HoHum:
There’s a story about a Sunday School kindergarten teacher who was trying to determine how much Christian training her new students had. She found one 5 year-old boy who knew absolutely nothing about the story of Jesus. She began by relating to him the death of Jesus on the cross. When he asked her what a cross was, she picked up some sticks and, fashioning a crude cross, she told him that Jesus had been nailed to a cross and had died. The little boy, with eyes downcast, quietly said, "Oh, that's too bad!" But then the teacher quickly related that Christ rose again and came back to life. Hearing that, his face lit up, and he exclaimed, "Totally awesome!" Well, it IS totally awesome, when we stop to think about it.
WBTU:
Christ’s main work of redemption was not completed when Jesus cried out on the cross: “It is finished!” True, the suffering and humiliation was done for Christ but the triumphant phase of this work was yet to come, and was begun 3 days later when he arose from the dead.
To understand the importance of the resurrection of Jesus, we must understand that this whole world is under the penalty of death.
This judgment includes physical death; all die physically as the result of Adam’s sin.
This also includes spiritual death; all sinners are spiritual dead before God even while they live in this world.
If this continues unchanged for a human soul, judgment ends in eternal death in lake of fire.
Here is the good news, every aspect of death is removed for the redeemed. However, physical death still remains and it will always remain until the second coming of Christ.
Through Christ’s resurrection a power is available that can reverse the conditions of death and restore us to life. We can pass from death to life. But how?
Thesis: Today we will talk about 3 reasons for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For instances:
Christ’s Resurrection Devastates His Enemies
Through the fall of Satan and the Fall of mankind, our enemies were empowered to strive against God and against his plan for the creation. These enemies include Satan and his dominion of darkness, sin, death, and Hades (the place of death).
1 John 3:8: The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Hebrews 2:14-15: by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death- that is, the devil- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
The major battle between Christ and these enemies began with the cross, where Satan indeed bruised Jesus’ heel (Genesis 3:15) and probably thought he had gained the victory over him by bringing Christ under the power of death.
Satan is not all knowing and this appears to be one thing he did not know. What he did not know was that in this “victory” Satan had already lost his war against God, because the cross itself was already pulling the sting out of sin and death and thereby rendering the devil’s main weapon powerless (Hebrews 2:14-15).
By taking on himself the penalty and condemnation for the sins of the whole human race, Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities, and he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).
What Satan also did not know, or maybe did not believe, was the Jesus would actually rise from the dead. The divine power that brought Jesus back to life and set him free from the tomb absolutely devastated all his foes. He was put to death, but “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24).
The risen Christ declares in Revelation 1:18: I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
2 Timothy 1:10: He “has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
We need a champion. Jesus is our champion. He fought with Satan and won. The best illustration of this is 1 Samuel 17 where the giant Goliath, offered to do battle as the champion of the Philistines. His proposal was I will fight as the representative of the Philistines, now you Israelites select a champion to fight me. If your champion defeats me, we will serve you; but if I defeat your champion, then you will serve us. It wasn’t until a shepherd boy came that Israel found a champion. We know that David prevailed and won. Jesus prevailed and won over Satan through the resurrection.
Christ’s enemies are our enemies too; but we do not fear them because Christ shares with us his own victory over them. He delivers us from the dominion of Satan and gives us His power. 1 John 4:4: the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Christ’s Resurrection Inaugurates His Kingdom
The OT foretold that the great King would come and establish his eternal kingdom. Jesus was that King. By defeating his enemies through the cross and resurrection, he formally and literally established his kingship over all things.
Matthew 28:18: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Acts 2:32-33: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, and enthronement are one grand event that can be described as his exaltation. Philippians 2:9 says this happened after his crucifixion, “God exalted him to the highest place.”
Daniel 7:13-14: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Episode of The Andy Griffith Show where Barney came across a couple of guys selling produce out of their truck without a license. He runs them out of town, but these fellas find out that Barney is really more of a blowhard than anything, and come back to town. After intimidating him, he slinks back to the office, but then comes to the realization that he needs to confront these guys. His words to them went along the lines of the fact that his uniform and his badge stood for more than Barney Fife. They stood for the authority of law and order, and that was bigger than Barney and these guys put together. That did the trick, and they left. Barney represented the authority of the people. But the Son of Man doesn’t just represent the authority. He is the authority. He is the court of final appeal, and that authority is His simply because He is the Son of Man, given authority by the Father.
Being risen from the dead and enthroned at God’s right hand, and declared to be “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), Jesus reigns now from heaven as King of Kings and Lord of lords.
We cannot avoid the conclusion that the promised kingdom of the Messiah has already begun.
Christ’s Resurrection Validates His Cross
Christ’s enemies thought they had beaten him through the cross, but when he arose, they realized it was the other way around. Satan cannot automatically drag us down with him to eternal death merely by luring us into sin. The cross had paid the penalty of eternal death for us, and the risen Christ is enthroned at God’s right hand as the constant reminder that the price for our sins has been paid.
Romans 8:34: Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. In this verse the relationship between Christ’s resurrection and his present intercessory work as our great high priest is made clear. If Christ had not risen from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, the atoning work of the cross would have been nullified.
Several times in Hebrews Psalm 110:4 is quoted: The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” What does this mean? It means that Christ began his work as priest by offering himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and he continues his work as priest by presenting himself before the Father as our perpetual intercessor.
Hebrews 7:25: Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
“Intercede” means “to plead with someone for somebody else.” In other words, Jesus isn’t on God’s right hand, shooting spit balls or playing tiddlywinks with the continents. He is constantly talking to God about us!
Conclusion and invitation:
Plan of salvation
After a Muslim in Africa was converted to Christ, his friends asked him why he became a Christian. He answered, “Well, it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and 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 the way to go?
