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We’ve been in the middle of our MIRACLE sermon series. In the course of this study, we’ve seen Jesus miraculously help people before it’s too late.
He met a man with incurable leprosy and cured him before it became fatal. He’s heard about a man sick in bed and healed him before it became his deathbed. He met a man with thousands of demons coursing through his body and drove out those demons before any permanent damage was done. But… What happens when the damage has already been done? This morning, we continue our series, by examining an interaction Jesus had with a man who was paralyzed. His legs had already stopped working. He had no hope of walking again. Could Jesus help? Before we do that, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. The Story The account we’re looking is found in three different parts of Scripture. It’s found in Matthew 9, Mark 2, & Luke 5. Each writer adds different aspects to our understanding of this incredible miracle, so we’ll be looking at all of them. Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town. (Mt. 9:1) This would be Nazareth. The place Jesus grew up. It’s where he learned carpentry from his dad, where he went to Hebrew school with his buddies, where he played a game of baseball out at the local sandlot. The people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door… That means people were doing everything possible to fit into this room. The three-person couch had become a five person couch. The kids had to sit crisscross applesauce on the floor. There were probably even a few people doing wall sits over in the corner. It was like one of our hallways during a Christmas or Easter service – it was jam-packed full. And he preached the word to them. (Mk. 2:1-2) But there was one group of people that weren’t quite there yet. Walking through the streets… Huffing, puffing, sweating… And taking a quick break to catch their breath… Were a group of five friends. One of them was laying down on a stretcher. The other four were carrying him on that stretcher. The man on the cot was paralyzed. In fact, that’s all the Bible tells us about him. Not his first name. Not his last. Not his favorite drink at Starbucks. Not any characteristic of his personality. Just that he was paralyzed. He couldn’t walk. He couldn’t run. He could hop. He couldn’t skip. He couldn’t jump. He couldn’t even stand up. But his friends had a hunch. They had heard about Jesus. They had about his miraculous power. They had heard about his compassion. They thought that if they could get their friend to Jesus, he could help. So, they took a swig of “Passover Power” Gatorade and lifted the cot once more. “I think the house is just ahead. Don’t worry. We’ll see Jesus soon enough.” The problem was that many other people had that same idea. And, since they weren’t carrying anyone on a cot, they had already gotten there. In fact, when they found the house it was so full of people that some were crowding around the outside windows just to get a glimpse of the Savior. “Guys, I don’t think we can make it in.” “Especially not with this stretcher.” “What a waste of a morning. All this – for nothing!” “Hey, paralyzed friend. I’m sorry. But I think you’ll have to remain paralyzed. Things just aren’t looking up.” “Wait. Did you say, “looking up?” “That’s it.” In 1st century Israel, roofing was a bit different than now. Rather than solid rain deterrent shingles made of fiberglass and asphalt granules that can withstand wind forces of up to 60mph from fine shingle companies like Owens Corning, GAF and CertainTeed that you nail gun into a wooden roofing frames, roofs at the time of Jesus were thatched of straw and mud. The higher-class citizens could afford pieces of tile that would be placed them into the mud concoction on top. Still… It wasn’t common practice for people to come into a house through a roof. But in order to see Jesus… The men took turns climbing up to the roof. With two on top, the two on the bottom hoisted up the cot containing their friend, grabbed a nearby rope and they climbed up themselves. Then, they began praying off the tiles, digging with their hands, and making a hole right in the middle of the roof. On the underside, Jesus was in the middle of teaching. People were so interested in what he had to say that they had ignored the little kid crying. They had ignored the man with the cough in the corner. But they couldn’t ignore this. Because right above Jesus’ head, dirt started to fall. Pieces of tile started to crack. Light suddenly streamed in. And then… …a cot… …lowered by ropes… …with a man on it… “Ummm….. Hiya Jesus!?!” The room was silent. What would Jesus do? What would Jesus say? How dare anyone interrupt him! But Jesus smiled. “Take heart Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2) Do you remember how the room was filled with people? The Gospel of Luke makes note that some of those people were the Pharisees. These were the religious leaders of the time that didn’t like Jesus very much. After all, these crowds of people that were there to see him, used to be crowds of people that came to see them. And upon hearing what Jesus said, they started muttering. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Lk. 5:17-21) Then some of the experts in the law said among themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming! (Mt. 9:3) Blasphemy means saying you are God, when you aren’t. That terrible sin in ancient Israelite society. And with good reason. If you tell people you are God (and you aren’t) and some of them believe (even though you aren’t), you’ll will be personally responsible for leading them to hell. And since Jesus was telling this man that his sins were forgiven. And only God can forgive sins. Jesus was setting himself up as God! Which would be blasphemy! Unless… Jesus responded to their question with another question: “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? (Mt. 9:4) To understand what Jesus is getting at, think of yourself in a conversation with a relative who can no longer walk. Which is easier to write on a greeting card to that person: “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up and walk.” I’ve visited a lot of hospitals. I’ve visited a lot who are sick. At Elmcroft retirement home, I run into people who can’t walk. It’s not hard to tell them, “Your sins are forgiven.” But… Not once… Have I ever said to one of these people, ‘Get up and walk.” Why the difference? If I tell someone their sins are forgiven, no one has any idea if that’s true or not. Sins don’t go flying into the area. A halo doesn’t appear on their head. There isn’t a loud chorus of “Hallelujah.” But if you tell someone who can’t walk to get up and walk… If they don’t do that immediately? You’re a fraud. You’re a liar. It didn’t work. TRUTH: It is harder to claim a VISUAL miracle than an INVISIBLE one. So, follow Jesus’ logic: It’s harder to claim the visual miracle than the invisible one. But… …so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. (Mt. 9:6) Allow me to claim the hard one. Jesus turned to the paralyzed man. Looked up right in the eye. And said, “Get up. Take your stretcher. Go home.” And the man…. Looked at Jesus. Looked at his friends Wiggled his toes…and… Got up. Took his stretcher. And went home. II. The Truth about Jesus TRUTH: Jesus’ miracles are VISUAL proof of the INVISIBLE truth. Remember: There was a room full of people in that room. And since this was a local miracle involving a local man, they probably knew him. And their responses: This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mk. 2:12) They were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Mt. 9:8) Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (Lk. 5:26) The point? Jesus speaks the truth. Even when the truth is invisible. That’s really important. Because most of you here today aren’t physically paralyzed. You can stand. You can walk. You can job. You can run (just maybe not for all that long) You may be able to walk, but you might still understand what it’s like to be paralyzed. Paralyzed with guilt from that one sin you did last week. Paralyzed with shame from the way you’ve been acting in front of your spouse. Paralyzed with fear that God has abandoned you completely. Paralyzed with sadness that God could never forgive you. Again… What’s easier to say? “Your sins are forgiven” or “Kill me and three days later I’ll come back to life.” But to prove that Jesus has the authority to forgive sins…. Jesus was said he would rise from the dead – and he did. And this is proof that when Jesus tells you that your sins are forgiven – they are. And does this throughout Scripture: Your sins have been forgiven on account of Jesus’ name. (1 Jn. 2:12) If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.” (1 John 1:9) Jesus says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16) Jesus’ power is real. Forgiveness is real. Your forgiveness is real. TRUTH: Not trusting Jesus’ power to FORGIVE is EVIL. Look back at what Jesus said about the people who didn’t trust his power to forgive. He said, “Why are you thinking EVIL in your hearts?” (Mt. 9:4) They were thinking that it was evil for someone who wasn’t God to claim to be God by forgiving sins. But what if that person who is claiming to be God is God. Then, the evil isn’t coming from God who is claiming to be God. The evil is come from the one claiming that God isn’t God. And granted – you might not actually say that Jesus isn’t God. But you might say, “I’ve sinned too much, Jesus.” “I should have to do something.” “God needs me to help myself.” Which is another way of saying: Jesus, you don’t have authority to forgive sins. I do. Friends, that’s evil. If that’s you, turn to Jesus. And ask him forgiveness. And trust that he grants it. Because… Jesus has all AUTHORITY to forgive. It’s like a set of church keys: If you asked me to unlock the front door of church for you, I could because I have the key & authority to do so. If you asked me to unlock the janitor’s closet, I could because I have the key and the authority to do so. If you asked me to unlock the door to Precious Lambs, I could because I have the key and the authority to do so. If you asked Jesus to unlock you from the guilt of your sins, He could… …and he would… …and he did…because he has the key and authority to do so. And the key was his blood. Jesus lived perfectly. Jesus died innocently. Jesus rose triumphantly for the forgiveness of your sins. When he tells you that he unlocked guilt, he means it. III. What Now? (1) Do Whatever It Takes to Get to Jesus Do a quick case study of this man’s friends: They were willing to carry him great distances. They were willing to climb a roof. They were willing to cut a hole in that roof… They were doing whatever it took to get to Jesus… …all because they trusted Jesus’ power to heal. Do the same. Because it’s so easy in this life to feel paralyzed. Things happen during the weak that can paralyze you with shame, guilt, sadness, and fear. Jesus heals that paralysis. So, do whatever you can to get to him. That means making worship a can’t-miss for the week. It means Group Study is something that you don’t let a little traffic deter you from. It means that you reach over to your bedside table – and open the Bible. (2) Do Whatever it Takes to Get Your Friends to Jesus Because these men didn’t get to Jesus for themselves. They did whatever it took to get their friend to Jesus. Do you know someone in need of the forgiveness Jesus brings? Could be a friend. A family member. Or coworker. Someone paralyzed by fear, guilt, and shame. Do whatever it takes to get them to Jesus. Because Jesus has power over paralysis. Power to free from any paralysis. Power to free so that you can walk. Through life. With Jesus. Amen.
