RESURRECTION RESPONSE
ACTS 4:32-33
Thus far in our study of the book of Acts we have seen the ascension of Christ, the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. Since today is Resurrection Sunday, I thought it would be fitting to examine the lives of those first Christians and to see how they responded to the Resurrection.
A faithful few followers of Christ were present before His death, during the time when His body was in the tomb, and after He victoriously rose from the grave. These devoted disciples were vital to the success of the early church. It is apparent that a major change took place in their lives after they saw the Risen Lord.
Those of us who are truly born again have had a personal encounter with Jesus similar to those who saw Him in the days following His death, burial and resurrection. When someone truly encounters the risen Lord, their lives are never the same. Many of you have been transformed by Jesus Chirst; many others need to be, and the wonderful news is that you can be transformed today.
- Let’s walk through the scriptures and consider the thought “Resurrection Response”.
In order to understand the transformation that was experienced by those faithful followers of Christ, we must first review their mindset prior to their encounter with Him on Resurrection Sunday. First of all we will see that:
THE DISCIPLES COULD NOT COMPREHEND THE PROMISE OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
For months, Jesus had been telling His followers that He would soon suffer and die, but they could not comprehend His teaching. (Mark 8:31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.)
Upon hearing this information concerning His impending death, Peter took Jesus to the side and rebuked Him for saying such things. It was not just Peter who struggled with these truths; all of Christ’s followers had a hard time comprehending what He was teaching them. It was not just the teachings concerning His suffering and death that they could not understand; they also struggled with the subject of His Resurrection. By the time of His death, the Disciples had seen Jesus raise three people from the dead; but if Jesus was dead, who was going to raise Him?
It is easy for us to trust in the teaching of the Resurrection because we have the written testimony of the eye witnesses (and the aid of the Holy Spirit). But as Jesus lay in the grave for three days, the Disciples did not know that they were going to be eye witnesses of the risen Christ. That fact is evident based on their actions on resurrection morning. If they really believed what Jesus had been teaching them about His death, burial and resurrection, they would have been camped out at the tomb instead of hiding in fear. If the women who were the first at the tomb had believed His teaching, they wouldn’t have been there looking to anoint His corpse.
This had to have been some of the darkest days in the lives of these followers of Christ, but something amazing was about to take place. Very early on Sunday morning there was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord descended from Heaven. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. He rolled the stone away from the opening of the tomb and sat down on it. The soldiers who were guarding the tomb were understandably terrified and they became like dead men.
Shortly thereafter Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and other women came to the tomb as the sun was rising. They left their homes while it was still dark and on the way they said to one another “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” (Mark 16:3) When they arrived they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. Mary Magdalene left the others and ran to tell Peter and John. She didn’t run to them with the news that Christ had been raised from the dead, when she found them she said franticly “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”
While this is going on, the other women enter the tomb and found that Jesus was not there. Then, to their amazement they saw two men (Angels) in dazzling clothes. They were terrified and bowed to the ground, and then they heard some of the greatest words in the history of the world; the angels said “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, but he has risen!” The angels also reminded the women that this was exactly what Jesus had been teaching them for some time. They said “Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” After this, the women were instructed to go and tell the Disciples that Jesus was alive and He would go ahead of them into Galilee.
- Filled with fear, amazement and joy those women ran to tell the Disciples the good news. However:
THE DISCIPLES DOUBTED THE REPORTS CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION
After hearing the report from the women, Peter and John ran to the Tomb Peter arrived first and as he looked in he saw the linen cloths that had covered the body of Jesus lying inside. He also saw the cloth that had covered Jesus head folded and put in a separate place. John went into the tomb and took a closer look. Mary had not lost her mind; the tomb was empty.
After this, Peter & John returned to the place where they were staying. Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb and stood outside grieving and crying. She stooped down and looked inside the tomb and she saw the angels that had appeared to the other women while she was gone to find Peter and John. The Angels said to her “Woman, why are you crying?” Mary said “Because they’ve taken away my Lord and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”
After this, Mary turned around and saw a man standing behind her. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was blinded by grief and she thought that it was the gardener. She said “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, tell me where you’ve put him, and I will take him away.” Then Jesus said “Mary” Filled with joy and amazement she grabbed Him and cried out “teacher”. She knew instantly that Jesus was standing before her!
