Why is the resurrection of Jesus so very important?

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1 April 20 th, 2014 Pastor Bob vale Why is the resurrection of Jesus so very important? (Easter Sunday Morning) Seventh Sunday in Lent Scripture Lesson: Luke 24:1-12 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 `The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8 Then they remembered his words. LK 24:9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. Traditional Worship Service: Hymn of Praise: # 322 Up From The Grave He Arose The Apostle s Creed: # 881 Prayer Hymn: # 334 There s A Sweet, Sweet Spirit in this place. Hymn of Response: # 302 Christ the Lord is Risen Today Why is the resurrection of Jesus so very important? 1. If it didn t happen we re all in trouble and our faith is a lie.

2 2. The resurrection of Jesus illustrates the power of God. 3. Jesus' resurrection proves His victory over sin and death. Because He lives, believers can have new life in Him! I. If it didn t happen we re all in trouble and our faith is a lie. I Corinthians 15:13-19 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. According to this scripture passage: If Jesus was not raised from the dead. 1. Then my preaching and all Bible preaching before me are all lies and useless. 2. Then our Christian faith is useless and of no point. 3. The apostles of Jesus were all liars and delusional. 4. Then Jesus does not have dominion over death and the grave and we are forever lost in our sins. As much as it pains me to even say these things I know in my heart that Jesus is alive and that God did raise him from the dead.

3 I have experienced God s presence and power in my life. I have had prayers answered and seen lives forever changed through the spirit of a resurrected Christ. I love that great Easter song, Because He Lives: God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives! Chorus: Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives! KNOWING" CHRIST: In today's world of Smart Phones, tablets and instant Internet access, there are many things that we can "know in an instant." If someone were to ask the question, "how tall is Chicago Sears Tower, now known as the Willis Tower?," a nimble person with a 4 G connection and an i-phone can ask Siri, "How tall is the Willis Tower in Chicago," and they will get an almost instantaneous response. Approximately 1,400 ft. tall. The Chicago Sears tower, A.K.A. as the Willis Tower was built in the 1970 s. But if we had sitting here a 75 year old retired construction worker, that spent 3 years of his life building the Willis Tower, when he was in his 20 s, we would get a much different answer. We would also get more information with great passion. Not only would this construction worker tell us the Willis Tower is 1,400 feet tall and has 110 stories. He may be able to tell you many of the names of the 1,200 workers who built the building. He could show you the lat large steel beam that all the workers proudly signed. He

4 would proudly show you the huge beams that carry the weight of the building. He would tell you the building has 25 miles of plumbing, 1,500 miles of electric wiring, and 80 miles of elevator cable. He would tell you that he helped pour enough cement to build the tower to make an 8 lane super highway for 5 miles. He would show great pride because he helped change the skyline of a major American city. This worker would be much more passionate about the Willis Tower than any quick answer from a computer or i-phone. Why because he lived it. Folks there are many in this room that have lived the faith of our Lord for years and understand what it means to "know Christ and the power of his resurrection." It involves much more than repeating facts concerning Christ or the Bible. Knowing Christ is an intimate relationship with Him that changes your life. C.S. Lewis once said, I believe in Christianity as I believe the Sun has risen; not only because I see the sun, but by it, I see everything else. The same goes for the resurrection to see the son of God is to see everything else. 2. The resurrection of Jesus illustrates the power of God.

5 (If God can create the heavens and the earth, He can certainly raise himself from the dead.) a. Prior to the crucifixion Jesus said that he would be resurrected in three days. 1. Mark 8:31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 2. Mark 9:31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." 3. Mark 10:33-34 We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise." Christian vs. Atheist Debate. Recently there was a lot in the news about a famous debate between the agnostic Bill Nye and Christian theologian Ken Ham, who is the director of the Creation Museum in Kentucky. It was called the Ham on Nye Debate. As a result of this Christian vs. Agnostic debate, neither side won, and neither side lost. I don t feel the agnostic Bill Nye convinced any Christians to become an agnostic or atheist and I don t think The Christian theologian Ken Ham talked any atheist or agnostic into becoming a Bible believing Christian. So if no one won or lost, and if no one was convinced to switch to the other side, what was all the fuss about? I have never won an argument or debate and talked someone to become a Christian. I also don t know of a Christian who stopped

6 believing because an Atheist said, there is no God. Most of the time a person finds God through another Christian that offers them love, acceptance and being a Christian friend. God typically does the rest. Believing in God is and always will be a matter of faith and not a matter of fact. I don t need to see, touch, or physically see God to know the Lord is real in my life. In the same way, I don t have to see the empty tomb, see the strips of linen cloths or hear from the angels outside of the tomb to believe Jesus was raised from the dead. God s word tells me it happened. b. Still there will always be those that don t believe: 1COR 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Can I give you some proofs that Jesus was raised from the dead. 1. There are non-biblical historians who write about the existence of Jesus. (They are: Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata and the Jewish Sanhedrin.) 2. The Empty Tomb is the greatest proof. Outside of Christ's tomb, with crowd waiting to enter. Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christian Quarter, Old City of Jerusalem.

