"...and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrews 9:28 (NIV)
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the single most remarkable human being in all of history. You can be assured of the fact that in any given moment in millions of places around the world, especially today, his life is the subject of conversation. His life is so incredible that in churches like Lakeside we spend every week and most every day talking about Jesus, singing about Jesus, reading about Jesus, telling others about Jesus, memorizing his words, studying his words, praying in his name, and absorbing every insight imaginable about his life and ministry. And you know what else? We never grow tired of doing it!
The truth is that Jesus Christ is an inspiration to everyone who seriously reflects on his life. The one book that details his life, the Bible, has been the number one best seller of all times since the invention of the Guttenberg press. This morning I want to share three simple facts about Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ was just like us, sort of!
First, let me tell you what is commonplace about Jesus Christ. He was just like us. The realities that you wake up to every morning are the same realities Jesus woke up to every single day of his life. Hebrews 2:14 tells us that Jesus was flesh and blood. He shared in our humanity. Hebrews 2:18 (NIV) emphatically tells us, "...he himself suffered when he was tempted." Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) takes this a step further and reminds us that he, "has been tempted in every way, just as we are--"
In the Bible this idea of temptation can best be translated as pressure. Jesus experienced all the same pressures, indeed every pressure that we experience. He didn't walk six inches off the ground. He wasn't immune to crisis and stress. Measure any day of life, even your worst day ever, and you will find that Jesus Christ has faced the same pressure in kind. He knew what it was like to have sawdust in his hair, his hands dirty, and his eyes stinging with sweat as he worked in his father's carpentry shop.
He knew what it was like to wake up to disappointment. He knew that he angered people by not measuring up to their expectations and he knew how to deal with difficult people and situations. And you know all those emotions you keep buried and hidden? You aren't alone. Jesus wrestled with personal hurt, rejection, and grief. He felt that same knot in his stomach. He shed those very same tears. He tossed and turned in his sleep.
The one thing that no one doubts or questions is that Jesus was just like each of us. This is the reason he is such an inspiration. He walked in our shoes. He showed us possibilities. He is a hero and role model to us.
But let me tell you how Jesus was different than us. Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) tells us that Jesus has been tempted (pressured) in every way. But that same verse adds, "...yet was without sin." In other words Jesus faced all the same pressures you and I face. Yet he didn't allow those intense pressures to shape and mold his identity. He walked against the current. He walked uphill. He resisted temptation. He overcame the undercurrents of the flesh. He had control over his appetite, his cravings, his lusts, his tongue, his eyes, feet, hands, his emotions, and his thoughts. We also have control over these things, but Jesus perfectly lived the life that we only dream of living. From the beginning of his time to the final moments of his life, he pleased God and was without sin.
Jesus had a unique relationship with God.
But this is just the beginning. Jesus also claimed to have a unique relationship with God. He actually told his followers that he was God's only Son, that he created the heavens and the earth, that he came to fulfill the law and the prophets, that he was of the same character or essence as God, and that he had the authority to forgive sin.
Hebrews 1:1-4 (NIV) echoes what Jesus taught about himself. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs."
Whenever people today make such claims, we say they have a messiah complex. What we really mean to say is that they are hallucinating, and that if we don't mind being politically incorrect, they're crazy or something worse! Why then did so many people believe Jesus and take him at his word when he claimed to be the messiah, the Son of God, andthe savior of the world? Why were Jesus' disciples later willing to be persecuted, tortured, stoned, flogged, and even martyred for their beliefs about Jesus Christ? If someone made similar claims today what might compel you to believe him? To believe so strongly that you too would be willing to suffer, even die, for the truth?
Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
As Jesus made his way through the countryside and cities he promised something that was equally outrageous as claiming to be the Son of God. For those teetering between faith and unbelief Jesus said in John 14:11 (NIV) , "...believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." But for those steeped in skepticism he promised in John 12:32 (NIV),"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
Jesus staked his entire ministry on his own resurrection. He saw his resurrection as the ultimate vindication, an irrefutable proof for his identity. People may doubt the accounts of Jesus feeding five thousand with a few fish and loaves of bread, the healing of a blind man, and walking on water. But there would be no excuse for unbelief after seeing an empty tomb and a messiah who had days earlier been crucified by professional Roman executioners walking down the streets of Jerusalem alive! Hundreds of people saw Jesus Christ after his resurrection. These people were so convinced by what they saw that they refused to shut up about it. They relentlessly testified about they saw until their deaths.
