“Because Jesus Lives”
-The Resurrection is a Historical Fact-
Mark 16:1-7
Matthew 28:18-20
In His closing remarks before his ascension into heaven Jesus gave this promise, “I’ll be with you always to the very end of the age.” Our hope today is the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. He is alive and will be with us unto the end of this earthly kingdom.
Because we have not personally witnessed the resurrection, or haven’t witnessed answers to specific prayers, it’s easy to doubt the historical fact of the resurrection. In fact there are many things we find that are confusing.
Why is hamburger called hamburger when it’s made of beef?
Why do you put suits in garment bags and garments in suitcases?
Why do you drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Why do they say apartments when they’re all stuck together? In fact, why do they call buildings “buildings”? If they’ve finished, shouldn’t they be called “builts”? When two airplanes almost collide, they call it a near-miss; shouldn’t they call it a near-hit? It was a complete miss! And that black box flight recorder that’s never damaged in a plane crash—why don’t they make the whole airplane out of that stuff?
There are many questions and mysteries in life, aren’t there? It’s interesting that you can tell someone there are 400 billion stars in the universe, and he will believe you, but tell him a bench has wet paint, and he’ll have to touch it?
On Easter Sunday we celebrate the most historical event in human history. The Apostle Paul said that if Jesus did not rise from the dead then all our preaching is in vain and life itself is meaningless. If Jesus did not rise from the dead then we have no hope for forgiveness of sin and life after death.
The resurrection of Christ proves that Jesus is who He said He was. He is the Son of God.
I. There Are Barriers to Believing in the Resurrection of Jesus
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Mark 16:1-3
Mark records the importance that women had as followers of Jesus. Mark 14:3-9 - The account is given of Jesus dining in the home of Simon the leper. A woman entered the home and poured a bottle of precious perfume over the head of Jesus. The value of the perfume is estimated to be worth a year’s wages. Some of those present strongly rebuked the woman for her reckless use of costly perfume. Jesus said the woman did a beautiful thing by anointing him to prepare him for his burial.
After his death and burial three women wanted to give Jesus a proper burial by anointing his body to express their love and devotion. Their only concern was how they could move the huge stone that covered the opening to the tomb where Jesus had been laid. The women knew which tomb Jesus was in because Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus observed where Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the council, laid the body.
The women knew the huge stone was too heavy for them to move, but probably thought they could find someone to give them a hand.
Here’s a fact, the women believed Jesus was still in the tomb. There are many people today who believe Jesus is still in the tomb he was buried in over 2000 year ago.
The popular book, The DaVinci Code, is a fictional book, but is presented by many as nearly a historical fact and truth. In fact it was the early church that did a cover up of the real Jesus. According to the book Jesus is still in the grave because he was a mere man. According to the book, Jesus married Mary Magdalene and they had children after Jesus traveled to France. Their children intermarried with the French royal family. According to the book, The early church deceived the world by covering up the true story.
According to this account, since Jesus is still in the grave, our Christian faith is based upon a lie. Remember The DaVince Code is fiction and has no historical evidence of the facts it proposes.
Another recent popular book is the “Gospel of Judas,” This book is an authentic book written around 150 – 170 AD. But this Gospel is not authoritative. The Gospel of Judas was condemned by the early church Fathers because its teachings were contrary to the New Testament. The Gospel of Judas follows the philosophy of a group known as Gnostics. Gnostics taught that Jesus did not come to earth as a man. He lived on earth in a spiritual body. Gnostics taught that the human body is sinful. Gnostics believed that everything associated with the body is evil. Getting married is bad and having children is also bad.
Gnostics believed that Jesus was a heavenly being who whispers secrets to people. One place in the Gospel of Judas, Jesus says to Judas, “Come, that I may teach you about secrets no person has even seen.” This Gospel depicts Jesus making Judas his best friend and using Judas to carry out God’s will.
The Gospel of Judas has nothing to say about the crucifixion or the resurrection.
Recent writings like the DaVinci Code and the Gospel of Judas serve as barriers to believing the historical event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Doubt can block your vision so you cannot see the glorious good news that Jesus rose from the grave. The tomb is empty.
