They decided to act quickly. We are told by some historians that at 10:00 at night, Revere and his friend got their horses and started off to Lexington. They wanted to warn the people that the British were on their way. Paul Revere is credited for those famous words, “The British are Coming! The British are Coming!”
Some historians say that is not an accurate account. They say that as Revere and Dawes were traveling to warn the people, the British soldiers caught them and quickly arrested them. However, while they were being arrested, a man named Dr. Samuel Prescott got past the British soldiers. Prescott got to Concord, and the townspeople were ready for the attack.
These historians say that Samuel Prescott was the hero, but everybody has always given Paul Revere the credit for his midnight ride.
WHAT CAUSED THE CONFLICT?
The historians say that the reason Paul Revere receives the credit for delivering this life saving message, was because of a poem written by a man named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called, “The Midnight Cry of Paul Revere”.
Longfellow named Paul Revere as the man who warned the people of Concord that the British were coming. So, even today many believe that Paul Revere is the main hero.
We probably never will know who delivered that very important message. But the most important message that has ever been delivered is the message of the resurrection.
Never has so much depended on this one solitary message that, CHRIST AROSE FROM THE GRAVE AND IS NO LONGER THERE.
WHY IS THIS THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT HAS EVER BEEN DELIVERED?
Because of a number of reasons, such as:
• The message of the resurrection is the foundation on which Christianity is built.
• Had He not risen from the grave Christianity would not exist.
• The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul stated it this way; "Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not."
In that same chapter, he says in verse 14, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”
But then Paul triumphantly declares in verse 20, “ BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN FROM THE DEAD, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
But there is another reason that this is the most important message that has ever been delivered.
It is important because salvation by Grace depends upon the resurrection of Christ.
If grace is going to be granted, then the ONE who grants it must be alive to grant it.
Again, I remind you that the message of the resurrection is the most important message that has ever been delivered to mankind.
What kind of message was it?
Let’s look at the Word of God to see what kind of message it was.
I. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEITY
How frail we mortals are!
Illus: A germ that is so small that we cannot see it with the naked eye, can knock the biggest man down and destroy him in a short period of time.
We mortals never know when our lives are going to be snatched from us.
However, when the Lord speaks of His life on earth, He said in John 10:18, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."
What a powerful statement the Lord Jesus made.
WHY DID HE MAKE SUCH A STATEMENT?
Because He wanted us to know that he is LIKE US, but yet He is NOT LIKE US.
He was 100% man like we are, but also He is 100% God.
He is the only person who ever walked on this earth that can say about His life, “…I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”
Christ is God wrapped in human flesh.
The message of Easter is one of DEITY!
But also-
II. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEFEAT
We are very familiar with defeat. We see it and talk about it practically every day of our lives.
In the sports world, we sometimes hear about a football team who might run up a ridiculous score against the opposing team. And when a team does that, we say in amazement “That was some defeat!”
In the political world, we sometimes hear about a presidential candidate winning almost all the states in his bid for the presidency. And we again speak in reference to the loosing candidate, we say, “What an overwhelming defeat!”
But listen, THE GREATEST OF ALL DEFEATS took place on a little hill in Jerusalem called Golgotha. This was the greatest defeat that has ever occurred on the face of the earth.
WHY DO WE SAY IT WAS THE GREATEST DEFEAT?
When a political leader is defeated, it may affect our economy and morals for decades, but we generally survive.
When a football team is defeated, it really does not affect us that much. Emotionally we are disappointed, but in a few hours we get over it.
But listen, the defeat that Christ had over Satan on Calvary, affects every man and woman who has ever lived on the face of the earth!
REMEMBER HOW THIS DEFEAT OCCURRED?
In the beginning, it looked like the Lord was defeated.
He cried from that Cross, “It is finished!”
When his mockers heard this, they thought that he was admitting defeat.
No doubt the demons in hell were rejoicing, thinking he was admitting defeat.
But that is not what He was admitting. He was acknowledging that every prophecy that concerned Him was finished.
He was acknowledging that He had paid the price for the sins of mankind. It was finished, HE HAD DEFEATED SATAN ON THE CROSS.
There was nothing else to be done for lost mankind to be redeemed! NOT A THING!
Look at Hebrews 2:14. We read, "…That through death he might DESTROY him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."
Look at the word “Destroy”, this is the Greek word katargeo,(kat-arg-eh'-o) which means to render inoperative, to nullify, to make idle or ineffective, to render as impotent, as though no longer existing.
Never has a DEFEAT meant SO MUCH to SO MANY!
The message of the resurrection is a message of DEITY and DEFEAT, but also-
III. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DESTINY
After He died on the cross and was buried, the biggest lie that has ever been told, was told!
Illus: We categorize lies into small lies, big lies, whoppers, white lie, and black lies, but when they lied about the resurrection, this was the biggest lie that has ever been told.
WHAT WAS THE LIE?
While Jesus was alive, he had predicted that he would rise from the dead.
In John 2:19, He challenged his enemies when He said, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
Many times, Jesus told his disciples that he would be killed by the leaders in Jerusalem, but He would be raised to life on the third day.
The leaders who killed Jesus were aware of this prediction that he would rise from the dead. Although they did not believe it, they wanted to make sure that it would not happen.
WHAT DID THEY DO?
They set a guard around the tomb.
Look at Matthew 27:62-66. We read, “Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.”
They knew that the Lord had predicted His resurrection, and they wanted to make sure that those predictions did not come true. So the order was given for the tomb to be made secured.
Pilate said unto them, “Ye have a watch: go your way, MAKE IT AS SURE AS YE CAN. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.”
They made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone, and posting the guard.
DID THE PLANS OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES SUCCEED?
No! Despite their all their efforts, JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.
The Jews that lied, said that His disciples stole His body. When they told this lie, they told the biggest lie that had ever been told.
WHY WAS THIS THE BIGGEST LIE THAT HAS EVER BEEN TOLD?
Because the resurrection of Christ is the greatest thing in the history of mankind. When someone tells a lie about the greatest thing that has ever occurred, it makes the lie the greatest lie.
The message of Easter is a MESSAGE OF DESTINY.
HE DID RISE FROM THE GRAVE, and He said to all that believe in Him, "…Because I live, ye shall live also."
Conclusion:
The Lord stated that He had the power to LAY HIS LIFE DOWN and to PICK IT UP. But He not only stated it, HE DID IT!
How does the resurrection affect us? There is nothing on this earth that affects us like the resurrection of Christ. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
For example:
(1) The resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is God.
Look at Romans 1:4. Speaking of Christ, it says, “And declared to be the Son of God with power…”
(2) Our salvation depends on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Look at Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
This means that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This tell us that even if some people are in churches, if they reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.
(3) The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates to us that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true.
Everything Jesus taught was true, including his great promise in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Jesus' teachings concerning His person, His work, heaven, hell, and the future judgment are all true.
(4) Our own resurrection depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:14, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
(5) The power for our present Christian life, is the power of his resurrection.
We read about this in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
People often ask, "How can we live this Christian life?" We can live it by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
The Bible says, “…that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
I. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEITY
II. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEFEAT
III. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DESTINY
