I think of a 1980 sci-fi movie named Hanger 18. In brief, some astronauts bump into something in space that causes a UFO to land in the desert. The government finds the craft, aliens, and abducted humans, and stashes them away in a secluded base. The returning astronauts attempt to find and disclose what the government is hiding. They make their way to Hanger 18. In a desperate attempt to stop the disclosure, the government bombs the site. They reason that everything and everybody will be destroyed and the case closed. But they are wrong! The astronauts were safe in the alien space craft when the bomb hit, and were saved because it was indestructible.
There aren’t too many things that are indestructible. In spite of the secure packaging of some products, we eventually break through what seems to be indestructible! Some products come with a lifetime guarantee. This suggests that they are indestructible. However, when you read the fine print, you find out that there are limitations. Even the finest products aren’t indestructible. I tried to think of something that might be indestructible. The diamond came to mind. Diamonds are the hardest natural substance found on earth and 58 times harder than the next hardest mineral which is corundum. We know that diamond saws are able to cut through almost any material. Is it indestructible? I found out that if a diamond is heated to a temperature of 1405 degrees Fahrenheit it will disappear without a trace of ash, after releasing only a small amount of carbon dioxide.
Wouldn’t it be great to be indestructible? No matter what happened to you you’d bounce back like the energizer bunny and keep going… and going…and going. In many ways, Superman seemed to be indestructible. He could do almost anything – stop a bullet in his hand, bend steel, and crash through solid concrete walls without injury. But we all know that he wasn’t indestructible. Get him close to Kyrptonite, and his seeming indestructibility disappeared.
Would you believe me if I told you that there is someone who is indestructible? He lived on earth around 2000 years ago and claimed to be the Son of God. He didn’t seem to be much different than any other human being. He could be emotionally and physically injured. In fact, he angered the leaders of his day so much that they arranged for him to experience that days capital punishment – crucifixion. And the Romans always made a spectacle of those they killed on a cross as a way of keeping others in line. Those who demanded his execution taunted him as he died. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. (Matthew 27:43 NIV) He’d told his followers that he would come back from the dead after three days, but after his death they seemed to forget this and went into hiding.
Then what we now call Easter happened. In spite of the best military men guarding his tomb, an angel appeared and removed the large stone blocking the entrance. He had been hastily buried, so two women came early in the morning to continue the embalming process. When they looked in the tomb, they found that his body was gone. They thought that someone had come and stolen the body. While they were pondering this, an angelic presence appeared; “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7 NIV)
A dead Jesus became the indestructible Jesus! What can you do to someone who can’t be destroyed? If you put them down, they rise up again. You can’t silence them. You can’t refute what they say. You could choose to ignore them, but what good would that do? Seems to me it would be better to join them!
And when it comes to the indestructible Jesus, he extends an invitation and made a way for us to join him. Will we become indestructible? John, an early follower of Jesus thought so. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and (ever) lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 The Message
Easter is about indestructibility, but it also about new beginnings. If you don’t already have a relationship with Jesus, the indestructible one, why not start one today?