Easter

Well, maybe you want to have those verses in Romans chapter 8 open in front of you.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

But in the end, it's only a passing thing.

The shadow, even darkness must pass.

A new day will come.

I wonder what your heart's response is to the words of Tolkien's character,

Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings.

As they come at you this morning.

Right? Check them out.

Fanciful fairy tale.

Wishful thinking.

If only it were true, could it be true?

Well, here's what I want to do just for the next 15 minutes or so.

Whoever you are here today,

wherever you've come from,

whatever you think about this man Jesus,

I just want to present you for 15 minutes

with the great Christian hope.

And why Jesus Christ walking out that tomb some 2,000 odd years ago,

the first Easter Sunday,

is the most magnificent and significant moment

that you and I can ever hope to hear about.

Now, I've got three children.

Probably heard one of them this morning.

And I was there at the Edinburgh Royal

for each of their births.

I watched, I listened,

I shed a tear or two,

which for a Scotsman is saying something.

Right?

But the primary feeling I remember having

as I was watching our children being born

is that feeling of being utterly helpless

in the situation.

In my struggle to work out as a man

how I could help in those final hours,

I learned that there's things that are helpful to say

and there's things that are unhelpful to say.

Can I get you some water?

It's a really helpful line.

Would you like me to hold your hand?

Another helpful line.

I'm so proud of you.

Another helpful line.

All helpful lines.

But here's an unhelpful line.

Can you guess it?

I feel your pain.

That's a dreadful line.

Dreadful line.

Because you don't have a clue about the pain.

And yet, to totally contradict what I've just said,

here's what the Bible would say.

To the everyday follower of Jesus

who's living their lives in this world

day after day after day

that so often, if we're honest,

feel exactly the same,

is that you do know the pain.

Maybe it surprises you to hear me say today

that the central metaphor that the Bible uses

to talk about the great Christian hope

is the pain of childbirth.

Now, that might seem completely bizarre to you.

Surely there was a better one

that we could have picked.

I mean, does God need a new PR team?

One that's more in touch with the needs of 2022 people.

And yet, when you think about it,

yes, bizarre,

but when you think about it,

how deeply profound,

how real,

how earthy.

It's what people,

when they become Christians,

I've so often heard them say

that the Bible became the most real book

of their lives

because it is the word of our creator.

You see, this idea that on the other side

of all the pain and the suffering

and the tragedy that we experience now

as we live our lives in the world,

on the other side, there's joy.

Let me explain.

You see, in the beginning of the Bible story,

there's perfection.

God forms the world.

The sky, the seas, the sun, the stars.

He speaks.

It does his bidding.

This God is all-powerful.

It happens.

He forms the world

and then he turns to fill the world.

Plants, animals, sea creatures,

and the pinnacle.

And get this.

Human beings.

Every single life stamped

with inherent dignity and worth.

You see, the very concept

that all life matters

is not a 21st century discovery.

You come to the pages of the Bible

and you'll see that it's an

in-the-beginning declaration

that's made over every single human life

because we are made in the image

of our creator God.

And so right there is Adam and Eve,

the first human beings,

they're enjoying God

and his good creation

in the Garden of Eden.

And most importantly,

they're enjoying the blessing

and the right,

the blessing that comes

through that right relationship

with the God who made them.

And whoever you are here today,

if you want to find joy and security,

in your life,

the Bible will tell you

that the place to find it

is in relationship

with the God who made you.

Make sense?

Purpose and meaning

are to be found

in life with this God.

But you see,

Adam and Eve's defiance against God,

and that's how the Bible

would describe the sin

that's in every single one

of our hearts and lives,

causes Eve to eat the fruit,

which means

that God has to banish

the pay of them

from his presence.

And the ripple effects of sin,

they go wide

and they go deep.

This is where we tap

into our verses today.

You see,

creation

has felt the effects

of sin.

You see,

when humanity

fell into sin and death,

the created order

somehow shared

in that fall.

Nature is beautiful

as it is.

It isn't

what it ought to be,

nor is it

what it was

fully created to be.

We often use that phrase,

don't we?

It's something that's just,

it's not quite firing

in all cylinders.

You heard that phrase?

Not quite firing

in all cylinders.

I think if we're honest

this morning,

in all of us

at some level,

we would acknowledge

that about the created world,

would we not?

Every time we hear

of a natural disaster,

every report

that reaches our ears

of the effects

of climate change

and the future

of our planet,

instinctively,

what do we want to do?

We want to reach

for the instruction manual.

We're on Google.

We're Googling

a number of customer services.

We're looking

for that guarantee

because I don't think

this was the way

it was designed to be.

