EASTER SUNDAY JESUS IS THE CURE!

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1 TEXT: LUKE 24:1-8 EASTER SUNDAY JESUS IS THE CURE! Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book: Mowgli, the man cub, asks the animals what s the most feared thing in the jungle. He s told that when two animals meet on a narrow path that one must step aside and let the other pass. The animal that steps aside for no one would then be the most feared. Mowgli wants to know what kind of animal would that be? One tells him it s an elephant. Another tells him it s a lion. Finally the wise old owl exclaims, The most feared thing in the jungle is death. It steps aside for no one. INTRODUCTION: We find that statement to be so true. It doesn t matter how physically strong, financially rich, fantastically popular or over whelming powerful we think anyone is. I. Death is an absolute truth for all of us a. No one is exempt from death Heb. 9:27 It is appointed to all men once to die and after that the judgment. Ecc. 7:2 for death is the destiny of every man. b. But death was not the destiny of Jesus Christ. Since He was God in the flesh, death had to step aside for him Luke 24:1-8 (message) At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. 2 They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, 3 so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus. 4 They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. 1

2 5 The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? 6 He is not here, but rose up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee 7 that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" 8 Then they remembered Jesus' words. c. Like a coward steps aside for the brave, death cowered in the presence of the power of Jesus Christ. Rom. 6:9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. Today we continue to celebrate a Risen savior. And Because Jesus Conquered the grave so shall we. We remember and herald that we know that OUR GOD S NOT DEAD HE IS ALIVE! Budda still in the grave, Confucius still in the Grave, Jospeh smith, still in the grave, Muhammed still Buried in a grave in Medina, But Jesus Christ He is ALIVE^ ALIVE^ ALIVE^ II. We need to know the IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION a. What is it that separates Jesus from all the other religious leaders of the world? (A) --It s that death stepped aside for Him and not them. 1. Death did not step aside for any other religious leader. Their religious teachings made an impact on the world but they died never to be seen alive again. But Jesus was more than a great teacher, more than a man, He was God and He proved His superiority over all religious teachers by conquering the grave. Stan Jantz A College professor at Biola: To this day, hundreds of millions of people put their faith in Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius, Joseph smith and many, many more, but they all died centuries ago. Not one of them rose from the dead none even claimed that they would come back from the dead. Of all the great spiritual leaders who 2

3 walked the earth, Jesus is the only one who died and then rose again from the dead. 2. Jesus resurrection is the most important and crucial part of our faith. If the resurrection did not happen, then the claims of the New Testament are nothing more than a lie. Arthur Ramsey put it bluntly: No resurrection, no Christianity. Without the reality of the resurrection, our Bible is just a collection of good sayings and good advice. 3. The resurrection is important to our faith because it s what guarantees the absolute validity about who Jesus was and the truth of His teachings --If there was no resurrection of Christ, then our faith is based on the teachings of a mere man. Think about the difficulties of our faith if the resurrection of Jesus is just a story. 4. If there s no resurrection then there s no life after death! If Jesus stayed in the grave, then so will we. If His work on earth ended at the cross, He can t give eternal life to anyone because you cannot give away what you do not possess yourself. 1 Cor. 15:19 If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world. 5. If there was no resurrection then there s also no forgiveness of sins. 1 Cor. 15:17 If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for you sins. a. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely essential for us to have any hope at all. 3

4 Essential meaning indispensable; we cannot do without; b. There s no hope for a meaningful life without it. III. Lets look at THE INTEGRITY OF THE RESURRECTION A. Investigate the facts and see that there is a mountain of evidence that supports the truth of the resurrection. Illustration: You may have never heard of Sir Lionel Luckhoo. But if you open the Guinness Book of World Records, you ll discover that he is listed as the most successful trial lawyer ever. He had 245 successful murder defenses in a row. Although Lionel Luckhoo had fame, success, and wealth he felt empty inside. The older he got, the more meaningless life seemed to him. At age 63, he turned his analytical skills to the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. He found that the message of Jesus resurrection satisfied his personal needs and his intellectual questions. He wrote: I have spent more than forty-two years as a defense trial lawyer in many parts of the world. I say unequivocally the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt! Illustration: Dr. David Seamands tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa: Some of his friends asked him, Why did you become a Christian? He answered, Well, It s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions and you didn t know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive. Which one would you ask which way to go? b. I know it s pretty difficult for some people to believe that a person could come back from the dead. That s why I m asking you to consider four proofs that point to the validity of the resurrection: 1. First, consider the proof of the empty tomb. 4

5 a. It s hard to deny the fact that Jesus tomb was empty. No one was ever able to produce a body. b. But to be fair, just because the tomb was empty, it doesn t conclusively prove that Jesus rose from the dead. 2. People who deny that the resurrection happened try to back up what the scripture says about the lie that was told. a. They say that the disciples stole the body. This theory was first proposed by the Sanhedrin, who worked to gain Jesus crucifixion Mt. 28:12 says that the chief priests on the Sanhedrin devised a plan, they gave some Roman soldiers a large sum of money, telling them You are to say, his disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep. Mt. 28:15 continues: The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. b. However, the theory that the disciples stole the body has several weaknesses: 1 st., Roman soldiers did not sleep on duty. IF Roman soldiers were known to be asleep on duty, they would face the death penalty 2ndly, the disciples were not strong enough to remove the stone and then carry Jesus body out of the tomb before the soldiers could stop them *These Roman soldiers were not blithering idiots. They were the best-trained fighting men in the world. Jesus tomb was heavily guarded and when Roman soldiers were told to guard something, they did it with expertise. 5

6 It s absurd to believe that the eleven remaining disciples could have gotten by, through or around the soldiers and stolen Jesus body. 3rd. Some say the disciples were hallucinating a). They wanted so much to believe that Jesus was alive that they saw something that really wasn t there. b). Again, this theory has it s problems: First of all, the disciples weren t expecting Jesus to rise from the dead. The bible even States that when reports of the resurrection first came to the disciples, they did not believe them. *Mk. 16:11 - When they heard that Jesus was alive and that some had seen him, they did not believe. Here s My point: The BEST EXPLANATION for the empty tomb is that God raised Jesus from the dead!!!! a.. You have to jump through some pretty big hoops to really explain it any other way It s a lot simpler to believe that Jesus rose from the dead 2. The second proof is the testimony of the eyewitnesses. a. A lot of people saw Jesus alive after His death. If several of us were playing golf and I hit a hole-in-one, I d go and tell a lot of people about it. If they didn t believe me, I d call up those of us who played together that day and have them confirm my story. Any sensible person will believe a report corroborated by several witnesses b. But the Bible reports that Jesus appeared not just to a couple of people but hundreds of people during the forty days after his 6

7 resurrection and each of them told similar stories about their experiences. He appeared to Mary Magdalene in John 20. He appeared to two men walking to the village of Emmaus in Luke 24 He appeared to the twelve disciples (who couldn t believe their eyes) He even had to say to them, Why do you doubt who I am? Look at my hands and my feet.-he was saying, You can see that it s really me! C. In Luke 24, Jesus says, Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don t have bodies, as you see that I do. The most convincing report of Jesus post-resurrection appearances is given to us by the apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 15:6 Jesus was raised on the third day according to the scriptures and he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time most of who are still living. Paul is saying that the resurrection of Jesus didn t happen in a in secret. Where only one or 2 people saw and could testify to it. Large numbers of people saw Him alive: in different locations, at different times, and in different circumstances over a forty day period. Illustration: Lee Strobel, The Case for Easter points out that if every person the Bible identifies as being an eyewitness to Jesus resurrection were called to the witness stand to be cross-examined, it would take 129 hours to hear their testimony at only 15 minutes a person. --In other words, it would take from breakfast on Monday until Friday at dinner time listening around the clock to hear the testimony of those witnesses. 3. The third proof is the transformation of the twelve disciples. 7

8 a. What else would account for the changes if the lives of the disciples except the power of the resurrection? The eleven remaining disciples were hiding in a room after Jesus death out of fear the same thing that happened to Jesus would happen to them. --They were living in fear of death and persecution. But after seeing Jesus alive again they became bold and courageous. b. Peter denied Jesus three times because he was afraid of a servant girl who recognized him. But a little more than 6 weeks later, Peter is preaching about Jesus to a crowd of thousands of people. What would change Peter so quickly, except for the fact that he had seen Jesus alive? Acts 2:26-32 NIV 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' e 29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, f that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. What else would possess these guys to continue to preach and risk their lives if the resurrection was a lie? 8

9 Would you be willing to stake your reputation, your family, and your life for a lie? Almost every one of Jesus close disciples was executed for their faith in Him. They died because they believed He rose from the dead c. Peter was crucified upside down. Paul was decapitated. These guys were serious about proclaiming the resurrection because it was all true! IV> The fourth and final proof: the work of Jesus today a. The risen Jesus is still working people s lives today. Did you know that over the last several years, more people were won to Christ than ever before? --Around the world, the gospel message of Jesus Christ is spreading like wildfire. Yes Jesus still touches lives today. There are those here in this church who will tell you the same thing about their lives b.--jesus resurrection power has touched them They will tell you that Jesus resurrection power has freed them from alcohol or drug addiction. they"ll tell you that Jesus has saved their marriages, brought them out of deep depression and given them a purpose. Some of them will tell you that the reason they are still alive today is because they ve met the risen Jesus. In Closing: The November, 2001 Sports Illustrated magazine was covering the baseball World Series in which the Arizona Diamondbacks recovered from a slump to defeat the New York Yankees in the last inning of the 9

10 final game. It started the editors thinking about the greatest comebacks in history. So, they produced their list of the: "TOP 5 COMEBACKS OF ALL TIME." It was quite a broad list. 5. Muhammad Ali, Seven years after being stripped of his title and his boxing license, The Greatest KO s George Foreman in Zaire to win back the belt. 4. John Travolta, Defibrillates his comatose movie career by taking a star turn in Pulp Fiction. 3. Michael Jordan, Quits baseball to make first triumphant comeback. 2. Japan and Germany, 1950s. Former Axis powers rise from the ashes of World War II to become industrial superpowers. 1. Jesus Christ, 33 A.D. Defies critics and stuns the Romans with his resurrection. His resurrection proved His victory over sin and death. Anyone who confesses their sins to Jesus will be forgiven and granted eternal life. Thus, because of Jesus comeback any person can have their greatest personal comeback. The setback of mistakes, failures and sins can be forgiven. The comeback of inner peace, purpose and meaning in life is now available. We can live our lives in a personal relationship with God experiencing His plan for our lives and we can spend eternity in heaven with Him after this life is over. Thanks to Jesus, life s greatest comeback is available to you any time you choose. 10

11 Maybe you need a comeback. Life has you down and feeling defeated. That s okay. You can place your hope and trust in the greatest comeback of all time: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Through Him you can experience victory both in this life and the next. Death could not keep the God-man, Jesus Christ, down If you ll truly trust in Him, there s nothing that can keep you down, either The resurrection is not only good news; it is the best news possible Rom. 6:3-5 Or don t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. Do you need to be united with Christ in His resurrection? --Do you want abundant and eternal life? There s no better day to make a decision to turn your life over to Him than today. 11