Apr 20, 2014
1 Peter 1:1-5
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Easter Sunday: It’s All About Messaging
“Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Sons of men and angels say, Raise your joys and triumphs high, Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply. Lives again our glorious King, Where, O death, is now thy sting, Once He died our souls to save, Where thy victory, O the grave. Love’s redeeming work is done, Fought the fight, the battle won, Death in vain forbids His rise, Christ hath opened paradise. Soar we now where Christ hath led, Foll’wing our exalted Head, Made like Him, like Him we rise, Ours the cross, the grave, the skies.”
Businesses that are constantly trying to retain a competitive edge in a rapidly expanding marketplace have found that successful “messaging” is essential. (Messaging is defined as the way to communicate company or product themes to current and prospective consumers.)
Since today’s tech-driven consumer base is bombarded with more media and ads than ever before consultants advise that successful messaging be limited to only one or two sentences carefully crafted to immediately resonate, captivate, and engage the consumer.
Because research has revealed that consumers do not remember a marketing message until they’ve heard it approximately seven times, consultants also stress message repetition.
Data shows that consistent and constant messaging helps a company build customer awareness and preference faster than almost anything else (which explains why consultants advise everyone within the company to include this messaging in every communication: web, social media, e-mail, press releases, and sales presentations).
Smart messaging is critically important because, even if you have an interesting product, if your message fails to immediately capture the attention and connect with a consumer you can kiss that potential customer goodbye.
In 2003, in an attempt to overtake McDonalds, Burger King hired cutting-edge advertising agency CP+B. What immediately followed was a series of landmark commercials featuring a remake of “The King” known affectionately today as “The Creepy King.”
Though these famous ads went viral and generated significant attention, by the end of the campaign, Burger King had surprisingly slipped from No. 2 to No. 3 in the market. One critic observed that though “executives undoubtedly thought the quirky campaign would increase sales, it never occurred to anybody that creeping people out probably wouldn’t make them hungry for fast food.” Analysts attribute the failure of this campaign to the fact that “The Creepy King” failed to provide a consistent message regarding the company and its products.
To be successful, messaging must do more than simply garner attention, it must also express how your product or company meets an important customer need while explaining how your product or company differs from the competition. It’s a simple fact that bad messaging will kill even the best, most innovative products.
In 1996, as the home computer market was gaining steam, engineers at Panasonic proved to be way ahead of the technology curve. While many were still adapting to the mouse, Panasonic had developed a touch screen PC for the home. All they needed was a creative way to market this radical, ground-breaking, new computer system.
In order to appeal to your average, non-tech-savvy consumer, Panasonic wanted their messaging to tout this new PC's ease of use. So with almost no research or market testing Panasonic decided to center their entire ad campaign around the beloved, non-threatening, American cartoon character… Woody the Woodpecker!
Panasonic proudly dubbed their new computer “The Woody” while calling their revolutionary touch screen the “Touch Woody.” The catch slogan for the campaign which boasted a new way to interact with the web was “Touch Woody -- the Internet Pecker.”
Tragically oblivious, it wasn’t until an American staffer informed these Japanese executives of the sexual innuendo behind “The Woody” that they reluctantly postponed the launch (which was to occur the next day) in order to rethink their marketing efforts. Unbelievably, after careful consideration, the board decided it was too late to rebrand the system and instead simply adjusted the name of the touch screen feature from “Touch Woody” to a much more respectable “Woody Touch Screen.” Unexplainably, as part of their marketing, they still included an “Internet Pecker” online support function. It should come as no surprise that bad messaging and a horrible ad campaign not only doomed “The Woody,” but set back the touch screen approximately a decade.
Businesses have learned that successful messaging needs to be clear, concise, repeated, and based in reality. It’s never bad to be catchy and creative, but in the end your message must communicate how you’re seeking to meet a genuine need that differs from the competition.
