This Changes Everything!

My name is René, again one of the pastors here. I want to invite you to take out of the bulletins that you were handed as you came in notes that look like this because these will help you follow along with the message this morning as I talk about what Easter means to you and to me and what happened 2,000 years ago. And as you take those out, I'm titling this something that you hear characters in movies and TV shows say sometimes when a new twist of plot is revealed that alters the whole course of the drama. They often say something like this: This changes everything, right?

Well this morning I'm going to look at how the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate this changes everything moment in history. But as we start this segment of the service, I want you to travel with me back to Israel. I've had the privilege of going there a few times and the very first time I was in Israel I was traveling down a new two-lane road that workmen had just built shortly before then when we saw this a tomb off to the side of the road with a rolling stone in front of it just like the tomb that the Bible says Jesus was buried in.

I asked her driver what this was all about and he said well when the workmen were building this road they very unexpectedly discovered this 2,000 year old tomb from the time of Christ and they unearthed it so they could build the road. But they just kind of left the stone exposed there now. These days if you go back to this tomb, it's fenced off because unfortunately of some vandalism. But back in those days when it was just freshly discovered it was just standing there. You can just walk right in if you wanted to. So I did.

We stopped the car. I took some pictures of this thing. I went inside. You want to see some pictures of the inside of this? All right. So I go inside and I'm smelling kind of that musty damp cave smell that's in one of these tombs and I'm thinking this is literally from the time of Jesus Christ. And it's exactly the kind of tomb the Bible said he was buried in. And so I thought when will I ever again have an opportunity like this?

And I thought to myself I am going to lay down where they would have laid a body in this tomb. So I squeezed into one of those niches feet first and I folded my arms and I decided I am going to imagine what it was like for Jesus Christ to be resurrected from the dead. So I laid there with my eyes closed and I held my breath and I imagined what it would be like coming to life there and I took a deep breath. And then I blinked my eyes and I stared up at the stone ceiling and I felt my heart beat and I flexed my muscles. I thought imagine what it would have been like for him and I just laid there kind of meditating on that. I mean what an unusual experience.

And then as I was meditating I heard a tourist bus pull up outside. And I thought an opportunity like this will truly never present itself again. And so as I heard the hydraulic door open and the tourists get out speaking a language that I couldn't understand clearly, pilgrims to the Holy Land, their bus driver had told them about this tomb they'd asked him to stop. And then as the first group of timid tourists reverently tiptoed into the tomb I just laid there stock still.

And then before their eyes adjusted to the darkness, I whirled around, popped out of the burial niche and said hey, I'm alive! I have never seen anyone move so fast or yell so loudly. It was one of the premier experiences of my entire existence. Then the bus driver came in and beat me up. No, that part's not true. But it was a wonderful experience because I honestly I got to experience a little bit of the playfulness that you see in the risen Christ in the gospel narratives and really what I learned was what you see all throughout the resurrection accounts in the Bible and that's this: when people see life where they are expecting only death, there is always a reaction.

My favorite part of the gospel stories in the Bible are where they detail the reaction of people to this unexpectedly risen friend and Master of theirs and I want to look at three of those stories today. But first let's look at how John describes kind of the group account and I want us all to read these together. These verses are at the very top of your notes and we've also got them on screen. So let's read these out loud.

Let me hear you: On the evening of that first day of the week when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear what happened? Say it with me: Jesus came and stood among them and said peace be with you. And after he said this, say it: he showed him his hands and side and the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

And you know what happens? They go from fear. They lock themselves in that room completely afraid that what happened to Jesus was going to happen to them too and they go from fear to faith and they rock it out of that room and they turn the world upside down with a message they will not stop saying Jesus has risen and this changes everything.

Now it's really cool about the way John talks about the resurrection of Jesus Christ is he then zeros in on the stories of three individuals that are struggling with three totally different things related to the death of Jesus Christ and he shows you how because Jesus is risen it truly does change everything. And these are going to be my three very quick points this morning because if you struggle with loneliness, if you ever struggle with guilt and remorse, if you ever struggle with doubt about your faith, you are going to find these ancient stories amazingly relevant.

