Sermons
Risen!
RISEN!
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / March 27, 2016
As we might expect, all four gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, give details about Jesus’ resurrection.
Easter is a wonderful time of the year - - and it renews our faith to revisit the stories of that resurrection morning.
Lk.24:1f / Several women came to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices.
(Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and “others” / Lk.24:10 … Mk.16:1 also identifies Salome.
When they arrived the large stone was rolled away and THE TOMB WAS EMPTY.
Two men in dazzling apparel appeared asking them, “Why do you seek the Living One among the dead?” (Lk.24:5).
Matthew (Mt.28:5-7) records (and clarifies) that an angel spoke to the women,
Do not be afraid; for I know you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
He is not here, for HE HAS RISEN, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He had risen from the dead…
John’s gospel (Jn.20:2f) tells of how Peter & John ran to the tomb to investigate first-hand.
Luke’s gospel (Lk.24:13f) also tells the story of two disciples, Cleopas and another unnamed disciple,
who while walking on the road to Emmaus, suddenly found Jesus walking with them.
At first they didn’t realize it was Jesus (their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him / vs.16),
but later on after they invited “him” to stay with them and dine with them - - and later,when
“he” broke the bread and blessed it …their eyes were opened and they recognized Him (vs.31).
One can’t fully tell the story of the Lord’s resurrection with detailing a somewhat extensive cast of characters:
Joseph of Arimathea … Mary Magdalene & Mary the mother of James & Joanna & Salome …
Peter & John … the angels … Cleopas and his friend … (doubting) Thomas.
All of these make up the rich fabric of a mosaic that we readily acknowledge as the story of our Lord’s resurrection.
Less front and center, but nevertheless playing important roles are a few other somewhat minor characters.
This brings us to our primary text for this morning - - Matthew 27:62-66.
Over the last few weeks the movie, Risen, has been showing in the theaters.
Except for a couple of brief “trailers”, I have not seen the movie but I know the basic premise.
One key character In the movie is Clavius, a Roman tribune/centurion - - we’ll return to him in a minute.
Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor appointed by Tiberius Caesar to be the chief “peace-keeper” in the highly combustible Roman province of Palestine - - a powder keg of volatility primarily because of its Jewish inhabitants.
As the Day of Atonement/Passover drew near, Pilate followed the custom of releasing one of the Jewish prisoners.
This was done to placate the Jewish population and entice them to behave in a more civilized way.
In the trial leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, Pilate, offered the people one of two choices:
Jesus (of Nazareth) or Jesus Barabbas (a notorious prisoner/Mt.27:16).
The stubborn and unbelieving leaders among the Jews felt threatened by Jesus of Nazareth, so they induced (persuaded) the crowd in advance to demand the release of (Jesus) Barabbas, which they did (Mt.27:20-21).
In the movie, Clavius was previously charged with putting down an insurrection led by the zealot Barabbas.
And now Pilate appoints Clavius to quell an imminent uprising in Jerusalem on the heels of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Both assignments appear very plausible in keeping with the modus operandi of the Roman Empire in NT Times.
Pilate has been sent to oversee the dusty outpost of Palestine (Judea).
His aim seems to have been to do an noteworthy job and thereby be promoted to a better location.
So he surrounds himself with responsible and conscientious subordinates who are keen on doing their jobs.
Clavius is depicted as such. He was a man of Rome, trained in the merciless craft of soldiering & military leadership.
He possesses a strong sense of duty. One day, while relaxing in a pool, Pilate inquires about Clavius’ ambitions.
Clavius summarizes his desires in four words: power … position … stature …and wealth.
But then he confides that what he really longs for is, “a home in the country and a day without death.”
Pilate chooses Clavius to investigate this “Jewish problem”. The Jewish leaders argued that this Yeshua
Jesus of Nazareth, who was dubbed the King of Jews, had made claims about “rising from the dead”.
Subsequently, they argued that they were worried that some of His disciples would steal His body from the tomb.
Such would threaten them further and also create instability for the Romans leaders in their quest for peace.
In the movie this is not Clavius’ first encounter with this man called, Yeshua (Jesus).
Clavius was already on the scene toward the end of Jesus’ crucifixion.
