Pastor Craig Baynham, tells the story of an uncle who one day was leisurely driving his convertible in the mountains. He had his top down, his radio turned up loud, and was enjoying to the full the beauties of the winding mountain road on which he was driving. So intent was he on the scenery, and so deafened by the blaring of his radio, he failed to notice the driver behind him becoming more and more impatient.
Finally the road presented sufficient room for the furious driver to pass. A blast of the horn and a shake of the fist (even a few not-so-well chosen words) were not sufficient to appease the anger of the hostile motorist. Forcing the uncle’s car to the side of the road he proceeded to verbally vent his frustration. Craig’s uncle, who had been oblivious to the whole matter until now, proceeded to apologize for the inconvenience he had caused. But no apology was sufficient.
"Your apology is not enough. I’m going to pick you up out of that car and beat you to a bloody pulp," the man finally threatened. As the motorist began to close in on him, the uncle quickly removed a 45-caliber revolver from under the seat and aimed it point blank at his attacker. With only a moment’s hesitation the aggressor blurted out, "I accept your apology." And with this he returned to his car and went his way.
The moral to this story is that the introduction of one unexpected element can completely change one’s perspective on a situation. That is precisely what occurred early on that Easter morning nearly 2,000 years ago.
The Jewish religious leaders thought that the crucifixion of Christ had once and for all dissolved the popular movement which threatened their position of leadership in the nation Israel. The devil thought that the crucifixion had brought to a halt God’s efforts to redeem mankind. The disciples thought that the crucifixion had dashed all their hopes that Jesus was the Messiah. Indeed, through His resurrection, Jesus had the last word!
As we focus our attention on the angel’s announcement of our Lord’s resurrection, we discover just how significant our Lord’s resurrection is.
1. It confirmed the proclamation of Christ - v. 6
"just as he said"
Throughout His ministry, Jesus constantly spoke about His death, burial and resurrection.
"Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’"
- John 2:19 (NASB)
"Jesus told them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him-- and three days later he will be raised alive.’"
- Matthew 17:22-23 (The Message)
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes; and they will sentence Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and whipped and crucified, and He will be raised [to life] on the third day."
- Matthew 20:18-19 (Amplified)
"‘Tonight all of you will desert me,’ Jesus told them. ‘For the Scriptures say, "God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." but after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.’"
- Matthew 26:31-32 (NLT)
"The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do."
- John 10:17-18 (CEV)
Jesus proved the truth of His claims by means of His resurrection.
"Only an evil, faithless generation would ask for a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights."
- Matthew 12:39-40 (NLT)
Our Lord’s resurrection is proof of the truth of what He said! Because He has been raised from the dead, we know that everything He said about being the Savior of all mankind is absolutely true!
All but four of the major world religions are based on mere philosophical propositions rather than personalities. Of the four that are based on personalities rather than philosophies, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder.
In 1900 B.C. Judaism’s Father Abraham died.
In 483 B.C. Buddhist writings say Buddha died "with that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains behind."
June 6, 632 A.D. Mohammed died.
In 33 A.D. Jesus died but came back to life appearing to 500 people over a period of 40 days.
A Muslim in Africa became a Christian and some of his friends asked him, "Why have you done such a thing?" He answered, "Well, its like this: Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions. You didn’t know which way to go; and there at the fork were two men-one dead, and one alive-which one would you ask to show you the way?"
Jesus Christ is the only one who ever conquered death and triumphed over the grave. This sets His teaching apart and above all the rest.
2. It demonstrated the power of Christ - v. 7
"He is risen from the dead"
Through His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus has shown His power over sin, Satan, death, and Hell. Since He has demonstrated His power to conquer the greatest of man’s foes, that means that through faith in Him, by His power, we can also conquer any problem or difficulty that might come our way.
"There is power in the presence of a risen Savior to solve our difficulties, remove our perplexities, calm our fears, ease our burdens, dry our tears, meet our every need, tranquilize our minds and satisfy every craving of our hearts." - C.H. Mackintosh
In the November 12, 2001 issue of Sports Illustrated, were ranked the 10 greatest comebacks in world history.
1. Muhammad Ali, 1974. Seven years after being stripped of his title and his boxing license, he beat George Foreman to win back the title.
2. John Travolta, 1994. Revived his comatose movie career by taking a star turn in Pulp Fiction.
3. Michael Jordan, 1995. Quit baseball to return to basketball.
4. Japan and Germany, 1950s. Former Axis powers rise from the ashes of World War II to become industrial superpowers.
5. Jesus Christ, 33 A.D. Defies critics and stuns the Romans with his resurrection.
I submit to you that the resurrection is the greatest comeback of all time, because it has been the source of power for millions of comebacks in the lives of those who follow Him.
"I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead."
- Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)
3. It guaranteed the presence of Christ - v. 7
"He . . . is going ahead of you . . . There you will see Him"
We have a Savior who has not only gone before, us, He is alive and goes with us as we seek to live for Him. Jesus promised His disciples that He would be with them through the person of the Holy Spirit.
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
- John 14:18 (NASB)
"Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water."’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
- John 7:37-39 (NASB)
Now, Christ has been glorified through His resurrection. Now, He has ascended to heaven. Now, by His Spirit, He meets with us, makes His presence known to us, and empowers us.
"I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today,
I know that He is living, whatever men may say,
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!"
Conclusion:
"The Easter event, demonstrated Jesus’ deity; validated his teaching; attested the completion of his work of atonement for sin; confirms his present cosmic dominion and his coming reappearance as Judge; assures us that his personal pardon, presence, and power in people’s lives today is fact; and guarantees each believer’s own re-embodiment by Resurrection in the world to come." - J.I. Packer
As Christians, we might be convinced, but how will an unbelieving world be convinced?
Christian author and activist Chuck Colson draws evidence for the resurrection for personal experience. Colson was a part of the Nixon Whitehouse during the Watergate scandal of seventies. He writes:
Watergate involved a conspiracy to cover up, perpetuated by the closest aides to the President of the United States and the most powerful men in America, who were intensely loyal to their president. But one of them, John Dean, turned state’s evidence, that is, testified against Nixon, as he put it, "to save his own skin." Then everybody else jumped ship in order to save themselves. Now, the fact is that all that those around the President were facing was embarrassment, maybe prison. Nobody’s life was at stake.
But what about the disciples? Twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stonings, execution. Every single one of the disciples insisted, to their dying breaths, that they had physically seen Jesus bodily raised from the dead.
Don’t you think that one of those apostles would have cracked before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal with the authorities? None did.
You see, men will give their lives for something they believe to be true they will never give their lives for something they know to be false.
The Watergate cover-up reveals the true nature of humanity. Even political zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save their own necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve so loyally. But the apostles could not deny Jesus because they had seen Him face to face, and they knew He had risen from the dead.
May we walk with our risen Savior in such a way as to be strengthened to remain faithful, even as were the early disciples!
