In the 1880's August Rodin sculpted one of the most famous statues of all time, “The Thinker.” His work was heavily influenced by the great artists of the period known as the enlightenment, when western civilization valued knowledge and logic and thought process above all else.

            Other great things that were happening were the use of steel in buildings allowing the construction of sky scrapers, the development of gasoline as a fuel, the discovery of the photoelectric effect, and the invention of the straw.  Huck Finn, Treasure Island and Sherlock Holmes were newly penned. Life was good! Science was becoming the magic answer for everything. New discoveries were announced almost everyday. During this period electric lighting, phonographs, telephones, automobiles, airplanes, and wonderful advancements in medicines were all on the near horizon.

            All of these developments came about due to the emphasis on reason and knowledge. Actually, this emphasis on knowledge has a deep and dark past. During the time just after Jesus’ death Gnosticism gained ground. People felt that knowledge was the most important thing; knowledge about the earth, about the solar system, about the human body, medicine, even about God. This knowledge was the path to enlightenment, fulfillment, and to salvation. But even though that was after Jesus walked the earth, they didn’t recognize the truth of that being Friday... this is Sunday, Jesus is risen!

 

Scripture   Colossians 3:1‑4

3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

 

            Paul has become the spiritual expert of life. He lived 2000 years ago and may have even witnessed some of Jesus’ miracles. He was the foremost zealot in his efforts to erase all memory and thought of this Jesus person. He was certain, even after Jesus’ death, that all they needed to do was clean up a few loose ends and the movement would die for a lack of leadership. He knew he was the one to head up the clean up operation... to rid the world of those followers of the Way. He had looked at Jesus from the Thinker perspective. He used knowledge and reason as the basis for his decision. He didn’t recognize that that was Friday.... this is Sunday and Jesus is risen!

            But God saw something wonderful in Paul that only needed a little change in direction, a little course shift in attitude, then Paul would be a powerful witness. God saw that the world was falling apart, His very own people had strayed so far from their faith that God was no longer real; He was nothing more than the reason for political activists to justify their bigotry. If you close your eyes when you listen to some of today’s TV evangelists you could almost see them as the pharisees of history; using Jesus to promote their own agendas and to suck offerings from faithful, albeit misguided, trusting Christians.

            Paul was set on eradicating every last follower from the earth and was on his way to Damascus to capture a band supposedly working out of that area. But Paul didn’t realize that that was Friday... God saw the timing was right and through the use of miraculous light and sound, spoke to Paul’s heart. Paul’s attitude melted away. This is Sunday and Jesus is risen!

            Paul did become that witness for God and is, rightfully, recognized as the biblical expert on all things spiritual. Jesus told us the truth of God’s Kingdom and Paul showed us how to live our lives according to that truth.

            Before we get to the meat of this morning’s passage from Paul we need to understand the events of Easter. According to the plan God set forth before the beginning of time, Jesus was going to become the final sacrifice for sin. No matter how much training and prodding God did to the Israelites, they just couldn’t keep their hearts from wandering away from where God wanted them. Sin proved to be a more powerful influence then righteousness. Following a few good years Israel would forget God. Disaster of some type, most often predicted by one of the prophets as a warning from God, would happen to draw them all back to the Lord. Things would improve and then a few good years would go by when the whole process started over. Humans just couldn’t keep their minds and hearts on the Lord.

            At precisely the appointed time Jesus began a three year earthly ministry that would lead Him into a final moment of pain and torture and suffering beyond what any of us here today can understand. We get so angry when someone does something to us that we don’t deserve; either a physical act against us, or a legislative action, or even an emotional action. When someone does us wrong we get defensive and upset and we begin to gather our allies and prepare for some type of conflict. We can’t seem to “turn the other cheek.” We demand justice!

            Jesus had never done anything in His life to treat someone unfairly. He never cheated anyone out of anything. He never lied to anybody. He never took some action that would be regarded as an undeserved attack. Even when He challenged the religious leaders He did it in love. Jesus, as we believe it from the Scriptures, was perfect... and yet the church leaders brought Him up on charges and lied about the things He was doing to trick the Romans into a death sentence.

