Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would fall with gentle power and deep conviction upon us as we look at your word.
And Father, we ask that you would draw us to Jesus, that you would help us to once again understand afresh who he is and what he accomplished for us in his death upon the cross.
Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would so move and work within us, that we might once again fall in love with what he has done for us.
And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
Last Sunday I talked about money. Today I'm going to talk about death.
Talking about death not because I'm morbid, it's the scripture text basically invites us and tells us to talk about death.
That's what the scripture text is about.
Just this past week I heard from a member of the congregation that somebody that they know and I know, I don't know them super well, but I know them.
I've seen them six or seven or eight times. I know them.
If I saw them in the street, I'd say hi.
And I just heard the news that they'd gotten terrible news in the last week or so.
And the terrible news in the last week or so was that their young son, who hadn't been developing properly, they'd finally got the test results in.
In fact, they thought at first that he had a hearing problem and they were giving him lots of hearing tests.
But it turns out that he has a degenerative brain disease.
And it means that in fact, the mental level that he's reached right now and he's still nonverbal is the maximum he's ever going to reach.
And the disease will eventually kill him, probably in his early teens.
Very, very hard and sobering news, as you can well imagine, for a young child, parents of a young child.
They're very devout Christians.
But it's still a very hard thing.
I'm not going to tell you his name, but if you want to commit him to prayer, his name is Bobby.
That's the name.
If you're a guest here, I call guys Bob and I call girls Sue, just to not slip up and reveal somebody's name as a general rule.
If you're here and your name is Bob or you're a woman, your name is Sue, I'm not talking about you.
It's just a habit I've developed.
You might want to pray for him and his family.
I mention this because it's very easy for Christians.
It can be easy for me to talk about death in an apologetic way as if I want to try to win an argument
and show the superiority of the Christian worldview in light of Buddhism or secularism or atheism or Islam.
And there's not necessarily anything wrong about that.
But the fact of the matter is, is that as we all know, that death is in fact not an issue just of the intellect or a philosophy or of ideology,
that in fact it's a deeply personal issue.
And that I am aware, whether it's some of the people who will listen to this sermon online through a podcast later on,
or whether it's some of you here, that you in fact might be struggling a little bit with some news about yourself
that has health consequences or a loved one, in a sense like we now are, not struggling with it,
but very conscious of the reality and the certainty of death.
It's in fact also almost definitely the case that one of the reasons our culture is reacting the way we are right now to COVID-19
is the horrific images that were shown in TV about the hospital situation in Italy at the height of the crisis in that country.
And I know for a fact that people in the congregation who are very, very worried that their fate might be to end up dying,
gasping for breath without a ventilator in a hospital hallway separated from loved ones.
So death is a very personal and present issue.
It's also very sort of curious because it's an issue that in Canada we're not really allowed to talk about.
In fact, if I was to be invited once the lockdown is over and we can once again don't have to have social distancing
and you invite me to a party, and if I was to start asking your friends from work or your neighbours who'd come to the party,
by the way, if you've been thinking about death lately, you should.
But you would view that as a very rude thing to do, and I wouldn't be invited back to another party that you would throw
because it's just viewed as a very un-Canadian thing, even though it's in fact something which is inevitable and deeply personal.
The scripture text that we're going to look at today talks about death in a very important and significant way.
So I invite you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 1 to 11.
1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 1 to 11.
And let's plunge into reading it and I'll draw out the significance about death and meaning
and I'll try to remember to return to Bobby and his parents at the end
because this text, in fact, is a profound comfort to them or can be.
Now, I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you,
which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
I just sort of want to pause there for a second and tell you a little bit about the person writing this letter
and the profound significance of what he's just written.
This letter was probably written sometime 51, 52, 53 AD.
I know it's a very long time and some of you are going to doubt that a text that was written so long ago
could possibly have anything to say about death that could be relevant to us today.
But I'll get to that in a moment.
But here's the significant thing about this, brothers and sisters.
Because the fact of the matter is, is that the fellow who wrote this,
whether it was the year 51 or 52 or 53, it's not clear where it was written,
but somewhere in that time period,
the person who wrote it was what we would now call
an extreme religious fundamentalist fanatic.
And he wasn't just a religious fanatic.
He had weaponized his fanaticism in the worst possible way.
He believed in his own narrow understanding of Judaism,
and he believed in his own narrow way of expressing and living that Judaism.
And anybody who did not fall into that narrow category,
he would have seen as anathema.
And there's, in fact, a public record.