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This morning, we continue our miracle series, by examining Jesus’ power over demons. But before we do that, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
I. A House Divided The lesson for this this morning comes from Matthew 8. It occurs at a time in Jesus’ ministry when he has already done plenty of miracles and healed multitudes of people. Word about him is spreading and people are flocking to see him. A common question among the people is, “How can Jesus do miracles?” There was a variety of answers: “Those ‘sick’ people weren’t really sick to begin with.” “Maybe, there was some kind of medicine involved?” “He just got lucky.” Or… Mark 3:22 “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.” It’s similar to getting onto your spouse’s phone. Have you ever done that? When you are in control of the account, you can send text messages in your spouse’s name. “My husband is the greatest!” You can send out an email: “We should plan a surprise party for my spouse.” You can go onto Facebook and post a status update: “I have the best spouse ever! I am so lucky to have them as my spouse because they are the best ever.” The contention is that Jesus can control demonic work because he’s working on the devil’s behalf. He sold his soul to the devil. Look at Jesus’ response: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished.” (v.25-26) The NFL Championships are today. I wonder how many defense coordinators are coaching their players to wait for the ball to snap and then tackle their teammates next to them. Or how many times the head coach will tell his running back to “knock over the Quarterback already.” Or how many times Aaron Rodgers will decide to “throw the ball as hard as possible into the back of his center’s kneecaps.” They probably won’t coach them that way. Because a house divided against itself cannot stand. And a football team divided against itself cannot stand. And if the devil was driving out his demonic warriors? His house wouldn’t stand. This means that if Jesus is driving out demons and destroying their work, then… TRUTH: Jesus and the Devil are NOT on the same side. Because Jesus is good. And the devil is not. Good doesn’t work on behalf of evil. Evil doesn’t work on behalf of good. The two are dynamically opposed to one another. Which… Gives me pause. Because we are on God’s side, right? We are on the side of good, right? Yet… Was everything you did this week on behalf of good? That porn you’re looking at? Was that for good? Those racist things you said? Was that for good? That gossip you were sharing at church? Was that really for good? Those complaints about that person across the aisle? Was that really for good? TRUTH: If you’re on GOD’S side; you can’t do the DEVIL’S work. Because if you do, then you’re working for the devil. And if you’re working for the devil, then you’re working against Jesus’ kingdom. And if you’re working against Jesus’ kingdom, then… A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. This is truth. About your family. About your friends. About this church. Understand - The devil wants nothing more than to destroy those things. In fact, he’s all about destruction. He loves destroying families. Destroying friendships. Destroying churches. Destroying souls forever in hell. When you do evil, you work for him. II. The Most Terrifying Thing Jesus was definitely not working for the devil. There might not be a Bible story in which this is clearer than Matthew 8. When Jesus arrived…in the region of the Gergesenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him there. They were very dangerous, so that nobody could pass that way. (v.28) Possession is a simple word. If a dollar bill is in your possession, you own it and you control what it does. If you’re team is in possession of the football, they own it and controls what it does. If a remote control is in your possession, you own it and control what it does. In demon possession, the demon is in control of the body and it controls what the body does. If you are demon possessed, then… You no longer have control of your body. You no longer have control of your words. You no longer have control of your life, because the devil and his demons are in control. For these men, that’s exactly what happened! Demons took control. And remember the goal of demons is destruction. They destroyed their family life. They destroyed their friendships. They destroyed their lives. In fact, Mark’s version of this account, adds that at least one of these men had caused so much trouble that local law enforcement had tried taking him outside the city and chaining him to a wall in an above ground tomb. But… None could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones (Mark 5:4) Sounds like a horror movie And… When Jesus approaches…. It was just like a horror movie, Just… Not for Jesus. The demons cried out “What do you want with us Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Mt. 8:29) You are more powerful than us! You are more miraculous than us. Eventually, one day, we know that at “the time” you will seal us forever in the fires of hell. We might bust out of these chains, but… We’ll never bust out of your grip. Please…Go away! TRUTH: Demons are TERRIFIED of Jesus. There are a lot of different phobias in the world. Arachnophobiacs are afraid of spiders. Agoraphobiacs are afraid of crowds. Coulrophobiacs are afraid of clowns. Mysophobiacsa are afraid of germs. Phobophobiacs are afraid of being afraid. What kind of fear do demons have? They have Son-of-God-o-phobia. Fear of God’s own Son. And with good reason. Because while demons are bent on destruction of God’s people, Jesus is bent on the destruction of the destroyer. Way back in the garden of Eden. That was God’s promise. He told Satan, who had just destroyed God’s work of a perfect world, that a day would come when one of Eve’s children would Crush his head.” (Gen. 3:15) That somebody? Jesus. Which means… TRUTH: Jesus is on your SIDE. The devil wants nothing more than your forever destruction in hell. Jesus wants nothing more than your forever existence in heaven. It’s why he came to earth. It’s why he came to fight the devil. It’s why he continues to fight for you against the devil. (In fact, that’s what he’s doing with these very words in this very sermon at this very time.) Jesus is fighting on your side. III. The Confrontation But can Jesus really defeat demons? When Jesus approached the demon possessed men, he asked, “What is your name?” (Mark 5:9) One of the men responded, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” (v.9) A legion is a Roman concept. A Roman legion could be filled with a population of almost 500,000 soldiers. Jesus wasn’t just dealing with one demon. He wasn’t just dealing with two demons. He was dealing with a legion of demons. And it wasn’t just something the demon was saying… Because… In the field, next to this graveyard was a herd of pigs. Eating some slop. Sitting in the mud. Being generally disgusting. Jesus looked at the pigs. He looked back at the demon-possessed men. He looked past the demons and saw the two human souls trapped within. And said, “Go!” So the demons came out of the men and went into the pigs. Immediately the whole herd of pigs rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water. (Mt. 8:30) Now, when I first read this story, I thought, “That’s mean Jesus. What did the pigs do to you?” First, Jesus is the ruler of all. He invented pigs. He gave the pigs life. He could that away as he pleased. Second, think about what Jesus accomplished by allowing this. Granted, the demons just wanted to destroy something. But by allowing this, think of what Jesus accomplished. Because at the exact instant, he told the legion of demons to leave the two men – an entire herd of pigs rushed into the river and drowned. Do you get it? This event was proof that the demon possession was no joke. It was proof that demons were real. TRUTH: Demons are absolutely REAL. I think this is important to remember. Because it’s common to talk about “demons.” Could be “anxiety” that paralyzes our interactions with others. Could be “guilt” that never seems to go away. Could be “a temptation for addiction” that we just can’t seem to conquer. We call it our “demons” but usually we mean “not demons.” But… The reality is that when we call it “our demons” but we really mean “not demons,” - It’s usually “real demons.” Demons are real. They were real at Jesus’ time. They are real today. But… As real as demons are… TRUTH: So is Jesus’ VICTORY. Because the end result is that the two men who had been demon possessed were set free. They were restored. They had a Savior, Jesus. That same Jesus went on to defeat the devil himself. Even when the devil thought he won. When he got the Pharisees to concoct a conspiracy… When he got Judas to betray his teacher… When he got a crowd to chant, “Crucify! Crucify!”… When he got Pontius Pilate to be afraid, “Go ahead, just take him.” When he caused those soldiers to nail Jesus hand and foot to the cross. The devil probably thought he won. But… Three days later. His head was crushed. Jesus defeated sin. Jesus defeated guilt. Jesus defeated death. Jesus defeated the devil himself. IV. What Now? (1) Be Wary The Bible tells us, “Your enemy the devil prowls around you like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour, resist him. Standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8) Because if you are on an African safari, you’d be wary of lions. You’d put something on camouflage you. You’d carry a weapon for protection. You’d probably put some kind of anti-lion repellent deodorant on to repel it. And if you saw a lion – you’d get out of there! Do the same thing with the devil. Be wary. We identify the areas of temptation that we fall. We avoid those places. When temptation comes, we flee as if our lives depended on it. (Because spiritually speaking, we do.) Friends, be wary of the devil. Be wary of demons. But also… (2) Be Confident Because it’s easy to feel dejected when facing temptation. Because we’ve lost to the devil so many times. We’ve fallen to BIG temptations. We’ve fallen to LITTLE temptations. We’ve fallen to the SAME temptations again and again. What could possibly make us believe that this time will be different? Because…. Jesus is on our side. He wins the victory every time. Be confident. Be confident because of Jesus. Amen. This morning, we will begin our miracle series, by examining God’s incredible power of sickness. But before we do that, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
I. Defining Miracle I think it’s important to start a study on miracles by defining the word “miracle.” So, here it is: A miracle is an occurrence outside the NATURAL laws of the Universe. Because miracle can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. Over time, I think we’ve “dumbed down” the phrase. For instance, we use it at childbirth. A baby is born and people post on Instagram: “Check out my child! #Miracle” Is childbirth amazing? Yes. Is it a miracle though? Not really. That’s how God set up the universe. We even use it in sports. “I can’t believe my favorite football team made the playoffs. It’s a miracle!” Might it have been impressive? Sure. But is it a miracle? Not so much. But when the New Testament uses the word miracle it actually is talking about events that occur outside the natural order of things. Seawater standing up like drywall? That’s not how water usually works. A heavy rock wall tumbling because of trumpet noise? Not normal. Three men being thrown into a fiery furnace and coming out unsinged? Let’s not test it. A virgin giving birth to a child? Miracle. In the New Testament, the number one miracle doer is Jesus. But did you know that Jesus miracles aren’t often called miracles as much as they are called signs. That’s interesting. Because a sign functions by pointing you in the right direction. We have signs in our hallways that say “Restrooms” with a little arrow putting in a certain direction. The point of the sign? To direct you to the restrooms. Even a traffic light. GREEN means “GO”, red means “STOP, and yellow means, “hurry up it’s about to turn red.” Jesus’ miracles were SIGNS pointing people to his DIVINITY. Think about it: If God’s the one that set the laws of the universe into motion, then he is the only one able to act outside of those laws. It’s like STAYING UP LATE. If the rule of your house is that kids need to be in bed by 9 pm, the kids need to go to bed, but the adult can stay up. (Granted, they might not. They might be in bed on the couch around 7:15 pm, but you get the point.) Your kids can’t. You can. You set up the law; you can act outside of it. Jesus acts outside of the laws of the universe set up by God, in all of his miracles. Why? Because he is God himself. II. The Man with Leprosy But it enough talking about it. Let me show you. When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Just then, a leper came to him and bowed down to him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Mt. 8:1-2) Notice. There are large crowds of people with Jesus. They had just heard Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount, a very famous sermon. They were all drawn in by Jesus’ speech and his ideas. But someone that hadn’t made it up to the mountain was waiting as they came down. He was a leper which means that he had the disease known as leprosy. It was a flesh-eating disease that slow dried out your cartilage and cause the tips of your fingers, your toes, your nose, and your ears to (brace yourself) fall off. Leprosy was awful. Still is! If you want to know how awful, do a Google image search. (But not if you’re faint of heart.) Besides being awful… Leprosy was INCURABLE. This isn’t true anymore. There is a cure. But at the time, there weren’t any medicines, any acupuncture, any essential oil, any healthy diet, or any operation that anyone knew about in order to cure it. That means that if you were diagnosed with leprosy you had to quickly resign yourself to the fact that you would not be healed. Leprosy was CONTAGIOUS. It was so contagious that if you were diagnosed with leprosy, you were sent into quarantine. Only the quarantine wasn’t a room in your house. You were sent outside the city walls, into the desert to live in what they called “leper colonies”. Leprosy was FATAL. The end result, 100 percent of the time was death. All these truths about leprosy left this man was without hope. He had heard doctor after doctor tell him there was no cure. He was alone, banished outside the city. He knew what had happened to other friends – they died. This meant - He wouldn’t get to see his family again. He wouldn’t get to hold his children again. He wouldn’t get to kiss his wife again. He wouldn’t feel better. He wouldn’t regain strength. He wouldn’t go back to his job. He’d be by himself. Outside the city walls. Slowly dying. Yet… Did you notice something about this man? He approached Jesus with confidence. He didn’t say: “If you are able…” Or, “If you have the strength…” Or, “If you have the right medicine…” He said, “If you are willing…” And… Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean.” And after Jesus says that, there aren’t months of radiation. There aren’t weeks of chemo. There aren’t even 15 minutes to allow the medicine to take effect. Jesus simply speaks and… IMMEDIATELY he was healed of his leprosy. And if you’re thinking, “That’s impossible.” Remember – there’s a crowd of people present. It wasn’t Jesus by himself. There were hundreds of witnesses to this miracle. Many who had undoubtedly seen that man sitting around outside the city gates day after day after day. In fact, Jesus has professionals corroborate the healing. He tells him to “Go, show (himself) to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (v.4) The priests at this time were similar to doctors. They were able to pronounce people as diseased or not. They were probably the same people who once told the man, “You are diseased, away from us!” Now? They were saying to him, “You’re healed! Celebrate with us.” And remember – while this is 2000 years after the fact, this book is not. These words that we are reading right now were written down at a time when the majority of the people who witnessed this would have still been alive. TRUTH: Jesus is able to CURE the INCURABLE. Here’s where this is important: You might know someone who has been diagnosed with disease. You may have been diagnosed with disease. AIDS. Cancer. Leukemia. And internet articles might not give you a chance. Social media anecdotes might not give you a chance. Doctors might not give you a chance. But… You have Jesus. And Jesus can cure the incurable. Do you want a second instance of this? How about sin!?! It’s CONTAGIOUS – passed down from parents to children. It’s INCURABLE – nothing we can do will ever remove it. It’s FATAL – “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) But Jesus cured the incurable! He lived perfectly when we couldn’t. He died innocently on the cross. He rose triumphantly and cured you of all sin, guilt and shame! By faith in Jesus, you are forgiven. Incurable guilt – CURED! This means that whatever you’re dealing with, as long as you have Jesus, you have hope. Because Jesus provides HOPE in any ILLNESS. He cured the incurable disease of leprosy with his hand. He cured the incurable disease of sin with his death. There is nothing that Jesus can’t do. There is no disease too incurable. There is no disease too contagious. There is no disease too fatal for Jesus. III. The Centurion’s Servant Word of this miracle got around. In fact, it made its way outside the Jewish community to a Roman centurion whose servant was deathly ill. He must have heard stories of Jesus. Yet he had a lot working against him. In fact, I’m sure his advisors gave him a host of reasons not to waste his time: “Jesus is Jewish. You’re Roman. There’s too big a racial divide. He won’t help you.” “You’re a high ranking official. What will it look like for a Roman elite to go looking for help from a homeless carpenter?” “You’re a sinner. From what I’ve heard, this man is a holy man. He won’t give you the time of day.” But… For some reason… He trusted Jesus. And as he looked at his servant growing pale, soaked in sweat, and approaching death. [the] centurion came to [Jesus] and pleaded with him, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.” (v.5) And… Despite the racial difference… Despite the social difference... Despite the man’s sin… Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” (v.6) But the man, thought this was too much. He was a high ranking official and he didn’t make house visits. And Jesus was higher ranking than him. He didn’t need to do a house visit. And so, the high-ranking government official said, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.” I’m a sinful man. You’re holy. I don’t deserve anything from you. But only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (v. 8-9) You have authority too. You tell diseases to leave and they do. You tell health to return and it does. You tell bodies to be healed and they listen, because you have authority over them. When Jesus heard this, he marveled. He said to those who were following him, “Truly, I tell you: I have not found such great faith in anyone in Israel… Go. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” (v.10) Here’s where it gets extra amazing. Because when the man turned to leave, he made note of the position of the sun. Maybe just to the right of the west of the cloud. And when he returned home, he found the servant well. But that’s not the amazing part. After rejoicing. After giving him a hug. After doing the “happy dance.” He asked one of the other servants. When did this happen? “At the time the sun was right to the west of the clouds! I remember. Because I was so excited, I ran outside to tell the others.” Make no mistake. Again. This was a miracle. This was Jesus. TRUTH: Jesus provides HOPE even when he’s not VISIBLY PRESENT. Because you won’t be able to see Jesus. Go ahead. Google search. Look for Dr. Jesus. He doesn’t work at Duke. He doesn’t work at UNC. He doesn’t work at Rex. He doesn’t work at Wake Med. And yet… He grants healing to those within those walls. You can’t see Jesus. But that doesn’t he isn’t with you. And it doesn’t mean he won’t provide healing. He’s all powerful. ‘ His power goes beyond physical, tangible presence. Again – just like sin. You and I weren’t physically there when Jesus died on the cross. And yet Jesus didn’t have to come to 2020 in order to die in our physical presence. His death and resurrection cross physical, temporal boundaries to bring healing and forgiveness. His same healing power gives us hope in the face of illness. IV. When Healing Doesn’t Happen And yet…? People die all the time from disease. Some are even believers. What’s the deal? To answer that question – I want you to remember two significant things that these the two men in today’s accounts said. (1) Lesson from the Centurion Remember what the centurion said to Jesus? “I’m not worthy…” That’s a strange statement, because this centurion was a high ranking, Roman official. He oversaw hundreds of soldiers. (Hence the name “Century-on”) He had a good career. Plenty of people who looked up to him. And yet he didn’t say, “Jesus. I demand this, because I deserve it.” Nope. He knew he was a sinner. He knew he only deserved death. He knew that any healing Jesus could grant was out of his mercy. We need to remember the same thing. I remember that I got sick for one of my birthday’s awhile back. And I thought…. “This isn’t fair! I work hard. I serve God. I serve God’s people. And now I get a day off to celebrate my birthday and I’m sick? God I deserve to be healed.” Is that actually true? Did I deserve healing? Remember – the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” It’s easy to think: I deserve healing. I’ve done nice things. I’ve been a good parent. I’m worthy of being healed. Honestly? None of us are. If God heals us physically, it’s not because we deserve it. It’s because of his mercy. But in God’s mercy is real hope. Because unlike human ‘goodness’ which isn’t nearly as good as we think it is. God’s mercy? Is a mercy that caused him to die on a cross for our sins. Mercy that saved us to eternal life – where there won’t be any sickness. And mercy that sometimes heals us from sickness. (2) Lesson from the Leper Remember what the leper said to Jesus? “If you are willing…” It wasn’t a question of whether healing was possible, But whether it was God’s will. In this man’s instance? It was. But sometimes God’s will is that the sickness won’t be cured. Why? Is it because he loved that person less? If you are suffering a sickness and you haven’t been healed yet, is it because God loves you less than the healthy? Nope. He died on the cross for you. He doesn’t love you less. He loves you the same as those who are health. In fact, it’s because of his LOVE combined with his incredible wisdom, that God sometimes allows a disease to run its course. Why? Because… Sickness has a way of driving people towards Jesus. Meaning… Sickness can be God’s way of Bringing you to faith… Or strengthening your faith… Or working through you to be a witness to our friends and family of our faith in Jesus. Or … Simply… Bringing you ultimate healing in heaven. In heaven, there isn’t any leprosy. In heaven, there isn’t any cancer. In heaven, there isn’t any sickness. In heaven, there is only health. Perfect health. Forever. Amen.
