Easter demonstrates that God is true

John 18-19

Christianity 101

We are only now learning some of the truth about the rule and regime of Saddam Hussein, and in the new revelations coming out we are able to understand who he really is. We haven’t understood the true horror of this man. Much of the ugliness has been hidden from world view behind smiling faces. But now that it is coming out, we realize that this man is a beast. Even as he smiles and shoots off his rifle in public, this man is a horrible, satanic beast.

Saddam has lived for himself. He has spent much money on himself. He has built many gorgeous palaces at the expense of his people. He has skimmed off the top of much of the commerce, money for himself that he has stored in Swiss banks. He has treated his people with brutality — the kind of brutality that makes one wonder if Saddam is human. There are stories of him killing one of his military men in the middle of a meeting if the man disagreed with him too strongly. He has gassed thousands of his people, the Kurds in the northern part of his country. He stored his weapons in schools among the children, he has used his people as human shields. Is Saddam still alive? I HOPE NOT! It’s like Hitler. The world cannot be relieved of his presence too soon. May he be sent on to his "reward."

In contrast, Jesus Christ left Heaven’s glory and made Himself poor. He became a servant and lived among men to help them. He died on the cross in the place of everyone else who should have died for their own sins, because He chose to be the lamb for the world. Jesus Christ is ALL GOOD. Saddam as far as we can tell, is ALL BAD.

We are living in the day when all the evidence on the character of Saddam Hussein is clear. We know who he is, and we throw up. Also today, we are celebrating the day when all the evidence as to who Christ is became clear, when all of a sudden everything added up, and it was evident to all that Christ is God and is the Savior of the world. I would like for us to understand today how everything came into focus at the resurrection of Christ. In order to see this, let’s walk with the disciple named John:

I. After the Resurrection, John came to understand and believe.

A. John was at the arrest of Christ

John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples (sort of like going to the Karaboo). 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" 5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way," 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none." 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?" 12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

Think about what John observed in Christ at His arrest. He went out of the darkness to the soldiers that came for Him. He introduced Himself. When they all fell down, He again aroused them to their task. He protected His disciples by asking that they be let go. And He healed the High Priest’s servant’s ear. He could have run; He could have hidden Himself. In earlier days He had gotten out of tight situations when there were groups of people who had tried to kill Him. But now His hour has come and the Father is going to make Him the sacrifice of the world. How does Christ respond? With enthusiasm! And John watches probably in amazement as His beloved friend treats everyone with Grace even as He is being taken away.

B. John watched the trial proceedings.

John 18:13 And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. 14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. 15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. 16 But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.

John got in the door because he knew the high priest, probably also because he was quite young, and perhaps also he knew the maid at the door. He entered and watched all the proceedings. And what did he see? He saw Christ mistreated physically, He saw His normal legal rights taken away from Him, and He saw the Roman government fail to protect His beloved friend. All night long he watched this charade, probably in total disbelief. He had never seen this display of evil from his Israeli leaders. And he had probably never seen the Roman government fail so completely.

C. John watched the crucifixion of Christ

John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" 27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

There were indications that other disciples were at the cross scene, but they apparently stayed at a safer distance. John was at the foot of the cross, where Christ could address him and give him the responsibility of taking care of his mother. John watched the agony from close in.

D. John watched the death of Christ

John 19:32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."

John saw how He died. John knew why they didn’t break His bones — because He was already dead. And John watched as the Romans took their one last stab with a spear that went directly into His heart. And he remembered how the Scriptures promised that Messiah would not have a broken bone, and that someday in the future when Israel looked upon her Messiah, she would look on One that she had pierced.

E. John was the first disciple at the tomb

John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

Early Sunday morning, probably earlier than we were holding our sunrise service today, Peter and John heard from Mary Magdalene that the body of Jesus was gone, and probably taken away by enemies. Immediately they ran to the tomb, with John outrunning Peter, getting their first and looking in. Peter came and entered the tomb and saw the evidence. And what was the evidence? The grave clothes. Verse five says John saw "the linen cloths lying there." Verse six says that Peter saw "the linen cloths lying there," and the "handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself." Then it says in verse eight that John entered, and "saw and believed.’"

Believed what? That the body wasn’t there? No, that would hardly be necessary to mention. Besides what did the arrangement of the clothes have to do with being convinced that the body was not there? Yet it is the arrangement of the clothes that said something to John so that he believed.

Does this mean that he believed Mary’s report that enemies had come and taken the body? No, the order and arrangement of the clothes seemed to argue directly against that notion. Thieves would not take the time to unwind all the linen, take out the body and then wind all the linen back up again as it was before.

There is only one way to read this passage. John saw the arrangement of Christ’s grave clothes, and realized that they could indicate only one thing – that Christ was indeed risen from the dead.

What was there about those grave clothes that was so convincing to this beloved, yet unbelieving disciple? Well, he saw the "linen clothes lying" that is not scattered around like someone had tried to get out of them, but lying there precisely as the body had laid there. And the napkin was separated from the other clothes, not clumped up with them, just in the spot where Christ’s head had rested. It was also "wrapped" or "rolled together." It was not unwound or unfolded as if it had been taken off the head, but it was still wound up as if the head had been taken out of it.

There the grave clothes lay – everything wrapped up and sealed just as it had been done Friday evening in haste. None of the strips of cloth undone, none of the folds disturbed, no change in its position or location, just a body missing! Everything lay there suggesting the body, in the outline of the body, perhaps shrunken in a little or collapsed, but they could have contained the body, except they were lying there empty.

What this says is that Christ’s body came alive and came out of those graveclothes without moving them or changing them in any way. He vanished from the INSIDE!

If anyone had stolen the body, they would not have left the grave clothes there; they would not have bothered to unwind the body from them. In fact, no one could have gotten the body out of there without leaving marks of their mischief. But here are undisturbed graveclothes, still trying to hold the body is which is absent. And John recognized, just in looking at the scene, that Jesus Christ had been resurrected! And that meant that He was alive! And John believed.

Can you imagine the goose bumps that came over John’s body as he stood there in the cold grave early that morning? He was shocked by the arrest, by the realization that these squadron of soldiers would march in and, with Christ’s help, take Christ away. He was depressed by the trial that was nothing more than a sham, a shameful sham not only on the part of the Israelite leaders who were orchestrating it, but also on the part of the Roman government who should have protected this prisoner from His people. He watched in horror for 6 hours as Jesus Christ suffered the agony of the cross, he watched His death and subsequent spearing. He was there when Joseph of Arimathea got the body down from the cross and buried it. And then he probably had silence. He was left with his thoughts. I doubt that any of the disciples talked after the crucifixion. There was nothing to talk about. It was all gone.

Remember that John was an unbeliever when it came to the resurrection. John definitely had heard the message that Christ foretold that he would in Jerusalem suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, the scribes, and be killed and after three days be raised again. John had heard that message, but it never clicked — until he saw the grave clothes. Then it clicked. What do you think went through John’s mind?

"It is all true, what He said is true." "And if what He said is true, then Who He said that He is, He is." I would be willing to bet that John shivered with joy in that tomb on Sunday morning.

II. There is a mental journey that John took here.

The graveclothes took John through at least three mental steps. First they said that Christ had actually died and was really buried. He was in those graveclothes; He was in that tomb. John knew that; he had been there. He saw it all.

Second the graveclothes also said to John that the body was not there; Christ was gone because the clothes were empty, even though they were still holding on to their shape.

Thirdly, the graveclothes said to John that Christ’s body had not been removed by human beings. If they had left the grave clothes, they wouldn’t have left them in that arrangement. In a brief couple of seconds of time, all of this clicked in John’s mind. And it says, "he believed." John was left with only one conclusion. Jesus Christ is alive! And that conclusion brought in with it a flood of other conclusions that made everything he saw and heard for the past three years click into focus.

For the first time John realized and believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that He was the eternal Word, Who became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth. And I think that John, if he knew another John named Peterson, at that moment would have burst out in singing that John Peterson song, "Heaven came down and Glory filled my soul."

III. John’s mental journey is similar to the journey everyone must take.

Here are the steps in the historical argument for Christ’s resurrection.

A. First step — Jesus really died and was buried. The Jews, the Romans, and the disciples were all satisfied that this had been indeed accomplished. It is absolutely essential to realize that Jesus died and was buried. Why? Because the Passover Lamb does not save anyone any other way. It’s the death of the Passover Lamb that substitutes for your death. It’s not His meekness, and willingness, and humility, and example — all of which are good — that subs for your death. It’s His death that breaks you free.

How do we know that this Lamb really died? We have the record of professional executioners, the Romans, who were the best in the world at crucifixion. They were trained to make it excruciatingly painful, bloody, horrible, and they were prepared to make a total disaster of the body of any of their victims and totally, absolutely extinguish his life. How do we know that He really died? The Romans were in charge. There couldn’t have been a faked death, Jesus could not have passed out or swooned on the cross and mistakenly thought to have died, and then have come back to life in the tomb.

When He was buried, it was in a well known place. That is unusual. Most crucified criminals were either left on the cross or dumped into a common unmarked grave. That’s probably what happened to the two criminals crucified beside Christ, and that would have made it much more difficult to verify a Resurrection. But this was Joseph’s grave, the grave of a well-known person in Jerusalem. See, Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body in Israel. When we talk about the Sanhedrin, we are talking about the rich and famous in Jerusalem. It’s like Donald Rumsfeld building a tomb on the mall. And you would say, "he’s buried in Rumsfeld’s tomb right over there on the mall.

Joseph’s new tomb was in a garden right near the place where He was crucified (John 19:41). To me, that is very interesting. I don’t know why Joseph would want to build a tomb there, next to Golgotha, where they crucified so many people, but maybe he knew more about prophecy than we think he did! And it was quite a nice tomb. Isaiah says that Christ will be buried "with the rich" (53:9). He was crucified with the criminals, and He was buried with the wealthy.

The fact that Jesus was buried in Joseph’s tomb meant that it would have been easy to verify the location of the body. HE HAD DIED, AND HE WAS THERE — in Joseph’s tomb. If you wanted to invent a story of Christ's resurrection, it would have been easier to have the body buried in a more obscure location.

Add also to this the fact that Jesus’ body was protected — by a heavy stone rolled into place in front of the opening to the tomb. The stone would keep wild animals or thieves out. In addition, the stone was "sealed" with a seal of Caesar. And Roman guards were placed on duty around the clock — and given specific instructions to protect it from disciples and thieves.

Here is the evidence. Christ actually died. Christ’s body was placed and secured in a known location. The evidence is very clear – people knew where the body was and the leadership was determined to protect it — there, in Joseph’s tomb.

B. Second step -- on the third morning, His body disappeared.

The simple fact of the matter is that on a Sunday morning 2000 years ago, Christ’s body disappeared from Joseph’s tomb. What happened? You don’t have very many choices here. A disappearing body, especially after such Roman and Israeli security had been set up to guard it, is a significant problem. And everyone agreed that the body was gone. Your choices are two — theft, or resurrection, a massive robbery, or a massive miracle! The tomb was guarded, protected, and sealed probably better than almost any other tomb in history. And there really aren’t any satisfactory explanations for the missing body other than the fact that Jesus arose from the dead.

Nobody claimed that He was still in the tomb, or that they could find the body.

If the Romans really believed, as they said, that the disciples came and stole the body while they were sleeping, why not go find the body, and demonstrate that the disciples indeed stole it, and bring them to trial? How hard would it have been for the Romans to find the body? They had access to any house at any time. If they had wanted, they could have found the body. It is striking to me that NO ONE at that time was even looking for the body. EVERYONE accepted the disappearance of Christ's body as a FACT!

Think of how easy it would have been for the Jewish leadership to interrupt Peter’s preaching, take everyone on a short walk down to Joseph’s tomb and show them the body? That would have ended all talk of a resurrection. But they couldn’t.

Do you see how clear God made it? In the very city where Christ was crucified to the very people who had crucified Him and had set up an elaborate security system, the message came that He had been resurrected from the dead, and they could do nothing. Their inability to do anything screams out the facts.

C. Third step — it is clear from the Roman guards, from Israeli security, from the disciples powerlessness, and from the position and arrangement of the graveclothes, that no humans took him away (ideas from The Six Miracles of Calvary, by William R. Nicholson, Moody press, 90-97).

Suppose the disciples had by some miracle, stolen the body and invented this colossal lie? What did they gain? They faced hardship, ridicule, hostility, and martyrs' deaths. Any of them could have lessened the pain by admitting it was a lie. Normally a conspiracy to deceive others breaks down when trouble comes. Chuck Colson can talk about that. He was involved in the Watergate conspiracy. He said that as the scandal began to unravel, the conspirators, one by one, began to place blame on one another. Loyalty to one another and to the lie quickly went out the window. Each man was going to protect his own hide. Why lose out on life for a lie? But that never happened with the disciples. Every one of them paid for their resurrection message with their own life. Over the course of the next 65 years, as all of them died, not one of them changed his message. This very John we are talking about today, lived the longest and was still preaching the same message as he was banned to the island of Patmos, probably at the age of 85.

