REASONS FOR THE RESURRECTION
Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. We rejoice in the fact that he who was dead is now alive. But why did he come back to life? What was the purpose behind it? What was to be gained by it? What did it show? What did it prove? What did it mean for us?
1)To conquer death.
During his ministry, Jesus showed that he had resurrection power when he raised people from the dead. But what about himself; who was going to raise Jesus? The scriptures highlight in various places that God raised him from the dead. Along with that, we have an interesting declaration from Jesus himself on the subject.
In speaking of his life, Jesus said in John 10:18, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
It was all voluntary and it was all within his control. So, in essence, Jesus raised Jesus! He had authority over his own life. He had control over his own death and his resurrection.
Before he raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, Jesus brought a teachable moment to Lazarus' sister, Martha. He told her in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."
Jesus wanted her to know that the creator and sustainer of life was him. There wasn't just going to be a resurrection he was the resurrection. Jesus didn't just have life he was life itself. So it makes sense that Jesus conquered death because he was life! Death could have no permanent hold on him; it was impossible! This signified that Jesus really was God in the flesh.
John 1:1-4, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men."
Who was the Word? It was Jesus. Verse 14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Thomas recognized this fact when he became convinced of Jesus' resurrection. He doubted at first but when he encountered the risen Christ he could only say one thing. But what he said was the most powerful statement anyone had ever uttered about Jesus.
John 20:24-28, "Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas, the one who's known for being a doubter comes back with the greatest declaration of faith one could make. He became convinced not only of Jesus' Lordship, but his deity as well.
Some people believe that Jesus didn't really resurrect, what people were seeing was his ghost. I believe that's what Thomas thought. That's why he told the others that unless he put his hands in the wounds and feel for himself he wasn't going to believe it. But we see Jesus challenging him to do just that. We don't see Thomas following through on that because he didn't need to in order to be convinced.
We see a similar situation where Jesus proved his bodily resurrection to his disciples in Luke 24:36-43, "While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence."
The resurrected Jesus was not a ghost, life literally entered back into him and he arose. It's been said, "Jesus' resurrection shows that death doesn't have the final word." His resurrection appearances gave testimony to that fact. The grave was empty.
Luke 24:1-8, "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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words." "They found the stone rolled away".
Christy's story-"The stone was removed not to let Jesus out, but to let the others in". Jesus didn't need the stone to be rolled away in order for him to get out. I doubt that when the stone was rolled away he was there saying, "Oh, thank God; I didn't know if I was ever going to make it out of here."
The stone was rolled away for the purpose of these women and Peter and John after them to go and see for themselves that the tomb was empty. They found the grave clothes but they didn't find Jesus. Grave clothes were for the dead. The tomb was for the dead. Jesus was alive!
"Why do you look for the living among the dead". It wasn't until the medieval period when people started becoming interested in where Jesus' tomb was. Up until then it didn't matter. It didn't matter because he wasn't there anymore; it was just an empty grave. It didn't matter where he had been; it mattered where he went from there.
That made me think of something: we might visit someone's grave but when it's a fellow believer we can rejoice in knowing that's not where they truly are. In one sense their grave is empty! My body might be there but the real me went on from there! My body might be wearing grave clothes but the real me is wearing heavenly clothes!
Paul said in 2nd Cor. 5:8 that to be away from the body is to be home with the Lord. What a wonderful reality for us. Winston Churchill was a believer who had made plans for how he wanted his funeral. When it came to pass, there were stately hymns and an impressive liturgy. When they had said the benediction, a bugler high in the dome of the cathedral played Taps, the universal signal that the day is over. There was a long pause. Then, a bugler on the other side played Reveille, the military wake-up call. It was Churchill's way of communicating that while we say, "Good night here", it's, "Good morning there."
All this is possible for us because Jesus conquered death. The impact of the death of Jesus pales in comparison to the resurrection of Jesus. Alton Howard said, "The mere fact that Jesus walked on water, healed the sick and even raised dead men to life would be of no comfort to any of us had Jesus himself not walked out of that sealed tomb alive."
1st Cor. 15:12-14, "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."
Everything hinges on the resurrection. Jesus could perform a million miracles and even raise everyone to life anyone who had ever died before but if Jesus himself hadn't raised from the dead then none of what he had done prior would've mattered.
Paul said a few verses later that if Christ has not been raised we are still in our sins. There would be no opportunity to be saved had Christ not resurrected. There would be no opportunity for our own resurrection had Jesus not done it first. The hope of mankind being forgiven and living an eternal life all rested on Jesus coming back to life to live forever. Jesus conquered death.
2) To save us.
Jesus said in Luke 19:10 that he came to seek and save the lost. That's us; we were lost, we were dead in our sins as Eph. 2 says. We needed to be saved; we needed to be rescued. Because of our sin we were in bondage. Romans 6 says that we were slaves to sin. Jesus said in Matt. 20:28 that he came to give his life as a ransom. We were held captive by sin and there was no way out. Jesus came to pay our ransom; he came to pay our sin debt so we could be free.
