Behold Your King - Resurrection

[0:00] Well, perhaps if you could flick over to Luke 24. We're not going to be spending all our time in Luke 24.

[0:21] We're going to explore a couple of other areas. But I just wanted to remind us again of these things that happened.

[0:37] Luke 24, verse 1. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. That is, the women who had previously went to assist in burying Jesus.

[0:54] So on the first day of the week, that was a Sunday, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

[1:05] But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

[1:16] As they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.

[1:28] Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and on the third day rise. And then remember his words.

[1:40] Once they remembered his words, they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven. To all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.

[1:57] But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb.

[2:10] Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves and went home marveling at what had happened. Now, for most of us, where we start on Easter is we hear about these things from someone else.

[2:29] We have heard about these things, and as long as we remain there, having heard about these things, and as long as we do not investigate them for ourselves, they will seem like an idle tale, and we will not believe.

[2:43] I lived in that place for a time. I don't know if any of you do. But as long as we remain there, and we do not investigate these things for ourselves, they will seem like an idle tale, and we will not believe.

[2:58] However, Peter, Peter decided to get up and go and check for himself. I wonder what would happen if the world would get up and go and check for themselves.

[3:11] As I said earlier on, there is many historical facts, many evidences, if people would only check for themselves. Peter later went to Rome and was crucified for his belief.

[3:26] And in Rome, he wasn't crucified for seeing only an empty tomb. What was it he found when he investigated for himself? Luke records in Acts that by many proofs, Jesus presented himself alive to the apostles and to more than 500 people.

[3:49] Now, think of this. When the disciples first saw Jesus, what did they behold? Can you imagine what it was like for the disciples?

[4:00] What was it like that first day? What did they see? What was the last image that they had of him? Think we explored that on Friday.

[4:12] The last image that they had of Jesus. I wonder what it was like when they first saw him. No wonder it says that Thomas, although he had been doubting, when he first saw him, he worshipped him, saying, My Lord and my God.

[4:33] How can there be any doubt now? You see, Jesus had no healer waiting outside the tomb calling him out. He had no healer restoring his strength or healing his wounds.

[4:43] And most importantly, he was not beckoned back to his old self. It's one of the great things about the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is not a resuscitation.

[4:56] Neither is it even like any of the other resurrections. It is not like the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus came back. There was no discontinuity for Lazarus.

[5:09] The same body, subject to the same things. He came back the age he was when he died.

[5:19] He came back not with more knowledge than he had before he died. He came back in the same physical state that he had before he died, Lazarus. But Jesus is different.

[5:31] You see, circumstances for Lazarus were reversed, not fast-forwarded. Like a tape, you all remember what a tape is like. For Lazarus, it was rewound.

[5:43] Let's go from the end and rewind it. And it would have to play again. Lazarus would have to die again. It was only temporarily rewound.

[5:55] But not for Jesus. What is it about his resurrection that is completely different from anything this world has ever seen? He is different from every single other human who has ever existed.

[6:08] And his resurrection is not just another instance of death being undone. If various resurrections in the Bible happened, what is different about the resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate today?

[6:25] Well, I just this morning want to explore three things that are vitally different and unique about Jesus' resurrection that make it clear who he is.

[6:36] Three things that are vitally different. First is how. Secondly is who. And thirdly is what. So firstly, we'll explore how his resurrection is different.

[6:51] Secondly, we'll explore who it is that is raised and how that is different from anyone else. And thirdly, we'll explore what he is resurrected to. So firstly, how?

[7:04] This was not like any other resurrection. Not that resurrections are common. They are not common at all. But if there were other people raised from the dead, this was different. As was said before, firstly, every other resurrection was a reversal, a rewind, a backwards trajectory which would only go forwards again.

[7:24] But this one, not for Jesus. He didn't come back to his old body. He didn't rewind events or reverse his circumstances. His resurrection is completely different in that regard.

[7:38] And we'll explore that later. Secondly, every other resurrection came from someone else other than themselves. Every other resurrection was by the power of someone else.

