A Conquering King
ss=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'>1) 3-23-08…AM…SBC (Easter Sun) 2)“A Conquering King”
Luke 23:44-24:12
Introduction:
Who was Jesus Christ?
1- Your eternity hangs in the balance on the answer to that question
2- He is not here to see physically but we are see Him through the eyes of faith
2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
3- God’s will for you this morning is reflected in Ephesians 1:18
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, (ESV)
(The Gospel)
4- To see Christ with spiritual eyes is to see Christ as the true Son of God able to save you from your sins
· some see only myth
· some see foolishness
Illustration: Seeing Jesus as the way, the truth and the life and still rejecting Him is equivalent to a little boy who sees a Michelangelo painting and still prefers a comic book
5- If you don’t treasure Christ as the way, the truth and the life of your salvation then you haven’t really seen Christ for who he really is.
6- If you don’t prize him above all other things you haven’t grasped His true worth
Proposition:
First of all we see…
1) The Death of a King v44-49 (Source: Seeing & Savoring Christ – Piper, Ch8)
A- The incomparable sufferings of Jesus Christ
1- The only person in history who did not deserve to suffer, suffered the most
- None of Jesus’ pain was a penalty for His sin. He had no sin.
1 Peter 2:22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (ESV)
a- He had at his disposal infinite power to take revenge at any moment during His suffering
Matthew 26:53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
b- No one has ever take on so much injustice with so little revenge
2- If we had been forced to watch the flogging and crucifixion of Christ we probably would have passed out.
Ø A church historian named Eusebius from around 300 AD described Roman flogging like this:
“They were torn by scourges down to their veins and arteries so that the hidden contents of their bodies, their entrails (insides) and organs were exposed to sight.”
§ it was in this condition that Christ was unable to carry His own cross
3- This suffering was designed by God the Father and embraced by God the Son
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;
a- Jesus lived in order to die
b- Jesus lived to be a substitute for us, so that we might live
c- The sufferings of Jesus Christ brought us to God
Application:
What did the death of Christ accomplish?
- The death of Christ came to fulfill OT prophecy and thereby abolish the OT Law (Isaiah 53)
- The death of Christ accomplished substitution
· Substitionary atonement is the central feature of the atonement of Christ
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
· Believer: Christ’s death is the ultimate example of self-sacrifice
- The death of Christ accomplished the ground’ for forgiveness and cleansing
- this forgiveness and cleansing is only found by faith alone in Jesus Christ
- for the believer continued cleansing keeps us in fellowship with God 1 Jn 1:9
Ø Unbelievers: Christ died for you so that you might live eternally – Will you except Him or embrace the consequences?
Ø Will this be another Easter where you fulfill your quota by going to church?
Ø Believers: The substitutionary death of Christ is…
- what gave you life--you couldn’t make heaven a reality for yourself
- what makes your holiness possible
Ø the only logical response for you is complete submission to His Lordship in your life
Ø If you do not take time today to fall the your knees (literally or figuratively) to thank God for Christ’s atoning sacrifice on your behalf then I would say that haven’t really seen Christ for who He is
Second of all we see…
2) The Resurrection of a King 24:1-12
Ø Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
- “if he did not then he decomposed in the grave like any other man. In that case then he is a teacher like any other and can no longer help; and once more we are orphaned and alone. We are in a sort of hell where we can do nothing but dream, roofed in and cut off from heaven.”[1]
Ø But is this what Scripture teaches? (Presuppositional Apologetics – 4 views book; Frame)
1- all the teaching on this subject must come from our high view of Scritpure
2- we must come to believe in the Resurrection not on the basis of arguments, but instead on the foundation of those arguments
3- for the believer that foundation is and must always be Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)
4- the truth of His words must our most fundamental conviction – our ultimate presupposition
Presupposition: to believe or suppose something in advance, to take for granted in advance
5- the presupposition that God’s Word alone is authoritative is therefore the ultimate criterion of truth
a- We must measure and evaluate all other sources of knowledge by it.
b- We must bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:5)
Ø this is where we must begin in our defense of the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ
A- the Resurrection is a fulfillment of OT prophecies concerning Christ
Psalm 16:10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. (ESV)
B- The Resurrection is necessary to fulfill the prophecies made by Christ Himself
Matthew 20:17-19 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (ESV)
C- Resurrection is necessary because the whole plan of redemption and salvation depends on Christ victory over the grave
The Facts of the Resurrection
Ø with the authority Scripture as our presupposition or primary assumption we believe the facts contained in it
1. the fact is that Christ appeared to his followers after the Resurrection
2. the fact is that the tomb was empty
3. the fact is that the Resurrection of Christ changed the disciples – especially after Peter’s denial
4. the fact is that the body was not in the tomb or His enemies would have put a stop to Christianity by
producing Jesus’ remains
The Significance of the Resurrection
1. the Resurrection proves the reality of Christ’s Offices of Prophet, Priest and King
a. there is validity in Him being a Prophet because what he predicted came true
b. there is validity in His being a Priest because He lives to make intercession for us
c. there is validity in His being King because in the millennium and eternal state He will rule as King
- if Christ does not rise from the dead the future of Christianity is without hope (confidence)
Conclusion:
1) What does the death, burial and resurrection of Christ mean for us?
A- The resurrection seals the certainty of our justification by faith in Christ alone
Romans 4:25 [Christ] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
· have you placed your faith in Christ to save your soul?
· Spiritually, are you walking around this world like a blind man walks?
· Will you come to faith in Christ today?
B- The resurrection sealed our future bodily resurrection
· Christ’s body appeared the same because the disciples could recognize Him
· Christ’s body was transformed into glorified state just like we will be
- He could eat, appear and disappear and go through closed doors
Philippians 3: 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, (ESV)
Ø The proper response to Christ’s invincible life and omnipotent authority is to be seen in the joyful worship of His people
- worship of Him begins by recognized your need of Him
- Make this Easter a time to remember – accept Christ by faith today
Ø The proper response of God’s people is to live in submission of His omnipotent authority over their lives – does this characterize your response?
----
[1] G.H. Von Right – Culture and Value, p33.