The HINGE Of RESURRECTION—Resurrection Sunday!
Christian faith hangs upon Jesus’ Resurrection.
Christian faith hangs upon the resurrection.
How is Christian faith hinged upon the resurrection?
1— Christian faith Hangs upon...
The RESURRECTION PROMISE(Mat. 16:21; Mat. 17:22-23; Mat. 20:17-19)
Explanation:(Mat. 16:21-27; Mat. 17:22-23; Mat. 20:17-19)
Mat. 16:21-27—“From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, & suffer many things from the elders & chief priests & scribes, & be killed, & be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside & began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned & said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, & take up his cross, & follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, & loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, & then He will reward each according to his works.”
Mat. 17:22-23—“Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, & they will kill Him, & the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.”
Mat. 20:17-19—“Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road & said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, & the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests & to the scribes; & they will condemn Him to death, & deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock & to scourge & to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.””
Jesus on no less than three separate occasions told His disciples that He would be killed & that He would specifically rise again on “the third day.”
Its very interesting that the third day was the Festival of Firstfruits!
Argumentation:
Lev. 2:14—“‘If you offer a grain offering of your firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits green heads of grain roasted on the fire, grain beaten from full heads.”
Firstfruits is an anticipation of a bountiful crop!
Num. 18:8-20—“And the LORD spoke to Aaron: “Here, I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you & your sons, as an ordinance forever. This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering & every sin offering & every trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you & your sons. In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, & your sons & daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine & the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you. Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, & the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, & burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. And their flesh shall be yours, just as the wave breast & the right thigh are yours. All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you & your sons & daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you & your descendants with you.” Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion & your inheritance among the children of Israel.”
Deut. 26:5-11—““And you shall answer & say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, & he went down to Egypt & dwelt there, few in number; & there he became a nation, great, mighty, & populous. ‘But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, & laid hard bondage on us. ‘Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, & the LORD heard our voice & looked on our affliction & our labor & our oppression. ‘So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand & with an outstretched arm, with great terror & with signs & wonders. ‘He has brought us to this place & has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk & honey”; ‘& now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, & worship before the LORD your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you & your house, you & the Levite & the stranger who is among you.”’”
After the remnant of Israel returned from exile they re-established worship.
Neh. 10:35-37—“And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground & the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD; to bring the firstborn of our sons & our cattle, as it is written in the Law, & the firstborn of our herds & our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God; to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine & oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; & to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities.”
*Prov. 3:7-12—“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD & depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
*Eze 44:30—““The best of all firstfruits of any kind, & every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.”
Hos. 9:10—““I found Israel Like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, And separated themselves to that shame; They became an abomination like the thing they loved.”
Rom. 11:16—“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; & if the root is holy, so are the branches.”
*1Cor. 15:20-26—“But now Christ is risen from the dead, & has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule & all authority & power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.”
*Rom. 8:22-25—“For we know that the whole creation groans & labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
*Js. 1:18—“Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”
Rev. 14:1-4—“Then I looked, & behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, & with Him one hundred & forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, & like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, & the elders; & no one could learn that song except the hundred & forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God & to the Lamb.”
Illustration:
Farmer/If your land is prepared properly & the proper seed is planted & it is planted at the proper time & conditions are right for it to grow/Then there will be a reward for-- not only your family but for many in this world/The RESURRECTION PROMISE
So with Jesus’ Promise to rise!
Application:
?You Cling to the PROMISE of Jesus’ Resurrection?
?Does Your Christian faith Hang upon the Resurrection(of Jesus)?
2— Christian faith Hangs upon...
The RESURRECTION NEED(Jn. 19:31-37)
Explanation: (Jn. 19:31-37) Jesus was dead & for Scriptural Fulfillment!
:31—“Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, & that they might be taken away.
The “Preparation” was at hand. It was the time of preparation for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a law instituted to commemorate the Lord’s rest from the activity of perfecting His creation(Gen. 2:1-3).
Thus Jesus died on a Friday. It was a time of worship for the Jews. It had become hedged in by human laws with the intent of forcing adherence to the Divinely ordained law of the Sabbath. Man’s original intent in hedging the Sabbath in, was to delineate behaviors which were implied &/or unspecified in God’s written word. This would keep anyone from overstepping the holiness of the Sabbath.
