knows our pain. He has been through it. He is with us. And he will bind up our wounds and heal us – partially now, and completely on the great day when he returns.

And we know this because of today. Easter Sunday. Resurrection Sunday. The day in history when a dead man rose again to life, just as he had predicted, and blew the minds of everybody involved.

2. Jesus died and then rose from the dead – for you

Mk 16:6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!”

He is risen. Amen. He is risen indeed!

But this was not what the women going to the tomb expected. We do. We know the story. Perhaps so much that it loses its impact. But what did they expect? A corpse. Probably starting to smell. It wasn’t -10!
Because what were they carrying to the tomb? 16:1 tells us they went with burial spices! Not party balloons, whistles, streamers and a banner saying “Welcome back Jesus!”. There was no band coming with them to say tadaa! as Jesus came out.
You know, Jesus’ closest followers did not believe that he would rise from the dead – even though he’d told them. They probably thought he meant in some kind of spiritual way. “I will live on in your heart”. Not actually die in front of their eyes and then physically come back to life. Who does that.

So the women are going to anoint the corpse. The men are so depressed and defeated they can’t even bring themselves to see the body. After all, they thought Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the Great Rescuer – and then he DIED!

So their discussion on the way to the tomb wasn’t A Great Discussion of Faith and Belief “oh won’t it be good to see the risen Lord Jesus again. How wonderful”. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”

Some people foolishly claim that “it wasn’t Jesus on the cross” or “he didn’t die, he just fainted”. But that’s nonsense. The religious leaders hated Jesus so much they got him crucified. The Roman soldiers were experts in crucifixion. They wouldn’t be fooled by someone fainting, and they wouldn’t crucify the wrong person because if Jesus had escaped their own life would be forfeit. Jesus really died. Everyone knew he was dead. Pilate even double-checked his death because people normally took days to die on a cross – Jesus gave up his own life after a few hours. So he double-checks with the Roman officer in charge – is he really dead? Yes, says the officer.

That’s why when Jesus rose from the dead it shook the world. The ripples of that one event spread around the world like a shockwave. This year we call 2018 because of Jesus. Because of his resurrection we claim his birth as year zero. That is a massive shockwave.

We are here because something enormous happened 1986 years ago, something so big that it totally transformed the Roman world and continues to affect the whole world. Like ripples in water, we see that something happened in Jerusalem in 33AD and within 30 years it had spread through the entire known world, even to the Emperor. With no internet. No phones. No army. No political power.

Just a testimony: I saw and listened and touched and knew Jesus. He did amazing miracles, he spoke truths that we had never heard before - and then he died. And we all thought it was the end. And then he rose from the dead!

A likely story! But history revealed that something happened Easter AD33 in Jerusalem. Something massive. Something so incredible that it sent shockwaves throughout the world.
And if it wasn’t the resurrection of Jesus – what was it?

Because it must have been just as amazing, just as astounding, just as incredible. And for that we have NO EVIDENCE.

History forces us to consider the unthinkable: that Jesus of Nazareth, wise man, ethical teacher, miracle-worker, guru, a man of love and peace, was really something much more. Saviour. Lord. God Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth, with power over all things, including death.

The ripples in the water call out to us. The tomb is empty. Jesus rose from the dead.

Difficult to accept? The disciples would agree with you. His closest followers didn’t believe it. How do the women react in today’s passage when confronted by the empty tomb? Happy? Overjoyed? Vindicated? No. Shocked v5. Frightened v8. Trembling v8. Bewildered v8. And every meeting with Jesus went the same way. “I don’t believe it!” until they saw him. And they believed. And gave their lives so that we might believe.

Now, maybe you’re a believer today, maybe you’re not. If you’re not, make a decision right now, between you and God, to find out the truth. Not to say “yes I believe” but “I want to fin the truth”. And keep coming, keep asking questions.

And if you are a believer? Keep looking to the cross. Because too many who call themselves Christians these days are anything but. The media likes to paint Christians as prejudiced, hateful people without joy and bound by rules – and that’s all too true of Christians who don’t know Christ. But Jesus said, “Come to me, as you are, anyone - the way is open. The price is paid.”
We celebrate today that Jesus' death has set us free from rules and given us an eternal joy that bubbles up inside us because we know God!

