RESURRECITON SUNDAY – 2019 (Six Important Questions)
Text: Multiple Passages
I recently read an article that was talking about teachers. It said, “Teachers teach their students. But at the same time, they can’t help but wonder if their students are actually learning what is being taught. So… they give exams from time to time, in an attempt to gauge their students’ progress. And what is an exam? It’s a group of several questions about the subject material.” The article went on to say, “And so, teachers are often asking questions. Either in the form of exams, or while they are teaching. And on occasion they do not get the answers they were hoping for. I imagine that there were some disappointed teachers who got the following answers to some of their questions.”
For example:
THE TEACHERS QUESTION – What ended in 1945?
THE STUDENTS ANSWER – 1944
THE TEACHERS QUESTION – Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?
THE STUDENTS ANSWER – At the bottom of the paper
THE TEACHERS QUESTION – Give a brief explanation of hard water.
THE STUDNETS ANSWER – Ice.
Now those are kind of funny… but there’s a lot of truth to the idea that the way a person answers a question reveals what they know, or think, or believe about a particular subject. In the Bible Jesus asked His disciples a very important question. It’s in Matthew 16:13 – 16… let me just read that to you (READ).
Now I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s probably one of the most important questions ever asked. Who is Jesus? And to make it even more personal, the Bible asks, “Who do you say Jesus is?” The way you answer that question will shape your entire life. It will shape your entire world view. It will shape the way you think about things. It will shape the way you spend your time, your money, and your energy. It will shape you politically and socially. It will have an effect on the way you talk, what you watch on TV, how you spend your free time. The way you answer that question effects everything about you – who you are, what you are, and what you do.
And there’s really only two ways to answer that question. Jesus is either who the Bible says He is, or He’s not. Now the Bible says that Jesus is God. He’s God the Son, and that He came to this world in the flesh. In other-words, He is fully and totally God, but He became a man. The Bible tells us that He was born of a virgin and that He lived on this earth for 33 years.
Now for some folks, they feel that just knowing that is enough… and don’t misunderstand me… if you know that about Jesus, that’s a good thing. It’s a great thing! But if that’s where your knowledge and understanding ends, I have to tell you; it’s incomplete. Because knowing that should actually lead you to ask another question. You see… if you know and believe that Jesus is God… that’s good. And if you know and believe that Jesus is God and that He became a man… That’s even better. But the next thing you should ask yourself is – WHY? Why did God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity become a man? Again; there’s two ways to answer that second question. We can answer it according to the Bible, or we can answer it in a way contrary to the Bible. Here’s the way the Bible answers that second question. The Bible tells us that the reason Jesus came to this earth – was to die.
Now when Jesus was on this earth, He did a lot of things. He healed the sick, He fed multitudes, He walked on water, He cast out demons. John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus did so many things, that John couldn’t even write them all down. And when He was on this earth, Jesus said a lot of things. He taught a lot of things. He taught about heaven and hell, He taught about the Kingdom of God. He taught about sin and repentance. He taught about righteousness and holiness, and how we should live our lives. He taught about love – loving God and loving our neighbors. So Jesus did a lot, He said a lot, and He taught a lot of things, but His main purpose in coming to this world was to die.
And that brings us to a third question – Why did Jesus have to die?
Well that’s the question – and answer I want us to spend a little more time on, because that’s a big part of what Easter is all about.
So if you’ll take your Bibles and open them up to Isaiah 53:10 I’m going to show you from Scripture why Jesus had to die… and what His death and resurrection means for us. (READ Isaiah 53:10). Now let’s turn over to the New Testament, to the Book of Romans 8:32 (READ).
So when we talk about the death of Jesus on the cross, we need to first of all understand that it was all part of God’s plan from the very beginning. So God planned, before time ever even began, to send Jesus to die for us. Now it’s true; there were people who were involved in all of that. They were like players, fulfilling their roles… King Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Pharisees, and even Judas. But it was still all part of God’s plan. Acts 4:27 – 28 says, “For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.”
Now I don’t know about y’all, but that makes my head swim. To think that God planned the death of His own Son Jesus, before He ever even created Adam and Eve, or the universe. It’s staggering to think about. But it’s also a key to our salvation. Because when we begin to understand that Jesus, coming into this world, and dying on a cross, is part of God’s plan and purpose, it opens up our understanding to everything else the Bible teaches us. Because you see; the cause of Jesus’ death, isn’t an issue for debate… everyone knows Jesus died on the cross. He was beaten, He was tortured, He was nailed to the cross and died there. But when we start to see that there was a purpose behind it, then we see the big picture. So… the religious leaders didn’t like Jesus and they wanted Him dead. King Herod was paranoid about Jesus and wanted Him dead. Pontius Pilate was indifferent towards Jesus and rather than have to deal with something that made him uncomfortable, He ordered Jesus to be crucified. But none of those individuals or groups of people could have done that, if God hadn’t planned it from the beginning. In-fact; Jesus says to Pilate in John 19:11, “… You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above.” So it wasn’t like these men could have done this, if it hadn’t been part of God’s plan and purpose.