Since the last Sunday of November we have been traveling verse by verse through the Book of Acts in a series titled, “The Acts of Jesus through His Church.” And though we’re only just now entering the sixth chapter, a common theme has emerged time and again in not only the life of the church community, but in their messaging. Let’s see if you can pick it out…
In choosing an apostolic replacement for Judas, we read in Acts 1, “Beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
In response to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter says plainly in his 1st sermon in Acts 2, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it…” Again in Acts 2 Peter says that “David, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up…”
Then in response to the healing of the lame man, Peter says again in his 2nd sermon in Acts 3, “You denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses… To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Following his first arrest, Peter delivers his 3rd sermon to the Sanhedrin. In Acts 4 he says, “Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.” We’re then told in verse 33, “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”
Again, during his second trial before the Sanhedrin, in his 4th sermon recorded in Acts 5 Peter claims that “the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
Later in his 5th sermon in Acts 10, as Peter is sharing the Gospel to the household of Cornelius, he reiterates the same message to a new group of people… “We are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ”
The central messaging of the early church? Jesus resurrected from the dead!
Business consultants teach that in order to achieve a successful message seven key things must always be considered (and the same is true for the resurrection):
1. A “message” must be singular… It must convey one important concept.
In regards to the resurrection of Jesus one thing is crystal clear… Not only was this their singular message, but they were constantly repeating and reiterating this theme throughout the Book of Acts and throughout the rest of the New Testament.
In his first epistle, Peter would again repeat this message: 1 Peter 1:1-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you…”
Again the topic emerges only two chapters later… 1 Peter 3:21-22, “Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”
And before you attribute this messaging only to Peter, the Apostle Paul would also preach the resurrected Jesus in Acts 13, 17, 22, 23, 24, and 26 only to then write extensively on the topic in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Philemon, 2 Timothy, and Hebrews.
Though having a singular message and repeating it often is important, it’s also obvious this becomes pointless if the message does not meet an important need within the heart of the consumer. This is why beyond being singular…
2. A “message” must be meaningful… It must connect with your target audience.
3. A “message” must be differentiating… It must contrast against your competition.
The idea of the resurrection of the dead is not really that controversial of a topic. Since death is inevitable and what happens next a principle curiosity of humanity, every major religion addresses and espouses some belief on the matter.
However, what makes the teachings of Jesus on this particular subject so unique is that He intentionally presented a doctrine with a built in litmus test for validating if He was actually right or tragically wrong in His assertions.
In Matthew 17:22-23 and in Luke 9:21-22 Jesus prophesied that “He would be betrayed into the hands of men, killed, but the third day raised up." In Mark 8:31 we have another instance when Jesus “taught that He would suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, killed, but after three days rise again.” In another memorable exchange recorded in John 11:25 Jesus declared, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live.”
Jesus also alludes to His coming resurrection in John 2:19, Mark 14:58, Matthew 26:61, Matthew 12:39, and Matthew 16:4. It was such a dominate theme during His ministry that in Matthew 27:63 even His enemies affirmed that “while He was still alive, that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise’.”
Please understand, in making these prophecies, Jesus was not “calling His shot,” rather He was validating His position. It’s as though Jesus was telling His followers, “I am not only saying this is what happens when you die, but I’m going to validate my words and prove that I’m trustworthy in my assertions by my actions.”
Jesus made a promise that those “who believe in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” He was clear that for His followers death was not the end of life, but instead the beginning of a glorious new existence. Then, in a bold move to substantiate His position, Jesus presented His own physical resurrection as proof that He could be trusted concerning such affairs.
It’s been said, “The empty tomb, as an enduring symbol of the resurrection, is the ultimate representation of Jesus’ claim to be God.” And while that is true, I would also like to add that if Jesus failed to rise from the dead the exact opposite would be evident. If Jesus wasn’t resurrected He would have been found to be nothing more than a lunatic and liar.
And it’s the boldness of this move that differentiates the teachings of Jesus from all other movements. No other world religion or religious leader has ever dared present the same litmus test to validate their views concerning death and the afterlife.
