The Hero of Our Story: The Resurrection

There is nothing more central to the Christian faith than the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the morning of the third day, the death Jesus died for our sins would have no power. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ there would be no opportunity for forgiveness, no way to remove guilt or shame. There would be no joy, no hope, no life. There would be nothing to believe in. So, yes, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest single event in the history of man.

But you can’t have the Resurrection of Jesus Christ without the death of Christ. Mark records the death of Jesus for us tis way: It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the Jews. They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.  Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” 

In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. 

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 

Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:25-39

Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, breathed his last on that tortuous cross. John tells us that prior to his last breath, Jesus said, “It is finished.” John 19:30 At that moment the debt for every sin ever committed by every man, woman or child throughout all history, was paid in full by Jesus… Then because it was almost the Sabbath where you could do no work, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Accompanied by Nicodemus, they took Jesus body from the cross and wrapped it with spices and strips of linen, and laid Jesus in a garden tomb. Then he rolled a stone in over the entrance of the tomb and went away. And with the sealing of the tomb and the descending gloom of darkness no one had any inkling of the joy that was to come.

You see, for people of Jesus’ day, the reality of someone rising from the dead was inconceivable. The Greeks simply didn’t believe in any kind of physical resurrection. They believed that when a person died, their soul was freed from the body. As for the Jews, some of them believed in a future general resurrection, but they had no concept of an individual rising from the dead. They simply were not predisposed to believe in resurrection any more than we are…   And yet this resurrection, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Was Predicted by Jesus himself.

In the gospel of Matthew Jesus said to his disciples, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Matthew 20:18-19 Now Mark tells us that when Jesus predicted his death in this manner and that he would rise from the grave, his disciples didn’t have a clue as to what he was talking about. In fact, the Gospels tell us that even though Jesus predicted His death and resurrection on many occasions, but his predictions fell on deaf ears.

But then came the morning of the third day after Jesus death. The Gospels tell us that Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to anoint Jesus body with spices. They went with no anticipation of finding a risen Jesus. But that’s precisely who they found. For as they approached the tomb and saw the stone was rolled away, they were the first to hear The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Was Announced by Angels The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:5-6

Angels, who announced the good news of Jesus’ birth to the lowly shepherds, now had the great privilege of announcing the good news that Jesus has risen to two women: Mary and Mary Magdalene. And so we see that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Was Witnessed by Mary Not only did she hear the good news that Jesus was alive, but moments later she met the risen Jesus face to face. And after speaking with him we are told that Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” John 20:18

This is one of the more powerful encounters of the Resurrection Story. For if the Gospel writers were trying to prove the resurrection of Jesus by eyewitness testimony, they would never think of using evidence from the witness of a woman. You see, one of the earliest opponents of the resurrection, a philosopher named Celsus, argued against the resurrection of Jesus with these words: “Christianity can’t be true, because the written accounts of the resurrection are based on the testimony of women – and we all know that women are hysterical.” And most agreed with him. For in all ancient societies women were marginalized, and their testimony never carried any weight. And yet, Jesus, when he broke through the grave the first barrier he broke was the gender barrier by appearing to a woman. That’s just the thing about Jesus. When he lived among us he surrounded himself with people who were broken, unloved and marginalized. And now that He has risen from the grave, the good news is that anyone who comes to him by faith is welcome. That’s the power of the resurrection!

But there’s more. Mary did hurry to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen, but they did not believe her. Then later that evening, as they were cowered behind locked doors, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. John 20:19

And thus began their transformation. For the next forty days, Jesus appeared to them, taught them and sent them to fulfill the Great Commission. And so the next thing we see is that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Was Proclaimed by the Apostles Peter proclaimed Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection in the sermon that birthed the church on the day of Pentecost. And the church grew, and so Luke tells us that With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. Acts 4:33-34

I want you to take note of what happened as they preached the resurrection. First, there was great power in their message – many people came to faith in Jesus. And second, God’s grace was evident everywhere the resurrection was proclaimed. And the result was beautiful: there were no needy persons among them. Knowing that Jesus had risen from the dead, set them free to live and love with the generosity of Jesus! That’s the power of the resurrection. Knowing that Jesus is alive sets us free from the fears of this earth. It sets us free to love, to help, to be generous to change how we live.

Meeting the resurrected Jesus will change you. It will give you joy, like Mary and the disciples, it will move you to love like that first community of followers. And it might just change the direction of your life, like it did to the Apostle Paul. For he met the risen Savior on the road to Damascus, and after meeting Jesus there, he changed Paul from a persecutor of Christians to a proclaimer of the gospel. And we benefit today. For much of what we know about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Was Explained by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Because of Paul’s transformation, we now know that everything we believe about Jesus: all our hope, all our faith, all our potential to become like Jesus is bound up in the reality that Jesus rose from the grave. For if Jesus did not rise from the grave everything we believe would about Jesus would be useless to us. But since Jesus did rise grave we have a faith and a hope that is unshakable. And for that reason, its on this day, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Is Celebrated by the Church Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

In His great mercy, the moment God raised Jesus from the grave, He made it possible for you to experience the power of the resurrection personally. He made it possible for you to experience the risen Christ alive in you – to receive His resurrected life by faith. Now, because Jesus lives, God’s forgiveness makes it possible for you to enter into the living hope found in Jesus.

This is what we celebrate this day! Jesus our living hope! Praise be to God! He has done it. He is God’s gift to us. Anyone who puts their trust in Jesus receives the gift of eternal life that’s found in Jesus. This is Why The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith and why the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is So Important to us:

First of all His Resurrection verifies that Jesus really is the Son of God   For it was Jesus who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26

You see, only God can give life to people. And because Jesus lives, the resurrection proclaims that Jesus really is the Son of God, and He wants to give you life!

And secondly, Because Jesus lives, that mean Jesus defeated sin and death Paul penned it this way: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory?   Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

When Jesus rose from the grave He defeated sin. That’s why you can be forgiven. That’s why God can cleanse your heart of every stain. That’s why there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He covered your sin with His blood. He took away your guilt and nailed it to the cross. Because Jesus lives you can be set free of guilt and no longer fear, because Jesus paid it all.

When Jesus rose from the grave He defeated death. The grave could not hold him. This is what Peter proclaimed about Jesus on the day of Pentecost: But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  Acts 2:24 This is why we sing “My Redeemer Lives!” This is why we have unspeakable joy. This is why we can have a confidence that this life is not all there is.

How many of you have every heard the story of Joni Eareckson Tada? When she was just seventeen and full of life, she permanently injured herself diving into a lake. Ever since that day she has lived as a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. While she was trying to come to terms with her horrible accident, she would go to church in her wheelchair.

The problem with being in a wheelchair, she found, was that at a certain point in the worship, her priest called everyone to kneel – which drove home the fact that she was stuck in a wheelchair. Once she was at a convention in which the speaker urged people to get down on their knees and pray. Everyone did except Joni. “With everyone kneeling, I certainly stood out. And I couldn’t stop the tears.” But it wasn’t because of self-pity. She was crying because the sight of hundreds of people on their knees before God was so beautiful – “a picture of heaven.” And then she continued weeping at another thought: “Sitting there, I was reminded that in heaven I will be free to jump up, dance, kick and do aerobics. And… sometime before the guests are called to the banquet table at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, the first thing I plan to do on resurrected legs is to drop on grateful, glorified knees. I will quietly kneel at the feet of Jesus.”  “I, with shriveled, bent fingers, atrophied muscles, gnarled knees and no feeling form the shoulders down, will one day have a new body, light, bright, and clothed in righteousness – powerful and dazzling. Can you imagine the hope that the resurrection gives someone who is spinal cord injured like me?” Only in the resurrection of Jesus Christ can we find such enormous hope to live!

You see, we do have a future, we enjoy this day a living hope, and its found in Jesus. For Jesus said it best when He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. And whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Jesus has defeated sin and death so we might live!

This is why we celebrate the risen Jesus this day.