Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007                        

  Pastor Dan Selbo

 

"What Will You Do With Easter?"

Luke 24:1-12

 

            Two thousand years ago, a series of events took place just outside of Jerusalem that changed our world forever. It will never be the same again. In fact, so important were they that every person who has ever heard what happened has had to come to grips with the impact those events have had upon their life.

            And so, what’s so important about Easter? Why are the events we’re remembering today such a big deal? And why are more than a billion people celebrating this morning what happened so long ago? I’ll tell you why. Because it was a weekend that proved Jesus was who claimed to be. He was God. And He came into this world to save us.

            Now, the things that happened on that first Easter weekend actually took place over the course of about three days, from Thursday night until early Sunday morning. And they happened in a dramatic succession of three significant events.

            First, there was the trial of Jesus. Then there was the death of Jesus. And then there was the resurrection of Jesus. And all three were important. And all three have an eternal impact on the relationship we have with God. Today I want us to look at those three events and the implications of each.

            Now, first, there was the trial of Jesus. Actually (if you remember the story), Jesus went through a series of trials. They arrested Him on Thursday night and before that night was through, six different trials had taken place.

            First, there were the religious trials: one before Annas (one of the religious leaders), another before Caiaphas (the High Priest), and finally before the Sanhedrin (the religious supreme court). And after that were the civil trials: one before Pilate (the governor of Jerusalem), and a second before Herod (the governor of Galilee), and a third before Pilate once again.

            Six different trials, all night long, and by the time they were finished, do you know what they found? They found nothing! There was nothing Jesus had done that was wrong. They had no crime against Him, no accusation that would stick. (Now, they brought in people to make up charges, but they didn’t even stick.)

            But finally, Jesus was convicted on one count. They convinced Pilate to agree to one count. Do you know what it was? He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be the Son of God.

            It’s an interesting study, the claims Jesus made about Himself. (Now, people have had all kinds of ideas about Jesus.) But Jesus didn’t have all kinds of ideas about Himself. What He claimed for Himself never changed. It was consistent from beginning to end.

            He said things like, “I’m the Son of God.” He said things like, “I came to save the world.” He said things like, “I and the Father are one.” And He said, “There’s only one way into heaven.” And He said, “That way into heaven is through Me.”

            One count is all they could find. He claimed to be the Son of God. And it was true. It’s exactly what He had claimed. And it ended up costing Him His life.

            People have all kinds of ideas about Jesus. Some say He was a good man. (And they’re right.) He was the only man who ever lived who never did anything wrong (that’s pretty good). Some say He was a good teacher. (Did you know that the teachings of Jesus continue to be the basis for nearly every moral structure in our world today?) It’s true. He was a good teacher. Some say He was a prophet. Some say He was an example to follow.

            All kinds of ideas people have about Jesus. But Jesus didn’t have all kinds of ideas about Himself. He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be the one who came into this world to save.

            Six different trials 2000 years ago and the end result was a cross. What do you say about Jesus? Because the truth is Jesus is still on trial today. And He’s being judged in all kinds of ways.

            He’s being judged today by the nations of the world. How many religions are there? How many different beliefs do people have? And every one claims to have a way into heaven. But only one claimed to be the Son of God and He was put to death because it was true. And yet, it’s still happening (that kind of judgment) all around the world.

            And it’s the same thing here in the United States. Jesus is being judged today in our own country. (Just think about it.) Almost anything goes these days when it comes to what we’re allowing on television, on our campuses, the kind of role models and moral standards we’re holding up. But don’t cross that line and confess to be a Christian. And don’t hold up any standard that begins to talk about sin. But that’s why Jesus died. That’s what Jesus came to do.

            And how about on a personal level? Did you know you make a judgment about Jesus every time you set priorities for your life, establish values, make decisions about what part He’ll play or not?

            My friends, Jesus has never done anything to force anyone in this world to believe. But He has done something that forces every one of us to decide. He claimed to be the Son of God. And He made that claim all the way to His death.

            He said, “I didn’t come to judge the world, but to save it.” “I didn’t come to point out your sin, but to wash it away.” What are you going to do with Jesus? If Jesus were on trial here today in this church, what would you say? A good man? A good teacher? A prophet?

            C. S. Lewis said you have three choices. Either He’s Lord, or He’s a liar, or He’s a lunatic. (And every one of us here today believes one of those three.)

            He could be a lunatic, a crazy man who made some outlandish claims for His life. Like the guy who thinks he’s Elvis. The lights are on, but nobody’s home. He could be a lunatic.

            He could be a liar. He wasn’t the Son of God, but did everything He could to convince people He was. (And we’ve all seen examples of people trying to convince others of something that’s not true.) Jesus could have been a liar.

            Or He could have been telling the truth and have had all of his faculties and actually be who He claimed to be. But it has to be one of the three. You can’t have it any other way. A good teacher (if that’s all He was) never would have said what Jesus said. And a crazy man? (No one’s crazy enough to end up on a cross.)

            What do you say about Jesus? What are you going to do with Easter? (Six different trials, all the way through the night.) Is He Lord of your life? Is He Lord in your life? Every one of us has made a judgment about Jesus. Everyone one of us has made a decision about Christ.

