MESSAGES

FROM THE

WORD

IF I HAD ONLY KNOWN

John 2:18-25

SERIES:  Easter                                                                                                    April 8, 2007

            If you had known about the attacks on the World Trade Centers on September 10, 2001; what would you have done?  Would you have called the FBI?  Gone to New York and begged people not to go in the buildings?  Would you have taken your money out of the stock market?  In 1985 Villanova University defeated Georgetown University by 2 points in one of the greatest upsets in NCAA basketball finals history.  If you had known that Villanova was going to make nearly 80% of their shots, would you have made a small wager on the game?  Who could have predicted that Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Google, or Yahoo was going to make people who invested in the company wealthy?  In 1929, economist Irving Fisher stated, “…the stock market has reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.  The market is a safe and prudent investment”.  In 1942, Thomas J. Watson, then Chairman of the Board of IBM stated, “Realistically, there is a market for about five computers in the entire world.  There is no reason to risk our current success on such a limited item”.  In 1962, Decca Records was the biggest company in pop music.  They turned down the recommendation of a talent scout to sign a group of long haired singers from Liverpool because, “Guitar music in on the way out”.  Ten years later, Decca Records folded.  Walt Disney was fired from his job on a newspaper because they said he lack imagination.  The rest is history.

            Norman Vincent Peale was the pastor of a large congregation in New York City and decided to write a book.  It was turned down by every publisher to whom he mailed a manuscript.  He became so discouraged that he threw the manuscript into his trash basket.  His wife saw this, walked over, and sought to take the manuscript out of the trash basket.  Peale saw what she was doing and forbid her to remove the manuscript from the trash basket.  The next day, Mrs. Peale heard of a new publisher so she walked into her husband’s office when he wasn’t in, picked up the trash basket, went to the publisher’s office, and allowed the publisher to remove the manuscript.  His book, The Power of Positive Thinking has sold more than 40,000,000 copies.  “If I had only known” is a phrase most of us have said or thought many times.  It is a phrase that was uttered by the disciples on many occasions.  Even Jesus said it.  As He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday knowing He would be crucified on Friday we read        LUKE 19:41-42.

            As we come to Easter, our minds and hearts are filled with wonder as we celebrate an event over which we have hindsight.  It is easy for us to question the disciples and wonder why they didn’t stand strong.  Most of us have thought or said, “If I had been there, I would have…”  The truth is if we had been there, we would have run like all of the rest.  It is not until after the fact that a proper perspective is gained.  After Easter, the perspective of the disciples was different.  After Easter, their faith did not waver.  Why didn’t they see the signs?  If they had only known, they would have been at the tomb on Sunday morning to welcome the risen Lord back from the dead.  What signs were there by which they should have known?  What indications were they given that they missed?  This morning we want to look at five indicators people were given to plan for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

            FIRST, IT WAS REVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.  We read the Christmas story and see Herod ask where the child was to be born.  He was told that Micah predicted the child was to be born in Bethlehem.  What a tragedy they didn’t go to Bethlehem.  What a greater tragedy not to go to the tomb and wait.  After the disciples discovered the empty tomb we read          LUKE 24:44-47             If they had only known.  All they had to do was listen to the scriptures being read every Sabbath.  It was there to be seen.  Do you know why we spend so much time trying to teach you what the Bible says?  Because we believe that God’s word is like a diamond mine.  If you dig carefully, you will find all sorts of valuable treasures.  Do you know what the most important word is in that passage?  It is in verse 44 and it is the word “MUST”.  People ask me all the time “Are there things God cannot do”?  This is one of those things God cannot do.  God cannot fail to fulfill His word.  His word “MUST BE FULFILLED”.  That means He is going to finish His work in your life, too.  Those promises in His word “MUST BE FULFILLED”.  The promise in the Old Testament about the resurrection “MUST BE FULFILLED”.

            SECOND, IT WAS REVEALED AT THE TEMPLE.  Most people remember the story of Jesus overturning the moneychangers in the Temple after entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  What many people forget is that this was the second time Jesus did this.  We read              JOHN 2:13-17          This was the first Passover for Jesus after He was baptized by John.  Jesus was not the head of the Temple, so He was asked a very logical question.  That question was, “What gives you the right to do this”?  To that question, John writes                JOHN 2:18-21        Those around were thinking that Jesus was referring to the Temple of Herod which dominated Jerusalem.  He was referring to His body.  The reason John knew this was because Jesus told it to him.  The Lord made similar statements throughout His ministry.  Destroy this body, and it would not remain down for long.  Did you notice His little statement at the end of verse 19?  He claims, “I WILL RAISE IT UP”.  How could Jesus raise up His body if He was dead?  This is a dilemma unless Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.  This is why the Trinity is a part of Christian Theology.  The moment the body of Jesus died, His spirit returned to the presence of Jehovah and He was one with Him as He had been in eternity past.

            THIRD, IT WAS REVEALED IN THE GARDEN.  There is no more traumatic event in history than what took place in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Periodically we see people on the news who have lost a loved one, have been abandoned by someone they cared about, or had a tragic event happen in their life.  As we watch the news and try to relate to the trauma the family or the individual is experiencing, it is a normal reaction to sometimes cry for them.  Our heart goes out to them.  It is appropriate to pray that God would send His angels and His Spirit to bring comfort to those hurting. 

