The Death & Resurrection of the Savior

Recap the series so far

Tonight we are looking at the saddest and happiest part of the Gospel story. The best and worst part. In one event. The crucifixion of Jesus. And it’s followed by the most important event in history, the most important part of our faith. The resurrection. Paul says our faith is worthless and we have no forgiveness without it.

So let’s get into it! Happy Easter y’all!

Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin and rose again in victory over death. For his people.

pray

Jesus paid the penalty

read ch15

What did God tell Adam and Eve the penalty for sin would be? The penalty for our sins, for my sin, for your sin, it must be paid or else God isn’t just. It will either be paid for an unending amount of time by an unrighteous person or it was paid in a moment by a perfectly righteous and eternal Savior.

When I was in third grade, we read this book called The Whipping Boy. Guess what it was about? Right, a whipping boy. It was a slave boy in the royal family and when the prince did something to get in trouble and needed to be punished, they called the whipping boy. He wasn’t the one who whipped the prince, because the prince couldn’t be whipped, it wasn’t allowed. The whipping boy took the punishment in the princes place. He satisfied the wrath against the wrong the prince had done. This is like the Gospel, only in the Gospel it is the King Himself, who has done no wrong, who lays down to take that punishment in the place of his people.

1 Peter 2:24 ESV

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

They mocked him while He was on the cross… 31-32

But we see the punishment that He took for us in the torture and agony He endured on the cross, climaxing in v 34…

But we see the result in v 38…

And so, the Creator and King of the universe, the Creator and King of you and I, died on the cross. He died in our place, suffered in our place, so that all who would put their faith in Him, believe and trust in who He is and what He did for us, could be forgiven for their sins. So put your faith in Him! He died for your forgiveness!

But death is the wages of sin, and He had no sin of his own, so death couldn’t keep Him!

Jesus rose from the grave

read ch16

Jesus’ death satisfied God’s wrath, his anger, against our sin. It fully paid our penalty. How do we know that? Because Jesus did not stay in that tomb. This is the proof.

“Prove it.” We’ve all said it. We’ve all had it said to us. You say something that is hard to believe and someone wants proof to know it’s real. You generation alpha youths may better know the newer form of the phrase, “pics or it didn’t happen”.

The “pics or it didn’t happen” for our sins being forgiven by Jesus’ death is that He rose. He walked out of that tomb!

Acts 2:24 ESV

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Romans 4:25 ESV

who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

And it’s not just that his resurrection shows us that we can be forgiven, it also means that we to can be raised to live with God forever!

1 Corinthians 15:20-26

Jesus destroyed death! Believe in him and live in victory!

Jesus defeated the enemy

I wonder what Satan was thinking. Did he think that he had won? Did he think that he defeated God, or did he know what was going to happen? I don’t know, but I know that he didn’t win. God did. And He shares the victory with his people!

We had the Olympics this summer. Did anyone compete? Me neither. I think that was the best part of the Olympics though, the people who didn’t compete. The “sadly I did not make the team” video trend was hilarious. So you didn’t make the team. But what if one of the gold medal winners messaged you and invited you to go with them on their victory tour. The trips, parades, interviews. All expenses paid. You can share their victory. What an opportunity! And it’s absolutely nothing compared to the victory offered to you in Jesus!

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 ESV

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are difficulties, pains, losses, miseries that you will have to live through in your life. But only in this life. They don’t last forever, they don’t have eternal power. If you have put your faith in Jesus, the only enemy that had any kind of everlasting power has been defeated for you! There’s freedom in that! There’s peace in that! Live in it!

If you have not put your faith in Jesus, you’re on the wrong sideline. You are still under condemnation, guilty of your sins, waiting to pay your penalty. Trust in Jesus to pay it for you tonight. Fall into his grace!