Apostles' Creed Sermon - 7

Apostles’ Creed – On the Third Day…

Matthew 28:1-10

1. Introduction – So we’re about half-way through our study on the Creed. And I would like to take some time to remind us of why we are doing this study.

a. We are studying the Apostles’ Creed to help round out our theological understanding – to take the weak ‘muscle groups’ and bulk them up.

i. If we only focus on certain areas of our faith, other areas will atrophy. It’s like the guy at the gym who uses the 100 pound dumb bells for curls, can bench 400 pounds 18 times, has this massive upper body – but has chicken legs because he’s never done a squat in his life.

1. So, some of you in your faith journey and theological understanding maybe really focused on your personal relationship with Jesus. And that’s great we should be, but the Creed reminds us that part of a well-balanced theological diet is also knowing and believe that Christianity is a communal faith. So, the Creed reminds us – I believe in the communion of saints.

a. Others of you may have a hard time believe that your sins can actually be forgiven – so the creed reminds us – I believe in the forgiveness of sins.

i. Some of you may be so focused on the things of this earth, that you lose sight of the fact that there’s life beyond this earth – and so the Creed reminds us by stating – I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

b. Whatever it is – we all have areas of our faith and our theological understand that we are drawn to – evangelism, sanctification, justification, working out our salvation – we all have areas of the faith that we are drawn to…

i. And what usually happens is we build up those areas of interest at the expense of other, vitally important aspects of our theological understanding.

1. So, the Creed rounds out our faith, it bulks up those weaker areas because of the broad nature.

a. It doesn’t focus on one aspect too closely, but gives us a wide-range foundation for our theology.

2. Structure of the Creed – So as I said off the top, we’ve reached the dead centre of the Creed. There are 8 lines on either side of the line we are studying today.

a. And this is an important line in our theological understanding and in the Creed.

i. In our day, when we want to make a point through writing, we usually put our main point at the beginning of the paragraph.

1. Usually we start with a purpose of thesis statement, and ever line in the rest of that paragraph sets out to prove the validity of that paragraph.

a. Or maybe, we’ll put our thesis or purpose statement at the end of a paragraph.

i. And we’ll right sentences in such a way that the last statement in the paragraph is the grand conclusion and the only logical conclusion that can be made from the premises previously stated.

b. But at the time the Apostles’ Creed was written, if someone wanted to make a point, an important earth-shattering, life-altering point – it wasn’t placed at the beginning of the end of a paragraph – it was placed right in the middle.

i. So, look at the Creed again…it’s like we’ve been winding up, tension has been building through the Creed – especially through this section on Jesus… and the winding up can’t go any further when we hit the line ‘he descended to the dead.’

1. His soul separated from his body, his body was laid in a tomb, and his soul traveled to Paradise.

ii. But as we come to this week’s statement we hit the climax of the Creed – the centerpiece of our faith.

1. All that tension that has been building up is finally release as we come to the wonderful and glorious reality of Jesus’ resurrection.

a. I believe that on the third day he rose again from the dead.

c. I believe that Jesus was literally dead – life left his body and his soul departed this earth. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead and is still alive today.

i. And so, after the drama of Good Friday, after the confusion and silence of Saturday – we come to Sunday.

1. And Sunday is a day so glorious, so spectacular, so beautiful and meaningful that the early Christians changed their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday – so that every week they could reenacted and remind themselves that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week.

a. This is an event so marvelous and so glorious that if I ever get tired of preaching on the resurrection, I’m going to quit the pastorate.

d. This morning we come to the resurrection of Jesus. A point of theology that is so important that if we don’t get this right – the whole thing falls apart.

i. This morning I want to do two simple things. First, I’m going to stress the importance of the resurrection, then I’ll stress the implications of Jesus’ resurrection for us today.

