He's Alive!
Easter 2026 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Mic
Prayer
Friday had been a horrible day. The leaders of the Jews, the Scribes and the Pharisees had taken Jesus prisoner in the middle of the night which on their calendar would have been considered to be the beginning of Friday.
They conducted an illegal trial. These rulers who were so concerned about keeping the law were breaking their very own law. They were so filled with hate… so focused on killing Jesus that they brought forth false witness after false witness against Jesus in violation of the law.
2 Slides
59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death;
60 and they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. ...
The only charge they could truly find against Jesus was that He claimed to be the Son of God,
which He was .
They charged Him with blasphemy for telling the truth.
4 Slides (ending vs 66)
63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;
66 what do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death!”
But this was not a charge that they could get the Romans to convict Him of. So they brought Him to Pilate and what were the charges?
At first they just tried to just get Pilate to execute Him with no actual charge.
3 Slides
29 Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”
30 They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”
31 Pilate therefore said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,”
So now that they actually had to have a charge… they began to grasp at straws.
2 Slides
1 Then the whole body of them arose and brought Him before Pilate.
2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation .… and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, ....and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”
which brings us to the next 2 verses
2 Slides
3 And Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”
4 And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no guilt in this man.”
Pilate would send Jesus to Herod and Herod back to Pilate.
Three times the Roman governors would find Jesus not guilty.
Why? because there was no sin in Him.
He would finally be condemned ...but not because of anything that He had done wrong.
Jesus had healed the sick. He had fed the hungry. He had made the blind to see, and cast out demons. He had made the lame to walk, and raised the dead.
Jesus had paid His taxes when asked. There was no sin that they could charge against Jesus because there was no sin in him.
Yet Jesus would die on the cross. Why?
That was the first song our choir sang. His death on the cross was God’s love for us written in red.
Written with His blood on the cross of Calvary.
Just as Isaiah had prophesied so long ago.
8 Slides (ending vs 11)
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.
He was smitten. He was stricken of God. He was pierced through for our transgressions. The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him.
He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgressions of my people to whom the stroke was due.
Jesus came as the lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.
He died so that He could give us the gift of eternal life.
Can you imagine how discouraged and disheartened the disciples were when they saw their Master.. their Lord… the God-man.… whom they had been following now for the past three years.… crucified on that cross?
Yet, even at this time you could see the power of God at work… if you were really watching.
We see two of those miracles in
2 Slides
44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,
45 the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
The scripture says that there was darkness over the whole land. The word for land is γνή. It refers to the surface of the inhabited earth. The dry land of the earth … as opposed to the seas.
This was not just a darkness that covered Jerusalem. it covered the whole earth.
The Roman historian Phlegon in his Roman Histories refers to this darkness that covered the whole earth.
Thaddus a Christian Historian refers to it. Julius Africanus also refers to it. This was no small event.
Some critics have tried to explain it away as a solar eclipse, when the moon blocks out the sun. However that was impossible because the passover occurs on the 15th of Nissan. It occurs in the middle of the month during the time of a full-moon.
This darkness covered the earth from the 6th to the 9th hour. It was at the 9th hour, about 3 in the afternoon,… that Jesus cried out with a loud voice “It is finished.”
When Jesus died, the whole earth was covered in darkness.
This, in itself, demonstrates that God was in control.
Jesus chose to give up His life.. why? I will get to that in a moment, but first.…
Notice that the veil in the temple was torn in two also.
Now the veil of the temple separated the Holy of Holies from
the Holy place located at the front of the temple where the altar of incense, the table of shewbread and the candelabra were located.
The front doors of the temple were open so when the veil was torn in two …
a person standing in front of the temple … could see straight through the Holy place into the Holy of Holies to the ark of the covenant. This was the place where God dwelt on earth.
The veil was probably about 60 feet tall and 4 inches thick. Why would it suddenly tear in two from the top … to the bottom… right at the moment of Christs death?
God tore it in two! While the curtain was in place, it stood as a reminder of our sins that separate us from God..
just as the countless sacrifices offered year after year showed us that no sacrifice could truly satisfy the debt of our sin. But when Christ died.
His sacrifice paid the price for all of our sins once and for all.
Hebrews 10:19-20 explains this for us.
2 Slides
19 Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
We now have direct access to God by the blood of Jesus. This direct access was marked by the tearing down of the curtain in the temple.
Therefore in Hebrews 4:16 we are urged.
Slide
16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
We have the miracle of Darkness over all the earth.
We have the miracle of the veil torn in two.
but this is not all....
Crucifixion was a death by asphyxiation, Jesus’s last words demonstrated that He was God and that He was in control. He laid down His life of His own accord.
When a person is crucified, the weight of their body pushes or pulls down on the lungs. The victim then has to push up with his feet to get a breath. He pushes up with his feet and pulls up on the nails that are holding him to the cross to get his breath. This adds to the pain..
then when he can no longer push himself up, he dies of asphyxiation because his lungs are contracted.. there is no more oxygen left in his lungs… but Jesus cried out with a loud voice. This would require a full set of air in His lungs.
Jesus Himself had told us…
2 Slides
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
He was able to cry out with a loud voice because Christ was still in control. He clearly had the power to breathe. He chose to give up His life once all the prophecies had been fulfilled.
and this was not all.
4th… as if the first 3 miracles were not enough… the whole earth began to shake at the moment of His death… shouting out to us.. This is My Son. Hear Ye Him!
