Seeing Ourselves in the Easter Story

He was nervous.

He could feel it.

Inside he was shaking.

And he wondered if anybody around knew.

His friends scattered around the room, food being placed on the table.

There was a sense of celebration.

He didn't feel like it.

They'd gathered like this the last few years.

It was as if they were family.

But he knew this was going to be the last time.

And it was the last time they would gather this way.

See, he'd made a decision that would change everything.

As everybody sat down and started eating, he wondered if they could tell that he was holding something back.

He wondered how they'd react.

They'd judge him.

They'd look him in the eye.

But then again, I mean, this was something he had to decide for himself.

You can't run everything by all of your friends all the time.

I mean, it's a business decision, really.

And they didn't think they could all just stick together as one big group for the rest of their lives, did they?

People move on.

You have to start planning for the future.

It's not always going to be like it was when we were 17, 18 years old.

It was driving him crazy, and in his head, it was all he could think about.

He wasn't even paying attention to the conversation around him.

And as food was being passed from person to person, he could just see their disapproving faces in his mind.

They'd never understand.

He decided he was just going to enjoy the dinner anyway.

And as the bread passed by him, he grabbed a piece out of the basket.

And as he went to dip it in the bowl, his hand bumped Jesus's.

Right then, Jesus looked him in the eye and handed him a morsel to eat.

Let's pray.

Lord, we come before you and we ask that today the power of your death, burial, and resurrection would inspire us, would lift us, would compel us and propel us forward to chase your glory.

We ask that you would allow us to see ourselves in the Easter narrative in a way that would be freeing and life-giving.

Jesus' name, amen.

Well, I want to encourage you this morning.

I want to encourage you that I have more pages of notes than I've ever preached with before.

You say that doesn't sound like an encouragement, Greg, but it is, I promise, and this is why.

See, I see blank space as freedom to just fill it in with whatever's in my head.

And if you know me at all, you know that I am unrivaled in my ability to fill in blank space.

So the extra notes are actually to keep me on track.

But the reality is that there's so much in the Easter story.

It's impossible in many ways to cover it all on Easter Sunday.

And in many times, what we do in our churches is we we take the time and we spell it a whole week and we start devotionally walking through the elements for the whole week, and that's why we call it Holy Week, and we gather on Good Friday and we have Good Friday services to consider our role in the Easter story.

But but today I want to try to look at the whole picture.

As much as we can.

And so I want you to turn to Mark 14.

If you've got your Bibles, Mark 14, I'm gonna start in verse 22.

And we're gonna see a familiar scene in Mark 14, 22.

It says, While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take it.

This is my body.

Then he took a cup and gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many, he said to them.

I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.

It's a familiar scene.

How often have we heard these verses in church?

We read them often when we take communion.

We read them at Good Friday services when we reflect that Last Supper and what was going on as Jesus took the elements of the Passover and likened them to Himself and said, These things have pointed forward to me.

And now I'm here, and my blood is shed, and my body will be broken for you.

It's a common verse.

As a matter of fact, the whole Easter story is commonplace to us in a lot of ways.

If you've gone to church, and many who haven't gone to church actually, can tell you so much about the Easter story.

Many of the elements, how Judas betrayed Jesus, how Peter denied him, how Pilate washed his hands because he wanted no part.

Many of the elements are part of a story that we've heard time and time again.

But therein lies a problem.

The problem is that we can reduce this to simply a story.

And while it is a story, it's not simply a story.

It's the story.

It's his story.

It is the greatest truth ever told.

But like a lot of stories that we hear time and time again, we can become kind of immune to hearing it.

And our brain kind of shuts off.

Oh, this one again.

Right?

I've heard this one.

I know how it ends.

Watch it without me.

No, don't pause it.

Well, today, we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

And we should.

We should, because it is that resurrection that defeated death on our behalf.

It is that resurrection that verifies Jesus' deity, proving him to be God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us.

It is that same resurrection that Scripture tells us serves as the first fruits of a harvest that gives us the ability to place our faith in the fact that one day we will rise to meet with him in the sky.

It is that resurrection on which we place our hope.

Amen.

But the resurrection of Jesus only truly becomes meaningful when we understand the context of it.

Not only its context in history, but the context in our own life.

And we have to.

We have to be able to see ourselves.

How well do you pay attention to what's going on in the Easter story?

Has it become a story book to you?

A fairy tale?

You see, the people in this story are just like you and me.

And sometimes we have a tendency to reduce them to simple characters and not consider the depth of the struggle and emotion and temptation that went into the lives of the people surrounding Jesus at that Passover meal.

