Vision Series 2023

Well, good morning everyone. My name's Steve Jeffery. I'm a senior pastor here at St Paul's.

I got a sense this morning someone in this building is walking with a significant limp.

That's not a spiritual moment. It's because the sole of your shoe was just down the front here.

And so if that's yours or your kids, you might want to come and grab that because

they're going to be suffering by the end of the day.

I'm grateful that you're in here today in this building on this special occasion.

So why are we here?

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was born in 10 BC and he died in 1854.

He was as surprised as anyone else in the world at the time that he became the most powerful person in the world in AD 41

when he became, at the age of 50, emperor of the Roman Empire.

When Claudius was a child in an obscure part of the Roman Empire,

a poor teenage girl gave birth to a son and named him Jesus.

Unlike Claudius, Jesus was born in obscurity.

He wasn't born in a palace.

Just before Claudius became emperor, this same Jesus was crucified by the Roman Empire on a cross just outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus lived roughly half the time that Claudius lived and he died a public, shameful and excruciating death.

Claudius was an accomplished historian, an accomplished writer.

Jesus, on the other hand, never wrote a book.

Unlike Claudius, Jesus never raised an army and expanded an empire.

And in fact, Jesus never ruled over a realm in his short life.

And yet 2,000 years later, you could be forgiven for not knowing anything about Claudius at all.

On the other hand, Jesus became, by any measure, the most influential person who has ever lived in the history of humanity.

Why?

Even to this day.

Why?

One reason throughout history, scholars have said,

one reason for that is because of his exquisitely beautiful life.

Only two people in history,

only two people in history have ever caused so many people to wonder

if they were in fact more than just human beings.

Two people.

Buddha

and Jesus Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth.

Unlike Buddha, Jesus was the only one of those two who claimed to be, in fact, more than just a human being.

The main reason for his influence, though, is not just the exquisiteness of his life,

but is why we're here today.

And in the next little while, I want to just take a look at that outrageous claim

that around about 2,000 years ago,

a man who died an unbelievably horrible death

came back to an unbelievably wonderful life

and offers to include us in that life

if only we would align ourselves with him.

And so I got three points.

If you got the St. Paul's app in front of you,

you can open this up and follow along.

Really simple.

Well, resurrection is reasonable.

Resurrection is relevant.

And the resurrection is good.

That's kind of where I'm heading in these three points real quick.

So the resurrection is reasonable.

The fact that Jesus was crucified was not unusual.

Around Jesus' time,

there were dozens of little movements within the Roman Empire

where the leader declared themselves to be the Messiah of the Jewish nation,

but also the Messiah of humanity.

As Jesus himself did.

And in every case,

those leaders were executed for leading some kind of a rebellion.

And in every case,

those little rebellions,

those little movements

collapsed the moment the leader was executed.

Except for the Christian faith.

Except for Christianity.

It exploded from that moment.

So how is it possible that Jesus,

a born into Jewish man,

was able to get the Jewish people around him

to believe that he wasn't just the long-awaited Jewish Messiah,

but that he was, in fact,

God himself?

That was incomprehensible to the Jewish nation.

And it still is this day.

And how is it possible that within 200 years of Christianity beginning,

that it was dominant in the Roman Empire,

despite incredibly significant attempts by every Roman emperor to stamp it out throughout the empire?

How is it possible that today Christianity is the largest and most widespread culturally and geographically of all religious faiths?

Of all the major faiths in the world,

they normally dominate one area in the world and have a smattering here and there.

The Christian faith is equally spread across cultures and continents around the globe.

It is spread into all layers of society,

into very different cultures and languages.

How is it possible?

Well, the Bible says that after Jesus was killed,

he came back to life and appeared to his followers.

And so Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 15,

a public document in the Roman Empire.

I'll pick it up at verse 3.

What I received I pass on to you as of first importance,

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,

and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time,

most of whom are still living,

though some have fallen asleep.

And then he appeared to James and then to all the apostles.

And last of all, he appeared to me also as to one abnormally born.

The historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is formidable.

For one, British scholar N.T. Wright wrote a very significant work

attesting to the historical evidence simply called the resurrection of the Son of God.

And in that book, he suggests that if you don't begin with an imposed philosophical bias,

against the possibility of miracles,

the resurrection has as much attestation as any other historical event.

And if you do have a philosophical bias against miracles,

he suggests you must be able to explain every event in the world.

What that means is whether you believe it or whether you don't,

you are taking a step of faith.

Which is the very first message that we preached in this whole series way back in February.

There's no 100% watertight argument for the existence of God.

And there's no 100% watertight argument for the non-existence of God.

