Well, good morning everyone. My name's Steve Jeffery. I'm a senior pastor here at St Paul's.
I got a sense this morning someone in this building is walking with a significant limp.
That's not a spiritual moment. It's because the sole of your shoe was just down the front here.
And so if that's yours or your kids, you might want to come and grab that because
they're going to be suffering by the end of the day.
I'm grateful that you're in here today in this building on this special occasion.
So why are we here?
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was born in 10 BC and he died in 1854.
He was as surprised as anyone else in the world at the time that he became the most powerful person in the world in AD 41
when he became, at the age of 50, emperor of the Roman Empire.
When Claudius was a child in an obscure part of the Roman Empire,
a poor teenage girl gave birth to a son and named him Jesus.
Unlike Claudius, Jesus was born in obscurity.
He wasn't born in a palace.
Just before Claudius became emperor, this same Jesus was crucified by the Roman Empire on a cross just outside of Jerusalem.
Jesus lived roughly half the time that Claudius lived and he died a public, shameful and excruciating death.
Claudius was an accomplished historian, an accomplished writer.
Jesus, on the other hand, never wrote a book.
Unlike Claudius, Jesus never raised an army and expanded an empire.
And in fact, Jesus never ruled over a realm in his short life.
And yet 2,000 years later, you could be forgiven for not knowing anything about Claudius at all.
On the other hand, Jesus became, by any measure, the most influential person who has ever lived in the history of humanity.
Why?
Even to this day.
Why?
One reason throughout history, scholars have said,
one reason for that is because of his exquisitely beautiful life.
Only two people in history,
only two people in history have ever caused so many people to wonder
if they were in fact more than just human beings.
Two people.
Buddha
and Jesus Christ.
Jesus of Nazareth.
Unlike Buddha, Jesus was the only one of those two who claimed to be, in fact, more than just a human being.
The main reason for his influence, though, is not just the exquisiteness of his life,
but is why we're here today.
And in the next little while, I want to just take a look at that outrageous claim
that around about 2,000 years ago,
a man who died an unbelievably horrible death
came back to an unbelievably wonderful life
and offers to include us in that life
if only we would align ourselves with him.
And so I got three points.
If you got the St. Paul's app in front of you,
you can open this up and follow along.
Really simple.
Well, resurrection is reasonable.
Resurrection is relevant.
And the resurrection is good.
That's kind of where I'm heading in these three points real quick.
So the resurrection is reasonable.
The fact that Jesus was crucified was not unusual.
Around Jesus' time,
there were dozens of little movements within the Roman Empire
where the leader declared themselves to be the Messiah of the Jewish nation,
but also the Messiah of humanity.
As Jesus himself did.
And in every case,
those leaders were executed for leading some kind of a rebellion.
And in every case,
those little rebellions,
those little movements
collapsed the moment the leader was executed.
Except for the Christian faith.
Except for Christianity.
It exploded from that moment.
So how is it possible that Jesus,
a born into Jewish man,
was able to get the Jewish people around him
to believe that he wasn't just the long-awaited Jewish Messiah,
but that he was, in fact,
God himself?
That was incomprehensible to the Jewish nation.
And it still is this day.
And how is it possible that within 200 years of Christianity beginning,
that it was dominant in the Roman Empire,
despite incredibly significant attempts by every Roman emperor to stamp it out throughout the empire?
How is it possible that today Christianity is the largest and most widespread culturally and geographically of all religious faiths?
Of all the major faiths in the world,
they normally dominate one area in the world and have a smattering here and there.
The Christian faith is equally spread across cultures and continents around the globe.
It is spread into all layers of society,
into very different cultures and languages.
How is it possible?
Well, the Bible says that after Jesus was killed,
he came back to life and appeared to his followers.
And so Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 15,
a public document in the Roman Empire.
I'll pick it up at verse 3.
What I received I pass on to you as of first importance,
that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
And then he appeared to James and then to all the apostles.
And last of all, he appeared to me also as to one abnormally born.
The historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is formidable.
For one, British scholar N.T. Wright wrote a very significant work
attesting to the historical evidence simply called the resurrection of the Son of God.
And in that book, he suggests that if you don't begin with an imposed philosophical bias,
against the possibility of miracles,
the resurrection has as much attestation as any other historical event.
And if you do have a philosophical bias against miracles,
he suggests you must be able to explain every event in the world.
What that means is whether you believe it or whether you don't,
you are taking a step of faith.
Which is the very first message that we preached in this whole series way back in February.
There's no 100% watertight argument for the existence of God.
And there's no 100% watertight argument for the non-existence of God.