Jesus said “Mary, don’t cling to me since I have not yet ascended to my Father”. Then He sent her to be the first witness of His resurrection. He said, “go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary went to where the disciples were assembled and said “I have seen the Lord!” Mark tells us that “when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by Mary, they did not believe it.” Mark 16:11
While the men were still huddled for fear and immersed in their doubt, the women who were so faithful to go to the tomb early that morning had their own personal encounter with Jesus. They were exceedingly excited about the news that they had received from the angels concerning the resurrection. As they journeyed to tell the Disciples the good news, they encountered Jesus; He saw them and said “Greetings!” When they saw Him, the women humbly bowed at His feet and worshipped Him. Soon after this, the women reached the Apostles and told them that they had seen the Savior. But these words “seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.”
Later in the day, two followers of Christ were headed toward Emmaus, and they had an amazing encounter with Jesus as well. As a result they ran to where the Apostles were staying and shared the news that they had seen the Lord. Up until this point, the Disciples still doubt the reality of the resurrection. The very men, who knew Jesus the best, doubted Him the most.
- Then, something amazing happened:
THE DISCIPLES RECEIVED PROOF CONCERNING CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
Jesus appeared in their midst and said “Peace to you!”. The Disciples were terrified and thought that He was a ghost. Jesus asked them “why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” Having said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
After this, Jesus broke bread with them and reminded them of what He had taught them before His death; He said, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead the third day, and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
The Gospels and Epistles go on to tell us that: After Jesus rose from the grave He appeared to the Eleven (Jn 20:24-29; Mk 16:14). Later He appeared to seven of the Disciples at the Sea of Galilee (Jn 21:1-23). Again He appeared to the Eleven on a mountain in Galilee (Mt 28:16-20; Mk 16:15-18). Then He was seen by over 500 witnesses at one time (1 Cor 15:6). He appeared to the eleven as He ascended back to Heaven (Mk 16:19; Lk 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11)
- If you continue to read the remainder of the New Testament, you will see that:
THE DISCIPLES WERE TRANSFORMED FOLLOWING CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
Before seeing Jesus, His followers were filled with sorrow and mourning His death. The majority of them spent their time hiding behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. But after having a personal encounter with the Risen Savior, they experienced an amazing transformation.
Soon, Jesus would instruct the Apostles to return to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. After this, the entire assembly of believers (approximately 120 of them) spent the next ten days together in the Upper Room. No longer were they filled with sorrow and grief; They gathered together with hope and great anticipation. They prayed and worshipped together, and they made preparations for their future ministry (specifically selecting Matthias to replace Judas).
Then, on the Day of Pentecost, they were assembled together in one accord and the Holy Spirit descended and indwelt them. Following this, God moved in and through these people in a mighty way. On that day, the Church was born and the world has never been the same. This small group of Christ followers began to boldly share the news that Jesus died for the sins of the world, He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the grave.
Many of those first Christians were killed as a result of their faithfulness to share the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result of their ministry, the Gospel spread from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and then on to the ends of the earth. God’s divine plan of salvation has been handed down for generations and many of us have received forgiveness of our sins and eternal life as a result.
We cannot underestimate the importance of those first Christians and their response to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. After the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, God used Peter to confront a large crowd of Jews with the reality that the One whom they had crucified just a few weeks earlier was alive and well. In response to the Gospel message and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, some 3,000 souls repented and believed in Jesus for salvation. Soon afterwards, Peter preached another Gospel message at Solomon’s Colonnade; on that occasion 2,000 more souls were saved.
The message that you have heard today is the same message that he preached back then. Like the people who were in attendance for those sermons, you must decide how you will respond to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am glad to report that God is still moving; He is still saving lost souls and He is still changing lives. I implore you to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. If you have, then you should be living in a way similar to those first century Christians. You have been transformed by the mighty hand of God; Furthermore you have been given the responsibility of sharing the good news that Jesus saves. Each of us must decide how we will respond to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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