It's the same

with our human bodies.

They too have been affected.

Illness,

sickness,

joint pain,

asthma,

cancer,

death,

yeah,

all things that weren't

at the beginning

of the Bible story.

You know,

a friend recently

down at the school playground

was telling me

how she was,

she's been caring

for her mum

as her mum's been

getting older

and getting frailer.

Every day she would

go and see her mum,

day by day by day

and she said,

I knew it was getting bad

towards the end

when the wedding ring

just fell off her finger.

It's not how it's meant to be.

It's not how it's meant to be.

That's tragic.

I think we've maybe

just got so used to death

that we've become numb

to the fact that death

is the ultimate intruder

and the Bible would call it

the last enemy

in God's great story.

And our emotions

are caught up in this.

Do you not know

your own heart?

Anger,

bitterness,

envy,

rage.

You look at it

on a global scale.

Wars,

jealousy.

And on top of that,

for the Christian believer,

we have this indwelling

battle with sin.

We know the life

that God has called us to,

He saved us for,

and yet we struggle

in so many ways.

And for many around the world,

physical persecution.

Again,

the same question

comes at us,

is this the way

that we were supposed to be?

You know,

let me ask you

if you're here today

and you're not a Christian,

what do you do with that?

It's all well and good,

isn't it,

whistling the jolly tune

of Monty Python?

When you're chewing

on life's gristle,

don't grumble,

give a whistle,

and this will help things

turn out for the best.

But we know

that life's not as simple

as that.

It's not a helpful line

if talking of

unhelpful lines.

It's not one to pull out

at a funeral,

is it?

What do you do with that?

Where do you go with that?

How do you process that?

Well,

for the Christian,

the follower of Jesus,

here's where our metaphor

kicks in.

As we live in,

our lives in this world

and in these bodies,

as we experience

what that is,

we groan,

we long,

we yearn for

the day when this

would all disappear,

this would all be

a distant memory.

As we do that,

we are experiencing,

the Bible would say,

the pains of

childbirth.

We know the pain

of those things,

but there's hope.

And that's what

Easter Sunday is.

It's a declaration,

heaven's declaration

of hope.

What?

Where?

How?

Why?

Why?

The answer to all of these,

the Bible primarily presents us

with a who.

You see,

Jesus of Nazareth

walks onto the stage

of human history.

You have to say,

the most absorbing

personality

ever to have walked

this planet.

You know,

I was looking at it this week.

In fact,

back in 2013,

data researchers

at Wikipedia

announced Jesus

as the most famous

person in history.

Napoleon II,

Shakespeare,

coming in for the bronze.

To be or not to be,

it wasn't to be

for Shakespeare.

Jesus,

the most absorbing

personality of history,

compelling individual,

wonderfully true.

You cannot read the Gospels

and conclude

anything other than

that this Jesus

is magnetically wonderful.

I mean,

I often,

as a Christian believer,

just read the Bible

and think,

who would have come up

with a Jesus

as good as this?

But Jesus says

that he's more,

not just popular,

but Savior.

He is God

in human flesh.

And yet,

with those credentials,

his life ended

on a cruel Roman cross.

What's going on there?

It's just a substitution.

He is taking the punishment

that the sins

of his people deserve,

and he's taking them

on himself.

He dies in the place

of his people.

He pays the debt,

the enormous debt

that we've racked up

against our Creator

and one that was

standing against us.

And on the third day,

he rose.

It's heaven's verification

that this man

is who he says he is.

He did what he said

he'd done.

You see,

when Jesus rose

and walked out of that tomb,

his,

I need to get this,

his earthly body

having been replaced

by his new resurrection body,

the perishable,

having given way

to the imperishable,

the body that was subject

to death

now replaced

with a body

never to see decay.

He was doing more

than pulling off

a neat trick.

Jesus was putting

the curse of sin

and the inevitable

destination of death,

and sin and death

are just two sides

of the same coin.

He was putting

the gear into reverse.

Bringing in the dawn

of a new age

is the first fruits.

I love that phrase,

first fruits.

You ever wonder,

I remember our kids love,

they love strawberry picking.

We go up to Fife,

you might have done that.

I always love the thought

of a farmer

working hard

over the winter

and then at this point

in the year,

the first strawberry's there.

Bang,

the rest of it's going to come.

First fruits.

That's Jesus.

You know,

it's almost as if

when he walks

out of the tomb,

he gets a rope

and he throws it back in

and says to all of creation

and to all those

who would hope in him

and trust him as Savior,

and he says,

grab hold.

You're coming out with me.

For the truth is

that one day

when Jesus returns

all of creation

and every single believer

will,

as it were,

follow him out

of that tomb as well.

