Well… today is Easter Sunday, and I’ll just tell you right up front, I don’t usually call it Easter Sunday, I call it Resurrection Sunday. Because that’s what today is all about. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I admit, that when I was a kid, I didn’t really understand what this holiday was all about…nor did I care, because it was about the candy, the gifts we received, and the week out of school, in-fact; it wasn’t until I became a Christian that I really understood it. But over the years, as I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve come to appreciate Resurrection Sunday more and more, because this day, some 2000 years ago give me the greatest gift I could have ever received…freedom from death in the lake of fire!
You see, Jesus paved the way for my everlasting life in heaven when He beat death and the tomb and was resurrected back to everlasting life.
So, what I want to do this morning is talk to you a little bit about that. I want to talk to you about how we can be sure that Jesus was raised up from the dead, and what His resurrection means for each one of us, those who have put our faith and trust in Him as Lord and Savior.
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Now this was the Apostle Paul writing to believers in the city of Corinth, and in this letter, he talks to them about all kinds of things. Things they needed to be doing, and things that the needed to stop doing, but when he gets to this section of the letter, he says to them, “Now guys, I’ve talked to you about a lot of things… But I want to remind you of the Gospel that I preached to you (the Good News I told you about).” And then he says, “And here’s what’s most important: Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures.” Paul is stressing the point, as I try to stress the point, that it all happened according to the Word of God, the plan of God. The Word that we read today, which is just as true back then when Paul spoke about it and wrote about it. Although this letter is addressed to the church in Corinth, it is addressed to us as well.
Here’s how it went down. Jesus went to the cross and died on the cross on Friday. Paul just told us why Jesus did that – to pay for our sins. All of us have sinned against God. We’ve rebelled against Him, we’ve disobeyed Him, we’ve ignored Him. We’ve lied, we’ve cheated, we’ve coveted, we’ve lusted, we’ve had hatred in our hearts. We may not have done all those things, but we have done one or two of them.
We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And the Bible tells us that there are none who are righteous, no not one. When God looked down upon humanity, we all stood guilty before Him. And God could’ve said, “They’re all guilty, I’m going to punish them all.” And that would have been just, and fair if He had said that, or done that. But instead, when God looked down upon humanity, and saw that all of mankind was guilty of sin, and as His justice demanded punishment for that sin, the Christ said, “Father, I’ll take the punishment.” So, God comes into the world as a man in the body of the person we call Jesus, and He lives the life that we should have lived… a life without sin, and then He goes to the cross, where our sin is laid upon Him. And instead of God pouring His wrath out on us, He pours it out on His Son – Jesus. And Jesus takes our punishment and then dies in our place. He was then placed in the tomb before the sun went down on that same Friday. He was in the tomb all day Saturday, and then early Sunday morning, He rose from the dead.
When we tell people about this, they go, “I just can’t believe that. It’s too to be believed. It’s too fantastic of a story. What’s your evidence?” Okay, let me ask you… is there any evidence for our claim? Is there anything that we can point to and say – here’s some proof!
God’s Word tells us that we are to take this on faith, but that doesn’t mean that God didn’t give us any evidence on which to base our faith? So, is there any evidence that Jesus did in-fact rise from the dead?
Well… how about this? The tomb was empty. No one could produce the body of Jesus. You know the religious leaders made up a lie and said, “Jesus’ disciples stole the body.” But they never went and arrested them for that or charged them with any kind of crime. They sure didn’t want it going to trial… They just wanted it to fade away. But not only could no one produce the body… for more than one month, after Jesus had died and been buried, people kept on seeing Him, and talking to Him, and eating with Him, and meeting Him – in the flesh! And on one occasion, a group of more than 500 people saw Him all at the same time. Paul even mentions that in our text. It’s there in verse 6 where he writes, “After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.” Even in our modern court rooms, if an attorney can produce 2 or 3, or 4 eyewitnesses who all describe the exact same thing, it’s pretty much an open and shut case… But 500 eyewitnesses! Man, that’s a slam dunk, a hole in one, a grand slam, and a hat trick all in one, and a knockout to boot. And Paul goes on and says, “Most of those guys are still alive today, so go and ask them yourself.”
