More Than A Tomb

Evidence of the resurrection of Jesus

Text: Matthew 28:1-17 & 1 Corinthians 15:1-12

Introduction

Buddha died anywhere from 400BCE to 485BCE

Muhammad dies June 8, 632AD

Q — what do both of these religious figure have in common? A burial place where their decomposed bodies remain.

Now, the death of Jesus Christ is not something contested by anyone! The Romans went to great lengths to make sure Jesus was dead.

Mark 15:44–45 “44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.”

John 19:33–34 “33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”

Here today, we can gladly rejoice that we have no reason to go to the tomb. We do not have to walk through this life as if the tomb is all Jesus has to offer.

The resurrection of Jesus is not “one” of the key aspects of the Christian faith, IT IS THE KEY PART!

Quote: (Theologian Gerald O’ Collins said, “In a profound sense, Christianity without the resurrection is not simply Christianity without its final chapter. It is not Christianity as all.”

Quote: (Lee Strobel “The Case for Christ”) “The Resurrection is the supreme vindication of Jesus’ divine identity and his inspired teaching. It’s the proof of his triumph over sin and death. It’s the foreshadowing of the resurrection of his followers. It’s the basis of Christian hope. It’s the miracle of all miracles.”

1 Corinthians 15:17–19 “17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

Here is my desire for you today:

Unbeliever — Romans 10:9–10 “9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Believer — Ephesians 5:8 “8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” & Galatians 2:20 “20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

1) There Was An Expectation Of Death

A. They expected to interact with death

Notice where these women were heading and for what purpose:

Luke 24:1 “1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.”

You might ask, “Why were they walking with an expectation to find Christ still there?”

Keep in mind, the haunting image they had imprinted on their mind was of Calvary!

I’m sure, even though Jesus said, “I am the resurrection,” and “I will rise again in three days,” that image of extreme carnage overshadowed His teaching.

Q — How many times have you left this place or ended your Bible reading, yet to find yourself in a moment of deep grief where truth just seemed not to come in focus.

Aren’t you thankful, when your mind is fatigued by life’s challenges, God (in more ways than one) unveils His truth back into your heart!!!

That is exactly what God did for these ladies!

B. They were confronted with resurrection life

a) Heaven initiated the clarity the world needed!

The stone rolled away & the guards passed out from fear of the angel.

This stone would require 3-5 able bodied men to roll back.

I love the imagery of the angel sitting on the stone! It is like heaven saying, “This truth is for everyone to see and believe. Nothing will keep this truth from being discovered!”

The angel said, “Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

The angel would say, “There shall you see Him.”

LISTEN…Any sinner with any level or amount of sin will always be confronted with resurrection life when they turn to Jesus Christ!

DON’T FORGET what Jesus asked of the Father about the very ones who nailed Him to the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Those very soldiers had no clue to what the infuriated Jews commanded them do.

Like those soldiers, you may have not understood up until now what your sin did to Christ over 2,000 years ago. However, today you do!

Today you are also told Jesus loved you from Calvary and resurrected to bring you out of the spiritual death your sin has left you in!

2) There Is Evidence To Jesus’ Resurrection

Turn to: 1 Corinthians 15:1-12 (the most comprehensive passage about the resurrection and it’s impact on believers)

A. The Believer’s life (v1-3)

He reminds them of what they had previously professed.

Repenting, believing, and confessing faith in Jesus brought TRANSFORMATION in their life!

Listen, you can believe in the resurrection and yet not be born-again. But you can’t be born-again and not believe in the resurrection.

The Devil believes and tremble!

There has to be repentance, faith, and confession of Christ as Savior and Lord.

Paul is saying, “There is no room for doubting the resurrection.”

B. The scriptures

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received”

This could reference being taught by Jesus in the wilderness.

This could also reference what the apostles gave him.

“I have first preached the truth of the greatest priority.”

Paul was speaking of the Old Testament scriptures.