He himself confesses to it that he was, in fact,
complicit in the death of at least one innocent man.
And, in fact, he was off in a crusade to hurt and imprison,
to beat and imprison people whom he disagreed with in another city.
And that was the man, that is the man who's writing this letter.
And yet, he's writing to a place in Greece.
He's in what we would now call Turkey.
And he's writing to a city in Corinth,
which we now would call us being in Greece.
And he's writing to this city,
and he's talking to mainly pagans.
And he calls them his brother and sister.
So what could have gone on between this man
and maybe 15, 16, 17 years earlier,
he was a weaponized, religious, fundamentalist, extremist fanatic,
complicit in the death of an innocent man
and desiring to imprison and beat other men.
And what could possibly have led him now,
15 or so years later,
to write this letter where he refers to pagans,
ex-pagans, as his brothers and sisters?
And the answer would be,
this is what he would tell you
and what he'd tell you in his writing.
And it's not a matter of debate
amongst even the most skeptical scholar
that we have some of his letters
that are still known and read today.
And what he would say is this,
that what completely and utterly changed his life
was that he met Jesus
after Jesus had risen from the dead.
He met Jesus after Jesus was risen from the dead.
And that in and of itself wasn't all.
But in meeting Jesus risen from the dead,
he also understood why Jesus had died
and why Jesus had died for him.
And this completely and utterly
transforms the life of this man
to the point that he went from being a man
to inflict death upon others
to a man who risked his own personal death
for the sake of people very other than him
in the hope and the prayer
that he would be able to call them
his brothers and sisters in Christ.
So what does he say?
In fact, partly this is going to be him
bearing witness to the fact
that what completely and utterly transformed him
was the fact that he met in history,
in real time, Jesus after Jesus
had died and risen from the dead.
Let's continue on, verse 3,
and we'll see how he comes to this.
For I delivered to you as a first importance
what I also received,
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures,
and then he appeared to Cephas
and then to the twelve.
And Cephas is another way
of referring to the man
that we now primarily know of as Peter.
Now some of you might say,
okay, well, George,
that's sort of interesting,
but how can that possibly...
Well, let's just look at what he says.
I'm going to talk about the fact
that even though this is written
1950 some odd years ago,
1970 years ago,
how it's still in fact
profoundly relevant to us today.
Notice what he has said,
that that's what he understood,
that's what he teaches,
that's what he believes,
that Jesus,
look again at verse 3,
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas
and then to the twelve.
And some of you are saying,
well, no, it's George,
it's all mixed up with...
Listen to what he says,
and we'll come back
to some of your objections.
I really will.
He mentions that Jesus,
after his death,
appears to Cephas
and then to the twelve.
Then in verse 6,
he says,
then he appeared
to more than 500 brothers
at one time,
most of whom were still alive,
though some have fallen asleep.
And that phrase here
is also very,
very significant brothers.
One of the things
which is interesting
about this list
is that he's basically
omitted references
to the women.
Now,
it doesn't mean
that the Bible
agrees with this.
In fact,
one of the ways
that we know
that the Bible
doesn't agree with this
is the fact
that even though
in both Greek
and Roman
and Jewish culture,
the testimony
of a woman
wasn't considered
as valid or real,
to show what God
thinks about it is,
in a sense,
just to show what God
thinks about all of that,
the very, very first witness
to the resurrection
is a woman.
That's Mary Magdalene,
right?
And so that sort of shows
what God thinks about it.
But Paul here
isn't just trying to,
in a sense,
shame the people
into thinking
a different way
about women.
He just wants to try
to present the evidence.
So it's very interesting
because you see
what's missing from this list
as you'll see in a moment
is there's no reference
to Mary Magdalene.
There's no reference
to Mary Magdalene
and Mary,
whose last name
we don't know.
And there's no reference
to Cleopas
and his unnamed companion,
which was probably
either his wife
or his sister.
So three of the clear
evidences
of Jesus' resurrection
are omitted
from this list.
And he uses
the word brothers.
And it's not clear
whether it should be
brothers or brothers
and sisters.
But here's the significant thing.
First of all,
it's very, very significant
if you think about it,
that Jesus,
after his resurrection,
appeared to 500 people
at the same time.
But if, in fact,
all Paul says is,
by the way,
just in case you doubt
the testimony of women,
there were 500 men present.
But that might mean
that there were 700,
800, 1,000,
1,500 people present
because the rest of them
were women.
Even more remarkable.
And then look
what else he says.
So he says that
Jesus appeared
after his death.
He appeared to Peter.
He appeared to the disciples.
He appeared to 500 people
at the same time,
most of whom are still alive,
though some have fallen asleep.
Verse 7.
Then he appeared to James.
Then to all the apostles.
And just pause there.
These are also
very, very significant.
One of the things
that people will sometimes say,
and I'm going to talk about
it a bit more in a moment,
is that all these
resurrection appearances
were probably just
Jesus' friends
and people who believe
all this stuff
and are easily
just sort of more gullible
because,
as most Canadians would say,
one thing we know
about religious
and spiritual people
is they're more gullible
about hard-headed Canadians
who look at evidence
and have evidence-based ways
of understanding the world.
But the fact of the matter
is that all the historical evidence
shows that two,
at least in the list,
were profound skeptics.
One of them was James,
whom he just mentions,
who was a profound skeptic.
All of the historical records
show that James,
the half-brother of Jesus,
didn't for a moment believe
that Jesus was actually
who he said he was
or that he would rise
from the dead.
And the other, of course,
is the person writing this,
Paul,
who was so completely
and utterly opposed to this
and viewed it as a myth
that he tried to kill people
who held to it.
The other thing in that is,
notice he says apostles,
all the apostles.
Now, what we know
from the historical records
is that, I don't know,
we don't know
the precise number of apostles.
There might have been 30,
there might have been 40.
They're different
than the 12 apostles
with capital A,
but there's capital A apostles,
the 11 disciples and Paul,
but then there's apostles
with small letter A
and that's what
it's being referred to here.
And there's 20, 30, 40, 50,
we don't know
how many of them are,
but the interesting thing
is it doesn't say,
first of all,
it would be very remarkable
if there were 40
and he appeared to 40
at the same time.
That's still very remarkable,
but it's even more remarkable
because it doesn't say
that he appeared
to all 40 at the same time.
It just says
he appeared to all of them.
It means there might be
40 more appearances.
of Jesus.
It's a big claim.
And then continues on,
look at verse 8,
last of all,
as to one untimely born,
he appeared also to me,
for I am the least
of the apostles,
unworthy to be called
an apostle
because I have persecuted
the church of God.
Remember what I said,
he was a skeptic,
he just lets it
right out of the bag.
He was a man
who persecuted the church
to the point
of killing Christians.
But by the grace of God,
I am what I am.
In other words,
by God's grace,
I am a Christian.
By God's grace,
my sins have been dealt with.
By God's grace,
I am accepted
as the child
of my heavenly Father
through grace
by what Jesus has done
for me in the cross.
Not weighing my merits,
but pardoning my offenses.
But by the grace of God,
I am what I am
and his grace toward me
was not in vain.
On the contrary,
I worked harder
than any of them,
though it was not I,
but the grace of God
that is with me.
Whether then it was I
or they,
so we preached
and so you believed.
Now,
some of you might say,
okay, George,
that's a very,
very interesting list,
but here's at least
four problems.
At least four problems,
but four big problems.
First of all,
it's a religious text,
so therefore it's worthless.
It's written by gullible people
who aren't hard-headed
and look at evidence.
It's worthless
because it's a religious text.
Secondly,
it's probably worthless
because it's only people
who knew him
that he lists.
So how on earth
can you count that
as being of any type
of significance whatsoever?
Third,
we know that all these things
were written so long
after the events
they purport to talk about
that why on earth
would you possibly believe them?
And George,
if those three things
don't strike you out,
the fourth thing
will definitely strike you out.
That it was,
sorry,
this is written
in the year 53,
so it's so long ago
that you can't believe it
or trust it
because that's so long ago.
And the fourth thing is
the text itself
was probably written
so long after the event
and giving you information
so long after the event
that the event
is completely and utterly worthless.
So those are good points.
And by the way,
a couple of weeks ago
in one of my sermons,
I think it was two weeks ago,
I talked about how,
in fact,
the Bible commands you
to think
that, in fact,
the matter is
is that there are a lot
of religious and spiritual people,
including Christians,
who just say,
well, you don't have to think,
just believe.
But in fact,
the Bible tells Christians
to think.
So we should always be pleased,
not maybe pleased,
but we should always be very,
very,
actually,
we should be pleased.
We should be pleased
when people ask honest questions
or make honest objections
and be prepared
to try to figure out
how to answer them.
So let's look at all of them.
The first one is
that,
yes,
this is a religious text,
but it didn't begin
as a religious text.
