The Parable of the Sower

Every couple of weeks the Elders meet at Denny’s at 6am for breakfast. It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it. We do it to hold each other accountable but of course it’s nice to have a cooked breakfast at the start of the day. The topics for discussion are often very challenging. At the moment, we are using the book “The Man in the Mirror” to prompt discussion. Last time we discussed Chapter 3 “Biblical Christian or Cultural Christian”. We all moved in our seats a few times because we are living in a society where it is very easy to be just like the culture. We all aspire to be Biblical Christians but sometimes when we check, the reality doesn’t match up. The chapter is based on the Parable of the Sower found in Mark 4:1-20

One striking feature of this parable is that the scattering of the seed seems a bit haphazard. You are left with the impression that as much seed fell on the path as fell in the rocks, amongst the weeds as on the good soil. Surely this could not be the case! Any decent farmer would ensure that almost all the seed fell on properly prepared soil. Before you even start, there would be plenty of work completed. There is no mention that the farmer went through the process of deciding what to grow, purchasing the grain seed, preparing the soil by ploughing it, sowing in the right season, trying to prevent the birds coming with a scarecrow or something similar, watering the seed, watching for the new shoots, tending to the weeds, patiently waiting for harvest or going at once to harvest the crop when it was fully ripe. Is Jesus saying that the sower should just go about and preach the Word and no further action is required. If this is the case, we can neglect all preparation and follow up. No, I don’t think that’s His point. Perhaps sowing the Gospel is such dangerous work that the farmer runs in and out of the field as fast as possible scattering the seed in all directions so he can get out of there with his life still intact. No, I don’t think that’s it either.

I think Jesus is illustrating a principle of the Kingdom of God that the sower doesn’t know where the good soil is. The sower cannot see inside a person’s heart and know if it is ready support growth or not, so he casts his seed everywhere in the hope that it will find good soil. The response might be poor but he has to trust that the seed will grow. But that does not mean that preparation is not required and we don’t need to follow up with new believers!

A second striking thing about this passage is Jesus’ reason for speaking in parables. Isn’t it unfair of Jesus to use coded messages so that people outside God’s Kingdom will not understand, turn to God and be forgiven? The passage Jesus quotes is from Isaiah 6. This was a deliberate act on God’s part, as judgement on Israel because they had rebelled over a long period and were living in such sin, despite having God’s presence, the law and continual warnings from the prophets. Israel had no excuse to be ignorant. It had been trained from very young to know better. But it is a fact that doing wrong continually will dull your conscience. Eventually, you can’t see what’s wrong with what you’re doing and you cannot actually hear what God is saying anymore. This is what had happened to Israel. At that point God just confirmed in judgement what had been going on for some time. It is actually merciful for Him to do this, like any nightmare it is supposed to scare you and wake you up! That is why God says “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart…”

Do you know this week I read that the main reason Christians don’t read their Bible is because they don’t understand it. Now I had always thought this was because they were not giving it the right priority. But we ought to consider whether the lack of understanding is due to poor priorities, a lack of good teaching or is an indication that something is seriously wrong. With so much scriptural knowledge freely and otherwise available, there is no good excuse for a lack of understanding. So is it possible that the modern church has become like Israel, in danger of God’s judgement, having more security in the world than in Christ. That is a sobering thought.

But the Good News is that those in God’s Kingdom can understand it. Jesus called this parable a simple message. Even if parts of this parable scare you, that’s good. It means you’ve woken up! You are blessed. Blessed, if you understand the message. And if you have trouble understanding, don’t give up! Jesus said. “Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you”. Note that people who understand and put the message into practice, are given more and more understanding.

The parable begins with a decision by the farmer to sow some seed and out he went. Jesus explained that anyone who tries to bring God’s message to others is like the farmer in this parable. And the only way to sow good seed is to use the Word of God. All other things we do are to prepare the ground to sow the Word of God. Friendship evangelism, social events, Perk Up, Kiwi Games, Soccer Academy, the Community dinner are the means to prepare the ground. But in doing them, we mustn’t forget to sow the Word of God! Anyone can speak the Word of God not just the theologian, the preacher, those in full time ministry, the missionary, Christian writer or musician. The parent, the Kids Church teacher, the Bible in Schools teacher, the person working or at school …yes even you. So many times God comes to sow good seed through the ordinary person simply speaking from the Bible, especially the Gospel. Heaven will back you 100% to bring the Word but you’re going to need full backup. Have you ever noticed that speaking the Word is what takes the most courage and hard work. You really enter the battlefield when you do that – the devil does not want one word spoken of the Gospel. Because he knows Gods promise that it never returns void. That’s what he’s most afraid of. Think of all the people that have spoken God’s Word into life and thank God for them!

Are you like the farmer today?

I am not a biologist but I’m going to explain the Germination Process to you. The modern farmer doesn’t have to push a plough. In this day and age you have many tools at your disposal, and one of those is the internet and Wikipedia! The point of explaining the germination process to you is to give you the faith in the seed that you sow. The seed contains everything needed for growth and under the right conditions it will grow. That is the way God has designed it and that is the way his Word is also. The Lord declares, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55.10-11

Gods word to you is do not neglect to sow the seed!

The Gospel seed is very small but it can grow in virtually any conditions. In the parable, the only time it didn’t grow was when the birds came immediately and ate it. The message is so simple – “Jesus died on the Cross for your sins. Believe and receive eternal life”. You can tell someone the Gospel in less than 5 seconds. Time for that quick getaway again! Within the seed is all the DNA needed to grow a great crop. Each person receives the same power to be transformed. If the plant grows to fruition, it multiplies many times over the number of seeds from itself. The Gospel message is enough that if believed, will make a person born again and totally transform the person’s character so they are no longer recognizable as the person they were before. Once they grow to fruition, they are able to bring many others into God’s Kingdom. You can think of many people who have become Christians who are evidence of this truth.

Jesus teaches that the results are due to the difference in the soil type. The condition of a person’s heart.

• The first seed falls on the path which represents someone with a hard heart. This type of person is enjoying their life without God and sees no need to change. They see the message as judgmental and they brush it off very quickly. The seed just sits on the surface of the path and doesn’t penetrate below the surface, so the birds waiting in the trees or on the telephone lines come immediately to take the seed. You cannot receive the message if you do not want to change. A lot of people in New Zealand are like this. They need a scarecrow! They need a bulldozer to break up the path! We need to hire a contractor to get to these guys. We need God’s help to get below the surface.

• The second seed fell on rocky soil. This person is too shallow. They receive the message with joy but when trouble comes, they give up too easily. The roots only go so far. As soon as they encounter rocks they give up and go back. They have not gone deep enough in their relationship with God. They remember the good times from their life before and they turn around and go back. Sadly a lot of people in New Zealand would be like this if they did come to Christ because we are so used to our comfortable lifestyles. We are not used to being uncomfortable! How can the Church prepare for these people should they come in? There is a lot of hard work to be done to remove the rocks and replace with good soil.

• The third seed fell in the weed patch. This person’s heart has divided loyalties. New Zealand culture is full of weeds and it’s the weeds that prevent the seed from bearing fruit for God’s Kingdom. The weed is a plant but it doesn’t bear any fruit. There are many things we enjoy about our culture but they don’t bear any good fruit. The finer things in life often make us too comfortable and trap us into putting our efforts into pursuing more. We work hard and we get promoted and earn more money. We take on more debt and buy a bigger house, or invest. We want to ensure our kids get the best of everything. We work longer hours to support our lifestyle but we’re stressed. Soon we just want to relax and watch TV, listen to music, play games and do something else other than go to Church on Sunday or serve God during the week.

• The fourth seed fell on good soil, thank God. This is the only person who Jesus says understands and accepts the message. They put their faith into action. The difference here is this person brings others into the Kingdom of God. In Mark this isn’t specified clearly, just that the person bears a crop that is 30, 60 or even a 100 times greater than what was sown. But seed always produces after it’s own kind. In Matthew the same parable specifically states that the person brings others into the Kingdom. And we should always produce more than what has been sown into us. To whom much is given, much is expected. This part of the message has troubled me the most because only the person who brings others into God’s Kingdom is classed in this category. Of course we do not necessarily know the impact our lives may be having on others. We should not give up because we see little fruit. As with the man in Sydney we heard about a few weeks ago. We can still be like the farmer sowing seeds.

What is the soil in New Zealand most like? The people here are living carefree and easy. Compare New Zealand with Africa or China where many people are coming to Christ. There the soil is good but why? Well if we went back 100 years or more, the results there weren’t very good either. But the missionaries persisted in sowing the seed. A lot of hard work was done by them. But then God also allowed very hard times to come to those places in the form of wars, famine, disease, politics and persecution that softened people’s hearts to receive the Gospel. And in the past the message has had a good response in New Zealand after World War 2 for example. Sometimes God allows hard times to come into a person’s life so that they will wake up and be more receptive to God. We don’t like this thought but it is because God loves us that that He allows such things to happen. And notice that hard times can come to a nation or an individual to turn them around. We do not always know how God is working in someone’s life. Perhaps the people we know are more receptive than we think. There is certainly a lot of pain and heartache in New Zealand through divorce, broken relationships, alcohol, drugs, empty philosophies and shallow lives.

Different seasons in people’s lives can change the soil. Even good soil will turn to weeds if left alone. The Gospel seed can lay dormant in someone’s life for a very long time. What is taught in Kids Church today may not come to fruition until the person is much older. But when cracks appear in a person’s life, when a crisis comes and shakes them up, it turns the ground over and makes them realise they need to change. They get rid of certain bad things in their life – alcohol, drugs, bad relationships. They spring to life. Or if they’ve never really heard the Gospel before, suddenly they become ready to receive the seed.

The parable of the sower is not difficult to understand but it is very challenging. It troubles us over which ground we are like. It reminds us that we are accountable, that we need to bear fruit. But it also encourages us that we can accomplish much with small things. We can all be like that Farmer. Scattering seed is not difficult to do but let’s not forget to do it!

How does God’s message find your heart today – is it hard, is it shallow, is it full of weeds or is it receptive?

Today is always the right day to respond to the Gospel.

If God is speaking to your heart today, what are you going to do about it?

Armistice Day

During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place on Christmas Eve. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever. It was freezing cold, miserable and horrific.

As night fell, the British soldiers noticed the Germans putting up small Christmas trees along the top of their trenches and lighting candles to go with them. Then, the Germans began singing carols, and though their language was unfamiliar, the tunes were not. Across the way, in the "no man's land" between them, the British and French troops began singing back. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a "Christmas" truce.

The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. The Germans put up signboards up and down the trenches in a variety of shapes. They were usually in English, or - from the Germans - in fractured English 'YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT' was the most frequently employed German message. Some British units improvised 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' banners and waited for a response. More placards on both sides popped up.

Then amazingly the soldiers left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands. The first order of business was to bury the dead who had been previously unreachable because of the conflict. Then, they exchanged gifts. Chocolate cake, cognac, postcards, newspapers, tobacco. In a few places, along the trenches, soldiers exchanged rifles for soccer balls and began to play games. According to the official war diary of the 133rd Saxon Regiment, “Tommy and Fritz” kicked about a real football supplied by a Scot. “This developed into a regulation football match with caps casually laid out as goals. The frozen ground was no great matter […] The match ended 3-2 to the Germans.”

Peace didn’t last very long however. In fact, some of the generals didn't like it at all and commanded their troops to resume shooting at each other. After all, they were in a war. Soldiers eventually did resume shooting at each other. But only after, in a number of cases, a few days of wasting rounds of ammunition shooting at stars in the sky instead of soldiers in the opposing army across the field.

For a few precious moments there was peace on earth good will toward men. All because the focus was on Christmas because there's something about Christmas, there is something about Jesus, that changes people.

4 years later, the war was over. And on this day in 1918 – November 11^th at 11am a peace treaty was signed. World War 1 – what people at the time called “the war to end all wars” was finished. Huge celebrations all over the world! In a few hours from now at 11pm tonight which is 11am in Europe, Armistice Day will be celebrated with a 2 minute silence to remember the end of World War 1.

But as we all know now, just 21 years later – World War 2! And we also know that mankind continues to fight wars all over the world to this day and will in to the future. Because mankind in all history has not found peace through a treaty or any other man-made way. The Bible tells us there is a serious problem we all have which is the reason we cannot find peace and that is our sin.

The Bible tells us the Good News that mankind can find peace with God through Jesus. Jesus died on the Cross so that you could have forgiveness and peace from God. God promises that if we only believe this simple message, then our sins will be forgiven and forgotten by God. Do you believe this? If you truly believe this, then you will receive peace from God. And Jesus promises that this peace is not fragile like the peace the world gives. Why not sign a peace treaty with God today by asking Him to forgive your sins and thanking Him that Jesus died on the Cross so you could have peace. November the 11^th 2009 could be your Armistice Day with God. His Peace lasts forever!

The face of Christ

A long time ago a man in China who was very downhearted and discouraged was one day travelling through the mountains near his home. He cried out to God and felt he heard a voice telling him to take a picture. In those days you didn’t print a photo on a computer but had to develop the picture using special paper, acid and a dark room. The man did this at his house. When the man looked at the picture forming on the paper, he was amazed at what he saw. Have a look at the picture. Can you see it?

A few days after Jesus had died on the cross, 2 of his friends were walking a long way to their home about 11km down the road. They were very sad and discouraged, you can imagine their heads being down as they walked along, talking quietly, with their tears dropping on the dusty road.

Soon another man came down the road walking towards the town where they lived and walked beside them, asking them what they were talking about. The friends didn’t really look at him, only the long dusty road ahead but were very surprised when the man asked them this. The man didn’t seem to have heard that Jesus had died even though it was the top news story of the time. Everyone knew and was talking about it. Everyone could even say where they were when they heard the news of Jesus’ death. The friends told the man how Jesus has been murdered by the religious leaders and the government of the day. There had been a conspiracy to kill their friend even though all he had ever done was good. It was the end of their hopes and dreams and they were sad because they felt God had abandoned them. They were going home to have a drink and work out what to do with the rest of their lives.

The man began talking to them as they walked along. He was good to listen to, very knowledgeable, he was a good storyteller maybe a journalist or an author they thought. The man was talking to them from the bible, some of the passages they recognised, but mostly they were parts they’d never read. The man showed them how the bible had predicted long before that Jesus would die but that was not the end of the story. That would be only the beginning of something much better God had planned. Even though they kept looking at the road as they walked, by the time they reached their home, they felt encouraged and their heads were lifted a bit. When the man told them he going to go on, the 2 friends didn’t want him to leave and since it was getting dark, they invited him in for dinner and the night. They secretly hoped he would talk to them some more as he was making them feel so much better.They started preparing the dinner, the man stayed with them in the kitchen, helping a bit but mainly talking so they just listened, sometimes asking questions, but mostly listening as he talked. They were still quite focussed on getting the meal ready and asking the kids to set the table a couple of times at least. Finally when everything was ready, they called the family to the table.

As they sat down to eat, they introduced their new friend to the family and invited the man to say Grace which he did. As they sat down face to face, and as he took the loaf of bread and broke it and gave it to them, suddenly they recognised to their astonishment that the man was Jesus. He was alive again! But just as they recognised him he disappeared before their eyes! Their faces lit up, they just stared at each other for a few moments and then they all started talking at once! There had never been so much energy, so much talk and laughter as there was that night. They just couldn’t stop talking about it!

Can you see the picture yet?

Resurrection Sunday 12th April 2009

Quiz Answers

1.     Q. Jesus kept a tidy bedroom True/False                                                                                             John 20:6-7 “Then Simon Peter arrived and went on inside. He also noticed the cloth lying there, while the swath that had covered Jesus’ head was rolled up in a bundle, and was lying at the side”. The cloth was like a made bed that hadn’t been slept in and the head swath was rolled up neatly sitting beside it. My bet is he knew his mum was coming down later and wanted to make her happy.

2.     Q. Where was the tomb located – Arimathea, Calvary, Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives                                                           John 19:41-42 “The place of Crucifixion was near a grove of trees, where there was a new tomb never used before. And so, because of the need for haste before the Sabbath, and because the tomb was close at hand, they laid him there.” It’s funny, I’d never noticed that before but always imagined the tomb in another location altogether. I think this is an important fact as we’ll see later. 

3.     Q. Who rolled the stone in front of the tomb on Friday?     A. Joseph of Arimathea                                 Matthew 27:57-60 “When evening came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, one of Jesus’ followers, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new rock-hewn tomb, and rolled a great stone across the entrance as he left.” This stone was a very heavy one (up to 2 tonne) and usually they were rolled down a small hill into place.

4.     Q. Jesus rolled aside the stone on Sunday True/False                                                                                     Matthew 28:2 “Suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it”. V5 “Then the angel spoke to the women. ‘Don’t be frightened!’ he said. ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified, but he isn’t here! For he has come back to life again, just as he said he would. Come in and see where his body was lying…’” This indicates that Jesus was already gone before the stone was rolled away, walking through it like he did the door in the upper room. The stone was rolled away for our benefit more that his so we could see the empty tomb!

5.     Q. Who was the 1^st of Jesus’ followers to see him on Sunday morning     A. Mary Magdalene                 Mark 16:9 “It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus came back to life, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene – the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons”.

 Luke 1:1-4 “Several biographies of Christ have already been written using as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses. However, it occurred to me that it would be well to recheck all these accounts from first to last and after thorough investigation to pass this summary on to you to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught”

 Last week we looked at the Easter story from a Prophetic point of view and saw how all the prophecies written hundreds of years beforehand concerning the coming of the Messiah and his death and resurrection were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This morning I’d like us to look again at the factual accounts of the Resurrection in the gospels. It has been said that there is far more evidence for the truth of the resurrection than any event of that time. This is the most important event in history. If it is true and we believe that, then what devoted happy lives we should be living. Amazingly, it can be measured. The time is known, the place is known and the story is laid out clearly. But don’t expect to get too much help from the scientific world. It doesn’t seem interested in looking. Thankfully God has placed a desire to know the truth in each one of us and we can think it through for ourselves.

 I do want to add that science isn’t everything despite what you see on programs like CSI. We all know of cases where someone who was obviously guilty got off on some technicality or someone not guilty was convicted based on poor assessment of the facts or corrupted evidence. Science can sometimes get hung up on small details just like we can. I think it is so important to read these accounts with the big picture in mind and to put questions on small details to one side to be answered later. 

The big facts are;

1. Here in the gospels we have the eye witness accounts of 4 followers of Christ which tell us that 11 disciples, several women and family members and more than 500 other witnesses actually saw Jesus Christ alive and well after he had been crucified, died and been buried. The bible says that you only need 2 witnesses to establish a fact, but here we have several hundred. 
2. The empty tomb. No one at that time could deny that Jesus’ body was missing. 
3. The disciples never backed down from their claim and most died for that. They had no choice – they had seen and touched him. In fact Jesus told Thomas “You believe because you have seen me. But blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway” John 20:29

 And just as important as those big 3 facts are your belief and experience of Jesus at work in your life, the things that he has done for you. These eye witness accounts and personal testimony are just as valid as scientific evidence, and incidentally in all this time science has not even come close to proving the Resurrection story is false.

 Nevertheless it is worth today to look at how the world has tried to explain away the Resurrection. When you hear the arguments that have been put forward by the sceptics and balance that against your own knowledge of the truth and personal experience, I am confident you will cast any doubts aside and believe just as the writers intended. 

Let’s have a look at these false explanations of the Resurrection. As the Police would say, we want to eliminate the wrong suspects from our enquiries and having eliminated all the other suspects, be left with the truth – that Jesus rose from the dead is an historical fact. First of all then;

1.     Swoon Theory: That Jesus didn’t actually die but somehow revived in the tomb, rolled the stone away, walked out and recovered. To do this Jesus would have had to survive the beating and lashing he received that ripped open his flesh, the nails in his hands and feet, more than 6 hours nailed to the cross, and a spear thrust into his side and up into his heart. Then after 2 nights in the cold tomb and in critical condition with severe loss of blood, roll the very heavy stone away (up to 2 tonne), walk out passed the Roman Guard, and within a few hours appear to the women and disciples fit and well. We can very safely assume the executioners had done their job and that Jesus had died. When Jesus was speared, doctors say that the blood and water coming out was proof of death. John who was at the crucifixion said “I saw all this myself and have given an accurate report so that you also can believe”.                                   

