Otterbein United Methodist Church

March 23, 2008 – Easter Sunday

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon: “With Many Convincing Proofs”

There are a lot of things in life a little difficult to understand. Here are a few of them:

Why do doctors and lawyers call what they do practice?

Why is abbreviation such a long word?

Why is a boxing ring square?

How do they get the deer to cross the highway at those yellow signs?

How did a fool and his money get together in the first place?

Why do you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?

These questions are a reminder that not only is our language a little tough to understand, but there are many things at a much deeper level that are difficult to grasp. For example, despite all our medical knowledge, life is fragile; we don’t really understand disease. Why is a youngster perfectly healthy for 13 years of his life… and then suddenly just happens to be in a place where he suddenly encounters some germ or bacteria that invades his body and destroys it? This happens in meningitis cases.

And we don’t understand accidents. They are so random and indiscriminate. You start out a day that is like any other day… and then something happens in a matter of seconds… and life is forever different. You can never go back beyond that accident.

That’s a short beginning, but why is there so much pain in our world? Why do good people suffer? Why do we hurt one another? Why can’t people get along? Why do some of the best prayers seem to go unanswered?

If we struggle to understand these things, how can we think we really think we understand the magnitude of God’s love for us revealed in the cross (and Jesus dying in our place), or today, Jesus being supernaturally raised from the dead? Can we really depend on things we didn’t witness and certainly can’t fully explain? Are these things possible? Are they believable, and if we do believe, what is the impact of that faith on our lives?

I say to you this morning: CHRIST IS RISEN! I am convinced! I have faith that Christ died and was buried. That I believe. But, this too I accept as true: He rose from the dead in glorious triumph over death. This is Easter, and to stand in this place and declare Jesus is ALIVE defines all that I am.

But, you will say to me, how do you know that the resurrection is real? How do you know that it is really valid?

1.) First I would say that I believe in the resurrection because somebody told me about it. While that might not sound very reliable, the truth of the matter is that most of what we know is simply because somebody told us about it. How do you know that Columbus discovered America in 1492? Were you there? No, you were not there, but there were people there who witnessed and wrote about it, and that is how we know about that. How do you personally know that a man has walked on the moon? Were you standing there to meet him when he stepped off? Well, you say, I know it because I saw it on TV. There are people to this day who insist that it was all done in a fake TV studio in Hollywood. Many of them would insist that the International Space Station is all a hoax. That may sound absurd, but the truth of the matter is I personally cannot prove it or disprove it either way! Neither can you! In the end, I guess I would have to say: I do believe that a man has walked on the moon, simply because a lot of people have told me about it.

Yet we have far more historical proof of the resurrection than we do thousands of pieces of information which we routinely accept as fact every single day.

2.) I know the resurrection is valid because I believe God’s Word, the Bible. The Bible was written over a period of several thousand years by more than 40 authors and yet it has one central message. We can depend on the truth of God’s Word! The resurrection is recorded for us in what in Swahili is called “The Book Belong to the King of kings!” It is the account of eyewitnesses who saw Jesus alive following his resurrection. Are these eyewitnesses credible?

3.) We can depend on the witnesses! (Key verse: Acts 1:3 – “many convincing proofs). Had they made up a story like the resurrection, the likelihood is that none of them would have died for a lie, much less all of them (except John who was exiled to an island for the rest of his life). Surely if it had been a lie, someone would have leaked the truth to a friend, a spouse, a neighbor, or at least under torture acknowledged that had made it all up.

4.) We can depend on the soldiers! Roman soldiers leaving their post (Matthew 28:11) just didn’t happen. It was contrary to their training. It was contrary to their responsibility. It was contrary to what they banked their lives on every day. They were sworn to fulfill their duty to the death, unless they felt the liberty to leave because the tomb was now empty and the one they were guarding was no longer there!

5.) And in a strange twist, you can depend on the Jewish leaders! It’s interesting that they, not the disciples were meeting together devising a plan to deal with their fear that what these soldiers were telling them was true (Matt 28:12). Before the disciples even knew the tomb was empty, before they even suspected Jesus was alive, the Jewish leaders were devising a plan to blame the disciples for stealing the body and just saying, “He was risen!”

6.) We can depend on the life-style witness of the disciples. Every where they went, they proclaimed Christ. Consider the life-style witness of pure unadulterated joy… The women left the tomb afraid, yet filled with joy (Matthew 28:8). When Jesus met them he said, “Greetings! Don’t be afraid!” (verse 10). Notice he spoke to their fear… “Don’t be afraid.” He didn’t speak to their joy! He didn’t say, “Don’t do that! Shut that off!” No, you can’t have too much of that. If you are aware of and living in the power of the resurrection, you’ll be filled with joy! You don’t have to pretend you’ve got joy. You don’t have to artificially generate it. You just be who you are in Christ, and joy will come out.

All over Asia Minor the apostle Paul carried the message that Jesus was alive. He told that message in Philippi and then he lived it out after he was arrested and thrown in jail. Here it is midnight, and he and brother Silas are singing and making melody to the Lord in prison! (Acts 16:25). That’s a life-style witness to the resurrection.

You can sit there and nod and think, “Yeah, that’s right.” You can give intellectual assent to all of this. You can say it in creed: “…he was crucified, dead and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the father almighty.” You can say all that and never have an “aha” moment that makes it all truly real to you. When you read the accounts of the resurrection in the four gospels, you realize that each of those who had been Christ followers had different kinds of “a-ha” moments. For Mary, he spoke her name! For those on the road to Emmaus, he walked with them, and explained the scriptures. For Thomas “unless I see and touch the nail prints, I’m not believing.” But he had the A-ha moment too when head knowledge became real to his heart. Though he never met Jesus, so did Paul. For the last 2000 years people have had their hearts touched by the presence of the living Lord, and the head knowledge of an intellectual faith got moved down 18 inches to their hearts! Some build walls against it ever happening! If you’ve never had that “A-ha” moment then this 7^th proof of the resurrection may seem a half bubble off plumb! But the fact is…

7.) I believe Jesus is alive because I have met him; encountered Him; and received of the life only he can give. I know the Lord is alive, because He lives and dwells in me. and know that this living Lord dwells in my heart. I feel his stirrings. I sense his presence. I know his reality.

No, I wasn’t physically there on the day Jesus rose from the dead, but in the great mystery of faith, indeed I was there. I know in ways that can’t be argued that Jesus is alive. We can argue facts and details, but you can’t argue someone’s experience. And I experience the living presence of Jesus Christ every day!

Challenge… If you don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead, then you’re welcome to come back next week, but you won’t get much bang for the buck! Everything that we do around here is based on the fact of Christ’s resurrection. Many people here today aren’t really convinced Jesus rose from the dead. Not really. Not in the depths of their heart. I’m not just talking about those who haven’t been here since Christmas… I’m talking about some of us regular, every week types. When you are really convinced Jesus is alive, it changes our everyday lives. To truly believe is to face absolutely life changing realities…

· Our priorities would change. *How we live will change.

· What I’ll give and give up will change. *My willingness to forgive others will change.

· How much I witness will change. *How I worship will change.