There You Will See Him

“There You Will See Him”
Matthew 27:62-28:10
Rev. Clark Lynn Callender, 4/4/10

Many years ago, in a Midwestern town, a community-wide Easter pageant was planned, and people from all over the county tried out for various parts. The part of Mary Magdalene was given to a Catholic nun, a local doctor became Peter, a high school principle became Judas, and Caiaphas, the hypocritical high priest, was played by a local banker.
It was relatively easy selecting the people for the various parts in the Easter pageant. However, the part of Jesus was difficult to cast. No one seemed to fit the director’s idea of what Jesus would be like - no one, that is, except for the most unlikely character: a big, burly oil field worker. Now, this person was well known for being a most unsavory fellow - who cursed like a sailor and particularly had a reputation for fighting – for starting barroom brawls. But, you see, he also was the best actor around and conveyed a tremendous strength that the director wanted for Jesus – so he was cast in the part.
Finally, the day of the Easter pageant arrived and people from all over the state came to see the performance. There must have been 10,000 people gathered on the hillside to watch the dramatic re-enactment of the last week in the life of Jesus. When they came to that part of the play where Jesus was led away to be crucified, one little man who was simply an extra as part of the crowd, became caught up in the emotion of the part, and he eagerly joined in on the shouts of, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
As Jesus was being led away toward Calvary, carrying the Cross on his back, he walked past this little man in the crowd, who was still caught up in the emotion of the moment, shouting insults at the top of his voice. Just as the character playing Jesus walked by, this little man spit in his face. The big, burly man stopped in his tracks. He reached up and wiped his face dry, and then, looking at the little man square in the eye, he said, “Pal, I’ll be back to take care of you after the Resurrection."
Not exactly the Jesus we normally picture (or perhaps even should!) Yet still, even with its fundamental flaws, expressing a basic Christian truth: That the story of Jesus doesn’t end with the cross – not by a long shot – and (like the big burly actor to the tiny little man): Jesus intends to make sure that we experience his resurrection very personally!
This is what I would like to talk about today: a personal experience of the risen Christ. Moving from words and ideas and theories to a personal, living encounter.

This morning we arrive at the culmination of our study of the final week of Jesus’ life – the most important week in human history: Jesus having died on the cross on our behalf, accomplishing the forgiveness of our sin to restore us to a right relationship with our Creator that we might be free to live as God intended; now rises from the dead (as he promised) thus proving that all he said was true, that this is not just some “good guy” dying unjustly (as happens all the time) but God himself; and that, with our lives in him, we are victorious over evil’s grasp.
Basically, the message of Easter is: GOD WINS! And if your life is in Jesus Christ, you share in this victory, you win too. Try as it might, evil cannot defeat you!
Now, this is story that most of us have probably heard many times in our lives. The question is: Beyond some nice story, are we regularly, tangibly experiencing this in our daily lives? Better yet: Are there ways you are struggling, evil seeming to try to get a hold of and destroy you and you could use a real experience of the risen Christ working victory in your life?
Well, the fact is that just such an experience is what Jesus wants us all to have – resurrection not just a theory, but a living reality - and in our text today, we see the first people to experience this. Now, many people hear this story (as we do every year) but not everybody makes this “jump”. What makes the difference? That is: Who are these first EASTER PEOPLE who tangibly experience the victory of the risen Christ in the very real struggles of their lives – and how do we become such “Easter People” as well? A few thoughts:
(I)
First, Easter people are those who RISK BELIEVING.
The scene begins with a stone rolled away, and an angel saying to Jesus’ followers: “Look, he is risen. Go and tell everyone else.” And as it says: the women went “with fear and great joy” to tell the others. In other words, they’re hoping what they’ve just heard is true but they’re not sure. And we see this throughout the resurrection stories: DOUBT, QUESTIONING. Consistently, the disciples are unsure; but just as consistently they choose to ACT on whatever little bit of faith they have, they RISK BELIEVING in the risen Christ – they risk looking foolish, being wrong.