Carl Sagan, the famous scientist and astronomer, was a convinced agnostic. He couldn’t believe that intelligent adults could have faith in someone who lived 2,000 years ago. Sagan once challenged Pastor Joan Brown Campbell with a question: “You’re so smart; why do you believe in God?” To which she replied, “You’re so smart; why don’t you believe in God?”
Carl Sagan never came to believe in God. He died without hope of eternal life. Someone asked his wife if Dr. Sagan ever wanted to believe. She replied sharply, “Car never wanted to believe. He wanted to know.”
The fact is no one is smart enough to know everything. Where knowledge ends, faith begins. Where knowledge falls into despair, faith stands in triumph. Faith isn’t an emotion. Faith is a decision.
What barriers and stones need to be moved so you will believe? Like the women you may be asking: “who will roll the stones of doubt and confusion away?”
II. Evidences of the Resurrection Confirm our Belief in the resurrection of Jesus.
“But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they -saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ‘Don’t be alarmed’ he said, ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” Mark 16:4-7
We have the celebration of Easter to proclaim that Jesus Christ rose from the grave. Following Pentecost the primary theme of the disciples was the “resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Following His resurrection there were eleven appearances of Jesus to his followers:
Mary Magdalene, the other women at the tomb, Peter in Jerusalem, two travelers on the road to Emmaus, ten disciples behind closed doors, eleven disciples including Thomas, seven disciples while fishing on the Sea of Galilee, Eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee, a crowd of five hundred, Jesus’ brother James, those who watched Jesus ascend into heaven.
One of the best witnesses in a court of law is an eye witness. We don’t have one or two eye witness accounts of seeing the risen Christ we have hundreds of witnesses.
What will it take for you to believe that Jesus rose from the dead? What evidences do you need?
It’s helpful for us who have decided to follow Jesus to have come in contact with authentic Christians. My mother was an authentic Christian. I believe Jesus rose from the dead because I know what s difference the Christian faith made in the life of my mother.
It’s helpful to point to personal experiences we have had to give us evidence that Jesus is alive and still at work in the world. I believe the hand of God is at work in many experiences most people call luck.
In my life I have had several experiences that give evidence to the miracle working power of God.
• When in the fifth grade I nearly died with a blood disease. People prayed and the doctors were amazed at my recovery.
• When I was in High School I could have been killed in a car accident. While riding in the front passenger seat a car slammed into the right side of the car. I was thrown out and the wheel of the car missed my head by inches.
• While pastor in Kansas City I was using a large tractor to haul dirt on the church property. While going down a steep hill the brakes failed and at the bottom the tractor turned over and I was thrown clear rather than being crushed under the tractor.
I’m sure you can reflect on your life and recall experiences that are beyond human explanation. Last week I was talking to a father of one of our school students. He told me that he was coming down a mountain and his car went out of control. He had the choice of slamming into the mountain or going over a cliff. He chose the cliff and went down a couple hundred feet and his car landed nose down. He walked away from the accident okay. I told him that God spared his life for a reason. He agreed.
Charles Colson served as an assistant to President Richard Nixon at the time of the Watergate scandal. He now serves as President of Prison Fellowship. He says that he knows the disciples who reported that they were eye witnesses of Jesus were telling the truth, from living through the Watergate experience.
Colson said that Watergate involved a conspiracy perpetuated by the closest aides to the President of the United States. But one of them, John Dean, turned state’s evidence to save his own “skin” as he put it. The lie and cover-up lasted only two weeks and then many others jumped in to save themselves. All those around the president were not facing death, but embarrassment and maybe prison.
The disciples were not facing just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stonings and possible execution. Every one of His disciples insisted, to their dying breaths, that they had personally seen Jesus raised from the dead. You would think at least one of the disciples would have made a deal with the authorities to save his own life. None did. Men are willing to give their lives for something they believe is true, but not for something they believe is false.
Jesus said, “All authority is given unto me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18) Jesus is our ultimate authority. Jesus is the absolute standard for what is right or wrong.