When I was in Seattle, WA, I had the goal to get to the top of the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Rainier. I bought the right gear. I went into training. I learned from a woman who had been up Mount Everest three separate times.
On the day of the climb, we hiked up to Camp Muir, a base camp about 10,000 feet up. From there, we slept in a tiny wooden cabin to acclimate to the altitude and rest up for the final ascent. We went to bed at 6pm and woke up around Midnight. (You have to leave early in order to cross the ice bridges before the daylight gets too hot, the bridge melts and you fall to your death.) It was about eight hours up when a blizzard kicked in. The air was sparse. The wind was frigid. My fingers were frozen. And it was only getting nastier. Some of the other climb groups had already turned around and gone back. About an hour from the top, the lead expeditions said: “This is getting pretty bad. I haven’t seen it this bad before. What do you think? We could go to the top and see the marvelous views, but… If we don’t turn around, we could get frostbite or die. So we thought about it and said: “I’m sure Google images probably has some might fine photos of the top. So... Sometimes suffering isn’t worth it. Today we are continuing our series called Dear Church. It’s a series based on letters from Jesus to seven different churches. The letter for today looks at a church that was dealing with suffering…even suffering because they were believers. Our goal today is to understand what kind of suffering believers have to deal with and whether it’s worth that suffering. Before we begin, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. The One who Knows Suffering This letter starts in Revelation 2:8: “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty —yet you are rich!” A few notes: The letter is again written to the angel. We said that’s most likely referencing their pastoral leadership which, in turn, means it’s a letter written to the church in Smyrna. Smyrna was an ancient Greek city at a central point on the Aegean coast. Because its positioning allowed for advantageous port conditions and an easily defendable city, Smyrna was full of people. In other words, it was a great place to start a church. And someone had. We don’t know the exact apostle or disciple that founded it, which shows that the Gospel was spreading beyond the work rate of the apostles alone. This church was probably not started by one of the 12 apostles, yet Jesus considers it a church. Similarly, our church wasn’t started by one of the Apostles, yet Jesus would call it a real church. Why? Because the Holy Spirit was at work in the word. In Smyrna. Here in Raleigh. So, both are churches. Finally, the speaker is Jesus. This is his letter. And since this is a letter to a church that is suffering, he offers his credentials on the subject: (1) Jesus Existed before SUFFERING These are the words of him who is the First (v.8) Jesus existed eternally long before suffering ever existed. He created a world that was perfect, apart from suffering. Then, he watched as humans foolishly were led by the devil into suffering. Don’t think that Jesus’ main goal is to end suffering? To bring life back to the way that it once was? It’d be like cleaning your living room, putting all the toys in their place and removing all the crumbs from the floor – making the place a gorgeous Better Homes and Gardens style living area. Then, your kids happen. And you’d like to see it back to the way it was when you were finished cleaning. The same is true for God. He has on his heart a desire to bring things back to the way they were long before suffering happened. And here’s the good news about that: (2) Jesus will OUTLAST Suffering These are the words of him who is the Last. (v.8) As in, he will last beyond all suffering. He will outlast cancer. He will outlast financial difficulties. He will outlast persecutions. He will outlast terrorism. He will outlast racism. He will outlast the little angry emojis that people put upon Christian content on Social Media. He will outlast every form of suffering. But… That doesn’t mean he hasn’t suffered. (3) Jesus is FAMILIAR with suffering These are the words of him who died. (v.8) Do you know how Jesus died? He was arrested by a mob. He was beaten by that mob. He was smacked and slapped till the early hours of the morning. He was whipped thirty times with a 7 stranded leather whip that had metal shards on the end. (Also known as flogged) He had a crown of thorns smashed down onto his head. He was hit with a staff. He was laid down upon two giant pieces of wood. He had one nail driven through his right hand. He had another nail driven through his left hand. He had one more nail driven through his feet. He hung on that cross as his lungs slowly collapsed. He was abandoned by his friends. He was betrayed by his disciples. He was crucified by his people. He had our sin and guilt and shame plaguing his soul. He was familiar with suffering. Suffering even to death! And yet-- Now – he lives. He lives and walks among his churches. And… (4) Jesus Knows YOUR suffering Pause and reflect on that truth. Because it’s easy to think: No one knows my suffering. No one understands. No one gets this sadness I feel. No one grasps the loneliness that I go through. No one truly gets the depths of my depression. Jesus does. He knows. He understands. Jesus is speaking to you. He says: “I know. I know it feels like no one knows, but I know. I know what it’s like to suffer. I know that you are suffering. I know what it is you’re suffering: I know that you feel so poor because you are suffering. But… In the midst of suffering… Never forget… You are rich. (5) Jesus Gives Eternal RICHES to the Suffering Wait, what? You are rich. Rich in my love. Rich in forgiveness. Rich in the promise of eternal life. You have a place in my family that all of the money in the world would be unable to buy. You may be suffering, but you are not suffering from a lack of my promises. II. Truths about Our Suffering After giving his credentials as to why he is an expert in suffering, Jesus has a few things to say about the suffering that the people of Smyrna were going through. He says: I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. (v.9) Apparently there was a group that was slandering the church. It was a group that claimed to be Jewish but wasn’t. This isn’t genealogical. Jesus is referring to people who were did not have a faith that matched the Old Testament faith, but pretended they did. Because the Old Testament Jewish faith was that God would send a Messiah to save us from our sins. Overtime some Jews abandoned that faith and replaced it as, “God doesn’t need to save us from our sins, because I am Jewish and do Jewish things.” When Jesus showed up, a “phony” Jewish faith is exactly what the Pharisees had. Jesus was the Messiah. The real Jewish faith would have believed in him. Instead, the “phony” Jewish faith rejected Jesus as Messiah because “they were good enough Jewish people on their own.” Now after Jesus, this group was persecuting the church in Smyrna and it was bad enough to be called “suffering”: Maybe they were calling them names. Maybe some of them worked on the local tax board and were taxing their church building heavily. Maybe some of them paid of the Roman soldiers to throw church members in prison. Regardless, the church was suffering. What did Jesus say about this suffering? A few things: (1) Believers WILL Suffer for their Faith Look at what Jesus says in Verse 10: Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. At first glance, this seems comforting. But if you are a Smyrnian, don’t you think they read this and responded by saying: What? About to suffer? You mean this isn’t even done yet? Yes. That’s the truth. For the Smyrnian people. And for us: The truth is that believers in Jesus will suffer. Some suffering will happen because we’re on a sinful world where sinful people hurt one another. (Gossip, racism, and unfaithfulness) Some suffering will happen because we’re in an imperfect world. (Cancer, pollution, and natural disasters) Some suffering will happen because we’re believers in Jesus. (Things like angry comments on your Christian blog, being excluded from parties because you’re “That lousy Christian,” being yelled at by your spouse because “I’m not into that Jesus junk.”) Jesus said this: Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me. (Luke 10:16) Just like you might not like a football team and, as a result, you don’t like fans of a certain football team. Or you don’t like a politician and, as a result, you don’t like followers of that politician. It’s the same thing with Jesus: If someone doesn’t like Jesus. They don’t like his followers. If sinners made Jesus suffer, They will make his followers suffer too. (2) The Real Villain is the DEVIL Because if it was just a bunch of humans making us suffer, you might think: I can take them, Jesus. I took a few defense classes once, so…I got this. But these people aren’t the real ones behind it. Look at what Jesus says about who was really behind the Smyrnian suffering: I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. (v.10b) Now it wasn’t as if the devil showed up with a red pitchfork in his hands and pointy ears like some kind of Halloween costume. But he influenced. He tempted. He gave people ideas like: You should tell that Jesus supporter that he’s an idiot. You should tell that Roman guard that Christian is breaking law by praying in public. You should break up with your wife because the amount of Bible talk she has is crazy. The same is true today. The real villain isn’t whoever is persecuting you. It’s the devil himself. (3) Suffering Lasts for AWHILE Because look at what Jesus says next: You will suffer persecution for ten days.” (v.10c) That doesn’t sound awful. It’s the reason I sign up for ten days at a fitness camp. I figure – that’s not too long. I can handle it. Or maybe you sign up for a ten day visit to your in-laws. You figure – that’s just over a week. I got this. 10 days of persecution? That’s doable. But here’s the thing about numbers in revelation. They are metaphoric: The number 3 represents God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The number 4 represents humans. Humans were created in God’s image, but aren’t God. The number 7 represents the church. It’s 3 plus 4, where God connects with humans. The number 10? It represents completeness. Meaning the church at Smyrna would suffer until the suffering was completed. In other words, for a while. And the reality is that Christians will suffer…until their suffering on earth is completed. Suffering will be a part of your life when you’re 5. When you’re a teenager. When you’re middle aged. When you’re a senior. Suffering… Even suffering for your faith… …will be a part of your life for a while. But… Only for a while. Not… Forever. (4) The faithful will receive the CROWN of LIFE Look at what Jesus says at the end of verse 10: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Back at this time, the victor’s crown was associated with the Olympics. It was made of olive branches and given to the winner. To the winner of the 100-meter dash: Victor’s crown. To the winner of the 1600-meter run: Victor’s crown. To the winner of the pole vault: Victor’s crown To the winner of the steeple chase (whatever a steeple chase is): Victor’s crown. After all the training. After all the sweating. After all the suffering. A victor’s crown. Look at what Jesus promises to those who are victorious. Who go through suffering in this life. But hold on to Jesus: A victor’s crown. But not just any victor’s crown. This isn’t made from olive branches. It’s made of life. Do you get it? If you hold to Jesus despite the suffering this life brings, you will have eternal life. Death won’t win. You will defeat it. Just like Jesus defeated death, you will defeat death too. You will live. And about this life… It won’t be one of suffering. Because… (5) The Faithful’s SUFFERING will END Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. (v.11) Second death? That’s sounds awful. First death is bad enough. Second death? That’s terrible. It’s nothing but suffering. Nothing but awful. Nothing but hell… …because it is hell. But dear believers, that’s not anything you have to be worried about. The faithful will not be hurt even in the slightest by hell. Because in heaven? There is no hell. In heaven? There is no death. In heaven? There is NO suffering. No suffering for faith. No cancer. No loneliness. No sadness. No diseases. No arguments with spouses. No rebellious kids. No ostracization from friends. No racism. No sexism. No terrorism. No violence. No suffering of any amount, variety or kind. In heaven, SUFFERING is done. Because you’re with the one that defeated suffering. You’re with Jesus. III. WHAT NOW? Jesus’ words are simple: Be Faithful. Because when being a believer gets hard, it’s tempting to not be faithful. “I became a believer and I still get sick. I still have work problems. I still have financial difficulties. Only now people ridicule me for my faith.” It might seem easier to stop being faithful so that you won’t have this momentary suffering. But… If you stay faithful, in the midst of the momentary suffering, you will have eternal blessings. Not might. Not could. Not possibly. Will. Because God is faithful. That won’t change. He sent his Son Jesus for you. And through faith in him you will be removed from suffering…forever. Amen.
