Message for THE LORD S DAY EVENING, April 24, 2011 Message Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Easter ( Acknowledgments to Bro. David Jeremiah for much of the content of this message. ) The Resurrection: What Does It Matter? I Corinthians 15:12-22 As we bring this Easter Lord s Day to a close I would like for us to focus our attention on one of the most powerful scriptures in the New Testament regarding the resurrection of Christ. P R A Y E R Please turn with me in your Bibles to I Corinthians 15:12-22 ******************************************** I N T R O D U C T I O N As American Christians, we have had the wonderful privilege to hear more preaching of the Gospel than perhaps any other people in history. We have been blessed to hear the glorious message of Christ s death, burial and resurrection so many times that I wonder if many of us just take it for granted. Every LORD S DAY, we gather around the LORD S TABLE to observe the LORD S SUPPER. And while our thoughts are to be focused on THE DEATH..BURIAL and RESURRECTION, how many of us are thinking more about where we re going to go eat after Church or about the big race or big ball game we re going to watch on Sunday afternoon. For just a few minutes this evening I want to remind all of us WHY THE RESURRECTION REALLY DOES MATTER. ************
First, I would have you to consider I. The Resurrection Matters to Jesus 1. Let me give you three reasons why the resurrection matters to JESUS. (A) First of all, THE RESURRECTION MATTERS TO CHRIST BECAUSE IT VINDICATES HIS WORDS Think of all the times Christ spoke about His death, burial and resurrection before it ever happened. MATTHEW 12:40 Jesus said, For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. MATTHEW 20:18, 19 Jesus said, We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death, and will turn Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, and flogged and crucified. On the third day He will be raised to life. JOHN 2:19 Jesus said, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. You see, the resurrection matters to JESUS because had He not risen from the dead He would have been proven to be a LIAR and a LUNATIC. THE RESURRECTION VINDICATES CHRIST S WORDS! (B) Secondly, THE RESURRECTION MATTERS TO CHRIST BECAUSE IT VALIDATES HIS WORK In Luke 19:10 Jesus clearly defined His mission here on earth when He said, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. John tells us at the very end of his gospel that while Christ was here He did so many wonderful things the whole world would not have room for all the books that would be written.
While He was here Jesus taught the greatest truths that have ever been taught. He performed great miracles and did more acts of random kindness than any other human being who has ever lived. But none of those things could save the lost soul of a man. It was only through His death, burial and resurrection that Christ could save us. As Paul tells us in our scripture text from I Corinthians 15, If Christ has not risen, then everything..everything about our Christian faith is an exercise in futility and we are the biggest fools on earth. You see, THE RESURRECTION matters to Christ because IT VINDICATES HIS WORDS and VALIDATES HIS WORK. (C) And thirdly, THE RESURRECTION MATTERS TO CHRIST BECAUSE IT VERIFIES HIS WORTH Acts 4:12 tells us, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Had the true story of Jesus Christ ended with His death and burial, He would have been no different than any other religious leader who ever lived. BUDDAH died and was buried. CONFUCIUS died and was buried. MOHAMMED died and was buried. JOSEPH SMITH and BRIGHAM YOUNG, the pioneers of the Mormon religion, died and were buried. CHARLES TAZ RUSSELL, who founded the Jehovah s Witness religion, died and was buried. BUT THE FACT THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY ONE WHO DIED.AND WAS BURIED AND AROSE FROM THE DEAD sets Him apart from every other religious leader this world has ever known. Only the TOMB of JESUS is EMPTY!
You see, THE RESURRECTION MATTERS TO JESUS, BECAUSE.. - THE RESURRECTION VINDICATES CHRIST S WORDS. - THE RESURRECTION VALIDATES CHRIST S WORK. - AND THE RESURRECTION VERIFIES CHRIST S WORTH. *********************** But not only does THE RESURRECTION matter to JESUS, secondly I would have you to consider.. II. The Resurrection Matters to The Critics 1. CHRISTIANITY DIES if the critics can ever prove CHRIST DID NOT RESURRECT FROM THE DEAD. And ever since the NEWS first broke that the TOMB was found EMPTY, that is exactly what the CRITICS have been trying to do.prove IT NEVER HAPPENED! (A) First, CRITICS came up with THE STOLEN BODY THEORY We actually find this fabricated story in Matthew 28:12-15. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers, a large sum of money, telling them, You are to say, His disciples came during the night and stole Him while we were asleep. If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So 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) Second, the CRITICS came up with THE WRONG TOMB
TOMB THEORY The Wrong Tomb Theory basically says that on the morning Jesus supposedly arose from the dead, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and the other Mary, got confused in the darkness and went to wrong tomb by mistake. Now to believe The Wrong Tomb Theory one would have to believe that not only did those three women get lost and go to the wrong tomb, one would also have to believe Peter and John went to the wrong tomb. And one would also have to believe the highly efficient Roman Soldiers had placed guards at the wrong tomb. And that the angels from heaven went to the wrong tomb. Pretty ridiculous, huh? (C) Thirdly, the CRITICS came up with THE SWOON THEORY As I told you in this morning s message, The Swoon Theory basically says Jesus didn t really die. He just swooned or lapsed into a temporary state of unconsciousness. And as I explained to you this morning, there are many reasons why this theory doesn t hold water. 2. Isn t it sad that all these critics can believe the LIES man has fabricated to explain away the resurrection, but they can t believe the TRUTH that JESUS CHRIST did in fact arise from the grave on the third day? Yes, THE RESURRECTION matters to CHRIST! And THE RESURRECTION matters to CRITICS! And thirdly,
III. The Resurrection Matters to Christians 1. Let me give you two good reasons WHY the resurrection matters to those of us who are CHRISTIANS. (A) One reason it matters is because THE RESURRECTION GIVES US CONFIDENCE TO FACE LIFE Read: I Corinthians 15:17-20 again 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! Think of the multitudes of people in this world who face life with fear rather than with confidence. -Between 30,000 to 35,000 Americans commit suicide each year. That s approximately 10-11 people for every 100,000. And for each successful suicide, eleven are attempted unsuccessfully. -Think of the millions who numb themselves with alcohol and drugs because they can t face the daily stresses of life. If Christ did not resurrect from the dead, you and I would have to face life with the same fears as everyone else. But because Christ lives, you and I can get out of bed every morning with the confidence that no matter what life throws at us we have the victory through our victorious Savior.
(B) Another reason why the resurrection matters to Christians is BECAUSE THE RESURRECTION GIVES US THE COURAGE TO FACE DEATH Let s read down a little farther in this fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians. READ: I Corinthians 15: 54-57 Illustration: Many years ago I received a frantic phone call one Saturday evening from an elderly man in the Church where I was ministering at that time. His name was John. John was in his early eighties at that time and he had never accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. When he called me that Saturday evening I could hear fear in his trembling voice. He wanted me to come to his house immediately. So I did. When I got to his house John was sitting in a dark room. As we talked I soon realized what he was afraid of. I said, Mr. John, are you afraid to die? He hurled a couple of curse words at me and told me he didn t call me to his house to preach to him. I said, I m not here to preach to you, I just want to know, are you afraid to die? He was silent. I said, John, I m not afraid to die. And do you know why I m not afraid to die? He wouldn t answer me. So I said, I m not afraid to die because I know even if I die tonight I will go to be with the LORD. I said, Don t you want that assurance Mr. John? Again, he was silent. I left John s house that evening with a real heaviness in my heart. Several years later I conducted his funeral and to my knowledge he never accepted Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, while death brings sorrow and sadness, isn t it comforting to know DEATH IS NOT THE END OF YOU AND ME? JOHN 11:25, 26 Jesus 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. Do you believe this. C O N C L U S I O N
This past Wednesday night, (April 20, 2011) I went for a walk through the cemetery here beside our Church building before many of you arrived for Bible Study. There was one grave stone that grabbed my attention. Buried there are ( ). And at the bottom of the head stone are these words: RESTING TILL THE RESURRECTION. You see, died with the blessed hope that all Christians have. And that is because Christ lives, we too shall live. Does The Resurrection Really Matter? * It matters to CHRIST for it.. -VINDICATES HIS WORD -VALIDATES HIS WORK -VERIFIES HIS WORTH * It matters to CRITICS For if the critics could ever find one shred of valid evidence that JESUS never arose from the dead they could bury Christianity once and for all. * And it matters to CHRISTIANS For the resurrection GIVES US THE CONFIDENCE TO FACE LIFE and THE COURAGE TO FACE DEATH! Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our LORD JESUS CHRIST!