RESURRECTION SUNDAY 2011

READ MATTHEW 28.1-10

The entire message of Scripture points to and revolves around the birth, death, bodily resurrection and bodily ascension of The Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures declare that Jesus Christ is living and reigning at the right hand of The Father right now where He ever lives to make intercession for those who come unto God through faith in Him (Heb 7.25)

The Scriptures declare that He is the head of the one body of Christ on earth, and that He is the one Mediator between God and man, Who will one day visibly return in power and glory to restore the kingdom to Israel, conquer all of His enemies and to set up His kingdom on earth.

The Apostles’ Creed: born of the Virgin Mary. suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

Nicene Creed oF 325: He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. He rose on the third day according to the scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he is coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

Athanasian Creed: He suffered death for our salvation. He descended into hell and rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

It is evident that from Scripture and the historic creeds of the church, that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity.

• 1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel (good news) which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain (without any effect). 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scripture

In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul reasoned,

• 1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain (useless), and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

In that same chapter he says

• 1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

But then Paul triumphantly declares,

• 1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

During the 3 years that Jesus Christ ministered on earth, Jesus repeatedly declared that he would rise from the dead.

• He challenged his enemies: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." He was speaking about his body (John 2:19-22).
• Jesus also told his disciples many times that he would be killed by the leaders in Jerusalem, but be raised to life on the third day.
  • Mt 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go (because it was The Father’s eternal decree) unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
• The leaders who killed Jesus were aware of the fact that Jesus said that He would rise from the dead. Although they did not believe it, they wanted to ensure that it would not happen, so they set a guard around the tomb.
  • In Matthew 27:62-66 we read, "The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 'Sir,' they said, 'we remember that while he was still alive, that deceiver said, "After three days I will rise again." So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body, and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.' 'Take a guard,' Pilate answered. 'Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.' So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard."

Did the strategy of the chief priests and Pharisees to seal the tomb and set a guard to protect any theft of the body succeed? No! Despite their efforts, Jesus rose from the dead.

• Mt 28:11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers (hush money),13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 14 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
  • For money Christ was betrayed, and for money the truth about his resurrection was kept silent.
  • If the body of Jesus was indeed stolen by the disciples, according to Roman law, these soldiers should have been executed immediately for allowing that to happen while they were on guard duty. By the way, if it happened while they were asleep, how did they know what happened?
  • The truth of the matter is that the enemies of the gospel were unable to refute this bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. All the opponents of Jesus needed to do was display the dead body of Jesus to put a stop to Christianity.
  • Some have suggested that the disciples went to the wrong tomb, but the presence of the Roman guard makes this claim ludicrous. The tomb was empty (the effect) because Jesus had risen (the cause).

What caused the events of the Day of Pentecost? This Jewish feast came and went every year, but the year that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, The Holy Spirit was poured out as prophesied by Joel, John the Baptist and Jesus in Acts 1. In his message that day, Peter attributed the outpouring of The Holy Spirit to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2.33). The cause of the outpouring of The Spirit was the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• By the way beloved, Pentecost was less than 2 months after Jesus was crucified, buried and risen. Peter was preaching to an audience that could have investigated his claims of the bodily resurrection of Jesus and refuted them, but they were unable to. The reason? Jesus rose from the dead!!

Remember how Jesus had said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life"? During his ministry on earth, Jesus brought a number of people to life from the dead, including Martha's brother Lazarus, who had been dead for four days (John 11).

But the resurrection of Jesus Christ was different. It was not just resuscitation, as was the case with Lazarus, who later died again. On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead with a transformed body that was clothed with immortality and glory. His resurrection body could appear and disappear, go through material objects, and ascend to and descend from heaven.

On that resurrection morning, some women and apostles went to Jesus' tomb, expecting to find his body. But the tomb was empty, and the angel at the tomb told them, "He is not here; he has risen!" Later they saw their risen Lord face to face.