At Gethsemane, we get a goodly amount of mail. At times, I’ll open the mailbox and it will be chocked full of letters. If I’m honest, I feel excited. Maybe I’ll get something cool.
So, I read the envelopes: Precious Lambs’ Director. Precious Lambs’ Director. Bill. Financial Secretary. Gethsemane Admin. Gethsemane Admin. Bill. Treasurer. Letter to Julianna. Letter to Julianna. Bill. Letter to…Me! Oh! How thoughtful. Let me look inside: “Dear Pastor, I didn’t have Julianna’s address. Could you get this to her.” Maybe you feel the same way. If the letter is for someone else, it isn’t that exciting to you. Our next sermon series is called Dear Church. It’s a study of the first chapters of Revelation. These first chapters contain a collection of seven letters written to seven first-century churches. Yet none of these letters are addressed to “Gethsemane Church in Raleigh.” None of them have the address of delivery listed as 1100 Newton Road. None of them have your specific name on it. So, you might wonder: “How valuable is studying a bunch of ancient letters that aren’t written to me?’ Today our goal is to identify the author, identify the recipients and discover the value these letters have for us. Before we begin, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. The Writer Our lesson starts in Revelation 1:1-2. It says: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servant what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. (Revelation 1:1-2) A couple of notes: The word Revelation is the Greek Word apocalypsis. It’s where we get the word Apocalypse. It means the “unveiling of something that previously was hidden.” In this case, what is being unfolded is the future of the Christian church. The writer is a guy named John. This is John the Apostle. The apostles were a special group of twelve men that Jesus had specially called to follow him for three years of ministry and continue his ministry after he left. During the time he was with Jesus, John learned deep theological truths and witnessed other worldly miracles. In fact, John was one of a group of three Apostles that were witness to a few special events: John saw Jesus’ face transformed into a brilliant sun like light. John saw Jesus touch a dead girl’s hand and bring her back to life. John saw Jesus in deep anguish as he prayed deep within a garden the night before he died. In addition, John saw Jesus die. And John was an eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection. As a result, John wanted to share his experience. He wrote a book in the Bible called John. In that book, he wrote about all that Jesus said and did while on earth. Later, John wrote a letter to believers everywhere called 1st John. It encouraged believers in their Savior Jesus. Finally, John writes two more letters called: 2nd and 3rd John that deal with supporting the truth of God’s Word. That’s four books of the Bible that John had already authored. Revelation is his 5th book. This letter has value, because it comes from a guy whose life was intimately connected with our Savior. Look what else John says about himself: I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. (1:9) Notice that John calls himself brother. Even though he has led an impressive life, John does not refer to himself as “The apostle” or “the guy who knows a lot more than you.” Nope. John calls himself a brother. A brother in sin. A brother in salvation. A brother in faith. A brother in the church. And… A brother in suffering. Like you, John knew suffering. He knew the physical pain of life on this earth. He knew the emotional pain of being ridiculed for his faith. He knew the spiritual pain of fighting sin, of fighting guilt, of fighting loneliness. Matter of fact, John wrote this letter while he was on the island of Patmos. He had been exiled there because of his faith. He was alone. He probably felt lonely. He was familiar with suffering. This letter has value, because it comes from a guy who understood the struggles of believers. II. The Voice behind the Writer Yet… John wasn’t a millennial. He’s never been to the Triangle. He didn’t own an iPhone. He wasn’t familiar with how to run Windows 10. He didn’t know any of the characters from Stranger Things. John didn’t know what it was like for 21st century believers in Raleigh NC. His letter might be valuable for a history class, But not nowadays… Look at what John writes next: On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit. The Lord’s Day would have been Sunday. The fact that John was in the Spirit seems to indicate that he was in some form of worship. Maybe singing songs to God’s praise. Or on his knees in prayer. Or preaching himself a sermon and writing down his own sermon responses. When suddenly… In the middle of worship all by himself. On the island all by himself. In prayer all by himself. John heard someone else: I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on the scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches.” (v.10) Do you get it? John’s letter; isn’t his own. He wrote it down. But it came from someone else. It’s kind of like Siri. If you’re driving down the road and you don’t want to text and drive (because you shouldn’t text and drive), you can tell Siri: “Siri. Text Julianna: Hi Love, I’ll be home at seven.” Siri will write it down. Siri will send the message. Siri will let Julianna know: “Hi Bub, I’ll be home at eleven.” Jokes aside. When you send a message through Siri, Siri writes it down, but it’s really your message. It’s the same thing here. John wrote it down, but the letter come from this voice. So, who is the one behind John’s letter? The text is full of clues: (1) Trumpetlike Vocal Chords It says the voice was like a trumpet. (v.11) On the one hand, it could be a reference to the decibel level. A trumpet is loud and boisterous, so this simile may be a reference to the voice being loud and boisterous. (There’s a reason the trumpet plays the daily wakeup call in the military) Or perhaps has a brass instrument like quality to it. It literally sounds like a trumpet with a nasal, air filled quality to its melodies. Either way, trumpetlike vocal cords are other worldly. Because most people can’t speak louder than a trumpet. And most people can’t speak in a voice that perfectly mimics a trumpet. (Go ahead and try – I’ll wait.) (2) Surrounded by High Priest Gear When John heard the voice, he turned around to see where it was coming from. He wrote, “When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. (v.13) All that language is very Old Testament. Old Testament worship involved these very ornate golden lampstands that held the burning candles during worship. Old Testament worship was led by a high priest who wore a long white robe reaching down to cover his sandals. Old Testament worship robes were decorated by a golden sash across the chest. John, who was familiar with Old Testament worship, would have understood that this was a high priest. The only thing he wouldn’t have understood was… Where did the high priest come from? And how did he set up the lampstands without making a sound? And can you get the golden sash on sale down at Target? (3) Human-Ish Look at John’s description of the high priest. He describes him as, “like a son of man.” (v.13) A son of man is a human. Just like a son of a cow is a calf. And the son of a cat is a kitty. But John is careful in his words. He doesn’t say, “a son of man,” but, “like a son of man.” As in similar, but not quite. As in like, but also unlike. As in human, but more… (4) Otherworldly Facial Features Verse 14 describes why John didn’t consider him your average human. He writes, “The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.” White hair isn’t unheard of. It’s common. Yet the emphasis on it being “white like snow”; gives the impression this is an otherworldly type of white. And check out the eyes! Yes, there are now contacts that exist that you can put into your eyeballs to change the color of your iris. If you have blue eyes and want brown, there’s contact lenses for that. If you have brown eyes and want blue, there’s contact lenses for that. If you have regular colored eyes and want yours to look like fire, there’s contact lenses for that. But… Those colors contact lenses weren’t invented until 2010. And contact lenses in general didn’t exist until 1887. So… That’s fire in his eyes. Otherworldly. And that’s not it for the otherworldly facial features: In verse 17 it says, “Coming out of his mouth was a sharp double-edged sword.” And in verse 18 it says, “His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” Otherworldly. (5) Otherworldly Footwear Look at verse 15: His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace. Bronze is a precious metal. It’s used in making beautiful plates, decorations, and lampstands. But… How many of you today are wearing bronze shoes? How many of you own bronze shoes? How many of you have ever seen bronze shoes? But then, notice that the bronze was glowing! Did you know that bronze begins to glow & melt at about 1562 degrees Fahrenheit? This is other worldly. (6) Trumpetlike Riverlike Vocal Chords I love this note. Because earlier John said that the voice was like a trumpet. And then at the end of verse 15 he says, “his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.” What’s the deal? Can John not tell the difference between the sound of trumpet and the sound of a river? Nope. John’s just in such shock at the other worldly voice of this being that he is struggling for metaphors. The voice is that amazing. That otherworldly. (7) Star Grasping Verse 16 records, “In his right hand he held seven stars.” There is no distinction here. It doesn’t say, “In his right hand were seven things like stars.” Nope. It doesn’t say, “Seven lights like stars.” It doesn’t even say, “Seven shapes like stars.” Just stars. Legitimate, gas burning entities. Three white dwarves. Four red giants. Or maybe… Four red dwarves And three blue giants. Regardless, the fact that this being has legitimate stars in his hands… Otherworldly. (8) The First & the Last Because the voice speaks again and said this: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” (v.17) Think about that. The voice says He is the First. As in before all the sun. As in before the moon. As in before the earth. As in before Adam. As in before Eve. As in before everything. God. And the voice says He is the Last. As in after the sun. As in after the moon. As in after the earth. As in after all Adams. And after all Eve. As in after everything. Also, God. But… More specifically. (9) Formerly Dead The voice continues, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!” (v.18) How many people do you know who are dead? Lots. How many people do you know who are dead, but then came back to life? Did you know the Bible records at least 9? The widow of Zarephath’s son…dead; brought back to life. The Shunnamite woman’s son…dead; brought back to life. A random Israelite body…dead; brought back to life. The young daughter of Jairus…dead; brought back to life. The young man at Nain…dead; brought back to life. Jesus’ friend Lazarus…dead; brought back to life. Tabitha, the faithful church widow…dead; brought back to life. Eutychus, the sleepy church goer…dead; brought back to life. But did you know… All those people died again. There’s only one. Only one who died. came back to life. And stayed alive. Jesus Christ. TRUTH: This letter is from JESUS. Your Savior. The one who lived for you. The one who died for you. The one who rose for you. The one who lives for you. The one who protects you. The one who rules all things for you. The one who will take care of you. The one who will bring you home to heaven. The one who will grant you eternal life. This is a letter from Jesus Christ himself! III. The Recipients But there’s more. Look at the people to whom Jesus wrote this letter: Jesus said, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” And to be fair John mentions the seven churches that will receive the letter earlier. The churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. (v.11) But… Numbers are important in Revelation. A few numbers come up frequently. 3 is the number of God. It represents the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 4 is the number of humanity. It’s close to God, but not quite. It represents the four corners of the earth that humans live upon. 7 is the sum of the two. It represents God in communion with humanity. It represents where God graciously connects with the souls he loves. It represents the place where God brings sinful lost humans into his family. We’re talking about the Church. Here’s the truth: This is a letter written to YOU. Dear believer. Dear brother. Dear sister. These letters are important. Because they are written to YOU. And they have been preserved for YOU. And they are being proclaimed to YOU. And these words are from Jesus for YOU. IV. What Now? Pay Attention There is no letter you have ever received more important. No letter you’ve ever received with more value. No letter you have ever received that comes from a higher place than these letters from Jesus himself. Pay attention. Take notes. Read ahead. Make sure you’re here. If you can’t be, listen online. Don’t miss the very important words of Jesus himself. He loves you. He cares for you. He has a message for you, dear church. Amen.  Last week we talked about the riot in Ephesus where the crowd chanted against the Gospel for two straight hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!!” The crowd was rowdy. They were violent. They were angry. In fact, the situation was so dangerous that Paul’s friends wouldn’t even let him appear before the crowd in order to defend himself.
