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"THE LORD IS RISEN
INDEED" (Lk 24:34) April 12, 2009 Int. Millions of Orientals utter these words every Easter. 1. These words are of most importance, for as Paul said: A. (1 Cor 15:14) "And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." B.
Our Lord’s resurrection is the key-stone of the Christian faith. C. (1
Cor 15:17-18) "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain;
ye are yet in your sins. {18} Then they also which are fallen asleep in
Christ are perished." I.
CONSIDER THE MIRACLE OF THE RESURRECTION. A.
THERE IS NO SUCH POWER LODGED IN NATURE. 1. (Acts
2:32) "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we
all are witnesses." 2. (Eph
1:20) "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from
the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places," A.
The same exceeding greatness of his power afforded the believer is that same
power employed in raising Christ from the dead. 3. C. H. S. (Morning
& Evening– (pg. 505) "In the resurrection of Christ,
as in our salvation, there was put forth nothing short of a divine power.
What shall we say of those who think that conversion is wrought by the free
will of man, and is due to his own betterness of disposition? When we shall
see the dead rise from the grave by their own power, then may we expect to
see ungodly sinners of their own free will turning to Christ...." II.
CONSIDER THE MANNER OF THE RESURRECTION. (The same body that was crucified) A.
HIS RESURRECTION WAS PROVED BY HIMSELF. 1.
Some have believed that his spirit arose. A. (Luke
24:39) "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I
myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as
ye see me have." "ENCOURAGEMENT" Lord, when I'm weary with toiling And burdensome seem Thy commands, If my load should lead to complaining, Lord! Show me Thy hands, Thy nail-pierced hands, Thy cross-torn hands, O Saviour! Show me Thy hands. Oh, Christ! If my footsteps should falter And I be prepared for retreat; If desert and thorn cause lamenting, Lord! Show me Thy feet, Thy bleeding feet, Thy nail-scarred feet. O Saviour! Show me Thy feet, O God; dare I show Thee my hands and my feet? B.
HIS RESURRECTION WAS PROPHESIED BY HIMSELF AGAIN AND AGAIN. 1. (Mat
12:40) "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth." A. It
was the same Jonah that went into the whale's belly that came out; even so
this was true of Jesus. B. Ignatius
said: "The day of the preparation, then, comprises the passion;
the Sabbath embraces the burial; the Lord’s Day contains the
resurrection." C. "Good
Friday" fails to meet the requirement of "three days and
nights in the grave." 2. (John
10:18) "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father." 3. (John
11:25) "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and
the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, (that is,
die) yet shall he live:" A. John
Newton wrote: "I am," says Christ, "your glorious Head," (May we attention give,) "The Resurrection of the dead, The life of all that live. "By faith in me the soul receives New life, though dead before; And he that in my name believes, Shall live to die no more. 4. A
man once searched the Scriptures to see how Jesus conducted funerals. He
found no help, because Jesus didn’t conduct funerals; he conducted
resurrections. III.
CONSIDER THE EYE WITNESSES OF HIS RESURRECTION. A.
CONSIDER THE TESTIMONY OF THE ANGEL. 1. (Mat
28:5-6) "And the angel answered and said unto the women,
Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. {6} He is
not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord
lay." a. Joseph didn’t steal his body. b. It required 15-20 men to remove that stone. c. The guards were placed there to assure no removal. d. The tomb
had the King’s seal upon it for added security. e. John
Gill: "For he is risen, as he said; not stolen away, as the
chief priests hired the soldiers to say he was; nor removed to another place,
as Mary Magdalene first thought, when she found him gone; but he was risen
from the dead, by the power of his father, and by his own power, as he had
before said he should. 2. (2
Cor 5:16) "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh:
yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth
know we him no more." (After the flesh, for He is risen) a.
Donald Gray
Barnhouse:
"Today, see Christ from the Resurrection side of the tomb. b.
The four gospels were not written when Paul was saved. They were written for
believers who had never known Jesus after the flesh. B.
CONSIDER THE TESTIMONY OF MARY. 1. (John
20:15-16) "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom
seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if
thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away. {16} Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself,
and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master." a. F.
B. Meyers: Many had called her "Mary", but
never with such compelling attraction as that morning. (This was her risen
Lord) C.
CONSIDER THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLE JOHN. 1. (John
21:7) "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto
Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that
it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and
did cast himself into the sea." a. Imagine:
"It’s the Lord, it’s the Lord, It’s the Lord." D.
CONSIDER THE TESTIMONY OF SAUL OF TARSUS (NOW CALLED PAUL) 1. (1
Cor 15:5-8) "And that he was seen of Cephas, then
of the twelve: {6} After that, he was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present,
but some are fallen asleep. {7} After that, he was seen of James; then
of all the apostles. {8} And last of all he was seen of me also,
as of one born out of due time." 2. William Jay:
"Now the way to prove a fact is to call in evidence; and if in the mouth
of two or three witnesses every word shall be established, [2 Cor 13:1]
what shall we say when we meet with such a cloud of witnesses [Heb
12:1] as the apostle here brings forward?—witnesses the most
competent, eyewitnesses, ear-witnesses, witnesses who even handled the word
of life; [1 John 1:1] men not of hasty credence, but slow of
heart to believe; [Luke 24:25] men whose despondence was only
to be removed by proof the most undeniable, and upon which they hazarded
every thing dear to them, and braved reproach and suffering and death." E.
CONSIDER THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLE JOHN (Rev 1:4-17) 1. (Rev
1:17) "And when I saw him, I fell at his
feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear
not; I am the first and the last:" 2. D.
L. Moody: "As I go into a cemetery I like to think of the time
when the dead shall rise from their graves. ... Thank God, our friends
are not buried; they are only sown! IV.
CONSIDER THAT JESUS RECOGNIZED HIS OWN IDENTITY. A.
CONSIDER THE DETAILS HE GAVE OF HIS LIFE. 1. He
explained the things concerning Himself. 2.
Rebuked them as before for their unbelief. 3. He
ate with them as before, told them they should work signs as before, and to
tarry for the fulfillment of the promise made to them before. 4. (Luke
24:39) "Behold my hands and my feet, that it
is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones, as ye see me have." Lord, when I'm weary with toiling And burdensome seem Thy commands, If my load should lead to
complaining, Lord! show me Thy hands, thy nail-pierced hands, Thy cross-torn hands, O Saviour! show me Thy hands. Oh, Christ! if my footsteps should
falter And I be prepared for retreat; If desert and thorn cause
lamenting, Lord! show me Thy feet, Thy bleeding feet, Thy nail-scarred feet. O Saviour! show me Thy feet, O God; dare I show Thee my hands
and my feet? B.
JESUS APPEARED UNTO HIS DISCIPLES BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. 1. (John
20:19) "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the
week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were
assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith
unto them, Peace be unto you." a.
This appears to be another miracle of our Lord. b.
His body was like ours, but not necessarily controlled at all times in all
respects like ours. c. He
was man and .more God. He governs the laws, not the laws Him. d.
And his body was always glorious enough, neither to be sin-stained, nor to
see corruption, and that is the kind of body his people shall hereafter
possess." CONCLUSION: THE FOG LIFTED It was
June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of
Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans) under the
command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of signals
to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on the
tower of Winchester Cathedral. Late in the day it flashed the
signal: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- - - D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -." Just at that
moment one of those sudden English fog-clouds made it impossible to read the
message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. The whole
countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country
had lost the war. Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message
could be read. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was:
"W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- - -D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- - T-H-E- - -E-N-E-M-Y!"
It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned
into joy, defeat was turned into victory! So it was when Jesus was laid
in the tomb. Hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus' most loyal friends.
After the frightful crucifixion the fog of disappointment and
misunderstanding had steeled in on the friends of Jesus. They had
"read" only part of the Divine message. "Christ defeated"
"Death cannot keep his prey– Jesus, my Saviour; He tore the bars away– Jesus, my Lord. Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose a victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! |
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