You Are Not Pitied

#1 – Believing in the Resurrection doesn’t make you pitiable – it makes you right

• Most scrutinized event ever
• Attempt to disprove it for over 2000 years
• You don’t have to do mental gymnastics or commit intellectual suicide to believe
• “Inference to the best explanation” – used to determine the historicity of an event
• Begin with best evidence available and then infer what would, if true, provide the best explanation of that evidence
• A couple areas where experts typically apply the “inference to the best explanation” approach with the Resurrection.

If you want to take a deeper dive into it:
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/historical-evidence-for-the-resurrection)

• The Empty Tomb
  • The Resurrection was first preached in Jerusalem – the same city where Jesus was buried.  If the tomb wasn’t empty, it would’ve been easy to verify.
  • The tomb was never venerated as a shrine.  It was a 1st century custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy man’s bones and there was no shrine for Jesus.  Because His bones weren’t there.
  • Women discovered the empty tomb.  If you were trying to fool people, you wouldn’t have relied on the testimony of a woman.
  • The Jewish leaders who were against Jesus purported the disciples stole the body.  But even in that theory (which we will talk about more in a minute), they are admitting the tomb was empty.  You don’t support your enemy’s claim unless it is so obviously true, there is no way to deny it.
    
    
• There were more than 500 eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after He was resurrected.
  • That is an incredible number of people to be material witnesses to an event.  Especially, when you consider the outcome of many court cases today are decided on the testimony of only one or two witnesses.  If 500 witnesses are paraded through a courtroom, all saying the same thing, any reasonable jury is going to believe them.
    
    
• The church continued to grow, even with all the persecution.
  • If the story of the Resurrection wasn’t true, the Christian church never would have existed.  This is explained in Acts Chapter 5.  The apostles had been arrested and were going to be killed, but Gamaliel (a Pharisee) said that shouldn’t happen.  Two other people had made claims and drew followers, but after their deaths, the followers dispersed, and nothing came of their claims.  The same would be true of Jesus if the events surrounding Him weren’t true.  Well, here we are 2000 years later and a 2019 study said there are 2.5 billion Christians in the world.
    
    
• They way the apostles died and never recanted their story (this goes back to the claim that the disciples stole Jesus’ body).
  • People will often die for a lie that they believe is true.  But how many will die for a lie they know is a lie?  And how likely is it that 10 people would die for the exact same lie?  There’s no way every single one of them would’ve kept a lie for over 40 years, suffering the way they did.  For the sake of time, I’m not going to go through how they all died.  But you should look it up sometime.  
  • Chuck Colson – “I know the Resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me.  How?  Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it.  Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison.  They would not have endured that if it weren’t true.  Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world – and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks.  You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years?  Absolutely impossible!”

“Inference to the best explanation” for each of these arguments individually points to a resurrected Jesus.  When you put them all together, the evidence is even that much stronger.  In fact, I think the evidence is overwhelming and can’t be ignored.

However, if you do believe in the Resurrection, you believe in the single most important event in history.

“The Right Side of History”

• People use this term in supporting some sort of cause 
  • LGBTQA+
  • BLM
  • Pro-Abortion
  • Pro-Palestine Movement
    
    
• The right side of history starts with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
• History is just His Story
• Everything from the beginning points forward to Him.  And everything since has pointed back to those events.
• Being on the right side of history means being on the right side of His Story – and that means believing in a resurrected Messiah.

#2 – Believing in the Resurrection doesn’t make you pitiable – it makes you hopeful

In the movie, The Matrix Reloaded, there’s a character named “the Architect” and he calls hope “the quintessential human delusion”.  He basically says that hope is something that isn’t real, and that having hope will only lead to your downfall. 

But having hope is important – even for the non-Christian.  It’s been said that humans can live about 40 days without food, about 3 days without water, 8 minutes without air, but only about 1 second without hope.  In fact, if you can take away someone’s hope, you can take away their will to live.  It’s possible to endure a lot of things, but enduring anything without the hope that one day it will get better is pretty much impossible.