Of course, there are other choices you can make.
Perhaps you’d like to take a dip in the river Ganges during an eclipse? “Taking a holy dip during the solar eclipse is a very pious act. It is very auspicious, it is very fruitful and it can get one salvation,” the words of Hindu priest Babu Ram Sashtri to Reuters television.
Or maybe you think that’s nonsense and you’d prefer cold hard science. Then make sure you know what you’re in for. Alex Rosenberg in “The Atheist's Guide to Reality” makes it clear what you’re signing up for.
- Is there a God? No.
- What is the nature of reality? What physics says it is.
- What is the purpose of the universe? There is none.
- What is the meaning of life? There is none.
- Why am I here? Just dumb luck.
- Is there a soul? Is it immortal? Are you kidding?
- Is there free will? Not a chance!
- What is the difference between right and wrong, good and bad? There is no moral difference between them.
- Why should I be moral? Because it makes you feel better than being immoral.
- Is abortion, euthanasia, suicide, paying taxes, foreign aid, or anything else you don’t like forbidden, permissible, or sometimes obligatory? Anything goes.
- Does history have any meaning or purpose? It’s full of sound and fury, but signifies nothing.

Or perhaps you could look at the evidence for the resurrection. A powerful statement of God’s redemptive power and his love for… yes, even you. Like ripples in the water, the cross echoes through history and calls on you to respond. Will you stand and say “Truly this man is the Son of God”?

May this Easter Sunday be the start of a new life for each one of us as we accept afresh, or perhaps for the first time, the power of the resurrection life of Jesus to wipe away our past sins, to fill us with joy even in the darkness and difficulties of life, and lead us safely to the Glorious Day when we will see him face to face.

He is risen. Amen. He is risen indeed!

Mark 16:1-8 Risen!

Mark 16:1-8

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What if Jesus did not rise from the dead?

What if the tomb was not empty?

What if Jesus died on the cross and stayed dead, and his corpse was found on Sunday morning, the women anointed his body and then they went home?

Well, we would not be here for one thing. The religious leaders would have been right: Jesus was a false prophet who blasphemed God and was rightly put to death.
If Jesus did not rise the disciples would have remained a frightened band of fishermen who followed for a time a charismatic and seemingly powerful leader – who was found out as a fraud. They would have gone back to their day jobs, maybe had a reunion to talk about the good old days. But never would we have had Pentecost Sunday. Never would we have had the church, and certainly not a church founded on the message of the resurrection.

We know that from earliest times this was the message of the church: that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. This is our core message. Without the resurrection there is no church.

With a dead Jesus there are no apostles, there is no Jerusalem church, there is no fearless standing before councils and judges, there is no meeting with Paul on the Damascus road, there is no miracles, no massive spread of the gospel, there is nothing.

This is the key. Mk 16:6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.

1. Jesus was died and was buried and no-one expected him to rise

2. Jesus rose from the dead

3. The ending of Mark is v8 but someone added to v16 later.

Let’s go:

1. Jesus was died and was buried and no-one expected him to rise

Mk 16:1–3 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”

We continue where we left off last week. Jesus was nailed to the cross, darkness covered the land, and Jesus faced the judgement that we deserve, dying in our place. “My God, my God why have you abandoned me” he cries. A cry of facing God’s judgement because he’s bearing our sin and paying for it with his own death. He who knew no sin became sin for us. The righteous one died for us the unrighteous so that we could receive his righteousness. Amazing! But it’s also a cry from the Psalms, Psalm 22, where the King of Israel, King David, cries out to the Lord in v1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me. But then continues with these amazing prophetic words:
Ps 22:14–18 My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. 15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. 16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17 I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. 18 They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.

Jesus is the King on the cross, the King of Israel suffering and dying for the whole world, so that we who were outside can now be inside, included, sons and daughters of the Living God. And immediately we see that: the Roman soldier who put Jesus to death sees how Jesus dies and declares “Truly this man was the Son of God!” The first man to believe in Jesus is the one who put him to death. You have got to love the mercy of God! If that man can be saved, even you can be saved, even I can be saved! There’s hope for EVERYONE.

