The Triumphant Christ

Today we celebrate the triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Across the land, the words of the 1st century echoes joyously: “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!” This morning as the light began to break across the eastern Sky in the in our Easter morning service, we sang: “Christ the Lord is risen today. Hallelujah.” Somehow or other this cry, this shout of joy, this hymn seems to lighten the darkness of the whole world. 

Why is the resurrection of Christ the touchstone of the Christian faith? Why did Paul exclaim in 1 Corinthians 15: “If Christ had not risen, then all our preaching is in vain and we are still in our sins!” To understand the question and its answer, we must go back to find the key that unlocks the door to the Apostolic preaching. The central sermons of the early apostles are found in Matthew, mark, Luke and Acts.

The preaching centers first in a narration of the death of Jesus, a narration we heard so vividly portrayed by the choir on Good Friday. In the cross, we see the martyrdom of the righteous servant of God. The whole story becomes the drama of a dialogue between three cunning and cruel leaders who call upon the people to demand his death. The people cry out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” When the weakened hand of justice, represented by Pilate, tries to save the victim and appease the people, thee people reject him in every attempt saying “Vah! Vah!” 

Christ cries out and to heaven, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!” God answers with thunder, lightning and earthquake. An Angel comes down to strengthen the man on the cross. We become identified in that dialogue both with the multitude crying, “Vah! Crucify him!” and with the Christ strengthened for the day. 

When the choir was practicing “Seven Last Words,” they were so caught up in the words of the crucifier that one of the members of the choir exclaimed almost in horror, “It sounds as though we are not on his side.” How closely we in life become identified with those who crucified Christ. As our associate pastor so clearly made the point Friday: “Our indifference is more cruel and crucifying, than the hate and hostility of his crucifixion.” 

The death of Jesus was depicted as a catastrophic event for Jesus. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The murderers stand as guilty people, as we in sin, we too identify with them, we too crucify Christ either by indifference or by direct and hostile acts of sin. Then, the 
Apostles proclaimed the resurrection as God’s mighty answer to the murderous action. Peter proclaimed to the Jews at Pentecost, “You nailed Jesus on the cross and did away with him. But God raised him from the dead.” The resurrection is God’s answer to the horrible crime committed against his chosen one. 

The answer is as magnificent as Psalm 2 seems to describe it.

Why do nations rage
and the people’s plot in vain? 
the Kings of the earth set themselves 
in the rulers take counsel together 

against the Lord and against his anointed 
saying 
Let us burst their bonds apart 
and castaway their cords from us 

He who sits in the heavens laughs 
the Lord holds him in derision 
Then he will speak to them in his wrath 
and terrify them in his furies and 
As for me I have set my King
on Zion my holy hill.

I will tell the decree: 
the Lord said to me you are my Son 
today I’ve begotten you 
Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage 
and the ends of the earth your possession 
You shall break them with a rod of iron 
and dash them in pieces like a potters vessel 

In the resurrection, God seems to crush his opponents. The risen Christ will rise against his crucifiers, to accuse and condemn them. What chance will Pontius Pilate or Caiaphas have now? Christ has risen to accuse them before God. 

This Jesus whom you drove to death, whom you crucified with your evil, guilt ridden hands hath God raised up. Here suddenly the surprise comes in the New Testament preaching. 

Instead of the following this logical line: “You killed Jesus. God raised him. Therefore, you have no chance. You cannot get away with it. You will be crushed under his heel.” Instead, the early church proclaims, “God has raised this Jesus whom you crucified up, raised up not to accuse you, but to open up the way to your forgiveness and repentance. How can God save the sinner by the resurrection of Christ? This is the big question before us. 

I would like to answer it with an analogy. On Wednesday, May 21, 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two well-bred men of respectable Chicago families murdered a boy named Bobby Franks. Many months before, they planned this “perfect crime.” Bobby Franks the victim was chosen at random. They carried out this awful plan. It was not a perfect crime. They were found out. All Chicago clamored for their death. No judge would dare give them anything but death. They hired Clarence Darrow. Darrow persuades them to confess the crime. Now the jury is dismissed. They have thrown themselves on the mercy of the court. On judge’s shoulders falls the decision. 

Do you see the analogy? The advocate says confess your sins and throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Plead for your life. This is a biblical repentance. Confess your sins so yourself on the mercy of the court. But, suppose suddenly a witness had been produced in the court who would say, “I have seen Bobby Franks alive, since the murder.” And, another witness after says, “I have seen him too.” 

You see what would happen. The judge would not have to close his law books yet. For the time being, he would have to say this is the end of the law as we have received, created, respected and followed it. Since Bobby Franks is alive, the corpus of your delicti, Mr. Leopold and Loeb, no longer exists. As with his death, so his return to life is your Salvation and restoration of your life. Tell these two men, who for all practical purposes were already condemned to death, now have a new life now that Bobby Franks is alive today. 

Do you see the analogy? Christ was alive. The men’s corpus delicti had disappeared. The crucifier’s and the condemned sinners could now go free. But, this is not all. The resurrected Christ becomes the sinner’s advocate. He goes before the judgment bar of God and proclaims to the judge, behold my hands and my feet. I am he who was crucified. Behold the nail prints. I am alive. Death has no more sway. The murderers, my murderers, the sinners can go free. 

This is the story I have to tell you this morning. Christ is alive again. Murderers, there is forgiveness for you. Adulterers, there is forgiveness for you. Liars, there is forgiveness for you. Unfaithful one, there is forgiveness for you. Parent who has failed a child, there is forgiveness for you.

For, if we all have all been reconciled to God by his death, much more, very much more shall we be saved by his life. 

That is why John Baillie could say: The resurrection did not correct the awful mistake of the Cross, but it fulfilled the purpose of the cross.