Look with me at John 10:14-18 (READ).
So Jesus had to die, because it was God’s plan and purpose for Him to die… and that brings us to our FOURTH question. Why? Why did God plan and purpose for Jesus to die? The answer to that question is found in 1st John 4:10, let’s read it (READ). Ok… so let me tie all of this together for you.
The God who created all things… who created the heavens and earth, who created the universe, and all life… Is Almighty. He’s all-powerful. He’s all-knowing. And He is holy. Our God is holy and just and good. Now what that means is that God cannot just over look our sin. He can’t just let it slide. His justice demands a punishment for the sins and rebellion of men.
So God’s Law demands that, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and might” (That’s Deut. 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. We love ourselves more than God, we love things more than God. And so the Bible tells us – That all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Because the truth is – we give glory to what we love most – and it isn’t God. So the thing is… sin isn’t just an insignificant issue. It’s not like sin is no big deal… Because it’s committed against a Big God. They’re committed against the Creator, Maker, and Sustainer of the universe. They’re committed against an Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Holy, and Just God. Who is infinite in Himself and in all of His ways. He is infinitely good, infinitely powerful, infinitely holy, infinite in His being, and so He is infinitely worthy of our love, and respect, and praise, and worship. But we give those things to other things, far lesser things. And the truth is – we’re all guilty of sin.
And if God doesn’t punish us for our sin, He would not be good, and He would not be just. So He has to do it. He has to punish sin.
But at the same time… God’s love and mercy is also infinite. And so He loves us, and wants to spend eternity with us… So this creates a problem right? God’s justice and goodness demands that our sin be punished, but at the same time His love and mercy demands that we be forgiven. So what does God do
He sends His Son Jesus to be the propitiation for our sin. Now that word “propitiation” is not a word that gets a lot of use today. You probably won’t hear it in a casual conversation… but basically it means a “substitute”. And basically the idea is that God’s wrath and anger against sinners is removed, because Jesus took it for us. And so what happens is that we’re all guilty, we’re all sinners, and we all deserve to be punished for sinning against an infinite God… But because God loves us, He sends His son Jesus Christ to take the punishment for us. He provides the substitute Himself, to take our punishment in our place.
And so that’s the answer to that fourth question… that’s why Jesus had to die. Because God loved us, and sent Him to die in our place, as our substitute. There was no other way for us to be right with God, because we’ve sinned against an infinite God, if we’re going to pay for our sins, then we’re going to pay for them infinitely, or for all eternity… but an infinite God, can pay for our sins… and that’s what Jesus is – He is God the Son. And so He takes the wrath of God for us, on the cross. And He sheds His blood, which is of infinite worth, and pays for our sin and rebellion.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Jesus dies on the cross. He satisfies both God’s demand for justice, and God’s demand for love and mercy. But how do we know that for sure? That’s our fifth question. How do we know that Jesus really paid the price for my sin? How do we know that He really took all of my punishment for all of my sins? How do we know that He satisfied God’s demands? Because of the Resurrection that’s how!
The Apostle Paul said it like this, “If Christ isn’t raised from the dead, we’re still in our sins.” (That’s 1st Cor. 15:17). What he meant by that was, the resurrection shows us, and proves to us that Jesus really did pay for our sin. He really did meet God’s demands for justice and mercy. That He paid for our sins, fully, and completely. Because if He hadn’t, He wouldn’t have been raised from the dead. So the Resurrection is kind of like… for lack of a better word… God’s receipt to us that our debt has been paid in full. That we; who are in Christ are forgiven… we’re justified before God… and that we have eternal life. That’s what John 3:16 tells us – that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
That leads us to ask one last question this morning… And the question is – is that you? Do you have eternal life? And the answer to that question is right there in that verse (John 3:16)…
DO YOU BELIEVE?
Do you believe that Jesus paid it all? Do you believe that His death on the cross paid for all your sin? Do you believe that by giving Himself, He served as your substitute and that He bore the wrath of God for your sake so that you could be forgiven and justified in the sight of God?
The Resurrection proves that He did that… but do you believe it?
CLOSING WORDS