That means every single person is taking a step of faith.
Every single person is a believer in something.
And yet, I know this is 2023 and most people around us just don't believe that,
don't believe in the possibility of resurrection.
It comes as shock to us that they didn't believe it in the first century either.
The very first believers in Jesus didn't believe in the resurrection,
weren't expecting it, weren't looking for it.
As you read through Mark's account of the life of Jesus,
you notice that Jesus tells his followers very clearly on three separate occasions
that he will die and that he will rise again.
And the weird thing is, third day after his resurrection,
no one's expecting it.
You see that in the Mark passage that was just read out to us.
You know, the followers of Jesus, those early disciples, the blokes,
you know, they're not hanging around on the first Easter day
wondering whether they should at least go to the tomb and check it out.
You know, wake up for breakfast.
First, hey guys, you think we should just wander down to the tomb and just,
you know, Jesus mentioned it.
Should we just check it?
The women have bought spices to anoint a dead body.
They were expecting to prepare his body for burial.
The three women who eventually go to the tomb
were wondering who's going to open the tomb for them.
They prepared everything except how to get in.
And their first thought at seeing the stone rolled away
and the tomb empty was not that Jesus had come back to life,
as he said he would.
Their first thought was that someone had stolen the body.
That is, the point is,
the resurrection was just as difficult for these guys
as it is for us.
What Christians believe
is that the New Testament record about Jesus is true
and that these accounts of what happened in the life of Jesus
are totally different than myth.
They're not even written the way myth is written in the first century,
in the way that Greek and Roman myth is written.
Mythology in the first century is shrouded in a distant past
that does not connect with real history.
The New Testament books are talking about real history.
Pilate the governor,
Herod the king from Galilee,
Caiaphas the high priest,
these people are known in history outside of the New Testament.
The accounts of the New Testament were all written
while eyewitnesses were still alive.
I could spread a rumor to say,
someone I've just known has just come back to life.
Someone that you all know has just come back to life.
It would take no time at all to disprove that
if it wasn't true.
These New Testament accounts were written
while the eyewitnesses were still alive.
Paul's letters were written within 15 to 30 years
after the death of Jesus.
This is not mythology.
Scholars call it eyewitness history.
And what's more,
the enemies of Jesus would have loved nothing better
than to be able to wheel the body of Jesus
back into Jerusalem in a wheelbarrow,
dump it in the center of the town
and say, there you go.
There's your Messiah.
What a hoax.
The Romans stationed their own soldiers
at the entrance of the tomb.
They were protecting it themselves
and it was empty.
There was no dead body.
And the thought
that these cowardly disciples
who abandoned Jesus
and his crucifixion
for fear of their own lives
would suddenly agree amongst themselves
to come up with
the classic April Fool's joke,
steal the body
and then die themselves
for that hoax
is just nonsense.
It's lunacy to think that.
The point of all this is simply to say
that when we Christians say
that Jesus risen from the dead,
we're speaking historically.
It's not a spiritual thing.
It's not mythology.
It's not emotional.
It's historical.
The New Testament uniformly teaches
and assumes that Jesus lived in history,
that he died as a substitute for sinners
and that he rose again on the third day.
Which brings me to my next point.
What's the relevance of the resurrection?
Philippians 3 verse 20 to 21,
which is just read out to us by Aidan,
reveals at least some of the relevance of it.
But our citizenship is in heaven
and we eagerly await a saviour from there,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who by the power that enables him
to bring everything under his control
will transform our lowly bodies
so that they will be like his glorious body.
What is assumed in Philippians 3,
in those verses right there,
is that Jesus was raised from the dead,
that he is now alive and very powerful.
And the reason why Paul assumes it in Philippians 3
is because he clearly states it in Philippians chapter 2.
And in Philippians chapter 2,
you will never read anything anywhere in any literature
more sweeping, more important and more true.
Referring to Jesus, it says,
who being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
And therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus,
every knee should bow in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
That's why Christianity has spread the way it has.
And 50,000 people a day are still becoming Christians
because of that statement there,
of who Jesus is and what he's achieved.
Jesus was and is equal with God.
He is God.
He became a human being.
He obediently suffered and died.
That means that his death was a plan.
It wasn't an accident of nature.
It was a plan.
And the point of the plan was that Jesus Christ
would be a substitute for sinners,
as Ash has just indicated,
and that everyone who trusts in him
would have sin forgiven.
This was God's plan for the salvation of humanity.
And it says,
Therefore, because of that plan,
God exalted him to the highest place,
raised him from the dead and exalted him to the highest place.
