From Morticians to Missionaries
Chuck Sligh
April 5, 2015
(A PowerPoint presentation for this sermon is available by emailing me at chuchsligh@hotmail.com.)
Adapted from a sermon
SCRIPTURE READING: 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.”
TEXT: Luke 24:8-9 – “And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.”
INTRODUCTION
The chapters prior to Luke 24 tell us about the horrific crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The crucifixion of Jesus had an immediate effect on the characters in the story:
• THE PRIESTS were now free of the One who had threatened their authority.
• THE PHARISEES had finally purged themselves of the One who exposed their hypocrisy and self-righteousness.
• THE ROMAN AUTHORITIES were rid of one they thought to be a rabble-rouser and disturber of the peace.
The defenders of Jesus had a different perspective:
• His disciples were scattered, discouraged, hopeless, fearful.
• And PETER—yes, poor, dear Peter—who was before boastful, is now a crushed and broken man.
Then we come to our text in Luke 24: The women make their way to the tomb to embalm the Lord’s body. This was the first day of the week, the VERY FIRST “LORD’S DAY.” It was very early in the morning, making it THE FIRST SUNRISE SERVICE. When they arrived, the women were surprised to see that the stone was rolled away. And suddenly they’re confronted by these two men in shining garments.
As we look at the Easter story today, I’d like you to notice three important things in our text:
I. FIRST, NOTICE THAT THE WOMEN REMEMBERED HIS WORDS. – verses 5-8 – “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,”
The two men in shining garments, who no doubt were angels, asked the question: “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” in verse 5.
That’s a good question even today, is it not? People are still arguing about the resurrection. All sorts of far-fetched, even bizarre explanations have been proffered to explain away the resurrection. Yet after two thousand years of speculation, conjecture, phony theories, and fanciful interpretations, there STILL is no other logical explanation for the record we have in the Gospels other than that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. To all the scoffers, we can still ask, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”
And then in verse 6 the angels said, “He is not here.” Don’t look for the Savior in the CEMETERY! Don’t look for Him in that TOMB in Jerusalem! Don’t waste your time searching ANYWHERE! HE LIVES! HE IS RISEN! “HE IS NOT HERE!” the angels said.
And then Luke tells us in verse 8 of our text, “THEN THEY REMEMBERED.” Remembered what?
Go back to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12 for a moment. Jesus had told them what would happen, and now they remembered:
In Matthew 12:40 Jesus had said, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
In Matthew 20:18-19 Jesus told his disciples, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”
But somehow, they had forgotten Jesus’s prophecies of His resurrection. And then we come to our scripture in Luke 24. After the gruesome death of Jesus on the cross, and three agonizing, anguished days of doubt and despair and grief—now these women come to the tomb and hear these angels words, and the Bible says—“THEN THEY REMEMBERED!”
NOW suddenly everything was clear. Now they understood. Now what seemed so discouraging and so hopeless was no longer so—because now they remembered the promise of Jesus Christ!
We who walk with the Savior—how many times have we all faced situations like that?— Maybe one time you were experiencing a deep, deep pit of discouragement and despair—and all hope was lost.
And yet you knew that you were a child of God, and you went to the old Book—the Bible, and in a flash, a promise from God jumped out at you, and suddenly YOU REMEMBERED, and that changed your whole outlook!
You may be here like that this morning. Maybe you’re in a trial—perhaps the greatest trial of your life. Maybe it’s a trial at your job, or in your family, or your marriage. Perhaps you’re facing physical suffering, or maybe you’re experiencing the pangs of grief and sorrow. Maybe you’re going through a terrible heartache, or perhaps a period of doubt and fear. And you’re experiencing fear or despair or anguish.
May I invite you to go to the words of Jesus in the precious Word of God. I promise—if you’ll go to God’s book, the Bible, God will open up to your soul a wonderful promise that will lift you out of your gloom and despair and give you hope for tomorrow—when you REMEMBER the words of the Lord that so often give us comfort, relief and hope.
Or I wonder if you’re a child of God, having grown up in church, or trusted in Christ as your Savior at some point in your life, but you drifted away due to neglect, or perhaps you backslid because of the attraction of sin and this world. I wonder if, though it’s been a long time, you’ve heard the old, old story again today of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and now you REMEMBER! You remember the warmth you had in knowing Jesus and walking with Him; you remember the joy of following Him; you remember the comfort and encouragement of the church; you remember the fulfillment of finding God’s treasures just for you in His Word. You’ve grown cold to the things of God, but today—you REMEMBER!