            And the truth is Jesus made a judgment about you. And He judged you guilty. And He found your life coming up short. And so He made a decision to go to the cross, because He was God, and because it was true. And because there was no other way you could be saved.

            First, there was the trial of Jesus, and then there was the death of Jesus. Now, the crucifixion is probably the most brutal and tortuous form of the death penalty ever devised. (Even the Romans, about a hundred years later, stopped using it because it was so inhumane.) But even before Jesus went to the cross, He went through a tremendous amount of physical pain and abuse.

            You remember the story. They put a robe on Him and began to mock Him, and they crowned Him with a crown of thorns. And they put a blindfold on Him and began to beat Him and slap Him and hit Him in the face.

            And when they did this, they’d say, “Who hit you, Jesus?” And then they’d slap Him and they’d say, “Who slapped you Jesus? If you are the Son of God, tell us who you are. Tell us who we are.”

            Let me tell you something. Jesus knew exactly who they were. As the Son of God, He knew everything about their life. (He knows everything about your life.) But He didn’t say a word. He didn’t tell them a thing, because He was taking the punishment of the world upon Himself.

            The Bible says He was “mocked and scorned.” And then it says He was “scourged.” Now, if you saw “The Passion of the Christ” movie, then you have a good idea of what that meant. Thirty-nine lashes were what Jesus was given, before He even went to the cross.

            Now, Pilate thought that would be enough, that the crowd would be appeased and he could let Him go. What it did was make them even more angry and they called out for His death. And that’s what happened. And Jesus went to His death. And they nailed Him to a tree. But He did it for you. He paid the price for you.

            Cliff Barrows, (the song leader of the Billy Graham Crusades), tells a story about two of his children, and about how they had done something he had forbidden them to do. He told them if they ever did it again, they would have to be punished. And when he returned home from work the next day, he found out that’s exactly what they’d done. And so, because they were no longer little children, he decided, that the punishment would have to be severe.

            Now, he’d never done this before and, after that day, he never did it again. (And you can question what he did and whether or not you’d ever do the same.) What he did was he called them into his room, took off his belt, and then his shirt, and with a bare back, he knelt beside his bed. And then he made his two older children strap him with the belt ten times each. “And,” he said, “you should have heard the crying, and it wasn’t from me, but from them. They didn’t want to do it,” he said, “but I told them the penalty had to be paid. And so they did.” And when it was over, he said, they hugged and they kissed, and then they prayed. “And,” he says, “I never had to discipline those two older kids again.”

            My friends, that’s what Jesus did for you. He took your punishment. He paid the price. And He didn’t deserve it, and yet He never said a word. “While we were yet sinners,” the Bible says, “Jesus went to the cross for us.”

            I came across a medical description of what happens when a person is crucified. Now, I’m not going to go into all the detail, but I think you know how it works. They drive a nail through the wrists on both sides (not the hands, but the wrists). And then they put the feet, one of the top of the other (pointing straight down), and drive another nail through the arches and into the wood.

            And then for the next several hours, the person crucified hangs from the cross and pulls himself up and down trying to catch a breath. Until finally, they can’t do it any longer, and they quit and they stop breathing and they suffocate and they die.

            Why did Jesus die? What was His death on the cross all about? The Bible says it was the will of God that Jesus would suffer. It says it was something Jesus did willingly. He didn’t have to, but He did.

            You see, it’s a law of the universe that you reap what you sow. If you break man’s law, you pay man’s price. (If I go out after church and run a red light, I pay a ticket.) If you break God’s law, you pay God’s price. And the Bible says “the wages of sin is death.” And it says, if you break one commandment, you’ve broken them all. And there’s a price that needs to be paid, and there’s a sacrifice that has to be given.

            And so that’s what happened. That’s what Jesus did. He paid the price. He became the sacrifice. “The wages of sin is death…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ.”

            Now, everybody look up here for a moment, (and if you get nothing else this morning, get this). But if you don’t think God loves you, take a long look at the cross. You’re blind if you don’t think God loves you. There will never be anyone in history who loves you more than God does.

            What are you going to do with Jesus? What are you going to do with Easter? It was a horrible death. It was a horrendous death. And to think that it happened to a man who had never sinned, who’d never done anything wrong. But He did it for you and for me.

            There was a trial (six times), all the way through the night. There was a crucifixion. Jesus took the punishment you deserved when He went to His death. And there was a burial, and (three days later) a resurrection. And that’s where we find our hope.

            The Bible says after Jesus died, they took His body down and put Him in a tomb. Now, the burial practices in those days were different than the ones today. They didn’t put people in caskets and bury them in the ground. They dug caves in the side of a mountain, and then they’d dig a trench in front of the cave and roll a big stone in front of it. And then when someone in the family died, they’d roll the stone away and bury the next person, and then roll it back.