2.     Hallucination – The people that claim they saw Christ after he died were only hallucinating. Well that sure was a lot of people hallucinating! This theory is very poor for a number of reasons;

§  The number of witnesses – 1 Corinthians 15:5-6 tells us “He was seen by Peter and later by the rest of the “Twelve”. After that he was seen by more than 500 Christian brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then James saw him and later all the apostles. Last of all, I saw him too, long after all the others, as though I had been born almost too late for this.”

§  The number of sightings – at the tomb, the road to Emmaus, the upper room on 2 occasions, at the lake and on the Mount of Olives.

§  They were physical encounters not just sightings. Jesus encouraged the disciples to touch him and told Thomas to put his hand in the holes in his hands and side. 

§  They all testified the same type of story that they had heard him speak, seen him, touched him and eaten with him. With a hallucination you would find that one person’s was quite different from another’s. Hallucinations are very individualistic in that respect. 

3.     Impersonation – The person they met wasn’t the real Jesus. It’s true that quite often in their encounters, people didn’t recognise him or naturally doubted at first. In one of the funniest passages in the bible in Matthew 28:16-17 we’re told “Then the 11 disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus said they would find him. There they met him and worshipped him – but some of them weren’t really sure it was Jesus!” However the fact they didn’t recognise him was more to do with;

§  They weren’t expecting to see a dead man alive again

§  His body was resurrected and was somewhat different

However their lack of recognition was always temporary and after hearing him speak or eating with him, the bible tells us suddenly they would recognise him. It is not possible that an impostor could have fooled his family not to mention the disciples who’d been living and travelling with him those last 3 years. Also could anyone other than the Son of God have ascended into Heaven right before their eyes?

4.     Spiritual Resurrection – This one was sadly put forward by modern scholars. They say that the story is only an illustration of the truth of new life after death. So what they’re really saying is that Christ’s body remained in the tomb. They’re missing one crucial point – the empty tomb! But also the encounters were definitely physical not spiritual. Jesus told the disciples specifically that he was definitely not a ghost. In Luke 24:39 “Look at my hands! Look at my feet! You can see that it is I, myself! Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost! For ghosts don’t have bodies as you see I do!” In fact Jesus resurrected body should give us great hope of a physical resurrection;

§  He could appear in different forms so they didn’t recognise him (Mark 16:12)

§  He could eat

§  He could appear and disappear 

§  He could pass through solid objects like the door not because he was a ghost but as Winkie Pratney said, because he was more solid than the door!

5.     The Wrong Tomb – The suggestion here is that the women and the disciples went to the wrong tomb. This is not credible for several reasons;

§  The tomb was right there at Calvary where the cross had been

§  The women and John who were at the crucifixion could see the body being buried a short distance away. One may have been mistaken but not all of them.

§  There was a Roman seal on the tomb with guards standing over it and it was easily identifiable

§  Most importantly, Jesus’ enemies the Jewish Leaders and the Romans could not produce the body or show the correct tomb. The body was definitely missing and the tomb was definitely empty

6.     Theft – All of the previous theories are ruled out leaving the only one the Jewish Leaders could offer at the time. That the disciples had stolen the body. Actually they knew it wasn’t true but they wanted to try and squash the story there and then. This is found in Matthew 28:12-15 “A meeting of all the Jewish Leaders was called, and it was decided to bribe the guards to say they had all been asleep when Jesus’ disciples came and stole his body. ‘If the governor hears about it,’ the Council promised, ‘we’ll stand up for you and everything will be alright.’ So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and is still believed by them to this very day.” Apart from what is written in Matthew about the bribes, what else points to the claim that the disciples stole the body being false? 

