JESUS 1; DEATH 0
1 Cor 15:55-57
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Five-year-old Brian played the part of an angel in an Easter drama. Brian had the pivotal verse to recite at the tomb of Jesus: “He is not here, he is risen” (Luke 24:6). Unfortunately, he could not remember what to say, and the director had to quietly remind him of his line.
2. He then confidently grabbed the microphone and triumphantly shouted, “He’s not here; He’s in prison!” (I think his dad worked for TDCJ). [Source: Mature Living, April, 2011]
B. EASTER VIDEOS
C. TEXT: Rev. 1:18, 1 Cor. 15:52
“I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
“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 gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Cor 15:55-57]
D. THESIS:
1. You see, it was impossible that Death could conquer Jesus because Jesus possesses All Power, because He is the All-Swallower, and because God’s Word declares He will Triumph over every adversary.
2. History has proved this is true and that’s why the score is “Jesus 1, Death 0.”
REASONS WHY DEATH COULDN’T WIN:
I. JESUS NEVER MET A FORCE HE COULDN’T OVERCOME
A. THE MASTER OF DEATH
1. A young minister was called upon to preach a funeral service. He had never done one before. So he hunted all through the Four Gospels trying to find one of Christ’s funeral sermons.
2. He went to Jairus’ daughter’s funeral service; next he followed Jesus to the Widow of Nain’s son’s funeral procession, and finally to the tomb of Lazarus.
3. He found that Jesus broke up every funeral he ever attended; He raised them from the dead! Death could not exist where he was. Death and Jesus couldn’t co-exist. When the dead heard His voice, they sprang to life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life!” (Jn. 11:25)
4. You see, Jesus came that He “might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Heb. 2:14-15). Every time Jesus met death, He conquered him.
B. JESUS NEVER MET A FORCE HE COULDN’T CONQUER. He said...
1. “ALL POWER is given to Me in heaven and in earth”.
2. He proved his power over:
Demonic forces
Natural forces – wind, water, etc.
Sickness
Over sin
Over the Law of Moses
& finally over death itself.
3. Jesus IS the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
C. STORY
1. The Cross is God’s boomerang; though the devil meant to destroy Jesus by it, it actually caused the devil’s downfall. It’s very similar to this terrorist story; Iraqi terrorist, Khay Rahnajet, sent a letter bomb to an enemy, but he didn’t include enough postage on the letter bomb. So the Postal Service sent the letter back to him stamped, "return to sender." But Rahnajet forget it was a bomb; he opened it up and it blew him to bits. His own evil boomeranged and destroyed him! That’s what happened at Calvary!
2. In Christ we have power over sin, sickness, and the grave. We can tell the world what Pepsi cola told the Chinese. Pepsi had for a slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi generation.” This was a wonderful slogan, but when it was translated into Chinese, it actually said, “Pepsi can bring your dead ancestors back to life.” I'm sorry to tell you that Pepsi can't do that; but I'm glad to tell you that JESUS CHRIST CAN! He overcame death, hell, and the grave! We have hope now and hope beyond the grave. Can you say, "Hallelujah?!"
THE 2ND REASON IT’S “JESUS 1, DEATH 0” is because of...
II. HIS IDENTITY: JUST WHO THIS JESUS IS
A. THE DEVIL GOT QUITE A SURPRISE
1. There was a man in S.W. China Guizhou Province who has become famous on social media for getting into the cage with tigers and pulling their tails -- until a tiger turned on him! How many know we're no match for a full-grown tiger?
2. That's the kind of thing that happened when the devil went up against Jesus; the demons came out crying, “You’re the Holy One of God!” “You are the Son of God!” Mk. 1:24; 3:11. They were shocked to encounter the Lord of Glory on earth!
3. They didn’t know that His mission was to redeem by sacrifice! 1 Cor. 2:8 says; “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” What a huge mistake!
B. THE ALL-SWALLOWER
1. Jesus couldn’t stay dead because He is the source/ Generator of all life. In Acts 3:15 He is called the “Author of Life.” In John 11:25 He said, “I am the resurrection and the life…” He is the embodiment of those great forces! Since Jesus is the origin of all life & power, how could HE be snuffed out?
2. Heb. 7:16 says that He has “the power of an indestructible life.” Life is stronger than death; it existed first!
3. 1 Cor. 15:54 says that in His resurrection, “Death is swallowed up” by Life. The fisherman knows that the bigger fish always swallows up the smaller one and not vice-versa. LIFE SWALLOWED UP DEATH! Praise God!
THE 3RD REASON IT’S “JESUS 1 & DEATH 0” IS…
III. THE SCRIPTURES FORETOLD THAT HE WOULD RISE
A. THE NATURE OF THE WORD
1. A strange thing about what God says – it will ALWAYS HAPPEN! It’s impossible for what God predicts to fail to come to pass. His Word always contains the power to set itself into motion.
2. In Isa. 55:11 God says, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
3. The Lord Jesus said in Luke 16:17, “It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.”
4. Some have a problem with the story of Jonah and the whale, saying, “A whale can’t swallow a man.” But I say that if the Bible said Jonah swallowed the whale, I’d believe it!
5. Many times in the O.T. it was foretold that Jesus would rise from the dead. Several times Jesus prophesied that He would rise from the dead. So...
B. HIS RESURRECTION WAS UNSTOPPABLE!
1. The Guards at the tomb couldn’t stop it;
2. The Jewish leaders “ “ “;
3. Pontius Pilate “ “ “;
4. Caesar & his legions “ “ “;
5. Not the Atheists, nor the Liberals,
6. Not the Doubters nor the Scoffers,
7. Not the Presidents, not the Parliaments;
8. No power in the Universe, Heaven or Hell could stop it, because Jesus’ Resurrection was unstoppable!!!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. On Feb. 27, 1991, at the height of Desert Storm, Ruth Dillow received a very sad message from the Pentagon. It stated that her son, Clayton Carpenter, Private 1st Class, had stepped on a land mine in Kuwait & was dead.
2. Ruth Dillow later wrote, "I can’t begin to describe my grief & shock. It was almost more than I could bear. For 3 days I wept. For 3 days I expressed anger & loss. For 3 days people tried to comfort me, to no avail because the loss was too great."
3. But 3 days after she received that message, the telephone rang. The voice on the other end said, "Mom, it’s me. I’m alive." Ruth Dillow said, "I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I recognized his voice, & he really was alive." The message from the Pentagon was all a mistake!
4. She said, "I laughed, I cried, I felt like turning cartwheels, because my son whom I had thought was dead, was really alive. I’m sure none of you can even begin to understand how I felt."
5. But some who walked the pages of the N.T. would understand how she felt because they experienced the same emotions themselves. One day they watched their best friend & teacher being nailed to a cross. They heard Him cry out, "I thirst!" & "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"
6. They watched as He bowed His head & said, "It is finished!" & "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit," and died. They watched His cold, stiff body be taken from the cross & buried. All their hopes & dreams were buried with Him.
7. Friday & all-day Saturday they mourned, but then on "the first day of the week, early in the morning," some women found the stone rolled away from His tomb. An angel there told them, "You’re looking in the wrong place. Jesus is NOT dead; He’s ALIVE! He is RISEN, even as He said!"
8. "He’s risen!" That’s what we celebrate this morning. What a difference His resurrection has made!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. PRAYER FOR SALVATION
2. LORD’S SUPPER