It began
as an historical artifact.
You see,
it's actually written
and Paul,
it's not,
you know what,
the Bible doesn't claim ever
that what goes on
in the Bible
is like the Koran,
right?
In the Koran,
you know,
basically Muhammad
through his messenger,
I mean,
Allah through his messenger
communicates to Muhammad
and Muhammad
just basically
verbally dictates
what he's being communicated
through an intermediary
from Allah
and Muslims will say
that's why the Koran
is perfectly preserved
and that's why
it's so beautiful
and nobody could ever
possibly write
a book like that
because it comes
directly from Allah
and therefore
what you deal with
when you're dealing
with the Koran
is in fact purely
from beginning to end
a religious text.
Christians don't make
that claim
about the Bible
and I'm not making
that claim as well.
In fact,
the matter is
you don't have to take it
as a religious text
or a spiritual text.
What you do need
to take it as
is what it is.
It's that it's
a historical artifact.
Even the most
radical scholars
if you go to
the most radical
if you go to Ottawa
U the religion department
you go to Carleton
the religion department
go to McGill
or U of T
go to Harvard
go to Princeton
go to Oxford
and get the most
skeptical scholar
you have
and no scholar
will doubt
that we have
original letters
from Paul
and that this
is one of them.
That's the actual evidence.
So don't take it
as a religious text
just take it
as what it is
that even
the most
skeptical scholars
accept that
a man by the name
of Paul
wrote this
probably in the years
roughly that I gave
gave you.
So here you have
a man
writing in the year
52 or 53
making these
particular claims.
How about the second thing?
Well the second thing
is it says
well how George
you can't really
believe anything
on this list
because it's all
people who know them
but here's the problem
you go against
everything that
they would take
as important
in a court of law
here in Canada
in the United States
in any western democracy
because the fact
of the matter is
is that if we were
looking at witnesses
to a crime
and I've tried to
be a witness
to a crime
and I've never
actually seen
the person before
and I don't know
anything at all
about him
and I
there's always
a bit of a possibility
that I didn't quite
see him properly
or her properly
and I might be
a bit confused
about it
but the fact
of the matter is
is if it was
you know
God forbid
it was Andrew
committing the crime
and I've known
Andrew for 25 years
Lord have mercy
that's what he says
about that
as I do as well
the fact of the matter is
is that if I say
that it was Andrew
committing the crime
and the police say
how long have you
known Andrew
I said 25 years
they'd say wow
it probably was Andrew
like it's pretty unlikely
that I'm going to mistake
how Andrew walks
how he moves
how he moves his head
I'm sure later on
you can ask all of his boys
to do a little bit
of an imitation
about their dad
about how he moves
and the other types
of things
and it would be
very embarrassing
to Andrew
and hilarious
for the rest of us
my son
or kids
could do the same
thing about me
but the fact
of the matter is
is that after
somebody's been murdered
how do they make sure
the body is the right person
they get a family
or somebody who knows them
to identify the body
so the fact
of the matter is
the fact that people
who saw Jesus
knew him
is evidence
that it was Jesus
the fact of the matter is
is if all of the evidence
was people
had never seen Jesus
before in their entire life
you'd say
well how on earth
they know it was Jesus
so the fact
that it was people
who knew him
is actually good evidence
not bad evidence
and then you might say
okay George
but here's the problem
the problem is
that it happened
too long ago
to trust
anything that it said
but here
and here
here
here's the problem
to my Muslim friends
I don't normally
say this
to their face
but sometimes
I think I've only
had one time
where I've been able
to actually say
something like this
to them
Muslims act
at the end of the day
when it comes to
talking about Christianity
they have to choose
between faith
and history
why is that?
because the Quran
says that Jesus
didn't die on the cross
but the fact of the matter
is
is once again
you go to Ottawa
I point the wrong way
you go to Ottawa
you go to Carleton
you go to
you go to McGill
you go to U of T
you find the most
skeptical scholars
you can have
you go to Bart Ehrman
and basically
no skeptical scholar
believes that
every skeptical scholar
believes that Jesus
died upon the cross
because the weight
of historical evidence
is that he died
on the cross
so for our Muslim friends
they have to choose
ultimately between
history
or they have to choose
that or their faith
ironically
secular Canadians
have to choose
between their faith
and secularism
or history
why do I say that?
