Sermon Brief
Date Written: March 28, 2013
Date Preached: March 31, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Easter Sunday Sermon
Sermon Title: The Empty Hope of Easter
Sermon Text: Luke 23:50-24:49 [ESV]
Introduction:
Last week I shared with you that Jesus Loves You! I shared that the love of Jesus is very often NOT understood… and because it is NOT understood there are many who simply cannot accept it for what it is!
Finally we saw that even when His love is shown beyond any doubt … there will be those who refuse to receive His love…
Jesus LOVED us so much that He was willing to submit himself to the Cross for YOU and ME… Willing to die for our sin, so that we could live in redemption with the Father!
Today as we celebrate the fact that Jesus loves us… TODAY as we celebrate the physical representation of HOW we know He loves us…
This is because today we celebrate Resurrection Sunday!
This is the most wonderful day of the year for believers... So today we come together in worship to CELEBRATE!!! Do u wanna celebrate this morning?
We should celebrate as Jesus has conquered death and offers eternal life to all who will come to Him! This world has much it wants to offer us today...money, sex, career, power, position, fame...just to name a few, but not all we hear is going to be real, much is just an illusion...
I believe we all know that everything we HEAR is not going to be true! In this world we hear that this product can do this… or this product can do that…or this person promises this or that... They will try to tell you that they have proven FACTS to back up their claims!
They CLAIM that their product or person will do this or do that… they attempt to fill us with this information so that we place our HOPE in their product or in the person they represent! However, we all know that SO MUCH of the time the ‘facts’ they share with us about their product or person falls way short of being true…
We see this evident in all areas of our lives, but where we see it the most is in our world today is in the advertisement industry!
Have you ever saw an advertisement, heard the sales person pitch all the ‘facts’ and you were thinking, WOW, that is just what I need!
Based on what facts they present to you… you have HOPE that their product will be PERFECT for your situation… that it will meet your needs OR probably the MOST overused HOPE we have in material things: “if I could just get that, I would be HAPPY and satisfied!”
I know that we have ALL been there at one time or another in our lives… BUT what ultimately happened! Let me share a personal story with you! Once I saw a commercial about this exercise machine!
They laid out all their claims and backed it up with their ‘facts’! I was out of shape & overweight… & this commercial gave me HOPE that I could get into shape!
Their machine did EVERYTHING! You would get into shape and it would KEEP you in shape! It was stylish, and easy to use and was EASY to store when not in use! My ‘hope-o-meter’ was off the charts!
In fact, I was so overcome with desire to HAVE it that I eagerly dialed the phone & gave them my credit card number (MUCH TO MICHELLE’s counsel & warning)!
BUT I wasn’t worried, I knew that Michelle was WRONG! After all, they had given me their ‘facts’! My HOPE was this machine was going to be my way to get IN SHAPE!
I could already see it in my mind… I was going to be BUFF & HANDSOME… I was going be chiseled & the healthiest man alive! Oh, Michelle was going to be the luckiest woman alive and I could NOT wait till my miracle machine was delivered!
Then it happened… the day ‘hope’ arrived! It got there and I thought “How wonderful… it is only a matter of days till Michelle will see how smart I was to order this…I’ll show her!”
How many in here knows what happened next? I'll tell u what happened...Hope was crushed that's what happened!! It started when I opened the box & found that the assembly was extremely difficult!
Once I finally got it put together, I jumped on my new machine, still hoping it would be as WONDERFUL as I had imagined it! Almost the instant I began to ‘use’ this machine… that hope they had promised me...it faded away!
I could tell that their claims & the ‘facts’ they had to back it up was NOT exactly as they had advertised… the hope they had led me to believe in… it was a false hope! What a disappointment!
When we look at the story of the Cross and what Jesus did (in love) ON that cross… we can also see it is backed up with historical FACTs!
The cross event REALLY happened and those historical facts bring about a spiritual HOPE that refreshes us and drives us forward in our walk with God!
The spiritual HOPE from Scripture is forgiveness of sin & the salvation of our soul! This hope tells us that what Jesus did on the cross promises us eternal life!
Because of what Jesus did, we have the blessed HOPE that ONE day, after this life, that all those who receive Him as Savior will abide with Him in Heaven!
We have this HOPE from Scripture, AND I want to assure you this morning that this hope we have in the promise of God that is revealed IN the Resurrection of Jesus, is not a hope that that will disappoint…
It is a HOPE that is filled with promise...
