Everything Is Coming Up Easter

This time of year is when we have a plethora of critical comments about the Resurrection. That is the twin of the critiques on the Birth of Jesus that spring up around the Advent season. “There was not a census.., Quirinius either was not a governor or it was at the wrong time.., The celebration was a copy of a pagan festival, Saturnalia.., It was not in December.., Mary was not really a virgin, just a young lady...” and so on.

Many of the “Easter Controversies” center around the actual day that we should celebrate the Resurrection. Other disputes focus on the specific day that Jesus died. I found a new one that asks if Jesus rose “on the third day,” or “after three days.” I suppose that is founded in the day of the week that Jesus died. Some say that He had to die on Thursday or even Wednesday to give a full three days. Died, Wednesday, then in the grave Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, three days, and rose on Sunday, after three days.

A variation is that He died on Thursday, and was dead Friday, Saturday, and rose again on Sunday, the third day. And, according to Dr. Rydelnyk, our resident and preferred Hebrew and Jewish scholar, He died on Friday, day one, in the grave Saturday, day two, and rose on Sunday, day three. In Jewish accounting, any part of a day counts as a full day. Friday, Saturday, Sunday adds up to three days. So He arose “after three days,” on the third day. Both sides are right.

Some will point out that the accounts vary in who came to the tomb and when; what they saw; and what they did. In reality, none of the “contradictions” are mutually exclusive. All of them could be perfectly and exactly accurate–for the people involved. Not everyone had the same experience, so trying to “merge” them into a single narrative is a foolish waste of time. That is like asking several people to tell about an earthquake, then pointing out the inconsistencies of the varied stories. It was different for each person. But each story was accurate.

Regardless of how the event is calculated, the important thing is that He rose! And if the “controversies” get us talking about the Resurrection, that is good. Jesus was dead, and came back to life. Paul spent the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians defending that premise. And, his argument is overwhelming. (I heard a guy comment one time that we should not say “incontestable or undeniable” fact, because some idiot, somewhere, will argue that even the sun did not come up today. No, not the old canard that the earth “turns under the sun. The sun stands still,” but that the sun is not really there. So we say that the evidence is overwhelming and let the goof-balls go where they will.)

Look at verses 3-5.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1. He died, as the sacrifice for our sins. 2. He was buried, picturing the removal of our sins like the “scape goat” in the Old Testament. (Leviticus 16) And, it verified that He was really dead because He was sealed in a tomb. 3. Then He was raised, as the Scriptures had predicted, by the way. 4. And He appeared to verifiable witnesses. That is the essential sense of the story.

He is alive! And, just for good measure, Romans 4:25 explains why this is important.
He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
The resurrection of Jesus was the verification that we were justified, completely absolved of all the guilt of sin. A famous financial advisor has people proclaim, “I’m debt free!” I prefer the Romans version: “I’m guilt free!” Christ the Lord is risen today. What a great song that is. But a corollary would be the hymn, “Saved by the Blood of the Crucified One.” (Below)

He had to die, and that gave us the blood. But without the resurrection, it was a tragic waste. But, as Paul demonstrated, He did rise, and that is the message that we proclaim every Easter. And the more we talk about it, the more we proclaim this truth, “til He comes again.” So let’s answer every controversy that we can find. Some have said that there is no bad publicity. Even negative comments make people think of you. And Easter has so much good that even if a negative thought is espoused, it merely highlights how good it is.

Do we worry about the details of the resurrection? Absolutely not. We rejoice that we can proclaim it. Let’s sing.

Saved By the Blood of the Crucified One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCdBHHHiyIs

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Hymn+Christ+the+Lord+Is+Risen+Today+Lyrics&&view=detail&mid=8EC5CBE69A8A847FAAEB8EC5CBE69A8A847FAAEB&&FORM=VRDGAR

Unplanned

If you have not yet seen the movie, “Unplanned” by all means go see it. The “R” label is for bloody and disturbing scenes. And they are bloody disturbing. That may be an obscenity in England, and surely, abortion is an obscenity.

Go see it.

But, we cannot leave it there. At one point, Abby Johnson, the former director of an abortion clinic cried, “How can God forgive me?” She had “presided” over about 22,000 abortions.

I wanted to stand in the theater and shout, “Because of Easter!” The Old Testament carefully and and in elaborate detail outlines the procedure for sacrifice and worship. It is difficult and demanding. We are talking about approaching the perfectly holy God. A slip-shod, careless approach is neither fitting nor efficacious. And as Aaron’s two oldest sons discovered, it can be fatal. (Leviticus 10) And if I recognize my abject failure to be holy and pure, I will cry out with Abby, “How can God forgive ME?”

He sent His perfect Son, the Holy Son, to be the sacrifice described and prescribed in the Old Testament to pay for my failures. We celebrate that every year at Easter. And how can we be sure that it was enough? Are my sins forgiven and, as the old song goes, “buried in the depths of the deepest sea?”

Romans 4:25 eliminates that doubt. Hallelujah! Speaking of Christ Jesus,
He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (Another translation says, “on account of our justification.”)

“Delivered” means that He was brought as the lamb in the sacrifice, and died. And when God evaluated the offering, He declared it “satisfactory.” In fact it was perfect. And to demonstrate that for Abby, and me, and all the world to see that He was pleased and accepted the sacrifice, He raised Jesus from the dead. Another Easter hymn goes, “Death cannot hold its prey, Jesus my Saviour!” Shout it out!

We are forgiven, freed from guilt. And the book of James instructs us in our behavior. James 2:18b
“I will show you my faith by my works.”