Contrast this with the actions of the scribes and Pharisees that began our reading today: They had heard Jesus’ promise that he would rise and they vainly do everything they can to make sure it doesn’t happen, to discount such an idea.
Two groups: One chooses to risk heading out on the word that Christ is risen; the other adamantly refuses to even entertain such an idea. The former encounters the risen Christ, the latter never does. It begs the question: WHICH ARE WE? How often do we argue our way out of an experience of the risen Christ because we won’t RISK BELIEVING – either in simple moments of discipleship or in complete rejection of even the thought of resurrection, and following Christ, altogether?
Experiencing the risen Christ begins with risking FAITH.
Plainly stated: There is a great deal of evidence that points to the reality of Christ’s resurrection. In fact, it has been said that there is more tangible proof that Jesus rose from the dead than that Julius Caesar ever lived! The witnesses, the lives changed... all the people who have died clinging to this belief at the cost of their lives! I mean, if it’s all just a hoax, a gag, some people have a major commitment to their humor!
There is tremendous tangible evidence of Christ’s resurrection. But, conversely, all of it can be argued away – equally logically.
So what’s the point – that it’s all just a matter of perspective? Glass half empty, glass half full – your choice?
No, there is truth and there is untruth. The point is that, of KNOWLEDGE and FAITH (in the pursuit of truth), we commonly make the mistake of viewing KNOWLEDGE as the HIGHER FUNCTION. “Smart people seek knowledge; simple people just believe.” When, in reality, FAITH is the GREATER of the two. Knowledge INFORMS faith, deepens it. But only faith makes the LEAPS to truths beyond itself. We see this throughout the history of human thought: all the greatest discoveries came by people taking LEAPS OF FAITH beyond what everything said was right. Faith stands at the heart of true knowledge. As a great Christian once said:
“I would rather feel in my heart Christ’s forgiveness, than understand in my head how he accomplished it.”
Now, the point isn’t that we shouldn’t question things – of course we should! Unquestioning belief is deadly – it’s at the very heart of fanaticism: “Don’t think!” The issue is merely this: Is our questioning for the purpose of proving why wonderful things can’t happen – ‘cause that’s easy. Finding the negative is always the simplest thing to do. Is it to maintain the status quo, to make the world fit our own understanding of it, most especially to make God fit us (not the other way around) - so that we never have to be change or grow; or does our questioning push us to things beyond our present self? Better yet, to ask: What ACTION does our questioning lead us to - does it lead us to stay where we are or to leap to something greater?
Simply put: some things need to be seen to be believed. But the greatest things, the greatest knowledge, needs to be believed to be seen. Such it is with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You have to be willing to MAKE THAT LEAP - stop arguing yourself out of faith in a God who is alive and present and active; and instead, RISK BELIEVING! GO WITH whatever tiny speck of faith you have – and Jesus will meet you there! Let me give you a practical example...
The other day our own Shelley Sheft – choir member, church treasurer, VBS teacher – told me about something that had happened to her recently: She was scheduled to give a talk to women in need at the Atlantic City Women’s Shelter on the subject of budgeting – how to live within a fixed income. Well, Shelly had been reading Adam Hamilton’s book Enough which talks about exactly this issue from a Christian perspective.
That morning as she was getting ready to go, she picked up the book and out fell some little plastic tabs. There are three of them in the back of every copy of Enough and they’re meant to go on your key chain as a reminder of the lessons of the book. They contain the following prayer: “Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have; to remember that I don’t need most of what I want; and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity.”
Well, they fell out on the floor - and trust me: this isn’t easy, the way they’re mounted in the book - but Shelley hadn’t even known they were there – she hadn’t yet gotten to the end of the book. So she picked them up, read them and put them back in the book and went off and gave her talk.
