5.2.37 8.8.2021 Resurrection (God's Victory)

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Entice: Whatever you may or may not think that the Christian faith entails it has historically been founded upon the central, singular claim that after His crucifixion and three days of internment—Jesus was brought back to life by the power of the Father. This assertion, to human understanding is foolish, impossible, naive, wishful thinking. Paul says that to us who are being saved it is the central truth of Jesus' mission.

Engage: The diverse terminology of resurrection is found throughout the NT. It is virtually impossible for a single sermon to exhaust the topic. My goal is to give you a grasp of how broadly resurrection is taught in the NT and the central role it should have in our contemporary Christian walk.

Expand: You can hardly read a NT document without resurrection staring you in the face

In the final book of the Bible the resurrected and glorified Jesus says this to John:

Revelation 1:17–18 ESV

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Peter reminds us that everything about our new birth and eternal hope comes to us via the resurrection:

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Paul famously devotes an entire chapter to Resurrection:

1 Corinthians 15:12–14 ESV

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Explore:

Through faith we are included in Jesus' own resurrection.

Explain: We need to understand how Jesus views resurrection.

For Jesus…

1 It is Personal

John 11:21–27 (ESV)

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

1.1 He is the I am.

God in flesh has made our eternal life possible

1.2 Besides referring to Himself as "I Am" Jesus repeatedly asserts that

Eternal life is In HIM

1.3 Earlier in John's Gospel Jesus says

John 5:21 ESV

21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

HE is the facilitator and focus of our eternal hope.

For Jesus

2 It is Promised.

2.1 The general promise of resurrection:

we will rise again.

2.2 The specific promise.

Believe In Jesus and Live!

Whoever believes in me, even though he/she experiences physical death…yet shall he/she live.

2.3 Every individual with faith in Jesus never faces eternal death.

For Jesus

3 It is Particular.

John 11:38–43 ESV

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

Not everybody.

Not somebody.

Not just anybody.

YOU.

By name because your Lord and savior calls you by name.

This is of course why after expressing His anger at the Jews for their hypocrisy, and upbraiding Martha for her lack of faith called Lazarus from the tomb by name. Of course, Lazarus rose that day, only to expire a second time awaiting again His name, in the voice of His Master.

Shut Down:

And we await the same.

1 Corinthians 15:50–52 ESV

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.