The Gospel of Jesus Christ (3)

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Matthew 28:1–10 ESV

1 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.”

Two weeks ago: Death of Christ - all that it accomplished for us

At our Kid’s Easter Event last Friday, we had PIZZA for everyone that came...

And so when I got up to speak I asked the kids if they thought that PIZZA was GOOD!!

They all screamed “YES!!”

I said - Well what’s GOOD about it?

(pepperoni, cheese, etc)

And then I said - OK, does anyone know what NEXT FRIDAY is called? (this past Friday)

they struggled with that one..

SO i said - It’s called GOOD FRIDAY!

WHO KNOWS why it’s called GOOD Friday?

And they yelled out - Because it’s PIZZA Day!!

And so I had to explain what GOOD Friday was about - And i said - Good Friday is the day that we CELEBRATE the death of Jesus Christ.

*Puzzled looks

And i said - Now why do you think we would CELEBRATE the death of someone?

Why would we call that day GOOD Friday??

What is GOOD about the death of Jesus?

And so we got into why the death of Jesus is GOOD!

And as I looked out at all the kids sitting there…and the parents behind them...

I thought...

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM - WILL have to deal with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Every Person that has ever lived, and will ever live - has dealt with or WILL deal with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Ignoring it - IS a way of dealing with it - and consequences will follow

What i want to do today is ask the question - Have You Dealt With the Resurrection?

ALL of US - whether we know so or not, have come to the SAME fork in the road...

SLIDE: Fork in the Road - Pic

And so what I’d like to do today - Is look at those in Scripture who went LEFT at the fork…and then look at those who went RIGHT...

And in DOING so, I’d like us to ask ourselves…which way have i headed?

If I was to look around me, would I be standing with THIS (left) crowd....or THIS (right) crowd?

Important questions to ask...

SLIDE: Did The Resurrection Happen? Those Who Say No

Did The Resurrection Happen?

If you remember last week, we discussed the BURIAL of Christ...

And what we looked at was:

In Part - how the Burial of Christ was the priority of Rome

Remember what the chief priests discussed after the Crucifixion?

Matthew 27:62–66 ESV

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The chief priests and the pharisees, and Pilate and some soldiers...

put all their energy into PREVENTING the followers of Jesus from:

stealing the body of Jesus

faking His resurrection

They KNEW what was at stake!

They couldn’t AFFORD for the body of Christ to be stolen, and a resurrection story to begin to spread!

And so from the ROMAN perspective…the Burial of Jesus Christ was - PRIORITY!

GET THIS RIGHT - Pilate would have been thinking!

GET THIS RIGHT - the chief priests and pharisees would have been thinking!

Did they GUARD the tomb?

Did they GET IT RIGHT? - Listen - they DID what THEY COULD!

Did it matter?

Matthew 28:5–6 ESV

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.

He ROSE from the dead!

They could have placed His body in the back of a Brinks Truck, buried it 10,000 feet below the ground....would it have mattered? NO

But what I want to do FIRST is look at how the Guards responded to the Resurrection!

THIS is following the resurrection...

Matthew 28:11–15 ESV

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Couple of things:

The World Suppresses the Truth of the Resurrection in Unrighteousness

Let me explain...

You remember how this has played out the last 2 weeks?

What was the Chief Priests, and Rome’s priority following the crucifixion?

What was their priority regarding the BURIAL?

All their ENERGY was focused on NOT LETTING - the Body of Christ to be STOLEN!

Matthew 27:64 ESV

64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”

PRIORITY 1 - Don’t let His followers STEAL THE BODY!

WHY? - Because they will spread A LIE...

What was the LIE? - that Jesus Rose from the dead!

In the Roman/Chief Priest’s world view....

SLIDE: Reality vs. Lie (1)

So we look at this and we see that ACCORDING to the chief priests and Rome...

REALITY was...

they were going to steal Christ’s body in order to SPREAD a LIE...

THIS was reality for them!

BUT THEN...