The empty tomb declares that Jesus is the only way to eternal life. A Buddhist in Africa converted to Christianity. He was asked why he changed religions. He said, “If you were walking along and came to a fork in the road and two men were there, one was dead and the other was alive, which man’s direction would you follow?”
The empty tomb declares that Jesus alone has the power to forgive your sin and give you hope of eternal life.
The empty tomb gives you the assurance that your present problems and challenges can be managed.
The empty tomb gives you purpose in life. The risen Christ said, “Go therefore and make disciples.”
Jesus is your permanent hope. He said, “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20)
There are barriers to believing in the resurrection of Jesus, but we have evidences that the resurrection is a historical fact. The stone was rolled away, the tomb is empty, and over 500 people saw the risen Christ.
III. The Resurrection of Jesus has a Grand Purpose
The angel told the women, “He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” (Mark 16:6-7)
The purpose of the resurrection for each of us is to “Go Tell!” Jesus said in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
A denominational leader and pastor had as one of his jobs to travel to little rural communities where they didn’t have churches and to conduct funerals. He would go out with an undertaker, and they would drive together in the undertaker’s hearse. One time, they were on their way back from a funeral, and the Pastor was feeling quite tired. He decided he would take a nap. Since they were in a hearse, he thought,
“Well, I’ll just lie down in the back of the hearse.”
Sounds like kind of a creepy thing to do, but this is a true story. The guy who was driving the hearse pulled into a service station, because he was running low on gas. The service station attendant was filling up the tank and he was freaked out, because there was a body stretched out in the back. While he was filling the tank, John woke up, opened his eyes, knocked on the window and waved at the attendant. John said he never saw anybody run so fast in his whole life. When people see life where they were expecting death, they start running!
Foundational to the core of Christianity, whatever you think about it, Paul says:
On the third day, Jesus woke up, opened his eyes, came out of the tomb and said, “Peter. I am alive.” He told his disciples, “I’m alive.” He saw hundreds of his followers and told them, “I’m alive.” And people started running and telling the news.
Throughout the book of Acts, the disciples are boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The empty tomb has never been successfully explained away. If the enemies of Jesus could have produced a body, they would have destroyed the early church. No body was produced because it was no where to be found. To believe that the disciples stole and hid the body in order to preach a fraud is beyond belief.
Because Jesus did rise from the dead we have the ongoing church continuing the work Jesus started. We have the New Testament and the first day of the week known as the Lord’s Day. None would have come into existence unless Jesus had risen.
In closing I want to briefly summarize the message of Easter. To explain the message I’m going by drawing two cliffs. On one side is man, representing you, and on the other side is God. The Bible says the chasm is caused by sin. Sin separates man from God. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
You may say, “I can bridge the gap between God and ,me.”
I will do good works and good deeds and my good
works will outweigh my bad deeds.
I will go to church
I will read the Bible.
I will give to charities.
I will learn religious views.
I can bridge the gap.
The Apostle Paul says that all our good works are like filthy rags and trash in the presence of Jesus. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, not of works lest any man should boast.” Jesus died in your place. He paid the penalty for you’re your sins and mine. Sin brings both physical and spiritual death.
When we accept Jesus we are given the assurance of eternal life. I John 5:11-12, “And this is the testimony; God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
The fact is no one in human history has ever bridged the gap. Sin caused the gap and only Jesus can bridge the gap. Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and have fellowship with him and he with me.”
You do three things to open the door to Jesus, and only you can open the door.
1. Confess your sin. I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To confess means we agree with God that we are sinners and need God’s forgiveness.
2. Repent of your sin. Acts 3:19, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” To repent means to turn around. Turn around from going our self centered way to going God’s way.
3. Personally receive Jesus into your heart. John 1:11-12, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” When you confess your sin, repent, and ask Jesus to come into your life by faith, Jesus does just that. When Jesus comes in your life He gives you a fresh start as a Christian. II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
The risen Christ is knocking on your heart door this Easter morning. Is there any reason you shouldn’t invite Him to come in.
Let’s pray
