2009-4-12 Sermon Title: He went up from the water
Thu, 04/30/2009 - 14:44 — hpcbc
Sermon 4/12/09
Sermon Title: He went up from the water
講道題目：他從水裏上來
Sermon Text: Matthew 3:16
講道經文：馬太福音三章十六節
Scripture Reading: 1Corinthians 15:3-6
讀經：哥林多前書十五章三至六節
Today is a very special day because today is the Lord’s Day. Today is also Easter Sunday and on this day we have witnessed seven brothers and sisters followed the Lord in the water of baptism. Paul said, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4) The believer’s baptism is a beautiful picture of identifying oneself with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Jesus was raised up from the dead, so is the symbolism of a believer coming up from the water to begin a new life in Christ. Baptism by submersion is therefore, rich in symbolism that cannot be fully expressed by the sprinkling of water.
The ordinance of baptism in the early Christian church was also a witness to the Gospel it preached. “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.” (1Corinthians 15:3-4) The Gospel is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You may ask, “What does the death and resurrection of Jesus 2000 years ago have to do with humanity, and to me in particular?” The death and resurrection of Jesus was not just a historical event that happened in Palestine; it happened according to the plan of God. Ever since man sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, humanity was under condemnation of death. The Bible says that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Do not confuse “sin” with “crime”; all crimes are sins, but the definition of sin is not crime. By definition, sin is missing the mark of God. It is like shooting an arrow and missing the target. The target is God’s righteousness and holiness; we all try to reach it but fall short of it. We all try to be a good man but not good enough; we all try to be righteous but not righteous enough for God. We all fall short of the glory of God; therefore we are all sinners. The Bible says we are all sinners, not criminals. The Bible also says the wages of sin is death. Make no mistake about it, sin is punishable by eternal death in God’s law. But our God is not only a righteous God, he is also a loving God. Sin brought shame of nakedness to Adam and Eve; God sacrificed an animal to make garments of skin to cover their shame and set the plan of salvation in motion to provide a way for humanity to escape from eternal damnation. It only takes one chapter in the Bible to describe the creation; the rest of the Bible concerns the salvation plan of God for humanity through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the only person on earth who had his biography written even long before his birth. His death and resurrection were for our sins and they happened according to the Scriptures (Psalm 16:8-11; Isaiah 53:5-6, 11) It may surprise you to learn that it was not the Jewish religious leaders nor the Roman soldiers that brought Jesus to the cross; we are all part of the crowd who crucified Jesus according to the scripture.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the greatest miracle in human history; it is also the corner stone of Christian faith. There is a little hymn written by William J. Gaither on Resurrection: “God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus, He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone; because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.” On that first Easter morning when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb of Jesus to prepare him for proper burial, they were met by two angels who said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” (Luke 24:5-7) Christianity sprang from the empty tomb; it is born through faith in the resurrected Lord who gives his followers eternal hope. ‘Because he lives I can face tomorrow.’ What would tomorrow bring without the hope of eternal life? Did you ever dread those Monday mornings when you woke up with no sense of purpose? Do you sometimes have the feeling that you were just getting by day after days? Have you ever worry about what the future will hold for you when you watch your investment in 401K becomes 201 NOT so OK? Worry can become fear when one does not know what would happen next. Imagine yourself coming to the end of your earthly journey with a travel bag stuffed full of money and a PhD diploma but had nowhere to go! A Christian may not be the wealthiest or smartest man on earth; but he surely is a secure man on because he knows who holds the future. He can face tomorrow with no fear because he has the eternal hope of salvation in the resurrected Lord.
Christianity is based on faith in the resurrected Lord. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) I am talking to an intelligent audience and you are not an unlearned congregation; certainly I am not talking about blind faith on resurrection or a superstitious story of folk traditions. The death of Jesus on the cross is an undeniable fact. The Roman soldiers were professional who could tell a dead man from one that was still alive. The governor Pilate was no fool when he gave the body of Jesus to Joseph Arimathea for burial. In the early morning of the third day after Jesus’ death, when the women came to the tomb with ointment to honor Jesus with a proper burial, they found the heavy stone at the entrance of the tomb was rolled away; the governor’s seal was broken; the strips of linen that wrapped Jesus’ body were lying by themselves; and the angel appeared and spoke to them. When the Roman soldiers saw what had happened, they went into the city and told the chief priest everything. The chief priest and the elders gave the soldiers a large sum of money and told them to spread the story that Jesus’ disciples stole the body when they were asleep. I know you are too intelligent to buy that story. The Roman soldiers who guarded the tomb certainly would not all fall asleep on duty because this was a crime punishable by death. The disciples were too timid even to leave their house let alone daring the Roman soldiers to steal the body. If they were lucky enough to get by the soldier and went into the tomb, they would grab the body and ran for their lives. What kind of thieves would take the time to unwrap the linen cloth and fold them neatly to put away before carrying the body out? The resurrection was not taken place in secret. Luke wrote to Theophilus, “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3) Paul also wrote, “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.” (1Corinthians 15:4-7) There were many eyewitnesses to prove that the resurrection of Jesus was an undeniable fact. Today Jesus is alive and lives in the hearts of Christian and that is also an undeniable fact. Abraham Lincoln one said, “You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all the time.” If Jesus’ resurrection was a hoax, it certainly had fooled a lot of intelligent people for more than 2000 years which is a long time.
Easter eggs and rabbits came from ancient pagan rituals celebrating spring. They were symbols of fertility. For Christian traditions they signify new life in Jesus. In the beautiful picture of baptism, we watch a follower comes up from the water to a new life of hope in Christ; a life that is worth living. A Christian should no longer live for self but for Christ. Today, in this new chapel, I would like to challenge the church to renew her commitment to the Lord in conducting herself worthy of his calling; in helping and encouraging our new brothers and sisters in Christ in their new walk with Christ.
