SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). The Women (vs 1-3)
(2). The Angelic Beings (vs 4-8)
(3). The Disciples (vs 9-12)
SERMON BODY:
Quote: Professor John Lennox:
"Stephen Hawkins was just ahead of me at Cambridge, I can remember him quite well although I did not know him. I was rather amused when the Times interviewed him about religion;
he said:
'Religion is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark'.
I was asked to comment, so I said;
'atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light'."
(John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science, and Pastoral Advisor at Green Templeton College, Oxford. He is also an adjunct Lecturer at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University and at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and is a Senior Fellow of the Trinity Forum.)
• TRANSITION: The resurrection story of Jesus:
• Is either the biggest fairy story ever invented;
• Or the greatest miracle and the most significant event in human history!
• Now this evening I know I am speaking to the converted;
• So I am not going to do an apologetic talk showing evidence for the resurrection.
• We have already done that in the past;
• And there are plenty of such talks and good resources available online.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead:
• Is the greatest miracle that the world has or will ever see!
• I don’t know if you have noticed this observation.
• In the Old Testament when talking about the power of God;
• They always refer back to creation.
• The miracle of God creating the world out of nothing.
• In the New Testament when talking about the power of God;
• They always refer to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead!
Now one word you have to associate with Jesus Christ is ‘miracle’.
• He entered our world in a miraculous way;
• Conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
• During his three years of ministry, the four gospels record 37 miracles of Jesus.
• Most scholars tend to agree with this number.
• John the apostle tells us (John chapter 21 verse 25);
• Jesus performed many other miracles to these 37 that were not recorded.
• So Jesus entered our world in a miraculous way;
• He lived a miraculous life;
• And even in death, he has that word ‘miracle’ attributed to him!
Quote: I like what Peter Larson writes:
• "Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes.
• The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin's womb and an empty tomb.
• Jesus entered our world through a door marked 'No Entrance';
• And left through a door marked 'No Exit’”
Notice: the question asked in our Bible reading:
• “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (vs 5)
• That is a great question!
• We do not normally look for the dead among the living.
• So why would you look for the living among the dead?
• That is the question the angels posed to the women who came to Jesus’ tomb;
• That first Easter morning.
• And that is the question we are considering this evening.
(1). The Women (vs 1-3)
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”
(a). The Day (vs 1): “On the first day of the week”.
• In Jesus’ day the Sabbath, our Saturday was the most significant day.
• Sabbath is the last day of the week and commemorates the rest of God after creation.
• But from this moment on, for the followers of Jesus;
• The first day of the week – which is Sunday would replace it in importance!
• Sunday would forever take precedence among Christians;
• Signify and memorating the resurrection of Jesus.
(b). The Task (vs 1) – embalm the body.
• Notice: with the Sabbath day ended the women waste no time;
• “Very early in the morning”;
• To embalm the body of Jesus with spices.
• John in his gospel (chapter 19 verses 38-42) tells us that:
• This anointing process had been started by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimithea;
• On the day that Jesus had died,
• These women came to finish the job;
• Or knowing men (and the type of men Nicodemus and Joseph were);
• These women came to do the job properly!
• Now don’t miss that detail: “the women took the spices they had prepared”.
• The women bought with them spices because they went fully expecting to find;
• A stone-cold dead Jesus, buried in the tomb.
• In the east tombs were often carved out of caves in the rock,
• Inside the tomb they carved a shelf, a ledge on which to lay the body,
• The body was wrapped in long linen strips like bandages
• And then laid on the ledge.
• The tomb was then closed by a great circular stone like a cart wheel;
• Which ran in a groove across the opening.
(c). The Surprise (vs 2-3) - “They found the stone rolled away from the tomb”
• They were looking for Jesus but all they found was a stone rolled away,
• Because they were looking for the wrong person in the wrong place!
• They were seeking a dead Jesus among the tombs of the dead!
Quote; Ray Steadman:
“We live in a world where so many people are still looking for Jesus among the dead.
I think of scholars who study the words of Jesus and the gospel manuscripts but do not believe in Christ’s resurrection.
