God Raised Him From The Dead
Scripture Texts: Romans 10:8-13
Prayer: Holy Father, glorify your Son in our hearts and minds through the proclamation of your Holy Word. Preach the truth of the Gospel to our hearts. Grant us a fresh vision of your glory. And merciful Father, grant to me now thought and expression that is worthy of the clarity and excellency of your Word. In the name of Jesus our risen Savior and Lord. Amen.
Introduction.
We all like stories of a good vindication, stories of good triumphing over evil, stories of great wrongs being righted, accusations of guilt proven false. The triumph of truth and justice.
For a couple of months now we have been missing a set of keys for our van. That is the vehicle Phama drives the most, and this has happened before. So I had been gently encouraging her to search some more, check coat pockets, purses, wherever. Last week I found the keys in the bottom of my computer bag. She enjoyed a sweet vindication. We love a good vindication.
History recounts some great vindications. Sadly for Galileo, his vindication didn’t come until 350 years after his death. In the 1600s the Catholic Church declared him a heretic for saying the sun was the center of the solar system, contradicting the earth-centric teachings of the church. In 1992 the Catholic Church formally acknowledged its error and vindicated Galileo.
More recently Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned for 27 years for opposing apartheid in South Africa. In 1990 he was released, and four years later became South Africa’s first Black president and received global acclaim as a peacemaker and unifying leader.
The Bible is full of great stories of vindication. Joseph was vindicated before his brothers for those grand dreams he told them as a young boy. He went from the status of the favored son to that of a slave, to that of prime minister of all Egypt, who would save his people.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were vindicated when God spared them in the fiery furnace. Daniel was vindicated when God shut up the mouths of the lions. His accusers were punished, and the king glorified God.
Of course all of these stories and every other example in human history pale in significance to the greatest vindication of all, the ultimate vindication when God raised Jesus from the dead.