Promise Fulfilled.
Notes
Transcript
Reading:
“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Introduction:
Let’s place ourselves in the situation:
Your leader, the one you followed was given over to illegal trials and crucified as an innocent man.
You left everything in your life to follow Him, learn from Him, and do what He asks of you.
He’s dead now.
All of those you were being trained with, the other disciples, left and went back to what they were doing before they were called by Him.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Jesus showed up to present Himself to them.
Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
What would you do if this happened to you?
The one you placed your hope in was killed.
In our minds, death is final.
If you were to not really believe in all that He had said, then what they did was a normal response.
Transition:
Which brings us to why the Mary’s were heading to the tomb.
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
Why were they going to the tomb?
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
What were they taking?
Spices.
What were the spices for?
It was a common practice to celebrate the burial of an important person.
They were taking spices to celebrate Jesus in His death.
But when they arrived they got:
The Unexpected (1-3)
The Unexpected (1-3)
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
I’m not sure about you; but if I went to a burial site of a person who passed away and the dirt was all in a pile next to the hole and the casket was open and empty.
Shocked wouldn’t be a good enough word describe me in that moment.
Look at what information we are being given here:
A huge stone covered the tomb.
No body was there.
Jesus was missing.
That would’ve been an awkward missing person’s report to file.
Perspective:
Here is the disappointing information that these passages reveal:
No one believed what Jesus said would happen and they also forgot.
The disciples were defeated and went back to what they knew.
The ladies came to celebrate the death of Jesus.
Didn’t anyone remember what Jesus said?
saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Remember: He personally told them 3 times on the way to Jerusalem what was going to happen.
If 2 out of the 3 things happened like He said it would, I would be inclined to believe the third thing was going to happen.
The disciples should’ve been heading to the tomb on the third day to welcome Him back.
The Ladies should've been there to help clean Him up and feed Him.
All of which would show they believed what He told them.
Connection:
Be careful to not think too little of them.
A lot of things in our life we don’t expect Jesus to do everything He said He would.
Do we believe He hears us when we pray?
Do we believe He is going to use us to impact someones soul?
Do we believe He has a purpose for us today?
We should.
When you pray for that thing, believe and look for how God is going to answer that prayer.
Another area of caution would be not to believe the lie that someone is too far gone for God to reach.
We should also know that God made this day and has placed you in it for a heavenly purpose.
His sovereignty is over every day, and every moment.
There are no coincidences, including you being here today.
Transition:
Those who came to the tomb were confused and shocked.
Where was Jesus?
They received:
The Answer (4-8)
The Answer (4-8)
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Perplexed means:
To be at a loss.
They were completely beside themselves.
In the moment they stood there with their mouths open 2 men appeared next to them.
Their clothes were dazzling.
They weren’t wearing sequins or anything like that.
Illustration:
One afternoon in Florida I was watching a storm from the door wall.
A bright flash and a big bang startled me as lightning struck the palm tree next to the pool.
The flashing of lightning was astonishing and blinding.
Especially with the loud cracking sound of the lightning.
The 2 men at the tomb had clothes described as dazzling; but here is a better understanding of the word the author used:
Dazzling means: gleams of lightning.
If we saw someone with clothes that looked like gleams of lightning we could be frightened and blinded.
And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
They realized these men weren’t from Jerusalem; but were celestial beings.
The men came with a message of hope and comfort.
By the sound of their question it seemed a little like they were rebuking them for their unbelief.
And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
“Why do seek the living among the dead”?
Hello? He told you He wouldn’t be here on the third day.
Don’t you remember?
He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
It was that reminder they needed to spark hope and faith in Jesus.
They were prepared for what would happen in Jerusalem, and It did.
How did this bring hope back to them?
Jesus was the Messiah, and it wasn’t a waste following Him.
All He said was true and He is alive so what else is He going to do?
It re-instilled faith in God.
God didn’t abandon them, He is still on His throne and in control.
We often need the same kind of reminders.
We can sometimes believe that we are all alone and need the reminder that God is always there:
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
We can believe that we can’t handle all that is going on in our lives: your right we can’t but we have truth to cling to like:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
God has given us His word to remind us and encourage us.
We have the Spirit to apply His word to our lives and train us how to live by faith.
Transition:
With their faith renewed by the message of the angels: they had a new sense of urgency.
They took on their call to give:
The Testimony (9-12)
The Testimony (9-12)
and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
When we are excited about something we tend to make that a big part of every conversation.
Illustration:
If a girl gets engaged and is around a group of people she is going to dangle her ring and flaunt it.
She may seek every opportunity to bring it into the conversation that she is engaged?
Why, because she is so excited about what is happening in her life and wants to share her joy with everyone around her.
Those who went to the tomb first wanted to shout from the rooftops that Jesus was alive and He is the Savior who conquered death and the grave!
They came into town and told everyone that Jesus was alive!
I’m sure they referenced the angels as they told the message confirming Jesus’ resurrection.
I bet they all reacted with praise and joy knowing that the Messiah wasn’t dead!
Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
What was their reaction?
They responded in disbelief instead of shouting praises.
They didn’t believe the message!
Maybe Jesus’ death gave them too much disappointment that they couldn’t accept the truth.
We can relate to that.
Home many times have we dismissed good news because there had been really bad news we were trying to process?
Either way they didn’t believe the message.
Sometimes we need to see it to believe it.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
Peter was not a fast runner, or at least slower than other disciples.
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
Peter was very motivated to get to the tomb and see it for himself.
The verse highlights some things:
There was an urgency to search for the truth.
John acknowledges the linen cloths being there, not wrapped around a body.
Peter marveled at what he saw.
Peter was astonished by Christ not being in the tomb.
Transition:
What does God reveal to you that astonishes you?
Is it met with disbelief or praise?
Jesus had told all the disciples He was going to Jerusalem and was going to be rejected by the religious hierarchy and killed; but would rise from the grave on the third day.
And it happened exactly as He said it would.
Conclusion:
This is why we celebrate Easter together.
Jesus isn’t in the grave, He didn’t stay dead.
He proved He is God and has victory over death and the grave.
He passed that victory onto us at the moment the Holy Spirit sealed our salvation!
Don’t be surprised by what God can do.
Expect Him to reveal Himself in amazing ways, in you and through you!
When we aren’t sure what is going on in different situations:
Ask Him and seek the answer to see if anyone else found themselves in a similar scenario.
The next prophecies to be fulfilled are the rapture of the church, tribulation, millennial reign, judgment, then peace on earth!
Don’t be caught by surprise because of not believing what Jesus said would happen.
Believe Him and tell others about Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday.
Then tell them of what’s coming and how they can prepare their souls for when it happens.
Admit your a sinner in need of Jesus’ blood to cover your sin before the Judge. (receive the gift Jesus extended for you to have a relationship with Him and gain eternal life).
This is the true story of Easter: Victory by the death of a perfect, innocent sacrifice!
Believe it or deny it, God will be the judge of that!
Pray.
