He is Risen

Have you ever hoped against all hope for something? I do it every year, because I’m an Auburn fan. Every year, at the end of football season, I tell myself, “OK, I’m done with college football.” Then, August comes around, I buy into the hype and by the first game, I’m ready to give my team another chance. They lose a few games, and I still hope against hope, thinking, “Any game is up for grabs in the SEC.” That doesn’t make anyone feel better when you lose 42 to 14. But, I hope against hope, we lose, we fire the coach, I swear off football, and the whole cycle starts over again.

We don’t just do that with football games, though. We do that with life. We start to notice signs that things are changing in our lives and in our bodies. It may start when you notice that you just don’t seem to have the strength that you once did. Or maybe you just don’t have the stamina to run or walk or work as long as you used to. Perhaps you can’t recall facts as quickly as you could, or your eye sight starts to fade. All of those things are signs that things are winding down. You’re getting older. And the cold hard truth that most people try to avoid is that eventually, you are going to die.

But we hope against hope, and so we try to cover up those signs of aging. There is a whole industry of medicine called “Plastic Surgery” that is aimed at making you look younger or better than you really are. People spend millions each year on facial products, anti-aging products, trying to fight back against the signs of aging. But no matter how hard you try to cover it up or paint over it, it still comes. You still age. You still die.

But, why do we hope against hope? Why do we tell ourselves that everything is going to be OK, that everything is going to work out, when we see time and time again in the lives of others around us that it just simply does not work out? Ecclesiastes 3:11 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” We long for more because we know there is more. God has created us to yearn for that which is eternal. God created Adam and Eve to live forever in the Garden. But, sin destroyed God’s perfect creation. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Because of Adam’s sin, we are all born under the curse of sin, and we will all surely die. There is not one of us in this room who can escape it. You can tell yourself that it will come a long time from now. You can tell yourself that you have your health. You can tell yourself that science will soon have the answer. But the truth still remains: you will surely die.

But, I have good news for you today, Antioch. When we last left off in the book of Mark, we studied the death of Jesus. He has been to us a beloved teacher. He has been to us a miracle worker. He has been to us a prophet. But, last week we saw him as he was meant to be: the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. We watched him die on that cross and we saw him buried in that tomb, and now we are left with a heavy question: “Can no one escape death?” Cannot even the sinless son of God escape the clutches of death? Is there no hope after all? Have we all yearned for eternity, yearned for something after this only to have our hopes dashed upon a cruel cross?

Here is the Good News. The Gospel is good news because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have hope of eternal life. We have hope of heaven and the glory of God because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I have asked this question before, but it is relevant to ask it now: If archeologists found the bones of Jesus Christ, and it was without a doubt his remains, would that (should that) change your beliefs and your adherence to Christianity in any way? Paul says in 1 Cor. 15, if Christ is not risen, then we of all men are most to be pitied. His answer is “Yes”. You see, our salvation is not rooted in some mystical truth like the Hindus or the Muslims. We do not believe just because we believe, regardless of what people say. Christianity is rooted in truth. Christianity is rooted in history. If Jesus never actually lived or he never actually died or never actually rose again from the dead, then what we believe is a lie and worthless. We are hoping in a god that isn’t real and in a salvation that isn’t real. That’s why Satan attacks the claims of Christianity every chance he gets. But the truth is, Christ is risen! Look with me at Mark 16:1-8.

After the soldiers verified that Jesus was dead by stabbing him in his side with a spear, they turned his body over to his disciples to be buried. Because it was close to dark and the Passover Sabbath was about to begin, they were rushed to bury him. Joseph of Arimathea donated his family tomb to Jesus for his burial, and they lay him on one of the benches in the tomb and then rolled a 1 ton stone in front of the entrance.

But, the women were distraught over the fact that Jesus had been hurriedly buried. Remember, most of the disciples had fled the scene and were in hiding, but the women that had followed Jesus stood under his cross while he died, helped to bury him, and now they return to the tomb on Sunday morning to help give him a proper burial. The whole way there they are fretting over what to do about the stone that is in front of the tomb, but when they get there they find that the stone has been rolled away and the tomb is empty. When they entered, they saw a young man (an angel) sitting in the tomb, and he announces to them that Jesus of Nazareth, who they saw crucified, has risen. He told them to go tell the disciples and Peter that he will meet them back in Galilee. The women are so terrified and amazed by this experience that initially they don’t tell anyone, but we know from the other Gospels that they do eventually go and tell the disciples.

The resurrection is significant for two reasons. First of all, it anchors our faith in one magnificent historical event. This is an unbelievable, unnatural event. Who has ever heard of anyone rising from the dead, especially after 3 days? It’s not physically possible. Once someone is dead, they don’t come back. There is no potion you can give them and no ritual to be done. They are just dead. But, Jesus’ 11 closest followers (the disciples) and the early church hung their hat on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Mark gives us the names of the women who first witnessed that the tomb was empty. Why does he do that? Because people who read the first copies of his Gospel could actually go and ask these women. They could ask Mary Magdalene if the tomb was actually empty. These were not made up fairy tales that give us warm fuzzies. This was an actual real life event. Besides, the tomb was empty. There was no body. The Jews searched high and low. They paid off the soldiers that guarded the tomb to say that they fell asleep and the disciples must have stolen the body. But they never could produce a body.

The disciples believed that this one event was the lynch pin on which the whole Gospel rested. Peter ends his Gospel presentation in Acts 2 by saying in verse 32: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” Paul, in Acts 17, is speaking to the Greek philosophers, and he says that God has given all men proof of his Gospel by raising Jesus from the dead. The truth of the resurrection was central to the Gospel of the Apostles.

But, the resurrection is also significant because it shows us that Christ’s sacrifice was acceptable. Hebrews 12:2 says “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 1 Pet. 1:3 says “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Jesus’ resurrection shows that his sacrifice was acceptable before God, and it also shows that he has prepared the way for us.

So, we can hope. We can hope with the assurance that Jesus Christ has indeed risen from the dead. It is not wishful thinking and it is not a nice little fairy tale to make you feel better. It is the truth, and it is your only hope of escaping the curse of your sin.