A hope that brings joy,
A hope that delivers truth,
A hope that reveals grace and mercy,
A hope that brings full forgiveness of sin, and
A HOPE that gives us eternal Salvation!
My friends this is the HOPE we have because of the Resurrection of Jesus!
We have hope because of the Resurrection, but this week as I began to think about and pray about this hope... I discovered a certain ‘emptiness’ that is found in this hope that comes from the Resurrection!
When I read about and thought and prayed about the hope we have on this Resurrection Sunday, I saw 3 areas of ‘nothingness’--- 3 areas of ‘emptiness’!
Now that I have all of you looking at me like I have 3 heads… let me explain what I mean!
When I read, thought and prayed about the hope that comes to us on Resurrection Sunday, I saw these 3 distinct issues of emptiness-MOST people do NOT see:
In this hope I see an empty cross: Christ WAS on the cross, but His death and sacrifice for me was SUFFICENT once and for all… He is NO longer on that cross but is now my Risen Lord!
In this hope I see an empty tomb: Christ DID die and Christ WAS buried… but on that 3rd day Christ came BURSTING forth from the tomb conquering death and sin… He is NO longer in that tomb, but is my Risen Lord!
Finally, in this hope I see an ‘empty’ canvas… Christ died, was buried and ROSE again so that we could know a NEW life! When Christ saves you, your life is a NEW canvas on which Christ can paint a new and beautiful story! The old is gone away and the new has come to stay!
Let’s look at the first ‘emptiness’ where I see:
An Empty Cross – v.50-53
50Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.
Christ DIED on the cross, and the Bible tells us that His death & sacrifice is only needed once and is sufficient for all, so we must understand that Jesus is NO longer on the cross…
Jesus HAD to die! Jesus HAD to be ON that cross to complete God’s plan! There was NO other way. God had foreordained the death of Jesus before the very creation of the world…
This was ALWAYS God’s plan for salvation! Jesus KNEW this was God’s way; in the garden He prayed that if there was ANY other way, for God to take this cup from HIM!
We know that in the Garden Jesus submitted to the will of the Father and surrendered Himself to death on the Cross… Jesus HAD to go to the Cross!
BUT the cross is empty! And it is empty for a reason… the writer of Hebrews states that Christ came to die… ONCE FOR ALL, meaning that He was put ON the Cross, died for our sin and was taken down from the Cross, buried & raised again! NEVER TO HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN!
Jesus spoke about this when He was ON the cross! In John 19:30, Jesus looked to heaven and cried out with a LOUD voice, “It is finished!” meaning He had FINISHED what He had come to do!
But the key here is that Jesus is NO LONGER on the Cross! I say this because we CONSTANTLY try to put Him back on the cross! We CONSTANTLY seek our own victory over sin… when the victory is ALREADY won in Christ!
We battle and battle and battle to overcome sin in our lives and we don’t turn to Him! When we do this we are putting Him back up on the cross!
As believers:
When we do not seek to live a holy and righteous life by surrendering to the Lordship of Christ in our lives…
When we choose to live our lives as WE please…
When we dally with sin…
When we play around with back-sliding…
When we dabble in unrighteousness…
When we CHOOSE to live like this – we are saying that the death of Christ on the cross means NOTHING! That it is meaningless… and that He must DIE for us again and again… over and over…
But PRAISE GOD Resurrection Sunday reveals to us an empty cross that has fulfilled its purpose and has completed its task! Christ came to die! Christ HAD to die! Christ DID die… but Christ is no longer ON the cross!
I don’t particularly like the Crucifix that depicts Christ still on the Cross… because it is a symbol of an incomplete mission! But Jesus said, “It is finished!” Christ is NOT on the cross! The Cross is EMPTY and we know this because of Resurrection Sunday!
But not only does Resurrection Sunday reveal an empty cross, I also see where Resurrection Sunday also reveals…
An Empty Tomb – 23:53; 24:1-3
53Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid…
Christ DIED and WAS buried… but on the 3rd day, He came out of the tomb, rising from the dead to conquer death and sin… Jesus is NO longer in the tomb, but now is He is raised from the dead…
In v53 here we find that Jesus had died & His followers had gained permission to take His body down from the Cross and bury Him in a borrowed tomb…
Jesus DID die and Jesus WAS buried, but v.1-3 of the next chapter gives us a picture of what happened next!
1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Mary and the ladies prepared spices to come and anoint the body of Jesus… They wanted to treat Jesus’ body with respect and honor as they LOVED Him as their teacher! But I don’t think anything could have prepared them for what they saw that day!
When the women came that morning the Bible tells us that they were surprised to discover that the tomb was empty!
Now, I want to ask you a question… Has someone’s discovery of NOTHING ever had such an life changing impact on the world?
These ladies reached the tomb and saw immediately that the tomb was open… I am sure they thought the worst!
I am sure that they thought the Jews or maybe the Romans had come in and desecrated Jesus’ body… But when they looked into the tomb… the tomb was EMPTY!
His body was NOT there… We have 4 accounts of this event; each one has its own unique slant on what happened! But they are all beautiful accounts of the fact that the tomb that held the lifeless body of Jesus on Friday night… WAS EMPTY on Sunday morning!
He was NOT there… and just when they thought things were crazy enough!
4…behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel…the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you…
People the FACT of the matter is that Jesus DIED on the cross at Calvary AND was buried in a tomb and the tomb was sealed with a huge stone!
But the FACTS don’t end there! We see the grave was NOT capable of holding Jesus… Jesus RAISED from the dead… Jesus resurrected from the dead! The TOMB was empty and still IS empty! Jesus is RISEN! AMEN!!!
What is the significance of an empty tomb for us today? For believers, it is important because it confirms Jesus’ victory over death… ON the Cross Jesus had been victorious over sin… now FROM the tomb as the Risen Lord, he was now victorious over DEATH!
It is important the Tomb is empty because we can know life AFTER this life
It is important the Tomb is empty because we can know eternal life with God the Father!
Finally it is important the Tomb is empty because in Jesus we are no longer in bondage or enslaved to sin!
Yes the Cross IS empty and Yes the Tomb is Empty… but what does that mean for YOU today? How does an empty cross and an empty tomb apply to YOU this morning!
I will tell you how it applies for we can see that on this Resurrection Sunday, the Empty Cross and Empty Tomb point us toward…
An Empty Canvas – 24:1-3
46and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
When the disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven He promised them one thing and challenged them another! He challenged them to tell others about Him and He promised to empower them to do just that!
When Peter and the disciples left their old lives to follow Jesus… they were men who had pasts, men who had done wrong, men who had NOT been perfect, men who had prejudice, selfish and had stolen things!
But when these men ‘met’ Jesus, he met them where they were, took their lives and wiped them clean and started molding them and painting a new portrait of their life!
Peter was a loud mouthed, prideful, cursing fisherman…
James & John were 2 momma’s boys who felt they should be leading
Matthew was a tax collector who had made a life out of stealing from his own people
BUT, God took these men and began to paint a beautiful NEW portrait within their lives…
Peter became a leading figure in the early church and the author of several letters to churches that the Holy Spirit inspired to be placed in our Bible!
James & John shed their selfish, momma’s boy outlook and surrendered to service to Christ and became great leaders within the early church!
Finally Matthew was radically changed as he walked away from his tax table and dropped everything to follow Jesus… Matthew records the life of Jesus in his Gospel!
Jesus entered the lives of these men and changed them forever! TODAY, I want to let ALL of you know that Jesus is STILL in the life changing business!
Do you have a picture painted in your life that you don’t like, that you are ashamed of, that you wished would disappear? BUT no matter how hard you try the stain of your sin remains!
The beauty of the resurrection is that it brings NEW life! Jesus takes our old life, with all its warts, and the terrible painting we have made of our lives and He makes it NEW again! He whitewashes our soul and life and begins to paint a masterpiece!
In fact in Eph 2:10 Paul tells us that those who are IN CHRIST…those whom Christ has ‘whitewashed’ their lives… that they become ‘masterpieces’ of Jesus! We ARE His masterpiece!
The canvas of your life may be smattered with dark colors and dark images and ugly years of living for yourself... BUT… today Christ can clean that canvas and begin to paint a NEW life! A life of vibrant colors, a life filled with HIM as your light, but most of all a life of beauty in serving Jesus!
Today you have head the ‘emptiness’ of Easter… today you have heard about the empty cross, the empty tomb and the empty canvas of your life!
Today God wants to begin to use that canvas to glorify Him! Today I am calling on YOU to surrender your heart! Today Christ wants to come into your life and begin painting your new life!
Today Jesus can come into your life and make all things NEW… It doesn’t matter who you are, what you have done, or what the color of your skin is or how much you have in your bank acct…
Today Christ is calling YOU to surrender to Him! As Bro Ken comes I urge you to come and give your heart to Him this morning!