Jewish Israeli
archaeologists
when they're doing
archaeological work
in and around
Jerusalem
or somewhere else
and they're
they're finding
things that went on
around the time
of the second temple
they regularly go
to the New Testament
to get corroboration
as to what in fact
they're probably looking at
the fact of the matter
is
is that archaeologists
and treasure hunters
regularly use
old documents
to actually figure out
what's actually
what they've discovered
and what they can then
know for certain
about the past
a few years ago
Blackbird's Boat
the Queen Anne's Revenge
was found
how was the Blackbird's Boat
the Queen Anne's Revenge
found?
well it was by
some very clever people
who went through
all of the letters
and all the other
historical documents
of people at the time
and by reading
everything together
and putting it together
and thinking it all through
they figured out
the rough area
that the wreck
had probably happened
and then they went
with their sonar
and their
you know
other stuff like that
their scientific stuff
and they were able
to find
Blackbird's Boat
where it had run aground
and where it had shipwrecked
why?
because they used
archaeological evidence
it didn't matter
that it was old
it was eyewitness
so they were able
to use it
to locate something
so in a sense
what I'm just saying
to you is
here we have a document
that even the most
skeptical scholars
believe was written
in the year 53
we have a whole range
of other documents
all written from
that particular time
all making this
particular claim
archaeologists don't
dismiss it
because it's old
neither do treasure hunters
so why would you
other than by faith?
but then the final
objection is
well George
here the big problem
is
that we all know
that this was
written many many
years after
and it was probably
just written
many many years
after
and so he added
that there were
these eyewitnesses
that still were alive
well the fact of the matter
is that once again
as I said
even the most
skeptical scholars
acknowledge that
this was a letter
by Paul
and we know
from historical evidence
that Jesus
that Paul died
probably 67
or 68 A.D.
interestingly enough
he died for a fact
he died
maintaining
the fact
that Jesus
had actually
died on a cross
and been buried
and rose from the dead
on the third day
and if he denied
that fact
he could have gone on
and lived a longer
and happier life
but he maintained
that fact
right to the death
but the fact
the matter is
is that this is
written in 53
skeptical scholars
acknowledge it
and there's some
dynamite in this text
which is even more
significant
it's not obvious
in English
look again
at verses 1, 2 and 3
it says this
now I would remind you
brothers and sisters
of the gospel
I preached to you
which you received
and that word received
in the original language
is actually a very
significant word
in which you stand
and by which you
are being saved
if you hold fast
to the word I preached
to you
unless you believed
in vain
and then I delivered
and that word delivered
in the original language
is a very significant word
I delivered to you
as of first important
what I also received
and that word received
once again
is that significant word
and the significance
of the word is this
that Paul is telling them
something that he was told
that is authoritative
has authority
and weight behind it
that's the significance
of the word
in the original language
but notice what's just
been said here
which is very very significant
you're now seeing
a piece of evidence
in other words
what you're seeing here
is that the early Christians
to help Christians
just keep everything straight
and to give them
a bit of a way
to understand
and to have conversations
with people
and make the story
real to themselves
and be able to defend it
they gave them
these four points
all beginning with the word
that in English
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
that he appeared to Cephas
and then the twelve
and then the others
but the significance
is this
scholars
once again
I've said
scholars don't deny
that Jesus died
on the cross
and because of connections
with what Jewish
and pagan historians
talk about
in the time period
they're able to figure out
that Jesus either died
by crucifixion
in the spring of the year 30
or the spring of the year 33
they can't tell
which one it is
but they know he died
in one of those two years
by the same fact
that there's so many
historical references
in the New Testament
to things talked about
by Jewish and pagan historians
they know that Stephen
was stoned
somewhere between
the year
in the year 33
or the year 34
and therefore they know
that Paul
became a
saw the resurrected Jesus
and became a Christian
in either the year 33
or the year 34
and what's so significant?