And then you’ve got these disciples… these 11 guys, who Scripture tells us, were all afraid when Jesus was arrested and taken to the cross… They were all afraid that they might be next, and they ran away, and hid themselves, and Peter even denied knowing Jesus. But after the resurrection, none of them were afraid to talk about Him, or preach about Him, or tell others about Him. None of them were afraid to stand up for Him and profess their allegiance to Him. They were changed men. What caused that? Do you think that maybe seeing Jesus alive, and knowing that He has the power over death changed their outlook and their point of view, and their lives? Do you think that coming to realize and believe that Jesus is the Almighty, Sovereign, Lord God, who has power over all things, and who controls all things, and who has power over even death, changed them and gave them boldness? There’s no other explanation really.
There’s also no other explanation as to why a bunch of devout Sabbath keepers suddenly started gathering on Sunday instead of Saturday. They began meeting and gathering for worship on Sunday… the Lord’s Day… because that’s the day Jesus rose from the dead. Now think about this, what other than Christianity has compelled you to make a radical change in life, to forsake the things you were raised and trained to believe? That is what the disciples went through, they made a radical change in life that cost them the loss of friends, family, jobs, and even brought on the possibility of death; all because Jesus gave them proof of His resurrected body. Now, do you think they would have given up all that for a lie?
Would you die for someone else’s lie?
The evidence is there… mountains and mountains of it. Good, solid, credible evidence. But ultimately; to the unbeliever, it’s not about evidence. It’s about the fact that men love darkness rather than light. You see; if Jesus did rise from the dead, that means that He really was God in the flesh. And that means that the Bible is true. And that means that we really are sinners, who stand guilty before God, and who deserve eternal wrath and judgment. Now of course, like I just said, God gives us the way of escape. His Word tells us what we must do to be saved from His just and holy wrath. It tells us to turn away from sin (to repent) and to turn instead To Christ in faith, and to trust Him alone for salvation. And therein lies the problem, we don’t want to turn away from our sin. We love it. We love it too much to let it go. We’re like Gollum in Lord of the Rings – our sin is precious to us.
So please listen to me… if you’re hearing my voice this morning… whether your gathered here with us at this place, or you’re gathered with other believers at home, or someplace else…, or even watching this sermon years after it was live streamed, I want you to really listen to what I’m about to say. Sin only seems fun for a season. That thing… that sin… it might seem fun to you right now, but it’s only for a while. It might seem pleasing to you, or exciting, or even comforting. But it’s like the “Deep State” – it’s secretly, and tirelessly working to destroy you, and everything you hold dear. It will destroy your life, your hopes, your dreams, your family, your livelihood, all that you love and cherish. It will ultimately and finally destroy you. That’s what that sin that you’re holding on to is doing. Right now, it seems fun, but in 5, 10, maybe 20 years, your health could be gone… your marriage could be destroyed… your family could be ruined… your joy could be taken from you… whatever you’re elevating above God, and loving more than God, will ultimately grow so large it will crush you under its weight. That’s what sin does.
American Airlines Flight 965 left Miami for Cali, Columbia, in December 1995. Before landing, the pilot of the 757 needed to select the next radio navigation fix, named Rozo. He entered an R into his navigation computer. The computer returned a list of nearby navigation fixes starting with R, and the pilot selected the first of these, whose latitude and longitude appeared to be correct.
Unfortunately, the pilot selected Romeo, 132 miles to the northeast. Following indications on the flight computer, the pilots began an easterly turn and slammed into a granite peak at ten thousand feet. Only 4 of the 156 passengers survived; 152 plus all the crew perished.
The National Transportation Safety Board declared that the crash was due to human error. The navigational aid the pilots were following was valid but not for the landing procedure at Cali. In the literal definition of the phrase, this was indeed human error, because the pilot selected the wrong radio beacon.
The computer told the pilot he was tracking precisely to the beacon he had selected. Unfortunately, it neglected to tell him the beacon he selected was a fatal choice.
This is what social media, newspapers, and celebrities do to us, give us the wrong heading in life. They point us to and keep us in the sinful state and congratulate us for staying that way, and like that airplane, we crash and burn, because first, we did not carefully examine what was presented to us, and two we trusted in everything other than God. But the bible has the correct heading, the one that will keep you from crashing and burning.