During the crucifixion darkness fell over the land for three hours.
The earth shook. The rocks were split. The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom.
Tombs were opened and many of the saints who had died were raised and appeared to many in the city.
cf. Mt.27:45ff; Mk.15:33ff and Lk.23:33ff.
Luke 23:47 records, when the centurion saw what was happening,
he began praising God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent’.
Both Mt.27:54 and Mk.15:39 state, when the centurion, who was standing right in front of him,
saw the way he breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the son of God’.
Footnotes suggest that this may be rendered, “this man was a son of God or a son of a god.”
This theatrical drama is harmonious with the Biblical text of Mk.15:44 which notes, Pilate wondered if He (Jesus)
was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, He questioned him as to whether He was already dead.
I want to examine four details surrounding the resurrection, briefly, and then we’ll close head for our Easter Dinners.
THE WARNING
Mt.27:62 notes that on the next day (the day after His crucifixion) the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together
with Pilate, and said, Sir, we remember that when He was still alive the deceiver said, after three days I am to rise again.
THE GUARD
Mt.27:64-65 details the request of the Jewish leaders to secure the grave and Pilate’s agreement to supply such.
THE SEAL
Mt.27:66 states, they made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
It was a serious offense to tamper with a seal and such behavior was a considered a major crime. cf. Dan.6:16-17.
This seal was broken by an earthquake and the stone was rolled away by an angel (cf. Mt.28:2).
THE EMPTY TOMB
Now, we must not be ignorant here - - the Romans knew how to govern. Their soldiers knew how to soldier.
There was nothing slip-shod about the methodologies of the mighty Roman Empire. What they did, they did well.
Yet, read from Mt.28:11-15
In order to cover for the empty tomb, they bribed the guards to perpetuate a lie saying,
His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.
The chief priests added, if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.
I feel quite confident that this news did indeed come to the governor’s ears.
I also am quite certain that the governor’s anger was raised a number of degrees, if not to a boiling point.
Acts 9 tells of Peter’s “escape” from prison. Actually God sent an angel to free Peter.
Acts 9:18-19 states: Now when day came, there was not small disturbance among the
soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. And when Herod searched for him and
had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution.
J.N.D. Anderson, a lawyer and professor of oriental law at the University of London poses an important observation.
Have you noticed that the references to the empty tomb all come in the Gospels,
which were written to give the Christian community the facts they wanted to know.
In the public preaching to those who were not believers, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles,
there is an enormous emphasis on the fact of the resurrection but not a single reference to the empty tomb.
Now, WHY? … There was no point in arguing about the empty tomb.
Everyone, friend and opponent, knew that it was empty.
The only questions worth arguing about were why was it empty and what its emptiness proved.
(As cited by Josh McDowell in, The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict, pg.244).
So Clavius is put in charge of what was likely the largest manhunt in human history.
In the forty days that followed the resurrection of Jesus, Clavius is found asking questions - - lots of questions.
He questions the guards … the disciples … and the street rabble.
He even finds himself praying to the God of the Hebrews for insight (as he often did to the Romans gods).
And so, in Risen, Clavius the Roman centurion and confidant of Pilate, fluent in the macabre art of crucifixion
and at ease slaying an enemy of Rome, a sinner to be sure, encounters God and finds himself humbly
yet certainly changed forever. He encounters the extraordinary and observes the inexplicable …
Clavius’ life becomes punctuated by moments of assurance that foster a growing faith in Christ.
And finally, for a moment - - and forever – under the midnight sky atop a craggy hill in Galilee,
Clavius finds that he has arrived - - but in a way he never imagined and in a place hardly conceived.
He finds himself reclining in the presence of Love Incarnate - - Jesus the Christ.
He finds the very thing he always really desired - - home in the country, a day without death.
(The above paragraph is derived from a web blog by an unnamed reviewer).
Many secular movie critics give much of the film a “thumbs up!”.
But the ending is usually scoffed at and critiqued as being a pandering to the Christian audience.
The reality is that no one could engage in such inquiry and finally meet the risen Lord and not be forever changed.
And that’s not just the story of Risen, it is the story of the entire New Testament.