Proverbs 13:12
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick…”  (NKJV)  

But Psalm 16:9 says:
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope”.
(NKJV)

But what you put your hope in matters.  Do you hope in your own abilities?  Your job, your health, your popularity?  Do you hope that the government is going to solve all your problems?  Those are the things the world says will give you hope.

As Christians, we are told all the time that our hope lies elsewhere.  That our hope is in Christ.  And according to the Bible, there’s so much to be hopeful for.    

We have hope for…

• • Healing

• James 5:14-15
  “Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call on the elders of the church,
  and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
  Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will
  raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven”.
  (NKJV)
  
  

• • Deliverance

• Psalm 34:17
  “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of
  all their troubles”.  (NKJV)
  
  

• • Restoration

• 1 Peter 5:10
  “In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by
  means of Christ Jesus.  So after you have suffered for a little while, He
  will restore, support and strengthen you, and He will place you on a
  firm foundation”.  (NLT)

• • Provision
    • Philippians 4:19
      “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs
      from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus”.
      (NLT)
      
      
  • Wisdom

• James 1:5
  “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
  liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him”.  (NKJV)
  
  

• • Peace

• John 14:27
  “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives
  do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
  afraid”.  (NKJV)

But all of that doesn’t matter if Christ isn’t resurrected.  If Christ isn’t resurrected, then the Architect was right – our hope is a delusion.  Maybe we can make it through this life, but if there isn’t more to our hope, then what’s the point?   

Even Paul says in verse 19 that it’s a sad thing if our hope in Christ is for this life ONLY.  Even if we have a “good” life, it will be full of pain and struggle.  If we don’t have hope for something more, then we really are pitiable.           

But here’s the best thing.   The Resurrection of Jesus proves the principle of resurrection.  It proves OUR resurrection is possible.  Jesus just did it first.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first
fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since by man came
death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.  For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 
But each one in his own order: Christ the first fruits, afterward
those who are Christ’s at His coming.

So, we have hope – not just for what we face in this life.  

Hebrews 6:18-19:
“So God has given us both His promise and His oath.  These two things are
unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.  Therefore, we who have fled to
Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us”.
(NLT)

• Our hope is for an eternity spent with Jesus
• An eternity with no pain, suffering or tears
• An eternity with a body that will never see death again

#3 – Believing in the Resurrection doesn’t make you pitiable – it makes you endure

It’s amazing to me the number of people who seem to be giving up and walking away from their faith these days.  And it’s not just regular people.  It’s high-profile pastors, worship leaders, Christian artists, etc.  People you would never expect to do something like that.  It’s almost like it’s become en-vogue to deconstruct your faith.  To go looking for reasons not to believe.

But if the Resurrection is true, how in the world do you just up and quit on God like that?

There are probably tons of reasons these people would give.  But for the most part, I think it comes down to just a couple things.

• People love their sin more than they love God.  Maybe they believe, but not enough to give up fleshly desires.  Eventually, they will find an excuse not to believe and then walk away.
  
  
• Others come to Jesus for the wrong reasons in the first place. They only came because they needed God to fix something or do something for them, and when that didn’t happen when and how they wanted it to, they gave up on their faith. 

Kanye West

• Had a breakdown in 2016 that led to a very public confession of faith 
• Seemed to be really on fire – released a legit gospel album, held his “Sunday Service” events with worship and preaching
• Gave a lot of interviews declaring his allegiance to Christ and talking about how much Jesus had changed his life
• I was somewhat skeptical.  But it was exciting to think that such a high profile artist had turned from the world (especially THAT world) and given his life to Jesus
• Fast forward to 2019 and he completely renounced being a Christian.  He said, “I have some problems with Jesus.  “Them prayers ain’t working”.  He said Jesus didn’t show up and now “I’m the god of me”.
• You can argue whether or not he was ever really saved, but in my mind, he clearly never understood or believed in the Resurrection.  If he did, he would’ve come to Christ for the right reasons.  And his faith wouldn’t have been so weak.  He would’ve been able to “stand in jeopardy every hour” as Paul mentions in verse 30 of our text.  He would’ve been able to endure the testing of his patience and would’ve been able to trust God completely to work out the things he was praying for.

