Southland Christian Church

General Wellington commanded the victorious forces at the great battle of Waterloo that effectively ended the reign of Napoleon. The story has been told that when the final battle was over, General Wellington sent the great news of his victory to England. A series of stations, one within sight of the next, had been established to between England and the European continent where the war was being fought. The message to be sent that day was “Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.” Meanwhile a fog set in and interrupted the message sending process. As a result, the messengers read and relayed a message that read, “Wellington defeated…” People in England were worried, scared, and saddened by the news. Later that day the fog cleared and the full message finally arrived. The response was overwhelming, the relief apparent, and the celebrations plentiful. The full message changed the mood of an entire nation and forever changed the course of European history.

If the story of Jesus Christ ends on a cross, there is no hope for you and me. The message of the cross without the resurrection would be one of defeat. There would be no church as we know it, there would be no mention of heaven, funerals would be miserable, baptism would have no symbolic value and communion would be just another odd religious symbol. And worse yet, God would seem to be handcuffed and powerless. But if Jesus did come back, and I believe he did, the fog lifts, the message changes from defeat to victory, and the response of those who hear it should be one of joy and celebration. John Whale says, “The Gospels do not explain the resurrection; the resurrection explains the Gospels. Belief in the resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith; it is the Christian faith!” 

There are four authors who unpack the resurrection in their writing: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I want to focus on Luke, who is one of the most interesting authors of the Bible. He is the only non-Jewish writer and perhaps the best of all the Bible historians. He is a well-educated and well-traveled physician and it shows in his understanding of the Greek language and the lay-out of his writing. And most importantly, he was someone who thoroughly weighed the evidence (Acts 1:3) and became convinced that Jesus really did experience a bodily resurrection from the dead. 

He builds his case around reliable witnesses. If someone is taken to court, the prosecution will bring reliable witnesses to testify to what they heard and saw, to say, “Yes, we were there and this is what happened.” Luke and the other Gospel writers build a compelling case on the testimonies of the witnesses alone. Several hundred people saw Jesus after his stay in the tomb. Among them were a group of women who cared for the needs of Jesus when he was alive. For those who say, “It was a body double or it was someone who looked like Jesus who walked out of the grave,” I would introduce them to the women who saw him walk out of the tomb. They spent three years with Jesus and would have recognized a stunt double or a phony. The same is true of the disciples. Jesus also appeared to them on more than one occasion. And not only did he appear to them, he even let them touch him. He also walked home with two men on a road that led to a small town called Emmaus. They were so excited that he was alive that they ran seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell everyone what they had seen and heard (Luke 24). 

Take into consideration their testimony and one would conclude that Jesus did come back to life. For those who say, “Those witnesses aren’t reliable,” take into consideration what they had to lose from this. For starters, it is impossible for over 500 people to perpetuate a lie for a lengthy period of time. The lie would eventually break down and some over-zealous journalist would have nailed them to the wall on a contradiction. Second, they didn’t gain a lot from the sale of this story. They didn’t earn a lot from the tabloids of that day. What they received instead was beating after beating, imprisonment, isolation, social disconnection, and brutal death. People will give their lives for a lot of noble causes, but never for a lie. And third, look at the impact of the resurrection. Millions of people have given themselves fully to the belief that the resurrection of Jesus is worth building a life on. 2,000 years later, the church is still thriving and lives continue to be changed. Even if all we had was a subjective argument, the subjective argument is still a solid one: marriages are mended, the addicted sober up, the financially destitute are able to start over, the emotionally wounded are pieced back together again, the guilty are set free, the shameful are cleaned up, and the insecure person finds security. Why? How? All because of the hope and power that stem from a God who can die and come back to life again! 

War, terrorism, the economy, cancer, political elections, gas prices, college education, taxes, abortion, homelessness, and racism are all subjects that generate worry and concern in our culture today. But have you noticed, when wars start and terrorists attack, people lose faith in governments and politicians and flock to churches to hear about a future void of darkness and death. When babies are sick and teen-agers rebel, parents search for help and find it in a God who plans ahead and controls destinies. When the stock market crashes, people of faith are able to move on. When a loved one does, people of faith are able to rejoice. And why is that? How can people not only move on and deal with the curve balls that are thrown in life, how do they rise above it all and thrive? I’ll give it to you in a word and that word is HOPE! 

Real…solid…eternal…trustworthy… Biblical…Jesus-centered hope; the only true hope; a hope that never fails and always delivers; a hope that wets the appetite for more than what this world can give. A hope that believes blind men can see, and deaf men can hear, and the lame can walk, and the dead can breathe again. A hope that gets people out of bed in the morning; a hope that makes it possible for old and young alike to gather under one roof in unity and purpose and pursue one goal. A hope that brings blue collar and white collar together, educated and uneducated, young and old, male and female; a hope that makes it possible for sinners to live forever with a Holy God. That hope is defined by the resurrection of Jesus and you can search high and low, but you’ll find that no event in human history compares in significance to the resurrection of Jesus. No words in the English vocabulary are more powerful than, “He is not here! He has risen just as he said he would!” There isn’t a fog that can keep that message of victory from being communicated. Jesus won, which means we all win, so let the celebration, let the dancing begin!