Paul was trained by the best in the O.T. scriptures.

The resurrected Christ taught Him personally in the desert for three years.

Paul understands that the O.T. testifies of Jesus’ resurrection.

Isaiah 53:5–10 “5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: For the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death; Because he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

APP — How many times does the devil attempt to sway the mind into thinking, “If Jesus were really alive, __________ would or would not have happened to me?”

The resurrection of Jesus does not rest upon your emotional experience, but on the authority of the SCRIPTURES!

C. The eye witnesses

First — I love the fact, it was woman who saw Jesus first! Not only that they saw Him, but it was recorded that they saw Him first.

Notice the culture:

Quote: (William Lain Craig in his interview with Lee Strobel) “Women were on a very low rung of the social ladder in first-century Palestine. There are old rabbinical sayings that said, ‘Let the words of the Law be burned rather than delivered to women’ and ‘Blessed is he whose children are male, but woe to him whose children are female.’ Women’s testimony was regarded as so worthless that they weren’t evel allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a Jewish court of law.”

This shows that the gospel writers remained true to the evidence regardless of cultural acceptance!

Second — Peter and the twelve apostles

Third — Over 500 eye witnesses

D. The preaching of the resurrection

Acts 17:18 “18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.”

Acts 17:32 “32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.”

Every person who has a soul will experience a resurrection that will suit them for their eternal home.

What the church fails to do is emphasis the resurrection unto damnation:

John 5:25–29 “25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Revelation 20:11–15 “11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The Bible describes Jesus’ resurrection as the necessary power to provide each one of you with a hope of a resurrection that escapes eternal damnation:

Philippians 3:10 “10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”

1 Peter 1:3 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

3) There Must Be Evidence Of The Resurrection In Your Life

Colossians 3:1–3 “1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

Q — What have you jammed into your life with that has no reflection of the resurrection?

Your life is a vapor! It is fading fast!

Illustration: Our TVs, our computers, and that devise in your pocket are designed for you to satisfy your desires as quickly as possible.

Iphone…not wephone or usphone.

We have become focused on

Notice what Pauls says about the resurrection impacting His life:

He was motivated by what the resurrection has suited Him to experience on earth and the eternity to come. (v10)

He said that he “laboured” = to toil; to do wearisome labor, or labor unto extreme fatigue.

He said “It wasn’t me that produced this lifestyle.” IT WAS RESURRECTION GRACE!”

Illustration — Medical examiners perform autopsies to determine cause of death. Ask: "If someone performed a spiritual autopsy on your life this week, would they find evidence of resurrection life or spiritual death?"

Q — What has happened to us?

Early conversions began to flourish due to believers living like resurrected people.

YOU who have trusted Christ are PEOPLE OF THE RESURRECTION!

Illustration: "Your phone reminds you when you're at 20% battery. But many Christians live their spiritual lives at 5% resurrection power, wondering why they can't overcome sin or make a difference."

Application: Create a "spiritual battery check" with questions: Am I reading Scripture daily? (charging) Am I in community? (maintaining charge) Am I serving/evangelizing? (using power for its purpose) Am I harboring sin? (power drain)

Q — What has the resurrection accomplished for you?

Ans — It verified that Jesus is the Savior, His word is trustworthy, His sacrifice was accepted by the Father on your behalf, becoming justified is possible, you can be forgiven of past present and future sin, death is defeated, Satan is defeated, there is new spiritual life, you can live dead to sin, and you have an eternal inheritance waiting for you!

Why Does All This Matter?

Like I have said already, there is a resurrection you will take part in: Resurrection to life (or) Resurrection to eternal damnation!

Jesus is the “first born” from the dead so that you might receive a better resurrection!

Christian — The resurrection has empowered you to set your eyes upward! Where have you currently focused your interests? When Christ returns, will He find people of the resurrection living “upward” or living like the dead?

Jesus has given you more than a tomb…He has provided you with RESURRECTION!