The Oldest Lie Ever Told

Matthew 28:1–6 ESV

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

Tell someone say, Jesus is alive

Introduction

I want to talk to you today about “the oldest lie ever told..”

What is the lie?

Genesis 3 details the very beginning of creation.

Mankind has just come on the scene..

Adam and eve are working in the Garden. .

and no sooner do they appear in scripture, when the serpent, the enemy, appears as well.

One thing

You see God gave Adam and Eve one boundary in the garden..

God told Adam..in Genesis 2:16-17

Genesis 2:16–17 ESV

“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God said Eat what you want.. any tree.

but don’t eat from that tree.. That one.. tree

If you do you’ll die..

Simple enough right?

You would think…

Serpent..

but in chapter 3..

The serpent appears..

and the serpent begins to question eve about the tree..

To cause confusion and problems between the couple and God himself..

and look what the serpent says..

Genesis 3:1–5 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say,‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’? ” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

and we know from there she eats..

and adam eats..

and sin enters the world..

and through it separation and suffering for humanity..

Closer look

But lets look at this for a moment.. Because there is a pattern here..

Doubt

Notice how the serpant comes at eve

“Did god really say..”

Notice the seed of doubt that the enemy plants in her mind..

Eve

And then.. eve, is not able to fully articulate what God said..

She adds something to it that god never said..

So she is not sure of his comands..

She said.. and niether shall we touch it.. God didnt say that..

So doubt has been planted..

and caused confusion..

and now look at the lie..

The serpent says..

“YOU WILL NOT SURELY DIE.. “

Gods just holding back from you.. he knows that if you eat of it you will be just like him..

And the woman gives into the first sin..

The seed of doubt.. and a lie.. lead to the first sin..

Seperation..

in just a couple of verses..

we will see how this interactions will cost adam and eve everything..

God puts them out of the garden..

they are forced to endure a difficult life..

and be far from gods presences..

and it all started with the seed of doubt and one lie..

What is the oldest lie ever told?

What is the oldest lie ever told?

The oldest lie ever told is that:

God is a liar..

And he cannot be trusted.

The enemy, who the bible says is the accuser..

literally accuses God of lying to man.

He says.. You wont die..

and it was a pallatable lia because it was wrapped in doubt about god himself..

The Ressurection

So pastor how does that apply to the resurrection..

After all this is easter..

The lie continues today..

You know we just read the resurrection account in Matthew 28

but lets look a little further..

look at verse 11-15..

Jesus has just raised from the dead..

the guards have come from the empty tomb..

and they go to the jewish leaders..

and look what happens..

Matthew 28:11–15 ESV

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The Jews

The jewish leaders told them..

Listen..

Go tell everyone that it was the disciples..

Go tell them that Jesus and his disciples are liars..

They cant be trusted..

Tell the people that Jesus didn’t really raise from the dead..

that his disciples stole the body instead..

And thats what the guards do..

They go out and do the same thing that the serpent did in genesis

and they spread doubt about the resurrection…

and the lie about Jesus resurrection..

Continues

Matthew tells us that this story was still continuing to spread when he wrote his gospel..

The story.. that jesus was not risen..

he never rose..

Paul

A little later in the new testament..

In 1 Corinthians 15.. Paul deals with this same exact issue..

this time with the corinthian church..

in his first letter he has to go on an extended discourse about the reality of the resurrection..

There was a group of believers denying the bodily resurrection of Jesus

Claiming that Jesus had not really rose from the dead..

because resurrection from the dead was metaphysically impossible..

and Paul goes on to tell them..

Listen..

If Jesus is not raised from the dead..

This whole thing is pointless. .

Because if Jesus is not raised from the dead there is not power to forgive your sins..

But again..

it didn't stop with the corinthians..

Modernity

As time went one..

around the 1500s..

and humanity encountered modernity..

and The age of science and reason came into play..

the church began to experience great adversity because of this..

The thought of a risen Jesus did not play well with the metaphysics and rational though of enlightenment..

and so parts of the church.. began to adapt its theology and beliefs of the resurrection..

and certain branches of the church, especially of the liberal portion. (Not political)

Began to find creative ways to rationalize away the resurrection..

alive in our hearts

Some said.. well Jesus didn’t really rise from the grave..

his resurrection was symbolic and as his disciples carried on his legacy..

he lived on..

didnt die

Others reasoned that

well.. he didnt really die in the he was just in a coma..

and woke up three days later..

deny

Still other said..

NONE of it happened..

Its just a symbolic story with good morals..

Today

AND DID YOU KNOW THIS IS STILL GOING ON TODAY?

THIS DOUBT ABOUT THE RESURRECTION..

there are those who want to claim that Jesus didn't raise from the dead..

EVEN THOSE IN THE CHURCH..

They say.. Well thats impossible.. no one can ever come back after they are dead like that..

It doesn’t make scientific sense..

THIS IS THE SEED OF DOUBT THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN SINCE THE VERY DAY JESUS ROSE AGAIN!

THAT GOD IS A LIAR.. A continuation of the origional lie..

THAT THE SCRIPTURE IS A FAIRY TALE

JESUS DIDNT REALLY RAISE AGAIN!

