I would like to begin this message with a brief but true story,
but I won’t share the end of this story until the conclusion of this
message. The story is titled, “The Fog Lifted”
It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under
the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans)
under the command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system
of signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations
was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral.
Late in the day the Winchester Cathedral flashed a signal: Wellington
Defeated--just at that moment one of those sudden English fog clouds made
it impossible to read the message. The news quickly spread throughout the
city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news: they
had lost the war.
We can’t overestimate how difficult the past few days
were for the disciples and followers of Jesus. It all began with Palm Sunday,
which represented promise--the people hailed Jesus as King. The reception
on Palm Sunday was supposed to represent the inward acceptance in the hearts
of the people. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, did not the crowd shout, “Blessed
is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in
the highest!” (Mark 11:9-10).
Who knew what would transpire at the conclusion of this drama?
The religious establishment successfully conspired against Jesus and He was
arrested. He was forced to participate in a mockery of a trial. The hearts
of the people turned against Him, and they chose to free Barabbas, a known
murderer, instead of Jesus. Jesus was even betrayed by His closest friends
and disciples. He was beaten to the extent his life was threaten and in a
weakened condition he was forced to carry His own cross to His execution.
After being nailed to a cross for crimes He did not commit, He was further
humiliated with a crown of thorns and a sign above His head that mocked him--it
looked like it was the last day for truth and righteousness.
It was a terrible day when the authorities, with the crowds’
approval, decided to crucify Jesus, so why do we call Good Friday? There seems
to be a strange silence in our drama about what transpired on Saturday. However,
what is most interesting is that some of the same people who attended the
crucifixion on Friday, the same crowd who supported the death of Jesus now
fill the Synagogues on Sabbath. The disciples have scattered, their faith
destroyed, their hopes of seeing God’s new Kingdom in their view vanished
on Friday--it looked like it was the last day. But the Bible says God wasn’t
finished, the story continues: “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first
day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.”
What a difference a day makes!
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
The poignant message of text is that the tomb was not opened
to permit Christ to come out, but to allow others in so they could see that
it was empty. What a difference a day makes!
Victory for the Jews, for the Romans, victory for Satan and his angles seemed
all but certain. It appears they finally got rid of Jesus, His band of disciples
have been dispersed, fear had gripped the people, and no one dared to speak
of the gospel. So important was this victory, they had Roman guards placed
at the tomb to prevent grave robbers from stealing the body of Jesus. God,
however, caused an earthquake, rolled away the stone, and Jesus rose from
the dead with power, with victory. What looked like a day of defeat turned
to a day of victory. What a difference a day makes!
Memorial Day is a legal holiday observed annually in honor of
our men and women killed in war. The holiday was originally called Decoration
Day because it was a time for decorating graves with flowers and flags. Over
time, the designation Memorial Day became far more common.
Easter is not like Memorial Day, Easter is the Lord’s
Day. Jesus lived, was crucified, was buried, but what makes it the Lord’s
Day is that He arose! Unlike Memorial Day, which is a somber occasion, a time
when we decorate a grave of a fallen hero. This not true for Christ because
His tomb is empty. The hero and captain of our faith, the Savior of our souls
now sits at the right side of the Father making intercession for the saints.
There are no parade of veterans down our Main Streets this Easter,
just the parade of millions of believers around the world heading to church
on this Easter Sunday morning. There are no weeping and sad salutes of the
army bugler, rather we have a choir of saints singing the praises of God.
What looked like a memorial day, turned to the day of the Lord. What a difference
a day makes!
The Fog Lifted--continued
Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could
be read. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was: Wellington
defeated the enemy! It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread.
Sorrow turned to joy, defeat was turned into victory!
So it was when Jesus was laid in the tomb on the first Good
Friday. Hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus’ most loyal friends.
After a frightful crucifixion, the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding
had crept in on the friends of Jesus. However, they had read only part of
the divine message: Christ defeated was all that they knew. Then on the third
day--Easter Sunday--the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding lifted,
and the world received the complete message: Christ defeated death. Defeat
was turned into victory; death was turned to life.
