On Resurrection Sunday, we debunked a lie. A lie that has been going around for a mighty long time. And in this, we can see why God hates the ways of a liar (Proverbs 12:22; 6:16-19). A good lie can be convincing; a person who lies, not that it is good, can cause some people to believe it. And that’s the purpose of a lie, to convince somebody. Since the beginning of time, lying has been a way to camouflage or hide the truth. It’s been a way to keep people from believing the truth; otherwise, there would be no need to lie.
It’s when you don’t want somebody to believe something or the truth. A lie can be destructive. It has caused some people’s marriages to break up; relationships have been torn to pieces; people have been beaten up, shot, some are behind bars, and some have been killed all because of a lie that somebody told. Some people were killed and didn’t know why, all because of a lie.
As a preacher, I’m here to tell somebody that when you find out that a person is a liar, you need to stay as far away from them as possible. Liars will get you in trouble. Those who shade the truth will have people looking at you with an evil eye. You can’t trust a liar; I tell you that they are destructive.
On Resurrection Sunday, we came to debunk a lie. Now, 2,000 years ago, the greatest bombshell that ever hit the earth took place. The devil wants to water down this day because he understands that he failed on Good Friday. He had bruised Jesus’ heel (Gen. 3:15), but Jesus crushed his head on Friday when he said, “It is finished.” “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” He dropped his head and he died. Satan failed in his attempt to stop Christ from reaching the cross and to spoil our redemption.
He tempted him in the wilderness to throw himself down from the cliff, to turn stones into bread, to fall down and worship him, the devil himself, and he offered him the kingdoms of the world (Matt. 4:1-11). Throughout his earthly ministry, the religious leaders constantly sought to kill him. They picked up stones one time to stone him to death (John 8:59; 10:31-39). At another time, they tried to throw him over a hill in an attempt to take his life (Luke 4:28-30). But it was not his time.
They did not realize that Jesus did not come into the world to be stoned to death or die by being thrown over a hill, but he came to be lifted up on a cross. For he did say, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). And so, he was lifted up on Mount Calvary. He dropped his head and he died. This was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. No lie about this—he died. Jesus died on Calvary to save sinners like you and me. But Jesus often told his disciples and others that he would die. In John 2:19-21 he said, “Destroy this temple” (talking about his body), “and in three days I will raise it up again.” He did die at the hands of sinful men, but they didn’t take his life, oh no, they did not. He gave his life, for he said, “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again” (John 10:18).
After he had risen, when the soldiers were assembled together with the elders and had taken counsel, the elders gave money to the soldiers and told them to tell the biggest lie that was ever told. They said, “Go and say that his disciples came and stole him away while we slept” (Matthew 28:11-15). The same Satan who tried to destroy Christ on the cross now wants men to believe that he is still dead.
But community, he is not dead. How do I know? Because he lives in my heart. How else can you explain the radical change in our lives? We have alcoholics who laid the alcohol down and never picked it back up; we have dope smokers who quit and never lit up again; adulterers who couldn’t stay home met the risen Savior and now have a satisfied mind with the one that God gave them; liars who lied all the time stopped lying on a dime and got their act together; homosexuals have been transformed to be what God made them to be; people that nobody could get along with now have a sweet aroma that draws people to them.
“Go and tell that his disciples came and stole him away while we were sleeping.” But community, if they stole him, why would they go through the trouble of taking his clothes off and taking him out naked? Anybody that stole his body would just take the body out of the tomb with his clothes on.
Paul said it best when he said, “If Christ did not rise from the grave, then my preaching, this column, our praying is in vain; and we are still in our sins, and those who have died in the Lord have died in vain” (1 Cor. 15:13-17). If he did not rise, why are the church doors open, because our worship is in vain. Community friends, don’t believe the greatest lie ever told. Jesus rose from the dead.
Leave a Reply