The Christ Must Rise

[0:00] Well folks, this morning we are in Luke chapter 24, verses 36 to 49. And just as last week, David was tackling the claim that the Christ must die.

[0:19] It wasn't incidental to his life. It wasn't a surprising thing that happened or unexpected. The scriptures, the Old Testament, proclaim that the Christ must die.

[0:33] This morning we are looking at the fact and the claim that the Christ must rise. And that this is evident in the Old Testament, not just the New Testament.

[0:45] So let me read from Luke 24. Again, as we said earlier, the disciples who were on the way to Emmaus have now turned and returned to Jerusalem, having encountered Jesus, the risen Christ.

[1:05] And they return and tell the disciples about these things. And as they were talking about these things, Luke writes, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace to you.

[1:19] But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts?

[1:30] See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

[1:44] And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, Have you anything here to eat? And he gave them a piece of broiled fish. And he took it and ate before them.

[1:57] Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you. That everything written about me and the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

[2:13] Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.

[2:23] And that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

[2:35] And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. This is the word of the Lord and we pray he blesses it to us.

[2:47] How do you know if someone is dead or alive? How do you determine if someone is dead?

[3:01] You see, it's not all that straightforward. In 2014, a 78-year-old man from Mississippi was pronounced dead.

[3:14] He was put in a body bag. It was zipped up and he was transported to the funeral home to be embalmed. When he arrived, the body bag was kicking.

[3:28] They unzipped it and he was alive. He died two weeks later. In the same year, 2014, a 91-year-old Polish woman, you can look these things up, well documented.

[3:43] A 91-year-old Polish woman woke up in the morgue in a body bag. Hours after being pronounced dead. Apparently later she asked for some tea because it was cold.

[3:58] It would be. You see, there are other stories like this. I don't know if you know the book or the film, but in the classic film, The Princess Bride, the main character, the Dread Pirate Roberts, has been tortured and appears to be dead.

[4:15] And this other chap, Inigo Montoya, then takes his body to a man named Miracle Max in an attempt to bring him back. Miracle Max tries to determine Inigo's motive.

[4:28] And he says, Aye, he probably owes you money, huh? I'll ask him. And Inigo says, He's dead, he can't speak. And Miracle Max says, Look who knows so much.

[4:41] It just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive.

[4:53] With all dead, well, with all dead, there's usually only one thing you can do. And Inigo says, What's that? And Miracle Max says, Go through his clothes and look for some loose change.

[5:06] You see, try as we may, but in our world, people don't come back from being all dead. Though there are a few accounts of people waking up in a morgue or being resuscitated after being pronounced clinically dead, the truth is, like Miracle Max says, they are only mostly dead.

[5:27] These are mispronunciations of death. In our world, people don't come back from being all dead. But today, today on Easter Sunday, we don't celebrate the resuscitation of a man.

[5:42] We are not celebrating a man that we received back after being wrongly pronounced dead. No, the man, this man, a man whose blood was already coming out in the garden as he prayed, a man who was tortured in his soul even before he was arrested, a man who's been dragged from place to place, beaten and scourged, and likely in hypovolemic shock, then had a crown of thorns driven into his head.

[6:09] This man who was physically unable to carry his cross was then crucified and breathed his last breath, and then he was stabbed in the side, releasing blood and pericardial fluid.

[6:24] This man was fully dead. He wasn't mostly dead. He was all dead. When this happened, no resuscitation attempts were made. No CPR was given.

[6:36] No blood transfusions. He would have needed some. No emergency room. No paramedics. No life support. No heartbeat. No breath. No one attempting to bring him back.

[6:50] There were no doubts about his condition. No doubts from the Jewish authorities who wanted him dead. No doubts from the Roman soldiers who were expert executioners.

[7:01] No doubts from his family and followers who didn't want him dead. He was laid in a cold tomb without any doubts, and it was sealed shut, and he was left there for days.

[7:17] This man, Jesus, was not only mostly dead. He was all dead. Fully dead. There was no bringing him back. And so Easter is not about Jesus surviving crucifixion.

[7:30] It's not about a man being resuscitated. It's not, Easter's not about a man being brought back to the life that he had. Easter is about a man who was fully dead and then overcame death in resurrection power.