So first let's look at Mary Magdalene's story in John 20. If you were here on Good Friday, you heard Mark give you part one of Mary Magdalene's story. She was one of Jesus Christ's closest disciples because they really had a special bond. The Bible says that before Jesus found her, Mary was quote possessed of seven demons that Jesus delivered her from. Now it doesn't explain that any further but we can only imagine the kind of behavior that that implies.

She was probably like some of the people that we've all seen that are wandering around. They look dangerous. Nobody wants to be near them. They look like they haven't slept inside of a home in years and they're shouting at the top of their lungs profanities and they're cursing at people and spitting at people. I imagine Mary was that kind of an outcast because there's a hint in her name. Mary Magdalene. Magdalene is not a last name. It means from Magdalene or Migdal. That was a fishing village that was really a low rent district and this is relevant because in those days everyone was identified. They didn't have last names. They're identified by their family relation. It would be like there was another Mary in the Bible, Mary wife of Clopas or Jesus son of Joseph. That was who you were. That was your identity.

But unlike any of those people, Mary is called Mary of Migdal like Mary of the docks because no one would claim her. She didn't have any loving family who was taking care of her. She was all alone. She was rejected until Jesus finds her. And the risen Jesus will show her how because Jesus is risen, I can know that I matter to God. Say I matter to God out loud with me. I matter to God. Turn to somebody on your right and left, look them in the eye and say you matter to God. Somebody here needs to hear that this morning. You matter to God.

Mary has been delivered by Jesus. She's got this wonderful relationship with him, but then he dies brutally crucified by the Romans on a cross and she's devastated. And then her devastation and her grief just gets worse because the Bible says she goes to the garden tomb where he was laid early in the morning to anoint his body with spices and his body's missing. Apparently, grave robbers have desecrated the tomb and Mary is so grief stricken that she doesn't recognize the risen Jesus when he stands right next to her and her face is in her hands as she's crying and the Bible says she thinks he is the gardener.

Because of course who would think this must be my friend risen from the dead? Nobody would think that, right? She thinks he's the gardener. And so she says to him, sir, if you've carried him away, please tell me where you put him and I will go get him because the tradition was to anoint the body with spices before final burial, you know? And the Bible says that Jesus says one word to her, one word that changes her life trajectory, one word that alters her destiny, one simple word: Mary. Not even Mary Magdalene, the label that tied her to her past is gone. He just says Mary.

And the Bible says that when she hears his voice saying her name, she knows he is alive and he will never leave her as he says to the disciples, I will be with you always to the very end of the age. And the great message of Easter for you and for me is the same thing: Jesus knows you on a first name basis and he will never ever ever leave you.

Let me show you what this kind of love looks like. Tell you a true story of a man named Dave Reaver. Dave served in Vietnam and during his time of service there, he was handling some phosphor grenades when one exploded in his hand and he was covered with burning phosphor and he was burned over 90% of his body. His face was horribly disfigured and he was sent home to Texas to this burn unit where he shared a room with his roommate. And it just got worse because his roommate was visited by his wife and Dave tried not to eavesdrop but he couldn't help but notice as he laid there in his bed and his roommate was having a conversation with his wife and his roommate's wife took her wedding ring off her finger and put it on her husband's chest and said I am so sorry I just cannot deal with this. We are over. And she walked out the door.

Dave said his roommate just shook with sobs for two days and two days later he was dead. So Dave steeled himself for his own wife's reaction when three days later she visited him. He had his eyes closed because he knew that she would reject him the same way and he heard the door open. He heard her heels clicking on the linoleum floor as she approached. His wife Brenda, now Brenda is a follower of Jesus and she also has a really good sense of humor. And here's the first sentence she said to him: Frankly Dave, in some ways this is an improvement.

And then she said I want you to open your eyes and look at me. She said Dave, I told you I loved you and I will always love you and I mean it and I'm never leaving you. So let's get you up and out of here and within weeks Dave was recovered enough to be sent home. That is the power of a love that you know will never leave and Dave and Brenda are still together to this day. Here they are in 2017. You know what? That's a picture of the unconditional love that the living Jesus has for you.

In a room this size, I know that there have to be some people that are struggling with grief, with hurt, with loneliness, with anguish. The living Jesus is here and he's saying I know you on a first name basis and I will never ever ever leave you. Believing that really does change everything.

