“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
– C.S. Lewis
What do you see?
Those words from C.S. Lewis are inscribed on his memorial at Westminster Abbey in London. When I think about today, when I think about this Sunday, Easter Sunday, I think about these words. The reason I believe in the Good News of Easter is the same reason I believe that the sun has risen today. Not only because I can see the sun, but because by it I can see everything else. And the Good News of Easter Sunday changes the way I see everything.
I wonder what you see today.
Some of you see each other, too much! You’ve been staring at the same people in your family 24/7 for weeks on end and while you’ve loved the extra family time or more time with your spouse, you’re starting to look into online counseling!
Some of you see the numbers rising. The numbers continue to climb of people infected with the virus. And for some of you those numbers aren’t just numbers anymore, because you know someone who has COVID-19. You see the numbers rising and you’re filled with fear and anxiety.
Some of you see the stocks falling. You’re watching your retirement disappear. A month ago you felt pretty good about your future and about your plans, but now… you’re not so sure. With each new day you’re wondering what you’re going to do and you too are filled with fear and anxiety.
Some of you see the sick, the hurting, you see the exhausted healthcare workers, and the needs of people all around you. You’re filled with concern for the suffering and to some degree, a feeling of helplessness.
How we see what we see…
But here’s what I want us to SEE today…
How we see what we see changes what we believe and how we live.
You don’t have to be a student of history to know that this is not the first pandemic the world has faced. It may be the first time we have faced something like this, but it’s not the first time the world has experienced this kind of crisis.
In fact, if you go back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries, you’ll find that more than one pandemic hit the Roman world. And when a pandemic hit the Roman Empire the Romans would flee.
They would leave the city and go to their villas in the hill country until the sickness had passed. They would shelter in place outside of the city until the pandemic had passed and they could return to the city.
Ironically, it was the Christians who stayed back, not just to care for each other, but for others too. They believed that every person was a person of immeasurable worth and so they cared for anyone who was sick including women, children, the poor, and those who were slaves.
Here’s how Alvin J. Schmidt describes it in his book, How Christianity Changed the World: “When epidemics broke out [the Romans] often fled in fear and left the sick to die without care. … the Romans saw helping a sick person as a sign of human weakness whereas Christians, in light of what Jesus taught about helping the sick, believed they were not only serving the sick but also serving God. Thus, Christianity filled the pagan void that largely ignored the sick and dying, especially during pestilences… This Christ-motivated humanitarian behavior, so admirably displayed by early followers, also introduced the notion that because God loves humanity, Christians cannot please God unless they love one another. This… was revolutionary.”
Between the pandemics of the 2nd and 3rd centuries and the persecutions that Christians were under during those days from Rome, Christianity should have ended. It should have never survived through the second and third centuries.
But their endurance and their response no matter the crisis, whether it was a pandemic or persecution, led the Romans to say this about Christians, “These imbeciles are persuaded that they are absolutely immortal and that they will live forever.”
(How Christianity Changed the World, Alvin J. Schmidt)
These early Christians saw the sick and the hurting and they saw many people running away yet they ran toward those who needed help, even at great personal risk and cost.
Why?
Because, how we see what we see changes what we believe and how we live.
These early Christians living in the Roman Empire were only a few generations removed from an event in Jerusalem that changed how they saw everything else and how they lived.
Some of them could have had relatives who were eye witnesses to the events in Jerusalem that week.
Who were there the day that this Jesus of Nazareth entered Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. Who were there when the crowds sang and shouted, “Hosanna in the Highest!”
Who were there the day this Jesus drove out the money changers from the temple with a whip and righteous indignation.
And who were there the day the crowds had turned. No longer were they shouting, “Hosanna in the Highest.” Now their shouts had turned to “Crucify Him.”
And they were there the day He was beaten. They were there that Friday Roman soldiers made Him carry His own cross. They stood by and watched as his mother cried countless tears. They heard his screams as the nails were driven into his hands. They were there the day Jesus died.
They were there the day Hope died.
On Sunday, they saw Hope enter the city and they were ready to crown Him King!
But on Friday, their King was crucified and now, Hope was dead.
What do you do when hope dies?
Have you ever been there?
You were holding on to hope that things would change, that things would get better before they got worse.