This particular Sabbath held special meaning in that it was “a high day” or a “great day.” This particular Sabbath represented more than the Sabbath as it was also the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread. The Passover having begun very ‘early’ on Friday(Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31)(Thursday evening to our reckoning). Thus the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread occurred simultaneously with the Sabbath.
Therein we are also given insight to the occurrence of the Feast of Firstfruits. This year, in the year of Jesus’ crucifixion, Firstfruits came on Resurrection Sunday! How apropos & telling of the power of the resurrection of Christ as the firstfruits/guarantee of the resurrection of all believers!
1Cor. 15:20-26—“But now Christ is risen from the dead, & has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule & all authority & power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.”
Specifically because the Sabbath was approaching, the Jews(leaders/Sanhedrin) requested of Pilate that the criminal’s bodies be removed from the crosses. It was detrimental(defiling) enough for a body to hang upon a tree on any nondescript day. How much more so during Passover & on on a high Sabbath to-boot?!
Deut. 21:22-23—““If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, & he is put to death, & you hang him on a tree,his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.”
It must be noted here that those which hang on the crosses are now considered “bodies” rather than men or people. They are destined for certain death. In order to have the bodies removed, their death must be ensured so it becomes the duty of the soldiers in charge of the crucifixion to bring it about more hastily than would occur normally.
The usual Roman practice was to leave crucified criminals on their crosses until they died. This process could conceivably take days. Then the bodies would have been left hanging to be devoured by vultures.
However, due to the request of the Jews(which evidently was honored) the deaths must be hurried along as they were not dead upon nearing the Sabbath. The soldiers did this by literally breaking the legs(femur?) of those crucified. They would have used an iron mallet to do this. This practice would have added additional shock & blood loss to an already wearied & spent body. The reason for breaking the legs is specifically to keep the crucified person(s) from pushing themselves up. This would effectively suffocate them as they could breathe in but could not exhale, while in an extended position hanging by the arms. The rhythmic process of breathing in & out having been halted, suffocation would quickly follow.
“Preparation Day”—paraskeuh—1) A making ready, preparation, equipping; 2) That which is prepared, equipment; 3) in the NT in a Jewish sense, The day of preparation—3a) The day on which the Jews made necessary preparation to celebrate a sabbath or a feast. Strong—Readiness. Used 6X.
“High”—megav—Adj.—1) Great; 2) Predicated of rank, as belonging to; 3) Splendid, prepared on a grand scale, stately; 4) Great things. Strong—Big (literally or figuratively, in a very wide application).
“Asked”—erwtaw—1) To question; 2) To ask—2a) To request, entreat, beg, beseech. Denotes the form of the request. Erwtaw, is to request a person to do (rarely to give) something; referring more directly to the person, it is naturally used in exhortation, etc. Strong—To interrogate; by implication--To request.
“Broken”(See :32)—katagnumi—1) To break. “To break”, Denotes the destruction of a things unity or completeness. Strong—To rend in pieces, i.e. Crack apart. Crurifragium.
:32—“Then the soldiers came & broke the legs of the first & of the other who was crucified with Him.
:33—“But when they came to Jesus & saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.”
The request of the Jews was obviously granted because the soldiers followed thru with their orders to halt the crucifixion thru hastening the criminal’s death. The soldiers broke the legs of the criminals on both sides of Jesus but they noticed something unusual about Jesus. Jesus was already dead!
Upon coming to Jesus—with the purpose of crushing his legs as well—the soldiers did not break His legs because He had already yielded up His own spirit & was dead(19:30; Mat. 27:50; Mk. 15:37; Lk. 23:46).
Assuming experience was on their side, these soldiers were very familiar with watching people die. They could easily tell if a man was dead or not. And they knew how to ensure its reality! Also the centurion(& others) in charge of the crucifixion itself had witnessed the manner in which Jesus died(Mat. 27:54; Mk. 15:39; Lk. 23:47) & this surely played into their decision as well.