But listen, maybe you're not struggling with loneliness like Mary was. Maybe frankly you come to Easter and you're struggling a little bit of doubt about this whole resurrection thing. Well, you'll relate to Thomas's story because Thomas's story shows me that because Jesus is risen, I can develop a confident faith. Frankly, I think Thomas gets a bad rap. We call him doubting Thomas, but who wouldn't have doubted? Put yourself in his shoes. The women say that Jesus appeared to them and then all the other apostles, all your friends say Jesus appeared to them after he was dead and you as Thomas, you were not there in either of those cases.

And so you're like you guys, this is impossible. This cannot be true. And sounding frankly like a very modern man, Thomas says unless I see the nail marks in his hand and put my finger where the nails were, put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And what Thomas is saying is I pinned all my hopes on Jesus Christ and my hopes got dashed and it hurts so bad. I am not going through that again unless I know this is really true and not some kind of a myth.

Well a few days later Jesus appears and says put your finger here. See my hands? Reach out your hand. Put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe. And Thomas bows before Jesus and says my Lord and my God. I'll tell you the interesting rest of the story to Thomas in just a minute, but some of you are going well that's awesome for Thomas, but you know what about me? I'm a little bit skeptical about this too. I tend to be a skeptical person by nature and the good news is God never wants you to just have blind faith. There is always a leap of faith involved, of course. That's why it's called faith, but that leap may be a lot shorter than you realize because there's some historical realities that no historian denies that the resurrection I believe explains better than anything else.

And you'll see them if you flip over your notes to page two and there are several that I could talk about but I'm just going to talk about three very quickly. And they all start with the letter E. These are historical facts that every historian will agree on and the first is this: the empty tomb. The tomb was empty. Even the opponents of Christ did not deny that or that they would have gone to the tomb and produced the body. But they couldn't because it was gone. And so that's a dot you got to connect to something. What explains it? Well, look at the eyewitness accounts. Jesus appeared not just to two or three people but to over 500 eyewitnesses.

And how do you explain just some of these? First look at the women. The first century was so chauvinist that women's testimony was not even admissible in a court of law because women were considered hysterical. So like if you were on trial for murder and your wife's testimony would exonerate you, she could not testify on your behalf because women's testimony was completely considered invalid. So let me ask you this: why would the gospel writers invent a story where women were the first eyewitnesses? It does nothing to add credibility to the story in the eye of a skeptic. The only reason they would have said that's what happened is if that's what happened.

So you've got the women and then look at the testimony of James. James was one of the brothers of Jesus Christ and what's interesting is the Bible says that Jesus' brothers during his lifetime thought he was crazy with all these claims about him being the Messiah. Quick show of hands: how many of you have brothers and sisters? You got siblings, raise your hand proudly. Yes. How many of you, your siblings just speaking frankly at times, they teased you or irritated you maybe just a little bit? Anybody here who has siblings? It probably should be unanimous, right? You know, it's church, don't lie.

So what would it have taken for your brother or your sister to believe that you are the Savior of the world and the Son of God? You'd have to like rise from the dead, right? Well, that's what Jesus did. And the Bible doesn't detail this appearance to his brother James but I like to think it was something like hey, bro, I'm alive, who's crazy now? You know, something like that. And the Bible says instantly James, now remember this is his brother. He would not have been fooled by some imitation. He knew his own brother. James turns from being an opponent of Jesus Christ to not only being a follower of Christ but being a leader of the followers of Christ and not only a leader of the followers of Christ but one of the first martyrs who says you can kill me if you want to but I cannot deny what I have seen with my own eyes. How do you explain that flip-flop? Who would die for a lie?

And then what about Saul of Tarsus? Historically, Saul was a character who was a vicious persecutor of the Christians in the first century. He dragged them off to prison. He approved of their executions and overnight he becomes history's greatest proponent of the Christian faith. How do you explain that flip-flop? Well Paul explained it this way: the risen Christ appeared to me. What am I gonna do? And think of all the apostles. Did claiming that Jesus was alive make them rich and comfortable? No, it made them persecuted and dead. But they died for it without any fear. These are the same guys who were locked in a room because they were so afraid. But they said we're not afraid anymore because they saw the resurrection of Jesus as sort of a preview of coming attractions that all who placed their trust in him will also be resurrected in glory. So they went into even their deaths with absolute confidence. How do you explain that? Unless they saw the risen Christ.

And then that leads to the final E: the emergence of the church. This movement burst into history. It had to have some kind of a trigger for it to happen just instantaneously like that. There's a famous historian named NT Wright. Now look up here for just a second. Just listen to this guy's credentials. He has not one but two PhDs from Oxford. He has taught at Oxford and Cambridge and Duke. He's currently the professor of early Christian history at the very prestigious University of St. Andrews in Scotland. And here's what NT Wright says about the emergence of the church: as a historian, I cannot explain the rise of Christianity unless Jesus rose again leaving an empty tomb behind him. And this is a man with all kinds of PhDs after his name.

Listen, in a short service like this, of course, I don't have time to dig into everything. But if you flip over to page three of your notes and look at the top, I put a box with some books for further investigation. Listen, you owe it to yourself to listen to not just what skeptics say about Christianity but what scholarly Christians say. We have some of these books always available at our book table. And if you're more of a relationship person than a reading person, we've got these brand new groups starting up, Starting Point. And what these are are weekly meetings where you can just get to know Christians and ask them any question you want about the faith. These groups are designed for returners and for seekers to the faith. These are not high-pressure situations. There's no sales job going on. We just want to do our best to make the faith that's changed our lives accessible to you. So you might want to check these out as well.

So what happened to Thomas back on page one? After his doubts are solved, this man who was a big doubter ends up being the one who travels the farthest for his faith. Historically, he went all the way to India to share the good news that Jesus is risen. So you see Mary's story showing you that because Jesus is risen, I can know I matter to God. Thomas's story showing I can develop a confident faith. And finally, I want to look at Peter's story. His story shows me that because Jesus is risen, I can know I am forgiven.

Because I don't know, like we've all sinned, right? And you've probably felt really guilty about some sin that you've done. Maybe some bad way you've talked about somebody. Nobody has ever done anything worse that I can imagine than Peter. Because the night before he is tried, Jesus tells all his disciples, you know, you're all gonna betray me and Peter gets up at the table and announces in front of all of his friends, Jesus, even if all these other bozos let you down, I will never betray you. Just a few hours later, he's denied even knowing Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. And the Bible says the third time is with an oath, calling curses down upon himself. And that means he said something like this: May I be damned to hell if I am lying, but I swear to God, I don't know that man. Wow.

While Jesus is being tortured, and the Bible says in that moment Jesus turns and looks straight in Peter's eyes and it says Peter runs away weeping bitterly at his failure. And at the beginning of John 21, it's interesting, all the disciples are waiting to see the risen Jesus again, not Peter. Peter says to all these other disciples, he says, you know what? I'm going fishing. In other words, he quits his job as leaders of these disciples and he's going back to his old job fishing and he's a failure even at that. He can't catch a thing and it says Jesus gives him a miraculous catch of fish and cooks him breakfast on the shore.

And then the risen Jesus begins the conversation and he says to him after they had eaten, he says, Simon, do you love me more than these? And Peter says yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus says feed my lambs. And then Jesus asks it a second time. He says, Simon son of John, do you love me? And he said, well, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Well, take care of my sheep. In other words, take care of my followers, my disciples. And then the third time he said him, Simon son of John, do you love me? And Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me? And he said, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Like, you know my heart. You know what I'm like. I'm not gonna overpromise here. I'm just a big fat failure, but I do love you. My love's imperfect, but I love you.

Do you ever relate to that? Like I've fallen, I failed Jesus, yet I also love him at the same time. Peter's saying that's where I'm at. And Jesus says, well then feed my sheep. Do you see how amazing that is? Jesus has three present tense questions and three future tense assignments and not one word about Peter's past tense failure. This is huge because when I fall, I imagine that the question Jesus is asking me is not do you love me? It's will you try harder next time? Will you try harder not to be such a big disappointment to me? I don't know why I ever died on the cross for your sins. Never feel like that. But the question he's asking is the question he posed to Peter: Do you love me? Because that's what matters most to Jesus because he came to establish a relationship with you.

