A. Allow me to begin this morning with an illustration from Max Anders’ book, Basics of Christianity.
1. Max Anders wrote: Two hundred miles northeast of Los Angeles is a baked-out gorge called Death Valley; the lowest place in the United States at 276 feet below sea level.
a. It is also the hottest place in the country, with an official recording of 134 degrees.
b. Streams flow into Death Valley only to evaporate in the scorching heat, and a scant 2 ½ inches of rain falls on that barren wasteland each year.
2. But many years ago, an amazing thing happened – due to a freak weather pattern, rain fell onto the bone-dry earth of Death Valley for 19 days in a row.
a. Suddenly, millions of seeds which had laid dormant for untold years burst into bloom.
b. The Valley of Death exploded into beauty, color, and life.
3. This is the joyful and amazing message of the resurrection of Jesus.
a. Life springs forth from death. A desert becomes a garden.
b. Beauty transcends the ugly. Love overcomes hatred.
c. A tomb is emptied.
d. The grim and haunting outline of a cross is swallowed in the glow of an Easter morning sunrise. (Max Anders, Basics of Christianity: Jesus, Nelson, Nashville, 1995, p. 1550)
B. Eight weeks ago, we started this sermon series on the last week of the earthly life of Jesus.
1. I hope it has been as inspiring a journey for you as it has been for me.
2. The past two sermons have been very dark and hard as we experienced crucifixion Friday and silent and sobering Saturday.
3. A few of you told me that you didn’t know if you could take any more sermons with such sadness and darkness, and if that’s how you have felt, well I have good news for you today.
4. Today’s sermon is about resurrection Sunday, the day of joy and amazement.
C. We gather today on what is called “Easter Sunday” to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, but in truth we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus every Sunday, and for that matter, not just on Sundays but on every day!
1. Today I want us to be reminded of the events of that Sunday when Jesus came out of the tomb.
2. But beyond the events of that Sunday, I want us to feel what they felt, and I want us to comprehend the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection and the hope and strength and joy it delivers.
3. So fasten your seat belts and let’s experience the thrilling ride of that resurrection Sunday.
D. Let’s be reminded of how that crucifixion Friday ended, and what transpired on that silent Saturday.
1. As the sun was setting on that Friday, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus hastily prepared the body of Jesus for burial, and Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James saw where He was laid.
2. Those women prepared additional spices and perfumes to treat Jesus’ body, but because the Sabbath was beginning they didn’t have time to return to the tomb, but had to rest on the Sabbath in obedience to God’s command.
3. Their plan was to return to the tomb on Sunday morning after the Sabbath was over and complete the burial rituals of the Jews on Jesus’ body.
4. This is further evidence that the disciples of Jesus were not expecting a resurrection, but intended to prepare Jesus’ body for permanent burial.
5. If the disciples of Jesus were anticipating a resurrection, we would have expected to read in Scripture that they were getting their lawn chairs and picnic blankets ready to go to the tomb as soon as the Sabbath was over to be in place to witness the resurrection.
E. If anyone takes the time to read all four biblical accounts of the resurrection, then they will discover that harmonizing the accounts does have its challenges.
1. That doesn’t mean that the truth of the resurrection is anyway in doubt, but it does mean that the purpose of the Gospel accounts wasn’t to provide a complete chronology of the events surrounding the resurrection.
2. Rather, the purpose of the Gospel accounts was to substantiate the claim that Jesus had indeed been raised from the dead.
3. The facts the Gospel writers offered as proof can be summarized as follows:
a. First, Jesus was dead when He was removed from the cross.
b. Second, Jesus’ body was placed in a specific tomb.
c. Third, Jesus’ tomb was sealed and guarded.
d. Fourth, Jesus’ tomb was later found to be empty.
e. Fifth, Jesus was later seen alive by people who knew Him.
f. And finally, the resurrected body of Jesus was the same body as the one which had been put to death on the cross.
4. All six of these facts were established beyond a reasonable doubt by the Gospel writers, but each recorded only those details which he felt was necessary to substantiate the resurrection.
5. The fact that the writers did not report the details in exactly the same way actually is proof that there was no collusion among them, that they wrote independent of each other.
6. The differences in their stories are exactly the kind of differences we see in courts of law today when different witnesses are called upon to give their versions of an event to which each has been a witness.
7. The different versions of different witnesses reflect how they saw things from their unique vantage point, and how certain pieces of information stood out to them as most significant.
F. By piecing together the accounts of the Gospel writers and the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, we are able to recreate a sequence of Jesus’ appearances to His disciples on that resurrection Sunday.
1. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene and perhaps the women with her.
2. Next Jesus appeared to Peter.
3. Then Jesus appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
4. Finally, Jesus appeared to all the apostles minus Judas, who was dead, and Thomas, who was not present that night.
G. Let’s spend a few minutes reviewing and experiencing the events of that resurrection Sunday.
1. At some point, before sunrise, Jesus arose from the dead, and none of Jesus’ followers were present at the moment when it took place.
