Why Seek The Living Among The Dead?
Notes
Transcript
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
The Resurrection is theGreatest Day in All of Christendom
It is ironic how Christmas is celebrated much longer than Easter.
If we are to really understand the significance of the resurrection, this should be the most important holiday of all.
Sad to say, the reason Christmas is really celebrated more than Easter is because it fits the narrative of the world.. the world wants us to think in terms of what it defines as “normal”.
That around Christmas time the world expects a normal pattern of behavior - people buying gifts, traveling home, the economy gets a seasonal boost.
To many even those who do not believe in God, the story of Christmas is nothing out of the ordinary, nothing threatening to them.
A child was born, that is normal.
But when it comes to Easter - someone rising from the dead.. the world doesn’t want that, it shakes our world, it challenges our thought patterns, that is not normal.
They confine the story of Easter in the realm of fairy tales, nothing more real than the Easter bunny.
Image of Easter here
People talk about COVID-19 bringing in the so-called New Normal..
But some 2000 years ago..
The Resurrection of Jesus Ushered in a New Normal
The New Normal is that “Yeah, someone can rise from the dead”.
Different gospel narratives of the resurrection of Jesus.
I like John’s narrative the most because of the story of Mary Magdalene in the garden tomb. (In the Garden Tomb), the sweetness of being alone with the resurrected Christ.
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first! To me that made her one of the most prominent disciples of Jesus!
The resurrection of Jesus was told in all four gospels and they vary in their detail. There are amazing stories of Angelic appearances.
The angel of the Lord displayed power.
In Matthew - Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on the stone! His appearance was lightning and his clothing white as snow. The guards were so afraid that they trembled in fear and became like dead men.
In Mark we are told of a more human-like appearance of an angel like a young man sitting on the right of the stone that has been rolled away.
In both accounts, the message of the angel is one of reassurance..
Do not be afraid..
Do not be alarmed..
Jesus is not here, He has risen just as He said..
Go and tell His disciples that He is going before them to Galilee.
There is something special about Luke’s account of the resurrection. You would see that in this gospel account, the angel posed a very profound question:
WHY DO YOU SEEK THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD?
Can you blame the women? (expound)
I believe it is not just a rhetorical question..
The true meaning of the question is why are you behaving like things are still normal?
Jesus already told you so..
There are at least three times in the synoptic gospels that Jesus predicted His death and resurrection. In the book of John He predicted it symbolically, like when He said destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.
One of the most satisfying statement we can ever say is “I told you so.” It is satisfying when you are proven right.
The Resurrection is Jesus’ I told you so moment!
But in the resurrection, Jesus does not only prove a point. The resurrection is for us. That if He came back to life then you can trust Him to give you life!
6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words,
They remembered His words— Jesus told us so!
If Jesus said He will rise again on the third day.. why are we here inside the tomb on the third day?
Why seek the living among the dead?
This is the new normal of the resurrection.
The dead can come back to life.
You can be forgiven of your sins!
You can be set free from that bondage!
You can be healed from your wounds!
All things are now possible because of the resurrection.
Many of you made mistakes in your life. You may be suffering from the consequences of your mistakes, missteps and even sin — the old way of thinking is to be condemned.
Jesus tells us you can start a brand new life in Him.
Jesus said in John 10:10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Why seek the living among the dead. Don’t act like things are normal, Jesus has defied our presuppositions.
You see, the resurrection helps us to think differently.
It helps us to judge people less.
Instead of thinking someone is hopeless, we will find hope for that person.
Since Jesus is alive forevermore we can take him up on His offer of eternal life.
Jesus’ offer is the complete package.
The American declaration of independence says that we have been endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Jesus gives you all! He gives you eternal life, He sets you free..
Stop pursuing happiness from all the wrong places.
Why do you give the most importance and priority to worldly aspirations and pursuits and find home among those who are spiritually dead in the world —
WHY DO YOU SEEK THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD!
Experience Jesus With His Spiritually Alive People.
9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Jesus chose this gang of misfits (his disciples) because He had a plan to use them to manifest His glorious presence.. out of this gang of 11 came, 120, then 500 who witnessed His resurrection, Then 3000 on the day of Pentecost!
Another I told you so moment from Jesus:
“… I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18b)
For as long as Jesus is alive, the universal church of Jesus Christ will remain alive and He will claim her as His bride. Our own resurrection, we will be like Him.
The church is the body of Christ.
We should not be like the world that thinks the church is a just filled with a bunch of hypocrites! That is the old normal. You can see that the church are imperfect people redeemed by the grace of God.
10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Talk about growing in the church… you cannot be a lone ranger Christian.. encouragement, love, spiritual growth
Lessons this Resurrection Sunday:
Renew Our Minds to Embrace Christ’s New Normal. Since Jesus rose from the dead, we can have the eternal life in Him.
Stop pursuing happiness from the world, find joy only in Christ.
3. Experience Jesus’ LIFE and grow in Him in the context of His body - His church.
Prayer: