Mark 15:42-47, 16:1-6

V for Victorious

As a congregation, we just finished a series of sermons dealing with the passion and suffering of Jesus Christ. We called it “24 Hours that Changed the World” and we followed Jesus’ journey from the Last Supper, all the way to the crucifixion. And I don’t know about you, but having made that journey, I have found myself so looking forward to Easter. Because you can’t really appreciate the Good News of Easter, until you’ve been to the Cross. You can’t truly appreciate the Good News of this day, until you’ve been in dark places. Until you’ve seen the power of evil … until you’ve seen what seems to be the triumph of evil … and the brokenness of humanity and our sin. Until you’ve experienced what it is like to feel forsaken by God. Once you’ve faced the darkness of death and seen the extent of evil in our world … only then, can you appreciate the power of Easter.

This is where we left off as a congregation last Sunday. As we made that journey together looking at the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life, we came to understand that in Jesus Christ, God came and dwelled among us, trying to show us “the way, the truth, and the life”, but we, as human beings couldn’t see it. Even at their last meal together, his closest friends were arguing over who was going to be the greatest. After being with him, they still failed to understand his mission. He was betrayed and denied by them. All of them fled and forsake him when the soldiers came. The most religious and pious men on earth couldn’t see it … they sentenced God to death! Even Pilate knew he was innocent, but “to satisfy the crowd”, he turned him over to them. He was tortured and mocked by the Roman soldiers … dehumanized and humiliated. Those who sang his praises on Palm Sunday, yelled “Crucify Him” on Friday. And then, as he was crucified even the two thieves next to him are hurling insults at him.

Do you see the cacophony of evil in this story; the violence; the hate; the fear; and the ugliness of human sin? Do you see the tragedy of the Cross? We have to see this, because we can’t understand the Resurrection without it. All the bad things we can think of … all the things that represent evil were embodied in those last 24 hours of Jesus’ life. And what’s even more, we discovered that we can all see ourselves in this story. We all have the potential for evil. We all have been guilty of denying Jesus, betraying Jesus, and hurting one another. This is our story. This is our human condition.

After Jesus’ crucifixion, there were two people who were brave enough to go after Jesus’ body. The Romans would have left his body on the Cross for the elements to take care of and finally dumping his remains on the trash heap outside of Jerusalem. But two wealthy men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who were members of the Jewish ruling council, went and asked Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body. Now, this is interesting, because they were part of the group who sentenced Jesus to death and they had been afraid to stand up or say anything then, but now they insist on giving Jesus a decent burial. Again, can we see ourselves in this story?

But you know how many people attended the funeral for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? Four. There were two women and these two men, Joseph and Nicodemus. The rest of the disciples were afraid and in hiding behind locked doors, because they were afraid that someone would arrest them and do the same thing to them that they had done to Jesus.

So for them, the next two days were a very dark time. All of their hopes and dreams had been pinned on Jesus. They thought he was the Messiah. They believed that God was in him, doing something amazing. They had witnessed his miracles and their hearts had been changed by his teachings. But now, was it all a fraud? Or worse, maybe there was no God after all.

C. H. Dodd, the great New Testament scholar, says, “Anyone standing there watching the things unfold at the Cross would have been tempted to say, ‘There cannot be a God if things like this happen.’” Perhaps, this is what the disciples were thinking. Their hopes had been dashed. Their faith had been crushed. And they were afraid for their very lives. This is what they were experiencing that Friday and Saturday.

And I think that we can understand those feelings, because we’ve been there too. For many reasons, we know what it is like to live between Good Friday and Easter. We’ve experienced those moments in life, where things so dark and so grim, that you thought God was nowhere to be found. And we’ve had those same questions: Maybe there is no God? Maybe there is no hope? How do I see my way through this?

Maybe it would be better if I just ended my life?

All of us will have moments in life where we live between Good Friday and Easter. Divorce. Financial ruin. A child that’s gone astray. Or the loss of somebody that you loved. We have all experienced those moments when evil seems to triumph … where goodness can’t be seen and we wonder if there is a God at all. This is where the disciples were. And until you understand this, you cannot appreciate what happened on Easter Sunday.

Well, let’s consider what happened on Easter Sunday. Early that morning, Mary Magdalene and some other followers of Jesus went to the tomb. And they were going to find some men that would help them roll away the large stone covering the entrance, so that they could go finish the burial preparations. You see, the Jews are not allowed to touch a dead body after the Sabbath has begun. Sabbath began Friday at sunset, so they made a quick burial, planning to come back on Sunday to anoint the body with scented oils.

So, as they arrived there with their scented oils, looking for someone to help move the stone away, as they turned the corner, they gasped as they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. They ran to the tomb, afraid that someone had desecrated the sight and taken his body. But when they walked into the tomb, they found a young man dressed in white. John tells us that he was an Angel. Bear in mind, that the Greek word, “Angel” simply means, “Messenger”. So, there was this Messenger from God there, dressed in white, who says to them, “Don’t be afraid. Please, don’t be afraid. But I have this question for you. Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here! He is risen!”

