Why Are You Seeking The Living Among The Dead?

The Trial Of Jesus

Luke is the defence attorney for Jesus’ Messiah-ship

Because of today’s celebration

the feast of first fruits/ resurrection Sunday

we are skipping to the end of the book of Luke

but Luke still is giving us a defence as to Jesus being the Messiah

the one who comes from God the Father

to be the substitute condemned man in place of His church

the one who comes as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world

the spotless human who is qualified to be the redeemer

Luke has set out to prove that Jesus is the one

we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the grave

and the resurrection is proof of one thing that Jesus is sinless

because the wages of sin is death

The subject this morning is why are you looking for the living among the dead?

Jesus is not dead! He lives

and because He lives we too can live

Read Luke 24 1-12

Pray

Jesus Is Dead

Jesus has been tried and convicted

sentenced to death on the cross

His body was mutilated at the whipping post

and nailed to the cross and hung there until death

Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramathea took Jesus body from the cross and buried him in a nearby tomb

this job had to be quick because sundown was approaching fast that began the Sabbath

The women through tear blurred eyes put together the spices needed for the body over the weekend

this brings us to verse 1

All is lost, their hope is gone

the one who was supposed to be the Messiah is dead

the one who healed people

the one who just last week raised the dead, Lazarus

we believed in Him, but where is He now?

behind the sealed up boulder, with guards to make sure He stays dead

V1

the women folk has brought more spices to keep the stench of the rotting body of Jesus from smelling too much

V2

they are pleasantly surprised, they don’t have to find someone to move the stone

V3

angry, grave robbers to add insult to injury

V 4

Horrified, the sudden presence of the angels

these women are being put through the wringer emotionally

they had forgotten the teaching by Jesus

they had forgotten the faith of Abraham when he was ready to put his son to death

knowing that God would resurrect him

Jesus had told them that he would be put to death and be resurrected in 3 days

they should not have gone through this emotional trauma

V5

why are you seeking the living among the dead

They should have come rejoicing because the grave could not have held the Messiah

but they forgot the words of Jesus

V 6-8

Maybe they did not listen intently

When i was a small child my parents told me we were moving to Mexico

it did not compute...

until we was loaded up in the car and driving away

from Maine to Texas to Guadalajara Mexico

I don’t know what Jesus just said… but it was not that

what they heard was outside of the scope of imagination

and it just did not compute

but now reality has struck the fan

and truth has confronted them

why are you looking for Jesus in a tomb?

Jesus Is Alive

V 8

they remembered, it is now computing

now they are ecstatic

sorrow has turned to joy

I must tell the others

they will want to hear the good news

V 9-10

so they went to the other disciples and reported the good news

Jesus is alive, Jesus has risen from the dead

But they are even more stubborn

V 11

they still have the dead among the dead

with no hope

with not believing the women

V 13

2 of them went home to Emmaus in grief

Thomas a week later was still in disbelief

They did not believe in the resurrected Lord

they were dead

turn to Eph 2

they have been with Jesus

they have seen the miracles

they have heard the teachings

they were told of this event

but their hearts were still darkened

they were the dead looking for the dead

it was not for a couple of days later that when Jesus intruded into their pity party that they believed

Seeking Life amongst The Dead

there are a lot of people out there today seeking life from a dead person

Mohamed is dead Buddha is dead, all religions started by someone

if you investigate you will find that they are dead

and their religion is dead, it gives no life at all

Jesus the one who we celebrate today

the one who resurrected from the dead

the one who is sitting on the throne of God

waiting for the Father to give him the nations of the world

Has come to give us life … more abundant

there is a story about a man who lost his beloved brother. a couple of days later in the rain, before the grounds crew could place the stone marker. the man went to the cemetery to grieve through the rain soaked tear filled eyes he could not find the grave of his brother. dejectedly he was saying that not only had he lost his brother but he could not even find the place he was buried. then this verse came to his mind Why do you seek the living One among the dead?

He then went away joyful because his brother being a christian was not really dead. but got a permanent address change. to heaven

remember what Jesus said

Matthew 22:32 LSB

‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Jesus is the only source of life, eternal life

Hebrews 7:25 LSB

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Are you saved forever?

are you alive in Christ ?

or dead in your transgressions and sins

are you a child of wrath? or a child of God?

are you ready to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved?

or maybe you are a Christian and you are miserable because you have forgotten what Jesus taught you

maybe you were not listening with both ears because it did not apply to you

and you are looking for the living among the dead

Jesus is alive and is governing the lives of His bride

Trust Him with today, whatever the circumstances

Jesus is not a dead, I dont care about you, don’t want to be involved in your every day life

Jesus died in your place because he loves you that much

Go to the place of the living to find Jesus