Jesus Is Not Here: He Is Risen

Jesus is not here: He is risen

Matthew 28:1-10

Introduction:

This morning for the Christian is a celebration. It is in the remembrance of the first resurrection Sunday. The word Easter appears only in the KJV one time(Acts 12:4), but proper remembrance would be the resurrection.

I have nothing against the Easter Bunny , but the celebration is because of Jesus Christ. The one who has conquered the grave and stood the world on end.

I do not think that it is a coincidence that at this most holy week for Christians that Newsweek came out with an article that says”Christianity down in America”.

Atheism is up.

Post Christian thinking is turning a corner. (I pray that it just keeps going)

Listening to twits like Christopher Hitshens, who wrote a book called “God is not great)

Or the disturbing writings of philosopher Neitzske.

Lets not talk about :

The atheist Christopher Hitshens.

The philosopher Neitzske.

Lets not even talk about the great evangelist Billy Graham who has spoken over the last 60 years to over 250 million people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lets talk about Jesus Christ

Last week Jesus was celebrated as He enters Jerusalem, and honored and hailed as the leader for the Jews, then when he doesn’t do what they expected, but did what God the Father told Him, we see Him arrested, tried, crucified.

Each of the gospels records the event- each adding important parts to the plan of God.

Mark- Adds that Jesus the Nazarene

Luke- Why do you look for the living among the dead.

John- gives the account of the folded burial cloth (we will look at later).

It is a fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

That is all documented and proven by the witnesses who recorded it.

The Romans wanted to tell everyone that the disciples stole the body. Matthew 28:12.

The problem with that is that on one would be willing to die for a lie.

The Romans could of shot down the whole resurrection account simply by producing the body of Jesus.

Christ predicted His resurrection.

John 2:19- “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”.

Matthew 12:40- “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

The angel at the tomb- “He is not here, for He is risen, as he has said”

Here’s the question- what are you going to do with this Jesus?

He is the risen Lord- you accept what He has done and you have a born again experience and He becomes your risen Lord.

He is the risen Lord- you reject what He has done, and you are lost in your sins.

The gospel is good news

If you remove the resurrection from the gospel, you don’t have food news anymore.

There is no such thing as a ½ gospel.

“And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:7)

Believing in a dead savior is meaningless and pathetic.

Kevin this week talked about heaven, you missed a good one. Heaven is only available to us through Jesus Christ.

Good people will miss heaven. It is about a Savior, not good people.

Those that put their trust in Jesus Christ will make heaven their home.

Illustration-(Sermon Central)

If you were being chased by a madman, and you had to choice of running either to a house full of people or a cemetery for help. Where would you run? I think I would chose the house full of people. Why? Because the house full of people could help while the cemetery is filled with dead people.

The gospel is good news. It really is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes”

The events of the resurrection of Christ , which we now call Easter cannot be reduced to a creed.

The disciples do not want you to believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. We are asked to meet the person that was raised from the dead. Ultimate truth is in the person of Jesus Christ.

“I am the way, the truth, the life, no man comes to the Father except through me”

Question 1

what are you going to do with Jesus?

Reject or accept what he has done.

One to eternal life with Him. One to eternal life condemned in your sins.

Question 2

If you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, what does the resurrection of Jesus mean to you?

The empty tomb changed everything for the disciples, and it changes everything for you and I .

The resurrection provides us an opportunity to start over.

No matter what your circumstances, as long as your breathing , you have an opportunity to change.