At the end of the talk, two women caught her eye and Shelley says suddenly felt moved to offer two of these little key tabs (she had just discovered) to them. She was unsure, but she made the offer, saying, “I don’t know if you can use this, but... here.”
The reaction? Both women were overjoyed, deeply moved. Both immediately put the tabs on their key chains. One woman, with tears in her eyes after reading the prayer, said: “This is exactly what I needed!”
A “God moment had occurred. A living God – present, active and involved – seeking to work something good. And throughout, Shelly says she was arguing within herself NOT to do it: How will this be received? Will I get in trouble? Maybe they don’t want it. But in the end, choosing to risk GOING WITH IT – and God met them all there. And I know so many others here today who have had similar experiences – risking faith and finding Jesus.
Now some would argue that nothing miraculous happened. They’d say: “The little tabs falling out was just a coincidence, Shelley’s desire to offer them was just in her own mind, and the women’s response was merely being polite. Nothing Divine went on here!”
To which I say... Well, actually I can’t repeat what I would really like say about that! But let’s just leave it at this – something clean and Scriptural: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
Easter people who experience the risen Christ are first those who RISK BELIEVING. From this, then...

(II)
Secondly, they are those who SEE THE EMPTY TOMB.
The Rev Paul Stuckey, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio writes: “A number of years ago, during Holy Week, as I was preparing my Easter sermon, I took a break one evening and sat and read the newspaper. And I came upon the following classified ad – it read: ‘Used tombstone for sale. Real bargain to someone named Dingo. For more information please call Franklin Memorial Cemetery.’
“Now, the image of a used tombstone may at first seem grim and depressing. But think again: a ‘used’ tombstone means that its previous owner no longer has any need for it. It is a castoff, an unnecessary item. He’s ‘moved on’. Christ’s resurrection conveys the same message: the tomb is empty! The grave is no longer needed! Move on!”
This is the next part in our drama today: The women, being challenged to risk believing, are given what sign to center their faith around? An empty tomb. Jesus is not there. It couldn’t hold him. The women run, they leave the cemetery based on this and there they encounter Jesus, and new life.
And this is the second point here: That in our lives we often spend a lot of time spiritually “going to cemeteries” “tending graves.” That is, there are so many ways that death and sin seeks to entomb us: in guilt, in shame, in anger, in bitterness, in grief, in fear... Saying, “This is final. This is how it is, this is how it will always be.” To which Jesus says: “Wrong! I have taken that upon myself! It is gone. Come and see. In me, the tomb is empty. There’s nothing there! Leave the cemetery and live!”
Sadly, many people (even many faithful Christians, despite years of Easter Sundays) never do this. They refuse to accept that the tomb is empty; and instead, live their lives forever weeping at the graveside!
Well, this is second crucial step in experiencing the risen Christ: It’s going to the “tombs” in our lives and realizing (through faith) that, in Christ, they are EMPTY and we can leave them, need to leave them. It’s saying, “In Christ, this death no longer holds me. I am going to live today as Christ intends. I’m leaving this empty tomb of anger in favor of love. I’m leaving this empty tomb of sorrow in favor of joy. I’m leaving this empty tomb of fear in favor of trust. I’m leaving this empty tomb of shame in favor of grace.” Not forgetting or dismissing, but leaving the empty things. When we do this, Christ meets us on the way. Preacher Bill Bouknight tells the following true story:
“There was a man named George who was accustomed to driving his wife, Rosie, to church. They had a long and happy marriage; their love for each other was monumental. They did everything together; everything, that is, except church. When George drove Rosie to church each Sunday, she went in but he did not. He remained in the car, reading the newspaper.
“After 45 years of marriage, Rosie died. George was distraught. On Sunday mornings he no longer made that drive to church, transporting Rosie. But several months after her death, Easter Sunday rolled around. George felt moved to go to church, so he drove over, and for the first time, went in. The pastor delivered a stirring resurrection sermon and then closed with prayer.
