Series — The Road to the Resurrection — Message 19 — The Final Chapter — He is Risen
The Road to the Resurrection • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning Church! I want to thank each of you for coming out this morning and all those who may be joining online.
We come this morning to the climax of our series…The Road to the Resurrection.
Over the last 18 weeks we have been working our way up to this point we find ourselves at today.
We started this journey with Jesus setting His face like a flint toward Jerusalem to accomplish the task He had been sent here to do and today, we come to the culmination of that mission.
Today in our series is Resurrection Sunday!
Now, some would say I need to preach a message today about the birth of Christ but I believe today’s message is even more important than the birth because if He had never risen from the grave the birth would’ve been useless right?
But praise God He did rise from the grave on that third and glorious morning and because He arose, those of us here this morning who have been born again will one day rise again as well, amen!
Jesus told Nicodemus in...
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
All of us have this morning been born of water but there is a good possibility that some sitting here have not been born of the Spirit and dear friend if you intend on making it to heaven one day that has to change!
You must be born again from above!
That is the whole reason Jesus came to this earth and gave His life in such an awful way as we have looked at over the past few weeks…so that you and I can be saved through God’s amazing grace shed abroad through the precious blood of His one and only Son!
And that’s the focus of our message this morning.
Last week, we seen the final cry that our Lord gave from the cross… “it is finished” and we seen the pain and agony that He went through on that cross and how that even simply in His death some believed.
But today, we are going to be focusing on the fact that He’s risen from that grave we left Him in last week and death has now been defeated forevermore and we’re going to be looking at some things that took place that prove He’s alive and this morning we have a wonderful hope in a living Savior!
The title I’ve given to today’s message is…The Final Chapter — He is Risen!
And the verses I want to use to springboard off of this morning come from the Book of Acts.
In...
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Many “infallible proofs.”
That word means many “convincing proofs.”
And as we work our way through this message this morning, my prayer is that you will see some of these many infallible proofs and that maybe, just maybe someone’s life will be gloriously changed forevermore!
With no further ado, if you have your Bible’s turned with me to Matthew Chapter 28, would you say, amen.
The Visitation from Above — (Vs. 1-4)
The Visitation from Above — (Vs. 1-4)
“In the end of the Sabbath”
I love what John Phillips says about this phrase here.
John Phillips — Some scholars want to retranslate that first phrase as “late on the sabbath,” but let the King James rendering stand.
It is an eloquent, profound, and startling commentary on a change in the national order of things. Judaism was finished.
The Jewish sabbath was rendered obsolete by the Lord’s resurrection, just as the temple was made obsolete by the tearing of the veil, and the priesthood by the rending of the high priest’s robe.
To his Jewish compatriots and to those within the ranks of the professing Christian church who were still bemused by questions concerning the sabbath, Matthew was crying, “It is finished!”
Just as Jesus cried it was finished, the point Matthew was trying to drive home here is that the Old Covenant was also finished!
There was now a New Covenant and this New Covenant was signed, sealed and delivered by the one and only Son of God, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth!
And it says here that Mary Magdalene and “that other Mary” came to see the sepulcher.
In the Book of Mark, we find out who “That other Mary” was.
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
So, here these women are and they are on their way to apparently anoint Jesus with sweet spices and the Bible goes on to say in the Book of Mark...
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
So, here’s these women and they are making their way from where they are staying back to the tomb with intentions of anointing Jesus but they know that there’s no way they themselves would ever be able to roll this massive stone out of the way.
Little did they know they wouldn’t need to!
Now, let’s jump back to Matthew and look what has taken place in Verse 2.
“There “was” a “great” earthquake.”
John G Butler says the word “was” used here tells us that this event took place before the women got there.
So, at some point early in the morning as dawn approached, before these women make it back to the tomb, there is a “great” earthquake!
Don’t you find it interesting that there was an earthquake at Jesus death and also one at His resurrection?
I can only imagine there’s going to be another one at His coming again!
But a great earthquake takes place due to an unexpected visitor.
Now, if you will remember, we left the tomb last week in the hands of a Roman watch of guards, remember?
And so for the last two days now these guards have been standing watch at the tomb here keeping an eye out and making sure no one interfered but what they didn’t plan on was a visitor from above!
It’s early in the morning, I’m sure their eyes were heavy, and they were probably all leaned up against one another trying their hardest to stay awake and then, all of a sudden out of nowhere, the ground begins to shake, the night turns to day and all of a sudden there’s a man standing there among them and with one little flick of a finger her rolls the stone away from the mouth of the tomb.
He turns and jumps up on the rolled away stone and sees these four guards sitting there or standing there and he’s shining, bright as the noonday sun, and says… “hey fellows how’s it going? Oh, don’t mind me I just stopped by to open this tomb up for all the world to see that my Savior is risen. No big deal. You can go back to sleep now.”
And look what happens in Verse 4.
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
Can you picture this?
These 4 big burly Roman guards and they see the angel of the Lord here and they just melt!
Some guards they were huh!
Now, before I move on, I want to point one little thing out to you that came to my attention.
Notice this angels appearance.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
He was glowing and his raiment, his clothing, was as white as snow!
How many of you have ever seen a big snow; I’m talking like 6-10 inches and the ground is completely covered and everything is just glistening and white as can be?
Isn’t it just so pretty?