[7:46] Never to die again. And according to the scriptures, only the Christ, the Holy One, could do this. You see, the death of Jesus, as David spoke about, and the resurrection of Jesus, had to happen if he is truly the Christ.

[8:05] Any claims from anyone that Jesus didn't really die is preposterous. The question is, does this historically attested death present a problem to Jesus' claim to be the Christ?

[8:22] Is the death of Jesus an unexpected and embarrassing turn of events for someone who was supposed to be the Christ? He was supposed to be the Christ and he died.

[8:34] But this is what David was talking about last week when the two disciples on the Emmaus road said, our chief priests and rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him.

[8:46] But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. We had hoped until they crucified him. Jesus calls them foolish and slow of heart to believe what the prophets had spoken.

[9:02] That it was necessary that the Christ should suffer. You see, Jesus is basically saying, just because I died, you now think that I'm not the Christ?

[9:13] Well, you are slow to believe what the prophets have spoken. the Christ must die before entering his glory. Have you not read the prophets? The death of Jesus, the man Jesus, is a historical fact.

[9:31] But the claim that the Christ, whoever that may be, the claim that the Christ must die is not a new invention of Christians to keep Jesus in the running for Messiahship.

[9:43] No, the death of the Christ has been woven into the Old Testament scriptures from the beginning. So Jesus dying on the cross only confirms all the more that he is indeed the Christ.

[9:56] And so likewise, today, we're exploring the claim that the Christ must rise. It was necessary for the Christ to rise. So whoever the Christ is, they must rise.

[10:10] Once again, the resurrection of Jesus isn't an invention of Christians to keep Jesus in the running for being the Christ. For Jesus cannot be the Christ if he's still dead.

[10:21] But the resurrection of the Christ is woven into the Old Testament from the beginning. And this is why Jesus can say, thus, it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.

[10:36] It was written that he should on the third day rise from the dead. You see, saying that Jesus is risen is not our fanciful idea.

[10:50] It's not our interpretation to keep peddling a lie. Jesus cannot be the Christ if he's still dead, but he's not dead. But we're not peddling this to keep him in the running.

[11:02] No, it says that the Christ must rise. You see, it doesn't mean that the resurrection of Jesus was made up by Christians. To solve the problem of his death. No. These things were foretold in the Old Testament.

[11:15] Our proclamation that Jesus the Christ is risen from the dead is not just in the New Testament. It's in the Old Testament all along. So you might be thinking, yeah, when it comes to his death, I might know where to go.

[11:30] Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Exodus, other places. But what about the resurrection? Where does it say if Jesus says in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms all that's written about me that I must suffer, the Christ must suffer, the Christ must rise on the third day?

[11:52] Where is it written? How does Jesus' resurrection fulfill as he says everything written about him in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms? Jesus said that it's written that the Christ should not only rise but that the Christ should rise on the third day?

[12:08] And Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15. And Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 is quoting a creed, probably the earliest creed we have, that the Christ was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, the Old Testament.

[12:24] You see, the Jews who didn't believe and the Jews who don't believe, they do not disbelieve because it's not in the Scriptures. it is there. Either they don't want to look or they don't know the Scriptures as Jesus says or they are slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

[12:46] So I want to take us to the Old Testament to see that it was necessary for the Christ to rise. But before we do that, I want to go to some rabbis, rabbis in the first century who had a debate about this for an example of how to understand the Old Testament.

[13:07] You might know one of the rabbis. His name is Jesus. Mark chapter 12. Jesus, as a rabbi, and he was a rabbi, was challenged by another group of seasoned rabbis called the Sadducees.

[13:24] And they actually didn't believe that the resurrection would happen. they said that there was no resurrection. And so, and also, the Sadducees didn't accept the Psalms or the prophets.

[13:39] The only books the Sadducees accepted were the first five books of the Bible, the Law of Moses. That was all they accepted as authentic and inspired.

[13:51] So, they went to Jesus with a puzzle to try to prove that the resurrection is a fairy tale riddled with flawed logic. But the response that Jesus gave them not only showed that it was their logic that was flawed, but Jesus embarrassed them on their home turf because he used only the scripture that they accept, the book of Moses, to show that they don't even know their own scriptures very well.

