THE ROAD TO THE RESURRECTION
HISTORY’S GREATEST VICTORY
TEXT: Luke 24:1-12
Luke 24:1-12 (KJV) 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.
I. INTRODUCTION—THE ROAD TO THE RESURRECTION
-We started several weeks ago with some of the various scenes from the life of the Lord in His last week before the Crucifixion:
• The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet
• The Lord’s Supper
• The Great High Priestly Prayer
-All of those scenes leading up to this one seem to place in the Lord in any place but that of a victor. He has been pulled from a place of prayer in Gethsemane, He has been paraded through a kangaroo court of false charges, and then He has been cruelly nailed to the cross.
• Cursed
• Beaten
• Spit on
• Mocked
• Called by evil names
• Hanging for six hours on a cross
• Bloody. . . Lonely. . . Desolate. . . Forsaken. . .
-His friends came a removed Him from the cross and managed to put Him in a borrowed tomb. What looked like the end was really the beginning!
-On Sunday morning, He defeated the bonds of death and the grave and came through it all. . . He is risen! The tomb is empty!
1 Corinthians 15:55-58 (KJV) O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
-We know and understand this because the Spirit has filled us. . . But there will come a day when the entire world will bow before the Lord and every tongue will confess that He is Lord!
II. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESURRECTION
-The focus of the initial area of this text is a group of women (v. 10). His mother was among the small group. There are others with her—women perhaps related to Him, others whom He had healed and blessed, but all of them had been lifted by His life and His presence among them.
-Scripture is clear that there was a small group of women who followed Him about Judea during his ministry. They were sort of a support group for Jesus and the disciples.
-It bears in mind that we must notice that it was the women who were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb. Women were a very prominent part of the ministry of the Lord because of how that he had lifted them. Their lot in life was not the best when the Lord came.
• Women were nothing more than slaves
• He lifted them to the level of human beings
• He refused to look them as if they were simply a material possession of a father or a husband
• He looked at them with great value
-Go anywhere in the world today and where the gospel is absent the plight of women is deplorable.
• Human trafficking
• Places in the world where women are still very much a piece of property
• Various forms of discrimination
• Psychological control
-These women felt that there was something they owed to the Lord for the way He had treated them. Even now there are women who faithfully follow the Lord and the world is a better place for it.
-There are a lot of men and women in the world today who can remember the consecration of a mother or a sister and they can say that their memory of her has kept them on the straight path.
-The devotion of these women caused them to want to seek out the Lord on that early Sunday morning.
• To anoint His body
• Gathered the spices that weighed almost 100 lbs.
• They remembered the stone over the entrance
• Wondering who was going to roll it back for them
-But when the got there, the stone had already been removed. Then to their great horror the body of Jesus was not there. Fear settled over them as they thought that someone had stolen his body for some nefarious means.
-As they looked up, they saw two angels—Why seek ye the living among the dead? You are looking for Jesus Christ. He is not here—He is risen!”
• He is the Lord of life
• There is no grave that could hold Him
• He made the world including the tomb that held Him
• He had shown them the power of life over death on the earth
-This is the most powerful announcement that has ever been made on this earth. There have been some great announcements made in the history of man but never one like this!
-The angels were simply confirming that every promise the Lord had ever made would come true.
• It meant that every claim He made it true
• It meant that we have a living and risen Savior
• It meant that Satan and death and the grave was defeated
• It meant that Jesus Christ will march down through the ages as a victorious ruler
• It meant that He was a mighty conqueror
Luke 24:6 (KJV) He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
-Then they remembered. . . It is easy to forget sometimes. . .
• When you live for three days in the shadows
• When you live with hope that seems to be dead
• When you live with swollen eyes and heavy hearts from weeping
-We find ourselves like that sometimes as well. . . Shadows. . . Dead hope. . . Weak faith. . . Tears. . . Heavy hearts. . . But today it is my call, my assignment to remind you of what he has said. . .
-He will be delivered into the hands of sinners. . . Crucified. . . but he will rise again!
-Don’t forget the promises! Stand on those promises!
Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.
-The promises are precious!
• I will never leave you or forsake you.
• I will be with you always, even unto the end of the world.
• All things work together for good.
• My grace is sufficient for you.
-On this Easter Sunday, we need to remember the One who defeated the grave.
III. THE APPEARANCES OF THE REDEEMER
-But it is not too long after the message from the angels that the Lord starts to appear to those close to Him.
A. Mary Magdalene
-If ever a woman had sunk to the depths of sin, it was Mary Magdalene. She was a woman who had seven scars, seven demons, seven spirits, and they had tormented her.
-She had loved him deeply. She had stood outside of the tomb, torn with great wrenching sobs. . . They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.
-Then He appeared but she didn’t know it. She answered His question because she thought it was the gardener. . . Why are you weeping? . . . Sir, if you have moved him, tell me where He is and I will take him away. . .
-Imagine. . . Him speaking to her. . . Mary. . . Her response. . . Master!
-It is amazing what can happen to us when we hear the voice of the Lord! Don’t get too far away that you cannot hear His voice. How we need to hear that voice!
B. Other Women
-He moves on to the other women. He has revelation for Mary Magdalene but for these women, He has instruction. Instruction always follows revelation!
-His instructions are to go and give a message to His disciples. How the world needs to hear the instructions that the Lord has commanded for us to give to them.
-Sadly, Luke paints a picture of the response of far too many at the news that seems too good to be true. . . Their words seemed to them as idle tales. . . and they believed them not. . .
C. Two Disciples on the Emmaus Road
-Next we find in Luke’s account how two men on the road to Emmaus are intercepted by Jesus. But just as it was with Mary Magdalene, they do not recognize Him.
-Why are you so sad? That was the question for these men.
-The questions that Jesus asked in Scripture are some of the most provocative that you will ever find. These are just the thirty-five from Matthew but there are more than 100 in the other Gospels:
• And if you greet your brethren only, what is unusual about that? Do not the unbelievers do the same? (Matt 5:47)
• Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan? (Matt 6:27)
• Why are you anxious about clothes? (Matt 6:28)
• Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye yet fail to perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? (Matt 7:2)
• Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? (Matt 7:16)
• Why are you terrified? (Matt 8:26)
• Why do you harbor evil thoughts? (Matt 9:4)
• Do you believe I can do this? (Matt 9:28)
• What did you go out to the desert to see? (Matt 11:8)
• To what shall I compare this generation? (Matt 11:6)
• Which of you who has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out? (Matt 12:11)
• How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and take hold of his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? (Matt 12:29)
• You brood of vipers! How can you say good things when you are evil? (Matt 12:34)
• Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? (Matt 12:48)
• Why did you doubt? (Matt 14:31)
• And why do you break the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition? (Matt 15:3)
• How many loaves do you have? (Matt 15:34)
• Do you not yet understand? (Matt 16:8)
• Who do people say the Son of Man is? (Matt 16:13)
• But who do you say that I am? (Matt 16:15)
• What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life and what can one give in exchange for his life? (Matt 16:26)
• O faithless and perverse generation how long must I endure you? (Matt 17:17)
• Why do you ask me about what is good? (Matt 19:16)
• Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? (Matt 20:22)
• What do you want me to do for you? (Matt 20:32)
• Did you never read the scriptures? (Matt 21:42)
• Why are you testing me? (Matt 22:18)
• Blind fools, which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred….the gift of the altar that makes the gift sacred? (Matt 23:17-19)
• How are you to avoid being sentenced to hell? (Matt 23:33)
• Why do you make trouble for the woman? (Matt 26:10)
• Could you not watch for me one brief hour? (Matt 26:40)
• Do you think I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than 12 legions of angels? (Matt 26:53)
• Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me? (Matt 26:53)
• My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? (Matt 27:46)
-Why are you so sad? That is the question of the ages. That question comes to us when we are under the weight of life.
-But Jesus started preaching to them as they went on that seven-mile walk from Jerusalem. He reached one of the homes of the men and was invited in for a meal. He began to break the bread and then he blessed it. . . Sudden recognition comes to those men and they began to know Him but He vanishes out of their sight.
-To Mary Magdalene it was revelation, to the other women it was instruction, but to these men, it was simply walking with Him. Our hearts burn in the same manner when we are walking with the Lord in that way.
-But in order to walk with the Lord, you have to walk in the same direction that He is walking. If you walk in sin, worldliness, carnality, and indifference, you cannot expect the Lord to walk with you.
D. The Disciples
-His next appearance is on Sunday night and it is shrouded with mystery. The disciples were there with the doors locked and the windows bolted because they feared the Jews. If they had killed the Lord, they would possibly wired to kill them as well.
-He walks in but never opens the door. Suddenly, He is speaking peace to them and great gladness fills their hearts. But there is a missing man—Thomas. Because he was absent, he missed one of the greatest blessings of his life.
-It would come later but he missed the initial joy and peace the Lord was able to supply to these men.
-There are a whole host of people like Thomas in our world today that miss out because they are absent from the holy gathering of the disciples. It would be a week later before Thomas would be able to see Him.
-Feel my hands, feel my side, Thomas. . . Scripture never records that he did so but in a hushed and awed voice, Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!”
-I plead with every absent Thomas today. . . See the Lord in His majesty and come to Him!
E. At the Seaside
-He is next seen at the seaside where a final miracle of a great catch of fish takes place. After their meal on the beach, Jesus gets down to some very convicting business.
-“Peter, do you love Me?” Three times this question pounds the soul of Peter! His words said he loved the Lord but his earlier actions proved otherwise. That is probably the dilemma of the masses. Professed love but no action.
-The transforming work in the life of Peter is obvious because years later he would die a martyrs death as well. . . on a cross. . . upside down. . . tradition says next to his wife. . . whom he was encouraging her as they crossed over. . .
-The great question on this Easter Sunday. . . Do you love the Lord? Do you love Jesus? Not have you started coming to church. . . Not are you involved. . . Not are you paying your tithes. . . But do you love Him? Are you filled with His Spirit?
• You ought to live a consecrated Christian life.
• You ought to be faithful to His Church.
• You ought to give as He gave.
• You ought to witness for Him.
• You ought to tell what the Savior has done for you.
-He has risen! But we have a great responsibility to live a resurrected life here as well.
IV. CONCLUSION—THE ASCENSION OF THE SAVIOR
-After the spending forty days on the earth, the Lord ascended to heaven. With His disciples gazing into the heavens, the angels come to prompt them to move toward their work but with a promise. . . He is coming again!
-But the story doesn’t end there. . . It is on to Pentecost. . . It is on to the spread of the gospel. . . and the trouble soon follows.
-These men and women are soon being persecuted, whipped, beaten, thrown in jail, and some even are killed because of their involvement. The persecution that they had to endure speaks to another confirmation of the resurrection.
-Would all of these faithful saints have given their lives for some kind of hoax? Would they have died for a lie? The fact remains that they had witnessed something and they were willing to die for it.
-They experienced the resurrection and the new birth and therefore they were willing to die for it.
-We have the same calling now!
(NOTE: This message was the concluding message of the series. It wasn’t as in-depth as the other messages. This was purposely done because I preached this on Sun. Morning under the time constraints that usually go with Easter Sunday. All of the others were preached on Sun. PM and I had much more time to preach.)
April 16, 2017
Philip Harrelson