“Then there were a few moments of silence as the pastor prepared to announce the final hymn. Suddenly George, caught up in the message of resurrection, stood up and with deep emotion declared loudly, ‘Rosie lives!’ And then he began to sing the song that he had always associated with his wife: ‘My Wild Irish Rose, the Sweetest Flower That Grows...’
“Needless to say, the congregation was stunned at first. But several people knew George and how he was grieving – and how this marked a major turning point in his getting back on with life. So they stood up and joined in the song. Slowly, more and more people joined in. Finally, the whole congregation was standing, singing. And this is how they concluded their Easter worship that year – not with ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today’ or ‘Up From the Grave He Arose;’ but with ‘My Wild Irish Rose.’ And there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!”
Easter people are secondly those who SEE THE EMPTY TOMB. And from this, then...
(III)
Easter people are thirdly those who GO TO GALILEE.
Simply put: The women are instructed to “Go and tell the others.” And as they do this, as they go share what they have received, to lift others who are struggling and need this help, Jesus appears to them.
And what is the ultimate message for them all? “Go to Galilee, there you will Jesus.” Galilee, the place where Jesus ministered and trained his disciples to follow him, represents the disciples now called to take this work out into the world beyond themselves.
The third lesson here: We encounter the risen Christ whenever we refuse to make resurrection just a personal thing – “my private possession”; and instead go forth to SHARE it. This not in the sense of going around ramming Jesus down everybody’s throat: “Believe like I do or you’re bad!” But rather, in the sense of bringing resurrection to the world, working to transform creation – to help others caught in sin and death to discover the love and victory in Christ Jesus, to break down those structures that keep people from living, to work new life wherever death rules. It’s looking to those around us who are in need; it’s looking to the world at large and however death is working; and refusing to leave it that way!
Notice how this is a theme within each of the last two major illustrations: helping someone else on to life. This is crucial. This is how it works. It has been said: “If you can keep Jesus within you, you ain’t got him. There is so much life in him, it has to spill over.” Missing Jesus in your life? Well, try getting life to someone else in need and watch him show up!
Easter people who experience the risen Christ are thirdly those who GO TO GALILEE. And finally...
(IV)
Easter people are those who LIVE A SUNDAY LIFE.
In the end, notice what is before us in our text today: Jesus has been crucified, dead and buried. All the characters agree on that. But one group, the religious leaders and the Romans, wants to KEEP it there – wants to lock it down on Friday and never leave. The other group, Jesus and his followers, know that it’s Sunday, and they’re living that joy and victory. And this contrast between the two ultimately becomes the final question for all of us: Are we going to live a Friday or a Sunday life?
Now, understand: We live in a world that WORSHIPS FRIDAY. “Thank God it’s Friday,” we say. “TGI Fridays” And what do we think of Sunday? “Oh, it’s Sunday. I gotta get up and go to church. Can’t I sleep in? Please?! I mean, didn’t we just do this last week?”
We’ve gotten everything backwards: we worship Friday and we hate Sunday – and that ought to tell us something! It’s SYMBOLIC: We’ve become a Friday people who stop there and never look to Sunday! A people of cynicism and despair, of apathy, hopeless, and a dread fear of commitment. And this is how death and sin and evil finally gets us: We give up. In the dark, deadly, seemingly final days we fail to look to resurrection and set our sights on that. We give up before we’ve begun and the risen Christ becomes lost to us.
Well, the victorious Christian who experiences the risen Lord is the one who, whenever dark days come, looks beyond. In fact, believe it or not, they almost even come to look forward to bad things because they know that, the worse things go, the bigger will be Jesus’ miracle!
How about us? Are we finally going to live a Friday or a Sunday life? The risen Christ can reach a person who LIVES A SUNDAY LIFE.
The great preacher Tony Campolo tells the story of being invited to preach at a special service at an inner city church in Philadelphia. It was a big extravaganza. So big, in fact, that there were 2 preachers on the dais: Tony and this other older Baptist preacher.