[14:19] So, if you want, you can flick over to Mark chapter 12, but I'm going to read it just now to get an example of how to understand the Old Testament and understand how resurrection is woven into the Old Testament.

[14:37] Mark chapter 12, and Sadducees came to him, this is verse 18, Sadducees came to him who say there is no resurrection and they asked him a question saying, Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

[14:59] There were seven brothers. The first took a wife and when he died he left no offspring. The second took her and died, leaving no offspring. The third likewise and the seven left no offspring.

[15:12] Last of all, the woman also died. In the resurrection, in the resurrection when they rise again, whose wife will she be? for the seven had her as wife.

[15:25] You see, they're trying to trick him. This wee conundrum about resurrection. And Jesus says, Well, is this not the reason you are wrong? Because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.

[15:41] For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. So your question about marriage and the resurrection is completely flawed and false because they're not given to marriage.

[15:57] Till death do us part. They're parted. Covenant over. She is. She belongs to no one. And then he turns to the matter of resurrection. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses?

[16:13] Now that would have been insulting to them. Have you not read in the book of Moses? In the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

[16:29] Yeah, have you read that? Well, he's not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are quite wrong. This is Jesus shown how to understand the Old Testament.

[16:43] Now, how many of us, if we were asked about that, would go to Exodus 3? Probably none of us. I don't know if we would have the mind to just go there and come up with that answer.

[17:00] Jesus was a rabbi. He was a Jewish rabbi. He was not only a Jewish rabbi. He was the Word of God incarnate, the Word of God in flesh. In fact, even at 12 years old, other seasoned rabbis were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

[17:21] Now, remember, Jesus is answering a question about the resurrection. He's not answering a question about heaven or souls. And he also said that the reason they were wrong is because they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

[17:37] Now, there's a bit of debate as to what he's talking about here. But I don't think he's necessarily saying that they don't understand grammar as if he's saying the verse doesn't say I was the God of Abraham.

[17:55] It says I am the God of Abraham. I don't think that's Jesus' argument that he's talking about grammar because he's talking about the resurrection.

[18:06] He's not talking about them being alive in you know, the afterlife or as souls or spirits or in heaven. He's talking about the resurrection.

[18:17] So I don't think the stress is on the grammar of the I am. Now, if we turn to Hebrews 11, it says that Abraham was as good as dead when God called him.

[18:28] And it says that all these people that he mentions in Hebrews 11, it says they all died in faith, not having received the things promised.

[18:40] They died before they received the things promised. But they've seen it from afar and we're looking for a better country, a heavenly one. You see, here's the question and this is what I think Jesus is pointing out.

[18:53] what would it say about God if he promised something to someone yet he didn't deliver it? What would that say about God?

[19:04] Is God the God that doesn't fulfill his promises? What does it say about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that they died before receiving the promise?

[19:15] Does that present a problem to God? Does that make God a liar? No, it doesn't. Are they going to receive the promise in their spirit? No. They are going to be raised from the dead.

[19:31] Remember, Jesus is talking about the resurrection in relation both to the scriptures and the power of God. See, this is where they failed. They didn't believe. I mean, if they think that there is no resurrection, then what does that say about their thoughts about how powerful God is?

[19:48] There's a biblical principle to remember here. this is the principle. If God promises something, it doesn't matter how things look, the promise will be fulfilled.

[20:00] God cannot lie. So, if Abraham died before receiving the things promised, then God will raise him from the dead in order to fulfill the promise.

[20:11] That's what Jesus is talking about in respect to the power of God. The Sadducees don't know the power of God if they think there's no resurrection. I mean, what would the Sadducees say if you were to ask them, how is God going to fulfill the promise?

[20:27] If you were to ask the Sadducees, God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they died before receiving the promise, how is God going to fulfill the promise? They would have no answer because they don't believe in the resurrection.

[20:41] They know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. They have put God in a box and they've put themselves in a corner. So what I want to do is let's think about this principle.