Last year Chuck Colson, a Christian apologist, was asked, "How do you know they were telling the truth? Maybe those witnesses were perpetrating a hoax." Whenever he is challenged about Jesus' resurrection and the validity of the eyewitness accounts, Colson always appeals to his involvement in the Watergate scandal. He writes, "Watergate involved a conspiracy perpetuated by the closest aides to the president of the United States, the most powerful men in America, who were intensely loyal to their president. But one of them, John Dean, turned state's evidence, that is, testified against Nixon, as he put it, to save his own skin. And he did so only two weeks after informing the president about what was really going on. Two weeks!"
Colson continues, "The cover-up, the lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else jumped ship in order to save themselves. The disciples, twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stoning, and execution. Even political zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save their own necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve so loyally. But the apostles could not deny Jesus because they had seen him face to face and they knew he had risen from the dead. You can take it from an expert in cover-ups, nothing less than a resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain their dying whispers that, 'Jesus is alive and is Lord.' "
This Easter is the perfect time to ask yourself what you believe about Jesus Christ. You cannot believe in Jesus Christ but not believe in the resurrection. Jesus did not leave us that option. He staked everything on his own resurrection. The resurrection is the only explanation for why we are even still talking about Jesus Christ after all these years. It's the only explanation for why the resurrection account had legs to begin with. The resurrection was irrefutable. Everyone knew about it. No one could deny it.
There is one more fact about Jesus I think you should consider this morning.
Jesus Christ will come again.
Hebrews 9:28 (NIV) says, "and he (Jesus) will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
Jesus' first appearing was the occasion for some doubt and skepticism. Many postponed their judgment. They wanted to see how things would pan out. Would Jesus die as he said? Would he be raised from the dead? Would he really establish an eternal kingdom? Would God vindicate Jesus' outrageous claims of divinity?
Jesus' second appearing, his appearances after his resurrection, were the occasion for inexcusable doubt. I mean, come on! How many times have you been to a graveside service only to discover that the deceased rose from the dead a few days later? That never happens, but it happened to Jesus! God couldn't have sent a more emphatic message to draw men unto himself than the resurrection.
But Hebrews 9:28 suggests that Jesus will appear a third time. He will not appear to bear sin. That was the purpose of his first and second appearances. Rather, he will appear to bring salvation for those who are waiting for him. He will appear to seal eternal destinies, to reward the faithful, to punish the unrighteous, and to once again vindicate his claims to divinity. There was an occasion for belief after Jesus' first appearance. There was an occasion for belief after Jesus' second appearance. But after Jesus' final appearance there will not be such an opportunity. It will be the end.
Easter isn't just about Jesus' first and second appearances. It is about Jesus keeping his promise to appear a third time in order to bring salvation for all who believe.
The words of 2 Peter 3:8-15 (NIV) are most sobering on these points. "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."
"So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him."
Easter reminds us that Jesus Christ is alive and will come again. His patience now translates into an opportunity to believe and be saved. But Christ's patience will not last forever. His salvation will appear. And when he does appear will you be ready?
Will you be ready when Jesus comes again?
While we're on the subject, I thought I would say something else about our future. This is something that is talked about much, especially at Easter. The world mocks us for our outrageous belief in the resurrection. While the world rallies around the Easter bunny and hunts for Easter eggs, we are reminded about what the future holds. When Jesus Christ returns we are going to personally experience the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus Christ died and rose again so we will die and be raised to new life.
Our trust and hope in the resurrection will be proven true. The tables will be turned. Our faith and hope will be vindicated. The world will have one final evidence that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God, just as he said he was. Our bodily resurrection will be the nail in the coffin that forever seals the fate of the unfaithful. For this reason our bodily resurrection will be bittersweet!
I want to thank you this morning for listening to me talk about Jesus' resurrection. Many of you are well acquainted with the message I have spoke this morning. You've made up your minds. You've made your decision for Christ. You are living a full life with the assurance of salvation and a resurrection hope.
But some of you are strangers to the message you have heard this morning. It is wildly perplexing to think that you might go on through your whole life and miss the salvation that Jesus Christ wants to give you. He wants to save your from your sins. He wants to save you from the grip of death. He wants to give you a resurrection hope and an eternal dwelling in heaven. He wants you to wake up to the resurrection and believe with eyes of faith. He wants you to be buried in the waters of baptism and raised to new life. He wants you to reflect on your life and turn from all that displeases God. But most importantly, he wants you! He wants a personal relationship with you. He wants to give you the gift of eternal life.
If you don't believe in Christ after his first appearance, that's strike one. If you don't believe in Christ after his resurrection appearances, that's strike two. But if you don't believe in Christ now, in lieu of his last appearance, that makes three strikes. And three strikes means you're out and that you lose.
Why not make this the day that you step up to the plate and hit a home run?