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Thomas Jefferson, a great man, nevertheless could not accept the miraculous elements in Scripture. He edited his own special version of the Bible in which all references to the supernatural were deleted. Jefferson, in editing the Gospels, confined himself solely to the moral teachings of Jesus. The closing words of Jefferson’s Bible are these: “There laid they Jesus and rolled a great stone at the mouth of the sepulchre and departed.” Thank God that is not the way the story really ends!
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A little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window. Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings, be became petrified. But the father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it. But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic once again as it buzzed by the little boy. His father saw his pain-stricken face. Once again the father reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to his hand. There still stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. “Do you see this?” he said. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ve taken the sting for you.” And this is the message of Easter. We don’t need to be afraid of death anymore. Christ faced death for us. And by His victory, we are saved from sin. Christ has taken the sting! First Corinthians 15:22 asks: “Where, oh death, is your sting?” Christ has taken the stinger for us. He has risen! Fear is gone. New life is ours.
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When General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines in the early part of World War II, he made a short speech: “I will return.” Later on in the war, he came back to the Philippines in victory. Cameras recorded his wading ashore. He made another speech: “I have returned.” The first speech would have been worthless without the second, which gave it force and meaning. So Jesus promised to rise from the dead. How hollow that would sound if He had not come back from the dead. But what a note of victory it now sounds now that He is risen!
“Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?”–Acts 26:8
Why then should it be thought incredible that God should raise the dead? If God could take the dust and breathe life into it to create a man, why would anyone think it incredible for this same God to raise someone from the dead?
Yes, it is most credible that Jesus would arise. It would be incredible if after the miraculous life He lived He had remained in the grave.
Job 19:25-27
Here we find Job climbing out of the pit of despair to scale the heights of faith, to utter some of the most beautiful words recorded in Scripture.
Questions with the Same Answer
All these questions have the same answer.
What is it that gives a widow courage as she stands beside a fresh grave?
What is the ultimate hope of the cripple, the amputee, the abused, the burn victim?
Why would anyone who is blind or deaf or paralyzed be encouraged when they think of the life beyond?
How can we see past the martyrdom of some helpless hostage or devoted missionary?
Where do the thoughts of a young couple go when they finally recover from the grief of losing their baby?
When a family receives the tragic news that a little daughter was found dead or their dad was killed in a plane crash, what single truth becomes their whole focus?
What is the final answer to pain, mourning, senility, insanity, terminal diseases, sudden calamities, and fatal accidents?
By now you’ve guessed correctly: the hope of bodily resurrection.
Jesus said in John 11:25 and 26, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
I. Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees the Believer’s Resurrection.
I Corinthians 15:20-23
As the Lamb of God, Jesus died on the Passover. As the sheaf of firstfruits, He arose from the dead three days later on the first day of the week. When the priest waved the sheaf of the firsfruits before the Lord, it was a sign that the entire harvest belonged to Him. When Jesus was raised from the dead, it was God’s assurance to us that we will also be raised one day as part of that future harvest.
Romans 8:11 - “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
II Corinthians 4:14 - “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.”
I Thessalonians 4:14 - “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will bring with him.”
II. The Believer’s Resurrection Gives Life Meaning.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead and there is no future day of resurrection for us, then life loses all its meaning. If this life is all there is–just a few years of alternate crying and laughing (mostly crying) and then darkness–with Paul we can say, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (I Cor. 15:19).
Philippians 1:21 - “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Life is worth living only when we live for Christ, for only He can give meaning and purpose to life. When we remove from this verse the words “Christ is gain” along with the word “and,” all that remains is, “For me to live is to die.” This just about describes life for those who don’t have Christ.
This verse becomes a valuable test or our lives.
“For to me to live is ___________ and to die is ____________. Fill in the blanks.
“For to me to live is money and to die is to leave it all behind.”
“For to me to live is fame and to die is to be forgotten.”
“For to me to live is power and to die is to lose it all.”
III. The Believer’s Resurrection Makes Death a Gain.
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The largest man-made structure on earth is a tomb, the Great Pyramid. The oldest man-made structure is a tomb, the step pyramid in Sakkara. The only one of the seven wonders of the world that still stands today is a tomb, the Pyramids! So we see man’s preoccupation with death. We see that throughout history, men have feared death most of all.
Epitaph
East Derry, New Hampshire:
Lizzie James
wife of
Edmund R. Angell
1849-1932
“I don’t know how to die.”
II Corinthians 5:1-8
It was Joseph Cook who said, “Pillow my head on no guesses when I die.” Paul spoke of our future in the strongest possible terms. He says, “we know.” He doesn’t say, “we think, we hope, we believe, we trust , we expect,” but “we know.” Guesses are no comfort. We want assurance.
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Art galleries in New York and Florida have been exhibiting the paintings of Jacob J. Kass. His work is unique because he never paints on canvas. He paints on saws: hand saws, circular saws, all kinds of saws. He takes old, dull, rusty, worn-out saw blades and paints on them scenes of striking beauty. In a far, far, far larger way, God takes the ugliness of death and paints on it a picture of life.
Epitaph
The epitaph for one of the first Virginians buried at Jamestown reads, “A Great Sinner Confidently Awaiting A Joyous Resurrection.”
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
To believer’s, death is only “sleep.” The body sleeps, but the spirit is at home with the Lord. At the resurrection, the body will be “awakened” and glorified.
The Resurrection Means Hope!
The word “hope” in the Bible means “a certain expectation.”
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Charles Revlon, president of Revlon Cosmetics, is reported to have said, “I sell hope.” Of course, hope can never be bought. It is given away, by Christ, to those who believe!
