He Is Risen! Luke 24:1-12
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Introduction
Introduction
Welcome! (Greet people, introduce yourself, dismiss kids)
Follow along with God’s Word on the screen, or on your phone, or in a Bible
WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY?
PRAY!!!!!!!
At Cornerstone we always have a main point- a key takeaway from our message that day- today it is:
Main Point: He is Risen!
Main Point: He is Risen!
Body
Body
Before we can talk about JESUS’ RESURRECTION, we have to talk about what happened.
Just very briefly, I want to recap what happened in Luke 22-23.
First, the chief priests and the scribes, the leaders of the Israelites worked with Judas Iscariot to figure out a way to kill Jesus.
They offered Judas 30 pieces of silver and Judas accepted. After instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus goes with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.
While there, Jesus prayed and pled with his disciples to PRAY WITH HIM!
In Luke 22:44 we see how heavy of a burden Jesus is carrying as He goes to the cross; we see that Jesus is SWEATING BLOOD!
And then it happens. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and is seized before being dragged through a series of show trials and being beaten and mocked.
Finally Jesus is sentenced to death despite no guilt being found.
After being sentenced, Jesus is forced to carry His cross to be crucified outside of the city. When we think of this, don’t just consider the physical burden. Jesus is carrying far more than that. Jesus is also carrying the WEIGHT OF OUR SIN!
As Jesus is crucified the crowd mocks Him and laughs at Him.
Then, the sky goes dark! It becomes completely dark until about 3 PM when Jesus cries out and dies!
As soon as Jesus dies, the curtain of the sanctuary is split in two, showing that people could go DIRECTLY TO GOD BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN REDEEMED!
After this, Jesus’s body was removed from the cross and was buried in a tomb.
It’s important to note that Jesus had many followers, about 120 at this time according to Acts.
His followers were gathered together at a distance watching and the women of the group prepared spices and perfumes to put on His body after the sabbath which was about to begin.
We see that in Luke 23:55-56
55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed along and observed the tomb and how his body was placed. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Luke 24:1-2
Luke 24:1-2
That brings us to our passage today, Luke 24:1-12. Let’s look at Luke 24:1-2 together.
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
Luke gives us an important detail here- this is on the first day of the week, so that is the third day- Friday, Saturday, and now Sunday, the women go to the tomb.
The “they” is really a reference back to Luke 23:55-56!
These same women who prepared the spices and the perfumes have RETURNED TO NOW PUT THEM ON JESUS!
These spices were a form of embalming. But there’s something significant about one of these spices. According to John 19, one of these spices was Myrrh.
Myrrh is mentioned in Matthew 2 (Matthew and John are two of the other Gospels that tell us about Jesus’s life), as a gift that was given to Jesus when He was a young child!
It’s a strange gift to give a young child, but it shows us something- Jesus’s entire life was BUILT AROUND THIS VERY EVENT!
FROM THE BIRTH OF JESUS UNTIL JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED EVERYTHING POINTED TO WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO!
And these ladies go to Jesus’s tomb to put these spices on Him.
But, what happens? When they arrive, they find that the LARGE STONE THAT HAS BEEN SEALED AND IS GUARDED IS MOVED AWAY!
Understand, this stone was not a one person job! No person inside the tomb could have lifted the stone, no person by themselves outside of the tomb could have lifted the stone!
Honestly, it’s always been interesting to me that we don’t know WHAT the women were going to do with the stone.
I assume that they were going to ask the soldiers, or a gardener, but it’s really unclear.
Nonetheless, they go to the tomb and they find the stone ROLLED AWAY!
Luke 24:3-5
Luke 24:3-5
3 They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. 5 So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground.
“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men.
In a moment of shock the women go inside the tomb! They are STUNNED THAT THE TOMB IS OPEN! But when they go inside there is no body!
JESUS IS GONE!
And their response is CONFUSION AND BEING PERPLEXED. They don’t understand- WHAT IS GOING ON! WHAT HAPPENED!
