What is special about Easter?
Notes
Transcript
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
This is the word of God…
Early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene, made her way to the tomb and saw the stone rolled away from the entrance.
She immediately ran and told Peter telling him, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him.”
Then Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved had a foot race to be the first to the tomb.
The Tomb was empty, as witnessed by some. They gave testimony to the fact that Jesus was alive and resurrected from the dead.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
The Disciples bore witness to the fact, the reality they witnessed to Resurrected Christ!
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Some to this day some still want to dismiss the resurrection as a Christian myth.
I read this recently, “The harsh reality is that many unchurched people will walk away from the most powerful story ever told... unchanged and unaffected.” — Carey Nieuwhof
In light of that it is important for us to remind ourselves, “Why is the resurrection important?”
The Resurrection is Crucial
The Resurrection is Crucial
The resurrection of Jesus is both central and vital to the Christian faith.
It serves as a crucial moment in human history — Develop
Jesus’ resurrection validates His identity as the Son of God and His victory over death and the grave
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
His resurrection also secures our salvation and future resurrection.
We are reminded of this in verses 42-54 of First Corinthians 15 there is a coming resurrection where we will be clothed in immortality all because Jesus was raised from the dead.
Connecting The Resurrection and Justification
Connecting The Resurrection and Justification
The resurrection accomplishes our justification.
25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
It gives us assurance that the sacrifice of Jesus is effective for our salvation.
Then having been justified we no longer belong to ourselves
7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.
8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
Connecting The Resurrection and Hope
Connecting The Resurrection and Hope
The resurrection of Jesus means that our hope is a living hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Hope is our anchor in this life, without hope what is there?
Look at our world today it is a world without hope!
Our hope is not a dead hope, but a living hope because Christ rose and lived again and so shall we one day!
This means the resurrection is crucial to our hope!
Conclusion
Why does the resurrection matter?
There is no good news, no gospel without it.
1 Corinthians 15:17-19
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Why believe, why share the gospel, if there was no resurrection?
Why would there be so many people giving their life for their faith if the disciples just stole the body?
If Jesus were a fake messiah then why are people still giving their lives freely to Him!
Remember what Gamaliel stated?
38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.
39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
The resurrection is crucial, central, and still matters to the lives of all people on this planet because
1 Corinthians 15:20
20 Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
In Evidence that Demands a Verdict Josh and Sean McDowell — “Given all we know about the resurrection as a historical event, we must conclude with all those across the centuries who placed their confidence in the resurrected Christ and found their lives transformed: Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!”
HE IS RISEN!