And I would propose to you this morning that we could grow quite a bit by taking some time to evaluate the various ways which we resemble the characters that we see in Jesus' life at the Easter story.

And as you can probably guess by my introduction this morning, I'd like to start with taking a look at Judas.

See, those verses that we read, Mark 14, 22 and forward, very common, often used as we celebrate communion.

If you jump up just 12 verses, Mark 14, 10 says, Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priest to betray Jesus to them.

They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money.

So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

And if you skip down a few verses to verse 18, you see Judas at the table.

And in Mark 14, 18, it says, While they were reclining at the table eating, he, Jesus, said, I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.

They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, Surely not I.

It is one of the twelve, he replied.

One who dips bread into the bowl with me, the Son of Man will go, just as it is written about him.

But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man.

It would be better for him if he had not been born.

What's happening here?

Another story we've heard time and time again.

But I wonder if when you read this story of Judas' betrayal, if you ever pause to consider the ways that we are like Judas.

What do you mean, Greg?

Judas is the villain.

He betrayed Jesus, uh, sold him for financial gain.

I'm not Judas.

Right?

Well, folks, I have to tell you, when I look at my heart, I see Judas.

I see Judas.

And I think if we're honest with ourselves, there's Judas in all of us.

There are a thousand ways that we trade Jesus in, that we barter Jesus for the things that we want.

That we use him as currency to put ourselves in a better position in our life to meet our own desires.

Because that's what Judas did.

He said, I could use some money, and if I give up Jesus, I could take it.

But we do this all day, every day.

We know what Jesus has done for us.

We know what he desires for us, and we make little choices all day where we say, you know what, I'm gonna trade Jesus in for just a little, you know, just a little bit.

I'll just kind of cash out just a section of Jesus here and get a little bit of what I want here.

I could honor Jesus by representing my income honestly on my tax return, but I'll trade him in temporarily because it benefits the bottom line.

I know Jesus wants me to honor my wife, but I could trade him in for a little while because I mean I'm I'm out of town and I have free Wi-Fi, I'm kind of bored.

I know Jesus wants me to turn the other cheek here.

But revenge would taste so good.

So, hey Jesus, tell you what, I'm just gonna put you over here for a little bit and I'm gonna take this instead.

You see, there's a multitude of ways that we like Judas sell Jesus in exchange for our own desires.

And I wonder if sometimes when we hear this story, if we remove ourselves and make it just a story and we look at him only as the villain in the story and fail to see ourselves, do we become the person at the table going, surely not I?

All the while knowing what's in our heart.

Because God knows what's in our heart.

The reality is, in the context of my own life, I've been Judas more times than I care to admit.

There are moments that I'm eager to trade Jesus in for something I desire more.

And we look at Judas and we go, but after all he had seen him do, right?

After all he watched the miraculous things time and time again, and yet he still did that.

But look at what I've seen Jesus do.

Look at what you've seen Jesus do, and yet we find ourselves there.

It's this tendency to betray him in every one of us that drove him to the cross that day.

That compelled him to hang on a cross and take a punishment I deserved.

And you say, well, those are the low points in our life, Greg, right?

Those are just the low points.

I mean, that's not every day.

There's days that I wake up ready to fight the good fight.

I mean, I'm ready today.

There's days I'm ready, and I get out there and I'm fighting for Jesus, and you know, I don't want to dwell on the low points.

We got to move forward, and you're right.

But see, sometimes I think that maybe there's a right and a wrong way to fight the good fight.

And when I when I ask myself, is there a right way to fight the fight for Jesus?

Is there a right way to stand up for Jesus?

Is there a right way to defend our risen Lord and Savior?

I'm driven to another character in the Easter story.

And I want to look at the life of Peter.

I want to look at the life of Peter because in John 18, if you turn there, we see a scene.

Says, when he, Jesus, had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley, and on the other side, there was an olive grove.

And he and his disciples went into it.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.

So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers, and some officials and some of the chief priests and the Pharisees, they were carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons.

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, Who is it you want?

Jesus of Nazareth, they replied, I am he, Jesus said.

And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.

And when Jesus said, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground.

And again he asked, Who is it you want?

And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

I told you that I am he, Jesus answered.

If you are looking for me, then let these men go.

This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled.

I have not lost one of those you gave me.

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear.

The servant's name was Malchus, and Jesus commanded Peter, put your sword away.

Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?

You see, we do have moments that we have opportunity to stand up and defend our Savior, don't we?