2. Matthew describes what happened with these words: 2 There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. (Mt. 28:2-4)
3. The combination of the earthquake (the second earthquake in less than a week) and the appearance of the heavenly messenger was enough to cause these Roman soldiers to faint.
4. How long they were passed out no one knows, but apparently they woke up and returned to the city before dawn, because there is no mention made of the soldiers when the group of women arrived at the tomb.
5. A few verses later in Matthew’s account, we are told what the soldiers did: 11 As they were on their way, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the priests had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money 13 and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were sleeping.’ 14 If this reaches the governor’s ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 They took the money and did as they were instructed, and this story has been spread among Jewish people to this day. (Mt. 28:11-15)
6. These Roman soldiers knew they were in trouble.
a. Who would believe their story if they tried to explain what really happened that night?
b. Would the Roman authorities believe a story about angels, and earthquakes and fear?
c. Rather than go to their Roman superiors, they went to the Jewish authorities who had requested the guards in the first place, their only hope was to get their help.
d. The flimsy story that the Jewish authorities came up with and gave “hush money” for doesn’t really make sense, nor would it have kept them out of trouble.
e. For soldiers, sleeping while on watch was an offense punishable by death.
f. And if they were asleep, how did they know who did the robbery? And had they awoken up while it was happening, they could have stopped them. Right?
7. As we know from Scripture, the disciples were not in a courageous mode at the time, they were hidden away behind locked doors, so we can’t imagine them boldly going and stealing the body of Jesus.
8. But beyond that, do you really think the apostles of Jesus would have lived the rest of their lives for a lie and then face martyrdom for a lie, if they had faked the resurrection by stealing the body? No way!
H. So Jesus arose from the dead, the earthquake occurred and an angel came and rolled away the stone.
1. Meanwhile, the Bible tells us that some of the women disciples of Jesus got up early that Sunday morning and made their way to the tomb.
2. Mark’s account says: 1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they could go and anoint him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away.
5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they put him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there just as he told you.’ ” (Mk. 16:1-7)
3. I love the fact that it didn’t dawn on the women that moving the huge stone blocking the entrance to the Jesus’ tomb was going to be an issue until they neared the cemetery.
a. But little did they know that their concern about moving the stone was unwarranted because an angel had taken care of that task.
b. In all the accounts, we are told they encountered an angel who had a great message of great joy: “Jesus has arisen from the dead. Go tell His disciples. He will meet you in Galilee.”
4. So, try to put yourself in the place of those women.
a. They were heading to the tomb to anoint the dead body of their loved one, Jesus.
b. When they arrived, they encountered an angel who had great news for them – how many of you have had an encounter with an angel with good news? Anybody? How shocking it would be if an angel showed up!
c. Can you imagine the 180 degree change in their thoughts and emotions – surely they went from sadness and depression to joy and exhilaration in an instant – it was a pinch me moment for sure! “Can this really be happening? Can this really be true?
I. And those women did what they were told to do, and did what they would have done even if they hadn’t been told to do so, they went and told the apostles.
1. Luke reports: 9 Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. 10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things. 11 But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths. So he went away, amazed at what had happened. (Lk. 24:9-12)
2. In John’s account, it was both Peter and the other disciple who ran to the tomb, and the other disciple beat Peter to the tomb – the other disciple is likely John himself, who was younger and faster than Peter, and just had to brag about it.
3. The fact that these women were not initially believed is an important part of the story.
a. A women’s testimony did not hold much weight in an ancient court of law, and so if the disciples wanted to make up a resurrection story, they would certainly not have had the women be the first to witness the resurrection.
4. But I believe God orchestrated the events that morning the way God did for several reasons.
a. First, the women had been so faithful in following and providing for Jesus throughout His ministry, and right up until the end – they were at the cross and the tomb that Friday when most of the men were not.
b. Second, I think God wanted to turn things upside down and the credibility of the story is enhanced by women being the first witnesses.
J. So it appears that the women returned to the tomb following after Peter and John as they ran.
1. After Peter and John left the empty tomb, somewhat perplexed as to exactly what was going on, it was then that Jesus made His first appearance.
2. In John’s account it appears that Mary was alone when Jesus appeared, but in Matthew’s account it appears that other women were with her.
3. In John’s account, Mary doesn’t initially recognize Jesus, and that may be because of the tears blurring her vision, or it may be because Jesus was hiding His identity from her.
a. This seems to be something Jesus sometimes did after the resurrection.
b. As we will see in a minute, He hid His identity from the two disciples on the road to Emmaus later that Sunday, and He did the same in John 21 when He later met with the disciples beside the sea of Galilee.