[20:55] If God makes a promise, it doesn't matter how things look, he will fulfill the promise. That's the principle. Let's look at an example of that principle and see how the Old Testament talks about resurrection.

[21:08] We're going to look at Genesis 22. And here we're going to get into the resurrection of the Christ on the third day. Now let me show you again the principle and then we'll look at the prophecy.

[21:23] So we're leading to Genesis 22 but I'm going to give you a quick summary. Genesis 12 God calls Abraham and he says to Abraham that he's going to make him into a great nation. How's that going to happen?

[21:35] Genesis 13 God says that he will give an inheritance to Abraham and his offspring. Genesis 15 God says that Abraham's heir will be his very own son.

[21:51] God's trying to get Abraham to understand what's happening. Genesis 16 Abraham doesn't understand and he has a son by his own efforts with the slave girl.

[22:05] Genesis 17 God says that the heir of the promise will not be that son Ishmael it will not be that son but it will be a son that he has with Sarah only by the promise and power of God.

[22:19] Only by the promise and power of God would they conceive and bear a son called Isaac. Again in Genesis 21 at the birth of Isaac God says it would be through him and not Ishmael.

[22:33] It would be through Isaac that the promise comes through. Everything that God has promised about the offspring comes through Isaac. God is trying to get it in Abraham's head.

[22:43] This only comes through Isaac. So the principle is that God has established in no uncertain terms that all the promises will come through Isaac.

[22:54] So Genesis 22 when God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac Abraham's learned a lesson. Abraham knows whatever happens however things look Isaac is going to be okay.

[23:11] Sad. Imagine being asked to do that. The only reason why Abraham goes through with it is because he now knows that the promise can only come through Isaac and God doesn't lie.

[23:26] Isaac's going to be okay because the promise comes through him and so if he dies God will raise him from the dead. That's what the writer of Hebrews says.

[23:41] The writer of Hebrews says that Abraham considered that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. How can he say that? Because he knows that God keeps his promises. God keeps his promises.

[23:52] God wants Abraham to know God keeps his promises. So that even if he asks him to sacrifice Isaac Abraham knows God keeps his promises. If Isaac dies God will raise him because God keeps his promises.

[24:09] You see that's the principle. The promise of God must be fulfilled even if it necessitates resurrection. That's the principle. God has the power to do what is necessary to fulfill every single promise.

[24:25] Now Jesus uses that principle to expose the fact that the Sadducees didn't get this. But we must understand principles like that if we are here to understand prophecies in the Old Testament and see how the promises are fulfilled.

[24:40] The scripture establishes principles that serve to help us understand the promises and prophecies. So we've seen the principle. Let's look at the prophecy.

[24:51] Again Genesis 22. Okay the book of Moses. Genesis 22. The prophecy of the resurrection of the Christ Christ on the third day.

[25:03] There are certain words and phrases that we must remember. Certain words and phrases that we will notice later when we see the bigger picture. These words that are repeated that we need to take notice of.

[25:19] So God says to Abraham take your son your only son Isaac whom you love. Take your son your only son Isaac whom you love.

[25:35] Now if you know your Bible you know that Isaac is not his only son. He had Ishmael before he had Isaac although not with Sarah. But God is saying it this way for a reason.

[25:47] Only son my son whom I love. Does that ring any bells? Only begotten son. You are my son whom I love. Abraham for the sake of the prophecy is about to sacrifice his only son whom he loves.

[26:07] Not only that but when God told Abraham to do this Isaac from that point on when God told him Isaac was now the sacrifice. He was a dead man walking or a dead boy walking.

[26:20] So Abraham it says in Genesis 22 Abraham rose early in the morning saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac and he cut the wood for the burnt offering and rose and went to the place of which God had told him.

[26:38] Genesis 22 verse 4 on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar and he goes there and he goes to sacrifice Isaac.

[26:49] Isaac says we have the wood fire where's the sacrifice? God will provide for himself a sacrifice. On the third day Abraham received back his only son whom he loves who was to be the sacrifice.

[27:10] For Abraham he didn't really need to die because God would provide for himself a lamb for sacrifice. You see this is just one part of a larger tapestry in the Old Testament of a resurrection principle and prophecy.