But more than anything this was the unplanned/unanticipated(by man) playing out of the providence of God in laying out His plan before all by bring His very word to fulfillment in His Anointed One. Jesus is the fulfillment of that which was typified in the Passover(paschal) lamb. Specifically, no bone of that lamb was to be broken. It was to be roasted whole & eaten hastily as the Israelites would soon be driven out of Egypt(Ex. 12:29-33). John recognizes the fact of this fulfillment in :36.
Ex. 12:46[Num. 9:12]—““In one house it[the passover lamb] shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.”
:34—“But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, & immediately blood & water came out.”
Rather than breaking Jesus’ legs, one of the soldiers plunged his spear into Jesus’ “side.” This would obviously finish Him off if He were not dead & prove His death to others. Upon effecting Jesus’ wound, there came an “immediate” flow of both “blood & water.”
Many have written as to the cause of this flow. They all relate the trauma to the body & how certain fluids(blood & blood serum) would have separated within the chest cavity. This could have collected in the pericardial sac &/or the pleura lining the lung & ribcage. This lining can conceivably contain upwards of 2 L of fluid.
John’s eyewitness account shows us that Jesus had already died before the “piercing” because the blood had begun to separate gravitationally.
*Therein lies the importance of John’s relating this events. He wants the readers to know what he knows...1)That Jesus was truly dead. & 2)That even in death, Jesus’ symbolically spoke regarding His “blood” for the forgiveness of our sins & that by the washing of His “water” we are cleansed.
Perhaps this harkens back to Jesus’ previous statements & the testimony of Scripture in the following:
Jn. 13:5-11—“After that, He poured water into a basin & began to wash the disciples’ feet, & to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered & said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands & my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; & you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.””
If we are given to Jesus fully then we are “clean.” But there is the remaining work of Jesus in our lives to ensure our momentary purity as we travel thru this sin-sick world.
Jn. 3:5-6—“Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water & the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, & that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Heb. 10:19-23—“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new & living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, & having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience & our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
1Jn. 5:2-13—“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God & keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water & blood--Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water & blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, & the Holy Spirit; & these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, & the blood; & these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, & this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, & that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Rev. 1:5-6—“& from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, & the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us & washed us from our sins in His own blood, & has made us kings & priests to His God & Father, to Him be glory & dominion forever & ever. Amen.”
Rev. 7:14—Then one of the elders answered, saying to me[John], “Who are these arrayed in white robes, & where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, & washed their robes & made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
“Pierced”—nussw—1) Pierce; 2) To pierce through, transfix—2a) often of severe or even deadly wounds given one. Strong—To prick ("nudge"). BAGD—1)Prick, stab, pierce someone with something. To nudge or waken someone from sleep. Used 1X.
“Side”—pleura—1) The side of the body. Strong—A rib, i.e. (by extension) Side. BAGD—1)Side; of the flat side of a stone. Used 5X.
:35—“And he who has seen has testified, & his testimony is true; & he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.”
John goes to great pains to ensure that his readers know that his is an unadulterated eye-witness account of the way things really occurred. The events are so providentially telling of Jesus’ Messianic nature that John is beside himself with awe as to the ways God has spoken in Christ.
John’s entire purpose is that “you” the reader/hearer “may believe.” Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
:36—“For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.””
John recognizes this, the fulfillment of God’s providential plan which was instituted with & typified in the first Passover. (See :33 above)—“Jesus is the fulfillment of that which was typified in the Passover(paschal) lamb. Specifically, no bone of that lamb was to be broken. It was to be roasted whole & eaten hastily as the Israelites would soon be driven out of Egypt(Ex. 12:29-33). John recognizes the fact of this fulfillment in :36.”
From: Ex. 12:43-47[Num. 9:11-12]—“And the LORD said to Moses & Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. A sojourner & a hired servant shall not eat it. In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.”
Jn. 1:29—“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, & said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
:37—“And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.””
John also recognizes the fulfillment of another providential plan which has unfolded in the piercing of Jesus’ side by the Roman soldier. This involves both past, present & future fulfillment as below. It is the recognition that thru the death of Messiah Jesus, comes the promised “Spirit of grace & supplication” to Israel. Per Zechariah’s prophecy, it is also a very personal payment which is afforded the Jew by their Messiah Jesus as everyone “mourns” for Him “by themselves.” The prophecy is also a blatant statement that Christ’s piercing is YaHWeH’s piercing. They are one & the same yet they are separate personalities—A proof of God’s trinitarian essence.