4. But in John’s account, when Jesus said Mary’s name, that is when she recognized it was Jesus.
5. In both accounts, the women took hold of Him, can you imagine the thrill and relief of that embrace?
6. Can you imagine how you would have felt? You had been told by an angel that Jesus was no longer dead, but was alive, and you found that hard to understand and believe, but now you have seen Him alive and have put your arms around Him!
7. After seeing the risen Christ, the women went and told the disciples they had seen the Lord.
K. After hearing the testimony of the women, two disciples, one of whom was named Cleopas, left Jerusalem and headed toward Emmaus.
1. While they were walking along and talking about what had happened that resurrection morning, suddenly Jesus joined them, but He hid His identity from them.
2. He played dumb and asked them about what they were so vigorously discussing and that’s when they said: 19 “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb, 23 and when they didn’t find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.” (Lk. 24:19-24)
3. While still hiding His identity, Jesus began to teach them about the Messiah in the Scriptures, but it wasn’t until they sat down for a meal, and Jesus took bread and blessed it, that He allowed them to realize that the person with them was the resurrected Jesus.
a. At that moment, Jesus disappeared from them.
4. The two disciples immediately returned to Jerusalem and reported to the apostles that Jesus had appeared to them and they learned that Jesus had also appeared to Peter sometime that day.
L. And it was while they were comparing their experiences with each other that Jesus stood in their midst.
1. Luke reports: 36 As they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 “Why are you troubled?” he asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 40 Having said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 But while they still were amazed and in disbelief because of their joy, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
44 He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead the third day, 47 and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.” (Lk. 24:36-49)
2. I think you can see why I titled this sermon “Resurrection Day – A Day of Joy and Amazement.”
3. The day before had been a dark and hopeless day, and they didn’t wake up that Sunday morning feeling any better, but then came the news from the women that the tomb was empty and an angel said Jesus was alive.
a. Then came another report from the women that they had personally seen Jesus.
b. Then came the testimony of Peter that the Lord Jesus had appeared to him.
c. Then came the testimony of Cleopas and another disciple that Jesus had appeared to them.
d. And finally, Jesus stood in the midst of all the apostles (minus Judas who was dead and Thomas who was absent).
4. What a turn around of emotions and outlook!
a. Luke gives an accurate and understandable description of their state as “amazed and in disbelief because of their joy.”
b. Just as I described earlier, this was one of those “pinch me” moments – I must be dreaming…this can’t be real, right?
5. But it was real and it changed everything, including them.
a. Jesus was alive and their hope and purpose was restored.
b. Their faith and trust in Jesus had not been misplaced – He was who He said He was and His promises are true.
c. Resurrection power was real and it was available to transform them and the lives of others.
d. No wonder they were filled with joy!
M. There are over 300 verses in the New Testament about the resurrection of Jesus.
1. We are told that the resurrection is a sign for unbelievers as well as the answer for a believer’s doubt – remember doubting Thomas?
2. The resurrection serves as the guarantee that Jesus’ teachings are true.
3. The resurrection is the believer’s daily power to live the Christian life and the reason for the total commitment of our lives to the Lord Jesus.
4. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead even addresses and removes our own fear of death.
5. And the resurrection is a model of the Christian’s own resurrection from the dead and provides a foretaste of heaven for the believer.
N. Jesus said: 25 “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (Jn. 11:25-26) And that’s the truth!
O. The apostle Peter, a person who had personally experienced the risen Lord, wrote: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you… 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Pt. 1:3-4, 8-9)
P. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and my belief in Jesus is what gives me my purpose for this life and my hope for eternity.
1. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus because of the testimony of those disciples who saw Jesus alive, and the way they lived the rest of their lives because they had seen the risen Christ.
2. I also believe in the resurrection because of the empty tomb.
a. Most of the time “empty” is not a good thing, right?
b. We don’t like it when our wallet or bank account are empty.
c. We don’t like it when our refrigerator or gas tank are empty.
d. An empty brain is not a good thing. Right?
3. But an empty tomb is a great thing.
a. There is no good explanation for the empty tomb other than the resurrection of Jesus.
b. The notion of a resurrection of Jesus would have been put to bed very easily if the body of Jesus had been produced as evidence.
c. The Jewish leaders and the Roman authorities could have stopped Christianity before it ever got started if they simply put the dead body of Jesus on display, but they could not.
4. The tomb was empty that resurrection Sunday and it has remained empty for 2000 years.
5. Jesus arose from the dead and He reigns at God’s right hand in heaven, and He is coming again someday soon – are you ready?
6. Have you put your faith in Jesus and are you living for Him?
7. If not, then we would love to help you to put your faith in Jesus, be united with Him in baptism, and begin your walk with God.
8. If you have already given your life to Jesus and been baptized into Him, then stay true to your faith, be steadfast and unmovable, because we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).
9. If we can help you in your walk with Christ, then come forward while we stand and sing.
Resources:
• Prelude to Glory, by Wayne Leeper, Christian Communications, 1987.