Tony preached first. And he was “on” that day – a beautifully constructed sermon, delivered perfectly. He was “cookin’”. As Tony himself recalled: “I was so good, I even stopped to listen to myself!” When he concluded and sat down, very pleased with himself, he leaned over to the other preacher and literally said, “Let’s see you top that!”
Well, the old Baptist preacher looked back at him and replied, “Son, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. I’m about to take you to school!” And with that, says Campolo, the old preacher launched into a sermon that lasted an HOUR-AND-A-HALF and had the place absolutely ROCKING - at a whole new level. It was amazing! And as Tony says, what made it most amazing was that the entire sermon consisted, basically, of just ONE PHRASE repeated over and over again – the phrase: “It’s Friday. But Sunday is a comin’!”
“I've never heard anything like it,” Tony said. “He just kept saying it. We had already been worshipping for hours, but he brought the congregation to their feet. They were spellbound by the power of it. The room was alive!”
“It’s Friday,” said the preacher. “Jesus’ mother is crying her eyes out. That’s her son up there on the cross. It’s Friday. But Sunday is a comin’.”
“The apostles were really down and out. Jesus, their leader, was being killed by evil men. It’s Friday. But Sunday is a comin’.”
“Mary Magdalene was out of her mind with grief. Her Lord who had turned her life from sin to grace is being killed. It’s Friday. But Sunday is a comin’.”
“The Devil thought he had won. ‘You thought you could outwit me,’ he said, ‘but I’ve got you now.’ It’s Friday. But Sunday is a comin’.”
“Evil seems to have triumphed over good. Jesus is dying up there on the cross. The world is turned upside down. This shouldn’t happen. It’s Friday. But Sunday is a comin’.”
“He went on like that for 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour, and hour-and-a-half. Each time he said, ‘It’s Friday,’ the crowd began to respond, ‘but Sunday is a comin’!’ The place was rockin’!”
“It was the best sermon I’ve ever heard,” Tony says. “The old preacher was laying it down and the people were picking it up. It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin’. It was powerful. It was personal. And suddenly I realized that this is what it all finally comes down to: Living Easter Sunday in a Good Friday world!”
What it all finally comes down to.
When a loved one dies and all is darkness, to know: It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin’.
When the economy has tanked, and you’re out of work, and the bills are piling up, to know: It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin’.
When your marriage is falling apart and things only seem to be getting worse, to know: It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin’.
When your son or daughter has run off and ruined their life and your heart is breaking, to know: It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin’.
When you’re in the doctor’s office and they say it’s cancer, to know: It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin’.
When you’ve loused up again and ruined everything, and you hate yourself and your life, to know: It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin’!
The constant prayer of Easter People: IT’S FRIDAY, BUT SUNDAY IS A COMIN’!

The big burly Jesus said to the little tiny man: “Pal, I’ll be back to take care of you after the resurrection.” The story ain’t done and Jesus is about to make it very personal. This year move from Easter words and ideas and theories to a living encounter with the risen Christ – become a true “Easter Person”: Risk believing. See the empty tomb. Go to Galilee. And live a Sunday life!

Trading Places

The Final Week – Friday:
“Trading Places”
Mark 15:6-13
Rev. Clark Lynn Callender, 3/28/10

In an article exploring the complexity of the Christian concept of salvation – the experience of faith in Christ, preacher John Ortberg makes the following observation – he writes:
“FTT — my wife first introduced me to those initials. Nancy was a nurse when I first met her. There were many parts of nursing for which she did not care. But she loved diagnosis. To this day there cannot be too many reruns of Grey’s Anatomy or ER to suit her. She is constantly telling me her private diagnoses of people — even total strangers - based on their skin and eyes. She can tell you how long you have to live if she gets a long look at your face and the light is good. It’s scary!