You might have expected that to end in tragedy. It didn’t. The crowd quieted. They went home. Paul was safe. But the Christians didn’t think it would be wise to keep Paul in Ephesus. So, after two years pastoring in Ephesus, Paul left. Acts 20:1 says, “He said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled throughout that area speaking many words of encouragement to the people.” It means Paul headed east. He crossed the sea and began revisiting the churches that he had started. He went back to Philippi. He went back to Thessalonica. He went back to Berea. He went back to Apollonia, Amphipolis, and Corinth. Finally, he arrived in Greece where he stayed for three months. (v.3) While there he most likely revisited Corinth. Maybe even Athens. After those three months (most likely winter months where sailing is discouraged), Paul was about to sail for Syria, but because some Jews had plotted against him, he decided to go back through Macedonia. (v.3) Whether they were plotting to throw him overboard, sink the ship, or get him really drunk on rum in order to convince him to walk the plank, Paul found out and was kept safe. Again, tragedy avoided. In fact, Paul safely returns through all those cities to Philippi and from there he crosses the sea back to the Middle East and gets to Troas. It’s not far now. It’s should be a smooth journey, right? Home is just around the corner. And it’s there that tragedy strikes. Today we’re going to learn about that tragedy that hit close to home. Then, we’ll learn how Jesus helps us through tragedy. Before we begin, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. A Tragedy The lesson starts in verse 7. It says, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.” Slow down. Read that again. The disciples came together on the first day of the week. That’s a Sunday. It’s neat to note that Christians are gathering together, not on a Saturday like they did in the Old Testament, but on a Sunday. The same day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead. It’s also shortly after Passover. Just it was shortly after Passover that Jesus rose from the dead. As they gathered, they were planning to break bread. That’s a reference to a fellowship meal. A 1st century potluck. Complete with Mazza balls, lamb casserole and (if it’s anything like our potlucks) about 17 different kinds of dessert. But before they could get to the meal, Paul began preaching. Since it was the dinner hour, that the gathering probably started happening somewhere around 6pm. During that first hour, people greeted each other, the fellowship team arranged the meal, and the musicians warmed up on their instruments. That means Paul would have began his sermon about an hour later, around 7pm. Five hours later? He’s still talking. Insert joke about sermon length here. One person there that evening was a young man named Eutychus. That’s impressive. Because most young people in Troas would be focused on other things in the evening: Spending their money at local establishments. Getting home to their families. Going out to eat with a young woman so that he might one day have a family. But Eutychus was at church. In the evening. Since it was their version of Monday, he was probably tired and ready for a nap at home. But he didn’t want to miss seeing the Apostle Paul one last time before he left so… Eutychus attended the gathering. He greeted other church members. He let his elders have the seats in the front. He let the women with children have seats in the back. He stood near the back, excited to listen to what Paul had to say. And that’s what he did. For fifteen minutes. Thirty minutes. An hour. An hour fifteen minutes, an hour thirty minutes, two hours. Eutychus started fanning himself: Why is it so hot in here? Probably all those lamps. I mean…it makes it easier to see at night, but they are torches. It’s like there’s fifteen mini bonfires in this room. Eutychus made his way over to the breeze of the nearest open window. Two hours and two and a half hours. Three hours. Three hours, forty-five minutes. My legs are started to get tired. I’ve been up on them all day at work. It’ll be ok. I’ll just sit on this window ledge right here. Four hours. Four and a half hours. Five hours. Suddenly, Eutychus started to get rather sleepy. Paul’s words sounded so far away. He was sure if he had just mentioned the Gospel or the Blospel… Maybe, he’d close his eyes. Just for a second. He could still listen to his words. He could still hear his sermon. He could still… ZZZZZ. And then… THUD. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story… (v.9) And suddenly, there was a commotion. What was that? I think someone fell. From on the ground. Nope from the window. Who was it? I don’t know. I didn’t see. It’s Eutychus! That’s where he was sitting. And they rushed down the stairs. And they rushed out the building. And they rushed to his body. And they tried CPR. And they felt for a pulse. Meanwhile, Paul was up in the front of the room where he had been preaching. His heart was racing. And then he heard it: He’s dead! Eutychus is dead! Paul rushed to the door. He ran to the steps. He looked at Eutychus’ now limp body. Oh God! This is a tragedy. Oh God this is… Oh God? That’s it. Now I don’t know exactly what happened next. Did Paul speak any words? Did Paul say prayer? I don’t know exactly what Paul did next. But… We do know what Eutychus did next: Sat up. “Don’t be alarmed,” Paul said. “He’s alive! (v.10) II. Dealing with Skeptics This account is amazing! A young man falls to his death in the middle of worship. But when Paul gets down to the body without performing CPR, without a defibrillator, without hitting his chest repeatedly in desperation…Eutychus lives! It’s a miracle. Granted. You might be skeptical about this. If you tried this with a dead ant out on your driveway, it wouldn’t work. In fact, a Google search for Eutychus, will lead to some scholarly articles that propose an alternative. They write that: (1) Eutychus never died. He just got knocked out. (2) Paul simply got him out of his stupor, because someone dying and coming back to life is IMOPSSIBLE. But there are quite a few things in the text that defend against that interpretation: (1) The Number of Witnesses Back to the mapwork section. In verse 4, there’s an interesting list. It’s a list of all the different people who are now accompanying Paul on his missionary journey. This list is interesting because it’s a where’s where of places Paul has shared the Gospel: Sopater…from Berea, the place where the people studiously God’s Word. Secundus from Thessalonica, the place where persecution was quite intense. Gaius from Derbe who along with Aristarchus had been dragged through the streets of Ephesus during the riot. Timothy from Lystra who joined Paul all the way back at the beginning of the second missionary journey. Tychichus and Trophimus from the province of Asia…representing the various churches of the Galatians. That’s seven men in all who present in that upper room. Add in Eutychus for eight. Then, verse 7 says that Paul was speaking to “the people”. If it would have been just these seven guys, the writer would have said the disciples. By choosing the word “people”, the writer reflects the fact that there were more than these eight. In fact, there were so many that Eutychus had to sit on the ledge of the window. Here’s the point: Fooling the whole crowd into thinking that Eutychus had resurrected when he never really died in the first place would have been very challenging with so many present. Especially since, the crowd got there first. (2) Logistics of a Lecture Notice how our church is setup. The pastor is in the front. You all are facing me. The doors to exit the place are closest to you, the audience. I am the farthest from the common exits. It’s the same in most churches and lecture halls. Why? So, it is easy for someone to slip out without causing much of a disturbance. If a mom is quieting a child or someone needs to use the restroom, leaving from the back is so much easier than having to leave through the front and walking right by the pastor in the middle of the sermon. Can you imagine reversing it? (Leaving worship would soon be the “walk of shame.”) It would have been the same way for Paul’s speech. Even though the room may not have been any kind of lecture hall, they still would have setup the room so that Paul was farthest from the door so that the people could easily come and go if needed. Why is this important? Because Paul was not the first to get to Eutychus. The people were. He couldn’t trick them into thinking Eutychus was dead, when he really wasn’t. In fact, some get to Eutychus and pick him up “dead” in verse 9 and it isn’t until verse 10 that Paul “goes down” to see him. Paul couldn’t have tricked them. Eutychus died. And that really solidifies when you consider one more thing (3) The Presence of Dr. Luke Back to the group of missionaries with Paul. I left one out. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Verse 6 says, “We sailed…to Troas.” The “we”? That’s a reference to the man who wrote down the book of Acts. It wasn’t Paul, but a man named Luke. Luke had joined Paul’s missionary crew in Mysia. He travelled with Paul throughout missionary journey two and three. Paul even references Luke in some of the letters that he writes to the various churches. Look at what he reveals about Luke in Colossians: Our dear friend Luke, the doctor…” (v.4:14) Did you catch that? Do you see the significance? Luke knew how to look for a pulse. Luke knew how to check for breathing. Luke knew how to identify a dead person. I guarantee that Luke was one of the first people down to check on Eutychus. And he was one of the first people to say: “There’s nothing we can do. He’s dead.” “Time of death: 12:16am” In fact, when Paul had stones thrown at him Lystra on his first missionary journey, the crowd left when they saw him fall to the ground in a clump. Luke wrote that Paul was dragged out of the city and that the Jews were “supposing that he was dead” (Acts 14:19). Here’s the point: if Luke wanted to present the idea that the believers in Troas merely “supposed” that Eutychus was dead, he could have written that. But he didn’t. Because he was dead. Until he wasn’t. Because of Jesus. Stop being skeptical. The miracle was real. III. Transforming Tragedy Jesus really transformed the situation. He really transformed the tragedy. (1) Jesus Transforms Tragedy into Celebration. Look at what happens next: Then Paul went upstairs again. He broke bread and ate. (v.11a) Which...praise the Lord, the potluck food is finally being eaten. At least by Paul, probably by anyone else who didn’t want to be rude and hadn’t eaten while Paul was speaking. After the tragedy of falling out a window, people aren’t sobbing and crying tears, but laughing and eating some potluck eclairs! Jesus transformed the situation so that now they’re having a dinner party. Jesus still transforms tragedy into celebration even today. Because Jesus said that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16) Just to prove his power to make that promise, Jesus brought people like Eutychus back to life. But better than that: Jesus brought himself back to life. He died on the cross. Hundreds of people watching his bloody, lifeless body taken down from the cross. No one! Not a single person stopping to say: “Wait, he’s just knocked out.” Nope. He was dead, dead. Dead, dead, dead. Dead enough to be wrapped up in clothes and placed in a grave. But… Three days later, Jesus came back to life. He breathed. He moved. He walked. Jesus has power over life and death. He provides believers with eternal life even when they die. It’s why at the last funeral that we had here at Gethsemane. And people were feeling sad. And people were thinking it was a tragedy. But then, we read the Gospel. Then, we heard about Jesus promises. Then, we remembered that our dear brother was in heaven above residing in eternal life. And suddenly, people are in the fellowship hall, talking, laughing, swapping stories and in general, celebrating! Because Jesus transformed tragedy into celebration. (2) Jesus Enables ministry to Keep Going…Even when Tragedy Strikes. Because sometimes when tragedy happens, life comes to a stand-still. Even during lesser tragedies! Like Spiderman. This past week Sony Pictures and Marvel/Disney ended their deal working together. As of right now, Spiderman cannot appear in the MCU anymore. And…tragedy. People are on social media like HOW CAN I MOVE ON!?! The same is true for bigger tragedies. People stop. They’re shocked. They need a moment to process. And to be fair, for a moment that evening in Troas, Paul stopped his sermon. The people stopped listening. Everyone needed to process. But once Jesus brought Eutychus back to life, Paul grabbed some food and continued doing ministry. He kept talking until morning. (v.10b) Then, he set off for the next stop on the missionary journey. Jesus enables ministry to keep going even during tragedy. He gives us comfort. He gives us joy. He keeps us uplifted and implores us to keep sharing the Gospel. In fact, the fact that tragedy happens doesn’t decrease the need for ministry; It increases the need for ministry. Because awful things happen in this sin filled world. Terrorism. Racial hate crimes. Hurricanes, car accidents, and horrific illness. Somewhere something horrible happens every day. That doesn’t mean we should run and hide. But we need run and tell. About the God who saw the sadness of tragedy. About the God who saw the tragedies of this world. About the God who saw the tragedies in your life. And didn’t run from it. But to it. He came into this tragic world and died on the cross. To rescue us from the tragedy of death. To transform tragedy into celebration. Through your message of the Gospel, he transforms the tragedies of others into celebration. That’s our job. That’s your job. Whether it’s your child, your spouse, your friend, your neighbor, your coworker, or your followers on social media. Because tragedy exists, God calls you to increase your ministry and share the message of Jesus. Because… (3) Jesus brings GREAT Comfort That’s the final verse of the account. It says that after Paul left, “The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.” (v.12) Because that evening, they heard about God’s grace for sinners and saw his power over death. That message of Jesus still brings great comfort even today. Even amid horrific tragedy. This past week Monday I was on social media, because sometimes as a pastor of a small medium sized church you’re in charge of social media. So, I was sitting there trying to plan (what kind of posts should we have this week) when I came across a post from a friend’s account that shocked me. It was from a former Precious Lambs’ parent. One that had been a part of our preschool family a while back. We had ministered to her. Talked with her. Shared the Gospel with her. The kid sang in worship. The parent attended, even got their phone out to record his dancing while he was singing. I enjoyed them. On Monday, I saw a Facebook post that said she had passed away. Young mom. Son of around 3rd grade. She passed away. Tragedy. But… When I looked closer at the post, I had seen that the one posting was her son. He was writing from her account. He had posted a picture of him and his mom and he had written this: “I’m sorry to say that my mom is gone. But she is in heaven now. Thank you, Jesus.” Are you kidding me? I’m tearing up as I’m reading about the tragedy. I’m tearing up as I’m thinking about the tragedy. This young man? He’s found comfort. Great comfort. Great comfort in his Savior. May Jesus be the one who gives you great comfort, too. Amen.  ACTS, All Powerful, Atheism, Attitude, Authority, Believe, Christian Living, Church, Comfort, Education, Faith, False Teachings, Impossible, North Raleigh, Raleigh, Repentance, Seriousness, Sin, True Heart, Urgency