And ya know, the thing that kills me is when you see something sticking up through it and it’s almost as if it defiles it; defiles the beauty of it ya know?
This angel just came from the presence of the Lord and he was glowing and as white as could be!
It speaks of the purity of heaven!
Nothing will be there to defile! No sin, no darkness, no death!
Just life and light forevermore!
We celebrated Christmas yesterday on my side with my parents and my nephew got him some new shoes and they were solid white…I mean “white as snow!”
And within 5 minutes of him putting them on, they were already a little dirty and he never even stepped foot outside that was just from walking around in the house and I couldn’t help but to think that’s how our sin is.
Just one sin is all it takes to defile the purity of our souls and only the precious blood of Jesus can cleanse us of those dirty sins!
In Him and Him alone can we be made whole!
Isaiah said in...
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Listen friend, only through a relationship with the one and only Son of God can we be set free from the bondage of sin and be made wholly clean in the eyes of God!
So, we see the visitation from above. Next, let’s look at...
The Victory here Below — (Vs. 5-7)
The Victory here Below — (Vs. 5-7)
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
This very well may be one of my favorite verses in all the Bible.
HE IS RISEN!
He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive and I’m forgiven, Heaven’s gates are open wide…He’s alive!
The angel says, “Come and look. It’s just as Jesus said it would be.”
John Phillips said — The empty tomb, the great apologetic of the resurrection, separates Christianity from the world’s other religions. None of the false faiths has a true answer to the terrible reality of death. Christianity invites the world to come and look at an empty tomb.
Listen friend, Buddha is still buried, Muhammad is still buried, Confucius is still buried, Joseph Smith is still buried, but praise be to God in the highest…Jesus is risen!
“Come and see the place where the Lord lay…He’s not there anymore but you’re more than welcome to come and see where He was! That’s why I came. To roll away the stone so that you could see it’s just as He said it’d be!”
Victory over death, hell and the grave has been obtained!
1 cor 15:55-57
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
There was now victory in Jesus; hope for the hopeless, life for those knocking at death’s door; and light for those who sat in darkness and the angel of the Lord says to the women here, “go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen!”
There’s a visitation from above. There’s a victory here below. And now, we will see…the verifying of the disciples.
The Verifying of the Disciples — (Vs. 8-10)
The Verifying of the Disciples — (Vs. 8-10)
9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
Pastor Alan Carr tells of the oriental custom of the napkin which can really help drive this home.
When a man with servants was eating a meal, he would often use his napkin to signal them during the course of the meal. If he left the table and wadded his napkin up, it meant that he was finished and would not be back.
If, however, he neatly folded the napkin, it told his servants that he was stepping away for a moment, but he would be back! Jesus was telling His disciples, “I may be out of your sight right now, but I'll be right back!”
When Peter and John arrived at the tomb, they feared the worst. Perhaps they thought robbers had come, or that the Jews had taken His body away. Even Mary missed the napkin and supposed the gardener had moved the body of the Lord, John 20:15. Yet, John, who had been raised with servants, Mark 1:20, probably knew this custom and quickly grasped the meaning.
We’ve seen a visitation from above, the victory here below, the verifying of the disciples and lastly this morning I want to finish it out by looking at...
The Vexing of the Chief Priests & Elders — (Vs.11-15)
The Vexing of the Chief Priests & Elders — (Vs.11-15)
Closing
Closing
As we come to a close this morning I want to finish this message the same way we started it…with many infallible proofs.
If the visitation of an angel and an empty tomb, grave clothes lying empty and a folded napkin from off our Lord’s head weren’t enough proof.
If the testimonies of eye witnesses doesn’t do it for you. Or the fact that it’s never been proven wrong or His missing body found, then maybe this next ounce of proof will do it for you.
The greatest evidence of a resurrected Savior is the evidence of a changed life in the heart of an unbeliever.
And to find this evidence, we have to look no further than the Book of 1 Corinthians Chapter 15.
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel 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.
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 scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Here was a man who was a Jew of Jews. He followed the law to a “T”.
He was a Pharisee of Pharisees and probably on his way to being a member of the Sanhedrin Council if he wasn’t already.
This man hated Christians and despised the name of Jesus of Nazareth!
His desire was to kill this idea of Christianity and imprison anyone involved with it!
But one day everything changed for this man whose name we know to be Saul of Tarsus who later would have his name changed to Paul.
What changed?
He himself met Jesus! The infallible proof Himself spoke to Paul directly while he was on his way to persecute more Christians.
That day, Paul’s life changed forever!
He would never be the same again. He could never be the same again if he tried!
The very man he despised, he made his Lord. And from that point on, Paul spent every waking moment trying to undo the damage that he had done.
He spent every moment sharing the good news of a risen Savior for the rest of his life.
A persecutor of the Church and hater of Christianity became one of the greatest proponents of Christianity the world has ever seen!
If that’s not an infallible proof friend, I don’t know what is!
And maybe you’re here this morning and you need a change like this in your life!
Listen, there’s only one who can give it to you and His name is Jesus!
I want to pull your attention back to Verse 6 here in Matthew 28 and I want you to see the invitation that has been extended to all mankind.
“Come and see!”
This morning, if you are here and lost and have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, won’t you come and see that the tomb is empty because He is alive!
And for those here this morning who have already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, there is a special message buried in the scripture before us this morning as well.
Come, see, go, & tell!