But then as we read, two men in dazzling clothes appear!
These men are angels- messengers of God- and their appearance is stunning. They don’t just look like guys with wings; the angels are STUNNING! THEY SHINE BRIGHT BECAUSE OF THE GLORY OF GOD!
In Luke 1-2 we read about a few people who see angels. EVERY TIME the angels are stunning and people are filled with terror!
8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
THE SAME THING IS TRUE HERE!
THE WOMEN ARE TERRIFIED AND BOW TO THE GROUND!
This is just like the shepherds that we just read about!
FRIENDS, THIS WAS TERRIFYING!
The body of Jesus isn’t there and now these angels are here!
They don’t understand what is going on, but they know this much- SOMETHING INCREDIBLE IS Happening!
The angels end verse 5 by asking a question- “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?”
Here’s what they are saying- “JESUS IS NOT DEAD!”
JESUS DIED BUT DID NOT REMAIN DEAD!
Think of how that must have felt to heard that!
JESUS- who you just saw crucified is NOT DEAD!
HE IS ALIVE!
And the angels don’t stop there- they continue in verse 6!
Luke 24:6-8
Luke 24:6-8
6 “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’8 And they remembered his words.
The angels say, “HE IS NOT HERE, BUT HE HAS RISEN!”
THIS IS MAY BE THE BEST PROCLAMATION IN HUMAN HISTORY!
HE IS NOT HERE, HE HAS RISEN!
JESUS IS ALIVE! JESUS IS NOT DEAD; HE HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD!
Notice the wording- HE HAS RISEN SHOWS THAT HE WAS TRULY DEAD!
Jesus truly died on the cross; then He ROSE AGAIN!
Then, the angels remind them that THIS WAS PROMISED!
Jesus told them that it was necessary that He was BETRAYED, KILLED AND THAT HE WOULD RISE AGAIN!
See, the honest truth is that they didn’t really understand what He was saying!
But Matthew 16:21 shows us HOW DETAILED JESUS WAS IN HIS PROPHETIC DECLARATION OF WHAT WAS TO HAPPEN:
21 From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.
Jesus spends a good chunk of His ministry TELLING PEOPLE THIS VERY FACT!
Yet, they did not understand. It was so different from ANYTHING THEY’D EVER SEEN OR EXPERIENCED THAT THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND!
And it can be easy for us to be like, “WHY DIDN’T THEY GET IT?”
But here’s the truth- we have the Bible! We can read the full story! But for these people? They were LIVING IT! THEY COULDN’T JUST LOOK AHEAD A PAGE OR TWO TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT!
They were trying to understand, but it hadn’t sunk in yet- TRULY, JESUS MEANT WHAT HE SAID! HE WOULD BE KILLED, BUT HE WOULD ALSO RISE FROM THE DEAD!
THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER FOR THESE WOMEN!
And as verse 8 shows us, they start to UNDERSTAND AT THIS POINT IN TIME!
THEY ARE STARTING TO GET WHAT WAS GOING ON!
Let’s see what they do with this!
Luke 24:9-10
Luke 24:9-10
9 Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. 10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things.
As they remember these words, they GO TO THE DISCIPLES AND BRING A REPORT
Here, Luke lists names- three women are named- Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the Mother of James.
Additionally, Luke tells us that there were other women with them! It is easy for us to picture just 3 women at the tomb, but this is not the case!
Let me make a point about this- do you see the SHEER number of people involved?
THE NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION ISN’T JUST BROUGHT BY ONE OR TWO PEOPLE! THE NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION IS BROUGHT BY MANY PEOPLE WHO IMMEDIATELY GO TO TELL OTHERS!
When you have good news, you want to share it! You don’t want to wait for a few weeks before you say anything!
Let me give you an example- when I was a senior in college I was applying to go to Seminary. When I got accepted to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I TOLD PEOPLE!
