# 5 Do You Believe - The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Introduction:By now you should be able to list the five fundamentals of the faith. What are they? They are:

1. The Inspiration of Scripture.

2. The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.

3. The Deity of Jesus Christ.

4. The Substitutionary Atonement.

5. The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ states that three days after He died for our sins He rose again. But it wasn’t just His spirit that resurrected; it was His entire human body. After the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, this is the most controversial and debated Christian doctrine in history. It has been so strongly defended by fundamentalists because it is possibly the most important part of Jesus’ saving work. In fact, it is widely considered to be the cornerstone of Christianity itself.

The Reverend John Stott penned; “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of the resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.”

The Apostle Paul penned in 1 Corinthians 15:13–19,

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

I would suggest to you that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is found in the Christmas account. From the birthday of Jesus Christ all the way through the Christmas story we see the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I. Look at Christmas and see the Resurrection.

From the prophets who foretold of Christmas, to the wisemen who followed His star which led them to the Christ Child we have both a birth and a resurrection.

A. What the Prophets saw centuries before Jesus’ birth.

When the prophets looked down through the corridor of time to the birth of the Messiah, they saw an Emancipator who would open prison doors, unlock chains, and set captives free. They all had their vision of who Jesus was and why he came.

· Micah told us He would be born in Bethlehem – Micah 5:2

· Isaiah told us he would be born of a virgin – Isaiah 7:14

· Isaiah also told us that he would be the lamb that would be led to the slaughter on our behalf – Isaiah 53:7

· David the prophet (Acts 2:30) proclaimed in Psalm 16:10, “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” And Paul quoted that verse when preaching about Jesus’ resurrection in Acts 13:33-35).

In the Christmas account we see both Jesus’ birth and His resurrection.

B. What Mary saw when she stared into Jesus’ face.

In the song of Mary, the Magnificent, she makes the following statement,

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.” (Luke 1:46)

For Jesus to be His mother’s Savior He had to have been born, and He would have had to die, and in order for Mary’s sins to be fully forgiven Jesus would have had to been resurrected.

You cannot separate the birth of Jesus from His resurrection.

C. What the shepherds saw when they gazed upon the newborn baby.

Luke 1:17 says,

Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

The shepherds saw the Savior who would redeem all of humankind. But redemption is impossible without the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no CHRISTMAS without the resurrection.

D. What the wisemen saw when they presented their gifts to the newborn King.

In Matthew 1:11 we read,

11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

I only want to focus on the three gifts that the wisemen presented to the child Jesus. They gave:

· Gold – fit for a king.

· Frankincense – fit for a priest.

· Myrrh – fit for a death.

The wisemen gave the gift of myrrh which was a substance used on the bodies of the dead. This pictures Jesus pending death. What a visual picture of a suffering Savior.

We cannot separate Jesus’ birth from Christ’s resurrection. Robert Ahsmuhs used to sing a song almost every Christmas entitled: Christmas has its cradle, and Easter has its Tomb. The lyrics go like this…

Christmas has its cradle Where a Baby cried Did the lantern's shadow Show Him crucified Did He foresee darkly His life's willing loss Christmas has its cradle And Easter has its cross

Christmas has its cradle Shepherds came to see Little Son of Mary Lamb of God to be Had His Father warned Him None would grant Him room Save in the Christmas cradle And in the Easter tomb

Christmas has its cradle Wise men came to bring Myrrh and gold and incense Off'rings for a King Myrrh alone stayed with Him Death's balm for this Boy From the Christmas cradle And to His Easter joy

Christmas has its cradle Where that Baby cried In the Easter garden Christ lay crucified When death's pow'r was conquered God's life through Him poured Christmas has its cradle And Easter has its Lord

You may think of the resurrection as an Easter message, but the birth of the Child in the manger can’t be separated from the man who rose from the tomb. God’s message to us through both events is one and the same.

II. Look at Gospels and see the Resurrection.

Walk slowly through the Gospels and you see the resurrection. Read fast and you will miss it. You may even read it slowly and still miss it. I saw at least seven times where the Gospel writers speak of the resurrection of Jesus in the Christmas account. Allow me to point them out to you – I suggest that you highlight these passages of Scripture.

1. Matthew 1:21 - And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The only way Jesus could save people from their sins was to die in their place, and His death was not enough, there must be a resurrection. Since Jesus would indeed save people from their sins there must be a birth, death, and resurrection. This is what we call the GOSPEL – the Good News!

A Fundamental of the Christian faith is the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All these events go together. They are a part of the whole package we call the Gospel.

