Sermon Tone Analysis

The glorious good news that Jesus died for our sin and rose from the dead to confirm our hope of eternal life in heaven.

It is a powerful story… one that many today in a world where forgiveness, mercy and grace has existed for over 2000 years eliminating blood sacrifice of the innocent for the guilty...

We are so far removed, we often do not understand.

Today, many will color Easter eggs, have little hunts, eat candy chicks and bunnies — share flowers - all things related to new life that comes in the season of Spring —

For many the celebrations of the people of the Kingdom of God has disappeared, and the celebration of a non godly, actually pagan world, rejoicing in the change of a solstice will be all that is focused on today.

For Christians, however, Easter and the celebration of NEW LIFE IN CHRIST through the death and resurrection of Jesus - is still our foremost FOCUS!

We remember that all of mankind was lost to sin and had no hope of eternal life in heaven or forgiveness of the ways we broke the Lord’s laws of righteousness.... until JESUS

and

For those of you joining us this morning, our church family has been exploring Jesus being the lamb of God - the one who would die once and for all to take away our sins.

We explored how Jesus was anointed with precious ointments twice before his death that signified Him being chosen as the Lamb to die for our sin, and we looked at the trial to find him guilty and worthy of death in which he was declared innocent - and yet given up for our guilt!!!

This morning I want to spend just a few moments talking about the VALIDATION of CHRIST in His death, resurrection and through His church.

What does validate mean?

Validate means...

a: to support or corroborate on a sound or authoritative basis experiments designed to validate the hypothesis

b: to recognize, establish, or illustrate the worthiness or legitimacy ofvalidate his concerns

Jesus made some profound statements of who He was and what He would do… this GOOD NEWS was validated through the events we celebrate at Easter.

1. Validated in Death

For a season prior to His death, Jesus told and warned his followers that He would be taken and put to death in Jerusalem and that these things would be required for the plan of God the Father to be fulfilled.

His disciples struggled with this, in fact, Peter proclaimed it shall not be so - to which Jesus called his words that of Satan and rejected them.

In order for Jesus to be validated in death, He had to become the final sacrifice for sin...

The Hebrews sacrificed for the sins of the nation and people every year - at Passover, but this was the final sacrifice.

The sacrifice was brought into the Holy of Holies in the Temple and the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat of God so when God looked down he did not see the guilt of the people but the blood of the lamb....

Jesus was validated upon His death, when He made a way into the Holy of Holies...

Three of the 4 Gospel writers record the Veil in the temple being torn in two...

This veil separated a room that only a High Priest could enter once annually with a rope tied around his feet in case he was found unworthy and died inside.

This “veil” was over 60 feet long, 30 feet high and 4 inches thick - interwoven with heavy wools, precious metals, and threads and sewn in a honeycomb pattern for strength and the inability to see through.

This was not something that could just tear...

Supernaturally it was torn not in many pieces, but from top to bottom, two pieces making one way into the presence of God.

This occured at the same time as the earthquake when Jesus died.

Later...

AROUND 70 AD - the Roman Empire destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, and no sacrifices have been offered since.

Jesus in His death on the cross - when He declared IT is Finished - made a way into the presence of God without any priests or mediators, but with our faith in His sacrifice, and then the sacrifices ceased.... His was the only one needed.

Both the earthquake upon his death, and the tearing of the VEIL was VALIDATION - legitimizing His sacrifice as the only one needed to please God and pay the price for the sins of the entire world.

2. Validated in Resurrection

Jesus then three days later rose from the dead.

After he had descended to hell and took the keys of Hades from death and the grave, He rose again.

This was also a measure of validation

What other prophet, or self proclaimed god in this world ever claimed to raise himself from the dead - and did????

Islam, Buddism, Hinduism, nor any other religion out there can make such a claim, but Christianity has a validated one ...

Jesus said before His death He would rise from the dead, he foretold this event!

and he did.

So much so the Jewish leaders required a host of troops to guard the tomb

Four guards awake in four hour shifts, as many as 50 guards standing watch over this tomb with the penalty of death if the seal was allowed to be broken...

Yet, when the miraculous event of Resurrection occured, not one was put to death and people were paid off to spread lies...

They were there to prevent a body being stolen under the penalty of death, no soldier would ever risk if not for the greed of a payoff… to show their weakness.

The very resurrection of Christ validated HIS CLAIMS to being the SON OF GOD - the MESSIAH, the SAVIOR sent from Heaven.

3. Validated by His Church

The greatest validation of who Christ was comes through the church, and is still marching on today.

Cults have not survived the years as truths do not remain, but the death and resurrection of Christ changed the world forever, historically as much as spiritually.

Even our calendar is set by this event.

The eye witness account of the followers of Christ and their willingness to go into the world with the Great Commission He left to them continues to validate this truth.

Still being proclaimed and even died for in many parts of the world today.

These witnesses to the resurrection and their shared faith in Christ, has been proclaimed from generation to generation, and still today through this hopeful message of Jesus death and resurrection - HIS CHURCH proclaiming HIS GOOD NEWS is altering lives by the millions in every generation.

This is validation to His claim, because His claim is truth!!!

CONCLUSION

Today, we serve the Lord who was crucified, buried and rose again, and is still being proclaimed throughout the world as the faithful in each generation look for His second coming.

He is the way, the truth and the life....

Will you accept the validation His truth today?

The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, and He is coming back for a church that is watching and waiting for His arrival.