Consider: How can anyone be sure Mohammed, Confucius, or Buddha were correct in their beliefs concerning death and the afterlife without the crutch of blind faith?
New Testament expert and Dallas Theological Seminary professor Dr. Darrell Bock offered this important insight: “Easter matters because it shows how God vindicated Jesus and His message. The empty tomb not only speaks of life after death, but it also speaks to the fact that what Jesus said about Himself and human needs before God mattered. As important as the fact of life after death is, how that afterlife is experienced is more important. Jesus addresses that issue and how to know God in His ministry. Easter is God’s yes to that message. Jesus’ death in our place is God’s program for bearing sin on our behalf and opening a door for people to fellowship with God. Forgiveness is something God offers to us through Jesus’ death, not something we earn. In this the Christian faith is distinctive, offering a way to God not dependent on what we do, but on what God has done through Jesus.”
So a message must be singular, meaningful, and differentiating, but…
4. A “message” must be important… It must be pertinent to your target audience.
5. A “message” must be sustainable… It must also resonate with your future audience.
Because of its clear implications, the resurrection of Jesus is not only pertinent for every generation, but it resonates in the deepest of ways because it appeals to a basic human longing… Hope! Peter goes so far as to say in his first epistle that we have been “begotten to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
In a world where every person dies, poets, scholars, and the like have wrestled with the implications of this reality. Ernest Hemingway wrote, “All stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you.”
And while this perspective is the logical conclusion for a secular, humanistic society embracing the darwinian model of life, the message of the resurrection finds itself very pertinent and incredibly relevant for it challenges the notion that death is the end.
It’s been correctly pointed out that the historical resurrection of Jesus is the only “proof of His triumph over sin and death, and is therefore the foreshadowing of the resurrection of His followers. It’s the basis of Christian hope. It’s the miracle of all miracles. If Jesus didn’t rise, then we have no assurance of resurrection.”
Billy Graham said, “The entire plan for the future has its key in the resurrection.”
Paul throws down the gauntlet in 1 Corinthians 15:16-19 when he challenges those who might claim the resurrection of Jesus wasn’t essential to the Christian faith. He said, “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins!”
Beyond providing hope that our run-in with the reaper is not all that it’s cracked up to be, the resurrection of Jesus also provides hope that life today can be redeemed from the devastating effects of sin. In our crazy, messed up, dysfunctional, volatile world people crave hope for a better tomorrow in what’s seemingly a hopeless existence. It’s one of the reasons Barak Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign was so successful. His singular message of “Hope and Change” resonated with this central, core human longing.
Please understand, the implications of the resurrection of Jesus are not limited to just the afterlife… A risen Jesus means there exists an active Savior! Not only does His resurrection produce a hope for a better tomorrow, but it means I can experience a life-transforming experience with Him today.
My friend Josh McLarty wrote this exhortation on Facebook this past week, “As all the Easter mailers are coming out from all the local churches, let's keep in mind that Jesus did not intended for you to be something better than you currently are… Using Jesus as a way to a better life is not only a lie, but a distortion of the Gospel. We need Jesus because we are fallen and separated from God. Surrendering your life to Christ guarantees that you are no longer condemned to an eternity separated from God and you are given fellowship with Him today. This Easter, go to a Bible teaching church because you need a Savior, not because a mailer has promised you a better life.” (Small grammatical edits for the Bible study.)
This is what’s amazing about the Gospel record in context to what we find in the Book of Acts… It’s clear the resurrection of Jesus resonated in tangible ways.
Hanging out with Jesus and spending 3 years with Him had made an undeniable impact on the lives of the apostles; and yet, when Jesus was arrested Peter denied knowing Him on three occasions - Judas killed himself - and the rest ran, went into hiding, abandoned the faith, and became skeptics and doubters. But it all changed when they each encountered a resurrected Jesus! In an instant these these disciples are transformed from pitiful cowards to bold proclaimers!
The lesson is profoundly simple… You can hang around Jesus. You can affirm Him as Lord and even recognize Him as God. But none of these things will ever be able to substitute an encounter with the risen Savior.
