         |
|
The Real Story of Easter John 11:25-26 |
April 16, 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum |
I suppose we should file this under the category of truth really is stranger than fiction. In St. Paul, Minnesota a recent burst of political correctness run amok prompted city officials to take a decisive stand to protect the constitutional rights of its citizens by demanding that an Easter display be removed from government property. You may have seen the story. Here's how it happened.
A secretary in the St. Paul City Hall put a few Easter decorations on her cubicle. The city's human rights director, Tyrone Terrill, noticed the display and sent the secretary an email advising her that Easter is viewed as a Christian holiday and therefore her display had to be taken down because it could be offensive to non-Christians and had no place on government property. City Council President Kathy Lantry agreed saying that it's not the government's business to celebrate religious holidays.
At this point, the secretary, who said that she had no interest in being drawn into a big debate, removed the offensive Christian Easter symbols--a stuffed Easter bunny, some colored eggs and some marshmallow peeps.
Folks, I'm telling you, you can't make this stuff up.
Now, I have to confess my naiveté, here. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that that were people out there who actually believed that the Easter Bunny is a major player in the Christian Celebration of Easter. I don’t expect non-Christians to fully understand all the details related to Easter, but I did take it for granted that everybody could draw the distinction between believing in Jesus and believing in a bunny. Maybe the confusion is limited to St. Paul, but fearing that it’s not I want to tell you, this morning, The Real Story of Easter and to tell it in three chapters.
--Each chapter is distinct from the others.
--Each chapter is incomplete without the others.
--Each chapter answers one of the most fundamental questions of life.
The question answered in Chapter One is this--Does anyone care about me?
The central character in Chapter One is a baby. And while here’s nothing particularly unusual about a baby, it's clear that something unusual has happened here.
To begin with, the baby is lying on a bed of straw in what appears to be a cattle stall. The faces of the young mother and father show the pride and joy common to all new parents. But there’s something else in these faces as well. It’s a look of awe and wonder.
And the young parents aren’t the only ones whose hearts have been captured by this baby. Some shepherds have come to see this child whose birth announcement was delivered to them by a chorus of angels and far off in the distance some kings have begun their journey to see the child. But they’re not coming simply to see the child...they're coming to worship Him. And while all of this is going on down below we notice that high above in the sky a solitary, brilliant star bears silent witness to the amazing gift that God has just given the world--this baby is the very Son of God. This baby is nothing less that God in human flesh. As the angels sang to the shepherds in Luke 2, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
Does anyone care about you? God does. So much that he became like you. So much that he became one of us. In fact, this babies' name, Emmanuel, means God with us.
The truth is that God cares about us so much that He sent His Son to us so that He could lead us to Him.
Chapter Two of the Easter story takes place on a hill called Golgotha and answers another of life's most fundamental questions--Can I be forgiven? In other words, What do I do with all my guilt?
The baby in the manger has now grown up. And the life that he has lived has been unlike anything the world has ever seen before or would ever see again.
--With His words He’s taught us how to live a life with no regrets. A life that is wholly satisfying to us, a great blessing to others and completely pleasing to God.
--With His miracles He’s demonstrated the power of God.
--With His example He’s shown us how to have a meaningful relationship with God.
--With His compassion He’s given us a glimpse into the heart of God.
But there’s a problem. And the problem is sin. Not His sin, but ours. Jesus distinguished Himself by living a life absolutely free of sin. But none of us can lay claim to that distinction. Inside each of us is a powerful attraction to the very things that God has told us are terribly destructive to us. And when we yield to those attractions we sin. And sin separates us from God. And until that sin is forgiven we can never have a relationship with God.
Worse, still? There is nothing that we can do to earn God's forgiveness. No amount of good deeds that we do can offset the damage caused by our sin. Sin must be punished. And the penalty for sin is death.
But because God cares about us, He not only sent His Son to us, He also allowed His Son to pay the penalty for our sin. God allowed His only Son to die on a cross on that hill called Golgotha. And God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as payment in full for the debt created by our sin. Because Jesus was willing to die in our place on that cross on that hill the gift of forgiveness is now available to everyone who will accept it.
Romans 3:23-25 says it like this, “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.”
It’s a brutal image. But the truth is, there is no Easter Story if the child in the manger isn’t also the Savior who dies on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
And that brings us to Chapter Three in our story which answers the question--Is there any hope? Hope for today and hope for eternity?
Chapter Three immediately draws our attention to an empty tomb.
--The Infant Savior in the manger offers the promise of God's love and care.
--The Crucified Savior on the cross offers the promise of forgiveness.
--The Risen Savior who leaves behind an empty tomb offers the promise of hope and eternal life.
When Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb it looked like the forces of evil had won. But God got the last laugh. Even death was powerless to thwart the purposes that God had for His Son. Three days after He was crucified, God raised Jesus back to life.
And so the final chapter in our Easter Story is a risen savior and an empty tomb.
And the final promise of the Easter Story is that His victory can be our victory.
It's a victory that means that the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead can be set free in our lives today to empower us to overcome the greatest challenges of life. Galatians 2:20 says it like this, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
And His victory also means that the power of God that brought Jesus back from the dead to experience eternal life also guarantees victory over death for everyone who places their faith, trust, confidence and hope in Jesus. In John 11:25-26 Jesus makes the offer unmistakably clear, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
Life is hard.
Guilt is heavy.
Death is scary.
But the good news is that God in Christ has settled all of those issues…once and for all…for those who believe in the risen Lord.
The Lord is risen. He is risen, indeed.
Say it with me: The Lord is risen. He is risen, indeed.
If you’d like to talk further about this, fill out the card in the pew rack and drop it in the offering plate when it comes by and we’ll give you a call this week.
© Copyright 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum