Mark 16:1-8

&nb= sp;

The resurrection of Jesus Christ has set us free fro= m fear and sin and death.

A sermon preached by

Rev. William O. (Bud) = Reeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

March 23,2008

Easter Sunday

This week, we marked the five-year anniversary= of the beginning of the war in Iraq. Five years ago, the story headlini= ng the news the week before Easter was about seven American soldiers who had been captured in Iraq. Our Marines were given a tip that = the prisoners were in a certain house in the town of Samarra, near Baghdad= . They went to check it out. As they got to the place where they thought the house would be, they couldn’t find the number they were looking for. About that time,= people began to appear on the roofs of the houses around them, and the street bega= n to clear. Suddenly the commanding officer began thinking they were walking into an ambush. But just as he was about to give t= he command to evacuate, a low voice came from one of the houses: “I̵= 7;m an American.”

The Marines went to th= e door of the house and knocked three times, which was the signal they had been given. When there was no resp= onse, they kicked in the door, and yelled, “Get down! Get down!” Then they said, “If you̵= 7;re an American, get out!” = As the POW’s were helped out by the Marines, they pleaded with the rescuers = not to hurt their guards. They we= re actually Iraqi police, and they had helped the Americans get rescued. In the space of two or three minut= es, the seven Americans were set free from captivity and were on their way to safety. As they were celebrat= ing on the plane ride back to Kuwait, Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young exulted, “We feel like we won the lottery of life!”[1]

That exciting story wi= th a happy ending is a good Easter story for us today. That’s what Easter is all ab= out, too—being set free, being rescued, getting a new life. Jesus was bound in the chains of d= eath for parts of three days, imprisoned in the tomb, shackled by the burden of the = sins of the world. But with mighty= hand and an outstretched arm, the Lord God touched the dead body of Jesus and restored him to life. Make no mistake about it, the Scripture doesn’t know anything about a merely spiritual resurrection—this was the body of Jesus that came to life again. He did not wake up fro= m a coma or just get better. He w= as dead as a doornail, and God resurrected him.

When the grieving women came at dawn on the third day to anoint his body, they f= ound the stone rolled away from the mouth of the tomb, but they could not find Jesus. A young man, dressed in white, gave them the good news: “Do not be alarmed; you a= re looking for Jesus of Nazareth<= /st1:place>, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the p= lace they laid him.= ”= = [2] = It took them so completely by surpr= ise that they ran away.

Here is Good News for us today: because Jesus Christ= was set free from death, we can be set free, too. This is not the lottery of life; it’s better than that, because anyone and everyone can win! Today is a day to celebrate! We ca= n be set free! Set free from what?=

We can be set = free from fear. Jesus told his disciples the night before he died, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Be= lieve in God; believe also in me. …Peace I leave with you; my peace I give = to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”[= 3] The angel at the empty tomb told t= he women not to be alarmed. So w= hat did they do? They ran away sc= ared to death! The first reaction = to the resurrection was fear. Are you surprised? Wouldn’t you= be a little anxious if someone whose corpse you had viewed was suddenly alive ag= ain?

Bruce Larson, in his book, Living Beyond Our Fears, tells a great story about a judge in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Yugoslavia= who had an unfortunate accident. He was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in = the bathtub. (Evidently intellige= nce is not a prerequisite for judgeships in Yugoslavia.) His wife found his body sprawled o= n the bathroom floor. He was pronou= nced dead, and, as was the custom in that particular town, he was placed in a ro= om in the town cemetery for twenty-four hours before burial. But in the middle of the night, the judge came to! He realized wh= ere he was and rushed over to alert the police guard, who promptly ran off, terrif= ied.

