The weekend that changed everything!

We are here to celebrate the World Changing Weekend when Jesus Christ rose from the dead!

Intro: The Weekend that changed the World!

What was the greatest weekend in your life? Marriage, Honeymoon, Birth of a Child? Coming to Jesus? I asked Kathryn to marry me at an Imperials concert.

No other weekend in the history of the world compares to the weekend that Jesus died and was resurrected. Though relatively few give it the honor it deserves, it is the one weekend that the world, the entire human race, would be lost without!

Let me quickly describe for you the events leading up to His Resurrection!

If there wouldn’t have been a crucifixion, there would be no resurrection.

According to the Gospels, the soldiers, who were led by Judas Iscariot to the Garden of Gethsemane arrested Jesus there. Jesus was taken to the house of Annas. There he was interrogated and then sent bound to Caiaphas, the high priest, and the Sanhedrin.

Testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many false witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally, when Jesus did speak, he said: "In time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest tore his clothes and condemned Jesus for blasphemy and the Sanhedrin declared He deserved to die for that.

At the same time, Peter, while waiting in the courtyard, denied Jesus three times just as Jesus had predicted earlier at supper. Everyone left Jesus there alone.

In the morning, the whole assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, under charges of subverting the nation. Pilate authorized the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute their own sentencing. But the Jewish leaders said that Roman law did not allow them to carry out a sentence of death.

So Pilate questioned Jesus and told the assembly that there was no basis for him to sentence Jesus. But when he learned that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate sent him to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Herod questioned Jesus but Jesus wouldn’t answer so Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found Jesus to be guilty. Pilate decided to have Jesus whipped and released. The crowd shouted they wanted Barabbas released instead. Pilate had Jesus flogged and then brought him out to the crowd to release him.

It was then that the chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge: "He claimed to be God's son, and this blasphemy required death!" This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know where Jesus was from.

Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus to be innocent and washed his hands in water to show he had no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to avoid a riot and to keep his job.

After He was beaten and given a crown of thorns to wear, Jesus was forced to carry his own cross to the site of execution. He was assisted by Simon of Cyrene when He could go no further. There on Golgotha, Jesus was crucified between two criminals.

Jesus agonized on the cross for six hours. During his last three hours on the cross, from noon to 3 pm, darkness fell over the whole land. Jesus spoke from the cross, the messianic Psalm 22: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Then with a loud cry, Jesus gave up his spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the site of the crucifixion declared, "Truly this was God's Son!"

My prayer is that as you listen to this Story, you better understand that what Jesus did for you and, if you have never placed your faith in Him for your salvation, that you would do that today!

Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb.

Relatively few people actually give this weekend and this savior the honor it deserves, it is the one weekend that the world, the entire human race, would be lost without!

John 20:30 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

But, why did he have to die? The correct answer is: He didn’t! Jesus didn’t have to die…He chose to!

1 Timothy 2:5–6 ESV

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

Titus 2:13–14 ESV

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Why did He die to save us?

Genesis 2:16–17 ESV

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God was not being harsh or unreasonable. He provided everything for them, but ased that they not eat from one of the trees. He wanted them to honor His desires and in so doing He would provide all that they would ever need!

But Satan deceived the woman by telling her that was not what God said. In fact, He wants you to eat from it because when you do you will be like Him, knowing God and evil. She saw that it was good and ate. She brought some to Adam and He ate.

When Adam and eve ate something deep in their soul was compromised. For the first time they were afraid of God. This was Satan’s diabolical plan since He hates God and us. However, Sin opened the door for every challenge people would face today including sickness, disease, poverty, shame, depression, discouragement, low self-esteem, insecurity and fear. God never intended human beings to experience this, but the devil did. These effects began immediately right after the first sin.

Romans 5:12 ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Ever since Adam sinned, precious little babies have been born with sinful spiritual DNA.

Even before they have a chance to sin, this dilatating spiritual disease is in them, destroying them and driving them away from God.

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Because every human being would die in spiritual state of sin, we were all destined to an eternity in Hell separated from God.

So, this is why this weekend is so, so important!

The eternity of the whole human race was literally on the line!

Dying for our sins certainly paid the price, but what about death, and sickness, and dying?

Well this is what the resurrection is all about!

When Jesus raised from the dead that beautiful Sunday morning, He had something amazing with Him.

Revelation 1:18 ESV

and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Resurrection Sunday

That gorgeous Sunday at dawn, by the power of the Almighty God Jesus was raised from the dead.

In so doing He made a way for every human being to be raised from the deadness of their sin and to live eternally!

This is what the resurection is all about!

The devil no longer holds the keys of death, hell and the grave over us. He can no longer send humans to hell if they receive what Jesus did for them on that weekend.

He wears the victors crown!

The Bible states that this is a “key tenant of the Christian faith,” which is that Jesus physically died and physically rose again as the Bible describes it.

A new poll states that people believe they can be a Christian and not be convinced that Jesus physically died and rose from the dead.

Belief, yes! versus faith