“But of all the diagnoses I ever heard her discuss, FTT is the one that sticks in my mind. Those initials would go on the chart of an infant who, often for unknown reasons, was unable to gain weight or grow.
“FTT - Failure To Thrive.
“Sometimes, they guess, it happens when a parent or care-giver is depressed, and the depression seems to get passed down. Sometimes something seems to be off in an infant’s metabolism for reasons no one can understand, so FTT is one of those mysterious phrases that sounds like an explanation but explains nothing.
“Failure to thrive.
“I didn’t know why it struck me as so unspeakably sad until I read Dallas Willard’s book The Spirit of the Disciplines... Dallas writes that although we, as Christians, have tended to think of the word salvation simply in terms of forgiveness or the escape from punishment, it actually has a far more robust meaning for the writers of Scripture: ‘The more complete concept for salvation in the New Testament is “life,”’ writes Dallas. ‘I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly,’ said Jesus. ‘He that hath the Son hath life,’ it is written, “Even when we were dead through our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ.’
“This is the human condition. FTT – Failure To Thrive. Thrive is a life word... Thriving is what life was intended to do, like a flower stubbornly pushing through a crack in the sidewalk. It is why we pause in wonder at a human being’s first step, or first word; and why we ought to wonder at every step, and every word. Thriving is what God saw when he made life and saw that it was good. ‘Thrive’ was the first command: be fruitful, and multiply.
Thriving is what life was intended for. But this is the human condition: Failure To Thrive. Life kept from us. Well this is what Jesus came to correct – and what he wants all of us to receive. And this is what I would like to talk about this morning...

In our text today it is Good Friday of Holy Week. Jesus has been betrayed and abandoned by his followers, arrested and convicted by the unbelievers, and now stands before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, awaiting sentencing.
Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent – that he’s there purely for reasons of politics and power, so he attempts to skirt around this by putting the matter before the people. There’s a tradition of releasing a prisoner at the Passover to show the Emperor’s beneficence. And they just happen to have someone awaiting crucifixion: BARABBAS.
Now, it’s unclear what his specific crime is (since each gospel author describes him somewhat differently) but what we do know is that he’s a murderer and thief. At best a political zealot who has chosen the path of terrorism; at worst, a common thug.
Pilate gives the people the choice: Jesus or Barabbas. And much to his surprise they choose Barabbas; calling for Jesus’ immediate crucifixion. It seems this Jesus of Nazareth has truly disappointed them. So, while he knows that it’s wrong; Pilate lets the people have their way – and vainly washes his hands of the whole matter.
It’s a most curious moment, right before the crucifixion. I mean, think about it: Jesus could have been crucified without this extra step. Why is it included?
Well, part of it, I believe, is simply a demonstration of the tragically misguided choice humanity consistently makes – constantly choosing violence and political expediency over love and sacrifice. But even more, I believe this moment seeks to point us to the very HEART of what is about to occur. I mean, think about what takes place here:
Barabbas is a criminal – found guilty, convicted, on death row for his crimes. His situation is hopeless, there is nothing he can do. He is just about to receive the just punishment for his wrongs – death for death; when what happens? Jesus TAKES HIS PLACE. Barabbas has done nothing to deserve this, nothing to merit it; but Jesus takes the suffering and death that was intended for him – and Barabbas goes free!
And this, you see, is not just the story of one individual but meant to point us toward what Jesus is about to do for all humanity – an object lesson to help us understand what happens on the cross! That is:
Barabbas represents ALL OF US – sinners, guilty, convicted, and under sentences of death; for which Jesus steps in, takes our place – takes that death, that torture – though we don’t deserve this, have done nothing to merit it; but so that we might go free, free to live life anew, abundant! This text demonstrates what happens on the cross, embodies what Jesus accomplishes and offers. That what Barabbas experiences is what Jesus wants everyone to experience! All of which leads us to the “punch-line”:
What becomes of Barabbas? Does he take this as a fresh start and turn his life around to something good, a life of devotion to the God who has saved him - as some legends suggest? Or does he just continue in his current path, dying a few short years later for other crimes – having squandered this tremendous opportunity – as others insist?