Listen, maybe you are sitting right here right now feeling like Simon Peter. You have benched yourself. You made it to Easter but you feel like I failed God so many times that I wondered if the church was going to cave in when I walked through the door because I'm an I love Jesus but I'm not a very good follower of his and you imagine him being disappointed with you. But the great news of Easter is this: on Good Friday, Jesus carried all your sins and failures to the cross and he paid for them all through his sacrificial death and on Easter he stepped out of the tomb and he calls you to follow him into your brand new life. And he's saying do you love me? I do love you, Jesus. All right then, I got a mission for you. Let's go. And maybe the risen Jesus called you to be here today to say it is not over. Get back in the game. Stop benching yourself. Amen.

So listen, the risen Jesus appears to Mary, he appears to Thomas, he appears to Peter and they follow him into new life. Now what's your story? See people two thousand years later still describe, you know Jesus, I can't explain it but I'm telling you Jesus is alive and he's changing my life. I met a woman outside here last weekend and she told me I'm so excited because I'm clean and sober and I've tried so many times in my life and I failed. And I said well what's the difference this time? She goes honestly, she said a year ago I was an atheist and I saw my friends who had faith in Christ. They were getting clean and sober. So I said, all right, Jesus, if you're alive, I'll give you a chance. And she said I'm standing here today telling you he's alive and I'm a follower of Christ. And she said my friends all think I'm crazy but they cannot deny the reality of how this has changed everything.

How do you express the inexpressible? How do you express what it feels like to know Jesus is present as present as his whispered name? Our worship team got together and they asked themselves how can we express this in an artistic way that goes beyond mere words? And I'm gonna show you something that they put together when they come back on stage in just a minute. They went with our videographer Jamie and went with a ballerina who attends here at Twin Lakes, Cammie, and they put together a beautiful piece that expresses emotionally what it's like to know he's alive and he loves you.

See maybe this morning you find yourself in a cave, the cave of doubt like Thomas, the cave of despair like Mary, the cave of failure like Peter. Jesus is even in that cave and he can't wait to surprise you, tap you on the shoulder, say hey, I'm alive. See he said I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this? Because when you do, this changes everything.

Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, as we prepare our hearts for this moment of introspection and beauty and mystery, Lord, we just want to come to you, the risen Christ. Those of us who believe this say help us to live more aware of your presence every day, that you're as close as the whisper of your name. And maybe some would want to settle that issue for the first time in their lives or again after a long time away and say Jesus, I just want to live in relationship with you as my Lord and Savior. I'm gonna settle that issue today.

But maybe if people aren't sure where they're at, God, I pray that they would think to themselves, well, this is something I would want to be true, that God loves me and that he'd be alive and present with me now. And that they'd pray something like this: Jesus, if you're real, draw me to yourself. I will seek you this year. And Lord, I know you will answer that prayer because you said if people seek you, they will find you. And so Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your love for us. Thank you that you are present and help us in these last few moments to rejoice in your presence in our lives. It's in your marvelous living name we pray. Amen.

You're here with the grace of the Savior, with the heart of the Father. You're all we need. You're here with the hands of the healer, with the power of the Spirit. And you're all we need. At the mention of your name, every chain will break. I know everything will change. And Jesus, just the whisper of your name silences the waves. At the mention of your name, you're here. You're here. You're the provider, the driver that needed you, Jesus, you supplied. You're here with the wonder-working power. Everything you breathe on coming back to life.

At the mention of your name, every chain will break. I know everything will change. Jesus, just the whisper of your name silences the waves. At the mention of your name, you're here. You are my strength. You are my anchor and you'll never leave. You are my hope. You will deliver in my time of need. You are my strength. You are my anchor and you'll never leave. You are my hope. You will deliver in my time of need.

At the mention of your name, every chain will break. I know everything will change. Jesus, just the whisper of your name silences the waves. At the mention of your name, just the mention of your name, just the whisper of your name. You're just a breath away. Yes, you are. You're just a breath away. At the mention of your name, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Would you pray with me right now? Lord Jesus, how can we express the beauty and the mystery of your presence here with us? God, we can't explain it. We can know it. And God, right now we just whisper your name and say Jesus, thank you that we matter to you that much. Help us to walk out this door knowing we are loved and that the risen Christ will never leave us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.