Rev. Terence Gray: Well, happy Easter. Happy Easter. Good to see you guys. Good morning to everyone here. Good morning to everyone watching online.
Good morning to our friends over at the Farmington Hills campus. Today is the greatest day in all of human history, and today, people all over the world will gather to celebrate the empty tomb. So before we go any further, let's go before our Lord Jesus this morning in prayer. Oh, father, we come before you in the mighty and the matchless name of Jesus Christ, the one who proved victorious over the grave. And because of his victory, God, we stand here this morning grateful.
We marvel in the great accomplishment of the one who proved his preeminence over all of creation. God, this morning, I pray that you would move me out of the way. I pray that I would decrease that you would increase and be made much of in the lives of your people. God, allow your Holy Spirit to move on our hearts, illuminate your text, bring it to life. We need you this morning.
For it's in the mighty name of Jesus Christ that we pray together. Amen. Amen. Let's go.
Micah Williams: Let's go.
Rev. Terence Gray: Everything eventually has to come to an end, and what we have is our is our end. Okay? We know that the end is right here. We are gonna go down to that end, and we do a line. Guys, we do a line.
All of our underclassmen stand on the goal line. K? All of our seniors walk down through the line right In case you're wondering what you just observed, you just witnessed a group of people express great gratitude. You just witnessed the response to a comeback. In 2016, the Ionia Bulldogs here in Michigan played against the the Lakewood Vikings and came back for what was at the time the greatest comeback in Ionia Bulldog history.
They were down 30 to seven at halftime, only to turn it around and win that game 35 to 30. That was 2016. In 2017, they did it again. In 2017, the Ionia Bulldogs were down 32 to zero to the McBain Ramblers. They were down 32 to zero, only to turn it around again and win that game 41 to 40, making it the greatest comeback in all of Michigan high school football history.
Those boys went down as legends that night. So what you are witnessing is the response to a comeback, to a group of people who thought it was over, to a group of people who thought it was done, only to experience victory at the end. What's the greatest comeback that you've ever experienced? What's the greatest comeback you've ever seen? I'll tell you about mine.
Two thousand years ago, a man by the name of Jesus was betrayed by his friends, put on an unfair trial, murdered by crucifixion, buried, placed in a tomb with a stone rolled over him. On Friday, his friends weeped in horror. On Saturday, his enemies wiped their hands and said, it's over. But on the third day, Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave, proving his preeminence over all of creation, his power over death. Sin and death has been defeated once and for all.
Christ is risen. Praise be to God. And that's why we're here today. Friends, the resurrection isn't just some some special, cool, fluffy holiday where you put on bright colors. No.
The resurrection is not merely a positive spin on death, but a demonstration of God's power, a proclamation of God's victory, and a declaration of death's defeat. It is a demonstration of God's power, a proclamation of God's victory, and a declaration of death's defeat. And that's why we're here today. When that football team won that game that day, the the crowd stormed the field in celebration. And today believers all over the world storm the field and tear down the goalpost because our Lord and Savior has won the victory.
The resurrection is not merely a positive spin on death, friends, but a demonstration of God's power, a proclamation of God's victory, and a declaration of death's defeat, making it the greatest comeback of all time. Skeptics, scholars, and seekers alike have been perplexed by this great mystery. I wanna look at a quote from one scientist who said this. He said, besides being a scientist, I am also a Christian. I believe in a personal God who loves us and desires to have a relationship with us.
I believe that he has revealed himself most supremely to the person and works of Jesus Christ, who was born two thousand years ago, carried out a ministry in Judea where he claimed to be the Son of God. He was crucified and is believed by Christians to be resurrected from the dead after two nights in a tomb. I believe these things actually happened, not metaphorically or subjectively, but as objectively and literally as any other event we thought happened in ancient history. That's from a scientist. One historian said this, a historian by the name of Josephus.
If you have haven't heard of Josephus, he's considered to be the most important historian of the first century. And he had this to say, at this time, there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His conduct was good. He was known to be virtuous, and many people from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die.
But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders. This quote is from a trustworthy historian who lived not too long after Jesus. You couldn't write this kind of stuff and be taken seriously as a historian.