TELL YOU

BUT IVE COME TO REMIND YOU THIS MORNING THAT HE IS ALIVE AND WELL

THEY BURIED HIM ON FRIDAY..

BUT THEY FOUND THE GRAVE EMPTY ON SUNDAY..

AND THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT NOT ONLY DID HE RAISE AGAIN THEN..

BUT HE ACCENDED TO HEAVEN

AND THAT TODAY HE IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER MAKING INTERCESSION FOR US..

HE IS ALIVE AND WELL TODAY..

AND ONE DAY SOON HE WILL COME AGAIN FOR HIS CHURCH

AND NOT LONG AFTER THAT HE WILL COME AND BRING THE FINAL DEFEAT TO THE ENEMY.

AS HE RIDES IN ON A HORSE WITH THE NAME KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORD ON HIS THIGH!!

HE IS ALIVE AN WELL TODAY!!!

Three Questions

I want to look at three questions about the resurrection this morning.

Three questions that are extremely pertinent to our lives today..

Three question that relate to this doubt and lie..

The first is this..

why does it matter that Jesus really rose from the grave..

Why does it matter that Jesus is alive?

The resurrection proved Jesus was who he said he was

First, Jesus resurrection proved that he was who he said he was..

Jesus, during his life, made some audacious claims about himself..

we dont have to look far to see these..

John 6:35 ESV

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 8:12 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 10:30 ESV

I and the Father are one.”

John 11:25 ESV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

Mark 14:61–62 ESV

But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

these are the self proclamations of christ..

THAT HE WAS THE SON OF GOD AND MESSIAH..

Christ resurrection proves that his claims were true..

that he was who he said he was..

because only God himself could have the power to give life to the dead..

would rise

further more..

Jesus foretold that he would rise again after three days..

he made these statements many times..

Luke 18:33 ESV

And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”

Luke 24:46 ESV

and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

Matthew 12:40 ESV

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

If Jesus did not raise it would make him a liar

A Fraud

and he would be discredited..

additionally.. Jesus said these things of the messiah.. not necessarily of himself..

thus proving he WAS the messiah..

If Jesus didnt rise then our faith is pointless..

Perhaps more importantly though..

If jesus really did not raise from the dead, our faith is pointless.

Look what paul tells the corinthians.

1 Corinthians 15:12–22 ESV

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Paul says..

If Jesus didnt raise..

He was not the messiah..

he was not the savior..

and your sins are still your sins..

BUT THANK GOD HE IS ALIVE AND WELL

HE HAS RISEN..

AND WITH IT OVERCOME HELL, DEATH, SIN, AND THE GRAVE!!

HE IS ALIVE..

So pastor how can we be sure he’s alive?

How do we know Jesus is alive?

So how do we know Jesus really rose?

Paul addresses this question to the corinthians in 1 corinthians in regards to the same question..

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 ESV

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Eye witness evidence..

Paul says listen..

The proof that Jesus is alive is abundant..

and he lists a large list of people who physically saw Jesus after the resurrection..

He says peter and the disciples..

over 500 other people at one time..

Again to James and the apostles..

and then Paul claims his own Damascus road experience..

Going further..

Paul says.. many of these are still alive.. GO ASK THEM..

The gospels..

The gospels themselves are eye witness accounts of the life.. AND RESURECITON OF JESUS..

Mathew, Mark, Luke, John, and even Acts are not just stories of a made up book..

They are the eye witness accounts of men and women who saw Jesus and interacted with him after his death..

they tell of the disciples, and the women, and the people at the accention..

Passionate

AND THE ACCOUNTS ARE SO SINCERE AND PASSIONATE THAT THE DISCIPLES ARE WILLING TO GIVE UP THEIR LIVES TO CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE NEWS OF IT..

Courthouse

in a modern court case..

just one credible eyewitness is enough to secure a conviction?

And yet for Jesus..

we have hundreds of people who physically SAW him alive.

PEOPLE WHO TALKED WITH HIM..

PEOPLE LIKE THOMAS WHO TOUCHED HIM..

PEOPLE WHO FELT HIM AND HIS PRESENCE..

What should our response be?

Since Jesus is who he says he is..

and did what he said he would do..

what should our response be?

Submission

Paul tells us that knowing Jesus is who he said he is.. should lead us to a confession of lordship in our life..

Romans 10:9 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

If jesus rose from th dead..

If he is the messiah..

He deserves our submission..

and he deserves to be LORD..

The leader of our life..

Obedience

Additionally..

If jesus is who he says he is then out of his lordship in our life we should keep his commands..

live according to his word and as he has called us to live..

keep his comands..

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

to love god and people

John 13:34–35 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We are obligated by our savior to live

Ephesians 4:1 ESV

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

We are to live like he has called us..

Witness

If Jesus is who he says he is .. then we are obligated to be his witness..

Matthew 28:18–19 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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,

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Our Job as believers to to god and tell others hes alive..

He the savior..

and the good news of the gospel..

that Jesus has come.. and died for our sins

and as Jesus told nicademous

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Finally, If Jesus really rose..

If he is who he says he is.. then we have a real choice to make..

To serve him.. to believe in him or not..

My question to you today is this..

Do you believe?