Today we are continuing our walk through the second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. Before we study God’s Words, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. About Athens Last we left Paul, he had been in Thessalonica sharing the Gospel and he was run out of the city by a mob of people that had a volatile reaction to the message of Jesus. From there he went to Berea, where the people were of noble character and examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:1-11) But after Paul was in Berea for a while, Acts 17:13 says: When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the Word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. They found out where Paul would be preaching. They marched around shouting “Down with Paul.” They held signs that had a picture of Paul’s face with a mustache drawn on it. In response, the mission team split up. Since the believers and church in Berea were still young in faith, Silas, Timothy, and Luke stayed behind to teach them, meanwhile, Paul, the main guy the crowds were protesting, went to the next city by himself. The next city was called Athens. A bit about Athens: Athens had been a key city state in that Greek empire. It was a place for thinkers and movers. It was the birthplace of democracy. It was the home of Plato, Aristotle and many other philosophers. It had been important to Alexander the Great and it was still important under the Roman empire. It was artsy. It was academic. It was scholarly. And… It was filled with idols. While Paul was waiting…in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. (v.16) Idols in the temples. Idols on the street corners. Idols at work. Idols at home. Idols at lunch. Idols at breakfast. Idols at dinner. Idols at the local restaurant. Idols at the museum. Idols at the sports arena, the fishing harbor and the laundromat. It almost sounds like Dr. Seuss: Idols, idols in a box. Idols, idols with a fox. Idols, idols here and there. Idols, idols everywhere! For Paul, this was strange. Athens was supposed to be a place of wisdom. Yet, here were all these wise people bowing down to worship tiny, stone statues. So, Paul spoke: He reasoned in the synagogue and in the marketplace. (v.17) He told them about Jesus. He told them about the Savior. While Paul was there two different groups of people heard him speak: One group was Epicurean. The Epicureans followed the philosophy of Epicurus who lived from 341-270 B.C. His philosophy was that there was no afterlife. The gods existed but didn’t really care what humans did. They were too busy with the own affairs to care. Their slogan: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!” The other group was Stoic. The Stoics followed the philosophy of Zero who lived from 340-265 B.C. He had the perspective that you had to do more than waste your life away. The gods put people here for a reason and that reason was to work. It was the highest form of pleasure to work (and to do so every day). Their slogan was a bit different: “Eat, Drink, and do work, for tomorrow…we do more work.” These two philosophies were common opponents. It was blue-collar worker versus free thinking hippie. It was the constant busyness of Wall Street versus the laid-back jazz of Bourbon Street. It was “Whatever man” versus “Get to work, man.” They were common opponents. But when Paul came to town, these common opponents had a common enemy: What do you mean there’s more to life than pleasure? What do you mean there’s more to life than work? They asked: “What is this babbler trying to say?”…And they took Paul to the Areopagus. (v.19) The Areopagus was the place for new ideas. It was named after the god of war: “Ares.” His name literally meant: “Hill of the war god.” It was an appropriate name for the place where people would go to battle for their new ideas against some of the brightest minds of the ancient world. That is the reason that they brought Paul to the Areopagus. They wanted him to battle for his new idea. They wanted him to go to war for Jesus. And Paul did. II. About the Unknown God Paul began his sermon: Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. (v.22) You have gods for everything. A god of the sun. A god for the moon. A god for the sea; a god for the land. A god for love; a god for war. You even have a god for beer! In fact, as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I…found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. (v.23) You covered your bases. Just in case you missed some god, you made him an altar. But… Here’s the thing: What you worship as unknown… …I am going to proclaim to you… (v.23) For starters, the Unknown God is not in HUMAN BUILT DWELLINGS. He doesn’t reside in some epic stone arena. He doesn’t kick up his feet in some tiny, jewel studded mausoleum. You won’t find him down on 71st and Elm at a corner apartment with a jacuzzi and a view of the city. He isn’t like Athena. The goddess for whom you built your city and for whom you built that gigantic Parthenon. With its impressive columns. And marble grandeur. The Unknown God? He doesn’t need that. The Unknown God… He made the world and everything in it does not live in temples built by hands. (v.24) And he isn’t IN NEED OF SERVICE. I’ve seen how ya’ll run about. If things don’t go well for you. Maybe you lost your job. Here’s what you do: You go to the marketplace, buy a couple of apples, you run to the temple of Athena and place them on a silver bowl. Maybe you lost your job because Athena was hungry. The Unknown God isn’t like that. He is not some pet that you need to feed. He doesn’t need to be taken for a walk. He doesn’t need you to scratch him behind the ears so that he’ll be pleased with you. The Unknown God is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all people life and breath and everything else. (v.25) He’s all powerful. He’s divine. He’s Almighty. But he isn’t ALOOF. He’s not like Zeus, King of the gods. He isn’t up on Mount Olympus having a banquet with fine wines and beautiful goddesses, throwing grapes down his throat and afterwards gathering with Ares and Poseidon for a couple of rounds of Wii Bowling. He doesn’t say: “Eat, drink…I don’t care if you’re passed out in a ditch tomorrow morning.” Nor does he say: “Work; work…I don’t care if you’re stressed out all week long.” The Unknown God is not aloof. Because listen to this: He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. (v.26) Did you hear that? He made you. He cared about you. He placed you here. He placed you now. He determined your steps to take you to this exact moment. Why? Because he is not WANTING TO REMAIN UNKNOWN. That’s why he did this. That’s why you’re all gathered here in the Areopagus. God brought you here. God brought you now. That you might seek him and perhaps reach out to him and find him, though he is not far from each of us. (v.27) Finding God is what you want, isn’t it? You’re here to find God. It’s why you discuss the latest ideas. It’s why you reason out the latest thoughts. It’s why you talk about the latest meditations and popular trends for fasting. It’s why you have been doing this day after day after day… All in hopes that you will find God. That desire to find God? It comes from God. That mind for finding God? It comes from God. Do you know what else comes from God? My message. And pay attention. Because this message is important. The Unknown God is NOT PATIENT FOREVER. For a long time, God has been. Think about it: You’ve been worshiping rocks. You’ve been bowing down to stone. You’ve been shouting the praises of pieces of paper covered in glitter. All the while the Lord is the one who created you, made you, sustains you, and nourishes you. But yet… You’re giving thanks to a pet rock? God has been patient. Very patient. He’s hasn’t struck you down yet. Yet. In the past, God has overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. (v.30-31a) Again… You won’t be judged by some stone. You won’t be judged by some rock. You won’t be judged by some imperfect Mount Olympian with questionable morals who’s in a romantic relationship with some half-man, half-horse. You will be judged by the Universe Creating, Almighty, Eternal, invested in your life, knowing everything about your life, God himself. He will judge you. All your sins. God will judge you. And he’s got Holy Fire in his eyes. How do you think you’ll be judged if you’ve been worshiping rocks? And you want proof? This is not UNPROVEN. Because that man that will judge the world for God? He’s his Son. He’s a guy named Jesus. And God has given proof that Jesus will judge. What kind of proof? He did the one thing that Zeus couldn’t do. He did the one thing that Aphrodite couldn’t do. He did the one thing that your dear Athena couldn’t do. He did the one thing that you and all your wisdom could never figure out how to do. He raised Jesus from the dead. (v.31b) III. WHAT NOW? And it was right about that time, that the people stopped Paul from speaking. They said, “We’ll have to see more about this some other time.” They let him go. They didn’t throw him in prison. They “tolerated” his message. But…they didn’t believe it. Don’t just tolerate the message of Jesus. Believe it. (1) Stop Searching The other day I was down near the capitol building and I hear some music. On the north side near the street was a group of people. They were dressed in full religious garb. They had on jewels and bangles. They were playing tambourines and acoustic guitars. And as they were dancing, they were chanting a phrase: “Hare Krishna.” Have you heard of it? It’s a stranger type of religion made popular by John Lennon. The tenet is that the best way to connect with God is through music. Specifically – through playing the music to and chanting the words “Hare Krishna.” Through singing and chanting, you become centered in God. You become one with God. You find God…. (And the Beatles make some money as you buy their album). Whether it’s musical chant. Nature retreats. Meditation. Constant study. Doing good work after good work after good work. People are in search of God. And maybe you are, too. But you know what? You can stop searching. God’s right here. God is Jesus. That’s one of the reasons the resurrection happened! It’s like one of those nighttime cyclists who is wearing neon green with flashing lights on his vest. He’s bright. He’s colored. He’s put his outfit together in such a way so that you don’t miss him! The resurrection is like that. It’s the Unknown God’s way of saying to you: Here I am! Don’t miss me. I have made myself known. I am Jesus. I am your Savior. I am your Redeemer. And my message is this: (2) Repent Repent means “to turn.” To turn from sin. To turn to God. Whether you are a first-time hearer of this message or a long-time listener. We are sinners who need to hear this message from God. REPENT! Turn from that sin. You know the one I’m talking about. Turn from that sin. God knows the one I’m talking about. Turn from that sin. God isn’t stone who couldn’t possibly know… Turn from that sin. God is the Unknown God who knows you so deeply. Turn from sin. And turn to God to be saved. Because when you turn to the Unknown God… When you turn to Jesus… Something else becomes unknown… Your sins. God, who KNOWS all of your sins, says your sins are now UNKNOWN, because he KNEW the cross and you KNOW his resurrection from the grave that the God who was formerly UNKNOWN is now KNOWN by you and who says: I KNOW you. You are… FORGIVEN. Amen.  Wouldn’t it be nice to view things through the eyes of a child?
To be as excited about feeding the goldfish as they are? To be as thrilled about touching grass as they are? To be as exhilarated by one frosted cupcake as they are? Today we are looking at another eyewitness account of the resurrected Lord Jesus. In this account, the people who get to see Jesus are filled with wonder. Our goal is to (1) determine why they are filled with wonder (2) how they express that wonder (3) consider what that means for expressing our own wonder at Jesus. Before we begin, a prayer: Lord, strengthen us by the truth; your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see; our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. Waiting for God Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. (Jn. 21:1) A brief timeline of events --- This occurs afterwards. After the encounter with Thomas which is already a week after Easter. Beyond that we don’t know for sure, but it might have taken some time, because the disciples meetup in Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is important to note is located about 100 some miles north of Jerusalem, the last spot that the disciples saw Jesus. That means the disciples had taken a couple of days journey to get back to Galilee. That’s important, because it isn’t as if Jesus keeps appearing in the same city, in the same house, in the same room. If that were the case, it’d be really easy to say: “There was something wrong with the room. Maybe there was some kind of mirror trick that was occurring. In the end, Jesus didn’t rise.” The fact that this next account takes place up by the Sea of Galilee which is 100 miles away from the last appearances of Jesus lends credibility to the resurrection. And the reason the disciples went up to the Sea of Galilee? Most likely they are responding to a command from Jesus that he had given them before his death and resurrection occurred. Look at Matthew 26:32. In it, Jesus said, “After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Since Jesus said he would die…and he did. And he said he would rise…and he did. He probably is going to go up to Galilee, because he said it… So the disciples head on up to Galilee and they wait. They wait. They wait. And they wait. They are waiting for God to show up. Literally. And Peter…well…he isn’t great at just sitting around and waiting. (Maybe you can relate.) He isn’t good at just sitting around and twiddling his thumbs. He has to do something. So…he does. “I’m going out to fish,” Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” (Jn. 20:3) Sometimes God says the same to us. Sometimes God calls us to wait… God told the ancient Israelites to wait for a Savior. Jesus told his disciples to wait for his resurrection. And now he told them to wait in Galilee for him to show up. And that’s okay, right? Because I know that ya’ll are really, really good at waiting. I know that you don’t have any problem… When I-440 gets backed up. When your phone says there’s a 20 minute delay on the drive home from work. When someone is entering on the “On Ramp” and they do that thing where they drive all the way up to where the lane ends, just so that you have to wait longer. Humans are real good at waiting, right? One of the things that Julianna and I have always been looking forward to is becoming parents. Personally, I think it would be a blast. I look forward to teaching my kids how to tie a shoe. I look forward to reading them my favorite stories. I look forward to training them how to ride a bike. I look forward to opening the first bag of Doritos with them! I look forward to telling them about the Savior, about God’s love, about all that Jesus has done. And…honestly…it has been our prayer and hope for almost 8 years. So far… God has said. “Wait.” Honestly, that’s hard. In a society where we hardly have to wait for anything. Waiting for God to show up is hard. Whether it’s waiting for God to show up and cure a sickness… Or to show up and help with finances. Or to show up and reconcile your relationship. Waiting for God is hard. But I think if you learn anything from Peter here as he is waiting – it’s this. While you’re waiting for God, you do what you can. What he could do was fish. In fact, it was his career before the three years of following Jesus. So…rather than sit around and do nothing – he did what he could. He got out the boat. He packed up the nets. He cast off from shore. He went about earning some kind of living. He did what he could. And if you’re waiting for God to show up and do something amazing, don’t do nothing. Do what you can. Go see a doctor. Save up your money. Reach out to those you’ve wronged. Do something. Trust God but do something while you’re waiting for God to show up and do something amazing! II. Jesus Shows Up Which is exactly what happens next. Because the disciples are out on that lake all night. They are on the lake all night and they catch nothing. (v.3) And you can imagine that Peter didn’t take that lightly. He and James and John were all fishermen of Galilee. So, they probably said things like: “We need to try over behind that reedy section. The fish always bite there.” “Oh, that didn’t work, because I forgot that when the wind is blowing to the northeast at 12 mph, the fish move over by that log over there.” “Sure. There weren’t any fish by the log, but I imagine that’s because you sneezed, Thomas. You gotta be quieter.” As they are thinking about packing it up and getting back to shore, they are greeted by the voice of a gentleman