Slide
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split,
No wonder the commander of the execution squad proclaimed, Certainly this man was innocent! as recorded by Luke.
Slide
47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
There is no way to explain all these events except by the power of God. Even the Centurion knew that this death was like no other!
Truly this was the Son of God and this man was innocent.
But this was not all.
And I know that I am jumping around, but this is the only way for us to get the full picture. turning back to Matthew.
4 Slides (ending vs 54)
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split,
52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
The tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. That is a euphemism for they had died and were buried in the tombs.
They were raised and then .… coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city.
I suspect that what this passage is telling us is that the tombs were opened at that time, but the dead did not rise and enter Jerusalem until Resurrection Day.
because it says and after His resurrection they entered the Holy City. .. and notice it was the saints… the true followers of God who came out of the tombs.
Can you imagine what it would have been like if you were living in Jerusalem at that time?
Last week or last month you had buried your Grandmother… a dear saint of the Lord who was always urging you to get your life in order.
You had been to her funeral.
You had watched her laid to rest in the tomb and the entrance closed… and now she is standing outside your house.
She has come back from the dead and is now talking to you about Jesus! You need to repent from your sins and follow Him! Can you imagine the shock you would have felt?
But I have to step back for a moment. The disciples were discouraged to say the least.
They had just seen Jesus - their Lord crucified.
He had died. Two believers had taken Him down from the cross and buried him in a borrowed tomb.
Can you imagine how they felt?
Can you imagine how Mary his mother and the other ladies felt?
They were grieving within themselves?
What could they do now? They hadn’t even had a chance to give Jesus a proper burial …
The Sabbath was upon them and you can’t do any work on the Sabbath.
Well Sunday was Coming they could do something then.
We think of days … as beginning in the morning, but from the beginning of time.. the day started in darkness (at night) and then God created the light.
There was evening and there was morning 1 day.
and so Friday - while there was still light.. until sundown Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried in the tomb - day 1
Then Friday night and Saturday day… Jesus remained buried in the tomb - day 2
Then Saturday night until early Sunday morning Jesus remained buried in the tomb -day 3 ...
but then the most amazing thing happened.
Just like Jesus had predicted. on the 3rd day Jesus rose from the dead.
We are told that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to the tomb early on the 1st day of the week. That would be Sunday morning. We are also told that Jo Anna was there also.
They brought spices so that they might anoint Jesus.
Slide
1 And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
They had gone to the grave site to see where Joseph of Arimathea had taken Jesus and laid Him in his own tomb, so they knew where to go.
Maybe Nicodemus was already there or he got there later with spices or
maybe they had even helped to prepare his body for burial but did not have time to finish the job on Friday afternoon. It was a hasty burial.
at any rate they had bought some additional spices to anoint the body.
They did not expect to find a risen Lord. In fact , they were wondering how they could even get into the tomb. Who would roll the stone away? It was an extremely large stone and far beyond their ability to roll it out of the way.
It does not appear that they knew that a sentry had been posted on Saturday or that would have caused additional worry.
and so we read...
7 Slides (ending vs 8)
2 And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.
6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.
7 “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you.’”
8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
To their amazement they were met with an open grave!
The stone had been rolled away!
When they enter the tomb… there was no Jesus.
Instead there was an angel where they expected to find Jesus and the angel told them “He is risen!” He is not here. and then the angel told them to go and tell His disciples.
They flee out of there scared to death!
Luke adds in lk 24.
4 Slides (ending vs 8)
5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
8 And they remembered His words,
Matthew adds that they went with fear and great joy … at the same time …
to tell the disciples.
The women came to the place where Peter and John were staying and told them what happened… but the disciples did not believe them.
The disciples were no fools.
They knew that when someone dies… that’s it … They are dead.
2 Slides
11 And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at that which had happened.
Nevertheless.… Peter and John take off running for the tomb.… could this be true? Could Jesus have really risen from the dead? or Did someone steal His body?
At this point, we don’t know if the ladies had even shared the word from the angel to the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, … because …
well let’s look at John.
8 Slides (ending vs 9)
2 And so she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they were going to the tomb.
4 And the two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first;
5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.
6 Simon Peter therefore also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there,
7 and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed.
9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
Later Jesus appeared to Mary and the ladies.
He appeared in a locked room to the disciples and ate with them.
He appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
In fact over the next 40 days he appeared to over 500 disciples. We read about that in
6 Slides (ending vs 8)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
8 and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
Thomas refused to believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead unless he could put his fingers into the holes where the nails had been and into the hole where Jesus was pierced by the spear.
These were men who had to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus had actually risen from the dead. They asked the same hard questions that we would have asked.
and what was the result?
in the next few years the church exploded in size and thousands of people became Christians.
Many of the priests also became Christians.
and so we read in
Slide
7 And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
The question for you and me this morning though…
is what do we believe?
Are we willing to put our faith in Jesus? or Is this just a fairy tale?
or
Is Jesus really the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world?
His whole ministry was out in the open.
He healed the sick, He walked on water,
He commanded the fish and they all swam into Peter’s net so that it was busting at the seams.
He cast out demons and raised people from the dead.
Not only did he raised other people from the dead.
when they killed him… and some people say - you can’t keep a good man down.
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day just as He prophesied.
Remember the words of Jesus to Martha
2 Slides
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Do you believe it?
Then I invite you to tell Jesus “I too believe” and you can do that right now.
Let’s pray