So a successful message needs to be singular, meaningful, differentiating, and able to meet a real need (in the case of the resurrection - hope for life and hope in death), but we should also point out that hope alone really helps no one. This is why…
6. A “message” must be believable… It must make sense to your target audience.
7. A “message” must be credible… It must be substantiated by facts.
The message of the resurrection of Jesus would be ridiculous if not down right cruel if indeed Jesus was still dead and it was all a hoax. As Ravi Zacharias has said, “If Jesus is risen, nothing else matters. And if Jesus is not risen, then nothing else matters.”
What made the claim of the resurrection of Jesus so persuasive in the first few chapters of Acts was that the veracity of the claim was indeed verifiable. Everyone in Jerusalem had witnessed Jesus’ death (on a public road), they all knew where He had been buried (in a public tomb), and they were all aware His body was missing just three days later as He had prophesied (they were also aware the tomb had been under Roman guard for the duration of the time making the notion of the disciples stealing the body completely ridiculous).
Because of these indisputable facts (even the opposition couldn’t produce a body), the apostles’ message of a resurrected Jesus was both believable and credible to those living in Jerusalem (which would explain why thousands of people who just days earlier demanded Jesus’ death immediately convert.) The evidence was overwhelming.
William Lane Craig observed that, “If the tomb weren’t empty, it would be impossible for a movement founded on the belief in the resurrection to have come into existence in the same city where this man had been publicly executed and buried.”
And beyond the simple proof of a missing body, you also have a mountain of eyewitness testimony substantiating the claim. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul references over 500 eyewitnesses who personally encountered the resurrected Christ.
It’s been said, “The issue with Jesus isn’t that he was nowhere to be seen, it’s that he was seen, alive; he was seen, dead; and he was seen alive, once more.”
J.P. Moreland says it this way, “The apostles were willing to die for something they had seen with their own eyes and touched with their own hands. They were in a unique position not to just believe Jesus rose from the dead, but to know for sure. And when you’ve got eleven credible people with no ulterior motives, with nothing to gain and a lot to lose, who all agree they observed something with their own eyes - now you’ve got some difficulty explaining that way.”
Even today, some 2000 years after the fact, the resurrection of Jesus is believable because the evidence substantiates it as a credible event of history.
Dr. Simon Greenleaf (Harvard Law Professor) stated that, “According to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history.”
The messaging of the resurrection of Jesus is undeniably essential to Christianity. It’s our singular, core tenant for without it Christianity would be nothing more than a fairytale. However, our faith is not based in the unverifiable claims of men who died and never rose, but is based instead in a believable, credible fact of history.
But, as it is with all messaging, no matter how persuasive, the human consumer always has a choice… Respond or resist. Sadly, even in our travels through Acts, we have seen in the face of indisputable evidence men still refuse to accept the resurrected Jesus. For some their resistance is based in religious pride. For others it’s simply a love of sin and self.
Friends, hope is indeed the one thing we can not live without. The deepest part of our souls cry out for it. Hope that it will all be okay. Hope that someone is standing in our corner… for us… with us. This Easter morning you find yourself at Calvary316 and we want you to know that hope is here… Hope is in an empty tomb!
Not a false hope that makes untrue promises. Not a guarantee of an outcome invented by man. Not a fantasy - an illusion - or a make-believe occurrence. But a real, lasting, eternal hope. Hope that death is not the final word. Hope that God is still holding it all together. Hope that He has not turned His face away… From any person or any situation. Hope that God is more intimately involved in your life than you may ever know.
Hope is here… It’s found in an empty tomb! Hope that there is a remedy for your sin… Hope that there is a solution for the emptiness of this crazy life… Hope that God deeply and passionately loves you! Make no mistake about it… Hope is found in this empty tomb! No matter where you’ve been. No matter what you’ve done. Friend, hope is here because hope rose from the grave on this day many years ago and His name is Jesus.