But at this moment in the story, that hope seems very far away. The disciples don’t even seem to be there, so crushed are they. 15:40 just speaks of some women who were there watching him die from a distance. They knew him, they saw him die. They saw Joseph of Arimathea come and take down his body and lay it in a tomb. They knew where the tomb was, but because it was Sabbath and preparing a body for burial was work so they had to wait.

Jesus really died. Everyone knew he was dead. Pilate even double-checked his death because people normally took days to die on a cross – Jesus gave up his own life after a few hours. So he double-checks with the Roman officer in charge – is he really dead? Yes, says the officer. Everyone knew he was dead. They didn’t make a mistake! Some people foolishly claim that “it wasn’t Jesus on the cross” or “he didn’t die, he just fainted”. But that’s nonsense. The religious leaders hated Jesus so much they got him crucified. The Roman soldiers were experts in crucifixion. They wouldn’t be fooled by someone fainting, and they wouldn’t crucify the wrong person because if Jesus had escaped their own life would be forfeit.

No, Jesus died. He was dead. Truly dead. And he was buried. Even the Christians thought he was dead. They thought it was the end. Look at verse 1 of chapter 16: Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.

They went with burial spices! Not party balloons, whistles, streamers and a banner saying “Welcome back Jesus!”. There was no band coming with them to say tadaa! as Jesus came out.

And there discussion on the way to the tomb wasn’t A Great Discussion of Faith and Belief “oh won’t it be good to see the risen Lord Jesus again. How wonderful”. Nobody believed his words that he would rise again – or if they did they would have thought he meant spiritually. When people die they stay dead! Nobody had ever heard, even thought of, someone coming back from the dead. It was just stupidity. Ludicrous. So 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”

How are we going to get into the tomb so we can anoint his body. Again notice no disciples are there. Peter had denied Jesus! These guys were finished. They couldn’t even be bothered to help the women anoint the body. There was no big conspiracy to steal the body and make it look like Jesus was risen. Jesus had been arrested and lead away in front of them. He’d been murdered and they’d done nothing about it. They had abandoned him, ran away, failed. They couldn’t even face giving Jesus a proper burial.
So the women go alone, even though they had no idea how they were going to move the big stone out the way.

Jesus really did die, and really was buried, and nobody, not even his closest followers, expected him to rise. In fact confronted by the empty tomb, the women are… happy? Overjoyed? Vindicated? No. Shocked v5. Frightened v8. Trembling v8. Bewildered v8.

Dead men don’t rise! Jesus died. Jesus was buried. But Jesus was innocent, sinless, and death could not hold him. So just as he promised:

2. Jesus rose from the dead.

4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

You can imagine their confusion as they approached the tomb. “Why is it open, what’s been going on? Has someone stolen his body? Couldn’t the religious leaders leave him alone? Have they desecrated his body too?”
Perhaps that’s what they were thinking. So you can imagine their surprise when they look in the tomb to find… an angel! What is going on???! I mean they were used to being surprised by Jesus but this? This? THIS? An empty tomb – where is his body? And then the angel speaks: “Don’t be alarmed. Too late, mate, I’m panicking! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. Duh! He isn’t here! Well, we can see that, where is he? He is risen from the dead! What? Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

You can imagine their heads spinning. He is risen. We will see him in Galilee. What. I can’t believe it. Am I going mad? Mary, Mary – did you just see and hear what I did? Did that angel just say that Jesus is alive???

8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

Total confusion, total disbelief. This can’t be happening. They just couldn’t believe. This was too good to be true. Too impossible. So trembling, confused, frightened, they leave the tomb.

And walking back, Salome turns to the two Mary’s and says “I don’t know what’s going on but one thing I do know: at least we can get our money back for these burial spices”

This is the point: Jesus rising from the dead is an incredible, unbelievable event. It is THE event which marks Jesus out from all others and authenticates his ministry: it is the big stamp which says Jesus is Something Special.

Without the resurrection he is nothing. With the resurrection he is the Messiah, the Living God, the Son of Man, the Lord of All, and our Saviour. Without the resurrection we have no faith. With the resurrection we are saved.

Those words “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” are the most important in human history. Jesus really is who He says he is. Our sins really are dealt with. Anyone really can be saved. The way to God really is open. Halleluja! Forgiveness has been bought for everyone.