How many people fall away for the same reasons?  God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want, and we lose faith in him.  We forget that the power of the Resurrection gives us power to endure the wilderness seasons of our lives.  Instead, we don’t trust God’s timing, ability or the outcome He is already preparing for us. 

Story of John, Peter and the paralyzed man in Acts Chapter 3

• Man was lame from birth
• Was carried DAILY to the temple gate where he would beg for money
• Peter and John were headed to the temple on day when they stopped to interact with him
• Peter “we don’t have silver and gold, but we got something better.  In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk”
• Reached out his hand and lifted the man up and IMMEDIATELY his feet and ankles were made strong, and he was able to walk.

We love that story.  It’s a classic teaching in Sunday School.  It’s a staple when we talk about the miracles of healing that the Bible mentions.  I’ve heard this story many, many times in my life, but there are a couple things I’ve always overlooked or never thought about.

• The man was taken to the temple gates EVERY day.  I can guarantee this wasn’t the first Peter and John went to the temple.  How many times did they walk by and never stop?
• How many times did JESUS walk by and never stop?  How many times did He just walk by while this guy asked for money – thinking that was what he needed to survive.
• I can just see Jesus kinda side-eye this guy as He walked by, smile ever so slightly and say to Himself, “Man, just you wait and see what I have lined up for you”.

Of course, Jesus could’ve healed this guy at any time.  Maybe Peter and John could’ve done it sooner too.  But if you read the rest of Chapter 3 and into Chapter 4, you will see what this man’s healing led to.  Not only for himself, but for the gospel.  Right after this guy got up and starting walking and jumping around, Peter preached the message of the resurrected Messiah to the Jewish people who had witnessed this miracle and were amazed

Acts 3:14-15

“You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a
murderer (meaning Barabas).  You killed the author of life, but God raised Him
from the dead.  And we are witnesses of this fact!”  (NLT)

In Chapter 4, Peter and John are hauled before the Jewish council – the priests, captain of the temple and the Sadducees.  It says these people were greatly annoyed because Peter and John were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead (remember – the Sadducees didn’t believe in that).  They were so upset about it, they had Peter and John arrested and put in prison.  But even in that, God was working out His plan.

Acts 4:4

“But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men
who believed now totaled about 5,000.”  (NLT)

I love this story so much because it reminds me of a couple things:

• That God often answers our prayers in ways we don’t even expect (the lame man just wanted money and he received complete healing instead).
• That God’s timing is always perfect.
• That the answers to our prayers can impact others in significant ways.

This story reminds me not to give up on God.  What would it have looked like if the lame man would’ve gotten tired of being carried to the temple every day?  What if he would’ve woken up on that particular morning and said, “you know, I’m just not feeling it today.  I don’t want to go to the temple (or church) because God hasn’t shown up yet.  I think it’s time I started looking for another solution.  Maybe it’s time I become the god of myself”.

I know that every single person in this room is waiting on God for something.  Maybe it’s something fairly small or maybe it’s something incredibly huge and seemingly impossible.  But we’re all waiting.  Be encouraged and don’t give up.  Waiting is hard.  Life is hard.  It’s hard with Christ – imagine how much harder it would be without Him.  

The truth of the Resurrection proves the power of God.  It means we serve a God who is more than able.  He is more than capable of coming through in the most unexpected ways at the most unexpected times.  Don’t lose heart!  Continue to hold fast to Him.  The answer might be right around the corner.  Don’t give up too early.  The check just might be on the way – don’t stop going to the mailbox.    

The Resurrection is true.  If you haven’t already, you’ve got to get that settled in your heart.  It is the foundation of your faith as a Christian.  It is the thing that will carry you through everything this life throws at you.  And it is the thing that will usher you into eternity with our Savior.  

Believing in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ does not mean you are the most pitiable of all men.  It means you are the most blessed, the most hopeful and the most capable of finishing the race.  Don’t quit on God.  Cling tight to His promises.  Remain hopeful and trust that He will come through.  Because He will – just in time and in ways you could never imagine.