He Is Risen!
Chuck Sligh
April 1, 2013
A PowerPoint presentation for this sermon is available by emailing me at chuchsligh@hotmail.com.
TEXT: Luke 24:1-12
Luke 24:1-12 – “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.”
INTRODUCTION
Both haters and lovers of Christianity have recognized the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be the foundation-stone of the Christian faith. Because of this, the resurrection has been one of the most attacked doctrines in the Bible. Only the Bible itself has received more criticism, scorn, and attempts to explain it away.
Now—either Jesus Christ DID rise from the dead or He DID NOT. If he DID, it was the most sensational event in all of history and proves conclusively that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God. If he DID NOT, then, as Josh McDowell states in his book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, the teaching of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the “most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of men...” (p. 179).
The exciting thing about the resurrection is that it is one of the most indisputable and well attested events in history, contrary to what you read in the media today.
The great Roman historian, Professor Thomas Arnold, for 14 years the headmaster of Rugby, author of the 3-volume History of Rome, and holder of the chair of modern history at Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in determining historical facts. – He said:
I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God [gave] us that Christ died and rose again from the dead. (Thomas Arnold, Sermons on the Christian Life—Its Hopes, Its Fears and Its Close, p. 324)
The reason people dismiss the resurrection out-of-hand is NOT because of a lack of evidence, but because of either fear of where the facts may lead or simple ignorance of the facts.
So for centuries haters of Christ have concocted some of the most bizarre explanations to explain away the resurrection, yet today it stands still as the foundation of Christianity.
Before getting into the meat of today’s message today, let’s look at some of these attempts:
• The earliest explanation circulated was that the Apostles stole the body.
This would mean that the Apostles foisted a diabolical hoax. This, of course, is one of the easiest to answer because it’s a historical fact that each of the twelve Apostles suffered torture and persecution for their beliefs, and the resurrection was the most prominent teaching of the Apostles. And each died a martyr’s death, except John, who died in exile on the isle of Patmos. Now, it’s true that some will die and suffer torture for what they BELIEVE TO BE TRUE, though it may not be true, but NO ONE will die and suffer torture for what they KNOW TO BE A LIE, and certainly, not all twelve of them!
• The second hypothesis is that the Jewish or Roman authorities moved the body.
But why?—The LAST thing that the Jews wanted was for Jesus’ body to disappear. They were well aware that Jesus prophesied His own resurrection. In fact, Matthew says the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate the day after Jesus’ crucifixion and said, “…Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch [a “watch” was four soldiers, changed every four hours]: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” (Matthew 27:62-66)
Their knowledge of Jesus’s prediction was the whole purpose for all the elaborate security to begin with, so why would THEY have moved the body?
Also, there’s the obvious fact that when the disciples began turning Jerusalem upside down with the message of Jesus’ resurrection, all the Jewish or Roman authorities had to do to permanently put the matter to rest was to produce the body of Jesus and parade it through the streets of Jerusalem.
But they couldn’t! Why?—Because [PAUSE ON EACH /] there / was / no / body / to / produce! The Jews and the Romans were just as baffled as everyone else as to the whereabouts of the body of Jesus.
• Another popular theory has been that the women, distraught and overcome by grief, got lost in the dimness of the early morning and went to the wrong tomb, and there IMAGINED that they saw the risen Lord.
But if the women went to the wrong tomb, why didn’t the enemies of Jesus just go to the RIGHT tomb and produce the body? And how could Peter and John have made the same mistake and gone to THE SAME WRONG TOMB when the Bible says the women reported to them that Jesus’s body was gone, and Peter and John raced to the tomb ahead of the women?
And if they all just hallucinated their supposed meetings with angels in their distraught condition, then how is it that they all hallucinated the identical things? Psychologists tell us that hallucinations are completely locked in each person’s brain; that is—it is impossible for two people to see the same hallucination.