And notice that Jesus’ message through the angel speicifically mentions Peter. Peter who had betrayed him three times. Peter, the Rock, who had failed to pray, failed to stay awake, and who ran away from Jesus when he should have stood by his side. Jesus specifically mentions him v7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee.

Messing up and failing God is something we all do. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus knows this? That this is why he died and rose again. Because we mess up so he did what we can’t do. Hey Peter, you’re still a disciple. Peter’s there thinking “I’m no longer a disciple, I’m not worthy. Here’s a message for the disciples, well that’s not for me.” And then he hears “the disciples, including Peter”. Fantastic. Remember that, Christian, when you’re down in the dumps because of your sin and can’t believe that Jesus still accepts you. He does, just like he accepts Peter. What an awesome God we serve.

Christ died.
Christ was buried
Christ rose from the dead!
And he will come again. Amen!

Now, let’s look briefly at the ending to Mark’s gospel.

3. The ending of Mark is v8 but someone added to v16 later.

v8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

And that’s the end of Mark’s gospel. A bit weird isn’t it? Actually, it does have a very real feeling doesn’t it? I mean, if you were going to make this up, wouldn’t you expect Mark to report that they were rejoicing, singing the Hallelujah chorus! Instead they’re frightened out of their wits, just like we would be!

But it is a weird ending. A bit too abrupt. And it’s clear that the next verses are later additions. The language is different, the style is different, it’s obviously a brief summary of what happened afterwards to give Mark a proper finish.

So what happened? Did Mark just end with a bang so we’d have to make up our own minds? Did we manage to lose the actual ending? Or did Mark end it like that so that one of the witnesses to Jesus could come forth at that point and say exactly what happened?

We just don’t know. But the point is that the tomb was empty, and that Jesus had risen from the dead. That is the end of Mark’s gospel, at least the end of the original manuscript - what we would call the inspired, authenticated by the apostles, manuscript. Nothing of v8-16 is wrong or heretical – but they are not original, and therefore should be seen not as the word of God, but as extra material or a commentary. Helpful, but don’t build a theology around it!

The short ending is Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen.

Yup, nothing wrong with that. That’s what happened. Although very not Mark to call the Good News the “sacred and unfailing message of salvation”. But that is what happened as we know from Matthew, John, Luke and Acts. And the next verses are the same. We know Jesus met Mary from John’s gospel. We know from Luke and John that the disciples didn’t believe the women at all.

V12 is the road to Emmaus from Luke 24 “weren’t our hearts burning as he taught us”.

And so on. You can find everything else in the other gospels or in Acts. The verse that has caused some stupidity is v18, obviously recalling Paul after the shipwreck on Malta in Acts 28, where he’s bitten by a poisonous snake and nothing happens to him. It’s a summary of acts written by a helpful editor – not a promise from Jesus’ lips that we can fiddle about with snakes and not be bitten, as some rather foolish people have done. Don’t build a theology from one verse, particularly a verse which is not in the original manuscript and was probably added by a “helpful” Christian fellow in the late 150’s.

And that’s the end of Mark’s gospel. We have seen and experienced Jesus. He has proven to us that he is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. We have seen that his death brings us new life.

And we are challenged to follow him. To pick up our cross – put ourselves to death – and live for him. For his death brings life. And if we follow him by turning away from our selfish, me-centred lives, - putting ourselves to death – we will find true life.

Jesus demands all, but he gives much more.

Will we give up all we have to get all he has?

Easter Sunday 2015

We all have a sense of the divine. Of their being something more than just what we see or hear or touch. We can feel a greater purpose, a greater meaning behind life. This life is not all there is. There is more to our lives than just what we see.

Throughout history many have come claiming a revelation from God or a revelation about the spiritual or our greater purpose. Nitsche, Russel, the unknown founders of Hinduism and Shinto, Muhammad, Bhudda Guatama, Zoroast, and so on, to the modern TV evangelist who sees in your future that you will give money to him for his new jet....

