The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Resurrection Sunday • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsJesus raised Himself from the dead! This is the greatest miracle He ever did and it is a condemning sign to the Jews of their fate and His divinity.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Many ways to explain, or teach, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus died and rose from the dead.
Jesus was given a new body made in glory.
Jesus will never die again.
Jesus, because of His resurrection, will rule and reign forever.
Jesus earned His right to rule because of His resurrection.
However, there is one aspect of His resurrection that happened before His death that gives us a most startling and profound understanding of His resurrection.
Jesus Raised Himself From the Dead!
This was a miracle that only God can do.
It is the most convincing miracle that Jesus performed.
What is more, no one denied the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In fact, the entire record of the resurrection event verified the resurrection.
I want to review it with you so that we can understand what happened.
Body
Body
The religious leaders knew that Jesus taught about His own resurrection.
The religious leaders knew that Jesus taught about His own resurrection.
62 Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ 64 “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
Matt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:31–33
Jesus taught about His resurrection to His close disciples.
It would seem that these leaders, who were not His disciples., may have heard this from Judas.
But, the fact is that the leaders knew that this was the plan.
They thought that if Jesus raised Himself from the dead He would not be able to move the stone.
And if He did, He would be met with Roman soldiers.
Or, if He did not, and His disciples attempt to come and make it look like He did, they would be met with Roman soldiers.
By the way, sealing the tomb made the resurrection all the more believable because of all the obstacles that needed to be overcome were overcome.
Jesus’ resurrection was far more believable than not.
He also taught His resurrection to the public, including the religious leaders.
This is what I want to focus upon today.
You need to see that Jesus predicted His own resurrection.
This helps us as we head into the final days and hours of the Lord’s life .
Jesus was the focal point of much slander, rebuke, and hatred.
Those who wanted to do this to Christ are those who would come to lie about Jesus.
Slanderous and gossip-leaning people have no limits as to the sins they will accomplish.
The teaching of His resurrection was first spoken of to the religious leaders.
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
Context:
Jesus assaults the temple (early in His ministry).
The Jews come to Him in order to question His authority to do what He is doing.
In order to answer His authority, He tells them that there will be a greater sign of authority than merely assaulting the temple.
He will also answer the challenge to His authority later in His ministry:
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
The sign of His resurrection was something He predicted to the Jews throughout His ministry.
The sign of His resurrection was a sign that Jesus is greater in office than Jonah.
Jonah preached and his hearers repented.
Jesus preached and His hearers did not repent.
Therefore, those who repented at Jonah’s preaching will stand up in judgment against the anti-Messianic Jews of Jesus’ day.
THIS INDICATES THAT NINEVEH DID, IN FACT, REPENT AT THE PREACHING OF JONAH.
The Jews demanded a sign.
Their sign is future.
Even then, it is not too late to repent.
NOTE:
7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
The only time it is too late to repent is at the judgment seat of God.
Jesus refused to play into their game.
23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 “The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27 And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Rather, He could only warn them about His own resurrection as their “sign.”
Their ignorance was replaced with realization.
Their ignorance was replaced with realization.
At some point, they realized that Jesus was predicting His own resurrection.
This realization should have created worship in these leaders after He was raised.
But, instead of creating worship, it lead to hatred.
The depth of depravity in these men is such that they literally understood that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of David, and. because of their love of money and power over people, they saw Him as a stumbling block to their plans and killed Him to get Him out of their way.
This depth of hatred was satanic:
44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
But, what they could not comprehend is the assertion that Jesus made in John 2:19 - JESUS WOULD RAISE HIMSELF FROM THE DEAD.
But, what they could not comprehend is the assertion that Jesus made in John 2:19 - JESUS WOULD RAISE HIMSELF FROM THE DEAD.
This is what I want us all to understand.
This is what I want us all to understand.
The power of the resurrection is phenomenal in itself.
However, the real miracle is the fact that the resurrection was a work of Jesus Himself.
This fact is scary.
I mean, that Jesus has this much power, from authority, causes me to fear Him and do what He says, no matter what.
So, let’s look at this.
So, let’s look at this.
What is He saying?
Why Does He Say It?
What does it matter?
What Is He Saying?
What Is He Saying?
Jesus has become consumed with zeal for the Father and His house (John 2:17).
The result of that zeal is driving the merchants out of the temple.
The temple was supposed to be for matters of prayer and worship, but the Jews have turned that into a money-maker for themselves.
