The Necessit and Glory of the Resurrection of Jesus, Matthew 28:1-15 (1 Cor. 15)

Matthew 28:1–15 (CSB)

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. 5 The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.” 8 So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news. 9 Just then Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.” 11 As they were on their way, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the priests had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money 13 and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were sleeping.’ 14 If this reaches the governor’s ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 They took the money and did as they were instructed, and this story has been spread among Jewish people to this day.

This is amazing! The events that Matthew records here are history and life changing. God sends an earthquake and an angel to roll the stone back from the tomb, the tomb is empty!! The guards are afraid, the women are scared, and Jesus is walking around bringing comfort and hope to them in their distress.

The angels tell the women that He is alive and that He will see them in Galilee. But, Jesus reveals Himself to them after that moment and sends them joyfully on their way to tell the disciples this great news and where He will see them.

The guards testify to the events and the empty tomb, and the enemies of Christ continue to work with hard hearts and reject who He is. The plot to undermine the resurrection with the false accounts that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus. To help make this happen they paid off the soldiers and promised to keep the soldiers from harm when the governor heard the rumor. Matthew points out that the story of the false account has been told for years. But, today, the story of what Mary and the rest of the women didn’t find is also being told. And, in light of the significance of the resurrection I’d like to take some time this morning and teach/preach on the resurrection of Jesus. In particular I’d like to speak to the historicity of the resurrection, the accomplishment of the resurrection, and the application of the resurrection.

My hope is that you go home today believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and take with the understanding that without the resurrection all hope in God is lost.

The Historicity of the Resurrection

Let’s start with the Four Gospels. These are written by eyewitnesses and/or based on eye witness testimony. The fact that they are in the Bible doesn’t discredit their historical value. Actually it does the opposite. The Bible

Each of the Four Gospels records the resurrection of Jesus as a fact. In addition to the gospels, the rest of the New Testament letters claim the crucifixion of Jesus and His resurrection as a fact. Now, you may not have considered that our primary source material for the historicity of Jesus’ life and ministry is found in the four gospels. The same gospels that we base our belief in the historical Jesus are the same gospels that claim He was literally resurrected as a part of history.

In addition to the testimony of the gospels and the New Testament, there is evidence to the truthfulness of the claim of Jesus’ resurrection.

The writings of Jewish and Pagan historians

I am not stating today that we need evidence outside of the claims of Scripture and the salvation that we know through Jesus. I am offering an additional “proof” or argument for the validity of the claim that Jesus was indeed resurrected. This argument is known as the “Inference to the best explanation.”

Inference to the best explanation:

This approach begins with the available “evidence and then infers what would, if true, provide the best explanation of the evidence.” William Lane Craig

As one writer penned, “When we look at the evidence, the truth of the resurrection emerges very clearly as the best explanation. There is no other theory that even come close to accounting for the evidence. Therefore, there is solid historical grounds for the truth that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.”

Within the claims and truths of the resurrection, Matt Perman points out three truths that are accepted by serious historians of all stripes.

These three truth are:

1. The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion.

2. Jesus’ disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ.

3. As a result of the preaching of these disciples, which had the resurrection at its center, the Christian church was established and grew.

When you consider all of the facts, especially these three truths, then it becomes increasingly clear that the resurrection of Christ is the only thing that adequately explains them.

No one argues that tomb was empty and that it was first discovered by a group of women the Sunday after the crucifixion.

No one denies the disciples firmly believed they saw the risen Jesus. There are many argue as to whether or not they did see Jesus, but at the end of the day there is no adequate explanation to deny the voracity and consequences of the disciples belief that they saw the resurrected Jesus. The tomb was empty, they saw and touched the risen Christ, and their deaths and the church that followed strengthen the evidence of the truth.

The church itself is a living testimony to the truth of the living Savior. From the every beginning of the church the resurrection has been central to Christianity. Even Jewish and Pagan history records that Christians believed in Jesus’ resurrection as a core tenet of faith. The resurrection has never been an optional belief, it is a necessary belief because it is essential for salvation and a foundation of the Christian life.