Paul says
that when he becomes a Christian
not only does he see Jesus
when he becomes a Christian
what he's told
in either the year 33
or the year 34
is what we read right here
in other words
you're not reading
something here
which is written
40, 50 years later
Paul is giving you evidence
of what he was told
potentially months
after the death
and resurrection of Jesus
and no more than
a couple of years
in other words
what you're looking at
right here
is very, very, very, very
ancient testimony
the exact type of testimony
that if this
was talking about
a pirate ship
that went to ground
treasure hunters
would be ecstatic
if they found it
because it gives them
evidence
going so far back
that they can use
to find treasure
and this treasure
is that there's good news
and the good news
is that Christ died
for our sins
in accordance with
the scriptures
that he was buried
that he was raised
on the third day
in accordance with
the scriptures
and that he appeared
to Cyphus
and then the twelve
and then the rest
of the list
the good news
is that the true cause
of death
has been dealt with
the barrier
to eternal life
has been dealt with
because God
has provided
through Christ
a substitute
which means
that through
that substitution
you can now
enter into
eternal life
because he died
for you
and some of you
might say
okay George
you're saying
this is all
about a substitute
I have a whole
pile of problems
with that George
and you probably
can't answer them
I mean first of all
I don't need
a substitute
why on earth
do I need
a substitute
that's a really
good point
here's why
you need
a substitute
you're going
to die
you're going
to die
and the fact
of the matter
is
as I think
just about
every Canadian
if they're sober
and are honest
recognize that
there's something
about death
that's just wrong
in fact the matter
is
is that I've
talked to many people
you've probably
talked to many people
maybe you are
one of those people
who've used death
as an example
of why God
doesn't exist
because it feels
as if it's a
judgment
on you
why did God
let my mom
die
why did God
let my child
die
why did God
let my wife
die
as if that's
a judgment
somehow upon you
and how dare God
make that type
of judgment
is the next thing
that often goes
the fact of the matter
is is that
in the face of death
we have a sense
that there's something
unnatural about it
that there's something
judgmental about it
and at the same time
we all know
that we cannot
defeat death
that death
will overwhelm us
that judgment
that wrongness
that unnaturalness
will undo
you
inevitably
and so I would
suggest to you
that that actually
shows
that if you're
to have any hope
in the face of death
you need a substitute
so do I
not just you
I need a substitute
but we have some
problems
because in fact
the matter is
is that
in our world
when we hear the word
substitute
it's a bad thing
right
you have a choice
of going to get
freshly squeezed
orange juice
or some drink
that's the orange
color
that's called
orange
and what happens
is they take
all the good
orange stuff
as much as they
possibly can
the good delicious
oranges
they take as much
of the oranges
out as they
possibly can
add some orange
dye
and some sugar
and the orange
dye and the sugar
is the substitute
for the delicious
stuff in an orange
and that's generally
what happens
you need a recipe
and it needs
whipped cream in it
and you don't have
any whipped cream
so you call up
your friend
and you ask him
or her
what can you
substitute for
whipped cream
and you might
actually have
a bit of a
substitute for
whipped cream
but the fact
of the matter
is it will
never taste
as good
as using
real whipped cream
because real
whipped cream
is insanely
delicious
I tell my
friends
we're going
to be able
to eat
as much
whipped cream
as we want
in heaven
it will never
clog our arteries
and it will
never add a pound
and that's one
of the things
you can look
forward to
endless
whipped cream
anyway
now you know
a little bit
about me
so
but the point
is in our
world
substitute
is usually
a bad thing
but look
what Paul
says here
which is so
significant
about substitute
it's so
beautiful
look again
verse 3
for I deliver
to you
as of first
importance
what I also
received
that Christ
died for
that word
for
is the
substitute
word
that Christ
dies
as our
substitute
to deal
with our
sins
in accordance
with the
scriptures
and why
is that
so significant
because the
word Christ
is the
word
that summarizes
all of the
promises of
God
in the
scriptures
about how
God
will deal
with the
sins
when Abraham
goes to
kill Isaac
and God
tells Abraham
that I will
provide a
substitute
all of the
lessons
that God
will somehow
deliver his
people
all of the
promises of
the law
all of the
promises of
the kingship
all of the
promises of
the priesthood
all of the
promises of
Daniel and
the son of
man
that God
himself will
deliver us
that is
captured in
Christ
so what it's
saying is
God
George how
did you die
just give me
some grace
here I'm just
talking about
Canadians values
okay
I'm not making
a value judgment
in terms of
the Bible
in terms of
the Bible
every human
being is
made in
the image
of God
and has
more worth
than the
nation of
Canada
or of
Apple
or of
CBC
the worst
