Los Alamos Church of Christ
The
Sign of Jonah
This morning I want to begin with a
prayer. It is an odd prayer. I want you to listen to this prayer and
tell me who you think prayed it.
"In my distress I
called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called
for help, and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the
currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, 'I
have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy
temple.' The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was
wrapped around my head. To the
roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But
you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. "When my life was ebbing away, I
remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who
cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will
sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the
LORD."
Who? Anyone
know? Let me read the next
verse.
Jonah
2:10 And the LORD
commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
You may be asking yourself, "Why in the world
would Tim begin his "Easter" sermon with this strange prayer from Jonah?" If you asked this I would answer,
"Because Jesus did." In Matthew 12
Jesus hinges everything on the Sign of
Jonah. Let's capture the
context of Matthew 12 and move to why the sign of Jonah is a good place to begin
an Easter sermon.
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Matthew 12 is mostly a discussion; more of an
ongoing argument, even a conflict, between the Pharisees and Jesus, about who
Jesus was. That is what we are
doing in our series within a series; who is Jesus and why do I believe he is who
he said he was.
Matthew 12 begins with Jesus' disciples plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath; a big no-no to the Pharisees. "They were working on the Sabbath!"
Matthew
12:2
"Look! Your disciples are doing what is
unlawful on the Sabbath."
They accuse Jesus of breaking the law of Moses then Jesus shows them the inconsistency of their thinking and then makes an amazing claim.
Matthew
12:8
"For the Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath."
Jesus
claims to be in charge of the Sabbath.
His disciples can do whatever he allows them to do because he is the Lord
of the Sabbath! Wow, that sounds
pretty bold. The Pharisees don't take it too well.
Then this discussion escalates in a Synagogue on another Sabbath. The Pharisees ask Jesus a loaded question.
Matthew 12:10 Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
Explains that it is okay to do good even on the Sabbath and heals the guy right in front of them! Bam!
Matthew
12:14
The Pharisees went out and plotted how
they might kill Jesus.
This conflict continues to built a little later when Jesus casts out a demon.
Matthew
12:22-23
Then they brought him
a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he
could both talk and see. All the
people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
The
people get it. This is the
Messiah!
Matthew
12:24 But when
the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of
demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
They
now have seen at least two miracles, but they say he is in cahoots with the
devil.
Jesus
doesn't take being accused of being in league with Satan very well and calls
them a bunch of snakes.
Matthew
12:34
"You brood of vipers, how can you who are
evil say anything good?"
Now
we are getting to it. The Pharisees demand another sign to prove who he is. They
have already seen several and did not believe. Jesus then issues the ultimatum.
Matthew
12:38-41
Then some of the
Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a
miraculous sign from you." He
answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three
nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the
judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching
of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here."
Jesus
says there is only one sign left.
All of Jesus' claims; who he is; whether he is a hoax or in league with
devil; if he is the Son of Man of Daniel 7; everything rides on the sign of
Jonah! What is Jesus talking about?
What is this sign of Jonah? "Three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth." Jesus is talking
about resurrection. The Resurrection is the ultimate
challenge of who Jesus is.
That is why the Sign of Jonah is all about Easter. And the Sign of Jonah leaves us with the
same challenge as it left the Pharisees.
Jesus places all of his Easter eggs in the same basket. If Jesus was resurrected then… If he was
not then…
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The theme for this year is "A Reason for Hope." This morning we come to the bottom line.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
At the heart of hope is the resurrection of Jesus. The reason for our hope is the resurrection of Jesus. The answer we must be prepared to give, for our hope, is the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus is central to the Christian faith. Jesus called it the Sign of Jonah. He proclaimed that judgment was going to be based upon the Sign of Jonah. Everything comes down to the Sign of Jonah.
But why? Couldn't we have Christianity without the actual resurrection? Some people, who do call themselves Christians, talk about the resurrection as metaphorical. "It is Jesus being raised in your heart that is important. It is what Jesus means to you today, that is the resurrection." That is the question I want to answer this morning. Is the literal coming back to life from being dead, not mostly dead, but three days dead, essential to the Christian faith? To but it negatively, can you really be called a Christian and not believe in the actual/factual resurrection of Jesus? Does Jesus require you to believe in the Sign of Jonah?
Let's see what the New Testament writers have to say about the importance of the resurrection.
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Let's start with Paul. Paul is the first, chronologically, of the New Testament writers, to discuss the resurrection. Paul is the resurrection essential?
1 Corinthians 15:13-19 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
"What? Are you serious?" If Jesus has not been resurrected then…
-Preaching is useless. I'm just wasting my time up here rattling around…
-Your faith is useless and futile because you are still in your sins. Without the resurrection there is no forgiveness of sins.
-Those who have died are lost. Hell, awaits us all…
-We are to be pitied! Eat, drink and be merry is the appropriate theology if…
"Sure, but Paul isn't talking about a real resurrection. It is figurative metaphorical resurrection thing. Jesus is alive in your hearts." That makes me want to throw up whenever I hear such drivel. "Your loved one will be alive in your heart every time you think about him." That is not what Paul is talking about!
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Paul is not talking about metaphorical resurrections. He is talking about really seeing , really touching, really talking to the alive Jesus Christ!
"Paul what do you think?" Can you be a Christian and not believe in the resurrection?" No, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins and you are still lost unless Jesus was in fact resurrected.
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Let's ask Peter. Peter was close to Jesus. He would know whether or not it was important. Did Peter believe in the real resurrection?
1 Peter 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wait a second, what are you saying Peter? That our own resurrection is tied to the resurrection of Jesus? You mean if I deny the resurrection of Jesus, I deny my own resurrection? Our resurrection is directly connected to the resurrection of Jesus. It is Jesus breaking the bonds of death that is how I am able to be resurrected. It is through the resurrection that I have hope of resurrection. Can you be a Christian and deny the resurrection? Only if being a Christian means not having hope. It makes no sense.
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Well, let's ask John, Jesus' good buddy.
John 20:26-29 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
This is the bottom line of the Gospel of John. We are blessed, even though we have not put our fingers in his side or seen the scars in his hands. It is because we believe what Thomas saw, that we receive the blessings!
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To me it is like dominoes. Here are the Resurrection dominoes. (Stack them up)
1) If Jesus was literally resurrected
2) Then he fulfilled the sign of Jonah and he is who he said he was.
3) If he is who he said he was then we can believe all that he said.
4) If we believe all he said then we know he is The I AM
5) If he is The I AM then we know he came to die for our sins
6) If he died for my sins then I must respond in baptism
7) If I have been baptized with Jesus I know I will be resurrected with Jesus
1) If Jesus was not resurrected
2) Then he failed the sign of Jonah
3) We can't trust the rest of his words
4) If he was a liar then he was not God
5) If he was not God then his death was just another death
6) He cannot forgive my sins
7) I have no hope for my own resurrection
(Knock down the dominoes.)
"Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics" by William
Lane Craig
"The earliest Christians saw Jesus' resurrection as both the vindication of his personal claims and the harbinger of our own resurrection to eternal life. If Jesus rose from the dead, then his claims are vindicated and our Christian hope is sure; if Jesus did not rise, our faith is futile and we fall back into despair."
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Let's put the resurrection on the Jesus Body list as Reason #4. Everything else hinges on the resurrection.
I am going to attempt something I am not sure is legal. We are going to do a series with in a series with in a series. For the next several weeks exploring Why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus within the Ten Reasons I believe in Jesus series within the A Reason for Hope Series. Do you think that's legal?
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Bottom line for today. Can you be a Christian and not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus?
Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
The
Sign of Jonah is the ultimate
challenge.