So naturally, the first thing the judge tried to do after he woke up was to call his wife and tell her the good news. But he got no further than “Darling, it’s me…” when she screamed and fell over= in a faint. Next he walked to so= me friends’ houses, but they all thought he was a ghost, too. Finally in a last desperate measur= e, the judge called a friend in a distant city who had not yet heard the news of h= is death. This friend contacted = the judge’s family and explained the situation, so the judge could come h= ome.= = [4]<= o:p>

It would be a scary thing to confront someone who had risen from the dead. But the = more the disciples understood about the resurrection, and the more we know about= it, the more we know there is nothing to fear at all. This is great news!

What are you afraid of? Whatever it is, Jesus can set you free! Is anything making you fearful today—your health, your sorrow, your family, your friends, yo= ur income, your future? Do not be afraid= ! Be set free from fear because you = know who wins the final victory. Ultimately you will share in that victory. So you don’t have to fear any enemy, even the enemy of death. Christ has conquered all.

We can be set = free from our sin. The whole point of the crucifixion and resurrection is an act of love= to restore sinful humanity to a relationship with a holy God. The blood of Jesus cleanses us fro= m our sin, and the power of the resurrection destroys the power of evil in our li= ves. We are set free!=

The freedom we have in Christ was a major theme of Paul’s ministry. In the thirteenth chapter of Acts, he and Barnabas are preaching to the unbeliever= s at Antioch of Pisidia, and he shares the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus with them. Paul explain= s that this miracle was the fulfillment of the promises God had made to their ancestors. Then he said, “Let it be known to you therefor= e, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free f= rom all those sins.”[5]<= /a> When we believe in the resurrection of Christ we are fearless and forgiven.

On Easter Sunday in 1973, Kefa Sempangi was a pastor= in the nation of Uganda i= n Africa. At the time, that country was suffering under the ruthless dictatorship of Idi Amin. Under the growing shado= w of Amin, Uganda was becoming a land of terror. Amin’s troops were brutalizing anyone who raised a voice of protest, and Sempangi was exhausted trying to deal with all of it. He prayed for wisdom and strength = as he stood to deliver an Easter sermon to some seven thousand people.=

After the service, he sat down in his study, tired b= ut joyful. Five men followed him= into the small office and closed the door behind them. Sempangi turned around to see five rifles pointed at his face. H= e had never seen any of the men before, but immediately he recognized them as the secret police of the “State Research Bureau”—Idi AminR= 17;s assassins. Their faces were f= ull of pure hatred and rage. The lea= der spoke and said, “We are going to kill you. If you have something to say, say = it before you die.”

Sempangi stood there feeling himself lose control. He thought of his wife and child, = and he began to shake. Somehow he ma= naged to speak. “I do not nee= d to plead my own cause,” he said. “I am a dead man already.&nbs= p; My life is dead and hidden in Christ. It is your lives that are in danger. You are dead in your = sins. I will pray to God that after you = have killed me, he will spare you from eternal destruction.”

The leader looked at him with curiosity. He lowered his gun and told the ot= hers to do the same. Then the lead= er of the assassins did an incredible thing.&nbs= p; He asked Sempangi, “Would you pray for us now?” Though he thought it might be a tr= ick of some kind, Sempangi asked the men to bow their heads and close their eyes.<= o:p>

“Father in heaven,” he prayed, “you who have forgiven men in the past, forgive these men also. Do not let them perish in their si= ns, but bring them unto yourself. In the name of Jesus, Amen.”

Sempangi lifted his head, expecting to hear the crac= k of rifles, ending his life. Then= he noticed their faces. The hatr= ed and rage was gone. When the leader spoke, it was gentle, without contempt.&nb= sp; “You have helped us,” he said, “and we will help you. We will speak to the res= t of our company, and they will leave you alone. Do not fear for your life. It is in our hands, and you will be protected.”[= 6]

Our lives are in God’s hands; we are protected, too. Kefa Sempangi rejoiced o= n that Easter Sunday that God had given him courage to say a prayer that saved his life and changed the lives of those assassins. We can rejoice on this Easter Sund= ay that we worship a risen Christ. We are fearless. We are forgiven= . We are free!