[7:52] Every other person raised from the dead was raised by the power of another. Another, but not Jesus. Not Jesus. Now, even while we are alive, life is something that we do not have in ourselves.

[8:07] Can anyone stand here and say, yeah, I have life in myself. I can give it to myself and I can give it to someone else. Life is not ours.

[8:18] It is given to us and it is taken from us. We cannot give ourselves life any more than we can give life to someone else. Every one of us is dependent on something outside of ourselves for life.

[8:32] And that was the same for every single person who was resurrected except Jesus. In John 1, 4, it says that in him was life.

[8:44] In Jesus. Jesus himself said in John 5, As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

[8:56] So, Jesus' resurrection is different because Jesus is different. Jesus has life in himself. Along with the Father, Jesus is the originator of life.

[9:08] Everyone else who goes into the grave has always depended on God for life. But Jesus does not need to depend on anyone for life because he is God.

[9:20] Jesus also said, For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Son is unique.

[9:31] He is the author of life. Jesus was able to raise the dead because he both has life in himself and can give life to whomever he wills.

[9:43] That's why he can raise the dead. Because he has life in himself. He is the originator of all life. When it came to his death, he said to the Jews, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

[10:00] Not someone else, but he will do it. Why? Because he has life in himself. Because he is the Son of God. And as Peter says in Acts chapter 3, He is the author of life.

[10:13] He's not the recipient of life. He's the author of life. Jesus also said to make it clear that no one else takes his life and no one else gives him life.

[10:24] In John chapter 10, he says, No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord, and I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back up again.

[10:34] No one was around when he was raised, perhaps except for some frightened guards. No one needed to attend to Jesus.

[10:46] No one needed to resuscitate him. No one needed to heal him. No healer needed to call him out of the tomb. No one had any superior power than Jesus did. No one put him there against his will or power in the first place.

[10:59] He laid his life down, and he himself took it up again. How? Now answer this. How can God die? He can't.

[11:11] It is impossible for God to die, because God is life itself. How can the origin and author of life be killed?

[11:23] Well, here's a little phrase that's helpful for your theology. According to his flesh. Only according to his flesh. Remember that the Son of God was alive from the beginning.

[11:36] Indeed, he is the author of life, and all things were made through him. It was the human nature that he assumed that was put to death. He was a person with a divine nature before having a human nature.

[11:50] And when his human nature died on the cross, his person did not cease to exist. Neither did his divine nature. Just as he first gave life to his own human nature in his nativity, he also gave life to his human nature in his resurrection.

[12:09] And while it's true that he had a human soul and mind and conscience that would remain after the death of his body, it was in his divine, life-giving nature that he resurrected his own body to new life.

[12:22] Jesus is more than what we are. Who else can do that? No one but the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

[12:34] He is the one who raised himself from the dead. That is unlike any other resurrection, any other thing in history, because of who he is.

[12:44] And so let us look at who. Who was it that was raised? It's not just that a person has been raised from the dead. Now, if a person, any person, was raised from the dead, that would be a game changer.

[13:00] That would be some serious stuff. That would change your thinking about life and death, if any person was raised from the dead. But it's not what Easter's about.

[13:11] This is not our hope that a person can just be raised from the dead. It is this particular person, Jesus, is raised from the dead. Now, what does that say about who he is?

[13:25] You've got to think it's not a random person that's raised from the dead. It is this person who made all of these claims about himself that is raised from the dead. Given all that he did and all that he said, given all his claims and the crux of his trial.

[13:41] Do you remember what the crux of his trial was? Are you the Christ, the Son of God? And all his mocking and all his accusations were about whether he was the Christ, the Son of God, or not.

[13:59] He made these claims. So it's not just a random person being raised from the dead. It is this person who made these very specific claims that is raised. The resurrection of this person is the most important resurrection there could ever be.

[14:15] If God exists, if God exists and God could raise anyone, the resurrection of this man would be God saying amen to all that Jesus claimed about himself.