But 2000 years ago a man came on the scene who did not claim a revelation about God or a revelation from God – he claimed to BE the revelation of God. To know him was to know God. Repent and believe he said, for the Kingdom of God is here. That’s how he started his ministry! What a ridiculous claim! God’s Kingdom is here. Ha. You? The King of the Kingdom? Ha.
But there was power – this man, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth – he had power. Power to heal, power over evil spirits. Power over even creation. Be still he says to a storm – and it was still. Have you tried that? He walked on water, he produced food out of thin air. This was no magic trick, some illusion that fooled the simple backwater peoples – no. The best brains from Jerusalem came down to find him out. Those who could sniff out a faulty argument or a false teaching – those who could spot a law breakers and a blasphemer from a mile away – keen minds, sharpened by years of religious inquisition… and they were stumped, nonplussed, amazed, confused. How can this be? They could not deny his power, but they could not agree with his claims- he saves sinners! He claims to forgive sins! He hangs out with the scum: law-.breakers and sinners, not good people like us. So they decided to kill him.

But that was expected. Jesus said so. Told his disciples that is why he came:- it was planned by the decree of God, as revealed to his prophets hundreds of years before: by his stripes we are healed.

And so he willingly went to his death – this man of power who merely spoke his name and the soldiers fell over, who had power to tall the ground to open up and swallow them – Jesus went willingly to his death. And he died

And it was all over.

The disciples, his followers, were all depressed. They thought he was the Messiah, the rescuer, but he clearly wasn’t. He was dead. Oh, he had said he’d rise again, but who believed that?

And then he rose from the dead. And that changed everything.

He had power... over death! He suddenly was not just a man, but clearly the Living God – the one from outside who had control over what happens here on earth. He had power over creation because he was the Creator. And the amazing message he came with was not that he had come to destroy us, but that he had come to forgive us. He had come to bridge the gap between us and him. He had come to make himself known so that we could KNOW God. And not only know him, but live with him as our God. The resurrection changes everything.

In 1 John 1:1 the Apostle John (apostle means a close friend and follower of Jesus), writes We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He [Jesus] is the Word of life.

But surely it was just a myth? It can’t actually be true. Can it?

Well, let’s examine some of the common objections to the resurrection.

Myth no. 1 “It was made up by Emperor Constantine in 325 at the Council of Nicaea, the first Church Council”. This is very popular – Dan Brown used it in his novels, and if you type it into Google you’ll get a massive amount of websites claiming this to be the SECRET TRUTH NOW REVEALED. The fact that they’re all wrong doesn’t stop them. It makes a great story – but doesn’t fit the facts. This theory was popularised in the early 1900’s and gained some ground because we didn’t have any documents from before the Council of Nicaea. So it could be possible, however unlikely, that Constantine managed to change the beliefs of 318 bishops plus all the Christians of the time who up until that moment had been willing to die for their beliefs (and over 800 000 had already died for their faith – the first 300 years of Christianity was martyrdom and persecution) but these people who had stood strong suddenly caved into the Emperor, claim those who like this theory. So, not very likely. Do you think Obama could call all the Christians in the US together and say “we’re changing Christianity”. How well do you think that would work?
And, anyway, in the last 100 years or so we’ve discovered nearly 100 manuscripts from before 325. And these manuscripts had exactly the same text as the manuscripts after 325, and indeed the same as our Bibles today. Oh dear.

So the theory that Constantine just made Jesus up to unite Rome is just wrong. The evidence points the other way. It is not possible for him to have made it up.

Myth no. 2 “The disciples made it up.”
Okay. Why?

There’s nothing in it for them. They gain nothing by it. All of them were persecuted, tortured, rejected for it. They gained no power, no wealth. In the gospel narratives – which they are supposed to have made up – they look like complete idiots! Would you do that? I’m going to make up a story to give me power, but in the story I will look like an absolute fool, get everything wrong and even abandon my God.
This myth “they just made it up” has no plausibility. There is no motive for the disciples, no upside, no gain.