We don’t know. The scriptures themselves are silent on the matter. We don’t know what became of him. And that’s the point, you see: The story is left deliberately OPEN-ENDED... to DRAW US IN! To say: This is what Jesus offered to Barabbas, this is what Jesus offers TO YOU – the way to life. Will you take it or lose it? Will you know LIFE in abundance or a FAILURE TO THRIVE?
What makes the difference?
I’d like to offer a few thoughts. And for the purpose of memory, think of it like this: ABC – What some call “The ABC’S of Salvation – of Life in Christ”: Acknowledge. Believe. Change.
(I)
First: ACKNOWLEDGE.
As mentioned, the scene begins with Barabbas convicted. A criminal found guilty and sentenced for his crimes and facing the very real, deadly consequences of them.
Now, obviously, if he doesn’t believe that he has done anything wrong, then Jesus’ substitution means nothing: it’s just another criminal being punished while he, rightly, is set free. But if, instead, Barabbas realizes his guilt, and what he’s rightfully facing because of it, then Jesus’ sacrifice means everything! He knows he is receiving something priceless that he could never have gotten on his own – and this can transform his life!
Basically, whether or not something great happens here hinges first on whether or not Barabbas sees his life as having gone wrong up to this point – if he recognizes how
he has been choosing against God and life. And this is where everything starts for all of us as well:
We first have to ACKNOWLEDGE how sin has hold of us – be convicted, sentenced, and awaiting judgment. That is, we have to FACE UP to how we’re rejecting God, choosing against life, and what it’s doing to us. We have to confess this to God and turn from it – not in some simplistic belief that if we admit our wrongs God will magically reward us and make everything wonderful; but rather, simply in the fundamental truth that this OPENS to us the DOOR OF LIFE – without which we are going in the opposite direction! Obviously: If there are ways we are going away from God and we don’t confront this, the rest is pointless!
You know, I’m reminded of the old story about the little boy who, one summer day, spent the afternoon playing in his backyard and making an awful mess. When his mother discovered it, she sent him to bed without his supper telling him he better ask God for forgiveness. The little boy went to his room and knelt at the side of his bed and prayed, “Dear, God, I’m really sorry for the mess I made in the backyard today. It’ll never happen again.” Then thinking a little bit, he added: “But PS: I want to thank you for the fun I had doing it!”
How badly do we want to get well?!
Essentially, salvation only begins when we recognize how far we are from it. When we say: “Lord, this is who I am, I see it, I face it, I place it before you. This is how I have been choosing against you – against life. Help me!” To acknowledge and confess our wrong and throw ourselves at the feet of grace! Until we cut through all the blame, and the avoidance, and the self-determination, we are hopeless! Whenever we lose sight of this, we lose the whole thing. As we’ve noted in the past – a poet once wrote:
“When I say... ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not shouting ‘I’m clean living.’ I’m whispering, ‘I was lost,’ now I’m found and forgiven.
“When I say... ‘I am a Christian,’ I don’t speak of this with pride. I’m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
“When I say... ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not bragging of success. I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.
“When I say... ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not claiming to be perfect, my flaws are far too visible; but God believes I’m worth it.
“When I say... ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not holier than thou, I’m just a simple sinner who received God’s grace somehow.”
First: ACKNOWLEDGE. Then...
(II)
BELIEVE.
Returning to the text: Barabbas is on death row. Suddenly, Jesus takes his place, his death - and not in just some abstract, theoretical way; but in a very real, tangible, personal way. Whether Barabbas accepts this or not, it’s still a FACT, a REALITY. And this points us to the second step here, namely:
To accept Christ’s gift of life as a FACT, as the true REALITY. That is: To know that, on the cross, Jesus took our place, took upon himself however DEATH is seeking to take life from us – either in those things we ourselves have done wrong, or in the ways sin has hold of all creation working pain and hardship - and that these things are now gone, they cannot touch us, they cannot keep life from us. It’s a fact – whether we believe it or we don’t. The wise person, obviously, setting themselves upon the truth!