It may be that God is showing you this morning – there’s another path you can go down. It may be that God is pressing upon you and speaking to your spirit and saying, “Look to Me and live.” And it may be that God is saying to this world RIGHT NOW, ON THIS DAY, “Look around and see that there is nothing in this world that is lasting. There is nothing in this world that is permanent. There is nothing in this world that is secure, and nothing is a ‘for sure’ thing. But Jesus says, I AM the Alpha and Omega – the Beginning and the End. I am the Lord God, and I am the same yesterday, today, and forever. I will not change. I AM the only true security. I AM the only source of true and lasting peace, and comfort, and joy.”
It may be that God is dealing with you concerning these things, or other things… and praise God! I hope He is. I hope and pray that God arrests each one of our hearts, and we would return to Him as a nation, and as individuals. That He would bring repentance and revival to His creation. You know… when the governing authorities told us during the pandemic that abortion clinics, and liquor stores are essential… That’s a pretty good sign that we need to repent! So, I say let the “woke” Social Justice warriors’ video themselves singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” in their bathrooms. The group Stelly Dan wrote a song that spoke about John Lennon’s “Imagine”, and it is titled…”Only a fool would say that.”
We who belong to Jesus Christ will go preach the Gospel, because we know that only the Gospel will change a man’s heart… We know that it’s the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation. We will preach it, and we will show it, as we love our neighbor by providing for them, and caring for them, and helping them, during this time. If you have extra of something and your neighbor is in need, show the love of Christ and share it with them.
Church – today is the day that we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. It’s this day, some 2000 years ago, that changed everything! Today is the day that Christ conquered death.
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
1 Timothy 1:6-10
Do you see that? God saved us and called us… NOT because of OUR WORKS, but because of HIS OWN PURPOSE and grace. So, it was God who did it… It was His own purpose and grace… and He gave it to us IN CHRIST JESUS – when? Before the ages began! How did it happen? Through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who ABOLISHED death and brought life and immortality… And not only did Jesus conquer death, and give us eternal life… He justified us before God as well. Paul lays that out for us in Romans chapters 4 and 5. Jesus is our propitiation, and He has made atonement for us. What that means is that when Jesus went to the cross, He took our place and our punishment… the way in which He did that is that He took our sin upon Himself…think very carefully about what I just said. Jesus took what was meant for us and took on the suffering in our place.
Can you imagine, when your parents were ready to give you a spanking, that instead of spanking you, they turn the belt on themselves? That’s what God did.
God was not going to pour out His wrath on the world as a whole… and so Jesus took our sin upon Himself and then paid for the world on the cross. And He paid for it in full. He said, “It is finished!” But that’s not the entire process of salvation. Although Jesus paid the price, you must accept that gift, yes, the salvation that Jesus gave when He took on the sins of the world is not just a blanket that covers everyone from now until eternity…no, you must access that covering of that blanket. It is a gift that you must accept by faith.
When you are brought to saving faith, and you trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, God credits all of Christ’s righteousness to your account. So that now, you stand before God justified. We stand before Him as righteous. That’s what 2 Corinthians 5:21 says:
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
And this is what the resurrection is all about – It’s about Jesus who has saved us from the wrath we deserved because of our sin, and He has forgiven us of our sin. He has atoned for our sin. He has justified us before God, so that we now stand before Him in Christ as righteous and holy. And it’s because of all this that we have eternal life with Him. We stand in His presence, and have perfect fellowship with Him, FOREVER!
And that’s why Resurrection Sunday gives me so much joy… because as I was thinking on all of that, leading up to today, and as my thoughts turned to friends and family who died in Christ, it struck me that they are experiencing all this firsthand – face to face! My friends and family are getting to experience this thing that all of us, who are Christians, are looking forward to. And knowing that we’ll get to do that as well some-day, and knowing what God’s Word says, gives me a great sense of peace, and comfort, and joy, even in this messed up, crazy world that we live in.
It is my hope that you too can find all those things as well in Christ Jesus.