That means every single person is taking a step of faith.

Every single person is a believer in something.

And yet, I know this is 2023 and most people around us just don't believe that,

don't believe in the possibility of resurrection.

It comes as shock to us that they didn't believe it in the first century either.

The very first believers in Jesus didn't believe in the resurrection,

weren't expecting it, weren't looking for it.

As you read through Mark's account of the life of Jesus,

you notice that Jesus tells his followers very clearly on three separate occasions

that he will die and that he will rise again.

And the weird thing is, third day after his resurrection,

no one's expecting it.

You see that in the Mark passage that was just read out to us.

You know, the followers of Jesus, those early disciples, the blokes,

you know, they're not hanging around on the first Easter day

wondering whether they should at least go to the tomb and check it out.

You know, wake up for breakfast.

First, hey guys, you think we should just wander down to the tomb and just,

you know, Jesus mentioned it.

Should we just check it?

The women have bought spices to anoint a dead body.

They were expecting to prepare his body for burial.

The three women who eventually go to the tomb

were wondering who's going to open the tomb for them.

They prepared everything except how to get in.

And their first thought at seeing the stone rolled away

and the tomb empty was not that Jesus had come back to life,

as he said he would.

Their first thought was that someone had stolen the body.

That is, the point is,

the resurrection was just as difficult for these guys

as it is for us.

What Christians believe

is that the New Testament record about Jesus is true

and that these accounts of what happened in the life of Jesus

are totally different than myth.

They're not even written the way myth is written in the first century,

in the way that Greek and Roman myth is written.

Mythology in the first century is shrouded in a distant past

that does not connect with real history.

The New Testament books are talking about real history.

Pilate the governor,

Herod the king from Galilee,

Caiaphas the high priest,

these people are known in history outside of the New Testament.

The accounts of the New Testament were all written

while eyewitnesses were still alive.

I could spread a rumor to say,

someone I've just known has just come back to life.

Someone that you all know has just come back to life.

It would take no time at all to disprove that

if it wasn't true.

These New Testament accounts were written

while the eyewitnesses were still alive.

Paul's letters were written within 15 to 30 years

after the death of Jesus.

This is not mythology.

Scholars call it eyewitness history.

And what's more,

the enemies of Jesus would have loved nothing better

than to be able to wheel the body of Jesus

back into Jerusalem in a wheelbarrow,

dump it in the center of the town

and say, there you go.

There's your Messiah.

What a hoax.

The Romans stationed their own soldiers

at the entrance of the tomb.

They were protecting it themselves

and it was empty.

There was no dead body.

And the thought

that these cowardly disciples

who abandoned Jesus

and his crucifixion

for fear of their own lives

would suddenly agree amongst themselves

to come up with

the classic April Fool's joke,

steal the body

and then die themselves

for that hoax

is just nonsense.

It's lunacy to think that.

The point of all this is simply to say

that when we Christians say

that Jesus risen from the dead,

we're speaking historically.

It's not a spiritual thing.

It's not mythology.

It's not emotional.

It's historical.

The New Testament uniformly teaches

and assumes that Jesus lived in history,

that he died as a substitute for sinners

and that he rose again on the third day.

Which brings me to my next point.

What's the relevance of the resurrection?

Philippians 3 verse 20 to 21,

Philippians 3:20–21

which is just read out to us by Aidan,

reveals at least some of the relevance of it.

But our citizenship is in heaven

and we eagerly await a saviour from there,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

who by the power that enables him

to bring everything under his control

will transform our lowly bodies

so that they will be like his glorious body.

What is assumed in Philippians 3,

in those verses right there,

is that Jesus was raised from the dead,

that he is now alive and very powerful.

And the reason why Paul assumes it in Philippians 3

is because he clearly states it in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

And in Philippians chapter 2,

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

you will never read anything anywhere in any literature

more sweeping, more important and more true.

Referring to Jesus, it says,

who being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself and became obedient to death,

even death on a cross.

And therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus,

every knee should bow in heaven and on earth

and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

That's why Christianity has spread the way it has.

And 50,000 people a day are still becoming Christians

because of that statement there,

of who Jesus is and what he's achieved.

Jesus was and is equal with God.

He is God.

He became a human being.

He obediently suffered and died.

That means that his death was a plan.

It wasn't an accident of nature.

It was a plan.

And the point of the plan was that Jesus Christ

would be a substitute for sinners,

as Ash has just indicated,

and that everyone who trusts in him

would have sin forgiven.

This was God's plan for the salvation of humanity.

And it says,

Therefore, because of that plan,

God exalted him to the highest place,

raised him from the dead and exalted him to the highest place.