The other problem is that in their supposedly made up story everything happens publically. Their main character Jesus: his death happens in a major city - Jerusalem – not some deserted cave. And so does his resurrection! What’s more, they claim multiple people seeing Jesus after his resurrection – around 500 at one time! All it takes is going to speak to one of these people and asking “is it true” “no it was made up” -. And the whole thing comes crashing down

“Oh the disciples made it up” sounds good, but as soon as you start to examine it just falls apart. It fails the test of plausibility – where’s their motivation? It fails the literature test – because people didn’t write historical fiction like we do today. That style of writing has developed over hundreds of years – the gospel writers doing it would be astounding – in literary terms like discovering the atom 2000 years ago.
And if they were so clever they would have made it more convincing for their audience: they had huge cultural problems, like women being the eye-witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection – women weren’t even considered reliable witnesses in a court of law at the time – so why would you have them as your first eye-witnesses in a story you’re making up – unless, embarrassingly so, it was the truth. I could go on – there are many such details in the gospel narratives that make it highly unlikely that the disciples made it up. They really did see Jesus die, and they really did see Jesus risen from the grave. As I read from John’s letter “We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands”.

Ummm, but maybe they hallucinated, or really, really wanted it to be true that they forced themselves to believe it. Or maybe Jesus just swooned on the cross, not actually died, and then reappeared to them….

Do any of those sound convincing? Sounds like someone desperately looking for a reason to reject Jesus other than the real reason: I want to be God in my life, and so I don’t like it when the real God makes himself known. So I block my ears and make up stories...

Mass hallucinations? Maybe once, for 11 guys in a room, maybe smoking some weed. Yeah, man, I see Jesus…. But Peter’s out fishing and Jesus calls to him. Peter’s given up, you see, as a failure – he betrayed Jesus before his death. So he thinks even if Jesus is risen from the dead, he won’t have me. He wasn’t wanting to see Jesus! So he goes fishing. And then a figure calls to him from the beach. “Peter!” And Peter rows the boat closer. It’s Jesus. And they talk, and have breakfast together. Later 500 people see Jesus. And later still they are all gathered together and Jesus rises up into the sky after telling them to make disciples. For forty days Jesus appeared to different people at different times – once on the road to Emmaus, a village a few hours walk from Jerusalem, and then immediately after that, to the disciples in a home in Jerusalem. How’d he get there so fast?

And his appearances weren’t like a man in the shadows speaking in a muffled voice saying “hey, I’m Jesus”. No, he was amongst them saying touch me, feel the scars in my hands and feet, he was with them in daylight on the beach eating breakfast, and he was with them on the mountaintop in Galilee when he rose up to heaven before their very eyes. He was not a ghost because they could touch him, touch his hands and feet. He was not a twin or some other weird trick – he really had died on the cross because here was the wound in his side where the spear had pierced him. Here were the scars from the nails driven through his hands. It was Jesus. The same Jesus who had died.

But, but maybe Jesus swooned (fainted) on the cross. Yes, and the Roman soldiers didn’t know the difference between a man who has fainted and a man who is dead? Oh, and they stabbed him in the side with a spear to make sure. And then they wrapped him in a burial shroud. So this theory means that you believe that a man beaten to a pulp, crucified, then stabbed and bleeding, regained consciousness two days later in a cold dark tomb, fought his way out of the burial cloths, rolled away the huge stone, overpowered the guards, then broken, bleeding, half dead, appeared to his disciples... and they responded “my Lord and my God”.
Then you must have great faith indeed. And if you then say oh, the disciples made it grander then the question is why? Again, they have no good motivation to tell this story unless it is the truth. The only plausible rational reasonable explanation is that this man Jesus truly was who he said he was: God Himself. Come from the outside to us to reveal God to us and to open the way so that we could know him.

In the gospel of Luke, Luke writes to his sponsor, Theophilus “Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honourable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.”

Any other questions?

What’s your objection? Because you do have one. You must have one to explain it way because otherwise you are forced to consider the truth. That Jesus really is the revelation of the living God. That he made you. That you belong to him. And that the only rational, logical thing to do it to serve him.

You know when a building is demolished, there’s the moment when the demolitions guy presses the button and you hear whooom and see a bit of smoke – and then nothing happens. There’s a pause. The building’s foundation has been blown away but it’s still standing, just for a moment. And then WHOOOOOMFFF it collapses in a huge pile of rubble and dust.

Well, the cross was that explosion on the foundation of this world. Jesus’ death and resurrection blew out any ideas we might have that there is no God. And we live now in the pause, the pause before the fall – before Jesus returns, this time not as Saviour, but as Judge. We live in the pause before the fall. And in this pause, we have an opportunity to be rescued. To know God, and to serve him living a life of great meaning and purpose.

