Rev. Carl Burnham, beloved pastor of the Chapel on Fir Hill in Akron, Ohio, wrote in 1962, just prior to his [death],
‘When I die, if my family wishes to inscribe anything on my gravestone, I would like it to be the promise of Jesus Christ in Hebrews 13:5, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”” For in due season the springtime will arrive…Then, when the resurrection sings itself in the robin’s glad song, and bursting buds defy the death grip of winter, and you walk upon the yielding earth near my grave, remember that my soul is not there, but rather it is absent from the body, present with the Lord. And somewhere, the atoms that make up my brain, my heart, my body, will be sending out resurrection radiations of a frequency too high for any earthly Geiger counter to record. But if you place the meter of God’s Word alongside that cemetery plot and adjust the settings to Hebrews 13:5, you will receive this reading: ‘He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.””
That, folks, is the promise of Easter—that, as we put our faith in the Jesus who died on the cross, God will never leave us nor forsake us either!
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him.
2 Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb.
3 They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”
4 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in.
5 They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.
6 He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty.
7 Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”
8 They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone. – Mark 16:1-8 (MSG)
Folks, what’s going on here? We have been on a Journey to Jerusalem together during this season. But, have we strayed from our path? How can this be right? Is this really where our Journey has taken us? Think, for a moment if you would, of the darkness of that tomb that Jesus was laid to rest in … a stone covering the entrance … and it’s pitch black. Now, consider these verses from the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, verses 3-5 (MSG)
Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. 4 What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. 5 The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.
In light of what happened on that first Easter morning, these verses should give us HOPE. But, where do you look for HOPE … in your life? In the cemetery? For those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, the answer should be ‘yes!’ That’s what the women did (The two Marys & Salome), wasn’t it? And that folks is still where we find HOPE today…
For you see, Jesus came to save us from our sin—the sin nature that each and every one of us is born into (a part of ‘The Fall’)—and, in doing so, he conquered life’s last enemy—that is, DEATH! So, when God’s Word tells us (Hebrews 13:5b) “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” this is exactly what it is talking about; God, just as he proved to Jesus on that first Easter morning … will not leave us, nor forsake us either … even when it comes to our bodily death. What we can expect, if we put our faith in God’s Son, Jesus, is resurrection to eternal life—life forever with God! What incredible news that is! That, folks, is the GOOD NEWS of Easter…
Let me explain what was going on in this part of the Journey for you, if I may… Folks,
THE RESURRECTION WAS A GIFT TO JESUS… Folks, Jesus banked all on his Heavenly Father coming through with this ‘resurrection thing.’ As I’d said earlier in the season, I’m sure that when God raised Jesus from death in the darkness of that tomb … breathing life back into his body … Jesus probably went, “Whew!” This resurrection was HUGE; Jesus had talked about this; Jesus had banked his life on this … and God came through with ‘the gift of resurrection!’
However, folks, the Gospel of Mark is not really GOOD NEWS without the conclusive fact of the Resurrection; so we see the resurrection verified by these facts as told by ‘the women’ of Easter morning (A woman’s witness was not highly regarded in Jesus’ day, but no one could dispute the witness of 3):
The physical facts…
The women approached the tomb, very dedicated to Jesus, and wanted to do one more act of kindness for him—anoint his head with spices, so as to counter the smell of physical decomposition… Here we see the women are ‘worriers,’ (v. 3) as they wonder all the way there who’s going to roll the stone away. It is clear that they did not expect a miracle on this Sunday morning! The physical proof of resurrection began to unfold before their eyes when they realized that their worrying was for nothing; someone had already rolled the stone away. The tomb was empty; they could see for themselves the empty place where Jesus lay…
It’s kind of like the controversy over the Shroud of Turin. No supernatural happening, such as the Resurrection, can ever be proven by natural evidence; it can only be inferred by physical facts consistent with the event, even though incomplete. Every test tried on the Shroud confirms it’s not a fake; yet no scientific explanations can account for the fact that there are facial impressions in the shroud and bloodstains of a crucified man. But, no one assumes—on the basis of scientific analysis—that this is indeed the cloth which Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body of Jesus in at the time of his burial…
The truth is, when the available facts are in, some people will believe it’s the shroud of Jesus … and others will not. But, the physical facts of the Resurrection are in. Jesus, who was crucified on Friday … is gone from the tomb on Sunday! What a gift this is to Jesus! Then, we also have…
The revelational facts…
Faith in the resurrection must take over where physical facts leave off! And God leaves us His Word as the way of knowing his TRUTH; His Word is our basis for belief. So, as proof of Jesus’ Resurrection, God sends his messenger to speak His word: “He is risen!” (v. 6) is all that God needs to say; what a headline for Easter morning! So, we have a revelation in God’s Word, then we also have…
The prophetic facts…
The prophetic words of Jesus … had to return to the disciples who were in hiding after his death (Mark 14:28, MSG): “But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you, leading the way to Galilee.” And, folks, here God keeps his word! What does the angel tell the women to go and tell the other disciples (Mark 16:7, MSG)? “Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.” And, Jesus (God) kept his word to them—a prophetic fact… Folks, I want you to know today that the Resurrection was an incredible gift to Jesus…
AND THE RESURRECTION WAS A GIFT TO US! The resurrection lives on in us … in these ways:
We no longer have to fear the greatest enemy of humanity—DEATH!
It is true that all sane human beings have some fear of death; but that’s not the same as being consumed with this fear. Now, I know that some people do their best to avoid the subject altogether, thinking that any talk of death is ‘morbid.’ The ‘testiness’ of their behavior is usually a clue to their slavery to this fear. But, that’s not what Jesus wants for any of us, folks…
George Bernard Shaw once commented that the statistics concerning death are most impressive: One person in one … will die. (There’s not too many Elijahs out there…) But as we pause on this Easter morning and think about the past happenings of Holy Week, how wonderful it is to know that because of what Jesus did on the cross and through his resurrection on Easter morning, no Christian ever need be intimidated by death again…
Folks, when it comes to our own bodily resurrection, we never have to give up! HOPE … is always there for us … in the Resurrection of Christ! But, this isn’t the only way the Resurrection is a gift to us. Did you know that?
When we’re going through times in our lives when we’re down, for whatever reason, and need to be lifted up again, resurrection is ours for the asking!
As I’d mentioned earlier, sometimes we need to be resurrected from our ‘stinkin’ thinkin’’ as Zig Ziglar likes to call it…
And sometimes, we veer off of God’s path in life, diving headfirst into what we want—things that become habits in our lives that are so debilitating or numbing—not realizing how deadly they are for us…
Regarding habits that take consume our lives: Sometimes we get so dead to these things in our lives—habits that we’ve been in or ruts that we’ve gotten ourselves into—that we don’t even realize we’re dead to those things any more. It’s like sticking your hand over an open flame … and not feeling a thing!
We need resurrection! We need to be brought back to life from those things that take our life (the life God wants us to have)! So Resurrection, folks, is truly a gift to us, too. What an incredible TRUTH to hear on this Easter morning!
For those who’ve been on the Journey with me throughout this season, we have now arrived at our destination; yet the Journey in a very real sense continues…
How has God worked in your life throughout this Journey to Jerusalem 2012?
And how do you think God will continue to work in your life after this season?
If we’re truly walking with Jesus, folks, the Journey truly continues… Let’s keep our eyes on the One who loved us so much, that he gave his life for us—the One who was so obedient to his Heavenly Father, that he stuck it out all the way through the Resurrection. God came through for Jesus on Easter morning; and God wants to come through for us EVERY morning… Will you remember that? That’s the GOOD NEWS of Easter…