SLIDE: Reality vs. Lie (2)

…the resurrection HAPPENS…and the guards KNEW it! They were there!

They realized that what they THOUGHT would be the LIE - was actually TRUE!

HOW DID THEY RESPOND TO THAT TRUTH?

SLIDE: Reality vs. Lie (3)

Do you see what happened?

What they thought would be the lie BECAME reality....

and what they had embraced as reality - became their LIE!

The very lie that the GUARD was meant to prevent…became the LIE they used against the RESURRECTION!

Do you see how they SUPPRESSED the truth of the resurrection…?

THEY WERE THERE!

Those guards KNEW what had happened!

And their WORLD - literally got flipped upside DOWN....

and yet it didn’t matter - they EMBRACED the LIE!

What about you?

See, to the guards that day - the resurrection WASN’T good news!

Is the Gospel GOOD NEWS to you? If not, then you’re in the NO crowd.

The Death, burial and resurrection of Christ is a physical representation of what we need - Spiritually!

And so if you don’t believe that Christ was REALLY DEAD…!

Then you DON’T believe that apart from Christ, you’re REALLY dead in your sin!

And if you don’t believe that Christ was REALLY raised to NEW LIFE…!

Then you don’t believe that you’ve been Spiritually REBORN!

If you LOOK at the Sacrifice of Christ - and you find it INSUFFICIENT - then in the end, you will be Spiritually Insufficient before God...

If you look at the Sacrifice of Christ - His Death, Burial, and Resurrection, and you find it LACKING in ANY AREA...

If you DON’T believe that Jesus Christ was REALLY dead...

and REALLY rose again to new LIFE...

then that means you haven’t REALLY DIED TO SIN...

nor have you REALLY been BORN AGAIN!

THIS is the profile of those who SUPPRESS the truth of the Resurrection!

Not only do they SUPPRESS the truth...

The World Values the World More Than Jesus Christ

and we see this a couple different ways in the text...

Matthew 28:11–15 ESV

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Let’s start here with verse 15...

They TOOK the MONEY…and spread the lie!

Think of that!

They saw what happened!…and instead of bowing to the reality of King Jesus who just conquered the grave...

they bowed to a - Sufficient sum of money!

And we see that the world VALUES the world more than Jesus Christ...

In their PRIDE, they couldn’t bow their knee to Jesus!

They KNEW it was true, and yet - “give me the cash”

Now we might look back and think - wow - how stupid of those guards!

Remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler?

Jesus tells the Rich Young Ruler to sell all that he had and to Follow Him...

and the guy walked away SAD!

But it’s not JUST ABOUT money....it’s about ANYTHING that we elevate more than Christ...

ANYTHING that we VALUE more than Christ!

Some of us value:

money more than Christ

comfort more than Christ

our free time more than Christ

kids more than Christ

houses / cars / jobs more than Christ

our physical lives more than Christ

The physical world values the physical world more than Jesus Christ...

And when that happens, foolishness becomes the theme of the life lived!

Look back at the plan of those who opposed the RESURRECTION!

Matthew 28:12–13 ESV

12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

Their genius plan is for the soldiers to say - “The reason the tomb was empty is because the followers of Jesus came and took His body while we were asleep”

Their genius plan RESTS on the eye-witness testimony of people who were - SLEEPING!

well, how do you KNOW they took the body if you were sleeping!???

Sounds silly right?

It is - until you read this...

Matthew 28:14–15 ESV

14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The world - bought it!

The world is willing to believe the testimony of people asleep before they accept Jesus Christ as God…RISEN!

It’s foolishness all around!

But this isn’t the only kind of response to the Resurrection of Christ!

We’ve seen those who say - NO

But there were also those who said - YES!

SLIDE: Did The Resurrection Happen? Those Who Say Yes

Did The Resurrection Happen?

SLIDE:

Christians Embrace the Truth of the Resurrection in Joy

Matthew 28:5–8 ESV

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.

See, when people view the Gospel of Christ as a physical reflection of what they need - Spiritually...

