The Resurrection of Christ--So What?
INTRO: Last week we talked of some theories about the resurrection of Jesus. We spoke of the swoon theory (that Jesus didn't really die, but He just fainted), we also talked about the stolen body theory, the wrong tomb theory and the hallucination theory. We showed that it takes more faith to believe in one of those theories than it does in the simple fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Also, if Jesus didn't rise again, why does church happen on Sundays? The first disciples were Jews who worshiped on Saturday, the Sabbath. How are we to account for communion, where we are proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes [again]? What are we to make of the consistent witness throughout the centuries about Jesus rising from the dead?
We have such strong evidence about the resurrection of Christ. But actually, the resurrection is not a theological question, but it's an historical one. Both the enemies and friends of Christianity admit in the historicity of the ressurection of Christ. It simply is a fact from which we cannot escape. Aren't you glad this morning that our Lord gave us a "Know so" faith, and not merely a "Hope so" faith? And how could He do that? Because of His resurrection! If Christ did not rise from the dead, (an event that He predicted several times and that was verified by historical fact), than how can we ever believe Him when He spoke about things that we can not see and are outside the real of our earthly experience--such things as forgiveness of sins by a God who we cannot see and heaven, which we cannot experience while we are alive on earth?
Last week we talked about the fact of His resurrection. This week let's ask "so what?" Why is it important to believe in this particular teaching? After all, isn't it enough to believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins? Doesn't my salvation rest in the fact that Jesus Christ died for me and that I believe it? Let's see.
A. The resurrection of Christ is a major component of the gospel (1 COR. 15:1-2).
Death, burial, resurrection and appearances of Christ (Paul said that the gospel is message that God uses to save people, we must believe all of it in order to be saved--vv. 1-2). Paul said that the resurrection is part of the saving gospel of Christ. Without the resurrection, we don't have a gospel. (Heb. 2:14).
1. What did Jesus do? Destroyed the works of the devil, who had the power of death.
2. If Jesus' death destroyed the works of the devil, who had the power of death, and Jesus is still dead, then did Jesus really destroy the devil and his works? If not, that that means:
a. the devil is ultimately stronger than Jesus
b. the Scriptures are wrong, for the bible declares that Jesus indeed destroyed the devil's work.
B. we don't have a valid faith without the resurrection (1 Cor 15:14)
Salvation includes not only a right relationship with the LIVING God now, but also in the hereafter. What makes Jesus unique, is that He is the only founder of a religion or religious movement who ever experienced resurrection.
* Abraham, the father of Judiasm: no resurrection is claimed for him
* When Buddha died, it was "with that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains behind".
* Mohammed died in 632 at Medina, where his tomb is annually visited by thousands of devout Islamic people.
"All the millions and millions of Jews, Buddhists, and Moslems agree that their founder have never come up out of the dust of the earth in resurrection."
Paul little said, FAITH IS ONLY AS VALID IN THE OBJECT INTO WHICH IT'S PLACED. We have a valid Christian faith, only if the resurrection of Christ is true.
C. the apostles are false witnesses (1 Cor 15:15-16)
The idea of God's ability to raise people from the dead has been around since Abraham)
* Job 19:25-26 (a contemporary of Abraham)
* Gen. 22 and Heb. 11:17-19
* The Messiah was to be raised from the dead
* Isa. 53:10--Christ's soul was to be a sin offering and He shall see his seed (children), He shall prolong His days (how can he be a sin offering and then see his seed without resurrection?)
* Ps. 16:10
What is so fantastic about the Father raising up Christ from the dead
- if He is God, He can do miracles!
- if God did not raise Christ from the dead, then the Scriptures would have some glaring inconsistencies and errors--unworthy of our trust.
D. we are still in our sins (1 Cor 15: 17)
Our sins are not forgiven just because Jesus said that He was going to rise from the dead. God's forgiveness of sinners depended upon the fact of Christ's death and resurrection. If Jesus was wrong in the prediction of His resurrection, then how can we be sure that the Father accepted Christ's sacrifice? We know that He died, but why He died was of the upmost importance. If Jesus was wrong about the prediction of His resurrection then He was a false prophet. The penalty for a false prophet was a rightly deserved death. "God does not raise liars from the dead." The very integrity of Christ rests upon whether He was raised from the dead. And God's stamp of approval to show that He accepted the sacrifice of Christ was Jesus' resurrection. If Jesus was right and the Father's validation of Christ's claims was through the resurrection, then we had better pay close attention to what He said. He said that God's forgiveness of sins rested solely on the basis of whether sinners could trust Christ to forgive them of their sin. He also said that anyone who didn't believe that Jesus is the ONLY way to a relationship with the Father would perish--suffer eternal separation from God forever in a place He named Hell. Obviously, Christ's claims need to be weighed extremely carefully. But, if the resurrection is only a result of what some have said, and not an historical reality, then how could God REALLY forgive sins?
E. we have no hope after this life and our suffering for the sake of our faith makes absolutely no sense (1 Cor 15:18-19).
We are foolish--why not just "eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die"?
F. But 1 Cor. 15:20-22 is true:
Jesus did rise from the dead. And because He is risen from the dead then all who know Christ will also be made alive with Him.
Conclusion: The Resurrection of Jesus is absolutely crucial for our faith, for if we only believe in a "fairy tale", then we might as well never come back to this place and find the TRUTH. And if His disciples would have believed Him almost 2000 years ago, then they would have rejoiced, instead of despairing after His death, and they would have expected Jesus to have visited them after His resurrection, instead of getting pale and having trouble believing. Our response can be either like doubting Thomas "I won't believe unless I see Him" or we can become bold in our witness just as Jesus said "Blessed is he who has not seen, and yet believed (John 20:29)."
Jesus is not in the grave! The resurrection of Christ is not an end to a great story, but a blessed beginning. Let's rejoice and get to work! Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Jesus is calling us, because of His death and resurrection to be on the offensive--to be a faithful witness unto His cause. How about telling someone this week about what Jesus means to you and how they can be saved from their sin and follow Him as their Lord? Do you know how to lead someone to Christ? If you don't, then come and talk to me, and I'll be more than happy to show you.