[14:28] And that is seriously important. If this man is raised, that is God saying amen to everything he said about himself. So Jesus, here's just a few things, and you know more than this.

[14:41] I came from the Father, says Jesus, and God says amen. I have authority to forgive sins, God says amen. The Father and I are one, amen.

[14:54] The Father loves the Son, says Jesus, and God says amen. The Son gives life to whom he will, amen. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

[15:08] And God would say against his own people, amen. Honor the Son if you want to honor the Father. Jesus said, as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

[15:21] God says amen. Amen. Before Abraham was, I am. God says amen. I am the light of the world, and God says amen.

[15:32] I am the bread of life that came down from heaven, and God says amen. I am the resurrection and the life, and God says amen. Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life, and God raises him and says amen.

[15:48] Jesus says, no one comes to the Father except through me. And God raises him and says amen. It's not that God would simply raise an innocent man from the dead who's been wrongly put to death.

[16:02] The resurrection of this specific man, Jesus of Nazareth, stands as the very testimony of God. After all the humans have had their turn bringing testimony about who they think Jesus is, God allows them all to make their verdict.

[16:18] And only after they've made their verdict does God give his own testimony of who Jesus is. And so it says in Romans 1 verse 4, Jesus was declared the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.

[16:43] Declared to be the Son of God. Romans 1 verse 3 says that he became the Son of David in his flesh, but he was declared the Son of God in his resurrection.

[16:59] He wasn't made the Son of God in his resurrection. He was declared who he really was all along. What that means is that he didn't become the Son of God in or by his resurrection, but rather his resurrection was the declaration of who he really was, especially to the people who had put him on the cross.

[17:21] His resurrection was God declaring all that Jesus said about himself to be true. His resurrection is God saying amen to all that Jesus said and did.

[17:32] As the commentator McLaren says, the resurrection is God's last and loudest proclamation, this is my beloved Son.

[17:45] Listen to him. When all the dust of man's opinions finally settles on the floor, God gives his own testimony that this Jesus is indeed his Son.

[18:02] When the high priest demanded an answer, saying, I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God, and Jesus says, I am.

[18:13] He tells the truth, and they kill him. And then God raises him, declaring that he is the Son of God. You see, they rejected Jesus.

[18:29] His own people rejected him. They rejected Jesus as their king. You remember that was one of the accusations one of the accusations when Pilate said, Behold your king.

[18:52] And they said, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. And Pilate said, Shall I crucify the king of the Jews, your king? You remember what they said? We have no king but Caesar.

[19:07] What does that say about them? It's not just revealing their heart towards Jesus. It's revealing their heart towards God. In doing this, they did what their forefathers did.

[19:20] When their forefathers asked for Saul to be their king, and God said to the prophet Samuel, in 1 Samuel 8, God said this, Samuel, Samuel, they have not rejected you.

[19:36] They have rejected me from being king over them. God was always meant to be their king, but they wanted one just like the other nations. Likewise, when God put on flesh and presented himself as their king, they rejected him and crucified him.

[19:52] And when Jesus rose from the dead, it was the confirmation that he was the king. And Peter says as much in Acts chapter 2, Peter says to his fellow Jews, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

[20:16] And they were cut to the heart. Not that he was made Lord and Christ only at his resurrection, because the same Luke who records this told us that the angel announced at his birth, Here is Christ the Lord.

[20:32] Jesus in his flesh had always been appointed as Lord and Christ, being the Son of God. Yet they crucified him. They crucified the Lord and Christ.

[20:43] Nevertheless, nevertheless, the very one they crucified was raised and exalted to the right hand of God, as it says in Psalm 110. And that was always his destiny, because the Son of God was always his identity.

[20:59] And so the great hope and joy and glory of the day that we remember and celebrate is not simply that a resurrection is possible. That would be lovely, but that's not it.

[21:12] Our hope is not just that man has hope of coming out the grave. Rather, all our hope and joy and glory is in the fact that this particular person rose from the dead.

[21:24] Think about this for a moment. If it were another man rising, think about this. If another person had been raised from the dead, rather than Jesus, while it would be peculiar, it would not necessarily be hopeful or glorious.

[21:41] What would it mean if a sinful person was raised instead of Jesus? Because outside of Jesus, all you have is sinful people.

[21:53] So what would it mean if it wasn't Jesus and it was someone else? A sinful person rose from the dead. It would certainly not mean that his death did anything for us.

[22:07] It would certainly not mean that our sins can now be forgiven. And to what would they be raised? A sinful person. Any other person.

[22:19] To what would they be raised? To this life? Would they be brought back to this world? In this body again? Let me ask if any of you want that.

[22:31] Do any of you want another run at this world? I don't. What would it mean if it were someone else? I dare say that it would not be good if any person were raised.

[22:44] But if it was Jesus, a man without sin, if it was Jesus, a righteous Messiah, if it was Jesus, the Son of God, who was raised, then we would have hope of our sins forgiven.

[22:57] Then we would have hope of knowing God. Then we would have hope of a new creation. and we would have hope of a glorious King and a glorious kingdom. Yeah, the hope and joy and glory of the resurrection is solely grounded in whose resurrection it is.

[23:15] Who it is that rose from the dead. Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ and the Lord, the righteous and the holy one, the gentle and the lowly one, the way and the truth and the life, the Savior, the Son of God and the Savior of all mankind.

[23:30] Because it is Him that rose from the dead, we have hope and joy and glory. And to what is He raised? Let us consider to what He has raised.

[23:43] As we said before, His resurrection is not going backwards. It wasn't back to the old body. It wasn't back to the old life. This is how the scholar N.T. Wright puts it.

[23:57] He says, the resurrection of Jesus is not an isolated bizarre event within the old world. It is the beginning event within the new world.

[24:09] And the new world nests within and is transforming the old world. Isn't that something? Resurrections don't happen in this world. But His resurrection isn't some isolated and bizarre event in the old world.

[24:25] It is the beginning event of the new world. You see, Jesus' resurrection is not merely a victory over death. Finally, finally one person has overcome the power of death.

[24:36] Hooray! Now we have hope of escaping the grips of death. That would be wonderful, but it's far more glorious than that. No, that's not all of it. It's something far more wonderful, far more hopeful, and far more glorious.

[24:50] The resurrection of Jesus, here's a statement. Here's a statement for you. The resurrection of Jesus is perhaps the most underrated event in the history of the cosmos.

[25:02] Think about that. We celebrate it today, but yet still, it's the most underrated event in the history of the cosmos. And how can I say that? Because the resurrection of Jesus is the new creation.

[25:19] Again, we hear all of that, and we know it, and we affirm it, but we don't really see it. Think about Genesis chapter 1. If God brought this creation into existence with incredible force and tremendous power, with the explosion of a billion stars, perhaps with a big bang, with wonder and glory and mystery and awe, how much more glorious is the new creation which begins in Christ?

[25:50] Think about that. The resurrection of Jesus is the most underrated event in the history of the cosmos because it is the beginning event of the new creation, a creation that's far more wonderful and powerful and glorious than this one that we currently exist in.

[26:05] Hallelujah. We don't yet see it, but one day we will. We don't yet feel it or sense it or understand it. How could we fathom such an event?

[26:15] Even although he stood before men, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has conceived what God is doing in Christ for those who love him.

[26:27] Paul talks about the difference in glory, doesn't he? When a seed is planted, do we see the seed? No, we see something far more glorious come out of a seed. If you've ever played conquers as a child, have you ever looked upon a conquer tree?

[26:42] It's massive. It's far more glorious than a conquer. A seed is just a thing that's planted. But what comes out?

[26:53] Paul says this, 1 Corinthians 15, what is planted is perishable. What comes out is imperishable. It's planted in dishonor, comes out in tremendous glory and power.

[27:08] Amazing, astounding. We don't fathom it. There is some continuity and there is some discontinuity. Perhaps that's why some of his disciples didn't recognize him.

[27:21] What kind of body will we be raised in is what Paul hypothetically asks in 1 Corinthians 15. Go, read it. What kind of body did Jesus come back in?

[27:33] Not the one that went into the grave. There was a similarity, a continuity, but there was also a discontinuity. His body's not subject to the same things that it was subject to.

[27:46] As to continuity, he had flesh and bones. He could eat food. He was recognized at points. But as to discontinuity, at times, he wasn't recognized.

[27:57] He was able to vanish from their sight, able to appear in a locked room, able to ascend into heaven. He was not subject to the same weaknesses and dangers of this world that his body had been before.

[28:10] He now had a body that would never die. A glorious body. A body that they quite weren't used to seeing. A body that when John would see him face to face, his best friend, in Revelation chapter 1, John would fall to his feet as though dead.

[28:28] And Jesus would have to say, fear not, it's I. I was dead and now I am alive. His resurrection marks the beginning of a new creation.

[28:40] What wonder and glory to behold him and not quite fathom the implications of his resurrection. Those first disciples beheld him and just couldn't fathom, just like us, cannot fathom the implications of his resurrection.

[28:58] And why is he not here? Why is he not here? Think about it. For many good reasons. For instance, like the fact that he must ascend and take his rightful place at the right hand of God, according to Scriptures.

[29:16] He must rule from the heavens. But here's another true reason why his body is not here. Because his body was not made for this world. What would be the point of hanging about this world?

[29:29] His body is not made for this world. It does not belong to this world, but it is the beginning of the new world. Think about the hope of his resurrection.

[29:41] It's not merely that there is a way out of death, as nice as that is. It's far more hopeful and joyful and glorious. It is that his resurrection signals a new creation of untold wonders.

[29:53] And the hope of a new creation is sure because it is already begun in Christ. He is already risen, and therefore, such a wondrous and glorious new creation is guaranteed.

[30:05] It cannot be undone. His resurrection is something that is more glorious and grander than Genesis chapter 1, though we don't yet see it.

[30:17] Indeed, we cannot see it because we have eyes that belong to this world, don't we? We have senses that only belong to the old world, but that doesn't make it any less real.

[30:29] We see it with the eyes of faith, and that's not a cop-out. Our eyes belong to this world. We cannot fathom the new creation, but it has been born inside of us.

[30:41] As Paul says, the God who said, let light shine into darkness in Genesis 1 has shone light into our hearts that we might see Christ.

[30:54] And with the eyes of faith, we see it. Our body is wasting away, but every day within, we are renewed. Even when our faith may falter, it's not our ability to believe it that assures us.

[31:10] It's the historical event of Jesus' resurrection that already happened and cannot be undone. That's what assures us. Oh, what a glorious day that Jesus rose from the dead.

[31:22] It proves that He is the Son of God, thereby assuring us that His death really does deal with our sin, and His resurrection really does bring about and begin a wondrous new creation.

[31:34] Folks, behold your King who has life in Himself. Behold your King who laid down His life for you and me and then took it up again. Behold your King who is declared the Son of God by His resurrection.

[31:49] Behold your King who God has appointed to judge the world, proving this by His resurrection. Behold your King who has died for our sins, proved by His resurrection.

[32:03] Behold your King who is the beloved Son of the Father. Behold your King who defeats sin and Satan and puts death to death. Behold your King who has in Himself began a new creation beyond our imagination.

[32:20] It is done. Hallelujah. Praise God. Let me pray. O God, our Heavenly Father, we give You great praise and glory for Christ is risen.

[32:32] Hallelujah. We thank You for Jesus, for all that He said and did, for all His revelation of who You are and that it is confirmed in His resurrection.

[32:43] No one can undo that event. We can only deny it. But we thank You, God, that You have shone the light in our hearts. And we pray that You would shine light into every heart to see that Christ is risen for all who confess Jesus as the Lord with their mouth and believe in their hearts that You raised Him from the dead will be saved.

[33:06] Lord, we thank You for the great hope and joy of a glorious and wonderful new creation in Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. We give You all praise and glory in His name.

[33:19] Amen.