When Believing is Seeing
What do you believe?
If you’re like me, you caught this headline this past week and your heart just began to sink. I was walking out of my office when someone asked me, “Did you see what’s happening?”
If you know anything about me, then you know the answer to that question 99% of the time is, “No.”
I don’t catch every news story. I don’t always know what’s happening on social media. I’m probably the least perceptive person you know so if you think I know something chances are I probably don’t know unless someone just comes right out and tells me.
My friend said, “It’s all over social media. The church in France, the Notre Dame Cathedral, it’s on fire!”
I checked and he was right. It was all over social media. Every news site was covering it. This historic church, some 875 years old in Paris, France had somehow caught on fire while undergoing renovations.
The church itself is historic. Losing it meant losing hundreds of years of church history. But more than that, it contained a ton of church history as well. Cherished artwork. Beautiful stained glass windows. And, according to tradition, the crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the cross. Now I don’t know if it’s the actual crown of thorns. But even so, the history that could have been lost was significant.
Thankfully they were able to put the flames out on Friday. Much was destroyed, but not everything.
As they put out the fire we started to see photos from inside the church. One of the first photos I saw that caught my attention was this photo. Inside the church, with smoke still smoldering, you could see this cross.
We Love the Cross
We love the cross, don’t we?
Those of us who believe in Jesus, who have given our lives to following Jesus, we love the cross. We look to the cross as a great source of hope, encouragement, inspiration and when we see the cross, we don’t see an instrument of death, we see love.
Even those of you who are not sure what you believe, you’re not sure if you believe this story is true, that Jesus is who He says He is… if I had to guess I would say that even for you when you see the cross, it has some meaning for you.
If you were going through a bunch of old boxes cleaning out old things, you might discard old picture frames, dated decorations, but if you saw a cross you probably wouldn’t be so quick to throw it away…
Why? Because the cross has meaning.
In fact, it would be hard to imagine our world without the cross.
Celebrities wear it around their neck. We have stickers on our cars. If you’re driving down the interstate and you get behind an 18 wheeler that’s dirty you’ll probably see where someone wrote in the dirt something like, John 3:16 with a cross beside it.
The cross is everywhere in our culture and in our world.
We love the cross. We cherish the cross.
But the cross wasn’t the end of the story, it was just the beginning.
Friday
At 9AM that Friday morning, they nailed Jesus to that cross.
Around noon that day, the sky became black as night. Dark. Can’t see your hand in front of your face dark.
And at 3PM, Jesus died. Murdered on a cross. Crucified for crimes He did not commit.
A man by the name of Joseph from the town of Arimethea went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. After confirming that Jesus was dead, Pilate agreed.
Joseph, along with another man by the name of Nicodemus, risked their reputations, their wealth, their security, their pride and position to be the ones to go to the cross and take down the dead body of Jesus. Joseph had purchased a new tomb nearby that had never been used. With the help of some women to wrap the body, they buried Jesus there. And a large stone was rolled across the entrance of the tomb.
When the sun set Friday night, Jesus was dead. Gone. Buried. His followers had scattered. Most of them abandoned Him. All of them were in fear for their own lives. The man they thought was Messiah is laying in a garden tomb.
But the tomb wasn’t the end of the story, it was just the beginning.
Saturday
Saturday came and went.
The shock and awe of what had just happened still hung in the air with those who had spent the last 3 years following Jesus all over Israel. They had gathered together in one place to encourage and support each other. But no one knew what to do next.
Would the same religious leaders who arrested Jesus and had him killed come after them next? Would the same Roman soldiers nail them to a cross? One thing was for certain, life would never be the same again. But what was next, they had no idea.
But their fear wasn’t the end of the story, it was just the beginning.
Sunday
Sunday morning, two women from their group went to the tomb.
They needed to finish the funeral. They needed to put spices on the dead body of Jesus. They didn’t have time on Friday. By the time Jesus had died, Pilate had given his permission and they had gotten the body down from the cross, the sun was going down. Passover was beginning. The Sabbath was beginning. They had done all they could do that day. The rest would have to wait until first light on Sunday.
They didn’t know how they would get to the body. There was a large stone in front. And they didn’t know how they would get past the soldiers. They were there to guard the grave. But they didn’t let their questions keep them from Jesus.
When they arrived they were the first to learn, the first to see, Jesus wasn’t there. Jesus was no longer dead. The angels told them something they could barely believe except that they could see it with their own eyes. Jesus was alive. He had risen!
They went back to the place where the other followers of Jesus were gathered, still mourning His death and wondering what was next. They were the first to announce the gospel. Jesus is Alive! It was the very first Easter and they were the very first ones to preach this Easter message.
Jesus has risen from the dead!
