April 16, 2006

It’s a Miracle!

Matthew 28:1-10

Introduction

When Elisabeth Jernigan was just three months old when her parents noticed her right eyelid starting to drop. They took her to the family doctor, who sent her to a specialist. The specialist ran some tests. Those tests revealed Elisabeth had a brain tumor. Several days later, exploratory surgery removed part of the tumor. When the pathologists report returned, the news was not good. Elisabeth had an extremely rare malignancy. Elisabeth’s prognosis was not good. The experts concluded the tumor would continue to grow and paralysis would continue to spread. In time, the tumor would take Elisabeth’s life. It was at that moment that the church began to pray for Elisabeth.

In a last ditch effort to save her life, surgery was scheduled. The surgical team removed the section of the nerve that the cancer had invaded. This would leave Elisabeth blind in her right eye but would give her a slim hope of survival. You guessed it. When they went into Elisabeth's brain they couldn't find the lesion. Doctors describe what happened as "spontaneous resolution." We would call it a miracle. In June 1995 Elisabeth turned 13. Except for her blind right eye Elisabeth's is doing just fine. This is my question for you today. Do you believe in miracles? I hope your answer is yes because the entire Christian faith is built on a miracle!

Body

According to the text that we heard on Friday night, Jesus was dead! His lungs were flat. His heart had stopped. There were no brain waves. Jesus was dead! They placed his lifeless body in the tomb. His family and friends grieved for one reason. Jesus was dead! There is no hope for a happy ending. Then it happens. According to Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb. They wanted to pay their final respects and made the discovery that changed the history of the world! Jesus was not dead. His once lifeless body had life in it one more time. It was a miracle. I can not explain to you how it happened but I can tell you that the resurrection is the very heart of the faith. Do you believe in miracles?

As your pastor, let me say one thing very clearly. Your belief in the resurrection is not optional. It is essential to the salvation of your very soul. We can disagree on all kinds of things in the life of the church (and we usually do!) but we can not disagree on the resurrection. We can disagree on style of worship. We can disagree on our worship schedule. We can disagree on budgets and menus. We can disagree on if you like or dislike the pastor but we can never disagree on the resurrection. It is the very heart of our faith! It is not just something that happened way back then. The resurrection has had a rippling effect throughout time. The resurrection changed the way that we look at the world and ourselves.

This morning I want to talk about three realities. I want to talk about three ways the resurrection has changed your life. Consider these three things. Without the resurrection there would be no hope. Without the resurrection there would be no grace. Without the resurrection there would be no eternal life. We are saved by grace and by grace alone. I will warn you now. I am going to illustrate these realities with my favorite illustration. (In other words, you have heard them before.) So if you believe in the miracle of the resurrection say, “Amen!”

Reality Number One: Hope

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hopeS Heb 3:6 we profess,S Heb 3:1 for he who promised is faithful.” In other words, your belief in the miracle of the resurrection means you have something to look forward to tomorrow!S 1Co 1:9

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.

Do you believe in the miracle of the resurrection? The resurrection means we have hope in a better future. It is easy to be disillusioned with this world. The problems seem to be so big and complex. It is easy to become disillusioned with your life. Our energy and resources seem to be so limited. Because of your belief in the resurrection it doesn’t matter. We worship a risen savior who is not done with us yet! He has a plan and a purpose for your life! If you believe in the miracle of the resurrection then you have hope. If you believe in the miracle of the resurrection say, “Amen!” The first reality of the resurrection is hope.

Reality Number Two: Grace

John 21:17-19 says, “The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" ¹Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"Jn 13:38 He said, "Lord, you know all things;Jn 16:30 you know that I love you." ¹⁷ Jn 16:3¹Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.S ver 16 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of deathJn 12:33; 18:32 by which Peter would glorify God.Jn 13:362Pe 1:14 Then he said to him, "Follow me!"S Mt 4:19 In other words, your belief in the miracle of the resurrection means your sins are forgiven!¹⁹ 2Pe 1:14

When former Vice-President Hubert Humphrey died hundreds of people from across the world attended his funeral. One of the people to attend was former President Richard Nixon. The shame of Watergate was thick in the air. No one wanted to talk to him. He was assigned a seat in the back row of the funeral at the National Cathedral. Then Jimmy Carter, the serving US President, walked into the room. Carter was from a different political party to Nixon and well known for his honesty and integrity. As he moved to his seat President Carter noticed Richard Nixon standing all alone. Carter immediately changed course, walked over to Richard Nixon, held out his hand, and smiling genuinely and broadly embraced Nixon and said "Welcome home, Mr. President! Welcome home! Why don’t you sit with me in the front row?"

We are back row people but we get to sit in the front row with Jesus. Like Richard M. Nixon, we have all done something shameful in our pasts but we get to sit in the front row right next to Jesus. If you believe in the miracle of the resurrection, then your sins are forgiven. If you believe in the miracle of the resurrection say, “Amen!” The first reality of the resurrection is hope. The second reality of the resurrection is grace.

Reality Number Three: Eternal Life

1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!2Co 1:3; Eph 1:3 In his great mercyTit 3:5Jas 1:18 he has given us new birthver 23; S Jn 1:13 into a living hopever 13,21; S Heb 3:6 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,1Co 15:201Pe 3:21 and into an inheritanceS Ac 20:32; S Ro 8:17 that can never perish, spoil or fade1Pe 5:4-kept in heaven for you” In other words, your belief in the miracle means you're going to heaven!

I will never forget Easter in 2003. It was the first Easter after my mother died. My father died in 1996 so Easter of 2003 was the first Easter I spent without them. I had preached the resurrection for twenty years but 2003 was the first Easter I spent without either of my parents. I went from being a preacher of the resurrection to a witness of the resurrection. There is a world of difference between being a preacher and being a witness. That was a difficult Easter for me but I have always clung onto the fact that someday I am going to see them again. Why? Because I believe in the miracle of the resurrection. When my heart stops beating and my lungs are flat I am going to heaven. I know that in my heart of hearts. If you believe in the miracle of the resurrection then you are going to heaven too! If you believe in the miracle of the resurrection say, “Amen!” The first reality of the resurrection is hope. The second reality of the resurrection is grace. The third reality of the resurrection is eternal life.

Conclusion

British minister W.E. Songster contracted an incurable disease that slowly caused his muscles to waste away, his voice to fail and his throat to become unable to swallow. He continued in ministry, right up until the point where his voice had gone and he could barely hold a pen. On Easter morning, just a few weeks before he died, he wrote in a letter to his daughter: "It is terrible to wake up Easter morning and have no voice with which to shout "He is risen!" - but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout, “He is risen." Christ the Lord has risen today! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”