Now, they didn’t know what to make of this. They were stunned! How could this be true? Is it even possible? You see, people back then were not accustomed to seeing people rise from the dead any more than we are. So, they ran away to where the disciples were. They banged on the door, crying, “Peter … John … hurry!” And they told them what they had seen. But the disciples didn’t believe them. “You’re just hysterical and overcome with grief.” So, they ran back to the tomb together and when they got there they found the grave clothes lying there and the tomb empty, just as the women had said.

Now, the Gospels differ in what happened next and I hope that you will read them in your Study Guide this coming week. But all of them tell things a little differently, each capturing pieces of it. The earliest account of the Resurrection in our New Testament is told to us by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul tells us that Jesus first appears to the 11 disciples, remember that Judas had killed himself. Then, he appeared to James, the brother of Jesus. Then he appeared to over 500 people at one time. He continued to appear to various people over a period of 40 days. During this time, he talked with people and he explained things to them.

Then, the very last thing that he said to his disciples is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. He says, “You won’t see me anymore, but this is what I want you to do. I want you to go into all the world and I want you to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God. I want you to make disciples of all people, teach them what I taught you and baptize them.” And then, he says this wonderful thing, “Even though you may not see me or feel me, you need to know this, ‘Low, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

Now, these Resurrection accounts recorded in Scripture transformed those disciples. These men who had deserted Jesus and denied him, because they were afraid, were now going out into the streets of Jerusalem saying, “You can do with us what you want. You can kill us if you must. but we’ve got to tell you that the One whom you crucified, we have seen raised from the dead and he is the Son of God … the Savior of our world!” And they went from there throughout the known world, proclaiming this good news.

By doing this, they faced the same evil that Jesus did. They were arrested, beaten, thrown in prison; all but one of them was put to death for their faith. But they didn’t face those dark moments the same way they had before. Because they had seen the Risen Lord, they faced life with hope, with confidence, and with faith. And our hope on this Easter is that we might reclaim this same faith, this same hope and confidence, so that it might change our perspectives on our living and our dying.

Well, let’s talk about how the Good News of Easter might do this for us. First, I would remind you that Jesus’ Resurrection is his vindication. In Jesus’ Resurrection, his identity, his message, and his ministry were all vindicated. To “vindicate” means that you thought someone was wrong or had committed a crime, but now they are proved to be right and not guilty.

In this case, Jesus was vindicated of all that he had said about himself. Jesus had said: “I am the Bread of Life. Those who eat of me will never hunger. Those who drink of me will never thirst again.” “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Those who believe in me will never die.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He claimed to be the Messiah; the Son of the Living God; the Son of Man … representative of all human race; Lord of Lords; King of Kings … and so much more. Jesus’ Resurrection vindicated those claims!

And then, Jesus also had a unique ministry. He ministered to broken and lost people. In fact, one of the things that the religious authorities were upset about is that Jesus sat down with sinners, drunkards; tax collectors; and prostitutes. They were upset that he seemed to be focused on reaching these sinners. But Jesus taught that God is like a father who had two sons and one of his sons ran away. But the father never stopped loving that son and he constantly waited on that son to return. Jesus embodied this in his ministry. And Easter vindicated his ministry, saying, “This is, in fact, what God is like!”

And Jesus’ message was so counter-cultural. “Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the hungry. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are you when you are persecuted for my namesake.” He said, “When a Roman soldier strikes you on the face, you turn the other cheek and let him strike the other one.” “When he demands you to carry his pack for a mile, you carry it two miles.” He said, “Don’t only love your neighbors, but love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” “Don’t forgive them just 7 times, but 70 times 7!

Many of the things that Jesus taught seemed bazaar and impractical. I mean, how could anybody really live that way? Except, that what he taught was vindicated by his Resurrection. In the Resurrection on Easter, who Jesus claimed to be; what he taught; and how he lived … were all vindicated!

And then ultimately, we as Christians believe that what God was doing through Jesus was saving our world. We talk about this as “the Atonement” … the idea that God was seeking to reconcile us and save us through Jesus’ death on the Cross. But, for most people, this is a hard thing to understand. How can a man who died as a criminal on a cross over 2000 years ago really do that? So, over the last several weeks, I’ve tried to teach you about this. Each week, we talked about a different theory of the Atonement, because the Bible doesn’t give us one way of understanding the meaning of Jesus’ death and suffering. it gives us multiple understandings.

We talked about the “Substitutionary Theory of Atonement” … the idea that Jesus takes the place of all humanity upon the Cross and bears the punishment that we deserve for our sins.

Then, we learned about the “Moral or Subjective Theory of Atonement”. That is, by seeing what human beings did to God when he came among us in Jesus, our hearts are meant to be broken. We’re meant to understand that something is not right in us as human beings and we’re need God’s mercy and grace. By seeing the Son of God nailed to the Cross, we’re meant to be moved by this expression of God’s love. We’re meant to be drawn to God because of what he did for us and to follow him.