Next 40 Days
Over the next 40 days, they would see Jesus multiple times.
They would see His hands and His feet where the nails had been. And they would even see His side where a spear had been thrust to confirm His death.
He would be seen by more than 500 people during that time. 500 witnesses of His resurrected life.
But His resurrection wasn’t the end of the story, it was just the beginning.
50 Days After Easter
50 days after the very first Easter, 50 days after His resurrection, 10 days after His ascension and return to Heaven, His disciples were gathered in Jerusalem.
Jesus had told them to go there and wait. He was going to send them the Holy Spirit.
Now it’s Sunday. It’s Pentecost. The day that the Jewish people celebrated the day that God met Moses on Mt. Sinai to give them the Torah, the Word of God.
It’s on this day that all of a sudden they hear a sound from Heaven. It sounds like a mighty wind, but there is no wind. Just the sound of wind.
Then they see what looked like fire above each one of them. It was burning but it wasn’t burning anything up. And then all of them who were there were filled with the Holy Spirit.
About 1500 years before, God had met Moses on Mt Sinai to give the people of God the word of God. Now, God has come down once again to give His people the gift of the Holy Spirit.
But the gift of the Holy Spirit wasn’t the end of the story, it was just the beginning.
The Story Shared through the Gift of the Spirit
Through the power of the Holy Spirit they were gifted with the ability to speak in other languages. Languages that could be understood by everyone who had gathered in Jerusalem from far off places to worship, to celebrate Pentecost.
All of a sudden, no matter where you were from or what language you could speak, you could hear these followers of Jesus from Galilee speaking in your language. Telling the story of Jesus in your language.
This story wasn’t just a story for one group of people. From the very first day, it was shared in every language for all people for all time.
Everyone there that day is now paying attention to what’s going on.
And with all the attention on them, Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, steps forward and puts the attention where it belongs. On Jesus. And this is what Peter says…
What do we do?
“People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.
But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.
But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.
You killed Him on Friday. But God raised Him up on Sunday!
“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
When they realized that the Messiah they were looking for had come, they just couldn’t see Him, and so they crucified Him… they had only one question.
Now what?
What do you do when you realize that it was your sin that put Jesus on the cross?
When they realized this reality, they were devastated. Cut to the heart.
What do we do now?
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”
What do you do when you realize it was YOUR SIN that nailed Jesus to the cross?
The good news is that your sin is not the end of the story, it’s just the beginning.
And watch this…
Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
But that wasn’t the end of the story, that was just the beginning.
Fast forward 2000 years. Now, you and I are together in this place. And this is the question hanging in the balance:
What do you believe?
Sometimes, I think we get so consumed, so caught up in what’s happening today, or what we have to do tomorrow, that we forget about eternity.
We forget that the perspective we should be living life from isn’t the perspective that focuses on the NOW, but on the ETERNAL. I love the way David Platt says it,
“Everything looks very different when your eyes are fixed, not just on today, but on what will matter ten trillion years from now.” – David Platt
So let me ask the question this way, Where will you be ten trillion years from now?
I know where I’ll be. And it’s not because of anything I’ve done. It’s not because I’m good. Like you, I’m fully aware of what I’ve done. I know how often I’ve failed. I know I am far from perfect. I know there is sin in my heart and sin in my life and it is a daily struggle to live the life I want to live. And the problem isn’t that sin makes you bad and Jesus wants to make you better. It’s that sin makes you dead. The wages of sin is death.
The Good news is that your story doesn’t have to end in death.
If you put your faith in Christ, then ten trillion years from now, I know where you will be. I know where I’m going to be.
We’re going to be sitting beside the crystal sea that flows from the throne of God. We’re going to be walking on streets of gold. We’re going to pass by the pearly gates. We’re going to be enjoying the place where there is no more sin, no more darkness, no more sickness, no more shame, no more hurt, no more pain, no more tears. We will be in that place where we can SEE JESUS!
We’re going to be spending eternity with our Father in Heaven who loved the world so much that He gave His One and Only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life! (John 3.16)
Do you believe? Do you believe the story is true. That Jesus is who He says He is?
That on Sunday morning, some 2000 years ago, He walked out of that grave?
If you do, then maybe it’s time for you to say these simple but powerful words.
Yes, I believe.
And when you BELIEVE, you begin to SEE.
You can see Jesus.
You can see His love for you.
You can see He came for you.
You can see the cross He bore for you.
You can see the price He paid for you.
You can see the distance He traveled for you.
You can see the pain He endured for you.
You can see that there’s nothing He wouldn’t do for you.
You can see that there’s absolutely nothing that can separate you from his great love for you.
Some people say seeing is believing. But in God’s economy, believing is seeing.
Want more from this Series… Click here.
To hear this message click to watch.
