He is Alive! The Resurrection! Easter!
For many it was just another day.
Perhaps the Sun was shining, birds singing,
Just an ordinary day.
Men were off to work; fields, fishing, hunting,
Carpenters had things to build, day laborers worked at whatever they could find,
others were off to the stone quarries
Some Army? Politics, off to the courthouse? Others to the synagogue.
Women were washing, cleaning, Taking care of kids,
milking the goats, baking bread, preparing the noon meal,
Just an ordinary day.
For some it was not just another day
Apostles it was a horrible day
Jesus was dead,
He was buried
Didn’t know what to do
Hopes & dreams of a new Kingdom were gone
How could they have been so wrong?
How could Jesus have been 3.5 years of talk, then a weekend of disaster?
Their world was coming to an end, back to the fishing nets.
They had all been so afraid they all finally ran away
Had a meeting planned for that evening, meet & no doubt some decisions would be made
Thomas, one of the Apostles apparently was so afraid, disillusioned he wasn’t going to show up.
Mary the mother of Jesus, no doubt, it was a terribly sad day,
Friday before she watched her son was executed, common criminal, on a cross
Saturday was the Sabbath so she couldn’t even go to the tomb, perhaps she spent the day
weeping, feeling alone, trying to understand
Today, Sunday, Sabbath was over, she could go to the tomb, but for whatever reason, she
chose not to go to the tomb.
Grief? Despair? Mother’s intuition? God speak to her and say, Don’t Go?
But Mary Magdalene & the other Mary had a job to do.
They were going to the tomb to permanently embalm the body of Jesus
Matt. 28: NIV 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
And then, the world began to shake again.
“Not another earthquake.
“We just had a huge earthquake when Jesus died
“What’s happening?”
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
And the ordinary day became extraordinary
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
“What did you say? Jesus is RISEN? Show me?
Angel said, “Come and see the place where he lay.”
And they looked and saw an empty grave…
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Questions in their head? (I’m just guessing)
Who will believe us?
“You know how they always say, “You brunettes are always out there on the edge.
“Make fun of us,
“How can we convince them”
As if Jesus was listening to their very thoughts
MSG Matt. 28:9-10 Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him.
Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."
So they ran and told about the empty tomb & actually seeing Jesus
16-17Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him.
What started for some as an ordinary day, became extraordinary
What started for the Apostles as a day of failure, despair
What started for Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene & the other Mary
Turned into a day of celebration, wonder, awe,
Maybe even a little shouting & dancing!
It wasn’t long before that entire region of the country was aware that something unbelievable had happened
AT CRUCIFXION Matt. 27:53 What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)
So on this early Sunday morning some were getting the shock of their lives:
Mothers, had returned to them their beloved sons
Fathers had returned to them their beloved daughters.
Friends were reunited with their old synagogue mates
Their old football buddies
500 in all were raised from the dead and released from their tombs
Why? IN THE WORDS OF THE ANGEL …HE IS RISEN!!!
Joseph of Arimathea was a very wealthy Pharisee, a member of the council, and a secret follower of Jesus.
It was Joseph who went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion.
And it was Joseph who supplied the tomb for Jesus’ burial.
Well, it seems that someone pulled him aside and said, "Joseph, that was such beautiful, costly, hand-hewn tomb.
Why on earth did you give it to someone else to be buried in?"
Joseph just smiled. "Why not? He only needed it for the weekend."
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 (NIV), Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, (WHY JAMES? BROTHER!!) then to all the apostles,
What was the message??
Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;
Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
A Muslim in Africa became a Christian and some of his friends asked him,
“Why have you done such a thing?”
He answered, “Well, its like this:
Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions. You didn’t know which way to go;
and there at the fork were two men—
one dead, and one alive—
which one would you ask to show you the way?”
The difference between following Mohammed and Jesus, is JESUS IS ALIVE!
The difference between following Buddha and Jesus, is JESUS IS ALIVE!
The difference between following Śiva, Viṣṇu , or the Goddess Devī of the Hindu faith, and Jesus, is JESUS IS ALIVE!
The difference between following Buddha and Jesus, is JESUS IS ALIVE!
The difference between following the messiah yet to come of Judaism and Jesus is, the Messiah Jesus, has come & JESUS IS ALIVE!
OF THE FIVE MAJOR RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD
ISLAM, BUDDAISM, HINDUISM, JUDAISM & CHRISTIANITY:
The major difference is:
OUR MESSIAH, OUR SAVIOR, OUR JESUS THE CHRIST, IS ALIVE and well & RULING TODAY FROM HEAVEN.
Matt. 28:
16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Because He was resurrected we can participate in and benefit from that resurrection!
Romans 6
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
BECAUSE HE WAS RESURRECTED, WE TOO WILL BE RESURRECTED!
I Cor. 15:
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
VICTORY IN CHRIST IS BECAUSE OF HIS RESURRECTION!
Acts 2: 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
God Sent His Son, They Called Him Jesus;
He Came To Love, Heal And Forgive.
He Lived And Died To Buy My Pardon;
An Empty Grave Is There To Prove My Savior Lives.
How Sweet To Hold A Newborn Baby,
And Feel The Pride And Joy He Gives;
But Greater Still The Calm Assurance:
This Child Can Face Uncertain Days Because He Lives.
And Then One Day I'll Cross The River;
I'll Fight Life's Final War With Pain.
And Then, As Death Gives Way To Vict'ry,
I'll See The Lights Of Glory And I'll Know He Reigns.
Chorus:
Because He Lives
I Can Face Tomorrow
Because He Lives
All Fear Is Gone
Because I Know He Holds The Future
And Life Is Worth The Living
Just Because He Lives
A man was in front of a preacher coming out of the church one day.
The preacher grabbed him by the hand, pulled him aside and said to him,
"You need to join the Army of the Lord!"
The man replied, "I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Preacher."
The Preacher questioned, "How come I don’t see you except on special occasions like Christmas and Easter?"
He whispered back, "I’m in the secret service.
WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND JESUS LIVES.
WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND JESUS WAS RESURRECTED
WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND JESUS IS SITTING ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD
WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND JESUS IS WAITING TO COME BACK FOR YOU AND ME
YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY STAY IN THE SECRET SERVICE.
Like Peter & John after being thrown in jail
Acts 4
1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Said I Wasn't by George Pendergrass
(Audience Sing this together)
Said I wasn't gonna tell anybody,
But I couldn't keep it to myself.
Couldn't keep it to myself.
Couldn't keep it to myself.
Said I wasn't gonna tell anybody,
But I couldn't keep it to myself
What the Lord has done for me, for me.
Chorus-women echo
You oughta been there
When He saved my soul.
You oughta been there
When He put my name on the roll
I'll keep walking
And I'll keep talking
And I'll keep singing
And I'll keep shouting
What the Lord has done for me
Said I wasn't gonna sing about it...
Said I wasn't gonna shout about it...
Invitation