Then there’s the famous “swoon theory” (perhaps the most bizarre explanation of all) which holds that Jesus didn’t actually die. Rather, He simply swooned on the cross; was mistaken for dead; and in the tomb, He revived, came out of the tomb and appeared to His disciples, who mistakenly thought He had risen from the dead!
Seriously? Come on now. Think about this…
Is it really possible to believe that Jesus could have survived three days in a damp tomb, without food or water or medical attention of any kind—after having been beaten to a pulp, whipped with a cat-of-nine-tails, pierced in each hand and foot with spikes and pierced in the side with a sword?
Is it possible to believe He then wiggled out of the spice-laden, mummy-like grave clothes that wound tightly around His body? The myrrh and spices they poured on the grave clothes in those days turned into a hard cast-like outer covering. It was not a matter of simply unwrapping some wet cloths, but breaking through a hard cast—with hands trapped tightly from the inside.
Is it possible to believe that He then, after the agonies of the cross, after three days with no food or water or medical attention, in a weakened condition, pushed away the heavy stone blocking the tomb, thought to have been about eight feet in diameter and one foot thick, and estimated weigh more than four tons?
Is it conceivable that this half-dead man then overcame the Roman guards with their swords and spears, and then walked several miles on feet that had been pierced with spikes, and finally appeared to His disciples and was able to convince these men, some of whom were skeptics of Jesus’s resurrection, that He was not a half-corpse, but rather a resurrected, fully vibrant and alive person, who even invited Thomas to put his finger in His nail-pierced hands which would surely have, by this time, become severely infected?
If you can believe THAT, then you probably also believe in aliens and werewolves and assorted other absurd beliefs that defy logic or scientific evidence.
No, none of these graspings in the air will do. None of them fit the facts as they have been recorded for us. Yes, Jesus DID rise from the dead!—Yes, HE IS RISEN!
With that behind us, let’s look now at two important truths about the Resurrection, and close with some applications to our lives personally.
I. FIRST, CONSIDER THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the Christian faith’s most crucial beliefs. H.P. Liddon states: “Faith in the resurrection is the very keystone of the arch of Christian faith, and when it is removed, all must inevitably crumble into ruin.”
WHY is the resurrection so important?
• First, because it proves that Jesus Christ was not just another man—like Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi or Sun Myung Moon, but was who He claimed to be.
Jesus categorically claimed that He was the unique Son of God, that is, that He was God in human flesh. He further claimed that there is no other way to God except through HIM. In John 14:6 he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
These were bold claims, but not nearly as bold as claiming would prove His divinity by rising from the dead. And what was even more remarkable is that HE ACTUALLY DID IT!
The resurrection separates Christianity from all other belief systems. No other religious system claims its founder was God, or that He rose again.
Christian Victory Magazine says this:
The pyramids of Egypt are famous because they contain the mummified bodies of ancient Egyptian kings. Westminster Abbey in London is renowned, because in it rest the bodies of English nobles and notables. Mohammed’s tomb is noted for the stone coffin and the bones which it contains. Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C. is revered, for it is the honored resting place of many outstanding Americans. There is, however, all the difference in the world between the tomb of Christ and these places which we have just mentioned. They are famous and draw visitors from afar because of what they contain; while the Garden Tomb is famous because it is empty.
When Jesus rose from the dead, it proved once and for all that He was who He said He was—the eternal God in mortal flesh, come to provide salvation for all who would receive it.
• Second, the resurrection of Christ is important because without it, there is no answer for the dilemma of mankind’s sin.
Paul aptly expressed it in 1 Corinthians 15:17 – “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
Paul was saying that if Christ didn’t not rise from the dead, then Christ was not the Son of God and therefore, not able to pay for our sins and we are therefore still in our sins, guilty before a holy God.
In verse 14, Paul describes our sad condition: “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”
• Third, the resurrection of Christ is important because without the resurrection, we have no assurance of our own resurrection and therefore would have no hope.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 – “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
In other words, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then we might as well close down the church, and quit hoping for a life hereafter. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, we’re just deceiving ourselves and we’re a bunch of deluded fools and Christianity is a fraud and a farce. But thank God Jesus DID rise from the dead!