I didn’t hide it, I shared my good news! If you get a promotion at work, you SHARE THE GOOD NEWS!
And in the same way, these women SHARE THE BEST NEWS!
These women share the same news that we share today! They share the GREAT NEWS THAT THE TOMB IS EMPTY!
One of my favorite songs this time of year is called Jerusalem- here’s how it summarizes what happened at the tomb:
See the empty tomb today
Death could not contain him
Once the servant of the world
Now in victory reigning
That’s the story of OUR SAVIOR! THE TOMB IS EMPTY! DEATH COULD NOT CONTAIN HIM! THE CROSS DIDN’T WIN! THE TOMB DIDN’T STAY FULL! JESUS DEFEATED DEATH AND REDEEMED US FROM OUR SIN! (Which we’ll talk about more in a few minutes).
AND THESE WOMEN GOT TO SEE THE EMPTY TOMB FIRST! THEN, THEY GO AND THEY TELL THE OTHERS! THESE WOMEN COME BACK TO THIS LARGE GROUP WITH THIS INCREDIBLE NEWS!
SO WHAT IS THE RESPONSE?
Luke 24:11-12
Luke 24:11-12
11 But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths. So he went away, amazed at what had happened.
The crowd doesn’t celebrate; instead, the crowd is confused and they don’t believe them!
Then something happens- PETER- and as we know from the Gospel of John, JOHN, go RUNNING TO THE TOMB!
And when they get there, they see no body, only linen cloths!
The women’s testimony has been CONFIRMED! NO LONGER DO THEY NEED TO WONDER WHERE THEIR SAVIOR IS!
THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED! JESUS HAS RISEN! NOW HE REIGNS VICTORIOUSLY!
And look at this- Peter goes away, “AMAZED AT WHAT HAD HAPPENED!”
That is the only response to THIS GOOD NEWS! SHOCK AND AWE!
Listen, JESUS HAS RISEN AND IT SHOULD INSPIRE A RESPONSE FROM US!
Today, I want to challenge us with 2 points of very direct application:
Application
Application
The Empty Tomb
The Empty Tomb
GOSPEL! (3 Circles)
GO SLOW AND DETAILED!
Genesis 3, SEPARATION FROM GOD! (Sin) (Romans 3:23)
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
Brokenness- anxiety, hurt, pain, loss, death, evil, etc. (Really preach this)
It all seems hopeless! It should naturally lead us to despair! But why don’t Christians lose hope?
BECAUSE OF WHAT COMES NEXT!
Start in Matthew 1:21
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Continue with Mark 1:15 (The message of Jesus)
15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
(Jesus never sinned, but He WAS TEMPTED!)
(WHAT WE SAW TODAY!)
8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So what comes next?
Repent and believe! (Romans 10:9
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
But then what?
20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
(God made you FOR A REASON! WE ARE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD and we are MADE NEW!)
TODAY, put your faith in Jesus! TODAY CALL OUT TO JESUS AND BE SAVED!
Don’t DELAY!
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The Commissioned Mission
The Commissioned Mission
Jesus didn’t just resurrect, He gave us a job!
16 The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So today, if you know Jesus I want to challenge you with 3 things from these 5 verses.
FIRST, WORSHIP GOD!
SEE JESUS FOR WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE DID!
54 When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
TODAY, WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE HE IS THE SON OF GOD AND HE DEFEATED SIN AND DEATH! WORSHIP GOD!
Second, GO! and…
Make a disciple, baptize them, teach them to observe EVERYTHING THAT JESUS COMMANDED!
Don’t keep this message and this great news to yourself! SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD!
Third, REMEMBER THAT JESUS IS REIGNING OVER EVERYTHING AND IS WITH YOU! (HE IS RISEN INDEED!)
Don’t fear, don’t worry, CELEBRATE! CELEBRATE WHAT JESUS HAS DONE!
In closing at end of service- INVITE EVERYONE BACK TO NEXT WEEK!
