Sermon Tone Analysis

Happy Resurrection day!

My goal this morning to to encourage you and unite you in love, so that you can have the full riches of complete understanding and that you may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, which in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

It is because of Jesus that we are gathered here this morning.

We are celebrating all that lead up to and including his resurrection from the dead.

His life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

I do not want to waste my time or your time.

I want to get to the point by asking two questions.

What does the resurrection of Jesus mean and why does his resurrection matter?

Many people share a similar view: I believe in the resurrection; I just don’t understand it.

They believe in the resurrection because we have first hand accounts of it happening.

We read the gospels, Acts, or any of the epistles and they will provide ample first person evidence that Jesus rose from the dead.

Scriptures detail that the tomb was empty and found by women in Jesus’ ministry.

Women!

For us today, that is nothing, but in that time period a women’s testimony hindered your cause.

For Scripture to include brings big evidence that Jesus rose from the grave.

Aside from that we have historical references that Jesus met people, touched them, and talked with them after he was crucified.

There is a moment described that tells us he talked to about 500 people after he had risen from the dead.

A lot of people saw him.

But what does his resurrection mean?

It means three things: 1) Jesus is who he claimed to be; 2) Jesus has the power he claimed to have; and 3) Jesus did what he promised to do.

The Resurrection means Jesus is who he claimed to be

John 11:25 says,

That’s a pretty outrageous claim.

He said things like he is God.

He’s perfect.

He’s the only way to eternal life.

He’s the savior of the world.

A lot of people try to summarize Jesus into a good teacher.

“I don’t know if I believe in his deity, but he did say good things...”

Here is something I know, a good teacher would never say anything like that.

I could teach you moral truths and you might say, “Chase is a good teacher.”

But if I started calling myself God, you wouldn’t think I was a good teacher anymore.

Jesus was either who he said he was, or he was the biggest liar who ever lived.

Consider the day Jesus cleared the moneychangers out of the temple.

The temple had been turned into a Trufont Flea Market, so he drove them all out.

They said, “what right do you have to do this?”

And he replied, “Because I am God.”

Then they said, “prove it!”

And he said, “Deal.

Three days after you kill me, I’m going to come back to life.”

He claimed to be God, and his resurrection backs up what he claimed to be.

John 14:6 says,

That’s a strong claim.

He said, “I am the way.”

He didn’t say, I’m one way, I’m a good way, or i’m one of the ways.

He didn’t say all roads lead to heaven.

That’s foolish.

It would be like saying I can take any road and get home.

There is only one road that will get me home.

Jesus said, “I am the truth.”

That means any other way is not the truth.

He claimed to be God.

He said, “No one can get you to God the Father except by me.”

The Resurrection means Jesus has the power he claimed to have

At the end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus says, “All power on earth and in heaven has been given to me.”

Because Jesus is God, he can also do everything God can do.

When he says in John 10:18

He means it.

No force on could keep Jesus in the tomb.

The Jewish leaders set him up to die, the Romans killed him, put him in a tomb, put a big stone in front, sealed it with the Roman seal, and posted a 24-hour guard.

They were trying to prevent the inevitable.

Jesus had already told them: You can’t stop me.

I can give my life away, and I can take it up again.

The Resurrection means Jesus did what he promised to do

In Mark 10:34 Jesus tells the disciples about what will happen to him and he says the chief priests and teachers of the law,

The cross was no surprise to Jesus.

It was all a part of God’s plan.

When the women found the empty tomb they were met by an angel who said, “don’t be alarmed.

You are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here.

He has risen!

Just like he said he would.”

Jesus did what he promised and when God makes a promise, you can count on it.

That’s what the resurrection means — because Jesus did rise from the dead, he is who he said he was, he has the power he said he had, and he keeps the promises he makes.

So what?

Why does the resurrection matter to me?

It matters for three reasons: because Jesus is who he claimed to be, has the power he claimed to have, and does what he promises to do.

The Resurrection matters because my past can be forgiven

That’s good news.

Have you ever been halfway through a project and wished you could start over?

You realized the colors and design clash, but there is no turning back unless you got the cash flow to support a big change.

A lot of times people feel that way about life.

They get halfway through life and wish they could start over.

If only this or that had been different.

We have all done things we wish we hadn’t done, said things we wish we hadn’t said, and thought things we wish we hadn’t thought.

We all have regrets.

We all feel bad about things.

We all have guilt.

Messy divorces.

Messy family dynamics.

Lost job opportunities.

Wasted time on insignificant things rather than important things.

Feeling on the verge of collapse because things have crumbled around them.

Unable to move, to react or relate anymore.

The tragedy is, I know a lot of people like that.

They can’t get on with the present and the future because they’re stuck in the past.

Shame, guilt, or regret has tied them down.

Sometimes it looks like letting a former relationship mess up their current one.

They have given up, “guess I’ll have to live with this the rest of my life.”

They’re running around with this emotional and spiritual baggage, and they’re wondering why they’re stuck.