As Jesus returns

and ushers in

this new creation,

you see,

creation at the moment

is like a full,

as C.S. Lewis

described it like this,

is like a full

piece of orchestra

all set up

ready to play

but sitting in a darkened

hall gathering dust

and yet on that day

when Jesus returns,

it will gloriously play.

Similar with our bodies,

right now,

death and decay

but then we'll be

transformed to be

like his glorious body,

never again to see decay,

enjoying the new creation

with the God

who made us

and the God

who loves us.

Having banished

all evil.

And that's why

this comes this morning

as a loving,

inviting warning

to those of us

who do not know

this Jesus

as King and Savior.

If you reject him,

if you continue

to do that,

the groaning

that you feel

will not end in hope.

Your sins

will see you

end up facing

eternal death

and judgment,

caught up in the victory

of Jesus

over his enemies.

And that's why

this morning

the news that

Jesus is alive

should grab

your attention

and cause you

to fall on your knees

and worship him.

When the old

order of things

is gone

and the new

order with Jesus

as King

has come.

And viewed like that,

you can see

why childbirth

is the perfect

metaphor.

And that's why

you do know

the pain.

And some of you

will be feeling

the pains

of that right now

in all sorts

of different ways.

Medical conditions,

mental struggles,

relational tensions,

family concerns,

the death of loved ones

that is just

bringing a sting

and it's a scar

that you will probably

be carrying

for the rest

of your life.

Bring them together.

What is it?

It is the pains

of childbirth.

You know,

sometimes I find

in my job

when you hear

and you walk

with people

through certain

things in life,

all you've got

is a soul

which cries out

and he says,

come Lord Jesus

and make it new.

I pray,

whoever you are

here today,

that your soul

is strengthened

by God's Holy Spirit

living in you,

dwelling amongst us,

that in this

risen Jesus

there is hope

abounding.

And I love that,

just as he said

at the tomb

that very first

Easter day,

we heard it read,

Jesus just said,

Mary.

This follower of Jesus,

she had her life

transformed by him

and yet the one

in whom she hoped

was gone.

And yet Jesus says,

doesn't just say

generic woman,

he says,

Mary,

I know you,

everything's changed,

life's going to be

all right.

Do you know why?

Because I've died

for your sin

and I live

and I love you

and everything's changed.

Would you hear

through the Spirit

of God living in you,

would you hear

in a similar way,

I pray,

him speaking your name

today,

that there is joy

on the other side

of the pain.

You know,

sometimes in life

you just have to stop

what you're doing

and you just have

to remind yourself,

don't you,

that 2,000 years ago

somebody walked out

of the grave

and it's changed

everything

because in the end

it's only a passing

thing,

this shadow.

Even darkness

must pass

a new day

will come.

So what do you reckon

this morning?

Fancy,

fanciful fairy tale?

Wishful thinking?

If only it were true,

can it be true?

Jesus says

to each of us today,

he says,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

The one who believes

in me will live

even though they die

and whoever lives

by believing in me

will never die.

Do you believe this?

So that's the question

we've got to think

about today.

If you'd love to explore that,

you'd love to read

about this Jesus,

make up your own mind

as to who you think he is,

it would be our joy

to do that with you.

Please just speak

to somebody

who maybe you came with today

or somebody at the door

or grab me afterwards.

We'd love to make

that a possibility

because there's life

to be found in this Jesus.

So why don't we just

be quiet for a moment

just before we

close our service together

and sing.

Why don't we just

take a moment

and be quiet,

be still

and then I'll just

bring us back

and we'll close

in prayer.

Amen.

For in this hope

we were saved,

but hope that is seen

is no hope at all.

Who hopes for what

they already have?

But if we hope

for what we do not yet have,

we wait for it

patiently.

And we thank you,

Father God,

for the wonderful

earth-shattering news

of the Jesus

who walked out of that tomb

all those years ago.

and we thank you that that really

has changed everything.

And so I pray for whoever is here today,

for those who,

maybe this is the first time

they've heard about

this Jesus,

your son,

would today be the day

that they find life

and forgiveness in him.

Father,

for those who are struggling

this morning,

who are feeling the pain,

oh,

may the truth

of the glorious Jesus

capture

and strengthen hearts

this morning.

We just thank you

for

the truth

that he is risen,

that he knows our names,

that he is interceding,

he's praying for us

at your right hand

and that

gloriously

one day he will return.

The one who says,

behold,

I am making

everything

new.

Oh,

Father,

we pray that you'd be with us

as we finish

our time together.

Thank you for this morning

and we pray these things

in Jesus' powerful name.

Amen.