It’s never too late to turn back to God and serve Him! James exhorts us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (James 4:8-10)
Isn’t it time you came back to God?
On resurrection morn, the women REMEMBERED…and that made all the difference!
II. NOTICE SECOND THAT THE WOMEN RETURNED TO THE OTHER DISCIPLES PERMANENTLY CHANGED. – Luke 24:9 – “And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.”
Think of how differently they returned!— When they arrived at the tomb, they were sad, discouraged, downcast, mournful. The events of the last three days had been a crushing blow! All their hopes and dreams had been dashed. Jesus, whom they had loved and served with all their hearts, was GONE. Every step they took said: HE IS DEAD, HE IS DEAD, HE IS DEAD. They came to anoint His body—to do the work of undertakers—but found that GOD HAD ALREADY UNDERTAKEN!
My, what a change as they returned. No longer are they filled with sadness and gloom and despair. Now there’s joy and excitement and anticipation! What a difference when you know that Jesus lives!
Those who have not found Jesus can never understand the joy and devotion and enthusiasm of the believer. They can’t grasp what exactly motivates us and animates us to live a life of self-sacrifice and self-denial. They stand in puzzlement at the zeal and excitement of believers who want more than a once-a-week Sunday morning salve of their conscience, and seem to KNOW Jesus in a real, concrete way and on a day-to-day basis.
What makes the difference? I’ll tell you what makes the difference:
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.
In all the world around me I seen His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading thru all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.
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?
[And here’s the key to the whole song:]
HE LIVES WITHIN MY HEART.
Does Jesus live in your heart? Have you come to a place in your life where you recognized you needed God’s forgiveness; a new start in life; a relationship with the living God?
I invite you to come to Jesus, the Son of God, who lived a sinless life for you and died on the cross for your sins in your place—the good for the bad; the Sinless One for the sinner; and then rose from the dead and ascended up to heaven and is now at the right hand of God ever living to make intercession for us. He’s ALIVE and He’s waiting for you to receive Him by faith.
III. LASTLY, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE WOMEN REPORTED WHAT THEY HAD SEEN AND HEARD.
Luke 24:9 – “And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.”
Imagine the excitement! What a change!
• They went to be MORTICIANS, but they returned as MISSIONARIES!
• They went to that tomb with their hands full of spices; they returned with their hearts filled with songs and their mouths filled with sermons!
• They went to ANOINT A BODY and returned to ANNOUNCE A BLESSING!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest message the world has ever heard! How can we who know the risen Lord, who see Him working every day of our lives, who have been transformed by His resurrecting power, who have passed from death unto life because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus—HOW CAN WE BE SILENT?! How can we NOT go into the highways and byways—to our neighborhoods and jobs; to our friends and neighbors and loved ones; and proclaim the joyous news, “HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN! HE IS REALLY ALIVE, AND HE CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE AND GIVE YOU NEW LIFE.”
CONCLUSION
Dear friends, the resurrection of Christ is the greatest news in all the world for three reasons:
1) It means Jesus is who He said He was—God in flesh…so everything He said was true.
• It means that the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16 is true (SAY IT WITH ME): “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
• It means that what He said in John 5:24 is true: “…verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
• It means that Jesus’ promise in John 12:46 is true when He said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
The resurrection means that Jesus was able to pay your penalty for sin, and that He is alive to see it through. It means He’s ALIVE to save you today! This morning, I plead with you: Turn to Jesus and receive Him as your Savior.
2) Second, believer, Christ’s resurrection means that since Jesus is alive and well, it’s not too late to turn back to God and resolve anew to serve Him for the rest of your days. Why not return to God and His kingdom and His church and serve God again? You’ll never regret it.
3) And the resurrection means that, as His children, when we are going through times of trial or grief or doubt or apprehension or betrayal or fear, Jesus is ALIVE and He hears our prayers, and He cares for us and He is working in our lives and in our hearts.
Shortly before ascending into heaven, Jesus gave us a wonderful promise. He said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Matthew 28:20b)
Are you stressed with hard trial or affliction this Easter morning? The living Lord promises He’ll never leave or forsake you, and He promises in many other places to give us comfort and peace and renewed joy in the midst of trials and struggles. Cry out to the living Lord this morning and pour out your heart to Him and trust Him to work it out for good in your life.