7 the city of Jerusalem. This is the Garden Tomb which is just outside of The place of the Skull. Golgatha. 3. Jesus appeared to the following people after he was crucified, stabbed with a spear and placed in a tomb for three days. (The three women at the tomb, the 12 apostles, the men on the road to the city of Emmaus, and 500 people at one time.) a. There were many different appearances of our risen Lord are recorded in the New Testament 1. To Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus all alone. This is recorded at length only by John (20:11-18), and alluded to by Mark (16:9-11).

8 2. To certain women, "the other Mary," Salome, Joanna, and others, as they returned from the tomb. Matthew (28:1-10) alone gives an account of this. (Compare Mark 16:1-8, and Luke 24:1-11.) 3 To Simon Peter alone on the day of the resurrection. (See Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5.) 4. To the two disciples on the way to Emmaus on the day of the resurrection, recorded fully only by Luke (24: Compare Mark 16:12,13).

9 5. To the ten disciples (Thomas being absent) and others "with them," at Jerusalem on the evening of the resurrection day. One of the evangelists gives an account of this appearance, John (20:19-24). To the disciples again (Thomas being present) at Jerusalem (Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:33-40; John 20: See also 1 Cor. 15:5). To the disciples when fishing at the Sea of Galilee. Of this appearance also John (21:1-23) alone gives an account. 6. To the eleven, and above 500 people at once, at an appointed place in Galilee (1 Cor. 15:6; compare Matt. 28:16-20). To James, but under what circumstances we are not informed (1 Cor. 15:7). 7. To the apostles immediately before the ascension. They accompanied him from Jerusalem to Mount Olivet, and there they saw him ascend "till a cloud received him out of their sight" (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:4-10).

10 8. It is worthy of mentioning that Jesus gave his disciples the opportunity of testing the fact of his resurrection. He spoke to them face to face. They touched him (Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:39; John 20:27), and he ate bread and broiled fish with them (Luke 24:42,43; John 21:12,13). One of my favorite paintings is of Doubting Thomas touching the pierced side of Jesus. I tend to be a disciple of Thomas and doubt at times. II. Jesus' resurrection proves His victory over sin and death. Because He lives, believers can have new life in Him! a. Resurrection means to come back to life after death. Jesus died on the cross for sin, but He came back to life three days later. Jesus' friends found His tomb was empty, and then they saw and even touched Him. For 40 days after he was resurrected, Jesus proved He was alive and taught His followers. Then, Jesus went back to heaven to be with God.

11 Another Good Question: b. Why couldn't Jesus pay for sin by only dying on the cross and then stay dead? Here are four reasons: 1. If Jesus had only died and never been resurrected, His death would have been like the normal death of a human. But the resurrection shows Jesus is both a man and the Son of God, with the power to come back to life. (See John 10:17 18.) 2. If Jesus had stayed dead, He would still be under the punishment and power of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). But Jesus Christ proved His victory over sin and death by coming back to life (1 Corinthians 15:55 57). 3. The resurrection proves God the Father accepted Jesus and His saving work on the cross (Acts 17:31). As God gave Jesus new life, He also gives new life in Christ to believers who were dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1 6). God saves believers who turn from sin and trust the Savior and Lord Jesus (1 John 1:9). 4. The resurrection shows God will give believers life again after they die. As God gave Jesus a resurrected body, God will one day give all believers perfect, resurrected bodies to live forever with the Lord. (See 1 Corinthians 15:35 57.) Closing Easter Illustration: On the River of Death Max Lucado, in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.

12 A hospital was not too terribly far away just across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river & was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank & placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist & splashed water on his face. It didn t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water & escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer & followed him across. Isn t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death & came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him. SOURCE: Max Lucado, "Six Hours One Friday. Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to earth as a baby so many years ago. Thank you that He paid the punishment for our sins by dying on the cross. And thank you that He rose again to prove that death was truly defeated. We place our trust in You to be our Savior. Guide us through the dark times of life and give us courage to live for You. Amen Words of Wisdom: Jesus Christ once said, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. (John 11:25-26) Benediction: May the God of peace, who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus, provide us with every good thing we need in order to do his will; and the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever. Go in peace, as witnesses of the risen Lord. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

13 Pastor Bob s Sermon Notes Why is the resurrection of Jesus so very important? 1. If it didn t happen we re all in trouble and our faith is a lie. 2. The resurrection of Jesus illustrates the power of God. 3. Jesus' resurrection proves His victory over sin and death. Because He lives, believers can have new life in Him!