True faith results in works and as we sare assured that we are forgiven by Jesus’ resurrection. People see our faith by our works. James 2:24
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
We cannot see “faith,” but the results are visible in our works, actions. We see God's work in justification by the Resurrection. And my "works" include the fact that I oppose abortion.

[Note: Three states have approved, and eight others have pending, bills to prohibit abortion after a heart beat is detected. It is a baby. Our Planned Parenthood friends, according to Abby, used to have a room labeled P. O. C. The official name was Products of Conception, but the workers called it “Parts of Children.” Medically it is imperative that the abortionist ensure that everything is “out” for any part left behind can fester and infect the mother. They have to verify that the whole baby is in the petri dish. Yes, “obscene” is not appropriate. We need something more intense. Stop it! End of note.]

I had not planned to write on abortion or movies this Easter season. The final credits of the movie had UNPLANNED in all caps. The UN was crossed out with a horizontal line through the letters and a vertical line between the U and the N. A cross changed everything. It was God’s plan from the foundation of the world.

Hallelujah, what a Savior. He planned it all.

Deuteronomy and Psalm 119

Reading God’s Word can surely show us a lot. Two questions that have occurred to me recently were answered in the daily reading and designed memory process. The first concerned false prophets and the idea that the Children of Israel asked Moses to request the Lord not to talk to them. 
(Exodus 20:18, 19
All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”

Have you heard any messages about this that essentially condemned the Jews for not wanting to hear from God? I have. Then I read this passage in Deuteronomy 18:15-22. 
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 This is what you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die!’ (ED: Exodus 20) 17 Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

This passage answers two questions. First, it addresses the question of the people not wanting to “hear from God.” But check verse 17. God commends the people for being circumspect. It seems as if they really understood God and His holiness and realized that even hearing His voice could condemn them. So they requested that Moses be the “go-between.” He became the mediator, a picture of Jesus.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Isn’t that a great picture? No one is worthy to directly approach God, but He sent a Mediator, His Son, to take that place. Moses was a picture of that, as were the priests. Then the rest of the passage we cited in Deuteronomy becomes crystal clear. God was not just “picking on” false prophets. This statement did not just come out of the blue. Since God recognized that Moses would not live forever–as our Mediator does–he took the practical step of telling the people to look for other messengers, prophets, who would deliver God’s message to the people.

Now the rest of that paragraph makes tons of sense. Moses told them that another prophet would replace him. (V. 15) God would put “His words” into the mouth of the prophet. If the people did not listen, the penalty was the same as if they ignored God’s words from the mountain. That is a sobering responsibility–for both the listeners, and for the prophet.

So the declaration in v. 20 now makes tons of sense.
But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.
With God’s command to listen and obey what the prophet says, comes the burden of making sure that what is said is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The temptation for mortals is to exercise and exceed their authority to their own benefit.

James (3:1) carried that concept into the New Testament.
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
Then Moses’ final comment is that we do not need to fear a false, or presumptuous prophet. Just for the record and our guidance, a test for false prophets is given. First, is what he said in accordance with what God has already said? That is the implication of “My words in his mouth.” Since God will not change His mind or contradict Himself, everything “new” that comes from the prophet must agree with everything already said. No changes will happen. (Good lesson to apply to some teachings that are promulgated today. “This is a new time....” NOT!) But I digress.

Second, if the prophet advises or advocates worshiping any other God, he is false. This is a “just to make sure you understand” the first rule. No other gods. Period. If anyone strays from that is is a fake. And the third is a practical test. If he makes any predictions, they will come true completely, with no near misses or errors. Just to verify His agents, God said that He would give a prophet a vision, or insight into the future. And if the prophet is truly God-sent, the vision will come true. Have you read Daniel lately? His visions were astoundingly accurate–and detailed. No sweeping generalizations like a king will fall, a mountain will erupt, a famine will come. They were specific and detailed, just as were Joseph’s visions in Egypt.

These three tests guided the people to listen to and obey prophets then. They guide us today. What a great insight.

The second question that I have heard is related to this. Have you ever heard a pastor or leader say, “Don’t follow me, follow Jesus?” At first blush this seems to be appropriate and godly. It shows his humility. That may not be the case. Let’s check how Paul instructed his readers.

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1)
This is repeated in Philippians 3:17. Granted we are not to put ourselves up as the standard, as Moses warned in Deuteronomy. But neither are leaders exempt from the requirement to follow the pattern that God has given. Then in my memory verses for the past few weeks, I realized that this train of thought was replicated in Psalm 119:77-80. Read with me.
May Your compassion come to me so that I may live, for Your instruction is my delight. (Notice the pattern being followed. ED.) 78 Let the arrogant be put to shame for slandering me with lies; I will meditate on Your precepts.
79 Let those who fear You, those who know Your decrees, turn to me. 80 May my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes so that I will not be put to shame.

You and I will not, in all likelihood, hear a voice from God. He has pretty much given us all that we need to know in His instruction, precepts, decrees, and statutes. (Just for fun, read the whole chapter and count how many different ways God’s Word is labeled.)

Notice specifically verse 79. Sounds like Paul, doesn’t it? Follow me as I “make my heart blameless regarding Your statutes.” The arrogant are shamed in that they do not follow the “instruction” and “precepts.” David was probably the author and he was a “man after God’s own heart.” And he was slandered by those who did not follow the Law. But his prayer was that he stay true to the Word.

If a teacher cannot ask people to follow him as he follows Christ, he might need to reevaluate his own path. I want to follow Christ so that people who follow me will not be put to shame, as David put it.

Read and memorize. It is good for the soul.

One other thought from Adrian Rogers. Moses met God at a burning bush at Sinai. Then he led the people out of Egypt to Sinai, to meet God at a burning mountain. Check Exodus 20:18.