§  The evidence of the linen cloth and swath being left behind neatly folded. People hurrying to steal a body wouldn’t bother to undress it and leave the clothes folded neatly behind. That clearly points to Jesus himself.

§  The disciples were not willing or able to take on a Roman guard of well disciplined battle ready soldiers;

                                                i.     Their hopes and dreams of Jesus being the Messiah had been crushed

                                              ii.     They were grief stricken over the loss of their friend

                                             iii.     They had all run away less than 2 days before and were hiding in the upper room. Only the women were brave enough to venture out first thing on Sunday morning.

                                             iv.     The only fighting man among them was Simon the Zealot

§  There was no reason to move him. Jesus had been buried honourably in the best tomb paid for by a rich man

§  It didn’t do them any favours to tell people that Jesus was alive – they were persecuted to their graves because of it. If they had stolen the body, then nearly all of them died for a lie.

 

So there you have them. Six suspects ruled out because they don’t stack up under cross examination.

Still you have to explain the empty tomb. So who do you believe? The eye witness accounts or the critics writing 2000 years later? 

 All of which we know leaves us with the only true explanation, that Jesus really did rise from the dead. This is what the gospel writers wanted us to know about God. That in his kindness, all he wants from us so we can be saved is our belief. Believing in the Resurrection is the key to our salvation. As Romans 10:9 says “For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord, and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved”.

Since Jesus is alive today, we don’t have to travel back in time to meet him, we can go to him now. DL Moody once preached a very simple message “Do you believe that Jesus died on a cross and was raised from the dead. Then why don’t you thank him for it?” Thousands were saved because of it.

 This last week and a half as I prepared for today, I’ve sat down and read the accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and tried to put myself in the story. I’d encourage you to do the same. The more I read and challenged them with my own questions, the more sense they made to me. They seem so full of real responses, of accurate pictures of ordinary life being invaded by the extraordinary and in no way do they attempt to gloss over the weaknesses of people. They don’t paint the disciples as heroic souls who battled against the Romans and fought for Jesus. They are very honest accounts of doubt, of fear and surprise and joy found in a new reality with real hope.

 That really is the challenge for me. That having been convinced about the Resurrection and receiving the new life, of then letting it motivate and change me on a daily basis. Then telling others what I’ve discovered. Yes we need to believe for our salvation but we owe God more than just belief.

What does this mean to you? Put your name to Jesus’ question “Jesus told her, ’I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this Martha ?” John 11:25-26

Wise judge

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passoverholy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case dismissed!" The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honour, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays." The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant." The lawyer said, "Your Honour, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists." The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned. You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!

The Financial Crisis

The financial crisis the world is facing reminds me of the story Jesus told of the prodigal son. The western countries have acted like the younger brother who left the safety of his family home with a large share of the estate to go into the world and spend the money on reckless living. When the money finally ran out just as a famine came to the land, the young man found he had no friends left and no food to eat. He grovelled to find a job feeding the pigs and was forced to eat pig food. Finally he came to his senses and with great humility, decided to go home to apologise to his father and ask to be accepted back as a servant. But to his great surprise, his dad watching from a distance ran out to meet him, embraced him with tears and threw a great party to celebrate his lost sons return! So even though the "post christian" western world has left it's spiritual home behind and spent all it's inherited wealth foolishly and lived recklessly, this will be the Fathers response should this younger son come to his senses and return home. I really hope so.

History Mystery

Have a history teacher explain this----- if they can.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln 's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln .

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford'.
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford'.

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the kicker...

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

Boundaries

"Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
Jeremiah 5:22

In our world today, people pride themselves on pushing boundaries. It is good to know that to the Lord, it is just like the tide coming in. At high tide the ocean turns around and goes back out again!

In your life it is worth setting boundaries too. But keep asking the Lord where they are. The tidal marks may be further up than you think.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit ...

...to those who love and obey him. It's true that you cannot have a relationship without both!

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." John 14:15-17

His Story

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" Matthew 24:35
What is so exciting today will soon be no more than a page on a faded newspaper that no-one will ever read again. Yes all of mankinds history is crumbling into dust, but Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today and forever. And YOU are invited to be a part of His Story. Why would you turn that down?