THE RESURRECTION
(Matthew 28:1-15)
Tim
Keller tells the following story: When my wife was growing up, every summer,
her family spent two weeks at a small compound of cottages on the shores of
Lake Erie. Now the cottages are all gone—that part of the beach is gone.
Whenever she visits that childhood vacation spot, she weeps because she knows
the beech is irretrievable.
That sense of irretrievability is
like a death. And the older we all get, the more we realize that certain losses
are irretrievable; they’re gone, and that sucks the joy out of our lives. But
here’s where Christ’s Resurrection offers something unique. Even religions that
promise a kind of spiritual future or spiritual bliss only offer consolation
for what you’ve lost. But the Resurrection of Christ even promises the
restoration of what you’ve lost. You don’t just get your body back; you get the
body you always wanted but never had. You don’t just get your life back; you
get the life that you always wanted that you never had.
But Jesus Christ is walking proof
that you will miss nothing. Nothing! It’s all coming in the future. It’s going
to be unimaginably wonderful. There is no religion, no philosophy, and no human
being who can offer this kind of future. As Christians, our hope for the future
is based on the historical fact of The Resurrection. So, if you are not a
Christian, let me ask: Why wouldn’t you want that? Even if you don’t like
different aspects of the Christian faith, why wouldn’t you want this hope for
restoration? You’re not being honest with yourself if you don’t want that.[1]
On this Easter Sunday morning, we
will reflect on one of the fundamentals of our faith: The Resurrection.
How do we know that the Resurrection of Christ is True? In Matthew and
elsewhere in the scriptures, we find evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. We
will also look at external evidence to ascertain this wonderful biblical truth
of the Resurrection of Christ.
The Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus are two
central pillars of Christianity. If you remove one of these pillars, Christianity
will not survive. Yet, since the first century, many have tried to discredit
the Cross and eliminate the fact of the Resurrection of Christ. The apostle
Paul, who once tried to persecute all those who believed in Christ, says: “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.” I
Cor 1:18 Let’s examine scriptural and external
evidence of The Resurrection of Christ.
1. The Resurrection of Christ was prophesied in the Old Testament
Dead people coming
back to life after being dead was a very familiar concept in the Bible.
Consider these six incidents. 1. Elijah raised the Son of the widow of Zarephath. (I Kg 17:17-24). 2. Elisha raising the dead Son of a Shunamite woman (II
Kg 4:32-35). 3. When a dead body touched the dead bones of the prophet Elisha
(II Kg 14:20-21). Jesus not only spoke about his own Resurrection
but also demonstrated it by raising three dead people: Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:21–24), the Son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:1–17 and Lazarus (John 11:17–44).
There were 27 prophecies in the OT
concerning the Resurrection of Christ. King David prophesied, “You will not
abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay” (Ps16:8-11).
After prophesying how the Messiah, Jesus, would die, Isaiah predicts his
Resurrection, saying, “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and
be satisfied by his knowledge my
righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” Isa 53:11.
2. The Resurrection of Christ in the New Testament.
Several times, Jesus predicted his own death
and Resurrection in the NT. Matt 20:18-19, “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up
to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and
the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then, they will
hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified.
But on the
third day, he will be raised from the dead.” There are other references to
Jesus’ prediction about the Resurrection (Mark 8:31; Matthew 16:21, Luke 9:22).
He gave a symbolic sign to the demanding crowd, “Destroy this temple, and I
will raise again on the third day, referring to his own body. John 2:19
3. The Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law could not stop the
Resurrection of Christ
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the
chief priests and the Pharisees went up to Pilot with a request. “Sir,” they
said, “we remember that while he was still alive, that deceiver said, ‘After
three days, I will rise again.’ So, give the order for the tomb to be made
secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the
body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last
deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go,
make the tomb as secure as you know how.” (Matt 27: 62-65).
4. The Empty Tomb stands as a witness to Jesus’
Resurrection.
The
tomb was tightly secured under the watchful eyes of the Roman guard. After the
Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. To their
surprise, the tomb was wide open as an angel of the Lord rolled away the stone.
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.”
The women
went to the tomb with spices to anoint the body. Instead, they noticed an empty
tomb without Jesus’s body. According to the prophecy, Jesus rose from the dead.
In the meantime, the guards went into the city and reported everything to the
Chief Priests. Jesus’ Resurrection meant the end of the Pharisee’s influence
over the people, so they bribed the guards to spread a lie, saying, “While we
were sleeping, the disciples came and stole the body of Jesus.” What a
ridiculous rumor that was. If that was true, then what happened to the stolen
body?
5. Jesus’s post-resurrection appearance to people for 40
days.
Jesus
appeared to the women and his eleven disciples on the mountain. He walked with
two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to one of his doubting
disciples, Thomas, who said to the other disciples, “Unless I see the nail
marks in his hands, put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into
his side, I will not believe it.”
A week
later, Thomas and the other disciples were in a closed room. Jesus, through his
post-resurrected body, comes right through the locked doors and meets Thomas.
He invites Thomas to examine Him and rebukes him to stop doubting but believe
in Him. (John 20:24-28). After that
encounter, Thomas became a devoted follower of
Christ. Church tradition tells us that Thomas was the first one to take
the gospel to the subcontinent of India. Now, there is a church called The Mar Thoma Church, which sees itself
as a continuation of the Saint Thomas
Christians, a community believed to
have been founded by Thomas the Apostle.
Jesus not
only showed himself to Thomas, but at one point, he had appeared to more than
500 people simultaneously. (I Cor15:6). Jesus spent 40 days with His disciples,
teaching them about God’s Kingdom and giving them many convincing proofs that
He was alive. (Acts 1:3).
He
commanded them before He was taken into heaven, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20). Taking the Great Commission
seriously, many preached about the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ,
making more disciples. How would I know Jesus rose from the dead? I know
because He lives in my heart. Many here at Hope Church and millions more
outside could testify that Jesus rose from the dead and lives forever.