The last enemy to be defeated, Paul says, is death.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Today we affirm that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we a= re set free from death itself. D= eath is the ultimate enemy of God. God is life; God is creative, positive power.&= nbsp; Death is the consequence of sin.&nb= sp; For God to bring creation to fulfillment, he had to deal with death.= Jesus dealt with death by dying. Then on Easter, by the power of Al= mighty God, Jesus burst through the gates of death into life again! Death no longer has dominion; deat= h no longer has power. Paul wrote = to the Corinthians, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Wher= e, O death, is your victory? Where= , O death, is your sting? … thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”[7]<= /a> In Romans 8, Paul says, “There is therefore now no condemnation= for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life= in Christ Jesus has set you= free fr= om the law of sin and of death.”[= 8] Death is dead. Jesus is alive! This Easter faith gives us comfort= and strength when we face the final enemy ourselves or when someone we love die= s.

A few years ago I read a story about a woman whose y= oung son had died. The first Easter after his death, she went to church with her husband and daughter, and she heard again the story of Mary’s Son rising from the grave. But for this mother, it was just a story. Her son Barry had died= of cancer six months earlier, and his tomb was not empty.

However, someone from the hospital stopped by their house just a few days after Easter. He brought with him a watercolor painting he had found. Barry had painted it not long befo= re he died. The picture showed a la= ke with people on opposite shores. Three people waved from one side, and a fourth waved from the other. The lone child on the = far shore wore a baseball cap, just like Barry had worn after his hair fell out. A cartoon balloon above = his head was saying, “Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! Hi, Betsy!= 221;= = [9]<= o:p>

Suddenly that grieving mother realized the truth of Easter. Barry was not dead. He had simply gone on ahead to ano= ther shore. Her son was alive beca= use Mary’s Son had defeated death. Barry was finally free, and so was she. If you have ever stood beside a ca= sket and wept until you felt your heart would come right out of you, then you kn= ow what a blessing, what a comfort, what a liberation this Easter faith is.

This is the faith we proclaim. This is the faith that will save you. Paul says, “If you confess with your lips that Jes= us is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will = be saved. For one believes with = the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.&= #8221;= [10]= This is the faith that will set you= free from fear and sin and death. = You can depend on it, because it’s true.

Charles Colson was one of the Watergate conspirators= who spent time in prison for the cover-up of illegal operations that eventually brought about the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Through those experiences, Colson = became a Christian and has been in ministry in prisons and around the world for ov= er 30 years. He also says that t= hose experiences with the Watergate cover-up ironically convinced him of the tru= th of the resurrection of Jesus.

In 1972, Nixon had a group of advisers who were intensely loyal to him, to the point of committing illegal acts to help him= . But when the lie was uncovered, th= eir loyalty evaporated. One by on= e they turned state’s evidence to save their own skins and left Nixon dangli= ng in the wind. Nobody threatened their lives. The only thing at stake was their public embarrassment and a prison sentence in a federal penitentiary. But in the crun= ch, they abandoned their leader like the disciples abandoned Jesus before he was crucified. That’s human nature, isn’t it?

But what happened to the disciples after Easter? To a man, these common people gave= their lives to proclaim the good news that their Teacher was alive. To a man, they held firm to their = faith, even in the face of ridicule and persecution. And to a man, they died martyrs= 217; deaths, losing their lives with the word of resurrection still on their lip= s.

Chuck Colson says, “You can take it from= an expert in cover-ups—I've lived through Watergate—that nothing l= ess than a resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and is Lord. Two thousand years later, nothing less than the power of the risen Christ could inspire Christians ar= ound the world to remain faithful—despite prison, torture, and death. Jesus is Lord: That's the thrilling message of Easter. It's a historic fact, one convincingly established by the evidence—and one you can bet your life upon.”= [11]

Hear the Good News: Christ is risen! He is alive! Receive that word i= nto your hearts. Trust in it. Depend on it. And you will be saved. You will be set free from the powe= r of fear and sin and death. You, = too, will live! Amen!