1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. (John 20:1)
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (Romans 6:1-7)
What if the next Mel Gibson movie from Hollywood was The Resurrection of The Christ? Could there be a greater story of victory and triumph? The movie could include scenes about Jesus restoring Peter and preaching to the 500. Who would not want to see His encounter with Thomas and the strengthening of his faith? It could end with the giving of the Great Commission and Jesus’ ascension.
What really excites me is not just the movie but imagine how people would leave the theatre. After The Passion of the Christ they left sobbing, somber, and shaken up. The sequel, The Resurrection of The Christ, would cause people to stand and applaud for five minutes as the credits were rolling. The shouting of victory would be heard in near-by theatres, disrupting concentration. Could there be a bigger surprise than the amazing news, “He is Risen Indeed!”?
Who Will You Follow This Easter?
Each day the young pastor stopped at a deli-market for fruit juice on the way to work. Each day, with kindness in his voice, he greeted the man behind the counter, a middle-eastern man with Islamic beliefs. On many occasions the young pastor shared his faith in Jesus Christ with the man behind the counter. The relationship was nurtured with love and consistency. The Islamic man could not understand why the young pastor’s God would be willing to suffer. There was no place for such an ideology in his belief system. Then The Passion of The Christ rolled into town.
Seizing the opportunity, the young pastor encouraged his middle-eastern friend to view the film. He did. A few days later the ritual was rehearsed for the dozenth time: A drive to work in Redmond and a stop at the deli for fruit juice. As the pastor navigated to the counter he noticed something different about the store employee; huge tears were streaming down his face. “Did you see the movie?” he asked. Pausing for a second, the middle-eastern man caught his composure and said, “Jesus is The Man!”
Brock Huard, former quarterback for the Washington Huskies, Seattle Seahawks, and Indianapolis Colts, feels the same way. This is one of the strongest quarterbacks in the NFL declaring his faith in Jesus Christ at a men’s event in our church. With strained voice he referred to The Passion of The Christ by saying, “I want to be like that man!”
The simple fact is this: there is something incredible, therapeutic, reassuring, and cleansing about Easter morning. There is nothing that Easter is unable to provide for. We pick up our story on a dark Sunday morning. John 28:1 says, “It was still dark…” It has been dark since Friday night.
Dark because disciples are struggling for places to hide.
Dark because the Savior’s prophetic word is about to come true; Peter will deny Him.
Dark because the Sanhedrin doesn’t realize that it is only a bit player in an evil plan.
Dark because Satan’s subtle hissings are being executed by the least suspecting.
Remember, it is still dark - early in the morning between 4:00am and 6:00am. A fresh set of footprints make their way to the tomb. They follow footprints of Roman soldiers who just a few hours earlier strolled to the tomb as the body was prepared for burial.
Mary and Mary, oh how their lives have been touched by Jesus. Now they go to minister to a lifeless Savior who has nothing to offer. They are unaware of what waits at the end of the path. An earthquake is generating seismic activity just below the surface. An angel is winging his way toward earth. An empty tomb lies just ahead. The first Easter is about to begin.(1)
Mary and Mary experience shock because they encounter something they were not looking for. Surprises come in many shapes and sizes. They enhance birthday parties and anniversaries. Kids love them at Christmas. Parents expect them, (Hey mom, I’m going to marry you some day). Teachers use them, (Take out a clean sheet of paper for a pop quiz), and politicians diffuse them, (Did you inhale?). We love them. We hate them:
“This is the Ford dealership. Your name has been drawn and you are the winner of a new Ford Explorer!”
“This is the police department. We have your son in custody.”
What is true of life’s experiences is also true of God’s Word. Take for example when Enoch’s footprints suddenly stopped; when a prophet purchased passage for a destination far from God’s will; when the disciples discovered it was Judas.
The story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is full of surprises. The greatest shock is when the disciples discovered He had risen indeed. Imagine all those open mouths and eyes like saucers. Our own resurrection will be nothing short of the greatest surprise life will ever offer. This Easter, be confident that your future is clearer to God than any present day disappointment you face. Never forget that God deals in our potential not our past. He loves you so much He is looking for every opportunity to get you home to heaven.
Now that you have seen His passion let me tell you about His purpose.
1. The Promise Has Been Made
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. (Romans 6:5)
Look at the word, united. It means, “to grow together with the force of being fused into one.” This is not gradual but an immediate act that happens when you receive Jesus Christ.
