Introduction
This year marks the centenary of arguably the greatest archaeological discovery of all time. It will quite possibly never be surpassed.
In 1922, after nearly a decade of research, exploration and sweaty digging, the British archaeologist Howard Carter found the entrance of an ancient burial chamber.
He cut a hole in the doorway with a chisel, and, aided by the light of a candle, peered inside.
This is how he described what he saw. “As my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist... Strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold.”
Lord Carnarvon, the longsuffering benefactor of his excavation mission called to him from the top of the steps that led down to the doorway. “Can you see anything?”
And Carter called back in a voice cracking with emotion, “Yes! Wonderful things!”
It was, as you might have guessed, the tomb of the boy king Tut Ankh Amun in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
Carter went on to write about that discovery in these words; “It was the day of days, the most wonderful that I have ever lived through.”
Two Gospel Accounts
Some years earlier, as far as we can guess, we’re not sure, but possibly 5 April AD 33, three women, and then two men, peered into another Middle-Eastern tomb.
Mark’s Gospel in the Bible describes what happened like this;
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.
Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
Then, in John’s Gospel, it continues the narrative, saying that Mary Magdalene went running to Peter and John telling them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
Hearing this, Peter and John both ran to the tomb to see for themselves.
John must have been the competitive sort because he just had to mention the otherwise entirely incidental detail that he got there first.
But when Peter caught up with him and they both looked into the opened tomb, what did they see? Wonderful things! Truly wonderful things! It would become for them the day of days, the most wonderful that they had ever lived through.
As they looked into that burial chamber, hollowed out of the rock, they didn’t see gold or jewels or ivory; or any exquisite, dazzling, priceless sarcophagus, or indeed any treasures of any kind.
All they saw that morning, the Gospels say, was a discarded, bloodstained burial shroud, and the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head, now folded, lying on a stone slab.
Jesus, we know, had been absolutely battered on the cross. It was brutal. It was carnage. He took such a hammering - literally - that he was dead after six hours.
Over Friday night and Saturday, Jesus’ lacerated and bruised corpse had turned pale and stone cold in the darkness of the tomb.
But on Sunday, before anyone else had woken up, all of a sudden, his heart jumped into a beat, and his hands began to tingle, and his toes started to wiggle, and his eyes blinked open, and his arms stretched out - and he pushed himself up from the slab, and out from the grave he walked, triumphant over death forever!
That’s truly the day of days, and absolutely the most wonderful that this world has ever seen.
What It Means
On Friday, his death had been a resounding victory. Colossians 2.13-15 says that, on the cross, Jesus forgave us all our sins, cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness which stood against us and which condemned us, he took that away, nailing it to the cross, and he disarmed and triumphed over the powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them.
Between Friday and Sunday Jesus had been in Hades, the place of the dead.
And there, after all he achieved on Good Friday he confronted all the powers of darkness and said, “Come on then! Is there no other challenger? Is that all you’ve got? Does anyone else want to have a go?”
There was no one else! All the powers of hell cringed and shrunk off into the shadows. Sin and death, like rats on a sinking ship, cowered and ran.
This will forever be the most momentous event in world history.
Jesus’ resurrection is important because it authenticates and validates everything he said and did.
In all four Gospels, he was very clear. He said he was going up to Jerusalem - and he went. He said he would be mocked, beaten, spat on and handed over - and he was. He said they would crucify him - and they did. And he said that after three days he would rise again - and up from the grave he rose.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, you don’t need to take any notice of anything he said. It’s of no consequence whatsoever.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, this (and every) church is a pointless and delusional waste of time, effort and space.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Bible is false, our faith is worthless, the gospel is fake news and everything about Christianity should be unceremoniously consigned to the dustbin of history and forgotten.
But Jesus did rise from the dead.
There were many eye witnesses who saw him after he rose and none of his opponents could explain why the grave was empty or where the body had gone despite being desperate to do so.
The Gospels all agree that Jesus loved outcasts, had good news for the poor, bound up the broken hearted, healed the sick, cleansed lepers and drove out tormenting spirits.
And these twelve people who were baptized today are evidence of the fact that Jesus is alive and still changes lives today.
They have tasted how good the Lord is and now they want to follow him for the rest of their lives.
If you’re a guest here today, you might be thinking, “Well, fair enough. Why not? I’m very pleased for them. But don’t people from every faith say how much their lives have changed for the better since converting? Aren’t all religions basically the same?”
That’s a good question because people do indeed say that. Here’s my answer: the Buddha, Confucius, Mohammad, Moses, Patanjali and all the rest of them are very different from each other but their devotees would all readily agree that they have one thing in common – they are all dead.
The evangelist J. John said, "Imagine you’re walking down a road which then forks in two, and you don’t know which way to go… And then you see two men at the junction; one’s dead and one’s alive. Which one are you going to ask for directions?”
Ending
These baptisms happened today as evidence Jesus is alive.
This isn’t about twelve people wanting a little more religion in their lives. I think they will all tell you that in no uncertain terms.
They will all tell you, “I know which direction I’m taking and there’s no turning back.”
So, as I close, I contend that Jesus, uniquely of all people, dead or alive, religious or secular, can bring total forgiveness, true freedom, deep healing, new life, fresh hope, real purpose and a bright future - starting today - to all who come to him in faith.
Are you at a fork in the road of your life today?
If you place your faith in Jesus, the Bible says you will acquire something “of greater worth than gold,” something which “can never perish, spoil or fade.”
Don’t put it off any longer, do it now, and today will become your “day of days, the most wonderful that you have ever lived through.”
Let’s pray…
Thanks to Simon Ponsonby at New Wine 2015 for inspiration and material for this talk.