3. Importance – I think I might be guilty of this, but sometimes as Christians we put so much emphasis on the cross, that the resurrection almost becomes an afterthought.

a. I struggle some years to make the Easter Sunday service as powerful and meaningful as a Good Friday Service.

i. So often, we tout the cross as the place of forgiveness; where our sins get washed away.

b. But listen to the words of Paul. 1 Corinthians 15:12-17. Look at the argument Paul makes. If Jesus is not raised – preaching is useless, he is misrepresenting God, then there is no hope and no resurrection of the dead.

i. And verse 17 is key – if Jesus is not raised from the dead faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

1. Listen again. Paul doesn’t say, “If Jesus did not die on the cross, you are still in your sins.”

a. No, Jesus could have died on the cross, but if he was not raised on the third day, if he was not resurrection, then you are still in your sins.

c. Often, we point to the cross as the place of forgiveness, but Paul actually points to the resurrection.

i. Think about it, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead – then he is just another person who died on a cross that the hands of the Romans.

1. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then he can be a good teacher, he can be a martyr, but he can’t be the Saviour of the world.

d. Also, look at Romans 4:23-25. Jesus was delivered up because of our sins, but look at the last phrase of v.25 – raised to make us right with God.

i. Another way of saying that is raised for our justification, for our forgiveness, for our salvation.

e. Often, we point to the cross as the place of forgiveness, and it’s true – but we have to develop this well-rounded idea of cross and resurrection.

i. The cross and empty tomb work together in order to bring us salvation – to make us right before God.

1. That’s the importance of the resurrection. If Jesus were’ not raised from the dead – no forgiveness of sins. He was raised to make us right with God.

a. And since he was raised, we can have our sins forgiven and we can be restored into a right relationship with God.

4. Proof – But how do we know that Jesus was raised from the dead? Well the evidence is pretty solid.

a. The tomb was empty, and no one could produce a body. Rumours were spread throughout Jerusalem that the disciples stole and hid the body, so claiming that Jesus rose again.

i. But the disciples all died horribly awful deaths because they preached Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected.

1. Don’t you think one of them, before their execution would have said, “Hold on a second, here’s the body!”? No, there was no corpse, because Jesus literally and bodily rose from the dead on the third day.

ii. Not only could no one produce a body, but for more than a month after his resurrection, the disciples kept meeting Jesus alive – usually unexpectedly.

1. Jesus appeared in different places – in Jerusalem and Galilee.

a. He appeared to different numbers of people. 1 Peter and Paul.

i. 2 women in the Garden and 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus.

1. He appeared to 7 disicples by the seashore. 10 disicples – minus Judas and Thomas.

a. He appeared to 11 disciples in including Thomas.

iii. And the risen Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at the same time. It was not hallucinations that these people saw – it was the risen Jesus; still bearing the marks of his crucifixion, but bodily raised to new life, never to taste the defeat and sting of death again.

b. We can read the Scriptural account and through faith , we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus was literally and bodily raised again from the dead on the third day.

5. Implications – The resurrection of Jesus and the new life of resurrection forces us to adopt a new way of living in the present.

a. I want you to look at the example of the disciples. These 12 men walked with Jesus every day for over 3 years.

i. They saw the miracles, they heard the teaching. They spent time away, just the 13 of them. Jesus’ inner circle – Peter, James and John – spent even more time with Jesus.

1. These guys were uneducated tradesmen – without any formal teaching in preacher or public speaking.

a. And when they started following Jesus they were probably between 12 and 15 years old. They were boys.

b. What happened when Jesus was arrested? The boys acted like boys. Peter, one of Jesus closest disciples, denied in 3 times. Judas sold him out.

i. The others ran and hid. Only one disciple was present at the cross – John.

1. The rest went into hiding. On Saturday, they locked themselves in a room, fearing for their lives.

c. But after the resurrection, what happened to these boys? Well, I’ll tell you what happened – they turned in to men.

i. These men became bold and courageous – risking their lives to proclaim what they had seen.

d. In Acts 2, Peter stands up on the Day of Pentecost and preaching one of the great sermons ever recorded. He stands up and reams out the city’s leaders. Boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.

i. Peter, does it again in a courtroom. And from there they started spreading the message of resurrection all over the known world. The book of Acts details it for us.