On Easter morning I was praying and pouring over my notes one last time when my five-year-old son, Joseph, made his way from the bedroom. He curled up next to me and sat in silence as I studied. I asked Joseph if he knew what day it was and he said, “Oh Dad, it’s Easter.”
“Joseph, do you know why we celebrate Easter?”
“Jesus’ dying on the cross for our sins and He rose again…then He gave us new life.”
Here is five-year-old who already knows that Jesus’ death on our behalf is united with His resurrection. No theological training. No prompting by pastor-dad. Clearly, if we are united with his death, we shall also be united with his resurrection.
A Muslim in Africa became a Christian, and some friends asked him, “Why have you done such a thing?” He answered, “Well, it’s like this: Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions. You didn’t know which way to go; and there at the fork were two men - one dead and one alive. Which one would you ask to show you the way?(2)
2. The Debt Has Been Paid
6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6)
Paul is not saying it is impossible for Christians to sin, he is saying it’s stupid for Christians to sin.(3) Why should we not want to sin? You have been set free from a prison of sin. He served your time. Jesus satisfied the penalty so you could be free. Christ died and when you threw your hat in the ring with him, your old man died also.
How did you get free? Someone had to die. It was either you or a heaven-sent substitute. Before you even knew what was required, Christ died. When we were yet in our sin, Christ died for us.
You left prison because a debt was paid. I hold in my hand a bunch of receipts. What do they represent? They are proof that a payment has been made. That’s what happened in verse 6, “your old man was crucified with Christ.”
There is a remarkable prison in Brazil. For over twenty years the government has allowed two Christians to run the prison. The prison is called “Humaita” and it runs on Christian principles. All the work is done by the prisoners, except that which is required by two full-time staff. Families outside the prison adopt an inmate to work with during and after his term. Chuck Colson tells us what he experienced when he visited the prison:
When I visited Humaita I found inmates smiling - particularly the murderer who held the keys, opened the gates and let me in. Wherever I walked I saw men at peace. I saw clean living areas, people working industriously. The walls were decorated with Biblical sayings from the Psalms and Proverbs… My guide escorted me to the notorious prison cell once used for torture. Today, he told me, that block houses only a single inmate. As we reached the end of a long concrete corridor and he put the key in the lock, he paused and asked, “Are you sure you want to go in?”
“Of course,” I replied impatiently, “I’ve been in isolation cells all over the world.” Slowly he swung open the massive door, and I saw the prisoner in that punishment cell: a crucifix, beautifully carved by the Humaita inmates - the prisoner Jesus, hanging on a cross.
“He’s doing time for the rest of us,” my guide said softly.(4)
Paul is asking if you are homesick for your prison cell of sin. Do you miss the guilt? Are you homesick for dishonesty and lying? Do you have fond memories of being cheated and beaten? Do you have a longing to once again see a sinner in the mirror? It makes no sense to go back to prison. Christ has taken your place in that prison. Be free. Be unfettered. Enjoy new life.
3. The Gift Has Been Relayed
7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (Romans 6-7)
For years our kids have enjoyed summers with Grandma Shirley in Fort Worth, Texas. Kenny was the first child to leave us for the summer when he was four. I know what you are thinking, “You sent a four-year-old on a plane with a bunch of strangers?” Yes, we did! Danice thought she could go on the plane to interview every passenger sitting near Kenny and do a quick background check. Didn’t happen. When she was stopped from boarding the plane she immediately turned and walked back to the car, fighting back the tears each step of the way. Kenny was happy, knowing his journey would take him to Grandma’s house.
God has done the same for you. He has placed you on a journey. He has a destiny for your life – salvation.
For God has not destined us for wrath, But to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:9
This life offers hundreds of choices - what you eat, where to live, how to spend your money. Do you realize that eternity only offers only two choices? Heaven or hell. What you do with your relationship to Jesus Christ determines your relationship to God for eternity.
If you put your hope and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, confessing your sins and asking God for forgiveness, you will spend eternity with God in heaven. That’s right. Your intended destination is heaven. God has purchased your passage. God’s purpose for you is to get home. You will never fall beyond his reconciling love. God loves you so much that He wants to live with you for eternity.
The choice, however, is up to you. Even though he stands at the gate announcing the departure of your flight, holding your ticket and travel money for expenses, many choose to board planes bound for other destinations. That is our problem – sin. We’re on the wrong flight!
