The Impossibility of Death

Scripture Reading | Acts 2:22-36

Introduction

The determinate counsel & foreknowledge of God & the everlasting covenant

Acts 2:23 “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:”

Hebrews 13:20 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,”

Romans 3:25 “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”

Daniel 9:24–27 “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

The Lord’s Earthly Ministry

1. “His hour is not yet come”

John 2:4 “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.”

John 7:6, 8, 7:30 “Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.”

John 8:20 “These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.”

2. “The hour is come”

John 12:23, 27

John 13:1 “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”

John 17:1 “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:”

Mark 14:41 “And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”

The Impossibility of Death

Acts 2:24 “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”

Matthew 26:36-46 - “if it be possible” - what is in the realm of possibility with God isn’t always His will

Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 14:36 “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

Although possible for the cup to be taken from Him it wasn’t the will of God, but what was seemingly impossible that death could not hold Christ it was not possible that death would hold Him.

Luke 18:24–27 “And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Ps. 49:6-9, 15

2. The Possibility of Resurrection

Sermon

The Impossibility of Death

Taken down from the tree - John 19:28-42

Buried in a tomb - prophesied Isa. 53:9

Death among criminals

Buried by rich

Lays 3 days and 3 nights - early He rises the third day

1. Resurrection an old concept

Job 19:23-27

Job 33:25

Abraham - Heb. 11:17-19

Moses - Exodus 3:4-6; Matt. 22:23-33

David - Ps. 49:15; Ps. 16:10

Isaiah 26:19 “Thy dead men shall live, Together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: For thy dew is as the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.”

Isaiah 25:8 “He will swallow up death in victory; And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: For the Lord hath spoken it.”

Isaiah 53:10–12 “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. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; For he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.”

Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Christ - John 11:25–26 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

Jhn. 5:28-29

Jhn. 6:39-40, 44, 54

2. Christ laid down His life, and raised it again

John 10:17–18 “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

3. The Godhead involved in Resurrection

1. The Father - Galatians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)”

Acts 2:24 “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”

2. The Son - John 10:17–18 “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

3. The Holy Spirit - 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

4. The Resurrection is as sure as death

1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 45-49

5. Many Testified to His Resurrection

The Angel(s) - Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:4-7; John 20:11-13; Matt. 28:1-7

The Soldiers - Matt. 27:62-66; Matt. 28:2-4, 11-15

The Chief Priests - Matt. 28:11-12

Mary Magdalene - Jn. 20:11-18; Mk. 16:9

The Two on the Road to Emmaus - Luke 24:13-35; Mrk. 16:12-13

The 11 - Mk. 16:14

500 Brethren at Once - 1 Cor. 15:6

Ananias - Acts 9:10

Saul of Tarsus - Acts 9

6. Christ is the resurrection

John 11:25–26 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Revelation 1:19 “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;”

2. The Possibility of Resurrection

1. Evidence of divine acceptance and reconciliation

Resurrection is the “Amen” from heaven - confirming the work of reconciliation is finished

The Father is pacified

Christ satisfied the demands of sin - He could see no corruption

The cause of sin being removed, thus the effect had to cease

2. Justification for Christ and the Believer

Raised again for our justification - Rom. 4; 1 Cor. 15

Christ justified by resurrection - 1 Tim. 3:16

3. Victory Over Death and Satan

The Power of Death - Heb. 2:9-15

Removal of Sting - 1 Cor. 15:54-57

Rest

Sleep in Jesus

Departure

Annulling Satan

Colossians 2:13–15 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Eph. 1

4. Immutable Life - life that cannot be forfeited - in Adam his could - Rom. 5

5. Guarantee of the Believers Resurrection

1 Cor. 15 - Christ firstfruits of all that will be raised

Col. 1 - firstborn from the dead

Php. 2 - guarantees new resurrected bodies

All the corruptible swallowed up in life - 1 Cor. 15

New bodies - 1 Cor. 15

Conclusion

I want to leave you with this settled in your mind and heart: the death of Jesus Christ was never a defeat, and His resurrection was never in doubt. From the determinate counsel of God to the empty tomb, everything unfolded according to divine purpose. Though He truly died—laid in a tomb, numbered with the transgressors—yet it was not possible that death should hold Him. The same Scriptures that foretold His suffering also guaranteed His rising, and the same God who sent Him was fully satisfied by His finished work. His resurrection stands as heaven’s declaration that sin has been dealt with, righteousness has been established, and reconciliation has been accomplished.

And because He lives, I understand that this is not merely about Him—it is about all who are in Him. His resurrection is my justification, my assurance, and my future. Death has lost its sting, the grave has lost its victory, and what was once impossible for me has been made certain in Christ. The life He now lives is an immutable life, and it is the life given to every believer. So I rest in this truth: just as surely as He was raised, I too will be raised. This is the hope I hold, the message I proclaim, and the confidence I carry—that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, and in Him, death itself has been overcome.

Do I truly believe that it was not possible for death to hold Christ, and that His resurrection fully accomplished my justification?

In what ways am I still living as though sin, guilt, or death has power over me instead of resting in His finished work?

How should the truth that death has been defeated shape the way I face fear, suffering, and daily decisions?

What would it look like for me to actively live this week in the confidence of the life I have in Christ?

Who in my life needs to hear this message of the risen Christ, and how will I faithfully share it?