            But when Jesus died, they not only put a stone in front of it, but they placed guards to make sure that’s where He stayed. (Can you believe it? It’s an interesting note.) Because never before in history had guards ever been placed to keep a dead man from coming out. But it’s an important note, because that’s exactly what took place. And the guards were there. And the stone was in front of the tomb. And Jesus came out! He rose from the dead! He came back to life!

            My friends, if there was no resurrection from the dead, then what we’re doing here this morning is a waste of time. The Christian faith means nothing apart from the resurrection of Jesus.

            Now, many people say it was a hoax. They say it was something His disciples made up. But if the disciples made it up, then where was the body? And if the body was still there, wouldn’t that have put the whole thing to an end?

            Well, maybe they stole it! (Now, there’s an idea.) They somehow slipped past those guards and stole the body. (But that doesn’t fit either.) Because how come they came on Sunday morning and were surprised by what they saw? And how come, when they went back to the others, the others couldn’t believe it was true? (It doesn’t make any sense.)

            Well, maybe they weren’t surprised. Maybe they planned the whole thing and then just played it out and when people asked, that’s what they said. Then how come they were so afraid on Thursday night on into Friday? And how come they were still afraid even on Sunday after they had seen?

            Maybe you don’t believe this, but there is more proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than there is of the life of Julius Caesar. There’s more evidence of what happened on that first Easter than there is of what happened when Columbus discovered the Americas. It didn’t happen? They planned the whole thing? They stole the body? It was a hoax?

            I don’t know how many of you remember the name of Chuck Colson, a former Watergate conspirator, now a Christian writer. Chuck Colson says if the resurrection were anything but the truth, the disciples never would have gone to their death making that confession. (And for someone who was deeply involved in a cover-up, I think he knows what he’s saying.)

            “Just think about it,” he says. It was only “two weeks” after President Nixon was informed of what was happening in Watergate that John Dean (one of his closest advisors) turned state’s evidence to “save his own skin.” He said “the cover-up of Watergate, with some of the most powerful men in the world, it only lasted two weeks before people began jumping ship.” And he says, “You can take it from an expert in cover-ups that the only thing that would have kept those disciples from cracking and giving in was the fact that they had seen with their own eyes that the resurrection was true! Jesus was alive, and He had appeared to them, and it was that appearance that made the difference.”

            What are you going to do with Jesus? What are you going to do with Easter? Jesus went on trial so you wouldn’t have to. Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for your sin. And Jesus came back to life so that your life might never end. But it doesn’t mean a thing apart from your faith. It doesn’t mean a thing apart from an ongoing relationship with Him.

            Two stories I remember. (Every one of us here today is going to die.) The first is about a woman I knew years ago who spent the last days of her life in a nursing home. She was ill, and there were times when she became out-of-control. And so, to keep her from falling out of bed, they kept her strapped in. And there was a sign above her bed that read, “This patient must be restrained at all times.”

            I remember visiting with the family and I still remember how much they hated to see their mother so restrained. I’ll never forget one of the daughters, only moments after the mother died, ripping that sign off the wall, tearing it up, and throwing it away, and then crying out “Thank God, she is free at last!”

            That’s the first story. The second is about an elderly couple named Walter and Murtis. Childhood sweethearts, they were married for 64 years. Walter tells the story about what happened not long after they had met. He said he took a liking to Murtis right away, so he sent her a note in class, asking if he could walk her home after school. But first he had to stay after and clean the erasers for the teacher, so he asked if she would wait. Well, Murtis sent a note back, telling him she needed to get home, but that she would walk slowly. (Now, obviously she didn’t mind if Walter would catch up.)

            Well, Murtis was the first to go, after 64 years together. And as she lay on her bed dying, knowing her time was drawing short, she said to Walter, “I’m going home to heaven to be with Jesus.” And then she added, “But I’ll walk slowly.”

            Now, why do I tell you those stories on Easter? (Why do I tell you those stories at all?) I tell you those stories because that’s what this day is all about. It’s about life in the face of death. It’s about answers. It’s about hope. And it’s about a person and about a promise and about a security in life you’ll find nowhere else.

            My friends, I can’t convince you to believe in Jesus, and I can’t control what you’ll do when you walk out of these walls today. But I can tell you what happened, and I can tell you it happened for you.

            There was a trial (six different trials) and there were judgments made along the way. And there was a crucifixion, and it was brutal, and the only innocent man that day ended up on a cross. And there was a burial and there was a resurrection, and there were appearances after it happened. And the story never died, because there was nothing to cover-up. And there are the lives of countless number of people who have come to know the risen Lord Jesus ever since.

            No, I can’t convince you to believe in Jesus, and I won’t even try to control what you alone are able to do. But Jesus is still on trial today, and you need to make a judgment. (And you can’t have it more than one way.) And there was only one crucifixion of a man who’d never sinned, but He gave His life to pay the price for yours. And there was a burial, and there was a resurrection, and you can pretend if you want that it was only a hoax.

            But the truth is that Jesus was God and He did die and three days later came back to life. And that’s the truth you need to face. And that’s the truth that can set you free. And Jesus is walking slowly to allow you to catch up.

            And so what are you going to do with Jesus? What will you do with Easter? He’s alive! He came back to life! It’s up to you. Amen.