Jesus said in John 8:34-36, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family but the Son belongs to it forever. so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." I can't free myself. The only way I can be free is through Jesus. As a slave to sin the penalty was spiritual death. Rom. 6:23, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
When we accept God's gift through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross we can become free and escape sin's penalty. When we put our faith in Christ we become reborn. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Nicodemus asked what Jesus meant by that and Jesus responded in verse six: "flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."
Through the natural process we are born physically. However, through the unnatural process, the Holy Spirit gives life to our spirit, rendering us reborn and alive spiritually. In so doing, we are now new creations as 2nd Cor. 5:17 declares. As a new creation we have a new outlook on life. Jesus came to save us from despair and hopelessness. He came to rescue us from the empty way of life. As he said in John 10:10 he came to bring us the fullness of life. Life is worth the living just because he lives!
But not only will we have a new life in the here and now, but we have the hope of eternal life in the hereafter. Part of the joy of our new life is knowing that someday we will be with Jesus forever! Part of the joy of heaven will be meeting up with those who went before us! Seeing our friends and family members again, seeing all the people we read about in the bible. To be able to meet with Moses and David and Paul and Peter and the others we read about in the bible is mind blowing.
But this is what we have to look forward to; this is our secure hope. And it's this hope that helps us through the difficulties of life. We can get through hardships when we know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's when we feel the situation is utterly hopeless that we lose the drive and determination to press on. But thankfully, that's not the case for those who are in Christ. In fact, without the hope of eternal life our earthly lives would ultimately be pitiful.
1st Cor. 15:19-22, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."
Knowing that there is a life after this one really puts things in perspective for us; especially when we truly become conscientious of our own death. "Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33. He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit. He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer.
Then another reality hit me even harder. I'm going to die eventually anyway; whether from cancer or something else. It's just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."
Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him, "Zinger, we're not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying; we're in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."
That's the hope we have through the resurrection of Christ. He came to give us the promise of salvation-that we would live eternally in the land of the living. Jesus came to save our souls.
3) To compel us.
2nd Cor. 5:14-21, "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
"Christ's love compels us". Compels us to do what? First we see that it compels us to live for him. Before Christ we governed our lives-we did what we wanted to when we wanted to-we didn't let anyone else tell us how to live; we were our own authority. But now, as followers of Jesus, we've decided to let him run the show; and that's a good thing.
Remember, Jesus came to give us the fullness of life. We have the Spirit of life living inside us to give us the things we were truly missing before. You don't know what peace, joy and love are until the Spirit of God comes to live in you. You've searched for these things all your life and perhaps have thought you found them but at best you've only found glimpses of them; not the fullness of them. The love and sacrifice of Jesus compels us to live for him. He saved our lives; we owe him. The resurrection of Christ also enables us to live for him. We have no ability to truly live for Jesus without the Spirit of Jesus taking up residence in us.
What else does Christ's love compel us to do? To spread the message and perform the ministry of reconciliation. About 40 days after Jesus resurrected he gathered his disciples and got ready to ascend into heaven. Right before he did he gave his followers what's known as the Great Commission.
Matt. 28:18-20, "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The mission Jesus gave to his followers was to spread his gospel message. Go out and tell them about me; go out to the ends of the earth and make disciples. Jesus wanted the current followers to go and make new ones. That's what the love of Christ compels us to do. As we have been born again; as we have been baptized in his name we need to pay it forward. Go and bring the message of salvation to others so that they can be reconciled as you have been reconciled; so that they can experience what you have experienced.
After Jesus ascended into heaven he left his followers to take his place. Jesus is no longer walking on the earth. He is here in Spirit but not in the flesh. But we are. That's why Paul said we are ambassadors of Christ. We are his representatives. So it's important that we live for him; it's important that we try to be like him so that we are good ambassadors.
Paul mentioned the message and the ministry of reconciliation. The message is the gospel we share; the ministry is the example we set. We not only spread the message of salvation, we also live our lives in service to Christ. We are new creations with a new mission and a new responsibility. Jesus' resurrection compel us.
Earlier I told you about pro golfer Paul Azinger, who was diagnosed with cancer at 33 and who, although he was a great success at golf, had a different perspective about what was truly most important. Well, there's more to the story. Paul went through chemotherapy and recovered and even returned to the pro golf circuit. And he's done pretty well. But, his bout with cancer deepened his perspective.
He wrote, "I've made a lot of money since I've been on the tour, and I've won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don't have problems, but I feel like I've found the answer to the six-foot-hole. I know I'll spend eternity with God and I have a promise-that as a child of God he'll help me deal with anything. He promises to offer me contentment regardless of what life brings-even cancer."
One of the main reasons for Jesus' resurrection is to pave the way for our own. Part of Celebrating Jesus' resurrection is rejoicing in the fact that we will someday experience our own resurrection. But perhaps that's not true for you. Perhaps you're still lost. Perhaps you're still a slave to sin.
You can be free; Jesus came to redeem you just as much as he came to redeem everyone else. But you have to believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and that he is the only way. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but through me."
If we put our faith in him we have the promise of eternal life. If you want to experience that joy please see me after the service and I'll tell you how to get it.