But like Peter, even our desire to defend him is tainted by sin.

Have you ever justified an action that was too harsh or judgmental by claiming you were just standing up for Jesus?

And look at how Jesus responds to Peter.

He tells his disciple he doesn't need him to protect him.

As a matter of fact, Peter's rebuked here.

Oh, it's true that Scripture tells us to be ready to give an answer for what we believe in.

But many times our answer can become an attack.

We're stating truth, but love is no longer part of the equation.

We cross a line, and in doing so, we cease to be someone pointing to the beauty of a Savior that laid his life down for every kind of sin and sinner, and instead we become an ugly smudge on the glass that people can't see through to get a proper view of Jesus.

And much like Peter, I realize that even my desire to stand up for Jesus is tainted by the very sin for which he hung on the cross.

Isn't it amazing how much we resemble the characters of the Easter story?

Isn't it amazing?

I want to look at another section of Peter's life, again familiar.

Mark 14, 66.

I want to look at this one more section of the characters in Jesus' life prior to the resurrection, and then I want to look at things that happen after.

Because it is the transformational power of the resurrection that comes to bear on these sinful tendencies in us.

But first we have to identify them.

First we have to acknowledge him.

First we have to see our need for a savior.

First, we have to know what drove him to the cross to celebrate the resurrection from the grave.

Because unless we know what we are saved from, the joy is a little empty.

And in Mark 14, verse 66, it says, While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by, and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.

Mark 14:66

You were also with that Nazarene Jesus, she said, but he denied it.

I don't know or understand what you're talking about, he said, and went out into the entryway.

And when the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, This fellow is one of them.

And again he denied it.

And after a little while, those standing near said to Peter, Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.

And he began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, I don't know this man you're talking about.

Immediately the rooster crowed the second time, and then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him.

Before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times.

And he broke down and he wept.

Again, not news.

Right?

But I see myself there.

Have you ever done something that to those around you would have appeared to be a public denial that you even know Jesus?

It doesn't have to come through our words, it could come in our actions.

Have you ever claimed to know Christ publicly, yet later on in a different public setting, found yourself participating in things that seem to deny your affiliation with him?

You act one way at church and another at school or the workplace or at a sporting event or even at home.

I know I do.

I think of what would be communicated to one person if they see me in a setting like this, standing on a stage wearing a tie, preaching the word, and then see me in those other settings where my actions might seem to deny I even know him.

And to them, does it give them cause to question if my faith is real?

Is my denial a missed opportunity to proclaim his name?

Now maybe this is a little different than your typical Easter morning sermon.

I know that.

Normally we just come in and say, He's risen, he's risen, he's risen, and he has, and we're getting there.

But there's a reason he found the grave, and I want us to focus on it.

Our sinful hearts reflect the same issues present in the lives of the Easter narrative that we've looked at.

We are too ready to barter Jesus in exchange for our own gain.

Every one of us has a heart that has a tendency to justify actions that are way too harsh.

Every one of us can be that two-faced follower ready to claim Jesus in one setting and act like we don't even know him in another.

And this is the sin that drove him to the cross.

We need the context of history to remind us that we are the villain that placed him on the cross.

It is for me that he died.

I am the villain.

My sin betrayed him.

My sin beat him.

My sin mocked him.

My sin drove the nails into his hands.

My sin separates me from God.

My sin murdered my savior.

Buried him in a tomb and sealed the tomb with a giant stone.

But we are not here this morning simply to celebrate a slain savior, but a risen redeemer.

And the power of that resurrection is the power that gives us hope.

You see, when we become numb to the story, we miss an opportunity to place the resurrection in its proper context.

The resurrection of Jesus is God's stamp of approval on his son and the work accomplished on the cross.

By rising from the grave, Jesus proved that he was more than a great teacher or a prophet.

He is God Himself in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us, the chosen one, the promised one, waited for, foretold, and delivered.

Hallelujah.

He displayed his power, verifying that he in Indeed, he was Emmanuel God with us.

He proved himself worthy of our faith and devotion.

It is because of the resurrection that we gain the ability to cast off fear of what man can do to our body so that we can chase Christ unashamed, because now we know through the resurrection of Christ that death brought by man has no power to end the life brought by God.

And that is why we are here today.

Through the cross, we find the removal of our old life, but through the resurrection, we find the application of our new life.

Galatians 2.20 says, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Romans 6.4 says, we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

And today we celebrate life.

It's why we have flowers here and all the symbolism that we put out at Easter time to celebrate spring and new life and resurrection and beginning and hope because we find all of that in him.