            If you took every tragedy, every person who lost a mate, every parent whose child died, and every individual whose life was ruined by a false accusation and put them all together, it would not add up to the trauma Jesus was to experience on that night in the Garden.  We read                 LUKE 22:40-44          Most people fail to understand what is taking place.  The common interpretation is that Jesus was praying for God to remove the cross from His future.  To be sure, Jesus did not want to have to endure the pain and agony of the cross.  However, the pain and agony Jesus experienced on the cross was a drop in the bucket to the ocean of trauma that was truly about to take place.  It is essential that we understand eternity.  For eternity the Trinity had shared fellowship with each other.  Before the universe existed, the Godhead enjoined each other’s presence.  Jesus even mentions this in His Upper Room prayer.  We read       JOHN 17:5        On the cross, something occurred.  You will remember Jesus cried out, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME”?  For the first time in eternity, the Trinity had broken fellowship and experienced the depths of sin.  He did that for you and for me.

            It is important that we remember it didn’t end in the Garden.  It is important that we remember that it didn’t end on the cross.  We read         MATTHEW 26:30-32               This passage in just before He went to the Garden to pour out His heart to the Father.  While Jesus was facing the most traumatic event in history, His heart was with the disciples and He wanted them to remember that He was coming back.  If only they had listened, they would have not been fearful after the crucifixion.

            FOURTH, IT WAS REVEALED AT THE TOMB.  There are several different accounts concerning the resurrection of Jesus and some of them seem to conflict with each other.  Fear not.  The fact is that the differences are easily explained.  Just one example.  Mark tells us that one angel was at the tomb.  Luke records that two angels were present.  If you were to read through Mark’s gospel you would see he consistently only refers to the individual who speaks or who has something happen to him.  Since only one angel spoke, he only mentions that angel.  He does not say there was only one angel present; he says the women saw a man sitting on the seat where Jesus had been laid.  It would be like reading an account of an event and seeing one paper record, “The Lakers defeated the Clippers…”  Another report may say, “Kobe Bryant was a one man wreaking crew…”  The second report is emphasizing one player, not stating that the Lakers only have one player. 

            When the women attended the tomb, we read               LUKE 24:4-8         If only they had known, they would not have been perplexed and discouraged.  Jesus told them exactly was what going to take place and they did not understand.

            FIFTH, IT WAS REVEALED IN THE CHURCH.  After the disciples came to the tomb, they didn’t know what to do.  Shortly thereafter, Jesus appeared to them to tell them His plan.  Their task was to reach the world.  This began on the day of Pentecost as Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached that Jesus had been crucified, was raised from the dead, and was the living Messiah promised to Israel.  The call was for people to repent from their sins and acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of their life.  After persecution broke out, the church began to move out into the known world.  Paul ended up in Athens where he was invited to speak on Mars Hill.  We read                  ACTS 17:29-34           The heart of the gospel message is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  Paul wrote        1 COR. 15:1-3         That is the gospel.

            This is the only message the church has that can change the hearts of people so they can stand before God as righteous individuals.  This is why Paul wrote            ROMANS 1:16           The church is called to minister to the poor, oppose evil, and love its neighbor, but none of those actions make people righteous.  Those are off-shoots of proclaiming the gospel.

            This is why the church has a second task.  Our first is to proclaim the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  Our second is to call people to repentance.  Over the centuries the church has created problems by trying to force people to “convert to Christ”.  That is an impossible task.  No one can force someone to convert against their will.  How can we do this?  We read        II COR. 5:17-21             The word Paul uses for “BEG” in verse 20 is a fascinating word.  It is the Greek word “DEOMAI”.  It is used twenty times in the New Testament.  In the KJV it is translated “Beseech” on seven occasions, “Besought” twice, “Making request” once, and “Pray” on ten occasions.  The prayer mentioned is not “Now I lay me down to sleep…”  The prayer is the gut wrenching, Jesus in the Garden pleading with God to remove His pain.  When we pray, do we go to God and demand action?  Do we say, “God, this is what you are going to do…”?  The answer is no.  When we go to God in prayer, we appeal. 

            When we present the Gospel to the non-believer, we do not demand.  We do not act sarcastic, rude, or proud.  When we talk to people about the Lord, we share the gospel story and then appeal to them for a response.  I worked my way through college selling garage door openers, screen doors and Home Improvement items.  We were trained to make a positive presentation, appeal for a sale, and encourage them to purchase our product.  However, we were also told to make sure the customer was not treated in such away that they would never want to hear another presentation.  We were taught to give the customer an opportunity to back away so that the next time they were in the store we could make another presentation.  All of us have had bad experiences with sales personnel who acted like bullies and we said we would never listen to that company again.  Our responsibility as members of God’s family is to present the gospel and make an appeal for a response.  It is God’s responsibility to bring conviction.  That is why we make the presentation and then pray.

            Something else I was taught was to make an attempt to “close the deal”.  Don’t push to hard, but give the customer the opportunity to say no.  There may be people here today who have never said yes to Christ.  In a friendly appeal, let me ask if today is the day you would like to give your heart to the one who died on the cross to take away your sins and came back to life so you could have eternal life?

This message is from the teaching message of Glen Jackson, pastor of Faith Christian Church in Simi Valley, CA.