I.        Introduction

A.      The canvas upon which the message of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is painted is so vast that we can only hope to examine a small portion today.

B.      I want to give words of encouragement today to anyone whose dreams, hopes or aspirations have either died or been severely wounded.  The message of the Resurrection is one of hope and rejoicing.  Each of the gospels gives an account of the Resurrection.  I have chosen to use a portion of the account in Luke's gospel, joining the account after Joseph of Arimathea had received permission to bury the body of Jesus.

C.      Luke 23:54-24:8 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. 55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 "saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' " 8 And they remembered His words. (NKJV)

D.      This is the most glorious of days, "He is not here, but is risen!" . the angel proclaimed.

!! E.      For a moment consider the great mystery surrounding the three major events of our Christian calendar.  Christ's birth, His death and His Resurrection.  At birth he humbled Himself, God born of the Virgin Mary became man.  Certainly beyond our comprehension. God with us,  Emmanuel.  Again, we are in awe that Jesus, the sinless one would take upon Himself the sins of the whole world and suffer the death of a criminal.  But neither His birth nor His death would have meant anything to us except perhaps as a footnote in some historical reference if He had not risen from the dead.  The Resurrection is to the crucifixion what is victory parade or celebration is to complete victory in war.  In my understanding the victory was secured by the death of the precious, sinless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and the Resurrection on Easter Morning is the victory party.

II.       What died on the cross

A.      Let us look at our selected passage.

1.         Yes,  we know that Christ died on the cross before being raised by the power of God.  But, additionally, dying with Christ on the cross were the dreams, hopes and aspirations of those who followed Jesus and believed in Him.

2.         It seems obvious that these women were unprepared for the Resurrection.  They had come to complete the preparations for His burial.  There is not even a hint in this passage that they anticipated anything else.  Because of the shock of His death, they died as well. It would not be appropriate for us to look back and judge these women and the disciples for not understanding what had happened.

3.         They walked and talked and followed the man Jesus, they hung on every word He spoke.  He make a profound impact upon them all, in particular Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast 7 demons.  The only Jesus that these women, the disciples and the others who followed, knew, was the man Jesus of Nazareth.

4.         It was not case that they did not believe in the Resurrection. Before Lazarus was raised Martha affirmed her belief in the ultimate resurrection of the dead in the last day.

a)         John 11:23-24 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  (NKJV)

5.         I do not think that they doubted the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead, after all Lazarus had been raised.  But the need overtook them by surprise.  Life had never been better, these few short years that Jesus had been among them.  How could anything get any better than this?  Why think about the future when the Lord was there?

6.         People who are full of life, rarely dwell on thoughts of death.

7.         Just a week earlier, the acclaim was widespread as they made their way to Jerusalem.

a)         Matthew 21:9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" (NKJV)

8.         Believing that He would rise from the dead was not the issue with these women.  They were in shock, it all happened so quickly.

9.         We could look back with a critical eye and judge them for their unbelief. The great love that the women had for Jesus was demonstrated by haste with which they went to the tomb.  They did not even think far enough ahead to figure out how they would roll the stone away once the they got there. How do we explain this? I believe that they were compelled by love and faith.

B.      And they remembered His words...

1.         We might look back and observe that these women and the disciples did not understand all that was taking place around them, but their hearts were directed toward their Lord.  And He directed His angels to make an announcement. These are wonderful words:

a)         Luke 24:5-8 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 "saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' " 8 And they remembered His words.  (NKJV)

III.      The great key

A.      What would have happened if they had found His body in the tomb that morning.  What would have been the result?

!! B.      Take away the Resurrection and all that  would remain is the greatest fraud in the history of the world.  Yes, the teachings of Jesus were wonderful and to the extent that they are followed life is enriched.  Jesus taught of peace and love and respect for others.  But if He did not rise from the dead it means nothing.  The Bible does not give us the option of only excepting Jesus as a good and just teacher.  Listen to the words of Paul:

1.         I Corinthians 15:14-19 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (NIV)

2.         Al that we believe hinges on the Resurrection of Christ from the dead.  Why be a Christian if there is no resurrection?

3.         Budda was born and he died.  Mohammed was born and he died.  Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, was born and he died. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science, was born and she died.  And just for good measure both Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin were born and they too both died!

4.         The evidence of His Resurrection is undeniable and was seen by many.  Listen to Paul:

a)         I Corinthians 15:3-8 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. (NKJV)

5.         Only Jesus Christ, who along with the prophets, predicted His death and Resurrection.  He is the one who says:

a)         Revelation 1:18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." (NKJV)

6.           A conversation between a Christian missionary and a Muslim illustrates a great point.  The Muslim wanted to impress the missionary with what he considered to be the superiority of Islam.  So he said, "When we go to Mecca, we at least find a coffin, but when you Christians go the Jerusalem, your mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave."  To this the believer replied, "That is just the difference, Mohammed is dead and in his coffin.  And all other systems of religion and philosophy are in their coffins.  But Christ is risen, and all power in heaven and on earth is given to Him!  He is alive forevermore!

IV.     Resurrection Today.

A.      As I previously illustrated, the hopes, aspirations and dreams of those who followed Jesus went with Him into the tomb.  If He had not risen or had they not learned of the Resurrection their hopes, aspirations and dreams would have stayed in the tomb.

B.      To many of us who are gathered here today the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to our faith and belief in God.  We have given spiritual life as the Apostle Paul said

1.         Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (NKJV)

2.         Colossians 1:13-14 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (NKJV)

C.      Are your dreams and hopes in a tomb somewhere?  Has something within died.  Remember his words to Martha:

1.         John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (NKJV)

D.      REMEMBER HIS WORDS
Come to the One who IS THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION!!!