See, friends, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fact of history. And this morning, as we look back at that empty tomb, we do so knowing that if that happened, anything can happen. If that happened, anything can happen. That means revival can happen. That means don't stop praying, don't stop fasting, don't stop seeking, and in the words of the great prophet's journey, don't stop believing.
If that happened, anything can happen. We live in a post resurrection world, but boy, death still hurts. Two things can be true. We can hold in one hand the hope of the resurrection while simultaneously holding grief and hurt in the other hand. So we grieve, but we don't grieve as those without hope.
And friends, few things demonstrate hope in the face of grief like the story of our friend Lazarus. Jesus' friend Lazarus was sick. He he was very sick. And when he was sick, Jesus was out of town. And people came to Jesus and said, Jesus, Jesus, Lazarus, your friend.
As a matter of fact, they said, Jesus, the one that you love, he's sick. Come hurry quickly. Stop whatever you're doing. Go help Lazarus like you helped all those other people. But Jesus said, I'll be here for a couple of more days where I'm where I'm currently located.
I'll before I go. And they thought to themselves, what what are you talking about? This is this is Lazarus. This is this is Mary's brother. You remember her?
This is Martha's brother. This is the one that you know. This is the one that you love. What do you mean you're gonna stay a couple of more days? Instead of rushing to Lazarus immediately, Jesus stayed.
And by the time that Jesus got to Lazarus' town, Lazarus was already dead and already buried. And this is where the story picks up. On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Can you imagine that? Four days in the tomb?
If you're his friends and family, you're thinking, okay. When Lazarus is sick, you're thinking to yourself, where's Jesus? Lazarus dies. And on that first day, you're thinking to yourself, well well surely He's gonna come because, in in the ancient Jewish tradition, a person would pretty much be buried immediately. And so Jesus is sure enough gonna come and and He's gonna pay His respects.
And on that first day, you're thinking, where's Jesus? On the second day the second day, goes by and people are coming in town and leaving and paying their respects, and and and and maybe Jesus can come by the second day and perform some kind of miracle and bring Lazarus back to life. But but the second day comes and goes, and you're thinking, wow. I thought we were closer than that. Where's Jesus?
By the third day, where's Jesus? And by the fourth day, you're wondering, does Jesus care about us? I thought I thought we were closer than that. Where's Jesus? There's something significant about this four days.
I wanna look at this quote by one theologian that says, Lazarus being in the tomb for four days was crucial. According to Jewish tradition, the soul departed fully after three days making this a true death or a fourth day man. Lazarus was a fourth day man. According to Jewish tradition, the soul would hover over the body, so by this fourth day, there's absolutely no hope. And this is Jewish tradition.
At the time, it's not necessarily biblical theology, but this is what people believed in the culture. But Jesus waited until the fourth day, so there could be no confusion about this being a part of some mythology where the the soul hovers over the body. He wanted it to be clear that Lazarus was dead dead. And the only way he was coming back is if he had an encounter with the resurrection and the life. I wanna go back to the text here.
These people are heartbroken. It's been four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. People have been coming and going, paying their respects, and finally Jesus comes. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home.
Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. What are you what are you doing? Four days late, if you if you just would have been here, you wouldn't have died. But hear her faith. Better know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask.
Martha says, even now, even in the grief, even though it appears absolutely hopeless, Lord, I have confidence in who you are. I know who you are. Four days in a grave, and it's still not too late for Jesus. She was devastated, but she still had faith. And Jesus hears that faith, and he says, your brother will rise again.
Martha answered, I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. She's thinking, yeah yeah yeah, Jesus. I know all that. He's he we'll see him again. I'm talking about you are Jesus, and you have all of this authority and power.
You can do something now. So she still meets him with this faith. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die. Jesus doesn't just do resurrections.
He says he doesn't just perform resurrections. He doesn't just do this little magic trick and do the thing. He says, I am the resurrection and the life. He says, I absolutely am the resurrection and the life. This is his identity.
This is God in the flesh. And Martha's faith isn't going to disappoint her. Her faithful request to ask Jesus, to ask the father something isn't going to be met with disappointment. Let's continue in the text. Jesus has just comforted Martha.
But now the other sister comes into the picture. Now Mary comes in. Can you imagine Jesus comes in, comforts Martha with this truth that he is the resurrection and the life, and Mary comes in. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died if you had been here. And she's weeping and she's crying at Jesus' feet.