According to the Bible, the testimony of two or three eye-witnesses confirms the validity of an event taking place. Consider these testimonies:

• The end of all four gospels and the beginning of the book of Acts tell of the bodily resurrection Of Jesus Christ. (Mt 28:2-15; Mr 16:1-11; Lu 24:1-12; Joh 20:1-18; Acts 11.1-3)
• Is seen by Peter (near Jerusalem) Lu 24:34; 1Co 15:5
• Appears to two disciples who journey to the village of Emmaus Mr 16:12,13; Lu 24:13-35
• Appears in the midst of the disciples, when Thomas was absent (in Jerusalem) Mr 16:14-18; Lu 24:36-49; Joh 20:19-23
• Appears to his disciples, when Thomas was present (in Jerusalem) Joh 20:26-29
• Appears to his disciples at Lake Galilee Mt 28:16; Joh 21:1,2
• Appears to the 11 apostles on a mountain in Galilee Mt 28:16-20
• Appears to over 500 brethren at once 1Co 15:6
• Appears to James and also to all the apostles (in Jerusalem) Ac 1:3-8;
• Bodily ascends to heaven (near Bethany) Mr 16:19,20; Lu 24:50-53; Ac 1:9-12
• Appears to Paul (on the road to Damascus) Ac 9:3-17; 18:9; 22:14,18; 23:11; 26:16; 1Co 9:1; 15:8
• Appears to the Apostle John (on Patmos Island) Re 1:10-18
• In the book of Acts alone we find 23 direct references made concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  • To take the position that Jesus did not rise again from the dead is to call Jesus a liar.
  • According to 2 Cor 11.4, to believe in a Jesus who was simply a good Man or a great teacher, but did not rise from the dead and is not exalted at the right hand of The Father is to believe in another Jesus.
  • Beloved, without the resurrection, there is no Christianity. Many of these disciples of Jesus willingly suffered martyrdom for their faith. The Jewish believers, meanwhile, were so impressed by this miracle that they began to worship on the day of Christ's resurrection, Sunday, rather than on Saturday, as their custom had been.

How Does the Resurrection Affect Us? If we believe the biblical evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament, what significance does the resurrection have for us?

1. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ we see the clear demonstration of the power of the true God. Ephesians 1:19-21 tells us that it is the power of our heavenly Father that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
2. The resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is God. That is exactly what God the Father wanted to communicate to us, as we read in Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. The Jews crucified Jesus Christ because, to them, he was blaspheming when he said that he was the Son of God, equal to the Father. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates the truth that he is who he said he was.
3. Our salvation depends on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:9, we are told how to be saved. It says that "if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." This means that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This should tell us that even if some people are in churches, if they reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.
4. Our regeneration and new birth is made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates to us that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true. Everything Jesus taught was true, including his great promise in John 6:40, "Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Jesus' teachings concerning his person, his work, heaven, hell, and the future judgment are all true.
6. The resurrection of Jesus Christ secured our justification. Paul says in Romans 4:25. Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
7. Our own resurrection depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:14: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." Jesus is the firstfruits of all that believe in Him. There are a number of other verses concerning this, including 2 Corinthians 4:14, and others. Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body
8. The power for our Christian life in the present is the power of his resurrection. We read about this in Ephesians 1:19-21, as well as in Romans 6:4: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." People ask me, "How can we live this Christian life?" We can live it by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
9. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates that this Jesus Christ is going to be the appointed judge of all the wicked people in the world. In Acts 17:31, Paul told the Athenians, "'For he [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.'" We see the same idea in John 5:22 where Jesus said, "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." In verses 27-29 he continued, "And he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that he will raise up everyone who ever lived--some to eternal life and some to eternal damnation--and Jesus Christ will be the judge of the wicked. All who have trusted in their fallen reason and rejected the claims of Jesus Christ will be raised up from the dead by Jesus Christ himself. He will judge and damn them.

How Do We Respond to the Resurrection? I urge you to repent now and believe in him who is not only The Redeemer of man, but the Judge of the whole world. Please do not be deceived in thinking that walking into this church building means that you or me are Christians any more than me walking into a boxing ring makes me a professional boxer.

When the apostle Paul and Silas were asked by the Philippian jailer, what must I do to be saved, they replied "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,"(Acts 16:31). The Lord Jesus is the Son of God who became man. He is very God and very man. He was crucified, he died and was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. This same Lord Jesus Christ ascended into the heavens, is ruling and reigning even now, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

To believe in Jesus means to trust in, cling to, rely on and yield one’s life to Him. The Bible definition of believe is not agreement with information about Jesus Christ, thought it certainly includes that…..it is a surrender of myself to the truth of that information about Jesus Christ. Will you bow down before him and be saved forever?

May God give you faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly in the fact that God raised him from the dead. May you come to know that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and there is no other. May we all remember that Jesus is the Judge whom we will all face, because it is appointed to man once to die and then comes judgment. May God have mercy on us, that we will beg for mercy and pardon from him and be saved. Amen.