Think of WHEN the disciples began preaching the Resurrection. Suppose someone were to stand up today and say, "there was no war with Iraq because we never sent troops there; it was a media event." It would be hard to convince people of that because the war began only 32 days ago and we all know people who are involved in the project. There is enough evidence around and we all are connected with eye-witnesses that it would be difficult to argue that we are in no war with Iraq.

Now if someone said, "there was no Gulf War in 1990. Saddam did not invade Kuwait and the US military did not force him out." That would also be difficult to prove, but do you see how that would be an easier argument than arguing against the present war? People have been born in the past 13 years; many teenagers were only three or four at that time, don’t remember much and could be influenced. The further you go back in time the greater the possibility of getting people to believe a false argument.

Thus if the story of the resurrection of Jesus was an invention 50 years later, we could see how people might be persuaded because they were not familiar with the facts. During that time, people had forgotten where the tomb was located and most of the witnesses had died. Maybe that’s what happened; the disciples created this story 50 years later.

The only problem with that notion is that the disciples couldn’t wait 50 years, and began preaching the resurrection of Christ within 50 days of the event — on the day of Pentecost, in Jerusalem where it happened, to crowds of Jews who were involved in the event and would know or be able to verify the details. And we read about the frustration of the Jewish leadership in Acts, and how they threatened the disciples, and how they beat the disciples and tried to shut down this talk about a resurrection — but we read nothing about the key issue — the body that the disciples claimed wasn’t there.

Do you see the process? He died and was buried; His body is missing; no one took Him. He has to be alive.

IV. To me, the final piece of evidence that Christ is alive today is the transformation that He has brought into my heart. Christ changes lives.

Who transformed Saul the Rabbi into Paul the Apostle? Was that just a reformation in the life of this student of the Bible? No, Paul’s testimony was that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am chief." The One who appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus identified Himself as, "Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (Acts 26:15) -- the alive One.

Peter denied Christ, but less than 6 weeks later became the courageous preacher on the day of Pentecost. James, John, Andrew, and down through history, millions of people have been transformed by the power of the LIVING LAMB of GOD.

ILLUS — There are a group of Turkik people, who are racially connected with the Turkish people, but they were more or less gypsies, who traveled the silk road from China to Europe in order to bring silk and things to the west. There are a group of them in Bulgaria who were in rather desperate straits and came to the realization from reading the Koran that Mohammed never performed any miracles, but there was a man mentioned in the Koran who did miracles named Esaw (Jesus). So they started praying to Him, bringing before Him their problems and asking Him to meet their needs. Surprisingly enough He answered one of their prayers in a miraculous way. And then another one. And things changed so surprisingly that these people have built a mosque to Esaw, because He can do what Mohammad cannot do. They have written songs to Esaw, and they want to reach out into other areas to tell their Turkik relatives about Esaw. What is this that is happening? Recurring evidence that Jesus Christ is alive, and doing miracles all over the world, and answering prayer, and intervening in peoples’ lives — even Muslims calling on Esaw.

What Christ said, Who Christ is all came into focus in John’s mind at the tomb that Sunday morning. All His teaching, all His promises, all His miracles, now made sense. HE IS GOD! God was among us for that short time. And John believed! Theologian Gerald O-Collins put it this way: "In a profound sense, Christianity without the resurrection is not simply Christianity without its final chapter. It is not Christianity at all" (Strobel, 206).

The resurrection is the supreme vindication of Christ’s identity and teaching. Is He God? Not if He is still dead. Did He speak truth? Not if He promised He would rise from the dead and didn’t. It all comes down to the question: "IS CHRIST ALIVE OR IS HE DEAD?" If Jesus Christ is alive, it would be foolish not to Him like John and turn to Him for Salvation. And if He's dead, it would be foolish to believe in Him. There's no in-between. It's all or nothing (from David Feddes, 4). And the Resurrection is the key.

Have you ever completed the journey that John completed that Sunday morning 2000 years ago? Have you ever believed on the name of Jesus Christ, God Himself? You can do that right now.

Easter morn, 4/20/03, BBC

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