about 100 yards off. He calls out: “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (v.5) And the disciples respond with a simple: “No.” (v.5b) But the stranger from shore responds: “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some fish.” (v.6) They throw their nets on the right side of the boat…and…When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. (v.6) Which… I don’t know if you know this or not, but…this had already happened to Peter, James and John. In Luke 5, way back when Jesus first met them…He stood on shore, told them where to cast their nets, and they caught so many fish they fell at Jesus’ feet and proclaimed Jesus as the Lord. Maybe John remembers. Because immediately he responds: “It is the Lord!” (v.7) TRUTH: Jesus lives It’s a bit different than the first truth from the last four weeks, but not really. Again – Jesus appears and does something miraculous by knowing exactly where a bunch of fish are, collecting them all to the side of the disciples’ boat, and telling them when and where to drop net while he’s 100 yards away on the shore. This is Jesus. Jesus is alive. Jesus is alive and still has all of his miraculous, incredible power. So…if you’re waiting for God. And you’re thinking…when is he gonna show up. And you’re thinking…maybe he’s not because he’s not real. You’re wrong. Because…again…Jesus lives. And all of his resurrected power still lives with him. And maybe add this to your notes: He lives…even during the everyday times. Because what’s unique in this appearance is that it doesn’t occur as a group of people are going to the tomb to mourn Jesus. It doesn’t happen as two people are walking to Emmaus and discussing Jesus. It doesn’t occur while an entire room of disciples is trying to wrap their minds around the implications of Jesus’ empty tomb. It’s while they’re fishing! Here’s the truth: God shows up. He is alive. He is with you…even during the everyday stuff. Even when you are trying to get your kids ready for gymnastics and they’re being kinda whiny and hard to work with…Jesus lives. Even when you are at work bogged down by paperwork after email after Excel spreadsheet…Jesus lives. Even when you are in the hospital for another routine checkup…Jesus lives. Jesus is alive…even during the everyday stuff. That’s great news. And it warrants a reaction. III. Responding to Jesus! As soon as Simon Peter heard John say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. (v.7) Did you hear that? Impetuous. Unhinged. Fully clothed. Even – putting more clothes on – before he jumps int the water. You might call that silly. God calls it “worship.” TRUTH: True worship flows from beholding the Risen Savior. Granted. That might not be what you think of when you think of worship. In fact, for some of you – especially if you’re not a worship goer – you might think of worship as something you were “forced” to do back when you were little. Something that mom made you do. Something that your dad insisted you do. Something that your parents would do as they dragged you kicking and screaming to worship only so that you sat there with your arms folded “worshiping.” Newsflash – If your heart isn’t into worship, it isn’t worship. Look at John 4:23. Jesus says, True worshipers worship in spirit and truth. That means true worship starts in your spirit. True worship starts in your heart. And it flows. Like a natural spring of water. It bubbles. It flows. It erupts. Sometimes just like Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. True worship flows, naturally, freely, out of love for Jesus. Now if you grew up as a Lutheran, you might hear the word “worship” and think of standing up and sitting down, singing beautifully worded hymns, and with four-part harmony coming from the back pews. If you grew up from a different background, you might hear “worship” and think of candles, sprinkling oils, and chanting in Latin. If you grew up from a still different background, you might hear “worship” and think of the music – guitars, piano and some drums. Guess what… If it’s a heart focused on Jesus. It’s worship. Even if it’s a different type of worship. Take a look at the different types of worship in this section! John sees Jesus and says, “It is the Lord!” Peter sees Jesus and jumps in the water. The other disciples see Jesus and happily steward all the gifts he just gave them and row back to shore. All worship. It’s important to remember that. Because…if I start to believe that all people NEED to worship in one particular way…Do you know what that does? If I turn to my friend and I say, “Listen, dude…If you aren’t on your knees when you’re worshipping God, then that’s not worship.” Then, do you know what happens? That guy will probably get onto his knees… But it’s no longer flowing forth out of love for Jesus. But out of being shackled to the mode of worship that you told him was necessary. Almost like he’s now worshiping the worship. Don’t shackle your friends. Worship your Savior. In a variety of beautiful ways. And there are a lot. You might stand. You might sit. You might speak. You might shout. You might play the organ. You might play the guitar. You might play the drums. You might speak English. You might speak Spanish. You might speak Mandarin Chinese. You might even do what some of the little children do and speak some form of “Baby!” If it is a heart of praise proclaiming Jesus – it’s worship. One more thing: Worship can be divided into two categories. What we’ve talked about so far is WORTHSHIP. That’s what John did. John saw Jesus and proclaimed His Worth: It is the Lord! Lord is a name that means “Master.” It means “leader.” It means “ruler.” For the disciples, it means, “There’s the risen Jesus, king of heaven and earth who rules over death itself and now lives as our resurrected Savior.” True worship expresses itself in WORTHSHIP. That’s what we do every Sunday. We worship God by expressing His WORTH in our songs, hymns, prayers, Bible readings. But that’s not the only way we worship Because look at what Peter does. He jumps into the water. And the other disciples start rowing that boat load of fish. That’s worship, too. But instead of proclaiming worth, they go to work. True Worship expresses itself in WORK-ship. Romans 12: 1 says this, “In view of God’s mercy, offer yourselves as living sacrifices. This is your spiritual act of worship.” Because worship is not just a thing that you do by singing praises to God in one worship service on one day each week. Worship is something you for the glory of God all week. When you invite someone to worship for the glory of God. When you give a gift to his ministry for the glory of God. When you teach little children for the glory of God. When you share a passage on social media for the glory of God When you cook your family dinner for the glory of God. When you do your family’s laundry for the glory of God. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. CONCLUSION: Because when God arrives, man does he do glorious things. Look the last part of the account: When they landed, the disciples saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread. (v.9) Jesus had just given them 153 fish. But that’s not all. He gives them a net that doesn’t break. But that’s not all. He gives them a balanced breakfast! That’s what happens when God arrives, God provides abundantly. Think about it -- When Jesus arrived, after millennia of waiting for the Savior, He didn’t just provide forgiveness for one of your sins. Not for two. Not for 17. But for all of your sins. Friends, when God arrives, He provides abundantly. That’s a reason a to wait. It’s a reason to worship. Amen.  We’re continuing our sermon series about EYEWITNESS Easter accounts where we read reports from people who saw Jesus come back to life with their own eyes.
We heard from a group of three women at the tomb. We heard from Mary Magdalene a bit later. We heard from 2 disciples on a road trip to Emmaus. We heard from about 20 disciples in a locked room. In total on Easter Sunday, there’s around 25 eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. In 4 different locations. At 4 different times. That’s a lot of proof. And yet…maybe you’re not convinced… Have you ever played the game of OLD MAID before? What happens is you are dealt a hand of cards. Once it’s your turn you draw cards from any other player on the table. The goal is to get pairs until you run out of cards in your hand. And you never, ever want to get the Old Maid. Which I’m not sure why anyone doesn’t want the Old Maid. Generally speaking – I’d love an Old Maid. It’d be great to have someone help around the house…but I digress. What happened when I was growing up is my dad used to take his hand. He’d spread it out in a fan. He’d take one card and put it up…enticing-like. And he’d say, “You should take this one. Trust me. It’ll be good.” And I’d believe him. And… OLD MAID. Eventually. I didn’t take that card. I was burned too many times. I was skeptical. Maybe you’ve gotten the Old Maid too many times. Maybe you’ve been burned too often. Maybe you’ve believed too many sinful people who have let you down too many times. Maybe you’re skeptical about Jesus. Today we’ll look an eyewitness account from a guy that was filled with skepticism. Our goal is to listen to how Jesus transforms his skepticism to faith – and see how we might transform ours into faith. Before we begin, a prayer: Lord, strengthen us by the truth; your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see; our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. The Eyewitness Account Thomas’ eyewitness account comes from John 20. It starts in verses 24 with a caveat, “Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.“ It doesn’t say what Thomas was doing when Jesus appeared to all of the other disciples. Picture what you’d like. Maybe he was out for a walk. Maybe he was visiting a relative. I like to think he was out getting coffee. Probably a Venti black coffee. Real stiff. Real dark. And as he was sipping the coffee – because the coffee is taking his mind off the terrible events that have happened recently - he sighs. This is really awful. We spent years following that guy. And…he dies. He’s no Messiah. And we’ve got no hope. As Thomas gets close to the door of the house, he takes a deep breath. They are my friends. I should try and cheer them up. Get them ready to move on. But from within the house – Thomas doesn’t hear sadness. He doesn’t hear crying. But laughter. And…joy. Thomas has to really knock on the door to get them to hear him over their talking. Finally, the door bursts open: Alive! Thomas! He’s alive. We saw him. We saw him. We saw him. Jesus…here… resurrected. Thomas – we touched him. We put our fingers in his hands. We put our hands into his side. He’s real. It’s real. Jesus’ resurrection is real! And this goes on for a while. Excitement. Happiness. Joy. Thomas’ friends trying to share their exuberance with their friend. Until…. Quiet! Enough. Ya’ll are crazy. I don’t know happened. If you had too much to drink or you’re hallucinating. But.. I do know what didn’t happen. Jesus didn’t visit you. He isn’t alive. He’s still…dead. When will you guys get it through your thick skulls! But one of them approaches: But…Thomas. We aren’t crazy. We aren’t drunk. Look around. There’s like 20 of us in the room. 20 of your closest, most sincere, loving friends in this room. All of whom are telling you the truth – Jesus is alive! We saw it with our eyes. We touched him with our hands. We’re telling you with our words. Doesn’t that count for something? To which: But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (v.26) Well… One week later. Same room. Same time of day. Same disciples. Only this time… Thomas is with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (v.26) Then, Jesus made a bee-line for Thomas. Hey friend. “Do you see me?” I’m right here. Put your finger here. That’s where the nails were. Put your hand into my side. Isn’t that what you wanted? While you’re at it. Close your eyes and listen…Can you hear my lungs breathing? Put your ear against my chest. That’s my heart. Thomas. If you won’t listen to your friends. Listen to me: Stop doubting and believe. (v.27) To which Thomas. Doubting, skeptical Thomas. Can only say: “My Lord and my God!” (v.28) In other words: I believe. II. Resurrection Truth There it is. Thomas’ eyewitness account. An account that has made Thomas forever known as Doubting Thomas. Which – not super flattering. I think, anxious Thomas, kinda-believing Thomas. or even average, everyday common Thomas would have been preferable. But Doubting Thomas it is…and that’s important. Because his skepticism leads us to three incredible resurrection truths: (1) Jesus Rose from the Dead Fourth time it’s been key truth #1. It’ll keep coming. But for real this time – because if last week’s account of 20 some odd people seeing, feeling, touching the risen Jesus … if that wasn’t enough. Then, Thomas’ account is for you. If you don’t believe this happened, Thomas’ words are for you. He says, “I get it. I was skeptical too. Some guy dying and rising for the forgiveness of sins? It sounds crazy. It doesn’t happen. But it did. I saw him with my own eyes. I touched him with my own hands. I did a thorough investigation – And it led me to this truth: Jesus is alive!” And here’s the really cool part. If Jesus is really alive. Then so is his forgiveness. Even for the doubter. Because…notice what Jesus does when he enters the room. The first thing he says is: “Peace to you.” That “you” is plural. It is all encompassing. It includes Thomas. Jesus didn’t say, “Peace be to most of you…but not you Thomas. You can sit over there and be anxious for a bit.” Nope. Jesus brought real forgiveness. Even to the doubter. Because maybe you’ve been doubting God. Maybe you doubt this resurrection. Maybe you’ve been doubting this Jesus thing. Maybe you’ve never believed before. Maybe you doubt God is with you, that God cares for you, that God loves you. Repent. And listen to Jesus’ voice: “Peace be to you.” (2) Faith is a Gift Thomas had said, “Unless I see Jesus with my own eyes and touch him with my own hands, I will not believe.” Which… Stop and listen to what just happened. Sinful, imperfect Thomas just gave Holy, Righteous God…an ultimatum. Good idea? Bad idea. God doesn’t owe Thomas anything. He’s God! And yet – God gives Thomas exactly what he asks for. He GIFTS Thomas exactly what he asked for. He gives him the opportunity to be an eyewitness. He gives Thomas faith. And in fact, go a bit farther: Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (vs. 29) People who haven’t seen Jesus. Who is Jesus talking about? You see Jesus? Dear believer, he’s talking about you. But don’t get a big head. Listen again to Jesus’ words: “Blessed.” Blessed means given a gift. And if you believe in Jesus… If you believe that some dude died 2000 years ago, came back to life, and in him you are forgiven of all your sins? That…is a gift. A miraculous gift. Don’t forget that. I was talking with a woman the other day who was pretty excited to tell me that she got saved. I said, “Oh. That sounds nice. What do you mean?” And she said, “Well…I was already living a pretty perfect life. So, I though I might as well do it and decide to bring Jesus into my life. And Pastor, you should have seen it. I really did it.” Did you catch that? I did it. I did it. I did it. I thought she said that she “got saved.” But what she meant was, “I saved myself.” Here’s the thing: Faith isn’t something you do. Faith isn’t something that you make happen. Faith isn’t something that you get down on the ground, clench really hard and will into happening. Faith is a gift of God. If the devil has made you think that it’s something you do – be careful. It’s a line of thinking that leads to two scenarios: (1) Pharisaical. AKA – Trust that I’m really awesome at believing. (2) Despair. Because I’ll never be able to bring myself to believe this. In both of those instances, faith isn’t in Jesus. Faith is in oneself. And that’s NOT saving faith. Friends, faith is a gift. Take a moment. Give thanks to God for your Savior Jesus, yes. But also gives thanks to God for your gift of faith. (3) The Gift of Faith Comes through the Gospel Because maybe you’re thinking – “God! I want this gift of faith. How are you going to send it?” Fed Ex? Amazon Prime? UPS? Maybe you can send me it via USPS? But look at what John writes right after this eyewitness account. He says this: Jesus did many other miracles in the presence of his disciples – some that we didn’t even get to hear about – but these words are written – why? – that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (v.30-31) Get it? Faith is a gift that comes through God’s Word. Faith is a gift that comes through the words about Jesus. Faith is a gift that comes from hearing about your Savior. Scripture says this, “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:8,9) That’s it! There’s not any fireworks. There isn’t any magic incantations. There isn’t any incredible 60 day fast that you need to do in order to cleanse your body and pray yourself into the kingdom of faith. You simply need to hear the Gospel. Because the Gospel brings the gift of faith. How does it do that? Because it’s not just some person’s words. It’s the Word of God Himself. The all-powerful, all loving, doing everything it can to reveal to you Jesus’ saving work to get you to heaven: God’s Word. That leads me to two very simple WHAT NOWs: (1) Immerse Yourself in God’s Word Because if you have doubts, if you are unsure, if you are a skeptic… The cure is not an ultimatum to God. The cure is God’s Word. His gentle, powerful, faith creating Word. I love you. I died for you. I rose for you. Believe. If you want a stronger faith – study God’s Word. In church. In a group. With others. On your own. In your family. If you think your faith will grow without God’s Word – that’s like thinking your home garden will grow without any water. It won’t happen. Some of ya’ll need to hear God’s Word on this. Immerse yourself in the only thing that gifts faith in order to grow your faith: God’s Word. (2) Share God’s Word Because you probably know someone who is a skeptic. You probably know someone who is unsure. You probably know someone who is doubting. You might even think – I don’t know what needs to be done. You know the solution. It’s God’s Word. Bring them God’s Word. Tell them about Jesus. Tell them about the Savior. Because it is through that message of God’s Word and only through that message of God’s Word that God gifts faith. Why it’s so important to share it with others. Go and tell! Amen.  