The Risen Christ

A Persistent Image

Scriptures

John 19:1-16, 20:19-31

Theme

The Resurrection of our Lord

Sermon Summary

Jesus’ death on the cross, as a persistent image in history, is a standard against which all of human behaviour and life is measured.

1. Introduction
1. Jesus stands out in human history
2. The stories of his life naturally revolve around his death and resurrection
3. His death, because was related to a cause, brings to mind the persistent image of the martyr
4. The persistent martyr-image reaches its pinnacle and truest expression in the resurrection of Jesus, without whose example, martyrdom loses its integrity
2. The “Principled Persons” of Martyr-History
1. A “martyr” is: “A person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion”⁽¹⁾
2. Martyrdom captures the popular imagination and inevitably leads to its definition being expanded to include: “A person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle”
3. in human history, there have been many identified as “principled persons”⁽²⁾
1. Socrates (470-399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher executed for undermining the religion of ancient Athens and of corrupting youth through his teachings
2. Joan of Arc (1412-1431) is a national heroine of France and saint of the Roman Catholic church, whose visions of God led to the liberation of France from English domination in the Hundred Years War
3. William Wallace (1270-1305) was a Scottish knight and Guardian Of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence who was falsely executed for treason against England’s King Edward I
4. Any soldier in just about any war (e.g. the ANZACs storming the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli)
5. Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968), Baptist minister and nonviolent activist of the American civil rights movement
6. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), nonviolent political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement of early-20th century
7. Stephen Biko (1946-1977), nonviolent anti-apartheid activist in South Africa
8. Che Guevara (1928-1967) -albeit his qualification as a political martyr is disputed by some- led Marxist revolutionary guerilla forces in Guatemala, Cuba, the Congo, and Bolivia
4. There have been many such “principled persons” in popular culture
1. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997), acted martyr-like on behalf of his love-interest, Kate Winslet’s character, Rose DeWitt Bukater
2. Keanu Reeves’ character, Thomas Anderson/Neo, in The Matrix Trilogy (1999 & 2003), offered to battle rogue-Agent Smith to the death in order to bring about peace between humans and the machines

The martyr-image persists in history and popular culture because it resonates with the human condition. Jesus himself recognised this quality when he stated, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).⁽³⁾ To die for someone else or for some cause greater than an individual’s life is certainly admirable and worthwhile.

3. Martyrdom is Problematic
1. Consider that the ‘principles’ of those examples may or may not actually represent principled altruism:

1. Socrates refused to dishonour the laws of Athens, the city in which he freely chose to live

The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War was interpreted as their protector-god Athena judging the city for not being pious. Enter Socrates, who was perceived as questioning the gods, and in light of the recent war, it was all too easy to ascribe defeat to impiety rather than incompetence [...] According to Xenophon and Plato, Socrates had an opportunity to escape, as his followers were able to bribe the prison guards. As the dialogue Crito makes clear, Socrates refused to escape even in order to evade the execution of his death sentence. Having knowingly agreed to live under the city’s laws, he implicitly subjected himself to the possibility of being accused of crimes by its citizens and judged guilty by its jury. To do otherwise would have caused him to break his ‘contract’ with the state, and by so doing harming it, an act contrary to Socratic principle.

A.    An act of integrity, yes, but of sanity?

2. Joan of Arc was captured after losing a battle to a combined English and Burgundian force; she attempted escape, but was sold to the English, tried for heresy, and executed

Joan’s trial for heresy was politically motivated. The duke of Bedford claimed the throne of France for his nephew Henry VI. She was responsible for the rival coronation. Condemning her was an attempt to discredit her king.