2. John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

I know I’m jumping ahead (past Christmas), but the fact of the matter is, if you look back when Mary went to visit Elizabeth to tell her that she was pregnant with the Son of God, that the baby in Elizabeth’s womb jumped. Why? Because John the Baptist even in the womb testified that Jesus was the Messiah, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

This lamb would die a horrible death, but three days later He would rise from the tomb. Be seen alive for 40 days, and then the early disciples watched Him ascend into heaven (Acts 1:9-11).

Don’t you separate Christmas day from Resurrection Day!

3. Luke 1:32–33 - 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

This is the message from the angel to Mary. The angel told her that her child would be called the Son of the Highest; and that the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. You don’t make statements like this to someone who was crucified as a common criminal. Jesus would be given a kingdom. And in the very next verse we read,

And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

We all know that Jesus died, and we also know because He arose from the dead that this very Scripture can be fulfilled. He will rule over the house of Jacob, and of His kingdom there will be no end. He will reign forever and ever. (Play Handel’s Messiah here - “for He shall resign forever and ever!”)

4. Luke 2:12 - And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

Notice the word, sign. Why would it be a sign to the shepherds that they would find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, laying in a manger? Because the swaddling clothes are again a picture of Jesus’ future death. He would be crucified, taken down from a cross and wrapped in swaddling clothes, piece of cloths, and anointed with spices including myrrh. His body would be placed in a tomb, but three days later Jesus would come forth from the grave. Death would not be able to hold the Son of God.

Jimmy Aycock wrote an article entitled, WHY IT MATTERS THAT JESUS WAS SWADDLED. He penned, “In the time of Jesus, it was completely normal for babies to be swaddled and for bodies to be wrapped in cloths for burial. In the case of Jesus, the most common of materials, used in the most ordinary of ways, became signs. The first set of cloths were the sign that the Savior had been born and the second showed He had accomplished the salvation He was born to provide. The cloths told the shepherds that this was the baby they were looking for. The cloths told those who came to the tomb that this same baby had taken our sin, defeated death, and was indeed the Savior, King, and Lord.”[i]

Why even in the swaddling clothes we see a picture of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

5. Luke 2:22–24 - 22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Jesus was brought to Jerusalem and presented to the Lord. Why? Because the law of the Lord stated, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD.” Jesus was being presented as a future sacrifice.

He was born, and He would die, but He would also beat death. This is truly a Halleluiah!

6. Luke 2:33–35 - 33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Simon recognized the role that Jesus would play in the future. He knew that this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel. The sword mentioned in the text is the awful pain that Mary experienced when she watched her son Jesus being crucified. It was like a sword piercing her heart.

Jesus had to suffer and die before He could be resurrected.

7. Luke 2:36-38 - Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Even the prophetess Anna saw Jesus as the one who would bring redemption. There could be no redemption had not there had been a resurrection.

III. Look at the book of Acts and see the Resurrection.

The apostles knew of Jesus’ birth, but their preaching centered not on that event but on the resurrection. Why? Because the resurrection proves Jesus’ ability to SAVE us. This is why the resurrection is important.

A. It’s what Peter preached – Acts 2:23-24

In Acts 2:23-24, on the Day of Pentecost Peter said,

“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it”

The tomb could NOT hold the Son of God.

B. It’s what Paul preached – Acts 17:1-3

Everywhere Paul and his companions traveled, their preaching went beyond Christ’s incarnation and miracles. They preached Jesus’ resurrection.

1. In Thessalonica - Acts 17:1-3,

“They came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ”

2. On Mars Hill - Acts 17:31,

“He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead”

3. Before Roman leaders – Acts 24-25

· Before Felix Paul stated,

Acts 24:15 - I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

· Before Agrippa Paul stated,

Acts 26:8 - Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:23 – that the Christ would suffer, that he would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.

Conclusion: As I bring this series of Christmas messages to a close, I want to remind all of us - that Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection is a part of one complete story. All of them must be seen together. All of them must be BELIEVED! Do You Believe? I Believe.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:17,

“If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins”

Paul is telling us, in effect, “If there was no resurrection, you can forget about the Christmas message. Why preach the birth of Christ? Why be holy? Why pursue spiritual matters at all? Without the RESURRECTION, we remain dead in our sins. Everything we do is in vain.

This isn’t just some abstract theological truth. Here is the point of all our RESURRECTION preaching: JESUS CAME TO SAVE YOU AND ME. He was born to live and die and rise from the dead—and to raise us to eternal life with Him. He came to open an opportunity for all of us to spend eternity with His Father. We do have a heaven to look forward to and it is all based on the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ from the dead.

[i] https://iliteam.org/coreleadership/whyitmattersthatjesuswasswaddled#:~:text=JESUS%20WAS%20WRAPPED%20IN%20CLOTHS%20AGAIN&text=God%20noted%20the%20cloths%20because,this%20time%20for%20His%20burial.