Resurrection Light

Introduction

-{John 20}

-After all the craziness of the last year, you would think that there couldn’t be anything else that would get any weirder or worse or could shock us. But the world decided to say HOLD MY COKE and one-upped itself.

~Last week, vile rapper Lil Nas X released a new music video that takes disgusting to a new level. Lil Nas X is homosexual, and he released a video that depicts him going into hell and giving Satan a lap dance.

~You know, that right there is mind-blowing enough. But it doesn’t stop there, because he decides to take evil to the next level. Lil Nas X collaborated with New York-based art collective MSCHF to create what is called Satan Shoes.

~These Satan shoes are black, have the Satanic pentagram on them, have the # 666 on them, and have the Bible verse reference Luke 10:18 emblazoned on them (that references Satan’s fall like lightening). And if that isn’t bad enough, each shoe contains about 2 fluid ounces of red ink and "one drop" of human blood in the sole. The blood came from the MSCHF team.

~They repurposed Nike Air Max 97s to create these shoes. And, to be fair, Nike had nothing to do with the creation of these shoes and is suing Lil Nas X and MSCHF.

~But they created 666 pairs of these shoes to go on sale for $1018, and once they were put on sale last Monday they sold out in less than a minute.

-The spiritual powers of darkness and their human slaves are no longer in hiding. They are coming right out in the open, and the world receives them with rapturous applause.

~And I don’t think it much of a coincidence either that a study came out last week that showed that for the first time in American history, church-members are the minority. This means that more Americans say they have no membership or affiliation with a church than those that claim a church affiliation….

-And so, we hear the news and hear the reports, and it would be easy to give in to despair. It would seem that we are losing (so to speak). Things appear to be hopeless.

-But, thankfully, there is Easter. Thankfully there is an empty tomb. Thankfully there is a risen Savior. Because we definitely need reminding that we have a King and Kingdom that is not of this world. We have a Lord who told us that the world hates Him and so it hates us. And that same Lord said He has overcome the world.

-And so, when the darkness of the world seems overwhelming and stifling, there is the living Christ. When you see how dark the world is getting (and we may not have even scratched the surface of darkness yet), and the death that it brings, we remember that in Christ we alone have the key to life and light.

~May we cling to the truths of our gospel message, as we see today that the resurrection of Jesus Christ brings light into a world that is plummeting into spiritual darkness.

READ John 20:1-18

John 20:1–18 ESV

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

-I want to consider the Resurrection of Jesus Christ today from three different angles. First, I want to talk about:

1) Resurrection Evidence

-Something that I have noticed in John’s writings is that he wants his readers to know that what he has recorded is absolutely the truth, and it is backed by numerous lines of evidence.

~So, for example, he begins his first epistle telling the reader that he is writing and testifying to them the things that he and the other apostles personally saw and heard and touched. It is not some myth that they are trying to perpetuate; he is telling the truth.

-And this also goes for His account of the resurrection—and really for the whole account of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. Even back in 19:35 John says he saw these events, he knows what he is talking about, he is telling the truth so that people will believe.

-The resurrection is not some mythical event like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. It really happened in history and there is evidence for it. And John offers that evidence so that we believe and cling to the hope that it offers.

-First, he offers eyewitness testimony. John tells us that Mary Magdalene (and there were other women with her) went to the tomb and found the body gone. Peter and John went and confirmed it.

~But a missing body itself is not evidence. Later, Mary saw Christ alive and in person. Several weeks ago, I talked about evidences that Jesus actually died. Well, the One that actually died is actually alive again.

~In the passage that we will look at next week, the risen Christ appeared to the apostles and they believed—even doubting Thomas witnessed and believed that Jesus is alive. Ain’t no grave held Him down—so we have a risen Savior.

-And I will add to this evidence of eyewitness testimony, that the grave was available for all people in Jerusalem to see and inspect for themselves. Earlier in the gospel, John tells us that the tomb was in a garden near the place where Jesus was crucified. It wasn’t hidden or hard to find. Everyone knew where it was and could see for themselves.

~And so, if there was a body there (or not there), everyone could see for themselves. If someone took the body, they could have produced the body once the story of His resurrection came around. But no one could produce the body, because there was no body to produce. Jesus rose from the dead.

-Then there is the evidence of the stone being removed. We are told in the other gospels that a heavy stone covered the entrance to the tomb, it was sealed by Pilate, and Roman soldiers were set to guard it.

~But now the soldiers were gone, the stone was moved, and the grave was empty. No human could have overpowered the soldiers, broken the seal, and moved the stone themselves. It had to be a supernatural event that led the soldiers to abandon their post.

-Then there is the evidence of the grave wrappings. John gives us what would seem to be insignificant details, and yet it is more of his building the case for the truthfulness of the resurrection. Jesus’ body had been wrapped in burial cloths and spices provided by Nicodemus—a common custom for the Jews. John reports for us that Peter and John entered the tomb and found the cloths that wrapped the body just lying there and the face cloth neatly folded and placed separately from the others.

~Here’s the thing, if the Romans would have moved the body, they wouldn’t have removed the grave cloths. They just would have carried the whole thing out. The same could be said if the disciples took the body or even if it were grave robbers—they wouldn’t have taken the time to unwrap the body, nor would they have neatly folded the face cloth.

~The only explanation is that the dead came back to life and removed the cloths from His body and walked out of the grave.

-Another piece of evidence is the testimony of the angels. Mary probably followed Peter and John back to the tomb. After they had left, Mary stayed behind completely distraught still thinking that Jesus’s body had been taken. She decided to peer into the tomb, and there she saw two angels sitting on the slab where the body had been—one where Jesus’ head would have been and the other where Jesus’ feet would have been.