Because of the obedient and successful life and death,

God raised him from the dead

and gave him great glory as Lord of the universe.

That is, this day,

we don't just celebrate Jesus came back to life,

but we acknowledge that he rules.

He reigns.

You see it there in verse 21,

by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control.

Now, in one sense,

he's got the right to rule because he's the God who made everything,

not just because he died and rose again.

That is, he did not have to die and rise again

in order to be who he actually is.

This gives him, however,

because of his death and his resurrection,

not just the right to rule

because he's God,

but right to rule because he suffered

and redeemed all of humanity.

And the impact of Easter Sunday

is that there is no higher authority,

but this higher authority lived,

who lives now and reigns now,

sacrificed his life for our life.

That's the kind of authority you'd want to submit to.

There is no place,

there is no sphere of reality,

there is no dimension of existence

anywhere in the universe

that is not under the absolute authority

of the merciful, loving, benevolent Lord Jesus Christ.

And when the world in which we live

doesn't look like it's under the authority of this God,

it would be wiser for us to marvel

at the mystery of his ways

than to question the scope of his power.

Christ's power pervades the universe

from the largest to the smallest elements of reality.

There's not a single area of his life,

of our lives,

that is not to be surrendered to this Jesus.

That's the point of Easter Day.

This Easter Day is not mere symbolism

of how to endure hard things in life

and to rise above difficulties.

Easter Day means that Jesus Christ

rules the universe

as the name, as Philippians 2 says,

that is above every other name

and he calls all people to surrender

to his loving authority.

And 2,000 years later,

that continues to happen

across every generation,

culture, language, people, group, and nation.

Easter Day is a public declaration.

This is news.

Not symbolism.

This is news for all people.

It's not like the news bulletin on TV

about something that's happened

that doesn't cause you to stop cooking dinner

in order to turn it up.

It's not one of those kind of news bulletins

kind of things.

This is life-changing news.

This is stop and listen and reflect news.

The difference between the bulletin news

and the life-changing news is this.

Suppose you hear the news on the TV

that 10 children in Chatswood

were hit by cars while playing

in their front yards in the last 12 months.

And you hear that news

and you go,

what a tragedy.

That was really hard for those parents.

And you continue to cook your dinner.

And then, as you do that,

suddenly the front door of your house

bursts open

and your 10-year-old son

comes screaming into the house

with the news

that your 8-year-old daughter

has just been hit by a car

in the front yard.

It's exactly the same news.

But this time it's different.

The first piece of news was true.

There was good evidence for it.

Now there's a piece of news

that goes straight to the core of your being

and it shakes you.

Everything in you comes alive

to the reality

that this news is now about you.

It's personal.

It will change everything in your life.

It will break your heart.

It will shatter things in you

more deeply than has ever been touched.

That's the news of Christmas.

Easter.

Come back for Christmas.

That's the news of Easter.

Jesus is God.

He died for your sin against God.

He was raised triumphantly from death

for life eternal

and he will never ever die again

and he rules over the universe.

And he has been appointed

as ruler of the universe

and he offers every single one of us

life as he himself is alive.

What that means is

that this resurrection of Jesus

is so, so good.

It's so good.

It's not just plausible and relevant.

It is good.

Jesus comes to every individual,

every culture

and he offers

to fulfill their deepest desires

and their best aspirations.

As we've been investigating here

in the last couple of months

of the church,

we're running with the theme

Jesus is all about life.

We've seen that Jesus offers us

this stuff on the board,

meaning, satisfaction,

freedom, identity, hope, justice,

a whole range of things.

Fundamentally though,

because of his resurrection,

he offers us

the thing that we all

want to hang on to.

Life.

The free gift of life.

And he's not calling us

like every other religion

in the world,

like every other philosophical system,

earn your life.

He's giving it to us.

He's not showing us

the way to live

in order that we might

find ourselves acceptable.

He's achieved it for us.

He's swapped his eternal life

for death

so that we

who are enslaved

to our own sin,

enslaved to our own selfishness,

who deserve death,

are set free

and given life forever.

Did you notice that?

I know it was really quick.

The two massive implications

for us

in Philippians 3.

They're staggering

and they're filled

with hope

and joy

and life.

The first is in verse 20

where it says,

our citizenship

is in heaven.

The resurrection of Jesus

guarantees

an eternal home.

Life

beyond

this life.

It's another way

of saying

that the person

who trusts in Jesus,

you have security

forever.

nothing can take

it away from you.

I went to a funeral

on Thursday

for a young guy,

37,

and there was

a little video clip.

This was someone

who trusted in Jesus.

There's this little video clip

where they just,

he died from cancer,

he could hardly speak

and his last words

on the screen

were,

don't fear for me,

I am home

and I am happy.

I am home

and I am happy.

You see,

what Jesus promises

is where he is

there,

you have the privilege

to be

as he is alive

forever

so you can have

life forever.

Which leads

to the second implication

which says

that very simply

in Philippians 3.21

that Jesus

will transform

your body

into be like

his resurrected body.

The Lord Jesus Christ

who by the power

that enables him

to bring everything

under his control

will transform

our lowly bodies

so that they will be

like his glorious body.

The resurrection

of Jesus

is the answer

to our deepest

longing in life

and that is

to live life

well forever.

We want to be young

and vibrant

and healthy

because those

were the days

before emotional pain,

the burden

of responsibility,

the frailty

of a life

slowly

epping away.

In fact,

this is unique

about the Christian faith.

The Christian faith

is the only

philosophical system,

it's the only religion

in the world

that actually promises

renewed

new and perfect minds,

new and perfect hearts

and bodies

that are new

and perfect forever.

It's the only religion

and philosophical system

that says that life

beyond this world

is as physical

and real,

more physical

and real

than this world.

It's the only one.

It's not clouds

and harps

and that kind

of stuff.

The message

of Easter

is not that Jesus

died

so that we can

float around

in disembodied

souls

in some

fluffy realm

somewhere.

the physical

resurrection

of Jesus

guarantees

a physical

life.

The resurrection

changes

everything

in life.

This is

hope.

Hope

for the wheelchair

bound.

Hope

for the person

with crippling

emotional pain.

Hope

for every human

being

who is yet

to face

the thing

that we fear

the most,

death.

the message

of Easter

is that the

creator and ruler

of the universe

has died for us

and that if we

trust in him

he'll one day

bring us back

to physical

life.

Richer and

fresher and

more beautiful

than anything

that we've ever

experienced before.

if you

can't

imagine

a life

with

everything

evil

with

everything

broken

with

everything

frail

with

everything

dark

with

everything

horrible

taking

out of

it

and all

that's

left

is just

the

sunshine

and the

beauty

perfection

if you

can't

imagine

that

neither

can I

our

frail

imaginations

frankly

cannot

take it

in

because

we've

never

experienced

it

but as

you read

several

chapters

earlier

in 1

Corinthians

it says

what no eye

has seen

what no ear

has heard

what no

human mind

has conceived

the things

that God

has prepared

for those

who love

him

the

resurrection

means

the

maker

of all

time

and space

has

stepped

into

this

world

his

world

out of

love

for us

it means

that we

are worthy

of his

death

and he

wants us

in his

life

it means

that we

are more

seen

we are

more

known

we are

more

loved

than we

could

dare

to

hope

it means

the

greatest

offer

ever

the

greatest

offer

that has

ever

been

made

is

sitting

on

the

table

waiting

to be

taken

up

so

friends

I'm not

sure

how you

feel

about

Jesus

today

I get

the mood

of our

culture

that the

Christian faith

feels like

old clothes

you've

long got

sick of

or clothes

you would

mean

seen dead

wearing

at all

or even

clothes

from a

different

culture

not your

own

maybe

you've

been hurt

by

Christians

or you've

seen

Christians

hurt

others

and I'm

sorry for

that if

that's your

experience

or it's

quite possible

that you've

already rejected

something that

you don't even

really understand

you've never

really thought

about

maybe you've

tuned in

today

living the

dream

or maybe

you've

tuned in

today

trudging

through a

muddy

field of

hopelessness

none of

us

and I

mean none

of us

come to

today

none of

us come

to questions

of faith

without

some

experience

or some

feelings

good or

bad

just or

indifferent

we're

all in

that boat

if we

dig deeper

though

and allow

ourselves to

pause long

enough

we all

long for

hope beyond

the grave

we all

long for

it

some kind

of happy

ending in

our lives

that's why

we love

Hollywood

and we

hate movies

that don't

have a happy

ending

we love

the happy

ending

for our

lives and

for our

loved ones

so whether

you think

that hope

of everlasting

life is

pure

naivety

or wondering

if there

might just

be a God

who you

can know

I want to

tell you

Jesus is

for you

I want to

encourage you

don't bury

your brains

don't bury

your brains

I would

ask you

to ask

the awkward

questions

to reckon

with the

hardest

truth

that shadow

each one

of our

mortal lives

take a

fresh look

at the

resurrection

claim

and consider

if it is

just wishful

thinking

or whether

it might

be

against

all odds

be all

our wildest

dreams

come true

Jesus

is

all

about

life

the

how

love

God