A.    Her conviction was overturned posthumously, yet her example serves as inspiration to French nationalism

3. During the time of William Wallace, Scotland had been invaded by England. Wallace acted as a military commander in opposition to the English, but was given up by a pro-English knight of Scotland

A.    Wallace acted in opposition to a repressive regime, and, after his death, served as an inspiration to similarly-minded movements

4. The same can be said for the ANZAC soldiers, Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Stephen Biko, and, even, Che Guevara

2. They all suffered under repressive regimes, of one sort or another; they each reacted within a spectrum between non-violence and violence; they each died involuntarily for their respective causes, mostly by assassination

Whether valid principles or not, each of these so-called martyrs had extenuating circumstances, which challenge the ‘purity’ of their principles and their example as martyrs: 1) The only one of these examples to voluntarily die, to any degree, was Socrates; and, 2) the cause for which they died continued, despite their inspiring sacrifice.

4. The Only Purely Altruistic Act
1. As the “unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others”, altruism is that quality of a person that comes into question by the examples of martyrdom that I have previously mentioned
2. Jesus, in contrast to they, represents altruism in its purest form
1. Jesus was unselfish/selfless

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

A.    Jesus willingly accepted the suffering of his sacrifice, for the benefit of the reconciliation of humankind with God

2. Jesus maintained faultless integrity

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:6-7).

1. Jesus was the only person who did not deserve death

B.    Jesus did not actually suffer the slavery to sin

C.    The battle he won was not actually his to fight!

3. Jesus was consistently concerned with the welfare of others

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff (Luke 4:18-21, 28-29).

1. Jesus suffered ridicule and rejection throughout his ministry
2. He never wavered in doing the will of God

Jesus voluntarily died for the cause of reconciling humanity to God, even though he himself did not suffer the consequences of the cause for which he acted.

His death completed his cause; thus, he fulfils the potential of martyrdom in a way unlike any other martyr. Without his example, martyrdom has no definitive referent.

In these ways, Jesus’ death attracts us to his example and inspires us to serve humanity, on behalf of God’s kingdom, regardless of the consequences.

However, Jesus’ resurrection repels us because it revealed a much deeper truth than we, as a race, could have imagined and one for which we were unprepared.

5. Jesus’ Death Led to A New/Renewed Life

19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

26A 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!” 27Then 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.”

28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:19-31).

1. Jesus’ martyrdom had a much different result than that of human martyrs: he brought himself back to life! a glorious resurrection!
2. Notice the quality of Jesus’ resurrected life:
1. a continuation of his physical and earthly existence, yet supernatural (:20, 27)
2. perceived in community (:19)
3. a call to mission (:21)
4. exemplary of spiritual power (:22-23)
5. a catalyst for faith as it reveals truth (:29)
3. His resurrected life is our innate desire
1. Jesus gives us a picture of real life
1. Charlize Theron has become renowned for her glowing skin, perfectly revealed at the 2003 Academy Awards
2. Glowing skin, likened to an aura, is a metaphor for spiritual perfection
2. Jesus becomes the key to real life
1. As the only person to be truly resurrected, Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 10:10)
3. Jesus invites us to enjoy real life

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

4. Jesus offers power
1. For example, the simple act of forgiving and being forgiven transforms our daily struggles

Jesus’ resurrection transcends martyrdom because he not only completed the cause for which he died, but he challenges us to be renewed after his resurrected life. His resurrection is thus problematic because, even as it fulfils our deepest longing, we never expected that sort of life was really possible.

6. Conclusion

For those who believe, his resurrection is an incredible confirmation that there is more to life than the suffering we endure, whether at the hands of our own sin or because we live under sinful social systems.

For those who doubt, will fear give way to belief and the enjoyment of the kind of life that Jesus made possible for us?

1. All definitions are taken from I. Merriam-Webster's Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10^th ed., (Merriam-Webster: Massachusetts, USA, 1996).

2. My thanks to Wikipedia (http://wikipedia.com) for the information related to these examples. Quotations included later in this sermon come from their respective biography pages at Wikipedia.

3. All biblical quotations are taken from The Holy Bible : New International Version (Zondervan: Michigan, USA, 1996).

sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 23 April 2006
[email]

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