[27:25] Hebrews 11 says that Abraham did figuratively speaking receive Isaac back from the dead and that happened on the third day. Then if we go right back to Genesis chapter 1 Genesis chapter 1 without spending too much time in this if you want to talk about this later I'll happily talk with you.

[27:45] But the six days of creation in Jewish literature and poetry are two sets of three. Now if you know your six days of creation what happens on the third day?

[27:59] It is on the third day that life springs up from the ground. On the third day life springs up from the ground. And then in the second set of three again the third is the animals and mankind and God breathes life into man.

[28:17] God breathes life into a man who has no life on the third day. So the third day of creation life springs up from the ground and then again. Now this takes us to the example of nature.

[28:33] You see resurrection is embedded in nature. Do you know this? Have you experienced this? Have you ever gone through a winter and then enjoyed the spring?

[28:47] You know this don't you? Have you ever seen a tree without leaves? A tree that looks for all intents and purposes dead spring up?

[28:59] Have you ever seen daffodils? There's plenty out there. Have you ever done this? Does anyone know what this is?

[29:14] Seeds. It's a kernel of grain. It's wheat. This is wheat. Do you remember that Jesus says unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies?

[29:30] It remains alone but if it dies it bears much fruit. Likewise Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15. In nature Paul says what you sow doesn't come to life unless it dies.

[29:44] Do you see that? Life comes after death. What you sow doesn't come to life unless it dies. It's a resurrection principle embedded in nature.

[29:56] We see this every season. God has planned resurrection from the beginning not just in the scriptures but in nature. And then when Jesus died he fulfilled that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone but if it dies it bears much fruit.

[30:16] What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. when Jesus died and was laid in the tomb the seed was sown into the earth.

[30:30] I don't know if you know what happened on Easter Sunday other than the resurrection. Every Sunday after Passover every year it's the feast of the first fruits.

[30:40] I don't know if you knew that. The feast of the first fruits all the Jews are required to come to Jerusalem and they're required to bring with them a sheaf of wheat, a sheaf of barley, the first fruits of the harvest.

[30:59] This came from these little seeds. You could hold on to these forever and they would do nothing but if you plant them on the ground, if they die and go into the earth, they will turn into this, they will be raised into this.

[31:17] And so the Jews were to bring this into Jerusalem, to the temple, the first fruits, these were the first things that sprung up from the earth, showing that God was given the harvest and they were to bring it in to give thanks to God for the harvest on Sunday after Passover to show that God was given the harvest.

[31:38] Now in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul calls the resurrection of Jesus, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, that Jesus' resurrection is the first fruits of believers.

[31:51] Now the thing about that sheaf, the thing about that is that the rest of the stuff that comes up come from the same batch. You see, if they didn't have anything to bring to the temple, they wouldn't be sure if God was even going to give them a harvest.

[32:09] They would be uncertain. But the fact that they have this sheaf with them shows them that God has given them a harvest. The fact that there's a little bunch shows that there's going to be a greater bunch later.

[32:23] And what Paul is saying is, this is Jesus' resurrection. And if you're a believer, you're the rest of the batch. And if you're a believer, you're going to be raised.

[32:35] It's not a question of if. It's a question of when. It's going to happen because this has already happened. That's his whole argument in 1 Corinthians 15.

[32:49] It's embedded. The harvest is coming. That's the good news. You know, in nature and in the scriptures, Jesus' resurrection guarantees your resurrection. So it's embedded in nature.

[33:03] Another resurrection illusion is in Exodus. In Exodus where there's the sacrifice of the firstborn at Passover. And then they leave Egypt in haste to cross the Red Sea.

[33:16] Now this directly connects Passover sacrifice with the deliverance from slavery and death through the waters to new life in the land of promise. You see, this is all point to Jesus bringing a greater exodus.

[33:31] The slavery is to sin. Being stuck up against the Red Sea is death. Beyond the Red Sea, through the Red Sea, the promised land, that's what Hebrews talks about, rest, eternal life.

[33:47] We have yet to go through the waters of death. The promise is coming. And then later in Exodus 19, we see another third day event when God tells Moses, consecrate the people today and tomorrow and make them ready for the third day for on the third day the Lord will come down on the Mount Sinai and the sight of all the people.

