In this episode you will here a message about the Resurrection of Jesus, which is the greatest event in history.
It is a message from Matthew 28:1-8
Without the resurrection of Jesus from the dead our faith would be without hope. Without the resurrection of Jesus from the dead we could not trust Him because He did not do as he said. We would have little certainty of our own future. We would questions His deity. Death would have been victorious over life.
The message of the empty tomb is one that is worth looking at closely.
Context:
- 1 first day of the week that would be Sunday. This by the way is why the church gathers on Sunday to worship, it is resurrection day.
- began to dawn this was early in the morning, again why we gather on Easter for a Sunrise service.
- Mary..Mary and we know that there were other women with them.
- 2 great earthquake seismic activity was common when God was doing a great work. So here, the resurrection so to speak shook the earth!
- rolled back the stone no human could do so on their own. Angels have extraordinary strength.
- 3-4 The event and appearance of the angel made the guards become extremely terrified. became as dead men
- Had we been the guards we probably would have responded the same way
- 5 ways in which the Resurrection is significant
1) It was a powerful event 5
- He is arisen. Three short words packed with power. He is Risen. Incredible, unbelievable if it were not the work of God. It is powerful because it defied all odds. It was a miraculous event. People don’t just rise from the dead. But Jesus did!
- We think the machinery of doctors that can aid in bypass surgeries and all are powerful equipment but there is nothing like the power of God that can bring back the dead to life
- If God can raise the dead He has the power to help you with what ever your need. You can depend on Him. If He has the power to raise the dead it also means He is worthy of worship!
2) It was a planned event 6
- As He said God fulfills His promises. Time and again He told His disciples that He was going to die but then three days later He was going to rise from the dead.The whole thing was planned. They should not have been in wonder, it was foretold and now had come to pass exactly as He had said. Oh the depths of the ways of God, they are sometimes too marvelous to understand until they are passed.
- God had planned the resurrection more thoroughly as we plan to eat breakfast following this service. It is possible that we might not get breakfast, tragedy could strike, but there was absolute certainty that the resurrection was going to happen because He said that it would.
- We can Trust God’s Word. When He says something is going to be done we can bank our life on it. The promises of God are sure. Let me encourage you to hold onto the promises of God. He fulfills what He promises. I have had a great many plans so far in my life that never really came to pass. Not so with God. There are no plans of God that do not come to pass.
3) It was a proved event 6
- Come, See the place where the Lord Lay. The empty tomb is one of the surest proofs of the reality of the resurrection. I would stop believing the Bible if the bones of Jesus were to be found. But I have good news brothers and sisters, the bones of Jesus are not going to be found.
- Just as a judge asks for proof to back up accusations so too the world is looking for proof of the Church’s claim that Jesus arose from the dead. And there is proof. Nowhere in Jerusalem is there a tomb with the bones of Jesus in it. Why? Because He is not there, He arose.
- And the bones weren’t just stolen. Does anyone really think that such a fiasco of stolen bones of Jesus would be able to last the test of time? Certainly not, the only solution is to believe that the place where He lay, he lays no longer!
- We should not be ashamed of the Gospel. Instead we should be shouting it out to everyone we can because it is true. Our faith is built not on fable but fact. We have nothing to be ashamed of in believing the resurrection.
4) It was a proclamatory event 7
- “go quickly and tell” Notice the angel did not tell the women, “He is not here and despite how amazing this is I want you to keep it to yourself. They probably wouldn’t have anyway. How can anyone who truly believes this keep silent about it? The resurrection is not something about which we should keep quiet. The resurrection is something that is worth proclaiming.
- It is Good News, better than the news of a new baby, an engagement, a promotion, or any such thing we could possibly think of. It is worth proclaiming.
- People tell others a lot of things that don’t amount to much, we talk about the weather, the news of the day, whose doing what, whose going to be kicked off of American Idol, a bunch of trivial meaningless stuff. But there is one thing that is always worth proclaiming and that is the Good News of the resurrection. Let us be proclaimers of this good news.
5) It was a penetrating event 8
- with fear and great joy... ran to bring The news of the resurrection if understood is so penetrating to the heart that it demands a response: fear, joy, running, and bringing word. This response is the response of someone transformed. People in the first century Israel would not run, yet here they run. Fear and Joy are usually not emotions in the same event by the same person and yet this is such a penetrating event they are here. This is transforming. No other event in history has been so transforming. Nothing in history has so penetrated the heart of man. Prior to the resurrection the disciples were timid, confused, doubting, questioning, etc. But after the resurrection, they became bold, crusader for Christ. What was the difference? It was the resurrection.
- When remarkable things happen they are so impacting that they demand a response. So too is the message of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
- You can be transformed when you meditate on the message of the resurrection because it will penetrate your heart and create in you fear, joy, and a desire to tell others. Let the truth of the resurrection penetrate your heart until it transforms your life. If you can hear this message and it doesn’t penetrate your heart and move you to respond, there is something wrong with you!!
The resurrection was not just an ordinary event. It was a powerful, planned, proved, proclamatory, and penetrating event
It is the reason we are here, it is the reason for our celebration today, and it is the reason for our hope for tomorrow, it is the reason for life!!