Here's the significance of Mary. Mary is the person who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair earlier in the scripture. Mary is the person who broke open an alabaster box of very expensive perfume and washed Jesus' feet and anointed his feet with that perfume. This is a person of great devotion and great faith. And she's probably thinking to herself, why me?
Why didn't you save my brother? And this breaks the Lord's heart. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews had come along with her, also weeping, the scripture says he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Where have you laid him? He asked.
Come and see, Lord, they replied. He was deeply moved. This is the son of God. This is the one who knows the miracle on the other side of this thing. This is the resurrection and the life, but we see his humanity on full display here.
And it says that he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. I wanna look at what that word means in its original context. That's what it is in the Greek. Word is used in classical Greek for horse snorting as they prepare to charge the enemy. It also refers to indignation or rage or an outburst of anger.
Jesus is angry. And he's not angry at Martha. He's not angry at the crowds. He's not angry at Mary. But he's angry at death.
And what death has done, One scholar explains it this way, I sense that Jesus' anger is directed towards death as the enemy who so brazenly robs us of our precious loved ones. His indignation is aimed at sin, sickness, suffering, and death, and what these enemies are doing to the people we love. While overwhelmed with sadness and grief, Jesus wept. He's also righteous with rage. He is fighting mad and furious at these evil powers for hurting the people he loves so deeply.
He is fighting mad at death. Friends, don't ever think that Jesus just glosses over death. He hurts when a mother or father is taken away. He hurts when a baby is lost. He hurts when a pastor is taken away from his family and his flock.
He feels deeply when we feel, and he feels deeper than we feel. He knows that some of us are still hurting this morning and will be hurting for some time. So that's why you see this outburst of anger. Jesus then uses two of the most powerful words of scripture in one of the shortest verses in the Bible. He says it says, Jesus wept.
Oh, friends, he wept because death had taken his friend. He wept. He wept because of the devastation that sin and death causes in this world. And Jesus' anger is not just some empty outburst. As a matter of fact, the son of God, the resurrection and the life, Jesus Christ is about to roll up his sleeves and do something about it.
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. And when he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. And the scripture simply says, the dead man came out.
A dead man doing anything is breaking news, my friends. His hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. And Jesus said to them, take off the grave clothes and let him go. Lazarus is brought back to life in what is one of the most powerful miracles in all of the scripture. Friends, Jesus was able to call forth Lazarus because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
The resurrection is not merely a positive spin on death, but a demonstration of God's power, a proclamation of God's victory, and a declaration of death's defeat. I wanna look at this picture of this empty tomb, and I wanna leave it up there for the remainder of our time. That happened. And if that happened, anything can happen. Friends, as the band prepares and as the orchestra prepares, I need your help.
Help me finish this sermon today. We're gonna try it all together. When I say if that happened, I want you to say anything can happen. Let's try it. If that happened Anything can happen.
Ah, that's good. If that happened Anything can happen. The stone was rolled away and the tomb was found empty. If that happened Anything can happen. After being dead, Jesus got up and appeared to 500 witnesses.
If that happened, amen. The resurrection is not just something that happened to Jesus. The resurrection gives you permission to try again, permission to prep to pray again, permission to trust again, permission to love again, permission to get back up again. That means your story is not over. That means your failure is not final.
That means that marriage that feels dead, or that dream that you buried, or that faith that got weak, or that joy that you lost somewhere along the way can live again. You don't need perfect conditions. You just need resurrection power. So one more time, like you believe it, like you need it, like you're stepping into it, if that happened, anything happened. Praise God.
Let's pray. Oh, Father, we come before you in the mighty and the matchless name of Jesus Christ declaring, oh, God, if that happened, anything can happen. I pray for anyone here who doesn't know you and wants to know you, that they would receive the gift of salvation today. You died for us so that we might experience new life. You resurrected from the grave, o God, from the grave, o God, that we wouldn't that we wouldn't have to fear death.
And we come thanking you for the privilege to live in this post resurrection world. Help us to live into their power. Satan would love for us to shrink back. Satan would love for us to walk in fear. But, God, let us walk in resurrection power.
Let us walk in that newness of life that you have so gifted us with. For it's in the mighty and the matchless name of Jesus Christ that we pray together. Amen.