From: Zec. 12:10-14—““And I will pour on the house of David & on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace & supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, & grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, & their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, & their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, & their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, & their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, & their wives by themselves.”
This receives its ultimate fulfillment in earth’s future as Revelation(written by John) records the eyewitness of those who had pierced Jesus. Thus the resurrection must occur in order for this to be achieved!
Rev. 1:7—“Behold, He is coming with clouds, & every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
*If Jesus was not resurrected, then how will every eye see Him?
&
*Why would all the tribes of the earth “mourn” if He were not resurrected...They would have nothing to fear. Obviously resurrection is vastly different from resussitation?
Argumentation:
1Cor. 15:3-4—“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, & that He was buried, & that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,”
Isa 53:4-6, 8-10-11—“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, & afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”.....“He was taken from prison & from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, & be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.”
Mat. 12:39-40—“But He answered & said to them, “An evil & adulterous generation seeks after a sign, & no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days & three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days & three nights in the heart of the earth.”(Ref.—Jonah 2:1-10)
Rom. 4:14-5:2—“For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void & the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead & calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), & the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, & being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, & was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Illustration:
Jesus was dead & for Scriptural Fulfillment!
Application:
?You Cling to the NEED of Jesus’ Resurrection?
?Does Your Christian faith Hang upon the Resurrection(of Jesus)?
3— Christian faith Hangs upon...
The RESURRECTION REALITY(Rev. 1:7)
Explanation: (Rev. 1:4-7)
:4—“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you & peace from Him who is & who was & who is to come, & from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,”
:5—“& from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, & the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us & washed us from our sins in His own blood,
:6—“& has made us kings & priests to His God & Father, to Him be glory & dominion forever & ever. Amen.”
In John’s introduction of the Revelation which he has received from God via “His angel”(1:1), the audience’s attention is called to the return of “Jesus”(our one-&-only eternal Savior) in :5. He is introduced to us as “Christ”(Anointed of God), “Faithful witness”(the unwavering witness both of heaven--all things Divine, & of earth--all things created), “Firstborn from the dead”(firstfruit & promise of of resurrection for the faithful), & “Ruler over the kings of the earth”(the ultimate sovereign authority of all earthly authority for all time).
Jesus is qualitatively presented as the One who Himself alone “loved” mankind so much so that He [voluntarily]“washed us” “from” the “sin” in which we are born. This “washing” from sin has already been accomplished “in Jesus’ “own blood.”
This Jesus, who died, became the Way, Truth & Life(Jn. 14:6; 1Cor. 3:11) for all mankind(Jn. 1:12-13), attained individually by personal faith(Eph. 2:8; Eph. 3:17; Php. 3:8-11) & referred to as the church().
:7—“Behold, He is coming with clouds, & every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
He is “coming with clouds” as God led the children of Israel thru the desert & into the promised land by a pillar of cloud in the daytime & a pillar of fire at night. Also His utter perfection is hidden from natural man.
*Particularly this answers Acts 1:9-11—“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.””
Why will all the tribes “mourn because of” the resurrected Jesus? It is because in Him the final judgment of God is accomplished. There will be many who will not trust in Christ.
Again(Jn. 19:37) this is a prophecy of Zech. 12:10ff. which is fulfilled in Christ.
If Jesus was not resurrected, then how will every eye see Him? & why would all the tribes of the earth “mourn” if He were not resurrected.
*Obviously resurrection is vastly different from resussitation?
The world cannot meet God’s design without the resurrection of Jesus!
“Pierced”(See Jn. 19:37 above)—ekkentew—1) To put out, dig out; 2) To dig through, transfix, pierce. Strong—To transfix[pierce through]. BAGD—Pierce...someone.
From—ek(from)— & —kentron—Strong—To prick; A point ("centre"), i.e. A sting; figuratively--Poison or goad; figuratively--Divine impulse.