[34:12] You see, God is about doing great things on the third day, establishing this principle of third day things. And if we keep going still in the book of Moses, we get to that point where it talks about the first fruits after Passover.

[34:26] That's today. Now, if you remember this principle, the principle will help us understand prophecy. So we're going to jump into 2 Samuel 7. 2 Samuel 7, God makes a covenant with King David.

[34:41] This is what God says to David in 2 Samuel 7, I will raise up for you, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom.

[34:56] He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. Everyone knows that this is talking about the Christ.

[35:09] All the Jews know that this is a messianic promise, a covenant. Whoever fulfills this is the Christ. And then again we see in Psalm 2, a messianic Psalm, a royal Psalm.

[35:23] We see this figure in Psalm 2, whom the Lord calls the Lord's anointed, the Christ. It says, why did the nations rage and the people's plot in vain?

[35:34] The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and his Christ. And then it goes on to say, the Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you.

[35:49] Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. We read about this in Acts chapter 4, fulfilled by Jesus.

[36:00] Psalm 16, David writes, you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your Holy One see corruption. And Peter says, that's not David because David's body is in the tomb to this day.

[36:14] That's talking about the Christ and who was risen on the third day, Jesus. We see this building picture of the Lord's Christ being the one who sits on David's throne, the one who comes from David's body, from his family line, who sits on his throne and who reigns forever, the one who is God's son and will possess the ends of the earth and will not see corruption.

[36:41] We continue Proverbs 30 in the words of Agur, who has ascended to the heavens and come down, who has gathered the wind in his fists, who has wrapped up the waters in a garment, who has established all the ends of the earth, what is his name and what is the name of his son?

[36:59] Surely you know. Then in the prophets, throughout Isaiah we see this building picture of this same figure, the Christ, the shoot of Jesse, the son of David, the servant of the Lord.

[37:14] Yet in Isaiah 53, that same person, the Christ, must suffer. And give his life as a ransom for the sins of his people. So the principle, we get back to the principle, what's the principle?

[37:27] To understand the prophecy. God will fulfill his promise, that's the principle. So here's the question to understand the prophecy.

[37:39] How can the Christ reign forever if Isaiah 53 says that the Christ must suffer and die? How can the Christ rise?

[37:49] How can the Christ reign forever, sit on the throne, reign forever? How can the Christ, Psalm 16, not see corruption if Isaiah 53 says that Christ must suffer and die?

[38:02] The answer is the Christ must rise. God will do that. The promise of God necessitates resurrection. Only by the resurrection.

[38:15] If the promise is not fulfilled before the person dies, then God will raise him to fulfill the promise. In the case of Jesus, the prophecies about the Christ are fulfilled in his life and in his death and in his resurrection.

[38:29] God will bring life even to dry bones, as it says in Ezekiel. So two more prophecies to understand the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day.

[38:43] Hosea 6, 1 and 2. Hosea writes, come, let us return to the Lord for he has torn us that he may heal us.

[38:55] He has struck us down and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up that we may live before him.

[39:08] Now in many places like this and like Exodus, God refers to Israel as his son. Remember it says out of Egypt I have called my son. Well Matthew says, even although that's talking about Israel, Matthew says that's talking about Jesus.

[39:24] You see many Jews then and today think that Isaiah 53, the suffering servant, many Jews today will think that that's talking about the nation of Israel. Yet time and time again the king and the Christ are referred to as the son of God.

[39:41] Now they will say Israel is the son of God. Jesus fulfills the role of Israel. He is their king and he himself is the true and faithful Israel.

[39:53] So when we see prophecies like that in Hosea, although they speak of Israel, they point to Christ. Finally, last prophecy that we're going to look at today.

[40:06] Jonah 1.17, the book of Jonah is directly referred to by Jesus himself as the only sign that he will give the Jewish rulers.

[40:20] He says, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the son of man, that is the Christ, be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

[40:34] Now many people question how Jonah could survive in the belly of a fish, but that's to miss the power of God. You see, it says that Jonah cries from the belly of the fish, but it also says that Jonah cries from the belly of Sheol.

[40:51] It says that the waters close in to take his life, but that God brought his life up from the pit. There's good reason to think that Jonah died in the fish.

[41:05] It's not beyond the power of God to raise a man. You see, the account of Jonah is not that God can keep a man alive just long enough to do his work.

[41:17] The account of Jonah is to show that God can raise him from the dead so that he can go and preach repentance to the nations. Now I don't know if you can connect the dots there.

[41:29] That takes us full circle back to Luke 24. Now when Jesus says that he will only give them the sign of Jonah, three days and three nights in the belly of the fish show, the son of man, the Christ, will be three days, three nights in the heart of the earth.

[41:50] People know what happened in the story of Jonah after that. People know what Jesus is implying about the Christ. That the Christ will rise on the third day, just like Jonah.

[42:03] came out of the fish. And what else did Jonah do? He went and preached repentance to the nations. What is the Christ going to do when he rises from the grave?

[42:16] Preach repentance to the nations. You can see that if you look at Luke 24. Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that repentance and forgiveness of sins, should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.

[42:39] Jonah. The resurrection of Jesus is not a fanciful idea of Christians. The resurrection of Jesus is the very resurrection of the Christ which is written about in the Old Testament.

[42:54] Whether it's in principle and prophecy and promise and type and figure foreshadowed, foretold, the promise of God is fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

[43:08] You see, here are the reasons that the Christ must rise. The Christ must rise so that the scriptures can be fulfilled. The Christ must rise so that the scriptures can be fulfilled.

[43:21] Secondly, the Christ must rise so that death can be defeated. Death is the last enemy but death is defeated by Christ who rose from the dead.

[43:32] Death, where is your sting? Where is your victory death? The Christ must rise so that death can be defeated.

[43:44] Thirdly, the Christ must rise so that God's promise can be received. God made us promises. God made promises about the Christ.

[43:55] Christ. The Christ can only reign if he is raised. The Christ can only fulfill the work of the Christ if he is raised. And we learned last week the Christ must die.

[44:06] The Christ can only fulfill the promises if he is raised. The Christ must rise so that God's promise can be received, not only by the Christ himself, but by us.

[44:18] God made us promises. We will die before we receive those promises. Therefore, we must be raised. so that we can receive the promises. That's point number four.

[44:30] The Christ must rise so that we can rise too. The Christ must rise so that we can rise too. And last and final point, the Christ must rise so that the Christ can reign.

[44:44] And we're going to talk about that next week. Let me pray. Our God, you are God. God, you are the God of the living and not the God of the dead.

[44:59] You are the God of life. You give life. You brought life in the beginning when you made all things that were made. You breathed life into man.

[45:11] You brought life from the ground on the third day. God. We see in the seasons and in nature itself this principle of resurrection that things do die.

[45:24] But the things that die you will raise from the dead. You will bring them up from the ground. Furthermore, we see in the scriptures that the Christ himself must rise on the third day.

[45:40] Today we celebrate the resurrection of the Christ as Jesus your son. And so we thank you God. We thank you for this resurrection hope that we have through nature, through the scriptures and through Jesus Christ who raised on this day thousands of years ago.

[46:00] We thank you that that sheaf was presented, that Christ was presented as raised from the dead so that the harvest may be guaranteed. need. We thank you that we can have certainty in the resurrection because it is woven into the Old Testament.

[46:19] It is not a fanciful invention of Christians but it is in the Old Testament all along and even in nature. God we thank you for the resurrection and what that means, what that says about Jesus, that the death and resurrection of Jesus is not incidental to his life but it confirms the fact that he is the Christ and he is your son.

[46:45] And so we look to him and him alone for life and for resurrection and we look to you and trust your promise that you are a God that cannot lie. You are the God that fulfills every promise and you have the power to do whatever is necessary to fulfill that promise.

[47:03] You have showed this in the resurrection of Jesus and we thank you God that we trust that you will raise us from the dead with him to receive the promises that are found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[47:14] God we give you thanks for this celebration today. We thank you for Jesus Christ is risen just as he said and in his name we pray and give you thanks and praise and glory forever and ever.

[47:25] Amen. Amen. Amen.