…then they’re going to view it as GOOD NEWS!!

They really do BELIEVE Eph 2:1-2

Ephesians 2:1–2 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

They really believe Colossians 2:13

Colossians 2:13 ESV

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

They believe that they were TRULY DEAD - in their sin!

Spiritually DEAD - unable to come to Christ!!

And so when the Children of God look at the crucifixion, and see Christ take on our SIN...

…and see Him DIE...

we wait with EAGER anticipation!

And then He RISES from the dead - conquering the grave…to NEWNESS of LIFE!

And we REALLY BELIEVE that to be so!

We really believe we are NEW creatures in Christ!

BORN AGAIN…to now bear fruit for God!

Christians REALLY believe He died....believe He was REALLY buried...

…and believe He REALLY DiD Rise from the dead!

And because Christians believe that…then when God looks at them at the final judgment, He will not find their Spiritual Standing before Him....LACKING

Not ONLY that....but let’s also look back again at how Christians responded to the Gospel:

Matthew 28:7–8 ESV

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.

We just talked about this great JOY that the Followers of Christ had after hearing of His resurrection...

But what also came with that JOY?

What does it say - FEAR!

Weren’t the Disciples ALREADY fearful?

Hadn’t they been in hiding since Christ was taken captive by the Chief Priests?

Yes they had been in hiding - WHY?

FEAR!

But who was that FEAR directed at?

They were fearful of the Chief Priests!

Fearful of Rome!

BUT NOW - following the resurrection....

Their FEAR became REDIRECTED!

SLIDE: The Truth of the Resurrection Builds Up Christian’s Fear of God, Not Man

The Truth of the Resurrection Builds Up Christian’s Fear of God, Not Man

When Christ was taken captive by the Chief Priests, do you remember what the disciples did?

The Bible says they LEFT Him and Hid!

They were AFRAID to - DIE!

And yet ONE of the things that skeptics of the Resurrection can’t explain is WHY the disciples went from HIDING in the corner - scared to die…that Friday and Saturday...

to relentlessly TELLING ALL WHO WOULD LISTEN that they SAW the RISEN Christ...

AND SAYING SO - EVEN if it meant DEATH for them SAYING SO!

Here’s what happened!

SLIDE: Their fear went from being directed at man to directed at God

Their fear went from being directed at man to directed at God

Matthew 10:28 ESV

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

What is this saying - It’s saying - Don’t FEAR MAN - Fear God!

Don’t merely fear physical death....fear Spiritual Death!

After SEEING the risen Christ, the disciples LIVED OUT BOTH SIDES of this verse!

They initially only feared those who could kill the body....(RESULT - they went into hiding following the crucifixion!)

THEN

AFTER SEEING the Risen Christ - they began fearing THE ONE who can destroy both body AND soul in Hell...

AND WHAT DID THAT NEW “FEAR” lead to?

SLIDE: VIDEO

James “put to death with the sword,” likely a reference to beheading. the apostle Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy (John 21:18).

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound. John was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil BUT he survived.. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

James, the brother of Jesus (not officially an apostle), was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club.

Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was flayed to death by a whip for preaching the gospel.

Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers, they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he died.

The apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there.

Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in A.D. 67.

All of these men - TORTURED and killed for PREACHING the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ!

No longer AFRAID of man

No longer AFRAID of physical death...

They proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Do we follow suit?

Are we COUNTED among the line of those who have PROCLAIMED the RESURRECTED Christ!

The Gospel Message has been delivered TO US - on the blood of many!

SLIDE: How have you handled the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

How Have You Handled the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Those who value comfort and value the world more than Christ…are those who have handled the resurrection by either ignoring it or by outright denying it!

But those who JOYFULLY proclaim the truth OF the resurrection are those who have fearfully, and JOYFULLY embraced it...

SEEING it NOT ONLY as GOOD NEWS for themselves but for those AROUND THEM!

May we all BE THE LATTER!

Jesus Christ is ALIVE!

And His question for you right now - is this - WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

Let’s Pray!