And it is the same Peter that denied him before the cross, that after the resurrection, Jesus went to in John 21 and said, Peter, do you love me?

And he said, You know I do.

And he said, Feed my sheep three times.

Said the same thing to him, telling Peter, your past, your denial three times of me.

We've wiped that clean.

There is a new beginning.

And all of the sin that we talked about that drove our Savior to the Christ, it no longer has power over you.

See, we look at the cross as the removal of the penalty of our sin, but the resurrection takes away the power sin has over us here and now.

We are given a new life, and in that new life in Christ, we are given the power to walk closer to him.

The penalty of sin is gone.

We still live in a sin-cursed world and we still have sin in our heart, but we do not have to be slave to it anymore.

And it is the resurrection that Scripture refers to, time and time again, is that which sets us free.

The cross dealt with the penalty of sin.

The resurrection takes away the power of sin.

Freeing us to chase him as a new creation.

We are freed from the eternal consequence of our sin.

But we're also freed to chase him differently.

Look at the verses.

I'm gonna go through a bunch.

You can write them down if you want or just listen.

Romans 6 says, What shall we say then in talking about sin?

That same sin, the Judas in us, the Peter in us.

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

By no means.

How can we, who died to sin, still live in it?

Do you know?

Do you not know that all of us have been baptized into Christ?

We were baptized into his death.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

For 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, because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Romans 4, verse 4 says, Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear the fruit of God.

Romans 4:4

See, it is the resurrection that gives us the power to bear the fruit of God.

Colossians 2, 9 through 15 says, For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form.

And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

In him you were also circumcised, and the putting off of the sinful nature, not with the circumcision done by hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him, through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave us of all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us, that stood to oppose us, he took it away, nailing it to a cross.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Amen.

And it is that triumph over death that not only takes away the power of sin in your life, but provides hope for the complete removal of the presence of sin.

See, because though the penalty was removed at the cross and the power of sin over us in this life was removed through the resurrection, the resurrection also serves as our hope for the ultimate, eventual removal of the very presence of sin completely.

I'm looking forward to that.

It's where we find our hope.

That we ourselves will join him for eternity.

1 Corinthians 15, verse 20 says, But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

As you know, first fruits is an agricultural term.

Representing the first of a crop harvested, that represents the quality that can be expected when the remaining crop is ready to be harvested, and we are that crop.

And so we can look at Christ as a guarantee to the quality of our own resurrection.

And since we have seen his harvest, we can place our hope in that fact with great surety.

His resurrection and ascension serve as a blueprint for what is to come.

And since we know the reliability of the architect at work, we can walk in every confidence that the blueprint will be completed just as he said it would.

As a result, though we've come face to face this morning with the ugliness of our sin, we need not fear it.

Because we know that through the cross and the resurrection, Christ has taken the penalty of sin from us, Christ has removed the power of sin over us, and Christ will ultimately remove the very presence of sin from us when we are raised in the same manner as He was.

That is why we celebrate, that is why we worship Him.

That is why we have a hope that cannot be shaken.

This is why we rejoice today.

This is why we can leave here today and live in the truth that the grave has no power over us.

And if this is news to you today, I want to tell you that it is good news indeed.

If you are seeing the cross of Christ differently than ever before, or maybe even for the first time, I want you to know that Christ died for you.

And the same clean slate that he gave the Peter who denied him when he went to him in John 21 and said, Do you love me?

And he said, Yes, I do.

And he said, Feed my sheep.

And he said, Not only will I undo your sin, but I will use you to promote my glory.

He is looking at you today, saying the same thing, and there is a clean slate available for you.

A new life where sin no longer has to have power over you, where you no longer have to be slave to it.

Yes, we will still fight temptation.

First John tells us, if we say we have no sin, we're a liar and the truth is not in us.

We will fight this battle for the rest of our lives.

But the good news is the battle's been won.

And like all good news, the news deserves to be shared.

So whether with me after the service or a loved one near you, if this is something that God is stirring inside you, please share it.

If God spoke to you through the message of the cross today, please share it.

Because here at Faith Free, we want you to know that this new life that we talked about, it's yours.

It's the gift of God wrapped in the form of his own son to give to you.

And maybe today is a day for you to accept that gift.

And for those of us who have known it, today's a day for us to pause on the story.

To let it not be simply a story we tell once a year.

Because that's when you run the reruns.

But to pause.

As we close, I'm going to show you a video today.

It's a short video celebrating the work of Christ.

And it summarizes what we have to celebrate today very well.

Thank you.