most decrepit
street person
is of more
value than
Canada because
that street
person is made
in the image
of God
but here's
for the
analogy just
this
what God
is saying
here is
God doesn't
say I think
I'm going to
save George
from his
sins so I'm
going to find
the worst
street person
I can and
kill the
street person
for George
no
God
himself
in the
person of
his son
is the
one who
dies for
me
it's as if
you take
the
you take
this foul
orange drink
with dye
and sugar
and God
gives the
best oranges
to substitute
for that
and that
is our
substitute
but some
of you
might say
George
the problem
with substitution
is that it's
unjust
and I can
completely
and utterly
understand that
I am a
firstborn
and my
sister and
I
have me
then my
sister and
my brother
and my
sister and
I called
my mom
used to
refer to
my youngest
my brother
as baby
doll
so we
called him
baby doll
expert menace
because the
fact of the
matter is
he was
profoundly
skillful
this is a
bit of a
warning here
for all you
younger children
he was
profoundly
successful
at doing
a naughty
thing
and then
looking
completely
and utterly
beatifically
innocent
so I
got the
punishment
rather than
him
by the way
my sister
was really
good at
this as
well
so I
was
regularly
the
substitute
for the
punishment
that I
didn't
deserve
my
brother
would do
it
my sister
would do
it
and I
would get
the
punishment
from my
dad
that was
how I
grew up
so I
understand
you
thinking
it's
not
very
fair
but the
fact of
the matter
is
is that's
not what's
being talked
about here
it's talked
about something
which even
fiction understands
and sees as a
great example
of love
I love reading
mystery novels
and one of the
things in
mystery novels
is that not
all the time
but occasionally
one of the
plot twists
is that the
detectives
get the
murderer
and they
finally go and
confront the
murderer
and then the
murderer confesses
and the
wheels of
often what
sometimes what
will happen
in these
novels is
the lead
detective
or a minor
detective
has a bit
of a qualm
about some
little tiny
detail
and then they
go and find
out that what
really happened
is that the
father to
atone for
his life
and to
benefit his
son
pleads guilty
to the crime
that the son
has committed
so the son
can go free
and the father
takes the blame
or the son
does it for
the father
or the mother
does it for
the daughter
or the daughter
for the father
or whatever
it's a regular
thing
and what
do we always
feel in those
particular cases
not that it's
unjust
but what
love
what love
that the
mother would
die
so the
daughter
would go
on to live
her life
what love
and that's
what we see
here in the
substitution of
Jesus for
you and me
in the death
what love
God made
him who
knew no
sin to
be sin
for you
and me
that we
by him
might be
righteous
and forgiven
and some
of you might
say
George there's
no way that
substitution can
work I mean
that's very
very beautiful
you caught me
by surprise
with that I
have to confess
I was thinking
more like you
with the kids
and your
brother and
sister and I
didn't dawn on
me that that's
very beautiful
but how can
it possibly
work how
can the
death of
one person
matter for
everybody
and the
fact of the
matter is
is the
death of
one person
can't matter
for everybody
unless
there's a
particular author
that I've read
every single
one of his
novels and
those of you
who like
mystery novels
know that
sometimes
mystery novel
novelists
create worlds
if you read
Michael Connelly
there's all the
Harry Bosch
stories and
over time
you get to
see his
different his
wife
his ex-wife
his girlfriends
his kid
the different
police he works
for if you read
the Lee Child
novels you get
to learn all
about Jack
Reacher
if you get
to hear about
his mom and
his dad and
the different
people he
worked with
and I could
go on and
on and on
writers create
worlds and
there's this
one particular
writer who
created a
world I've
read every
single one of
his novels
and at one
point in time
there starts to
become a change
in how all of
his right all
of the characters
in his book
behave and talk
and why
is that change
happening is
because of
something that
happened to the
author in the
real world
you see what
happened to the
author in the
real world is
that his son
came out as
gay
in fact then his
second son came
out as gay
and because of
what happened to
the author in the
real world
all of the
characters in his
books were
changed
the Christian
claim is that
Christ is the
substitute for
your sins
Christ fulfills
the promises
if you go back
and look throughout
the Old Testament
how many times
does God say
that he will
deliver his
people from
their sins
and it never
dawned on him
that he literally
meant he will
deliver them from
their sins
he will actually
be the one who
dies and what
we see here in
the gospel is
this profound
mystery of the
beauty of
substitution
that yes
George could
not die so
that everybody
could have their
lives changed
but what if
the author
of all of the
story of the
human race
what if he
enters his
story and
dies so it's
not just
something happening
to Jesus in
history but
something happening
to God in all
eternity and if
something happens
in God for all
eternity then all
of the characters
in his story
their life can
