2025.04.20. Sermon Notes. Resurrection Day! (Easter) A Sermon in Scripture
William Akehurst, HSW
BIG IDEA: The Tomb is Empty! HE IS RISEN!
From the Beginning to the End. Jesus fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah to come and save the world from sin.
Life-Death-Burial-Resurrection! HE IS: Our Immanuel, The Lamb of GOD, The Blood Covering, Hosannah – Save Us Now, Our Passover and HE IS THE RISEN KING, WHO is Coming Soon. Time is of the essence. Act now!
Scriptures: John 1:12, Galatians 4:6, Matthew 6:9-13, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:21, Exodus 12:13, Hebrews 9:22, Luke 22:19-20, Luke 22:41-44, John 3:16-19, Luke 23:13-15, Mark 11:9-10, Luke 23:20-22, Matthew 27:24-25, Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 12:2, Luke 23:32-43, John 19:30, Matthew 27:50-54, Matthew 27:57-66, Matthew 28:1-5, Matthew 16:15-16, Matthew 1:23, John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:7, Matthew 27:57-66, 1 Corinthians 15:14-26, John 14:6, John 11:25-26, Romans 10:9-10, Romans 10:13, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Ephesians 1:15-23
CALL TO WORSHIP:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: (John 1:12 NKJV)
And because we are HIS children, GOD has sent the SPIRIT of HIS SON into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6 NLT)
By which we can pray to the FATHER:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts (our sins and our trespasses), as we forgive our debtors (those who have sinned or trespassed against us)
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9b-13)
IN THE BEGINNING
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; HE shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise HIS heel.”
THE FIRST BLOOD SACRIFICE TO COVER SIN
Genesis 3:21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
THE PROMISE IN EGYPT
Exodus 12:13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
BLOOD REQUIREMENT
Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. (of sins)
THE PROMISE AT PASSOVER
Luke 22:19-20 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
THE WILL OF THE FATHER
Luke 22:41-44 41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
THE LOVE OF THE FATHER
John 3:16-19 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
JUDGMENT - STANDING TRIAL BEFORE PILATE – THE UNBLEMISHED LAMB OF G”OD
Luke 23:13-15 13 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, 14 said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; 15 no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.
FROM PRAISE TO PROSECUTION
PALM SUNDAY – HOSANNA – SAVE US NOW
Mark 11:9-10 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
DAYS LATER – CRUCIFY HIM
Luke 23:20-22 20 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. 21 But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
22 Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him.
HIS BLOOD BE ON US – PROPHETIC WORDS MEANT AS CONDEMNATION, BUT USED FOR OUR CLEANSING.
Matthew 27:24-25 24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”
25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”
WOUNDED, BRUISED AND BEATEN FOR US – BEYOND MEASURE
Isaiah 53:5-6 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
THE GREAT EXCHANGE
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
AUTHOR & FINISHER OF OUR FAITH
Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
AT THE CROSS
Luke 23:32-43 32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. 35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
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ILLUSTRATION: Alister Begg – Thief on the Cross Luke 23:32-43
“The Man on the Middle Cross Said I Can Come” (truthforlife.org)
“Without the preaching of the cross, without preaching the cross to ourselves all day and every day, we will very, very quickly revert to faith plus works as the ground of our salvation; so that, to go to the old Fort Lauderdale question—“If you were to die tonight and you were getting entry into heaven, what would you say?”—if you answer that, and if I answer it, in the first person, we’ve immediately gone wrong. “Because I…” “Because I believed. Because I have faith. Because I am this. Because I am continuing.”
Loved ones, the only proper answer is in the third person: “Because He…” “Because HE…””
Think about the thief (T) on the cross. What an immense… I can’t wait to find that fellow one day to ask him, “How did that shake out for you? Because you were cussing the guy out with your friend. You’d never been in a Bible study. You’d never got baptized. You didn’t know a thing about church membership. And yet—and yet, you made it! YOU MADE IT! How did you make it?”
That’s what the angel (A) must have said—you know, like, “What are you doing here?”
(Thief) “Well, I don’t know.”
(Angel) “What do you mean, you don’t know?”
(T) “Well, ’cause I don’t know.”
(A) “Well, you know… Excuse me. Let me get my supervisor.”
They go get the supervisor angel (SA): “So, we’ve just a few questions for you. First of all, are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?”
(T) The guy says, “I’ve never heard of it in my life.”
(Supervisor Angel) “And what about… Let’s just go to the doctrine of Scripture immediately.”
(T) The guy is just staring
(SA) And eventually, in frustration, he says, “On what basis are you here?”
(T) And he said, “The man on the middle cross said I can come.”
Now, THAT is the only answer. THAT is the ONLY ANSWER!
And if I don’t preach the Gospel to myself all day and every day, then I will find myself beginning to trust myself, trust my experience, which is part of my fallenness as a man. If I take my eyes off the cross, I can then give only lip service to its efficacy while at the same time living as if my salvation depends upon me. And as soon as you go there, it will lead you either to abject despair or a horrible kind of arrogance. And it is only the cross of Christ that deals both with the dreadful depths of despair and the pretentious arrogance of the pride of man that says, “You know, I can figure this out, and I’m doing wonderfully well.” No.
BECAUSE the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
~Charitie L. Bancroft, “Before the Throne of God Above” (1863)
That’s why Luther says most of your Christian life is outside of you, in this sense: that we know that we’re not saved by good works, we’re not saved as a result of our professions, but we’re saved as a result of what Christ has achieved.
Alister Begg
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FINAL WORDS OF VICTORY - IT IS FINISHED!
John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
TEMPLE RENOVATION – ACCESS GRANTED (See Also Hebrews 4:16)
Matthew 27:50-54 50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
THE BORROWED TOMB
Matthew 27:57-66 57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
THE EMPTY TOMB
Matthew 28:1-5 1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
HE IS RISEN
Matthew 28:6-7 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.
THE QUESTION – WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
Matthew 16:15-16 15 He (JESUS) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
THE LAMB OF GOD
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
CHRIST OUR PASSOVER
1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
THE PROMISE OF RESURRECTION
Matthew 27:57-66 63 while he was yet alive (he said), After three days I will rise again.
HE IS RISEN, THE FIRST-FRUIT OF THE RESURRECTION
1 Corinthians 15:14, 17, 20-26
14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man (Adam) came death, by Man (JESUS) also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
YOUR RESPONSE REQUIRED – CHOOSE WISELY
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 11:25-26 JESUS said…“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
YOUR CONFESSION
Romans 10:9-10,13
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
DON’T WAIT. THE TIME IS NOW
2 Corinthians 6:2 For He says…Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
• JESUS fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah to come and save the world from sin.
• Our IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US.
• The LAMB of GOD who takes away the sins of the world.
• Our SAVIOR, HOSANNAH – Save Us Now!
• CHRIST, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
• The Empty Tomb - HE IS RISEN!
• DO YOU BELIEVE?
BENEDICTION: MY PRAYER FOR YOU
Ephesians 1:15-23 15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Pastor Bill
