Death Burial Resurrection2

04/08/2007

DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION!

1 CORINTHIANS 15: 1-4

            **The last three weeks have been especially exciting and rewarding to us as a Church. They have been exciting and rewarding to me for the obvious reasons but also for reasons that are not necessarily obvious to anyone else.

            **I believe that I have been led by the Holy Spirit to preach exactly what the Lord has desired for me to preach. The reason that I say that is because each of the last three weeks I believe that I have “heard” the Lord tell me what to preach.

            **For example I believe that I heard the Lord tell me to preach on “Baptizing This Place With His Glory” for our first service and I also believe that I was led by the Holy Spirit to preach on the subject of Covenant Relationships last week.

            **So while I was trying to decide what I should preach today, I believe that I heard the Lord specifically say to my spirit DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION!

            **I believe that God wants us to be reminded that EASTER simply means GOOD NEWS! I don’t know about you but my life can always benefit from some really GOOD NEWS!

            **As we celebrate Easter today, God wants to make sure that we do not get cheated in our celebration. If we hide the eggs for the children, if we go out to eat with family and friends God wants us to enjoy the GOOD NEWS about EASTER!

            **The word for GOSPEL is a word that simply means GOOD NEWS!

            **So with that in mind I want you to notice three things about DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION with me from the Word of God. First of all:

Scripture:

I.       AFFIRMS THE DEATH!

            A.        The PROCESS was BRUTAL!

            1 Cor 15: 3 that Christ died . . .

**When it comes to talking about the Death of Jesus Paul simply states the fact that CHRIST DIED . . .

**Paul believed that his Corinthian audience would know exactly how BRUTAL the PROCESS the death of Christ really was!

**They would know what many of us may not know and that is that the death of Jesus involved two major parts. The first part is called:

            1)         SCOURGING:

            Mt. 27: 26 but after having Jesus scourged . . .

**Scourging involved a person being tied to a “whipping post” and their garments would be stripped from their upper body. An instrument known as “a cat of nine tails” would be used to beat the back of the one being scourged.

**The “cat of nine tails” had nine individual strands of leather and pieces of bone or metal were sown into the ends of these leather strands. The bone or metal were bent or shaped much like a fish hook.

**Every time the person was struck with the cat of nine tails pieces of flesh would be ripped from the body and blood would begin to flow profusely from the back and sides of the individual.

**When Jesus was scourged, they beat Him 39 times with the cat of nine tails and the soldiers who beat him were demonized and filled with demonic hatred for the thrice Holy Son of God!

**The prophet Isaiah said this about the scourging of Jesus: Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well being fell upon Him, and by His SCOURGING we are healed (Isa 53: 4-5)!

**After the Roman soldiers collapsed from exhaustion from beating Jesus 39 times with the cat of nine tails, Jesus was now ready for the next part of The PROCESS that was so BRUTAL. It is simply called:

            2)         CRUCIFIXION:

            Mt. 27: 35 and when they had crucified Him . . .

**Roman crucifixion was perhaps the cruelest form of punishment that a man could be killed with. It involved carrying a large, heavy cross beam through town to humiliate the person.

**The person would be led outside of the city of Jerusalem and in the case of Jesus to a hill that was also known as The Place of the Skull.

**When they arrived at the place also known as GOLGOTHA or as we refer to it CALVARY, they laid Him down on the cross beam across the back of His shoulders and they nailed spikes through His hands or wrists.

**Then they slightly bent His knees and nailed His feet to the cross and lifted Him up in the air and placed His cross into the ground.

**They placed Him in the middle of two thieves and began hurling accusations at Him. Spitting at Him and the soldiers began playing games at the foot of His cross.

**So today when you hear and or read the words CHRIST DIED I want you to remember that The PROCESS was BRUTAL but I also want you to remember that:

            B.        The PURPOSE was BEAUTIFUL!

            1 Cor 15: 3 that Christ died for our sins!

**Why did Christ choose to die such a cruel death? Notice what the apostle Paul says in 1 Cor 15: 3 “That Christ Died FOR OUR SINS!”

