A Birth, A Suffering, A Cross, A Tomb,
And A Resurrection
Text: Matthew 1:21; John 1:29;
F.A.G. 4/5/2015
Play Video – Easter Worship Intro (from Youtube
I. A Birth
Matthew 1:21, "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (NKJ)
A. Before there could ever be a resurrection, there had to be a birth. Not just any birth but a supernatural birth.
1. Mary give birth to a son without having sexual relations with anyone because the Son inside of her was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-21).
B. Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, He was born without sin.
1. Eve was deceived – Adam was not. Because he was the husband, and because he was not deceived, Eve’s sin was accredited to Adam.
2. That’s how Jesus was born without sin.
II. A Suffering
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.” (NKJ)
A. Before a Cross there had to be suffering.
1. The religious leaders of the time rejected Him. How do you think that made Jesus feel?
a. The very people who He came to save – cut Him off!
b. That is emotionally draining and it caused Him much pain.
B. If that wasn’t enough, the Roman solders made a crown of thorns and thrust it on His head. Why? To break the curse on mankind all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It says in Genesis 3:17-18, “Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.” (NKJ)
1. The blood from the thorns broke the curse.
B. Matthew 27:29a-30 says, When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.
C. Then they spat on Him and struck Him on the head. Verse 30 says,
“Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.” Why?
D. Also in Mark 15 they also scourged Him. Then in Isaiah 53:5 it tells us that, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (NKJ)
1. The word wounded in the Hebrew means to wound (fatally), to bore through, to pierce, to bore; to pierce.
2. He was wounded (fatally), to bore through, to pierce, to bore; to pierce.
a. for our transgressions (rebellion).
3. He was bruised (crushed or shattered)
a. for our iniquities (perversity, depravity, guilt).
E. He beaten about His back for our healing. Isaiah 53:4a-5 (TMSG) says,”But the fact is, it was our pains (Or Yet it was our sicknesses / it was our diseases) he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. 5But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.”
F. The crown, the beatings, all had to do with the shedding of blood.
1. Hebrews 9:21-22 says, “Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (NKJ)
G. The chastisement (beating/punishment) for our peace (shalom- completeness, soundness, welfare (health and prosperity), safety, soundness (in body) was upon Him.
H. So we see that everything that happened to Jesus after His arrest – but before the cross - all the beatings, etc. were all about the fact that when he uttered the words, “It Is Finished!”, everything was done for mankind. Nothing else was needed except . . . A Cross.
III. A Cross
Romans 5:19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.”
A. Paul tells us in Colossians 1:19-22 about the invisible events taking place, beyond the physical realm during the time Jesus was dying on the cross.
Colossians 1:19-22 (NLT) says, “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”
B. When He died for us on the cross, Jesus met fully the onslaught of demons, fallen angels, and all the power of evil forces in the heavens. And you know what? He disarmed them all . . . .
completely — because "in Christ God was reconciling all things to Himself."
C. What are the benefits of Jesus’ death on the cross?
1. The justice of God was satisfied (Isaiah 53:11).
2. Redemption from the power of sin, death, and hell was made possible for sinners:
3. The new covenant that God had promised was confirmed:
D. These benefits can be summed up in the word 'reconciliation'. Through God's work in Christ of reconciling the world to Himself, our sins and misdeeds are no longer be counted against us if we receive the free gift of eternal life in Christ.
1. As we unite ourselves to Christ through salvation, we then receive a new life altogether and through Him we are declared righteous by God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Play Easter Sunday (2013) Opening Video from Youtube
IV. A Resurrection
Without a resurrection, everything that Jesus endured after His arrest and on the cross are worthless without a resurrection.
A. Luke 24:1-7 (TLB), “But very early on Sunday morning they took the ointments to the tomb—2 and found that the huge stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside.
NOTE: apokulio (ap-ok-oo-lee'-o) - to roll off or roll away. This word is used in the Gospels to refer to the stone that was in front of the tomb of Jesus. In Palestine, graves were usually in a depression and the stone was rolled down an incline to cover the mouth of the tomb. For a small grave, about 20 men were required to roll a stone downhill to cover the door of the tomb. The Bible tells us that the stone covering the door of the tomb was a large stone. The women would have needed more men than even a full Roman guard of 16 men to roll away the stone. This was a major task.
3 So they went in—but the Lord Jesus’ body was gone. 4 They stood there puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly two men appeared before them, clothed in shining robes so bright their eyes were dazzled. 5 The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? 6-7 He isn’t here! He has come back to life again! Don’t you remember what he told you back in Galilee—that the Messiah must be betrayed into the power of evil men and be crucified and that he would rise again the third day?”
A. Why is the Resurrection so important today? The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central truth of our Christian faith and cannot be overemphasized. Let’s face it, without the resurrection there is no Christianity.
B. The resurrection is one of the major evidences that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
C. Jesus’ resurrection represents an assurance that we can have forgiveness from our sins.
D. The resurrection tells the world that the kingdom of God is ruled by a One permanent authority.
1. The founder of Islam is dead and his bones lie dormant in the earth.
2. But the founder of Christianity—sixty years after his death— appeared to John on the island of Patmos and said: “I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:17-18).
E. Jesus’ resurrection proves that physical death is not the end of human existence. It’s just the beginning. God, who is the giver of life (1 Timothy 6:13), has the power to give our mortal bodies immortality. Christ’s triumph over the grave is Heaven’s pledge to us that we too shall be raised.
F. The Lord’s resurrection was the ultimate victory of Christianity over all its enemies.
Conclusion:
John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes (airo (ah'-ee-ro); to take upon oneself and carry what has been raised up, to bear away what has been raised, to carry off; to remove; to take away from another what is his or what is committed to him, to take by force; to take from among the living, either by a natural death, or by violence; to cause to cease) away the sin of the world! (NKJ)
In closing, Jesus was supernaturally born to take away the sins of the world. In order to do that He had to face much suffering and ultimately, die on a cross. But that wasn’t enough! There must be a resurrection! The Bible says in John 1:29 (after His resurrection) that He “takes away the sin of the world”.
What sin do you have today that you can lay on the cross (take the papers passed out and nail them to the cross . . . today! Right now!
(expound and close)