This zeal was the fulfillment of Scripture (Psalm 69:9).
Jesus expressed anger, fury, at the Jews for the way that the Temple was being used to make money for the false leaders.
Jesus disrupted their scheme.
Their own anger is now on display.
“What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” (v. 18).
John 1–11 3. The Cleansing of the Temple and the Stage Set for Conflict (2:13–22)
2:19 Instead of giving the demanding Jews a magical proof, Jesus offered them a prediction concerning destruction and rising. If they had had ears to recognize it, they would have understood that the prediction could have served as a sign. But Jesus’ response—“destroy [lusate could mean “tear down”] this temple [naos, the inner segment of a temple], and I will raise [egerō could mean “rebuild”] it again in three days”—was completely misunderstood by the Jews.
The authority they wanted was for Jesus to tell them which Rabbi gave permission for Jesus to do this.
Jesus’ answer was far greater than a Rabbi’s permission.
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (v.19).
There are three things being said here:
A Temple exists.
The Jews will destroy the Temple .
After three days, that same Temple that the Jews destroyed Jesus will raise up again.
A Temple:
The place designated by God where He will reside.
OT - Tabernacle/Temple
Heaven - the highest heaven.
Future earth - Jerusalem
Currently, in Jesus’ day, Herod had constructed a Temple for the Jews (along with Roman occupation in it).
The Jews will destroy the Temple.
This seems preposterous since so much revenue came from the Temple.
They should have known that He was speaking of something else besides the physical Temple.
But notice what will be said of Him later:
59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. 60 They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, 61 and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’ ”
They claim that He said that He would destroy the Temple.
This is a lie.
Jesus will raise the Temple they destroy.
This is true.
Notice: JESUS WILL RAISE IT UP.
The Jews heard that part, Jesus will raise it up.
They did not hear the part that THEY will destroy it.
Why Does He Say It?
Why Does He Say It?
Why does Jesus say that He will raise the Temple?
It’s a prediction.
It’s a reproof.
Ultimately, it is a sign.
This is the issue I need to consider.
What Does Matter To The Jews?
What Does Matter To The Jews?
Further, “Why does it matter to US?”
Jesus said that His being raised up will be the sign of His authority.
In what way will this be the sign of the authority, especially the authority to “cleanse” the Temple?
I will show you.
John 10:17-18
This chapter = profound!!!
Jesus is the only Messiah.
All other “Messiah’s” are false and do not give their lives for the sheep.
Jesus, on the other hand, gives His life for the sheep.
He does so willingly and obediently.
This willingness to lay His life down is the reason the Father loves Him.
However, look at what else Jesus says.
Jesus, after laying down His life (“destroying the Temple), will TAKE IT UP AGAIN!
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Jesus does not die without His own consent.
Jesus does not raise from the dead apart from His own will.
26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
The power to rise from the dead is the power that only God has.
To rise from the dead, One must have “authority” over:
Creation
The Curse
The Soul
Heaven
He must also have the “permission” of God.
These things, Jesus has.
This is why we must conclude that Jesus is God.
Jesus has power over creation -
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Jesus has power over the curse -
52 Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” 53 And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. 54 He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.
Jesus has power over the soul -
52 Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” 53 And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. 54 He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.
Jesus has power over heaven -
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Ultimately, though, Jesus had the “permission” from God, the Father (v.18).
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 10
This commandment I received from My Father.”
On the basis of the full authority of God, the God of the impossible, Jesus was given the authority to give His life back to Himself and raise His own body from the dead.
However,
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
40 “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
30 “But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
How can God raise Jesus from the dead and Jesus raise Jesus from the dead?
The same way that a certain general can win a war and yet never fight in it.
It was God the Father who gave that permission to raise Himself such that God Himself is represented in the power/authority given to Jesus Christ.
John 1–11 (1) Discourse on the Good Shepherd (10:1–18)
Jesus’ laying down of his life was only part of his purpose. Taking it up again (10:17–18) was definitely the climactic part of that purpose and clearly designed by the Father (10:18)
What does this matter to the Jews?
His self-generated power to resurrect Himself IS the sign of His authority to cleanse the Temple.
“By what authority” does Jesus do these things?
By the authority given to Him by the Father by means of commandment, giving Him the power to carry out the commandment.
Therefore, Jesus is God and God can cleanse His Temple.
“My house...”
45 Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den.”
No other religious leader can claim this, or has demonstrated this power.
Conclusion
Conclusion
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the Council. 13 They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.”