I think of the archaeologists who two thousand years later are still trying to find Jesus’ body and bones in the tomb but keep coming up empty. I think of people who finger the body of Christ on their crucifixes but do not know the reality of the living Christ. These people all have one thing in common. They are all looking for Jesus among the dead. And if you are looking for Jesus among the dead, you will not find him. He is not there.”
• TRANSITION: If you want to find Jesus this evening,
• You must look among the living and not the dead!
(2). The Angelic Beings (vs 4-8)
“While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”’ 8 Then they remembered his words.”
• The word “angel” in both the Old and New Testaments means “messenger”;
• (Hebrew word “mal'ak” Greek word “aggelos”,)
• According to Chafer, Systematic Theology, II, 3;
• Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament;
• And 165 times in the New Testament
• Angels are essentially “ministering spirits,” (Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14);
• They do not have physical bodies like humans.
• Angels can take on the appearance of humans when the occasion demands.
• How else could some believers “entertain angels unaware”
• (Hebrews chapter 13 verse 2)?
Note: These women at the tomb of Jesus encounter two men:
• These men are clearly not ordinary men.
• Because they appeared out of nowhere.
• And their clothes were shining like lightning.
• The other gospel accounts confirm that these were angels,
• Heavenly couriers sent from God with a message to deliver.
Now I have never seen an angel, at least not knowingly:
• As we have noted angels can and do at times travel in disguise.
• But when an angel appears in glory, one thing always happens.
• The Bible is clear on this point.
• People fall down on their faces in fear.
• It is an instinctive reaction.
• Because the Bible describes angels as majestic and glorious beings.
• And so people fall down before them.
• These women at the tomb were no different.
• In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground.
Note:
• The idea of women as primary witnesses to the resurrection;
• Does not seem unusual to people living in a western culture in the year 2015.
• But in New Testament times this was a revolutionary concept!
• In New Testament times,
• The testimony of women was not given the same weight as men's,
• Either personally or in a court of law.
• Mary & the other women's witness to the Resurrection reversed this idea.
• When the Christian stories described Mary Magdalene and the other women;
• As the first witnesses of the Resurrection,
• They were saying something important about the nature of women:
• That they were capable of being as fully Christian as men.
• Both Jesus and the New Testament elevate the importance and the role of women!
• Many a Christian in Church history has tried to reverse that;
• But they are always on dodgy ground – the New Testament always dignifies women.
Notice: These angels then instruct the women:
• Not to look for the living among the dead!
• Because they ‘aint gonna’ find him there, because “he has risen!”
• The angelic beings remind these women (vs 6);
• That Jesus had told them on numerous occasions;
• About his death but also about his resurrection (vs 7-8)
““The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”’ 8 Then they remembered his words.”
• The arrest of Jesus should not have been a surprise to his followers.
• The crucifixion and death of Jesus should not have been a surprise to his followers.
• And even Jesus’ resurrection should not have been a surprise to his followers.
• Jesus told them all these things in advance.
• If you read Luke’s gospel you will see it from chapter 9 verse 22 onwards.
• And yet somehow the meaning of these things escaped them.
• It was only after these things had happened;
• That the ‘penny dropped’ and they remembered his words and put it all together.
And so the angels have to jog and unlock their memories by saying:
• “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”
• That verse (#6) is the good news of Easter condensed into one verse.
• The Message translation of the Bible paraphrases verse 6 this way:
• “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up.”
Quote:
“Never has the world heard a message like that one! It still reverberates through the halls of time and will throughout eternity - He is Alive!”
• Practically it is declaring: Jesus rose from the dead;
• He has conquered death.
• Theologically it is declaring:
• Jesus Christ has conquered not just death but also sin and the devil.
• The very things that caused death (both physical & spiritual) in the first place!
(3). The Disciples (vs 9-12).
• We have in these three verses, three different responses;
• These response can only take place because the resurrection took place!
FIRST: THE RESPONSE OF THE WOMEN.
Look at verses 9-10:
“When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles”.