Two implications, two results of Jesus’ death and resurrection being true:

1. We can know God!

I started off by saying that we all have a sense of the divine – of there being something or someone out there. Something more to life. Well, Jesus confirms that. “Here I am” he says. “You cannot reach me – so I have reached down to you.” And through his death and his resurrection we can know God – personally. Each of us.

Because the reason we can’t know God is because we have sinned against him. Like a barrier between us and God, my rebellion, my sin, my pretending to be God and ignoring the real God, means I cannot know him. I am cut off from him. I cannot reach him. Even if I try to be really really good, the Bible says it is no use. He is perfect. I am not. He is holy, I am unholy. Religion is a waste of time. Being good is useless. We cannot know God

Praise God that he then did what we could not. He bridged the gap, broke open the barrier, so that we could know him.

Every other religion or worldview says do! You must do this or do that to achieve a higher consciousness or be a better person or please God or the gods. Christianity does not say “do” it says “done”. Christ said on the cross “It is finished” it is done – and then proved it by rising from the dead.

Because of what Christ has done, we can know God! He has wiped away our sins, covered over our filth (like the donkey on Friday, remember?), paid the penalty for our rebellion of God and our ignoring Him. It is done. We don’t have to do anything to try to win God’s favour – it is done. He did it. It is His gift to us.

We can know God. You can know God.

2. Our life has great meaning and purpose

The fact that there is a God means that our lives are not just lived out here, on this stage, and we die to be eaten by worms and eventually forgotten. Jesus reveals that our lives are lived before Almighty God: before Him. He is raised up, seated on the throne in Heaven. Everything we do reflects back on our relationship – or lack of relationship – with him. We are eternal creatures, created with a spark of the divine – we are created, made to be with God. And so what we do here matters. In the movie Gladiator the main character Maximus utters a great line just before they ride into battle “What we do in life echoes in eternity”
“What we do in life echoes in eternity”
It’s true. What is your life echoing into eternity? Are you bringing glory to God? Is every moment of your life consumed with Him, honouring him, bringing him glory, doing what you were created to do?

Or are you in rebellion against him? Ignoring him? Bringing glory to you and your petty and small ambitions?

Because everything is done. The way to know God is open. But just like getting married or having kids - or even getting a dog - changes your life, knowing God changes things completely. You now live life in a different reality. The reality of heaven and hell. Ter reality of eternity.

Be warned, dear friends. Heaven and hell are real. The resurrection shows that. Jesus went through the pain of death – to rescue us from HELL. He believed in Hell. He knows it. Where is your life leading you? What is your echo in eternity? Heaven? Or Hell? Are you trusting and obeying Christ? Or yourself?

And are we telling others this? This is real, this is urgent! People around us are dying and going to hell! Jesus came to DIE in order to rescue people from Hell and we claim to be his followers yet can’t be bothered to even tell people. Risk inviting our neighbours to church because ooo they might think I’m weird. On that Final Day when we see them condemned to Hell will we still be worried about what they think of us? I say this to myself, to increase the pressure on myself to not be so apathetic, so lazy, to get myself to do what I know I should. This is reality. God forgive us for our laziness and disobedience! Praise Jesus that he came to die for sinners like us, that even our failures are taken care of – but that should drive us to proclaim all the louder!

I heard a story recently of a woman who’d just become a Christian. Overjoyed she said “does this mean I’m forgiven. Completely forgiven?” “yes, Jesus has taken your guilt and shame”. Overjoyed she just was bursting to tell people, and so opened her phone book and starting ringing systematically, every single person in her phone book to tell the joyous news: Jesus is alive, and he has forgiven me, and he can accept you too!

This Easter, let us be gripped by the joy of the good news: Christ really DID rise from the dead, and so we can know God, and live a life filled with meaning and purpose – a life lived in the reality of eternity, a life lived with heaven and hell in mind. Friends, as we go out this door, may God grant that we see this world, see our friends, neighbours work colleagues and family through his eyes – eyes that saw people heading to hell to eternal death – and so he came Himself to die, to rise again, to rescue us. Amen.