Last week, we learned about Atonement as a “Sacrifice”. That Jesus acts as our High Priest and he offers himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. And he pleads for us, asking that the sacrifice of his life will move God to forgive us and remember our sins no more. And so, when God looks at us, he sees us as one for whom his Son was willing to die and for this reason, mercy and grace is extended to us. Christ’s righteousness becomes the means of our justification.

But today, I would mention one last theory of Atonement. This is called the “Christus Victor Theory of Atonement” – “Christ as Victor”. This is the idea that in this world there are many things that separate us from God. There is our human sin and our propensity for evil. There is our hate; our injustices; our ways of doing the wrong things, instead of right. There are our fears; our jealousies; our betrayals; and denials. And all of these things we see on the Cross.

But God came in human flesh to demonstrate something very important for us. God takes on all of the evil in this world on that Cross. And for the next 48 hours, it seems that evil has won out. This is the dramatic moment we are supposed to see on the Cross. God absorbs all of the evil that humanity has to offer and it seems as though the Cross is the final word … that evil has won.

But here’s the point of the “Christus Victor” view. While Satan and evil seems to be reigning at that moment, on the third day, when Christ rose from dead he obliterated and shattered all of those things. Easter made the point that God will have the final word always! It was the declaration that sin does not ultimately have power over us and that evil does not ultimately triumph. It was the Good News that death and darkness and pain and all of those things will give way to the power of God! It was the Good News that God is stronger than our denial. God is stronger than our betrayals. God is stronger than hate. God is stronger than our prejudice and bigotry. God is stronger than our jealousies. God is stronger than our propensity to do evil to others. And ultimately, God is stronger than death.

This is the power of Jesus’ death and Resurrection! God was saving us from our sins. God was saving us from our propensity toward evil. God is saving us from our fears in the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is our defining story! It is meant to define and shape how you face everything in life.

You know, I don’t know if you’re like me, but when I’m waiting in line to check out of the store, my attention is always drawn to the magazine covers. And I have to tell you, if you believe in some of the stuff they claim on their headlines, it will scare you to death! When I’m traveling or perusing a book store, I will try to read some of the more respectable magazines like US Today or Time Magazine, but again, every issue has stuff in it that will either lead you to despair or scare you to death. They talk about what may happen if Iran gets nuclear weapons … how our schools are all falling apart and what that means for America … Global Warming and how we should all be afraid. In the most recent issue of Time Magazine, it talks about our economic crisis … the spiraling housing market … and the prospects of what oil wars in other countries could have on America.

If you consume yourself with all the stuff that makes the headlines and sells magazines, it would be easy to become overwhelmed with fear and despair. It is true, our world can be a scary place to live. But as Christians … as Easter people, we don’t read the headlines and become terrified, because here’s what we know…

Global Warming will not be the final word. Jesus is the final word. Nuclear weapons in other countries will not be the final word. Jesus will have the final word. The problems in Iraq and the War on Terrorism, I’m certain there will be another terrorist attack in our country at some point. But I don’t live my life in constant fear of that, because I know that Jesus, not the terrorists, will have the final word. And I’m pretty sure that economic recession or down times are not going to have the final word. Jesus will have the final word!

And this gives us hope! This gives us courage when we face difficult times in life. We can face whatever life throws at us with a sense of confidence, because we know who has the final word.

The same is true in our personal lives. I have seen couples who have gone through divorce. But you know, divorce will never have the last word in your life. Jesus will have the final word. I’ve seen people go through financial ruin. But again, the financial difficulty that you may be going through right now is never the final word. Jesus will be the final word.

And of course, what seems to be the final word for us is death. And when the death of a loved comes, it is dark and it is painful, but again, death is never the final word. Jesus is the final word. And because of Easter, we face those moments in a different way. We know that we will see our loved ones again some day. We know that if they belong to Jesus Christ, we and our loved ones are in his hands. And we know that this life is just a prelude to all that God has in store for us in eternity. What a joy it is to share that Good News with people in the midst of death that Jesus will always have the last word.

So, in light of all this, I want to ask you this question: What story or what truth defines your life? Are we just accidents floating out here in space? We live for a little while, we have some good experiences and some bad experiences … hopefully more good than bad … then we die. Is that it? Or do you allow the truth of Christ to define your life? That there is a God who created this universe who loves us beyond anything we can imagine … who was willing to suffer and die to redeem us from all that is dark and sinful in this world, and finally, to rise from the dead to say, “You don’t have to be afraid, because I am with you and I will always have the last word.”

You see, this is a choice that we make … to put our trust in Jesus and to decide to follow him. It is the story and the truth that can define and shape all of your life. And this is what I invite you to do today.

If you’re visiting with us today and you don’t have a church home, I encourage you to start going to church. Make the decision to begin your journey with Christ and to grow in your understanding of his will for your life.

If you’ve never made that decision to accept what Jesus did for you upon the Cross and to follow him, I invite you to make that beginning today and to leave this place with the assurance that he will be with you always and that he will always have the last word in your life.

Easter … it is the story that defines and shapes who we are as Christians. May it be your story.