Luke 24:1-6; Acts 1:9-11
Questions that Must be Answered
April 17, 2022
The Two Angels appear at the tomb and ask the women, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” It’s an age-old question that needs an answer from every one of us today! If Jesus is who you are looking for? -You won’t find Him at the bottom of a dead drink! -You won’t find Him at top of a dead career! -You won’t find Him at the end of a dead ladder! -You won’t find Him in the beginning of a dead relationship! Why do we seek the living water from the dead springs of the world’s prosperity? He Is Not Here!!!
1 Corinthians 15:12 teaches us about why He Could Not Be There! Paul paints a sobering portrait of how things would be if Jesus were still in the grave!
1. V. 14 Our Preaching Is Vain - Paul tells us that if Jesus is dead, then all the preachers have wasted their words and time proclaiming the message of the resurrection. Spurgeon, Wesley, Graham, Edwards, Moody, Wiersbe, Lewis, and millions of others have been fools, if Jesus did not rise from the dead!
2. V. 14 Our Faith Is Vain - Paul tells us that if Jesus is still dead, then we are wasting our time serving Him and worshiping Him. If Jesus is really still dead, then you would be just as well off worshiping a rock, a tree or an image of some type. If Jesus is still in the grave, then everything we do is false, phony and foolish! If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then all the preaching you have listened to over the years is a lie, all your praying, serving, witnessing, and church attendance have all been a waste of your time. If Jesus did not rise from the dead then you are the victim of the most cruel hoax ever played on humanity and the Christian faith is the greatest joke of all time.
3. V. 15 Our Witness Is Vain - Paul tells us that all those who spread the Christian message of salvation through the crucified and resurrected Jesus are liars and a false witness if Jesus did not in fact rise from the dead. Every time we open our mouths to sing, to worship, to testify, to preach, or whatever we do in His name, then we are liars if He did not rise from the dead.
4. V. 17 No Forgiveness for Our Sin - As if things couldn't get any worse, Paul now tells us that if Jesus isn't alive, then we are still lost, hell bound and still in our sins this morning. If He is dead today, then we are still looking for a redeemer and we are all headed to Hell!
5. V. 18 The Dead in Christ Are Gone Forever - Paul tells us that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then everyone who dies is forever lost. There will be no hope and there is no future to anticipate. If Jesus is dead, then we are all but dust and when we die, we are gone forever! Heaven is a cruel joke, mom and dad are gone forever, brothers and sisters are gone, if there is no resurrection from the dead.
6. V. 19 We Have Lived Our Lives In Vain - Paul is saying that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then every child of God has wasted his/her life in living for Jesus. We have a believed a lie and are headed to Hell! If the Bible lied about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, then you and I can believe nothing this Book tells us!
But thank God, Paul did not stop writing? Thank God we know the rest of the story! HE SAYS BUT NOW CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD! We have the only religion that serves a living Messiah! Mohamed is dead; Confucius is Dead; Krishna is dead; BUT BECAUSE HE LIVES… I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth a living just because He lives.
Our Risen Lord meets them in Galilee as promised and after spending the forty days with Him after His resurrection, the disciples are standing with Jesus in Bethany on the Mount of Olives. He gives them some final words of instruction, then while they are watching Him, He begins to rise up, ascending into the heavens. Suddenly, He is gone. He is taken from their presence, and they are left in bewilderment on the mountain without him. While they stand there looking up into the sky, the two angels appear again to them and say, “Ye men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?” The angels ask, “What Are You Looking For?”
For the last three years the disciples had watched the Lord Jesus do what He was sending them out to do. They had heard Him preach the Gospel, watched Him love the lost, and seen Him cross all social and religious barriers to reach sinners. Now, He has gone away and they are left behind to carry on without Him. Surely the task they faced filled them with fear. How would they do it without Him? How would they accomplish God’s work if He was not here to help them? In this text Jesus reminds them that, even though He is going away, He is not leaving them here to do this task alone!
The night before He died, the Lord Jesus promised His men that He would send them Someone to help them. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16)
The minds of the disciples are filled with many thoughts. They have been given an assignment that far exceeds their abilities. They face a future that is unknown and probably a little more than frightening to them. To top it all off, they have just watched as their Savior, their Lord, the One they have left everything behind to follow, disappeared into a cloud of glory. They are terrified and filled with many questions about today and about all the tomorrow that lie ahead. The two angels tell them that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” They say, “Yes, He has gone away, but He is coming back again”.
John 14:1 says that He is coming back to earth!
1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that we shall be caught up in the air!
1 Corinthians 15:51 says that we shall all be changed!
One day Jesus will come for you, and He will take you home to live with Him forever in Heaven. That is why Paul referred to the Lord’s coming is, “…blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”.
No matter what today holds, or what tomorrow brings your way, rest in the Hope of Glory, that This Same Jesus is coming back again!