The resurrection is necessary and essential because without the resurrection all hope is lost. All hope is lost because without the resurrection the salvation God promised is not accomplished.

The Accomplishment of the Resurrection

The Heidelberg Catechism was written in 1563 as a teaching tool and eventually became a help and guide to preaching in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation. Catechisms have been used to teach children the truths of the faith for centuries. It’s a shame that they have lost popularity in modern Southern Baptist circles. The form of learning a question and its answer provides a foundation that you can build on as you grow and mature. Regarding the Heidelberg Catechism, in 1619 the Synod of Dort approved of it and it became one of the most widely used instruments for teaching the gospel at that time. It is still a wonderful display of simplicity and depth as it relates to the truth of the gospel.

Heidelberg Catechism # 17

Question: How does Christ’s resurrection benefit us? Answer: First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, so that he might make us share in the righteousness he won for us by his death. Second, by his power we too are already now resurrected to a new life. Third, Christ’s resurrection is a guarantee of our glorious resurrection.

Let’s unpack these because they are glorious!

1. Jesus overcame death so that we can share in the righteousness He won for us by His death.

Kevin DeYoung writes, you might ask. “If Jesus died on the cross for our sins, bearing the curse that we deserved, shouldn’t we be free from our sins whether he rose again or not?” In other words, why is the resurrection, and not simply the cross alone, necessary for the forgiveness of sin?”

2. Without the resurrection nothing has been conquered other than Jesus.

If Jesus only died, then Jesus was defeated. If Jesus isn’t resurrected then sin, death, and the devil have never been defeated. And if they haven’t been defeated then salvation has not been accomplished.

1 Corinthians 15:17 (CSB) says, “17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

The sacrifice of Jesus was enough to save because the resurrection of Christ testifies to who He is. Jesus won over sin, death, and the devil.

The sacrifice that Jesus made was enough because it was acceptable to God. The resurrection of Jesus confirms that the wrath of God has been satisfied by the blood of Jesus and because of that those who trust in Him are forgiven from their sin and receive the righteousness of Christ. They are justified before God and they are no longer living under condemnation from God.

Romans 4:25 (CSB) says, “25 He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” This means that Christ died for our sins, but He was resurrected to guarantee and demonstrate victory. The cross and the empty tomb are connected. There is no reason for the cross if not for the tomb, and the empty tomb demonstrates the significance of the cross.

The payment for sin Jesus made in His death has been accepted, and the righteousness and eternal life that Jesus promised is wrapped up in His resurrection.

3. By the power of Jesus believers are already resurrected to a new life

This is good… and it is real. The hope of new life is a present day reality. New life doesn’t begin when you die. New life begins the moment you are converted through your faith in Christ and regenerated by the grace of God.

Ephesians 2:4–5 (CSB)

“4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”

Paul expounds on this truth in Romans 6:5–11 (CSB),

“5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self, was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

From the moment of your conversion/salvation you are in Christ. Before you are saved you are in Adam… there are some who believe that a person is elected to Christ regardless of a conversion experience, but that’s just not anywhere in Scripture.

Everyone who is saved is saved by the power of the gospel through faith in Christ and is converted. This is the good news… that those who are walking in the darkness of sin and death are saved by the grace of God to walk in the newness of life. They are transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of light and life.

All those who are in Christ are free from the bondage of sin and death and are now alive to God in Christ. The power of the resurrection is a present day reality, not just a future hope. But, the resurrection does guarantee our future. This leads us to the third point…

The resurrection of Jesus is a guarantee of our future resurrection and glorification

The resurrected body of Jesus confirms for us that we have new bodies coming. Jesus put on flesh at His birth so that we could receive “new” flesh by being born again.

As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians Jesus is the first-fruits of the resurrection and all who belong to Him will follow in the resurrection at His return.