Because of the obedient and successful life and death,
God raised him from the dead
and gave him great glory as Lord of the universe.
That is, this day,
we don't just celebrate Jesus came back to life,
but we acknowledge that he rules.
He reigns.
You see it there in verse 21,
by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control.
Now, in one sense,
he's got the right to rule because he's the God who made everything,
not just because he died and rose again.
That is, he did not have to die and rise again
in order to be who he actually is.
This gives him, however,
because of his death and his resurrection,
not just the right to rule
because he's God,
but right to rule because he suffered
and redeemed all of humanity.
And the impact of Easter Sunday
is that there is no higher authority,
but this higher authority lived,
who lives now and reigns now,
sacrificed his life for our life.
That's the kind of authority you'd want to submit to.
There is no place,
there is no sphere of reality,
there is no dimension of existence
anywhere in the universe
that is not under the absolute authority
of the merciful, loving, benevolent Lord Jesus Christ.
And when the world in which we live
doesn't look like it's under the authority of this God,
it would be wiser for us to marvel
at the mystery of his ways
than to question the scope of his power.
Christ's power pervades the universe
from the largest to the smallest elements of reality.
There's not a single area of his life,
of our lives,
that is not to be surrendered to this Jesus.
That's the point of Easter Day.
This Easter Day is not mere symbolism
of how to endure hard things in life
and to rise above difficulties.
Easter Day means that Jesus Christ
rules the universe
as the name, as Philippians 2 says,
that is above every other name
and he calls all people to surrender
to his loving authority.
And 2,000 years later,
that continues to happen
across every generation,
culture, language, people, group, and nation.
Easter Day is a public declaration.
This is news.
Not symbolism.
This is news for all people.
It's not like the news bulletin on TV
about something that's happened
that doesn't cause you to stop cooking dinner
in order to turn it up.
It's not one of those kind of news bulletins
kind of things.
This is life-changing news.
This is stop and listen and reflect news.
The difference between the bulletin news
and the life-changing news is this.
Suppose you hear the news on the TV
that 10 children in Chatswood
were hit by cars while playing
in their front yards in the last 12 months.
And you hear that news
and you go,
what a tragedy.
That was really hard for those parents.
And you continue to cook your dinner.
And then, as you do that,
suddenly the front door of your house
bursts open
and your 10-year-old son
comes screaming into the house
with the news
that your 8-year-old daughter
has just been hit by a car
in the front yard.
It's exactly the same news.
But this time it's different.
The first piece of news was true.
There was good evidence for it.
Now there's a piece of news
that goes straight to the core of your being
and it shakes you.
Everything in you comes alive
to the reality
that this news is now about you.
It's personal.
It will change everything in your life.
It will break your heart.
It will shatter things in you
more deeply than has ever been touched.
That's the news of Christmas.
Easter.
Come back for Christmas.
That's the news of Easter.
Jesus is God.
He died for your sin against God.
He was raised triumphantly from death
for life eternal
and he will never ever die again
and he rules over the universe.
And he has been appointed
as ruler of the universe
and he offers every single one of us
life as he himself is alive.
What that means is
that this resurrection of Jesus
is so, so good.
It's so good.
It's not just plausible and relevant.
It is good.
Jesus comes to every individual,
every culture
and he offers
to fulfill their deepest desires
and their best aspirations.
As we've been investigating here
in the last couple of months
of the church,
we're running with the theme
Jesus is all about life.
We've seen that Jesus offers us
this stuff on the board,
meaning, satisfaction,
freedom, identity, hope, justice,
a whole range of things.
Fundamentally though,
because of his resurrection,
he offers us
the thing that we all
want to hang on to.
Life.
The free gift of life.
And he's not calling us
like every other religion
in the world,
like every other philosophical system,
earn your life.
He's giving it to us.
He's not showing us
the way to live
in order that we might
find ourselves acceptable.
He's achieved it for us.
He's swapped his eternal life
for death
so that we
who are enslaved
to our own sin,
enslaved to our own selfishness,
who deserve death,
are set free
and given life forever.
Did you notice that?
I know it was really quick.
The two massive implications
for us
in Philippians 3.
They're staggering
and they're filled
with hope
and joy
and life.
The first is in verse 20
where it says,
our citizenship
is in heaven.
The resurrection of Jesus
guarantees
an eternal home.
Life
beyond
this life.
It's another way
of saying
that the person
who trusts in Jesus,
you have security
forever.
nothing can take
it away from you.
I went to a funeral
on Thursday
for a young guy,
37,
and there was
a little video clip.
This was someone
who trusted in Jesus.
There's this little video clip
where they just,
he died from cancer,
he could hardly speak
and his last words
on the screen
were,
don't fear for me,
I am home
and I am happy.
I am home
and I am happy.
You see,
what Jesus promises
is where he is
there,
you have the privilege
to be
as he is alive
forever
so you can have
life forever.
Which leads
to the second implication
which says
that very simply
in Philippians 3.21
that Jesus
will transform
your body
into be like
his resurrected body.
The Lord Jesus Christ
who by the power
that enables him
to bring everything
under his control
will transform
our lowly bodies
so that they will be
like his glorious body.
The resurrection
of Jesus
is the answer
to our deepest
longing in life
and that is
to live life
well forever.
We want to be young
and vibrant
and healthy
because those
were the days
before emotional pain,
the burden
of responsibility,
the frailty
of a life
slowly
epping away.
In fact,
this is unique
about the Christian faith.
The Christian faith
is the only
philosophical system,
it's the only religion
in the world
that actually promises
renewed
new and perfect minds,
new and perfect hearts
and bodies
that are new
and perfect forever.
It's the only religion
and philosophical system
that says that life
beyond this world
is as physical
and real,
more physical
and real
than this world.
It's the only one.
It's not clouds
and harps
and that kind
of stuff.
The message
of Easter
is not that Jesus
died
so that we can
float around
in disembodied
souls
in some
fluffy realm
somewhere.
the physical
resurrection
of Jesus
guarantees
a physical
life.
The resurrection
changes
everything
in life.
This is
hope.
Hope
for the wheelchair
bound.
Hope
for the person
with crippling
emotional pain.
Hope
for every human
being
who is yet
to face
the thing
that we fear
the most,
death.
the message
of Easter
is that the
creator and ruler
of the universe
has died for us
and that if we
trust in him
he'll one day
bring us back
to physical
life.
Richer and
fresher and
more beautiful
than anything
that we've ever
experienced before.
if you
can't
imagine
a life
with
everything
evil
with
everything
broken
with
everything
frail
with
everything
dark
with
everything
horrible
taking
out of
it
and all
that's
left
is just
the
sunshine
and the
beauty
perfection
if you
can't
imagine
that
neither
can I
our
frail
imaginations
frankly
cannot
take it
in
because
we've
never
experienced
it
but as
you read
several
chapters
earlier
in 1
Corinthians
it says
what no eye
has seen
what no ear
has heard
what no
human mind
has conceived
the things
that God
has prepared
for those
who love
him
the
resurrection
means
the
maker
of all
time
and space
has
stepped
into
this
world
his
world
out of
love
for us
it means
that we
are worthy
of his
death
and he
wants us
in his
life
it means
that we
are more
seen
we are
more
known
we are
more
loved
than we
could
dare
to
hope
it means
the
greatest
offer
ever
the
greatest
offer
that has
ever
been
made
is
sitting
on
the
table
waiting
to be
taken
up
so
friends
I'm not
sure
how you
feel
about
Jesus
today
I get
the mood
of our
culture
that the
Christian faith
feels like
old clothes
you've
long got
sick of
or clothes
you would
mean
seen dead
wearing
at all
or even
clothes
from a
different
culture
not your
own
maybe
you've
been hurt
by
Christians
or you've
seen
Christians
hurt
others
and I'm
sorry for
that if
that's your
experience
or it's
quite possible
that you've
already rejected
something that
you don't even
really understand
you've never
really thought
about
maybe you've
tuned in
today
living the
dream
or maybe
you've
tuned in
today
trudging
through a
muddy
field of
hopelessness
none of
us
and I
mean none
of us
come to
today
none of
us come
to questions
of faith
without
some
experience
or some
feelings
good or
bad
just or
indifferent
we're
all in
that boat
if we
dig deeper
though
and allow
ourselves to
pause long
enough
we all
long for
hope beyond
the grave
we all
long for
it
some kind
of happy
ending in
our lives
that's why
we love
Hollywood
and we
hate movies
that don't
have a happy
ending
we love
the happy
ending
for our
lives and
for our
loved ones
so whether
you think
that hope
of everlasting
life is
pure
naivety
or wondering
if there
might just
be a God
who you
can know
I want to
tell you
Jesus is
for you
I want to
encourage you
don't bury
your brains
don't bury
your brains
I would
ask you
to ask
the awkward
questions
to reckon
with the
hardest
truth
that shadow
each one
of our
mortal lives
take a
fresh look
at the
resurrection
claim
and consider
if it is
just wishful
thinking
or whether
it might
be
against
all odds
be all
our wildest
dreams
come true
Jesus
is
all
about
life
the
how
love
God