Things Are Not Always What They Seem

Those soldiers so brave when they out number and beat a man who is tied, trembled. And the soldiers who guarded the tomb, they ran when an angel showed up and rolled the stone a way.

The tomb the Devil did everything he knew to do to secure? It was empty. Jesus got up and walked away and the tomb was empty.

Low in the grave He lay. Jesus my savior. Waiting the coming day. Jesus my Lord. Vainly they watch His bed - Jesus my Savior. Vainly they seal the dead. - Jesus My Lord. Death cannot keep his prey - Jesus my Savior. He tore the bars away - Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave He arose. With a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose a Victor fro the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose. He arose. Hallelujah! Christ arose.

In Isaiah 53 we read,

> Isaiah 53:5-6 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.…

What seemed a great defeat, was actually a great working by God, and through it you and I can be saved.

Things are not always what they seem, especially at Easter.

Two more items I’d like you to notice.

4. The religious folks

- Read Luke 23:13-18

Who was it leading the attacks against Jesus? It was the chief priests. It was the leaders. It was the religious folks.

My friend, just because you are “religious”, just because you attend church and carry a Bible doesn’t mean you are a Christian and it doesn’t mean you are saved. The religious leaders here are the ones who wanted nothing to do with Jesus.

Billy Graham once estimated that 90% of the the people in our churches today are not Christians. 90% Think about it. What did Jesus say?

> John 3:3 Except a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

> Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Let me ask you, “Do you know, that you know, that you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that if you were to die today that you’d go to heaven?” On what do you base that belief? Do your actions demonstrate that kind of love for Jesus?

John says in 1 John 5:13

> 1 John 5:13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

You can know. You don’t have to hope. You don’t have to guess. You can know.

Those who thought they were religious were the ones who were lost. Things are not always what they seem, especially at Easter.

5. The thieves

One other things I’d like you to notice before we go. Look at the thieves.

Matthew tells us that the 2 thieves He was crucified between cursed Him. If there were ever people who deserved to die, it was these 2. They were thieves. They were the scum of the earth and they were both cursing Jesus. But then somewhere along the way, one of the thieves came to his senses, just hours before he died.