II. NEXT, LET’S CONSIDER THE IMPACT OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS.
I see two: one of a religious nature; the second personal.
• First, the resurrection gave validity and credence to everything Jesus said and did in His life and to the things His followers were now proclaiming.
Illus. – During the French Revolution, somebody said to Talleyrand, bishop of Autun: “The Christian religion—what is it? It would be easy to start a religion like that.” – “Oh, yes,” Talleyrand replied. “One would only have to get crucified and rise again the third day.”
You see, the resurrection VALIDATED the Christian faith. It proved that when Jesus died on the cross, what He did was not in vain for He truly was the perfect, sinless Son of God, and thus a suitable sacrifice for our sins.
On a personal level, we see the impact of the Resurrection in how it infused that defeated, discouraged band of disciples with an otherwise inexplicable hope and zeal.
• Just a few days earlier, these fearful disciples cowed in fear.
But after the Resurrection, they were changed DRAMATICALLY.
> Look at the changed life of JAMES, the brother of Jesus.
Before the resurrection James despised all that his brother Jesus stood for. He thought Jesus was bringing ruin to the family name. But afterward, James is preaching the Gospel with the other disciples.
This scoffer went on to become the leader of the church of Jerusalem who later wrote a book of the Bible that bears his name. What caused this remarkable transformation?—Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:7: “Then He [Jesus] appeared to James...” James met His risen brother, and his life was never the same again!
> Look also at the story of DOUBTING THOMAS.
Thomas refused to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. He was discouraged and disillusioned because the death of Jesus meant, to him, the death of the earthly kingdom he thought Jesus came to establish. When news came of the resurrection, he adamantly refused to believe it.
However, Jesus appeared one night to the disciples with Thomas present. The result was recorded in John’s Gospel where “doubting Thomas” exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Thomas made an about-face after seeing his Lord risen from the grave, and went on to die a martyr’s death.
Just as Jesus transformed the lives of His disciples in such unique and wonderful ways, people throughout the past 2000 years have had the same experience.
How?—Though they’ve not had the singular experience that Thomas had of actually seeing Jesus visibly, they have met the risen Lord by faith. They’ve met a living, risen, all-powerful Christ who is able to take away their sins and give them new life!
No wonder Christians love that great hymn, He Lives which goes like this:
I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today.
I know that He is living whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer.
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives. He lives, salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know He lives…
He lives within my heart!
CONCLUSION
In closing, let’s think about the IMPLICATIONS of the resurrection for our own lives. If Jesus is indeed risen from the dead, what does this mean to us personally?
Well, there are many implications, but I’d like to zero in on just two key this morning:
• First is that because Jesus fulfilled His promise to rise from the dead, we can be sure He will fulfill His promise to COME AGAIN IN THE RAPTURE.
In John 14 Jesus said “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Someday, dear friend, Jesus is coming again to receive believers to the place He has prepared for him.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 Paul describes this rapture this way: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus [i.e., believers who have died] will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [go before] them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
If Jesus was rose, praise God!—Some day He’s returning to receive us who are saved! The question is, Are you ready for the Lord to come again? Have you met the risen Lord? Do you know the power of the risen Savior?
God forbid that you would be left behind because you do not know the risen Savior!
• Which leads to my last implication: If Jesus rose from the dead, He CAN and WILL save you from your sins because He IS ALIVE!
Have you come by faith to Christ and trusted Him to save you from your sins? Jesus died on the cross in your place for your sins and rose from the dead victorious over those sins and death and the devil. If you’ll just admit to God your sin and trust in the risen Lord and save you as He promised, He’ll come into your life and cleanse you of all sin and give you a life worth living and take you to heaven in the Rapture.
Jesus said this to Martha at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11:25-26 – “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
Dear friend, take Jesus at His word and believe in Him and be saved today!
