Do You Know The Completed Story of the Resurrection?
Good Morning Friends,
If we are conducting ourselves as citizens of God’s Kingdom…. if we are seeking the evidence of the presence of God in our lives we will hopefully be striving together for something more tangible than the stones that make up the places in which we worship. Hopefully we will be striving and
finding joy in being part of a body of believers, living stones that shout out a witness to the Good News of the Temple of God now residing in us and for us. Today with that in mind, coupled with the events of the world we continue the journey of Eastertide toward Pentecost and the birth of the church. And hopefully we will see that it is the love of the laity and amateurs filled with the Spirit, more so than just professional preachers that open doors of greatest opportunity for our collective salvation. Do You Know The Full Story of the Resurrection?
Scripture: I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:11 (NRSV)
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:1-11 (NRSV)
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
Luke 24:13-23 (NRSV)
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” ‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.” This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.
Acts 2:14, 22-33 (NRSV)
So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’ While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.
Matthew 28:8-15 (NRSV)
Message: For those who like intrigue and conspiracy theory plotlines you will be right at home with today’s scripture, for there is no greater drama than the veracity of Jesus. There is no greater story line than how the Word made flesh puts it all together. On that Good Friday so many years ago, Christ was declared guilty by the Jewish religious leaders. And people began to believe it for everything he said about being God, everything he had said about his Kingdom, everything He had said about His power. Every statement He ever uttered, every promise He ever made, everything had been shown to be a lie because Jesus was guilty, guilty of claiming that he was God when apparently, he was only a crazy carpenter. Jesus was not an official Rabbi, he was not a Levite, and he was not a scribe or a Pharisee. He was just a carpenter out of Nazareth and a newcomer to Jerusalem, he was only thirty-three years old and he was wrong. Still even Pilot and the thief on the cross and the executioner testified to Jesus’ innocence. If Jesus had lived it would have been different, but he died and that was the plan. But for the people his dying was evidence that he was guilty, as guilty as sin. Sure, Jesus had called the lawmakers vipers, fools and hypocrites. Sure, they did not want to change. They wanted to keep power even at the cost of more lies. But here is the deal. They did not know the power of God. And God would testify to Jesus’ innocence in the form of an empty tomb and that would stir the hearts of the people and that would birth the church and that would change the verdict. And here, in this situation, we are to realize that our happiness today depends on what happens, but that lies do not ultimately get us what we want. Happiness is external, but joy comes from inside when we are filled with the Spirit of God and the fruits of the Spirit are obvious in our lives. Maybe it is ok to wish people a Happy Easter. But really, we should offer people a Joyous Eastertide. Friends, at the Last Supper Jesus talks to his disciples in the Upper Room about love and joy. He is talking about the joy set before Him to endure the cross. He is talking about the love we are to have in our lives as evidence of His resurrection. The message is that in times of trials and tribulations we are to experience God’s provision through good fellowship, good heritage, good counsel and good hope. We are to experience the riches of our spiritual inheritance secured in the joyful resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, we too look beyond Friday when it appeared that Jesus was guilty, and we too are to look beyond the resurrection for the journey continues. When Jesus won over death, he offered us the power to win over death and a new way. Jesus Christ won on Calvary for one reason and one reason only, and that was to give us the opportunity to have the full abundance of life eternal.
And So, the story of the resurrection is to be completed in each of us with Christ as the cornerstone.
After the backwash from Easter we are to go back to what we were doing before and to start living the life of abundance believing in what Christ makes possible. We are to recognize the enemies of joy and claim freedom from them and victory over them for the greatest good possible. Friends, we are to be completed together in Christ for the glory of God and our own salvation. The truth of our lives is to be found in Christ. And so, the truth, the only meaningful fact about my life and yours is how Jesus lives on in us. It is that important and is ultimately the only thing of which we will not be ashamed. And it cannot be a tale or fib or yarn with embellishments or worse yet a lie, for that does no one any good. No, I am thinking about and I hope you too feel a desire and joy growing inside that spills over into the lives of others along the lines of those who walked on the road to Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday. I am talking about how Jesus changes each of us when we lift him up and talk about what he has done by laying down his life in love for us. And the beauty is that Jesus appeared to people after he was glorified in a resurrected body and that means he can appear to us as well though the Spirit if we look for Him in our interactions with others.
Pray we not let a difference in perspective divide us. Pray we are overjoyed when His glory is revealed. Pray we give away our lives, so we might find them. Pray we not lose heart. Pray that Jesus would pour out His joy to each of those reading this word today so that each would acknowledge that God is our protector, our delight, our inheritance, our firm foundation, our resurrection and our path of life…the fullness of joy forever. Pray that our worshipping community learn and listen and be lively and loving and loyal and likeable and grow in strength and number and character. Pray we stand for the truth.
Pray we realize that the resurrection validates our own salvation, faith and hope. Pray we experience the power of empty. Pray we are then filled with joy. Pray we consider the story of how we each came to know Jesus. Pray we overcome the bitter controversy that comes with believing in Jesus. Pray our hope for Jesus to appear in our lives is not a disappointment at all but a reality. Pray we see Jesus in the face of those we meet. Pray we are filled with love. Pray we realize that the Resurrection of Jesus is to include us as well.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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