1. Because of the risen Jesus, their lives were changed. The resurrection transformed these cowardly disciples into bold kingdom builders.

e. The disciples had a kingdom perspective, like Paul describes in Colossians 3. Listen to these words.

i. Here’s the point Paul is making and the worldview the disciples had. The reality of Jesus’ resurrection, the reality of where Christ is at this very moment – the reality of who we are in Christ must impact of worldview, our perspective, and our practice in the present.

f. Even now, while we are still living and breathing, the resurrection of Jesus changes the way we think, act, work, evangelism, interact with one another, and so.

i. We are to set out minds on things above, our minds are to be filled with spiritual things.

1. Growing in your knowledge and love for God; in your dependence on God.

a. Growing in your likeness to Jesus.

i. We aren’t to get caught up in the trappings of this world, but we are to have a kingdom perspective.

g. I love this quote about the disciples – “Instead of hanging their heads and trudging home, they left the city, away from family and home, telling the preposterous story that Jesus was indeed alive and glorified, risking and losing life and limb, voyagers traveling where they were incapable of going, but getting there…getting to us.”

i. What caused these men to be transformed from cowards to kingdom builders?

1. The fact that they believed that on the third day, Jesus rose again from the dead.

6. Work to Do – And the resurrection of Jesus, not only changes our way of life and our perspective…

a. But it also shows us that we have work to do.

b. I find it interesting that at his resurrection appearances, Jesus doesn’t tell his followers to sit and enjoy his presence.

i. He doesn’t tell them to pull up a chair and enjoy his resurrected glory. No, actually he tells them to go.

c. The women met the risen Jesus in the garden, what does he say to them? Stay here??? No, he says, Go and tell the others.”

i. Jesus tells his disciples, “You will be my witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In other words, “Go.”

1. Again, Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 28 – Go into the world and make disciples.

a. The command from the risen Jesus over and over and over again is “Get outta here!” “Go tell people what you’ve witnessed.”

i. It’s never – “Sit here and bask in my resurrected glory. Sit here and bask in the hope of a resurrection that you have.”

1. The command is always, “Go, you have some work to do.”

d. And the disciples got to work. They all died brutally horrific deaths because they boldly proclaimed the risen Jesus.

i. And people throughout history left wealth and fortune and good health and careers behind, because they just had to proclaim the risen Jesus. Like the disciples, they risked life and limb to follow Jesus’ command.

e. And for us today, we too must take risks for the sake of the risen Jesus. And those risks will look differently for each person.

i. If you’re contemplating going in to missionary service, or joining the membership at church, or considering learning how to preach, or becoming a Sunday School or a more effective witness at work…

1. Or maybe you’re thinking on a wider global scale and wondering what you can do to stop sex-trafficking…whatever risk God is calling you to take in your life – then do it!

a. And here’s the reason why. Because on the third day Jesus rose again from the dead. The resurrection moves us to take risks because the resurrection proves that God is behind us, for us and with us.

7. Conclusion – The resurrection is living proof that God invades and disrupts the present order of things by bringing life in the face of death…

a. By bringing salvation in the midst of condemnation, and by bringing rays of hope into the valley of fear.

b. And as God’s children, as people of the resurrection, we don’t live our days cowering in fear until death comes our way –

i. No, our mission, identity and purpose is based on the fact that Jesus is risen and the power of his resurrection is already flowing through us by the power of his Spirit.

c. Our whole faith, like the Apostles’ Creed is centered on and revolves around the fact that on the third day Jesus rose again form the dead.

i. What a glorious statement – full of hope and wonder.

1. But what a significant statement, as we realize and see that we are God’s heralds commissioned to spread the word about our risen Saviour.