~The other gospels record for us what the angels said. They asked WHY DO YOU SEEK THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD? HE IS NOT HERE, HE IS RISEN!

~Now, because they were slow to believe and did not understand, the disciples still did not believe until they saw Christ Himself. But there were heavenly messengers that trumpted the truth: THE LORD IS RISEN!

-While the powers of darkness try to smother the light of truth in the world, we have evidence upon evidence that THE LORD IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED! We can take heart and gain courage knowing that our Risen Savior ever lives to intercede on our behalf before the throne of the Father and empowers us for our life in a hostile environment in the here and now.

-We have the evidence, but why is it important?

2) Resurrection Importance

-While John gives us the evidence so we know that the resurrection is true, Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 gives us the theological importance for the resurrection. The resurrection is not some mere minor story but is the bedrock for our entire faith. Paul makes it clear that if there is no resurrection, we have nothing. We would perpetually be in darkness forever. But there was the resurrection.

-We don’t have time to read 1 Corinthians 15, but let me highlight some of the truths that Paul touches upon.

-First, because of the resurrection we have a meaningful gospel. Paul begins the chapter expounding the gospel, that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and was raised from the dead as could be testified by hundreds of witnesses.

~If the resurrection was not true, then all the rest of the gospel message would fall apart and would be meaningless.

~It is the resurrection that seals the gospel as good news and is imperative to belief in the gospel message. That is why Paul mentions it when explaining in Romans 10 what to believe in the gospel: if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD YOU WILL BE SAVED. The resurrection is important to the gospel message.

-Second, without the resurrection gives assurance of hope for the forgiveness of sins. In v. 17 Paul says that if Christ is not raised our faith is futile because we would still be in our sins. Not only did Jesus need to die, He needed to rise from the dead to show that His payment for our sins was accepted by God the Father. As one author put it, the empty grave was God’s receipt showing the payment had been accepted. And through that payment, we receive complete forgiveness for all our trespasses.

-Third, the resurrection brings joy to our present life. Paul tells us in vv. 18-19 that if Christ were not raised, all the believers who died would have completely perished. If we have no hope for the future, we have no hope at all, and we should be pitied more than anything else.

~If Christ had not destroyed the power of death as demonstrated by His resurrection, we could not enjoy life now knowing that ultimately we are doomed. But we can enjoy the here and now knowing that the future is taken care of. Death has no final word for us.

-Fourth, the resurrection gives power for godly, holy living. We could consider earlier in John’s gospel, in chapter 14, that Jesus gives the condition of receiving the Holy Spirit for godly living—His resurrection and ascension. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, we would not receive the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit there is no true love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control.

-Fifth, the resurrection gives us hope for our eternal destiny. It is because Jesus rose from the dead that we can rest in the fact that we too shall rise from the dead. As the song said, because ain’t not grave could hold Jesus down, for those who believe in Him ain’t no grave going to keep us down either.

~Paul in 1 Cor. 15:20-21 reminds us that Jesus’ resurrection is the first of many—through Him comes the resurrection of all the righteous dead.

-So, the resurrection is not some small thing—it is everything. Our entire faith rests on the fact of it. Let’s not just relegate it to one day a year, but cling to its truth and its importance every day. It is only through the resurrection that we can have light in the darkness.

-But, finally, something a little more practical, I want to talk about:

3) Resurrection Existence

-In light of the light that the Resurrection brings, how now shall we live.

-First, because Jesus lives there is an urgency before us. I think of our passage, after Mary told Peter and John that Jesus’ body was missing, they ran to the tomb. They didn’t just continue to lounge around. There was an urgency to check it out.

-Now, with the full knowledge of the truth of the gospel, there is an urgency to do the work of God and to share the love of Christ while we still have time. Now that we see darkness encroaching from every angle, how much more urgent ought we be with the work of shining Jesus’ light, seeing how many people are on their way to judgment.

-Paul reminds us:

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11 ESV)

~Every day we inch closer to the end—yes, for us it means salvation. But for billions, including Lil Nas X, it means eternal judgment. But God wants to even save him, even after all that he has done. God is not willing that any should perish, not even Lil Nas X, but that he and all other should come to repentance.

~That means we need to light a fire under ourselves and feel the urgency of the time.

-Second, because Jesus lives there is a new life to live. Jesus rose with a new, eternal, resurrection body that is the prototype for what ours will be like. But we don’t have to wait to live that life until then. We can live resurrection life right now because of the Holy Spirit within us.

-Paul reminds us that we are new when he writes:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

~We have a new life with a new power to live in a new way.

-Therefore, as Paul says:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 ESV)

-It is the resurrected Christ that lives through us. Because He lives, He lives in me. And I don’t have to be conformed to this dark world, but I am transformed by a Risen Savior.

Conclusion

-Psychological studies have found that one of the most difficult conditions a person can be forced to bear is light deprivation. Darkness, in fact, is often used in military captivity or penal institutions to break down an individual’s sense of self. Once a person becomes disoriented, once they lose a sense of where they are, and what it is that lurks in the dark around them. Once a person can no longer feel in control of their physical surroundings—they lose a sense of self.

Every shred of self-confidence shrivels. The giant within them falls and they become whimpering prey of the unknown. The natural instinct to be combative is paralyzed by fear. The spirit of resistance weakens. The prisoner becomes more pliable, more submissive, more willing to take directions.

-The powers of darkness are trying to stifle the world, keeping them deprived of spiritual light to make it more submissive to their whims. But as long as we focus on the Risen Savior, we will always have a light that overcomes the dark.

-Christian, I know the darkness can be overwhelming at times, but don’t focus on the dark, focus on the light of the Risen Savior. Let it be your guide and your power.

-But if you are in spiritual darkness, you have to first trust in the Risen Lord. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved…