Text: Verse 19
The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the single greatest defining moment in all of history. In actual fact, the very life of this Man from Galilee is the central event of all time. When we consider His life we see that it centres around three major events. Each of these three is intertwined –they can not be separated. Each part substantiates the other and to remove one from the equation, nullifies the remaining two.
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was no ordinary Man. He was not, as that University professor speaking at New Life declared, “Just a bloke; just an ordinary bloke, with smelly feet and a big nose.” No He is much more than that!
The Bible declares that He is the virgin born, Son of God. God of very God, robed in fleshed. The creator and sustainers of all things, Who came to dwell among men.
He lived a sinless life and fulfilled the Law of His Father to perfection. Jesus said, “I came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfil them!” And so He did.
This same Jesus, Who devoted Himself to others, Who was moved with compassion to heal their sick, to meet their needs –This same Jesus Who was celebrated at His entry into Jerusalem, was rejected and ultimately crucified for love of you.
According to the Bible the story does not end there. The Virgin Born, Son of God, Who Vicariously Died for you, stepped out of the tomb Victoriously on the third day.
These three events: His birth, His death and His resurrection are intertwined and can not be separated. To disprove one, is to disprove them all. To reject one is to reject them all. They stand together. But the capstone of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ is His bodily resurrection.
The greatest single event in human history, displaying the most tremendous force and exerting the most powerful influence upon the entire world, was not a mighty military victory. It was not an amazing achievement of the arts. It was not an ingenious invention of man. It was not a stupendous scientific discovery –not event the discovery and development of nuclear weaponry. Honest research into history results in but on conclusion: the world shaking and world shaping occurrence of all time was the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ in the land of Palestine, nearly 2,000 years ago.
Since that time, no phase of life upon the earth in any age has been unaffected by the fact that Christ arose. Wherever the tidings of this event have reached, they have altered the living and thinking of ‘nations, kindreds, peoples and tongues.”
Dear friend what I am saying to you this morning is that Christ’s resurrection is “the Gibraltar of Christian faith and the Waterloo of infidelity.”
For 2000 years, satan has attempted to erase this event from the pages of history. Thousands upon thousands of sceptics, scoffers and sinners have devoted their lives in attempting to discredit the Gospel records. But they can not! Friend Jesus is alive!
I love the story of that event that took place in the early 1920s when Communist leader Nikolai Bukharin was sent from Moscow to Kiev to address an anti-God rally. For an hour he abused and ridiculed the Christian faith until it seemed as if the whole structure of belief was in ruins. Then questions were invited. An Orthodox church priest rose and asked to speak. He turned, faced the people, and gave the Easter greeting, "He is risen!" Instantly the assembly rose to its feet and the reply came back loud and clear, "He is risen indeed!"
Jesus is alive! In this passage before us, in John 14:19; Jesus gives this glorious promise to His disciples: “Because I live, ye shall live also!”
Introduction 2 (About this Passage)
There are three things that I want to impress upon your hear this morning.
1. The Plan of God
John 13:31-33, Jesus warns His disciples of those things that would soon take place. In the previous weeks, more and more details have been given to them concerning His passion. All the while, the disciples were questioning to one another what Jesus meant by sayings such as,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.”
“I have power to lay down my life and power to take it up again. No man taketh it from but I lay it down of myself.
The Son of Man must be delivered in to the hands of sinful men, and be crucified and on the third rise again.
We must never loose sight of the fact that the events of the Passion Week did not catch God by surprise. Jesus knew His purpose. He knew what that hour entailed. He knew when His hour was approaching and he faced it with the full assurance of knowing what would take place 3 days later. Jesus went to the cross, knowing the grave would not be His end.
2. The Power of God
I can image all of hell in celebration when Jesus cried out, “It is finished” and yielded up the ghost and died. I can almost hear the tumult of satan’s forces in laughter, and cheers as the precious Son of God submitted Himself to scourging, the mockery and the cross. For three days, it would seem that heaven had lost, hell had won; chaos had triumph and satan would be victorious –but then came Sunday!
The death, doom and despair of Friday had passed.
The violent, blood thirsty crowds had dispersed.
The darkness of that hid the noon day sun was over
Friday was gone –Sunday has come.
There in that tomb, lay Jesus’ lifeless body. His sacrifice for my sin was made. The cold putrid fingers of death hold tightly upon Him –but Sunday had come.
And Up from the grave He Arose! Oh see the power of God! Romans 1:4, the Bible says that He was declared to be the son of God with POWER, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead!”
Acts 2:23, 24:
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
The grave could not hold Him! Just as you can not impede the rising of the morning sun –all the power of hell itself was incapable of holding Jesus one second longer than He had determined!
3. The Promise of God
Jesus promise is clear: Because I live –ye shall live also.
The story is told of a Christian missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a very large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily. A hospital was not too terribly far away – across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. They were convinced that entering the water would mean certain death.
The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand into the water. They still would not go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river.
Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer and followed him across. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death and came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him.
Death and darkness, get you packing,
Nothing now to man is lacking,
All your triumphs now are ended,
And what Adam marred, is mended.
Because Jesus lives, you can live also. The gift of eternal life was purchased by His death. The resurrection is the receipt that proves God the Father accepted that payment. By placing your faith in Christ Jesus you can have an abundant life now and life eternal in the ages to come. –“Because I live, ye shall live also.”