To put it another way - as it is written: “Salvation comes by grace THROUGH FAITH.” That is: We don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it; but God, out of love, takes upon himself however death is seeking to keep life from us, and we receive this by simply setting our hearts and minds upon this as the unshakable truth of our existence.
BELIEVE! No matter what you’ve done wrong, it is forgiven! No matter who you’ve lost, they are not gone forever! No matter how hopeless your situation may seem, there is a tomorrow! No matter how many tears fill your eyes, joy is on the way! It’s a FACT! You can accept it or you can reject it; but that doesn’t change the reality – it simply changes whether or not it you get it!
You know, one day, a few years ago, so the story’s told, a young man was seated on a commuter train going to work. Unbeknownst to him, across the aisle was a clergyman reading the daily paper. The young man, a recent convert to Christianity, was gazing out the window in happy contemplation when he began quietly singing “Amazing Grace.”
When he came to the end of the first verse, the minister softly remarked, “Excuse me, but... I take it, young man, that you are a Christian.”
“Yes, sir,” the young man replied.
“Well how long is it since you were saved?” asked the minister.
“Two-thousand years, sir,” came the prompt reply.
“No,” said the preacher, a little annoyed, “I mean - how long since you yourself were saved?”
Again the new convert replied, “Two thousand years, sir.”
With this answer the conversation lapsed, and the minister resumed his reading. However, as the train pulled up to the station and the young man was about to leave, he stepped over and said, “Pardon me, sir, I don’t wish to appear a smart-aleck in my reply just now. It’s just that I meant what I said. I was saved two-thousand years ago... but it was only last week that I found out about it!”
It’s a done deal, folks! Set your heart and mind firmly on the fact that what happened 2,000 years ago was for you today – Jesus has taken upon himself however death is seeking to take life from you! It’s GONE! BELIEVE. And finally...
(III)
CHANGE.
Obviously, this is what the whole story of Barabbas finally comes down to: Will this tremendous opportunity he has received, this gift of new life, a fresh start, death taken from him, lead to NEW DIRECTION or be LOST to the same old path? Will it mean nothing to him – or everything?
The ultimate question for all of us.
Final point: Insist that it mean everything! Set your mind on what Christ has done for you - how he has taken death from you - and have that tangibly change how you live today, open life in abundance to you. Like Jesus on the cross: Instead of anger choose forgiveness; instead of selfishness choose sacrifice; instead of safety choose outreach; instead of despair choose hope! Live as a forgiven, hopeful, joyful, daring, loving, triumphant person - offering what you have received, living what you have been given.
In a book entitled It Had to Be a Monday, writer Jill Briscoe talks about the death of a Christian friend. During the funeral visitation, the deceased man’s wife and sister stood by the casket, greeting people. The sister kept motioning to her brother’s body, saying to each person who came to greet her, “There he is. There he is.” After some time, when the wife could stand it no longer, she turned to her sister-in-law and, in love, said, “Please stop saying that! If I believed, ‘there he is,’ I would be inconsolable, everything would be hopeless. But I have joy! Do you want to know why? Do you what to know what enables me to get through this day? What gets me through is that I know the truth: That because of Jesus Christ ‘There he isn’t.’”
With that, the woman and her sister-in-law embraced, rejoicing.

A great evangelist once said that the entire Christian faith can be summed up in just three phrases: I deserved hell. Jesus took my hell. Now I can live his heaven.
The story of Barabbas. Life offered where it was about to be taken away. The story of every one of us.
Acknowledge. Believe. Change. This Holy Week, focus your heart and mind on what Jesus did for you on the cross. Let him take your place - and set you free to live!