We are in the middle of our Eyewitness sermon series and so far, we have heard Eyewitness reports from Mary Magdalene and from the Emmaus Disciples (Named? Cleopas and the other guy). In addition, we heard there’s a group of at least three other women (Mary the mother of James, Joanna and others—Lk. 24:10) who saw Jesus alive as well. That means by evening on Easter Sunday there are 5 people who have witnessed Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
The unlikely story is building credibility. DNA testing was introduced into our court system in the early 90s. Did you know that hundreds of people who were previously convicted by eyewitness reports have been found not-guilty thanks to the DNA Testing? In 70% of those cases, the reason for conviction was the eyewitness testimony of one or two people. John Wixted, a psychologist for the University of California, San Diego – wanted to see how useful eyewitness testimony was. He conducted an experiment with police that focused on 348 robberies in 2013 that involved an eyewitness and a single suspect. He showed the eyewitness a group of 5 photos in which one was the convicted robber. The eyewitnesses got the correct suspect 1/3 of the time. Not great. But…in addition to quizzing eyewitnesses on the correct suspect, he also asked them about their certainty – whether they were unsure, certain, or very certain. Of the people who were very certain? They correctly identified the suspect 75% of the time. And when there was even one other supporting eyewitness, the rate of correct identification shot up to 90%. By evening on the very first Easter, Jesus was identified as risen by at least 5 eyewitnesses. Not one. Not two. Five. And their confidence? It was through the roof! They didn’t see Jesus running away or from a distance, but up close and personal. But…they aren’t even the beginning of the eyewitness accounts. Today we’ll look an eyewitness account that probably quadruples the eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. The goal? Gain your confidence that Jesus is alive. Before we begin, a prayer: Lord, strengthen us by the truth; your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see; our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. The Eyewitness Account The eyewitness account is recorded in both the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Luke. We’re going be in both, starting with John. It says, “On the evening of that first day of the week...the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders…” (Jn. 20:19) The section starts by describing a group of disciples together. The Gospel of Luke helps us better define who the group was gathered together. A few notes: It doesn’t involve Judas – he betrayed Judas and took his life because of the guilt. It doesn’t involve Thomas – take note – we’ll talk more about that next week. It does involve the Emmaus disciples – Cleopas and what’s-his-name show up to tell them all about their eyewitness experience. It involves the women – Mary Magdalene, other Mary and Joanna, the other woman – who had seen Jesus rise from the dead. And…maybe even a few others. In short, the group is somewhere around 15-20 people. That’s important. And the doors were locked. It’s almost a horror film like setting. The disciples have the doors locked, latched, barred, with a couple pieces of furniture stacked against the door – all because they are afraid of the Jewish leaders. Why? The Jewish leaders just killed Jesus. They crucified him. They acted like a mob, wrongfully arrested him, falsely accused him, illegally convicted him, and forced Pilate’s hand to have him crucified. What if the leaders did the same to them? What if they had 12 more crosses just waiting to be filled with 12 more disciples? What if any encounter with a Jewish leader would end the same way that Jesus’ encounter did…death? And so, they hid. And…all day long people had been entering the room with really weird accounts. “We went to the grave and we thought he’d be dead, but the stone was moved!” “An angel. A brilliantly bright angel. He saw us and spoke to us and said Jesus was alive.” “It’s true. We listened to Mary. We ran to look. There wasn’t a body in the tomb.” “I came back later and saw Jesus himself! I know it…because I heard his voice. A voice that healed me from demons.” “We walked on the road with him. We talked with him. Would we have come all the way back here from Emmaus – a 7-mile sprint? – if we hadn’t really seen something?” And to be fair – the reports brought excitement. They brought mystery. They brought questions. But mostly…they brought fear. Lots and lots of fear. Because this fear of the Jews – had obviously caused their friends – delusions…. …their mind was playing tricks on them! …a slow descent into madness. How long until it hit them? In the midst of the fear, confusion and hushed conversations… Another guest appeared into the room. Everyone was so distracted that they did not hear him enter. Granted --- he didn’t knock. He just appeared. While they were…talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (Luke 24:36-37) And the disciples…have anything but peace! It’s the ghost! He’s seeking vengeance. He’s back to haunt us. Jesus lifted up his hands. The disciples braced themselves for the inevitable plasma-ball to come out and consume them. But… Instead… Jesus said this, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (v.38) One by one…the disciples looked at each other. “Touch him? Touch the ghost?” “You do it.” “No, you do it.” “I’m not touching the ghost!” Finally, Peter pushes his brother Andrew forward. Andrew gulps. He lifts up his hand. He places it on Jesus’ hand…and… “Whoa…Guys. It’s real.” The other disciples quickly come over. They feel the bumps on his skin. They feel the hairs on his arms. They touched the holes near his hands. He has flesh and bone – just like any other living human has. Jesus asks, “Do you have anything here to eat?” (v.42) One of them hands over the fish sandwich. They pass it to Jesus. It’ll probably fall to the floor – he’s a spirit. Nope. Jesus ate it in their presence. (v.43) It went into his mouth. Chewed by his teeth. Tasted by his tongue. Into his throat Into his belly. Digestion happened. Just like it does with any living human being. Then, Jesus gave them something else. He said to them, “This is what I said would happen. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Old Testament.” (v.44) I had to die. And I had to rise. Just as it was written: “God, you will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor let your Holy One see decay.” (Psalm 16:10) “After he has suffered, the Messiah will see the light of life…” (Isaiah 53:11) “Just as Jonah was three days and night in the belly of a fish, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth.” (Mt. 12:40) Friends I am alive. Jesus’ words echoed… Seemingly…joyful. And the disciples came to a realization. This wasn’t a hallucination. This wasn’t a vision. This wasn’t even a ghost. Nope. This was something much worse. This was real. Jesus rose. And it couldn’t be more terrifying! Why terrifying? Because the last time most of them saw Jesus? It was in a garden, late at night, running away as he got arrested. They had abandoned him. They had denied him. They had watched…without doing anything…as he died a slow, painful death on the cross. They sinned against him… Greatly. Now he was back. Proof that He was who He said He was. Proof that He was God Almighty who controlled hurricanes, volcanoes and flash floods. Proof that He was real --- and He was back – and He was back for one reason only: Vengeance. One by one by the disciples looked towards the grounds. They winced. They knew they were sinners and they were awaiting their sin-hating God to utterly destroy them. But… He didn’t. Instead he repeated: “Peace be with you.” I am God. I am alive. I have the power of life and death. But I am not angry. (Isaiah 27:4) I am not here to get you. I am not here for revenge. I am here because we won. Because your sins are forgiven. Because we are at peace. II. Resurrection Truth There it is. The biggest, most populated eyewitness account that we’ve encountered to date. It’s filled with reasons for confidence. It’s filled with truth. What is that truth? Three things: (1) Jesus Rose from the Dead Yep. Third time that it’s come up as a truth to learn from the eyewitness account. Think about it. Jesus goes out of his way to prove that His physical, tangible body is in working order again. His digestive system works. His joints work. His skin works. He even invites the disciples – all 20-some of them – to do a full, thorough investigation. Don’t you think they did everything possible to determine if it really was real or not? Some tapped him. Someone pinched him. I gotta imagine someone might have even tried to pluck his arm hair out. And Jesus allows it! Because it’s real. And, it’s not just any old tangible working body, but his own working body. He’s had the nail marks in his hands to prove it. He’s had holes in his feet to prove it. He had a big, old slit in his side to prove it. If this was all one big ruse, then Jesus would have had to convince someone, “Hey, do you mind posing as me after I die on the cross? Really? Cool. Now…I know it sounds crazy, but would you be willing to shove nails into your hands, a stake through your feet and a spear into your side? We’re gonna need those wounds to heal up in order to convince people that it’s really me.” It didn’t happen. What did happen? Jesus really, absolutely, complete rose from the dead. And that’s important. Because that means… (2) We Have Peace It’s a phrase that Jesus repeats a few times. “Peace be with you.” “Peace be with you.” Because as hard as it might be to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, it might be harder to believe that we have peace with God. Because we have guilt. We have sinned. We have shame. Truth is – you might be believing that God is so angry with you. Because of past sins. Because of BIG past sins. Because of repeated sins. Because of unbelief. Because of not following Jesus. Because you haven’t been whom God called you to be! And so…you don’t believe. And the biggest reason you don’t believe in the resurrection is not be a lack of evidence. But your biggest reason for not believing in the resurrection is the ramifications. I am a sinner and lo, God hates me! But…if Jesus rose. Then, sin has been defeated. And…if Jesus rose, Your sin has been paid for. And…if your sin has been paid for. Completely. 100% perfectly. Then, God’s wrath has subsided. And if God’s wrath has subsided. Then, you have no reason to be afraid. Hear Jesus’ words to you: “Peace be with you.” Understand. It isn’t because your sin isn’t a big deal – it’s a huge deal. It isn’t because God doesn’t hate sin and evil – He absolutely does. It isn’t because you’ve done enough to make up for it – you can’t, and you won’t. It’s because of Jesus. Unbelievable as it is – it’s true. About as unbelievable as a resurrection – also true. The visible nature of the resurrection provides tangible proof of the invisible truth of reconciliation with God. (Romans 4:25) The resurrection is the visible proof of the invisible truth: You have peace with God. Which leads to our final truth: (3) You have been Sent To end his encounter with the disciples, Jesus says, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Do you get it? God sent Jesus to bring us back to peace with Him. And He sent risen Jesus to His disciples to confirm that peace with Him. And He is sending us to share that peace with others. He is sending YOU to share that peace with others. Because there are people out there who are far apart from God. Who are entangled in sin. Who are covered in guilt. Who are like those disciples huddled in that room afraid to face the world because they have no peace. You give them that peace. You tell them about Jesus. And there aren’t any qualifications! He doesn’t say, “If you have Seminary Certification then you have been sent.” Nope. Qualifications for sharing Jesus include: (1) Believing in Jesus. (2) Hearing his call to “Go” and “Be sent.” Which you just heard… SO…this means you! If you’ve known about Jesus since you were a child? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you’ve known about Jesus since this last Easter. Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you are a 40 plus year member of this church? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you aren’t even a member yet? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you are going home to a retirement community? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you are going home to hang out in your playroom? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you have a master’s degree? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you have a bachelor’s degree? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you have a high school degree? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you don’t have any degree? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you live near people who look and act like you? Sent. Go tell about Jesus. If you live near people who don’t look and don’t act like you? Sent. Go tell about Jesus. If you are a Republican? Sent. Go tell about Jesus. If you are a Democrat? Sent. Go tell about Jesus. If you are a political agnostic? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you live in Raleigh? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you live in Durham? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you live in Wake Forest? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. IF you live in Chapel Hill? Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you live in Cary, Zebulon, Fuquay Varina, Rolesville, Louisburg…or any other villle or burg that I’m forgetting to mention here: Sent. Go, tell about Jesus. If you are a someone or an anyone who knows about Jesus… (And friends – Jesus is talking to you) You have been sent. Go and tell about Jesus. And the Holy Spirit will be with you. Amen. |
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January 2020
Pastor Phil Kiecker
and his wife, Julianna love serving the community of North Raleigh.
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