You were holding on to hope that you would get the job, or get the promotion, or get the raise.
You were holding on to hope that they wouldn’t cancel that one thing that you were really looking forward to this Spring.
You were holding on to hope that the relationship would last.
You were holding on to hope that you would get the cancer free report.
You were holding on to hope… but then, the day came when you got the news, and it wasn’t good news. And that day, hope died.
That Friday, on that cross, Hope died for many people. And no one knew that day what would happen next.
Mary’s tears revealed the truth… she believed the story was over and that her son was dead.
The disciples, his closest friends and followers, scattered because they believed the same.
Roman soldiers were professional executioners. When they decided to kill someone, they died. And now, Jesus was dead.
The religious leaders smiled because they believed their plan had worked and that they had won. Their pride, their position, their power protected.
Satan himself thought the game was over. Just three years before he had tried to tempt Jesus into taking the easy way out. Jesus wouldn’t bite. So satan connived and contrived a plan to kill the One who threatened his hold on the world. And don’t you know there was a party that night inside the gates of hell.
What now?
That Friday, hope died. No one that day knew the word Easter.
No one knew that day that even after the darkest Friday, there was a Sunday that was coming that would change all of human history.
Here’s one eye witness account of what happened next from one of the most ancient accounts of this event in our scriptures…
Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”
The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.
Mark 16.1-8
No one knew on Friday what would happen on Sunday. No one knew on Friday that three days later the stone would be rolled away and Jesus would rise again. No one knew that Resurrection day was right around the corner. But this is what Easter is all about. It’s all about resurrection.
And… it’s by this day that we see every other day!
This is why…
This is why those early Christians in the 2nd and 3rd centuries living in Rome during pandemics would run toward the sick and dying. Because they believed what Paul wrote was true…
That “…Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.”
1 Corinthians 15.3-6
And because they believed that Jesus rose from the grave, they believed that this was true…
“We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
Just like Jesus’ resurrected body!
Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15.51-57
If we believe what they believed…
It was by Easter Sunday that these early Christians saw every other day. And because they believed that was true, it changed everything for them.
Here’s what Chuck Colson wrote about them: “As a result, even though [Christians] often died in the process of taking care of the sick, people wanted to become Christians because it was a better life than pagans and they saw something they wanted.”
If we believe what they believed, that the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth changes everything, then WE HAVE GOOD NEWS TO SHARE.
Like C.S. Lewis we can say, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
This is the Good News. Not just that we will rise again, but because Jesus is alive everything changes.
And even after the darkest Friday, there’s a Sunday that is coming when…
HOPE WILL ARISE.
The Good News
This is the Good News for you today: Because Jesus is alive everything changes.
Because Jesus is alive today, how you see what you see changes what you believe and how you live.
So when you look at your family that you’ve been living 24/7 with during quarantine, how you see what you see changes what you believe and how you live. Now, what you see are the other people in your immediate circle who are also living through this pandemic, who are also dealing with their own fear and anxiety, and who need you to love them, support them, and encourage them. When we get scared we become inherently selfish. But when we live from faith we become selfless and we look for ways to love and serve those around us.
So when you see the numbers rising and numbers growing of people who are infected and who are dying, how you see what you see changes what you believe and how you live. Now, what you see is that every person is a person of immeasurable worth. It doesn’t matter what country they live in, the language they speak, the color of their skin, their political party, or their financial status. None of that matters. What you see when you see people are people created in the image of God who, because they are image bearers of God, are people of immeasurable worth. They might not even believe in God! But that doesn’t change the fact that they were created by him, in his image, and because of that they have immeasurable worth.
And when you see the stock market falling and your retirement shrinking, how you see what you see changes what you believe and how you live. You remember that your hope and your future was never in those numbers in the first place. Were you working to be a good steward? Absolutely. Were you being wise and thoughtful and responsible with the gifts God has given you? Yes! But your hope and your future was never in the gifts of the Giver, your hope and your future has always been and always will be in the GIVER Himself.
This is what WE BELIEVE.
That Jesus is alive and because Jesus is alive, everything changes.
That even after the darkest Friday, there’s a Sunday that is coming and…
HOPE WILL ARISE.
It happened 2000 years ago after the darkest Friday the world has ever known.
And it will happen again.
HOPE WILL ARISE.
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