God's Last Words

EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE MESSAGE

THE RESURRECTION IN HISTORY 

“HE IS RISEN! Easter Morning – Easter Sunrise Service. I had an experience this week I want to tell you about:  

A man claiming to be an atheist complained to me, "Christians have their special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter; and Jews celebrate their holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur; Muslims have their holidays. EVERY religion has its holidays. But we atheists," he said, "have no recognized holidays. It's an unfair discrimination."  

"What do you mean, atheists have no holidays," I asked him, "People have been observing a special day in your honor for years." "I don't know what you're talking about," the atheist said, "When is this special day honoring atheists?" "April first." 

Here’s another older joke – but it might wake you as you groan: A very zealous soul-winning young preacher recently came upon a farmer working in his field. Being concerned about the farmer`s soul the preacher asked the man, "Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord, my good man?"

Not even looking up and continuing his work the farmer replied, "Naw, these are soy beans." "You don`t understand," said the preacher, "Are you a Christian?"

With the same amount of interest as his last answer the farmer said, "Nope my name is Jones. You must be looking for Jim Christian. He lives south of here."

The determined preacher tried again asking the farmer, "Are you lost?" "Naw! I`ve lived here all my life," answered the farmer. "Well, are you prepared for the resurrection?" the frustrated preacher asked.

This caught the farmer`s attention and he asked, "When`s it gonna be?" Thinking he had accomplished something the young preacher replied, "It could be today, tomorrow, or the next day."

Taking a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiping his brow, the farmer remarked, "Well, don`t mention it to my wife. She don`t get out much and she`ll wanna go all three days."

Okay, since it’s so early in the morning, one more. The SS teacher told the 5th grade class that Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb. One student said that she knew why. "Jesus only used it for three days, and then gave it back."

Today is Easter Sunday, the day we talk about Jesus’ Resurrection.

Just this year, a letter was sent to a deceased person by the Indiana Department of Social Services. It read as follows: Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 2014 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. P. S. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.

Well, except for an occasional Lazarus, there really haven’t been too many who have seen a change in those circumstances! Except Jesus of course. But.

Since coming into this world 60 years ago I've learned that people are ready to believe that everything is shrouded in conspiracy. Bin Laden's death, Obama's birth certificate, the 9-11 terrorism incident, the Holocaust, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, JFK, and even now Flight MH370.

Think of an event that could be conspiratized (well, it's almost a word) and as Stan Lee says, “true believers flock to the cause.”

So it isn’t surprising to read today that, "Roughly one fifth of all American believe that Jesus faked his death on the cross, got married, moved to southern France, and had a family. But 64%, in a Rasmussen poll last week, believe in the Resurrection.

Isn’t ironic that almost more people believe in little green individuals from space  then believe in Jesus’ resurrection?  Just last week, Bill Clinton, speaking on Jimmy Fallon’s show said he thought the only way our screwed up world could be set right would be little green men landing on the White House Lawn.

Obviously he, like a lot of people don’t want to acknowledge that “setting things right,” will only happen when our resurrected Lord returns at the end of days. But that same Rasmussen poll said that 47% of Americans don’t know or care if Jesus will return or not. 

The popular historian Will Durant, himself not a Christian, wrote concerning Christ's historical validity and resurrection, "The denial of that existence seems never to have occurred even to the bitterest gentile or Jewish opponents of early Christianity." (Durant, The Story of Civilization, vol. 3, p. 555). 

He went on to say, "That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospels" (Ibid., p. 557).

It is a substantial thing that a historian who spends his life considering historical facts should affirm the reality of Christ's existence as well as the rapid growth of the early movement.  

Many facts recorded in the Bible have been challenged with the same result, and later archeology confirms the reliability of the biblical records down to the smallest detail.  

A respected Jewish archaeologist has claimed that, "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference." This is a strong statement for any archaeologist to make because if it were not true, he would quickly be condemned in his own field.  

The conclusion drawn from this material is that the Bible is a reliable historical document. Its accuracy has been proved numerous times. Its historical inaccuracy has never been supported.  

So that when we approach the Bible, we do so with a good amount of confidence that what it records actually happened. If this is true, then we need to come to terms about what the Bible claims. We cannot dismiss it out of hand because we were not there, regardless of the difficulty of what is said.   

Christians stake their entire faith on the resurrection of Christ because it is only through this event that forgiveness can come. It is the only way that fallen humanity can be reconciled with a perfect God. 

The gospels and the historical evidence bear out this claim that Jesus rose from the dead. The question is what will you do with the evidence?  

It has been God's practice to give evidence to those who are willing to respond, but He will not be mocked by scoffers.  

Christ appeared to his disciples because they were willing to believe when given enough evidence. He will not give evidence to those who refuse to believe.  

The story related in John 20: 26-28, of the disciple Thomas shows us that God will provide evidence to those who will believe it. Thomas was willing to accept the evidence he saw.  

How much evidence will it take for us to believe? As Christ states in the very next verse,  "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

There is much more evidence for the truth of Christ's message than we have time to discuss this morning. I am giving you a brief sketch of some of the historical evidence. There is also the evidence of fulfilled prophecy from the Old Testament, as well as other kinds.  

The point is that the evidence exists. If the evidence is weak and unconvincing, then we can throw Christianity out and look elsewhere.  

But if it is true, the message of Jesus Christ applies to us. And we must be willing to submit to it, regardless of what it says about us. God demands humility from us.  

If he is indeed our Maker, we cannot approach Him with an attitude that is arrogant and demanding. We must approach Him on His terms. Christ spelled out those terms: mankind is in rebellion toward God and in need of forgiveness. This is exactly what Christ came to offer.  

Let’s hear those immortal words from John’s Gospel, chapter 3, verses 16-18: 

“For God loved the world in this way,: He gave his One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.”

Friends, Jesus came for this! He was born, grew up, ministered and performed miracles, became the foretold Messiah, died on a cross as an atonement for humanity’s sin, and triumphed over death on the third day. That’s history, that’s reality, that’s our faith.Amen.