**I don’t know about you but that makes me want to say WELL GLORY!

**Not only does Scripture AFFIRM the DEATH of Jesus but:

Scripture also:

II.      ACKNOWLEDGES THE BURIAL!

            A.        The HISTORICAL significance!

            1 Cor 15: 4 and that He was buried

            1)         JOSEPH confirms the DEITY of Jesus!

            Mt 27: 57 When it was evening, there came a rich man        from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also      become a disciple of Jesus!

            **What do we know about Joseph?

            *He was a rich man (Mt 27: 57) He was a disciple of Jesus (27: 57), He was a member of the ruling body of Jews called the Sanhedrin (Mk 15: 43), As a ruling member of the Sanhedrin he did not consent to nor agree with the decision to put Jesus to death (Lk 23: 51), He was looking for the kingdom of God (23: 51), He gathered up the courage to ask Pilate for permission to take the body of Jesus down from the cross and give Him a proper burial (23: 43), He wrapped the dead body of Jesus in linen cloth and buried Him in a tomb that had never been used.

            **What is the Historical significance of all of that? Notice in your notes the quote from Isaiah 53: 9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death!

**More than 700 years earlier a prophet named Isaiah recorded a prophecy that would be fulfilled when Jesus was buried!

**So we see that Joseph confirms the DEITY of Jesus but notice also that:

            2)         MARY confirms the TESTIMONY of Jesus!

            Mt 12: 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!           

            Mt 28: 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen             from the dead . . . 8 and they left the tomb quickly with fear            and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples!

            **There are actually two women named Mary that confirms the testimony of Jesus through His burial. Mary known as Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph (27: 56).

            **These two women traveled with Jesus during His public ministry. They were close by Him while He was being scourged and crucified.

            **On that first Easter Sunday they were “sitting opposite from the tomb” in sorrow and unbelievable agony. They were unable and unwilling to “leave the dead body” of Jesus.

            **As a result they were among the first to know that Jesus had been raised from the dead! Can you imagine what it was like for them to “share their testimony” from that day on?

            **So we see that JOSEPH confirms the DEITY of Jesus and the two Mary’s confirm the TESTIMONY of Jesus but perhaps my favorite is the fact that the:

            3)         PHARISEES confirm the VALIDITY of Jesus!

            Mt 27: 62 on the next day . . . 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 . . . 65 Pilate said, “You have a guard; go, make it as     secure as you know how.”

            B.        The SPIRITUAL significance!

            1 Peter 3: 18 For Christ also died for sins once and for all   19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the    spirits in prison . . .

            **What happened to Jesus during the three days and nights His body was laid in the tomb?

            **Peter tells us that He went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison . . .

            **Hebrews 2: 14 tells us that . . . through death He rendered powerless him who HAD the power of death, that is, the devil!

            **Colossians 2: 14 having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees that were against us! 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, having triumphed over them through Him!

            C.        The PRACTICAL significance!

            Romans 6: 5 For if we have become united with Him in the             likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the   likeness of His resurrection!

**So we see that Scripture AFFIRMS the DEATH of Jesus and it ACKNOWLEDGES the BURIAL of Jesus but notice that:

Scripture also:

III.    AUTHENTICATES THE RESURRECTION!

            A.        A RELIABLE book AFFIRMS it!

            1 Cor 15: 4 and that He was raised on the third day,            according to the SCRIPTURES!

            B.        A SUPERNATURAL life DEMANDS it!

            Acts 1: 1 about all that Jesus began to do and teach!

            C.        The INFALLIBLE proof CONFIRMS it!

            Acts 1: 3 To those He presented Himself alive after His        suffering by many convincing proofs . . .

            D.        The VISIBLE ascension GUARANTEES it!

            Acts 1: 9 He was lifted up while they were looking on and   a cloud received Him out of their sight!