“Tribes”—fulh—1) A tribe—1a) in the NT all the persons descending from one of the twelve sons of the patriarch, Jacob; 2) A nation, people. Fulh is sometimes a race, nation, but usually a tribe, such as one of the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. Strong—An offshoot, i.e. Race or clan.
From—fuw—a primary verb; probably originally, to "puff" or blow, i.e. To swell up; but only used in the implied sense--To germinate or grow (sprout, produce), literally or figuratively.
“Mourn/Wail”—koptw—1) To cut, strike, smite; 2) To cut from, cut off; 3) To beat one's breast for grief. To beat the breast in grief, ordinarily for the dead. Strong—a primary verb; To "chop"; specially--To beat the breast in grief.
Argumentation/Illustration:
Mat. 27:62-66 & 28:1-8, 11-15—“On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ “Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”.....“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. “And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.”.....“Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ “And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”
The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus is REAL-ity!
Application:
?You Cling to the REALITY of Jesus’ Resurrection?
?Does Your Christian faith Hang upon the Resurrection(of Jesus)?
4— Christian faith Hangs upon...
The RESURRECTION RESPONSE(Various)
Explanation/Argumentation/Illustration: (Various)Stance
The stance of Christians regarding the resurrection is undeniable.
Without the resurrection of Christ & of the saved/church/believers, it becomes clear that such belief is ill-founded & not Christian.
Acts 1:15-26—“And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred & twenty), & said, “Men & brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; for he was numbered with us & obtained a part in this ministry.” (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; & falling headlong, he burst open in the middle & all his entrails gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; &, ‘Let another take his office.’ “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in & out among us, “beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, & Matthias. And they prayed & said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen “to take part in this ministry & apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And they cast their lots, & the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
Acts 2:25-32—[Peter states:]““For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, & my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’ “Men & brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead & buried, & his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, & knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.”
Acts 4:1-4—“Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, & the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people & preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, & put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; & the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
Acts 4:33—“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”
Acts 17:16-19—“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews & with the Gentile worshipers, & in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean & Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus & the resurrection. And they took him & brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians & the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus & said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through & considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world & everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven & earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, & all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, & has determined their preappointed times & the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him & find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; “for in Him we live & move & have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art & man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him & believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, & others with them.”
Paul was arrested at the temple in Jerusalem but the Roman soldiers protected him after discovering that he was a Roman citizen. Paul related his testimony of salvation. In that testimony Paul reveals something about Jesus:
Acts 23:6-10—““Now it happened, as I journeyed & came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. “And I fell to the ground & heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ “So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ “And those who were with me indeed saw the light & were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise & go into Damascus, & there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’”
Acts 23:1-9—“Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men & brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, & do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?” And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees & the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men & brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope & resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees & the Sadducees; & the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection--& no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose & protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.””
Acts 24:14-15, 20-21—““But this I confess to you[governor Felix], that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law & in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just & the unjust.”.....““Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, “unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’””
Acts 26:22-23—[Paul before governor Festus]““Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small & great, saying no other things than those which the prophets & Moses said would come--that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, & would proclaim light to the Jewish people & to the Gentiles.””
Rom. 1:1-7—“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, & declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace & apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you & peace from God our Father & the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Rom. 6:3-11—“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
*1Cor. 15:12-23—“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty & your faith is also empty. Yes, & we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, & has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.”
The concept of referring to death as “falling asleep” is proof of the belief of resurrection!
1Cor. 15:30-34—“And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour? I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat & drink, for tomorrow we die!” Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” Awake to righteousness, & do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.”
To breathe, live & move without the resurrection, is pointless.
The resurrection may be something you voice because you are around that kind of talk as a church member...but resurrection is also a subject to which you have not really given much thought.
Application:
?You Cling to the RESPONSE of Jesus’ Resurrection?
?Does Your Christian faith Hang upon the Resurrection(of Jesus)?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Christian faith Hangs upon the Resurrection...
1. PROMISE(Mat. 16:21; Mat. 17:22-23; Mat. 20:17-19)
2. NEED(Jn. 19:31-37)
3. REALITY(Rev. 1:7)
4. RESPONSE(Various)
Presented 04/08/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Needmore Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