be changed
which is why
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
said that far
more important
than the fact
that you will
die is the
fact that Jesus
has died
far more important
than you
understanding the
significance of
your story is
understanding the
significance of
the story of
Jesus
that in fact
in a great
act of love
the fact that
there is any
evil in all of
the world is
all because of
substitution gone
wrong that Adam
and Eve our
ancestors try to
substitute themselves
for God and
take God out and
put themselves in
as his substitute
and all of human
reality is completely
and utterly changed
and fallen because
of it and how
does God save
God the son of
God substitutes
himself for you
and for me
and bears the
punishment and the
penalty that you
and I could not
bear ourselves
in his death
upon the cross
I told you
you've been very
well behaved
told you at the
beginning I would
try to return as I
draw to a close
with what happened
to Bobby
the parents that I
told you about
their four year old
son it's now
been diagnosed
that he doesn't
have a hearing
problem but a
degenerative brain
disease very very
very very rare
which means that
he'll never learn
to talk
he'll die
at the latest
in his early
teens
and they're
profound Christians
what does this
story tell us
and why what
could be their
hope in the face
of such tragedy
it doesn't mean
it's going to be
easy for them
it's going to be
very very very
hard
but first of all
it helps them
to understand
and it should
help us to
all understand
how profoundly
of great value
any human being
is that God
the son of God
would die for
them
that's why
you share the
gospel with
the most
broken street
person
because they
have a value
that Christ
died for them
it's why you
share the
gospel with
Justin Trudeau
or the owner
of Amazon
or Windows
they have a
value and
you see that
and it can be
it will be a
very comfort
for them as
they deal
with their
handicapped
son to
remember that
this is
something
this child
of theirs
is someone
of great value
the second
thing is
because in
fact
the resurrection
validates
the fact
we can
believe
that it's
true that
Jesus' death
was a substitute
because the
resurrection
validates
it and
validates
the scriptures
and the
resurrection
is a mighty
miracle
so they
and you
can pray
for a miracle
there's nothing
wrong with
praying for a
miracle
but at the
end of the
day
even if God
does not
grant the
miracle
he
Bobby
in the
new heaven
and the
new earth
will be
completely
whole
with a
well
functioning
brain
the
final
word
of him
through the
resurrection
of Jesus
the death
of Jesus
upon the
cross
and his
resurrection
the final
word
about him
is not
a child
that can't
even speak
with an
incurable
disease
the final
word about
him
is
resurrection
because of
what Jesus
has done
for him
on the
cross
and that
can be
your
final
word
too
because
the fact
that you
died
is not
nearly as
important
as the
fact that
Christ
died
for you
and the
story of
your life
is not
nearly as
significant
as the
story
of Jesus
which is
why when
we gather
on a
Sunday
morning
the
significance
of reminding
us once
again
and once
again
the old
story
of Jesus
and his
love for
you and
his death
upon the
cross
in your
place
as your
substitute
the means
by which
you were
made right
and to
know that
story
is to
begin to
enter into
his story
and have
his story
give your
story meaning
and the end
of the story
in him
is resurrection
please stand
if you're
here
if you're
listening to
this and
you've
never given
your life
to Jesus
there's no
time better
than now
to just
say Jesus
I need
a substitute
I now
know that
and I
my life
is a mess
and my
story is a
mess and I
don't know I
have any
value but
now I
understand that
I have so
much value
that you
would die
on the
cross
in my
place for
me
and so
Jesus
be my
savior
and my
lord
be my
savior
and my
lord
come into
my life
and never
let me
go
and
father
Christ
Jesus
help me
now to
so understand
your story
that the
story of
my life
is changed
both in
the present
and the
past
and the
future
there's
no better
time than
that
than now
to pray
that
prayer
and for
each of
us
we can
be reminded
once again
Jesus
help me
to remember
that your
death is
more important
for me to
remember
than the fact
that I
will die
I want
to remember
I will
die
but help
me know
that you
died
and may
your story
be the story
by which I
start to
understand
the meaning
of my
story
and the
direction
for the
rest of
my story
there's no
better time
than now
to call
out to
God
for that
let's
pray
Jesus
we thank
you
that you
died
for us
we ask
that you
help us
to remember
that we
will die
but help
us to
remember
even more
important
that's
vastly
more important
to remember
that you
died
for us
and father
we want
to understand
the meaning
of our
lives
and we
know that
you want
us to
understand
the meaning
of our
lives
so father
help us
to understand
the meaning
of our
lives
in light
of the
story
of Jesus
and so
re-understand
our past
and our
present
and re-plot
our future
in light
of the
story
of Jesus
his death
upon the
cross
for me
and for
my loved
ones
for the
world
and we
ask this
in the name
of Jesus
and the
power of
the Holy
Spirit
and all
God's
people said
Amen