The Importance of the Resurrection

Introduction

Last Sunday we saw the Jews celebrate the Triumphal Entry of the Messiah, the Prophet, the Son of David as He entered Jerusalem to cries of Hosanna/Save Us! Friday we remembered the Cost of Our Sin as we saw the Great High Priest offer Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice in my place. And today we celebrate the Resurrection for Sunday has Come!

Text Read

Matthew 28:1-10 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. 2 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. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Text Explained

As we read the historical accounts of the Resurrection, many are sometimes skeptical of such outlandish statements. You and I have never seen anyone who was dead and buried come back to life after three days. In fact coming back from the dead is not something that occurs in nature at all. It goes against the natural created order. When something or someone dies, they stay dead. Now I am not talking about someone who is pronounced dead and is then resuscitated or someone who was in a coma and then comes back. I am talking about someone or something for that matter who is dead and is buried. No-one comes back from the dead. That is the reason why if someone tells you “Yeah my cousin died, we had his funeral, and buried him, but he got better” we are rightly skeptical. Returning from the dead goes against the God-ordained natural order. Now no historian worth their salt, whether Christian or atheists, denies that Jesus was killed by Roman Crucifixion. Yet the supernatural claim that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead as He promised, is the lynchpin of all Christianity. Without the Resurrection, there is no Christianity. Dear one, any “church” or “christian” who denies that Jesus physically rose again is by very definition NOT a Church and NOT a Christian. As C.S. Lewis famously pointed out, “Jesus Christ was either a liar, a lunatic, or He was who He said He was”.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, it meant He was either a lunatic or a liar, because Jesus said He would rise again. Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” This is not the only place Jesus makes this claim. We see His claim that He would rise again in Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22; Mark 10:34; Matthew 17:9; and other places. Jesus said He would rise again, and if He did not, then everything else He taught, and every person who He said had their sins forgiven, is still lost in their sins. In fact this very point is taught by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.

If Christ be not Raised 1 Corinthians 15:14–19 “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/God 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.” The Apostle Paul points out that if Christ simply taught some good things and then was Crucified, died, was buried, and stayed dead, then what every Church does every week, what every Christian proclaims as the Gospel is vain. κενός Void of Content; Without Purpose; Empty; Without Reality. It is like an empty bucket. Not only is the preaching worthless, but your faith is worthless. You see in Romans 1:4 Paul says that Christ was shown to be the Son of God by His resurrection. And in (Acts 1:22) the apostles were chosen to be witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. So if Christ did not supernaturally rise from the dead, then He was not truly the Son of God and His death could NOT atone for our sins. The Apostle Paul’s argument goes from horrible to even worse, because Paul says that not only is the Faith like an empty bucket, but every one who says they believe it is actually misrepresenting God, because the central claim we make is that God raised Jesus from the dead Acts 2:24 “God raised Him/Jesus up... So if Christ is not raised then we are putting words in God’s mouth, and God does not take those who speak presumptuously on His behalf lightly. Paul continues, with an “oh it gets worse”. If Christ is not raised, then you are still lost in your sins and justice will require you to pay your debt of sin and those who are dead are simply gone for if Christ is not raised, then no-one will ever be raised. There is no future hope. Like dominoes, if the Resurrection did not happen, everything else falls. One. after. the. other.

He is Risen: 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” The truth of the matter is that Jesus the Messiah did in fact physically rise again. Last Sunday Morning during our adult Sunday School class, we examined the different theories that attempt to explain the events that occurred 3 days after the Crucifixion of Jesus. The extraordinary evidence is that Jesus did indeed Supernaturally rise from the dead as He said He would. As fantastic as that might sound to a skeptic, there is no other theory espoused that stands up to the mildest scrutiny. As scholar Gary Habermas states, “Skeptics must provide more than alternate theories to the resurrection; they must provide first-century evidence for those theories.” When opposing theories are placed under the mildest of scrutiny, they are found utterly deficient. The most reasonable explanation of what happened is that Jesus did indeed rise again. I challenge everyone to examine the evidence. Yet we all know that more than evidence is required. At a certain point a person must simply trust. I say this not as a slight, but there are many in our world who will not believe something to be true regardless of the preponderance of evidence. (Illustration) I remember seeing the sentencing of a man who was convicted of murder. He had been caught on video, had admitted to the murder, and there had been other witnesses. Yet the man’s mother continued to claim her son was innocent. At a certain point no amount of evidence is enough. The truth here is that we cannot convince someone into believing in Resurrection and all that goes with it. Yet the evidence truly strengthens our Faith. Now I said that ike dominoes, if the Resurrection did not happen, everything else falls. One. after. the. other. Yet because Jesus has risen so too do the dominoes fall. Because Christ has been raised that means our sins can be forgiven and we can be reconciled to God. It means we are rightly representing God. It means that our Faith is effective. Because Christ has been raised we can have our sins forgiven and be made right with God. On Good Friday we see the Grace, the Mercy, and the Justice of God. Justice for sin is punished, Mercy for us because Jesus bore that punishment in my place, and Grace for I am now clothed in the righteousness of Christ. If we can be reconciled with God, we can be reconciled with one another. If God can forgive us, we can forgive one another. This truth is not just for this life, but it will be perfected in the life to come for we shall see Him as He is.

Application

Because He is Risen: We can trust that Everything He said is true. You see the Resurrection serves as a divine confirmation that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Romans 1:4 “and (Jesus) was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,” This means that everything He said is true, because God Cannot Lie. Every promise He made, every statement He made, every teaching He taught, is true. It means that He is God and we ought to submit to Him in all areas of life for He alone is Worthy.

Because He is Risen: We can trust He has Won the Victory over Sin & Death. 1 Corinthians 15:55–57 ““O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Resurrection proves that Jesus defeated Sin and Death. Yet this victory is not some abstract fact. Rather...

Because He is Risen: I can Know My Sins are Forgiven. Romans 4:25 “(Jesus) who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” He died for my sins, was buried, and rose again. The Resurrection confirms that Jesus death was enough. It is finished. The debt is paid in FULL and Jesus payment on my behalf was accepted by God the Father and we are now clothed in the righteousness of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake He/God the Father made Him/Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him/Jesus we might become the righteousness of God.” (The Great Exchange Illustration)

Because He is Risen: I can Live a God-Honoring Life. The resurrection empowers believers to live a new life in Christ. Romans 6:4b “...in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Our new life is characterized by the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to live in obedience to God.

Because He is Risen: We too will rise! Just as the Resurrection proves Jesus defeated sin and death, so too does the Resurrection give us hope that one day we too will rise. 1 Thessalonians 4:14–18 “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” The Resurrection points us to that blessed future hope where the things of this world will grow dim, the sorrows of this life will be over, and so shall we ever be with the Lord!

Concluding Thought: These are just a few of the Results of Jesus Rising Again! Let’s read 1 Corinthians 15:57 together: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”