When traveling, we’ve heard the flight attendant announce our destination in the pre-flight instructions and then say, “If that is not your destination this would be a good time to deplane.” Becoming a Christian is getting on the right flight with Christ. Jesus stands at the entry to the plane and says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me”-Revelation 3:20.
There are many flights, and each of them promises to take you to places of pleasure and happiness. There are planes of passion, power, and possessions. I traveled on the plane of pleasure for many years. I noticed that everyone was always loud and boisterous. It took me some time to learn that it was all a cover-up for a guilty conscience.
The word for getting on the wrong flight is sin.(5) Sin is when we say, “I’m in charge of my life and no one else will tell me what to do.” Sin is leaning on and trusting everything or everyone but God for what only God can give. What is the middle letter in the word sin? It is the letter “I.” Sin is about me. I’ll do what I want when I want.
Am I the only one ever to get on the wrong flight? No. Some flights are more crowded and others are lengthier than others. Maybe you have boarded these flights:
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; Isaiah 53:6a (NIV)
We’re sinners, every one of us in the same sinking boat with everyone else Romans 3:20 (Msg)
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 16:25 (NIV)
To board the wrong flight is the most serious mistake you could ever make. Sin breaks your relationship with God. Sin also destroys our relationship with others because it makes us selfish. One of the great things about Christianity is that it delivers us from our selves.
Imagine taking a long flight to the wrong destination with a bunch of cranky and selfish people. And what do they do on those kinds of flights? They pour the liquor as if that’s what’s going to help.
Imagine being on the wrong flight heading in the wrong direction spiritually. What will happen? You’ll end up in hell. Not because God wants you in hell, He wants you in heaven, but because of your choices.
Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 33. He was a 10-time winner on the PGA tour. Paul says, “A genuine fear came over me. I could die of cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I am going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer of something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in gold became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live.” Then he remembered what Larry Moody, the PGA Bible study teacher said to him, “Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going into the land of the dying. This is the land of the dying and we’re going to the land of the living.”
Paul Azinger recovered from cancer. It taught him that the only flight worth being on was the one that offered him a personal relationship with Jesus.(6) God will do almost anything to get you to heaven, but He won’t force His will on you. The decision is yours. So, how do I get on the right flight?
The Solution: Grace (The Right Flight Provided)
God loves you too much to let you die in your sin, so He made a provision by sending His one and only son Jesus to die in your place and on your behalf. So, is there any hope for you?
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Let me help you appreciate this verse with this illustration:
Suppose you commit a crime. You are found guilty and sentenced to death by lethal ejection. The judge that sentences you to death announces the sentence and then breaks down and sobs uncontrollably. Why? The judge is your father. He knows the law. He cannot deviate from the standard range of punishment. Your crime requires death. But your father loves you too much to let you die. So without warning he climbs down from the judge’s bench, removes his robe, stands next to you and announces, “I’m going to die in your place, Son.” That is what God has done for you and me. Because the wages of sin is death, heaven’s justice requires death for your sin. But heaven’s love cannot stand to see you die. So God left his place of royalty, authority, and heavenly robes and came to earth to die for us.
God put the world square with Himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sin. God put on Him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be made right with God. 2 Corinthians 5:21(Msg)
The Response: Trust and Faith (Getting on the Right Flight)
How can I get on the right plane? Three simple triple-A steps:
1. Admit: admit that God has not been first place in your life and ask him to forgive your sins. (1 John 1:9)
2. Agree: Agree that Jesus died for your sins and that He rose from the dead and lives today. (Acts 4:12)
3. Accept: Accept God’s free gift of salvation. (Eph. 2:8-9)
Will you let God place you on the right flight, the one bound for Heaven? Surrender your heart and life to him now. Admit your need, agree with his work, accept his grace, and say this short prayer.
“Father, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus purchased my salvation on the cross and that He rose from the dead. I choose to accept Him as my Savior. Thank you for this free gift. Amen”
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but, through me.”
(John 14)
End Notes
(1) Max Lucado. He Still Moves Stones, Word Publishing, 1993, pg.
(2) Bruce Howell. The Gospel vs. Religion, SermonCentral.com. Contributed by Tom McCros
(3) Max Lucado. In The Grip of Grace. Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas, 1996, pg. 113-114.
(4) Ibid, pg. 113
(5) Max Lucado. The Gift for all People. Multnomah Publishers, Sisters, Oregon, 1999, pg. 129-130
(6) Paul Azinger. Zinger, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids Michigan, 1995