            When they stood this perfect person before the Roman governor Jesus didn’t even attempt to get out of what God had ordained for Him. It was the ultimate example of turning the other cheek. A crowd whipped up into a blood thirsty frenzy by those same church leaders and the stage was set. Crucifixion; a style of death reserved for dishonoring the worst of the criminals. Jesus had crudely made, rough nails driven through His hands and feet and after the labored effort to even breathe, He died.

            Removed from the cross and laid in a borrowed tomb, not even properly prepared for burial due to the beginning of the Sabbath, sealed there and left for a more appropriate time. Quickly covered in a few bits of cloth He was laid to rest.

            But that was Friday... this is Sunday and Jesus is risen! When the women arrived at the tomb to finish the burial process they found the stone moved away and Jesus gone. He appeared to them, to the disciples and to hundreds of other people before they witnessed Him ascend into Heaven to take up His rightful place with God.

            Through His faithfulness and obedience He did, indeed, become that final sacrifice. In rising from the grave He defeated death and overcame the world. Scripture teaches us that everyone who believes in Jesus and calls on His name shall be saved.

            That brings us to the truth of Paul’s message from Colossians. For us, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not left to fend for ourselves. Paul tells us that we are raised with Christ. In His death and resurrection we are given new life. We, as heirs of the Kingdom, are also going to be resurrected just as Jesus was. Our true home is in heaven with Jesus; a home that He has gone before us to prepare especially for each one of us.

            This earth is not our home anymore. The things that constantly draw us away from righteousness shouldn’t be given a second thought anymore as we are only visitors here. This isn’t our home. We belong with Jesus and He has paid the entry fee for us, to get us into Heaven. We are raised with Christ.

            Therefore, as God teaches us through Paul’s words, we are to set our hearts and minds on the things of Heaven... the things of home. What are these things? A wonderful mansion, a wedding feast to end all feasts, golden streets, crystal seas, just being in the presence of God. The Bible teaches us that there will be no crying, no pain and suffering, no reasons of any kind to cause anger or hurt or disappointment. Our bodies will be replaced with perfect spiritual bodies. No arthritis, no painful knees, no diseases of any kind. These are the things of Heaven that we should set our hearts and minds on.

            Why? Because, as Paul teaches us, Jesus is our very life. We cannot make it to Heaven without Jesus. This leads me to the real message for us, today. Our lives are filled with pain and disappointment. We give years of our service to a particular employer only to be dumped when we near retirement. Or, worse, we retire only to have some sneaky person steal the funds out of our retirement account leaving us destitute with no opportunity for recourse. We blindly follow what our government tells us is healthy only to discover that it has led us into an irreversible downhill slide toward heart disease. We find out all too late that common medicines have horrible side effects. People we trust cheat us. People we don’t know steal from us. Our lives are filled with pain and disappointment. But ... this is Friday....

            The Apostles were standing on a lonely hillside looking up into the sky where Jesus had just gone. They didn’t realize that it was Friday, but Sunday was coming.   An angel appears telling them that Jesus would return, one day, to collect His own followers so that He can lead them into Heaven. It looked like Friday, but another Sunday is coming.

           

           

            My friends, it is Easter morning, Jesus is risen AND ... Jesus is coming, again. This life is hard... it looks like Friday, but Sunday is coming, again. And, it’s not something you can devote knowledge or logic to. The Thinker isn’t going to be any good for this relationship. This one... you just have to give your heart to. You just have to give your whole self to Him and He will write your name in the Book Of Life and from that moment on, you are SAVED.

            Don’t try to work it out with knowledge or reason or logic. It won’t work. Just trust in the Word of God, in the Holy Spirit’s guiding, and in the salvation that can only come through accepting the free gift of eternal life, from Jesus.

            Friends, it’s Sunday, Jesus is risen!