1 Corinthians 15:23 (CSB) says, “23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.”

We are celebrating the birth of Christ this week. And, as we celebrate the truth that Christ was born, we take note with the resurrection that Jesus was born so that we would one day be born again.

In the same way that the people of God were waiting for the birth of Christ, we are now waiting for the return of Christ. As the Bible says in Philippians 3:20–21 (CSB),

"20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.”

The resurrection of Christ guarantees that one day we will be resurrected to live and reign with Him for all eternity. And, the resurrection of Christ necessitates that also believe in the bodily resurrection at the return of Christ. According to Scripture we know that we will be changed, but we don’t know the extent of that change. We know that we will be resurrected, and that means we need to trust that the God who breathed life into the dust and named him Adam can bring the various scattered molecules and of our bodies from around the world in the new and better form that He has promised to us.

This is amazing news! The resurrection is true, the resurrection has accomplished our salvation and guaranteed our future with God in Christ, and there are many ways to apply this to our lives. I want to offer just a few to us today:

The Application of the Resurrection

1. Rejecting the resurrection is a rejection of God and His Gospel

There is no such thing as Christianity without the resurrection, and there is no such thing as a Christian without believing in the resurrection.

Paul passed on an early Christian creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7. It reads:

"3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles" - 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 (CSB)

Most people believe that these verses were passed on to Paul by Peter and James because they are named after the creed or statement Paul has passed on.

Paul adds himself to the list of people who can testify to the truthfulness of the resurrection in verse 8, “8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time,, he also appeared to me.” - 1 Corinthians 15:8 (CSB)

Paul goes on to explain to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:14–19 (CSB), “14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. 15 Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.”

The resurrection of Christ is so essential to saving faith that without the resurrection we are still in our sins, without hope, and deserving of pity more than anyone else. If there is no resurrection then we have believed a false gospel and there is no reason to continue in this way of life.

2. The resurrection places Christ at the center of your life, not your religious accomplishments

The resurrection is the evidence that Jesus saves. The work necessary to save you from your sins was done by Jesus. The work you now do with your life as a Christian is an act of worship for what He has done.

The resurrection keeps our focus on the person of Christ.

Christianity is full of religious practices. But, the ways that we practice and live out our faith are relational and not just practical. Jesus is alive, resurrected, and because of that you have a relationship with Him, not with His religion.

Don’t hear me bashing religion… There is nothing wrong with religion, in fact James write and says, “27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” - James 1:27 (CSB)

There is nothing wrong with the religion that is centered on your relationship with Jesus. The resurrection keeps Jesus at the center… not a temple, not an order, not a practice, etc.

Even the Lord’s Supper is a religious practice that celebrates a living person. The Christian life is not empty, it is full because Jesus is alive.

3. The resurrection of Jesus makes everything meaningful.

A religion whose God is dead is empty. Without the resurrection everything we do as Christians is empty.

But, because Jesus is alive we can worship Him with everything we do. Colossians 3:16–17 (CSB) says, “16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Whatever you do… literally everything you do can and should be done in light of the resurrected Jesus. He is alive, it is relational and He is worthy of your life and all that comes with it.

There is incredible significance to the words Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul says your faith is worthless if Christ has not been raised. But, He has been raised, and with His resurrection comes the opposite of worthless, it is meaningful. Your life is meaningful if you know Christ because your life is in Christ. Your life is not only in Christ now, your life is with Christ in a resurrected body when Christ returns. Without Christ, life is meaningless… even if it is religious. Paul clearly points out that a Christianity without a resurrected Jesus is worthless, so how much more is a religion or non-religious life that rejects God all together. The truth is they are one and the same. Either we believe in God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture, or we don’t believe in God at all.

But, as we move into the week of Christmas, with the celebration of the birth of Christ to a virgin in a manger, relish the fact that the one who put on flesh and was wrapped in swaddling cloths, is coming back again to give you and all those who belong to Him new and better bodies to reign with Him for all eternity.