They came back from the tomb and told all these things to the apostles and all the others.
• They must have been frightened.
• They must have been confused.
• And they certainly did not understand all that had happened.
• But there was one thing they could do.
• They could share what they knew.
• Jesus’ body was no longer in the grave.
• But more than that – they encountered a supernatural being – an angel.
• But I love the fact that they are not impressed by an angel;
• They are fully focussed on Jesus!
• The angels said he had risen from the dead.
• The women believed their message, and they shared their faith with others.
• Application:
• Like these women all of us are called to share our faith with others;
• The fact that Jesus died and rose again is good news!
• And good news is always for sharing.
• That was the response of the women.
SECOND: THE RESPONSE OF THE MALE DISCIPLES.
Look at verse 11:
“But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense”.
• While these women were heading to the tomb,
• The male disciples were locked up inside the Upper Room;
• John in his gospel (chapter 20 verse 19) tells us why.
• They were trembling with fear;
• Fearing that the same kind of death that Jesus had met with;
• Awaited for them also because they were his disciples,
• In the Easter story the women are again portrayed as the best followers of Jesus;
• When the men fled at the cross the women stayed.
• While the men hide away, the women go looking for the body of Jesus!
Now I am happy to report the men later changed their minds and their attitude:
• But the men’s initial response mirrors the response of so many people today.
• They don’t believe in all this Jesus stuff.
• It all seems like so much nonsense to them, and so they do nothing.
Ill:
• The word Luke uses for ‘nonsense’ is a medical term;
• It was used by doctors to describe the ‘babbling of the insane’.
• And these men certainly thought these women had ‘lost the plot’ - were crazy.
• These males disciples, like us,
• Knew that dead men don’t just come back to life again.
• Especially those executed by crucifixion!
• They had seen enough people put to death by a Roman execution squad;
• To know that they did not make mistakes;
• They did their job cruelly and effectively!
• And so they dismiss the story of the resurrection outright;
• And continue to live their lives as though nothing happened that first Easter morning.
• Application:
• When we fail to exercise faith;
• We will do NOTHING!
THIRD: THE RESPONSE OF PETER (VS 12)
“Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”
• If you are not sure what to make of Jesus’ resurrection,
• There is a third option you can take rather than simply rejecting it as nonsense.
• You can do what Peter did.
• You can check it out for yourself.
• Peter need to check out, to examine the evidence for himself.
• So Peter ran to the tomb.
• He saw the stone that was rolled away.
• He entered the empty tomb and saw the strips of linen;
• That once contained the body of Jesus but were now lying there by themselves.
ill:
• There is an oriental custom regarding a napkin/serviette.
• When a man with servants was eating a meal,
• He would use his napkin to signal them during the course of the meal.
• If he left the table and wadded his napkin up,
• It meant that he was finished and would not be back.
• If, however, he neatly folded the napkin,
• It told his servants that he was stepping away for a moment,
• But he would be back!
• TRANSITION:
• Peter might not know that custom;
• But with Jesus leaving the folded grave-clothes behind he was leaving a clear message;
• He was telling His disciples,
• "I may be out of your sight right now, but I'll be right back!"
• TRANSITION: Peter went looking for Jesus, and you know what?
• He found him!
• Not lying dead in a tomb, but resurrected and alive.
• Scan down to verse 33:
“They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’”
Ill:
• 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 5 also testifies that:
• “Jesus appeared to Peter (Cephas), and then to the Twelve".
• This appearance must have taken place sometime after Peter left the tomb.
• He sought the Lord and the point is he found him!
• Application:
• When in doubt - Be like Peter, and check it out for yourself!
Ill:
• Many of us were encouraged as young Christians to be like the Bereans.
• We read of them in Acts chapter 17 verse 11.
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
• If we want to know the Lord at a deeper level;
• Then like the Berens, we must learn to seek him!
CONCLUSION:
• The angels asked the women that first Easter morning,
• “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
• Let me say it again.
• If you are looking for Jesus among the dead, you will never find him,
• Because he is not there! He is risen!
